A week since their first, the second match had rolled around. Their opponent in this next bout was Team W, a squad which seemed to revolve around the Wanima Twins. Two brothers whose facial expressions were as creepy as they come, with looks that were more fitting for the set of a horror film rather than a football pitch.

True to his word Zantetsu agreed to follow Reo and Akira's lead, and it had worked out well for them as they were currently leading.

Team V 4 - 1 Team W

All of the front four had a goal to their name, but they were looking for one more to fully kill any hope for the opposition and with twenty minutes left they fully planned on making that a reality.

"Not while I'm here!" One of the twins screamed as they tried to keep Nagi from the ball, but it was futile as the white-haired boy brushed him off easily and passed to Akira. Who swiftly passed the ball onto Reo, with Zantetsu waiting on the left wing ready to make a run towards goal.

"All right, Mikage Reo. Show me what you've got! Right here, yeah?" At that moment it seemed the two had some sort of silent agreement, finally on the same page with each other after almost two weeks worth of tension and arguing. 

"Finish the game here and now, Zantetsu!" With a beautifully sent pass, the glasses teen was away and with no one fast enough to stop him. Scoring another goal was almost imminent, "Go for it, dentist" Nagi mumbled "Shoot Zan!" Akira yelled using the nickname, that the teen would never admit to liking.

Zantetsu's shot was powerful no doubt, with a deadly curve on it. The only reason it didn't find its way into the back of the net, was because the Wanima Twins took it upon themselves to act as human shields deflecting the ball into Akira's path. Gracefully manoeuvring the ball Akira struck without hesitation and to know one's surprise, it slipped passed both the goalie and the defenders and finessed itself into the back of the net, a difficult goal that only a true talent could score.

Team V 5 - 1 Team W

The final whistle blew, and it was another victory for Team V. While the opposition crumbled in defeat, the victors ran to celebrate as the newly formed quartet stood at the epicentre of the celebrations.

"Great job, Akira!" Reo said ruffling the boy's hair, "A masterfully taken shot" Zantetsu agreed as they began to walk towards the shower, with spirits soaring after another well-deserved win. "Good goal, Akira" Nagi grumbled from atop the purple-haired boy's back, feeling rather lethargic after winning yet again.

The four joined the rest of their team in the showers, stripping out of their sweaty kits and throwing them into the laundry basket before heading straight under the pouring water letting it wash away all of the dirt and grime they had gained from the match.

Akira couldn't help but sigh in contentment as the warm water drenched him from head to toe, blissfully unaware of the stares that watched his every move, finishing off his shower, wrapping a towel around his waist moving to change into his clothes and other post-shower effects. 

"Hey Akira, doing your skincare?" Reo said as he sat down beside the boy who had all of his products for both hair and skin set out before him, going through them one at a time. Reaching for the hair oil, Akira smiled when it was snatched out of his hand by the amethyst-eyed teen. Knowing it could only mean one thing, a head massage from his favourite masseuse. 

Leaning back into the boy's touch, closing his eyes in delight at the feeling of the Mikage boy's finger's that gently ran through his hair silently soothing him after a long game. Truth be told Reo was one of the only people that Akira allowed to touch his hair, aside from Nagi and sometimes Zantetsu but other than those few his hair was off-limits to everyone else.

Tugging on his hair slightly the purple-haired boy was surprised when the bronzed teen let out a soft moan, now if Reo had been a normal person he wouldn't have given the noise any thought. But he wasn't and now here he was massaging oil into the boy's hair while insanely hard, to be fair to the Mikage boy, everything about Akira seemed to make him hard. As this wasn't the first furious hard-on he had gotten around him, so he handled it like a pro.

Leaning forward the amethyst-eyed teen inhaled a deep sniff of his scent, vanilla and honey. So mouth-watering it could have made Reo cum on the spot, and as he closed his eyes to imagine all the things he would do to him if he was his. And before he knew it he a cummed in his pants like a child, though the purple-haired teen had long since gotten passed the shame of it all.

Reo knew what he was doing was sick and perverted, but he couldn't bring himself to care. Akira was his, his treasure, his friend, his everything. He was positive he wouldn't mind helping him get off, even if it was unknowingly. Two things were for certain he was definitely going to masturbate again to the thought of Akira tonight and he needed another shower right afterwards, as he would hate to get his darling dirty during their late-night cuddles.

"Hey, Akira how do you say 'I love you' in Portuguese?"

"Eu te amo"

"Eu te amo, Akira"

"Eu também te amo, Reo"

And with that, the two continued to bask in each other's presence till Akira had finished his extensive care routine before the two made their way to bed. Nagi and Zantetsu joined them soon after, and within ten minutes of lying down the entire room was asleep clearly exhausted from a hard day's work. All except one.

Sleep was a tricky thing for Akira, especially during his time at Blue Lock. Some nights he slept like a baby, others, not a wink. Now here he was walking towards the building five monitoring room, hoping that maybe rewatching his performance a few times and taking notes would be enough to tire him out.

Walking into the room the curly-haired teen hadn't expected to see two people already there, Isagi and another with long pinkish-red locks. "Hey Isagi, what you doing up?" he greeted catching the attention of the two, "Oh hey Akira, Um I couldn't sleep so I came down to watch my game footage, and you?"

"Yeah, me no tired, too excited after match. How was you's?"

"We won 2-1, and I scored my first goal! how was your game?"

"That's great Isagi so happy for you! Won only 5-1 this time, but me did score 2 goals so that good right?"

'Only two? must be nice I only just scored my first and I'm pretty sure even that was a fluke' Isagi thought as he looked to Akira who had taken a seat on the other side of him, "Oh, by the way, this is Chigiri Hyoma my teammate from Z, Chigiri, Ito Akira from Team V" the blue-eyed boy introduced the two and sat back and watched as the pair subtilely eyed each other.

"Hello," the red-haired boy greeted "I like your hair, pretty," Akira said silently kicking himself for saying those words aloud, while Chigiri slightly blushed. "I like your's too," the pink-eyed boy said looking at the bronzed teen's curly mane which rivalled his own in terms of how well-kept it was.

"I couldn't sleep either, I'm watching your goal on repeat. No wonder you can't sleep, just take a look. As a fellow striker, I know it must have been a glorious moment." Chigiri said looking at one of the many screens before them, eye fixated on the blue-eyed teen's goal. Akira couldn't help but agree, it was a masterful goal.

"honestly it was, the thing is if I had never come to Blue Lock I wouldn't have scored that goal in a million years. As long as I live, I'll never forget it. But it's not like I can repeat that miracle, I just sprinted without thinking really" the black-haired teen confessed as he joined the others in rewatching his goal from the match against Team Y.

"I believe your spatial awareness is different from most peoples, it's keen" Chigiri admitted, his eyes never leaving the screen. "What is that?" Isagi asked confused as to what his teammate was referring to, but Akira knew exactly what he was talking about as he too had hyper spatial awareness.

"Most players' scopes are more limited, they judge a situation based on what they see in their direct field of vision. As soon as they run at top speeds or dribble their sight narrows in composing only what's in front of them. But sometimes when you're out there, the complete opposite seems to happen, almost like you can see the whole field and everyone on it, it's impressive. Like you're a god, looking down from above. That skill helped you smell a goal and avert a crisis, you scored against all odds making the impossible a reality. You are operating on pure intuition right now, but if you could learn to activate that skill intentionally your eyes and brain will be weapons like no other, well that's my opinion."

The pink-eyed boy's explanation perfectly encompassed Isagi's weapon, and though Akira had yet to play against him to get a full workup of what his strengths and weaknesses are he could tell his teammate was spot on.

"You've always been this mystery, but now I get you. I mean that was a great observation you gave me, even though you're always frowning underneath you're a nice guy." the blue-eyed boy said as he tried to lighten the mood, but to no avail.

"I'm not, I'm only telling you this so the team can win"

"By the way, you never did tell me your weapon. You know what mine is so let me know yours?" he pushed again, desperate to bond with his teammate who had been reserved since his arrival.

"My answers are the same, I won't share"

"Why not? Just tell me, if I know maybe I can help you somehow. Were teammates, so open up"

"Drop it already, we don't need to talk about me" 

While Isagi continued to prod his teammate in an attempt to open him up, Akira couldn't help but cringe feeling bad for the redhead. He understood how uncomfortable it was to be forced into telling something you are not comfortable with sharing. Knowing all too well he was most likely withholding the information for good reason, he let the two be though as he didn't want to intrude in matters regarding other teams.

"Of course, we do, how else are we going to win?"

"I had an ACL tear in my right leg, a year ago. How's that for opening up?"

Silence and regret flooded the black-haired boy's face as both he and Akira sat and listened to the redhead "It's better but the Doc says if I injured the same spot, I may never play again." And with that, the redhead stood up and began slowly walking towards the door.

"I used to be like you Isagi, wielding a unique weapon. There were nights I couldn't sleep, cuz I was so pumped from scoring. I dreamed of becoming, the world's greatest striker. Truth is even though my leg's healed, I'm scared I'll reinjure it. Football has given my life purpose, and I could lose it in an instance. I came here to Blue Lock because I was looking for a reason to give up on that dream, and now after seeing your goal, I think I've finally found one."

Akira understood Chigiri, he had seen his father pick up multiple injuries during his years as a player. From light and nonexistent to downright ugly, the curly-haired teen felt sad for the redhead who was clearly held in the grip of his anxieties. As he tried to leave through the door, the pink-eyed teen stopped in his tracks.

"Stop lying Chigiri, don't put the blame on me. I know you don't want to give up playing, cuz I'm the same. So I fight, or we might as well give up now. If you are not ready to sacrifice everything, you'll never fulfil your dream"

The tension in the room was heavy as an angry Chigiri turned to face the pair that had now stood up "What makes you think you know the first thing about me?" He was right, they didn't know him. The harsh reality was most of the people here were strangers that they were forced to share proximity to, not by their own choosing. With that, he left the room with a slam of the door his words lingering in the air leaving Isagi dumbfounded.

"You should not have forced him to talk about that amigo" Akira too decided to vacate the room, in favour of catching up to the freshly departed Chigiri. Leaving the black-haired boy alone to mull over his thoughts, as he had not only angered his teammate but also upset one of his only friends in Blue Lock. 

Walking down the hallway to catch up to the redhead, Akira soon found himself beside him. "What do you want?" The question was harsh and blunt, making the curly-haired boy flinch slightly, "Um-I know you no wanna play anymore and I respect that but you also need to remember that fear is a figment of the mind" The redhead looked at him with mixed emotions, his silence encouraging the boy to continue. 

"Isagi should have no forced you to speak about stuff you no want to, but he has point. You love playing so why no fight to keep it?" the bronzed teen's question was out of genuine curiosity, unable to imagine giving up the sport he loved without a fight.

The team Z player did not reply, only continuing to stare at the rival player. "Sorry if me bothered you, goodnight." With that, Akira retreated back towards his sleeping quarters, as all the stress from the encounter between Isagi and Chigiri had tuckered him out rather quickly.