Icarus came to the door, which slid open automatically to the side, revealing Ego Jinpachi sitting in the darkness.
Ego Jinpachi’s dark pupils were obscured by his lenses, with only the eerie blue light of the display screen projecting onto his face.
“The results of the losers’ elimination match are out.”
“Is that so?” Icarus found the switch and pressed it, and the room was suddenly evenly bathed in light. “Let’s speak in the bright light; clearly, I’m the vampire here.”
The room was evenly bathed in light. Ego Jinpachi paused for a moment before continuing.
“We will subject him to brutal training; all of his physical attributes will be benchmarked against the world’s number one striker, Noël Noa. We need you to provide medical support throughout the process of his training and physical modification.”
“No problem. With me here, he won’t die,” Icarus raised his brows, “Before that, can I take a look at who this lucky fellow is?”
Ego Jinpachi gestured for him to enter, and Icarus followed him into the inner room.
In the center of the room was a prominent hospital bed, upon which lay a person with orange hair. His build was sturdy, with a hint of gloom between his brows that could not be dispelled.
“Are you fully aware of everything you are about to endure, and are you here voluntarily?” Ego Jinpachi asked first.
“Yes,” Kunigami Rensuke replied without the slightest hesitation.
“We will modify you numerically into a striker equivalent to Noa. During this process, you may endure a great deal of pain, but once you step onto the path of modification, the investment and energy we have expended will not allow you to quit.”
“I know.”
“In that case, meet your doctor for this period. Although he is not responsible for your direct modification, your post-operative recovery will all depend on him.”
Kunigami Rensuke’s gaze shifted downward, landing on a familiar face.
“You are the doctor from that day…”
When he had once visited the injured Chigiri Hyoma together with his companions from Team Z, Kunigami Rensuke had caught a glimpse of him through the crowd.
“Sigh, so we’ve met before?” Icarus asked curiously.
Kunigami Rensuke was just about to open his mouth to introduce himself when he heard the person before him smile slightly, saying in the most harmless tone possible:
“My apologies, I don’t quite remember you…”
“After all, I only ever remember the people at the top of the rankings.”
Kunigami Rensuke’s breathing hitched, and he clenched his fists instantly, the veins on his hands bulging.
“Then, I will make you remember my name,” he said, enunciating each word clearly.
“Alright, I’m looking forward to it,” Icarus waved his hand, raising it to toss a communicator to him, “Although carrying any means of communication in Blue Lock is forbidden, aside from goal-scoring rewards, you are a special case—”
“You are the object I must prioritize and care for meticulously for this period to come. If there are any issues with your body, feel free to contact me at any time,” Icarus shook the identical communicator he was holding in his own hand, “I have set your communicator on my end to ‘Special Attention’.”
The black-haired youth blinked, his black pupils reflecting Kunigami Rensuke’s stunned gaze.
“I look forward to the day you use your strength to tell me your name.”
…
Having made time to finish his soccer practice with Loki and Cavazos, Icarus was just preparing to return to his room when a hot body suddenly pressed against his back.
“Ika, you haven’t come to see me for a while.”
The white Miffy rabbit sounded aggrieved. Its two long arms draped over him as if they lacked the strength to hold on, and from afar, the black-haired youth appeared to be completely enveloped within.
“Nagi?” Icarus turned his head with difficulty, “It’s not that I didn’t mean to see you.”
He had been too busy lately, between receiving the World Striker Team and checking the upcoming arrangements with Ego Jinpachi, to have any time left to find him for soccer.
“Then what about tonight?” Nagi Seishiro’s face revealed anticipation.
“I suppose that would work,” Icarus thought for a moment, “Why don’t you go find Reo?”
Although they hadn’t been assigned to the same 5-man team, it shouldn’t have stopped them from teaming up to play soccer.
Nagi Seishiro’s mouth puckered into a Miffy rabbit pout, “Reo has been avoiding me.”
That’s truly rare. With how precious that young master of the Mikage family held him, to just drop something he’s liked for so long?
“Also, I haven’t finished learning the new things from you,” Nagi Seishiro stared straight at the black-haired youth beneath him, “You have to compensate me, right? You can suck as long as you want…”
As he spoke, Nagi Seishiro used one hand to pull down the shoulder of his clothing on the left side, and the fair side of his neck took Icarus by surprise, jumping into his sight. His body was still radiating heat from the exercise.
The faint scent of blood seemed to be able to pass through that layer of skin into the vampire’s nose; Icarus heard himself swallow with difficulty.
“No,” Icarus used all his willpower to look away, “Wait until tonight.”
It was still broad daylight. If he were seen by someone passing by biting Nagi Seishiro, it would be impossible to explain.
Nagi Seishiro let go, and the skin on his neck was once again wrapped by his tight-fitting training gear. Not knowing whether he felt more regret or some other kind of emotion, Nagi Seishiro watched the black-haired youth slip away quickly after breaking free from his restraint.
“Wait for me to find you tonight!” Icarus shouted from the other end of the corridor.
Nagi Seishiro’s mood instantly brightened.
He had just taken two steps in the direction Icarus had left when his ears twitched, and his upturned mouth corners drooped back down.
“Why is it you again?”
He leaned his head lazily, his gaze sweeping diagonally across the corner of the wall where Chigiri Hyoma was revealing the tip of his pink hair.
Since he had been discovered, Chigiri Hyoma stopped hiding. He walked up, frowning, “What do you mean ‘tonight’?”
“It has nothing to do with you,” Nagi Seishiro slipped away quickly.
He didn’t want their happy soccer time tonight to be interrupted by anyone else. Especially Chigiri Hyoma, who had once been on the same team as Isagi Yoichi and had made him taste defeat as a member of Team Z.
Chigiri Hyoma frowned, looking at Nagi Seishiro as he slipped away.
Tonight… could it mean what he thinks it means?
Driven by a sudden impulse, Chigiri Hyoma followed him.
…
Same time, same field.
Icarus arrived at the field right on time, only to find Nagi Seishiro standing on the field holding the ball, lost in a daze.
“Hurry up and start,” Icarus clapped his hands, “Today we’re practicing the Cruyff turn.”
Icarus demonstrated first. After touching the ball with his toe, he made a feint as if to pass, but suddenly used the inside of his foot to hook the ball back. Then, with a beautiful turn, he quickly broke away from Nagi Seishiro’s defense.
“Got it.”
“You learned it that quickly? Then come try it.” Icarus kicked the ball to Nagi Seishiro, and the latter replicated it 1:1 according to his instruction, which surprised Icarus greatly.
“Let’s learn another one…”
Learning and teaching, with occasional hands-on drills the two immersed themselves in practice, not noticing the passage of time. It was only when Icarus accidentally looked up at the clock on the wall that he hurriedly urged the other to go to sleep.
“You’re still human, hurry up and get some rest.”
Nagi Seishiro stopped obediently, wiped the sweat from his head with a towel, and followed Icarus step by step as he left.
Icarus looked at the oversized Miffy rabbit stuck tightly to him and found it somewhat amusing. “You are going to be eaten by me; aren’t you afraid?”
Icarus said it with intentional terror.
Nagi Seishiro shook his head.
“Should I say you only have soccer on your mind, or what?” Icarus sighed helplessly, “But that’s fine, too.”
Nagi Seishiro watched the black-haired youth’s back in silence.
It’s not entirely for soccer.
Of course, he was happy to learn new footwork and new shooting techniques. But it wasn’t just because of these.
The area on his neck that was often bitten felt as if it were beginning to heat up again. Nagi Seishiro touched that spot with his hand.
There was no wound, no blood it was all an illusion.
And such illusions were something he had experienced often during this period.
On the other side, Icarus felt that he couldn’t just duck into any corridor to suck blood every time. Although there was truly no one in the corridors in the middle of the night, one couldn’t guarantee there wouldn’t be training fanatics like Itoshi Rin or Shidou Ryusei.
Leading him to the infirmary, Icarus adjusted the air conditioning to a comfortable temperature. When he turned back, Nagi Seishiro had already found a comfortable sofa to curl up on obediently, and was now looking at him blankly with his grey eyes.
Icarus: ?! He’s too cute!
After finishing the preparations before the meal, Icarus faced Nagi Seishiro, who was curled up on the sofa, knelt on the sofa with one knee, and supported himself with both hands on the back of the sofa.
Icarus: Why does this posture feel a bit weird? Like a ‘sofa-don’?
The black-haired youth leaned down slightly. The two moved closer and closer, and he saw his own reflection in Nagi Seishiro’s grey pupils. The familiar scent of blood drifted over again, and stirred by this aroma, Icarus suddenly couldn’t pay attention to anything else.
Nagi Seishiro waited quietly, until warm breathing covered his neck again, and a familiar, slight sensation of pain returned to his neck, only to be covered by a prickling, itchy sensation.
The familiar sensation of blood loss returned. Nagi Seishiro felt himself very hot at this moment, even hotter than after he had just finished practicing soccer.
He couldn’t help but let out a low gasp, which Icarus, who had been focusing on his state, keenly sensed.
“Does it hurt?”
Icarus stopped and lifted his head to carefully observe Nagi Seishiro’s state.
Nagi Seishiro looked at the lips that had become increasingly vivid after being stained with blood, and the vampire’s pupils, which had suddenly turned red again at some unknown point, and said in a low voice, “No…”
So beautiful.
As if fascinated, he extended his left hand, attempting to stroke the black-haired youth’s red pupils.
“Is that so? Then I’ll be lighter,” Icarus didn’t notice Nagi Seishiro’s small movements. He leaned down once again, and Nagi Seishiro’s hand reached into empty air.
The familiar sensation brought waves of pleasure surging to his head, and Nagi Seishiro’s pupils unfocused. His hand, having reached into empty air, retracted, and accidentally touched the small braid on Icarus’s side profile.
As if the hand had found its target, Nagi Seishiro loosely gripped the small braid between the black-haired youth’s wolf-cut hair, adjusting his breathing one breath after another.
Thump! Thump!
His heartbeat gradually accelerated, as if to sustain a famished vampire, it was pumping every bit of blood in his body out.
Nagi Seishiro felt that choosing to lean on the sofa was the most correct decision ever. Because his hands and feet were weak at this moment, and had there been no support, he would have likely fallen.
Just as Icarus was eating heartily, two light knocks suddenly came from the door.
Icarus paused in his eating.
Crap, did he lock the door just now?