Work Text:
The Blue Lock Christmas Special!
By Moukestral.
Special thanks to Dmitri and Rinsmilkbottle on the r/bluelock discord for supporting me with this project.
Fuck you Lancelot
O.O.O
Anri’s Log —
December 25th, 2018
To be honest, I didn’t think I would be spending the Christmas holidays at Blue Lock. But considering that this facility is practically my second home, it felt natural to watch over Blue Lock and see what Ego-san had in mind for the players.
Today started like any other day — I would wake up in the morning and stretch, cook myself some food (I also included some for Ego - I don’t want him to starve all the time, y’know), handle the documents, and learn more about football’s philosophical values.
That said, I was surprised to see Ego-san tell everyone to party out the holiday in the afternoon. He even set up party rooms and lounges near the cafeteria for the occasion. And I would have been grateful for him caring so much for our Strikers if he STOPPED CALLING ME “ANR-IDIOT” FOR THE QUINTILLIONTH TIME!!!!
For fuck’s sake, Ego is an amazing person — he even started caring about my studies and health ever since we became the next U20 team for Japan — but he still is a damn jerk sometimes! Sure, his ‘egoism’ philosophy is top-notch and I wholeheartedly agree with every point he makes, but can he PLEASE TURN DOWN THE EGO JUST A LITTLE. God, it’s like he just wants to get on my nerves on purpose.
Fuck it. If he’s going to be a jerk, I might as well play his game. I’m going to take him out for dinner, AND THEN WE’LL SHOW WHO’S BOSS!
Whoo, okay. Nevermind. What was I talking about?
Oh, right. Blue Lock is now in full party mode, with many of the remaining participants relaxing in the chill rooms as I write. They have access to their phones, multiple video games, a giant disco room, and all the food and snacks we could give (or at least, most of the excess food). I even ordered them elf-costumes under the request of Ego-san, which I thought was odd that he too liked Christmas…
For the most part, they can party as much as they want. Hopefully, there won’t be any fights breaking out anytime soon, because Kami forbid Shidou and Rin to fight over the last eggnog…
Dear God… I can already imagine the nightmare the janitors will go through.
But other than that, Ego’s just about to finish his speech. Now it’s my chance! I’m going to ask Ego-san out for dinner, and I’m going to show him who’s boss!
Wait, not a date, but more like — ah, fuck it. I guess I have feelings for him.
End Log.
O.O.O
In the control room:
Ego gently set the red notebook on Anri’s desk with a soft thump, which echoed around his head like how a loud clap would resonate in an empty chamber. Turning around, Ego walked back to his station. Just like the thump of the book, his footsteps echoed in his head with every single step.
If one turned the brightness of the room just a little bit brighter, they would be able to see his normally-pale face possessing a faint but clear red on his cheeks and ears. With a sigh, Jinpachi Ego sat into his chair and rolled into his working space, lightly tapping his fingers on his desk while thinking deeply of something.
Christmas. A holiday that everyone loved and looked forward to whenever they weren’t bitching about life. No matter where you were, the 25th of December was always a day of celebration to be held. Traditionally, people would take a day off to go to their families to celebrate the holiday and get smashed with a bottle of wine of sorts.
...Along with a bunch of other stuff, such as an expensive dinner that would put everyone under a drug-induced state via food fatigue.
However, it wasn’t the same for the members of Blue Lock. The contract Ego put out at the start of the program had everyone agree that the participants would continue to train in Blue Lock during the holidays. There were some complaints, especially from the parents, but the players at the moment were too busy training for the next FIFA World Cup and had no intention of spending Christmas with their parents.
At least, that was what Ego told them. With a little bit of 3d modelling and photoshop, all the parents were convinced that their offsprings took priority in their training and would not let a holiday — even a special one at that — stop them from practicing.
He spent the rest of the day after that cackling like a madman. Ah, the wonders of technology and deep fakes...
But Ego wasn’t entirely heartless. He simply wanted the entire cast to celebrate Christmas (and New Year's) here so they wouldn’t travel to and from their homes to reduce travelling expenses.
What? Travelling expenses are pretty high. And besides, it would tire Blue Lock’s cast out even more since the facility was two hours away from the nearest bus stop.
...And that he had a plan for Christmas as well. Something that involved flowers, eggnog, a Christmas card, a somewhat-expensive dinner, and maybe a confession.
Oh yeah, and a comfy Turtleneck Sweater. One that was red, but not Christmas-themed. It wouldn’t fit him; rather, it was a perfect fit for women a few inches shorter than him…
He liked Anri, he really did. His feelings for her showed up after the U20 match since Ego became more confident and open now that he was the lead director. Obviously, he tried to push those lingering feelings deep down into his gut, but dear God, Anri’s smile was so fucking adorable whenever she offered a hand SNAP THE FUCK OUT OF IT JINPACHI EGO!
Anyway — he was always a loner in life and had little to no interaction with women whatsoever, so he just bought a slightly-Christmas themed sweater that looked somewhat comfortable. He didn’t want to seem like he was trying too hard.
That, and Anri’s diary proved her feelings for him, so he guessed it was technically easier to work it out.
Speaking of her diary, the woman always left/forgot it in the control room every time she finished a section. Seriously, was she born THAT naturally clumsy?
Anyway — he admitted he had a crush on her. However, the problem was that he wasn’t too sure if Anri would feel the same as him. And besides, even if they started a relationship, what would happen then?
Ego shook his head. It was probably best to make those decisions when they got to the bridge, not before. In front of him, the members of Blue Lock gathered in front of the camera’s field of view, wondering why the Ego-tistical man called them here after their long morning workout. (A/N: Yes, I made a pun. Fuck you.)
He hoped she would return his feelings when he did confess that night. He couldn’t wait.
...Which was why he was giving a speech in his tone-dead voice to his polished gems, telling them that they had the entire evening to themselves without supervision. The looks on their faces were priceless when they heard that they were celebrating the holidays and that Ego wasn’t a “stuck up prick” for once.
Ego shocked Igaguri with the electric shock for making that comment.
He was enjoying this far too much, and he knew it.
O.O.O
In one of the debriefing rooms:
“...Christmas is here, and I have given you some free time with some benefits to boot. Go party away, you unpolished gems. We shall resume training tomorrow. Consider this your reward for being the best of the best.” Ego said in the telescreen, his long neck pointing straight up to evoke a sense of authority, trying his best to ignore the groaning from the recently-shocked Igaguri. “Try not to break anything in the process. That includes your teammates as well. Got it, Shidou?”
“Yeah, yeah. Maybe. I’m just some crazy human nut who got so far thanks to you. Got it. I won’t misbehave.” The dark-skinned man droned, helping Igaguri up to his feet.
Ego silently grunted in frustration, knowing that he hit a dead end. Shidou had always been reluctant to cooperate with authority, especially after the time he was put into the punishment room, but it devolved over time thanks to constantly being exposed to Itoshi Rin’s inferiority complex. It was only due to his short temper, pride, and sharp tongue that most people didn’t see it, but to some, it was almost as clear as day.
Oh well. Time to use some cheap shots.
“If that’s the case, I’ll bring in Sae if you misbehave.”
The reaction was instant in the form of a girlish squeal and Shidou jumping into the legs of the person nearest to him, who happened to be Igaguri. He soon was shaking uncontrollably.
“Sae?! Where?! Where is he?! Don’t let him find me! There are safer, faster, and more humane ways to die than him! Like acid! Or cancer!”
It took about a minute for Shidou to calm down. During that time, Ego went over the Dos and Don’ts of partying, reminding every Striker to watch their food intake or he would remind them again why Blue Lock was modelled after a maximum-security prison via an invitation to the punishment room.
“Let’s just deal with this the easy way. I ordered some Elf-suits for all of you to celebrate Christmas in. You should already have an idea on how to pass the time, so just fuck off and be done with it already. Try not to fuck up each other while you’re at it this time.”
And with that, the Jinpachi Ego disappeared from the screen with a “ Please stand by ” panel covering it.
For the next few awkward seconds, the room was quiet except for the droning of the ceiling lights. Nobody moved a single muscle and everyone was unsure of what to do…
“FUCK THIS SHIT, YOU HEARD THE MAN! LET’S FUCKING PARTYYYY!!!!” Igaguri yelled and pumped his fists in the air, which prompted almost everyone else in the room to cheer in as well.
“HELL YEAH!” Nagi cheered along loudly, to the surprise of everyone. They all looked at him with wide eyes in disbelief as he usually wasn’t this loud.
He turned towards Reo with bright excitement, who had a slightly shy and uncomfortable blank face as he saw Nagi put on an ecstatic smile for what seemed to be the first time in his life. “Reo! It’s Christmas! That means we have delicious food! To the cafeteria!” Nagi shook Reo’s shoulder excitedly, his eyes practically gleamed with stars.
“Er… sure…” Reo unconsciously answered, his mind trying to sort out what just happened. After all, seeing Nagi behave like this was like witnessing Japan being nuked for the third time. He was still trying to think properly while Nagi literally dragged him to the cafeteria by the arm like a parent would do to their infant kid.
“Uhm… Ego-san said he ordered Christmas-elf costumes for us, but… where are they?” Isagi asked, looking around the room for anything that resembled said elf costume. “They should be in this room, right?”
As if on cue, 3 pillars rose from the middle of the room, each pillar holding a giant cardboard box that was labelled A, B, and C.
“Well, that answers your question.” Chigiri sweatdropped, along with everyone else in the room. “I’m gonna check them out. It seems that they are all sorted out by the team letters that the top 6 took command of.”
“Hey, the hats are pretty cute!” Bachira exclaimed. He put the Christmas-Elf hat on his head and smiled brightly at Isagi. “How do ya think, Isagi~?”
Isagi chuckled at his friend’s bright smile. Rivalry or not, it was soothing to have fun moments with his best friend in Blue Lock like this. “Ha! Bachira, you look like a gremlin!!” He laughed, making Bachira blush and look away with a playful pout.
“Wait a minute… these stockings look pretty damn long… and are the tops supposed to have short skirts?” Kunigami asked with a frown while holding up the other parts of his costumes.
“Now that you think of it… the suit is tighter than usual…” Chigiri said, his body already dressed in the green and red costume. The inner part of the suit was green and had a wide but short skirt that had a length span that stopped halfway above his thighs. And covering all that was…
“...Is that an apron I’m wearing right now?”
The room was silent for a good 10 seconds.
Like previously, Igaguri broke the silence. “EGO, YOU FUCKING SHITHEAD!!! I THOUGHT YOU ORDERED ELF COSTUMES, NOT MAID ELF COSTUMES !!! DO YOU REALLY HAVE A THING FOR EMBARRASSING US??”
“Hey, don’t ask me,” Ego’s voice blared through the room again, though the television screen still displayed the ‘please stand by’. “I told Anri to order elf costumes, not elf maid costumes. So if anything, it’s her fault to begin with. But still, seeing you squirm with feminine wardrobe is amusing, so carry on.”
“Well, I guess I won’t be wearing this for today, then…” Shidou deadpanned, “And I was so hyped to be a Christmas elf, too. I’m not really fond of being a Christmas Maid Elf…”
“Oh hey, Itoshi Sae! How nice of you to join us!”
The next few seconds were filled with Shidou jumping instantaneously to the nearest door, seemingly losing all his IQ by screaming for his life while pounding and clawing at the door to open.
It should be said that the “open door” button was directly beside the door in big golden letters, yet Shidou apparently lost all his brain functions to recognize said button that opened the door.
“I’LL WEAR IT! I’LL WEAR IT! JUST DON’T BRING HIM NEAR MEEEE!!”
While Shidou had another mental breakdown, Nagi was busy feeding Reo some chocolate candy in the cafeteria. They paid no attention to the chaos in the background and enjoyed themselves in their own little world.
O.O.O
Meanwhile, In the control room:
The door behind Ego opened slowly, the clicks of high heels echoed throughout the room.
“Is something wrong, Ego-san?” A feminine voice began, a slight tone of uncertainty in it.
“Oh, nothing, Anri. I was simply cackling at Shidou’s convenient suffering. Why, is there something wrong with that?” Ego asked, his back facing the voice behind him.
“Usually, I would say yes. But considering that you’re the director, I’d rather not mention it.”
“Smart choice.”
The control room was silent again.
Ego turned around to face his favorite secretary. “Anri, why are you here?”
“E-Er… Have you seen my diary?”
“Is it the one with the light-red cover and hand-drawn flowers?”
“Actually— yes I— wait what— you— how did you know that?”
“I’ve seen you write in it all the time. And you keep leaving it in my office.”
“Ego-san!” Anri’s face turned crimson.
Ego chuckled humorlessly. “Relax, Anri. I haven’t seen much.”
That was a Fucking lie. With a capital F to boot. He’d seen what she wrote, and he would exploit that information like blackmail to the maximum.
Or, at the very least, use the information to raise his confidence to ask Anri out.
“Anyway,” Ego stood up and stretched his long skinny body out, cracking his bones while he moved like an animated skeleton. “Now that Blue Lock is busy for the afternoon…”
He looked at Anri dead in the eye. “Why don’t we go out for dinner tonight?”
Yep. Reading her diary was the correct decision.
O.O.O
Back with the crew:
“Shidou, for fuck’s sake! Stop freaking out! Sae’s not even here!”
“Shit! He’s destabilizing! Quick, Igaguri, give him CPR!”
“WHY SHOULD I BE THE ONE TO DO IT?!”
“Because he actually thinks you’re a good friend!”
“NO HE FUCKING DOESN’T!! HAVE YOU SEEN THE TIMES WHEN HE ALMOST CRACKED OPEN MY HEAD LIKE A NUT??”
Eventually, Shidou was brought back to the realm of the living and was praising Igaguri for “saving him from the monstrosity”, and Igaguri ruined the moment by headpatting Shidou, which sparked back his violent personality.
The chaos ensued again with Shidou attempting to violently break apart Igaguri (“MY ARM’S NOT SUPPOSED TO BEND LIKE THAT!”) (“I KNOW! THAT’S WHY I’M BENDING IT!!”). Rin somehow made the situation worse by trying to stop Shidou, which soon turned into another 1v1 duel between them. Otoya Eita then became engrossed with the action and started commentating the fight, which resulted in more people trying to break the fighters off to stop the fight from escalating. Unfortunately, this didn’t work when both offenders lashed out and created more chaos. It soon turned into a full-on brawl with multiple strikers being tossed around like a pile of snakes huddling together to create heat in Winter.
On the sidelines, Barou scowled. He, unlike the others, stood away and watched the event unfold with almost no interest.
“Tch. That settles it. I’m getting some food.”
“Barou!! You get over here!! I’ve got enough sweets for the entire team!! Ego really did give us unlimited food!! Come on, I’ll feed you too!! Just look how happy Reo is!!” Nagi waved, his other hand forcing a sweet in Reo’s mouth.
Indeed. Reo was currently on cloud 9, thanks to Nagi spoon-feeding him multiple little Japanese chocolate snacks. But it wasn’t the sweets that Reo was enjoying — rather, it was Nagi’s (oblivious) affection for Reo that made him blush and melt in a smile that would rival a “slime bunny” in terms of adorability.
In other words, Reo overdosed on cuteness.
“FUCK! NOT YOU! I DON’T EVEN EAT SWEETS THAT MUCH, NAGI! AREN’T YOU OCCUPIED WITH REO?! PAY ATTENTION TO HIM INSTEAD!”
“I don’t care! Just come here! We can have all the food for ourselves!”
“LEAVE ME ALONE!”
“What the hell is Ego doing?” Isagi seethed through his teeth, trying his best to hold back Shidou. The keyword was that he was trying, and not succeeding. “Normally, he would put a stop to this, but of all the times to get lazy he picks NOW a good time to slack off?”
“SHUT THE FUCK UP AND GET SHIDOU OFF ME!!”
“WE’RE FUCKING TRYING!!” Chigiri’s voice bellowed through the dogpile as he, too, attempted to hold Shidou back with no success. “SHUT THE FUCK UP AND LET ME FOCUS!!”
Truly, it was a Christmas Miracle that nobody had died yet.
O.O.O
Meanwhile, with Ego:
“Are you sure Blue Lock will be fine without supervision? Shidou still remains a wildcard for the boys...”
“Hm, they can handle themselves. Anyway, let’s go out for Kobe Beef steak. I’ve got the money and I heard whatever they have beats the cup noodles from the convenience store.”
There was a brief silence in the car.
“That was a joke.” Ego deadpanned, and the car resumed in awkward silence for a few minutes.
“...How in the hell did I fall for this man?” Anri unconsciously whispered, unaware that she said that out loud.
“Hm?” Ego glanced at her with a raised eyebrow.
Anri squeaked and, in a very quick succession, looked away in embarassment. “I-U-Uh, nothing!”
“...okay, then.”
The car started and rolled out from Blue Lock’s private garage. Soon, it was cruising rather comfortably down the mountain highway towards the downtown section of Tokyo.
‘AAHHkkkgkkghhkkk!!! Why??!!! Ego wasn’t this frustrating before!! I like Ego, yeah, but today he’s even more infuriating!! My luck is so full of shit!! Sure, I said that out loud, but I swear, that man always finds a way to get on my damn nerves!!’ Anri comically wept in her mind, cursing at her misfortune with the man beside her.
Unknown to her, Ego genuinely smiled at Anri’s reaction. Unlike most of his smiles, which were more like evil grins than anything, this particular smile was one riddled with an emotion that nobody else at Blue Lock had ever seen on him — Infatuation.
“Mind if I turn on the radio?” He asked out suddenly, already reaching for the car’s console to turn on the music.
“Hm? Uh, okay!”
As the music began to play and as Ego took the car onto the main highways that entered the city, Anri couldn’t help but blush and think about Ego’s behavior as of late. ‘Ego-san… is really friendly today. He’s treated me to dinner, alone at that, and he’s more willing to crack a joke than ever. Is he taking me on a date? NO! STOP! BAD ANRI! GET THOSE IMPURE THOUGHTS OUT OF YOUR HEAD! EGO-SAN WOULD NEVER DO THAT!!’
She was so lost in her thoughts that she didn’t notice the faint blush on her driver’s cheeks.
A long time passed and the gleaming Christmas lights of Tokyo cast down a blanket of pretty lights on their car as they entered the metropolis, creating a romantic atmosphere as Ego drove them through the wide, beautiful streets.
“It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas…”
O.O.O
With Isagi:
Other than that time they won against the previous U20, Isagi admitted he was having the best time of his life in Blue Lock.
After the earlier fiasco was resolved, Ego disappeared somehow and let the entire cast do whatever they wanted for the rest of the afternoon. Almost no one wore the Christmas Maid Elf dress, except for eager volunteers like Bachira and Aryu, who did it for fun and style, respectively. Most went to the cafeteria to indulge in whatever exquisite food was given out during the event. Some went to the disco room, where they had a huge karaoke party with smiles and contagious laughter. What was most surprising of all was that Rin had a surprisingly feminine singing voice, so naturally, it was hilarious and terrifying to hear Rin sing the Japanese version of All I Want For Christmas Is You in perfect tone and everything.
There were gaming and reading lounges as well, though ironically no one touched the FIFA games — instead, there were huge commotions over the Dance Dance Revolution machines. Everyone was excited to test their skills and each participant set the stage on fire with their footwork.
(un)Surprisingly, Bachira scored the highest out of everyone. His legs were bouncing so fast that he made a full perfect combo on the most difficult song.
That said, the Strikers were completely covered in their own sweat after trying the DDR machines and began to stink up a small storm, but they were too busy having a good time to care.
Until all the body heat emitted in the arcade rooms were too hot to bear and the strikers had to evacuate before anyone got a heat stroke. After everyone washed up in the public baths, dinner time came rolling in and everyone headed to the cafeteria for a grand feast in celebration of Christmas.
And a grand feast it was. Meat, Poultry, Bread, Diary, Vegetables, Deli, Stew, Fruits, Rice, Dim Sum, Noodles, Hot Pot, Dumplings — everything that would be served on a typical American July 4th BBQ and a Chinese New Year dinner was brought to the table and served on a grand display via buffet-style. Everyone knew that it was Ego who hired chefs to prepare the meal, and though they still thought he was an ‘egotistical’ prick at times, they made note to thank him greatly the next day.
The strikers laughed, ate, and glorified the day known as “Christmas in Blue Lock”. In all retrospect, Isagi had never seen all the strikers be so at peace with one another. Not a single sight of hostility other than that little incident when Shidou went berserk.
It was as if... it were a true Christmas Miracle.
“Holy shit! Look at Nagi go!”
The (loud) voice of Igaguri grabbed his attention as Isagi turned his head to see… Nagi downing mug after mug of eggnog like his life was dependent on it.
“CHUG! CHUG! CHUG! CHUG!” The spectators chanted while laughing their asses off. Their volume increased as more strikers joined in until everyone in the room was cheering Nagi on.
Well, except for Reo, Nagi, and Rin. Reo was drooling over Nagi’s gulping abilities, impure thoughts running through his mind every time he finished a mug. Nagi was busy downing the eggnog, Rin stood away from the crowd like he usually would, and Isagi just sweatdropped with a nervous smile on his face.
Oh yeah, and Bachira walked over to Isagi. He seemed to notice his friend staying rather quiet during the banquet and decided to bring him into the excitement.
“They seem to be having fun.” Bachira chuckled in his Christmas Elf-Maid costume, albeit a bit woozy, to Isagi as they watched the crowd laugh at Nagi downing the 7th cup of eggnog.
“LET’S GOOOO!!!” Nagi’s bellow was heard across the cafeteria as he finished his drink, slamming the mug onto the table.
The cheers and laughs that came afterward were even louder.
“No shit.” Isagi smirked before finishing the last piece of meat on his plate. “Man… to think Blue Lock would allow us this… It’s really like a dream, huh?”
“Yup!” Bachira grinned casually, lightly jumping up and down so his yellow-tipped hair bounced wildly. “Let’s go with them, Isagi!”
“Yeah, Bachira, I know. Help me up?”
Bachira grinned even more and held out his hand, and Isagi took it with a smile. With a small grunt, Isagi pulled himself up and they walked to where Nagi and the other Strikers were.
...Except for Rin. He stayed in a nearby corner, brooding his life away while eating avocados.
Nobody cared about Rin at parties.
O.O.O
Meanwhile, with Ego:
Their lips separated; dripping between them was a thin line of saliva, a clear sign that tongue was used in the kiss.
Ego breathed out slowly. His breath formed into mist in the crisp chilly night of Tokyo. Across from him was Anri, her face as crimson as his and eyes sparkling as bright as the Christmas lights in the park they were in.
The kiss took half of the credit for her blush. Ego in a crisp suit & tie, taking off his glasses, and confessing his feelings took credit for the other half.
“Merry Christmas, Anri.” Ego smirked, before entrapping her in another kiss.
This time, the kiss took all the credit.
O.O.O
Later that night:
Even after decades, the remaining strikers would revel about “the Christmas spent in Blue Lock'' and the partying they all had.
It was perhaps the most active evening ever in the facility. Everyone ate at least three plates full of heavy food before moving to one of the lounges, where they watched movies and played cards for hours on end.
It should be said that due to all the heavy food consumed in such a short time, everyone got food fatigue and felt their spirits dull over time. Combined that with an unhealthy amount of eggnog and the Strikers were practically intoxicated drunks.
Combined that with a huge Christmas Party with no supervision would be extremely disastrous. Undoubtedly, it was going to serve as Ego’s blackmail material in the future, but that was a story for another time.
That said, the practically-drunk Strikers had the brilliant idea to play a reverse version of Strip Poker — instead of stripping down, the losers would wear the maid elf costumes piece by piece.
Barou, intoxicated via food fatigue, was the first to lose Strip Poker completely and dressed up in the elf maid costume. Many strikers laughed and made fun of his appearance, but they soon shut up with a loud food-drunk bellow from Barou.
After that, more and more strikers began to dress up. Ikki Nikko with his forehead-covering hair gave the appearance of a shy schoolgirl. Otoya and Karasu posed like famous idols. Yukimiya tied his hair in a ponytail to look more like one of his favorite idols, which everyone thought was more than hilarious. Aryu… was still Aryu. Gagamaru brought more laughs in the lounge by imitating a frog in his suit. Bachira wore a set of cat ears (nobody knew where that came from) and made everyone laugh harder by imitating meows and purrs. Nagi in an elf-maid suit apparently had the ability to make Reo faint at first sight, or so he thought, but everyone else in the room knew it was him all along. Rin and Shidou also dressed up, though that was done because they took a bet while drunk on food to see who looked better in the elf costume.
Spoiler for the Rin and Shidou contest — it was a tie.
When Chigiri and Hiori dressed up, the entire room gasped in shock at how feminine the duo looked in a maid suit. It was as if the costumes were perfectly maid for them — every strap of clothing easily matched their appearances. (Yes, I made another pun. Sue me.)
The effect was so powerful that many Strikers in the room almost forgot that the gravure idols in front of them were boys.
Oddly enough, that wasn’t the weirdest event. By the end of the entire thing, only Igaguri wasn’t wearing the maid elf costume.
In other words, everyone in the room lost to Igaguri in poker.
Remember that the main reason why everyone played reverse-strip-poker in the first place was because they were completely food drunk from the buffet. That, and they drank multiple mugs of eggnog.
Finally, the party began to slow down. Everyone dressed up as an elf-maid (Igaguri was forced by Shidou’s hand to dress up afterwards) and were tired from the karaoke, the games, the partying, the hilarious reverse-strip poker, and the food. Especially the food. It was only a matter of time before the striker had their fill of exhaustion.
Soon enough, the wooziness began to settle in. Some people headed back to their cabins after 11:00pm. Some went to the baths to freshen up, and some straight up collapsed right then and there in the lounge.
And some, well...
“Mmmrmmm… nooo!~” Bachira moaned while laying on the ground in his cat ears and elf-maid suit, clearly sleepy, tired, and still food-drunk from the recent celebration. “I… shtill… wanna… party…!”
...some like Bachira were too food-drunk to return to their dorms.
“Ughhh, c’mon Bachira… I think we’re... clocked for the night.” Isagi grunted before grabbing one of his shoulders and lifting him up. “We gotta... walk our way back.”
“Isagi… c-cu-cute-....meanie~!” Bachira drunkenly smiled and put his head on Isagi’s shoulder, only to lose balance in his footing. “Whoops~! I didn’t... see nya there~!” He droned on, his face planted into the floor.
“Alright Bachira… c’mon-!” Isagi grunted and lifted him up again. “Let’s... get some eggnog... in the cafeteria… uh, where are we?”
Isagi, apparently, was also food drunk — as a result, his spatial awareness was non-existent at the moment.
With great difficulty, they SOMEHOW stumbled into the empty cafeteria without collapsing and/or falling unconscious under the effect of food fatigue. Picking out the table closest to the serving machines, Isagi set Bachira down on the top of the table before grabbing two mugs of eggnog.
“Alright… one for you… and one for me…” Isagi tiredly sighed and wobbly set the mugs down next to Bachira before sitting next to him. Without even looking, Isagi took a giant gulp of the thick beverage.
“Isagi… feed… me… nyaa~...” Bachira said, his face planted flat on the table.
Chuckling, Isagi smiled and lifted Bachira’s chin with his hands and poured the thick liquid into his wide open mouth.
However, because Isagi was food-drunk, his aim was off and the eggnog dripped onto Bachira’s cheek. To make it even worse, Isagi panicked and tried to pull back, only to jerk the mug so even more eggnog covered Bachira’s chin.
“Shit-! Bachira, I’m sorry!” Isagi grimaced, already grabbing a spare tissue to wipe Bachira’s face. “Wait, let me just wipe the eggnog… off…”
Only for him to pause at Bachira licking at his glistening fingers.
“mMmm…” Bachira moaned out in a drunk and slightly-euphoric daze while savouring the sweet taste of eggnog and not caring about his appearance. “So… sweet…”
“Wha… Bachira?”
“Moooorrrrreeeee…” Bachira moaned as he began to gently claw on Isagi’s chest like a cat on the nip.
At that point, it should be noted that Eggnog was also listed as a “heavy food” that brought food fatigue if consumed a certain amount at a certain time. Since Bachira was already half-asleep due to the party and all the food he ate, the eggnog finally pushed his instincts to take over his body.
Said instincts included snuggling with Isagi.
“Hug.” Bachira mumbled as he wound his arms around Isagi, not caring that he was smearing him with eggnog.
“Aww, Bachira…” Isagi, still fatigued from the party, freed his arms and patted the semiconscious boy snuggling against him. “Let’s get outta here… you’re making things awkward…”
“Nooooo.” The catboy wept as he buried his face deeper into Isagi’s chest. “Isagiiiiii. I wanna snuuuuggggllleeeee.”
It was at that moment that Isagi realized why he felt butterflies in his stomach. Bachira was never like this around others. But to Isagi, the former found relaxation and tranquility whenever he was around. The amount of affection shown was just too great to be classified as “just friends”.
In other words, Bachira liked him. Not like him as a friend, but liked liked him. And apparently, Isagi felt the same for him as well…
Smiling with all his heart, Isagi cupped his hands around the catboy’s chin and squeezed his eggnog-covered cheeks, marveling his round, innocent face…
Isagi was enjoying himself so much that he didn’t notice in time that Bachira leaned up from his chest and was now staring at him directly.
For a very brief second, everything stood still. Isagi sat upright and Bachira was kneeling towards him like a cat. They stared into each others’ eyes for a second…
And then Bachira leaned forward and kissed him.
The kiss ended as fast as it came, but Isagi’s mind froze, so it felt as if hours had passed.
“Bachira-”
Before Isagi could break away and say something, Bachira pressed him onto his back, pinning him to the table.
“Isagi…” Bachira whispered lightly as he pressed on Isagi’s shoulders, before he brought his head down and kissed him again.
As if it flicked a switch in Isagi’s brain, the kiss was enough to shock Isagi out of his food fatigue and realize the situation he was in.
‘Bachira is… kissing me…’ He slowly thought, suddenly feeling the butterflies bouncing much more frantically in his stomach. In that moment, he thought about his feelings for the boy on top of him once more, slightly confused on what to do next.
He thought about the first time they met in Blue Lock and how they immediately hit it off after Isagi became more comfortable with the facility. Bachira was clinging onto him the entire time for some reason, as if he was seeking attention. But why?
‘Because I sensed a m̵̧̛͕̖̝͔͍̟̝͍͇̉̃̉͌͆̊̚͘ơ̷̧̢̦̟̹͉͚͉͇͓̱̑̽̎͋̇͆̌̿n̴̢̈́̄͛̇̕s̴̗͎̘͍͙̟̺̳͎̭̩̝̱͌̈́͑͑̀̈́̑̊́̎̈́̇́͘͜t̷̨̰̳͎̼͇͚̮͓̒̀̾̉͘͜͜ę̸̘̬̪̭̫̼̱̳͕̹̓̆̏́̍͜͝ͅř̵͍͈̮̭̭̗̪̯̘͇̮̦̟̬͒̈͌́̽͗̇̈͊̿͛͂̚̕͜ friend in you.’
‘Let’s play with each other, Isagi!’
Isagi’s eyes widened in realization. His best friend acted clingy not because he was lonely and desperate for a friend, no, but because he was in love with him.
Isagi then thought about their 3v3 loss against Rin. When Bachira was taken away, Isagi had felt a piece of his soul wither and die with him gone. When he challenged Rin yet again in the 4v4 match and saw Bachira standing alone in the hallway, he felt eager to win, but there was something else that held him back a little. Something like a small bump in the stomach whenever he met Bachira’s gaze, but he brushed it off to concentrate on the match. When he was picked by Rin, Isagi felt frustrated that he lost the game again, but there was also relief when he stood close to Bachira.
And it was then that Isagi met a realization and mentally slapped himself for not realizing it sooner — he was in love with Bachira! All those times he felt butterflies in his stomach were himself growing more affectionate for the Striker, and it was no longer a matter of friendship — it was pure, untrifled love.
Isagi slowly put his arms around Bachira’s shoulders and returned the kiss out of instinct, moving his hands up and down to ruffle his partner’s hair and feel the smooth skin on the back of his neck.
As soon as Bachira felt Isagi’s hands press on his back, he softened his grip on Isagi’s shoulders and let the kiss take hold. A moment later, Isagi relaxed his hold from Bachira and broke out of the kiss and stared into Bachira’s wide eyes. Likewise, Bachira stared back; his fluffy hair dropping down from his head, gently caressing Isagi’s face like a mother’s silk touch.
“Bachira-!” Isagi gasped in half-surprise, the other half being ecstatic elation. ‘My… first kiss…’
“Isagi…” Bachira happily breathed out, but suddenly, the dark-blue haired boy beneath him pulled them into a tight hug, catching him by surprise.
“Eh?” Out of all the moves, Bachira certainly didn’t expect this change of events.
“Bachira…” Isagi droned with a huge blush creeping on his neck. He could feel their abs and chests pressing on each other through the costumes and bodysuits, but instead of pulling away in embarrassment like he would usually do, Isagi further tightened his hold on Bachira. The reason was because Isagi knew this was the time to confess his true feelings; there would be no more opportunities after this.
“Isagi… you…?”
“Bachira…” Isagi said, his cheeks burning crimson red, “Is this what you feel about me?”
Bachira sucked in a deep breath, knowing that it was now or never. “Y-yeah. Isagi… I like you. I liked you when we first met.”
“Was that when you realized I had a ‘monster’ inside me?” Isagi asked softly. “I remember you saying something like that.”
“I… yeah.” Bachira blushed, looking away.
“Well, you know…” Isagi said, rubbing the side of his face on Bachira’s cheeks. “I… like you too. I’m lucky to have met you… no, I’m lucky to be by your side.”
Bachira sucked in a breath at Isagi’s words. “R-really? You mean it?”
‘Bachira… you loved me from the start, didn’t you?’ Isagi thought with a smile. Strengthening his resolve, he leaned into Bachira’s ear and whispered, “I’ll run with you to the World Cup. All the way. I’ll never leave you.”
Though he couldn’t see Bachira’s face, Isagi felt Bachira’s heart skip a beat.
“Promise?” The boy asked with hopeful, gleaming eyes. Though Isagi couldn’t see it, he could practically feel Bachira put his entire soul into his words.
“Did I ever go back on my word on you?” Isagi whispered before he pecked Bachira on the cheek.
“Isagi…” Bachira blissfully sighed before turning his head and met his lips with Isagi.
It was fortunate that the other strikers weren’t in the cafeteria, otherwise they would have heard the smacking of lips coming suspiciously from a certain cafeteria table.
Isagi held Bachira by the head and back while Bachira had his hands resting on Isagi’s shoulders. Because they were still tired and dead-beat from the party, their passionate kisses were, for the most part, sloppy. Whenever Isagi and Bachira locked lips, some saliva drooled out and dripped on their chins. But they didn’t care about their hygiene that much — the only thing they could see, hear, taste, smell, and touch was each other.
Bachira then completely relaxed his body and let it fall, once again pinning Isagi to the table. But while he was on top, Isagi was in control. He had him pulled tight against each other and was gently using his lips to passionately massage Bachira’s mouth.
‘Bachira tastes like eggnog…’ Isagi thought out in his cloudy mind, before pressing further into the kiss; his tongue shot straight into Bachira’s open mouth.
Bachira sharply breathed through his nose as he felt Isagi take over his mouth with his tongue. In response, the yellow-tipped-hair boy sent his tongue into his favourite person’s mouth as well, engaging in a dance of kisses.
It wasn’t until after a few minutes of sloppy tongue-on-tongue lip-locking that Isagi realized something odd about Bachira’s behavior. As if the boy was waiting for something.
As if Bachira was waiting for a take-over.
‘Bachira… the truth is, you want more of… me , don’t you?’
Quickly gathering strength in his cores, Isagi rose up from his lying position along with Bachira, who was laying on his chest, to a position where Bachira was sitting on Isagi’s lap.
Smoother than a snake striding in the sand, Isagi with all his strength lifted Bachira while french-kissing and put him on the surface of the table. With small movements, Isagi carefully put his hand on Bachira’s chest…
‘If that’s what you want… then…’
“Mmhg-”
Isagi slowly but surely pressed onto Bachira’s chest and pushed down; and now their initial positions were switched — Bachira lying on his back with Isagi on top. Surprised, Bachira slightly squealed at the sudden movement, but his body gave away to Isagi’s surprising strength.
‘Then I…’ Isagi then crawled on top of Bachira, pressing their lips together and started the dancing of kissing again, but this time with more control, desire, and intensity as Isagi increased his grip.
‘ Then I will devour you!’ Isagi then felt a sudden surge of energy flowing through him, which restored some of his strength and cleared some of his fatigue.
“Mmgh-?!”
Bachira gave out a squeal of surprise as Isagi suddenly pinned him down and gained the upper hand of him, stunning his movements for a brief period.
“Isag-”
Whatever Bachira intended to say was quickly muffled as Isagi made a very impressive attempt at fusing their lips together.
His hands were all over Bachira’s chest, caressing his muscles under his tight Christmas Elf-maid costume, feeling him everywhere, and forcing him down to ensure he didn’t escape. Or… at least escape successfully.
Bachira, caught up in surprise, tried to match the rhythm with Isagi so it wasn’t too one-sided, but Isagi burst forward with explosive speed that once again took the boy by surprise.
Though unexpected, Bachira let Isagi get the better of him and relaxed, which made Isagi control their tempo and movement. Plus, his food-fatigue already screwed up his reaction time, so this was technically already for the best.
Then, Isagi suddenly stopped kissing him, pulling away and breathing heavily as if he just finished a huge workout. Bachira was confused why the boy on top of him stopped — he was enjoying it, dammit! They just confessed to each other and now Isagi’s stopped? What’s the matter with him?
And then he saw Isagi’s face. It was, for a lack of better word, fucking hot — sweat drooped down his blushing handsome face like he just took a huge shower and his skin glowed in the dim light, but it wasn’t that detail that caught Bachira’s attention. Shifting his head, Bachira focussed his vision on Isagi’s eyes — out of instinct, perhaps, because he did it unconsciously — and held in a deep breath in astonishment.
Isagi was in his flow state.
The most bullshit and overpowered powerup that made multiple strikers at Blue Lock evolve to greater heights — and Isagi entered it from kissing Bachira.
Bachira was fucked. Figuratively and almost literally.
His irises turned from blue to black — his pupils from black to a light blue glow. It was as if Isagi turned into a monster of sorts. Or at least, that’s what happened in Bachira’s imagination. But it was there. Isagi had, again, become the ‘monster’ that Bachira had always fantasized of.
“Isagi…” Bachira sighed rather contently, still intoxicated from the food and eggnog. At that point, he was so dizzy from the party that he could barely register what was happening in front of him. Apparently, making out with Isagi tended to intensify his dizziness.
Looking up, he could barely make out Isagi’s super hot sweaty face towering over him by mere inches. Sighing with satisfaction, Bachira simply relaxed and let his body fall short of strength, resulting in him being half-conscious without even realizing it.
“Bachira…” Isagi half-growled, bringing his face close to Bachira’s. He could see Bachira’s face stuck in a daze, obviously from the effects of exhaustion and food fatigue, but now his safety didn’t matter. All Isagi wanted now was the sweet taste of Bachira’s eggnog-scented saliva and his soft, tender lips.
And so, with both arms pinning Bachira down, Isagi took the initiative. He first brought his nose under Bachira’s neck, snuggling against the collarbone and enjoying his partner shivering at the sensation.
“Isagi…” Bachira moaned sleepily as he shivered, letting his flow-induced boyfriend get the better of him. A small clamping sensation on his left ear made him squeal softly, knowing that Isagi just lightly bit his ear lobe. “Isagi…!”
Isagi moved away from Bachira’s ear and brushed their lips back together again, constantly changing the tempo from fast to slow and vice versa in repeated intervals. Bachira responded back, though more gentle than ever, with a bit of tongue and flying drool to the mix.
Just like that, they continued to peck each other with sweet slow kisses, never once did their faces stay more than 15 centimeters apart. Minutes passed, and soon Bachira began to feel the food fatigue affecting his body.
‘Ah… no... I can’t even think straight anymore…’ Bachira thought as he finally felt the weightless sensation of drifting to sleep overtake him. ‘Isagi…’
Bachira soon fell into unconsciousness as his body had spent all his energy staying awake from the food fatigue. His arms that were wrapped around Isagi’s neck soon lost their grip and fell with gracious form, his breathing became more steady as he fell asleep.
Isagi continued to kiss Bachira’s unconscious lips for a full minute before realizing that his now-new boyfriend had stopped making out with him.
“Bac hira ?” Isagi shook out of his flow state, confused at Bachira’s lack of movement. He waited for a bit, before reaching up and stroking his boyfriend’s cheeks, trying to get a response.
And then Isagi noticed his loveable companion’s half-closed eyes and his slow, rhythmic breathing. It was barely audible at first, but it became more clear as time progressed.
“Oh.” Isagi sweatdropped with a small chuckle. He knew Bachira had a habit of easily falling asleep.
Suddenly, Isagi almost collapsed onto the table.
‘What the-? Oh. My body’s tiring out from going into flow . ’ Isagi thought as he felt most of his strength leave his body. Apparently, the fatigue from earlier combined with the whiplash of leaving the flow state took a huge toll on Isagi’s remaining strength.
Carefully sliding off the table, Isagi lightly (but with great effort) picked Bachira up by the shoulders and tried to support him, only to realize it would disturb his boyfriend in his sleep.
Counting his options, Isagi blushed heavily as he thought of one way to softly bring Bachira back to their dorms while conserving his strength. Isagi softly used his other hand on Bachira’s legs and lifted him up so he was carrying him like how a knight carried a princess. Bachira remained undisturbed, though he rested his head on Isagi’s arms unconsciously.
Isagi found that absolutely adorable.
Prrrrrrr.
Wait. Was Bachira… purring?
Scratch that. He just became Isagi’s most precious person in the world.
Donning a heartwarming smile and a crimson blush that would put Chigiri’s hair to shame, Isagi carried the sleeping boy back to their dorms.
Along the way, he saw Nagi and Reo sleeping soundly on a beanbag couch in the lounge, cuddling close together like a pair of kittens sharing their body heat. Though, Reo was the one doing most of the cuddling, mumbling out things like “Nagi… don’t leave me…” before snoring into Nagi’s chest.
Smiling, Isagi hoped them the best before arriving at their dorms. Silently opening the door, Isagi saw all his roommates had already passed out — some weren’t even in their bedsheets and just sprawled over their bedware, too tired to even care about sleeping positions.
Tip-toeing to Bachira’s bed, Isagi settled him under the covers before heading to his, but not before being stopped by a single tug at his maid skirt.
“Mmhh… Isagi… stay…” Bachira whispered, using up his last remaining energy to tug on Isagi’s skirt.
Isagi froze. On one hand, sleeping with Bachira would only let everyone know their relationship status by tomorrow. He didn’t want the teasing to push their bond away. On the other hand, not joining Bachira would hurt the boy, especially since they just shared their first kisses with each other.
But then again, Isagi did want to hold Bachira in his arms and feel his touch.
Turning around, Isagi gripped Bachira’s bedsheets and tucked himself in with his boyfriend, clamping around his shoulders and staring into his slightly opened eyes. He slowly brushed Bachira’s yellow-tipped hair with his left hand, letting it tickle his fingers like it was the most expensive silk in the world.
Bachira sighed softly and touched Isagi’s cheeks, stroking them. He sleepily smiled and was about to kiss his partner, but his body finally let out of strength.
“Goodnight… Isagi… I love you…” Bachira whispered one last time before drifting off to a sound sleep once again, his breath softening with each passing second.
For a while, Isagi listened to Bachira’s soft exhales and let them warm his cheeks. He thought back to their intimacy — how every touch was sensual and how soft his kisses were. He thought about Bachira’s yellow-tipped hair — its smooth touch and fragrant smell lingered in Isagi’s memory.
Isagi reached over and gently tugged the blanket over their heads, careful to avoid the sleeping Bachira. Once covered, Isagi shifted his body closer to Bachira and tucked him close to his collarbone with a warm embrace.
He snuggled on Bachira’s head, kissing his temple and snuffling his hair. As the room grew quieter, Isagi could feel Bachira’s heartbeat resonating in his body. He clutched Bachira tighter and grew cozy as they shared their body heat with each other.
They sat together cuddling, enjoying each other’s warmth. Before Isagi knew it, the drone of the air conditioners, the dim light, and the comfortable feeling of being with Bachira made his eyes heavy, and he drifted off to sleep.
When he woke, a crowd was standing over him, and a boy’s voice said, “Oh… You two are in so much trouble.”
Isagi groaned. Just from the mischievous tone alone, he recognized Igaguri's voice coming from the crowd.
"Fuck you, Igaguri." Isagi said, showing the middle finger and smiling at his misfortune.
Suddenly, Isagi clutched Bachira's sleeping face and planted a huge kiss on his lips, showing off their affection to everyone in the room.
The crowd around him roared in cheers and laughs, and they soon went out of the room, cackling and snickering to give the two some privacy.
O.O.O
The next day:
In a dimmed bedroom somewhere in the facility, two tired eyes slowly opened awake in the room.
“God damn… I think I drank too much last night.” Ego massaged his temples, groaning in pain at the small headache he received from last night’s dinner.
‘Right… The day is December 26th, 2018. The Christmas party finished last night without any problems because the alarm on my phone wasn’t set off… maybe I should give them another day off as well since I have a headache… hm-?’ Ego’s train of thought ended with a halt as he lazily realized that he wasn’t wearing any clothes.
‘That’s odd. I usually wear my pajamas to bed.’ Ego pondered, only to suddenly remember that he took Anri out to a Christmas date the evening before, where they ate an expensive dinner, had a relaxing massage session, took a walk in one of the most beautiful parks in Tokyo, and…
Ego felt blood rise up rapidly to his head as he recollected the events that occurred after the walk around the park that was illuminated with Christmas lights and decorations — There was the fated confession and kiss under the lights, then they held hands and bought some celebratory wine, Ego drove them back while Anri rested her head on his shoulders, they drank the entire bottle in the control room and laughed at Isagi turning the tables on Bachira, and then everything seemed to be rather blurry after that…
It was then that Ego noticed a small and soft pressure on his chest. Tilting his head down from the pillow, He saw Anri’s sleeping head using his skinny torso as a pillow; her hair sprawled all over his body like long red grass and her body clutched him like he was a giant teddy bear.
Ego then realized she was naked as well.
Flopping back onto the pillow with a crimson-red face, Ego contemplated whether or not he should extend Blue Lock’s vacation time for another day, just to make sure everything would run smoothly after he cleaned up the mess from the holiday.
“Mmmmghh… Ego-san…” Anri mumbled from her sleep, tickling Ego’s chest in the process.
Ego responded by gently stroking Anri’s neck and the bite mark above the nape, which made her purr unconsciously.
Scratch that. He was extending the vacation all the way up until New Year’s.
The End.