Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ness gritted his teeth as his back hit the wall, sliding down slowly until he collapsed in a heap on the floor. Shouts of exultation came from the room behind him, an auditory representation of Kaiser’s feelings, all thanks to Yoichi. As if he hadn’t seen enough already, what with the flirtatious looks Kaiser had been sending the other during practice.

“Scheiße… this isn’t how it was meant to go,” he whispered in a low tone. “Kaiser- Michael, my Michael… how can I get you back?” Flashes of past memories and fond moments came whirling back to him, stabbing him in the gut and making him bleed from the inside-out. Yoichi had no right to intrude on the sacred haven he’d built around himself and Kaiser, something that had taken him years and years and eventually secured him a place in the striker’s heart.

Or so he’d thought.

Gone were the days where they’d wake up late together, shower together, and get shouted at by Noa together. Now it was just Kaiser and Yoichi, Kaiser and Yoichi. Everything he saw online was related to that stupid clown. The ‘Kainess’ content had significantly decreased in volume and that utterly ridiculous ‘Kaisagi’ had taken over the entirety of the BLTV fanmade compilations. Everywhere he turned people were discussing their rivalry, or speculating on how they were definitely fucking in secret. Hell, that cyan-haired freak was even rumoured to have written fanfiction about them.

But what if… A smile drifted over his face as an idea began to take root in his mind. Could there be a way to get Michael back, and take Yoichi down at the same time?

***

“Fake dating,” Yoichi echoed, staring at Ness with his mouth left hanging open like a dumbass. Fucking idiot. He hoped some kind of bug would fly in there.

“Yes, Yoichi, fake dating. How many times do I have to explain it to you? Come now, you can’t be that stupid. Surely you were taught basic comprehension skills in Japan,” Ness said with a roll of the eyes.

The younger boy spluttered. “I- do you want me to help you, or not?! What the hell are you even asking me to do?”

A sigh escaped him. Seriously Kaiser, did you have to pick him?

“Let me spell it out for you. You hate Kaiser, correct?”

“Correct,” Yoichi affirmed.

“And you want him to leave you alone, correct?”

“Yes, I do…”

“So if you pretend to date me, he’ll leave you alone now that you’ve got a boyfriend, you see?”

Yoichi scratched his chin, still seemingly lost in a world of confusion. “But Ness… if you fake date me, you won’t be able to go after Kaiser.”

It was Ness’ turn to be caught off guard. “Uh- what? Where did that come from?” Did he… know?

“Well, even if you try to disguise it as a favour for me, this is something I’m doing for your sake, isn’t it? And we all know you’ve been after Kaiser since day one. How is this gonna help you get any closer to him? Seems like this deal benefits me more than you, and that makes me suspicious.”

Ah… I’ve been clocked. Might as well be honest.

“I’m going to make him jealous,” Ness declared.

Yoichi burst out into laughter, covering his mouth with one hand and doubling over. Until they locked eyes. “Oh wait, you’re serious.”

“Why wouldn’t I be?! It’s a foolproof plan.”

“O-kay, sure. Well, I don’t really care what happens with you and Kaiser as long as that German clown just leaves me alone already.”

“Fine!” Ness said, the embarrassment still hot on his face.

“Fine,” he replied calmly. “So how do you want to do this? Are we gonna make a big deal out of it and tell everyone, or just slowly amp up the affection until people notice?”

A look of horror dawned on Ness’ face, realising he’d be put right in the limelight with this plan. Dating the ace striker of Blue Lock? Oh, he was so cooked.

“Um… we’ll just be subtle with it, and build up to something bigger I guess,” he shrugged, running a hand through his messy hair and shifting his weight from foot to foot as he weighed up the outcomes. “But listen, Yoichi. Don’t tell anyone.”

The striker cocked his head, confused. “Don’t tell anyone what? That we’re dating? But that defeats the point…”

“No, you idiot!” Ness sighed, frustrated already. “That it’s fake. Everyone needs to believe us. I’m not taking any chances.”

Yoichi considered for a second, and then nodded. “Fine by me. I won’t tell anyone.”

“Okay… good. Thank you, Yoichi,” Ness said, a little awkwardly. “I’d better go back to my room now.”

The striker nodded, a gentle smile appearing on his face. “Goodnight… Alexis.”

He turned and left, walking straight out through the big double doors and disappearing as they shut behind him with a loud bang. It was a shame he never got to see Ness’ final expression, a face both half-embarrassed and half-excited, and a soft blush painting his entire face a pale pink.

The first time I’ve ever been called by name… But by that stupid Yoichi, of all people!

Sighing as well as trying and failing to rid himself of his blush, he headed in the opposite direction, towards the wing where all the German players had a room each. The talk with Yoichi had gone pretty well, all things considered. He’d half expected a straight-up refusal with multiple slurs thrown at him, but the striker’s off-pitch personality was much, much nicer than how he acted during matches. Quite a shocking contrast, actually. Maybe this fake dating thing wouldn’t be too hard, if this was how the boy was going to act instead of like the familiar, insufferable Yoichi he was used to.

He pushed open the door to his room and threw himself onto the bed. Walls and walls of posters surrounded him; posters of Kaiser from all the years he’d been playing in Bastard Munchen. The PR team had done a pretty good job with promoting him, considering how much official merch Ness had been able to accumulate over the years. His eyes landed on a handkerchief lying on the edge of the table, carefully folded into a neat little square. Ah. That’s from all the way back when Kaiser and Yoichi first met… I’d better give that back to him tomorrow. What a time that was, huh? Back when Kaiser still appreciated me.

And with that cheery thought, he turned off the lights in his room and drifted away into a world of sleep.

Chapter Text

Isagi slid out of bed, a groan leaving his mouth as he struggled to stand up. What the hell had he agreed to last night? Alexis Ness, known to be nothing more than Kaiser’s loyal midfielder, had approached him like it was nothing and asked him to fake a relationship with him for the most ludicrous reasons he’d ever heard! Sheesh, what happened to just confessing your feelings like a normal person? Still, he had agreed to do it. The pros far outweighed the cons and he couldn’t wait for Kaiser to get off his back and stop bothering him for once. Maybe this would even improve his performance as a striker, without all the constant antagonism and distractions. Yeah. Maybe this could work.

Of course, there was the minor problem of having to pretend that he was dating Ness, someone he’d never even paid attention to nor cared about, with zero dating experience under his belt. They’d agreed to subtly ‘reveal’ their relationship through their actions over the course of the next few weeks, but it wasn’t like there was any instruction manual on what to do or how to do it, and Isagi was completely clueless. 

Eh… how hard can it be? I’ll just pretend I’m actually in love with him, and everything else will come naturally… right?

After brushing his teeth and getting dressed, he headed straight down to the breakfast room. There was no point in delaying, the inevitable would have to happen at some point: meeting his new fake boyfriend. All he had to do was act amicable - smile, laugh, maybe even initiate some casual physical contact. That was more than enough to make heads turn, in Blue Lock. It was unheard of for anyone to even talk to the German players during mealtimes, so the simple act of sitting with one of them would definitely cause a stir. But how was he to do it discreetly? Walking up to Ness and plonking himself down right next to him wasn’t exactly the most subtle thing on the planet. Maybe he could make it seem like he wasn’t sitting there because of him, but because of something else…

“Isagi, ya there?” 

He blinked and Hiori’s face swam into vision, worriedly waving a hand in front of his face and trying to get his attention.

“Hiori! Uh, yeah, I was just lost in thought,” Isagi said awkwardly. Had he been spacing out for that long? Because of Alexis Ness, of all people? “C’mon, let’s go in.”

Pushing open the heavy doors, he stepped back and let Hiori go through first, taking a second to compose himself before walking into the hall and unfortunately meeting Ness’ gaze immediately. He quickly looked away and tried not to act flustered, his eyes roving around the room to find the other guys and calling them over as soon as he spotted them.

“Hey, guys! It’s cold over there, right?” he said, gesturing at the window near their end of the table. “I’m gonna sit in the warmth, wanna join?”

That was subtle, right? Damn, I’m too good at this.

Kurona and Yukimiya got up, joining Hiori who was already following after Isagi while grumbling about how he was always too sensitive to the cold. The striker slid into a seat at the other end of the table- coincidentally, the seat directly next to Ness. 

“Ah, Ness,” he said, turning to face him in what he hoped was a nonchalant manner. “Nice to see you.”

“Likewise,” Ness replied, scrutinising him as if trying to determine whether he had messed anything up yet. “Can you pass the apricot jam?”

Isagi nodded, reaching for the jam and passing it to him, even though it would’ve been much easier for Yukimiya to do it. The other three stared at Isagi and Ness with slight confusion, Kurona sporting a furrow on his brow and Hiori gazing at them intently. 

Yukimiya jabbed Kurona in the ribs. “Hey, Kurona… is it just me, or is something up with them?” he whispered.

“No, I think you’re right, right… I’ve never seen them talk this much without Kaiser being present.”

Right on cue, the doors swung open and Michael Kaiser walked in. He zeroed in on Isagi immediately, a look of delight lighting up his features.

“Oh? Yoichi? Missed me so much, you decided to wait for me in my seat!” he crowed jubilantly.

“What do you want me to do, Kaiser,” he responded, looking at him blankly. “Can’t a guy just eat his breakfast in peace anymore?”

An infuriating smile overtook Kaiser’s face. “It seems that you haven’t actually gotten your breakfast yet, though. What, were you waiting for me to feed you? How cute.”

“Wha- No!” Isagi shouted, flushing red with embarrassment. Seriously, I made this deal to get away from Kaiser, not interact with him even more!

An idea occurred to him, and he turned to Ness, smiling sweetly. “Alexis, could you share your toast with me?”

“Alexis?!” The whole table erupted, looking between the two in shock.

“...Alexis?” Kaiser said, raising his eyebrows and staring at him. “I didn’t think you were so close, Yoichi .”

There was an undercurrent of jealousy in his words, one that didn’t go undetected by the others. Before Isagi even had the chance to respond, though, Ness spoke up.

“That’s right, Kaiser. We’re close. You have a problem with that or something?”

Yikes. It’s not like I really know anything about their relationship, but even so… that was kinda harsh. Ness is playing this role like his life depends on it, huh?

The others in the room began to drift closer to where Isagi, Ness, and Kaiser were standing, desperate to see what was causing the commotion. Kunigami and Igaguri made their way over, joined by some of the German players too.

“Did you see that? He called him Alexis!” Igaguri hissed into Yukimiya’s ear. “And why is Ness acting like that to Kaiser? He finally got fed up with him or what?”

Isagi overheard, of course. None of his friends were very subtle. It’s honestly just a name… he’s been calling me Yoichi all along, after all. They’re overreacting.

Kaiser laughed; a short, sharp laugh. “Why would I have a problem with that?”

That was all he said before giving Ness a quizzical yet bored look and stalking off, taking a seat next to Gesner for a change. Well… wait, this was great! Now Isagi could continue his plan to be friendly with Ness without his constant comments.

There was the problem of practically half the room still left crowding around his table, though.

“Guys,” Isagi sighed. “Why is everyone making this into a big deal? Sit back down, there’s nothing that interesting going on for you to be missing your breakfast over this.”

His friends were still looking a bit startled, but they murmured their assent and went back to their previous seats, leaving him with just Kurona, Hiori, and Yukimiya - and of course, Ness.

A hand pulled at his sleeve, pulling his attention away again. “Yoichi… you can have my toast.”

Ness was offering him his breakfast? For real? He had been joking when he said that before, though… But eh, why would I turn down perfectly good food?

“Thanks, Alexis,” he grinned, taking the piece of bread and biting into it, letting the sweet flavour of the apricot jam flood his tastebuds.

“Alexis…” Yukimiya repeated, still unable to let it go for some reason. “I don’t get it, but whatever.”

Hiori and Kurona had resigned looks on their faces too, making it clear that they still didn’t get it but were willing to shut up for Isagi’s sake. Well, this is probably the best reaction I'm gonna get. It is pretty weird, after all...

Honestly, Isagi was beginning to regret agreeing to this. What was in it for him again?

Chapter Text

It was weird, not seeing Ness every single second of the day. Prior to this, he couldn’t stop following him around, even going as far as to invite himself into his room after dinner, even when all Kaiser wanted to do was sleep. But somehow Ness always had a way of getting what he wanted.

But now, things were different.

These days, Ness couldn’t seem to keep himself away from Yoichi. Whenever he wasn’t alone, he was with the striker. No more nights spent hanging out in Kaiser’s room, or staying behind after practice together. It was just Yoichi, Yoichi, Yoichi.

It had been a fortnight since he’d sat apart from Ness for the first time at breakfast, and the younger boy didn’t even seem to care. He couldn’t help but find it odd, the way the midfielder had completely detached from him and was no longer reliant on him or his company. Well, it’s not like Kaiser cared. Ness had just been a puppet to him, not anything ridiculous like a friend.

His alarm went off and he swung his kit bag over his shoulder, heading to the practice room. Ness, Yoichi… None of these people mattered. His training was the only thing he needed to focus on; the desire to become stronger being the only thing occupying his mind, without these meaningless distractions.

The door slid open and he slipped through, making sure there was no one there already. Normally he wouldn’t care, but with all the tension between him and Ness recently, it was best to keep his distance. Luckily, the only people inside were from the other stratum. 

Huh? Don’t they have their own practice field?

Now that he looked closer… it was that purple-bun kid and the lazy white-haired kid. Making out, no less. It wasn’t any surprise that the Manshine players had told them to go somewhere else, although this made it pretty awkward if he wanted to try to get in some practice today.

Kaiser cleared his throat. The one with the purple bun looked up, not a trace of panic or surprise in his eyes. It was clear they were used to people walking in on them.

“Reo… don’t want to move…” the other boy said, groaning as he was pulled to his feet.

“Come on, my treasure,” Reo said fondly, patting his head and pulling him along. As they passed him, Reo stopped, frowning. “You’re Kaiser, aren’t you?”

Great. He internally rolled his eyes. Yet another of Yoichi’s minions following me around, refusing to leave me alone.

“Yes,” he said shortly. “What of it?”

“I’ve heard about you,” he said, looking him up and down. “And how you keep… bothering Isagi.”

Oh, so it was about Yoichi. Yet again.

“Okay?” Kaiser said, raising his eyebrows. “Does he really require you as a spokesperson? Ah wait, I know what it is.” He grinned. “He’s too shy to come to me himself? How cute.”

Reo bristled, looking like he was suppressing the urge to slap him or something. “Can’t you just leave him alone? Go back to that loyal dog of yours, why don’t you?”

Ouch. That kind of hurt, considering the fact that he couldn’t do that, even if he wanted to. His place at Ness’ side - or, wait, Ness’ place at his side, obviously - had been taken from him.

“Well, he seems to be pretty wrapped up in Yoichi these days, I’d prefer not to intrude,” he snapped, trying and failing to keep the bitterness out of his voice.

Reo turned to the white-haired boy with a look of confusion, but Kaiser had had enough. Storming past the two of them, he grabbed the closest football and threw it into the middle of the pitch, running up to it and executing a flawless kick, the Kaiser Impact at its best - the ball sent curving through the air on a beautiful trajectory, bending the wind to his will as soon as his foot made contact with the ball, a satisfying smack echoing through the room and the ball eventually piercing the top right of the net and landing in the goal.

He gritted his teeth, eyes fixed on the ground beneath his feet, and when he turned around the room was empty, leaving him alone once again.

There was no time to be emotional. Kaiser came here to practice, and that was what he was going to do. Tipping the basket of footballs over, he let them spread across the field and then shot them into the goal one by one, breathing harshly through his nose.

Vicious, violent thoughts were tearing through his mind. What he was currently experiencing - these feelings were unfamiliar, uncharted territory. It terrified him. Why should he care what Alexis, what Ness , was doing? It shouldn’t change a thing. Yes, Ness was his midfielder, but as long as his loyalties didn’t sway, this new relationship with Yoichi was none of his concern.

But— being told the simplest of phrases, to return to his ‘dog’, was fucking with his mind. His place with Ness was gone. There was nowhere he belonged now, except from the pitch. The one home he could always return to. It was clear that no one else had ever wanted to accommodate him, and the midfielder had joined the list of those people.

What Ness wanted, Ness got. And clearly he wanted Yoichi. Kaiser wasn’t stupid. He didn’t really want to know what the hell was going on between the two, but he couldn’t help but notice that… their relationship seemed more than platonic. Well, that was great for them. Yoichi was already closer to Ness than Kaiser had ever been, and that was fine.

Touching his neck, he realised it was covered in sweat. He’d been booting footballs into the goal for a good hour or two, so it wasn’t unexpected. Well… I guess I’ll take a shower and go to the viewing room afterwards. Sighing, he made his way to the shower room and entered the last cubicle, lifting the shower lever and being met with ice cold water, rejuvenating him instantly.

Hmm. I’ll have to walk past Ness’ room to get to my own, so why not loiter in the corridor a bit and see what he’s doing? That’s not weird or anything, I’m just slightly curious.

Sure enough, Kaiser walked to the German players’ block of rooms, and conveniently noticed that he’d forgotten to tie his shoelaces at the exact moment he passed Ness’ door. But when he bent down, he realised there was no light coming from under the door. Ness wasn’t in.

Scheiẞe. So he’s with Yoichi right now?

Abandoning all rational thoughts, he doubled back and went in the complete opposite direction, to the block where he knew Yoichi’s room was. And he immediately heard voices, the voices of at least three people talking and laughing together, so loud that he could hear them from one corridor away. Although he had no idea who the third person was, the other two were definitely Ness and Yoichi. Scheiẞe!

The scene shouldn’t have been unexpected, but jealousy had been eating at Kaiser from the inside and hearing it himself was a hundred times worse. Creeping up to where the sound was coming from, he realised the door had been left ajar and that was why he could hear them so clearly. But that meant he could see what was going on, and it left him furious, but also pained.

Yoichi was lying on his bed, legs sprawled to the side and an arm thrown out, coincidentally making contact with Ness’ shin. And Ness didn’t seem bothered at all. He was leaning against the headboard, legs stretched out in front of him and that agitating arm of Yoichi’s brushing against them! It took him a moment to realise there was someone else in the room too, that boy with the shark teeth - Kurona.

He was sitting on the edge of the bed, legs left dangling in the air as he giggled at something Ness was saying. There was a considerable distance between him and the two others, but it still looked like an intimate scene for all three of them.

“... and it turned out it was none other than Noel Noa!” Ness exclaimed, making the other two burst into laughter. 

“No way, way,” Kurona said, wiping the tears from his eyes. “Who knew the great Master would do something as stupid as that?”

Kaiser took a step back when he heard that. What Ness was telling them… those were their memories, things that had happened to them years before Blue Lock even existed. It wasn’t fair of him to be out here listening when that was his own story to tell. He could picture it now - sitting there in Kurona’s place as he exchanged amused glances with Ness, holding back a laugh when Yoichi stared at them with wide eyes, not knowing that they were making up new parts of the anecdote that never even happened. But it was all worth it, just to see Yoichi smile.

What… the fuck?

This was not normal. The visual had invaded his mind, and he fought to get it out of his head, the overwhelming feeling of comfort and fluff so foreign to him that it was disgusting. There was no fucking way he would ever want anything like that to happen. He was Michael Kaiser, not some… some average guy who spent his evenings hanging out with people he didn’t even care about off the pitch.

He needed to get back. What was he even doing outside Yoichi’s room?

Chapter Text

Last night had been… weirdly nice, all things considered. Ness wasn’t really used to chatting with anyone but Kaiser, since he’d never bothered getting to know the rest of his team properly. After all, the striker was all he needed back then. But yesterday, with Yoichi and Kurona, he actually had felt happiness; something that had been pretty hard for him to feel ever since he stopped hanging around Kaiser, constantly waiting desperately for a smile to be thrown his way on the offchance their eyes met.

The Blue Lock players had become accustomed to his presence at mealtimes, but neither him nor Yoichi had revealed their ‘relationship’ yet. Although they didn’t act clingy in front of the others, just the sight of them chatting with each other had led people to speculation, rumours and theories constantly floating around but never directly reaching the two of them. At first, Yoichi’s friends hadn’t seemed to like him that much, but once they realised he wasn’t plotting against the striker or anything, they started acting friendly with him too.

And as for him and Yoichi? Out on the field, or in any communal space, they acted kind and sweet towards one another. But behind closed doors, the atmosphere was stilted and awkward - not knowing how to act around each other as they still weren’t friends, but had progressed beyond the simple label of enemies.

“...” There was a knock on the door. It opened after a two second pause, and Yoichi tumbled in, looking flustered.

“Yoichi, I’ve told you, you need to wait at least five seconds before coming in like that,” Ness grumbled, still in the middle of towel-drying his hair.

The younger boy looked slightly apologetic, but barrelled on. “Have you heard what Ego said?”

“The bowl-cut guy? No… what did he say?”

“We have to eat lunch in the communal cafeteria today! Like, the one for all five stratums!”

Ness paused, a look of horror creeping onto his face. “Wait, what? ”

“Something about team bonding, I don’t know! Point is, we’ll have to face the rest of my friends and they’re definitely going to ask weird questions when they see us talking.”

“Okay. Okay, this is fine. Your other friends got used to me pretty quickly, so… it’ll be fine.” Ness said, doing his best to remain calm.

Yoichi was shaking his head. “No, like… my other friends, they’re kinda weird, it’s not gonna be the same as it was with Hiori and Kurona…”

“Well… you definitely know some weird people. But it’ll be okay, seriously. Just act the same way we’ve been acting with your other friends and everything will go according to plan.”

***

It didn’t go according to plan.

The second they walked in together, Yoichi was swarmed by his friends. Geez, Ness knew he was popular, but it was like he had his own harem. Undeterred, he waited patiently by his side as question upon question was unleashed on him. But as soon as they stepped back, he was of course noticed by the entire group, who weren’t shy about interrogating him at all.

“Who are you?” a guy with long pink hair said, tossing one of the strands over his shoulder. 

Another guy chimed in, yellow eyes bright and excited. “I know him! He’s that guy who only passes to Kaiser! I saw it in the match footage… but Isagi, why are you hanging out with him? Don’t tell me you’ve replaced me already…” He pouted, looking sadly at Yoichi.

“Bachira, don’t be silly. You too, Chigiri,” Yoichi said with a nervous laugh. “This is Alexis, my…”

“Friend,” Ness clarified. “We’re good friends.”

This drew suspicion from the entire group. An emo-looking boy walked closer, sizing up the midfielder.

“Hmm,” he said. “Friends?”

Why were they so resistant to the idea of them being friends?! Great, all he needed was more of Yoichi’s friends getting possessive over him.

“Yes, friends,” Ness said, trying to keep a half-smile on his face. “Yoichi has been very nice to me.”

“Yoichi?!” the room erupted.

Scheiße. Should’ve just called him Isagi. 

“Guys…” Yoichi started, trying to keep his cool. “He’s called me that since the very beginning, same as Kaiser. It’s a German thing.”

That made them all sigh in relief, collectively, but distrustful glances were still directed at him.

“Why don’t we get our lunch and sit down? I’m pretty sure they have miso soup!”

They all shuffled off to the cafeteria queue, which was moving fairly quickly and therefore left them no time to crossexamine his and Yoichi’s relationship any further. Ness hung back, aiming to have a quick moment alone with the striker. But the boy with the two-coloured hair was clinging onto his arm, refusing to part with him for even a second. It sent a wave of jealousy through his chest. That was his boyfriend. His fake boyfriend that no one even knew about yet, but whatever. 

He moved ahead of them and then turned back, giving Yoichi a sweet smile. “We should go soon, before the food finishes. They’re giving out kintsuba for dessert today, you know?”

“Kintsuba? Let’s go!” Yoichi dislodged the other boy’s arm to catch up with Ness, and satisfaction shot through him. Take that, bee boy. 

“Isagiiiii, wait for me!” the annoying kid whined, bounding forwards too.

Yoichi sighed and, to Ness’ disappointment, waited for him to come closer. “Hurry up, Bachira.”

Oh… Bachira. That was the one Yoichi had talked so much about.

All three of them ended up all getting bowls of kintsuba, since Ness was curious about Yoichi’s favourite food and Bachira seemed obsessed with doing exactly what the striker was doing. Honestly, it seemed like he was in love with him. But thankfully when they sat down, Chigiri and the scary one with the teal eyes were on the opposite side of the table, along with Bachira. Meanwhile Yoichi and Ness had Hiori, Kurona, Yukimiya and Raichi on their side - they’d joined the crowd later whilst they’d been standing in line for food.

Yoichi finished his food in a hurry, eager to feast on the dessert next to him. “Ah… I haven’t had this in sooo long…” He picked up a spoon and sliced off a piece with it, staring at it longingly before bringing it up to his mouth and practically inhaling it. “Mmmm…”

“As good as you remembered?” Chigiri asked.

“Yesss… So good, mmmm,” Yoichi mumbled, stuffing spoonful after spoonful into his mouth, a look of bliss on his face.

“Slow down, down,” Kurona said, looking concerned.

Honestly, it was getting out of hand. The striker was practically moaning, acting as if he was in Food Wars or something. Just the act of him lifting the spoon up to his mouth looked pretty lewd. The way his lips wrapped delicately around the neck of the utensil, teeth lightly grazing the bowl and his fingers grasping at the handle. And after swallowing, he’d make that sound, a sound of satisfaction that was both content but still needy and desperate, igniting something deep inside Ness. 

Hiori cleared his throat. “Well. Guess I’ll hafta try mine too, if it’s all that.”

And he took a bite, nodding in appreciation but nowhere near as appreciative as Yoichi. Even after he’d spoken, the entire table’s gaze was fixed on the striker, as he neared the end of his meal. 

Thank god. The torture is nearly over.

“Ahhh, that was so good,” Yoichi sighed, leaning back in his seat in contentment. “Alexis, you haven’t tried yours yet?”

Ness had to drag his eyes away from his lips, noticing the slight smear at the corner of his mouth. “No- not yet, I’ll have it now.”

If he had been brave enough, he would’ve eaten it exactly how Yoichi had, but there was no way. Actually, he didn’t even know why he wanted to do that, so it was best to not do anything too crazy. So he meekly nibbled at the edge of the block, only really tasting the chewy outer layer as he considered the taste.

“It’s okay, I guess. A bit too soft, with not much texture. I thought it’d taste more like Weihnachtskeks or something.”

Yoichi was about to respond, when Bachira interrupted. “Isaagiiiiiii! You have some paste on the side of your mouth!”

He flushed, and immediately put a hand up to the area Ness had noticed before, hiding it from the others. “Yikes, thanks for telling me.”

“I’ll wipe it for you, Isagi-kun~” the bee boy tried to stand up from his seat, but Ness immediately grabbed a tissue from the table, passing it to Yoichi before Bachira could even get within a five meter radius of him. 

Yoichi took it with an embarrassed laugh. “Thanks, Alexis. And I’ve told you to stop doing that, Bachira!”

Jealousy flared up in the pit of Ness’ stomach. Stop doing that? So this was normal for them, huh?

Turning to Yoichi, he held up his spoon where a piece of kintsuba lay. “I don’t like it that much, to be honest. Can you eat mine?”

He cocked his head, looking at the dessert with ill-disguised longing. “Well, I wouldn’t want it to go to waste… yeah, give it to me.”

But instead of handing him the spoon like everyone expected, he brought it closer to Yoichi’s mouth. The striker looked confused, but when the metal, warm from when Ness’ lips had closed around it, brushed against his, he blushed and parted his lips, allowing Ness to feed him the kintsuba.

There was a silence around the table as they all struggled to take in the scene, a perfect picture of fluff mixed with a pinch of tension, laid out right in front of them.

“I’m… gonna go get some more dessert,” Yukimiya said faintly, standing up and backing away.

“Me… me too. Not kintsuba! A different dessert!” Igaguri yelped, jumping up with him and retreating.

Ness felt his cheeks turn scarlet. What had he been thinking? Sure, he wanted to one-up Bachira really badly after that comment, but… this was too far, right? And now Yoichi’s soft, pink, kissable lips were wrapped around his spoon. What now? Continue feeding him as if nothing was wrong, or…?

Although, the kintsuba was starting to look more appetising. Maybe he could just take it back, and have some more himself.

“Let me try another piece,” he said, dipping the spoon back into the soft pastry. There was a sharp intake of breath from Yoichi, but he didn't pay attention to it.

The chewy outer layer had given way to the smooth red bean paste inside, so the next bite he took was far better than the first. The paste melted in his mouth, the sweetness mingling with the aftertaste from before and creating an overall pleasant flavour.

“Hmm, I think I like it,” he said, finally looking up as he put the spoon down, only to notice the looks on everyone’s faces. 

The teal-eyed boy was staring at him with disgust, while the others looked shocked.

“Indirect… kiss…” muttered someone further down the table, but it still reached his and Yoichi’s ears. He didn’t know it was possible for the striker to blush even more, but he did, his whole face painted a shade of crimson.

There was a flurry of movement around the table as people jumped up, going off to other tables to spread the tale of the most recent event around until only the members of the group actually sitting next to them were left, staring at each other in shock.

“That… that seriously just happened, right? What the…?” Chigiri said weakly. “Rin, please…”

Rin stood up, towering over the both of them. Ness felt like he was about to pull out a gun and shoot him, what with that murderous look on his face, but he just leaned forward and rested his hands on the table.

“Okay. What the hell is going on with you two?” he said.

Ness feigned ignorance. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t try to look innocent! Whatever you guys just did, that wasn’t normal!” Chigiri protested.

Well, yeah. And no one had pointed out that Yoichi’s face had turned the same colour as a strawberry. But still, if the striker wasn’t going to say anything, he wouldn’t either.

“You in love with Isagi or something?” Bachira asked suspiciously.

Scheiße! What now? When was Yoichi going to speak?!

“Nein!” he denied, quickly and too vehemently. “Um… no, I mean. We’re just good friends.” He bumped the striker’s elbow with more force than necessary, seemingly jolting him back awake.

“Bachira!” Yoichi said, a blush still evident on his face. “Don’t ask weird questions!”

Hiori stepped closer, a knowing look appearing on his face. “So, can we share a spoon too?”

“No! Why would we?!”

“Want some of my kintsuba?” Rin offered.

“Guys, no! Alexis just…”

“Alexis just what?” Bachira asked, a mischievous look on his face.

“He’s just… he’s just…”

“I’m just what?” Ness said, overcome with curiosity at this point.

“You’re… You’re German!” Yoichi burst out, clearly having worked himself up into a frenzy.

Chigiri erupted into laughter. “What?” he said between giggles. “It’s because he’s German?”

“Yes! It’s because he’s German, okay?! Both him and Kaiser always put me in weird situations, it’s a German thing!”

“Oh my god,” the pink-haired boy said, still cackling. “Don’t worry, Isagi. We’ll leave you and your German boy to it.”

He started to walk away, dragging Rin with him and still chuckling with the rest of the group.

“Where are you guys going?” Yoichi asked, some awkwardness present in his tone.

Bachira turned around and grinned. “It’s time for practice! You guys need to go too!”

Kurona checked his watch, rolling his eyes when he noticed the time. “Calm down, there’s no hurry, hurry.”

Everyone was getting up, putting their trays away and clearing their cutlery whilst Ness was still stuck to his seat. Because he was German? What kind of excuse… Oh, Yoichi. What an idiot.

And the striker himself was also frozen, completely unable to meet the other boy’s eyes. Well, he hoped he was embarrassed. Seriously, that was a pathetic excuse. The rumours would be ten times worse by tomorrow. 

Although… wait, technically that’s a good thing, right? The fake dating is gonna work just like I wanted it to.

Maybe Yoichi wasn’t such a fool after all.

Chapter Text

What the… what was that?

Isagi stared at Ness in shock, mind racing to keep up with what had just happened. Kurona and Hiori had gone back to their rooms, and they were alone in the corridor now. 

“So, uh…” he began, suddenly unable to meet the other boy’s eyes. “What was that for?”

“What?” Ness said. 

Isagi glared, quickly losing patience. “You know what I mean! That whole thing in the cafeteria, what was that? Why did you do that?”

The midfielder started walking back to his room, brushing off the question. “Nothing. What about your ‘it’s because he’s German’ bullshit? Don’t you feel embarrassed?”

He groaned, pressing a hand to his forehead. “Don’t remind me! I had to think of something, and… I panicked! I have no idea what everyone’s even thinking now, like, do they actually finally think we’re dating?!”

“Hmm,” Ness said, pausing for a second to think. “Judging by their reactions, I’d say they’re catching on. Wait, come inside for a moment.” He pushed open his room door and led him inside.

Isagi walked in slowly, looking around and then sitting down at the edge of the bed uncertainly. “So…?”

“Well, we need to think about what to do next. Since they suspect something now, you need to steer the conversation in the direction of dating,” Ness said calmly.

“Me?!” he yelped. “What about you?”

He rolled his eyes. “They’re your friends, not mine, idiot. That’s your problem to deal with.”

The striker thought for a moment, and then nodded. “That’s true, but what do you want me to say? That we’re dating?”

Ness dropped on the bed next to him and sighed. “Figure it out yourself, Yoichi. I can’t be the one doing everything around here.”

“But-”

“Look, just tell them you’re interested, or something. Don’t go over there and claim to be in love with me.”

“I wasn’t going to!”

“Really?” Ness said, raising an eyebrow. “Because you seem like you have no idea what you’re doing.”

With a huff, Isagi stood up. “Fine, I’m leaving. I’ll do it all by myself.” That ungrateful swine. Wasn’t this his idea? I’m doing far more than him at this point.

The midfielder started to burrow under his covers, putting an obvious end to the conversation. “Yeah yeah, have fun, close the door on your way out.”

Isagi bristled with irritation, but did just that.

***

After practice was over, it was time for him to put his plan into action. Gather all his friends, get them to bring up what happened at lunch, and then admit his feelings. Easy.

Noa called out to him as he was leaving. “Isagi, can you check on Kaiser? He didn’t show up to practice.”

Isagi’s head whipped up instantly. “Me?! Master Noa, you’ve got to be kidding. Why don’t you ask…?” He looked around, desperately searching for anyone else in the vicinity, but they’d all left already.

“I’m giving you an order as your coach,” Noa said sternly. “He’s not answering his phone and I have some important things to work through with him.”

“Well, but, I’m busy right now. Can’t it wait?” he protested, at least wishing to delay his torture a little. “If he doesn’t show up for breakfast tomorrow I’ll check on him, okay?”

He sighed. “Fine, Isagi. But make sure you do.”

“I will, I swear,” he paused, wondering where his friends were. “Um, Master Noa? Do you know where the guys from the other stratums are?”

Noa relayed their respective locations and he ran off, eager to get this whole thing over and done with. 

Eventually he arrived at the Manshine stratum, where most of his friends were apparently waiting. “Reo!” he shouted, spotting the purple-haired boy in the distance and beckoning him over. “Where’s the rest of them?”

“Hey, Isagi. They’re in the viewing room, wanna come? I’ll get Chigiri to bring the other guys over.”

They walked through the corridors of Manshine, the interior design vastly different to that of Bastard’s. Rather than the dorms being in a separate area, they were right next to the practice rooms. Kinda weird.

“It’s because of Nagi,” Reo sighed, as if having heard what he was thinking. “He got too used to me carrying him around and said he couldn’t walk all the way downstairs by himself. That’s why the layout was changed.”

He hesitated. Was it appropriate to ask…? “But you guys are fine now, right? I mean, I don’t really know what happened, but you’re clearly back together, aren’t you?”

Reo shot him a look. “Bit rich of you to ask, when you’re the one who broke us up. But, yeah, we’re fine. I might’ve ignored him forever, if he hadn’t come straight up to me one day and demanded that we talk things out. I was pissed off at the time, but… it was all for the best. And, I couldn’t stay angry at him forever. He’s my treasure, after all,” he trailed off, a wistful smile on his face. “I miss him. Let’s go back quickly.”

That was… oddly sweet, considering they were in Blue Lock. Isagi hadn’t even thought it would be possible to get romantically involved with anyone in the facility before meeting the two of them. Their relationship did look complicated, but if it worked for them, it worked for them. And if any of the numerous times he’d caught them making out counted for anything, it was definitely working. 

“Anyway!” Reo cleared his throat. “We’re here.” He pushed open the nearest door and beckoned Isagi inside, revealing all their friends perched on sofas inside.

“Isagiiiii!” Bachira called. “What took you so long?”

“Sorry, sorry! I got here as quickly as I could, but Coach Noa wanted to ask me for a favour.”

Rin looked up, his interest piqued. “Oh? And what was the favour?”

Isagi slid onto the couch, slumping down next to Chigiri. “Ugh, he’s just worried about Kaiser missing practice. Wants me to check up on him if he doesn’t appear by breakfast tomorrow.”

Hiori sniggered. “Sounds fun, can I come along an’ watch?”

“No!” he protested, ignoring the shouts of excitement from his friends after Hiori’s suggestion. “And he’ll definitely be back by then, so I won’t have to go see that stupid clown anyways.”

Bachira jumped to his feet, the couch letting out a loud creak from the loss of weight. “Enough about that! What we really want to know is…” He trailed off, seeing Chigiri about to interject.

“Whatever the fuck happened with your Alexis Ness, Isagi,” he said with an unimpressed look. “Wanna tell us what that was all about?”

A deep blush spread across his face. Shit, shit, what should I say?!

“He’s not my Alexis yet!” was what ended up coming out of his mouth.

Oh fuck.

“Yet? Yet?!” the whole room exploded.

“Let me tell you something, guys, guys,” Kurona started calmly. “Isagi has been showing clear interest in Ness for a while now. I’m glad he could finally open up to us.”

Okay… what the hell is he talking about now? A while? We’ve only been doing this for three weeks! 

“Yeah…” Hiori said, lost in thought. “Honestly, I was against it a’ first, but I hafta say, I’ve warmed up to it these last few months. If ya want Ness, ya want Ness.”

This was becoming increasingly ridiculous. Months? He didn’t want Ness in the slightest!

“Erm, guys…” the striker tried to begin, but everyone continued talking over him.

Raichi, Igaguri and Yukimiya were discussing urgently in a corner. “No, it makes sense. That kintsuba really was the last straw, but the signs before were obvious, right?”

“Wha…”

In another corner, Reo and Nagi were chatting casually whilst wrapped up in each other’s embrace. “I’m actually happy for him. It’s time he stopped meddling in other people’s relationships and got one of his own.”

“Um, guys…?”

Bachira, Rin and Chigiri were discussing right in front of him. “Can’t believe myyyy Isagi has a crush!!! Unfair!”

“GUYS?” Isagi finally shouted, getting to his feet and effectively silencing everyone else in the room. “I’m still here, you know? I feel like you’ve all blown this way out of proportion.”

Chigiri levelled him with a look. “Alright. So, what are your feelings towards Ness then? Care to explain?”

He felt himself start to disintegrate under the hard stare of all the other players, but forced himself to keep it together. “Well, I seriously didn’t know anything about him until like… a month ago. But, you know, we’ve been getting closer and it turns out he’s like, he’s alright, you know?”

“So you like him?” Rin said, deadpan.

“Well-!” His blush darkened as everyone waited for his response with bated breath. “I guess you could say I’m, like, interested…?”

“Finally ya admit it!” Hiori crowed jubilantly. “Isagi, trust me, I will get ya guys together!”

“Nononono, Hiori, that’s okay, I’ll be fine on my own…”

But everyone had latched onto the idea now. Reo hummed, a thoughtful look on his face. “No, we should help you. If you’re going to go after Ness, you’re going to need help.”

“Let us be your wingmen, Isagi!”

He cringed, but there was nothing for it. “Well… okay, yeah, I guess.”

It seemed there was nothing he could do but lie about his so-called feelings for Ness, spinning out a tale of longing and even surprising himself with the depth of his lies. Damn, I’m pretty good at this. Ness should really pay me.

“So, what’s your plan?” Chigiri finally said, effectively ending his Alexis Ness-based rant.

Isagi blinked. “My plan?”

“Well yeah, to date Ness!” Bachira squealed, rubbing shoulders with him in excitement. “You don’t think that thing with the kintsuba was enough, do you? He’s not gonna be won over that easily!”

Hiori nodded, seemingly taking stock of the situation. “Isagi, do ya think Ness knows of yer feelings? Or is it still platonic between the both of ya?”

“Um, well, I think it’s going well. By that I mean, uh, he’s definitely suspecting something now.”

Kurona came over to him, resting a hand on his shoulder and looking into his eyes in a way that spelled nothing but trouble. “I’m gonna let you in on something, okay, okay? I really think Ness is interested in you too, Isagi.”

Damn, these people make it so hard. How the hell am I supposed to react to that?

“Really?” he said, forcing a hopeful smile onto his face. “You think so?”

Rin chose this moment to speak up, glaring over at him. “How dense can you be? The sexual tension at lunchtime was thick. You’d have to be a fool not to notice.”

“He is a bit of a fool, yeah…”

“Yuki!” Isagi protested, trying not to join in with the others’ laughter. “That was uncalled for.”

“Sorry, sorry,” the other boy said, patting his shoulder in apology. “We all saw Ness flirting with you, okay? And considering how blatant it was, it’s just… a bit hard to stomach the fact that you’re still oblivious to it.”

Ness! Isagi whined internally. Why’d we go so far with this whole thing?! Can we just have a redo?

“Ahahaha…” he said awkwardly, wanting the conversation to just be over and done with already.

Reo looked over at him, a glint in his eyes. “Isagi, I’ll walk you back to your room now, okay?”

Nagi groaned, wrapping his arms around the midfielder as he tried to get up. “Reoooooo… not yet… don’t go…”

“Yeah, Reocchi,” Bachira said, looking over at him curiously. “Afternoon practice isn’t for a few hours. What’s the hurry?”

There was… something about the way Reo was staring at him. As if he knew something, something the others didn’t know. Could he possibly know about…? No, there was no way. Unless Ness himself had gone and told him about their plans, there was no way he could’ve guessed it was a fake relationship. But his gaze was somewhat threatening, boring into the depths of his soul as if to let him know, I’m onto you, Isagi Yoichi.

“Um,” Isagi gulped. “Yeah, no, I do have to get back soon… I, um, have to talk to Noa real quick.”

“Go get your man, Isagi!” Chigiri called after him, as he was ushered through the door and pulled into a little alcove.

“Whatever, princess." He sighed, and then turned to face the purple-haired boy. “You, er… you wanted to speak to me, right?”

“Yes,” Reo said, levelling him with a look. “What’s really going on between you and Ness?”

Shit. A few quick words was all it took to send a white-hot bolt of panic to Isagi’s stomach. “W-What do you mean? I just told everyone, back in there…”

Dread was coursing through him as Reo stared at him, unimpressed. Had he fucked up? Was his deal with Ness about to be exposed? He’d played his part almost perfectly though, and everyone else had believed him. Most of all, why couldn’t Reo have just said this in front of the others?

“It’s pretty clear what’s going on here.”

Fuck! What now? What is he even saying?!

“And that is…?”

There’s no way he could’ve guessed, right?

“You’re in a situationship with Ness.”

 HUH? ME? WHAT?

“Where did you get that idea from?!” Isagi burst out, unable to contain his shock.

Reo sighed, laying a hand on his shoulder. “Listen, I’ve seen the signs. You don’t have to pretend around me. I understand how confusing it can be when you have feelings for someone but you’re just… unsure how they feel for you.”

Isagi felt like he was going insane. How the hell was he supposed to react to this? Go along with it? Why was it him who had to deal with all the difficult questions, and not Ness?!

“I get it, okay Isagi? You can be honest with me.”

Ah, fuck… whatever.

Isagi patted the hand on his shoulder in what he hoped was a reassuring manner. “Yeah, honestly you’re right. There’s more going on than I let you guys know.”

“I knew it! I wasn't joking about being your wingman, you know? Ever since all this stuff started happening, I’ve been thinking about how similar it is to what I was going through with Nagi and...”

The striker tuned him out as he kept babbling, appreciating his support but also freaking the fuck out because of the web of lies he was about to be caught in. The initial plan had seemed so simple, so easy, but now there were even more things he would have to fabricate. He needed to tell Ness, as soon as possible. Maybe he could fix it.

“Hey Reo, listen, I totally appreciate the help. But I gotta get back now, okay? I really do have some things to discuss with Noa.”

The younger boy looked up at him, blinking. “Oh- alright! Yeah yeah, you go on ahead. I have things to do, too.”

Isagi chose to disregard the fact that those ‘things’ would all consist of taking care of a certain white-haired striker, rather than a productive strategy meeting. “Right, see you later.”

He practically ran back to his stratum, approaching the wing for the German players' rooms and preparing to hammer on the midfielder's door until he was let in.

But just as he rounded the corner and saw Ness' room in sight, he noticed a figure slip out through the door and leave through the back exit.

What the hell was Kaiser doing here?