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Michael Kaiser: 400M¥ from Re Al
The German man was still on his knees as he watched these words appear on the screen he faced. Seeing himself achieving his goal and being offered a large amount of money wouldn't have surprised him in any shape of form if it happened even only a few days before. Nonetheless, after having played this game, he couldn't hide his bewilderment.
As a matter of fact, despite the victory of Bastard München against Paris X Gen, Kaiser was simply incapable of seeing his team's victory, he couldn't see anything but his personal defeat. His defeat against Noa who he failed to replace, his defeat against Ness whose talent and creativity slipped right through his fingers and especially, his defeat against Isagi Yoichi, Isagi Yoichi against whom he ultimately lost to.
He had to improve. If this time, he lost against Isagi, he certainly wouldn't the next time, when they'll face each other during the world cup. From the moment Isagi reached his hand towards Kaiser, kneeling on the field, Kaiser promised himself their roles would soon be switched. However, that couldn't be done if Kaiser stayed in Bastard München, a team that needs him but yet will never be led by him, as that title belonged to Noel Noa.
Needless to say, this was the perfect opportunity for Kaiser, mainly for 3 reasons.
Firstly, joining any other team than Bastard München meant “No Noel Noa”. Kaiser knew he could never be the ace of his previous team due to the number one's presence, but the idea of being in another team and possessing a chance to be the emperor of it filled him with determination.
Secondly, Re Al was objectively the best team he could go to if he wanted to become even better. This team didn't include the world's number one, yet every single player of that team was outstanding. This type of restricted environment was the perfect place for him to evolve, as he would have no other choice if he wanted to play on the same field as these prodigies.
And thirdly…
Your flight has arrived to destination
Kaiser was interrupted in his train of thoughts by this voiceover, which had just announced the plane’s landing. Kaiser liked flights. He liked the feeling of towering over the busy and luminous cities that made him feel so small when he used to be a kid. He liked this feeling of freedom, of leaving a place behind to find better in another. Maybe he could've even said he liked taking the flight better than being in his destinated country, and that would've been true if the country he had just landed on didn't have someone currently waiting for him outside the airport.
From the moment Kaiser left the airport's building, he didn't waste any time to look all around him, searching for him, until he finally saw him. He was right there, waiting, one hand on his hip and the other holding car keys. A few meters away from Kaiser, stood Itsohi Sae.
It was him, the third reason Kaiser had decided to go to Re Al. It was Itoshi Sae, Japan's prodigy and one of the best midfielders of the new generation. He was a truly extraordinary man. Even though Kaiser had called him a few minutes before his flight took off, telling him to come see him the moment he'd arrive at the airport, Sae still looked absolutely breathtaking.
His hair had a reddish brown color who'd catch anyone's eye even without knowing who he was. His body may have been thin but it was also athletic, Kaiser could tell so by how muscular his thighs were. He was wearing a white shirt with a jacket that —unfortunately— hid the muscles of his arms. Kaiser briefly thought that being met with this sight after a whole year of not seeing him would've made enough to make him fall for Sae, that is if he hadn't already.
That's right, Michael Kaiser was in love with Itsohi Sae, and he had no idea if it was mutual. If you had asked anyone, relative or fan, if they thought Sae could ever love someone, they would've stared at you with surprise in their eyes as if that was an event they never had thought could ever happen. Considering how Sae was, Kaiser couldn't blame them, he would've answered the same. To be completely honest, Kaiser wasn't faithful at all when it came to Sae waiting for him at the airport. Indeed, he was persuaded Sae would've just ignored him and gone back to whatever he was doing.
Apparently, he didn't know Sae that well, but if that meant he would show up just for Kaiser, then he was okay with it.
“Sae! You really came? Who would've thought,” Kaiser exclaimed with a fake smugness which he couldn't tell successfully distracted Sae from how his lips twitched, his hands were trembling and his eyes wouldn't stop blinking.
Sae stayed silent for 20 seconds before talking to Kaiser for the first time, which he hadn't been able to do for at least a year. “Your new sunglasses suck.” Sae expressed, with an uninterested tone in his voice for the object Kaiser owned and decided to place on his eyes.
Kaiser wasn't surprised at all that this was how their first interaction in a while would turn out. They were both mean and sassy people by nature who have rarely said anything nice about the other. Sae was a man with no filters who only expressed the truth, as brutal as it was , while Kaiser would purposely be mean to people and intended to bring harm with his words. What a perfect duo, including 2 gossippers, 2 shit talkers and 2 haters.
Anyone who would've seen the both of them interact would think Sae didn't care about Kaiser whatsoever and would think the feelings Kaiser has towards him were completely unrequited. But Kaiser knew better. Kaiser knew Sae. He wasn't delusional to the point of being sure Sae liked him the same way he liked Sae, but he was sure of one thing : Sae cared about him, to some extent.
If Sae didn't care about him, would he have kept contact with him 3 years after they first met each other? Would he have always answered to his calls, no matter how busy his schedule was? Would he have congratulated him every time he achieved something, even if it was just a text saying “Congrats” ? Would he have been there, right now, waiting for Kaiser in front of the airport, despite being informed of his landing only a few hours before? Kaiser mattered to Sae, but he still had to find out whether it was platonic or romantic feelings.
But even if Kaiser had feelings for Sae, that wouldn't mean he would let himself be made fun of without teasing him a little bit.
“Oh yeah?” Kaiser answered, a smug smile on his face, “you know, if you want to see my beautiful eyes, you can just say so,” he teased as he took off his sunglasses.
“You dumbass,” Sae replied with a cold tone, it seems like he still didn't like Kaiser's teasing, “if you keep your face revealed like that, someone will recognize you and you can say goodbye to any privacy you could have during your stay in Spain.”
Kaiser was about to say something back when all of a sudden, Sae took off his sunglasses to put them on Kaiser's face, revealing his eye era. His lashes had slightly grown since the last time they'd seen each other, and it only made him even more appealing to look at than he already was. His eyes were tainted with an absorbing teal color, a greenish ocean Kaiser would be willing to sink in and would have no will but to drown in.
As if he were completely oblivious to the effect he just had on Kaiser, Sae continued speaking.
“We can't let you get recognized by those paparazzis, they'd give me a headache. I'm always in Spain so I'd be less followed if someone saw me.” He said as he held Kaiser's wrist and started dragging him towards his car. Kaiser knew Sae was still talking, but he didn't really care enough to listen because Sae was holding his hand!!! Okay, maybe they weren't really holding hands and it was more like Sae’s hand was holding Kaiser’s wrist, but it was close enough for Kaiser to see it as such.
“Michael.” He suddenly heard his name coming from Sae's mouth. Maybe he should've paid more attention, but he would be lying if he didn't think hearing his name from Sae’s voice was hot. Sae's voice in general was hot, so no wonder Kaiser could barely focus on what he was saying. It's Sae’s fault for having such a voice.
“You weren't paying attention, were you,” Sae continued, having noticed Kaiser was getting lost in his thoughts.
“Well, you got me there,” Kaiser answered, trying his best to give off the impression of being nonchalant, which he wasn't in the least.
“Whatever, just get in the damn car” Sae sighed as he nodded his head towards the car, with a pissed off look on his face.
Well, who was Kaiser to decline anything Sae said? It didn't take him a while to get in the passenger seat, because although he knew how to drive, being a passenger princess for Sae didn't bother him in any shape of form.
Sae got in the driver seat and started taking off his jacket, revealing his athletic arms to Kaiser's eyes, and Kaiser wouldn't ever complain about it. Maybe Kaiser was staring a little too hard at his arm, judging by how Sae turned his head towards him with an indecipherable look on his face.
“You know I can still tell what you're looking at, even with those sunglasses on right?” Sae asked without really waiting for an answer.
Well, getting caught staring wasn't in Kaiser's plans, but since it happened, he couldn't let himself seem caught off guard by this comment.
“You'd rather I stare without them on?” He asked back with a flirtiest tone he could attempt to do, a pathetic attempt to hide his nervousness.
Sae didn't answer. Instead, he reached his hand towards Kaiser and took off his sunglasses, before throwing them in the backseat as if he could buy one thousand others—which he probably could, actually.
Right now, Kaiser was freaking out. He had no idea what this was supposed to mean. Was Sae pissed off at Kaiser to the point of breaking his own sunglasses ? Or was this a weird attempt to flirt? It wouldn't be surprising. After all, Sae was a weird guy—but a hot one, Kaiser thought out of the blue— so it wouldn't be surprising if his way to flirt was also weird.
“Do you wanna see my eyes this badly?” Kaiser teased, pretending he's not internally freaking out about what that action could've possibly meant.
“I'd like it better if you closed them, actually,” Sae answered while looking Kaiser dead in the eyes.
Before Kaiser could even process what he just said and what he meant by that, he felt something crash onto his lips. Then it hit him, all of a sudden. Itoshi Sae was kissing him.
Sae's hands were holding Kaiser's head, pulling him closer as he moved his lips against his. His lips were exactly as Kaiser had imagined; they were soft and well taken care of, the complete opposite of how Sae was behaving right now. But Kaiser didn't have the time nor the will to think about what was happening, so without thinking, he kissed him back.
The kiss was messy and clumsy. Their teeth crashed into each other every second, which didn't stop their passion at all. Kaiser placed his right hand on Sae's waist, attempting to stabilize himself while Sae passed his hand through his hair. Kaiser could feel himself ascending as their tongues intertwined, it just felt so natural, as if he was destined to kiss him.
Then, all of a sudden, Sae broke the kiss. And just lIke that, it was over. They both look at each other in the eyes, catching their breath and still processing what just happened. Sae got back into his seat, turned to Kaiser and tilted his head.
“Should I drop you at your hotel or at my place?” He asked, already knowing the answer.
“Your place sounds way better to me right now,” Kaiser replied without any hesitation.