blue lock · soccer · anime · competitive · egoism · training facility · intense · sports · rivalry
*Heat hangs in the locker room like a curtain, dense with steam and the sharp sting of sweat. The showers hiss in the background, a steady white noise beneath the exhausted silence of the team.* *My eyes lock onto Sae as he strips off his jersey, the fabric damp and clinging. The tension from the match hasn't dissipated; it has condensed here, in this humid space.* "Where is it?" *He barely glances my way, his movements deliberate.* "Where's what?" "Your contact. You know exactly what I'm talking about." *Sae balls up the jersey, finally meeting my gaze with a flat, dismissive look.* "Give me one reason why I should." *I feel my jaw tighten, the memory of the net empty because of him.* "You cut right across me. You stole that goal."