Summary [chapter 28]: Tetsuya had noticed something had been off with Miyuki-san for the past few days. And the answers to his questions came in the form of a dinner at the Masuko family household. And said answers also came as the arrival of a new had already seen that person on the newspapers cuts. He was one of the members of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse... The one with dark blond hair: Ryan Carter.
Following the canon chronology with some additions for the purpose of the story. Main pairing of the story: Midorima x OC.
Written in the third person. The words in italic are characters' thoughts and the words written like this are said in another language (French or English). No harem x OC.
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except my OCs
[THE KIDS ARE ALRIGHT ARC]
FRAGMENTS
~.~
Chapter 28: two sides of the same coin
Tetsuya had noticed something had been off with Miyuki-san for the past few days.
She remained diligent and still took detailed notes during classes but she stopped trying to keep Kagami-kun (and him) awake.
At practice, Miyuki-san made a few mistakes concerning the order of their warm-up exercises to do... It was nothing too drastic but that slight lack of attention was highly uncharacteristic from her.
And the last thing that confirmed his doubts was Coach's concerned look as she announced their manager would miss today's practice due to a medical appointment. It led to a myriad of questions from the rest of the team that Coach only answered with 'her injury is fine but she will tell you what's happening herself once she gets back tomorrow.'
"Just ask, damnit."
Kagami-kun's gruff voice brought him back to reality. He blinked.
"What does Kagami-kun mean?" Tetsuya asked.
"You never speak out loud but your eyes won't shut up." What? "It's annoyin', seriously..."
Tetsuya blinked again. Several times. "Uh?"
He didn't understand. Tetsuya had gotten used to everyone saying he was unreadable since middle school, apart from Miyuki-san and Masuko-sensei.
But now Kagami-kun could read him as well…
What did they exactly see in his eyes to be able to read him that well? The thought both comforted and frightened him.
"Come on, I can see you've been worried 'bout Emilie for the past days."
"Yes," Tetsuya admitted. She was his friend after all. "But I..."
Tetsuya wanted to keep some boundaries between them.
Partly to respect her wish not to talk about whatever she had in mind but mainly because he was a coward. Tetsuya remembered how spilling out his feelings at the hospital to Miyuki-san had felt... And he didn't know if he could do that again: being so vulnerable in front of someone else. It went against Teiko's principles itself.
Woud he even be able to tell her about his middle school years? Could he face Miyuki-san's reaction?
Would she hate him for not stopping the Generation of Miracles and their cruel behaviors?
Tetsuya had heard from Kise-kun something similar had happened to Miyuki-san's team in middle school... Except it went really, really wrong.
However, unlike Tetsuya, Miyuki-san had made an attempt to put a stop to everything.
Tetsuya deeply worried about that since he knew Miyuki-san's state involved whatever happened to her in middle school. Sometimes, it kept him awake at night... How utterly selfish from him.
Could he really call himself her friend?
"Oi!" Kagami-kun slapped his head. Ouch. "You're overthinkin' again..." he grumbled before sighing. "You know, it's not you. Emilie's barely talkin' to anyone these days apart from her polite speech bullshit. Even with her parents and I." Tetsuya couldn't stop himself from showing his shock on his face. "But she's not angry, not at us at least. She just needs time to accept the situation."
"I see," Tetsuya slowly said, even if he didn't really know what he meant.
Kagami-kun looked at him in an unnerving way. It wasn't the first time that he had that look and Tetsuya didn't like it.
"If you don't wanna ask, then don't but uncle's invitin' us to dinner. Emilie will need that..."
'She will need you' was left unsaid.
Despite how heart-breaking his confession at the hospital had felt, Tetsuya also kept in mind the warmth and the comfort Miyuki-san's words had brought him.
That time, he would be there for his friend.
Tetsuya nodded at his partner who seemed somewhat relieved. The both of them stayed behind to clean everything since it was their turn before going to the locker room to change their clothes back to their school uniforms.
Tetsuya almost regretted not wearing a thicker coat now. It was getting darker and colder earlier, now that they were reaching fall.
Despite that, he appreciated the season and found beauty in the orange leaves falling down the trees.
To his surprise, Furihata-kun was standing near the portal with Kise-kun and Midorima-kun, visibly waiting for Kagami-kun and him.
"Finally, you took way too long to get everything done," Furihata-kun said.
Seeing Furihata-kun comfortable around his two former teammates pleased Tetsuya for some reason. He knew for a fact Furihata-kun (unfortunately) received Kise-kun's incessant texts as well. But he didn't seem to mind…
Furihata-kun was too kind.
Kagami-kun put his arm around Furihata-kun's shoulder, snorting at the previous remark. The team had gotten used to Kagami-kun's (and Miyuki-san's, to a lesser extent) permanent physical contact with them. It seemed to be something they got from growing up in Western culture.
"Shut up Furi, it only took us ten minutes!" Kagami-kun replied before messing up Furihata-kun's hair.
"Your manners are still non-existent, Kagami," Midorima-kun started as a greeting.
He acknowledged Tetsuya's presence with a nod before stepping away to avoid Kise-kun's attempt to lunge on Tetsuya. The blue-haired avoided the blond with two steps on his left, leading to Kise-kun's fall.
"Kurokocchi, I saw you! You were avoiding me, so mean! I can only rely on Furihatacchi there," Kise-kun dramatically wailed.
"That went well," Kagami-kun mumbled to himself before politely thanking them for coming.
It had the effect to quickly sober them.
Kagami Taiga being polite... What a strange sight.
On the road to Miyuki-san's apartment, Kagami-kun explained that Miyuki-san and her mother would probably arrive later and that Masuko-sensei would be the one to prepare dinner for everyone.
Kagami-kun also warned them not to congratulate Miyuki-san, to which everyone answered with a firm and solemn nod.
Tetsuya's stomach dropped.
How bad was it?
"We're home!" Kagami-kun shouted as he took off his shoes in the genkan. They all proceeded to repeat the same protocol. Kise-kun and Midorima-kun were startled to see there was a pair a slippers prepared for each of them.
Tetsuya was now used to coming there. There was something about the way Miyuki-san and her family welcomed any of their guests that Tetsuya found profoundly heartwarming. They were doing more than what a host were supposed to do.
It almost felt… like being part of the family.
Tetsuya was starting to get some habits there. He always chose to wear the baby blue slippers and kept sitting at the same seat in the living room.
"Welcome home boys!" Masuko-sensei headed to the living room with a tray of beverages and appetizers before going back to the kitchen.
The frilly pink and white apron strangely suited him well.
"Hello, Masuko-sensei," Tetsuya greeted him. Masuko-sensei frowned. "… Oli-san," Tetsuya corrected himself, to which he got a smile in return. Furihata-kun made the same mistake... Only Kagami-kun was used to set apart his teacher and his uncle.
Miyuki-san's younger sister greeted each of them and aksed Furihata-kun about a book before going back to her bedroom as Nate-kun, Miyuki-san's little brother, settled himself on Kise-kun's legs, to the blond's utter joy and satisfaction.
Miyuki-san's brother had taken a particular liking in Kise-kun ever since Kise-kun had praised his hair. To that, the young child had proudly explained he was now styling his hair himself every morning in front of the bathroom's mirror.
Tetsuya smiled at the memory of Kagami-kun's snide remark reminded Nate-kun that he knew more about styling hair than his sister, to which Miyuki-san answered with a harsh slap on his shoulder.
"What's takin' Auntie and Emilie so long?" Kagami-kun asked, his mouth full of bread and pork rillettes.
Oli-san took off his apron and threw it accurately on the kitchen's counter before sitting on the couch. "Shynah wanted to make sure Emilie wouldn't regret her decision so they went somewhere else before going to see Monsieur Fournier..."
"That's supposed to reassure me?" he asked in a deadpan voice.
"Your aunt didn't explained me her plan but I suppose she wanted to bring Emilie's fire back since she's been... lethargic for the past few days," he ended with hesitation.
"I see..." Kagami-kun looked pensive, even worried.
Oli-san continued in a reassuring voice, "Emilie is strong. And surprisingly petty too... I'm sure she will do her best to make the French Federation suffer, that will definitely bring back some of her fire," he added with an ounce of pride for his daughter. Tetsuya started to see where Miyuki-san got her sly side from. "The French Federation is the only thing that could make her do something out of spite… Of course there's also–"
He stopped his sentence at the faint sound of the keys from the other side of the entrance door.
"Honey, please get some ice for us!" a voice said from the apartment's doorstep.
Tetsuya couldn't see her from the couch he was sitting on but he recognized it as Miyuki-san's mother's voice.
Oli-san chuckled after hearing his wife's request. "Why? Is Ryan going to come out of nowhere in need of some ice for his face again?"
"Not for my face but yes please," a third voice retorted with humor.
A man.
That had Oli-san and Kagami-kun standing straight as a ramrod. They both stood up and rushed towards the entrance. The rest of them looked at each other, puzzled, before reluctantly following them. Kise-kun was now carrying Nate-kun on his shoulders.
What they saw at the entrance was a curious trio who didn't seem to have notice their presence, their backs turned on the rest of them.
Miyuki-san was focused on taking off her shoes, her hand on the young man's shoulder to try to keep her balance. The low-necked behind of her dress revealed part of her back, while the front neckline remained modest. Tetsuya was no fashion expert but whoever made that dress specially made it for her.
The person with her was wearing a tailored gray suit with a dark blue tie that made him look classy. It also suited with Miyuki-san's dress even if he doubted it was planned.
Tetsuya had already seen that person on the newspapers cuts. He was one of the members of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse...
The one with dark blond hair and green eyes: the former number one striker in high school championship, Ryan Carter.
"Oh my, so it was not just the heels. You are taller now. Congratulations dear," the young man said as Miyuki-san's mother hid a laugh.
His Japanese was as perfect as Oli-san despite the presence of a slight European accent.
Miyuki-san gently kicked his leg, making move the flowy fabric of her dress. "Shut up, I've told you about my growing pains. Come back to talk to me if you ever reach 185cm."
Kagami-kun's shout made their presence noticed. "NO WAY."
The three heads turned in their direction at the same time. Miyuki-san's mother almost seemed to enjoy the situation.
"Carter? What the hell are you doing here?" Kagami-kun yelled, incredulous.
He had a small smile on his face and extended his hand to Kagami-kun who accepted it in a firm shake.
"Kagami, it has been a while," he started before focusing on the rest of them. "And I supposed you are Emilie's friends from Japan... My name is Ryan Carter, I am Emilie's friend from France. On the behalf of all her other friends, thank you for taking care of her," Carter-san greeted them with a respectful bow.
Miyuki-san silently observed the exchange, visibly surprised.
"I didn't know you would all be here..." Miyuki-san finally said, almost breathless. "Thank you." She gave them a genuine smile for the first time in days. Her eyes ultimately locked with Midorima-kun's gaze, who turned his face away.
Tetsuya had heard Kise-kun's theory but he was only starting to believe it now.
Did Kagami-kun know?
"Ryan-nii! You're back!"
Nate-kun was now practically bouncing on Kise-kun's shoulders, his tiny legs energetically moving everywhere.
He ruffled Miyuki-san's brother's hair lightly. "Nate, buddy!"
Oli-san heartily laughed at the interaction. "Let's go back to the living room, kids."
Tetsuya sat back at the same spot as before and he was grateful there were two long couches in the living room. Despite that, Miyuki-san decided to sit on the pear pouf, letting the bottom of her flowy long dress reach the floor without a care. She radiated nonchalant elegance.
That attire and the jewelry she was wearing, in contrast to her usual more discreet ones, made her stand out. Tetsuya noted she still wore the ring Kagami-kun and Himuro-san gave her on her middle finger instead of keeping it around her neck.
Eri-chan, Miyuki-san's sister, went back to the living room after hearing the current ruckus.
"Ryan!" She rushed toward Carter-san for a hug before quickly letting him go.
"Did you miss me as much as your sister did?"
Eri-chan rolled her eyes but the smile she had didn't leave her face. "We only left France less than a month ago."
"Can someone tell me what the fuck's Carter doin' here?" Kagami-kun asked, before turning to Carter-san. "No offense dude, it's great to see you but don't tell me he ditched being a professional?"
"I would never run away..." Carter-san replied with dignity.
Miyuki-san's whole family and Kagami-kun blankly stared at him. Tetsuya frowned. Carter-san seemed like a very diligent person.
"Okay, I would," Carter-san conceded, his tone more casual, "but not when it comes to football... We are on international break for the next three weeks and I am free for a week and a half since I am not in the senior national team."
"Yet," Oli-san finished.
Carter-san waved it away offhandedly. "We will see that later, my focus is on the U18 at the moment. But I came here since I have events with my sponsor and I came to say hello to my dear rival here."
"Don't flatter me. You can keep that for the media," Miyuki-san flatly replied. Tetsuya had never seen Miyuki-san so... petty and annoyed. But there was a certain fondness in her eyes.
"I also wanted to meet the new friends Emilie told me about..." Carter-san managed to get all their names right and made a remark about Tetsuya reminding him of 'Théo' after realizing his presence. Tetsuya had heard that name before.
If not mistaken, he was one of Miyuki-san's dearest friends. His eyes lingered slightly longer on Midorima-kun. It was barely noticeable but Tetsuya was intrigued.
"I bought you some gifts," Carter-san added. Tetsuya remembered seeing some shopping bags lying on the floor there.
"I hope you got something for me, Carter!" Kagami-kun said.
"Of course. But I will give them to you after dinner... And I was not joking when you said I need some ice." He smiled sheepishly as Oli-san stood up to get him some ice. He looked younger that way, and more open.
"Did you get hurt?"
"Let's just say Emilie's fist remains astonishingly powerful," he replied after finishing eating an appetizer and praising Oli-san's cooking.
"Don't complain, you've been hitting the gym so I'm sure your abdomen took the shock better than before," Miyuki-san answered with an unusual touch of snark. She only used that tone whenever she wanted to anger Kagami-kun.
"You punched him again?" Kagami-kun asked, unsurprised.
Before Miyuki-san added something or anyone could ask when and why did she previously punch him, Carter-san replied in an apologetic voice, "In her defense, I deserved it."
That suggested details would be explained later. His calculated manners and the way he permanently stood with a straight back made that sincere and humble answer strikingly shocking.
And it somehow reminded him of Akashi-kun's demeanor... The old Akashi.
(The real Akashi?)
"Shynah and I have to continue cooking dinner, you should stay here and get to know Ryan," Oli-san explained before standing up to put his apron back.
Carter-san's face got inexplicably paler, as did Kagami-kun's. It took several seconds before remembering Miyuki-san once said that her mother's cooking was worse than Aida-senpai's skills in the kitchen. Or rather lack of skills...
"Is Aunt Shynah cooking tonight?" Carter-san asked in a diplomatic tone, his smile more strained.
"Of course not, your agent would never allow you to get food poison," Miyuki-san's father answered. He took his wife's hand and led her to the kitchen before she could protest.
Miyuki-san snorted. "He's still insisting on talking about himself in the third person..."
The first impression that Shintaro had on Ryan Carter was the same as the one he had had on Akashi when he had first met him. Calm and composed, with irreproachable manners and seemingly a high popularity among men and women likewise.
In one word: perfection.
To a lesser extent, he also reminded him of Masuko when he had first met her.
"Catch the ice pack, kid," Oli-san shouted from the kitchen before throwing said ice pack. Shintaro had to recognize the accuracy of that throw was impressive.
Carter caught it without struggle. "Thank you, Olivier."
Masuko wordlessly stared at the pack of ice in Carter's hand for a few second before sighing. "In all my graciousness, I'll bring you my cream and my spray for your bruise. Please wait here, your Highness," Masuko said in a sarcastic tone before standing up to head to her bedroom.
Shintaro watched her back in a slight state of daze. She looked even more beautiful than usual in that dark blue dress. But it was distracting. Shintaro was convinced Kagami was starting to have suspicions about his feelings. And Kise didn't help with his constant not so discreet winks and more or less ambiguous remarks.
Carter easily undid his tie before he untucked his white shirt and lifted the clothe to reveal a purple-ish and large bruise already formed on his abdomen. Shintaro internally winced at the sight. He couldn't fathom how he managed not to show his physical pain at all. Shintaro also noted to himself to avoid making Masuko cross with him in the future.
Kagami whistled and poked at the bruise. That guy truly had no manners or boundaries. "Nasty... What did you exactly do again to get punched by her again?"
"Nothing and everything..."
What a vague non-answer... Kagami scowled. "You really are a guy version of Emilie... Except you're more evil."
"And more wealthy," he added as he applied the ice pack on his bruise. He didn't deny Kagami's claim... At least Shintaro wasn't the only one to see the resemblance between them. "Unlike me, she has a good heart," he continued, his tone now more serious. "But do not underestimate Dubois' cunning side."
Kagami snorted. "Yeah, I know that. I'm her best friends since we were kids... But for real, what did you do?"
"Well, there is the fact that I did not make an appearance to the airport to say goodbye or the fact I avoided talking about anything related to football with her since the final..." he admitted.
"Dude, what happened wasn't your fault–"
"Or the fact that she discovered some of the curious occurrences one of my former... teammates is currently suffering from."
"Oh." There seemed a silent discussion with their eyes before Carter shrugged.
"We can discuss on that matter when necessary, but I need to heal my bruise first before possibly getting punched again. Now..." Carted turned his head, the courteous smile back on his face. "If you are free on Saturday, you are all invited to our sponsor's event."
"And– What... What's your sponsor, Carter-san?" Furihata asked, despite looking intimidated by Carter. He couldn't blame him, Carter was radiating power and confidence.
"You can just call me 'Carter', there is no need to use 'san' with me even if I am slightly older than you... But to answer to your question, it is a sport brand."
"I know that! It's Adidas, isn't it? I saw your face on the giant advertising hoarding at the train station!" Kise shouted. So he knew all along but chose not to say a word... It seemed Shintaro kept underestimating his own former teammate.
"Indeed... It will be Emilie's first public appearance as France U18's new player. We will be presenting new boots, play a bit of football and sign autographs from the Adidas futsal park in Shibuya."
"The one on the rooftop of Tokyo Department Store?"
"This one, indeed. If any of you have siblings who like football, you could bring them there. There will be kid-friendly animations as well."
"But Masuko-chan is still injured..."
"She cannot run yet but she can dribble and shoot her breathtaking free kick..." he explained. Did that mean he got her to do that? "It will be the first time you will see her play not through a screen, won't it?" They all silently nodded apart from Kagami. Shintaro had already watched some of the compilations of her goals. He recalled one of them had been on a freekick at the final... against Ryan Carter's team. "You will be in awe when you will behold her with a ball. France is lucky to have her... But do not tell her that, she would be unbearable."
"Come to think of it, how did you convince her to sign the contract?"
Carter chuckled before scratching his neck. "My initial goal consisted in trying to dissuade her from signing but I forgot she could not be swayed once she had her mind set on something," he replied before he lowered his voice and started on a conniving tone, "I am convinced that was Shynah's intent when she brought me there..."
"What are you talking about?"
They all jumped but Kuroko, frightened by Masuko's sudden reappearance. Carter was the first to get a grip on himself.
"My goodness, you frightened me... I was about to give them my business card of course, so they can contact me if they wanted more details on the Adidas event." And he really handed each of them a business card he took from the inside pocket of his suit jacket.
'Ryan Carter – Carter Industry,
France/England
Founder & CEO
. .XX'
"Wait, you're working–" Masuko suddenly covered Kagami's mouth with her hand with a panicked smile that caught the rest of them off guard before hissing something in French. Kagami looked abashed after that.
"If you are wondering if I am now working for my genitor... The answer is no. I created my own company and I plan to buy Carter Corporations within the next eight years." Carter kept his head high while adopting a more distant and colder voice.
Shintaro frowned. Whatever history he had with his father seemed complicated. And despite not really knowing much about his former teammate's personal life, it seemed that Carter had many points in common with Akashi.
Masuko slapped her best friend's head before putting a cautious hand on Carter. "Ryan..."
"Dinner's ready!"
Masuko and Kagami visibly sighed in relief as Carter pretended he didn't see their reaction... But the smile on the corner of his lips betrayed his amusement.
Dinner was delicious. They spent the rest of the night playing video games while Masuko's parents put their son to bed.
It turned out Masuko excelled on FIFA (the football video game) as well. And that Carter could speak in informal speech and swear by using Japanese slang when losing against her.
Furihata ended up acting as a peace maker when Masuko, Kagami and Carter started yelling at each other and accused the other of cheating... They had at least agreed on dropping that video game and decided it was better to watch a movie instead, since it appeared they all supported different teams in football and basketball.
Masuko went to her bedroom to get said DVD while grumbling what appeared to be insults in French.
At least, Shintaro now knew she could be petty as well against her rival... The fact that she was competitive was a given considering how frightening she had been after he had (mistakingly) belittled Seirin but she just showed that even her could be childish.
It didn't annoy Shintaro since even he could behave that way, especially against Murasakibara and Akashi... In fact, he appreciated the fact that Masuko showed that side to them.
"I cannot wait to rub in Dubois' face the fact that I will be featured in the new FIFA."
"For real?"
"Of course. I am a professional footballer now and you can play with any Ligue 1 teams on it."
"I bet you're goin' to use your team every time... By the way, how's your team doin' in the league?"
"We are currently third, thank you for asking."
Kagami nodded approvingly. "Not bad... What's takin' Emilie so long?"
"Midorimacchi should check what Masukocchi is doing!" Kise exclaimed in that annoying happy voice. Shintaro glared at him to tell him to shut up before realizing Kagami was silently staring at him with an unreadable look.
"Go ahead," Kagami ended up saying, the unreadable look still there. It almost made Shintaro shift from left to right but he still had his pride.
Shintaro cautiously stood up as Carter started arguing with Kagami again. He massaged his temples as he headed towards Masuko's bedroom. He stopped in his tracks after noticing through the ajar door Masuko struggling with the necklace around her neck.
Feeling suddenly nervous again, Midorima hawked to make his presence noticed. She abruptly turned her head towards the door and hissed in pain.
"Masuko, are you okay?" he immediately asked.
"Yes, I just... I got my hair tangled with my necklace. Could you help me with that, please?"
Shintaro hesitated for a few seconds before nodding and heading towards her without a word. The first thing that Shintaro thought to distract himself from ogling her back was that she was now slightly taller compared to her time at the hospital and almost reached 170cm.
She pulled up the part of her hair that was still free and turned around. He hesitated again before holding the necklace tangled with her hair but ended up touching her skin by accident. Masuko slightly flinched again although she didn't seem to be in pain that time.
"Sorry, your fingers are cold..." she mumbled.
Masuko now had goose bumps on the behind of her neck. Shintaro gulped before focusing on the necklace. "I apologize," he said, feeling bashful. The fact that he had removed his taped bandages for once made it worse.
"It's nothing..." she muttered.
They stayed in silence for the next few minutes as he tried to spare her scalp as much as he could as he meticulously removed the knots of hair from the necklace until he could undo the clasp without hurting her. That silence felt different somehow, almost heavy, but Shintaro couldn't pinpoint why given his current nervousness.
Masuko didn't say a word until she put the necklace and the golden ring on her bedside table. She stared at the pieces of jewelry and touched the behind of her neck, where his hand a minute ago. She bit her lips, looking pensive. It made Shintaro giddy.
"Um... Thank you," Masuko said.
Shintaro thought he could discern a flash of hesitation in her eyes before she hastily pecked him on the cheek. Before he could even question her, Masuko took the DVD on the bed and told him to hurry up before her best friend and her rival killed each other.
Shintaro suddenly felt grateful to Oha Asa for letting him be lucky enough not to have Masuko notice his embarrassingly reddened face as they both left the room.
Emilie finished tying her new shoes before tighten her ponytail again. Old habits die hard, even after all these months... In a way, it made Ryan feel safe again. Not to mention the fact he could finally talk about football with her again. That alone made the trip worth it.
He had been foolish, truly. But Ryan had the habit not to face the issue and run away instead. Figuratively, mostly, and literally, sometimes.
On their own wish, they were sharing a common green room instead of one for each of them to change themselves for the event.
"There won't be that many people there, right?" Emilie asked after putting her shirt on.
Ryan allowed himself to snort. It was just he and she in the room anyway. "Emilie, dear... How much do you know about you turning into a folk hero?"
She frowned. At least it confirmed that both she did the same as Jean and avoided typing her own names in the search engine. Or reading any French newspapers.
Sweet little Emilie and her ability to underestimate her impact again...
"Well, I remember the team telling me I was considered as such in the city. And you know how every sports media had been on my back since Regionals so I haven't done much research on that."
Partly because of him was left being unsaid.
"Just know that it is not just in our city, or even simply in France anymore..."
Emilie started zipping the tracksuit jacket they both had from their sponsor. Black and red. The colors that best suited her. "Oh... Oh." She stopped her current movement, her hand still on the zipper of her jacket. "It's the blog post, isn't it?"
Ryan started humming the chants her team's supporters had created as a reply, making her groan.
She had poured her feelings into that lengthy post that called for tolerance and social equality. And she had been willing to share some of her biggest heartbreaks to everyone.
Ryan admired her bravery. And he was thankful she did not resent him for being responsible of one of these heartbreaks. Surprisingly, Regionals did not destroy their friendship but brought them closer. He was certain Emilie could be the only girl who could find comfort in the one who broke her heart (let it be him or Jean).
"You should make updates there again in preparation of your comeback," he suggested. Despite avoiding talking about football with her, he knew she dearly missed playing. Making that blog had helped her a few months ago. "It is only a matter of time before your contract publically gets announced."
"As the new France Women's U18 player or as France Men's U18 assistant coach?"
"Both."
She started touching the ring on her finger, looking pensive before smiling softly. "Maybe I should..."
Ryan could see why Jean had fallen for her. Even he, despite his initial distance with people, had found himself having a deep affection for her, albeit it remained platonic. She and Théodore had taught him kindness after all.
He chuckled. They used to loathe each other mainly due to their opposite vision of the beautiful game. But Masuko and her team made him fundamentally change his way of playing. It was thanks to her he had managed to win Regionals, in a way outside people could not understand.
Ryan came closer to put the strand of hair that was hiding her eyes behind her ear. That fool still could not style her hair by herself.
"So..." he started, before flicking her nose. "Tell me more about what is going on between you and Kise Ryouta..."
She cocked her head, slightly puzzled by his question. "Pretty face? He's a good friend despite looking shallow. But you of all people should know not to stop at first appearance."
He knew, indeed.
It still baffled him that Emilie saw his true nature so fast... That underneath the bad-mannered thug from her rival neighborhood was hiding the Carter heir who ran away from his genitor.
"You know what I mean," he added.
She huffed. "Of course I know, I have eyes. He's hot, probably the most gorgeous guy around my age I've ever seen apart from Tatsuya but there's nothing romantic between us."
What he enjoyed the most in his relationship with Dubois was that once they had dropped their personas, they were brutally blunt with each other, with the exception of what happened after she got injured... He had felt too guilty to even talk to her about football and she only let him because they were not talking face to face.
But the point was, they knew things about the other that no one else knew.
Not even Taiga or Tatsuya. Not even Jean.
"Why are you asking that?" she asked with a hint a suspicion in her voice.
"To test the water..."
He would ask about Midorima Shintaro later. It was blatantly obvious the guy was romantically interested in her. Even Kagami could see it and yet did not actively fight against it, which meant he deemed him as possibly worthy of Emilie's affection.
Ryan would make his own investigation later.
She huffed, not impressed by his answer. "This is exactly why people think there's something between us."
"Good."
It had been their plan after all. What was just supposed to be a simple 'please pretend to be my girlfriend' favor between friends became a scheme to serve their potential professional purposes. Thankfully, there had been no foolish complications (read as 'romantic feelings') between them.
Someone knocked on the door before entering the room. It was Olivier, who was there to act as their agent. They picked the second pair of shoes they would wear later for the second part of the demonstration.
"Time's up kids. The announcer is about to introduce you, follow us."
The PR agent from Adidas was with him as well. They had met each other just after Emilie signed her contract for an exclusive interview.
The both of them were selective when it came to sponsoring and talking publically. They had both suffered from media exposure, despite their ages and wanted to keep a semblance of privacy.
The two adults took them to a second elevator leading them to the rooftop where the Adidas futsal park was. They were welcome with loud cheers from the people who came. Ryan had to admit it was more than he thought. They occupied one half of the pitch, leaving the other free for their demonstration.
Ryan and Emilie waved at everyone, as another Adidas employee handed them a wireless earpiece with a mic included. Ryan easily put it and helped Emilie since she, unlike him, had managed to escape from many interviews.
"Hello everyone!"
Both Emilie and he bowed as a greeting before the announcer started talking and indicated that the camera was there so the rest of the people that were in the shop and could not get a place there. That made Ryan raise an eyebrow. He knew Emilie was more popular than she thought but he was starting to get known outside of Europe as well but perhaps even he had underestimate their impact as well.
Just how many people were there?
He could see lots young adults, mainly men that Ryan could easily identify as avid football fans given the kits some of them had but there were also casual fans: families with children and girls in these famous Japanese uniforms who were probably around Emilie's age. She seemed to recognize some of them but looked puzzled.
They both easily spotted Emilie's friends thanks to their hair color and waved at them.
"... And Carter-senshu is currently playing for his city's team and is the third best scorer of the French league," the announcer added to end the quick presentation."It's a honor to have the both of them here for the launching of our new cleats. Could you talk a bit about them?" he asked.
"Of course. We are both wearing the Copa Mid Turf GTX shoes made for hard based synthetic grass like the one we have here," Emilie replied. "We sometimes played on synthetic grass as well. It's very different from natural grass, which is why we don't use cleats in that case"
"These shoes also have style and are perfect for rainy climates, they keep our feet dry." Ryan added. He remembered it had been quite useful to him when he had kept playing in the rain with Jean a few weeks ago before his pre-season.
The promotion part came as easy for them since they were both genuinely interested in football shoes. Ryan had even started a collection now that he had money (and Adidas as sponsor). But Ryan could not wait for the second part of the presentation.
"And now, Masuko-senshu and Carter-senshu will make a little demonstration," the announcer indicated, provoking immediately cheers from the crowd.
A/N: This time, dinner didn't end in a disaster but a lot is happening… I'm sorry for taking so much time to update, I'm also writing chapters for two of my other stories. I hope you enjoyed this chapter though, the Midorima/Masuko scene there is one of my favorite.
I didn't know exactly where to stop the chapter for a while before deciding to show Masuko starting to play football again in the next chapter. But for now, let's focus on the newcomer: Carter. While Masuko and Jean are very different, Carter and Masuko are alike in many ways (which explains their initial dislike for each other) but with a main difference: Masuko is kind, Carter isn't or at least, wasn't (but that has slightly changed).
He's very enjoyable to write, I cannot wait to reveal his own backstory and rivalry with Masuko. Carter is also the occasion to have someone's opinion on Masuko's dynamic with her new friends and team in Japan.
I would like to thank the people who has favorited or/and is following this story after I published the previous chapter: Bickslow, riliane1999, Vanessa2428, Brownies3, Superlils, Lilty Ravenhearth, CollegeGirl2018
Once again, thank you for the fav/following! Don't hesitate to post comments, I'll make sure to answer them on next chapter's A/N or through PM :)