Chapter Text
"So this is called Isekai? It's the dumbest thing I've ever seen." Ness commented from the couch.
"It's funny. I don't watch this because it has a deep plot. I do it because I can laugh a little and forget for a while how serious things can actually be." Responded Sendou, who was looking at his popcorn like it wronged him.
"Was that your thought process when you declared you wanted to marry a Hollywood actress all those years ago? In the middle of a match, too." Alright, now, Ness was really laughing at him.
"I thought you didn't watch that match! Didn't you say you hated blue lock at the time?!" Sendou finally looked at his friend.
"Got around to watching it like a year ago." Ness shrugged.
If someone had told Sendou all of those years ago that he and a German player (even more shocking, Ness) would become friends, he probably would've laughed loudly.
He remembered that time vividly. Ubers was playing against Bastad Munchen in the Neo egoist league. He watched Ness be so supportive of Kaiser it looked borderline obsessive. It felt like watching a toxic marriage.
He had been so curious, so after the match, he pushed aside his resentment for losing and went looking for the German player behind his team's back.
He had found Ness alone, crying. And Sendou didn't ask why. He sat down near him and let the other cry in peace.
A few weeks later, just before the end of the Nel, Ness found him and thanked him for that. He told Sendou that it felt good being able to just cry, without having to explain why, or being mocked for it. They exchanged numbers, and eventually became friends.
"Niko should've come." Sendou sighed. "I need an ally here."
"Oh, please. We both know Niko would've taken my side. That bitch loves pissing people off." He laughed, and, well, that was true.
"Whatever. The point is, Isekai aren't cool because they're deep, they're cool because they're fun... Some of them." Sendou did like the genre. He liked the ones with female protagonists best, because their plot appealed more to him.
"Sure, whatever. Remind me again why the blond girl is insulting the other one?" Ness redirected the conversation expertly.
"Well, the protagonist is in love with the blond girl, and she's the Villainess, so--" he was interrupted by the sound of his phone. "Ah, sorry, Hina is calling."
Hina was his girlfriend. They had met just after the Nel. She was a nice girl, starting her career as an influencer. After they began dating, she gained quite a few followers, making her really famous. Sendou loved her.
"Fucking bitch." Ness muttered, but Sendou didn't hear him, too busy answering the call.
"Omg! Are you ok, Sen? You took too long answering!" Came in her high pitched voice, making him smile. She cared so much.
"Sorry, Hina. I was watching an anime with Ness, so we had to pause it." He apologized.
"I don't really like him, you know this. He's not a good influence on you. Was it fun, at least?" And she was so understanding. She never forced Sendou to stop hanging out with his friends.
"Yeah, it was. We were just watching TV and catching up."
"That's nice. Well, anyways, can you come see me? I wanted to tell you something."
Sendou nodded absentmindedly, even if she couldn't see him. "Yeah, of course. Where are you?"
"I'm at the park near our house." She answered, and her tone changed slightly. To something he couldn't point out.
"The one near the cliff? Alright, I'm coming." He hung up, and looked at Ness. "Hey, sorry, something came up and--"
"You do know she's toxic, right?" That was a common thing his friends told Sendou. They just didn't know Hina.
"She's not. She just needs to tell me something." He defended her.
"She's the reason Aiku and you stopped talking."
"Oh, come on! That's not true! We just drifted apart." He rolled his eyes, but the memory of Aiku stung.
They had been so close. But after a while of dating Hina, Aiku started complaining that he never had time anymore. They started seeing each other less and less, until they stopped having contact all together. It wasn't anyone's fault, just bad luck.
"You can't be this blind." Ness gaped. "Not even I was this blind. There's a reason only Niko and I have stuck around this long."
"Maybe, but it has nothing to do with Hina. She's been nothing but nice to everyone."
"She's using you!" Ness exclaimed, frustrated. "She's been using you from the start! She's isolated you. This is the first time you've seen me in months, Sendou! And I know for a fact you don't have any more friends! Because everytime you talk to someone for more than two minutes, she takes you away!"
"She doesn't! You're imagining things!" Now they were both getting worked up.
"Do you want to know why Niko didn't come?! Because he's tired of getting Hina's threats!" That hit something. Sendou flinched.
"What?"
"She's been threatening everyone. Barou first. He didn't want to give in to her, but it got tiring, and he decided it wasn't worth it." It had been years since Sendou and Barou last talked. Sendou had even deleted all of the Ubers photos from his phone. "Then, the rest of Ubers. Niko's been getting threats for years. He didn't want you to know, because she seemed important to you, but she's dangerous. You can't keep ignoring this."
"I'm not ignoring everything!" Sendou insisted. "If they were getting threats, why didn't anyone say anything? And how do you know they're from Hina?"
"I've been getting them too!" Ness snapped. "Please, Sendou, listen to me. Hina's dangerous. You need to do something."
Sendou was mad. Hina was his girlfriend. She'd been there with him for everything. Even when all of his friends left, even when football stopped being fun and started to look like torture and he felt alone. She'd been there, telling him not to give up. To keep playing.
But he also felt cornered. Ness never made a fuss about anything with him. He never attacked anything Sendou liked. Not in a serious way, at least. But he'd been telling them about Hina. Everyone had. And Sendou couldn't give in. Without Hina, he had no one.
So he simply walked to the door. He grabbed his things and got out. But before he slammed the door, he turned around.
"Maybe things with Kaiser didn't work out, but don't take it out on me." And he left, knowing what he just said had broken his only friendship left.
...
He got to his meeting point with Hina feeling horrible. He wanted to curl up and die. But she had asked for him, and after being there for Sendou all this time, he owed her, at least this.
"Sen!" She shouted and hugged him.
Hina was shorter than him, although not by much. She had dark short hair, and light green eyes. She was always wearing light clothes. She said it was because her followers liked them. Some of it was maybe a little too revealing, but they talked about it. Sendou shouldn't be controlling and telling her what to wear.
"Hey, Hina." He greeted her, smiling softly. "What did you want to talk about?"
She seemed to remember in that moment. "Come. Let's go somewhere more private."
She led them to a secluded part of the park. To the limit of the cliff, where they could see the sea and the moon. It was beautiful.
"Well, Sen. I wanted to mention something." She started. "I've been getting more famous recently. I reached 8 million subscribers last week."
Sendou knew. He'd been with her, celebrating on stream. It had been an important day for Hina, so he invited her out to a restaurant. He was allergic to most of its food, but it was her favorite.
"You know, when we started dating." She was talking again. "I wasn't that well-known. It's thanks to you that I've reached this."
"It's all you, Hina. You did well." He answered.
But she shook her head, smiling. "No, you don't get it. You were the sensation. A football player in blue lock. People were attracted to that."
"Maybe, but--"
"Shut up for a second." She snapped. "You were useful, Sendou. I just took photos when you were there, or of your things, or made you appear on videos, and people flocked to them." Her tone changed. It wasn't sweet, or nice. It was cold, cruel, and a little deranged. "You were a gold mine. And so easy to use. I just had to tell you that I loved you, smile, and you'd do anything. Still do. You're so gullible."
Sendou took a small step back. "What are you talking about?" He asked, getting nervous.
"You were what I needed. And it was so easy... I simply had to take you away from people. That guy, Aiku. He even had a crush on you." She laughed, now it was definitely cruel. "As if you could've been enough for anyone. The only reason anyone even tolerated you, was because you were decent at football. Not even good."
Sendou felt tears in his eyes. He had always been a little bit sensitive. And Hina knew this. She was still laughing at him, telling him everything he already knew but was desperate to ignore.
"I just needed a football star. But you never were good enough. I only settled because you were the only one easy enough to manipulate. So desperate for affection you'd do anything for it." She was being cruel on purpose, Sendou realized. Or maybe, she was just being sincere for the first time in years.
"Hina, please--"
"Oh, shut up!" She snarled. "You're so stupid. But for some reason, you have a couple of fans, so even though I don't need you anymore, I couldn't break up with you. That would only make me lose subscribers." She stepped closer, putting her hands on Sendou's chest, and for the first time, Sentido felt repulsed by this. "So I thought. And I realize, you could be useful one last time. You'll make me even more famous. I just need you to die."
She pushed, and Sendou felt himself stumble, until his feet stopped feeling the ground.
What he felt next couldn't be described. As he fell, an inexplicable sensation of calm flooded his body. Like he knew it would happen.
And then his mind started to work. He thought about it, and he felt like crying again. Ness was right. Ness was completely right and he had been stupid enough to be cruel to his friend.
Hina had only wanted him because he played football. Because she wanted to use his fame for her own gain. She was smart about it. Because everyone except for him had been smart enough to know what was up.
He now remembered Snuffy looking at him with pitty, before he stopped talking to him. He remembered Barou calling him an idiot, even when Sendou didn't know the reason for it. Niko had been his guardian angel. He stuck around. He always shot dirty looks at Hina, but never insulted Sendou. Ness had kept quiet, but had been close, trying to get him to confide in him.
And now, Sendou was going to die. He was going to die after having destroyed every relationship he had. After having driven away every friend he ever made. All because of Hina.
No. All because of football. Everyone had suffered, because Sendou decided he wanted to play football. If he ever got another chance, he would never step into a football pitch again.
He felt his body reach the ground. Probably some rocks. He felt excruciating pain for a second, and then, nothing. His mind was floating, completely blank, and he knew he was dying. Strangely, he wasn't scared or sad about it.
It felt safer than being alive.