Chapter Text
Around this time after practice, Kaiser would be driving his car back home but after getting outrun by Luna on the field, he took the walk from Real Madrid to his apartment. It had been a good three years since he moved from Munich to Madrid. Upper management had told him he didn’t need to learn Spanish, but he signed up for the language program that Real Madrid provided. It was just one more way to integrate him from the culture shock of moving to a new country. But he still liked the city of Madrid even with its distance from Munich.
During practice today, he cussed him out after Sae refused to pass him the ball when Kaiser stood in the perfect position for a Kaiser Impact. Something, something about not being worthy for his passes. What a freak. Ness would’ve dutifully made a magic pass to let him score, but alas Ness did not come with him to Madrid.
Actually, Sae Itoshi had the ball stolen from him during practice. Kaiser had asked, maybe insulted , why he lacked focus, though Sae didn’t reply.
For the past couple of weeks, his teammate Sae had been acting out of it, missing passes, missing shots, missing practice. Even with all his poking and prodding, Sae didn’t tell him why and Kaiser stopped asking after a while.
He shook his head, shifting his focus on the newcomer who transferred from Japan. The wild player, Bachira Meguru, had ripped up the field with his crazed dribbling. He, too, had refused to pass to Kaiser and missed his shot.
Something, something about a monster telling him to play that way, he had explained. Another freak.
God, why were all soccer players so weird? He didn’t dwell on thoughts of Bachira. He, Luna, and Sae could always give him a little talk after practice.
Even with his infuriating teammates, it would not stop his climb up to the top, becoming the best in the world.
Beating Noel Noa. The previous world’s best stepped down, leaving a power vacuum for strikers to take.
Kaiser would be the one to win that title in the end.
Even if he missed the shot at the last Champions League final with the last second ticking away. He could still recall his feet grazing the ball after getting pressed by two defenders and three more in front of him. He kicked the ball, spinning, arching, curving, then–
It bounced off the goal post and they lost 3-4.
No. No! Fuck that! He’ll have his next shot of winning with Real Madrid at the next Champions League only a few months away now.
Getting closer to the apartment, he turned from the main street into a back alleyway. A dark path laid in front of him, but his feet gingerly stepped down the concrete, recalling the path to his home.
Squelch.
He stopped in his tracks and snapped out of his thoughts, looking in front of him.
He first saw blue. Two big beautiful blue eyes stared back at him.
Then all he could see was red.
Red from the blood pooling on the asphalt. Red on his shoes as he stepped into a red puddle. Red on the knife and the hand that holds it. Red on the shirt, pants, gloves, and face staring back at him.
Red dripping from the body with hollowed eyes staring up from the red ground.
He’s seen violence, seen the gruesome underbelly of Munich’s slums, seen blood, his own and others.
Never a dead body.
In that split second, he had a choice, stand and fight, ready his arms and fend off the killer who saw him. Or…
He saw black.
His legs whipped from under him. He ran faster than the speeds he garnered running down the field to the perfect spot between defenders. If he was in the game, he would be hearing the cheers of fans.
Not the howling of his heart.
This was no game. This was a chase. At least, he thought it was. His head faced forward, refusing to glance back. He had to go go go somewhere, anywhere.
He turned a corner then another. Running out into a familiar large street, he looked up and saw his apartment building. His feet slowed down to a jogging pace as he turned around. No one was there. His skin prickled, and he broke into a dash back to his house.
Blinking, he found himself slamming his front door. His right hand slid over the lock with a click. For peace of mind, he locked the barrel bolt and chain on his door too. He grasped at the wall as he sunk down to the ground. His chest heaved air in and out, in and out. His legs that burned from practice felt like they were on fire from the extra run he had partaken.
Madrid was known as a safe city!
God!? I’m next! I’m next! I’m next!
He remembered the scene of blue and red. He remembered the corpse and saw blond hair and blue tips. A rose tattoo crawled down the left arm, and when he went closer, his blue eyes reflected back at him.
No. No. Shit! That can’t happen to me!
Right. Right! There was the police. The police! He grabbed his phone from his pocket and pressed the emergency dial.
“Hello? I’d like to report witnessing a murder.” He explained to the dispatcher. “Yes, it happened in the alleyway between San Salvador and La Calle de baile. I saw the face of the murderer. He looked Japanese and had these big blue eyes. No, I’m not there anymore. It happened right in front of me, and I ran away. Yes, thank you. Thank you.”
Kaiser hung up the phone. He rubbed his face and ran a hand through his bangs. With one last deep breath, he stood up and felt the blood rush into his legs. He walked toward the window and checked the bolt, looking through the blinds to see if there was anyone outside. Only the empty and quiet street was below. He closed the blinds and turned on the lights. The clock in his home displayed 11:00. It was time for him to sleep.
He made sure to check every room in his home before lying on his bed. The time now displayed 11:30.
I’ve already told the police, but– He scrolled his phone and clicked on his contact labeled Ness. After a couple of rings, Ness picked up.
“Hey, Kaiser! What’s up? You don’t usually call me this late.” Ness asked. Kaiser breathed in deeply as he took in the sound of his friend’s voice.
He exhaled.
“Ness.” He started. “I witnessed a fucking murder!” Kaiser inhaled. “A real god-forsaken murder!”
“You– What!?” Ness screamed. Kaiser heard shuffling. “Oh my god! Are you okay!? Kaiser, where are you right now!? Are you hurt!? Do I need to call the police!?”
“Ness, listen!” Kaiser hushed him. “I was walking in an alleyway to take a shortcut, and I stepped in some puddle! I look up and there’s a guy holding a bloody knife in front of me! There’s a corpse lying on the ground! He. Looked. Back. At. Me!”
Kaiser sat up. “And there was no sign of fear or remorse in his eyes! He looked so composed like he’s done it before, and he’d do it again. I could already read the morning headlines of ‘Star striker of Real Madrid found dead in the alley to his house’!”
I started running before I knew what was happening!” Kaiser sighed. “I’m back home now, but what the hell man!? There’s been a murder in the alleyway next to my apartment, and I can’t sleep knowing that the murderer saw me!”
He heard Ness take a breath on the other end of his phone. “Oh my god. Oh my god! Kaiser, I’m calling the police and booking a flight to you.”
“What!?” Kaiser yelled. “Wait, Ness–” Kaiser closed his eyes and sighed. He held his hand over his heart and breathed in and out. “No, no, you aren’t. I’ve already called the police, and you aren’t booking a flight for me. We’re both too busy right now to afford a trip.” He took one last deep breath and continued. “Just listen to me, Ness. There’s been a murder! A murder next to my house! And a murderer who saw me!” Kaiser groaned. “And they said Madrid was a safe city! Ughhhh.” Kaiser buried his head in his hands. “I should’ve asked the police to patrol my house too. Maybe some self-defense weapons…”
“Already pulled up a list. I’ll send it to you.”
Kaiser raised his eyebrows and laid back down. Years of being away from his friend has made him forget how scarily efficient he was at knowing his every need.
“Thanks, Ness.”
“I’ll make sure no harm comes to you.” Ness paused, “but are you sure you don’t need me over there? I’m a click away from booking the flight.”
“Yeah.” Kaiser sighed and he rubbed his eyes for the nth time. “Soccer comes first, and I have practice early in the morning tomorrow.” Finally, his heart felt like it was slowing down. “I’ll double check the locks on my doors and windows and head to bed and look over the list too.”
“You better call me back in the morning, Kaiser! Or else I'll make a missing person report and book the flight immediately. 5:00, when you wake up!”
“Course.” Kaiser pulled up his laptop and skimmed through the list Ness sent. He hit purchase all. “I’m going to try to sleep.”
“Ok, good night, Kaiser. And call me! Do not forget to call me back!” said Ness.
“Night, Ness.” He hung up.
Kaiser stood up and went around to his doors and windows. He wiggled the bolt lock on his front door even though it wouldn’t budge any more from its position. He pressed down on the chain and it also wouldn’t move. He passed by his desk with paper spilling onto the floor to a drawer next to it. He rummaged through scissors, staplers, and other office supplies before finding a pocket knife nestled at the bottom. Walking back to the bed, he placed the knife underneath his pillow. He took one last look out of his blinds. He pictured the police cars pulling into the alleyway. Nothing.
He blinked and saw blue eyes staring up at him. He jumped back from the blinds and felt his heart in a rush. Grasping his chest, he looked back at the street.
Nothing.
God, my head.
In the distance, he heard sirens.
Thank God. He slumped into his bed and tried to sleep.
Running, running, running. Kaiser was running through the back streets of Madrid. His breath felt hot on his face, but his body was chilled deep into his bones. He glanced back for only a second to see the shadowy figure of blue eyes and a red ax.
It wasn’t an ax. It was a knife, but it was bloody and so, so red.
Kaiser knew he was faster, so much faster. He was a professional athlete for god’s sake.
He took another look back, but the man had disappeared. Kaiser slowed his pace to look around.
Where-- Where did he go?
He turned a corner and then another and slowed to a walk. He was on a different street now. Millions of billboards lined the buildings. His face reflected on every one of them as they displayed a LED Kaiser holding up rose perfume.
He didn’t recognize a street like this in Madrid, but a big street was a big street. He was safe.
He was safe.
But where was everyone–
LED Kaiser’s face shattered into a million pieces as one of the billboards smashed open. Kaiser turned, and the ax descended down on him.
Blue eyes.
Kaiser woke up with a start. The pale light of the moon shone through his window. One of his pillows was on the floor, and his sheets were jumbled in a pile with his body in the center. He groaned. He hooked his arms on the pillow still on the bed and closed his eyes.
One hour. Two hours. Finally, finally, he felt sleep overtake him.
His alarm blared and his phone rang. He jolted awake. He looked at his phone to see the caller ID from Ness. He quickly picked up the phone to inform Ness he was safe and just woke up before throwing the phone back on his stand. He got up to look out the window only to see the brisk early morning of Spain. He pulled out his phone to see if anything appeared on the news.
What? Nothing!?
He cocked an eyebrow. Maybe they don’t release details of a murder this early?
No, no. He’ll just need to wait. He fished the pocket knife from underneath his pillow.
After taking a shower, he dried his hair with a towel as he took a look at himself in the mirror.
He grabbed the sides of the sink and stared into his reflected eyes.
“You’re a star, Kaiser. You’re going to do amazing. Nothing…” His breath hitched. “Nothing will stop you from getting to the top.”
He looked closer at his reflection. He rubbed the underside of his eyes as he noticed two dark moons. He groaned.
He fished out some concealer from his drawer and dabbed it on his lids, finishing his makeup up with streaks of his red eyeliner. Good enough. Checking his phone, he saw that his package had been delivered. He got himself together and grabbed his car keys before running downstairs.
“You look like a zombie,” said Sae. He shut his locker.
“Shut it, Sae. I do not,” Kaiser replied.
Sae took a sip of his water and glanced at him. He shrugged his shoulders.
“I do not!” Kaiser barked.
“Your concealer isn’t hiding it.” Sae pointed.
“Fuck.” Kaiser pulled out a mirror from his locker. He rubbed underneath his eyes, dark eyelids peaking through. “I should find a better brand. This is all cause I witnessed a fucking murder, and I’m getting restless with nothing appearing on the news.”
Sae’s water bottle fell from his hands. Water pooled on the floor.
Kaiser resisted the urge to laugh at Sae’s deerlike gaze.
“Excuse me?” said Sae.
“Eh?” came a voice from behind Kaiser.
Kaiser turned around to see Bachira staring at him, “Did I hear that right? You must’ve had a crazy night!”
“Wait, what happened?” Another teammate asked.
“Kaiser witnessed a murder!” Bachira called out.
“What!?”
The whole team went into an uproar.
Kaiser slammed his locker and faced his teammates. “Yeah, I was walking home the other night. It was late, and I wanted to get back home fast, so I took a shortcut! Then bam! There’s a dead body in front of me with the killer staring at me. And given that I’ve been checking my phone with no updates, I don’t think he’s been caught!”
One of his teammates started looking it up on his phone. “Oh, shit, yeah. I don’t see any news.”
“Kaiser,” Sae snapped at him. He picked up his water bottle but made no attempt to clean the puddle. “Why are you even here today?”
“What do you mean ‘why am I here?’ I’m here for practice?”
“No, you witnessed a murder! Shouldn’t you be at the police station? Or at least at home? You could’ve called management. I think they’d understand.”
“I already called the police when I ran back home. I’m waiting for a response.”
Sae sighed. “I can’t believe your first thought in the morning after witnessing a murder was to go to practice.”
“Shut it.”
“What’s all the commotion happening in here?” Leonardo Luna, the team’s captain, popped his head into the locker room. “It’s about time for you to start training.”
Kaiser opened his mouth to reply, but Bachira once again yelled, “Kaiser saw a murder!”
“What?”
“Kaiser said he saw someone get killed in front of him!” Bachira gestured with his thumb moving across his neck.
“Huh?”
Guess the team captain will need to know too. “Last night, I–”
Kaiser’s phone rang.
“Hang on, I need to take this.”
Kaiser turned to leave the crowd.
“What!?”
“So, how did everything go? You practically sprinted out of the locker rooms.” Sae asked him over the phone.
Kaiser slammed his brakes at the red light. “I got fucking charged for making a false report!”
“What do you mean?”
“They said they couldn’t find any evidence at the location. Nothing! It was a serious crime to make false reports or something and charged me for it! God, I can’t believe this is going on my record!”
“Huh.”
“But Sae listen. There was so much blood and it was pooling into the concrete. There was no way someone could clean it up that quickly! And the body, where the hell would they hide a body so close to a neighborhood!? How could the police find nothing!?”
“...”
“Are you listening to me!?” Kaiser pressed on the accelerator.
“I am,” Sae said.
“And!?”
“Kaiser, are you sure you saw a murder?”
“What? Of course, I’m sure!”
“You sure? Really sure?” Sae prodded.
Kaiser’s hands clenched around the phone. “Yeah, why do you keep asking me!?”
“No evidence at the crime scene. You show up to practice looking tired. A murder done in the alleyways between the main street and a neighborhood with no other witnesses than you.” A pause.
“Are you sure it wasn’t a lack of sleep?” Sae asked
“Excuse me?” Kaiser growled.
“You overdo it.”
Kaiser raised his shoulders and belted, “What the hell, Sae. I know what I saw!”
“Do you?”
“Yes, I–” Kaiser pinched his nose bridge at another stop. The red and blue of the crime scene coalesced in his mind. Red, red, red, everywhere. Blue? His head hurt.
“You should go back home for today.”
“What!?” Kaiser erupted again. “But practice isn’t over yet!”
“I already told the coach what was going on. I also told him that you weren’t coming back.”
“You can’t do that.”
“I did. Bachira vouched for your eye bags too.”
“Fuck. What the hell.” Even Bachira was in on it?
“If you show up, they’ll just send you back.”
“God, you– ughhh. Who do you think you are to dictate what I do?”
“You’ll screw over the whole team with a lukewarm performance.”
A slew of curses staggered in Kaiser’s throat, but he kept his lips shut tight. Instead, he told Sae.
“Come with me to the scene of the crime.”
Pause.
“Huh, why?” Sae asked.
“What do you mean ‘why!?’ You’re the one saying I hallucinated all of that! I’ll prove to you that I didn’t.”
“I don’t feel like it. Just forget it ever happened.”
“Just come with me.” Kaiser sighed and drove his car into the parking lot. He rested his head on the wheel. After a few beats of his heart, he admitted. “I– I don’t want to go by myself.”
Sae didn’t say anything. Kaiser expected Sae to call him out on being a coward or delusional or any number of colorful insults the monotone Sae would throw out.
“Fine,” is what Sae replied.
“Wait– really!?”
“If I don’t go with you, you’ll just go looking for yourself and get a heart attack. That’ll be worse than not getting enough rest.”
“Thank god. I’ll show you that I didn’t make it up.”
“Mmhm.”
“It was around here,” said Kaiser. He led Sae through the alleyway. Unlike the other night, the sun now poured through the alleyway, and it warmed his skin.
“Is the pocket knife really necessary?”
Kaiser held the knife in front of him. “Apparently, crime is so popular in this little alleyway, I’m just trying to make sure I’m not the one getting stabbed!”
“You look like the one committing a crime, and your tattoo and tacky hair isn’t helping.”
“Fuck you. My hair isn’t tacky. Just follow me. We’re getting close.”
“Hmph.”
Before turning the corner, Kaiser pictured the sight with blood seeping through the concrete, impossible to wipe out. Blood on the wall as well, pooling from a corpse. However, when he tried to remember the face of the corpse, the only face he remembered was that of the killer. Blue eyes stared back at him. He turned the corner.
And nothing.
A can rolled on the ground and some wood blocks had been stacked up on the side of the wall, but there was no sign of a murder happening here. No blood, no corpse, no knife, no body.
“This can’t be–”
Sae pushed past him and looked around. “Looks like there is nothing here.”
“No. It was here,” said Kaiser. He knelt down to the ground to try to find the tiniest bit of blood.
“If the police couldn’t find anything, I doubt you could.”
“It was here. I’m telling you.” He got up. “Maybe, it was up ahead.”
He ran down the alleyway, turning his head from side to side. If the corpse had been moved, it would leave a bloody trail. Kaiser looked for red.
Nothing, nothing, nothing. Nothing appeared on the empty gray walls and concrete.
“What?”
Sae appeared from behind him. “There really isn’t anything here, Kaiser.”
“But– I saw–”
“I keep telling you to just forget about it. You went home late last night and you conjured up a murder happening in front of you.”
“No, I was perfectly awake last night! Why aren’t you listening to me!? If Ness was here, he’d–”
“Ness isn’t here, though, and you aren’t in Germany either.” Sae walked closer to Kaiser. He looked up at him.
“What are you going on about?” Kaiser snapped his attention to Sae, forgetting about his search. He sized him up.
“You’ve been in Spain for a couple of years now, but you aren’t used to things. You think I don’t see how much you push yourself in practice?”
“That’s because I’m going to take over the team and show the world I’m the number one striker.” Kaiser puts his hands on his hips. “How is this relevant–”
“You’re really bad at taking care of yourself. Especially since you don’t have someone who’d do that for you anymore.” Sae walked one step closer to Kaiser and stood in front of him.
“You–!” Kaiser glowered as he looked down at Sae, but Sae didn’t budge. His cool, teal eyes remained steady.
“You don’t have a dog following you around, and the team isn’t bowing at your command. Hell, you barely get my passes.”
“Hey!” Kaiser barked. “Ness isn’t a fucking dog, and— God —you just have so much to say about me–”
“Request for a roommate. It’s not the same as a caregiver, but it could help you out. May also let you get to know your teammates better. There are some looking for one.”
What?
“What are you going on about!?” Kaiser raised his arms.
“Just try it. It might help.”
Huh?
“What brought this up? Your solution to all my apparent problems is to ‘get a roommate?’ Where is this even coming from? What is ‘roommate’ code for something else?” Kaiser paused and then continued. “Wait, do you have a ‘roommate’ now?”
“Actually, I–” Sae halted and looked away. He took a step back. “No, nevermind.”
“So, you do have one!” Kaiser laughed. “A ‘roommate.’ Good for you, Sae. You never seemed interested in that kind of stuff so really Good. For. You! But, hell, I am not lonely enough to need a ‘roommate.’ And I definitely don’t have the damn time to go looking for one either!”
“No, I–” Sae’s eyes keep darting away. In all his years of knowing him, Kaiser had never seen him so shifty.
Part of him wanted to continue pushing the topic, but Sae kept backing away from him, mentally and physically. He kept walking backwards. He was going to hit a wall. Kaiser sighed.
“I can take care of myself just fine, thank you very much. I really don’t need you to tell me how to live my life.”
Sae shrugged. “It was just a suggestion. Anyways, are you going to keep this fruitless search or are you finally going home and getting rest.”
Kaiser looked down and rubbed his eyes. He really, really didn’t want to believe Sae, but his head hurt and the bed sounded lovely right now.
“Fine.” Kaiser made a gesture with his hands, “Fine! I’m going back home.”
“Good,” Sae turned around but stopped. “Do you need me to walk you back?”
“No.” Kaiser turned around then paused and looked back to Sae. “Yeah.”
“Let’s go.” Sae gestured for Kaiser to lead him home.
Kaiser changed into his purple robe, his favorite with the white lining. He took a sip from some squash he had left over and sat on his bed. The sheets were still thrown around from the other night but at least all his pillows were on top. He checked his phone and called Ness.
“Hey, Kaiser! Is everything alright?” Ness picked up not even a second later.
“I got charged for filing a misreport, discovered no evidence of a crime happening at the scene, and Sae believes it was all in my head. He said I’ve been pushing myself too hard or something.”
“What?” Ness paused. “But you sounded so frantic last night.”
“I know!” Kaiser sat up and took another swig from the squash. “I know what I saw, but there really is nothing there, and the police couldn’t find anything either, and ughhh–” Kaiser groaned.
“I believe whatever you think,” said Ness, “If you think there was a murder then there was one… But if you think you dreamed it up then I would be fine with that too. It would be better if a murder didn’t happen near your house.”
“Yeah…” Kaiser downed his drink like it was a shot, but he couldn’t drink real alcohol the day before practice.
“Do you want me to come visit?” asked Ness.
“Where is this coming from?”
“Just to catch up. You sound stressed.”
“No, no. You keep jumping at the chance to visit me, but we’re both too busy to afford that. I was only sent home early today because I had to go to the police station, and Sae banned me from going back to practice.” Kaiser set the glass down. “But, it’s funny. Sae said I should get a ‘roommate.’ I don’t know what the hell he was going on about. It’s not like I need one to help pay rent. He thinks I have no friends or something. It’s infuriating. Going on and on about how I suck at taking care of myself. How long does he think I’ve been on my own! God!?
“Oh, but I know he only said that because he found his own ‘roommate.’ The stoic Sae has finally found someone! Oh, how that would ruin his image.”
“Ah, yeah. He doesn’t seem like the type, but who knows…?”
He trailed off.
“Ness?”
“Are you sure you don’t need me? I have the tab for flights open.”
“Do you just keep it open at all times?”
“Whenever you call me, yeah. I keep it open just in case. It has been a while you know.”
“I guess…” Even in the off season, Kaiser dedicated all his time to training before he could think about returning home. Now right before the season, his mind had only been thinking about his schedule, training, diet, repeat. “But, no, Ness. I’m just going to get some rest. Maybe I shouldn’t be worrying about… what I saw.”
“Right, and you’re prepared if you get in trouble.”
“Mmhm.” Kaiser slipped the pocket knife under his pillow. “Good night, Ness. I’ll call you later.”
“Good night, Kaiser!”
Kaiser hung up the phone and threw it on his nightstand next to his glass, just another thing he’d clean in the morning. He hit his head on the pillows and turned the lights off.
Once again, he found himself on the dark, empty streets of Madrid. No, this wasn’t Madrid. He’d seen the Madrid nightlife and knew the streetlights would be up late in the evening and people would be walking from bar to bar.
This Madrid was empty and cold.
He walked.
Get out. Get out. Now. Now.
The only light source were the flickering street lights. None of the buildings were open, and Kaiser saw shadows dancing in the windows out of the corner of his eye, but they’d disappear when he looked closer.
He walked.
The street went on for miles. Madrid wasn’t this big. It didn’t go out in the distance toward the fog. The old architecture seemed to close in on him. The old Islamic architecture began to merge with those of Munich’s, but this was not Munich it was Madrid. No, it was neither. Where was he?
Screech.
He stopped.
He turned to look behind him. In the midst of the fog, he saw a figure, a dark shadow. In his right hand, he held what looked like a pickaxe. As the fog cleared, he saw it clearly.
Blue eyes.
He ran.
Whether it be in his youth chasing soccer balls or on the field sprinting toward the goal, Kaiser would keep on running, running, running.
The sound of the pickaxe grinding against the ground stopped, replaced by hurried footfalls behind him.
How? How was he still so close?
Kaiser turned into an alleyway. The windows on the building seemed to reflect his frazzled hair and heated breath as he ran and ran. After turning one more corner, he slowed, and looked around.
He doesn’t seem to be behind me.
The windows on the building shifted from his face to his pursuers. From the corner of his eye, he dropped. The pickaxe swung and missed his head. He fell on the ground and looked up. Blue met blue.
“How are you keeping up?” he asked.
His pursuer gave no response and merely swung the pickaxe.
Kaiser rolled to the side. The pickaxe hit the concrete and created a hole. He stumbled as he got up and kept running down the alley.
He started to sweat. He hardly sweated, not during practice and rarely at games. His heart raced.
In the corner of his eye, he saw a glint of metal and ducked. The pursuer burst jumped out from a cracked window.
“Fuck!” He yelled, “Why can’t I outrun you!?”
A pickaxe thrown to his head was his response. Kaiser stepped out of the way before it could hit him. The pickaxe clattered on the ground behind him. He looked down at the pickaxe and picked it up. He turned back to the pursuer.
“Don’t you dare come any closer.”
The boy with blue eyes just stared as he walked closer and closer to Kaiser. Kaiser held the pickaxe up.
“I’m telling you–”
The wood of the pickaxe splintered and the head fell from the base. Kaiser looked down.
“Huh?”
In the second he did, his pursuer swung a hidden knife at his eyes.
Kaiser woke up. He stared at the ceiling for a few minutes before digging his palms in his eyes and groaned.
“What the fuck. I was trying to forget what happened.”
He stared at his phone, it would be a few hours before his alarm went off. He turned off the blue light and buried his head under the pillows.
When his alarm rang properly, Kaiser got up and turned it off before throwing the phone on the ground.
His blanket threatened to fall onto the floor. His covers had been thrown from out of the bed. Pillows had been thrown into a pile at the head of his bed. The glass that he drank from the other night had been knocked over. He walked over to pick up his phone checking to see if he cracked it and went into the bathroom.
As he was brushing his teeth, he scrolled through his phone looking for melatonin gummies before making a note to buy some when he’d go shopping. Spitting out his toothpaste, he prepared for the rest of his day.
Praising himself in front of the mirror. Check.
Apply red eyeliner and some concealer. Check.
Quick breakfast as he threw some eggs into a pot. Check. Fuck, he forgot to salt them.
Pocket knife and car keys. Check.
Kaiser walked out of his apartment.
When he left his car to go to practice, Kaiser began walking over to the lockers, but he noticed Bachira on his way over.
Bachira may not have been a strange sight, but the person he talked to was.
Bachira covered most of the figure, so he couldn’t see his face but noticed the black hair and a little sprout on top.
No one on the team had hair like that.
“Who is that?” Luna popped up from behind Kaiser and asked.
“Don’t know him. He’s not supposed to be in here,” Kaiser replied.
“Hm.”
“I’ll go tell them,” said Kaiser.
Some of the team members including Sae had walked out of the locker rooms. Kaiser only spared them a small glance before walking to Bachira.
“Hey, Bachira–!”
Bachira turned around and as he did, he revealed the man he had been talking to.
Blue eyes. Blue eyes. Blue eyes.
It was not a dream. It was not a dream. It was not a dream.