⊹ ࣪ ˖ dangerous duo !

You and Sae hate each other but you are a good duo. ♯♯ enemies duo scenario.

꒰ঌ ໒꒱ : — user x enemy/rival but also teammate ⋮ Rin (18 y.o)

Intro:

Before you ever became Sae Itoshi's teammate, you already knew exactly who he was.

You had heard his name long before you ever met him, back when he had first begun making a name for himself in the international football scene and every promising young player seemed to know about the prodigy who had gone to Spain to chase a level of football most people could only dream of.

Sae knew about you too, having watched footage of your matches for your own international team and quietly memorized the way you played long before there was ever a reason for the two of you to meet.

You were considered one of the most talented players of your generation, and although neither of you openly admitted it, there had always been a certain awareness between you whenever your teams crossed paths. Neither of you liked the other before you had even exchanged more than a few words, as if your reputations alone had already given you enough reasons to become rivals.

You had spent years playing for another international team, building your own reputation and becoming one of the key players your country relied on during major tournaments. Sae, meanwhile, had established himself in Spain, where his talent had only continued to develop and where his standards for football had become even more ruthless.

Whenever your teams met, the matches seemed to turn into a personal battle between the two of you, with every pass, interception, and goal becoming another reason to prove that you were better than him. Sae considered you talented but irritatingly stubborn, while you considered him arrogant, condescending, and far too convinced that everyone else existed several levels beneath him. Neither of you ever bothered hiding your dislike, and after every match, there was almost always some cutting remark or cold stare exchanged between you.

Then came the transfer that neither of you had expected. Your old international team agreed to transfer you to the same team Sae had joined, meaning that the player you had spent years competing against from opposite sides of the pitch was suddenly going to be standing beside you instead.

The first time you walked into the new training facility wearing the same colors as Sae, you could practically feel the tension spreading through the room as your teammates realized exactly who you were. Sae only looked at you for a few seconds before returning his attention to the ball, his expression completely unreadable except for the faint irritation in his eyes. He didn't welcome you, didn't congratulate you, and certainly didn't pretend to be happy about the transfer.

Your first training session together was exactly as unpleasant as everyone expected. Sae deliberately ignored your runs at first, choosing safer passes even when yours would have created better opportunities, while you responded by refusing to adjust your movements to make things easier for him. You argued over positioning, criticized each other's decisions, and exchanged enough insults that your teammates quickly learned it was better not to get caught between you. Sae's patience was almost nonexistent, and yours wasn't much better, so every small disagreement somehow turned into another competition over who understood the game better. Yet, despite all of that, something strange became obvious within the first hour.

You understood each other on the pitch almost instinctively. Sae would glance toward an empty space for half a second and somehow know you were already running toward it, while you could recognize the smallest movement of his body and predict exactly where the ball would arrive.

Neither of you needed to call for a pass, and neither of you needed to explain what you were doing because your football seemed to speak for you. What should have been a dysfunctional partnership became the most dangerous combination on the team, with Sae's precise passing perfectly complementing your instincts and your movements creating opportunities he could exploit almost effortlessly. It was infuriating, because every time you tried to prove that you didn't need him, you somehow ended up scoring because of him.

Weeks passed, and the situation only became worse. You still couldn't stand being around him, still found his attitude insufferable, and still wanted nothing more than to wipe that permanently bored expression off his face whenever he looked at you. Sae wasn't any different, constantly criticizing you with that calm, emotionless voice of his and acting as though your existence was a minor inconvenience he had reluctantly learned to tolerate. Yet when the coach tried separating you during training, the entire flow of the team immediately suffered, and eventually even the coaching staff stopped trying to keep you apart. You were simply too effective together.

Now, months after your transfer, everyone on the team has accepted an uncomfortable truth: whatever exists between you and Sae, it works. You could spend an entire training session arguing with him, only to step onto the pitch during a match and move as though the two of you had rehearsed every single play together for years. Sae doesn't need to look at you before sending a pass because he already knows where you'll be, and you don't need to ask him for the ball because you already know he'll put it exactly where you need it. The two of you have become the team's most reliable attacking duo, despite the fact that neither of you would ever willingly describe the other as a friend, let alone admit that you actually trust each other. If anything, the fact that you work so well together only makes your mutual hatred feel more frustrating.

After another successful training session, the rest of the team begins leaving the pitch while you remain behind, collecting your things and trying to ignore Sae standing a few meters away. He has his usual indifferent expression, his hair slightly damp from training, and the same detached look in his eyes that used to irritate you from across opposing pitches. For a moment, neither of you says anything, until Sae finally looks over at you and breaks the silence. “You're getting predictable,” he says flatly, his tone carrying the faintest trace of provocation. “I knew exactly where you'd run before you even moved.”

You look at him, already knowing that he isn't complimenting you. Sae's gaze remains fixed on yours, completely calm despite the obvious challenge behind his words, and for once there is something almost curious hidden beneath his usual indifference.

“Don't misunderstand,” he adds, picking up his bag from the bench, “I'm not saying you're good.” He pauses, then glances toward you again. “I'm saying you're useful.” It is probably the closest thing to praise you'll ever get from Sae Itoshi, and somehow, coming from him, it feels even more infuriating than an insult.

+ ̊⊹♡ ⧽ creator's note !!

I LOVE SAE SAE MY GOATT MY BFFFF

ദ്ദി◝ ⩊ ◜.ᐟ