Arc1: Chapter4

 

   Leon was a person obsessed with art. Since he was young, Leon was in love with beauty and could gaze at pieces of art -painting, sculpture, etc- for hours. 

 

   He tried his hand at painting. And like everyone else, the start was hard. Leon wanted his art to be perfect. Every single art. And he was frustrated and angry when he found he couldn’t.

 

   He threw a fit and tantrums like a child he was. Of course, he couldn’t have perfect drawings at his first try at every picture. He was simply a beginner. But Leon couldn’t accept that. He was on the verge of throwing the drawing away. 

 

   That was when he met Bachira Yuu.

 

   The woman who claimed to have had a monster within her. And she was a fantastic artist. The young Leon had no patience in him at all, and, more than a drawing teacher to him, Bachira Yuu was a teacher to his patience.

 

   She was the woman who shaped him into the person who he was right now. To Leon, who had absent parents and a younger brother who looked up to him more like a parent instead of a brother, Bachira Yuu took the place in his life as a mother figure.

 

   From her, Leon got a first ever friend in life. Bachira Meguru, who became his bestfriend. 

 

   Leon began drawing again. This time with more patience and his imperfection at every art. Although his drawings were nothing but a pile of shits at first, slowly, he got better.

 

   Right to say, he was ecstatic.

 

   Originally, Leon thought that art only meant painting. However, he had a realization that it wasn’t. 

 

   Art was simply everywhere. It was there in the scenery, it was there in the moon, it was there among the stars, it was there in nature, in the tales of birds, and painting, sculpture, music, everything.

 

   Leon was not a sappy person, but for him, everything could be art. Even soccer.

 

   [ 5 : 2]

 

   Team W had dominated the match again.

 

   Others held their breath as a– a beauty happened right in front of them. It couldn’t be described with something other than beauty. That goal was beauty– it was art itself.

 

   And that goal went straight into Shidou Ryusei’s heart.

 

   Leon had fallen in love once before. With the king of the ice. He had gotten over his first puppy crush though. That man already had a fiance, who was also an absolute art at ice skating.

 

   But when he was still in love, and young, Leon pursued his love, by ice-skating of course. Mind you, he had a gold medal in his closet. Which he snatched right under the ice king, that one time when he was the first and the king was second; It was one of his proudest moments.

 

   He would never forget the moment when he held the medal high and got the first place over his idol– crush.

 

   Ice-skating was at first, a tool for getting close to his crush. And then, it became his art. The Artist, Leon Ose, it was something he prided himself in.

 

   To his dismay, he wasn’t called ‘The Artist’ in soccer like he was in the ice-skating world. Instead, it was something gross like ‘Bloody Flower of Japan’. What the fuck was up with that goosebump raising title? 

 

   Leon vowed he would get his title of ‘The Artist’ in whatever the field he was in no matter what. He wanted the title ‘The Artist’ to be associated with the name ‘Ose Leon’.

 

   To the point, when someone who had no knowledge of ice-skating or soccer heard ‘The Artist’, they would remember ‘Ose Leon’; If they were to hear ‘Ose Leon’, they would be reminded of ‘The Artist’. 

 

   Yes, to that extent.

 

   Before that, he wanted to meet with his best friend. He was bombed in the SMS by Meguru the moment the JFA’s association mail reached his hand.

 

   He knew that since Meguru accepted the invitation, he also would be here at Blue Lock. Unfortunately, since David was adamant about not letting Meguru tag along with them, Leon had no chance to see Meguru since the day of arriving at Blue Lock.

 

   Let’s see, how many points did he need to make Ego let him go over to the team Meguru was…?

 

   Well, I have the remaining 4 points under my belt after using the rest. Let’s score three more goals and make a deal with Ego!

 

   What do you think the outcome is?

 

   Leon succeeded, of course!

 

   “–and that’s how I was permitted to visit here.” Bachira wowed as Leon recounted his tale.

 

   The blonde was right now in Team Z’s room, in a different building than Team C (W). Bachira clung to Leon, arms around his waist and his dual colored head on the blonde’s shoulder.

 

   “And Meguru, could you please loosen your hold somewhat? I’m almost on your lap.”

 

   Bachira smiled, “No.”

 

   The rest of Team Z grouped in the corner in a gossip manner. Even the usually uninterested selfish princess was there.

 

   Before everything, let me tell you how the deal between Ego and Leon went. Because of Leon’s willingness to sacrifice all the scores he had, Ego agreed to the deal. 

 

   However, the conditions were, Leon couldn’t tell a single soul that all the buildings were the same. That and, there were no buildings 1 or 2, etc and Team B to Z didn’t exist.

 

   In addition to that, Leon’s team number on his arm was temporarily changed to [C].

 

   “Right,” Bachira finally remembered that there were others in the room. “Guys, this is my best friend Ose Leon!”

 

   “OSE LEON? THAT OSE LEON!!???” 

 

   “You mean that Ose Leon, the Bloody Flower of Japan? The King of Teiko?”

 

   Leon scrunched his nose, “Please don’t call me the Bloody Flower of Japan. That’s so cringe.”

 

   ‘We don’t even have a title!’

 

   The normies wanted to cry.

 

   ‘So, this is how a genius thinks!”’

 

   Isagi the goat was however, a little different.

 

   “But yes, I am the Ose Leon, the King of Teiko.” The blonde declared without any shame, his nose held high. 

 

   ‘Uhh…….. That’s a little embarrassing don’t cha think?’

 

   ‘I’m feeling second hand embarrassment here…’

 

   ‘So, this is how a genius is!’

 

    “Ahem,” Bachira declared his throat as if to make the embarrassing atmosphere go away. “Shion-chii, this is my team. Isagi, Kunigami, Chigirin,...” 

 

   Bachira pointed one by one and introduced. At the end of the introduction, the parties bowed their heads a little and said ‘Nice to meet you’ one after another.

 

   “I have a question,” like a student, Isagi raised his hand. “Why is Leon-kun called Shion?”

 

   “Ah, when we were young, I mistakenly heard ‘Leon’ with ‘Shion’. From then on, Shion forever became my nickname for Shion-chii.”

 

   “You were childhood friends with the great Leon!?”

 

   “Yep!”

 

   Bachira proudly said, receiving the envying stares.

 

   “How long can you stay here, Leon-kun?” It was Igaguri who asked the question.

 

   “Not that long, I have to go after 11 am.” Leon calmly answered, and Bachira started to shake him back and forth. “Noooooooooooooo you can’t go, you can’t go! We haven’t met for a long time!”

 

   Leon began to feel the dizzying effect given by Bachira and couldn’t properly think. “Wa- wait… Me-Meguru, slow down…”

 

   Kunigami thankfully came over and helped Leon restrained the manchild. “Phew… Thank you, Kunigami-kun. You are such a lifesaver,” Leon breathed a sigh of relief.

 

   “Don’t worry about it and please call me Kunigami.” Kunigami scratched his cheek, his ears tinted red. Bachira was off to the side, brooding. “Likewise, please call me Leon as well.” Leon was about to tease Kunigami about his red ears when Chigirin came over.

 

   “Ahem… Could you sign this?” The redhead handed the blonde a paper. 

 

   “Okay, Chigirin-kun!”

 

   (Chigiri choked, he just hoped that the rest wouldn’t start calling ‘Chigirin’. Bachira alone was enough headache, thank you.)

 

   “Soooooooo, Chigirin-kun, I didn’t know you were a fan of Leon?” The voice trailed off at the end as if it was a question but it was obvious even to a five year old that the speaker was teasing the redhead.

 

   “Right, Chigirinnnnnnnn-kunnn, how could you not tell your f.r.i.e.n.d.s?~”

 

   ‘If you all are going to be like this, it would be better to not be friends with all of you!’

 

   Chigiri stayed quiet.

 

   “C.h.i.g.i.r.i.n-kun? What’s wrong?” Bachira, the culprit, asked innocently.

 

   And that was Chigiri’s breaking point.

 

   “You bastards! *blah* *blah* *blah*” 

 

   Team Z started to throw hands while Leon stood in the side with a white piece of paper in his hand, completely and utterly confused.

 

   In the end, dad Iemon was forced to intervene. The crowd knelt, hands rising above their heads and facing the wall.

 

   “...So, your name is not Chigirin?” After being confused for a long time, Leon dumbly asked.

 

   Chigiri sighed, “No, my name is Chigiri Hyoma.”

 

   “Oh, I’m sorry, Chigiri-kun.”

 

   “Please, call me Hyoma.”

 

   “...Okay, Hyoma-kun.”

   

   “Have you signed the paper?”

 

   “I… didn’t bring the pen.”

 

   Chigiri let out an ‘Ah’ and borrowed the pen from Kuon and gave it to Leon. Just as Leon was about to sign, Chigiri requested, “Also, could you add a heart and snowflake below?”

 

   “So, you want the Ice-skater Leon’s signature, huh?” Leon laughed.

 

   Face red, Chigiri hurriedly defended himself, “It’s for my sister, my sister! She’s your fan!”

 

   (Never would Chigiri expose the various posters of one Ose Leon plastered in his room.)

 

   While the rest of Team Z except Bachira was quite confused. Was Leon not a football player? Where did the Ice-skater Leon came from?

 

   Noticing the unasked question, Bachira laughed and explained, “Shion-chii was a pro ice-skater before being a pro footballer! He was quite a popular one too!”

 

   Everyone let out an ‘Oh’ to express their understanding.

 

   After the atmosphere became harmonious, Isagi hesitantly asked, “Ano… Leon-kun, would you mind playing soccer with me?”

 

   “Oh?” Leon gazed Isagi in interest. “Sure.”