𖤐 ⋆｡˚ THE EDGE OF THE ARENA: UMEMIYA
# professional e-sports player!wind breaker x reader
⟢ fluff, angst, multi-chaptered fic // After joining Furin Academy, you meet your hero Inari, the former Overwatch player (now LoL player) who got you into gaming in the first place. Through ups and downs, you develop feelings for the star player, but there’s one obstacle standing in between you and him: his ex girlfriend.
CHAPTER O1. < m.list | gamer select >
With the last box placed next to the plainly sheeted bed, you sat down on it with a sigh. Moving was never an easy feat, but it didn’t feel like you had reached the hardest part of this just yet.
Your new room was all too messy. Yes, the walls and basic furniture given to you remained clean, not yet broken in, but the floor was cluttered from door to window. Not a square inch of the hardwood could be seen. Maybe you brought too much with you from home…
A knock rapped on the door. Your head tilted at the sound; didn’t the assistant who brought you here say everyone was at practice?
“Yo, Ms Newbie,” a soft voice said beyond the door, “You in there?”
You chuckled at the nickname, and tip-toed onto any ground that could be safely stepped on. The door opened with a turn of the knob, your friend’s lazy smile greeting you.
“Mitsuki, to what do I owe the pleasure?” You teased.
Kiryu leaned against the doorframe, peering behind you. You moved in front of him to block his gaze.
“Nice room,” He mused, “Mind if I come in?”
“If you can find an open space, be my guest.”
You ushered him in with faked elegance before hopping on the spots you used previously. He looked around at the boxes, realizing that you were not entirely joking about the lack of room. A careful step to the left, then right, then in one swift motion he flopped onto the bed. The impact made you bounce in place.
“Your old room was worse.”
If you had a pillow you would’ve hit him.
“Aren’t you supposed to be practicing?” You asked.
Buttons clicked beside you and you rolled your eyes. Part of you hoped he had came here to help you unpack, but it seemed that had been just wishful thinking. He tapped away at his switch with a hum of agreement.
“Got sent back early to help you settle in.”
You pushed him lightly, “Then why are you playing Tears of the Kingdom instead of helping me unpack?”
Your gesture had no effect on him. You watched as he masterfully dodged an attack.
“I will, I will. Just gotta beat this boss first.”
You shook your head and opened the first box in front of you, hearing a small ‘yeah, yeah’ in response to your comment. In the cardboard confines sat all of your desk trinkets, as well as a couple picture frames. The pictures consisted of your family, friends, and a special small one of you and Kiryu as children.
The desk supplied to you sat in the corner of the room, nearly covered by a transparent white drape. It was a nice birch gaming desk with a lot of storage space for your PC and whatever else you saw fit to put there. Like everything else the dorm was furnished with, it looked to be worth top dollar. Surely worth more than you’ve ever made at a part-time job.
Boxes were pushed to the side to forge a path to the first thing you’d decorate. Your desk chair had to wait, seeing as it was placed next to your door in the hallway. One at a time, you plucked and picked out spots for special items. The small frame of you and Kiryu earned a place on the shelf next to where your monitor would go. Your golden pig sat just underneath it. Then, the Zorua Funko Pop you got for your birthday next to him. As you continued digging through your box, Kiryu spoke from where he laid snugly.
“Oh, before I forget, Umemiya said he wanted to see you.”
“Who?” You asked indifferently.
You scoffed. Who the actual hell is he talking about? Must be one of his jokes again.
You hummed in feigned amusement, “And what does this ‘Umemiya’ want with me?”
Go figure. Kiryu always had the most reliable answers for you.
You heard Kiryu shift on the bed and turned in time to see him stand. He slid open a flap of the first box he saw and smirked. You quirked a brow. His hand emerged from the box with a poster wrapped in it.
“Is this what I think it is?”
Puzzled, you respond cautiously, “If you’re referring to my Keshi tour poster, then yes.”
He chuckled with a shake of his head. Maneuvering around the myriad boxes, Kiryu took to the wall closest to your door and unraveled the sheet.
“Thought you were gonna bring your Inari one.”
“That would be embarrassing, would it not?”
After all, Inari was an active player in the Academy you had just signed to. Though you looked up to him, it was surely something that would garner incessant teasing. God forbid if you ever met the man…
Kiryu shrugged, sizing up the wall.
You nodded. A sigh fell from your lips; if you wanted to be done at some point that night, you both would have to move a lot faster.
Anything can be done with the power of perseverance. And the promise of food.
You stood in the center of your room, now fully unpacked, and basked in the open space. With Kiryu’s special touches to the walls and random scribbled post-its from when he got bored, it felt homey. You looked at your friend, who was sprawled on the bed. He looked utterly exhausted, but you were satisfied with the work you both had done.
“Alright Mitsuki,” you tapped his foot, “You earned it. Let’s get some food, my treat.”
His green eyes sparkled. Then, a look of remembrance crossed his face.
“Oh, wait. The guys wanted to take you out for a welcome dinner at seven.”
You blinked. Swiping your phone from your back pocket, you saw that it was about thirty minutes past that. Panic set in, making you jump as if you’d been burned by an electric shock. You cursed out a string of profanities while running down the stairs.
“We’re late! Why didn’t you say something earlier?” You yelled.
Kiryu merely laughed, signature lazy smile etching his features. He walked down the stairs and waved you off.
“Relax, they’re not strict guys.”
This was such a bad first impression to make. You had to make it up to them somehow. Kiryu might’ve been calm about this whole thing, but you were still the new recruit. Anxiety writhed in your gut.
You were practically dragging Kiryu out the door as he struggled to slip on his shoes. Not often were you the one who was late to things, making this display quite amusing to the man. Luckily for you, the place they picked was right around the corner. You were thankful it wasn’t a fancy steakhouse or anything, just a cute little shabu-shabu spot.
The aroma of the various cooked meats and broths had your mouth watering. Each table you passed had dishes that looked better than the last. You made a mental note of what ingredients to grab from the counter as you approached the table. Three men sat around two boiling soups wells, two of them feasting to their heart’s content. They looked just like how Kiryu described them in past conversations.
You and Kiryu took the two empty seats across from them, heat rising to your cheeks when they seemed to all observe you. The blond one quickly finished slurping his noodles before beaming at you.
“Ah, you must be our new recruit! Kiryu’s told us about you!”
Before you could respond, the man adorning an eye patch placed his tea upon the table and met your eyes with a mischievous glint.
There was no malice in his tone that you could detect, but the guilt still weighed on you.
“Now, now, a woman is allowed to be fashionably late.” Kiryu smiled with the wave of his hand.
You bowed slightly, embarrassment hanging over you like a storm cloud, “I’m sorry, we got carried away unpacking things in my dorm.”
“Don’t let Suo’s teasing get to your head. Anyway, you’re here now and that’s what’s important! You should grab a plate before Sakura eats it all.” The blond spoke, passing over two black dishes.
The man with monochromatic hair, who you assumed the blond was talking about, was either too enraptured with his slices of wagyu to notice his comment or he just didn’t care enough to respond. Though, you had to admit, the way he was devouring his food made it look all the more delicious. You and Kiryu took the plates with grateful grins. Suo murmured a small apology to you, which you waved off, telling him not to worry. You grew up around Kiryu, afterall. He was a gentleman, but the man had his moments.
You wasted no time in cooking your meat in the miso broth. The blond swiped their shared ingredient platter from Sakura’s side and began pushing random vegetables onto your plate. Your gratitude was immense. Although you noticed – and it seemed that Kiryu did as well – the way his hand shook the longer he held it up.
“Nirei, how’s your wrist doing?” Kiryu asked.
Nirei’s eyes widened slightly as he lowered the platter back onto its place on the table, a sheepish smile playing on his lips. Kiryu had mentioned that two of his teammates had injuries of different kinds. One had been sustained quite recently which caused him to retire, and the other had a long-term condition which had been exacerbated on numerous occasions.
You remembered asking him why he’d continue to play if his carpal tunnel didn’t seem to be getting better – why he’d push himself to practice to the point of needing week breaks. Why not just retire at that point? But Kiryu just smiled, raising his eyes from his phone.
“Because he loves playing with his friends.”
And you understood immediately. That reason was mostly why you accepted the invitation to join the Furin Academy team. That, and you liked a challenge.
“A-Ah, that…” Nirei bashfully scratched the back of his neck.
At the hesitation to answer, Suo interjected, “He should be back to playing by tomorrow, right?”
“Oh, right! Yes, I’ll be ready for the practice game tomorrow.”
Kiryu seemed satisfied with the answer, replying with a hum, though you could tell there was concern behind his nonchalant attitude. Maybe it was a sensitive subject for all of them. You glanced at Nirei and your eyes softened at the way he seemed to stare off at his hands resting on the table.
“Prepare yourself Ms Newbie, Sakura is a handful as a tank.” Suo’s eye closed into a crescent shape.
“O-Oi! I’m not a handful!” Sakura barked, blushing a furious red.
Suo threw his hands up in surrender, “Yes, yes Sakura. But what are we to do if you overextend, hm?”
Sakura grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, “Shaddup! I don’t do that!”
“Is that so? My apologies, now have some more meat so you can grow big and strong.”
Sakura grumbled something unintelligible as he let go of Suo’s shirt. Suo shoveled more of the wagyu and lamb onto his plate, offering what was left to you and Kiryu. You chuckled and accepted.
You threw a glance at Nirei and felt lighter in your chest. His lips were finally curved into something that suited him better than a frown. They really did understand each other well, a sign of a good bond. It was something you had experienced with Kiryu, but you wondered if you would build new ones with more people as well.
“Oi, Newbie,” Sakura called out, grabbing your attention, “have you gone to see Umemiya yet?”
Oh yeah, he said he wanted to see you… whoever he is.
You shook your head, “No, I completely forgot. I’m not sure what he wants me for anyway.”
Suo hummed in thought. Seemed that everyone but you knew who that guy was, maybe a higher up? But what would a higher up need you for? You had already signed all of the contracts given to you and completed all of the necessary paperwork. You couldn’t have done anything wrong just yet either, or could you have?
“He should be in tomorrow for practice, you can probably catch him after the game.” Suo replied.
You nodded. You supposed you’d have all of your questions answered the next day. For the moment, you had let the mystery dissipate from your mind.
“Nirei, didn’t you have questions you wanted to ask Ms Newbie?” Suo smiled.
“Hm? Oh, yeah!” Nirei straightened up, quickly whipping out a tiny notebook from his back pocket.
The next hour consisted of quite the interview, as well as a couple drinks shared amongst you all. Though you enjoyed yourself fully, there was one thought that remained by the end of it.
I really hope that nickname doesn’t stick.
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