[Football] Bad Boy Batty

The last day of September is a Sunday, and Manchester is unusually sunny. At 9:15 in the afternoon, the focus match of the 00th round of the Premier League this season kicked off at the Etihad Stadium, where Manchester City will face Brighton at home.

In the player tunnel, Stones walked towards the team while pulling up his trousers, but when he looked up, he saw a strange yet harmonious scene that made him nervous.

De Bruyne stood in the middle of the team, waiting for the game to start with a natural expression. Behind him, Batistuta turned around and walked past Neymar to chat and laugh with Aguero.

After being quiet for a few seconds, Neymar took the initiative to call De Bruyne, gesturing and talking, it seemed that he was asking about set pieces. De Bruyne did not show a cold face nor remained silent, but chatted with Neymar in a businesslike manner.

Alas--

It was so strange, Stones frowned and smacked his lips, but he couldn't help but take another look.

Kevin and Batistuta ignored each other, Kevin and Neymar talked normally, Batistuta and Neymar did not stick together, and Aguero did not mediate in the middle. It was so weird.

The England defender hugged himself and shook himself. Had he traveled to some parallel universe?
"Have I arrived in some multiverse?"

There was a guy next to him whose brain waves miraculously matched his own. Stones looked over and saw that it was Lucas Hernandez, the thick-skinned guy who smiled like a Samoyed and whose brain circuits were similar to Walker's, a spirited Spaniard in French skin.

"It's weird, but I can't tell what's weird about it." Lucas crossed his arms and whispered to Walker, "Everyone looks normal and happy, but--"

Walker shrugged: "Maybe it's the sound? The fans were screaming twice as loud as usual today."

After a pause, the England full-back pointed in the direction of the stands outside.

"Bati just won the Footballer of the Year award last weekend. It's normal. He should be back to normal next month," he said with certainty.

Lucas was stunned for a moment, then nodded: "Maybe it's because of this."

Stones, who had listened to the entire thing, twitched his mouth.

No matter how you look at it, it's not because of the fans! It's obvious that there's something wrong with Batistuta's personal relationship! Are you two stupid? He roared in his heart.

But think about it...

If you don't know some inside information, it would be hard to think of where to go.

Looking at the two completely unaware fools, Stones sighed.

He also wants to be a happy puppy who knows nothing!
……

In the last round of the league, the Seagulls fought desperately and finally defeated Manchester United, which greatly boosted their morale.

Some fans even said that even if the opponent has a newly crowned World Footballer of the Year and has to play at the devilish home ground of Etihad, they still have hope of defeating Manchester City and completing a "double kill" against the two Manchester giants.

But it turned out that they were too optimistic.

The Seagulls had no room to fight back when they arrived at the Etihad Stadium. It was a luxury to even carry the ball across half the court. Manchester City played an offensive drill for almost 90 minutes and eventually they beat their opponents 4-0.

Neymar scored twice, while Batistuta and Aguero also scored.

【A typical Guardiola victory. 】——BBC Sports
However, this victory could not bring any joy to Manchester City, because their midfield general's old injury relapsed while helping his teammates, and he was unable to continue the game and was eventually substituted.

The midfield general refers to De Bruyne, and that teammate is Batistuta.

……

In the 82nd minute of the second half, Batistuta got the ball near the baseline and faced Brighton's full-back. He tried to pass the ball with a happy rainbow.

The first time he failed, it wasn't because the backfielder's defense was so strong, but because his own movements were not done well.

Fortunately, Batistuta got the ball back, but when facing the backcourt again, he still chose the rainbow pass, which was somewhat unreasonable.

Maybe it was because the whole stadium was shouting his name, calling him "King", maybe it was because he had just won the World Footballer of the Year award, maybe it was because of the entanglement in the corridor, or maybe it was because of some reasons that he himself was not clear.

In short, Batty was particularly arrogant and aggressive on the court today.

"You guy!" The opponent was irritated.

A conflict broke out between players from both sides near the baseline.

[Bati's achievements are enough for him to win the World Footballer of the Year, but in my opinion, he is still far from Messi and Ronaldo, because I don't see any respect for him! ] After the game, the defender complained to the media, [He actually tried to humiliate me twice with a rainbow pass! Twice! He also called me a bowling ball! I have never seen such an arrogant guy like him! ]
The black fans' carnival began, and they seized on this interview to mock it everywhere.

[How can someone still be a fan of such a bad person? ]
【Bad record】
[Haha, pheasant fans are going to brag about their true nature again]

Yes, some haters call Batty a wild chicken because of an interview video that was posted online not long ago.

In the video, Batistuta was playing a quick quiz, and one of the questions was to choose between Cristiano Ronaldo and Messi. He chose neither and said without hesitation that he chose himself.

The following highly-rated comment: What kind of fool would challenge the king of football?
So the derogatory term started to be used.

Haters are haters, and they obviously chose to ignore the fact that the defender kicked Batistuta's ankle directly after getting angry and humiliated.

Even though the game video clearly showed Batty's screams at that moment, they turned a deaf ear to it.

Batty did curse.

But it was after he was kicked down, and compared to the opponent, the words he said could be described as elegant.

"You stupid mad dog!" Batty sat on the grass and bared his teeth. He knew his ankle was fine, but the referee didn't know, and he just wanted the referee to see him in pain.

"Get up! You liar with a head full of weeds!" The sideback was furious. "Rainbow dribble? Eat the ass! If you dare to lift your foot again, I will destroy you!"

"You are worthy of destroying me? I can turn a fool like you into a sieve with just one leg! You are as slow as a bowling ball!" Batty cursed.

"Bitch born to be fucked!" The guard said even more foul-mouthed, "Go back to your hometown! Monkey! This is not a zoo!"

monkey?

Batty was furious.

"Did you hear that? This guy is discriminatory! He dares to racially discriminate against me! Banned! Banned for life!"

That wasn’t enough. After complaining, Batty jumped on one leg and beat the guy up.

But before he stood up, someone rushed forward.

"Stay away from him!" De Bruyne stood in front of Batistuta, like a brick wall, not that tall, but strong enough.

The Belgian midfielder has always loved to stand up for his teammates, which the fans know, but he is the type of person who never says much and directly retaliates with fierce fouls. This kind of confrontation outside the game is the first time for him.

"Go away!" Batty said angrily, "I don't need your help!"

De Bruyne still stood there and did not move away. He faced the defender and said, "Don't touch him! Otherwise I swear--"

(Bati: "I told you not to come!")
"What about swearing?" The full-back stepped forward with his eyes glaring. He looked at Batistuta and then at De Bruyne with great disgust. "Go get a room! Take this little bitch with you! You two faggots!"

"——What did you call him?" De Bruyne was so angry that his whole body turned red. He grabbed the guard's collar angrily, "Say it again!!"

Oh!
Batty was stunned.

He sat on the ground, looking up at De Bruyne's red-faced back as he started fighting with someone. Inexplicably, the anger that had just ignited disappeared, and he even felt like laughing.

It wasn't a mocking laugh, but a laugh of disbelief and sincerity.

Until that moment, Batistuta realized that Belgian midfielder Kevin De Bruyne, who looked like an angel when angry on the court, would also fight with others on the court.

He had never done that in all the time he had known him.

Batty felt his stomach churning and his heart skipped a beat.

Even though he was picky about food and had skipped lunch before the game, his stomach was empty. He thought, maybe this was what the Americans often said, the feeling of having a swarm of butterflies fluttering in your stomach.

Why do you do this, Kevin?

Shouldn't you be angry with him now, continue to scold him for being a heartless bastard and ignore him? Why do you have to break your principles and fight with others to protect him?

There was no time for Batty to continue thinking, and the situation took a turn for the worse.

De Bruyne was very powerful, but he was alone after all. Facing Brighton's many defenders, he could only be pushed down.

Then he fell down and never got up again.

"Fuck! Kevin!"

The Belgian midfielder was tripped from behind, and the change in his center of gravity and footsteps caused him to twist his knee. He lay on the grass in agony, and Batistuta felt that the fluttering butterflies in his stomach were frozen and crushed into powder.

"Where are the people? Where have our people gone!" he shouted. If his ankle wasn't still hurting, he would have rushed forward to fight. "Referee! Referee - serious foul! Team doctor!"

Manchester City is known for its clean style of play in the Premier League. The players in the team are either calm and composed or good at talking nonsense and unable to take any action after getting angry.

The referee arrived at the scene as quickly as possible. He and Manchester City's acting captain David Silva and his most capable players Lucas and Walker arrived almost at the same time.

[beep——]
When the whistle sounded, they worked together to push away the Brighton players who were huddled together to demand an explanation.

"Someone's injured! Get up! Don't crowd here!" the referee ordered loudly, "Team doctor! Team doctor, come up quickly! Someone has fallen to the ground!"

The situation gradually stabilized.

"I heard you scream." Neymar squeezed through the gap to Batistuta, who was still sitting on the ground and seemed to want to get up. "Don't move, tell me where you are hurt?"

"I'm not -" Batistuta shook his head, then motioned to Neymar to help him up, " - I'm not injured."

Unlike De Bruyne's knee injury, his ankle injury is a serious one. The defender on that side is fierce but stupid, and he doesn't even know where to kick to cripple a player.

The team doctor arrived late and they looked at Batistuta, who helped Neymar move his ankle and waved his hand for them to go see De Bruyne quickly.

After understanding the situation, the referee showed a lot of red and yellow cards. Brighton had only 9 players left on the field, including the goalkeeper. The guy who insulted Batistuta as a monkey and the one who deliberately tripped De Bruyne were all given red cards. There seemed to be a yellow card for Batistuta, but he didn't care.

"Don't gather around! Go back! Go back!" Pep yelled at them. Lucas weighed it for half a second and dragged Neymar away. "Ten minutes left! Only ten minutes left! Hold on!"

Batistuta stayed where he was, as the crime scene was on his right side.

"Kevin?" He leaned forward. "How are you feeling?"

De Bruyne gritted his teeth, shaking in pain, and when he saw Batistuta coming over, his expression tightened for a moment.

"Can you stand up?" Batty asked.

De Bruyne kept his mouth shut, didn't say a word, and continued to ignore Batistuta, as if he was not pushed down and injured because he stood up for him.

"He'll be fine," a team doctor told Batistuta, seeing that he was really worried.

Batty's eyes swept over where the team doctor was busy, which was the knee, the most fatal part for the players.

And - if he remembered correctly, De Bruyne's old injury was on the knee ligament.

"Make way, Batistuta." Another team doctor stood up and prepared, "It is possible that the ligament injury has recurred. Inform Pep, we have to make a substitution."

Batty stood there, unable to offer any help.

Things shouldn't have turned out this way.

In his imagination, the game would end boringly with their victory, he would complain about his teammates and opponents, Kevin would be sad, but still assist him professionally.

When the game was over, he would find a cubicle at the Etihad and drag Kevin in to apologize or something.

He did hurt his heart, but that was nothing that a kiss couldn't fix, and if there was, then he'd give him two, and if that didn't work, he'd go up and do it himself.

But now the fantasy is shattered.

Batistuta could only watch as the team doctor carried De Bruyne off the field.

What the fuck.

At the moment of passing each other, De Bruyne suddenly turned around and gave Batistuta a look that was so profound and complex that Batistuta had never seen before. He could not have imagined that Kevin's clear eyes would be as deep and bottomless as a black hole, as if they were going to suck him in.

Batty felt a hand around his throat.

"Kevin."

I don’t know if it was because his voice was too soft or what, but De Bruyne didn’t respond. He withdrew his gaze with an indifferent expression, limped away from the player tunnel with the team doctor.

Barty's stomach burned.

Putting aside other things and just talking about the competitive level, it was his immature decision that led to Kevin's injury. It was really his fault this time.

……

De Bruyne's injury made the 4-0 victory dull. Batistuta hurriedly accepted the post-match interview and rushed back to the locker room as quickly as possible, but he still failed to meet De Bruyne. The Belgian midfielder's knee was not optimistic and he had already taken a car back to the club for examination.

"Come here, Batistuta, I have something to tell you." Guardiola stopped Batistuta who was about to take a shower and put his arm around his shoulders affectionately. "You have to know that no matter what Kevin's injury is, it's not your fault."

Batty paused for a few seconds.

“I thought you were going to teach me a lesson, Pep,” he said, “because I made the wrong decision.”

"Are you talking about those two consecutive rainbow passes?" Guardiola shook his head. "No, Batistuta, that's very complicated. It can't be simply summarized as 'right' or 'wrong'. Don't get yourself confused. In any case, violence on the court is not allowed."

"Yeah—"

"In fact, I'm very happy that you didn't get carried away by anger today and use your fists to attack the backcourt. This is a big improvement." The head coach patted Batistuta on the shoulder.

Oh, that was only because he was still in pain at the time, and jumping up and beating someone up would definitely not achieve the desired effect, so it wasn't worth it.

Batistuta thought with some malice that if he said this now, Pep would definitely look very happy.

He raised his eyes and saw Guardiola with a relieved smile on his face, as if his naughty child had grown up. The slowly growing little king hesitated for a while and finally did not explain this.

"I see." Batty nodded. "Thank you, Pep."

When he walked into the shower room with a towel, Neymar was the only one still showering. Accompanied by bursts of "beautiful" singing, Batistuta guessed that the others must have been so shocked by his wonderful voice that they dared not to be in the same room with him.

"Hey." Batty walked in and waved hello.

Neymar turned up the water flow of the shower head, and then made a fake beard for himself with foam: "Come on, I have adjusted the water temperature for you!"

Batistuta walked over and naturally shared a shower with Neymar. He wet his hair, then lowered his head and let another pair of hands take over the business of washing his hair.

With the sound of water splashing in his ears, Batty stared at the tattoo on the chest of the person in front of him in a trance.

"Since you're so obedient, are you going to go find that guy later?" Neymar suddenly asked.

Batty: “Uh-huh.”

"What does 'hmmmm' mean?" Neymar pursed his lips and used foam to make two small horns on Batistuta's head. "Don't go!"

"I have to go. After all, he got injured because of me." Batty raised his head and wiped the shampoo that had flowed onto his forehead. "I promise, there will be no personal feelings. I will just go to visit my injured teammates."

"I still don't want you to go." Neymar asked Batistuta to lower his head and wash off the bubbles. "It's not that I don't trust you, Batistuta, I just don't trust him. You know, he has been targeting me since I went to your house last year. He did it on purpose! I know what he is thinking. That guy——"

"Don't worry, I've seen all kinds of tricks." Batty raised his hand to push all the wet hair back, then took advantage of his height to hold Neymar's face and smiled at him ingratiatingly, "Honestly, Ney, I'm sorry about what happened on the court today."

Neymar was a little confused: "Why are you apologizing?"

"I didn't adjust my mentality, I was impatient, and I used a rainbow pass to provoke the opponent, which directly led to the deterioration of the situation." Batistuta analyzed himself bit by bit, "Some people say that I have been in Manchester City for two years, and I have not made any progress except for my football skills."

Neymar got angry and said: "Who said that? Beat him up!"

"They are right. I agreed with what they said before, but I didn't care. But today I saw the consequences." Batty shrugged, and the heat from his body made the tattoo on his chest come alive again. "Maybe I can ignore it, but I am hurting others. Today Kevin is injured, who will it be tomorrow?"

Neymar was silent, and the shower room was once again filled with the sound of splashing water.

Just when Batistuta wanted to say something else, such as an in-depth self-analysis, Neymar spoke first.

"Bati." He called his name seriously. Batistuta lowered his head and looked at Neymar. After waiting for a few seconds, Neymar said, "You are not trying to change the subject with this. Regardless of whether you are not in a good state of mind, I definitely don't want you to go find that Belgian!"

Batty: ...
Batty: "After all I've said, is the only thing that sticks in your mind that I'm going to visit Kevin?"

Seeing Batistuta's sullen face, Neymar looked around a little uncomfortably, but as he looked, his gaze always involuntarily returned to Batistuta in front of him.

Although this was just a very ordinary shower session after a very ordinary game, but——

Neymar's eyes measured every inch of Batistuta's honey-colored skin. He had felt it here, tasted it there, and had experienced more as they tried new things together.

These beautiful scenes and that precious soul all belong to him.

"Hey."

As if he could read Neymar's mind, Batistuta followed Neymar's eyes and detected what he was thinking. He stepped forward to block the shower head, letting the water flow down his back.

"Ney, you know." Batistuta said softly, lifting Neymar's chin with his left hand, slowly covering Neymar's forehead with his right hand, and gently brushing his little curly hair and water droplets behind his head.

Those hairs did not block his vision, but after Batistuta did that, Neymar felt that what he saw was much clearer.

Of course, it could also be because he only focused his eyes on Batty's face.

Neymar's heart was pounding, thanks to the shower head, he was not exposed. Looking at the blue color in front of him that was hazy with water vapor, Neymar's body temperature rose rapidly.

"Know what?" he asked, biting his tongue.

Batistuta lowered his head, brushed the tip of his nose, still covered with water, against Neymar's, and then gently kissed the corners of Neymar's mouth on both sides.

"I'm not yours." Barty lowered his voice and said slowly and ambiguously, "But you are mine, do you understand, my dear Ney?"

Neymar looked at him and he looked at Neymar.

Neither of them spoke first.

It's like a competition of momentum.

Suddenly, Neymar grabbed Batistuta's wrists and pushed him under the shower. Before Batistuta could react, Neymar reached out and grabbed the back of his head and kissed him.

The water poured down over their heads like a waterfall. Neither of them could open their eyes to look at each other, and neither of them could breathe freely through their noses. The only way for them to exchange air was through the brief gaps when their lips and teeth were intertwined.

Likewise, this is still a competition.

It's just a matter of physical strength and willpower.

Batistuta was quickly defeated. He hung on Neymar's shoulder and gasped: "Well, maybe I should exercise my physical fitness."

"Yes, otherwise I guarantee you won't be able to last until I finish." Neymar was very confident in his physical fitness. He stroked Batistuta's back with the current, feeling another heartbeat very close to his chest. He suddenly relaxed: "You can go visit the Belgian, Batistuta, I agree."

"I don't need your consent at all." Batty took two steps back and raised his eyebrows, "But I still want to hear why you changed your attitude."

"Nothing." Neymar smiled easily. "It's normal to visit as a teammate. If I keep stopping you, it seems like I'm very possessive and mean."

Aren't you?

Batistuta looked at Neymar with some amusement.

"Of course, you have to find someone to go with you," Neymar added, clearing his throat. "Find a teammate who knows nothing about this, like -"

Batty was curious: "Then why don't you come with me?"

"No, I won't go." Neymar shook his head, "I want to test you."

Test him?
Barty sneered again.

This person trusts himself too much.

"Okay, if that's what you want, no problem." Batty said as he left the shower. He took off a towel and wrapped it around his waist and walked towards the door. "Then we'll pick randomly. When I open the door, the teammate closest to me will go with me to visit Kevin. How about that?"

Neymar: "It's perfect."
Batty: “It’s a pleasure to work with you.”

The two blew kisses to each other, and Batty opened the door and walked out. About 15 seconds later, he walked in with a tall man who looked confused.

"What the hell?" Stones had a bunch of question marks on his head. When he saw that Neymar was the only one in the shower room, he suddenly froze, as if he had thought of some incredible plot. "Don't do this, Batistuta, I uh, I'm not - I didn't - oops!"

Batistuta had no idea what he was mumbling about. After rolling his eyes, he extended his hand to the England defender in a friendly manner with a Mona Lisa smile: "Congratulations, John, you won the prize! Go and get ready. Later, you and I will not follow the bus. I will take you to receive the prize!"

Neymar also applauded and expressed his congratulations in Portuguese, which the England defender could hardly understand.

Stones: ???
"What are you talking about, Batistuta?" Stones grabbed his hair, looking up and down but not daring to look at Batistuta who was only wrapped in a bath towel in front of him (it's not that he felt guilty! It's just that this scene was really weird! Stones roared again in his heart.)
"What prize? What prize?" he asked.

Batty was smiling as he wiped his hair with a towel. He said as he wiped his hair, "The prize is to go with me to visit the injured Kevin. If you're lucky, you can get a pudding from me."

Go visit the injured Kevin?

Stones imagined himself in the same room with De Bruyne and Batistuta.

Stones: …
Stones: I'm not guilty of that.

(End of this chapter)