Chapter Text
The days passed by in a flash.
Despite Isagi’s earlier reservations, working on Chigiri’s Heart was going smoothly. He managed to complete the Acquaintanceship Heart relatively quickly–though not as fast as it was with Bachira–and had nearly filled up the Friendship Heart. The yellow liquid was already 3/4th of the way up!
And yet, instead of joy, he was wrecked with nerves.
Isagi hadn’t forgotten the close call with Bachira’s own Friendship Heart. Even now, the System’s casual words sent a cold wave of dread down his spine.
[The Friendship Heart is just delicate–more so than the Love Heart, actually. Users have to be careful when completing the final step. Either you can seal the deal and secure the checkpoint, or, if Isagi-sama had rejected him, cut off any chance of saving the boy. ( ⸝⸝´꒳`⸝⸝)]
He wondered what kind of ‘trial’ Chigiri’s Heart will have, and more than that, if he could bring a sense of ease to the other boy. As expected, he just can’t get used to the idea that someone’s life was in his clumsy hands.
Perhaps it was this anxiety that gave him tolerance against Chigiri’s… well, ‘Chigiri’ness. Isagi didn’t know how else to describe it.
Though Chigiri had a pretty face, there was nothing feminine about him at all–except for how long he took to style his hair. Other than that, the ‘princess’ could be just as crass, vulgar, and petty as any other teenage boy.
To be fair, compared to the other Team Z members, Chigiri was one of the milder ones. However, after spending the past few days glued to his side, Isagi heard every single muttered comment and complaint.
It was certainly an experience…
Even the System had picked up some bad habits from Chigiri. Now, every time Kira or Bachira passed through Isagi’s line of sight, the demon would start its tirade.
[A blemish on humanity! Don’t you have to be ugly somewhere else?! You strut around like a skunk with its tail raised high, stinking the place up with the stench of failure! Oh, and bad BO! ୧(๑•̀ᗝ•́)૭]
… Okay, enough of that.
So petty!
Isagi rubbed his forehead and wished, just for a moment, that the System had a physical head that he could land a good smack on. Unfortunately, it was still just a light-blue holographic screen with too much emoting ability.
He turned his irritation to the next best thing–the cause of his latest headaches.
“Heh, impressive,” Chigiri muttered snidely under his breath. He glared over his bowl of miso soup at Kira. The sparkly guy was surrounded by the other Team Z members, oblivious to the negativity pointed at him like the sharp end of a knife. “Next time I need a clown to entertain my baby cousins, I know who to ask.”
“...”
Isagi sighed deeply. He sent a silent apology Kira’s way for not standing up for him, then went straight back to feeling sorry for himself as he picked at his natto.
A second later, he blinked when a piece of perfectly cooked fish landed on his plate.
Chigiri pulled his hand back. His chopsticks clinked against his plate as he placed them down. “I’m not hungry anymore,” was his explanation. He rested his chin on his palm and stared down the two centimeters at Isagi’s slack mouth with a smirk. “What’s with that dumb look? Haven’t I been so kind, sharing my food with you every meal? If you keep being surprised like this every time, then I’ll really think you’re missing some screws up there.”
[Say that again, I dare you! ಠ益ಠ]
The words snapped Isagi out of his daze. He scowled and stabbed the piece of fish with his own chopsticks. “Stop teasing me,” he grunted.
It was more of a whine than anything, but Chigiri wasn’t going to tell him that–the same way he doesn’t tell Isagi that his scowls were more like pouts. After all, that’ll get Isagi all self-conscious. It’d be a shame if he can’t see such sights anymore.
It’s cute. Chigiri paused at his thoughts, and he quickly added, In an ugly way. Like an ugly dog asking for scraps of food. So… Not cute.
He watched the way Isagi’s cheek puffed as he stuffed them with the remaining rice. It looked soft and squishy, like a marshmallow. Chigiri wondered briefly if it was as sweet as one. Unconsciously, his fingers twitched.
Not cute at all…
Isagi finished his meal quickly. Just as he was about to pick up his tray to leave, he felt something press into his face. He quickly spun his head to the side with wide eyes.
“Did… Did you just poke me?”
“What? Don't be silly.”
Chigiri straightened up, looking all proper as though he hadn’t just done something childish. If Isagi couldn’t feel the phantom pressure on his cheek, he would have thought he imagined the whole thing.
“You did! You totally did!”
“Hush now. Isn’t there something more important?”
Isagi watched bewildered as Chigiri, without rhyme or reason, pointed at his own chopsticks which he’d used to pass over the leftover fish earlier.
“We had an indirect kiss.”
“...”
What the heck?
Could that even be counted? Isagi hadn’t eaten from Chigiri’s chopsticks, after all. It was just used to pass the food over which is completely normal between two male friends, wasn’t it? What kind of mental hoops did Chigiri jump through to reach that conclusion.
Wait, no, that’s not the important part!
“You’re teasing me again.” Isagi scowled deeply, brows furrowing further when Chigiri’s eyes glinted with amusement instead of fear.
“You noticed? That’s too bad.” Chigiri sighed exaggeratedly. “And here I was looking forward to your flustered bumbling.”
“You!”
Isagi was so annoyed that he didn’t notice the heavy silence blanketing the group a few tables away.
–
The tension was palpable.
Imamura didn’t know what he was thinking. Maybe that’s the problem. He didn’t think at all.
He was so distracted trying to escape Gin after stealing one of his gyoza that he unwittingly sat in the one chair separating two of Team Z’s most volatile players–a title not so easily won considering they had Raichi on the team.
From one side, Bachira was tearing his plate apart. On the other hand, Kira was still speaking to the others, but there was no longer the flashyness or amicability. Imamura was between a bonfire and a block of ice. Frankly, it was awful.
And all this for a boy!
He glanced at the corner of his eye with a fierce scowl–hierk!–only to snap his head down when he accidentally made eye contact with volatile player number 3. Damn…
Chigiri was really freaking scary!
The match between Team Y and Team Z was approaching.
Team Y lost pathetically against Team V, but Team Z didn’t do so hot in their own match against Team X. A score of [1-5] was barely better than [0-8]. There shouldn’t be a huge skill gap between Team Z and Team Y.
Keeping that in mind, Team V must be made up of monsters. Furthermore, just how much stronger were those in the upper Strata? And…
Was he good enough?
[Isagi-sama… (｡ᵕ ◞ _◟)]
It was the night before the match, and Isagi’s body thrummed with nerves.
Damn it…
He couldn’t sleep like this.
With a huff, Isagi pushed himself off the stiff mattress. All around him, the other Team Z members were in various states of disarray. To his left, Bachira had turned himself upside down and had his limbs spread out like a starfish. After him was Naruhaya who was sleeping in a mini-puddle of his own making, and then Raichi whose pillow was about to burst from how hard he was strangling it.
Slowly, as quietly as he could, Isagi slipped out of the room. If he couldn’t sleep, he might as well get some extra training in. That was better than working himself into an anxious mess in bed.
As he walked to the nearest practice field, he opened his Essence Tab.
Physical: 205/999 – C
Mental: 350/999 – C
Soul: 1.533
Heart: 1
Isagi clutched his chest in pain. After a few days of nonstop training, he was only able to raise his physical stats by 5 points!
Reality was cruel…
Then there was the soul stat which had only stabilized recently. Unlike the physical and mental, it didn’t seem to have a cap. Instead, it was just a strange number that gave him zero information.
According to the System, it was a relatively high score. Most people’s souls started at a starting 1.0, but Isagi’s soul was starting at a whopping 1.5. After gaining Bachira’s love heart, it rose by 0.033.
So, all that hard work, and it only raised by that much? What a scam!
All of these stats were incredibly difficult to raise. Part of Isagi preferred when he didn’t have a visual representation of his level. At least before, he could still have some level of delusion. Now, every time he checked the Essence Tab, he would just get depressed.
Ignorance really was bliss.
[Don’t worry, Isagi-sama! You will definitely rise above all these insignificant ants to be the star of the world! (ㅅ´ ˘ `)]
[Besides, don’t be so quick to dismiss the Soul quality! It has a special effect!]
Oh? Isagi was intrigued. What are you waiting for? Tell me!
[Well…]
[Heh, I don’t know yet.]
[BUT!]
[There is definitely a huge benefit! Just… Right now, I’m lacking necessary information. A-after a few upgrades, I’ll definitely be able to give Isagi-sama a satisfactory response! ପ(๑•ᴗ•๑)ଓ ♡]
…
Isagi could only blame himself for getting his hopes up.
“Isagi! Wait up!”
The smack of bare feet on the floor echoed in the hallway signalling someone’s rapid approach. Isagi only had a moment to brace himself before a warm weight crashed into his back, lean arms hooking around his waist and locking in place while a sharp chin dug into his shoulder. Fluffy hair tickled his ear only to be replaced by something softer.
“H-heavy!” Isagi wobbled, barely catching himself from lurching forward from the sudden attack.
[AHHHH!]
[Get your filthy hands off Isagi-sama!!! (งﾟ益ﾟ)ง]
“So mean…” Bachira whined against the curve of Isagi’s ears and painted the sensitive skin a pretty pink. “Going off on yer own without calling me? Don’t tell me… an affair!?”
Isagi sputtered at the sudden accusation. “A-affair?! No, before that, get off!”
The halls in Blue Lock always had a faint chill, much like a real prison. Not that Isagi knew anything about that. However, with Bachira attached to his back, he felt like he’d taken a step into a sauna. Every part that they touched was bursting with heat.
Instead of letting go, Bachira’s arms tightened.
“Do you… not like me anymore?”
His words were barely above a whisper. Soft. Spoken with one breath. Isagi felt like a bucket of ice water was just thrown over his head.
“What?!” He wiggled in Bachira’s hold until he was facing the other boy. The moment he looked into those golden eyes, he felt the weight of several day’s worth of guilt drag his body down. It was only Bachira’s arms around his waist that kept him up. “No, of course not!”
Slightly chapped lips–Bachira really needed to drink more water–pursed skeptically. “But you’ve been avoiding me...”
Another punch in the gut.
That… was true. Isagi can swear up and down that he was just focusing on his new target to save a life, but that didn’t mean he had to neglect Bachira. The truth was, after learning the meaning of the Love Heart, he felt…
Shy.
Awkward.
Flattered, but also extremely self-conscious.
Worst of all, he wasn’t completely averse to the idea. Ugh…
But he had meant 90% of the ramblings he used to convince Bachira to back off back in the infirmary. Right now wasn’t the best time to be questioning his own sexuality or entering into any romantic relationship.
First of all, it could interfere with the program for Bachira. As for Isagi, he had to make other guys fall in love with him to save their souls. So, unless he wanted to be a professional cheater, dating was a no-go.
All that internal struggle resulted in him avoiding Bachira.
He convinced himself it was for the best. Besides, the distance might make Bachira realize that Isagi wasn’t the best choice for a partner! But, seeing now the consequences of that decision made Isagi realize that he was being stupid coward.
He didn’t want to hurt Bachira at all.
[–nally got the hint? That’s right!]
[Ptui! (`皿 ‘#)]
[Isagi-sama doesn’t want anything to do–]
“I’m sorry.” Isagi hesitated only for a moment before raising his hands to cup Bachira’s cheeks. He pulled down until their foreheads bumped together. “The avoiding… That was me being an idiot. You did nothing wrong.”
[–with you!!]
[... Wait…]
Bachira’s hold loosened before tightening like a vice. His brows furrowed deeply, and within his eyes was a spark of tentative hope. “Isagi…” His lips flapped with unspoken words for a few seconds as he thought of what to say. Finally, with a crooked smile that looked far too fragile, he said, “You’re not an idiot.”
Thump!
N-no fair… Those soulful eyes on that face, and that voice so sweet it was like being nudged by some fluffy animal!
[Don’t be fooled, Isagi-sama! ༼;´༎ຶ ༎ຶ༽]
Isagi was suddenly very aware of how close they were to each other. If he pushed on his tiptoes, they would ki–.
“H-haha!” He broke out of Bachira’s hold, stumbled back a few steps. One of his hands covered the lower half of his face that was suspiciously warm, and the other was raised in front of him in a ‘stop’ motion. “You don’t have to be nice. I am very aware of how stupid I can be.”
[Isagi-sama! You’re not stupid at all! It is the world that is stupid!]
Bachira’s smile widened. The dullness from before melted away to reveal something much warmer. “Well, okay. Maybe just a bit.”
[Bachira. Meguru. (ノ ° 益 °) ノ]
“Which means you have to make it up to me!”
[Exploitative, sly, manipulative, cheating–!!]
Isagi ignored the System’s breakdown.
‘Make it up’ to Bachira? Yeah, that made sense.
It was the least he could do for hurting his friend, though he wasn’t sure exactly what Bachira wanted. Isagi couldn’t give him his food–offering natto as an apology gift would destroy any relationship–and he didn’t have any money on hand.
“Sure, but I don’t really know what I can offer.” Isagi scratched the back of his head, thankful that his heart rate had returned to normal. He thought hard for a moment before suggesting, “We can practice together.”
From Bachira’s unimpressed expression, that was the wrong answer. “Lame. You’d practice with me anyway, right?”
Well, that’s not wrong. Isagi guiltily averted his eyes.
“Just tell me then,” he grumbled, sulking.
Bachira gulped. Isagi probably didn’t realize how cute he looked when he was pouting like that, his cheeks puffed up, shoulders slumped making him look even smaller. He only had a 1cm advantage in height, but this made him feel larger. More reliable. And…
More confident.
Taking a deep breath, he blurted, “If we win the next game, I want a kiss!”
“Yeah, yeah, whatever you.. Want… huh?” Isagi blinked slowly as Bachira’s words were fully absorbed into his mind. “Wait, what?!”
[#$%—ERR::SYNCH—//∆∆9x00… 01101001//incomplete>system//—*#BACHIRA MEGURU WHEN I CATCH YOU#*—//system overheating]
–
Unseen, above Bachira’s head, was an upside down heart. Black liquid like tar swished around.
At Isagi’s unintentional acceptance to Bachira’s request, the liquid steadily decreased until there was only a small pool filling the bottom.