Chapter Text
Every time Isagi Yoichi stepped onto the field, it felt like life was breathed into him all over again. But there was something starkly different about the feeling now, nearly seven years after the first time he stepped into Blue Lock.
He sped across the field, nimble coordination with Hiori second nature now as they passed player after player. Kaiser was right at his heels, smirk plastered across his face and eyes lit up in observation. With one more goal, he would take the lead over PxG, or the match would end in a draw. The idea was repulsive, but he knew that it wasn’t as easy as thwarting midfielders to get into the penalty area. Not when it was Rin who was reading him. Seven years it may have been, but the two of them had been locked in a tandem of reading and reacting to each other without ever needing to verbalise it. Their telepathy on the field was incomparable, regardless of if they were on the same team or not.
Now if only their telepathy carried off field too, most of Isagi’s conflicted feelings on Itoshi Rin would be easily resolved.
He lunged at the ball, shooting his shot, lungs burning as sweat soaked through his shirt, when he realised his angle was off. If it were any other game, any other person, that wouldn’t have mattered. But it was a match against PxG, and Itoshi Rin was his opponent. He knew it would fail the second he failed to capture the perfect angle.
Isagi tripped over his leg, falling heavily on his side with a grunt. He immediately disregarded the sharp burst of pain, in favour of looking up impatiently. As he predicted, Rin cleanly dove to receive the ball as though it were meant for him, and sent it out with a simple kick. The match ended, and all Isagi could do was groan in frustration. At the very least, PxG didn’t get it either.
He thought that would have been the end of his troubles for the day, had he not tried to stand up after. The sting in his shin was strong, and he realised with a start that the fall may have hurt worse than he expected. His side cramped uncomfortably as he sucked in a heavy breath.
… No matter, he thought with a huff of frustration. Dismissing it quickly was always Isagi’s way of dealing with post match exhaustion. A simple nights’ rest and some good food would fix it all!
But then Hiori came to help him up, and he realised that walking was going to be a pain. He bit his lip, resigning to his fate, wondering blithely how long he could hide it before someone came after him, or before it healed itself up like most of his minor injuries. The wise choice was to wait for everyone to leave the locker rooms before he did, so he could make a clean exit and not have to worry about pretending his leg was fine. And that was exactly what Isagi decided he'd do.
Hiori helped him ease down onto the bench in the locker room, frown grazing his face as he watched Isagi wince.
“You should really get that checked out- just in case it might be a problem,” he started, turning away to pull out his jacket. Isagi simply laughed, waving a hand dismissively.
“It's fine, Hiori. I'll just take a moment to sit down so it stops cramping and then I'll be back in order! Don't worry,” he replied with a grin, trying to make it sound as reassuring as possible. Hiori narrowed his eyes further, and Isagi let out another nervous chuckle.
Out of the corner of his eye, Kaiser shook his head and pulled his bag onto his shoulder.
“Yoichi is never going to stop being a prickly hedgehog about his injuries,” he said, exasperated tone mingling with his cocky attitude as he tilted his head. “Careful, or you'll end up losing to me because you aren't even in shape to compete.”
"I don't need to be in good shape to beat you," Isagi retorted, and it was too late when he realised what he said. He slapped a hand over his mouth as Kaiser's smirk widened. The blond pulled the doors of the room open with a flourish. "So you admit you're not in proper shape right now?"
Isagi exhaled sharply, ready to counter the claim again, when Kaiser turned outside, his expression turning into one of surprise. A moment later, he turned back to Isagi, smirk plastered on once again.
"Nevermind, I don't think I need to grill you into getting treated this time," he said with a wave, leaving the room. Isagi pursed his lips. Kaiser really was as annoying as ever, he thought, turning back to Hiori. The blue haired player still seemed skeptical, but he laced his shoes on quickly and nodded. The locker room seemed to be empty save for them, and now Isagi just needed Hiori to leave without questioning Isagi further.
“You're either coming with me to the medical room now, or I'm gonna sic Noa on you,” he said with an upturn of his head, before following Kaiser’s sight outside the door. Isagi began his usual line of protest, watching as Hiori peeked out the door and adopted the same expression of surprise.
He turned back to Isagi, blinking rapidly in succession before he smirked.
"I don't think I need Noa, actually. I'll be waiting outside," Hiori said quickly. "Your boyfriend's here to take care of you," he added cheerily, closing the door before Isagi could process what he said.
Isagi sighed, before squawking indignantly. Boyfriend?! Really, the nerve of Hiori to say such a stupid thing. He's happily single, thank you very much, and very glad he doesn't need to pretend his leg doesn't hurt at this moment. He inched his way out of the locker room slowly, bag grasped in one hand as he pushed the doors open with the other. Who the heck does Hiori think is his boyfr-
Oh. Well.
Rin was waiting right outside the room, bag slung over his shoulder idly, eyebrow raised in question as Isagi stepped out gingerly. He refused to yield, though, so he simply waved. Nor is he going to acknowledge Hiori's very clearly stupid words.
“Good game, Rin! It’s been a while since we played against each other too, you know,” he started with a chuckle. But Rin clearly wasn’t taking the bait, his eyes drifting down to the leg Isagi was definitely keeping his weight off of. He's beginning to think that he's not getting out of this one, and that's when he realised why Kaiser and Hiori let him be so easily.
“..It was a good game. It would be better if your last shot wasn’t pathetic,” he replied, tone curt, eyes snapping back to make contact with Isagi's own. He gasped, smacking Rin on the shoulder in indignation. The younger, of course, was not phased whatsoever, simply nudging him in response.
“You’re not allowed to say a damn word, not after that pathetic corner kick midway through the game. What was that?” Isagi replied cheekily to divert attention, but he knew he was fighting a losing battle when Rin’s gaze went back to his hurt shin as Isagi tried to walk on it slowly, confirming whatever suspicions he had.
He slowly looked back up at the older, and that was when Isagi knew he was screwed.
“You gonna do something about that leg, then?”
He inhaled sharply, looking around quickly before he shoved the other towards the exit, trying not to put any more weight on his leg. Rin wrapped his hand around Isagi’s arm slowly, and all he could do was dimly wonder if this was support or a threat.
“I didn’t think it was bad enough for that, hahaha… is it that obvious,” he replied, cringing at the thought of anyone having noticed. He’d rather not be pestered for it again.
Rin shook his head, instead using his grip to steer Isagi in the opposite direction of the exit.
“It’s not obvious. Doesn’t mean I won’t notice,” he replied, and slowly moved towards the door Isagi recognised as the medical room. He huffed, frustrated.
“I’m not getting out of this, am I,” he said, and Rin only huffed quietly. It almost sounded like laughter.
“It’s either me or Noa. Your pick.”
What was it with them and threatening him with alerting Noa?! Isagi felt a shiver run down his spine, before he nodded his head quickly. Noa would rip him apart for hiding the injury in the first place, and he didn’t want another spiel about proper health care a mere two months before the next world cup.
Rin’s gentle grip on his wrist didn’t seem half bad, though.
—---
He thought that would have been the end of it, but now Rin was sitting by the table as the nurse handed Isagi the bandage and the ointment with a small smile. She applied it coolly, instructing him to tie the bandages properly for two days before he could play again. Isagi thought about arguing against the two day rest period, but Rin’s quiet glare kept him silent.
The striker was quiet, as usual, but his eyes were roving over the medicine and the bruise blooming on Isagi’s shin like he was burning them into memory.
Over the years he had gotten better at his habit of overworking, but it had only been curbed to the extent of not working his body to the bone during practice. He was yet to master the art of not over exhausting himself on field, and especially during a match. Isagi knew he cared a lot about winning, and sometimes that meant making shots he knew he might not be able to land. It had been a while since he'd paid the price through injury for it, however. The nurse could clearly tell, as she poked out the cramp on his side even faster than Isagi himself realised it was hurting.
He listened to the instructions best he could, taking them in, but in the back of his mind he wondered why Rin was still there. The nurse left soon after, and Rin started shuffling through his bag for something, when Isagi tried to bend to wrap the bandage around his leg. He realised this cramp was definitely going to stop him from bandaging his leg well, as the pain flared and he straightened back up, sharply inhaling at the pain.
This would be a problem, then.
Rin noticed, eyes snapping back to Isagi’s face as the issue dawned on him. He pulled out a sports drink from his bag, throwing it at Isagi before he took the bandage roll out of his hands.
“Worked yourself to the bone again, didn’t you,” he muttered as he gently pulled the bandage open.
Isagi blinked, wondering when their telepathy had started transmitting outside of games. Something in his stomach fluttered at the thought.
“I’m getting better at not doing it,” he replied softly, and Rin only nodded. His hands were quick, like he’d done this many a time, and Isagi watched as he cut the tape cleanly and secured it. He pats it gently to check the movement, and stands back up again.
Rin stood up, taking Isagi’s bag on his shoulder along with his own as he asked quietly.
“Think you can walk?”
Isagi hummed, nodding as he stood up. “Slowly, but yeah,” he replied, following Rin out as they started their peaceful walk back to the exit. He had shot Hiori a hasty text about waiting for a bit while he went to the medical room, and received an affirmative, so he wasn’t too worried about getting to his room.
(He had, of course, ignored Hiori’s obnoxious “I told you so” reply following. He's not about to indulge that.)
Turning to Rin, he motioned for his bag, but all he got was a firm shake of his head.
“It’s fine, I’ll give it to you when we see Hiori,” he replied, and the comfortable silence fell back over them.
Isagi opened the drink in his hands, light flavour helping his exhaustion as his mind wandered.
Over the past seven years, there were a lot of things Isagi learned. All the way from the first game of tag in the stratums, to his first U20 world cup, to being a professional football player. There were equally as many things he had learned about his friends and foe alike. At some point he’s certain the lines blurred, the competitive world they were in often getting the better of them. But other times, he would laugh and joke with them, comfortable beyond physical expression with the people he had grown to call his friends.
And he had thought himself content with it. Happy to see his friends grow, learn and evolve. Grateful for all the opportunities he’d gotten to grasp. Ambitious with all the goals he set for himself, on and off field.
But today?
Today, Isagi was confused. Confused about the flutter in his stomach at seeing Rin, at being cared for in a way he didn’t think he could have been. He had always known that the two of them understood each other better than the rest of his friends, for a myriad of reasons, but something about seeing it manifest outside of a game sent him into a frenzy of thought.
He hummed, tossing the now empty drink back to Rin, who caught it easily. He then tapped his shoulder, snapping Isagi out of his thoughts, following Rin's gaze over to Hiori, who was waiting by his car with an idle wave.
Isagi smiled gratefully, taking his bag back from Rin.
“Next time, we won’t draw the match,” he said, the fire in his tone back after their gentle communication, and Rin raised an idle eyebrow. His lips curled up in the shadow of a smile.
“Yeah? Because you’ll actually learn how to shoot without falling over your feet like a toddler? Or because you’ll get worse and make it easier for me to score over you?”
Isagi gaped, ready to throw insults back at him when Rin put his hands on his shoulders and shoved him towards Hiori gently.
“Don’t overwork yourself, lukewarm,” he said in lieu of a goodbye, turning to leave. Something about the statement made Isagi smile.
“Only if you don’t, either, bastard,” he replied, and even though he couldn’t see it, he knew Rin was laughing.
When he turned back to Hiori, he realised he was in for a lecture either way, even if it wasn’t from Noa.
“I did tell you to get it checked out,” came his cheeky reply as he twirled the car keys around his finger. Isagi huffed, pulling the car door open and sitting down quickly.
“Shut up and drive, I’m not about to listen to you gloat about your words,” he said, frustrated, and Hiori’s chuckle filled the car on their drive back.
—--
Isagi would never admit it, but one of his biggest flaws was his inability to leave matters unattended- to leave things unsolved. And so predictably, as soon as he finished breakfast and trudged back to his room for mandatory rest the next day, his brain went into overdrive.
He wondered why he felt so differently about the flutters in his stomach at the thought of Rin- as compared to the aches from laughter he gets from time with Bachira, or the blood in his veins that threatens to spill over every time he bickered with Kaiser.
And so began Yoichi Isagi’s trip down memory lane, using the past experiences he had to gauge the future.