Chapter Text
Flashing lights. Crowds cheering. The look of defeat on their opponent's faces. It was all such a fever dream. Isagi had just scored the goal that sealed the deal at the under-20 match against the Itoshi Sae. And the interview with the paparazzi only served to inflate his ego further.
Isagi felt like he had just woken up to presents on Christmas morning, if Isagi had to put it into words. Actually, no. It was better than that. It was like destroying your enemies' dreams, a manipulation game, if you will.
That's kind of fucked up, but that's just Isagi being Isagi.
As grueling (and exciting) as the match was, the high from that goal never wore off. Hell no, he was riding that high until he died.
But it was so.. exhilarating. Save for the way everything started becoming foggier and foggier as the stadium started to clear out, leaving Isagi in solitude. Alone with himself, alone with his thoughts.
Despite the taste of victory being sweet, the ache was bitter. God, his stamina was horrible.
(Obviously by his own standards. But who could play a 90 minute match against literal beasts without breaking a sweat?)
Almost like the ache took out the joy in winning altogether.
Only after a good 20 minutes of back and forth with himself, Isagi finally decided to buck up call it a day. Overthinking be damned!
The trip to the locker rooms didn't go unnoticed by the paparazzi and other players, of course, but Isagi could stand to ignore the exhaustion seared in his person as he answered their questions and accepted their praise.
Isagi's teammates had already left and gone their separate ways. Except for Bachira, who was waving at him from across the hallway. Damn, Bachira is everywhere. He thought to himself (but he didn't mind that, of course), waving back at Bachira as he observed him leave after that brief interaction.
With a dramatic sigh of relief, he slumped onto one of the benches in the locker room, lazily kicking off his cleats. As careless as it was, Isagi really couldn't give a damn about that right now.
Even though Isagi told himself he'd be at the locker rooms about half an hour ago, his goal (hah.) was obviously held up by the plethora of paparazzi on his ass.
Is this what Hollywood actresses felt like?
As he begrudgingly slid on his casual shoes, a familiar voice addressed him. In a rather unsettlingly polite way.
Or maybe that seemed so because he was so used to being thrown about like a ping pong ball everyday at Blue Lock.
"You haven't left yet. Penny for your thoughts?" (that wasn't polite. just saying.) Sae spoke, inviting himself to take a seat beside Isagi.
Isagi was caught off guard at the sudden interaction, but he wasn't going to drive away the bearer of such a gentle voice. So this is what the nicer Itoshi sibling is like.
He sighed, recalling the state of his thoughts earlier. "Just.. thinking about some things." He replied, his eyes meeting Sae's gaze as he tried his best to seem as cool as possible. It's true he was pretty pumped, but he wasn't about to go apeshit.
The midfielder noticed how unsure Isagi looked, stifling a chuckle as he realized Isagi was just trying to look cool. In all fairness, Sae was on the loosing side this time, so who wouldn't be at least a little high with dopamine?
Sae hummed, nudging Isagi with his elbow. This was unusually playful for Sae, if Isagi had to imagine it, but who cares? "Well aren't you quite the thinker." He paused, blank expression fading into a barely visible grin. How.. unexpected.
"I think you did well in the match. Of course, there's always room to improve." Sae continued stoically, voice laced with amusement as he witnessed Isagi break into a full blown smile. So much for looking cool.
"Y-you think so?.." He stumbled over his words, clearing his throat as he realized just how his body language spoke volumes about his excitement. "I mean. I know..! But.. thanks."
"Hey now, don't take that as approval on my part." Sae interrupted his train of thought, raising his eyebrows. "I still want to see you change the future of Soccer in Japan. Don't let your motivation stop here. You're still a lukewarm striker as far as I know." So much for being polite!?
But in all truth, Sae's words did hold truth to them. If he didn't ground himself now, who knows how far up into high heaven he would've flewn?
"I.. know that." He spoke more confidently, standing up as he faced Sae head on. "And the next time we meet on that field, I'll be much more evolved. Prepare yourself until then." Isagi knew he was probably challenging the wrong person, but he wasn't prepared to stop himself from potentially embarassing himself.
Sae grinned, amused at the spirit. He liked this boy already. "Smart man. I like it." He hummed, standing up as well.
"Call me when you're free, we'll talk over coffee." Sae held out his card, confident the younger boy would accept it.
"I'll see you soon, Isagi Yoichi." He spoke, waving goodbye as he walked out the locker room, sports back slung over his shoulder. The only thing that was left in the room was Isagi, and his racing heart.
That was.. so cool! Isagi was at a loss for words. Not only did Sae look unbelievably cool, Isagi had also scored the pro's phone number.
For a moment too long, Isagi just stood there dumbfounded, staring at the business card in his hand.
What the fuck just happened??