Chapter Text
"Huh?" Tomonari Tada did not understand why Barou Shoei looked at him with those eyes. It reminded him of those serial killers in a third-rate horror movie going on a hunt. "Sorry, did I say something wrong?"
He was geniunely confused. Little did he know, that reaction literally made Barou even more annoyed.
"I'm asking if you think beating me is so easy that even a donkey like you can do it."
"Huh? N-No I..." Tada Tomonari thought about his words carefully, but his face said has revealed eveything.
'It's easy for Isagi to steal balls and score because he's being surrounded with talented people.'
'Anyone can do what he can since the only reason he could achieve great things is because of others.'
'If I had been Isagi, I could do those things as well.'
Tada replied, "I can't do it alone but wouldn't it be possible if I do it like Isagi?"
"What?"
"I mean, didn't Isagi beat you because he got help from others? Like the Emperor, Kaiser! Since Isagi and I are around the same level, then if amazing people also assissted me, I think I can..." Tada trails off, his mind lost in the possibilities that he could have done if he was invited to Blue Lock as well.
"Huh?" Barou snapped. "Shut the fuck up. You're not even a donkey, you're a fly."
Tada shut his mouth, wondering what he had said wrong.
'Oh, now I know!' Tada felt a bulb lighting up in his head. 'He must be mad because is Isagi is really lucky.'
"Ah, is that it?" Tada says with excitement, "Is this because of that last goal in the U20 match? I saw it too. It's frustrating that Isagi got called a hero because he scored that excuse-me-goal, especially when everyone else is more talented than him."
Reo clicked his tongue.
'Dumbass. The reason why none of us scored is because only Isagi had the talent to do it.'
Just thinking about it made him seethe with annoyance.
The understanding of the concept of luck, the level of spatial awareness to know where the ball would land if Itoshi Rin succeeded in stopping Itoshi Sae, and the immersion in flow. That final goal was a result of all those factors being considered by Isagi Yoichi but in a low-head's perspective, I guess they would only see a lucky shot.
"You're fucking blind." Barou seemed to have calmed down after realizing the caliber of the person he's talking to.
"Excuse me?" Tada Tomonari felt offended. "Why the hell are you-"
"Well, look at what we have here!" Before the situation escalated, Reo interrupted the scene. "What's the King doing in Shibuya?"
Tada Tomonari held back a gasp of surprise.
'Mikage Reo! It's the Chameleon!'
Reo smiled at Barou, "Why don't you stop being so low, King? It's unsightly to fight with a person who can't even decipher that final shot."
"What the fuck are you doing here?!" Barou snaps at Reo.
"Nagi's around here somewhere. I'm looking for him." Reo calmly replied before smirking. "But isn't this a surprise? To think that you of all people would defend Isagi."
"Defend? Did you lose your ears while looking for your pet? I never defended that donkey." Barou puffed a breath. "It's insulting."
"That, I understand." Reo agreed, his eyes travelling to Tada, who flinched visibly under his sharp gaze. Reo had not forgotten about that remark this little nobody made on Nagi.
"What is wrong with you people?" Tada finally snaps. "I'm just saying Isagi is like me, we're ordinary! I'm not insulting anyone."
"Ordinary? Isagi? If it was me, those two words being in the same sentence sounds insulting enough." Reo smirked so arrogantly that if Bachira was there, he would definitely comment on how egoistic Reo looked. "I don't know about you but I can say this about Isagi. So far, I've never seen anyone crazy enough to quickly destroy themselves and build themselves again and again the middle of a game."
"What?" Tada couldn't understand him. But slowly, he starts to feel fear from looking at Reo's growing smile. He faltered back. "I..."
He couldn't say anything.
'What the hell is going on?!'
Tada was so out of the conversation that he didn't know what to say.
Seeing this, Reo looked over at Barou. "See? You're fighting someone that can't even understand that."
"Tch." Barou clicked his tongue and glared at Tada. "Get the fuck out of my face, you damn fly."
Reo added, "Yes, go on while the King is feeling lenient."
"Guh!"
That was the final straw.
'They're crazy!'
Tada paled at the two pairs of eyes that looked at him as if he was nothing more than a useless gum stuck on the edge of their shoes. It was a look that made him feel the he had been splashed with a bucket of sharp knives. So conceited but theatening that his knees almost gives out. Even so, he did not apologize. Tada's only choice was to hurriedly run away like a chicken with pale complexion.
It was a pitiful sight that brought back memories.
For a moment, Reo and Barou shared a sense of camaraderie as they were reminded of the trauma they faced when Isagi devoured them.
The adaptability demon that easily controlled the field like he was making people dance on top of his palms...
That sharp tongue that slurred players during the heat of the play and got away with it...
Doing those things weren't easy, unless the person doing it was Isagi Yoichi.
Not just anyone could do those things and have the talent to back it up.
Not anyone could be Isagi Yoichi.
'Honestly, I don't need another one like him as well...' Reo shruggs and started walking to the direction where a couple of arcade establishment stood. Maybe his little treasure was lousing around one of those two. 'The sunset's about to end. I really need to find Nagi.'
It's about time they return.
At some point, Barou had disappeared back to his sanctuary.
Silently, both of Reo and Barou were in a tacit agreement to never speak of what happened in that random street in Shibuya.
* * *
"Isagi, what's wrong?" Bachira asked his bestfriend.
The day off was about to end. Bachira was on his way back to Bluelock first while Isagi would follow later because he needed to meet up with his other friend. They were about to part but suddenly, Isagi stopped and looked at his phone with a confused expression.
"Hey, Isagi!" Bachira checked again. "Did something happen?"
Isagi shook his head and answered, "Nothing much."
His eyes was still glued to the phone screen. Isagi Yoichi received a text from his friend, Tomonari Tada. It seems that something came up so they couldn't meet today.
'That's weird. He was so excited about it too.'
It's not that Isagi was sad or disappointed. It's not like they hadn't seen each other for a while. They even met after the U20 match. Isagi's just shocked because of how sudden it was, especially since Tada didn't even say why he couldn't go.
"Your eyes look weird. Did you see something interesting?" Bachira peered down on Isagi's phone, read the message, and smiled. "Sweet! Since your plans got cancelled, let's just go back together."
"Alright." Isagi relented and sent a take care message to his friend. Then he tucked the phone back to his pockets and faced Bachira with a smile. "Let's go?"
"Yay!"
Bachira, almost naturally, drapped one of his arms around Isagi's shoulder. The two of them stumbled inside the bus shuttle back to Blue Lock, accompanied by Bachira's excited rambles and Isagi's sensible opinions.
With the sun setting behind them, the bus shuttle passed by a random street in Shibuya.