Chapter Text
Truthfully it’s Hiori’s first time fully experiencing Tokyo bay and the surrounding sights as it is and not some brief glances for another football tournament his parents signed him up to; it’s a cacophony of dazzling lights and dizzying laughter, yet he feels a little alone, the yukata is a little too big on him and it’s a little too scary.
“Hiori, have you been waiting long?” The grip Hiori has on his phone loosens a little and glances over to his ‘date’, even if his ‘date’ is unaware.
“Not really, I don’t mind waitin’.” Hiori laughs it off as he fully turns to meet Rin halfway in the crowded street. The world shrinks down a little as he gets closer to Rin, a bubble to block everyone else.
“Why are you not with the other guys? Surely playing those rigged games must beat standing in the snow.” Rin quirks his eyebrows as he nods in the direction of the festival; the pair start to walk to the direction of children running wild and warm lights hanging off wooden stalls.
“It feels wrong to experience it if yer not beside me, you was the one who invited me…” Hiori trails off as he spots a stall full of trinkets and cute gimmicks, it’s typical of what a young high school girl would desire but the owl keychain is far too charming to be left alone.
“Rin! Can we try that one?” Hiori taps Rin’s shoulder, his eyes swivel to where Hiori is pointing; it’s a simple game where the closest to bullseye gets the best prize, except you have to kick a ball towards the moving targets; nothing to a pair of Japan’s best for the future of football.
If it wasn’t rigged…like most festival games…
“How much?” Hiori asks as Rin stands behind him, they can hear whispers from the surrounding crowd.
‘Isn’t that Itsoshi Sae’s brother?’
‘It’s those blue lock guys…’
‘They were great in the NEL, especially PSG’
Hiori tries to hide the flush of embarrassment spreading down his neck.
“Rin ya should try.” Hiori tugs on Rin’s sleeve and points at the game and offers some coins to play.
“I won’t waste my time with such a futile game.” Rin looks to the side with mild annoyance, Hiori sighs and offers the man a few coins to play; once given permission, Hiori positions the ball underneath his heel and locks in on the moving bullseye.
He puts the edge of his shoe under the ball and shoots for it, it whirls past in a quick attack to the target before the board rips through and the clatter of wooden splinters falling down is heard.
“Haha! We expected no less than the famed players of Blue Lock.” The vendor lets out an amused laugh and guides Hiori to the prize stand to choose a trinket; technically Hiori could get the massive sheep plushie but…
“I’ll take that owl keychain of yours.” He lifts up the small grumpy looking owl and presents it to the vendor.
“Oh? You sure you don’t want one of those bigger prizes?” Hiori shakes his head apologetically and turns back to where Rin is waiting by the edge of the crowd with flushed ears from the cold and a grumpy face burrowed in his scarf.
“Here ya go!” Hiori takes one of Rin’s hands and drops the owl on the frigid hand.
“This is your prize…” Rin mumbles as he turns over the owl keychain with an unseen shine in his eyes.
“It’s my new year's gift… to wish ya blessings an’ prosperity in the new year.” Rin scoffs and stuffs the keychain in his pocket, the raven-haired boy quickly ushers off while Hiori follows behind him. The height difference is more noticeable now, Rin isn’t towering over him but in the corner of his eye he sees that his eyesight reaches just below Rin’s nose bridge; if they were standing face-to-face Rin could plant that pout right on his forehea-
“Hiori?” No, he didn’t fantasize about Rin kissing his forehead, you’re crazy.
“Yes?” Hiori will definitely blame his flushed appearance on the chains of snow in the chilly weather.
“Let’s go, I’d rather not be made fun of for being late, it’s lukewarm.” Discreetly Rin tugs on Hiori’s sleeve, escorting him to the meet point atop a snowy hill to view the new years fireworks.
“There you are! I was wondering whether you got lost.” Karasu nudged Hiori from the back while handing a couple of sweets on an outstretched hand.
“Me an’ Rin just got a bit distracted at the game stalls, that’s all; sorry for makin’ ya worried.” Hiori sheepishly rubs the back of his head while pocketing the sweets for later.
“You sure it wasn’t just the stalls?” Karasu snickers and pushes Hiori forward to where he can see the other Blue Lock members spread on the hill with a myriad of snacks and toys scattered on the grass.
From where he’s standing he sees Otoya and Kurona beckon him over, but before he takes another step forward to his friend he quickly turns around and opens his mouth to call out to Rin only to find that he’s no longer there, did he leave already?
“Hurry Hurry Hiori! The fireworks are gonna start!” Kurona urges him to quicken his pace, he only momentarily pauses to consider looking back, but deciding against it at the last minute; if Rin wants to go home early, it’s none of his business even if he wishes he’d stay to watch the fireworks.
Hiori soon reunites with most of the future U-20 team and stands behind the majority of the boys due to his height, still his eyes scan the crowd to see any sign of a moody striker with the hair of the night sky.
There’s a faint light shooting up like and it momentarily disappears before exploding into a kaleidoscope of colours and patterns against the blank canvas of the sky.
What a beautiful way to go out…
The onslaught of fireworks and their mystical and magical display continues, hues of every colour visible to the human eye erupt right above the glittering sea below; it might be loud but it’s spectacularly brilliant, a display of artwork and destruction.
A sudden tap interrupts his unwavering gaze of Hiori.
“Kara- Rin?!” There he was, Rin in all his glory, windswept nightshade bangs, cerulean eyes highlighted by long lashes and swirling colours from the fireworks, a petulant and flushed face, it was Rin.
He was also holding out a stuffed sheep plushie.
“Happy new years, Hiori.” He carefully grabs the cyan coloured sheep; unsure, Hiori looks into Rin’s beautifully flushed face and a small almost intangible blush creeps up on his face.
“I wanted to give you something, as a thank you.” Hiori’s pupil dilates and nods quietly while holding on to the arms of the sheep.
“I want-” suddenly the intruding sound of a phone ringing ruins the moment between them, Hiori quietly excuses himself and takes out his phone to find his mother calling him.
‘We’re going home now.’
“You said I could stay for a little lo-”
‘Just because you aren’t training now doesn’t mean you can neglect your schedule.’
“5 more minutes.”
‘Yo-chan, your poor mother is trying to keep you ready for the U-20, please listen to your mother.’
“Right.”
“Sorry Rin, see you later, my parents are here.” Hiori apologizes and turns his face downwards and quickly flees the scene, leaving a confused Rin standing atop the hill, watching as Hiori’s figure eventually gets smaller.
When he enters the car he sees his parents distressed faces, probably from fighting; he enters the backseat and clicks the seatbelt on.
It’s a tension-filled ride home and he only has the toy to hold on to.
“Did ya waste yer money on that?” His dad questions him and Hiori’s hand tighten on the sheep’s face.
“It’s a new year’s gift from Rin.” Hiori mumbles.
“Rin? As in Rin Itoshi?” The gleeful tone from his mom’s voice gives him chills.
He minutely nods.
“That’s great honey, stay close to him and you’ll beat him as a striker.” That’s not what I want…
When he arrives home, he shuts himself in his room and sees his new messages from Kurona.
I was gonna dare you to give Rin a gift gift, but he beat me to it, congrats congrats
Hiori shuts his eyes and turns around to lie with the sheep cuddled to his chest.
Dare 4 Complete
———————————————
This is the last qualifying round they need to pass in order to get into U-20, they’re at the top of their respective group and if they win against South Korea they'll make it through to the U-20 World Cup. It’s been a challenging few months and slowly he starts to realise that his feelings towards Rin are no longer simply admiration and platonic, but rather a flourishing romance that Hiori wants to keep growing.
Even if it’s one-sided.
They’re in the training grounds provided by the JFA, the match is tomorrow at midday and technically if they lose or draw it wouldn’t affect their standings at all; they’re ahead by a league than their competitors, even so Hiori doesn’t want to stop this rush of adrenaline when he sees the anguished faces of their opponents.
He also wants to see Rin let out that small, private he gives Hiori in the locker room when both their backs are turned against the other players.
“Hiori, what dare are you on?” Otoya asks, he’s stretching his calves while Hiori stays behind and lets the physiologist ensure his ankles are working after the draining training warm up.
“My last one.” Hiori starts flexing his ankles to make sure there’s no sprains or bruises, why can’t Otoya wait until after training is finished.
“Have you told Rin you like him yet?” Hiori freezes up and quickly picks a ball up by the toe of his foot.
“No, I know he doesn’t feel the same.” He bounces the ball and flicks it into the crate with the other footballs; he knows this one-sided crush will fade away with time, most things do.
“Then confess, after the game tomorrow.” Another ball rolls to his feet and he looks up to see Otoya giving him a peace sign, Hiori sighs and picks up the ball and throws it into the crate.
“No, anythin’ but that.” He doesn't want to ruin the friendship he has with Rin, one thing he can have that his parents will allow, one thing he doesn’t have to hide; even if his parents intention is less than noble.
“Fine, if Rin scores tomorrow you’ll tell him.” Rin scoring is as guaranteed as the sun will rise, but if he…
“‘Kay, deal.”
The match arrives sooner than later, and all of his teammates are proudly singing the national anthem with little to no nervousness for the future match, while Hiori can barely sing without his voice wavering or his eyes glancing towards Rin’s direction, even if he’s facing away from Rin.
His mind reels to the point that he doesn’t even notice that the other team has finished their anthem and the captains flipping the coin to decide which team starts first.
The whistle blows and the ball is in the corner of his eye, as long as Rin doesn’t score he doesn’t have to spill his guts to him.
“Hiori! Push forward!” Reo calls out to him while catching up to him, he nods as he sees Rin pass the ball to Kiyora and he races past the defenders and pivots at the last minute causing one of the defenders to crash into his back, Kiyora quickly kicks it under the legs of the defender with his heel to Bachira.
Hiori races next to Bachira to ensure that he can enter the penalty the box without any other defenders intruding on them; he and Reo races next to 2 other defenders to block them from stealing the ball from Bachira, from the peripheral of his eye he can see Chigiri running ahead and the ball goes whizzing past him straight to the red panther.
Chigiri traps the ball and with the defenders being occupied with Hiori and Reo he has a clear shot into the goal, a shooting motion to the left corner of the goal, Chigiri’s foot scrapes the grass and hits the ball dead on.
GOAL!
Hiori sighs and walks back to the starting position and catches Rin’s eye, that burning blue flame… Rin will most definitely want to score before the 1st half ends.
Hiori’s in trouble.
He can feel Rin looking back at him, and usually he’d be equally fired up but…he’s scared, he doesn’t want this to end after this match, he wants to keep progressing his skills, he wants to do it with Rin beside him, he hasn’t even won the World Cup with Rin yet…
The whistle blows.
START!
After a series of passes and near goals there’s 5 minutes left until the 1st half ends and Hiori has the ball, he charges towards the goal, he ignores his teammates’s shouts for him to wait and let Rin catch up to him so he can score the goal.
He’s in the penalty box and there’s 3 defenders closing on him, he can’t shoot from here; Rin is hot on his tail, realistically he should fall back and pass to Rin, it’s what is needed, it’s logical, shooting from this position is near impossible, he’s no Itoshi Sae.
There are people cheering him on in the stands, professional clubs are analysing his play right now, his parents are in the crowd, he should…
“Move.” Hiori whips his head back and sees that Isagi is right behind him, Isagi slips into his blind spot and steals the ball, he froze.
He’s Hiori Yo, he has an offer worth millions to join a notable international club, so why can’t he think of a play able to score, how can he call himself a player when something like love can screw him up this easily.
GOAL!
At least Isagi sco-
Why was Rin standing in front of the goal? Hadn’t he been too far behind? He sees Rin look at him with wide eyes and he sees Rin run to him, he quickly looks down in fear; he doesn’t have to confess, it’s just a stupid dare.
So why is his heart yelling at him to do the unthinkable.
“Hiori.” He looks up to see Rin look at him with a vaguely worried expression, if Hiori wasn’t spiraling he would’ve noticed Rin’s flushed appearance as he steps closer.
He shouldn’t open his mouth.
He should go back to the locker, the whistle has blown and he only has 15 minutes to rest before the 2nd half start.
He’s madly in love with the boy in front of him.
“Are you-”
“I like you.”
Hiori doesn’t want to look up and see what disapproving emotion Rin has on his face, he turns around and heads for the lockers leaving Rin on the field.
Dare 5 Complete
———————————————
Hiori lays on the hotel bed alone, everyone is out celebrating their victory after winning 2-1 in their last qualifying game, he enjoys being in a much quieter place and because he’s avoiding Rin.
There’s a buzzing sound from his door, and Hiori sighs; Otoya is probably going to ask him if he confessed and he’s going to talk about how much of a coward he was, running away and refusing to talk to Rin if it wasn’t about football.
“Oto-” It wasn’t that dual-haired ninja, it was Rin, there he was standing in front of him, looking embarrassed as he holds what must be the keycard Otoya gave him and a stuttering and rosy face.
“Is it true? That you confessed to me because of a dare?” Let a hole open and swallow him whole.
“Yes, bu-” Hiori sits up straight and he gets slightly confused when Rin starts visibly shaking.
“You don’t actually like me right?” Why does Rin sound so devastated? If Rin truly doesn’t romantically like him then why is he throwing a fuss, it’s not fair for Hiori who essentially left everything bare for Rin to see.
“Rin are ya okay?” Hiori inches closer and Rin grabs his hand, he rubs his thumb on the back of Hiori’s hand.
“Do you actually like me?” Rin finally looks up and Hiori can see how his pupil dilates when he looks at Hiori.
“Rin, do you like me?” Rin bites his lips and he shyly nods, now both their bodies are shaking. Hiori stands up and closes in on the distance between them, their breaths are mingling by now; from under his lashes Hiori sees Rin’s gaze go from his eyes to his lips.
“Ya’ know, people have been givin’ me awfully ridiculous dares, ‘m glad though, brought me right here, with ya.’” Hiori whispers like a secret and his body does internal flips as he can feel Rin’s every breath as he stalks his hand to where Rin’s heart is.
“I wanna give a dare too, can I?” Rin’s own hand hold Hiori’s and he nods, pushing their faces closer together until only a hair’s width is separating them from touching each others lips.
“Rin, kiss me.” And Rin didn’t need to be told twice, he’d been eyeing the Cyan-haired boy ever since the U-20 match, he takes the non-existent space and destroys it as their lips finally touch, at first a tentative and shy touch, before Hiori grabs Rin’s shirt and crushes their lips together.
“Sorry, I never kissed before.” Hiori apologizes but is quickly interrupted with a peck on the lips.
“Me too, we should continue practicing.” And continue practicing, they did.
From messy clattering of teeth and giggles slipped in between to soft and sweet movements of two young teens exploring their love for eachother.
By the time they’ve finished, two warm bodies are laying next to each other and flushed and kiss-swollen lips are present on both boys.
“Rin, give me a play to win the World Cup together.” Hiori giggles as he hesitantly touches the small bite mark of Rin’s lip that he made.
“As if I haven’t been doing that, I’m not lukewarm.” Hiori lets out a cackle before settling back in bed with Rin next to him.
He can’t wait.