Chapter Text
When Isagi finally made it to his room, it was almost midnight.
Time had passed much faster than he expected while he told his parents about everything that had happened to him that day.
They had eaten together, talked about the events of the day, and finally watched a movie in the living room.
Those had been the happiest moments of Isagi's life.
Even if forty years passed, he never would have guessed that he would get to live a life like this. Everything still felt so unusual to him.
He held his breath against the pain as he removed the bandages from his hands. Reminding himself that he had been through worse, he carefully peeled the bandages away from his small hand.
He had found them when he went to the school's infirmary. He had acted a little too hastily at the time, and now he was paying for it.
As he wrapped fresh bandages around his hand, he looked around his room. The mirror had been picked up from where it had fallen. His mother had probably cleaned everything after he left.
After changing the bandages, he threw the old ones into the trash.
As he picked up his phone, he wondered what he should watch. Since it was only his first day, the teachers hadn't given them any homework. Only his math teacher had mentioned that there would be an oral quiz, but Isagi thought he could get through it.
Shrugging, he checked the latest matches on his phone.
He mostly watched Noel Noa's matches, finding himself analyzing him as he did so.
By the time Isagi had reached the top of the football world, Noa had already retired. He desperately wanted to play with him at least once, but he knew that wasn't possible for now.
After watching a few more matches, he decided to go to bed when the clock showed two.
He plugged his phone in to charge and made sure it was on silent. As he buried his head into his pillow, he let out a quiet murmur.
Before his eyes closed, he wondered if he would actually be able to sleep.
As his eyelids grew heavier, his phone screen lit up.
Ignoring it, he surrendered himself to sleep.
"Yocchan~ Wake up, sleepy prince!"
Hearing his mother's voice, Isagi slowly came to his senses and blinked. He sat up in bed and yawned.
The sunlight touching his hair made it look even bluer. His skin seemed to glow, making him look healthier.
He raised one hand in front of his eyes and frowned at the brightness. As he went to close the curtains, he stretched his arms.
Once he had blocked out the sunlight with the curtains, he headed toward his wardrobe.
As he put on his school uniform, he tried to shake off the drowsiness.
He had slept much better than he expected. It was strange for someone who had trouble sleeping. He couldn't remember the last time he had slept this deeply.
After putting on his uniform, he brushed his hair. Since it was short, there wasn't much else he needed to do. After wrapping a fresh bandage around his injured hand, he left his room.
After finishing up in the bathroom, he went downstairs. The moment he smelled the food, he felt the tension in his body begin to fade.
As he approached the table, he grabbed a French fry and popped it into his mouth. The delicious taste made his muscles relax, and he closed his eyes.
As Isagi sat down, Iyo placed the last plates on the table.
"Enjoy your breakfast, sleepy prince."
After patting Isagi's head, she gave her husband a kiss. Issei grinned happily before kissing his wife's cheek as well. When he turned toward his son, he ruffled his hair.
As Isagi tried to fix his hair, he stuck his tongue out at him. Issei and Iyo laughed at this while Isagi rolled his eyes.
As they began eating, Isagi couldn't help wondering what it would feel like to have a husband of his own.
He immediately pushed the thought aside and returned to his meal.
While his parents talked about work, he simply listened. Since he wasn't particularly good at conversation anyway, it made more sense for him to stay quiet.
"Yocchan, we might have to move to Japan next year."
Isagi lifted his head from his food when he heard that.
Both of his parents looked disappointed.
Although Issei and Iyo had made sure their son could attend the best schools, they might have to move next year. Since Issei's workplace was closing its Spain branch the following year, all of its employees were being transferred to other branches.
Issei had been assigned to the one in Japan.
Both of them knew how much their son loved football, so they didn't want him to study in Japan. Even though they didn't understand much about football, it was common knowledge around the world that Japan wasn't particularly successful in the sport.
Although they both tried to hide their disappointment, they couldn't bring themselves to look Isagi in the eyes.
"It's okay."
Both of them raised their heads at Isagi's words.
Iyo spoke with a confused expression.
"But Spain is much more successful in football. Why—"
Isagi looked at his mother and answered her question.
"Even though where I am matters, I can improve my football in a place like Japan too."
His eyes moved between the two of them before he finished his words briefly.
"And didn't you say it's because of work? It's not your fault, so don't apologize."
A brief silence fell between them before Issei and Iyo both smiled. They were grateful that their son was so understanding.
Issei smiled as he looked at his son. He grabbed Isagi by the shoulders and hoisted him over his shoulder. Ignoring his son's protests, he headed toward the door.
"Then it's time to take our prince to his castle~"
Iyo let out a quiet laugh as she watched them. She gave Isagi a little curtsy before opening the door.
"I wish you success in your studies, my prince."
As his father carried him out through the door, Isagi couldn't say anything. He buried his face in his hands in embarrassment and screamed internally.
'Isagi Yoichi, calm down. You're mentally twenty-one, not fourteen. Get a grip!'
After calming himself down, Isagi climbed out of his father's arms. He gave his father a sharp glare as he got into the car.
Issei ignored his look and started the car while whistling. As they drove away, Isagi took out his phone. After briefly checking the messages from Theo and Caelus, he noticed that he had received a message from Bunny.
He raised an eyebrow and opened it.
"Hey! Little bunny~ It's your Bunny^^"
It looked like the message had been sent during the night. Even though Isagi knew Bunny wouldn't see him, he typed the question he was curious about.
"Where did you get my number?"
"I have my ways~"
Surprisingly, Bunny's reply came immediately.
Isagi raised an eyebrow at the response.
"What are you, Mr. Mysterious?"
"Ehe. You tell me."
"I'm serious. Answer my question."
"No."
"..."
"^.^"
Deciding that talking to him would only be a waste of time, Isagi put his phone back into his pocket.
When they arrived at school, he got out of the car.
"Yoichi!"
Hearing Theo's voice, he turned toward where they were coming from. Both of them approached him with smiles. After saying goodbye to his father, Isagi headed toward them.
Theo threw an arm around Isagi's shoulders and quickly led him toward one of the benches.
Before Isagi could figure out what was happening, he had already been made to sit down. Theo sat on his left while Caelus squeezed in on his right.
Isagi raised an eyebrow as he looked at them.
"What—"
"Are you friends with Bunny Iglesias!?"
Isagi looked at Theo after he interrupted him.
"No, we're not?"
He looked at them in confusion before adding,
"And why are you asking?"
Theo looked horrified, while Caelus looked like he was about to cry.
Isagi put the pieces together and reached a conclusion.
"You gave him my number."
His voice wasn't asking a question. He was stating a conclusion.
As Theo and Caelus began apologizing to him, Isagi stood up.
"It's fine. He can't do anything to me anyway."
As he headed toward the classrooms, the two followed his pace.
They both wanted to say something, but the expression on Isagi's face silenced any attempt they made.
As they walked toward their classrooms, Caelus suddenly looked as if he had remembered something.
"Don't you remember that our classes changed?"
Theo and Isagi turned toward him as Caelus continued explaining.
"Our classes were rearranged according to the clubs we chose."
After signaling for them to follow him, they stopped in front of a board in the hallway.
Isagi searched for his own name and finally found it.
"Hmm. Most of my classes will be in the gym. The rest of them seem to be in Class 9-D on the second floor of Building B."
Theo looked at him sadly before dropping to his knees in disappointment.
"I'm not in the same class as either of you... What am I going to do!?"
Caelus comforted him while Isagi gave him a sidelong glance.
"Don't be dramatic."
Theo collapsed onto the floor as if he were even more devastated.
"Yoichi—"
"I'm going to my class."
There wasn't much time left before the lesson started, and Isagi had no intention of wasting it.
He headed toward the stairs to go to the second floor, completely ignoring Theo's cries.
Once he entered Building B, he didn't need to search for Class 9-D.
It had a much more magnificent appearance than the other doors. There were tables on both sides of the entrance, with trophies displayed on top of them.
Isagi paid them no attention and headed straight for the door. He had already won countless championships in his previous life. These things no longer mattered to him.
When he entered the classroom, he noticed that it wasn't much different from his previous one. The only difference was the framed pictures on the walls. There were photographs of many different teams taken together.
After giving them a brief glance, Isagi sat in a random empty seat. His luck wasn't particularly good this time, so he had ended up somewhere in the middle rows.
Since there was very little time left before class started, he began taking out his belongings when he sensed movement beside him.
Without caring who it was, he continued what he was doing. Then, from the corner of his eye, he saw a hand reaching toward him.
He instinctively pulled back and caught the person's wrist. When he finally turned to look at them, his grip loosened upon seeing a familiar face.
"Little bunny, there's no need to be so alert. Don't worry, I won't bite."
Bunny smiled at him with the same calm and harmless smile as always. Isagi withdrew his hand.
Bunny looked at him like a predator watching its prey. As much as Isagi wanted to return his stare, he didn't want to stoop to the level of a child.
He turned his attention back to what was in front of him, but he could feel Bunny moving a little closer.
He wanted to completely ignore him, but Bunny simply didn't know how to stay quiet.
"I didn't know someone as small as you could play football."
Bunny's voice became more condescending. As his voice sharpened, he leaned toward Isagi's ear.
"I think it would be best if you quit. This isn't Japan."
When he got close to Isagi's ear, his grin spread across his face.
"Though, if you want to be crushed beneath my feet, that's a different story~"
Isagi placed a hand on his face and pushed him away. Bunny laughed as he fell back into his chair.
"Is that the best you've got? How cute."
Before Bunny expected it, Isagi grabbed him by the collar and pulled him closer. Caught off guard, Bunny's smile disappeared from his face for a moment.
"Iglesias. If you open that disgusting mouth of yours one more time, I'll kill you."
A vein bulged on Isagi's forehead. His eyes darkened dangerously as he glared at Bunny.
Bunny raised his hands in surrender and regained his smile. However, the dangerous undertone in his voice was unmistakable.
"Little bunny~ How sadistic! I'll be looking forward to it."
Isagi released his collar and pushed him back while clenching his jaw.
"Masochistic bastard."
Bunny clenched his fists at the nickname, struggling to keep his smile on his face.
Before he could respond, the classroom door opened. When the teacher entered, the entire class finally fell silent.
As Isagi regained his composure, he realized how tightly he had clenched his fists. He sighed, knowing that he might have reopened his injuries. He made a mental note to visit the infirmary later before returning his attention to the lesson.
Bunny gave Isagi one last glance before turning back toward the teacher.
His fists were still clenched, reminding him of his irritation.
'This mouse is so annoying...'
The smile on his face turned threatening as he stared at the board.
'It's already time for the mouse hunt.'
As he thought about what he could do to Isagi, he gave himself a sly grin. His hands moved over his scars as he became lost in thought.
Even without looking at him, Isagi could tell that something dangerous was coming.
'No matter what—'
When Isagi turned to look at Bunny, he noticed that Bunny was already staring at him with that stupid grin on his face.
'He'll be the first one to give up.'
They both thought the exact same words at the same time.
When Isagi returned his stare with the same smile, Bunny bit down on his lower lip.
'The little bunny thinks he can be the hunter. How ridiculous.'
The two continued glaring at each other until they were interrupted by a strong, stern voice.
"Mr. Bunny Iglesias and Mr. Yoichi Isagi. Would you like to answer this question?"
...But first, they had to survive the lesson.
After chemistry class ended, they would spend the rest of the day in the gym.
As Isagi headed toward the gym, he noticed that Bunny wasn't going in that direction.
Shrugging, he quickened his pace. When he arrived at the gym, he recognized a few people he had seen in class. Their physical education teacher, Mr. Leon, walked around the gym with a whistle around his neck. After making sure everyone had arrived, he blew his whistle.
The high-pitched sound bothered everyone, and Isagi had to cover his ears with all his strength.
His young body couldn't handle sounds that loud, so that was all he could do.
He had managed to overcome this when he grew older, but he was still only fourteen right now. He had no choice but to wait.
Mr. Leon put his whistle away and signaled for the class to line up.
Once everyone was in line, they introduced themselves.
After the introductions, they did several basic exercises, such as running, physical conditioning, dribbling, and shooting.
Isagi managed to rank among the highest in most of them. The only thing he lacked was physical strength, but he would deal with that over time.
The lesson passed much faster than he expected. As the school day drew to a close, Mr. Leon ended the lesson and allowed them to leave early. Before leaving, he informed them that he would send them the exercises they needed to work on by email, then became the first person to leave the gym.
Isagi looked at his sports clothes, which were sticking to his body with sweat, in disgust. He desperately needed to go home and take a shower.
As he headed toward the exit, he saw familiar white hair but neither quickened nor slowed his steps.
As he passed by him, his eyes didn't meet his even once.
When he left the school and saw his father, the tension on his face disappeared. As he walked toward his father, he planned to completely ignore the familiar presence behind him.
Issei smiled when he noticed his son. Just as he was about to say something, his eyes shifted toward the person behind his son.
Issei blinked, and once his surprise faded, his smile grew wider.
"Yocchan! You didn't tell me your friend was coming with you."
Isagi frowned and turned around, an expression of pure hatred appearing on his face.
"He's not—"
"Nice to meet you, Mr. Issei~"
Bunny interrupted him, making Isagi's eye twitch. When he opened his mouth to finish his sentence, his father interrupted him this time.
"Nice to meet you too, young man!"
Issei narrowed his eyes at his son and headed toward the driver's seat.
"Isagi Yoichi. Why didn't you tell me your friend was coming?"
If looks could kill, Bunny would have been six feet under.
Bunny's smile grew wider as he ignored Isagi's glare.
'That bastard. I swear I'll kill him.'
"Ah, it's alright, sir. It seems Yoichi doesn't want me around anyway. I should probably go."
As Bunny turned around, Issei gave his son a disapproving look. Isagi gritted his teeth, knowing exactly what that look meant.
"Hey."
As he approached Bunny, the disgusted expression on his face didn't change. In fact, it deepened when he touched him.
Making sure his father couldn't hear him, Isagi lowered his voice.
"You started this. You're going to finish it, coward."
Isagi tried to pull Bunny by the arm, but Bunny stood firmly in place.
"Come on—"
"Magic word?"
Isagi turned toward him, tightening his grip on his arm.
"Iglesias—"
"Magic word?"
Isagi considered dragging him along by force, but he could feel his father's eyes on him.
After taking a deep breath, Isagi looked directly at Bunny.
"Please."
Bunny finally moved from where he was standing and chuckled.
"That's much better."
Isagi wanted to bury himself underground and stay there forever.
He was currently sitting in his room with Bunny in an awkward silence.
While Bunny looked around the room, Isagi questioned every decision he had ever made in his life.
His family had been incredibly welcoming toward Bunny. They had invited him to eat with them and had even talked to him for hours.
During all that time, Isagi had tried everything he could think of to escape to his room, but both of his parents had given him disapproving looks and made him stay with Bunny.
Eventually, they sent the two of them to Isagi's room so they could spend some time together like friends.
In the awkward silence between them, Isagi clicked his tongue. Eventually, unable to hold his tongue any longer, he turned toward Bunny.
"Don't you think it's time for you to leave?"
It sounded more like a hint than a question, but Isagi no longer cared.
Bunny turned toward him and put on a sad expression.
"Aww~ Come on, little bunny. Didn't you inherit any manners from your parents?"
Even his voice irritated Isagi, so he stood up.
"Am I supposed to learn manners from you? Pfft, don't make me laugh."
When Isagi stood in front of him, Bunny continued looking down at him. He chuckled at the difference in their heights, his voice filled with mockery.
"Ohh~ Looks like the dwarf is angry—"
Isagi finally lost his patience and pushed him.
When Bunny fell to the floor, the mockery on his face was replaced by something much more dangerous.
He raised his foot and reached toward Isagi's leg, but Isagi seemed to have anticipated it and stepped back, avoiding him.
Before Bunny could get back up, Isagi quickly approached and sat on his lap. When he grabbed his collar, he accidentally put too much pressure on his injured hand and briefly lost his breath from the pain.
Bunny took advantage of the moment and reversed their positions, ending up on top of Isagi.
As he put his weight on Isagi's stomach, Isagi raised his hand to push him away. Bunny noticed immediately and reacted at once. Holding both of Isagi's hands above his head with one hand, he narrowed his eyes at him.
Isagi tried to kick him, and his discomfort was obvious to Bunny.
"Looks like the little bunny finally got caught in the net~"
Seeing the sadistic and mocking grin on Bunny's face made Isagi's blood boil.
He didn't know if it was adrenaline, but Isagi managed to throw Bunny off him with a sudden burst of strength. When he tried to punch him, Bunny quickly moved to his right and ended up behind Isagi. Now standing between Isagi and the door, Bunny wore a confident expression that Isagi couldn't understand.
'It seems... his business here is done?'
"Alright, enough fun for today. I expect better hospitality next time, Yocchan~"
With one hand in his pocket, Bunny turned toward the door and left the room.
Isagi heard his parents seeing him off and struggled to control his breathing. He sat on his bed and tried to take deep breaths.
After waiting for a while, his breathing began to settle. Isagi buried his hands in his hair.
Once his thoughts became clear, his hatred and disgust only grew stronger. His eyes flashed with anger as he pulled at his hair.
'That bastard... He comes to my house and even calls me Yocchan...'
As he remembered everything that had happened that day, Isagi's face twisted with disgust.
He stood up with his hair disheveled from pulling at it. He could see blood seeping from his injured hand, but he couldn't feel the pain.
As he headed toward the bathroom, he kept remembering the places Bunny had touched him.
He scrubbed every place Bunny had touched until his skin turned red.
Ignoring the pain, he changed into his pajamas.
Even though he knew he wouldn't be able to sleep tonight, he lay down on his bed. Before trying to sleep, he remembered something and picked up his phone.
He found Bunny's number in his messages and blocked him.
After plugging his phone in to charge, he buried himself in his pillow.
'If I can't beat him in a fight, then I'll beat him on the field.'
That was his last thought before he forced his eyes closed.
"Yocchan... N-no... You h-have to wake up."
Hearing a familiar voice calling to him, Isagi slowly blinked his eyes.
As he tried to figure out where he was, he realized that he was somewhere he knew very well.
'Oh.'
He looked at his old house and turned his eyes away from the scene before him. Looking into Alex's eyes made it difficult for him to remain standing.
And he desperately wanted to comfort him.
Eventually, he found the strength to look at Alex again.
Alex had his face pressed against his lifeless body, his body trembling with grief.
The sound of an ambulance, people shouting, and police officers rushing around echoed through the street.
Several officers could be seen trying to separate Alex from his body, but Alex pushed them away.
When Isagi tried to touch him, his hand passed straight through his body.
All he could do was watch the illusion before him.
He squeezed his eyes shut, wanting to wake from this nightmare. He couldn't bear seeing Alex like this.
But, as always, there was nothing else he could do.
'I really am useless...'
He thought bitterly to himself.
"No..."
When he heard Alex's voice, he raised his head.
For a moment, seeing Alex's face made him shudder.
His eyes were bloodshot from crying. The vivid green eyes that Isagi had once loved so much had lost their brightness, leaving behind an empty, lifeless look.
Isagi couldn't bear to look into those eyes anymore.
This was his fault.
If only—
If only he had known that man was coming...
If only he could have stopped his death...
Alex wouldn't be like this.
Isagi clutched his throat, consumed by self-hatred and disappointment.
'Do I really deserve to live?—'
"I won't let him die."
Alex's voice froze Isagi in place.
His body stiffened, his hands falling lifelessly to his sides.
Alex looked directly towards him, as if he could see him.
When their eyes met, all the self-hatred and other emotions within Isagi evaporated and left his body.
Alex narrowed his eyes with determination before turning his head back to his lifeless body.
"No matter what...
I will bring him back to life."
Isagi woke up drenched in sweat, holding his breath.
He could hear his mother speaking behind him, but he couldn't make out what she was saying.
He was completely soaked in sweat. A tear he hadn't shed in a very long time helplessly fell onto his blanket.
He wiped his eyes, trying to stop himself from crying again, when a sudden wave of dizziness made him wince.
He rubbed his eyes to stop it, then groaned in pain as his head suddenly spun.
The tears disappeared as quickly as they came, and the headache intensified.
To ease the pain, he began hitting his head with his fist.
Pain relieved pain.
It was an old habit.
When someone hit him, when he cried, when he felt sad, he started hurting himself.
What started as a one-time occurrence turned into two, then three.
Finally, his wounds had increased so much that he couldn't count them.
As he opened his fist, his hand went to his neck.
Raising his second hand, he put all his strength into his hands.
As his breath slowly caught in his throat, he reflexively tried to breathe.
He continued until his face turned from red to purple.
"Isagi! If I ever see you do that again, our friendship ends here."
A familiar voice suddenly interrupted his thoughts.
A deep, angry voice stopped his hands.
'...Alex was so angry when he found out about this habit of mine.'
He could never forget his reaction, even after all these years.
Isagi hadn't understood why he reacted that way back then.
His hands lay at his sides, certain his neck was bruised from the pressure.
He had lost count of how many times he had opened the wounds on his injured hand. He only looked at the blood and then at his hand, certain it would hurt terribly when he had to bandage it later.
"Yocchan! Come on, who am I talking to?!"
After hearing his mother's voice, he opened her mouth to automatically reply, but no sound came out.
He got up, using the bed for support.
The pain and sadness in Alex's eyes wouldn't leave his mind.
He was the one who had caused him so much pain.
And probably continued to cause him pain even after he died.
He walked slowly to the bathroom to vomit.
After throwing up everything in the sink, he lifted his head and looked at his miserable reflection in the mirror.
Isagi held his breath to keep from crying again.
The pain gripped his chest, making it difficult to breathe.
A bitter smile formed on his face as Alex's smile flashed through his memories.
'I wish I had never been born at all.'