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Of all the things Itoshi Rin hated, the people in this goddamned facility were almost the worst.
Almost — only because his brother took the crowning place as ‘the thing I absolutely, unequivocally despise’. Behind Sae, the other members of Blue Lock were lagging like hyenas scraping to take some credit for a lion’s kill. They weren’t even worth Rin's time of day. Throughout the entire First Selection, he hadn’t so much as remembered a single one of his teammates’ names or faces. What was the point?
Blue Lock had gathered together two hundred and ninety-nine perfect stepping stones for him to saunter over, crushing a dream with each step as the platforms crumbled into the rapids below. It didn’t matter who he had to push down into those fatal waters. He was going to be the one making it to the national team. He was going to defeat Sae once and for all.
No one was going to stand in the way of his goal.
Indeed, the other stragglers claiming they had a remote shot at becoming the next ace striker for Japan were all delusional. It just happened that a few were more delusional than others… and those delusional idiots were getting on his nerves more and more as the days dragged on. Some of these two hundred and ninety-nine stepping stones were making crossing these rapids more troublesome than it had to be. More aggravating.
More lukewarm.
Of course, there was the bastard Isagi Yoichi. That arrogant, short, know-it-all kept coming back again and again like mould to a petri dish. He had a habit of approaching everything with a dumb smile on his face like some kind of peace negotiator, only to turn into a sickening beast on the field. He was a walking contradiction of useless kindness and pitiful egoism.
Quit trying, Rin would think every time Isagi dared get too close. Shut the fuck up and die already.
Then, there was Shidou Ryusei. Everything about that antenna-head was gag-worthy. His hair. His horrendous one-liners. The fact that he couldn’t get it into his thick skull that the number one person in this place was Itoshi Rin. If Rin had to hear the bastard’s voice one more time, he might throw up. It aggravated him so much!
Besides those two though, the members of Blue Lock were utterly forgettable. Most ranged from ‘might get onto Rin’s murder list’ to ‘who?’. Most fell into the latter, and a few fell into the former. There shouldn’t have been anyone else to account for outside of those two categories.
However, Rin did remember Hiori Yo…
You see, Hiori was weird. He wasn’t someone who Rin wanted to strangle. He wasn’t someone who Rin wanted to punch. By any reasonable metric in Rin’s mind, Hiori should’ve fallen nicely into the ‘who?’ category and that would be the end of things.
But Hiori didn’t. That head of garish, cyan hair had his own, strange category in Rin’s head that refused to assimilate into one of the others. It was one which refused to disappear.
At first, Rin remembered the passes. The quick, well thought out passes that were perfectly timed and connected to Rin’s play style in an instant. Without a single word exchanged between them, they’d combined their strengths in a silent sprint to victory. Hiori was a reliable asset in this game of Blue Lock, a stepping stone with perhaps a slightly stronger foundation than most.
The next thing Rin remembered was the voice. Hiori was soft spoken, at least compared to most other people around the facility. His accent made him easy to pick out in a crowd and his tone had a lilting calmness to it, not that he spoke very much in the first place. And yet, when he did choose to speak, his words were satisfyingly blunt. He never said anything out of hand. He had a reasonable brain between his ears. Rin would be lying if he said he didn’t appreciate the down-to-earth attitude.
Still, this meant little in the grand scheme of things. Hiori was still his pawn and nothing more. Such a pitiful position was an embarrassment. Blue Lock was a place to develop as a striker, not a place to sell yourself away as the set piece to another. Every time Hiori crossed Rin’s vision, he tried to berate the boy in his mind with words like ‘shameful’ and ‘disappointment’. Were this Isagi or Shidou, he would’ve said them out loud without a moment of hesitation.
But the words never left his lips.
The third thing Rin remembered was Hiori’s eyes…
-—-
The cafeteria was abuzz with nervous chatter; the tryouts matches for the Japan U-20 VS Blue Lock Eleven had concluded at last. Everyone had tried their best. Now, all that was left was to wait on Ego’s decision as to who made it into the final lineup. For many, it meant huddling together in groups around tables, shamefully bigging each other up with dumb words of encouragement.
Idiots, Rin thought as he dug into his own food. It’s kill or be killed. Quit wasting your time.
His nose still hurt like hell. Shidou’s kick had contained way more power than anyone could have realised. The guy was locked away but the ghosts of his attack still stung Rin’s sinuses like fire ant bites. The wads of tissue paper shoved up his bleeding nose weren’t a flattering sight at all.
No one had dared come near his table. As usual, he was eating alone. This was fine. He preferred it this way. No one would annoy him and he could eat his meal in peace and quiet… or, as much peace and quiet as the crowded cafeteria allowed.
Across from him, on another table, the fringes of conversation were just about audible over the low murmurs coming from all around. One of the speakers was Hiori.
Why that name in particular had stuck in Rin’s head, he didn’t know. He certainly didn’t recognise the other guy. That dude’s name might begin with an ’N’? Nana… something? Whatever it was, it wasn’t worth remembering at all. Hiori on the other hand had a name that matched his face perfectly in Rin’s mind.
It must’ve been the hair. That cyan bowl-cut was pretty unmistakable around here.
Between bites of food, Rin glanced over at the boy who’d briefly been his teammate in the first tryouts match. He had to admit, Hiori was skilled. Keeping up with the top two wouldn’t have been easy. Not even Isagi was capable of it (then again, Isagi was lukewarm at many things). Out of everyone currently jittering about whether or not they’d make Ego’s team, it was a surprise to see just how calm Hiori was being. His face didn’t give away a single hint of nervousness. Rather, he was almost completely poker-faced, only allowing hints of amusement to come through when the other guy kept talking. Was he just confident in his own skills?
Still just a second-rate striker though, Rin thought with a scowl.
The edges of Hiori’s conversation with… whatever the guy with the headband was called… drifted over. “Honestly, it feels like playing a horror game.”
Rin froze up, skin prickling.
This was stupid. Horror games were his hobby, nothing more. They were an outlet for his stress and anger in a way that wasn’t football, so he could put more of his time and effort into training without frustration clouding his judgement. Lots of people played horror games. This wasn’t anything special.
And yet, hearing another person talk about them in such close proximity made a certain feeling flicker in his gut. Was it longing? A desire to be able to actually talk about something he was interested in with another person? No. That couldn’t be it. He’d never wanted that before. He’d never wanted to talk to anyone full stop before. The solitude in his interests wasn’t an issue. At least, it never had been in the past.
Hiori kept talking. “The anticipation of it, y’know? Knowing something’s coming but you’re left in suspense.”
The other guy laughed. “I guess, but I doubt Ego’s gonna throw a bunch of zombies at us.”
Hiori let out a slightly exasperated sigh. “Maybe not, plus once you’ve played enough times, you know what to expect. The AI usually has a pattern. But I doubt anyone could’ve predicted what happened to Shi-“
He stopped. That poker-faced expression flickered with something. And then curious, cyan eyes flitted to look straight into Rin’s.
Rin’s entire body ran cold.
Oh. Right. He was staring at Hiori. He had been for maybe thirty seconds or so.
Those eyes told more than a face ever could. They were almost hypnotising with how easily they drew Rin in, as if they promised to spill the secrets behind Hiori’s neutral facade of an expression. They were where all of the nerves, the heightened senses and anxiety were swimming. No wonder he’d picked up on Rin’s gaze. The guy was on high alert after all.
Hiori had a rather blank expression despite this. Nothing in his face screamed ‘bothered’ or ‘confused’ at Rin’s presence. He stared back for a moment, head slightly tilted, then he raised a hand in greeting.
Rin immediately looked back down at his food.
“Something the matter?” he heard the other guy ask.
“… it’s nothing,” Hiori replied.
“So, about those horror games,” the other guy said. “Any recommendations? I don’t really play but they sound cool.”
“You sure? They can get really scary.”
Their conversation wasn’t particularly interesting after that. Certainly not worth listening to. However, something about Hiori’s voice as he started going into the 2000s Japanese horror game scene kept coaxing Rin’s ears to listen to what the other was saying. Hiori was knowledgeable; Rin found himself wondering if they’d watched the same letsplays as kids. The games were all ones he remembered from years ago — Corpse Party, Ao Oni, Yume Nikki, even a brief excursion into a few western titles.
The entire time, Rin was listening to that voice. That blunt, clear, soothing voice. He remembered those eyes, so truthful against a neutral expression.
The pain from Shidou’s attack was long forgotten.
Pathetic… he thought to himself as he went to clear his tray.
-—-
The floodlights of the Japan U-20 vs Blue Lock Eleven match burned down on Rin as his head momentarily split apart in a torrent of pain. He’d done it. He’d predicted Sae’s moves. He’d stopped Shidou. A full-power kick to the face had been worth it. Now though, everything was a blur. Sounds all blended into one. Blood was rushing through his ears, heating his cheeks. A deep agony bloomed across his face. Which way was up? Where the hell was Sae? What was going on?
“Rin!”
And that was when he felt it. Soothing strokes down his back, clearly fretting but still somehow keeping a semblance of calm.
“Are you okay, Rin?”
And that voice. The accent was unmistakable. The softness mixed with rationality was like a beacon, guiding his mind back from delirious confusion.
Hiori was here. All he had to do was focus on Hiori.
“…yeah,” he managed to get out, clutching a hand to his face.
Despite the reassurance that he was, in fact, fine, Hiori didn’t leave. He stayed there, waiting with his usual quiet demeanour. When Rin finally felt the pangs in his face subside, he took a deep breath and tried to stand. His legs were still shaky and he could feel them struggling to hold his weight.
“Did you break our face?” Hiori asked, lending a supportive hand. Carefully placed humour laced his voice but it didn’t mask the clear concern in his movements.
His hands were gentle. Gloves aside, they never dared grip Rin’s arm too strongly. It was like fingers of mist were cradling Rin, guiding him to his feet with careful judgement and reassurance. When Hiori retracted his hands, Rin almost wanted to reach out and grasp the odd sense of comfort they held.
It was a stupid, vulnerable thought. One in need of crushing instantly. He swallowed, taking a deep breath, allowing his fury towards Sae to course back through him.
“I’m fine,” he reiterated, glaring over in Shidou’s direction. “I just grazed him.”
In the heat of the moment, with the confusion of the impact now gone, hatred and bitterness once again sprouted in his heart. He’d kill Shidou for that. He’d kill Sae for that. Everyone here needed to just die already. Fuck them all, the stupid, little creatures that they were.
“It’s good to know you’re alright,” Hiori’s voice split the swirling typhoon of hatred for the briefest moment. “Good luck.”
He was no longer by Rin’s side. Looking around, a hand still instinctually held over his lower face, Rin saw him running back to his position further down the field. In that moment, if only for a second, something flickered in Rin’s chest. A spark of surprise. Hiori had abandoned his position to help him.
Why?
The tidal wave of adrenaline-spiked fury towards his brother crashed down on him only a second later. Hiori didn’t matter right now. All that mattered was Sae. All that mattered was killing Sae, if it was the last thing Rin did.
-—-
Rin tossed and turned this way and that. No matter what, sleep refused to come to him. It was three in the morning, two nights after the U-20 versus Blue Lock Eleven match had concluded with Blue Lock’s victory. It was a time for celebration — the last night before everyone went home of a two-week vacation. A time to revel in the fact that he’d beaten Sae.
But there was nothing to celebrate. This victory didn’t matter. Sae still didn’t recognise him one bit. The bastard had noticed Isagi of all people. It made Rin nauseous how much he wanted to scream. All these years. All this work. Even after he’d given up so much, after he’d tried and succeeded so god damn much, Sae refused to acknowledge him.
I’ll kill him! I’ll fucking kill him!
This bedroom, which he was forced to share with several other members of Blue Lock, was getting too cramped to bear. If he stayed here much longer, he feared he might actually scream. And so, he slipped out of the room with as little noise as he could.
He wandered through the halls with no clear indication of where he was going. Blue Lock’s corridors were bright even in the dead of night. It was normal for people to want to train at any hour, so cold fluorescence beamed down on the dull, grey walls of the facility all the time. Still, they were so bare and cold that they reminded Rin of those ‘backrooms’ stories that got spread around online every now and again.
Not that it frightened him though. Much the opposite. This place was his ultimate tool, the thing that would make him surpass Sae once and for all. The fact that Ego had mandated this two-week break for everyone following their victory was absurd. Anyone who wanted to leave this place for any amount of time was stupid.
At least I’ll see the sea again, Rin thought. He did miss the sea. In times like this, when his mind was filled with demons, it was a nice place to clear his head.
Turning a corner, the briefest ghosts of surprise furrowed onto his brow. The monitor room, which everyone used to watch back their matches, had a trail of blue light filtering out from the open doorway. Even at this hour, someone was reviewing footage. It didn’t really matter. People could do what they wanted.
Still, Rin found himself approaching the room. Glancing inside, the first thing he noticed were the monitors.
The same few clips of Hiori were playing over and over from different camera angles. The room was dark aside from the screens, and Hiori sat silhouetted against them on the floor, surrounded by cushions with a blanket over his shoulders.
As if the boy had some kind of sixth sense, he rather quickly turned to look at Rin standing there. Those mesmerising eyes once again looked at him with a deepness that betrayed any neutrality in his expression.
“Can’t sleep?” he asked. His tone was different from usual. There was a weariness to it.
Walking out would have been the easiest thing to do. Rin’s legs were almost begging him to just turn around and go away. He’d only spoken to Hiori a few times. He’d made awkward eye contact maybe a few more times. He didn’t care about whatever issues the guy was going through. Besides, he needed to find a way to get some rest. Blue screen light sure wasn’t going to help with that.
“What does it look like?” he said instead. His feet remained planted in the doorway. He didn’t move.
Hiori hummed. “I can’t either.” He looked back at the monitors. Silence settled between them. “Want to join?” his voice eventually sounded again.
Rin frowned. “Why would I?” Why not?
“I don’t know,” Hiori shrugged, surprisingly not sounding offended. “It might help us feel more tired.”
“Sitting in a room watching videos?”
“Works for me.”
Rin remained in the doorway, although he leaned against the threshold and looked up at what exactly was playing on the screens. “What’s this?” he asked. He didn’t know how much he was scowling but he was trying to look more confused than angry for once.
Hiori flicked a clip back a few seconds. “You watch your mistakes too, don’t you?”
“I don’t make mistakes.”
Hiori leaned back. “Oh well, good for you. I’m jealous.” The softness in his tone made it clear that he wasn’t, in fact, actually that jealous. “In any case, I need to know how I can be better.” There was something jaded about the way he was talking. “Anything to be the best, I suppose.”
Half of Rin still wanted to leave. He’d been hoping for a quiet pace around the facility, free from the noise of anyone else to distract him. This was taking up the few precious hours of night left before everyone would be let out of Blue Lock.
However, instead of turning tail and getting out of the room, he wandered further in, sitting himself down on the cushions next to Hiori and looking up at the monitors. He watched in silence as the clips started to repeat.
Hiori hugged his knees. “Any words of wisdom from Blue Lock’s number one?”
Talking to anyone else would have been annoying. This was Hiori though, so Rin bit back any snarky remarks he could have made at the footage and instead simply watched.
After a little while, there was very little he could think of to actually criticise. None of the mistakes were really Hiori’s fault. In one clip, he’d run into the perfect passing spot only for two defenders to get in the way, casting him out of Isagi’s eye-line. In another, he’d gotten briefly blocked by a midfielder and had ended up too far behind Rin to ever conceivably get the ball, not that Rin would’ve passed it anyway. It was strange seeing such blunders in the play of a guy who was usually so precise, but it was just a case of other players getting in the way, breaking Hiori's flow.
The annoying fuckwits.
“Is this everything?” Rin asked.
Hiori nodded, hugging his knees. “Every mistake I could find after watching my time on the field through twice.” Despite the colourful glare of the screens on his face, apathy hung in his expression.
The total length of the combined clips was less than thirty seconds. There were only a couple of mistakes overall. Just like back in the tryouts, it was clear that Hiori was a player who worked with speed, precision and a frightening ability to adapt. A natural talent.
“Hey, Rin,” Hiori’s voice had the slightest hint of a tremble to it. “Is it weird that I don’t wanna leave here tomorrow?”
That came out of nowhere.
Rin frowned. He leaned back on his hands and looked at the ceiling. “No.”
Something shifted beside him. “I wish I could stay,” Hiori’s voice had lowered to little more than a whisper.
Usually, Rin would have found such a voice unbearable. It sounded so weak and helpless. Coming from anyone else in this place, it would have been enough to have him spitting insults left and right. But for some reason, with Hiori, those thoughts steadied themselves on his tongue before he said anything.
Hiori hid most of his face in his knees, still staring up at the monitors with passionless eyes. “I don’t want to go home…” he murmured.
“So?”
Hiori tensed a little. “Sorry,” he looked away. “I’m keeping you. You can go if you want.”
Don’t want to.
“No. It’s…” Rin paused. Why was he still here? Whatever the reason, he shook off the weird feeling beginning to settle in his chest at how anxious Hiori had just sounded. Idiot. Don’t scare him. “What’s so bad about home?”
Hiori buried his head into his knees, clutching his legs tightly to his chest. “Doesn’t matter…”
For a while after that, another silence fell between them. It wasn’t an awkward one though. Neither of them were talkers to begin with, so coupling that with a shared sense of understanding that something was drawing them towards Blue Lock, making their hearts long to remain within its walls, was a refreshing notion that sat comfortably in the quiet.
Eventually, Hiori looked back up, his gaze fixating on the video clips still playing. It was clear from the glassiness of his eyes that he’d been biting back tears. “Rin…”
“Hmm?”
“Do you really hate your brother?”
For a moment, Rin hesitated. Was he really that easy to figure out? In hindsight, he did openly declare his desire to destroy Sae on a daily basis. It wasn’t that surprising that a perceptive individual such as Hiori was able to take the meaning literally. Hell, even Isagi or Shidou would probably be able to. Rin really was an open book, no matter how aloof he tried to present himself.
His fists clenched against the floor. “That fucking bastard. I’ll kill him.”
He expected Hiori to give him as dead-panned a response as ever. A couple of words, perhaps a hum of vague acknowledgement. Failing that, he expected the guy to back away, perhaps even make up an excuse to leave. It wasn’t exactly normal to wish such violence on one’s own family with that level of animosity.
But Hiori chuckled. It was a controlled laugh, but not forced. It was genuine. “I get you.”
Rin frowned. “You do?”
For a second, a sudden flash of realisation sparked in Hiori’s face. It disappeared in an instant. “Forget it…”
Rin shrugged. “Whatever.” He wasn’t going to push anything.
Another silence followed, this one much shorter than the last.
“Can you imagine,” Hiori said, “having a setup like this?”
Talk about changing the topic. Still, it was probably better than leaving whatever there was left to unpack in Hiori’s mind lingering in the air. Remembering back to that one embarrassing case of eavesdropping in the cafeteria, Rin clocked on to what the other meant. “For gaming?”
“If I had a setup like this I’d just drop out of here and become a horror streamer.”
“Horror streaming died after twenty-fifteen.”
Rin very conveniently left out the fact that he had horrifically detailed knowledge about the release schedule of Five Nights At Freddy’s and how that coincided with the shift away from horror games. That was something no one was ever finding out he’d once liked. Anyone who did was having their tongues ripped out.
Hiori sighed next to him. “Then I’d play shooters. I main Killjoy. That should bring in fans.”
Rin raised an eyebrow. “Valorant?”
“Ascendant Rank before all this Blue Lock stuff. D’you play?”
Rin shook his head. “Not into shooters. I’m more a horror person.”
All of a sudden, he felt Hiori’s presence get ever so slightly closer to him. It wasn’t nearly close enough to invade his personal space. Hiori just wasn’t like that (unlike certain other people around Blue Lock…), however for some reason there was an inkling in the back of Rin’s mind wishing Hiori would get just a little bit closer. Close enough to be able to feel his body heat, or his breath, or-
He clamped those horrendous thoughts away in an instant. What. The. Actual. FUCK?
Hiori was looking at him with eyes far more filled with life than before. While his general expression remained rather neutral, those eyes gave away a flicker of interest. “Ao Oni,” he said. “Opinions.”
The words flew from Rin’s mouth before he could fully comprehend that he was even speaking. “Overrated as fuck.”
It was meant as nothing more than a generic statement of fact. It was the truth. However, the laugh that Hiori let out in response was like pure gold. Rin’s heart thudded loud against his chest, not because of embarrassment or irritation, but rather because Hiori’s face was for some reason impossible to look away from. The boy squeezed his eyes shut, grinning a small but charming smile. The way he lifted a hand to his mouth was beautifully sweet and his voice as he chuckled was borderline ethereal.
Stop it…
“Agreed,” he said. “People call it a classic but it’s so repetitive and boring. And you don’t even-“ he suddenly paused. “Is everything okay?” he asked, tilting his head.
At that moment, Rin realised that, just like that one time in the cafeteria, he was staring again. Immediately, he swallowed so hard he almost choked and looked away. The heat rising in his face was like thorns on his skin. He really hoped he wasn’t blushing too hard. It was dark in this room besides the monitors. That should be enough to hide his reddening cheeks, right?
“I’m fine,” he said, trying his best to sound irritated. It only half worked though. “You were saying?”
Hiori leaned back into his own personal bubble.
Don’t go… Rin’s thoughts pleaded before he could stop them.
“Well,” Hiori said, picking at the floor, “I was just saying that you spend the entire game running away and you don’t even kill the monster. It feels so cheap.”
The two then settled not into silence, but into comfortable conversation. Their discussion started as a critical review of an old horror game they both knew far too much about, but then topics drifted to different games. The entire time, words came easily to Rin. For once in his life, he wasn’t clawing for topics to have to feign small talk. He wasn’t telling Hiori to fuck off so he didn’t have to deal with talking at all, like he usually did.
This felt nice.
Their conversation went on, neither of them getting outwardly that enthusiastic about the topics but nevertheless continuing to talk more at length than perhaps either of them had realised they were capable of. Rin’s eyelids started to droop. He glanced over at the clock on the wall. It was almost five thirty.
Putting aside the fact that it was a miracle he’d stood anyone’s presence for this long, it was even more weird that he didn’t want it to end. Tiredness was finally sinking into his bones, his circadian rhythm catching up to him, but instead of cutting Hiori off or getting up and walking away, he remained where he was.
That was, until he felt Hiori’s presence once again leaning in slightly. His heart thrummed once again, light and fluttery. Glancing up at the other, it was clear they were both rather sleepy.
God damn it, why did Hiori look so pretty like this?
Hiori’s words were starting to sound bleary. “You should get some rest. You look tired.”
Rin tried to roll his eyes without yawning. “Shut up. Speak for yourself.”
Hiori hummed. “I guess you’re right.” He paused, biting back a yawn himself. “That was nice though.”
“Huh?”
A small smile crept onto Hiori’s face, glowing in the blue screen light. “You’re more fun to talk to than you look.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing much,” Hiori shrugged, “just that I like talking to you.” He then conceded a yawn and rubbed his eyes. “Sorry for keeping you. It was pretty selfish of me.”
“No it wasn’t.”
“It was…” Hiori looked down. “It’s stupid, and I really did enjoy talking to you. So much. It’s just that I thought if I kept you here, then maybe, just maybe, tomorrow wouldn't come. I’d… I’d like that. To stay like this. Talking to you for as long as possible.”
This wasn’t completely about staying with Rin. That was becoming rather obvious if the earlier comments about going home were anything to go by. Sure, it might be a bit selfish, but then again everyone in Blue Lock was. They had to be to survive. Besides, Rin didn’t mind staying.
Because yeah, no matter how much he didn’t want to admit it, he liked talking to Hiori too.
“Ten more minutes,” he said.
-—-
Two hundred and ninety-eight perfect stepping stones existed inside Blue Lock. Hiori was an anomaly and therefore should not be counted. He couldn’t simply be forgotten or discarded, not like the others. Not after Rin had seen the boy’s face, heard his voice and felt his gentle touches. Not after experiencing whatever those weird feelings in his chest were whenever he so much as thought about that head of cyan hair. None of these things were forgettable to Rin. He held all of them in his memory, although his reasons for doing so were a mystery even to himself.
Ego had granted everyone in Blue Lock a break, no matter how unnecessary Rin found it. Nevertheless, he was outside again, back in his hometown. Sitting on the pier, staring out at the sea, he thought about a lot of things. The match against Sae — the highs and lows, the pain and the anger. He thought about how much he wanted to murder Isagi Yoichi and Shidou Ryusei. He thought about how much he wanted to make his brother suffer.
And then, for a moment, he thought of gentle touches. Of a kind voice speaking in unmistakeable Kansai dialect. Of a head of cyan hair rushing over to him. That same cyan haired boy was able to connect his passes to Rin as if it were second nature. Most of all though, they could talk to one another in the solitude of a monitor room, the minutes ticking past faster than either of them could realise as they fought off tiredness, all so they could remain in one another's presence for just a little bit longer.
Rin let out a deep sigh, clenching his fists on the concrete beneath him.
Feelings were weird. They were complicated. They were something he hated thinking about at the best of times. Friendships were distractions enough, let alone even considering the possibility of romance or crushes. It was a dangerous formation of partnership, one that could jeopardise the evolution of a true egoist. Relying too much on another couldn’t possibly be a good thing.
Still, Rin thought about Hiori. He thought about Hiori’s perfect passes and his adaptability on the field. About his eyes, so deep with emotions, betraying his calm demeanour. Hiori was a good asset, sure, but he was something else as well, something Rin didn’t quite know or understand. Whatever this extra ‘something’ was, it was like a drug. It clouded Rin's vision whenever he thought towards the games ahead of him, both in Blue Lock and further ahead in the future.
He knew that, logically speaking, he’d never see Hiori again after Blue Lock was over and done with. The boy should have been nothing more than another stepping stone in this pathway to the national team, his dream crushed as much as anyone else’s.
Why did the notion make Rin’s gut twist and his chest ache?
Perhaps, even though he hated the people in Blue Lock with the passion of a thousand suns, he could make an exception for one?