Chapter Text
Isagi Yoichi first felt amazed and excited when he was three years old. That was when his bored father kept changing the channel until he finally decided to stop at a live soccer game. Yoichi, who didn't pay much attention to the television and was busy with his own baby stuff at first, was slowly drawn in when he heard the loud roar of the crowd in the stadium. And when he turned around, just as the camera zoomed in a player with the number nine jersey shot the ball hard and precisely into the left side of the goal.
With the sound of the commentator in the background, Yoichi couldn't take his eyes off the player standing in the middle of the pitch. Who in the process stared deeply as if unsatisfied at the goal.
Yoichi's eyes widened in a bright twinkle, he slowly dragged his knees to crawl closer to the screen. Raising his two small hands as if he wanted to reach for something. Little did Yoichi know, with that unexpected television broadcast, the path of his life that was planned simply changed 180 degrees.
"Mom, I'm leaving!" Isagi Yoichi announced as he frantically tied his shoelaces. He couldn't believe he was late for school on a Monday, when Sunday had just started.
"Mm! Be careful!" His mother's voice shouted back from inside the house.
Yoichi quickly grabbed his bag when he finished tying his shoelaces, he thought he had spent ten minutes just tying his shoelaces. Such a simple job, yet it seemed so difficult when in a state of panic.
Yoichi ran, as fast as his legs could take him. He climbed the stairs quickly, and turned down a narrow alleyway that he knew would get him twice as fast to where he needed to be.
Yoichi sighed in relief, when he reached his school and saw that the gate was still wide open.
Thank goodness... He wasn't late.
Yoichi entered school and went about his day as usual. Right. His life was ordinary and very normal, nothing special. Waking up, having breakfast and going to school. After that, he spent his time at the park until the afternoon playing (practicing) soccer. Very normal for a kid his age. But what Yoichi didn't expect today was a little different.
When Yoichi was playing ball in the park he accidentally kicked the ball a little too hard, the ball rolled until it entered one of the narrow alleys near the park. Yoichi quickly ran to look for the ball, he stopped suddenly in front of the alley, the alley was narrow and therefore almost no light penetrated into it, for a 5 year old boy Yoichi felt a little hesitant about the pitch darkness, but he still stepped in with the confidence that the ball would definitely not go too deep, because he felt he didn't kick it that hard.
Yoichi looked around and found what he was looking for located around a pile of trash. Yoichi smiled, he quickly grabbed the ball and clutched it to his chest and quickly turned around to exit the alley- except something stopped him. What he thought was a pile of trash wasn't really trash.
Yoichi blinked once, then blinked again. Wanting to find out if his eyes were delusional because he thought he saw a human, specifically a child, camouflaged into trash.
Five seconds later, when he saw that it was still there, Yoichi realized, he was not delusional, what was in front of him was really a small child in tattered clothes huddled around the trash while holding his body tightly.
"Ah. Uh.. ex-excuse me?" Yoichi called out groggily, his hand moved to grab the shoulders of the child who looked too thin but stopped when the child raised his head limply, and slowly moved away in fear when he saw his hand.
Yoichi quickly retracted his hand, and took a few steps back. This kid didn't seem to like being approached, it was obvious from how his body was trembling and his light blue pupils were shaking violently.
And as the boy finally straightened his position, Yoichi could see so many purple and red bruises adorning his thin body, Yoichi's eyes widened in worry.
"Ah.. Are you, okay?" Stupid question, of course he wasn't! How could someone who looked so dying be okay. But Yoichi was very confused and hesitant about what to say so as not to scare the child in front of him.
The child had not moved from his position, still in the same position, stuck to the dirty wall of the alley while looking at Yoichi with the same hostile gaze.
Yoichi was in the middle of thinking about what else to say, when he heard the sound of a deep stomach roar, which seemed very eager to be filled. Yoichi turned his head towards the boy, who was in a position to press his stomach hard, which Yoichi thought was to prevent other sounds from flowing out.
"Are you hungry?" Yoichi asked, looking at the very quiet boy. Yoichi thoughtlessly ran out of the alley and grabbed his backpack that had been sitting on a park bench. Yoichi took out his lunch that he hadn't touched at all (since he always ate his lunch in the park, when he finished training), and grabbed his water bottle and ran back towards the alley. He was happy that the boy stayed where he was and didn't try to run away when he left.
Yoichi stood about two steps away from the boy and then placed a lunch box and a water bottle in front of him.
The boy who had not taken his competitive gaze off of him since they met eyes, finally cut off that gaze and glanced at the box curiously.
"Here. If you're hungry, you can eat this," Yoichi said with a gentle smile. The boy looked unsure and confused when he said that. Yoichi opened the lid of his lunch and showed the boy two complete sandwiches that hadn't taken a single bite.
the boy's eyes widened, he was still looking at him with a doubtful gaze but yoichi was pleased that the skinny hand moved slowly and cautiously to reach for the sandwich.
which Yoichi put away instantly when he saw the boy's hand, just as the kid was about to touch the food. the boy's eyes again trembled in sorrow, so much so that yoichi felt so sick that even just by looking at him, he quickly apologized.
"i'm sorry. but... your hands are dirty. you'll get a stomachache if you eat like this," Yoichi said, reaching for his water bottle.
"let's wash your hands first," Yoichi waited patiently for the boy to comply but it never came.
"You know, washing hands is important," Yoichi said again, but the boy just looked unsure and confused.
Yoichi blinked, "could it be... you don't understand what i'm saying?" once again there was no verbal response, the boy just tilted his head slightly, that was confirmation enough for Yoichi.
"can you do this?" Yoichi moved his hands in a hand-washing pose in front of the boy who was just staring at him. he did that for a while, a little too long because he felt a very heavy weight on his shoulders that was previously absent from repeating the same movements continuously.
when Yoichi was very tired and still got no results he slowly lowered his hands with disappointment. but what he didn't expect, the boy moved both hands and did the movement Yoichi did. Yoichi quickly threw a smile of thanks while spilling a little drinking water over the small hand that flinched when the water met his pale skin in the process.
When the boy finished washing his hands, Yoichi put the sandwich back in front of him.
"Here, eat it," Yoichi said with a gentle smile.
The boy moved his hands back, less hesitant, but still wary, probably because of what Yoichi had done earlier.
Those light blue eyes blinked in small triumph, when he finally grasped one of the sandwiches. The boy with trembling hands brought the sandwich towards his mouth, watching the food for a moment before taking a small bite. He chewed hesitantly at first and picked up speed when he finally tasted the flavor on his tongue. He quickly took another bite, and chewed quickly.
"Slow down, don't choke," Yoichi admonished gently. just as he said that, the boy already coughed loudly. Yoichi reached for the water and opened the bottle immediately moving closer to aim the bottle towards the boy's mouth.
The boy drank it quickly and continued eating, seemingly unaware or just ignoring the fact that Yoichi was very close to his position right now.
Isagi once again shot the ball from the center of the field. He breathlessly watched the flying ball, which slid and crashed into the net.
Yoichi wiped his sweat, moving tiredly to retrieve the ball. A slight frown played on his lips. the ball went in, but lost its power. if there was a goalkeeper guarding, even the weakest one, he had no chance.
Yoichi picked up the ball from the ground and stared deeply at it.
Noa Sama could shoot a hundred times stronger than that... He muttered, pressing the ball harder.
Noel Noa was such an outstanding player, Isagi idolized the number nine. After all, he was the key to why Isagi launched into the world of soccer so early.
"It's too slow. At this stage, I'll never reach it."
Okay. That was actually too much for a five-year-old's mind. Because there was still so much time until he was finally old enough to play in a team. Besides, he hadn't even made his debut yet!
Yoichi shook his head as common sense came back to him. He shouldn't think like that, negative thoughts would only bring him down.
He could do this, at least for now he would continue practicing hard until he could shoot and control the ball more accurately. Isagi nodded firmly, as he finally decided on his goals for the next few weeks.
Yoichi suddenly squinted when a glimmer of orange light struck his retinas, he raised his head and blinked in surprise when he saw the sun was about to set.
It's been that long! How did I not notice?!
Isagi ran to grab his backpack, and ran again to somewhere on the side of the park.
Yoichi stopped, a warm smile appearing on his lips when he saw his lunchbox neatly stored outside the alley area, right in the middle of the twilight sunlight making a border with the darkness of the alley that looked thicker than usual.
"Is the food good?" Yoichi asked as he looked into the alley, where he knew the boy would be.
"I'm going home now, see you again tomorrow," Isagi threw one last smile at the darkness, before packing up he lunchbox.
The unexpected encounter that day, lasted until now. At first Yoichi was just worried and a little curious, so just in case, with the bottle of ointment in his palm he re-entered the alley the next day. To his surprise the boy was still there, Yoichi went back to him and asked him a lot of questions, because what if the boy got lost or he was a kidnapping victim, or involved in something dangerous? But no matter how much Yoichi tried, he didn't get any answers.
Yoichi didn't even know his name, when it had been about two weeks since he first met the boy. Who only stayed around the alley every day and never once went outside.
Previously, Yoichi had tried to take him out, so they could play together in the park. he explained in the simplest way he could think of so that the boy would understand what he meant but still got a refusal.
Either the boy didn't understand at all what he was trying to convey, or he was vehemently refusing to come into contact with the light.
At this point, Yoichi wouldn't be surprised, if the boy suddenly claimed to be a vampire. from how afraid he was of light.
But still, Yoichi was quite satisfied. Because at least the boy no longer looked at him skeptically if he was around. And what Yoichi was grateful for, the bruises on the boy's body had gotten better, and not as bad as before. Yoichi had also been asking questions about the wound. Like, why did he get hurt? And who did it? Because it might be dangerous, what if the person who hurt him before wasn't satisfied and tried to hurt him again? Yoichi was sure, those bruises must have been caused by a punch or maybe a kick. But still, the answers he needed never came.
Yoichi threw his tired body onto the mattress, sighing happily when he was finally able to straighten his sore and stiff joints.
He thought he might have gone a little overboard today. Noa had a very powerful and controlled kick, so Yoichi wanted to have that too, but there was no way an adult and a child (especially a five-year-old) could match in strength.
Yoichi turned his body around, pressing his face firmly into the pillow.
Yoichi was a pretty patient kid. Actually, very patient. So even if you accidentally tripped him, dropped his food, or made a scene around him (the kind of thing that makes kids start fights), he wouldn't get angry, or even just throw an exasperated look.
But in soccer, Yoichi seems to be far from patient. He wanted to master many skills, try many things, practice many tricks, even the difficult tricks of pro-players (especially Noel Noa) did not escape his attention. He thought, that's why his mind was in turmoil right now. He small body was not yet capable of mastering or even attempting to practice those powerful techniques.
Was this how Noel Noa felt when he shot that time? Did the ball miss its target? But it went in. That's how soccer is, in the end, the one who scores more goals win.
When Yoichi finished school and arrived at the park the next day, the first thing he did was take out his lunchbox and water from his bag. Then move towards the alley.
It had quickly become second nature to him. The first thing he did when he stepped into the park area, was not the usual short warm-up or stretching that he always did before.
but visiting his mysterious friend.
Yoichi smiled when he saw the silhouette of a familiar body crouched near the wall, only about two feet from the outside.
"Hello" Isagi smilingly greeted the boy who had been silently watching him, ever since he entered the park.
Yoichi sat down in front of the boy, who quickly extended his hand, even before Yoichi's ass touched the ground. Yoichi chuckled, knowing what to do, he immediately spilled water over the boy's small hand.
"Here, today is fried rice," Yoichi held out his lunch box which was immediately taken. Yoichi watched with an affectionate gaze, as the boy opened the lid of the box curiously. Yoichi's eyes slowly dropped to glance at the thin body in front of him, and a sigh of relief escaped his lips.
Thank goodness... He was fine.
It had become a fear for Yoichi. When it got dark, and he had to leave the boy alone again. The shadows of bad thoughts sometimes played in his head. What if on that night, when Yoichi was soundly asleep, the boy instead suffered abuse from someone Yoichi didn't know, aggravating his wounds that hadn't even fully healed yet. And even worse, what if Isagi returned, and found the boy's body already lying stiff around the dirty alley.
That was why, he was always so relieved when he saw the boy alive and well- at least there were no new wounds. Yoichi didn't know why, but he felt very responsible for this boy.
Yoichi gave him a thoughtful look, before standing up, "Eat." the boy raised his head, light blue and navy blue meeting. The boy tilted his head "I'll go now," Yoichi said, patting the dust off his shorts. He wanted to be with the boy longer but he really needed to practice.
He had decided to improve his ball control for now. So he thought practicing juggling was the most appropriate choice now.
"Enjoy your meal," Yoichi said one last time before turning around. It was a pity he didn't turn his head once more, because if he did he would see a pair of wide blue eyeballs glowing, staring at him very intently from the darkness.
Isagi walked out, too busy with his own thoughts. So oblivious to the flames, which were slowly burning on his back.