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Birthdays, logically, weren’t supposed to feel so much like funerals.
Unfortunately, every year, there was an unavoidable shade of misery on those days. Birthdays were for family, brightly wrapped presents and confectionary. They were for tall cakes, to buckle under the weight of piped icing and papery-thin sweet flowers. They were for dancing and music and people laughing.
They were for celebration, but for an orphan, what exactly was he supposed to celebrate?
When the streets were your home, when the days had no meaning, something intangible like birthdays were only a day for mourning. What you could've had, what you never will. Maybe every day was his birthday. The grief was always there, a specific set-aside day made no difference.
Noel lived those days to the fullest, even when the loss of an expected life threatened to drown him. He had one thing going for him, one love, and it was all he needed.
Of course, nothing is permanent. Not even circumstance. He fights on the streets for a place to survive, and carves a name for himself. At that age, he doesn’t know the significance of what he does, but he catches the eye of some bigshot, and years down the line, when he becomes a household name, when he's holding the Cup in his hands, he'll recognize the blessing in disguise for what it is.
In Blue Lock, Noel meets someone that eerily resembles a ghost.
He's young, with blue eyes and a plain background. Average stats, though with higher than average playmaking skills. But it's not any of that that catches his attention. From the moment Isagi chose his Club and was given an incentive to grow out of the poster boy position the media had given him, Noel has had a front row seat to his evolution, his thirst to reach the top nearly crippling with it's destructive drive.
"I'll reach you one day, Master."
It was a declaration spoken on a random day in the middling months of the program, but there was nothing simple about it. Noel couldn't deny the rise of his soul, such an egotistical speech reminding him of another, in another time, and nearly swept him out of his intentional design.
In the end, Isagi Yoichi proved to have the potential for such an attempt.
He's a sculptor in how he reinvents himself endlessly. He is a caravan of selves, an obsessive mind in the fault of obsessive hands, and with Ego at the helm, forging out the paragon he wanted in this prison was a more attainable goal than ever before. Like meets like, and such description. It's a bit hair-raising, truthfully.
Noel grapples with the intention of guiding that kind of potential. Will the boy be able to go higher? Will he reach the places Noel has? Surpass it, even? Noel has no favorites, but against the substantial threat Isagi poses as a new generation, these are the thoughts that were hard to ignore.
Noel has reached his glory, but the unfolding present was as equaling in the unknown as the roll of a die.
It was harrowing, yet he burned to know the estimation. How likely was it, for that boy to be number one? How much can he evolve before he hits a roadblock?
He didn’t know.
Only time can tell. Or regular, weekly stat updates. Whichever came first.
Noa doesn’t celebrate his birthday, he's mentioned this before, but it's curious how closely tied it is with Ego's birthday, and now, Isagi Yoichi's.
It's a grand festivity. Streamers, cake, presents, candles. The kids go all out for their favorite rival. There's no time for it, rationally, but Ego cites generating interest through Blue Lock TV and Noel has half a mind to out him for blatant partiality in how he'd ignored even his own birthday, and killed any mention of it from airing among the players.
It's a good time, all around, and the celebration goes well into the evening. He reminds himself to offer a cup of coffee to the rest of the Masters in the morning, given that their own Japanese-based players broke protocol and invaded the German Stratum like a wide spread infection. It took an hour for most of them to be wrangled out, complaints interspersed with vehement screaming, naturally.
Once its all done, and the cameras are turned off, night has already settled in.
He's making his last rounds for the night, marching in a uniformed stride, revisiting the memorized paths of his side of the facility. There's nothing waiting for him at the end, but it's a habit born out of catching a few troublemaking players up when they shouldn't be at the very beginning of their stay here. He made sure they all learned their lesson, his threats never going unfollowed.
He winds into the corridor of their least used fields, smaller as they are for less bulky team-ups. He knows a few stragglers that take to it to escape drill time, but as long as they keep their momentum up, he's fine turning a blind eye.
He doesn’t expect anything when he turns to go back, but he catches the sound of scuffed metal and turns right back. Another troublemaker. If it was Kaiser again, he swore he was gonna get it.
When the doors slide open soundlessly, it's to see the person he least expects. Isagi has changed into his training clothes and doesn’t see him when he dribbles between a few cut-out Blue Lock men to reach the end-post.
"Isagi Yoichi."
His voice distracts Isagi out of his focus, making the boy miss and hit the side instead of the center shot he'd ben going for.
"Master!"
"What do you think you're doing?" He asks, gazing disapprovingly at the boy.
He flushes, caught in the act, and has the modesty to appear regretful. "Master, I know I should be asleep, but…"
"But?"
Isagi sighs. "I guess I had too much energy and couldn’t sleep."
"So you broke curfew and came out here."
Isagi pouts. "I'm sorry for defying curfew, Master, but we didn’t train today, so I felt like I had to get rid of my excitement for tomorrow."
Right. Tomorrow was the last match. It was very touching to see Isagi speak with PxG with enthusiasm when they came to congradulate him, but not if it meant the boy sneaking out in the dead of night to get a few more goals in when he had to be in tiptop shape the next morning.
"Come on. Let's go."
Isagi hesitates, but ends up following behind Noel obediently. He's grateful he doesn’t have to give the boy a warning like so many others that test his patience.
The walk back to Isagi's dorm is short and quiet. Noel hopes he's not thinking of trying the same stunt again.
"Thank you for walking me back, Master."
Isagi is standing in front of his door, the flush on his face of getting caught going back down.
"It's no problem. Just make sure to wake up tomorrow, or I won't hesitate to switch you out."
Isagi nods, understanding. Anyone else would've been incensed, but Isagi had the maturity to recognize that this warning hinged on his own performance and behavior.
"I'll see you in the morning, Isagi." Just as Noa turned around, Isagi grabbed his sleeve.
"Master, please wait here! I have something to give you."
The man blinked, confused. The door slid open and Isagi disappeared inside. He stood there for a few seconds, only for the door to open again, and Isagi come outside, panting. It took a moment for him to reboot back online at the sudden events.
"Happy birthday!"
Again, Noel stared as a small gift was thrust into his face, because it was a gift, packaged with a cute bow on top.
"What…" He trailed of.
Isagi smiled up at him, his eyes guileless and sincere. It was hard to look at directly, he nearly glanced away.
"We're only a day apart," Isagi said, and there was a high, strange quality in his voice that he couldn’t decipher, "So I thought it'd be nice to get you something."
Isagi hands him the little box, and the first thing he notices is how light it is. It weighs practically nothing. He unwraps the bow and opens it to find a small, black keychain with a soccer ball on it.
"I'm sorry, it was short notice so it was all I managed to get," Isagi apologizes, blushing.
Noel has had thousands of people send him packages throughout his career every year, but for some reason, the little keychain feels more significant than anything else he's ever gotten.
"Isagi, thank you," Noel says. "I don’t know what to say. I wasn’t expecting a gift from anyone since we're all busy."
"Yes, that's true, but I couldn’t shake off the feeling that it wouldn’t be right to at least get something for you. I hope you like it."
I do, he thinks automatically. Instead, he continues. "I didn’t get you anything, I now wonder what I should do…"
"Eh?" Isagi's eyes went wide. "Ah, please don't feel burdened by not getting me anything! I wasn’t expecting anything, I know it was short notice. The party was Ego-san's decision, after all."
"Then, is there anything you want that I can give?" He suddenly asks.
The way Isagi's face goes red, both fascinates the striker, and tells him that, yes, Isagi did have something in mind.
"No… I don’t know if…"
"As long as it's something I can provide and not impossible," Noel reassures, "I can do it."
Isagi quiets and thinks it through. His ears are red, and when he looks up, his eyes are wide and innocent.
"I've always wanted to hug you, Master," he admits, "You were the one I most admired growing up, so I think if I got a hug from you, I can die happy."
Noel has known Isagi idolized him. He could spot his inner fanboy a mile away, but the request still shocks something in him. He doesn’t overthink it. Thr request was innocent enough, so he nods and opens his arms. Isagi hesitates for only a second before drawing in.
Isagi is tiny, a traitorous thought swims to the surface once he has Isagi in his arms, but it's true. The boy only reaches his chest, and even then, Noel can see him standing in his tiptoes shorten the difference. Everything about him is small, his hands clutching onto the back of his jersey, his nose pushed into his chest. Noel is obviously stronger, so Isagi squeaks when Noel puts a bit too much pressure, pressing him like a pancake.
"Sorry."
"It's okay," Isagi whispers, his voice trembling. "Thank you for indulging me, Master."
All Noel could do was nod and bid him goodnight. When the door closed behind him, he didn’t see Isagi's bright, happy smile and apple red cheeks. He turned and left, knowing tomorrow would be a decisive match for everyone involved. Once he was back in his room, he paused and glanced to the keychain.
His lips twitched into a small, soft smile.
The next time Isagi saw it, was where it dangled off Noa's personal shoulder bag.
Isagi was left beaming, and Noel was satisfied as well.