Chapter Text
One of Blue Lock’s cafeterias was submerged in a lively chatter as the players present saw an unimaginable sight, Rin and Isagi leaving the building together.
“Hm! So Isagi and that Itoshi went on a date?” Hiori’s voice broke through all the noise as he and Kurona entered the room, sitting at the crowded table.
“Apparently, it had been Loki and Noa’s order…Or maybe it was Ego’s? I don’t even know why they would push those two together when we're so close to our match.” Karasu sat near the cyan haired teen, snacking on an oatmeal bar.
“Hm. That feral guy is also absent.” Yukimiya’s comment made Igarashi shiver as he was reminded of the demon player while Gagamaru sitting next to him stole a piece of meat, the technique of thievery now mastered as nobody noticed the act.
“Ah! I don’t even want to talk about him!”
“What a wimp!” Raichi commented. “If there’s someone you should fear, it’d be me! You stole my towel this morning, you freak!”
“I-I did? Ew.”
“The fuck do you mean “Ew”? I should be the one…” The blond went on another angry rant.
“Hey, is your team always this…lively?” Karasu asked Hiori who remained silent, wearing an awkward smile.
“Eh…How about your own? Are they giving you any trouble?” The cyan haired boy looked at the dark haired man who took a second to think. The memory of having to keep both Rin and Shidou from tearing each other apart this morning is still fresh in his mind. Heck, the pink haired bastard almost kicked Karasu between the legs. And let’s not get started on Charles’ bratty behavior as well…
“We…manage somehow.” Both Ranze and Yo exchanged a doubtful glance.
“Karasu was the one strugglin’ the most!” Nanase added as he joined the conversation, sitting next to Kurona and chuckling as Karasu tried to lightly defend his team’s behavior by bragging about games they’ve won.
Meanwhile, Isagi was being dragged by the wrist from one carnival game to another.
“Hey, can we take a break? My arm is getting kinda tired.”
“Shut it, that last win was a fluke, so now we’ll try another one.” Rin’s hold was tight, like he wanted to tear the hand off. The younger, yet taller teen could’ve just gone with the other to a park or a restaurant, but both of their masters chose this spot for the location they had to spend their entire day in.
“It’s just amusement park games, some of them are even rigged, so why are you so serious about winning this?” Rin handed the person a two thousand yen bill before they both received three balls each. This game's goal was to knock down as many cups as possible.
“You’ll lose if you don’t shut up.” Rin’s first throw knocked down half of the tower.
“Alright then.” Isagi sighed before shooting and accidentally missing the whole tower. “Oops, overshot it.”
“Hmph.” Rin knocked down the top and only a couple cups remained at the very bottom, but it didn’t matter as the other teen knocked down his entire tower in the second throw. The taller guy glared down at him.
“Lucky shot?” Yoichi used an excuse as the youngest Itoshi brother scoffed.
“Another on-” Isagi’s stomach grumbled in hunger, cutting Rin off. “Never mind.”
“Sorry, man. Didn’t eat breakfast today.” The teen sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, looking to the side, ashamed.
“Hah? You planned to defeat me on an empty stomach? I can’t believe this.” The taller teen once again dragged him by the wrist away from the carnival game after retrieving Isagi’s reward and putting it into his bag where he kept all the rewards from today. Rin had to carry them all due to a lost bet earlier, but the weight didn’t really bother him. The only real annoyance here was the chore of finding a good spot to put it when they play games. The teen would absolutely hate for the stuff to get stolen even if in his eyes it’s all junk.
His hold on both the bag’s handle and the other teen’s hand got tighter.
Here we go again, Isagi thought as his wrist started to ache. Thankfully, Rin didn't plan to drag him forever as the grip got lighter when they entered the area with food vendors. They’re walking pace also slowed from the hurried rush to a normal walk.
“Hey, we're not done with the games. I still haven't won.” They were locked in a tie actually, three games won by Itoshi and three by Isagi.
“Tch, It wouldn't feel as great winning if you're not giving it your all. That's it.” Rin placed money on the food stand counter, taking a plastic plate of takoyaki and forcing it upon the shorter teen.
The two sat on the bench in the more secluded area, taking a short break before the next set of competitions.
“Want one?” Yoichi offered, because despite his dislike for the other, he was still taught to be polite. Plus, he hadn’t seen Rin eat anything all day, what a hypocrite!
“No.”
“Did you eat anything today at all?”
“Yes.” The older teen sighed before munching on another ball of octopus baked in batter. Talking with that edgelord can be so challenging, he’s too closed off. However, Isagi is more persistent than Rin is stubborn!
“Hm, isn’t there another, bigger amusement park a few kilometers away? I wonder why they chose this one.”
“They chose it because of me.” Ego definitely had dirt on each player of Blue Lock, possibly gathering a collection of information, both useful and unnecessary, that spans back to the day of every player's birth.
“Hm, are you serious? How? Why?”
“This amusement park has been here for more than ten years. Figure the rest out yourself.” Isagi bit into the takoyaki, cleaning the entire toothpick of the seafood meat as he thought about Rin’s statement. It wasn’t long before he got it.
“Huh? No way. You’ve been here when you were younger?”
“Yeah.” Rin crossed his arms, his back flush with the wooden bench as he looked around the various attractions. He felt bittersweet, sour, salty, just so conflicted. Isagi looked at how quickly the other’s expressions switched from the resentful gaze he always held to the slight lift of his inner eye brows. Was Rin sad?
“Rin...” Yoichi gazed with a weird, uncomfortable feeling stirring in his chest, moving against his inner ribs like tentacles.
“Yeah, I’ve been here a few times before.” The taller teen looked down to the rival sitting beside him and noticed he had finished the food. With that, Rin placed hands on his own knees before standing up, ordering the other to do the same. “Alright, come.” The older dark haired boy finished all his food and wiped away any sauce that could’ve stuck to the corner of his lips.
This time he didn’t drag Isagi by the wrist and let the other player follow him towards the bigger attractions instead. Yoichi quickly threw the paper container into the bin, as well as the used napkins.
“Where are we going?”
“To my favorite ride.” No other explanations were given, yet Yoichi almost choked at the honest expression on Rin’s face as if all the half-assed resentment for the one beside him suddenly vanished.
In fact, the youngest Itoshi brother seemed very motivated, his walking pace was quite fast, as he led the other teen forward, Isagi was also curious to see which ride would be this egoist’s favorite.
“Oh? Which one is…oh no.” The boy saw the devilish rollercoaster, the people that got off of it running to the nearest bathroom or to the trash cans. “Rin…”
“The queue is quite small.” It’s like the Itoshi teen didn’t hear him at all.
“Ugh, Rin, this will kill me. How old were you when you rode it to begin with?” That made the taller teen pause as he thought for a moment.
“Hm, almost… three or four years old?” The other wondered, his voice honest. Rin was actually that young during this ride straight out of hell.
“Was that even legal? How tall do people have to be to enter?"
“So many, many predictable questions. Tell me, are you scared?” Rin Itoshi bent down his neck to look Isagi straight into his eyes, trying to gauge a truthful answer while looking as threatening as possible, all done unintentionally.
“No.” The dark haired teen’s eyes focused, becoming darker as he took a step closer.
“You’re not scared of a simple ride, right?” Isagi looked towards the ride that was behind the other guy, before rolling his eyes.
“... Rin, we're talking about a rollercoaster ride. Why do you ask if I’m about to jump off a plane?”
“I know, but somehow seeing that expression, it's really pushing my buttons, but it also makes a small part of me very excited. How strange, it’s a positive feeling, almost like-'' The other cut Rin’s awakening off, with a hand pushed against his mouth, before the dark haired teen said something odd in the amusement park full of children.
Too late, one mother who was passing by them shot a dirty look, practically burning holes into Isagi who didn't even say anything as she pushed her child to the side farthest away from the two teens, hurrying to get away.
The shorter teen sighed before pulling Rin towards the ride’s queue, sealing his fate.
Meanwhile, Shidou Ryusei also dragged his beloved partner, Sae, to the same exact spot, towards the food stands, where the other duo had been previously.
“Hm, hm!” Despite most rides being rejected Ryusei was having a good time, humming to himself as they went from stall to stall, from food and drinks to games, his hands becoming full with winnings from previous carnival games.
“You know that you'll need to carry all of that by yourself, right?” The prodigy crossed his arms while following the demon player, who smiled wickedly, as usual.
“Yup! You said so four times by now.”
“And I hate repeating myself, you make life so difficult for me sometimes.” The cherry red head couldn't help, but complain. “Why are we even here? You said you had something urgent and football related to take care of.”
“Why, I used deception! It was super effective!” Ryusei winked to which the other teen subtly rolled his eyes.
“Crawl under a rock and die.” Sae tone didn’t stray from its bored way, even when talking about the demise of his pet demon.
“Hm! How rough you are on me! Don't stop!” Shidou's voice has taken on a higher, feminine pitch, making Sae groan, totally exhausted by this point.
The same woman from before once again appeared with her child, she was utterly disgusted by this amusement park’s clients. She glared at the two, Shidou didn’t notice her at all, but Sae did and he did not like her stare one bit. He returned the glare at twice the power, winning the match as she huffed and puffed, offended. The woman pulled her child away from this area before calling her husband to take off work and pick her and their son up. This park was filled with nothing, but hormonal teens!
“Man, what a haul!” Ryusei now carried eight bags filled with toys, plushies, candy and Sae’s bag!
“The best part was definitely the bumper cars!” Sae took a sip of the amusement park’s coffee, before pulling a disgusted face at the sour taste. How trashy, even the temperature was lukewarm. It was like drinking slightly heated up sewage water.
“The one where you bumped into a child enough times to make it cry? Yeah, how exciting.” The young genius threw the full cup of coffee away into the nearest trash can. He’ll get something better after all this waste of free time, maybe he can go to a cat cafe or a library cafe and force his demon into silence.
“Finally, we’re done with all this.”
“Oh, dearest Sae, I have but one teeny tiny request!” The feral man didn't let him rest even one minute.
Sae sighed, as usual, before raising a brow and a question.
“Yes? What do you need?”
The two passed by the public bathrooms from which the other duo left, Rin awkwardly patting Isagi’s back in reassurance as the teen held a hand to his mouth, feeling queasy from the rollercoaster ride. Neither Sae or Ryusei looked their way or noticed them at all.
“Let's go on a Ferris wheel! It's gonna be so romantic! A perfect end to a date?”
“A date?” The other was unimpressed by the word used, a hand on his hip as he stared Shidou down.
“Yup, yup! It'll be perfect. Romantic as shit.”
“That’s… an odd way to phrase it.” They now stood behind the longest line in the entire amusement park.
“Oh well! Hey, did you see the messages I sent you this morning? Well-”
“Horny demon, I have a challenge for you.” Sae came up with the perfect strategy to withstand the irritation of the wait by the other teen’s side.
“I'm listening, my partner!”
“If you manage to stay quiet throughout this entire wait, I'll hold your hand for five seconds.” Sacrifices had to be made, the oldest Itoshi brother decided.
“Ohoho! Like an idol? I'm in! Can I request a split second kiss instead though?”
“We're not bargaining, either you're in or out."
“In! In! I'm in like a-!”
“Perfect. The challenge starts now.” Sae cut him off, not interested in what could only be a lewd comparison.
They both didn't notice the other couple, yet again, a few people behind them, looking at a single phone screen, deep in a discussion of their own.
“Hey, Yoichi, when's the next interview?” Rin leaned his entire body weight on his partner, his arms hanging on Isagi's shoulders, close enough to strangle the teen in a matter of seconds or at least that’s what Isagi’s anxious mind came up with when the other guy got closer to him.
“Huh? Didn't I just tell you? It's three hours.”
“Three hours, huh? What a pain. I'd prefer to skip it for a training session.”
“Hah? I thought you liked talking about yourself, egoist. ” Isagi’s annoyed voice made Rin roll his eyes.
“I just don’t want to do it.”
“Sae had an interview with them before, didn’t he?” He was bold enough today to mention the other’s brother, not quite aware how bad things have recently gotten for Rin in his mind.
“Don’t say anything more if you value the ability to breathe.” The arm draped over his shoulder was now seemingly weighing more, a silent threat, as Yoichi weighed his own options, before grinning.
“Oh. You don't want to do any interview before beating him, is that it?” The shorter player threw a guess and landed in bullseye, earning himself a scalding glare.
“Do not try to act as if you know me. That is not the case at all. I just don't want to do an interview today as it's a waste of time.”
“It's quite literally the only other responsibility you have aside from training and playing.”
“Don't you want to take over for this one? Wouldn't that be enticing? Twenty minutes of talking all about yourself, just like last time.” The moment after he had won the U-20 game, that’s what Rin was mentioning, Isagi realized.
“What, so you can just sit back and meditate?” The shorter teen tried to defuse the situation by a teasing comment.
“Tch! I'm done with this conversation.”
“Hey, I’m not done with it!”
The two didn’t even notice when it was their turn to enter the next capsule, but the worker quickly reminded them to enter. They were still unaware that other duo was also present inside the Ferris wheel.
Speaking of the two football maniacs, Ryusei was sitting on his partner’s lap, just because he was greedy like that and he felt it unfair that a girl in the next capsule could sit on her boyfriend’s lap while he couldn’t sit on Sae. His muscle-heavy weight also dominated the other teen, pinning his partner to the seat.
“Hey, I've always wanted to do something on a Ferris wheel. Care to guess?”
“Not really. A kiss during a sunset at the very top? How luke-”
Ryusei cut him off as he made an ‘OK’ hand gesture, right in front of his wide open mouth. “Are you serious right now?”
“Hm! Why not?”
“Maybe because we're surrounded by people?”
“Aha! So you'd let me do that indoors? What a great partner I've acquired!” Sae rolled his eyes.
“...Just shut up.”
“You know what the best way to shut me up is, so why not get it over with?” Ryusei still egged him on.
“Are you serious?”
“Nope, I’m completely bonkers, absolutely nuts!” Shidou laughed. “Yeah! I'd really, really love to suck you off, make a goal out of my throat for you to shoot your shot.” His hand placed itself on the young genius’ chest and slowly slid lower, before he slid back onto his knees, right between Sae’s legs.
His tan hands held the thighs spread as the other looked at him, unimpressed.
“Get back up before I punch you.”
“Aw, inviting me back in your lap, master?” Ryusei looked ecstatic.
On the other side of the Ferris Wheel, Rin and Isagi sat in front of each other, feeling awkward as hell when surrounded by couples in other carts.
Suddenly, Itoshi gave him the big paper bag full of something, and Yoichi carefully looked inside. It was filled with the toys and other rewards, all neatly put from the heaviest on the bottom to lightest on top.
“Keep ‘em.” Rin responded when the other looked at him confused.
“Even the stuff you won?” Isagi asked to which the other nodded, looking away from his companion for the day.
“Yeah.”
“Rin…” Yoichi's eyes turned soft, hugging the bag to his chest.
“I don’t have space for junk.” And there went the soft, cuddly vibe. Isagi huffed before throwing the plushie at Rin's head before it fell in the younger teen’s lap. It was the latest toy he won.
“Take the bunny at least. Be it a reminder of our rivalry or whatever else that will motivate you for our next match.” The shorter guy crossed his arms, the bag still pressed tightly to his chest.
Rin looked the bunny plushie in the eye, before looking at Isagi, cautious, before nodding silently.
“Whatev-”
As the two capsules viewed each other halfway, one ascending and the other descending, Sae and Rin locked eyes, both taken aback by the unfortunate, quite shitty, coincidence.
“What's the matter, Rin?” Yoichi asked his partner whose face went as white as a sheet of paper.
“Huh.” That's it, his mind went blank. A former rival and his brother were doing disgusting things on a Ferris wheel. He had been the witness of Shidou tongue diving inside Sae’s mouth.
Ryusei turned his head as he was pushed back and noticed Rin, before waving with a filthy smirk.
“Rinrin! Nice seeing ya!”
“Isagi.” The teen didn't break the eye contact he had with the feral player as he spoke to the boy sitting in front of him, the boy that still didn’t realize what situation he was in.
“Hm?”
“I'm never going to any amusement park ever again.” A promise he intended to keep.
“Eh?!”
Back in the Blue Lock, Ego sat with both Loki and Noel discussing the next video Blue Lock plans to release to BLTV's subscribers.
“Genius, isn't it?” Loki and Ego showed the stoic man the camera footage of the amusement park’s various cameras.
“So now we're lying to fans? Doesn't seem so genius if it isn't sincere.”
“Alright, but consider this - a clip from a date like this will bring a wave of new fans.” Loki raised a good point.
“Of course, this is just an experimental video.” Ego reassured Noel. “Once we get the results we will decide where we'll go from there. Aren't you even a little bit curious about what will happen next?”
“Not in the slightest, but I know there is little that can stop you once you've set your mind onto something.”
“Well said.” Loki agreed before looking towards Ego. “Alright, you can publish her!”
“Hold on, we still need a thumbnail and a title, the description, a couple of links, and some minor editing.”
“I thought you were already done with all the additional stuff and my approval was the least of your worries.” Noel crossed his arms, brow raised in disbelief. “Were you actually waiting for my ‘go ahead’ on this one?”
“Hm, not particularly.” Ego lied.