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#01. Bachira
With the Second Selection done, all they could do was wait.
Bachira was pleased (but not surprised) that he had made it this far, especially in the first team to clear the trial. Even if he didn’t exactly ‘win’ in a certain sense, he felt like he had gained something through the process at least and he was able to break through the chains that had held him down before. It was a bit of a challenge to win the actual match but they did it and in the end, Isagi joined them.
It was good to have his friend back and even though their training was minimal now because they were waiting for the other teams to pass, it didn’t mean he didn’t have fun! Studying was annoying though but it was funny to see Rin’s dying expression as they practiced Engrish together!
But studying made Bachira sleepy. It was easy to take naps during their study sessions and after using his brain a little to do (and fail) some math questions, he basically passed out at night. It wasn’t difficult for him to fall asleep anyways but with the added mental strain, he was practically dead.
Except when it came to taking a piss.
He yawned loudly, rubbing his eyes to wipe the sleep away. Judging by the sounds of breathing from his Second Selection teammates, and the fact that it was so dark (not because of the lack of windows but because the lights would be blinding them if it was time to wake up), he still had time to sleep. However, nature called and he had to get going or it would leak out instead.
He stumbled out of the bed towards the door. He opened it and the hallway lights were already on. He blinked in confusion, too tired to process the lights and headed towards where the toilets would be.
Bachira yawned once more, scratching his belly under his shirt and finally arrived at the toilets. He reached out to open the door but stopped when he heard some sounds.
It took him a moment to process, his head still fogged with sleep. He waited a little longer, thinking he must have still been dreaming. When he moved once more, there was a low, elongated noise coming from inside the toilets that made him jump back in surprise.
Hrnnnghhhh.
‘What was that?!’ He thought, looking at the door in horror. That was such a weird sound, it couldn’t possibly be human! And if it wasn’t human, what was it then?! It happened so suddenly. Was there someone in there triggering it or was it making noises…on its own? It couldn’t possibly be something like a ghost…right?
Mhmmm.
It was muffled behind the door. They sounded like groans of zombies from movies Bachira had watched in the past but there was no way there were zombies…
Bachira had to wake up the others and warn them. Blue Lock was a sealed facility so they needed to head to the weightroom and grab what they could to get rid of these zombies! He began to turn on his heel but stopped when the noises continued but…quietly. Different; hushed and like a whisper.
It was a whisper.
“Keep your voice down!” The voice was familiar and Bachira wasn’t able to identify them at first because they were muffled behind the door. He stepped closer, leaning his ear against the door to try to listen closer. “I know you were loud but I thought you could at least control yourself.”
“Shut the fuck up.”
It was Isagi and Rin! Bachira let out a sigh of relief at their familiar voices and was about to proceed inside to do his business but new sounds emerged. Now that Bachira was close to the door, he recognized the groans as Rin’s voice but it was mixed with grunts as well and something wet and sloppy that echoed within the toilets. Bachira furrowed his eyebrows in confusion, trying to figure out what they were.
Could they have fallen in the toilet? Were those groans and grunts because they were trying to help each other out? But Rin and Isagi weren’t weak guys and could totally drag each other out of the toilet if needed!
Bachira needed to help them.
“Isagi?” Bachira called out as he opened the door. However, there was nobody there. He glanced around at the urinals and where the sinks were. Then he looked over at the stalls, seeing that the doors were open except for one.
Was Isagi taking a dump? But he swore he heard Rin’s voice too…
“Isagi? Rin-chan?” Bachira approached the stall. There was no response. “Are you okay? Did you fall into the toilet?”
“N-No! I didn’t!” Isagi responded, stuttering. “J-Just taking a dump!”
“Really?” Bachira asked inquisitively, confirming his theory. He frowned. “What about Rin-chan?”
“What about him?” Isagi asked, his voice sounding a little strained.
“Hmm, I thought I heard his voice in here with you.” Bachira stated. He absolutely was sure he had heard Rin curse at Isagi earlier but he wasn’t there. It made no sense unless he disappeared or snuck out before Bachira saw him but there was no chance to.
Bachira looked up at the ceiling, taking note of the vent. Rin was tall but he wasn’t that tall to be able to climb up there while Bachira was opening the door. And even so, he doubted Rin could fit in there.
“I-I haven’t heard from him since we went to sleep.” Isagi answered back but there was something weird about his voice. “My stomach has been killing me so maybe some of the noises I made sound like him?”
“Huh.” Bachira swore he heard Rin’s voice though. But looking around, there was no evidence of him being there. “I guess so.”
He proceeded to do his own business and by the time he came out, Isagi was still in the stall but it was quiet in the toilet.
“Isagi, are you okay in there?” Bachria asked, a bit concerned for his friend. “Do you need any medicine or something?”
“Ah, no! I’m fine! Just need to, uh, deal with all this shit! Ahahaha.”
Bachira wasn’t convinced but it couldn’t be helped. He yawned.
“Don’t fall asleep in the toilet then.” He said as he scratched his side. He began walking out the room. “Make sure you get back.”
“G-Got it!”
Bachira left, still wondering if he was hallucinating. Either way, he was feeling really tired, having woken up in the middle of the night and basically crashed right back into bed.
He was so deep in slumber that he hardly heard the door to the room open up once more and two pairs of feet shuffling to get back in.
#02. Hiori
Hiori knew how to read people.
Whenever he was at home, he could easily read the expressions on his parents’ faces and the expectations they had for him. It was jarring and tense living in that household as he carefully navigated each crack and turned every corner. He could always sense their desperation and expectations and that skill was useful to him as he observed the people of Blue Lock.
Just like his family, Blue Lock was full of desperate people. They were always desperate to win a match or overcome rivals. All of them were the same – arrogant, conceited, and boring.
However…
Hiori’s eyes glanced over to Isagi who was tackled to the ground by Nanase after he scored the final goal. It was their only chance in the third selection to show off what they could do before the match against Japan’s U-20. Hiori could tell he wasn’t quite as impressive, considering all he could do was assist, so all eyes were off him and on Isagi.
Including another he hadn’t quite been expecting.
Well, it wasn’t necessarily the case that he wasn’t expecting Itoshi Rin’s gaze but rather what kind of gaze. He was glaring, not at Isagi, but at Nanase who was straddling on top of him. Everyone’s attention was divided from Nanase and Isagi, with some joy from Shidou, and moving on to get off the field.
Rin, despite being on the same team, looked like he was going to kill Nanase.
Hiori raised an eyebrow, curiosity bubbling inside of him.
He recognized expressions of contempt, of resentment, and of desperation but the look on Rin’s face, while showing rage, also showed something else that was vaguely familiar to Hiori. He had seen it quite a few times at Blue Lock but the intensity of this was…different.
Jealousy.
But for what reason? Rin was indisputably the number one player in Blue Lock. Why would he have an expression like that?
“Hmph. What super goal?” Rin suddenly began, his eyes going between Isagi and Nanase to Shidou. “You can’t even understand the breakdown of your own shot. You just got lucky and stole my goal.”
Isagi looked up as if seeing Rin for the first time and Hiori could see the annoyance in Rin’s eyes.
It was long until Rin left, leaving them stunned, wondering what was his problem but Hiori had a vague inkling.
“What’s your problem? Are you pissed off because you couldn’t score all the goals? Let me have this, Mr. Number One.”
“That’s not the fucking issue. Why the hell was that shitty guy on you?! Why didn’t you kick him off?”
“Who? Nanase? He was just happy that I scored unlike someone.”
“Why should I be happy that you played so shoddily? What’s the point of joining my team if you weren’t going to be useful?”
He had just been passing by. Everyone was waiting for the results of the third selection and who would be selected for the team. Everyone was free to do their own training, study, or relax so Hiori was preparing to head back to the dorms to do the latter until he heard two familiar voices behind the door.
Rin and Isagi.
It started off as a normal argument. Even though Rin had been busy playing in multiple games the past few days, he had heard from Isagi about how insufferable he truly was. However, even under those complaints, there was a softness in Isagi’s voice that shouldn’t have occurred when he spoke so poorly about him.
Hiori waited for them to finish their argument. He had come to the dorm to relax, not wanting to get in the middle of whatever they were talking about. And with how Rin looked at Isagi and how Isagi talked about Rin, their current argument sounded more like…
A lovers’ quarrel.
Maybe Hiori watched too much TV or read too much manga or played too many video games; maybe he mistook Rin’s intensity for yearning and Isagi’s quietness as fondness. It was ridiculous even for him to think that Rin and Isagi were anything but rivals like anyone else in Blue Lock.
“…because I wanted to be on your team.”
Hiori’s neck snapped when he turned his head, unable to believe the words his ears heard. It could be just a simple statement but why did it sound like…a confession?
“I could’ve chosen to be on Nagi’s team if I really wanted to show off my skills and get a better chance to be chosen but I didn’t because I wanted to be with you. Rin, I want to play with you.”
‘What the hell?!’ Hiori covered his mouth with his hand, jaw dropping. He looked down the hall and saw no one else was there to be his witness, to hear such a thing. If he ever revealed this confession to anyone, no one would believe him!
He leaned against the door, pressing his ear against it as if it would help him listen more clearly. However, there was silence and Hiori was unsure what was happening. He had to brace himself in case the door suddenly opened but then he heard someone speak again.
“…you fucking idiot.” It was Rin. But his voice was soft. “Do you think that makes me happy?”
“Well, you look pretty happy.”
Rin? Happy?! Hiori wanted to see this but he knew he shouldn’t crash into this conversation. If they knew he was listening, Rin would immediately snap and he didn’t want to cause issues.
But…
He took note of this for the future: if he ever wanted to tease Rin about something, it was better to have Isagi on his side so he could handle him.
#03. Aiku
Aiku had experiences that none of the other Blue Lock boys had, or at least, very little of them did.
He wasn’t just a defender in a swarm of strikers, but was on the older side of the group and never went through the same mentality they all had been the past few months. Being invited to join Blue Lock, even after he lost the U-20 match, was a rare opportunity to see how these boys ticked and how a ragtag team like them managed to defeat a carefully crafted team like his.
It’s because they breathed nothing but soccer.
Aiku got that as soon as he entered the facility and started training. It’s not like he also didn’t live and breathe soccer but it was never to the extent of the others. On their off time, they would still be training, strategizing, and dreaming of emerald green fields and a cheering crowd. Aiku couldn’t imagine how rough it must’ve been to be at Blue Lock all those months, not being able to contact family or see the outside world.
…or go on any dates.
Well, it’s not like he was particularly picky. In a facility full of ripped guys, Aiku couldn’t complain. He was experienced enough to watch for the signs of interested parties, carefully observing who was giving lingering glances towards him while in the baths or in the locker room. However, in his quest to do that, he noticed some other things.
It started off when they arrived at the World Cup. After all the training, they finally made it and Aiku was made the captain of the team, a position he held with pride. The first night they got settled and had a team meeting with Ego to discuss logistics and such. Aiku was used to such a thing already having been a team captain many times already. It was just with this hot-headed lot that he had to get used to and watch carefully.
And he saw it.
Isagi wasn’t very subtle.
It became more obvious when Isagi kept stealing glances at Rin who sat on the other side of the room. He paid attention to the screen when they discussed strategies but it was quite obvious that five percent of Isagi’s focus wasn’t there. Any time Ego or someone else referred to Rin in some capacity, Isagi’s head whipped over to look at the other, paying close attention.
A crush. That’s all Aiku thought it was. If he thought about it, he had seen how intense and in sync those two had been on the field. He wouldn’t put it past Isagi to admire Rin’s skills. Aiku would even call it flirting with how obvious they were but off the field, their interactions seemed sparse. They didn’t sit next to each other or interact too much as Isagi had more friends on the team he could chat with so that current meeting was quite rare. Aiku was even sure he talked to Isagi more than Rin did on the flight. He was sure Isagi was dealing with a one-sided crush and a tragic one at that. As the captain, he should probably advise him to give up and make sure his head was in the game.
“Isagi.” Aiku called out to them after the meeting was adjourned and they had a bit of spare time. “Do you have a minute? There’s something I want to talk to you about.”
“Hmm? Sure.” Isagi nodded, bidding farewell to Bachira and Chigiri as he walked towards him. As others left, Aiku waited until they were alone so they could talk but that moment never came.
Rin remained lingering.
Aiku narrowed his eyes and saw that Rin was doing the same. The piercing teal eyes were practically stabbing at Aiku and he wondered what he did wrong. As far as he was concerned, he had only talked to Rin during practices and they didn’t talk to each other much in general.
“Let’s move.” Aiku said, walking alongside Isagi. He placed his arm across his back and on his shoulder to lead him elsewhere. “Make sure no one is listening.”
“Is it something private?” Isagi asked with confusion. His demeanor outside of the field was vastly different from on the field and it always rocked Aiku off balance.
“Yeah.” Aiku replied with a nod. “Probably something we don’t want others to overhear.”
They began walking towards the door, Aiku trying to figure out where they should go. It would’ve been better if the meeting room was empty but for some reason, Rin thought that staying there would be a perfect way to waste his time. He didn’t know the hotel and whether they had any more meeting rooms available.
“Hold it.” Aiku felt a chill go up his spine as a hand grabbed his wrist – the one lingering on Isagi’s back. There was no one else there so he wasn’t surprised to see Rin when he turned around, but the murderous intent behind his eyes was a shock. “Where the fuck are you two going?”
“Ah.” Aiku felt himself sweat but still maintained his composure. He couldn’t have someone younger than him scare him. He dealt with Itoshi Sae already so how bad could his younger brother be? “I was going to talk to Isagi about something.”
“Why not do it here?”
“It looked like you wanted to use the room.” Aiku pointed out, not sure where all this hostility was coming from. Did Aiku do something wrong to piss Rin off? “We’re just leaving you to yourself.”
“Does it have anything to do with our plays? Our game?” Rin asked with a frown.
“No?” Aiku replied, not quite sure what Rin was aiming for.
“Then whatever you have to say to him is useless.” Rin snapped. He then glared at Isagi, walking up to him and pulled his arm, causing him to tumble towards Rin.
Aiku just stared in shock, unable to process what just happened. He knew the Itoshis had poor attitudes but what was his deal?! Aiku was completely innocent.
“Rin…” Isagi spoke quietly, though there was a certain firmness in his voice.
Aiku blinked.
Then he realized it.
‘I see.’ Aiku almost felt like laughing.
Isagi’s one-sided crush might not be one-sided.
“Tut tut tut,” Aiku felt himself say, backing off with his hands up as if surrendering. Rin looked like he could kill Aiku at that moment and he had seen first-hand what Sae could do so he wasn’t risking getting close to him. However, it didn’t mean he wouldn’t tease him about it. “I was just going to have a pleasant conversation with Isagi. We’re teammates so I thought it would be a great opportunity to get closer to him.”
He could see veins popping out of Rin’s neck.
“Do that with someone else.”
“Ah, but Isagi gets me so well.” Aiku wanted to laugh but restrained himself. “We really connected when we met up in Shibuya. Right?”
“We did get along, yeah—”
“Why the fuck did you do that?!” Rin snapped at Isagi, anger on his face.
It took all of Aiku’s willpower not to tell him he was being obvious.
“We just met coincidentally!” Isagi replied, trying to explain himself like he had just been caught cheating. Aiku knew how that sounded after all. “I was with Bachira, Nagi, Chigiri and the others at the time so we weren’t alone.”
“But you still met up with him!”
“And?! It’s not like you picked up the phone!”
Aiku quietly crept out as those two continued to argue with each other, closing the door behind him. After doing so, he just shook his head and rolled his eyes. As much as he wanted to continue to listen to their lovers’ spat, he could sense the tension in the air and if Aiku knew anything after observing the team, he knew that their communication was through arguing.
And when their adrenaline goes up, probably, it would become something else.
#04. Sae
When Sae decided to go with Team Japan, he wasn’t sure what to expect. He had seen whatever the hell was happening on Blue Lock TV, and had seen there were minimal improvements, perhaps some better than others. It was rather intriguing to see what teams would pay for these players, his curiosity piqued when he saw Re Al’s offer on Rin.
He had seen significant changes to Rin but there was a strange obsession he displayed in the game. Ultimately, he lost in the final game but somehow, he was still worth it to gain such a high offer.
So to return to being on the same team as Rin, he wasn’t sure what to expect.
Stepping into the locker room for the first time since joining Team Japan, he recognized a bunch of the Blue Lock players vaguely by their faces. He even saw some of the U-20 he had forgotten the names of. However, his eyes focused immediately on Rin, silently changing in the corner…
Sae stopped in his tracks.
He immediately scowled and narrowed his eyes.
‘What the fuck?’
Why the fuck did Rin have marks on his body?
It was quick and no one wasn’t paying attention to Rin. He had put on his uniform almost immediately but Sae saw. He saw how his brother had bruises littered around his collarbone and shoulders. Sae would’ve chalked it up to some bug bites as it was the season for it but he saw marks on Rin’s hips as if they had been held.
Sae was confused. He knew Rin had a shitty personality just like him so it wouldn’t be a stretch if he got into a fight but there was something off about those injuries. The bruises seemed a bit small and it would be awkward to punch those areas. Rin’s face was intact and it was just those specific areas on his torso. They were weird. Sae wanted to know what the hell was up.
He took a locker next to Rin. His brother looked up and then turned away, looking annoyed. Sae knew Rin had some weird attitude around him and it’s not like he cared. Puberty was probably hitting him harder than others.
He knew he wasn’t going to get any answers out of him with how he was now. He knew that Rin was too prideful to tell him he was being bullied. Rin is able to handle things on his own and in a place like Blue Lock, it was more likely things would be settled on the field than off it. Were those bruises soccer injuries then? Did someone smack the ball so hard into him to cause that kind of damage? But they were too small to be the result of a soccer ball…
“How careless.” Sae spoke suddenly, shaking his head. If Rin was aiming for an international stage, he should know better. “Taking care of your body is the most important thing for an athlete and you’re not even doing that properly?”
“What the hell are you talking about?” Rin snapped, glaring at him.
“All those injuries on your body…” Sae trailed off, watching Rin’s eyes widen slightly. “Starting fights is one way to break your neck and never play again.”
“Starting fights? Aren’t you the one starting a fight?” Rin replied with a scowl, similar to Sae. “I’m not the one who starts them.”
“Hey, hey…” Sae looked over to see Isagi Yoichi walk over with a nervous expression, he was half dressed, his shorts on but not his uniform top on. Sae squinted, noticing some bruising on his shoulder as well and wondered if Isagi was the one who fought with Rin. “Is everything okay?”
“Perfect.” Rin muttered, turning away from Sae. “Fucking perfect.”
“Oi, Rin…” Sae watched as Isagi frowned, not offended by his response. Rin ignored him. Isagi turned to Sae with a small bow of his head. “It’s nice to see you again, Sae. I hope we’ll be able to play well together.”
Rin scoffed, causing Sae to glance over at him briefly. He looked back at Isagi with suspicion, not sure why he was being so formal. Perhaps because they never actually talked to each other before but at that moment, they were teammates so Sae gave few shits about formality.
“Same here.” Sae replied with a nod. He figured it would be fine to reply like that. He had been curious to play with Isagi since the U-20 match. He had to be able to use him how he wanted on the field.
Isagi nodded and gave a small smile. He glanced over at Rin, who wasn’t even looking at them, before turning around, heading back to his locker.
Then Sae saw it, becoming flabbergasted.
Isagi had the same marks.
Bruises on his back but also, two sets of lines on his shoulder blades. The more Sae looked, he noticed there were more lines on his back as if a wild animal had mauled him and made him wondered what the fuck happened at Blue Lock to create such wounds?!
He looked over at some other teammates who were still half dressed and saw that they didn’t have any of those kinds of injuries on them. So perhaps Rin and Isagi got into a fight, but the patterns of these bruises were strange…
Sae narrowed his eyes, turning back to where Isagi was.
“I’m going to stab your eyes out if you’re not going to get ready.” Rin said, standing up from the bench and blocking his view of Isagi. He glared. “The game starts soon.”
“Hmm.” Sae replied and turned to get ready. He was done in no time but in his head, was still contemplating the meaning of those marks, Isagi’s look towards Rin, Rin blocking his view…
Oh.
Sae wanted to laugh.
‘This brat.’ He shook his head. ‘When did he grow up?’
He wasn’t getting a word from Rin but he knew. Sae knew his brother better than anyone else.
Well.
It seemed like Isagi might know him better.
#05. Nanase
Rin and Isagi couldn’t be found at dinner and that made Nanase worried. After all, it was also a small celebration of them moving onto the next round, getting to the finals though many were trying to treat it like a normal dinner. The mentality was they couldn’t celebrate until they won but Nanase was excited and he was sure that some of the others were as well.
Even so, Rin and Isagi shouldn’t be ditching dinner like this.
“I’ll go find them.” Nanase said to Hiori as he stood up from his seat. “All the food is going to be gone by the time they get here.”
Hiori nodded, focusing on his food as Nanase left.
Last he checked, they were in their rooms so all he had to do was go up to them. Everyone’s room was on the same floor so it was just a matter of remembering which ones they were in.
When Nanase arrived on the correct floor, it was quiet as most of the occupants were eating in the hotel restaurant. Nanase had visited Isagi’s room before which he shared with Bachira, Chigiri and Kunigami so he knew where it was. However, when he turned the corner of the hall, he rapidly stepped back, hiding behind the corner, hand over his mouth so he wouldn’t make a sound.
He did not.
He definitely did not just see that.
Nanase slowly craned his neck to peer around the corner again and acknowledged that his eyes were not playing tricks on him.
Rin and Isagi…were kissing. In the middle of the hall. Sure, only their team was using that floor but seriously?! Out in public like that?!
How long have they been like that?! When did they find the time to have such an arrangement?! Nanase had no clue but knew that if Rin caught him peeking in on them at that moment, he would kill him. Like actually kill him.
He rushed back to where he came from and pressed the button for the elevator, watching the numbers change slowly as it came up from the ground floor. When it opened, Hiori was the one standing there, looking slightly startled to see Nanase. He then smiled.
“Going down?” Hiori asked with an understanding tone.
Nanase nodded. “Are you heading back to your room?”
Hiori shook his head. “Ah, no. I wanted to check on you when I realized something. Let’s go back down together.”
Nanase nodded and stepped in. The elevator doors closed and Nanase tried to remain calm but his expression was not calm enough.
“Did you perhaps see Rin and Isagi?” Hiori asked and Nanase turned to him in shock. Hiori was just smiling serenely. “It’s a bit surprising, isn’t it?”
“You know?!” Nanase exclaimed, somewhat relieved that his eyes were functioning normally but also aghast that he witnessed such a thing.
“I don’t think there’s anyone on the team that doesn’t know.” Hiori replied with a small chuckle. “Though, I think those two are trying to keep it a secret. It’s a really bad one though.”
Nanase nodded. “So…it’s better to keep quiet?”
Hiori nodded. “Well, it’s not like we want to out them. As long as it doesn’t affect our play, then it’s all good, right? Who cares what those lovebirds do?”
Nanase recalled Hiori using such words as teasing and taunts during matches but the fact that there was actually something behind it? It never crossed Nanase’s mind. Now he was wondering how long they had been together if Hiori was calling them out since the NEL.
When they returned to the restaurant, there was a strange silence amongst the players. Nanase sat in his seat and continued to eat his abandoned plate while others also devoured their food.
“So…” Karasu began, cheeks stuffed with food, looking at Nanase. His eyes glanced over at the doorway Nanase and Hiori came from then back to him. “Where are they?”
“Um.” Nanase tried to think of an excuse to why he didn’t return with them. “They…didn’t answer.”
“Hmm.” Karasu nodded then went back to his food.
“Nanase saw them.” Hiori filled in vaguely and that was enough to elicit a reaction from the others.
“Goddammit, were they out in the open again?!”
“They really suck at this whole secrecy thing.”
“Can they not make out somewhere with more privacy?!”
“It’s not like there are a lot of private places at Blue Lock.”
“So, it’s true?” Everyone froze when Itoshi Sae spoke, completely forgetting he was there and they were now gossiping about his younger brother in front of him. “Rin and Isagi…”
He trailed off and as if it was planned, everyone (excluding Nanase) nodded simultaneously.
“Since the NEL, right?”
“Oh, wasn’t it after the U-20? I thought I saw them in Tokyo during that break.”
“Nah, definitely the Third Selection.”
“Didn’t you feel the intensity between them when they played against each other in the Second Selection? They were already making out with each other with their eyes!”
Nanase was shocked as people compared notes about when they first noticed Rin and Isagi possibly starting to date and realized that he was probably the last to know. Listening to their stories, it was quite possible that this had been happening for months but it seemed like no one could come to an agreement.
“Well, either way.” Yukimiya coughed, catching everyone’s attention. He glanced up and people became quiet. It wasn’t until Rin and Isagi arrived did they realize why. “It’s really none of our business, is it?”
There was a silent agreement as the two subjects of their conversation took seats separately from each other and dove into the remaining food. Nanase glanced over at them every so often but neither Rin nor Isagi showed signs of dating each other, both of them focused on the food in front of them.
Well. In the end, it wasn’t any of Nanase’s business.
#06. The World
BREAKING NEWS
Known across the world for their game breaking plays since their world debut five years ago, Isagi Yoichi of Germany’s Bastard Munchen and Itoshi Rin of France’s PXG revealed that they are in a romantic relationship.
Rumours have been circulating ever since their debut from when they represented Japan in the World Cup with their teamwork as the core of the Japanese project, Blue Lock. This continued into their professional careers even though they have been on separate teams ever since. As formidable as they are as teammates, PGX vs. Bastard games have always sold out and are highly anticipated due to the intensity of these two rivals.
The rumours were finally proven when the paparazzi magazine, Catch U!, captured a picture of the two strikers in an embrace during the off season in Germany where Isagi currently resides. Various sources have claimed they have seen both Isagi and Itoshi in not just Germany, but other parts of Europe during the off season, openly holding hands. Although they have brushed off such rumours previously, claiming to be close friends, this is the first time an image of them kissing has surfaced.
When contacted for confirmation, both Bastard and PXG did not reply. It was not until the joint press conference between Isagi and Itoshi happened did they confirm their relationship.
“We have been together for many years and do not feel the need to stop seeing each other, even after the world found out.” Isagi stated at the conference. As opposed to his usual friendly demeanor in interviews, Isagi looked serious. “More importantly, we do not wish the world to judge us because of our relationship but rather our skills on the field. First and foremost, we are soccer players and rivals.”
When asked about how their relationship will affect their rivalry when playing against each other, Itoshi answered.
“Nothing will change.” He said as he looked at the reporters.
Isagi, as if sensing his partner’s coldness, tried to lighten the mood. “In fact, the only difference is the entire world will now know who’s the one who has to pay for dinner after the game!”
Although there had been pushback after their relationship was revealed, there have been many supporters as well. Many have expressed joy, especially when speculations have been circulating for many years. This was further fueled when former Blue Lock players revealed the extent of the two’s relationship.
“It’s about damn time.” England’s Manshine player, Chigiri Hyoma, said in a tweet just after the conference. “Now I don’t have to skirt around the issue whenever I meet up with them!”
“Eh?? Does that mean that those sounds in the bathroom were…?” FC Barcha’s forward, Bachira Meguru tweeted. Though vague and no names were revealed, due to the timing, it is speculated to be about Itoshi and Isagi.
Most surprisingly, a tweet from Re Al’s Itoshi Sae, who is also Itoshi Rin’s brother, revealed that the entire family had known for many years.
“They can’t escape from our mom’s wedding planning now.” Itoshi Sae said, his tweet becoming the top most retweeted and liked of that day, going viral and spreading the word further.
Although the reveal is quite recent, the fact that these two players have been committed for many years shows that wedding bells could be in the near future. Until then, these two will have the entire world betting on who will be the one paying for dinner after each game.