Chapter Text
The second selection had just come to an end. Rin stood off to the side, quietly watching as the remaining teams were revealed one by one. Around him, most of the players were busy searching for old friends or former teammates they had played alongside before.
Rin couldn't have cared less. He hadn't formed a bond strong enough with anyone to worry about whether they had been eliminated or not. That was the whole point, after all.
Sooner or later, everyone would leave Blue Lock. He would be the one left standing at the end, achieving his goal of becoming the best striker in the world. He would crush anyone who stood in his way if he had to.
So he had no interest in who had made it through. He simply stood there and watched.
As the five-man teams stepped forward one after another, Rin recognized a few familiar faces, though he usually couldn't remember their names. He had always been bad with names.
He spotted the guy who had been on the same team as him during the First Selection. The guy was unbelievably annoying, and in Rin's opinion, he wasn't even that good. Rin had no idea how he had managed to make it this far. Probably dumb luck.
He also noticed some of the players he had faced during one of his matches. They were standing together with Isagi, who seemed genuinely excited to see them again.
Rin thought it was pathetic. He didn't understand how Yoichi expected to win if he got excited just because someone had managed to avoid elimination. It was a weak mindset. If Isagi truly dreamed of reaching the top, then sooner or later he would have to defeat all of them anyway.
Eventually, it was time for the final team to be revealed. Rin didn't recognize anyone on it, so he paid it little attention. However, he noticed that some of the players seemed surprised that one of their former teammates hadn't shown up. Isagi, in particular, looked affected by it.
It started when a guy Rin had never seen before stepped forward. He had blond hair with pink tips and tanned skin, though it was hard to tell whether he was naturally tan or not.
The man began talking about how he had sent the previously mentioned player home, and he seemed oddly proud of it.
His words immediately irritated some of the others and nearly sparked a fight. Apparently, some of the players here were even more aggressive than Rin had expected. Even Bachira looked ready to throw a punch if Ego hadn't stepped in and put an end to the whole situation.
As soon as Jinpachi began speaking, almost everyone stopped their conversations and turned their attention to him, setting their concerns aside to listen carefully.
Listening to his words, Rin realized that this was his chance to stand out. Ego had announced that they would be playing against Japan's current U-20 national team, and if they performed well enough, they could even take their places. It sounded like the very opportunity Rin had been chasing for years, and now it was finally within his reach.
Of course, it couldn't be that simple. Moments later, they learned that Sae would be joining the U-20 squad. His brother, the one person Rin definitely did not want to see yet.
He couldn't understand why Sae had agreed to it or why he would choose to play for Japan. For years, Sae had looked down on his home country and focused entirely on playing in Spain. Apparently, the Blue Lock project had managed to capture his interest after all.
After hearing the news about Sae, Rin found himself distracted for a brief moment. It didn't take long for him to regain his focus, however, and he turned his attention back to what Ego still had to say.
There were three weeks left until the match.
During that time, qualifiers would be held to determine who would earn a spot in the starting lineup against the U-20 team. Rin was determined to be one of those chosen. And, truthfully, he believed he would be. He had complete confidence in his abilities.
The rankings were announced next, along with the Top 6 players in the entire facility. Rin wasn't particularly surprised when he was revealed to still be ranked number one. At that point, he was convinced that he would make the starting lineup. It would be ridiculous not to field your best player.
The second-ranked player was announced shortly afterward.
It turned out to be that tanned guy from earlier, the one who had been acting so arrogant. Rin had assumed he was all talk and confidence, not that he actually had the skill to back it up. Apparently, that attitude hadn't come from nowhere.
The remaining names meant little to Rin. He didn't recognize most of them. The only exception was the player ranked sixth, who seemed vaguely familiar. Rin was fairly sure they had faced each other before. Whether the guy truly deserved that ranking or not, Rin couldn't say, but he didn't bother commenting. Judging players wasn't his job.
Soon enough, some of the others started questioning the rankings, asking why they weren't higher, why someone else had placed above them, and so on.
Rin paid them no attention. The ones complaining about their positions were simply jealous. And they had every reason to be. None of them were anywhere near his level.
Once the meeting came to an end, the entire Top 6 was separated from the rest of the players so that no one else could communicate with them while they decided which teams to join for the Third Selection.
The six of them were to form three separate two-man teams, which the other players could choose to join. After that, a series of matches would determine the final starting lineup for the game against Japan's U-20 national team.
Rin stood a little apart from the others, unwilling to waste time listening to their conversations. He watched as some of them tried to strike up friendly relationships, but he had never been a fan of that sort of thing.
He was going to defeat all of them eventually anyway. There was no point in becoming friends.
So he remained silent, keeping to himself unless someone approached him first. To his surprise, the player ranked second seemed particularly eager to start a conversation.
"We're gonna get along great, Mr. Number One!" - The guy immediately inserted himself into Rin's space, clearly determined to chat. Rin ignored him. The only response he gave was a quiet scoff under his breath, which the other player clearly didn't appreciate. - "Hey, don't ignore me. We're teammates, you know. Do you like explosions?"
Rin had no idea what kind of question that was, but it was ridiculous. He had no intention of entertaining such a lame conversation. - "I don't feel like talking, so shut up, antenna." - he said, shooting him a murderous glare. Apparently, it didn't intimidate the other player. If anything, it only fired him up even more.
Rin watched as the guy broke into a wide grin before suddenly throwing a kick aimed straight at his face for no apparent reason. Fortunately, he reacted quickly enough and stepped back, narrowly avoiding the strike.
From somewhere behind him, he heard someone cheering them on and encouraging them to keep going. It was the guy with the green streak in his hair. Right after that, the boy with glasses spoke up, clearly not convinced that fighting was a good idea and suggesting that someone should stop them.
Then another player decided that the best possible outcome would be for them to fight and kill each other.
Rin ignored all three of them before grabbing the collar of the person standing in front of him, the one who had been getting on his nerves from the very beginning. - "If you get in my way during a match, I'll kill you."
Unfortunately, they had been assigned to the same team. Rin already knew this was going to be a problem.
"I'm not playing soccer here. I'm fulfilling a biological need!" - Rin had no idea what that was supposed to mean, but he didn't even have time to think about it before he was suddenly shoved backward and attacked once again with a downward kick. He managed to stop it in time, grabbing the other's leg before it could hit him at all.
Then Ego interrupted them and started explaining something again. Both of them stopped fighting and turned their attention to what he had to say.
He told them that they were at the very top of Blue Lock, that the partner on their team was the key to their victory, and that they should never allow anyone outside of the Top 6 to take their place.
It seemed to ignite everyone present, and by the end of it, each of them looked ready to win and become the best.
Once the speech was over, it was time to choose rooms. It turned out they would be sharing three-person rooms, so they had to divide themselves somehow.
Rin would have preferred to stay alone, but the others immediately shot down that suggestion. What a pain.
Then someone suggested settling it with a game of rock-paper-scissors to divide the rooms, but that idea was quickly rejected as well on the grounds that it apparently wasn't fun.
Rin had no idea what other method they were planning to use, so he simply watched. Then Karasu proposed that everyone point at the person they least wanted to share a room with.
When Rin realized that every finger was pointing at him, he let out a quiet scoff and pretended not to care. It wasn't like he needed them to like him, but it still felt somewhat humiliating.
When he once again suggested that he take a room by himself while everyone else shared the remaining one, complaints immediately followed, with the others insisting that they would figure it out some other way. How annoying.
That was when Yukimiya spoke up and agreed to share a room with him. He then suggested that Nagi join them as well, arguing that since they were on the same team, they needed to work on their strategy together.
Well, Rin would rather share a room with them than with those annoying antennae, so he agreed. The others seemed satisfied with the arrangement as well, and before long they all went their separate ways without any major arguments.
The area they had access to was more than sufficient for a group of only six people. Rin suspected he would be able to find an empty field where he could get in some extra training before tomorrow.
Now that they were separated from the players outside the Top 6 rankings, walking through the hallways was much more pleasant. He could be alone without worrying that someone would suddenly show up. Then again, Rin usually ignored people anyway, but those encounters were still uncomfortable. This time, at least, that wasn't an issue.
It didn't take him long to find an empty field that seemed perfect for practicing his shots. Every attempt was flawless, exactly as he expected. He knew his worth and understood how skilled he was, though deep down he also knew there was still room for improvement if he wanted to completely surpass Sae.
He hoped that in their upcoming match, he would finally achieve his goal and make Sae pay for the words he had spoken to him in the past.
He stayed there until evening. After that training session, he could honestly say that he was exhausted. His breathing was uneven, and his legs trembled with fatigue. They were signs that he had given everything he had, and because of that, he didn't regret it at all.
After that, he headed for the showers to wash off all the sweat. There was no way he could climb into bed feeling that dirty.
As the warm water ran over his body, he finally had a chance to relax and unwind, letting his muscles recover from the day's training.
By the time he returned to his room, Yukimiya and Nagi were already there, apparently still discussing tactics for their upcoming match. Rin ignored them and walked over to his bed, sitting down comfortably. A moment later, he reached for the iPad he had bought with the points he had earned from scoring goals earlier.
Now that he finally had some time to rest, he launched one of his favorite horror games. No matter how frightening other people might find it, it never had much of an effect on him.
He hadn't even managed to finish a single round before he heard Nagi's voice behind him, clearly directed at him. - "You like horror games?" - he asked curiously.
Rin turned around and looked at Nagi, who was shamelessly staring at his screen. - "None of your business."
"Is that the game from three years ago?" - He was still examining the graphics on the device, seemingly mildly intrigued. - "I thought nobody played it anymore," he said thoughtfully, more to himself than to Rin.
"Hmph. Just because it's not popular anymore doesn't mean you can't play it" - he stated matter-of-factly. He knew the game was more or less forgotten now and had long since reached the peak of its popularity, but that didn't change how good it still was.
"Mm. I play it too" - he added in a tired voice, then started staring at his phone screen. - "You need two people to play on some maps."
Rin gave a slight nod. That was partially true, many maps could only be unlocked by playing in a pair. He had never really paid attention to it since he preferred playing alone, but now that Nagi mentioned it, he realized how many levels he had left locked.
"So what?"
"If you want, we can play. I tried playing it with Reo, but he kept losing" - he said, making his usual X-shaped face as he comfortably flopped onto his bed on his stomach.
Rin hesitated. He didn't know whether Nagi had friendly intentions, but he assumed he was too lazy to try and humiliate him in any way.
He sat in silence for a moment. Normally, he wouldn't accept an offer like that, after all, he had no interest in making friends. He didn't need friends or anything like that. But on the other hand, playing with him would also be beneficial. Playing his favorite game on new maps did sound a bit exciting.
"Whatever. What's your name?" - he asked, although he felt slightly uncomfortable doing so. He wasn't used to conversations like this, but then again, Nagi probably struggled with them as well, so he shouldn't judge.
Nagi told him his name, and Rin immediately typed it into the search bar. After a slight hesitation, he clicked 'add' and within seconds, Seishiro was officially on his friends list. The second person he had ever added. The first had been a boy from school, but Rin had long since forgotten him.
They didn't talk anymore. Instead, Rin entered different maps for the first time and could tell that playing on them felt like rediscovering the game. Nagi was good at it too, so he didn't slow him down. He could admit that playing like this with someone experienced was enjoyable from time to time, but he would never say it out loud. Besides, playing alone was just as satisfying.
~🌸🌸🌸~
Waking up was rough. He had played with Nagi for quite a while, and even Yukimiya had suggested they go to sleep, but of course they ignored him.
He always woke up early anyway, so today was no different. He wanted to stick to his routine and not let it fall apart because of one sleepless night.
He got out of bed and headed to the bathroom for a quick morning shower. At this hour, there usually weren't many people around, so he could relax in peace.
He just hoped that the lack of sleep wouldn't affect his performance today. After all, the first match was coming up soon, he couldn't afford to mess it up just because he was tired. That would be pathetic.
So after a quick refresh, he went to the field, did a short warm-up, and checked his shots. Fortunately, he was still in good form, and there were no noticeable flaws.
He was dribbling between the cones when suddenly the door to his room opened. He paused for a second, looking to see who it was. He clicked his tongue when he saw it was Shidou.
"I see Number One is training first thing in the morning" - he said, closing the door behind him and walking inside.
Rin scoffed under his breath. - "Can't you see the field is occupied?" - he asked as coldly as he could, stopping the ball at his feet.
"From what I know, this isn't your private training room" - he replied, correctly. That was true, but Rin definitely preferred training alone. It felt more tolerable that way.
Besides, he didn't know why Shidou was here so early. Was he also the type to wake up before everyone else? Or had he been training for so long that he lost track of time, ending up awake when others usually just got up?
"I was here first, so I get to decide who’s welcome. You're not, so get out" - he said coldly but calmly. A moment later, his eyes widened slightly in shock when he noticed Shidou suddenly, without hesitation, perform a high kick that once again narrowly missed his face. It looked almost identical to yesterday.
Rin reacted quickly, immediately stepping back to avoid the strike, grinding his teeth in irritation. He took another step away so Shidou couldn't easily reach him again.
"Tch. Get out of my field" - he said. He wasn't in the least bit intimidated by Shidou's reaction, but he couldn't afford an injury right before the match. In another situation, he wouldn't have hesitated to fight back.
"No way. I need to warm up too. I can feel my cells pulsating" - he said, making no further move to attack. Instead, he stretched his arms, seemingly preparing for play.
Rin let out another sigh at that nonsense. He had no idea what he was talking about, and he didn't care to find out. It wasn't worth his time.
"I don't give a damn about your cells. Get out" - he said coldly, not even looking at him. Shidou, however, didn't seem bothered by his comment and instead walked closer.
"You're so boring and selfish. Zero damn emotion in you" - he remarked before effortlessly taking Rin's ball that had been lying next to his foot. Itoshi narrowed his eyes and glared at him angrily.
"Find your own ball, you pest!" - he shouted, stepping forward to try and take the object back.
"Okay, so you can actually show anger. That's progress" - he provoked him lightly, juggling the ball on his foot with a mocking grin. Rin wanted to wipe that expression off his face as soon as possible.
"You're seriously fucking annoying."
"I just want to explode." - He tossed the ball somewhere to the side. - "And your presence is really getting in my way, so get out of here, Mr. Number One." - He leaned in beside him, leaving only a few centimeters of distance between them. His face carried both seriousness and amusement.
Rin felt like making sure this guy could never look at him again. - "You're the one who came here too late."
Shidou stayed bent forward for a moment longer, studying Rin's face, then straightened up, speaking with a clear hint of joking in his voice - "Then we're training together. After all, we're shooting at the same goal today."
"Hmph. I don't care. I'm not playing with you, and you'd better stay out of my way" - he said. He wasn't sure he would be able to hold himself back if this guy messed up one of his plays during the match. Even when they weren't playing, this man was already a nuisance, so on the pitch it would probably be even worse.
"I'll play however I want. Do you really think you're the only striker on this field?" - he raised an eyebrow, still wearing that mocking grin. - "Maybe this time you should swallow your pride and let someone else be the star of the pitch?"
Rin scoffed, turning away from him. He might not be the only one here, but he was definitely the best.
"Why would I? This is Blue Lock. Here you play alone, for your own benefit" - he said. He had no intention of letting anyone overshadow him and take his first place in the ranking. Especially not in matches where the final eleven would be chosen to play against Japan's national team, alongside Itoshi Sae. Rin had to play there and defeat him.
"How can you love your own goals if you can't get excited about someone else's?" - he said casually, starting to juggle the ball again with his foot. Rin frowned.
"I don't care about others."
"God, you’ve got such a disgusting personality" - he groaned, then with one motion kicked the ball deep into the field. Rin was about to brush him off when Shidou again stepped uncomfortably close, leaning right over his face.
"No wonder nobody wants to be around you."
Rin immediately turned his back on him again. He didn’t know what Shidou was trying to achieve with this conversation, but it was becoming extremely irritating. It felt like he was deliberately trying to provoke him, which was just stupid.
He was about to reply with something equally sharp, but then Ego’s announcement came over the speakers, informing them that the first match would be starting soon and everyone should head to the field.
"I didn’t even get to warm up because of you" - Shidou complained, but Rin ignored him. He scoffed quietly and walked past him without a word, heading toward the exit.
The match that was about to begin was the one he was taking part in, so he had to get to the pitch on time. He didn’t want to be late and end up causing problems because of it.
Shidou apparently thought the same, so he followed right behind him. They made their way to the field in silence, mostly because Rin was doing his best to ignore Ryusei’s irritating behavior.
When they arrived, they waited for the players who would be taking part in their first match to show up.
Rin only recognized Isagi among the three. To be honest, he was fine with Yoichi being on the opposing team. They had only played together once, against the World Five, which had left him slightly unsatisfied. Rin wanted to see how he could be used in actual play, and just how useful he could become.
As for the other two, he didn’t pay them much attention. He didn’t recognize them, and they hadn’t left any impression on him even when the teams that passed the Second Selection were revealed. So he didn’t expect much from them.
To his surprise, the guy with cyan-colored hair on the field actually seemed useful, and his passes looked solid. That allowed him to score one of the goals.
The match ended with a goal from Isagi, who took advantage of Rin and Shidou’s argument, slipping between them and scoring the decisive goal. In this way, they won their first match, although Rin was slightly irritated that the final goal hadn’t been his.
The following matches were also not much of a problem for him. The only thing that bothered him was Shidou. The guy didn’t listen to him at all and couldn’t be controlled in any way on the field.
Over time, he even stopped passing to him, although that tactic wasn’t the best either, because the other players on his team would still give in to pressure, and all it took was for Shidou to shout for the ball for them to immediately obey him.
Rin found it annoying, but he didn’t react, because he knew it wouldn’t bring him any closer to victory. Instead, he tried other tactics, ones that didn’t involve Shidou, and managed to score goals without him.
Of course, Shidou still inserted himself into plays that weren’t his, stealing his ball and making random movements that didn’t even make sense. It was irritating, and it led to multiple arguments between them; if red cards didn’t exist, they would have already gotten into a fight a long time ago.
Because of that, when the final whistle sounded, they didn’t hesitate any longer and immediately lunged at each other with their fists.
"Since the match is over, I can finally kill you, worthless cockroach" - Rin aimed at his face without thinking, throwing the first punch, which Ryusei nimbly dodged. Because of that, Rin slightly lost his balance.
"Oh, hell yeah! I accept the fight!" - he grinned widely, then without any hesitation struck Rin in the face with his knee. A burning pain spread across Rin’s face, forcing him to step back and fall to the ground, his nose bleeding.
Damn. He couldn’t believe he’d been taken down so easily.
He immediately pressed a hand to the painful spot, still trying not to show any weakness. His other hand was already raised defensively, ready to block any follow-up attack.
"I’m going to make sure you never play again!" - Ryusei shouted with terrifying excitement.
Rin was already preparing for a sudden strike, closing his eyes, but to his surprise, nothing happened.
Just as Shidou was about to land his final blow, he felt a sharp, paralyzing pain shoot through his body, stopping him completely. Darkness filled his vision, and he ended up collapsing onto the ground.
Rin opened his eyes, confused. He didn’t know what had just happened, but Ego’s announcement about the stun devices in their uniforms explained everything.
In his opinion, it was good that it turned out this way. Ryusei definitely deserved it. Maybe now he would finally get some peace.
He stayed there for a moment longer, then realized that all eyes were on him. He scoffed, got up from the ground, pressed a hand against his nose, and lowered his head. The fact that he looked like this because of Shidou was humiliating, and he definitely needed to get out of there as soon as possible.
He ignored the unconscious Shidou lying on the ground and headed toward the exit, trying to disregard the stares he was receiving.
However, he soon heard a high-pitched, familiar voice behind him that definitely belonged to Bachira, who had played in the last match with him.
"Rin-chan, wait for me! I’m coming with you!" - he shouted, running up to him with a mix of concern and curiosity in his voice, since the whole situation didn’t look very pleasant.
Meguru was sure he wouldn’t want to be in Rin’s place right now. He had nothing against fighting someone who had seriously annoyed him, but he couldn’t imagine ending up with a broken nose. That would definitely be uncomfortable.
"Leave me alone, bob-cut." - Rin didn’t need anyone accompanying him. He could handle this on his own, this wasn’t anything serious, so he didn’t understand why Bachira was following him. Besides, he wanted to be alone right now.
"I want to see what your nose looks like. Shidou really beat you up! That fight was something else" - he kept talking, completely unaware of how those words were affecting Rin. Of course, that only made him even more irritated, he wasn’t weak, and he definitely hadn’t been beaten by anyone.
"Shut up and leave if you’ve got nothing useful to say" - he snapped as sharply as he could, glancing at his current state. With his head lowered and blood dripping from his nose, he doubted he looked as intimidating as he wanted to.
"Nah, this isn’t funny! Does your nose hurt?" - he asked, watching him closely.
Rin slightly grimaced when he realized he was being observed like that, but he tried to ignore it.
"How do you think?" - he scoffed. He couldn’t believe Bachira was dumb enough to ask such a basic question. He had no intention of admitting he was in pain, but his answer was obvious. Still, he didn’t actually feel as bad as one might expect.
"Mm, true, it did look pretty bad! Though you didn’t have to fight him like that" - he admitted. He himself didn’t get involved in fights that served no real purpose, especially not ones over soccer and a few stolen passes.
Rin was silent for a moment before scoffing dismissively. - "He annoys me."
In fact, no one else got under his skin as much as that cockroach. He was impossible to control, and playing with him was nearly impossible and incredibly frustrating. After all that, how was he supposed to stay calm?
Bachira blinked and seemed to grow slightly thoughtful after hearing that, but Rin paid it no mind and kept walking toward the bathroom.
"Hmm? Isn’t that morning yoga thing Isagi mentioned supposed to help you not get angry?" - he asked innocently.
Rin frowned. He hadn’t known Isagi had told anyone about that. It wasn’t exactly a secret, but he had assumed Yoichi never talked about him.
"It's yoga for relaxation and stretching your muscles, idiot!" - he pointed out, unknowingly raising his voice slightly.
"Isn't it supposed to help with anger issues?" - Bachira asked, turning to look at him. Their eyes met for a second, but not for long. The moment Rin realized it, he almost immediately dropped his gaze back to the ground.
"I don't have anger issues" - he said, sounding mildly offended. Bachira laughed in response. Rin didn't know what was so funny about that, but he ignored it.
"Yeah, yeah, definitely not!"
Rin didn't say another word. He hadn't wanted to have a conversation from the start, and the uncomfortable feeling around his nose wasn't doing anything to improve his mood.
Bachira kept talking the entire time, but Itoshi paid no attention to it. He just wanted to get to the bathroom as quickly as possible, away from all the cameras and people.
When he finally made it there, he walked over to one of the sinks and leaned over it, uncovering his nose and letting the blood drip freely into the basin. It definitely wasn't a pleasant sight, but it brought a small sense of relief.
"Oh, that looks awful!" - Meguru admitted as he watched him. He could have left a long time ago and focused on his own business, but he was far too curious to simply let it go. Especially since they had spent some time with Rin during the Second Selection, at least in his opinion, it was only natural that he wanted to hang around him too.
Rin didn't think it looked nearly as bad as Bachira claimed, but maybe he was just overly sensitive.
"Hmph. That punch didn't even impress me" - he said, trying to act tough. He couldn't show even the slightest sign of weakness. Besides, it wasn't like he was lying. He was sure that many people in his position would have panicked and handled the situation far worse.
"Yeah, whatever! But come on, admit it, that hit was impressive" - he said with a grin, lightly bumping him in the side.
"Impressive? Definitely not. It was stupid." - He had no intention of giving anyone any sort of praise. He conveniently ignored the fact that he had started the fight first and, as usual, tried to put the blame on someone else.
"That looked like something straight out of an action movie!" - Rin couldn't tell whether Bachira was excited about the situation or genuinely worried, but he decided not to care.
He grabbed part of a towel and wiped the remaining blood from his face. Raising his head, he caught sight of his reflection and grimaced slightly. A moment later, he focused on making sure nothing serious had happened to him.
"Just leave me alone already. I don't need you here." - He braced his hands against the sink to keep his balance. He was still staring downward, though he occasionally glanced at Bachira from the corner of his eye.
"You sure? You don't need anything?" - he asked with mild concern. Meguru considered it a natural reaction, even if Rin was treating it so coldly.
"No" - He pressed the paper against his face again, wiping away the last traces of red.
Meguru thought for a moment before making a sound that Rin found irritating.
"In that case, I'm going back to Isagi! We were supposed to watch and analyze matches together today!" - he shouted excitedly. Apparently, he had been looking forward to it for a while.
Rin didn't reply and simply watched Bachira leave the bathroom, saying some sort of goodbye along the way. Of course, he didn't respond. Instead, he let out a quiet sigh of relief when he heard the door close.
Now he could only hope that no one else would suddenly come in and see him like this. He hated the fact that Blue Lock only had public bathrooms. Sometimes it was incredibly frustrating.
The burning in his nose had eased somewhat. It was still there, but in a much milder form. Honestly, he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do next. Admitting defeat and asking for help definitely wasn't an option.
So it took him a while, but he eventually came to the conclusion that he should probably go to someone who could treat it properly, because he definitely didn't have the skills to do it himself. Even so, he refused to act vulnerable. He was only doing it because he had to, not because he was weak or needed someone to take care of him.
Besides, it seemed like the best option. He would rather have a professional take care of it than try to do it himself and, in the worst-case scenario, only make things worse. That would be truly embarrassing.
He was still wondering who he should go to, but the problem was quickly solved when Anri found him and suggested that he head to one of the medical rooms. He pretended to protest, but in the end he found himself sitting in front of one of the nurses, whose existence in Blue Lock genuinely surprised him. He had never heard about them before, though he didn't spend much time thinking about it.
The woman was quite kind. Rin made an effort to be polite to her as well, since she hadn't done anything wrong. Off the field, he was actually well-mannered and composed, as long as nobody got on his nerves.
The only time he started to feel slightly irritated was when the nurse kept trying to make conversation and asked him all sorts of questions. He wasn't the type to share things about himself, so he answered as briefly as possible, hoping she would take the hint and stop talking.
In the end, he left with a simple bandage stuck across his nose. The area still felt uncomfortable, but it wasn't painful. It didn't make it any harder to breathe, which was a major plus.
After everything was taken care of, he left the medical room and headed to the cafeteria, since it was around lunchtime. He still caught a few people staring at him, but he did his best to ignore them.
He quickly finished his meal, then went for another short training session before Ego made his final decision regarding who would earn a place on the Blue Lock team against Japan.
~🌸🌸🌸~
Shidou had no idea what happened immediately after his last match. He remembered fighting with Rin, then everything went dark. After a few seconds of pain, he couldn't feel anything anymore.
When he came to, he was already strapped down with something resembling restraints, which immediately pissed him off. He was the type of person who couldn't sit still for long, so having his movement restricted like this was incredibly frustrating.
He instantly began protesting, while also demanding an explanation for why he had been brought here. He hadn't done anything serious enough to deserve this kind of punishment. As far as he remembered, he wasn't even the one who had started the fight, which was a pretty solid defense in his eyes. Rin could have just been less selfish.
"Let me out, Four-Eyes! I won't beat anyone up anymore!" - he announced as calmly as he could manage. When he received no positive response, his anger became much more obvious.
He tried to free himself by force, but it was impossible. - "I'll fucking kill you!" - he shouted, and a few seconds later, the door to the room opened.
A figure stood in the doorway, someone he didn't entirely recognize. The darkness filling the room also made it difficult to make out any distinct facial features.
"Greetings, devil" - he said as he stepped inside, seemingly very confident. He showed no emotion, maintaining a stoic expression.
Shidou had no idea who he was, but he carried himself as if he knew exactly where he stood. - "Who are you?"
"I'll get you out of here" - he began, which immediately gave Shidou positive vibes. If he was telling the truth, he could finally escape this place. He had no idea how long he'd been stuck here, but for someone like him, it had definitely been far too long. He needed to stretch his limbs. - "But in return, I need your ego."
Ryusei had no idea what this guy was thinking or why he was acting like this, but he found it mildly fascinating. After all, it was something different from the boring life he'd had before.
"Ha, no problem" - he replied with a wide grin, clearly pleased by the offer to be freed with the help of this mysterious boy. The deal didn't sound boring at all.
It still took a few moments before someone finally came to release him from all the restraints. The moment he realized he had even a bit of freedom, he broke out of place and stretched his joints, feeling relieved.
"Damn, finally, freedom" - he admitted, almost to himself. Then he turned his gaze to the person who was still there. - "So? Who are you, huh?"
"Itoshi Sae" - he introduced himself briefly.
Shidou’s eyes widened in surprise. The name sounded familiar. It took him a moment to remember where he had heard it. - "Itoshi, huh? Like that gloomy kid? He really gets on my nerves."
After all, it was because of Rin that he ended up here. If that guy hadn’t started the fight, maybe none of this would have happened. In the end, he had been asking for that broken nose himself, no one should blame him for it now.
He also wondered whether the two of them might actually be related. Listening to him, he could tell that this guy also played football, and judging by his ego, he had to be quite good at it.
Shidou, however, wasn’t really involved in the world of football and didn’t know many players, so he didn’t recognize Sae at all.
"That’s not important right now. I want to see whether you can meet my expectations as a striker" - Sae said, putting his hands in his pockets. Ryusei broke into a wide grin once again. That sounded extremely interesting, and definitely worth his attention.