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“You can’t talk about soccer.”
“Yes,” Isagi says. “I… I know. This is the third time you’ve said th—”
“You can’t talk about soccer.”
Isagi slowly closes his mouth and nods. Reo tugs on Isagi’s blazer sharper than Isagi thinks is probably needed before stepping away and crossing his arms.
“Unless they ask you about it, I mean,” Reo continues. “But I’ve seen your previous interviews and somehow, you…” Reo trails off into a somewhat exasperated eyeroll. “You really always find a way to bring it back to soccer.”
“Well,” Isagi says, a bit bewildered. “I mean, most of the time, that’s what people are asking me about—”
“If someone asks you what your favorite color is, you don’t have to say the color of a soccer ball reflecting the sky,” Reo spells out pointedly. To that, there’s nothing Isagi can really say. Reo sighs and lets his hands drop. “Listen, if this was an interview with a sports channel, you could… do whatever. But this is different. It’s a different audience that’s watching you, and they’re tired of hearing you talk about soccer.”
Isagi frowns. There were people who got tired of listening to soccer talk? It had always been endlessly fascinating for Isagi.
Reo must be able to read the skepticism on Isagi’s face, because his next sigh is a bit more beleaguered. “Trust me,” he emphasizes. “This is a lifestyle channel. They’re here to hear you talk about yourself. Got it?”
Isagi brings a hand to the back of his neck. “Yeah. Sorry, Reo. This must be kind of a pain for you.”
Reo’s expression twitches at that before going back to normal. “It’s… fine. God knows you’re easier to train for the media than Barou,” he mutters. “Although I really should start charging Ego for this…”
Isagi isn’t sure he was meant to hear the last bit, so he decides not to comment on it. He rubs his hands together and shakes his shoulders a bit before peeking out onto the TV stage. It’s not his first interview, but he still always feels a bit jittery right before one. Reo’s tips bounce around in his head.
And anyway, speaking of things being a pain…
“How’s Nagi, by the way?” Isagi asks curiously. “You guys are on the same team now, aren’t you?” He hasn’t had a match against Manshine City yet, but he can imagine they’d be a formidable opponent, especially with the duo reunited. He expects Reo to brighten at the question and praise their new abilities—Nagi had only joined Isagi’s team to grow stronger, and Isagi personally knew Nagi was itching to show off his new skills to Reo.
Reo doesn’t brighten. If anything, his expression seems to grow a bit sour at Isagi’s question. He looks away.
“We’re…” He trails off, his eyebrows drawn together. Eventually, he clears his throat. “Fine. We’re fine.”
It doesn’t look like they’re fine. Isagi wonders if he’s maybe overestimated Nagi’s communication skills. It wouldn’t be the first time.
Isagi wants to press a little more on the topic, but before he gets the chance to, he’s unceremoniously shoved on stage. He’d been so caught up in talking to Reo that he’d nearly missed his cue, and so he stumbles a little under the bright lights. Luckily, he catches himself in time not to faceplant on stage.
“Our first guest of the night is Japan’s very own Yoichi Isagi! Everyone, please give him a round of applause!”
Isagi bows a little and tries not to blush at the applause that follows. It’s not his first interview with a live audience, but this group seems surprisingly enthusiastic compared to his previous interviews. As the applause dies down, Isagi takes a seat next to the host of the show, a young woman with her hair in a bun. She’s got a gentle smile that reaches her eyes that reminds Isagi of his own mother, and Isagi instantly feels relaxed. Then he glances to the side and finds Reo glaring at him and silently mouthing the words NO SOCCER, and he rather quickly returns to his baseline level of anxiety.
“Now, Isagi-kun, we have just a few questions from the audience that we’d like to ask you today. Before that, would you like to introduce yourself?”
“Sure,” Isagi says genially. “Thank you for having me. Um, I guess you all know already, but I’m Yoichi Isagi. I’m currently an offensive midfielder on Bastard München as part of Blue Lock’s Neo-Egoist League, and previously I was…” He hears a clatter from the side. When he glances over, he sees Reo repeatedly slicing a hand across his neck. The message is clear. Isagi swallows. “Um, I went to Ichinan High School before Blue Lock. In my free time, I like…”
He trails off. What does he actually do in his free time other than practice?
“Eating…” he eventually says, “...food.”
He can almost hear Reo slapping his forehead. It takes everything in Isagi not to wince at his own words.
The host seems unbothered by Isagi’s awful performance. “Of course! You need to eat to recover the energy you spend on the field, right?” She smiles. “What’s your favorite meal?”
“Kintsuba, probably,” Isagi answers honestly, before blushing a bit. “Well, that’s more of a sweet than a meal, but…”
“Ah,” the host says, a somewhat nostalgic look in her eyes. “I haven’t had kintsuba myself in so long…”
“It’s kind of hard to get in the Blue Lock facility,” Isagi admits, “but my mom always has some saved for me for when I’m home.”
“That’s lovely,” the host says warmly. “You’re rather close with your parents, aren’t you, Isagi-kun?”
Isagi nods. “Yeah. They’re my biggest supporters.”
Something Isagi can’t quite categorize glints in the host’s gaze before it disappears. She leans forward a bit with a smile.
“Say, Isagi-kun—have you ever thought about your future family?”
Isagi blinks. “Are… people interested in that?” he can’t help but ask.
The host’s eyes widen. “Are they?” Her smile widens. “Isagi-kun, that was the most asked question from this crowd here!”
“Oh,” Isagi says, a bit bewildered. He supposes that explained their enthusiasm in the beginning. He’s not really sure what to do in the face of such admiration, and after a few moments of searching the audience, he turns back to the host. “Really?”
“Yup,” she says. “Would you humor us, Isagi-kun? If you get married in the future, what kind of family would you like to have?”
“Um,” Isagi says, fidgeting a bit in place. “I haven’t really thought about it much yet, to be honest.” He thinks for a few moments. “But a close-knit family would be nice. I’d… I’d like to have a relationship with a partner where we always respect each other and can share kindness,” he decides with a nod. “If we had a son… I’d love to go fishing together!” And teach him soccer, Isagi doesn’t add. “Ah, if we had a daughter, I’d want to give her piggyback rides.” And teach her soccer, Isagi doesn’t add. “Oh, and I also want to cook together!” He can’t help but smile at the vision he’s created in his mind. “Anyway, a family where everyone is smiling every day is my ideal, I guess!”
When he finally looks up from his hands, the host is staring at him with a strange expression on her face. Isagi grows a bit sheepish when he realizes what a long answer he’s given.
“Ah… was that too much?”
The host blinks out of her stupor and shakes her head. “No, no, not at all! That’s wonderful to hear, Isagi-kun. It sounds like you have a very clear future in mind…” She trails off for a moment and scrutinizes him a bit. “In fact, is there someone in particular you’re thinking of sharing that future with?”
Isagi blinks at the unexpected question. “No?”
Her smile turns a bit sharper. “Oh?” she asks. “Then, Isagi-kun, might I ask what your ideal type is?”
Not for the first time this interview, Isagi sorely wishes they would ask him about soccer instead. “Ah… um,” Isagi manages to get out. “I guess, um… someone who laughs a lot and has a wonderful smile.”
The answer comes to him easier than expected. That’s strange, because it isn’t really something Isagi has dwelled on in the past.
“Oh,” the host says. “Is that so?”
Her expression is twitching in a strange way, kind of like she wants to laugh and is holding herself back. Isagi runs back his previous answers and can’t seem to understand what could be so funny—and when he glances at the wings, Reo has his head in his hands. Isagi is starting to believe he might have messed something up.
“Well!” the host says suddenly. “Unfortunately, that’s all of our time for now, and while we’d love to continue to chat with you, we have quite a lot of other players to get through. Thank you very much for your time, Isagi-kun!”
“Ah—um, right. Thank you.” With a nod of his head, Isagi heads off stage. Behind him, he can hear the host promise the audience another interview after a short ad break and another round of applause.
Once backstage, he can more clearly hear that Reo is muttering something into his hands. Isagi shuffles in place where he stands.
“Um… did I do something wrong?”
Reo drops his hands and whirls around to face Isagi. “Why wouldn’t you tell me you were in love with Bachira?”
“Uh,” Isagi says. “What?”
“I—I need—” Reo starts to splutter. “I need to know these things. I need to know that you’re in love with Bachira so I can tell you not to do that on live television—!”
“I’m…” Isagi squints. “I’m not in lo—”
“Fucking hell,” Reo mutters. Wow, Isagi thinks distantly, Reo’s been spending too much time around British people. “Social media is going to have a field day with this—I don’t even know how to begin doing damage control on this—”
“Wait,” Isagi interrupts. “Wait, wait. Reo, I think you have the wrong idea. I’m—I’m not in love with Bachira.”
Reo’s eye twitches. “Your ideal type is someone who laughs a lot.” He ticks off a finger. “Your ideal family is one where everyone is smiling every day.” He ticks off a second finger. “You want a relationship where you want to share kindness,” Reo forces out through grit teeth.
“Um…” Isagi trails off. “Yeah, that—that could be about anyone. I wasn’t—I wasn’t actually talking about Bachira.”
“Okay,” Reo says with the patience of an ever-suffering soul. “Okay. Let me put this in terms you can understand.” He puts a hand on Isagi’s shoulder. “I’m going to ask you a question. I don’t want you to think about it, just answer it. Okay?” Isagi nods. “If you could only play soccer with one person for the rest of your life, who would it be?”
“Bachira.” Isagi blinks. “Oh.”
Reo claps him on the shoulder and lets his hand drop. “There you go.”
Reo doesn’t seem surprised by this answer. Isagi is. When he thinks about it, his head begins to spin. How long has it been like this? How has Isagi never noticed? Does Bachira know? What would Bachira say if he knew?
“I can’t believe you’re only having this revelation now,” Reo is muttering to himself. “Would have been really helpful to know this earlier. But now I’m going to get blamed for this—”
“Reo?”
“—and that’s not to mention the—” Reo cuts himself off abruptly. “What are you doing here?”
Nagi brings a hand to the back of his neck. “Um… I think my interview’s next.”
“Oh,” Reo says flatly. “Great. Okay.” He brings a hand to pinch the bridge of his nose. “Next you’re going to tell me you’re in love with someone, too.”
Nagi stays silent. Reo’s hand drops.
“Are you fucking kidding me—”
Isagi takes this as his cue to leave. He still feels a little off-kilter as he makes his way down the hallway to the green room where everyone else waits, so when he bumps into someone else, they have to right him with their hands on his shoulders before he topples over.
“Sorry,” Isagi mumbles absently. “I, uh—”
“Isagi?”
Maybe luck isn’t on Isagi’s side—because, really, what are the odds of running into Bachira right now?
Isagi’s mouth opens. Isagi’s mouth closes. He can’t be around Bachira, not now, not when his thoughts are still spinning and spinning and spinning in his head. Bachira tilts his head to the side and leans forward until Isagi goes nearly cross-eyed trying to look at him.
“Isagi?” Bachira asks. “You okay?”
“I’m in love with you,” Isagi blurts out.
Bachira blinks. He leans back.
“Oh.” He lets his hands drop. He brings a hand to his chin and squints into the distance. “Hm.”
Isagi is starting to feel a bit sick the longer Bachira stays silent. “You don’t—I mean, you don’t have to—” He shakes his head. “Pretend I didn’t say that. It’s—”
“Wait,” Bachira says calmly. “I’m thinking.”
“Oh,” Isagi says weakly. “Okay.”
He waits. Bachira continues to squint into the distance. After a few moments, he nods.
“Okay,” he says, before grinning at Isagi. “Me too!”
“Uh… what?”
“Me too,” Bachira repeats cheerily. “I’m also in love with you!”
That’s… not what Isagi expected to hear. “Really?” he has to ask.
“Yup,” Bachira chirps before grabbing Isagi’s hand. “For our first date, wanna watch Nagicchi’s interview? I bet it’ll be really fun!”
“Oh,” Isagi says, still a bit bewildered. “Sure?”
Bachira’s grin widens. Without realizing it, Isagi begins to smile, too.
And isn’t that just ideal?