Chapter Text
Blue Lock had won the match against U-20 and Rin had won his long awaited battle with Sae, but he found he couldn’t enjoy either.
It was only two days into the two week break, and his irritation and dissatisfaction were only growing. It wasn’t good enough for Rin just to win. It was not a victory if Sae wouldn’t admit his loss, and he was making it perfectly clear he wasn’t planning on it.
It didn’t help that he was staying at the house while he was also on some type of break between contracts. Rin kept running into him after turning a corner or walking into the kitchen to make breakfast, only to find Sae there, looking at him with his same holier than thou expression like he still had a chip on his shoulder and undeniable proof to back it up.
But he didn’t, was the thing. He’d lost. He’d lost the match and in a fucking 1v1 against him. They both knew it. But he refused to admit it and refused to even show the slightest ounce of shame or knowing on his face. He’d even gone as far to pretend he was going to admit it, right after the match that was, before telling him that Isagi, the subpar player that somehow became somewhat useful during the last five minutes of the match, was the star striker Japan was able to turn out?
He’d said it just to fuck with him, Rin was sure of it. He hadn’t meant it. He was just back to his childish condescending antics and refusal to acknowledge Rin. It was more infuriating now because they were older, and he was still acting the way they did when they were kids.
Rin thought about bringing it up himself. About saying, that was some match, hey? You know, the one where my team beat yours and I beat you? The one where I won and you lost because I’m better than you and you’re the pathetic loser now? Sae wouldn’t have any choice but to justify the loss and stumble over his words and Rin was pretty sure he could back him into a corner into admitting some type of defeat, but he didn’t because he shouldn’t have to. He’d won fair and square, and Sae should be able to just admit it.
Rin thought about it more than he cared to admit. He just kept mulling it over, unable to push it out of his head. He’d been waiting so long to best his brother in the sport they both loved, to prove he was wrong for leaving him behind and giving up on their dream and disregarding Rin’s talent for so long, and this was such an anti-climactic, dissatisfying ending.
It was this that he was thinking about when he walked out of his room and into the hallway, almost barrelling right into Isagi Yoichi.
Rin had to do a double take, but it did confirm that the lukewarm striker was indeed standing here, not only in the middle of his hallway, but looking extremely surprised to find him standing there.
“Rin?” he asked, with even more surprise.
“What the fuck are you doing in my house?” Rin demanded.
“I invited him,” Sae said, suddenly appearing in the hallway himself. Coming up from the main level. “Obviously.”
The information in front of him, them coming upstairs together, how oddly nervous Isagi looked, didn’t hit Rin right away. When it did, he thought, oh, so these are the lengths Sae will go to avoid admitting his defeat. He’ll bring his precious little pet striker home to prove his bullshit post-match comment.
“Whatever,” Rin said, refusing to show more than his baseline amount of annoyance. “Both of you fuck off, then.”
“Fine,” Sae said, taking Isagi by the arm. “Come on.”
“Bye, Rin,” Isagi said, actively avoiding looking at him while he did.
And then Rin watched as the two of them walked down the hallway, Sae never letting go of Isagi’s arm, right into Sae’s room, the door closing all the way behind them with a click. The information washed over Rin anew then. He’d figured Sae had brought Isagi the striker here to show Rin. He figured they’d head down to the backyard and run some stupid excuse of a soccer practice. He didn’t think Sae brought Isagi the person here to do…what with?
What the fuck were they doing in Sae’s room?
Rin couldn’t fight off his curiosity. He crept down the hallway as quietly as he could, pausing right outside his brother’s door, leaning as close into it as he could without making a sound.
“That was awkward,” he heard Isagi chuckle. Followed by the distinct sound of someone sitting down on the bed.
“Who cares about what Rin thinks?” Sae said. “Come here.”
Rin jerked back, having to put special effort into keeping his footsteps silent, to avoiding smacking right into the wall. What the fuck, what the fuck, what the fuck? He went back down the hallway as quietly as he could manage and locked himself in his own bedroom, trying to make sense of what he could no longer misinterpret.
Isagi and Sae? What the fuck?
This was a new low, even for Sae, Rin decided. Because surely this wasn’t real. This was all just a part of his weird inability to admit defeat. Right? Not that it would really be that much of a low for him. Sae sucked, and he was more than capable of using people as stepping stones as much as he wished to get what he wanted.
But what if it wasn’t? If this was real, it almost made it better. If Sae had plucked Isagi out as being Blue Lock’s star striker, it wasn’t because he was more talented than Rin was, it was because he was attracted to him. That was stupid reasoning that basically admitted Sae’s defeat and stupidity all in one.
This was one of the rare moments Rin regretted not being friendlier with his teammates. He wished he had someone to ask what the fuck was going on.
Because Isagi knew everyone and everyone knew him, apparently. Surely somebody would know. Rin tried to recall how he could find out and who he might be able to find out from but found even names were escaping him. Finally, he landed on someone who’d know. Bob Cut would know.
Wait. Where was Bob Cut in all this?
Rin hadn’t been particularly interested in their relationship when he’d been on a team with them, and still wasn’t, but it’s not like it was particularly easy to ignore. Something had been going on between the two of them. They’d made it blatantly obvious. And, I mean, the whole I love you, partner thing? Everyone on the whole field had heard that, whether they wanted to or not. Rin may not have some extensive relationship knowledge, but even he knew that was no casual soccer related thing. Plus they’d been all over each other in the midst of the win.
That was two days ago. What the hell had happened since then that had Isagi here, in his house, in his brother’s room with the door closed?
Not that he cared. He just wanted to know whether Sae bringing Isagi here was his way of admitting defeat or not.
But he didn’t have any way of contacting Bob Cut. He had gotten exactly two phone numbers during his time at Blue Lock, both for necessity reasons rather than social ones. But seeing as they were the only two avenues he had, he figured they were as good of places to start as any.
He went into his contacts and clicked on #2 (Styl).
“Rin?” Came the answer after two rings. “To what do I owe this pleasure on a stylish day such as this?”
“Shut up,” Rin answered, before reminding himself he needed a favor, and some friendliness would probably get him further than his regular attitude would. “Uh, I’m good. How are you?”
It did not dawn on him that the question Aryu had asked him had not been how he was.
“I’m fine,” Aryu said, his tone slow and careful. “What can I do for you?”
“Do you have Bob Cut’s number?” Rin asked.
“Bob Cut?” Aryu asked. “Oh, Bachira?”
“Yes,” Rin said. He knew Bachira’s name, but he hadn’t made a habit of using it, which is why he hadn’t.
“Yes,” Aryu said too. “I do.”
“Okay,” Rin said, his annoyance growing. It seemed clear, to him anyways, what he was asking with the question. But apparently he had to spell it out for him. “Can I have it?”
Aryu paused before answering, “I’ll trade you for it.”
“Trade me for it?” Rin asked. “What do you want?”
“I want Chigiri’s number,” Aryu said. Rin could hear him twirling his hair around his fingers. “Suspiciously, nobody seems to have it. Can you believe that? I think he’s avoiding me. Though I can’t imagine why.”
“I don’t really care about any of that,” Rin said, before remembering once again that he was supposed to be trying to be friendly, because Aryu did indeed have what he wanted. “I, uh, I don’t have his number.”
Rin was sure that was the truth. He didn’t even know who that was.
“Pity,” Aryu said.
“So, give me Bachira’s number,” Rin said.
“No,” Aryu said. “Call back if you get Chigiri’s number.”
And then he hung up.
Rin was dumbfounded as he moved his phone in front of his face so his phone could indeed confirm that the Styl guy of all people had hung up on him. Rin considered calling back and threatening him within an inch of his life until he complied, but decided against it. Maybe he would later, but he still had one admittedly more promising avenue to try.
He clicked on #3 (Freakout).
It rang for significantly longer before it stopped and he heard the click of someone picking up, followed by breath and no speech. Rin waited, wholly confused by this, until his impatience got the better of him.
“Are you there or not?”
“Ah! Rin!” Came back through the phone. “So sorry! I just thought you must have called me by mistake!”
“Then why answer at all?” Rin demanded.
“I’m not sure!” Tokimitsu admitted. “So sorry again!”
“Whatever,” Rin said, pinching the bridge of his nose and allowing himself the time to take a breath. “Listen. I need a favor. Do you have Bob Cut’s number?”
“Huh?” he heard. “Do I have Bachira’s number? What for?”
“Never mind what for,” Rin said, wondering why everyone else was so damn friendly with the using each others names and asking each other personal questions and having each others numbers. “Do you have it or not?”
“I think so,” the freakout guy said. “Let me check. Hold on.”
He waited for what felt like a long while.
“Hi,” he finally heard once the tapping and shuffling stopped. “Sorry for keeping you waiting. I really am.”
“I don’t care,” Rin said. It was a lie, but that was all the friendliness he found himself able to muster. “Do you have it or not?”
“I do!”
“Send it to me.”
He waited, wondering if this guy too was going to jerk him around for it, but he just yelped again, cleared his throat, and said, “Okay!”
It was Rin who hung up this time. Not ten seconds later, there it was, sitting in his inbox, among a needlessly long text apologizing for Rin could only guess what. Bob Cut’s number.
Go fuck yourself, Styl Guy.
Rin paused before clicking on it. He wondered if this was a good idea or if he should just leave well enough alone. But then he heard some type of muffled voice from down the hall. He wasn’t sure who it was, what they were saying, or what in context they were saying it, but he did not care to know any of that. He didn’t want to know anything beyond what the fuck was going on, and Bob Cut was going to tell him.
He clicked on the number and it started dialing.
It was barely one ring before he heard, “Hello?”
It sounded weird. He’d spent a fair amount of time trying and failing to shake Bachira off at Blue Lock, so he knew what his voice sounded like. He was almost convinced Freakout had given him a wrong number, or typed it in wrong with his shaky fingers, but he had to be sure before he called back to cuss him out.
“Bob Cut?”
“Rin-chan?” It was him alright. Just tired maybe. Or surprised. He sounded awfully surprised. “Why are you calling me?”
“Isagi’s at my house,” Rin said.
“Oh,” he heard, and the voice became distinctly unfamiliar again. Small. “I didn’t really need to know that.”
Rin felt his heartbeat quicken and he was sure he could hear his blood rushing in his ears. He didn’t understand all of it, but he understood enough. Enough to know he’d fucked up. Unfortunately for the both of them, he didn’t know enough social courtesy in order to backtrack or fix it.
“He’s with my brother,” Rin said, in an attempt to convey that Isagi wasn’t with him, and he wasn’t calling to brag about it or rub it in or anything.
But it clearly did more harm than good. “I didn’t really need to know that either.”
Rin felt worse. part of him considered just hanging up without saying anything else. He’d obviously found out more than he’d needed to, and he didn’t need to probe at it or do more damage than he already had. He did feel this strange feeling though, like he needed to fix this somehow. But he didn’t know how.
So he just said the first thing that popped into his mind.
“Do you wanna come over and help me fuck with them?” Rin asked.
He felt stupid as soon as he said it. Again, he considered hanging up without even waiting for an answer. There was a long silence, and with every passing second, he only felt worse that he stayed on the line.
But he felt a little better about it when he heard, “Okay.”