Chapter Text
It was another one of those moments where he questioned his own choices. He realized that his effort was dedicated to a dream that didn't belong to him, it was someone else's dreams. Rin loved his brother, that's why he joined football.
He didn't start playing because he liked football, he liked his brother, and his brother liked football.
Rin hated many things about football, especially the environment. He didn't feel excited like most players when he scored a goal. It was monotonous. That victory was of no use to him, his brother wasn't there for him, he wasn't the one who gave him the passes. How funny would that be?
Time has passed, 6 years have passed. A lot of time and hard work invested, he got this far, he even faced the U20 players.
His world fell apart when he realized that no matter how much he evolved he wouldn't please his brother, he wouldn't play with him. He wouldn't smile with him anymore.
He found himself thinking about it more often than he liked, and it became a constant, boring thought. Like the sound of a drop of water leaking into a silent place, filling the place with constant noise.
One day he found himself heading towards the weirdo with glasses' office, ignoring all the supporting characters he saw along the way.
"I want to get out of Blue Lock. " He said straight up as soon as he saw the bowl cut sitting in the opposite direction.
Ego turned the chair, turning his big eyes towards for Rin.
The redhead who sponsored him seemed shocked by Rin's statement.
"What do you mean, Rin!? What happened to you? You can't just drop everything like that!" The boy didn't look at her, he waited for a reaction from Ego, who just looked at him without changing his expression.
"...Is this what you really want?" He broke the silence. Rin nodded, and the woman looked even more nervous.
"Ego! Are you really going to agree to this?-"
"Shut up Anri" he cut off the woman's speech.
"Itoshi Rin, former Blue Lock number one and younger brother of Japanese football prodigy Itoshi Sae" the young man clenched his fist when he heard the last statement. "Are you sure of your decision to leave this project, and never set foot inside this venue again with the aim of playing football?"
Was this really happening?
Would it really be that easy?
"... I am"
"B-but why? What happened to you out of nowhere, Rin?..." Anri said, confused.
Ego smiled from ear to ear, a smile that could make anyone shiver.
"Well... In that case, I'll allow you to leave. But of course. On my terms."
He was ready for this, shouldn't even have doubted it.
"As you know, it wasn't easy to get here. You haven't been disqualified yet according to the terms of the contract. If you wanted to give up, you shouldn't have come here in the first place," he said casually. Rin released the air from his lungs that he didn't even know he was holding "But I will do a small exception for you Rin Itoshi, be grateful because it's just for you"
Rin patiently awaited his sentence. Anri seemed the most nervous in the room.
"Which is: facing all the world stars present here, at the Blue Lock. And losing to them." he shouldn't have been surprised, but he was. This guy really knew how to be unpredictable.
"Why do I have to lose to them?"
He couldn't hold back the question. It could be something obvious like: you couldn't beat them anyway. But Ego wasn't like that, everything he did was too thoughtful. 'lose' was too specific. Even that situation already seemed to be planned by him.
"Isn't it obvious? To show them what a weak little shit you are, a coward who runs away from the situation when it gets out of control. Someone who doesn't even deserve the pity of stars like them, a disgrace to the world of football. " He said casually.
Should Ego mention that by 'defeat', he was referring to what the stars themselves think of him? Probably yes. But he preferred not to say.
This guy... got it all wrong. Ego must have thought that Rin was running away because the others were evolving too much. He thinks Rin was falling behind, that he was weak. That's why Rin was running away. Because he was afraid of losing. It's wrong, wrong, wrong!
Rin swallowed.
"Right"
The decision had already been made, he would not go back. It would hurt his pride if he could free himself from the dream that trapped him in this shit for so long.
"...If that's all. You can leave." He turned the chair so his back was to Rin. He bowed in respect and left without saying anything.
Face the stars? And lose? All good. If Ego wanted to humiliate him he would accept it, it's not like he'll see that weird face for much longer.
"... Ego... Are you sure what you did? What if he really leaves?"
"I can't force him to stay anyway. And it's not like we haven't lost talent before. It's just... I want to see how he'll do against the world class. I want to see, Rin Itoshi awakening once again." He followed the boy's steps through the cameras.
Surprise me Itoshi Rin.
Anri looked one last time at the door Rin had just left and looked determinedly at her colleague. She trusted and handed the soccer she loved so much into this man's hands once and would do it again as many times as necessary. She trusted Ego and his decision, this was her choice and she would never regret it.
"Oh hi Rin, where have you been?" Said the representative of France. Loki, smiling as always.
"Play with me" the request, which seemed more like an order, took the Frenchman by surprise.
"Um, like now?"
"Yes now"
"... Let me think... " He looked at the ceiling doing an exaggerated act about thinking. "Sure, why not?" smiled innocently, not knowing that that match could change the course of a career, or perhaps of football in Japan.
The two went to the court in the pxg area. It was clean and without a living soul, other than the two newly arrived players.
"Well, have you warmed up?" Loki asked casually, trying to relax.
"..." Rin didn't respond, he positioned himself in one of the corners of the court and did some quick stretches while standing.
The Frenchman sighed and smiled.
Maybe he should teach this arrogant boy a lesson.
*Whistle*
Loki found it strange, normal training sessions didn't usually have a whistle, or a scoreboard with their names on top indicating their points. And there also wasn't Anri's female voice echoing across the field saying her scores, currently reset.
That is... An official match?
Rin was the first to get the ball, he ran towards him to score. Of course Julian wouldn't let him.
While running, and analyzing why in an official match, the greenish man's game was much more amateurish than usual, modesty aside. Loki tried to understand why the sudden game. Was that why Rin disappeared? Did he go talk to Ego? Did he want a match against Loki? Why? What would he gain from this? And the most important; Loki didn't even have time for a proper warm-up, let alone Rin, who seemed well-rested to him.
The game went on and as it went on, Rin didn't seem to have a better performance over time. He wasn't the analytical and determined Rin he used to be, he didn't even seem determined. Loki didn't really understand. Why wasn't Rin trying hard?
Didn't he want to win?...
...He didn't want to win.
Why didn't Rin want to win?
The game ended with Loki's absolute victory. From 3 - 0. It's worth mentioning that whoever reached 3 goals first won.
The strangest thing is that the greenish one didn't seem as upset as he had always been. He was... Full....
"Rin o what-"
Rin just thanked him for te game by bowing quickly. He turned his back on the Frenchman and left.
....
There was definitely something very wrong with Rin today.