Title: Onikko
Author: themirrorminder.372259
Main Pairing: Itoshi Reina x Isagi Yoichi, Original Character/Isagi Yoichi, Original Female Character (OFC) x Isagi Yoichi (Blue Lock).
Background Pairings: Potential side pairings for other Blue Lock characters TBD, but if you really want to see a specific one let me know and I can see if it can be squished in on the side.
Disclaimer: I own none of the original characters nor plot of Blue Lock.
Warnings: Some degree of cursing, as expected with Blue Lock's foul-mouthed boys.
**Spoilers ahead: Only read if you have caught up to at least 151 in the manga!**
Full AO3 Preview:
Isagi Yoichi didn't expect Blue Lock, he didn't expect the U-20 game, and he didn't expect her.
"Gomen nas-Oh, it's you." Her surprise curves into a small smirk. "Thanks for beating Sae-niisan. He deserved it."
/-/
For Itoshi Sae, soccer holds spots numbered one through twenty on his priority list.
His little brother and little sister share spot twenty-one.
"You make me vomit...Maybe you see me as someone special to you, but to me, you're just an eyesore."
(Spots twenty two to thirty-four are devoted to making the two needy, insecure messes grow up already.)
/-/
Itoshi Rin is six when he meets his sister.
And he's only six the first time he finds his mom crying.
"You have to hate her, okay Rin-chan? Any time you're kind to her, you're cruel to me."
/-/
Itoshi Reina has a mom who threw her away and a dad who wishes she was never born. She grows up in a house where her father's wife makes it very clear Reina's an unwanted mistake, and reminds her daily that her existence is unforgivable.
"When I was seven, I asked Sae-niisan what the word bastard meant."
A/N 1: I've changed the TIMELINE so that the Saitama prefecture qualifying games happened at the end of August, Blue Lock started in early September, and the U20 game happened in mid-late November. This story assumes you have read up to manga chapter 151 (after the bowling and little boy at the station scenes). I plan to extend this story into the Neo-Egoist League (as well as beyond, if I can keep myself posting!)
A/N 2: I used to hate OC stories - until I read some amazing Naruto ones, and then gave some other fandoms a try. After re-reading some great Atsumu (Haikyu!) x OFC stories, I wanted to read an Isagi x Original Female Character story. I couldn't find one, so I wrote my own :-) I'm experimenting with a different style of writing – less dark and more fluffy than my usual. Please let me know your thoughts! If you enjoy it, wish to see more, have some constructive criticism, or if you notice an error please let me know in a review or message!
A/N 3: I would love a beta! I haven't been able to figure out how betas work on AO3 but I'm cross posting on so if you're willing to be a beta future chapters for this please let me know via FFN messaging system!
Onikko
{鬼っ子}
chapter 1 - a red scarf
It starts with a forgotten scarf.
'If it wasn't official Bastard München merchandise,' Isagi Yoichi sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose. 'I would just let the coffee shop keep it.'
But he remembers how hard he worked, back when he was thirteen, to save up enough money for that overpriced red and black swath of fabric. 'So there's no alternative, is there?' He exits the train heading towards his meeting with Tada-san, crosses the platform, and enters the opposite train. The doors offer a loud whoosh behind him as they close.
The striker looks out the window, watches as the sky and city blur together before stilling into clean shapes once more.
"We have reached Shibuya Station." The train's polite voice chimes, "Please mind the gap."
'Hopefully that kid and his family are already gone.' Isagi looks both ways as he steps back onto the station's platform. He lets out a relieved puff of air when he's unable to spot the little boy in the golazo shirt - the one who had so excitedly shaken his hand earlier. 'How embarrassing would that have been?' The striker internally bemoans while shaking his head. 'Looking so clueless in front of my first fan.'
Luckily, the café where he had met Chigiri and Bachira in the morning hadn't been too far from the station. He breathes another heavy sigh of relief when his fingers sink into the familiar fabric from the shop's Lost and Found box. "Thank you so much. I'm so sorry for all the trouble." He smiles sheepishly to the older café worker, who nods him off with a smile and a wave. After once more thanking the staff for keeping the scarf for him, he stuffs the fabric into his satchel. A bell chimes as he exits the small building. He checks his watch. 'Shoot, I'll be late to meet Tada-kun if I miss the next train to Saitama.' Isagi starts speed-walking down the street. He's in the middle of mentally chastising himself for not checking his belongings prior to going Nagi-hunting with the rest of the team when-
Umph.
Isagi turns the corner and slams into someone else approaching the crosswalk. And not just any someone, a girl. His reflexes just barely catch her arm with his, stopping her from flying sideways from the impact. She turns to face him with wide eyes.
"Gomen nasa-oh, it's you." Her surprise curves into a small smirk. "Thanks for beating Sae-niisan. Ani deserved it."
The crossing signal rings, and the rather-messy haired girl gently tugs her arm from his grip, before starting to walk away.
Unfortunately, it takes more than a second for him to process the meaning of her words, and only half a second for her to nearly merge back into the dense crowd moving to cross the large intersection. Isagi's head swivels, and he spots her few steps away from him. He reaches for her arm, settles for her wrist, and pulls her to a stop before she steps off the ledge. She ends up turning to face him just at the edge of the curb ramp, much to the irritation of the sea of people that start maneuvering around them.
Sae-nii? That would be an entirely okay and entirely expected follow up question to her words. Instead, "you speak Japanese?" comes out, because apparently he's choosing asshole mode today.
The girl's teasing smirk drops into a scowl before flattening. "I grew up in Japan. I'm Japanese." The words slip through her strained expression robotically, in a way that sounds like she's forced the same lines through a thin smile more than enough times to strangers like him.
The Japanese (but not Japanese-looking) girl shakes her arm out of his grip, more roughly this time. Then she turns to attempt crossing the road with the last few pedestrians, before the green signal ends.
Isagi knows he can't let her go with that.
"Wait, no, I didn't mean it like-" He grabs for her other arm, only realizing it held a cup of coffee after his elbow pops off its lid and causes hot liquid to spill onto both the street and the girl's coat sleeve.
His cheeks burn. 'So much for spatial awareness.'
"Shit, I-" he tries to sputter out an apology.
"Two for two, striker." She interrupts him waspishly, shaking off her sleeve while raising an unimpressed brow. "Going for a hat trick, next?" She's seething.
He hurriedly tugs out the mini plastic pack of tissues his mom always stuffs into this coat pocket and pulls out a bunch, reaching towards her to help pat down her sleeve. She takes the offered tissues from him instead, and soaks up the spilled beverage. Looking for anything helpful to do, he bends down to grab the spilled cup before the crowd gets too thick again (the signal's stopped, they've lost their chance to cross until it rings again). He turns the empty cup in his hand and recognizes the fancy American logo from the store that had been just two shops away from the café he had visited.
"The place you got this from, there's one just behind this corner." He rushes through his words, well-aware his cheeks probably match Chigiri's hair. "Please let me buy you a replacement."
She hesitates, clearly wary of him.
He persists.
"As an apology, please." And he even starts to bow before she stops him with a tissue-laden hand and a rather aggrieved sigh.
"All right." She frowns. "I supposed I need a sink to try to salvage my coat, anyways."
The duo walk to the store quickly, cloaked in an awkward silence. The girl continues fruitlessly patting down her stained sleeve with disintegrating tissues; Isagi tries to calm his nerves so he doesn't end up doing something worse to her. The striker already managed to crash into her, unintentionally insult her, and attack her with a hot beverage.
'Did I absorb Igarashi's stupidity or something? What the hell is going on?'
As Isagi holds open the door for her, he spots the unexpectedly long line and mentally groans. To Isagi's unparalleled frustration with fate, there's a large group of girls ahead of them. At least a dozen or so, from some sort of school sports team by the logo on their lycra sweatshirts.
"Just my luck." The girl mumbles under her breath, at the same time Isagi internally mirrors her words.
"You can wait here, I guess." The girl instructs wearily. "I'll be in the bathroom."
So Isagi waits on his lonesome. After tossing the empty cup in the waste bin by the door, he returns to the back of the line. He eyes the huge green logo painted on the wall and busies himself with trying to figure out if the woman in the design is meant to be a queen or a fish. The few times he turns to keep track of the dwindling line, he feels distinctly bad for the café workers. The barista manning the till looks about college-aged, and it's just her and one other employee at the machines having to handle a sudden influx of customers. The barista doesn't seem too bothered by it, though; she just keeps smiling placidly while tapping orders into her register. Speaking of, there's only two more girls ahead of him. What's he supposed to do when he reaches the front without his companion's order?
'This is even worse than when mom tells me to wait in line while she grabs 'one more thing' at the grocery store.' He watches the line grow one person shorter, and his fingers twitch in his pocket.
The last student just finishes up her order when the girl from the street returns, jacket draped over her right arm, with an overhanging sleeve still marred with a dark stain. 'It's not like there was much hope,' Isagi notes, sympathetic. 'The coat was white.'
They step up together to order, and the barista's smile turns confused. "Fancy seeing you again so soon?"
The girl next to him lifts her arm, displaying the stained (and now wet) sleeve that droops over the folded coat.
The barista whistles. "Sucky. And on a cream coat, too."
"Yeah," the girl responds with a mournful chuckle.
"Well, free up-size on the house just to lift your spirits, Reina-chan. What'll it be?"
"No need, Megumi-senpai," the girl smiles, before using her free hand to lightly smack Isagi's chest. "I've got the culprit here himself seeking to make amends." Isagi meets her round eyes just long enough to recognize a mischievous glint in them before she turns back to the barista to order. "A venti salted caramel cappuccino with half oat milk, and half almond milk base, and with two extra shots of espresso. Also, an extra pump of toasted vanilla, and extra foam with cinnamon sprinkled on top please."
Isagi gawks. 'That's a drink?'
"Would you like chocolate drizzle on top?" The barista asks, entirely unfazed by his companion's complex order. The worker even goes so far as to smile warmly at his dark-haired neighbour when she nods eagerly. Once the woman finishes typing the unnecessarily long (in his opinion) order into her register, the café worker turns to Isagi. Her genial mood dissolves instantly. With a glare and a frown, she forces out a curt, "your order?"
Isagi actually wasn't planning to get anything. But, the barista's cold gaze bores into him with a "you better order something now," sort of look, so he's feeling pressured, okay?
"Ah… umm…" He hadn't even glanced at the menu; he was too distracted analyzing the stupid logo, nervously eyeing the time on his phone, and praying his companion returned before it was their turn at the front. "Umm… a medium coffee?"
He drinks tea, so he's not sure why he asks for a coffee.
"You mean a grande." The barista sneers as if he is the customer who handed her a ridiculous order. "Well?" The café worker raises an expectant brow, as if waiting on something more. He swears he even hears her foot tapping impatiently beneath the counter. She rolls her eyes at his bewildered silence. "Sir? Do you want a blonde, medium, or dark roast? Do you want it black, misto, sweetened with syrup, or?" She points to the menu behind her, which at the current moment looks way too complex for Isagi to interpret. 'What's a frappuccino?'
A moderately panicked Isagi turns to his trembling companion for aid, mortified to realize she's holding in a laugh with her fist. But maybe his silent "HELP ME" is louder than he thinks, because street-girl finally deigns to turn her head towards him with a gentle smile. "Do you drink regular milk?"
"Umm, yes?"
'Doesn't everyone?'
"Do you like your coffee sweet?"
'Not sure, I drink tea,' probably won't fly now so he just shrugs haplessly in response.
She turns to the café worker. "He'll take a grande café misto with 1 pump of vanilla syrup, please. Both in to-go cups, if that's okay, Megumi-senpai?"
The barista nods. "Name?"
"Isagi for his, please."
He thinks it's odd she doesn't answer with Itoshi and Isagi, but then again, she's clearly familiar with the barista. What had the worker called her? Reina-chan. Isagi mouths the syllables, committing his new companion's name to memory. She hasn't exactly given him permission to call her that yet, but he figures using her name in his head won't hurt.
He's definitely not going to start calling her Itoshi-san in his head. 'That's just too weird.'
Megumi-san turns her head to see the group of girls taking up the spot where the cashier counter plunges out, specifically the part where he supposes the readied drinks are usually placed. "You can wait at that table." The barista points to an empty one on the other end of the shop. "I need to help Toru catch up with that larger group's orders. It's his first week." The trio eye the new worker behind her, who looks like he's having the same type of day as Isagi when the poor guy drops a milk carton, and it explodes on the tiled floor. Megumi-san heaves a beleaguered sigh. "I'll just bring the drinks to your table when they're ready, Reina-chan. It might be a minute." As she says that, Toru slips on the spilled milk, and his hand manages to knock down two cans of some sort of dark syrup. "It might be more than a minute," Megumi-san amends, tapping her screen with one hand and rubbing her temple with the other. "That'll be ¥1967."
Isagi internally jolts at the price but brings out his wallet, glad he still had enough cash left over after bowling to cover the drinks. He finishes paying entirely too much for two coffees when he sees the girl - Reina, he knows her name now - sneak a few crumpled yen from her pant pocket into the barista's tip jar. He tries not to be too miffed.
"She wasn't exactly pleasant…" He whines when they're seated.
"No need to pout, her attitude towards you was nothing personal." Reina smirks at his grousing, taking the chair across from him. "Megumi-senpai takes pride in her work." She points to her coat, now draped over the back of the chair next to her, probably to let the arm air dry. "I doubt she was impressed that one of her creations ended up on my sleeve."
As she points, he registers the logo on the backpack placed in front of her coat. His eyes bulge.
"You go to Tokyo U?!"
'No way,' Isagi thinks, baffled. 'She looks younger than me!'
She was tall enough, he supposed, only a few inches shorter than him. But her cheeks were too round to be college-aged. She was even wearing a loose yellow T-shirt with a popular anime on it. He doubts students from the prestigious Tokyo University dressed like that.
She fidgets with her shirt's neckline, appearing almost flustered by his question. "Well, I… I take a few classes there."
'But she used Ani when she was talking about Sae? She must be younger than him. Even if I misheard the Ani, she definitely said Sai-niisan too. That's already oddly formal to use for an older brother, but definitely too much to use to address a younger sibling.'
The striker voices his confusion. "How old are you?"
"Haven't you ever heard it's rude to ask a lady her age, Isagi-san?" She reprimands playfully.
His cheeks burn, flustered that his curiosity won out over decorum. Clearly being clustered away at Blue Lock for the past few weeks had relieved him of any prior social niceties.
'Kaasan would have my head… All that time with those guys… What if I end up as barbaric as Raichi?' Isagi shakes away the offensive mental image. "Umm. Yeah." He says uncertainly, unsure how else to respond.
Reina lets out a quiet giggle at his awkwardness, before she offers a hesitant smile. "I'm sixteen."
Now Isagi's doubly confused.
'That doesn't make sense. Sixteen would make her Rin's age, but she's… they can't be twins, can they? They look so different. From her skin to her eyes, they don't look related at all. I mean, she doesn't even look Japanese. They share the same hair colour, I guess. But so does most of the world. Can they really be related?"
"We're… half siblings," she says delicately, clearly sensing the direction of his thoughts.
He watches the way her shoulders creep up with tension. Isagi figures he'll scrounge up what's left of his social skills and not pry further into that powder keg.
"You know, speaking of manners," he decides to go with. "You haven't even told me your name."
Her entire being loosens. She smiles back at him brightly, clearly relieved that he's veered their conversation into safer territory. "Demanding my given name so boldly." She places an elbow on the table, cradling her chin with her hand. "How forward of you, striker."
"Was that-" Isagi starts, but her impish grin gives him the answer. He shakes his head, amused. "That was such an awful pun."
"Yup," she responds, popping the 'p' and entirely unaffected by his light-hearted criticism.
"So, Itoshi-san is fine to call you by, then?" He guesses.
'Bad guess.'
Her smile flickers, clearly uncomfortable. "Hmm… Reina-chan is better."
Before he can find a way to further put his foot in his mouth, Megumi-san brings over their drinks. "By the way, Reina-chan." The barista smiles. "Thanks so much for your help with that statistics assignment the other day. Honestly, even the classes make so much more sense after how well you explained everything."
"Anytime, Megumi-senpai!" Reina smiles brightly. "Statistics is so much fun, just let Mina-chan know if you ever need my help again and she'll let me know!"
"You're too nice, Reina-chan. Start charging for your services." Megumi-san advises, chuckling. "At least for now, here's some... remuneration." The café worker unveils a large wrapped cookie from her apron pocket, much to Reina's unfettered delight.
"Chocolate?" Reina whispers reverently, eyeing the baked good much the same way Bachira does a pass he's about to intercept. Reina turns to the retreating barista, theatrically calling out, "I take other classes too, Megumi-senpai!" Clearly hoping for more opportunities to be paid in sweets.
'How shameless,' Isagi thinks genially, entirely too amused by her. But, also, even more curious now.
"What other classes do you take?" Isagi asks.
She has her (ridiculous) coffee; he's paid his debt, so he can leave. She asked for their drinks in to-go cups, implying she didn't expect him to stay. But he's too far gone into this experience to leave now.
'She hasn't made a move to go either,' he reassures himself.
"I take a couple classes at the university in the evenings and on the weekend." She takes a small, careful sip of her drink. Seeming content with the temperature, she takes a larger sip before continuing. "But it's fall break for my high school right—"
'But it's the middle of November? The high school fall breaks are in October… Maybe she goes to a private school? Since they keep their own holiday calendars.'
"—now, so I'm taking a few more." She takes another sip from her cup. "Applied Algebra, Engineering Basics, Intro to Mechanics, oh, and I just started Intro to Astrophysics! That's my favourite!"
His eyes widen. She's a year younger than him, doing high school, and taking all of those university courses? "That seems like a lot."
She shrugs with a grin. "I really like math. And space, too!"
"I'm surprised you have enough hours in a day to do those courses on top of your regular schoolwork."
Just a few months ago, when he was attending Ichinan High, Isagi only had time for school, homework, and soccer. And the time he committed to academics was minimal, since he tried to invest as much of his time into practicing as possible. He couldn't fail any classes if he wanted to stay on the soccer team. He put in just enough effort academically to keep up his rank of low-to-average student, and the only class he ever enjoyed to any degree was gym.
"Well, I only actually attend in person classes for Statistics, since it's twice a week in the evenings. Well, and Astro, since it's a three hour class on Saturdays. The other ones I learn through self-study." She says brightly. "And since the school's Engineering campus is in Shibuya and my school is here, it ends up working out pretty well, actually!"
"Why?" He asks, because he's honestly curious. She hasn't sounded boastful at all, just genuinely… excited? About… doing extra schoolwork?
It takes her a second to grasp what he's asking with his vague question. "For the same reason you spend so much time on the field, I imagine. I get that it sounds kind of odd or lame or whatever to some people, but I really do enjoy learning about that stuff. And…" She hesitates. "I want to be a space engineer," she shares, her eyes lowering to her cup. "But, well, I'm a girl and younger, too. So I have to work twice as hard to prove to the others I'm smart enough, you know?"
"Sounds like you're more than just smart enough," He praises, because he's honestly amazed that someone a year younger than him is already good enough at college courses that other college students request her help.
'Is every Itoshi a prodigy?'
His thoughts escape his mouth. He nearly apologizes, thinking she'll mistake his words for bitterness, but she just casually waves away his apology.
"Rin-niisan got the brawn." She taps her temple, "I got the brains." She pauses as her eyes stray to the window, "and Sae-niisan got both." Her attention seems far away for a moment before she turns to focus on their conversation again. "I appreciate you practicing your manners with the small talk, Isagi-san." Her stare drops to the cookie waiting for her on the table. "But, well, I know you don't care about me or my studies. You want information on my brothers, right?" She says it easily, as if she isn't upset or angered, just unbothered and maybe a bit eager.
Though that last part might be because she's just started unwrapping the cookie.
"Yeah, I guess that's why I chased after you, initially." Isagi responds slowly, as if just recalling the reason he followed her himself.
"Oh, so you mean you didn't bring me here out of the goodness of your heart to apologize for ruining my lovely coat?" She baits.
He sputters and she snickers.
'She laughs easily.' He thinks. 'And even became friendly fast despite our rough meeting. The fact that she shares a relation with people as cold-blooded and standoffish as Sae and Rin doesn't seem possible.'
"I'm just joking, Isagi-san." Reina leans back, both hands clasping the unwrapped cookie in front of her. "Ask away. Anything that will help bring those two down a peg, I am more than happy to oblige."
"And you'd answer?"
'Why?' He's a bit suspicious, but mostly just curious. He doesn't have siblings, or even any close cousins. But from what he knows about siblings, you shouldn't typically sell out information on one another so freely, right?
She nibbles on her cookie, and swallows before answering.
"We had a dinner together after the Blue Lock versus U-20 game the other day. Sae-niisan brought up your performance, and Rin-niisan turned purple with rage… it was amazing." She seems dazed, as if remembering a particularly fond memory.
He lets pride fill his chest at the thought of praise from a New World Generation 11 player, before he realizes she evaded answering his question. Then again, Isagi supposes there are more important things to ask about rather than her relationship with her brothers.
"So," she motions her hand, letting a few crumbles slide off her fingers and tap along the table between them. "Ask away, Isagi-san."
Isagi knows he should ask about their skills, their weaknesses, and what makes them tick… all the things a spiteful younger sister might know and be willing to divulge. Potential questions run through his head as he looks at her, munching contently. 'She probably watched a lot of their games growing up, right?' He can start with asking her about times they've lost games, maybe.
"Why do you hate them so much?"
(Huh. Guess his curiosity wins out over his logic too.)
Her docile expression turns surprised. "Hate?" She frowns and shakes her head. "Hate's way too wrong of a word. Of course I don't hate them." She begins, more than a bit defensive. "I'm not like that." Her gaze falls to her lap as her voice lowers. "I mean… I guess I am still a little upset after what Sae-niisan—"
A loud ring from his phone cuts off her mumbles.
'Really?'
Seems fate was in a merciless mood today.
Isagi lifts his phone to turn it off, but his finger stops when he sees Tada-san's name flash across his lock screen. He notes the time.
'Dammit. I'm already twenty minutes late.'
"You can answer it," she smiles. "I really don't mind."
Isagi slides the green button, places the phone to his ear, and apologizes to Tada-san immediately.
~"Forgetting us little people already?"~
Isagi rolls his eyes. "I got held up in Shibuya. I'll be there as soon as I can."
~"Dude no sweat, I'm just biking around the Ichinan field in the meantime. Text me when you're at the station; I can lock up the bike and meet you at the bridge."~
"Yeah, I will. See you soon."
He hangs up, finding himself feeling annoyed with Tada-kun even though he can't pinpoint why.
"It's fine if you have somewhere to be, Isagi-san, I was actually on my way back to the library as well." Reina wipes the crumbs off her hands with a napkin. "Besides, the answer to your question will cost you more than one coffee." She teases.
'Is she saying she's okay with meeting again?'
"I'm being sent back to Blue Lock sometime at the end of next week. We're still waiting on the specifics on exactly when." He swallows. "I train during the day to keep my conditioning up, and practice too, but otherwise I'm free." He hedges, unsure if he can bring himself to outright ask her if she wants to see him again.
Reina quirks a brow, brushing a hand by her ear to push back a few of her many stray, messy locks.
"Meet me here tomorrow then?" She pushes her chair back, starts to stand. "I usually take about an hour for a study break slash caffeine re-fueling session around two. Does that work for you?"
He nods. "Tomorrow at two works."
She walks over to throw the wrapper in the bin, thanking Megumi-san again on her way back to their table. She starts to put her jacket on.
"Wait." Isagi grabs her sleeve, stopping her. "Give me your coat. I'll get it cleaned for you."
"That's sweet of you, but don't worry about it." She nods to the window. "It's too cold to go without a coat today, even a stained one."
He tugs on the coat, again stopping her from putting it on. He pulls a bit harder, and she yelps when it lands in his arms. Isagi smirks in victory, before placing her coat behind him and reaching over to give her his coat with his other hand instead.
"I'm meeting my friend indoors anyways," he lies.
She huffs, arms akimbo. "You're not a very good liar, Isagi-san."
There's a pause, broken by her once more attempting to reach around him for her coat, but he keeps it away.
"I'm already wearing a sweater over top of a long sleeved shirt. I'll be fine," he says, eyeing her bare arms. "You'll freeze, especially if you're heading somewhere else before heading home."
Her shoulders slump, but she takes the proffered coat. It doesn't engulf her too much, making it wearable in public. He has the crazy idea to give her his scarf too, to wrap her in the red threads, but before he can offer she nods to their table.
"Make sure to drink your coffee before it cools. You didn't even take a sip, Isagi-san."
'Yoichi is better.' He wants to say. But he chickens out and, "I actually prefer tea," comes out instead.
She raises a bemused brow as she shrugs on her backpack. "You know, you're a bit of an oddball, Isagi Yoichi. It's kind of fun." She smiles with a wave. "See you tomorrow!"
He runs from the Saitama station all the way to the bridge next to his old school field, wearing a scarf without a coat. He manages to not forget anything or crash into anyone this time.
"Hey Isagi! It's been so long!" Tada-kun waves as he approaches. "Do you still remember me? Know my name?"
"Of course I remember! I wouldn't forget a teammate. And of course, I didn't forget that goal you missed either, Tada-kun." Isagi banters back.
"Aw man, give me a break? Especially since I waited oh so long for our school's resident celebrity." Tada-kun nudges with his elbow.
Isagi rubs the back of his neck. "Sorry about that, again. I was on the way to see you when I realized I had forgotten my scarf at a café in Tokyo. So, I had to switch trains to go back and get it."
Tada-kun looks closer at the scarf. "No way! That's official Bastard München merch!" He whistles. "No wonder you went back for it, it must have cost an arm and a leg." Tada-kun leans further into Isagi's space. "But back to business. Seriously though, man. You're damn wild! You became a hero of Japanese football overnight!"
"Oh stop." Isagi makes appeasing motions with his hands, feeling his face warm. "It wasn't so grand."
"Hey, a guy who used to be on my team is a star now! Life's full of surprises!" Tada-kun continues to yell, which is unsurprising. Isagi was in the same class as the guy for two years – Tada-kun was always unreservedly himself, and always went out of his way to be friendly with everyone.
"Hey, hey! Give me an autograph!" Tada-kun makes a "gimme, gimme" motion with his hands. "I need proof. Me and the famous Isagi Yoichi used to be a duo! I wanna brag about it!"
Isagi sweat drops. "Making fun of me, are ya?"
"You could tell?" Tada-kun badgers.
They both chuckle.
"How are things back there?" Isagi asks. "Is Ichinan High doing well? Next year is gonna be our last in high school, right?"
Isagi wonders what it will be like – life after Blue Lock. Will he be expected to just return to his old high school team while waiting for the U-20 international tournament? Blue Lock was initially supposed to keep going until only five from the initial three hundred players remained to take forward spots on the U-20 team… but now that they actually beat the current U-20 team, what did that mean for them? Initially, Ego had said that the Blue Lock Eleven would replace the current U-20 team if they beat them… but that makes no sense. 'Why give up defenders like Aiku? Or midfielders like Sae?' And as much as Isagi did find Shidou intimidating, it would be a waste to not have him on the national youth team. 'We can definitely manage without Sendo though. What a useless striker.' Isagi wonders if the blond could have survived in Blue Lock. 'Doubt it.' Isagi's pretty sure he recalls the moron screaming about gravure idols and actresses at one point. 'How embarrassing. Worse, he didn't score a single goal for his team. Or even assist one.'
"Yeah!" Tada cheers. "Our goal is to get to the nationals, since we were so close before!"
Six months ago, that had been Isagi's dream too. The faraway goal that he had trained so hard for: Nationals. It had seemed so big, so wondrous, back then.
'Wow… I was really ignorant back then, huh?'
Perhaps if he had chosen to shoot instead of pass back at the prefectural finals, his team could have entered Nationals. But, Ichinan's team lacked the capacity to win on that higher level. 'Honestly, we probably would have lost our first game.' Then they would have crawled back home, patting each other on the back, and trying to comfort themselves with meaningless platitudes like 'we'll get them next time!' or 'we did our best!'
Making it to Japan's high school national tournament? Isagi thinks he could never be happy with such a simple dream, not anymore.
'I want more now... I want...' His fists clench in his pant pockets. 'I want the world.'
Tada-kun interrupts Isagi's thoughts.
"Always and forever: one for all and all for one! The Ichinan spirit!"
'What a stupid motto.'
"Haha. Wow, that phrase brings back memories," Isagi says instead.
"Isagi, you can come back any time!"
'I'd rather fucking die.'
Isagi realizes now how strangulating that philosophy was, how it hindered his growth. 'Complacency, stagnation, dissolution.' He thinks of how he would have remained a no one from nowhere if it wasn't for the mind of Jinpachi Ego. How his childhood dreams of playing for Japan would have withered away to nothing.
"Ichinan is still your home!"
"Hoh. Thanks, Tada-kun." Isagi offers, not sure what else to say.
"But, you know? I still can't believe how lucky you were!" Tada-kun continues. "An excuse-me goal like that at the last moment... and you got it with pure luck, and nothing else!"
Isagi freezes. 'What did you just say?'
"...Um. An excuse-me goal?"
"Huh?" Tada-kun replies. "I mean, yeah... You did just pick up the sloppy seconds that happened to come your way, right?"
The guy isn't being malicious, but that almost makes it worse.
'Is that how others see it?'
"Aw man. If only I went to Blue Lock, too... I could've been a hero right now!" Tada-kun continues. "But maybe that goal of yours... already used up all the luck in your life!"
'Luck…'
Isagi buries his tense jaw in his scarf, letting out a half-hearted chuckle. "That goal was just luck, was it?"
"Hmm? Did I say something funny, Isagi?"
'When I've been fighting so hard all this time in the walls of Blue Lock.' Yoichi gets flashes of all his struggles, of all the mental and physical hurdles he overcame. 'For him to so blithely attribute the culmination of everything I did to some otherworldly providence. As if I didn't… as if I didn't fucking earn that goal with my own hard-won skills.'
Tada-kun laughs and pats his shoulder. "Man, you never change with that aloof thing you do!" They reach the bike stand, where Tada-kun unchains his bike. "I got to get back home, but see you later? You can message me any time!"
"Sure." Isagi waves.
He realizes then how stupid it is for him to be annoyed at Tada-kun 's ignorance. 'Didn't I think the same with Rin's goal, back during the second selection?' He frowns in consternation. 'If I hadn't gone to Blue Lock, I would probably think the same way as Tada-kun.' The striker looks across the field, at the skyline. His eyes wander over the Saitama downtown buildings that reach into the sky and break the horizon.
'The world isn't the one that's changed. It's me. Even more than I had realized...'
He thinks of his greed, of his growing expectations for his own future.
'I might've been stained by Blue Lock,' he realizes. 'By the world of fighting.'
He couldn't settle for second-best, not anymore.
'Not ever again.'
He heads to the gym for a few hours.
'I'm still so behind compared to the others physically, despite all the extra hours I put into conditioning while at Blue Lock.'
The striker puts in his ear buds, and steps onto the treadmill. Isagi's half way into his first mile when the gym TV above him plays a commercial that catches his eye. It's for a new movie of the same anime that was on Reina's shirt.
He wonders if she thinks he just got lucky too.
End of Chapter 1
Preview for Future Chapters of Onikko
"I tried. A few times, actually. But each time I tried to play… Sae-Nii, it seemed like he was testing me, and I kept failing. Like he was waiting for something… or like he was expecting me to become something, and I just never measured up.
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"Oh hello?! Is this my little Yo-chan's girlfriend?!"
Isagi slams his face into his hands, utterly mortified.
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This house will never welcome you… You're nothing but father's mistake, here.
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"Always playing victim, how lukewarm." Rin steps closer. "What? You really think you can hide behind a shithead like him?" He mocks.
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