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 manga chapter 151!**
AO3 Chapter Preview:
"I tried. More than a few times, actually. But whenever I tried to play…" She drops her gaze to her notebook. "Sae-niisan, it seemed like he was testing me, and I kept failing." Her left hand tugs at the drawstring of her sweater again. "Like maybe he was waiting for me to do something, and I never showed it. Or, no, more than that." She twirls the purple pen in her right hand, lets it weave through her fingers while she works through her thoughts. "It's like he was expecting me to… to turn into something, and I just never measured up."
A/N: Still looking for betas! I'm cross posting on so if you're willing to beta future chapters please let me know via the FFN messaging system!
BIG
HUGE
GINORMOUS
THANK YOU
TO MY REVIEWERS:
-OliviaStone: you are literally my favourite human. Tysm for your readership, comments, and gifts! I forgot gifts were a thing and sincerely apologize for that, but I read them and left responses as reviews! I'll definitely check out your recommendations once my Blue Lock craze simmers.
- Rosetta_KingsWife: I'm hoping to show them both chasing their dreams (and the conflict that causes) eventually! Glad you like the OC so far!
- Tensei0123: thank you!
- DaDragon562: much more expo / inner Isagi in part 2 (I just couldn't fit it all into one part!)
- Also thank you to all those who favourited and left kudos.
Literally you all are the reason I got this second chapter up so soon (for me). I love you all :'D
Onikko
{鬼っ子}
chapter 2 part one - a second cup
At exactly 1:52 pm, Yoichi Isagi once again braves Japan's pissiest barista.
Only, he doesn't. Not really. Because he spots a familiar head of messy dark locks, already stationed at the table from yesterday. He immediately gravitates towards Reina; he needs her as backup before facing Megumi-san.
'That crazy barista might just be more volatile than Barou… and that's a pretty high bar.'
Reina sits facing away from the entrance, so he approaches her from behind. As he gets closer, he registers the completely cluttered table. Several textbooks are splayed out in front of her. The ones that are open are randomly angled overtop each other, and some are half in between notebooks and other scrap pieces of paper. Multiple sticky notes in varying sizes and colours stick out from most of the textbooks, and also hang out of a few piles of printed out journal articles. Engulfed amidst her disorderly piles of madness, Reina clicks away at her laptop. She's so utterly absorbed by her work that she doesn't notice at all when he seats himself in the chair across from her.
Isagi takes the opportunity to observe the girl.
'I can sort of see it, now.' The resemblance between Rin and Reina takes time to discover. It manifests in things that warrant a second look to recognize: the long curled eyelashes, the camber of their eyebrows, and the ears that stick out just a little.'Enough to use as a stand for a pen.' As he thinks that, she grabs a bright purple pen from its perch on her right ear to quickly scribble something in the notebook closest to her. Then he watches, horrified, as she proceeds to stick the pen in her mouth before hastily typing something in her computer.
'Gross.'
She's got ink smears and highlighter stains all over her right hand. He doesn't remember the colourful splotches marring her skin yesterday. His gaze leaves her to scan the notes stretched out in front of him.
'Huh.'
Even upside down, he notices. "Your writing… might actually be worse than mine."
Reina startles at his words. She looks up, wide-eyed, and lets the pen plop out of her mouth.
'Still gross.'
She recovers quickly, picks up the soiled pen, and fiercely points it between them. Her cheeks puff out like a chipmunk as she chastises. "Hello works better than insults to greet people, Isagi-san." She drops her gaze back to her screen. "But I'll host your second manners lesson in a bit. Give me just one more minute to finish getting this idea down."
"Take your time," he placates, resting his head on a closed fist. Wanting to distract himself from the way she tucks the same pen back behind her ear, Isagi looks closer at her notes while she click-clacks away. 'She's so messy.' Her notebooks, articles, and used looseleaf take up the entire surface area of the table that isn't already commandeered by her textbooks.'She's writing in Japanese, but she's also writing in… English?' He tries to decipher her sloppy penmanship to no avail. 'Guess she's fluent in both.' He examines the textbooks closest to him, too. Most are open to pages with long paragraphs and multi-line equations, but there's one book that shows some large photos of constellations. There's another book that definitely looks like it's written in English, filled with her pink and green highlighting. 'Wonder what that one's about?' He turns his attention back towards the girl, observes how her fingers go and go like an unrelenting motor, and how her eyes dart from side to side as she types. 'Are those...' He looks closer and frowns. 'She's got pretty noticeable bags under her eyes today, and they're a bit red-webbed at the edges.' He runs his gaze over her, finally registering the meaning of her shapeless sweater and hair being tossed up into a messy bun.
"And done!" She snaps him from his thoughts. "Sorry about that," Reina says sheepishly while closing her laptop. "I really am glad you came."
'Me too.'
Before he can reply, she continues. "Now, before we get back to your questionable salutation choices," she gives him a mischievous half-smile. "I'm dry again," she taps on the rim of her empty mug. "Let's go order something, yeah?"
Isagi thinks on her disheveled appearance, and wonders if she's had a late night. A bit of guilt starts to churn in his gut for calling her back here when she's clearly exhausted. "I can order it for you?" He offers.
"No thanks." She responds too quickly, only to backtrack just as fast. "Sorry, that was rude. I… that's actually kind of you. But, I just feel like I'll be happier with the result if I tell her what I want. My usual order is kind of… complicated?" She replies lightly, as they leave their table.
'More like unbelievably nonsensical.'
They reach the back of the line together.
'Only two people in front of us today.'
She rocks back and forth on her feet at his side. "I've been subsisting on black coffee for most of last night and this morning. So we'll get me some proper caffeinated sugar, and we'll get you... hmm… want another café misto?"
'I'd rather drink cement.'
His face must betray his negative opinion, because she smirks before leaning in to whisper. "Maybe don't answer aloud." She nods to the counter. "If Megumi-senpai hears you, they'll never find your body."
'Let's upgrade her to the world's pissiest barista.'
"Maybe I'll give my order to Toru-san instead," he proposes.
"Oh, Toru-san is long gone. The middle schoolers' group order yesterday traumatized him, I think. Poor guy." She shakes her head. "And poor Megumi-chan, that's the third employee to quit on her this year."
"You come here a lot, then?"
She nods. "Yup! It's walking distance to my high school, TU's engineering campus, and TU's sciences library. And that silly library still only allows bottled water in their cubicles. As if that feeble stuff is of any use at three AM," she snarks lightly before perking back up. "So, yeah, I come here a lot to recharge! Even to study, when they're open. And Megumi-senpai is my friend's older sister, so she's really nice to me and always makes my drinks herself. She is just so good at what she does; Megumi-senpai's actually the one who helped me craft my perfect drink! Oh, and we can do the same for you!" Reina puts a finger to her chin. "Hmm, she makes a great americano! You can try that?! Oh, and you know, I bet it would taste even better if we added in some hazelnut syrup, or maybe some caramel drizzled on top, or even—"
"I'll stick to tea." He deadpans.
"Bleh, how dull." She blows a raspberry. "You're no fun."
"And you're going to get diabetes before you hit twenty."
"Let me enjoy my saccharine concoction in peace, health officer-san." Reina eyes the menu. "Besides, my house and high school are sugar-free. My sole respite from those militant 'anti-cavity' regimes is my sweet coffee. It's an order Megumi-senpai and I carefully and painstakingly perfected down to the very last drop after months of trial and error." She turns back to him, clearly proud of their… achievement.
Isagi shakes his head in disbelief. 'Then again... no sugar at all, huh? No wonder Rin's mood is always so sour.' He smirks at his joke. Before he can lob his quip to her, they reach the counter.
"What'll it be this time, Reina-chan?" Megumi-san smiles. "Another round of bitter dark roast, or some TLC for the soul?"
"I've had enough of the hard stuff, I need sugar!" Reina announces, before she starts reciting her novel of an 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. Oh, and," she pauses to side-eye Isagi. "Extra chocolate drizzle on top for me this time, please."
Isagi rolls his eyes at her antics. 'So dramatic.'
"Of course, Reina-chan!" Megumi-san chirps back, before the barista looks at him and her cheerful mood vaporizes. "What about you?"
"Oh, Isagi wants some leaf soup," Reina helpfully supplies.
He raises a brow at the younger girl's taunting. "I'll take a tall King's Clouds & Mist," he orders confidently.
"Oya, oya." Reina baits, turning and wagging her finger at him. "You Coogled the menu yesterday, didn't you?" She sing-songs. "Did Megumi-senpai and I traumatize you so terribly, Isagi-san?"
'Female-Barou definitely did.'
In the interest of not meeting an early grave courtesy of the still stony-eyed barista, he only shrugs at Reina's blatant goading ("I can't believe you actually prepared") instead of voicing his thoughts. "Guess I just wanted to try something new this time."
'I definitely wasn't going to let myself be as awkward as yesterday.'
Megumi-san starts tapping his order into the register before pausing. "Separate or together?"
"Together, please." He replies, pulling out his wallet from his back pocket.
Reina swivels to face him immediately, waving her hands about frantically. "You really don't have to pay again. I was only teasing yesterday."
"Think of it as an apology for making fun of your writing," he replies easily, stuffing the receipt into his pocket as the duo approach the part of the counter sectioned off for readied drinks.
The younger girl yields. "Well, I guess I'll just have to cover it next time."
His gut curls pleasantly at how certainly she says 'next time.'
"It's fine," he reassures her. "I really don't mind."
She quirks her head at him. "This isn't just because I'm a girl, right? If it is, I think Megumi-senpai told us we're supposed to act insulted instead of flattered, and lecture you about being chauvinistic."
"Let's go with chivalrous instead," he tries.
"Oh? And when did you become so gallant, Isagi-ōji*?" she badgers. "Perhaps there's no need for remedial lessons in manners after all."
"You're hilarious."
"I like to think so!" She chirps, smirking deviously. "Can't help that I'm cursed with a precocious wit."
Isagi rolls his eyes. 'Unbelievable,' he thinks, with a bit of reluctant fondness. "And so modest, too," he teases back.
She tsk-tsks, eyes laughing. "Now, now. It's not very knightly to call a fair maiden's virtue into question. "
Megumi-san cuts their banter short when she places their drinks on the counter accompanied by a sunny, "enjoy, Reina-chan!"
He waits until the temperamental barista steps out of hearing range. "Looks like your hot bean juice is ready. I belie-"
"Ououou you needed time to think about that one, didn't you?" Reina goads.
'Cheeky brat. Yes, but totally not the point.'
"I believe," he barrels on and pointedly nods to her steaming cup, "that the independent lady can carry her overly sweet drink to our table, unaided?"
"Yes, sir, Isagi-ōji." She mock-salutes before picking up her mug. He watches the creamy liquid nearly topple out as she swings the cup around when she turns.
"Don't spill it, you sleepy genius." He mocks as they start making their way to their table.
"Don't crash into me again, you clumsy striker." She badgers back.
He chuckles, shaking his head. 'This girl… always has something to say back, huh?'
They pause when they reach their destination. She pulls at her sweater's draw string with her free hand, and offers an apologetic smile. "Sorry, I sprawl."
"I mean," Isagi shouldn't, but he honestly can't stop himself. "I'd sit, but I'm actually afraid you might be hiding a body in there."
She grumbles. "You're so dramatic."
'Me?!'
Isagi gapes. "You think I'm the dramatic one?"
She nods and tilts her chin up and away from him.
'The gall of this petulant little…'
He smiles sharply. "So would you like me to place my cup on the pile of open textbooks on the left or the pile of open notebooks on the right? Or maybe on the stack of articles half-leaning over the table? Or maybe-"
"Okay, okay. I could have been a bit neater." She concedes, lowering her drink on the sole corner of the laminate island free of her chaos. There's a round smudge leftover from her previous round.
He grimaces when her mug clacks against the bare table. "Shouldn't we be using coasters? We have mugs this time."
She looks as though he just spoke gibberish before smirking. "I am entirely unsurprised you're a clean freak."
'Not even. That'd be Barou. I'm just not actively creating a mess everywhere I go.' There's a reason the meticulous King didn't hound Isagi like he did Nagi when they were roommates.
She picks up a few notebooks. "It's just a bit of organized chaos."
"I think we have vastly different definitions of organized." He flinches at the way she carelessly shoves the notebooks into her backpack.
'She's like a hurricane.'
She mumbles something that sounds like "judgmental butthead," under her breath (that he chooses to ignore for both their sakes) before she grabs her laptop. When she lifts the silver rectangle to put it away, it reveals a notebook open to a page littered with familiar diagrams. He steps up behind her and places his free hand on it, curious.
"Are those plays?"
"Hmm?" She turns her attention to the sheets under his palm. "Oh! No, these are circuit problem sets for my mechanics review. But honestly, I'm not surprised you would mistake the diagrams for plays, given how much geometry and especially trigonometry there is in soccer." She keeps talking, almost absentmindedly, while she stacks some of the other scattered pages together. "I mean, the angles and shapes with passing and shooting that all the different positions have to calculate and respond to. Watching torque forces and the Magnus effect play out. Oh, but the very best of all is watching players like Sae-niisan; it's like there are numbers and angles and equations all floating around him, guiding him to the perfect spots. How playmakers like him make shapes, and how they use their lanes and their teammates' angles, and how they make use of the half-spaces, and-and I'm rambling." She cuts herself off, sheepish. "Sorry."
"What do you mean?" he asks immediately, leaning in closer to her. "About players like Sae making shapes and using lanes?"
Reina blinks. "Well I mean…that's how you kept intercepting and receiving, wasn't it?" She closes the textbook with the constellations, then turns to put it in her bag. "You worked out the most likely lanes that would be used and the half-spaces you could exploit. That's how you scored such an amazing goal, right?"
His gut twists.
She turns back to him, smiling. "Well, that, and then you also worked out the angles of the other players' positions in relation to the ball and how it was shot, right? Pretty impressive skills, striker."
"So," he presses, "you don't think it was just luck?"
Reina snorts. "That kind of luck takes a lot of hard work."
Suddenly, the weight of Tada-san's dismissiveness evaporates.
"Don't look too dazzled," she smirks playfully. "I paraphrased that clever quote from a famous engineer.* A word master I am not."
That isn't why he looked at her that way, but she doesn't give him the chance to correct her.
"Besides," she continues. "I'm the one who's awestruck. I've never seen anyone beat Sae-niisan before. Like ever." She tries to pull the last notebook from under his hand.
He doesn't let her. "Can you.. show me?"
She stares at him, confused.
"The shapes that your brother makes. The lanes he uses, and the half-spaces you mentioned…"
She shrugs. "I… I mean sure? I feel like I'll just be telling you stuff you already know, though?"
He shakes his head, and leans in even closer while looking straight into her eyes. "I want to see what you see."
"Oh!" Her eyes widen. "Yup! Sure! Okay, then!" Her voice pitches up and she seems flustered all of a sudden.
'Should I not have brought up Sae?'
She steps back to reach into her bag and recover another notebook as well as her laptop. "You can sit on this side then. Umm, next to me. It might be easier, so I can show you? I can draw it out, maybe?"
He nods easily, watching as she moves over to take the chair closer to the window. As he settles in her vacated seat, she opens her laptop. They're sitting right next to each other, an inch or two separating them, at most.
'She smells nice.' He shakes away the random thought, focusing on her computer.
"Here," she says while typing. "I'll pull up the Blue Lock versus U-20 game."
After downloading footage via the JFA's Wye-Tube page, she fast forwards to a few frames before the time stamp labeled as '1-0 U-20, Goal Itoshi Sae'. She flips open her notebook to a blank page. His brow twitches when he sees her grab the previous pen from her ear, but he holds his tongue and just shifts her drink so it's closer to her. She smiles in thanks. Then she starts explaining, and he stays quiet for an entirely different reason.
"So see?" She uses the pen to point to her diagram, showing the players before and after each of Sae's passes, and how each of those players were in one of five lanes on the field. "Most high school and college players play by using the three lane system to make triangles, structure their defense, distance themselves from other players for passes, to break through strong defensive lines, and to outmaneuver crowded midfields. On the other hand, most pros play using the half-spaces… they play with five lanes.* And then geniuses like Sae-niisan play with moving five lanes."
Isagi realizes then, what she's drawing is what he's been cultivating. He just hadn't been able to place a structure to it. He thinks back to when he was able to intercept Sae's attack. 'This is what I saw.'
"Sae-niisan really is amazingly talented…" Reina murmurs, before using her left hand to take a distracted sip of her drink.
Even though he's still processing his revelation, Isagi supposes, logically, that he should use her words as a gateway to ask more about Sae's play style. Or even Rin's. But, at that moment, Isagi wants to know something else even more. "What position do you play?"
She chokes. "Eh?" She yips out a couple of coughs and smacks her chest a few times before she attempts to reply. "None. I don't play."
"Really?" Her legs bely her words. He thinks of the shape of her calves and the thickness of her thighs. 'Not in a creepy way, or anything,' he justifies. 'She's wearing leggings under her sweater and she walked in front of me to the drink pick-up spot. Of course I noticed.' But he's also not stupid enough to say something like oh but your legs look built for endurance running to a girl. Instead, he prods with, "I thought you would have for sure, given your brothers and all. Did you ever play?"
She gives him a dejected sort of smile.
"I tried. More than a few times, actually. But whenever I tried to play…" She drops her gaze to her notebook. "Sae-niisan, it always seemed like he was testing me, and I kept failing." Her left hand tugs at the drawstring of her sweater again. "Like maybe he was waiting for me to do something, and I never showed it. Or, no, more than that." She twirls the purple pen in her right hand, lets it weave through her fingers while she works through her thoughts. "It's like he was expecting me to… to turn into something, and I just never measured up."
There's a pause, her pen stops spinning, and Isagi should retreat.
'But I want to know more.'
The polite thing to do would be to stop digging into her past when he can tell from her expression that she's starting to grow uncomfortable.
'But if she keeps answering, she must be fine, right?'
The considerate thing to do would be to change the conversation to something else, a topic that doesn't make her so morose. He should…
'No.' He decides, mind ravenous. 'Number one strikers don't hesitate. They take what they want.' And right now, he wants to know more about her.
He pushes onward. "I get you like math, but this seems like more than that, especially if you don't play. How do you know so much about playmaking? It's kind of a niche area, even among active soccer players."
Her lips curve upward, and something in his chest eases.
"When we were little, we weren't really allowed to watch TV very often. But there was one exception. After our lessons, if we did well, we got 30 minutes of TV. And more times than not, we watched soccer. Sae-niisan would get so into it." She shakes her head, chuckling under her breath. "He would pause the frames and tell us all about the players' positioning. He'd explain which players were good and which weren't, and why. He was mainly saying it all to Rin, but I was there, so I learned it too. I mean, I guess I could have left the room, especially since it seemed so boring in the beginning, but…. I think a part of me wanted to share it with them too? Stupid little kid thinking, you know?" She shakes her head softly. "And it was good, actually. Because I learned the rules. I didn't get to go to their games often… but when I did, I wasn't just cheering when the other people in the stands cheered anymore. With what Sae-niisan taught us, I could see the patterns and I actually had fun watching them play and trying to predict what was going to happen." She huffs out a small laugh, sliding the pen back behind her ear. "Little me even used to search out the highest part of the bleachers I could find, just so I could try to see the shapes my brothers did." Reina rests her chin in her now free hand, and tilts her head. "And if there wasn't a game on, Sae-niisan would totally cave and let me watch Chibi Maruko-chan." Her smile curves into an affectionate smirk. "And I bet Rin-niisan will deny it until his dying day, but he totally loved watching that show, too."
'More.'
"So little Reina worked hard in school just to be rewarded with 70s cartoons?"
Reina shakes her head. "Oh, not school. TV was for doing well in language lessons. We had language tutors who would teach us at home. And if we did well during their tests, we could watch some TV. Although," she taps her chin with her finger. "They always put the subtitles in the language we were learning so maybe TV time was part of the lessons? Hmm... sneaky, sneaky. I approve."
'Well, I guess that explains how she's fluent enough in English to study other subjects in it.'
Before he can ask more, she stretches her arms to the sky, before bringing down a hand to hide her yawn.
"Tired?" He asks.
'Tell me why.'
She gives a sleepy nod. "I'm running on four and a half hours of sleep." Then she sulkily looks into her mug. "And I'm out of caffeine, again."
He snorts. "You might actually be addicted."
"No," she sighs, leaning back into her chair and staring into the ceiling. "I'm just nervous."
"Why?"
'Is it because of me?' His cheeks warm. He thinks of what that would mean, if she was nervous because she liked—
"About an hour after I left here yesterday, I got an email that I'd been waiting over three months for. I have an interview tomorrow morning to try for a position with one of the university's research teams. It's an aerodynamics engineering lab and the head of it is ex-JAXA and oh, working under him would be a dream come true. Getting to pick his brain, learn from him, and ask about what it was like to actually be in space." She literally vibrates in excitement, though, her jitters could also be attributable to her excessive caffeine intake. Reina shakes her head to clear herself from her excited daze, but she seems anxious again. "I messaged them a while back for a position, but they were totally dubious because of my age. Still, I pestered them and sent my resume and scores anyways. Then they said they were full, but that one of the students was maybe transferring to another Master's program abroad, so they'd contact me if it happened, and it happened. But since they only gave me two days' notice, I don't have a lot of time to study everything up to snuff. I wanted to go over all the lab's older and more recent papers, and then also review the concepts they're based on, at least once more, so if the interviewers ask me anything about that stuff I can answer it." She frowns. "Because what if I get something wrong, and they think I'm just a dumb-"
"They'd be the dumb ones not to accept you."
"Thanks, Isagi-san." She turns to face him, smiling warmly.
Something in his chest stutters, but he pushes it away. "You should probably get some sleep tonight, then?" He shouldn't care. After all, she was just a way to learn more about Sae, and maybe Rin too. Wasn't she?
"Ohhh?" She switches from abject nervousness to unnecessary pestering-ness frighteningly fast. "And is Japan's number one striker worried about little ol' me?"
He glances at the red rimming her eyes.
'Yeah.'
"I'm not number one in Japan," he says, instead. "Yet." The forward adds.
"So confident?"
"Blue Lock was made to create Japan's best striker. To take three hundred in and churn out just one." His grip around his mug tightens. "I'm going to be that one."
He looks at her, expecting doubt or disbelief. Instead, he sees a quiet understanding. Before he can redirect their conversation, she smirks.
"So modest," she pointedly goads. ('She really doesn't let anything go.') "And even though you just beat the U-20 team by one goal."
"Yeah," Isagi sighs, contemplative. "I guess you're right."
"Hey." Her tone changes. "I was just being annoying. What you all did is an impressive accomplishment."
"No, I can't get carried away. We did only beat the U-20 team by one goal, despite all being trained strikers. And more importantly, when it came to the big game, I was only able to score one goal." He stares into his misty drink, thinking enviously of the two goals by Shidou. "But, I'm going to get better."
"To be honest, I still can't believe you guys won. No offense."
He bristles. 'Offense taken.'
"Calm down, striker. I just mean, well… You guys were playing against actual defenders, actual midfielders, and an actual goalie. I mean, U-20 didn't just have Sai-niisan on their side, they had Japan's best defender Oliver Aiku—"
"Fan of his?" He asks lightly. The idea of her preening over the stupidly tall defender weirdly annoys him, though he doesn't get why. 'Well, it makes her a traitor or something, right?' Wasn't she obligated by blood to be a Blue Lock Eleven fan, or something? (He ignores the fact that his little blood argument works in both directions.)
"Oh please, I didn't know Aiku existed before that game." She shrugs off Isagi's budding ire easily. "I just Coogled each starting player beforehand. I knew I'd end up watching the game, and I like to be an informed viewer."
'Seriously?' He snickers. "An informed viewer? Really?" Because honestly, 'what a dork.'
Her cheeks puff up, and she's clearly about to bite back, but a loud beep-beep interferes. She digs into a pocket in her oversized sweater, and pulls out a cell phone. "Huh. I didn't realize how much time had passed." She pauses to read a message. "Sorry, Isagi-san, but I need to head out."
"Running late somewhere?"
"Not really. Momo-senpai just texted to say her brother agreed to help me go over some Advanced Fluid Mechanics tonight. I need to leave so I can change into something more presentable and still reach his place in time to go over the entirely too many flow equations and aerothermodynamics concepts I'm struggling with." She grimaces. "Viscous fluids suck."
"Oh, does he go to Tokyo U too?" he asks innocently, determinedly ignoring the way his gut coils.
"Yup!" She says, packing her laptop and notebook into her bag.
'You answered that so easily... do you seriously not understand what that sounds like?' Isagi internally frowns. 'Alone, at a college guy's place. And you're going to dress up, too?' He's about to blurt out how maybe her precious interview doesn't mean that much to her if she's just going to spend the night fooling around with—
"But, well," she zips her overstuffed backpack, blissfully unaware of his growing frustration. "I guess he doesn't really 'go' there. He's a physics professor that teaches there. And he's probably so busy, since I think in the past she's mentioned that he has like three kids or something at home. But, Momo-senpai called in a favour because I'm desperate and she's an amazing friend. Still, I know most of Momo-senpai's family is super old-school and fancy, so I should definitely be more respectful. I.e. not be wearing this," she pulls at the sweater, "when I knock at their doorstep for help."
'Stay.' He almost demands, even though he knows he shouldn't. 'I want to go over plays again, that's all.' He justifies. 'Besides, she still owes me that answer from yesterday… about why she's so willing to give up information on her brothers.'
"So I'll see you tomorrow," he hedges.
"Hmm?" Her eyes brighten. "Maybe, maybe. Try asking me nicely Isagi-san," she croons.
"If you leave me unguarded, Megumi-san might actually murder me." He jokingly implores.
"Well you didn't even finish your fancy leaf soup," she nods to his half full mug. "So you might deserve a good scare."
'I was distracted.'
"It's still too sweet," he defends, even though there hadn't been any sugar in his drink. "So what time should I be here tomorrow?"
"I'm still waiting on an invitation," she sing-songs.
"You still owe me an answer from yesterday," he challenges instead.
"And you still owe me my coat." She pulls out a bag from under the table, it's a large paper bag with his jacket. It smells of a light fabric softener, the garment clearly washed and neatly folded. Her cellphone starts ringing. "So I guess I'll see you same time tomorrow, Isagi-san!" She waves, before turning to leave and answering her phone.
I'm a greedy gremlin just like Isagi. Feed me with reviews/comments pretty, pretty please? :')
Thoughts on Isagi being a controlling clean freak? Yay or Nay?
Thoughts on Reina as an OC? Distinct enough or too Mary-Sue? Thoughts?
Did you enjoy the snippets of jealous!Isagi?
Part 2 of this chapter coming up next! We'll see more into his relationship with his parents, and we'll see Isagi start to question if maybe his friendship is too much of a distraction.
Asterisk Notes
*(1) I tried to find an honourific / Japanese suffix used for knight, but the closest I could get was ōji for prince. So she's using it playfully, going with the idea of her teasing him for acting like "Prince Charming"
*(2) Thomas Jefferson
*(3) Totally borrowed the lanes concept from Ao Aishi, though I'm not sure if it originated there, I think it's a known thing in soccer?
*(4) Yes, there were totally some MHA hints in here, and there will continue to be :-D
Preview for future chapters of Onikko
Distracted strikers disappear. Forget about her Isagi Yoichi, or the world will forget about you.
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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.
End of Chapter 2 Part 1