Ch. 10 Epilogue S1
【Shooting Stars】wishes come true
! Spoiler Warning !
This chapter contains spoilers from Ch.124
Rin's POV
'To tell the truth, I feel a bit lonely, but...
«Good Luck, Sae!» Mom called out with a cheerful voice.
«Take care of your health!» Dad followed with proud smile.
'I'll definitely catch up to you...'
I resolved in my heart as I said goodbye to Nii-chan one last time.
«Nii-chan, have a safe trip!»
Nii-chan turned around one last time with a smile on his face.
«See ya. I'm off to become the best in the world.» He said, and pride filled me.
Our moment however didn't last long. I noticed Nii-chan's slight distraction as he looked towards something further beyond me. 'Where are you looking at, Nii-chan?'
I asked myself and turned around.
'Ah-' I thought with a slight sense of disappointment.
'It's them again...' A nasty feeling of jealousy crept up my chest. I didn't like it at all.
After all, I knew Nii-chan much longer than anyone, and yet... until recently, he wouldn't even look at me.
'Nii-chan changed recently, but when did that happen?'
My eyes moved from Nii-chan to his odd group of friends.
They were smiling and yelling some sarcastic encouragements at him.
Nii-chan received it all with an exasperated eye roll and a small grin. The casual and seemingly smooth interaction irked me. I didn't like it all.
It's frustrating to think about how easily Nii-chan warmed up to them. I closed my eyes and turned my attention back to Nii-chan.
Nii-chan's eyes were looking at the girl with ashen colored hair. She was waving at him quietly with a soft smile.
I remember seeing them together before. After school. Near the station. Only the two of them.
Omniscient Reader's POV
She seemed like a nice person, but it was not right. Be it in football or real life, Rin didn't like to share.
«See you.» He heard Sae say. Even though it was left with no clear addressee, Sae's eyes remained on one person.
Before anyone could ponder on it for too long, Sae turned around, and off he was.
Rin watched until Sae disappeared. The doors closed with a shut and suddenly, he felt empty.
Leaving behind a huge gap, Rin felt reality sink in. 'It's lonely.'
And suddenly, Rin felt the ground beneath him give in. His world slowly turned upside down.
He was falling.
Just as Rin was falling into the large abyss, created by Sae's absence, a sliver of light came from the most unexpected place. A hand landed on his head.
«So, what will little Rin do now?~» A smooth deep voice startled him out of his thoughts.
«?!» The teen not liking the sudden contact aggressively brushed the hand away, and he glared at his offender.
Yuusuke's amused grin faced him. His hand still lingered in the air - at the place where Rin's head had been.
Rin wanted to curse but he was wary of his parents.
When he glanced in their direction, he saw them happily chatting with the other teens. They did not notice him nor Yuusuke.
Rin settled down for a silent but lethal glare.
The famous Itoshi Glare - Yuusuke noted with a smile.
Yuusuke had been observing Rin for the past few minutes. And although he was hiding it well, the smaller Itoshi looked positively lost, staring holes at the door as if that could miraculously bring Sae back.
Sighing to himself, Yuusuke decided to help out his friend and intervened.
It would be hard to do Sae's unexpected request, if Rin was to hate him any more than this.
Yuusuke waved his hands in the air innocently and lowered them back to his pockets.
He then slowly pulled out his phone as he checked through some messages.
«Rin, come and hang out with us after this.» Yuusuke stated, in a voice that didn't allow a no.
«Huh? No. I don't want to. Why would I?» Rin replied back coldly.
Yuusuke expected this reply and smiled.
«... You don't have any other plans, anyway. Just come.»
Rin felt his anger burning. He opened his mouth to refute something back, but he couldn't deny his lack of social life.
Except for school and football he spent most of his time with Sae and now that his brother was gone... there was a huge gap.
Sensing Rin's hesitance, Yuusuke decided to press the final button.
«Sae left something behind.»
Rin's eyes shot up with surprise. Yuusuke could visibly see the way Rin seemed to be processing the information. Suddenly, the teen turned around, hiding a smile.
«... I guess... I do have time.» Rin admitted shyly.
Yuusuke laughed in amusement.
Getting along with Rin was going to require some work, but he would get it done... It was a friend's request, after all.
Yuusuke glanced down at the chatroom he had opened a few minutes ago. Quickly typing a response, he then closed it again with a heavy sigh.
Itoshi Sae
Today, five minutes ago
Sae:
Look after Rin for me.
Yuusuke:
WTF
Dude!
Say that earlier 💀
...
Sae:
You're useless.
—
Sent now
Yuusuke:
F-ck you
I did it.
Sae: *thumbs up emoji*
Yuusuke:
I'll keep my eyes on Yui as well
Sae:
-.-
Go d*e you f-ckin rat.
You're gross.
Waste of an oxygen.
A laugh escaped Yuusuke's lips when he read through Sae's reply. The list of slurs Sae sent him kept growing by the second but he couldn't stop laughing.
The Itoshi siblings always had amusing reactions in his opinion. However, Sae was worried over nothing.
'I guess, I should tell him one day.' Yuusuke pondered as his eyes went into the direction Sae left. In a way, he felt conflicted whether to share his secret with Sae or not.
Except for Megumi and Shuu, not even the others knew of the secret that concerned Yui and him.
Yuusuke glanced over at Yui who was currently talking to Rin with a kind smile on her face.
As if she felt his glance on her, the girl shifted her face towards him. He smiled and gave a thumbs up, before turning away to type on his phone with a sigh.
It wasn't his decision to make, Yuusuke concluded his dilemma for now.
Yuusuke:
It's a joke
Calm down bro
I'll send some candid pics over ✌︎('ω')✌︎
Yuusuke waited for a moment. Seeing how the slurs and threats stopped, he figured that Sae was either busy or pleased.
Putting his phone away, he was about to return to the others, when suddenly his phoned dinged again.
Yuusuke opened it. The moment he saw the message on LINE, he nearly choke on his spit.
Sae:
You better delete them right after.
Yuusuke laughed. He wondered how Sae would react, once he learned the truth, that...
Yui and Yuusuke shared a blood connection.
The years went by. Their life changed with the departure of Sae. Especially the lives of the two Itoshi siblings.
Heeding Sae's request, Yuusuke made it his task to adopt the introverted, moody younger Itoshi into their ranks.
Rin - contrary to everyone's first impression - turned out to be far more hot-headed and emotional than expected. His frankness was a stark resemblance to Sae, and yet Rin certainly had quite the temper, much bigger than his older brother could ever have.
The openminded and fun loving group had no qualms about letting Rin join them. Instead, most of them had taken to adopt and spoil their newest youngest member at every opportunity they got.
Except for Megumi and Takao, the majority of them were basically raised without any siblings, and as thus cute, little, (spoiled) Rin basically appeared at the perfect time for them to dote on.
Timeskip
«Rin-chan, see? This is the famous pro tennis player Elaine from France! Isn't she cool?»
Two years after Sae's departure, the teens were sitting at their usual spot on the wall that separated the streets from the beach.
In front of them the sun was slowly setting.
Rin looked over at the brunette that had a sports magazine open on his leg.
«Huh?» Rin replied with a cold sigh. «Like I said I don't care about te-»
It's been two years and An was still insisting on getting him into tennis. By now, any normal person would have given up a hundred times over. He just figured that An was anything but normal.
«Shush. And this here is! Oh! Look there's an article of Sae's here. Ew!» An frowned wanting to throw it away when Rin quickly snatched it out of her hands.
She sighed.
Takao chuckled and shook his head. «Let him be, An. Sae's been too busy to respond lately.»
«I guess someone's lonely...» Yuusuke added with a smirk. He glanced at Rin from the corner of his eyes.
Rin opened his mouth to reply but closed it again, instead setting for a short glare.
«So? What does it say?» Megumi peeked in from her spot at the railing, lurking above them.
Rin quickly skimmed through the article a small smile appeared on his face as he read the good news.
«Nii-chan's doing well. Coaches have started to shown an interest in him and he will move up into the higher ranks soon.» Rin could barely contain the excitement in his voice.
A wave of resolution went through him as he clenched the magazine in his hands tightly.
Rin was eager to get better and stronger. He was eager to meet his brother soon, and passion overflew in him.
'I need to hurry and get scouted soon! Nii-chan was thirteen when he got scouted so I too should-'
Pats. A heavy thumping sound on his head got him back to the reality at hand.
«Take it in strides, Rin. You're getting too heated again.» Shuu's calm and reassuring voice cut through Rin's excitement.
The raven head blushed at the older male's voice. Shuu, in a sense reminded Rin of the ideal person he always wanted to be. As such, he was someone Rin looked up to.
«I know.» Rin argued back trying to act gruff and maintain his dignity. 'What's up with everyone treating me like a child!' He pouted to himself.
«Rin, let me see?» Ageha chirped in happily and quickly snatched it from Rin's hands in his temporary moment of carelessness.
The pretty blond then continued to show it to herself and Yui, who read the article with an immersed smile.
Rin's eyes fell to the girl. He still had mixed feelings about the whole thing between his brother and her.
After hanging out with them for the past two years, there were more questions than answers, but at least, he no longer disliked her.
Instead...
«I'm so happy for him.» Yui smiled brightly at the magazine, with a fond look in her eyes.
... There were these strange moments dissonance...
Rin watched as everyone crowded around the girl sharing their moment of joy.
He didn't know much about feelings, but it wasn't hard for him to see how much Yui cared for his brother.
... Like small cracks that randomly appeared in their peaceful world...
There was something about the purity and sincerity of their feelings, that made Rin paused briefly.
He thought he hated her.
He thought that he could never get along with someone who would steal his brother away from him.
In a way, Yui was his greatest nemesis and rival when it comes to his brother's attention.
He tried to put his guard up against her.
He tried to push her away, and to keep it that way.
But Rin couldn't dislike someone who meant him no harm.
In truth, he found it particularly hard to dislike Yui, for she was just like ... a sweet older sister to him.
Rin frowned. 'Your presence is still so huge, even though you left me, Nii-chan.'
He finished his popsicle in annoyance.
Before Rin could think too much about it, he had opened his phone and quietly sent a message to Sae.
Spain 9:40pm.
The mechanic doors to the showers opened up with a soft beep. The shadow of a well-built teenage boy sprawled across the dark marbled floor.
«Oh, Sae. Good work today. Your phone keeps turning on.» One of the other Junior Players greeted him.
«I see.» Sae replied back bristly as he walked to his locker.
In his two years here, Sae had managed to pick up a bit of the Spanish language.
He was fluent enough to hold a conversation with everyone, but rarely showed it, unless necessarily.
The world of world-class football was a competitive one. A literal dog eat dog world with each man for themselves.
It took him some time to adapt to the muddied waters he suddenly found himself in, but now... finally after two years, he was ready to scale the tip of the mountain.
Sae looked at the bracelet on his right hand and clenched it tightly. «Just what are those idiots up to now.»
Sae grabbed his phone slightly tired and fatigued as he swiped through the unopened chats. He soon arrived at the the messages he had been looking for.
Sano Yuusuke
Itoshi Rin
Deciding to keep Yuusuke's for later, he opened Rin's message.
—
Itoshi Rin
Rin
Someone's happy for you.
Rin's message contained these simple words with a photo attached to it.
Sae recognized the surroundings immediately. In the back he could see the familiar railings and glimpses of the beach far-stretched behind them.
The reddish hue signaled the end of a day. In the middle of it all, Sae saw his friends smiling faces. They were all bunched up and huddled around Yui who was hovering over a magazine with a bright smile on her face.
Sae quietly stared at it for a moment as the light in his eyes slowly returned. He felt a familiar warmth spread through his body. It didn't show, but Sae was smiling.
Silently without another word, Sae saved that picture. It was yet another addition to his every growing album of candid shots of Yui, as well as one more wallpaper to set.
Itoshi Rin
Rin
Someone's happy for you.
Sae
...
Delete it.
He then went to check on Yuusuke's message and froze.
Sano Yuusuke
Yuusuke
He looks like you
This time Sae was greeted with a behind of Rin clenching his fist tightly as he looked towards the horizon with a determined look in his eyes.
Since it was taken from an upper point of view Sae could see the open Sports Magazine on Rin's lap.
'News sure travel fast.' Sae thought as he saved and forwarded it to Rin.
Later that day, Rin would arrive home and see the candid shot Yuusuke had taken of him without his knowledge.
Embarrassed and enraged, Rin decided to fight fire with fire and it was the start of of a Saga of 'Who can take the 'best/worst candid shot of each other'. All pictures were to be sent to Sae who had unknowingly become the judge, after kindling the fire.
It was already night time, when Sae returned back to his dorms. He would have to wake up early tomorrow again, and as such he wanted nothing more than to sleep. Just as he was about to climb into his bed, his phone lit up again.
Usually he would just ignore it, but maybe because the earlier messages had put him in a good mood, he decided to not ignore it today.
His eyes widened slightly in surprise when he saw the sender, as his heart beat quickened.
Nakahara Yui
Yui
Good evening Sae. It should be night for you right now, right? We heard the news of your promotion! Just wanted to let you know that we are proud of you and...
I believe in you.
Rest well and goodnight Sae.
Sae's eyes softened at the warm message. He decided to respond at a later time and call it a day for now. However, he couldn't help but remember the memories her words of trust and faith brought forth.
The fireworks that had been burnt so deeply in his mind two years ago were still vividly blooming, even now.
Nakahara Yui
Yui
Rest well and goodnight Sae.
Sae
Goodnight. Till we meet again.