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Chapter Text

"For the first Blue Lock selection round, the five teams in each wing will have a round-robin tournament." Ego repeated, continuing his speech. "Win a game and you get three points. If a game ends in a draw, you get one point. Lose and you get zero points. At the end of all ten matches, the top two teams will remain here, and the bottom three will be eliminated and all their team members will be forced to leave Blue Lock. 

"Upon leaving, they'll lose the right to play for the Japan national team."

Although Isagi couldn't read minds, he had a feeling that everybody in the room thought "I refuse to become one of those people." Or something like that.

"However!" Ego's voice was like a knife cutting through the butter that was the tense atmosphere. "Players from the three losing teams will have a chance for a comeback. Once all the matches are over, each team will have a "Top Scorer". Whoever scores the most goals on each team gets to move on the next round."

Isagi snorted. ...Ego might as well have just thrown a juicy lob of steak at a pack of starving dogs... Everybody's going to be gunning for Top Scorer now.

"If there's a tie between members of the same team, we'll use a "fair play point" system. One yellow card is minus a point. Two yellow cards in a game is suspension and minus three points. A red card gets you four less points and a red card after a yellow card mean five less points. Whoever has the least penalty points will be the winner." Hyper threw up his hand. Ego stared at him before continuing. "In the event that all the points are the same, whoever is ranked highest will advance." Hyper threw his hand down. 

""My own goals" or "The teams victory". This first selection will test your destinies as strikers!

"This is the battle to rebuild soccer from zero. The first match is in two hours. Team X versus Team Z!"

As Ego's face was taken over by static, Slimy started to speak.

"Okay, we only have two hours to plan. The first thing we should figure out is who plays what position."

"That's easy! I'm going to be the striker!" Shark Boy declared.

Isagi closed his eyes, a weary sigh on his lips.

3... 2... 1...

"What?!"

"Ehhh???"

"Who would want you as a forward?! I should be the striker!"

"No, me!"

Isagi covered his ears, his eyes screwing shut. This not only loud, but stupid as fuck.

Slimy tried to get everybody to quiet down, but he was too inefficient at it. Fucking doormat.

The volume got so loud that Isagi couldn't block them out anymore. 

Isagi grumbled under his breath. Fine.

"Shut up." They all shut up.

Isagi's glare swept across the room, and all the players collectively felt like they had just been caught bringing mud into the house by their mother.

"If you can't handle acting older than a two year old, then at the very least be quieter. Go play Rock, Paper, Scissors in the corner or something. Save the fighting for when red cards can be handed out."

Isagi continued to grumble under his breath as he leaned against the wall, hands still firmly placed over his ears as the other boy's began to play Rock, Paper, Scissors.

"Aren't you going to play?" Banana asked.

"No. I'm not your freaking baby-sitter."

The game ended with Icicles as the winner.

An hour later, the 'team' in the locker rooms planing strategy. 

Shark Boy still had many complaints, but at the very least he kept most of them at grumbling level.

Isagi finished putting on the jersey and pants on top of his Blue Lock jumpsuit just as Slimy called everyone to attention. 

"Okay everyone! The members of Team X are Ranks 243 through 253. For this first match, we'll use the formation as decided by Rock, Paper, Scissors, but we don't have time for a more detailed strategy. Gagamaru-kun won and chose center-forward, so let's focus are strategy around him!"

Bachira—Yay, I remembered his name—nodded cheerfully as he pulled his jersey on. "Got it!"

Hyper had been whining and complaining to himself for a while, which was annoying, but he wasn't the only one.

"Aww, I don't wanna play defense..." Mascara whined. 

Ugh.

Shark Boy tilted his head from left to right, a grin on his face. "We've just gotta win, right? Piece of cake!"

"Don't jinx it, Shark Boy." Isagi muttered as he put his hair up in a messy bun, putting in the brown/gold clip that reminded him of the gold button he had as a hashira.

"Shut it, you son of a—"

Everybody ignored the small grunt of pain that totally didn't happen.

Totally.

Coward turned to Square-Face with a teasing grin. "Do you know how to goal-keep? Don't screw it up!"

Square-Face scowled at the the thick gloves on his hands. "I lost the game, so i have no choice. I'm not doing it because I want to."

Apples glanced around, somewhat nervous. "'We've just gotta win'... Right..?"

This game isn't going to go well with players like these.

Team Z had been stretching on Wing 5's Central Field for a solid ten minutes before Overachiever announced, "Team X is here." 

Isagi glanced up to find eleven players entering the field. None of them looked particularly friendly, nor did they look particularly professional.

Then again. Isagi's gaze focused on #10 from the other team. Not all of them are hopeless. 

#10, who had a face gruff enough to match Square-Face, had an aura that spoke of confidence and intimidation. 

Although he bet he spends a solid thirty-five minutes getting ready. That hair cannot stick up like that naturally. 

He sort of looks like a Gorilla... 

"Now then," Ego's voice came over the intercom. "The matches in Wing 5 will be forty-five minutes long."

"Team X versus Team Z, kickoff!"

Isagi stood near Bachira, loosening up his legs in preparation of running.

"You scared Isagi?" Bachira asked curiously. Bachira grinned when Isagi shook his head. "Let's have fun!" Bachira chirped. "You can't win at soccer if you don't!"

Isagi nodded. Bachira's correct. If this game is boring, then I have no real reason to give it my all.

Isagi watched, detached, as Icicles ran forward, three people from the other team charging at him.

Icicles skidded, eyes going right then left as he tried to figure out how to get the ball past them when—

Shark Boy slammed into Icicles, stealing the ball from him.

"Raichi?!"

Shark Boy grinned viciously. "Whoever scores the most points wins, right? Don't start talking about teammates, I'm gonna do this my own way!"

"Fair enough, Raichi." Overachiever ran past Shark Boy, and suddenly Overachiever had the ball. "If that's the way things are done here, then I'll fight solo too. Fair and square."

Isagi sighed. And so it begins.

He watched at Team Z began to fight over the ball, and Team X joined in. Isagi had to dodge a kick to the shins. He scooted away from the chaos, not wanting to be caught in the wrestle for the ball.

This... this isn't soccer. It isn't even a game.

Isagi pursed his lips. What would Tanjiro do? Or Genya? Isagi thought about it for a moment, before he snorted in amusement. Never mind, Tanjiro would try and break them apart worried for the players safety, and Genya would just jump into the brawl for the stupid ball. 

Guess I'll just wait until the ball escapes that pathetic attempt of Beehive Soccer—

Isagi's eyes widened slightly as Gorilla shoved Shark Boy and Overachiever out of the way, allowing him to take control of the ball and break through the mass of limbs.

Gorilla shot forward, and that's when Isagi realized that he was right in the way of the larger player.

Huh.

"Get out of my way." Gorilla snarled. "Or I'll destroy you." He was clearly trying to be intimidating. It might have worked on Isagi in another life.

But definitely not this one.

Isagi sighed. He could feel his focus drifting.

I was right. This match is boring.

And that right there doomed the match.

(Anyone who truly knew Isagi and how he plays soccer (which is practically no one) could tell you that if the word "boring" comes from Isagi during a soccer game, then there was no possible way for Isagi's team to win.

After all, to get Isagi to his full potential, he has to feel the adrenaline that one gets in a life or death situation. He must have fun.)

Chapter Text

As Gorilla charged at him, Isagi wondered if he should at the very least pretend to try.

But if the game doesn't get me that rush... then should I really try?

"Isagi!" Somebody (I think it was Mascara..?) yelled. "Block him!"

Fine...

Isagi meets Gorilla head on, trying to snag the ball from the other boy.

Gorilla responds with a heel lift.

Isagi watches as the ball flies over him and lands in front of the constantly moving Gorilla.

"Oops."

Isagi turns to find Slimy and Coward trying to block Gorilla, only for him to nutmeg his way through both of them.

Huh.

Isagi watched apathetically as Gorilla kicks the ball from several feet away from the goal.

Square-face's eyes are wide and disbelieving. Isagi notes with no small amount of judgment that the goalie seems to be in shock, and stares blankly at the ball as it slams into the net.

Isagi glances at the score board. 1 - 0.

Team X exploded into cheers, the whole lot of them jumping up and down, but Isagi keep his attention on the Gorilla. 

"Listen up, you fucking plebs." The idiot began, his voice echoing throughout the field. Great, a superiority complex. Fun. "To me the ball isn't my friend or anything like that. It's just a round servant that makes me look good." Gorilla sneered. "On the field, I am king."

More like a Walmart knock-off...

All of Team X somehow got even louder as they encircled Gorilla. Two Team X nobodies even started practically hanging off of Gorilla.

"Nice one, Barou!" Nobody #1 said far too loudly for how close they were to Gorilla. (No I am not going to even try and remember this Walmart Prince's name, screw off.)

"King Barou!" Nobody #2 cheered. The nickname spread, causing the whole of Team X to start chanting it.

Are these people actually supporting this snobby bastard's obvious false sense of superiority?! You know what, I give up on the sanity of humanity...

Isagi sighed and turned away from the celebrating team to find his idiotic team fighting over who should control the ball more.

Is Blue Lock really worth the brain cells I'm loosing just being around this team? 

"Team Z, please resume play."

Finally...

Privately in him own mind, Isagi thought to himself, It would be so satisfying to beat Gorilla Prince in this game... But that wouldn't get the adrenaline going. It would just be a fucking one-on-one the whole game. If Team Z works together better than whatever the hell they're doing right now, then I might actually play. (Maybe...) But I can't get excited with this floppy excuse of a team... Isagi shrugged. Guess I won't play today.

Isagi watched apathetically as the same thing that happening during the first goal started happening again and again. 

Team Z would get the ball, and they would instantly devolve into 'Who can keep the ball the longest'. Then someone from Team X, most likely Gorilla Prince, would steal the ball away and score a goal no matter what Team Z did to try and stop them. Then the score would go up and Team Z would fight amongst themselves until Ego had to remind them a game was going on.

Kami, this is a mess. Entertaining to watch, but a mess.

Isagi pursed his lips as he half-heartedly jogged around while pretending to pay attention.

Although...

Isagi tilted his head as he studied Team X more closely. They also were playing the whole 'The ball is MINE' game until Gorilla Prince scored a goal.

"This is a battle to build soccer from zero!"

Gorilla Prince's goal brought his team together, and they started to act like an actual group of people with a collective goal in mind.

Is this what Ego meant? I'm sure there's way more but I guess that could be what he meant when one thinks about it on surface level.

Isagi sighed, a spark of amusement in his eyes as he watched Team Z yet again fail to keep the ball away from Team X and each other. I can think about it later. This is much more entertaining.

5 - 0, Team X, Three minutes left...

Isagi was crouched down to the ground, eyes misty. He had stopped even pretending to pay attention to the game two goals ago.

Boring. I'm sort of thinking of actually trying to get a goal, if only to stop feeling so bored...

"Aaah..." Bachira's sigh caused Isagi to glance at the only player that Isagi considered at the very least adequate. Bachira had, similar to him, seemed to have somewhat given up trying to work together with the rest of Team Z. 

1 for Bachira, 0 for Team Z, I guess...

"We're just running in circles." Bachira mumbled. "There's no way we can win in three minutes." Bachira glanced at Isagi. Isagi raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"We might be able to get a point, you and me."

"...Mn." Was Isagi's reluctant reply.

Bachira took the answer for encouragement and continued. "They're up by five, so they're getting lax." He motioned to Team X. "We might be able to score if we don't cover any of them is what I think."

Bachira fully turned to Isagi.

"Wanna try?"

Isagi sort of felt like a small puppy was looking up at him with big, pleading, watery eyes.

Damnit...

"...sure..."

Why not. Might even get to put Gorilla Prince in his place.

Chapter Text

"They're up by five, so they're getting lax. We might be able to score if we don't cover any of them is what think. Wanna try?"

"...sure..."

Bachira grinned, obviously delighted by Isagi's answer.

"I'll draw their attention. We only have one chance while their guard is down. I'll lob one up, and you shoot it."

Isagi nodded. Seems easy enough.

"We'll meet in front of the goal!"

"Mn."

BEEP

Isagi passed the ball to Bachira before bolting away and down the field. Several surprised voices of his teammates followed after him, but he ignored them. Glancing behind him, Isagi found that Bachira was expertly avoiding other players, dipping and twisting around them so they couldn't even try and snag the ball away from him.

Looking forward again, Isagi couldn't help but think, This may not get me the adrenalin spike I want, but it also no longer feels boring. Guess I can thank Bachira for that.

When Isagi was a couple feet away from the goal, he looked behind him again to see Bachira kicking the ball at him with a grin. The ball flew across the grass, landing right on Isagi's still moving feet.

Isagi didn't smile, he hadn't smiled since he remembered his past life (A world without Tanjiro's carefree grin or Genya's small smile isn't a world worth my own smirk), but he could feel the muscles in his face twitching like they wanted to grin.

Isagi glanced up to stare at the goalie.

Now to—

"Hey, #11." Gorilla Prince ran in front of Isagi, a scowl on his face. "Don't try to show me up."

Isagi gritted his teeth, quickly stopping himself and the ball.

"I already told you I'm the king. Try and get past me, loser."

This bastard!

Isagi was about to try and kick the ball through Barou's legs when two different voices called out.

"Isagi, behind you!"

"Pass it!"

Isagi glanced behind him. Shark Boy was to his right, and Overachiever to his left. Both were running to him, but Overachiever had one guy from Team X not too far behind him. 

"I'll do it!" Shark Boy yelled.

"No, me! Over here!" Overachiever called.

Meanwhile, Gorilla Prince was about to lunge forward.

"Tch." Isagi rolled his eyes. As if I would pass it. I want to become the best, not help someone else become the best.

He turned to face Gorilla Prince, intending to shoot, before the distant memory of a voice stopped him.

"Helping others often ends up helping yourself." The brown-red haired boy spoke, smile bright and eye's innocent. 

Isagi sighed at the memory, eyes glancing over a touch. I'll trust you again, Tanjiro. After all...

Isagi tapped the ball, sending it flying at Overachiever.

...you were always much wiser and kinder that I was.

Shark Boy let out a surprised, "Ah!" at the action, but Isagi just narrowed his eyes in satisfaction.

As the ball tumbled over to him, Overachiever shouted out, "Nice pass, Isagi!"

One of Team X's players yelled out in disbelief. "No way he can score from that far away!"

A normal person would have called Isagi's act regress and dumb. After all, Shark Boy didn't have a person practically glued to his back, not to mention he had a better position to score.

But Isagi still remembered that game of tag.

And his intuition was nearly never wrong.

Overachiever leaped forward, reared his leg back, and he punted the ball. It went flying forward, basically in a straight line.

The goalie couldn't even reach the ball.

The sort whoosh of the ball hitting the net seemed to echo louder than any thunderclap.

Vmm. One point for Team Z

"Yes..." Overachiever whispered, before punching the air and letting out a "HELL YEAH!"

Isagi nodded to himself. That boy's leg power is terrifying. Impressive, but terrifying.

The back of Isagi's neck prickled and he quickly stepped to the side to avoid Shark Boy's lunge at him. Shark Boy was surprised for a moment before anger over took him again and he began to yell.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING ISAGI?! WHY'D YOU PASS TO KUNIGAMI?! I WAS WAY MORE OPEN THAT HE WAS!"

Isagi ignored the impulse to smack Shark Boy's neck and knock him unconscious. Instead, he rolled his eyes.

"And yet Mr. Overachiever over there scored. Geez, I wonder why I passed to him."

"Y-You bastard! ARE YOU AN IDIOT?!" Shark Boy started to step forward, but Slimy quickly tried to intervene. 

"Stop it, Raichi! We still got a point!"

Shark Boy glared at Slimy. "Are you an idiot too?! What's so great about someone else scoring a goal when we're just gonna lose 1-5?!

"You heard the rules, right? This match proved that a puny team like us has no chance of winning normally! Only the one with the most points at the end gets to stay here!" Shark Boy turned back to Isagi, his anger returning full volume. "BUT YOU WASTED THAT CHANCE ON A PASS?!! WHY THE HELL DID YOU EVEN COME HERE? HUH??"

Isagi narrowed his eyes. That's it, I'm kicking this bastard in the dick.

"Hey, #11."

I want one minute of no one talking to me. Just one. 

Isagi turned to face the Gorilla Prince. "What?"

Gorilla Prince sneered at him. "Anyone who loses their nerve in front of the goal isn't cut out to be a striker.

"You don't have what it takes."

Isagi's eyes went cold, and he was about to retort when the loud BEEP BEEP!! signifying the end of the game stopped him.

The entire of Team X screamed in victory, and Gorilla Prince turned away. Shark Boy grumbled something under his breath before storming away from Isagi.

Sitting down on the ground, Isagi flopped on his back and stared, misty eyed, at the celling.

'You don't have what it takes', he says?

Isagi closes his eyes. Well then. Next time we meet on a field, I'll flatten you. Bet it won't even take all of my effort.

Chapter Text

After that disaster of a soccer game, Isagi couldn’t help but desperately hope for a solid ten minutes of silence in the locker room.

He wasn’t surprised when that hope was quickly dashed as Shark Boy opened his big mouth.

“It was a mistake to make Gagamaru center forward in the first place. Next match, I should be the one on top!”

“No, me! Gagamaru did a crappy job, but we’ll win if I’m forward!”

Loud complaints and arguments followed that, the already hot and miserable air feeling more disgusting as their loud voices filled the room. Sweaty bodies moved constantly, several boys flinging off shirts without a care in a world, and most not even having the decency to try and dry themselves.

Decency, hygiene, and silence is all I want. That, and one peaceful locker room day… thats all I ask… Then again, the only way that might happen is with teething over there six feet under… No. Bad Isagi. No thinking about murder with witnesses around.

Isagi plopped down on one of the locker benches, throwing a towel on his face in an attempt to ignore the other boys.

Isagi’s mind slipped from one topic to another, before the words “You don’t have what it takes.” started to repeat again and again in his head.

Damnit. Guess that stupid narcissist’s words affected me more than I thought. Annoying.

Isagi sighed as he sat up and rubbed the towel on his hair studying the arguing boys critically.

Do they ever stop arguing—

“Give it a rest already, all of you!” Slimy yelled, his voice silencing any other words. (Does nobody in this place know how to put on and keep on a fucking shirt—) “Playtime’s over!”

Huh. “Slimy’s got a set of lungs on ‘em.” Slipped past Isagi’s lips unwillingly, dry sarcasm dripping from every letter. Oops.

Fortunately, it seemed Bachira was the only one that heard him, and all the banana boy did was glance at Isagi with amusement before focusing back on Slimy.

“—Listen—“ Ah, he had started talking already. “This selection round is a round-robin tournament for five teams. Only the top two teams get to stay. Hypothetically, if every team got two wins and two losses, we’d all have six points.

“That means that our goal is to end with more than six points. We need seven!”

Yay… Do note all sarcasm.

“Of course, the situation will change if there are lots of draws, but we need at least two wins and a draw. There’s a high chance that this is the borders we’ll have to get across!

“In other words, no matter what team it is, if they lose twice, there’s no way that they can get seven points to win. The moment a team gets its second loss, it puts them in the dead zone, like before a yellow light turns red.

“This team is already one loss away from the end! That’s why we can’t just be thinking of ourselves right now, if we don’t seriously think about how to win, it’s over for all of us!”

The other boys glanced at each other, lips pursed and eyes grim. They clearly knew that Slimy was right, but didn’t like it one bit.

Isagi sighed. He’s… not wrong. I, I guess I’ll try harder next match. As much as playing with this team bores me, I don’t wanna completely sever my soccer career just yet. However… give me a couple more excruciatingly boring matches and I might change my mind…

“…Then do you have sort of idea?” Hyper asked, hesitating.

“Not… Not yet.” Slimy reluctantly admitted.

“That’s not helpful!” Hyper grumbled.

Isagi groaned before flopping down on the bench again. If this evolves into another yelling match I’m going to bed early.

“I have an idea.”

Overachiever’s steady voice brought everyone’s attention back to him, including Isagi, who immediately sat up after Overachiever spoke. Something about Overachiever’s voice was sort of calming to Isagi, and it nearly always caught his attention for some reason. He only let himself be confused on that fact for a moment before shrugging it off and focusing on what Overachiever was saying.

“The goal I got wouldn’t have happened without Bachira and Isagi. I think that goal is a clue on how to win.”

Isagi frog blinked. “…”

That… Isagi flopped on his back again. I’m not gonna comment.

At the moment, Isagi was the perfect picture of calm.

Shark Boy went in very much the other direction. “GIMME A BREAK, MUSCLE-HEAD!” Shark Boy was basically a dog with rabies at this point, barking at the edge of where he sat and spitting furiously. “You’re just trying to get them to pass to you so you can score more goals and be the top striker!!”

Bachira put in his own two cents from the corner. “But that was an amazing goal! Definitely the best goal in that game. If we do that a bunch, we can win!”

Isagi glanced at Bachira only to instantly regret it. Bachira didn’t seem to understand the world “boundaries”. Being naked in the baths was one thing, (not that Isagi bathed while the other boys were there anyway) but being but naked in the locker rooms where everyone can see you without even trying to hide it?

Thats a new level of shamelessness right there. Then again… Isagi glanced down, eyebrows steadily rising. He’s got nothing to be ashamed of…

“Right Isagi~? Right, right~?” Bachira’s excited questioning brought Isagi’s attention back up to the other boy’s voice.

Isagi had to sit there for a solid minute before figuring out what Bachira was asking. He just shrugged and poured the rest of the water all over his face, trying to wake himself up.

“You idiot!” Mascara glared at Bachira, face in a near pout. “There’s no way we can keep making lucky shots like that one! And put on some pants!”

Coward let out a sigh that was basically a whine. “I still don’t understand have eleven forwards on one soccer team…” He looked around the room, his eyes droopy, like he was begging for a reasonable explanation.

Sorry. Not going to get any reasonable explanations here.

“Does this have some kind of special meaning too? Like when we played tag? Is this more of Ego’s egoist training?”

“Are you going to keep asking stupid questions?” Isagi mumbled.

Coward gaped at Isagi. “Where did that come from??”

“I see. The answer’s yes then.”

“What does that mean?!”

Apples slammed the refrigerator door shut, water bottle in hand. “I don’t think everything Ego’s saying is true.” He settled down, leaning against the wall. “I mean, he said this is to win the World Cup, and he was talking about World-Class strikers like C. Ronaldo, Messi, and Cantona. Not all of them have won the World Cup.”

He paused to take a sip of water.

“But, he did say ‘This is a battle to rebuild soccer from zero’. I think that might be a clue.”

Contemplating silence filled the room.

Isagi pursed his lips. I guess I could tell them what I was thinking during the match…

At this point, Isagi was on his back with his head hanging precariously over the bench he was laying on. He looked ridiculous. And bored.

“I know what the whole zero to one shit’s about.” All eyes turned to Isagi, who had brought his hands up to his face and was flicking to the bits of dirt out from under his nails like some upside down spoiled rich girl.

“Spit it out.” Shark Boy called out, an annoyed wrinkle between his eyebrows.

Isagi hummed lazily. “In the beginning of the match — if it can even be called that. It was more like a cheesy ‘every man for himself’ scene in a shitty space movie — both this useless excuse of a team and Team…” He trailed off, pursing his lips. What were they called again..?

“Whatever-their-letter-was, were both playing some sort of knock-off beehive soccer on steroids. Then, His Highness Prince Gorilla scored a goal, turning his team’s ‘0 points’ to ‘1 point’.

“He turned a zero into a one.”

Isagi paused to get a particularly stubborn piece of dirt out from his nails before continuing without glancing at the other players.

“Then, his team actually got their shit together and actually started playing, with everybody just passing to the Gorilla Prince. Meanwhile, our group of boys became a free for all that always ended with Team something-or-other scoring.

“To create that actual team, G.P. used skill and overwhelming talent to turn a 0 into a 1. After that, 1 can go to 10, 100, 1000, and so on.”

Coward nodded thoughtfully. “I see. The striker is someone crazy who can turn ‘zero’ into ‘one’ and then the midfielders and defense turn that into ‘ten’ or a ‘hundred’…” He shrugged. “Makes sense, I guess.”

Slimy rubbed his chin, thinking. “Indeed. I normally don’t think very deeply about that kind of stuff…” He trailed off, lips pursed in consideration.

“So did Ego make a system where whoever gets the most points gets to stay in order to make us feel all that stuff?” Mascara asked.

“Maybe.” Everybody focused on Isagi again, who had changed his position to lying on his chest, arms crossed and head laying on them. “But that rule dragged out everybody’s ego and made everyone go back to fucking cave man age and everything became a free-for-all as everyone only focused on stealing the ball for themselves. And the only people who survived that hell hole of clashed egos,

“Can become a true team.”

Isagi sighed as he closed his eyes and put his face on his arms.

“Soccer and teams are born from an overwhelming striker. That’s Ego’s message to us, I guess.” He mumbled.

“Yep, you’re getting warmer.” The TV turned on, showing Ego’s face.

“Hiya, you lumps of talent.”

Bachira grinned to himself as he listened to Ego’s speech about strikers cause “revolution” and how we “must take up arms” and “do it using your own personal weapons”.

So… interesting~! I’m starting to get fired up!

Blue Lock’s been so fun. Bachira thought cheerfully. I wonder if Isagi is getting the same rush I am right now…

Bachira glanced to where Isagi lay, only to find Isagi on his side with his back to the room, obviously sleeping.

Bachira had to hold back laughter.

Usually I’m the one who falls asleep during speeches and meetings!

When Bachira had first met Isagi in that game of tag, his Monster wouldn’t stop rambling about him.

The rambling mostly consisted of normal ‘pass’ and ‘steal’ comments that cane from playing soccer with his Monster. But his Monster also kept muttering ‘blue one interesting’, ‘blue one mind weird’, ‘blue one pretty’.

The most consistent muttering, however, was ‘mine, ours, mine’.

Just from that alone, Bachira had become instantly interested in the ‘blue one’, Isagi Yoichi.

And from the match they just had, Bachira couldn’t help but agree with his Monster…

“The beings known as first-class strikers all have their own original weapons that no one else has!! Probe your depths!! Wrack your brains!! Find out what only you can do with your body and mind!! Achiving the revolution known as a “goal” can be done with your own weapons!!”

…Isagi certainly was pretty when playing, even if he wasn’t actually trying to win.

“That’s the only place where you’ll find victory.” Ego disappeared from the screen, his words bouncing through the locker room.

I want to see just how pretty Isagi is when he plays with everything he has~~!

(Although I don’t really get what my Monster ment by ‘mine’…)

Chapter Text

After Isagi had been so rudely awoken from his post-game match nap, (“And yes, Bachira, I’m still mad at you for that. Even if the others were the ones that made you wake me up.” “Awwwww…”), the whole team had grabbed and devoured dinner before getting ready for bed and going back to the Team-Z room.

Isagi immediately jumped into his sleeping bag (“That’s what this is, yes?” “Isagi, do you live under a rock?!” “No. I live in a house.”) and steadfastly decided to ignore everything else that was happening in the room. 

Somebody’ll explain everything to me later…

Chigiri sat on top of his sleeping bag, curled into a ball as he watched the chaos that was the Team-Z room.

Everybody was all over the place, talking loudly and some were even fighting.

Why must the people I have to live with for the moment be like this..?

"Guys!" Kuon's voice called everyone's attention to himself, and as people began to calm down and focus some, Kuon continued speaking. "Ego talked about us 'going to war' and 'using weapons', so if we're going to start winning matches, we'll need to plan around said weapons. We must therefore start by telling everyone our weapons."

After a silent agreement, everybody started calling out what their weapons were.

Bachira, who was swaying from side to side and seemed to be half asleep already, went first. "My weapon is dribbling."

"My weapon is my incredible shooting technique!" Raichi said, his expression daring anyone to challenge him. "And my motto is 'sexy soccer'!"

No one commented on the last bit, even if they all clearly wanted to.

Gagamaru scratched his chin before saying, "Mine is tackling, I guess."

"Getting behind the enemy!" was Naruhaya's.

"Left leg shooting power." was Kunigami's.

"Speed and technique." was Imamura's.

"Allrounder." was Iemon's.

No one payed attention to Igarashi's declaration of "Mine is my relentless spirit!"

"Mine is jumping power." Kuon said as he carefully wrote down everyone's weapon's in a notebook. "So, next is Isagi-kun."

Everyone turned to look at Isagi.

Who was wrapped up in his sleeping bag, clearly awake, if only barely, and ignoring all of them.

"Isagi-kun..?" Kuon carefully nudged Isagi's balled up form with the pen in his hand. "Could you tells us your weapon?"

Isagi muttered something.

"Spit it out!" Raichi demanded. "Stop muttering like a mad man and tell us!"

Isagi grumbled before saying a little louder, "Nichirin sword."

""""""""""...""""""""""

Everyone was clearly thinking the same thing: "WTF?"

A sword? Is that a name of a soccer move he came up with or is he talking about an actual sword?

Chigiri side eyed the innocent looking ball of blankets like Isagi might jump out and start killing them all.

Whatever he meant by "nichirin sword", Isagi may be a lot more dangerous than he seems. Even if he does seem like a lazy bastard.

"Okay..." Kuon, clearly slightly uncomfortable looked down at his notebook and muttered something that suspiciously sounded like "Not going to poke that hornets nest...". He then looked back up at the rest of the room. 

"Last is Chigiri."

Everyone looked at Chigiri.

***

The boy could feel everyone's stares drilling in to him like they were all judging, waiting for a show of weakness like a pack of starving wolves waiting to tear into a juicy deer.

He could hear the voices of those stupid twins coming back, taunting him about his knee and what it did to him.

How it betrayed him.

How it became the weakness in his weapon.

How it became his failure.

His fall from the top of the soccer food chain.

The possible end of his soccer career.

He couldn't do that again. Couldn't deal with the pitying stares that would twist into judgmental, cruel, and dismissive.

Chigiri could feel the edge of a panic attack creeping in. His breathing coming in short bursts and the edge of his vision closing in on him. 

But. 

Chigiri took a deep breath and focused on the only person not staring into his soul at the moment (And Bachira didn't count, as he had fallen asleep right after explaining his weapon). 

Isagi.

The ball of blankets that was clearly on the edge of sleep but was still conscious. The boy who's deep, cloudy, mismatched eyes were closed. The boy who was soundly ignoring both Chigiri and the rest of the room. Whose breathing was calm and steady and something that Chigiri could work off of.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

In.

Out.

Over and over.

***

Feeling a little calmer, Chigiri kept his eyes on Isagi's small form before saying calmly, "I don't wanna say."

A stunned moment of silence.

Then: "HUH?!" Igarashi was the first to speak. "Don't chicken out on us!"

Not the worst reaction. It could have been worse.

"I know, sorry." Chigiri spoke softly, eyes not straying from Isagi's slowly moving form, long hair let out of the bun and spread out around the boy's face like a halo. "But I don't wanna say." More like I can't say.

"What the heck..?" Raichi grumbled, pinky twisting in his ear. "Let's just leave the selfish princess and move on."

The rest of the room did a collective shrug before Kuon continued on.

Chigiri sighed, silently thanking Raichi for deflecting the negative attention away from him.

"Well, anyway, by thinking of what our most powerful weapons are, we can create team with that as the foundation. Ego told us that's the way we can win.

"Basically, I think the most important thing is how well we can utilize out weapons!"

(Chigiri had to hold his breath to stop a snort from escaping him when he heard Isagi mutter under his breath, "Duh.")

Kuon's statement, rather than install eagerness in the other boys, just caused doubts to start creeping in.

"But if we all just do whatever we want, won't it end the same as the last game?" Iemon asked.

"Even if we know our weapons," Imamura said, catching on to Iemon's thought process. "It's still pointless if we're not working as one."

"Can we really win listening to this guy?" Gagamaru asked skeptically.

"Is there a way everyone could have a turn?" Chigiri spoke, words tumbling out of his mouth without the okay from his brain. 

...why did I chime in? 

Kuon bit the top of his pen thoughtfully at Chigiri's words. "Wait a sec..." Gears were turning in the other boy's head. "That might work... This way, everyone would get an equal chance..." He broke off into strange mutterings.

"What is it?" Somebody asked, although Chigiri didn't really care who.

"Somebody wake up Isagi and Bachira." Kuon ordered. "With this plan... we might be able to win."

And so, everybody threw themselves into training, with varying levels of enthusiasm.

Training together didn't bring them together, but the collective thought of "we're going to fail because we can't get our shit together" did get them to try.

And so, Team-Z started to truly form.

("I still don't agree with the name "Operation: Next Me, Then Nine..." "Isagi, if you want a say in the plan names, don't pretend to go to sleep next time." "I wasn't pretending. You guys are too loud for me to get any sleep.")

A week after Team-Z's first match...

Isagi stared at the fried vegetables in front of him. They were better than the pickled radish he had at rank 300, but one could get bored of veggies. And besides, vegetables are hated by young kids for a reason.

Just gotta suck it up…

Isagi sighed, snagged his food from the high-tech dispenser thing, and sat down on one of the many empty tables in the dining hall. 

It was late, so nearly everybody was in bed or getting ready for bed. Isagi had forgotten to eat, too busy training, and had to be threatened by multiple of his fellow players before Isagi finally caved and went to eat some food. 

Sort of can’t believe that it’s been a week since we faced against the annoying Gorilla Prince…

Isagi stuffed some food in his face, trying, and failing, to drive off the next thought: Can’t believe I collapsed during training a few days ago…

Isagi sighed, plopping his forehead against the table.

On Tuesday, Isagi had decided to train more.

"More" somehow became "Till I'm dead" and he had to spend the night in the mini hospital with a doctor looking over him that Ego just somehow had.

It was just the one time though. I wish Team-Z would stop treating me like I’m gonna fall over any second just because I collapsed after training nonstop for a couple hours. I’m not made of fucking china. Isagi thought, grumpy and unknowingly pouting.

(If Isagi's team mates heard those thoughts, they would have collectively shouted, "A COUPLE HOURS MY ASS!" But there is no such thing as mind reading in the Blue Lock universe, so those words were never spoken.)

“Good work today, Isagi." Isagi glanced over to find Overachiever walking over to him, face unreadable. "Mind if I sit here?"

Isagi just shrugged and waved him over. Might as well have someone to talk to in this large, empty cafeteria.

Overachiever pulled out a metal chair and sat down next to Isagi, his eyes looking over Isagi's food.

"Do you always get vegetables as a side?"

Isagi titled his head. "Yep."

A somewhat awkward silence descended upon them.

Ummmm... Should I break the silence..?

Feeling a little out of his depth, Isagi asked hesitantly, "Are you... going to eat anything..?"

"I already ate." Overachiever grunted before tilting his head away from Isagi, his eyes focusing on the ground. "I, um, came here to see you."

Is he self conscious? Isagi's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. I wonder why.

"You've seen me now." Isagi said slowly, scooping another bite of his food into his mouth. "Is there anything else?"

Overachiever nodded, his head turning to face Isagi, even if his eyes refused to look at the black-haired boy.

"I realized I didn't get to say thank you. And with all the chaos happening recently, I couldn't really find a time to."

Isagi blinked. Ah, right. Wasn't it Overachiever who found me in a dead faint? Also... 'Thank you?' Why does he need to say that?

"For what?"

"That pass. During our first match." Overachiever didn't smile (Why does that disappoint me?), but his eyes crinkled with amusement. "Thanks, man!"

Isagi frog blinked. Oh.

"Uh... You are welcome. Did you come here just to say that."

Overachiever nodded. "Yep. I live after the motto 'fair and square' after all." He got up and turned around, clearly to go and walk away.

Isagi... didn't want him to go away. He wanted to talk more with the orange haired kicking machine. He wanted to get to know the boy who would go up to those who helped him and thank them. 

Isagi was confused about those feeling, but wisely chose not to think too much about it.

What to say to make him stay...

"Oi." Overachiever paused. "Why do you play soccer?"

Overachiever turned to look at Isagi, eyes wide. "Why... Why do you ask?"

Isagi shrugged. "You're a strong guy. You seem like if you really wanted you could do anything. I just wondered why you chose soccer." Isagi paused and leaned back in his chair, eyes trained on the ceiling. "...Never mind. Just curious. You can go. Good night."

Overachiever didn't, in fact go.

"That's easy." Isagi glanced at Overachiever, whose eyes now had a determined spark to them. "I play soccer so I can become a superhero."

Isagi froze, stock still in his chair. Super... hero..?

Overachiever continued on, explaining his reasoning, but Isagi suddenly felt a memory from his past life smacking him in the back of his head.

Hero.

Isagi knew that as Muichiro, one couldn't really call him a hero. Sure, he saved people, but he only truly started to do it when Tanjiro, bless his heart, spoke his mind and caused Muichiro to remember a life he had forgotten. A father. A brother.

Only then did he start helping others, and only because two precious people, his father and one of his boyfriends, told him that helping people was important.

That helping a person could lead to helping oneself. 

"I'm sorry for calling you a seaweed head! I'm sorry!"

Isagi remembered a boy with a silly red mask crying, whimpering, hugging, thanking, and apologizing, to him.

A boy that, more likely than not, would call Muichiro a hero.

Him, who would have left the boy to his death if not for Tanjiro's words.

No... Muichiro Tokito was no hero.

Isagi looked at the boy in front of him. But this boy might be.

"I want to be the kind of person who inspires courage and excitement." Overachiever finished.

Isagi was silent, expression blank as he stared at the boy in front of him. "You're serious, aren't you?"

Overachiever's expression hardened. "Of course I am. Even if God told me it's impossible or people laugh at me for being an idiot, none of that would matter. For the sake of my dream, I'll fight the world fair and square. There's nothing embarrassing about that."

Yes. This boy indeed could be a hero.

Isagi closed his eyes and turned his head back up to the ceiling.

As Overachiever's foot steps drew away from Isagi, the dual-eyed boy sighed before whispering. "Yes. You truly will make a hero of yourself, I do believe."

(Isagi didn't see the expression that Kunigami made. Didn't see the way Kunigami's head whipped around to stare at him. Didn't see how the other boy's face colored and mouth gaped like a fish.)

Isagi heard Overachiever stop walking, before he seemed to change direction.

Opening one eye, Isagi watched as Overachiever—I suppose I should think up a better nickname that that—walked over to the food dispenser and pressed his shoulder up to it.

I thought he said he had already eaten—

Isagi's eyes widened as he saw a platter of steak pop out.

"Eh?"

Overachiever—Hmmm, how about something simple—Hero raised an eyebrow and gestured to the steak. "Wanna share?"

Isagi frog blinked. "I— Yes— But... where..?"

Hero turned to point at a sign on a wall. "It's written on that 'Goal Bonus' sign. Apparently there's a system where those who score points can trade them for prizes." Isagi's eyes followed the finger to eye the Goal Bonus sign.

GOAL BONUS- 1 goal = 1 point

TRADE FOR BELOW PRIZES

1pt: Sirloin Steak, Massage

3pts: Get Your Cellphone Back

5pts: Deluxe Bed

10pts: 1 Day Excursion Pass

Well that sure inspires motivation.

"Anyway," Isagi turned back to Hero who had sat back down, setting the plate of steak on the table. "I chose the meat." Hero cut the steak in half before cutting one half into fourths. "The goal was half yours too, so half of this meat is yours."

Isagi's eyes widened. "Really?" Huh. I didn't that would happen. The whole 'helping others somehow will help you' thing is true. And I am not complaining.

Isagi stared longingly at the meat as Hero placed them on Isagi's own half empty plate next to his veggies.

"I just wanna make sure. Why did you pass to me then?"

Isagi titled his head, the smell of the steak holding nearly all his attention. "Hm?"

Hero shrugged, "Raichi was more open than me, in terms of position. I was wondering why you passed to me, while I was being so closely guarded."

Isagi shrugged back, plopping a piece of steak in his mouth and practically melting at the savory goodness. 

"It was a somewhat subconscious reaction. You smelled more like a goal, and besides, I've had to deal with that kick first hand." Isagi grimaced, rubbing his stomach. I can still feel that ball ramming into me from that stupid game of tag...

Hero winced. "Um, my bad." Isagi shrugged. "'Smelled more like a goal..?' Wonder if that's your weapon." Isagi shrugged again. 

Hero took his own bite of meat and the look on his face was pure bliss. "This is crazy good."

Isagi nodded, amused as he popped another bite into his mouth. "Mhm~" He swallowed, sighed before nodding to Hero. "Thanks for the meat. It was... nice of you. Hero-like, one might say."

Hero blinked before turning away, grumbling a "Shut up" under his breath.

Isagi stared at the boy sitting next to him before saying curiously, "Wait... are you the sort of person who can't take a compliment?"

Hero's ears went completely red as he began to pout a little. "I'm going to bed after I finish eating..."

Isagi snorted.

"Anyway," Hero turned back to Isagi, holding out a fist. "Next game we're gonna crush it!"

Isagi nodded, bumping the offered fist with his own. "Hm!"

"But..." Hero glared at Isagi. "No over-doing the training again."

Isagi groaned. "I know, I know..." I wouldn't have fainted if I was training with my old body!

"No I don't think you do."

"Shut it."

As the two began to argue, Isagi felt a warm feeling settle in his gut. The feeling of Hero being concerned for his well-being was... nice. Yeah, let's go with 'nice'.

Kunigami glared at the grumpy boy sitting next to him, and continued to scold him.

This idiot doesn't realize that he basically nearly killed himself in train for nearly a whole fucking day!

Kunigami sighed. I guess I'll have to keep an eye on this one.

As the two of them dissolved into arguing, Kunigami couldn't help but recall the events of the Tuesday evening when he had found Isagi half dead on the floor. 

...

Chapter Text

-Tuesday night-

That night, Igarashi had fallen asleep first. Surprising, considering how fast Bachira usually feel asleep.

Igarashi was not a still sleeper. Quite the opposite in fact. He would roll around, do random poses, and would sometimes attack people in his sleep.

He also snored louder than a construction site.

Igarashi wasn't aware of the fact, but the rest of Team-Z had made a game that involved dodging his all-over-the place sleeping pattern. 

Kunigami sighed, watching wearily as Team-Z ran every which way, trying their best to avoid Igarashi. (And mostly failing)

Everyone had their own routines that they did before bed, but they usually reunited in Team-Z's room around 11:35. It had just turned 11:50, so everybody should have been in the room, but...

Isagi wasn't there. 

"Um, guys?" Kunigami's hesitant voice called everyones attention to the orange haired boy. "Does anyone know where Isagi is?"

Shrugs and head shakes answered him.

"...Has anyone seen him today?"

The rest of the boys thought for a moment. Kuon was the one to answer.

"I think... the last time I saw him was around 2 or 3 pm when he was doing Team Training with the rest of us."

A couple people nodded.

"Now that you mention it, I don't think he was at the Team Meeting, which ended around 9:00." Iemon noted.

More nods.

Kunigami sighed.

"I'll go look for him."

He ignored the small nugget of worry that wormed its way into his heart.

...

-Tuesday morning-

Isagi opened his eyes.

He stared at the ceiling.

He rolled over to check the time on the dimly glowing clock on the wall. 

6:40...

Isagi rolled on his back again to stare at the ceiling some more.

I have about twenty minutes before everybody starts to seriously wake up.

Isagi stared upwards some more.

Tch. I'm not going to be able to go back to sleep, am I?

Isagi groaned quietly before sitting up and carefully grabbing his sketch book and pencil from the bag that everyone had been given when entering Blue Lock. Opening it to the most recent sketch that Isagi had yet to finish, he went to work.

Isagi   d      r           i        f f        t       e           d...

Hands moved while mind wandered.

Eyes misted while paper was marked.

...6:57...

When Isagi finished, he dragged himself back to reality, and nodded at what he had drawn.

Tanjiro's haori delicately folded in a field of green grass. Genya's gun carefully placed on top of the green and black cloth. And Muichiro's sword lying next to both.

Isagi's lips twitched in a mockery of what could have been a smile.

Isagi closed the sketch book, put it away, and laid back down.

Closing his eyes for a moment, Isagi's mind laid bare of thoughts.

Then, a single one appeared. 

Perhaps... I should start taking training a little more seriously.

(One should note that when Isagi thought "seriously", he meant "Muichiro Training Level of Seriousness". The level of training an Muichiro Body can handle does not match with the level of training an Isagi Body can handle. Especially when one just jumps right into it instead of easing into it. Isagi, the lovable, forgetful bastard is about to do just that.)

When 7 am rolled around, Isagi was already up.

Hair brushed, body washed, clothes on, eyes just as dull as ever.

The rest of Team-Z was a bit too tired to notice, although Shark Boy had looked at him weirdly.

...

Kunigami checked the bathroom first, as Isagi (for some reason) would always wait till everyone else had bathed before going in himself.

Maybe he's in there still?

Nope.

...

Isagi was the first one done eating, and was right behind Overachiever when the time hit 8 am and it was time for Machine Training.

Isagi worked himself harder in the individual warmups at 9 am. He ran fifteen laps instead of the normal three. (Each laps are a mile long)

Isagi didn't notice how winded he was.

Team Training went normal.

Isagi didn't go overboard during that, thinking that he didn't really want to deal with questions like, "Why are you suddenly putting in effort?"

Team-Z didn't suspect anything.

...

Kunigami checked the changing room next.

Did he fall asleep here, perhaps?

No Isagi.

...

Lunch went normal.

Isagi spent the rest of his Rest Time in one of the training rooms.

The second two hour Team Training went by.

Isagi counted down the seconds till he could train as much as he wanted— alone.

Isagi trained by himself for as long as he could before dragging himself to dinner.

...

Kunigami looked in the Data Monitoring Room next.

Is he making up for the Team Meeting he missed?

Nothing.

...

Isagi skipped the 8-9 pm Team Meeting.

Just five more minutes... He promised himself.

Isagi ignored the way his muscles felt as if they would explode any moment.

The two hour free time went by.

Isagi felt numb.

Numb...

Numb..

Numb.

He hadn't felt this numb since—

...

Kunigami checked the dinning hall.

Is he still eating?

Nuh uh.

...

Isagi couldn't move.

He lay flat on the ground of the fourth training room, confused.

I... wasn't even over doing it?

I know my limits.

Really. I do.

(He doesn't)

...

Kunigami started checking each training room.

Number 1? No Isagi.

Number 2? No Isagi.

Number 3? No Isagi.

...

Eyes closed. 

Darkness consumed everything.

Six shimmering yellow and red eyes seemed to mock him.

It was like dying all over again.

...

Kunigami's worry had steady grown as he checked each space for his teammate.

The only place I haven't looked is the fourth training room.

If he's not here...

Kunigami walked into the fourth training room.

On the floor.

Sprawled out.

Sweat and dirt(?) covering him head to toe.

Bun undone and hair everywhere. 

Eyes closed.

Skin pale.

Kunigami felt like he was in a horror movie.

Is this what the main character feels like when they come across their friends dead bodies..?

"Isagi...?"

His voice felt so... incredibly small.

Isagi looked so very fragile.

And when Kunigami picked him up to take him to the nurses office, Isagi was so very, very light.

The doctor listed off some of the things wrong with Isagi.

Kunigami didn't hear any of it, too busy calculating.

Isagi trained without nearly any breaks for over 14 hours...

The darkness lifted.

Isagi blinked his eyes open, groggy. Disoriented, Isagi relied on his other senses to try and figure out where in the world he was. 

I feel... The solid softness of a bed. Not the sleeping bags that were in Team-Z's room, but an actual bed.

I smell... That metallic, sanitized smell that made it feel like you were always on the edge of sneezing, but could never quite do it. It was the stereotypical smell of a hospital.

I hear... The soft murmuring that people did when they were freaking out, but didn't want to wake someone up. There were eleven different voices that Isagi could pick out. Ten  younger nervous ones (My teammates..?) and one older exasperated one (Maybe... a doctor?).

Then- "Oof!!"

The solid weight of a human body rammed into Isagi, and the smell of—Is that jasmine?—assaulted his nose. 

What-?

"'Sagiiii!"

Oh. Just Bachira. But what in the world is that nickname??

Isagi grunted, eye fully opening to find Bachira's hair in his face, Bachira's face in his chest, and Bachira's arms wrapped around his middle.

"Ba... Chira?"

"""""""""Bachira!""""""""" Nine voices called out in alarm.

Overachiever was by Isagi's side in an instant, the rest of the team close behind. Overachiever tried to lift Bachira away from Isagi, but the black haired boy resisted, hanging on to Isagi tighter.

"No!" Although Bachira's voice was a bit muffled, everybody heard his words.

"You can't jump on Isagi like that!" Overachiever gritted his teeth. "He's recovering."

The rest of Team-Z voiced their agreements.

"No!"

Overachiever groaned, his eyes narrowing into a scary glare. "I will pry you off him, you sticky motherfu—"

"It's fine." It took Isagi a moment to realize that he was the one who had said the words that now hung in the air like an executioners blade.

He didn't regret the words, though.

"It's fine." Isagi repeated. "But..." Isagi side eyed Bachira. "I refuse to be called 'Sagi'". 

Bachira lifted his face up a bit, eyes tearful but shining with happiness. That face must be illegal in at the very least fifteen different states and two countries.

"What should I call you then?" Bachira blinked innocently. 

Ba-dum. 

Not the time, Heart...

Isagi looked away, not being able to handle looking into those eyes for another moment.

"..." Isagi thought for a moment.

The image of a boy with short reddish-brown hair and cold ice-blue eyes that always seemed to melt when looking at him entered Isagi's mind.

"Moya-chan!"

"...Moya"

A moment of silence, before Bachira burst out with an energetic, "Moya-chan!"

Isagi snorted and turned back to Bachira who had a big grin on his face. Bachira then snuggled into Isagi's side, smile never leaving his face.

"You want us to call you 'mist'?" Slimy asked, amused.

A slight blush tickled Isagi's ears. "Shut up."

The mood in the room had lifted.

So naturally, someone just had to be a party pooper.

"While this is a very touching moment—" Isagi whipped his head around to stare at the doctor who he had sort of forgot was there. "—I do have to look over Isagi-kun and I can't very well do that with all of you crowding up my room. Everyone but Isagi-kun get out, and no, Bachira-kun you may not stay attached to Isagi-kun like a barnacle! This is a place of healing, not budding romance or intimate acts. EVERYONE OUT!"

(Isagi didn't notice the chilling glaring contest between Kunigami and Bachira as they and everyone else were being ruthlessly thrown out)

After his teammates had left, Isagi was scolded by the doctor so much that he became afraid that his ears were going to fall off.

Before the doctor let Isagi leave, they shoved several medicines down his throat, and threatened that if Isagi did something as stupid as nearly killing himself through overwork again the police would find bits of him for five months and that he would be alive for at the very least three of them and no that wasn't a threat it was a promise now SHOO! 

Isagi now both respected and was thoroughly terrified of the Blue Lock Doctor, now nicknamed Spiderlily because if they had become a demon who lived purely on spite, Muzan could have eradicated the whole entire human race with just that one doctor on his side.

Isagi resolved to never get hurt bad enough to go anywhere near Spiderlily again.

(That night, the whole of Team-Z had piled around Isagi to make sure that he wouldn't go off anywhere in the middle of the night. The next few days were ones of Team-Z always circling around Isagi, each one afraid that Isagi was disappear suddenly and that they would find him dead somewhere. Kunigami had several nightmares about just that. Isagi frequently woke up with Bachira on top of him.)

"Hero?"

Kunigami snapped himself out of his thoughts. (He ignored the little spark of warmth he got from the nickname)

He turned back to Isagi who had a bit of steak hanging from his mouth.

"Ah, sorry." Kunigami shook his head a little. "I'm fine."

Isagi shrugged before returning to his food.

Hero?

Kunigami sighed, shoving another bite of his own half of the steak into his mouth, the taste barely registering anymore.

Kunigami side-eyed Isagi.

If I was a true hero I would have realized how much you were overworking yourself.

Kunigami's first impression of the boy beside him was of his eyes. A shade of blue, although two different shades, that tunneled itself under your skin and read you like a book. The first time those eyes had looked at him, it had been right after he had accidentally whipped his shirt off with too much force. The strangers gaze had made Kunigami feel self conscious and hot at the same time. At the time, Isagi's hair had been let down and it framed his face beautifully, the black mixing with that cold blue stare... Anyone with eyes could tell you that Isagi looked like he just stepped out of a historical drama.

However, after a day or two of living with the other boy, Kunigami's opinion of Isagi dipped. He started to think of Isagi as lazy because he always never really tried during training. Not to mention how cocky he seemed with the way he ignored practically everyone, like he thought they didn't warrant conversation. Not to mention the sometimes somewhat insulting nicknames.

Therefore, Kunigami hadn't really put that much effort in getting to know Isagi.

He was regretting that now.

After the Team-Z vs Team-X match... didn't that guy who called himself the 'king' tell Isagi that he didn't have what it takes to be a striker? He didn't visibly react at all but... maybe he was more effected by the comment than I thought? (Not... exactly.)

That would explain why he trained himself into the ground...

He was so upset that he trained till he dropped! (Wrong. He just got inspired by past memories.)

Kunigami swallowed the bite of steak, before nodding to himself.

Kunigami is quite self aware. Because of this trait, he knows that he had a tendency to be smotheringly overprotective of what he considered precious. He knows this, and accepts this part of him.

And... 

Well...

Isagi is more sensitive than he looks, so I'll live up to his nickname of 'hero' and protect him from anything that may threaten him! (...)

Isagi was now extremely precious.

Blue Lock won't hurt Isagi anymore than it has already.

The image of Isagi's crumpled form flashed behind Kunigami's eyes. 

He grit his teeth.

I refuse to let it.

I wonder what's got Hero so worked up? Isagi side eyed Hero, who had been glaring intently at his stake for a minute. The look he's giving the steak is the look the snake guy would give when Mitsuri Kanroji would talk to any guy other than him. 

Then Isagi sneezed. Hard.

Hero's head shot up like a bullet. Why does he look worried—? "You okay?" Hero asked, forehead crinkled and eyes wide and sincere.

Huh. Cute.

"Mhm."

I wanna sleep.

(Isagi has no idea that he had just gained scary dog privileges)