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- Can’t Sleep
Isagi Yoichi couldn’t sleep.
That wasn’t to say he was an insomniac – he was quite the heavy sleeper after his body and mind reached their limits, sleeping like a baby. His parents would tease him about it, though they were glad he could actually get sleep with that mind of his – ever whirring.
The problem lay in Blue Lock itself.
Where his parents provided a quiet, secluded room for him to sleep in – thick curtains to prevent the light trying so desperately to catch a glimpse of him, strict hours on TV and even a pair of noise-cancelling headphones – Blue Lock was full of different unending stimuli threatening to drive him insane. Sheets that made a sharp hissing noise as they rustled, the sounds of light breathing – let alone Igarashi’s snoring – the smells, the temperature, the scratchiness of the clothes – they were all too much for him to sleep in.
So, this resulted in many-a midnight excursions, often leading to training with Bachira – who, the more Isagi thought about it, seemed like a nocturnal fiend – to quell his mind and bring him the ever-elusive image of sleep.
Of course, Bachira was the first to notice this, but it was soon caught onto by the others. The second to notice was, of course, Igarashi.
He’d hear the rustling of sheets – quiet, as though Isagi was trying not to make a sound – and the opening of the door, then there’d be an empty futon beside him.
Then the door would open at some ridiculous hour of the night – or maybe it was morning – and there’d be a soft thunk from his left and Igarashi could go to sleep knowing someone was watching his back.
Chigiri had caught on as well, as an actual insomniac. He was curious, initially, but paid no heed to Isagi’s nightly disappearances as they continued, accepting it as a way of life in Blue Lock. Though, the constant whirring of the doors opening was a bit annoying, at least he knew that all of his teammates were accounted for.
Kunigami had been one of the last to catch on. Since Kunigami was a heavy sleeper and Isagi went to bed just before he woke up, they never crossed paths during either of their escapades. Adorably, after he’d picked up on it, Kunigami had offered Isagi a rag to cover his ears with, if only to muffle the sounds. It was actually fairly comforting, and Isagi forever felt as though he was in his debt after that.
- Sight
Bachira noticed that Isagi had been fairly tense during practice.
Sure, Isagi was playing up to his usual standards – but there was the problem. There wasn’t any rapid growth, nor times where he’d tuck his pointer finger under his lower lip in concentration. Whenever it was time for a break, Bachira found he’d glance at a particular bench, avoiding it at all costs.
Even if that meant that he’d have to stay away from Bachira.
Now he was a bit curious, so he thought he’d inquire.
“Hey, Isagi,” he started with that playful lilt in his voice – not even attempting to mask his curiosity – and catching the boy’s attention, “why won’t you sit on the bench with me?” Bachira pouted, looking almost hurt. Everyone knew that it was just for attention, yet Isagi couldn’t help but feel the slightest bit guilty.
“Sorry, Bachira.” he apologised, considering for a second before adding on, “There’s a mosquito under the bench.” Bachira laughed at him, playfully teasing him, the great Isagi Yoichi, for being afraid of a measly little mosquito.
As Isagi looked away with an embarrassed blush dotting his face, Bachira grinned inwardly, his monster chittering in agreement.
Isagi had good eyes.
- Guess Which Food!
A common phenomenon for young teenage boys with nothing to stress about – beside the impending dooms of their football careers – was boredom.
Now, there were many ways to cure such boredom, one of which was organised by the likes of Igarashi and Naruhaya’s combined wit: a taste test.
Their plan was simple. Goad every member of Team Z into sharing a bit of their food, blindfolding them all (courtesy of the wash rags) and giving them a tiny bit to munch on. If they could guess all the foods they were tested on, they could pick any meal as their reward. Igarashi and Naruhaya, confident in their superior tasting abilities from constantly fantasising of better meals than they were given, expected to breeze through the competition, pick a higher-ranked food like curry or stir-fried vegetables, and live the high life.
They didn’t expect Isagi Yoichi, of all people, to effortlessly beat them at their own game. Seriously, the guy could tell what type of food it was before it even touched the tip of his tongue!
Alas, they were nothing but losers, and Isagi won an entire bowl’s worth of curry. Though, he shared a tiny bit with Igarashi out of pity, so that was a win.
Naruhaya almost cried.
- Too Bright
Something one Bachira Meguru and one Chigiri Hyoma recently found out about their friend was that he was particularly sensitive to light. Of course, this usually meant nothing besides minor discomfort for him, but tonight was a special case.
It was after the match against Team V. They were all in the changing room, and Isagi was particularly unresponsive, which was slightly worrying, but not too out of the ordinary. Then, as Kuon was discussing strategies that they could expand on for the future matches, the match-winning goal scorer abruptly excused himself, exiting almost in a hurry before anyone could object. Bachira was asleep, and Chigiri watched on in concern.
It came to some surprise, but eventual acceptance, when Chigiri later excused himself after the strategy talk was over.
Feeling refreshed – that was a lie, he skipped out on his hair and leg care routines and was fairly upset about that – Chigiri did a thorough search around Blue Lock, eventually finding Isagi in a secluded corner, dim lighting and little sound. He gave a soft knock on the nearby wall to alert Isagi of his presence, and after a soft ‘Hello…’, Chigiri slowly sat down next to Isagi.
With a curious glance thrown his way, Isagi confessed, “The lights were really bright, and there was a lot of shouting. Plus, I was feeling a lot of things , and it was really crowded.”
A light grin coloured his face nervous as he continued, “It just got to be a little too much, y’know?” followed by a self-deprecating chuckle.
“I’m not making any sense, am I?”
Chigiri paused for a second, curling his hair around his pointer finger in thought. Eventually, he settled with a reply that he hoped wasn’t too mean.
“Nah, I know what you mean. It’s really overwhelming sometimes, so you have to take a step back. Don't take too many though, or you might not be able to catch up to me.”
A bout of silence, then Chigiri asked, “Should I leave…?” he trailed off, glancing down the corridor. Isagi promptly rejected the notion with a small smile that spoke of appreciation and fondness, and the two sat in silence until their stomachs were too ravenous to ignore.
- Sound
Barou could almost cry at the state of their combined living quarters.
It was messy as hell, there was the unmistakable stench of Nagi – which was really just sweat and deodorant – and all the sheets were rumpled. So, unleashing his inner servant, he began cleaning up after his two messy – ugh – roommates .
He began tidying up, Isagi sat on his bottom bunk thinking about whatever Isagi thinks about, and Nagi playing games on the single bed like the waste of space he was off the field. Ugh. Toddlers, the two of them.
Though, after his criticisms, he found that Isagi tried his best tidying up after himself, even trying to make Nagi seem more presentable. Barou would have been impressed, if not for his ‘A King cannot be impressed by a lowly donkey’ attitude – read: superiority complex. Though he could say a few praises for the boy, one thing that he always had qualms about was Isagi’s refusal to change his sheets. Though he didn’t move around much in his sleep, nor sweated, it was still fairly unkempt and becoming a bit unsanitary.
After he changed it the first time, Barou confronted Isagi about it.
“Oi, change your sheets, you worthless trash. They’re gross, and I’m not your personal maid.” he was a bit – scratch that, extremely – infuriated about Isagi’s mirth regarding the maid comment, but one stern look and the boy quickly regained his composure.
“Fine.” he grumbled, and Barou wanted to punch him because who was he to get mad at him when it was as measly a task as changing some sheets? Then Barou thought on that sentence a bit more, dropped it, and was greeted with satisfaction at Isagi’s newly changed sheets.
An annoyance, however, was that Barou had to constantly be reminding him of such a meagre task. Sure, Isagi had always gotten it done, but it took Barou hounding him about it for the boy to even consider it. And Barou soon arrived at the root of the problem, observing Isagi’s light flinches every time the fabric made its regular swishing sound, though the boy relentlessly powered through.
Barou wasn’t some nice guy, however, and continued hounding Isagi as usual.
- Meta-Vision
Isagi Yoichi almost fainted the first time he unlocked meta-vision.
The rushing of the wind, heavy pants, the swishing of clothes, the smell of sweat, the sounds of shoes kicking up dirt and the light assaulted his brain with a myriad of images and sensations. Kurona noticed almost immediately, glancing at him in worry. Isagi’s breaths came in shallow, and it was only the will of continuing the match without failure that guided him through the overwhelming panic and annoyance and all other strong emotions trying to claw out of his skin.
Perhaps it was for the best that he fainted after the match, because his brain really needed the break, as abrupt as it was. Though, he barely remembered Kaiser catching him by the hair, and reaffirmed what everyone knew: he was going to
murder
him.