Chapter Text
Isagi had seen it.
That's what made it hurt so much.
The perfect path, curving through France's defense like a needle through silk. Hugo was too far to recover. Loki was marking the wrong angle. The goal was open.
Isagi's foot connected with the ball.
And then Rin's foot connected with the same ball.
The impact shuddered up Isagi's leg. The ball flew wild, off course, off rhythm, off everything, and smacked against the crossbar with a sound like a gunshot.
Clang.
Loki was already moving. God Speed. Counter. Goal.
4 to 2.
Isagi stood frozen on the pitch, staring at the crossbar, his phantom goal still burning behind his eyes.
That was mine.
That was mine.
And Rin had stolen it.
Not on purpose. Isagi knew that. Rin had been in flow. They'd both been in flow. Moving together, breathing together, thinking together. For one impossible second, they'd been perfectly synchronized.
Synchronized enough to ruin each other.
Isagi looked at Rin across the pitch. Rin wasn't looking at him. Rin was staring at the crossbar too, his chest heaving, his pheromones already starting to sour.
No apology. No acknowledgment.
Just that familiar, infuriating silence.
---
The locker room smelled like defeat.
Not the clean, clinical scent of a calculated loss. This was worse. This was the acrid tang of crushed adrenaline, of bodies pushed to breaking for nothing, of dreams curdling into silence.
Isagi sat on the bench, head bowed, sweat still cooling on his skin. His hands were shaking. Not from exhaustion. From frustration.
Across the room, Rin sat in his corner. He hadn't moved. He hadn't spoken. His pheromones were a disaster zone, thick, volatile, bitter. Dominant Alpha rage bleeding into something darker.
No one approached him.
Ego Jinpachi entered. The room went silent.
The debrief was merciless.
Ego stood at the front, tablet in hand, replaying the final sequence on a loop. The double shot. The crossbar. Loki's impossibly fast counter. The ball hitting the net. Again. Again. Again.
"Let me make something clear," Ego said, his voice flat, surgical. "I did not assemble Blue Lock to produce almost. I did not gather the most talented strikers in Japan to watch them choke."
His eyes swept the room. They lingered on Rin.
"Itoshi."
Rin didn't flinch. But his pheromones spiked, a warning shot, a territorial flare. The other Alphas tensed.
Ego didn't react. He was Beta. Untouchable.
"The double shot was a failure of ego," Ego continued. "Two Alphas cannot occupy the same space at the same time unless one submits. Neither of you submitted. Therefore, you both lost."
He played the replay again. Isagi winding up. Rin's foot arriving a fraction of a second later. The collision. The clang.
"Itoshi. You had no reason to take that shot. Isagi had the angle. Isagi had the timing. Isagi had the goal. You interfered because your Dominant Alpha instincts couldn't tolerate another Alpha finishing what you started."
Rin said nothing. His jaw was locked.
"Your obsession with devouring everyone on the field is useless if you devour your own teammates." Ego set down his tablet. "Being a Dominant Alpha means nothing if you can't control your impulses. You understand me, Itoshi? Nothing."
The room was silent.
Isagi watched Rin's face. Expected an explosion. Expected a snarl.
Instead, Rin's eyes slid to Isagi.
And for a split second, just a split second, Isagi saw something there.
Not guilt. Not apology.
Blame.
Rin blamed him.
Isagi's hands curled into fists.
---
Isagi Tries
2 AM. The facility was dead quiet.
Isagi lay in bed, staring at the ceiling, replaying the match for the thousandth time. The clang. The counter. Loki's stupid, smug face.
And Rin's eyes. Blaming him.
I was trying to help you, you asshole.
He thought about Rin's face during the debrief. That stiff, frozen posture. The way his pheromones had gone from volatile to dead. Like he'd shut down entirely.
Isagi sighed.
He's my teammate. We're stuck together. And he's my friend. Sort of. When he's not being impossible.
Fine.
He threw off his blankets and walked to the training room.
The door was closed. Light underneath. And the scent
Isagi almost staggered.
Dominant Alpha pheromones, thick and wrong. Bitter. Angry. Self loathing wrapped in fury. It smelled like Rin had been marinating in his own rage for hours.
Great. He's going to be delightful.
Isagi opened the door.
Rin was in the corner, sitting against the wall, knees drawn up, head bowed. Shirtless. Sweat slick. His hair was a mess, darker with moisture, sticking to his forehead.
He didn't look up when Isagi entered.
"Leave," Rin said. His voice was hollow. Dead.
Isagi stepped inside anyway. Closed the door behind him.
"Rin."
"Leave. Now."
"I'm not leaving." Isagi sat down on the bench across from him. Not too close. Not threatening. "You've been in here for hours. You didn't come to dinner. You didn't answer your phone."
Rin's head lifted slowly. His eyes were red rimmed. Not from crying. From staring. From refusing to blink. From pushing himself past every reasonable limit.
"I said leave, lukewarm."
Isagi took a breath.
Be nice. He's clearly messed up. It's not his fault. Okay, it is his fault, but he didn't mean it. He was in flow. We both were.
"Listen," Isagi said, keeping his voice calm. "About the goal"
"Don't."
"Let me finish. It's fine. Really. You didn't mean to"
"I said don't."
Isagi blinked. "I'm trying to tell you it's okay"
"It's not okay." Rin's voice cracked. Then hardened. "You think I need you to tell me it's okay? You think I want your pity? Your forgiveness?"
"It's not pity. It's"
"Lukewarm." Rin's lip curled. "That's all you are. Lukewarm kindness. Lukewarm everything. You don't get it. You've never gotten it. You never will."
Isagi's jaw tightened. "I'm trying to be nice"
"Don't bother."
"Rin"
"Leave."
Isagi stood up. "Fine. You know what? Fine. Be a martyr. Sit in your corner and rot. See if I care."
He turned toward the door.
Rin's voice stopped him. Quiet. Almost gentle. Which made it worse.
"You should have passed."
Isagi froze. "What?"
"The goal." Rin's eyes were hollow. Dead. "I had the better angle. I'm the better striker. The only reason we lost is because you're too selfish to pass."
Isagi turned around slowly.
"Because of me?"
"You heard me."
"I had the goal, Rin. I had the angle. I had the timing. The ball was mine"
"Nothing is yours." Rin stood up. Towered over him even from across the room. His pheromones began to spike, heavy, oppressive, commanding. "You exist because I allow it. You score because I let you. You're only relevant because I haven't decided to erase you yet."
Isagi's hands shook. Not from fear.
Rage.
"You're blaming me," Isagi said slowly. "For your mistake. Because you couldn't control yourself. Because you got in your own head. Because you"
"Careful."
"you are so terrified of anyone being better than you that you'd rather destroy a winning goal than watch someone else take the spotlight."
Rin moved.
Not fast. Inevitable.
He crossed the room in three strides and stopped inches from Isagi's face. His pheromones crashed over Isagi like a wave, thick, suffocating, demanding.
Submit.
Isagi felt it hit him like a physical weight. His knees wanted to buckle. His hindbrain screamed kneel, show your throat, survive. His breathing stuttered. His vision blurred at the edges.
He fought it.
Muscles locked. Jaw clenched. Hands fisted at his sides.
"Say that again," Rin whispered.
"You heard me."
"I heard lies."
"You heard truth." Isagi's voice was strained, fighting the pheromones, fighting the pressure, fighting every instinct in his body. But he held. "You can't handle anyone being as good as you. That's why you'll never beat Sae."
Rin went still.
The kind of still that came before an earthquake.
"What did you say?"
"You heard me." Isagi forced the words out through gritted teeth. "You're so obsessed with your brother that you can't see straight. You lose yourself in flow. You lose control. And until you fix that, until you stop being a slave to your own instincts, you'll never beat him. You'll never beat anyone."
Rin's pheromones exploded.
It wasn't a wave anymore. It was a cataclysm. Dominant Alpha pheromones flooded the room so thickly that Isagi's vision blurred. His lungs struggled to draw air. His body screamed at him to submit.
He refused.
"You want to know why you missed?" Isagi pushed forward, chest to chest with Rin, even as his legs shook. "Because you don't trust anyone. Not even yourself. You're so scared of being second that you'd rather destroy the win than share it."
"Shut up."
"You're a coward, Rin."
Rin's hand shot out. Fisted in Isagi's shirt. Slammed him against the wall.
The impact knocked the breath out of Isagi's lungs. His head cracked against the concrete. Stars burst behind his eyes. Pain lanced through his skull.
Rin was looming over him, canines extended, pupils blown wide, breathing ragged. His pheromones were unbearable now, thick as smoke, demanding kneeling.
"Submit," Rin growled. His voice was low. Dangerous. Final.
Isagi's body trembled. His knees shook. Every instinct screamed at him to drop, to bare his throat, to live.
"No."
"Submit."
"No." Isagi's voice cracked. He was sweating. His heart was pounding so hard he could feel it in his teeth. But he didn't kneel. "No, you insufferable asshole."
He shoved Rin's chest.
Rin didn't move.
Isagi shoved harder, both palms slamming into Rin's pectorals, putting every ounce of his weight behind it.
Rin stumbled back half a step. His eyes widened.
"You think I'm some bitch you can make kneel?" Isagi's voice rose. Shook with fury. "You think your little pheromone tantrum scares me? Do you have any idea how offensive that is? To another Alpha?"
Rin's jaw tightened. "It should scare you."
"It doesn't." Isagi stepped forward. Got in Rin's face. His own pheromones spiked, grass and ozone, sharp and territorial. Not as overwhelming as Rin's. But present. "You tried to make me submit. You might as well have called me an Omega. You might as well have spat in my face."
Rin snarled, a real, animal sound, and grabbed Isagi's jaw. His fingers dug into Isagi's cheeks. Squeezed hard enough to bruise.
"You're nothing," Rin hissed. "You've always been nothing. A lucky streak. A flash in the pan. The only reason anyone talks about you is because I let them."
"Then stop letting them." Isagi grabbed Rin's wrist. Didn't try to pull it away, just held it. "Stop pretending you're above me. Stop pretending you don't see me. Because we both know you do."
"I don't"
"You missed the goal because of me. You're in this room at 2 AM because of me. You're shaking right now because of me."
Rin's grip tightened. His thumb pressed against Isagi's lower lip. His canines were so close Isagi could feel the heat of Rin's breath.
"I could break you," Rin whispered. "I could snap your neck before you even blinked."
"But you won't."
"Why not?"
Isagi met his eyes. Didn't flinch. Didn't look away.
"Because even if you're a Dominant Alpha," Isagi said, voice low and steady, "you know I'm better than you."
Rin's pupils blew.
Not slowly. Instantly. Like a switch had flipped. His irises disappeared, just two black holes staring into Isagi's soul.
"Better?" Rin's voice cracked. "You think you're better than me?"
"I know I am."
It wasn't a kiss. It was a collision.
Rin's mouth crashed into Isagi's, teeth first, no gentleness, no build up. Isagi's lip split immediately. Copper flooded his tongue. The pain was sharp and immediate and furious.
Isagi's hands came up to shove. "Mm, get off"
Rin bit his lower lip. Hard. Mean. Pulled until Isagi gasped, pain, shock, violation, and used the opening to push his tongue inside.
Deep. Possessive. Hungry.
Isagi's brain screamed push him off.
He shoved. Both hands against Rin's chest. Rin didn't move. His body was a wall, solid, burning hot, insistent. He pressed Isagi harder against the concrete. His hips pinned Isagi in place. His tongue swept across Isagi's teeth, his palate, the inside of his cheek.
Isagi shoved again. Harder.
This time, Rin's body shifted, just a fraction. Enough for Isagi to turn his head, break the kiss, gasp for air.
"What the fuck"
Rin grabbed his jaw. Turned his face back. Kissed him again.
Meaner.
His teeth scraped Isagi's lower lip. His tongue pushed past Isagi's resistance. His hands fisted in Isagi's hair, yanking his head back, exposing his throat.
Isagi's hands gripped Rin's shoulders. Pushed.
Rin didn't move.
So Isagi bit.
Not Rin's lip. Rin's tongue. He clamped down hard enough to taste fresh blood.
Rin jerked back with a growl. His lips were red, blood and spit and something darker. His chest was heaving. His eyes were completely black.
"Did you just"
"Yes." Isagi wiped his mouth. Came away with blood. His own? Rin's? Both? "I told you to get off."
Rin stared at him. For a long moment, he didn't move. Didn't speak. Just looked at Isagi like he was seeing him for the first time.
Then he lunged again.
This time, Isagi was ready.
He met Rin halfway, not pushing away, not pulling closer. Meeting. Their mouths crashed together again, teeth and tongue and the metallic taste of blood. Isagi's hands fisted in Rin's hair. Rin's hands gripped Isagi's hips. They stumbled across the room, wall to wall, neither giving ground, neither taking it.
Rin pinned Isagi against the far wall. Isagi flipped them. Pinned Rin against the opposite wall. Rin snarled and flipped them back. Isagi's head cracked against the concrete again. He didn't care.
"Is that all you've got?" Isagi gasped against Rin's mouth.
Rin answered with his teeth, scraping Isagi's jaw, his cheek, the corner of his lips. Not kisses. Bites. Small, sharp, possessive.
Isagi bit back. His canines, smaller than Rin's but sharp enough, sank into Rin's lower lip. Pulled. Rin groaned, a low, wrecked sound that vibrated through Isagi's chest, and pressed closer.
Their tongues slid together. Their teeth clicked. Their breath mingled, hot, fast, desperate.
Isagi's hands slid down Rin's back. Felt the muscles tense under his palms. Felt the heat radiating off Rin's skin like a furnace.
Rin's hands slid up Isagi's shirt. Fingers splayed across his ribs. Gripped hard enough to bruise.
They kissed until neither of them could breathe. Until their lips were numb. Until the blood from their split lips had dried and cracked and split again.
Rin's mouth left Isagi's. Traveled down his jaw. His throat.
Isagi's breath hitched. "Rin"
Teeth.
Sharp.
Rin bit down on the junction of Isagi's neck and shoulder.
Isagi screamed.
Not a gasp. Not a moan. A scream, loud and raw and agonized. Because Rin's canines were sharp. Dominant Alpha canines, longer and thicker than Isagi's, designed to puncture.
They sank into Isagi's skin like hot knives.
Pain exploded through his shoulder, white hot, electric, nauseating. His vision went white at the edges. His knees buckled. His whole body locked.
What
What is he
He's biting me
Isagi shoved.
Both hands slammed into Rin's chest with every ounce of strength he had left.
Rin stumbled back. His lips were red, drenched, with Isagi's blood. His canines were still extended, stained crimson. His pupils were completely blown, black holes in a pale face.
But his expression wasn't angry.
It was blank.
Empty. Hollow. Like he wasn't fully there. Like something else was looking out through his eyes.
Predator eyes.
He stared at Isagi. At the blood dripping down Isagi's neck. At the wound, still fresh, still bleeding, still his.
"You" Isagi's voice cracked. His hand pressed against his neck. Came away soaked. Pain throbbed through his shoulder, deep, pulsing, wrong. "What the fuck, Rin."
Rin didn't answer.
His chest was heaving. His whole body was trembling. His pheromones flooded the room, thick and sweet and overwhelming. Isagi had never smelled anything like it.
Rut.
He's in rut.
Rin's eyes swept over Isagi one more time. Face. Neck. Blood.
Then he turned. Walked to the door. Didn't look back.
The door slammed.
His footsteps echoed down the hallway. Fading. Fading.
Gone.
Isagi stood there for a long moment. Hand pressed to his bleeding neck. Heart hammering. Brain screaming.
What the fuck just happened?
He bit me.
Rin bit me.
Why would he
What
His legs gave out. He slid down the wall. Sat on the cold concrete. Stared at nothing.
His neck throbbed. His lips throbbed. His whole body throbbed.
And somewhere in the distance, silence.
Rin was gone.
Isagi had no idea what had just happened.
No idea why.
No idea what came next.