BLUE LOCK - a place where soccer is more than just a sport and a future of worldwide glory is within grasp. Desperate to prove her worth and break barriers, Keiko Iteya fights to hold her own in a rigorous competition against 299 young men in Japan...
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The next couple of days were productive and conducive in my objective to take down my brother. The Ubers would be our first team to play, which seemed fitting and ironic. So I was working hard, trying to stand out and make myself a viable option as a starter. Loki seemed to notice this and kept pairing me to work with Shido, who I knew was probably going to be a starter along with Rin.
My ability to effectively work with Shido paid off in training. We were able to successfully complete the strategies and plays Loki handed us in a dynamic way, with the help of Nanase. Rin was assigned to work more with Karasu and Zantetsu, which did not go as smoothly. Karasu kept getting frustrated with Rin for not allowing him to participate as much as he wanted, which Rin would refute and tell him to try harder and keep up.
Since Rin and I had our talk in the hallway, there had been some unspoken change between us. In what little free time we had, Rin was always nearby. He sat next to me at every meal, worked out next to me in the mornings, and walked with me to and from training to our shared living area. I didn't mind his presence and actually looked forward to it.
I was currently sitting in one of the media rooms in a large bean bag, watching old footage of Hikaru playing that Ego had on file. I was studying his movements from his last couple of matches. At one point the door slid open and Rin stepped inside, seeing that I was using the space.
I sat up from where I had been leaning back in the bean bag. "Hey." His hair was slightly wet and I figured he must have just showered or something. I smiled. "I was wondering where you were."
"What are you doing?" Rin muttered. "You and Karasu watched all of these videos already two days ago."
"Yeah, well..." I faced forward. "I think I missed something. I thought I would give them another look through." I patted the space next to me on the bean bag. "Wanna sit with me?" I heard him walk closer as I looked down at my tablet, scrolling through Hikaru's profile. "I've gone through everything, but it feels like I'm still missing something important."
"You're acting obsessive about this," he told me, stopping right next to where I was sitting.
I scoffed up at him in amusement. "You're one to talk, Itoshi Rin. Obsessive soccer revenge is like your method of operation."
"What makes you think you missed something? What's there to miss?" Rin questioned, taking the tablet from me and causing me to protest quietly with a frown. "You know how your brother plays better than anyone. You've been watching his matches since he was a little kid."
"Not recently," I mumbled. "Believe it or not, I gave up on Hikaru's soccer career when I started my own. The last game he played with you and Sae was the last time I watched my brother play in a match. And that was years ago..."
"Why are you so worried about playing against a former cripple?" Rin questioned with a slightly raised brow.
I turned to face him. "I'm not." I sighed and ran a hand through my hair. "I just want to do my best in the Final Selection. That's all." It was a lie, a small lie I hoped Rin would buy. Part of me feared that he'd figure out something was going on if he didn't already suspect that. I didn't want there to be any chance that Ego would disqualify me or that my spot in Blue Lock would be questioned further than it already was by the JFU.
