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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"You broke up with me because of Kaiser?" I whispered lowly, eyes fixed firmly on Rin as I processed what he had just explained. A few moments of silence passed before I muttered, "Why?"
"I just told you why," Rin told me quietly, an empty looking gaze meeting mine. "Did you not hear me?"
"I heard you..." I replied, eyes narrowing slightly. "I just have a hard time believing it." Rin's brows furrowed in response. "How could you let that asshole get the better of you like that?"
Rin scoffed. "What? Did you want me to get you in more trouble than you were already in? Did you want me to give Kaiser what he wanted?"
"He got exactly what he wanted Rin when you gave up."
"I did not give up," Rin shot back, voice teeming in anger. "I walked away. That was the only choice I had to keep moving forward as the best striker in the world. I couldn't let anything stand in my way of that."
"Like me?" I let out a sarcastic chuckle. "Was I in your way, Rin? Is that why you chose to give up instead of trusting me to have your back?" My head shook and I looked down at my feet. "I can't believe that you thought I would believe him after what he did to me. I know you, Rin. I trusted you. But clearly you didn't trust me."
"I don't expect you to understand why I did it," Rin murmured a moment later. "In fact, it's better if you don't." He turned around and started walking to the door. "That's why I was never going to tell you..."
"HEY!" I shouted out in rage, grabbing the closest object to me. It was Isagi's comb and I spiked it across the space so that it hit the door in front of Rin with a loud crash. "Stop turning your back on me! I'm not done talking to you!" Rin stiffened and slowly looked over his shoulder. "Stop assuming things! That's your problem, Rin. You think you know everything! But you don't! I don't know what it is that you're afraid of, but whenever something or someone threatens you, it's like you shut the entire world out. You think that you can solve all of your problems yourself! You're selfish and inconsiderate of anyone else you cross paths with! Why is it so hard for you to trust anyone?"
Rin didn't respond, only staring at me silently with dark eyes. I marched up to him and closed the large gap between us.
"You gave up, Rin. You quit. And what's worse is that you let Kaiser win. You gave him what he wanted and you let him get the better of you." I shook my head at him. "I've never been more disappointed in you..." There was a slight flicker in his eyes, an indication that he was hearing what I was saying. "But...." I let out a sigh. "I do understand why you did it...."
His stiffened slightly and muttered out, "What?"
"You did it because you're Itoshi Rin. You're never going to change," I said quietly. Turning to face the back of the room, I took a few steps away from him. "You sacrificed our relationship to protect yourself. I shouldn't have expected anything else from you. This is who you are now. I don't forgive you, but... I know why you did it..." I paused. "Just tell me one thing, Rin. Why would you send Isagi? Why didn't you just tell me yourself?"
