𝓡𝓲𝓷 𝓲𝓽𝓸𝓼𝓱𝓲 𝓫𝓸𝓽𝓽𝓸𝓶 𝔁 𝓮𝓿𝓮𝓻𝔂𝓸𝓷𝓮 𝓸𝓷𝓮𝓼𝓱𝓸𝓽 𝓼𝓽𝓸𝓻𝔂

56. Isagi x Rin

The air between Isagi Yoichi and Rin Itoshi had been thick for weeks. What had once been comfortable, easy silence now felt suffocating, as though each word spoken carried the weight of something unspoken, something hidden. Rin, typically brash and direct, had been unusually quiet lately. His eyes, usually sharp and confident, seemed distant whenever they locked with Isagi's. But Isagi couldn’t bring himself to ask what was wrong. There was a reason for his hesitation, a reason that he kept buried deep within him—because if he said it out loud, everything might unravel.

Isagi had been offered a career-defining opportunity: a spot on one of the top teams in Europe, one that would not only elevate his career but set him on a path to achieving everything he had ever dreamed of. He was the one who had worked hardest for this, the one who had sacrificed so much to get here. And yet, when he thought about it—about leaving Rin—it felt like he was tearing himself apart.

But how could he refuse? He couldn’t, not when the chance was too great to pass up. It was everything he had been working for, everything he had been pushing towards. This was his moment, and he had to take it. He had to.

And yet, there was Rin. The one constant in his life. The person who had been there through every high and every low, who understood him in ways no one else ever had. Rin, with his guarded heart and biting sarcasm, had somehow become his home, his anchor.

But the truth was, Isagi hadn’t told Rin yet. Not about the offer. Not about the possibility of leaving.

It was an evening like any other when the tension finally broke. The two of them were sitting in their apartment, quiet except for the sound of the TV in the background. Rin was scrolling through his phone, his posture rigid, while Isagi absentmindedly tapped his fingers on the coffee table. The silence had become unbearable, like the space between them was growing wider by the day.

Isagi took a deep breath, preparing himself for what he was about to say. He couldn't put it off any longer. Rin deserved to know.

“Rin,” Isagi started, his voice uncharacteristically soft, “there’s something I need to tell you.”

Rin didn’t look up from his phone, but his shoulders tensed, a slight shift in his posture that Isagi knew all too well. “Hm?”

Isagi could feel the weight of his words pressing on his chest, but he forced himself to speak. “I’ve been offered a spot on a team in Europe. It’s a huge opportunity for me—maybe the biggest one I’ll ever get. I’m… I’m thinking about taking it.”

There was a long pause. Rin’s fingers stopped moving on his phone, and for a moment, Isagi thought he hadn’t heard him. But then Rin looked up, his eyes narrowing, his gaze cold and unreadable.

“Europe?” Rin’s voice was low, almost too calm. “You’re really considering it?”

Isagi nodded, his heart racing. “It’s everything I’ve worked for, Rin. You know that. It’s my chance to become the best.”

Rin didn’t say anything for a long while, his eyes never leaving Isagi’s. The silence stretched between them like a chasm, and Isagi could feel the weight of Rin’s gaze, the hurt that was beginning to flicker in his eyes, though he did his best to hide it.

“You’ve been acting weird lately,” Rin finally said, his voice tinged with frustration. “I’ve been wondering what’s been going on with you, and now I get it.”

Isagi’s throat tightened, but he pushed forward. “I didn’t want to tell you like this. I didn’t want you to think that I’m just going to leave without saying anything. But I’ve been struggling, Rin. I’m torn. This could change everything for me, and I didn’t know how to bring it up.”

Rin’s lips curled into a bitter smile, one that didn’t reach his eyes. “So you’ve just been avoiding me because of some contract offer? Because you were too afraid to hurt my feelings?”

“No!” Isagi’s voice broke, desperate for Rin to understand. “It’s not like that. I didn’t want to leave you behind. I didn’t want to hurt you, but I—I have to take this chance. I have to.”

Rin stood up abruptly, his chair scraping loudly against the floor. “And what, you think I’ll just accept that? You think I’ll just let you walk away without a fight? Just like that?” His voice cracked, and for a brief moment, the walls he’d built around himself seemed to crumble. “You don’t get it, Isagi. You never did. I—"

He stopped himself, his breath coming in shallow, uneven gasps. He turned away, as if afraid to face Isagi, as though his own emotions had become too much to handle.

“Rin,” Isagi whispered, standing up and taking a tentative step forward. “What is it? Why are you so angry?”

Rin’s shoulders were trembling now, his fists clenched at his sides. “Because I—" He cut himself off, shaking his head, as if trying to stop the words from spilling out. But they came anyway, raw and unfiltered. “Because I was ready to put everything aside for you, Isagi. I was ready to sacrifice my own future for us. But now you're just going to leave. Just like that.”

Isagi’s heart sank. “What? Rin, no, that’s not—”

“I didn’t ask for this,” Rin spat, his voice low and strained. “I didn’t ask to care so much, to get caught up in this... this mess. But here I am, standing in front of you, and you’re telling me you’re leaving. For your dream, for your career. And I’m just supposed to sit here and be happy for you?”

Isagi’s chest tightened, the guilt flooding him like a wave. “I didn’t want to hurt you. You have to believe me. I thought I could make this work, but I don’t know if I can. I’m sorry.”

Rin didn’t respond. He stood there, silent, as though the weight of his own emotions had paralyzed him. The air between them felt suffocating now, filled with words left unsaid and promises that would never come to fruition.

“I don’t know if I can do this, Isagi,” Rin said softly, his voice barely above a whisper. “I don’t know if I can watch you leave and pretend like it’s okay. I don’t know if I can keep pretending everything’s fine when you’re moving on and I’m… stuck here.”

The pain in Rin’s voice cut deeper than anything Isagi had ever felt. His heart ached, a dull throb that refused to go away. He had never meant to hurt Rin, but in chasing his own dreams, he had forgotten that Rin had his own dreams, too. Dreams that didn’t involve being left behind.

Days passed in silence. Rin withdrew even further, and Isagi found himself torn between his dreams and the wreckage of his relationship. He couldn’t stop thinking about Rin—the way his eyes had looked when he’d admitted the truth, the way Rin had tried to hide his pain. The guilt gnawed at him, but he still couldn’t bring himself to let go of the opportunity that had been laid out before him.

In the end, the decision wasn’t as simple as Isagi thought it would be. What he had to sacrifice wasn’t just his career—it was his heart. And he wasn’t sure if he was ready to give that up, too.

But in the quiet of the night, when he lay awake in bed, Isagi knew one thing for certain: no matter what choice he made, someone would be left broken.

And that someone, he feared, would be him.

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