Chapter Text
Chigiri loved football like he loved life itself, and he knew Isagi felt the same – if not more.
Isagi may as well love football more than life itself.
He wouldn’t put that beyond the man who had almost everything but his passion for sport against his favor: beta physiology, unremarkable physicality, and lack of proper football experience prior to Blue Lock.
Isagi might as well be the poster boy for the heights someone can reach with willpower, passion, and grit to evolve twice as fast as all the naturally gifted individuals around him.
Isagi is more than just what he reduced him to in the narrative but it was undeniable that most odds were against his favor, and this only drilled in his victory as a professional football player so this is how Chigiri always knew he would be in the same field with Isagi again – under the world’s seeing gaze once more – but no longer in televised screens for reality-themed entertainment but in the game that they all aspired to play at least once in their professional career.
While that was expected, what he didn’t expect was being on the same team as the other boy in that instance and with it, came growing as close as he would be with the beta.
Their plays are compatible, but Isagi’s play on the field has always been compatible with most players who were willing to surrender to his vision of the goal. That was his strength: the deadly combination of enhanced spatial awareness and a high soccer IQ. It made him highly adaptable with most plays — especially ones that utilized power to complement what was lacking in his own skill set. These capabilities often led to the most compelling gameplays and exciting goals that Chigiri has ever had the fortune of watching inside and outside of the field.
It must have been fate, if not the gods of football themselves - should they exist, who ultimately decided that they had different plans for Isagi and him.
The Munich Bastards were never part of his dream team. He already had an offer from a Spanish club he’s been eyeing even before his stint with Manshine City, but their bid was beaten in the last minute by Noel Noa’s Bastards after the world’s greatest striker saw his value that was easily lost on everyone else – bar Ego as he was the last person to help Chigiri make his final decision.
Blue Lock had a wildcard exchange of players around the end of the program. It was a test of adaptability and their ability to induce the most intriguing plays between instances of perfect combinations and unexpected anomalies. It was a valuable test given that the clubs they would be thrust into would be mostly new people as well.
It was unconventional. That’s what he thought initially – especially after he heard that Kurona also received an invite. A fellow speedster.
The Munchen Bastards were an interesting group of football players and the players they specifically took in almost replicated their main line-up as if the Blue Lockers were there to challenge the technical work of their traditional team play through the carnivorous dynamism of the training they underwent and immediately went straight to their plays.
Nonetheless, Chigiri trusted Noel Noa more than any striker in the field, more than Chris Prince who mentored him for the time that he evolved the most as a striker.
He learns of his right decision to trust his new mentor when he sees the play that he envisioned, the play he could aspire to as a way to use his speed to its full potential. A way to play to the strengths of his teammates that also utilized his own and made him a shining beacon of a striker.
The Munich Bastards took in the most Blue Lockers under their wing: A power striker like Kunigami, a tactician mastermind like Isagi, and two speedsters: Kurona and Chigiri — of which Chigiri only understood the rationale behind after their first match.
Chigiri’s speed was most valuable in offensive play as he utilized the egoism of a striker while Kurona shined the most as a midfielder as he had the kind of play that balanced the intensity of a Blue Lock egoist and the harmony of the Bastard’s traditional football. He, with Isagi, were the right catalysts for the most corrosive dynamism between the technically masterful Bastards and the goal-hungry Blue Lockers.
In line with beliefs that have been disproved with the drawing of time, Chigiri also never thought he would share a bed with the peculiar beta.
In fact, he was almost sure that the fantasy would remain in his head for years to come since Isagi - despite being a mere beta - was a well-sought out person within their circles or at least, within Blue Lock. While no one made a move on him while they were within the facility, it was a well-acknowledged fact to everyone but the oblivious boy that a good majority of the teenagers there wanted to fuck him as much as they wanted to fight him on the field but - well, maybe, rising tensions played their part in sealing the deal for these peculiar arrangements.
Chigiri and Isagi aren’t lovers, but they’re more than friends.
That’s the anecdote that comes to him when he thinks about their peculiar arrangement or relationship, whichever optical lens one wished to assess their relationship from.
Chigiri wasn’t the type to watch those chick flicks. He already had enough feminine traits to his name that he would prefer not to add kindling to the fire, but he was sure this was how his sister’s rom-com plot lines usually began.
There’s a part of him that’s hopeful of the thought that Isagi may possibly like him because there’s many parts of him that like Isagi, whether it’s for his physicality, his brilliance, or the natural nuances to his person that only add to his desirability. However, despite all that, Isagi is still a beta – ill-equipped to handle an alpha like Chigiri especially within the context of a rut.
He has heard of the horror stories: of betas almost bleeding to death after forced copulation once their partners have mistaken them as compatible omegas in the throes of rut. He couldn’t possibly subject Isagi to that kind of fate. In fact, an event like that may as well cost them their careers because not only was it embarrassing, relationships were also recommended to be put on the low with their value as young and desirable athletes multiplied with the thought of their singlehood.
At the end of the day, they were celebrities akin to entertainment to the common folk. The more they can fool their fans that they are approachable enough to be considered as one of them, the more valuable they are to the public eye. Icons that are untouchable only last in the spotlight for so long. It’s why Noel Noa is an enthusiast and athlete’s favorite but Chris Prince is the name you will hear more often outside the circles.
To add to that, there was absolutely nothing romantic between Isagi and himself.
Something carnal, more baseline like instinctive attraction. That, he can attest for – but romance? That’s a far cry.
The big idea here is that Chigiri has only slept with Isagi once and he doesn’t even remember the hot night they’ve spent together, nothing outside waking up beside the man to the sight of a beet red beta littered with bruises and bitemarks across his body.
It made his frail figure (for a footballer) look even more vulnerable, and Chigiri would be a big fat liar if he said the sight didn’t make him inwardly gulp. And that’s the event that kickstarted this whole spree of will they or won’t they? (But, the answer is always the latter. It’s just meandering to pass the time.)
Sure, there was something between the two of them. They weren’t just friends, but not quite lovers either. Overall, not worth a second thought.
Isagi is a beta, and Chigiri - despite the volume of erroneous claims - is an alpha.
Physiologically, they’re not meant to work out so the conversation shouldn’t have been considered altogether - like he said, not worth a second thought.
He really should stop pandering about it too deeply. Perhaps, these are the kind of thoughts that one would get in the quiet months after a momentous World Cup win – their first one to participate in and win. The team received an invite for a game organized by a primary sponsor of their club. It was a game with one of the English clubs, not Chris Prince’s Manshine City who they went against in the finals, but it was an exciting enough match to have a full house of spectators.
Just as all these events would have it, there was an afterparty.
Chigiri opted out of the invite and from his knowledge, Isagi must have opted out as well.
(It will all play in his favor so he had to know.)
Chigiri had to visit his physical therapist to have his usual check-up before they fly back the following day to Germany, and Isagi had a friend to meet in another English club. From his source, said friend recently retired from the football circuit due to an injury.
Neither Chigiri nor Isagi had close friends in the opposing team, and they knew that those Englishmen had a reputation for being rowdy in the nightclub scene, so it was only adequate for the two of them to stay away from the night scene. Of the entire group, they would often be the people to opt out of the loud club afterparties whether it was intentional or unintentional. While they respected and - to an extent - admired their teammates and opponents on the field, the appreciation for their play doesn’t always translate to off-court behavior.
Perhaps, all the waiting is getting to Chigiri’s head. He knows Isagi doesn’t think he’d wait for him but he would. Some things you just don’t pass up. He curls one part of his hair as he taps his feet. He leans back with his hands right behind his form keeping him upright to face the door. He looks at the clock.
He’s been waiting for an hour. A little more than it even.
The door slides open to reveal the figure of the person he’s been waiting for. Isagi isn’t looking up to meet his eyes. The beta’s eyes are downcast, seemingly tired from the meet-up with an old friend. He heard that his friend was cities away. The commute must have been brutal especially since it was a weekend.
“Isagi,” Chigiri’s voice cuts through the air. His voice catches Isagi’s interest and their eyes meet. Finally.
“Chigiri, how was—“ Chigiri doesn’t waste time with pleasantries. Before Isagi could even finish his sentence, he’s already mere steps away from the boy, moving toward him at a speed that has him closing the distance in seconds. He pulls Isagi by the back of his neck. His large hand almost completely wrapped around the smaller boy’s lithe neck. His hands descend along Isagi’s torso, as he leaves a firm squeeze on the smaller boy’s waist when he’s practically shoved closer to meet Chigiri’s ravenous lips that devoured his sweetness like a man deprived of sustenance.
If his estimations were correct, Chigiri’s rut should come in the next couple of days and while he knows Isagi can’t accompany him because his beta physiology wasn’t equipped to handle any alpha knot the same way an omega can, that doesn’t mean he can’t fool around with the beta when the opportunity arises.
Chigiri isn’t an opportunist, but he knows where to place his bets on and who to invest his time and energy toward. He knows Isagi is worth the compromise.
His alpha is howling - screaming - at him to give it a chance to let him breed Isagi’s lithe and nimble body – hold him down enough to take Chigiri’s alpha knot in that tight warmth – physiology be damned – wait, no. God, his head was talking nonsense.
Isagi’s hands clench for purchase against Chigiri’s chest, and Chigiri’s hands scoot lower - to Isagi’s ass - grabbing its plump curve, soft and full, unlike the rest of him which was all sinewy musculature. His hands squeeze and grip the boy’s ass while he devours his lips in a passionate and fervent entanglement.
Isagi pulls away from Chigiri. His cheeks flushed red, eyes wide – akin to saucers. He stutters, “H-Hold on a moment, Chigiri.”
God.
It would take a while for him to get tired of this, Chigiri muses.
Isagi Yoichi was a drug simply too addicting for his own good, and Chigiri was nothing short of an junkie hooked to this substance.
***
The morning after, Isagi’s lips are swollen red. They attempted to make it look otherwise with copious amounts of ice and cold splashes of water but nothing really worked at all.
Isagi feels his lips sting to the touch, but he doesn’t point it out so no one pays attention, especially with most of the team nursing hangovers from the previous night’s revelry. It only adds to the notorious reputation of said English club and supports his decision in skipping said afterparty. Work hard, play hard. Kaiser’s people probably.
Out of everyone, only Kurona managed to come out of last night’s gathering put together but then again, it was an expected outcome because that guy had a liver of steel and the alcohol tolerance of a god. It may have been expected for him as well to be the only one on the team to notice Isagi’s reddened lips.
From the distant point of his vision as he was walking behind them, Chigiri could see Kurona eyeing Isagi’s lips and attempting to touch it with his bare hands. The dark-haired boy is flushed again to a deep scarlet. He thinks Isagi is slowly getting into the bad habit of looking like a tomato off the field. He doesn’t know if it’s adorable or worrisome. Is there a drawback to always looking that flushed?
Chigiri presses his lips against each other and doesn’t feel any sting. He looks through the reflective pillars littered across the airport as well and sees nothing different from the natural flush of his lips. Perhaps, he had to be more careful with Isagi’s lips now. He was Japan’s national treasure after all – or one of them. Was he also a national treasure? He hasn’t really paid attention since Itoshi Sae.
Kunigami groans from beside him before yawning at his hand, both disruptive and loud sounds that only vex Chigiri.
“Gross,” Chigiri catches a whiff of the other man’s morning breath laced with the smell of puke and alcohol. There’s also that pungent untamed alpha scent that mingles with all the unsavory smells. He covers his nose with a hand.
“Good morning to you too, Chigiri. You guys made the wrong decision to skip out on the afterparty. Those English guys,” Kunigami clenches a fist in a dramatized manner. “They know how to party.”
“If it makes my breath smell like that in the morning, I’d rather not.”
And I probably had a better night than the rest of you if I’ll be honest.
“Chigiri, you don’t change. Do you, princess?”
“Still using that nickname? Have some originality,” Chigiri retorts.
Kunigami wraps a hand around Chigiri’s shoulder. He throws some of his weight down on the other alpha. They dip lower for a moment from Chigiri’s surprise of being thrown the weight of an alpha before he adjusts and carries on his gait like normal.
“Of course, there is no other alpha princess than you.”
“Whatever, if that’s what makes you feel like some hunk, sure. I just wanna go home. Also not sitting beside you because you smell.”
“Huh? But we already have the tickets, don’t we have a seating arrangement?”
“If you need me, I’ll just go to Kurona and Isagi there. I’m sure they smell better than you do. Bye, Kuni-smelly!”
“Huh!? Hey, I wanna talk to Isagi too. He wasn’t there last night, you know?” Kunigami scratches his head. He hastens his pace to match Chigiri who was fast approaching Isagi. “Sometimes, I feel like you guys have some sort of secret arrangement because both of you always seem to have the same idea of not attending the afterparties.”
He wasn’t wrong.
“Better to have a secret arrangement than be a stinky alpha,” Chigiri catches up to Isagi’s gait. The comment flies over Kunigami’s head. Chigiri presumes that Kunigami is no more than a simpleton compared to the likes of him or Isagi, maybe even Kurona.
Chigiri wraps an arm around Isagi’s waist, pulling him in a little further from Kurona as he lays his head on the smaller boy’s shoulder to flash a tongue at Kunigami who walks faster out of annoyance.
Kurona sends Chigiri a disgruntled expression, but fully understands the banter when he sees Kunigami angrily walking at them, footsteps heavy against the tiled floors of the airport. He remembers that the orange-haired alpha was the worst of last night’s affair.
“Hey! Everyone was gone last night. You would have been gone too if you attended.”
“And that’s why I didn’t attend,” Chigiri childishly retorts. He pulls Isagi even closer by the arm slung around his waist.
“C-Chigiri - uh,” Chigiri looks down to eye the source of the shy voice, Isagi, and he sees the flushed expression of his teammate, almost as red as the shade of his lips. “Your hand - it’s — you’re lifting up my shirt. Can you —?”
Oh.
So that’s why it felt warm to the touch.
Kurona covers his mouth, probably hiding a grin with those teeth of his.
Kunigami manages to catch up to them. He postures with one hand on his hip. “I swear, you guys better stop being so fussy. My head’s still a damn mess from last night. Cut me some slack.”
Kunigami doesn’t notice the way Chigiri hands over his bag and Isagi’s own to Kurona as he berates their group, nor the way Chigiri gives him a concerned look before schooling his expression altogether.
Chigiri takes one look at him as he carries Isagi in a bridal style, one arm strung along the back of Isagi’s knees and another across around the upper half of his back as he runs away from the other alpha. Kurona effortlessly kept up with his pace.
Kunigami stares at his teammates. Betrayal laced his tone. “You guys…”
***
Now that they were something akin to football stars, it wasn’t that difficult to sway the airline into modifying seating arrangements given that they were probably one of their most frequent customers as well.
The new arrangement brought about by Chigiri’s request to have his teammate monopolize a whole pair of seats because his poor teammate Kunigami was so tired he needed some rest included Kaiser beside Grim; Kurona beside Ness; and Chigiri beside Isagi; while the rest of the team was on another flight.
“You’re really mean to Kunigami, you know?” Isagi chastises Chigiri.
Chigiri laughs at the accusation and the pointed look. “It’s hard to take that from someone who trash-talks everyone else he’s on the field with, Isagi.”
“That was in the moment!”
“Yeah, yeah. If you smelled Kunigami, you’d have the same idea too.His alpha stench was inter – ah,” Chigiri pauses. He rethinks his words. “Right, you can’t smell him. Beta. Right, right.”
“Right,” Isagi’s tone sounds clipped. It makes Chigiri wonder if it’s a touchy matter altogether.
“How are your lips?”
“My –” Isagi’s eyes go wide at the mention of his lips. His hand rests against the swollen pair, and Chigiri stares at him as he waits for a proper reply.
“Should I be gentl–,” Isagi covers Chigiri’s mouth with his hands. His face flushed scarlet and mouth quivering, unsure what to say first to the shameless man.
Not too long ago, Chigiri was a closed-off player in Blue Lock. There’s a moment when Isagi wonders if it was a good thing that they’re even on the same team but he recovers from the shock – not enough to take his emotions to words. He shakes his head and eventually, his voice musters the best he could verbalize from his flustered thoughts. “Not now, Chigiri.”
Chigiri offhandedly thinks if this means that he just got an indirect kiss from Isagi’s lips.
Isagi slowly unlatches his hands as he leans back with a sigh.
Okay, maybe Chigiri was a bit too much. Who could blame him? They almost went to second base last night. He was still an alpha at the end of the day and if anyone (who wasn’t a beta like Isagi) paid attention, they would have scented the incoming rut.
He wonders if he would need to find an omega to spend his rut with this time around. It has only been getting less and less manageable over the past couple of months and if he doesn’t resolve the urge soon, he’d probably get so feral to the extent that he might try mate the closest moving, breathing thing within his vicinity that had two legs and a neck – Isagi – but, well, Isagi is a beta. Some things are not so easily achievable as they are in fantasy.
He’s had his own fantasies of the boy, writhing underneath him or tearily riding his cock. In said dreams, Isagi would take his knot so well like a good omega should and Chigiri would coo quiet words of comfort and encouragement as he pushed the boy to take in more and more of his cock while he whimp – pause.
There’s a deep realization that dawns on him when he gains a deeper understanding of the seriousness of his incoming rut with the alpha side of himself taking the wheel in his brain. These thoughts would usually take the backseat of his head until he was back at his home in private with the company of one.
He remembers Bachira’s monster and wonders if this was his own version of a monster…not a football monster, but a horny alpha one.
He groans out of frustration. He wants to go home. He’d love to stay and chat with Isagi, but not only stay and chat. He wanted to stay, chat, make out, maybe fuck, and do something two mutually attracted men should do to each other. Not maybe fuck. He wants to FUCK the boy right there and then, show the rest of his alpha and beta teammates who owned and monopolized the – pause again.
He needs to go home.
“Are you okay, Chigiri?”
It’s Isagi again. That soft, soft beta voice had no right to be uttering the most ruthless backtalk when they were on the field. “I’m fine. Peachy, peachy. I just can’t wait to get home. Rut’s coming soon.”
Isagi’s eyes go wide at the admission and he turns his attention away from Chigiri. “O-oh, um, how do you usually spend it?”
Chigiri realizes he’s never discussed his ruts out loud like this. Well, they were pretty manageable until recently so it never really warranted a discussion. “Well – honestly – alone.”
“Ah, don’t you have - um - an omega to spend it with?”
“That’s too much trouble. An omega can easily take advantage of an alpha in rut especially if they find out who I am. I don’t want to deal with some tiny me roaming around the world and possibly coming back years later to ask for my fortune.”
Isagi blanks off for a moment before the joke registers and he laughs. “Then why not a beta male?”
Isagi returns his gaze to meet Chigiri, only to be met with a look so intense he felt like he was in the middle of a high stakes football game with the other man. At the realization of his words’ implication, Isagi shakes his head in a defensive manner. His expression is just as frantic as the motion. “A-ah, I wasn’t offering. Sorry if it sounded like that.”
Chigiri murmurs under his breath. “Well, I wish you were.”
It was too low for Isagi to even register the words. “Sorry, what?”
“Nothing, it’s nothing.” Chigiri looks straight in front of him just so he could avoid the worried gaze from Isagi. “Don’t worry. I’m not taking it to heart. Betas can’t handle knots anyway – or at least beta males.”
“Huh, what do you mean by that?”
“Well, betas aren’t physiologically composed to handle a knot. Female betas may have difficulty with it but - uh - okay, this is getting weird. I don’t wanna talk about the sexual composition of a beta in front of a beta.”
Isagi chuckles in understanding. “Oh well, I guess just let me know if there’s anything I can do. I’ll try my best.”
“Okay – wait,” Chigiri’s head draws back to hit the backrest of his seat when he realizes the implication of Isagi’s words.
He swiftly turns to face his teammate to confirm what he just heard, only to be met with the slumbering face of the beta.
Isagi Yoichi definitely deserves a medal for consistently playing with his head without even a conscious attempt.