Arc1: Chapter14
What is this despair… that squeezes my heart?
At that moment, Barou thought a lot of things and felt a lot of things.
If I accept this so-called ‘losing’...
Barou Shouei had never accepted his loss. Because he was Barou Shoei, and because of his philosophy. Barou Shoei was a man far more complicated than someone obsessed with being 'the ‘King’.
And yet… I don’t feel any frustration. Is it because I’m not the main character anymore?
Philosophies engraved deep into one’s heart couldn’t be changed easily. Barou Shoei was still reluctant.
If I act as a supporting role right now… we’ll win. This is the first time I’m feeling this way. These two are showing me the vision of a goal.
For the first time in his life, Barou Shoei understood.
If I pass… I will become a piece of the coming goal. Shit.. the way I’m right now… You two are way too bright. So that’s how it feels… All the guys who passed to me before…… were feeling like this.
But now, Isagi Yoichi was forcing him to look at reality. Before, he had lost terribly to Leon, and his heart knew it, but he was unable to accept it.
If I entrust the ball to the absolute striker.. I will be saved from this feeling of ‘losing’.
He went on and on with his delusion and immaturity.
I… wasn’t the King.
Until someone came and destroyed it all.
…
It was at that moment when Barou felt that he was pathetic and wallowing in despair… The ball fell under Barou’s feet, seemingly nothing more than a prank of fate.
What was he supposed to do?
What was the ‘right’ decision?
The ‘right’ decision was to pass the ball to Isagi or Nagi and secure their victory.
Become a side character for the rest of your life.
It was a necessary sacrifice.
The moment, Barou was about to swing his leg… time stopped for him. A mirage of visions came out of nowhere, showing the future of the side character Barou Shoei.
Is this really what I want…? Barou’s whole body felt heavy, even though fate had already decided his destiny for him, Barou was unwilling to accept it. No… I don’t want that!
Barou didn’t want the future he would have if he were to succumb to his fate.
+++++
The moment you understand yourself is when you finally awaken.
+++++
The light you created on this field… I’ll devour it.. and turn it into darkness!
…
Right there and then, a combo none had seen before blossomed.
An anti-combo.
“You guys won, huh? Congratulations.” Coincidence or not, Leon had the pleasure of meeting Isagi and the groups again.
Carrying a tray in his hand, Leon took steady strides toward an empty table. Isagi and Barou followed right after him with trays in each of their hands. They sat together while Leon took a seat opposite theirs.
Isagi took a bite of his food and cautiously glanced at his seatmates, knowing the two were not the type to engage in small talk.
He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination but Isagi felt like Barou had stiffened for a moment when he saw Leon. ‘Probably’ his imagination.
He didn’t know what happened between Leon and Barou but he feel that he shouldn’t intervene in their problems.
‘What do you know about me!?’ Chigiri snapped and gave him one last glare before he stormed out of the room.
See, that’s what happened to the meddlesome people.
It would be troublesome if he decided to be a nuisance and get caught up between the two of them instead.
“So… I want to ask you,” Barou turned his head toward Isagi while chewing. Leon lifted an eyebrow at the silence being broken, but he bow his head and went back to eating, showing that he wasn’t interested in whatever was going on. “What is the soccer you want to play?”
Leon halted his fork and his violet eyes re-focused on the two in front of him. If it was usual, Leon wouldn’t be interested in normal players, however, due to their match at Team Z, Isagi Yoichi gained his interest.
Isagi, too, was surprised at Barou’s question. The usual Barou wouldn’t be interested in him at all; he had clearly changed.
“Well…” Isagi stared at his food, “My weapons are direct shoot and spatial awareness. And, with ‘off the ball movement’, you will have everything I could use to position myself.”
Isagi reminiced.
In the match with Leon, his imperfect spatial awareness became ‘slightly’ perfect spatial awareness. In addition to that, he devoured the surprise element and in the match just now, he had an epiphany and paired it with the weapon of his former teammate– Naruhaya Asahi’s ‘getting in behind’.
He gained a lot in the match just now. His skills- weapons, became better, and he had even devoured new weapons.
Isagi was satisfied.
But a certain someone was not.
…
Actually, not ‘someone’, all the people devoured by Isagi were determined to take revenge on him.
Including Barou.
Including Leon.
Leon listened quietly as Isagi and Barou spoke with each other, his expression unreadable. Occasionally, the two’s gaze would drift back to him.
“–Other than that, everything you said was correct.” Barou ignored Isagi’s startled ‘huh’ and continued, “I was just immature, that’s all. I’m not chicken enough to not change after knowing the pain.”
Leon looked at Barou with a different impression in his mind. Even though he hadn’t had the fortune to watch their 3 vs 3 match, just from their conversation, he knew that Barou had drastically changed.
What about me…? Leon thought, absentmindedly poking his teriyaki chicken. Everything fading into the background. I’m a bit envious. Everyone had changed one after another since Blue Lock happened.
But me? Did anything change about me? In front of my eyes, Davy changed; Isagi-kun changed; Barou changed. My attitude, my personality, my thoughts, my views, my weapons…
Nothing had changed; nothing had evolved.
…Actually, it couldn’t be that my level is just that, right?
Leon was afraid of his own thoughts. Could it be that he had reached a bottleneck? Could this be his end? Could he not evolve just like them?
Is this my… end?
He felt danger and unwillingness creeping behind him, lurking like a monster.
Impossible… Impossible!
With a clang, the silverware in his dainty fingers dropped onto the floor.
“Leon-kun!? Are you okay!?” Isagi and Barou’s talk halted as Leon appeared unnaturally pale with ragged breathing.
Sweat formed on his forehead and neck, glistening, the violet eyes were unfocused as if they were about to lose their luster.
Those changes that happened in an instant greatly alarmed them.
Barou stood up quickly, the chair naturally pushed behind him. “Hey, Isagi. Give him water, and shake him up. Fast. We are going to bring him to the infirmary.”
Isagi gave a shaky nod and gave a glass of water to Leon but he wasn’t responding at all.
With no idea what to do, he turned to Barou. The more muscular boy tsked and took the glass from him and said: “Just wipe his sweat or something.”
“Right.” Isagi had no idea where this reliable and mature Barou came from but he gave affirmation.
Just as Barou was about to shake Leon’s shoulders and make him snap out of whatever state he was in, a hand tightly gripped his shoulder, making him wince at the pain.
“What are you guys doing? Why is my teammate like this?” Barou threw the hand off his shoulder and looked back. And there was a guy he didn’t know at all.
“My question is, who the heck are you?” Barou shot back, glaring at the guy with weird hair. The dude had tanned skin and blond hair dyed pink at the tips and gelled up with two strands of his hair draped over his face.
To complete his ‘weirdo look’, he even had pink eyes and eyeliner.
The guy shook his hand that was thrown off and said, “Who I am is not important. The real question is why he is like… this.”
Barou was about to level up the argument, however, at that moment, a familiar voice yelled at them, “Barou and the strange dude, shut up! Can’t both of you see that Leon-kun is becoming worse!!?”
Both boys snapped their eyes back to Leon and after seeing his condition, shut up as though they were honey-muted.
Leon at this moment looked as white as a paper sheet, and his body was shaking, and his bottom lip was bitten enough to draw blood.
“I’m Leon’s teammate, Shidou. I’ll take him to the infirmary.” Shidou made a decision to not further argue with Barou and swept Leon away with a hand under his knees, and another under his back; carrying princess style.
Then, ran so fast with one Leon carefully tucked in his chest that Isagi and Barou didn’t even have the time to say something.
“Wait–” Isagi was left with a hand extended. He too tried to go after them, but Barou stopped him, reminding him that this Shidou guy was indeed one of Leon’s teammates, as said by him in Bathhouse.
Isagi was taken aback, one reason was that he was reminded of the fact. Another reason was that he found it strange how Barou remembered what Leon said.
The dude didn’t look like the type at all.
He couldn’t help but think about what kind of history the two had together.
I see... I was nothing more than a sore loser and a fake prodigy.
Leon's world slowly faded into darkness.
