Pairings. Isagi Yoichi x reader
Featuring. Isagi Yoichi, Mikage Reo, Nagi Seishirou, Bachira Meguru, OCs & reader insert
Tags. fluff, crack, angst, unrequited love, separation arc, world cup, pining, comfort, burnt house, forced proximity & marriage
"Yoi--Isa--" You blubbered, heat rising to your cheeks.
You blinked. Slowly. But your mind was running miles per hour. And stuck on the tiny droplets stubbornly clinging to a particular hard ridge in Isagi's torso--
No. Nope. Abort! Abort! With the speed of light, you averted your eyes.
Pale and toned skin. Muscles flexing lightly in Isagi's thighs.
You gulped, hastily looking up, trying to rid the tantalising image of a built chest and toned abs and a very beautiful fac--
"I--uh. Hi." You tried for a comforting smile, but it came out more like a terrified grimace.
"...Hi." Isagi looked equally horrified. He gave you a nod.
"...Okay then." Isagi clasped his hands. Then looked at them as if they had personally offended him. "I'm just gonna-- you know-- yep." And with that, Isagi turned tail.
"Oohooh, bad timing?" Bachira, devil incarnate, cackled as he reappeared in the threshold.
"You. Shut up." Isagi hissed with unrestrained fury, though the pink ends of his ears belied his harsh words.
Bachira snickered as Isagi stomped away, slamming his bedroom-- guest bedroom-- door behind him.
Shaking his head in barely restrained laughter, Bachira bounced back into the guest-- no, apparently, Isagi's-- room.
"So... missed me?" Bachira plopped down onto the bed.
You slowly moved your head to glare at him.
Bachira chuckled nervously, slowly backing away. "I'm going, I'm going!"
When you trudged downstairs after having freshened up, you heard Isagi and Bachira talking with each other in low voices.
As you entered the kitchen, they fell silent.
"Heya! Wanna have some tea?" Bachira pushed a mug towards you.
"Uh... sure." You chanced a look at Isagi, but he was carefully evading your gaze, the knuckles around his cup whitening.
You pursed your lips, wavering for a moment before you pulled out a seat next to Bachira.
Bachira slurped his tea. Loudly. Your nose crunched.
Somewhere, faintly, you could hear the chirping of birds. Ah, it was still so early in the morning. Just like how it was too early for this, too early for... whatever had transpired in your, no Isagi's bedroom.
Your eyes strayed involuntarily towards the aforementioned.
He was wearing a black tee, and a pair of snugly fitting jumpers.
Isagi picked up his mug, and for some strange reason, your gaze was glued to the way Isagi's arm muscles flexed when he brought the mug to his mouth. It was now less visible than before, but--
The train of thought screeched to a halt. Or more accurately, crashed down and exploded.
Yep. It was far too early for this.
"So..." Bachira slurped his tea again. Obnoxiously loudly. Isagi's right eyebrow twitched.
"Did something happen here?" Bachira wiggled his eyebrows, stealing glances at the both of you.
After a beat, you picked up on the innuendo.
"Wha--no! No, of course not." You hastily said, your face a mortified red.
"Yeah! What she said. Nothing happened." Isagi rushed in as well.
"So what I saw this morning was just... pure coincidence?" Bachira raised an eyebrow.
"Mhm." Isagi murmured, his eyes intently fixed on his mug.
His fingers were deftly folded around the rim, his thumbs lightly twiddling with the handle.
His hands were actually quite toned. How strange that you had only noticed now.
Defining lines slithered along his smooth skin, the pads of his fingertips thrummed softly against the ceramic.
"And you?" Bachira nudged you, but he might as well have dumped a bucket of ice water over your head.
You startled, almost knocking over your mug. But even though your reflexes prevented that from happening, they weren't able to prevent the hot water from sloshing onto your hands.
"Woah, watch out--" Isagi said in alarm.
He reached over, his hands encasing yours.
You winced, the hotness seeping unpleasantly into your skin.
"Are you okay?" Isagi looked you worriedly in the eyes, his own widened in that adorable way of his.
"I... uhm..." You averted your eyes, the intense eye contact too much. "It's... uh", you faltered, feeling lost in the way Isagi's thumbs drew soothing circles in your skin. Damn him. "...fine." You mumbled.
"I'm glad." Isagi murmured. "No burns?" His hands left yours and for a moment, you lamented the loss of warmth and softness.
Then he was back, lightly tracing the flushed skin, his eyebrows furrowed. "You sure you okay? It's a bit red."
"Yeah, you sure you okay?" Bachira propped a hand under his chin. "You do look red."
You stiffened. Sent Bachira a glare. Noticed his teasing look. Realised your... handholding. Then, felt the abject horror sinking in.
"Ah, uh... I'm fine. Really." Your hands hastily shot away under the table. Only when your fingers were tightly clenched around the cushion, did the tremour in your hands finally cease.
"Oh... okay." Isagi blinked. His cheeks were red. God, you must've embarrassed him so badly.
Isagi slowly tucked his hands away, clamping his tea mug again.
Bachira whistled lowly. "Okay... so, how has it been the past few weeks without me?"
"I feel like I can finally hear myself think."
"Like being freed of a constant migraine."
Bachira groaned, throwing hands. "You guys are meanies. The both of you!"
You rolled your eyes. "Okay, okay. I guess... your obnoxious noise isn't too unwelcome here."
"I suppose I did miss my form of entertainment during training." Isagi sighed.
"Hey!" Bachira grasped his chest in mock-offense. "I'll have you know that people laugh with me! And from what I've heard..." A mischievous grin grew on his face, "you've been more than busy with being the laughingstock."
Isagi stiffened. "That's not true."
"Sure, sure." Bachira chuckled. "Then explain this!"
Taking his phone out of his pocket, Bachira pressed play on some video. He held it angled, so the two of you could watch.
The video was taken during one of Isagi's trainings. They seemed to be doing some goal shooting exercises.
As expected, Rin shot a dazzling curve shot, whereas Kunigami went for the power goal.
Then Isagi came in, poised for action, the muscles in his defined calves punctuating his readiness.
He moved into the right spot with the ball, his arm swinging backwards as his right leg mirrored his action.
Bachira was full on ugly laughing. "HAAH HAAH!" He slapped his knee, tears falling from his eyes. "What a super goal, mister wide open!"
Your lips twitched, sensibly avoiding looking at the admittedly, hilarious spectacle Bachira was kicking up.
But when your gaze met Isagi's betrayed, kicked-puppy face, you couldn't hold it back either.
"Sto--stop." You wheezed, trying, but miserably failing to catch your breath.
Bachira lightly slapped your arm, "Hey, you think he was aiming for the moon? They do say the sky is the limit!"
That had the two of you bursting out in even harder laughter.
Isagi looked at the both of you, a sulky look decorating his face.
"No, of course not!" Bachira chortled, pressing play again. "Look, look! Another one!"
The two of you waited with bated breath, watching Isagi run up to the goal, shooting, and... missing all the way to Hawaii.
"Even the goalkeeper's pitying him!" Bachira bursted out, slapping his fist repeatedly on the lacquered table.
"You... no..." You could barely string two words together, your breaths coming in short. "Are you... are you trying to kill me?"
"Okay. Okay guys. That's more than enough." Isagu grumbled, forcefully taking Bachira's phone away.
"You're never going to escape it, Isagi." Bachira sing sang, "It already has like, fifty million views in two days."
Your eyes bulged. "Two days?!"
Bachira nodded, "This guy here is practically mister worldwide famous. Comes with the territory of being number one."
Isagi scoffed, rolling his eyes. But you could see the redness creeping up his cheeks.
"Well... it has only garnered so many views because they're making fun of me!"
Bachira shrugged. "Guess you're right."
"But wait..." you studied Isagi for a moment. "What Bachira is saying is true."
"Yeah, I'm always right." Bachira huffed. "So what was I true about?"
You rolled your eyes at Bachira, before glancing at Isagi again. "You're famous throughout the whole world. With your presence alone, a game in a foreign country is already packed."
"But here in the World Cup, not many are rooting for Japan, but they do know of me." Isagi realised. "But with almost all seats covered by the opposition's supporters, Japan has less vouchers, even in our own country."
"Wait-- are we not making fun of Isagi anymore?"
You pursed your lips in thought. "So, what if we could... turn those supporters into our own?"
Nodding slowly, Isagi ruled over the thought in his mind. "And how can we do that? We've had trouble with this exact question before, too."
"Mhm. But now we're looking at the issue from another perspective." You clarified.
"Before, we wanted to get more attention for Japan because of a lack of supporters, but we don't have a lack of supporters, rather, a minimalised capacity for those supporters to express their support." You thought aloud.
"So, what you're saying..." Isagi said slowly, "advertising for Japan by targeting our own supporters like you had initially thought out wouldn't do much, because they have no means to support us."
You snapped your fingers. "Bingo! And a video such as this, might be able to pull at least some of them."
Isagi looked questionable, "But are you sure that my influence is that big? Surely not..."
"Of course it is." You cut in. "You inspire so many people. Not just because you're number one, but also because the way you play is truly unique and amazing."
Isagi's eyes grew wide. "You... you think?"
"I know." You blustered on, "Think about it, Itoshi Sae, Iglesias Bunny, Noel Noa. In some way, you've all shown them up, and they've all been inspired by you. What's a few people more?"
"I... uh. Okay." Isagi sounded faint. He cleared his throat. "So uhm... what's your plan then? Make another blunder video of me?"
You frowned. "That video is hilarious."
Isagi winced. "...thanks."
"But," you thrummed your fingers on the table, "do it too often and it becomes old. We need something new. What if we did something related with football? Like, improvised two-on-two matches within the team or something?"
"Showing tricks and our worth." Isagi agreed with a nod. "But if we show off too much, we'll be risking the success rates in the finale."
You mulled the thought over in your head. "Yeah, that makes sense. We'll need to do it quickly though, before you all disappear for a whole week."
"I'll contact Ego." Isagi suggested. "But I can't promise anything."
You nodded. "I'll get Reo for the details."
"And I'll promise I'll show my super special skills!" Bachira cheerily chattered.
Bachira cocked his head. "What?"
You looked at Isagi. He looked at you in return. Your twin faces of utter horror could've made a horror director proud.
"Did we just..." You winced.
"Yup." Isagi's face was in physical pain. "He just totally went..." Isagi mimicked a "poof" gesture.
"Are you guys done flirting?" Bachira grinned.
"Oh, so you aren't done yet?" Bachira teased.
"Wah-- huh?" You spluttered.
"This is serious business!" Isagi butted in.
"Is it?" Bachira raised an eyebrow. "You're just discussing what Isagi's good side is for the cameras!"
"I-- we..." You shared a hesitant look with Isagi, "are we doing that?" You whispered.
"I think so...? But it's all for a good cause." Isagi said in a hushed voice.
"You are treating your guest so unfairly!" Bachira cut in again. "Can't believe I'm thirdwheeling you guys."
"But I'm a guest, too?" You frowned.
"Are you?" Bachira cheekily countered. "How's Isagi's bed like? I've never had the honours."
Isagi's face exploded in a flurry of red.
"What?" Bachira innocently said. "Whenever I come here, I don't get half the treatment you get!"
Bachira turned to Isagi, clasping his hands. "My favourite breakfast is omurice with pineapples."
"What? Why are you telling me this?" Isagi wrenched his hands free. "And what the hell is with the weird combination?"
"So you can make me breakfast, too?" Bachira raised an eyebrow. "I'm starving."
"What? No?" Isagi looked at you for help. You shrugged helplessly.
"Okay, fine. Maybe we can have one nice meal before we're off for training camp." Isagi grumbled.
"Yay!" Bachira threw his arms around you. "Let's go to our old place!"
"Alright, alright." You laughed. "You're squeezing me half to death, Bee!"
"It's because I've missed you super much!" Bachira claimed. "You have to tell me everything that has happened."
"Okay, okay." You acquiesced, seeing Isagi's knuckles whiten around his mug, "Then you let go off me."
He in fact, did not, let go of you.
Bachira's arm clung to yours as the three of you stepped into Isagi's car.
The two of you were smudged in the back while Isagi was in the front, occasionally shooting a disgruntled look through the rearview mirror.
Even after you'd arrived at the restaurant and were now seated at your signature places, (Bachira closest to the entryway, you at his side, and Isagi in front of you) Bachira didn't let up the vice grip he had on you.
"Uhm... Bachira, can you spare my arm? I'm trying to eat."
Bachira pursed his lips for a moment, before his eyes lit up. "Or... I can feed you? Say "aah"."
Grasping his fork and scooping a generous amount of food onto it, Bachira practically shoved it in your face.
"Ah, no--" You slowly backed away, the tips of your chair dangerously edging.
"Bachira..." Isagi said lowly, the knuckles around his fork white.
"What? You got her for the past few weeks all to yourself! Now's my turn!" And to top off his childish charade, Bachira stuck his tongue out, too.
With how red Isagi's ears became, you almost would've thought that they were steaming.
"Come on, say "aah"." Bachira repeated.
Somewhere in the background, you could hear the plunging of a metal knife on a glass plate.
"Fanks." You munched on the food shoved in your face.
"No probs!" Bachira cheerily returned, before digging in his own food.
"You know... you seem pretty hungry." You mentioned. "You could eat a lot more if you just used both your hands."
Somewhere in the background, you could hear wood cracking and a chair screeching.
"Why are you so clingy all of a sudden?" You genuinely wondered. "This is out of character, even for you."
At the question, Bachira stilled, his eyes dulling for a brief moment. Quietly he placed his fork down, a frown on his face.
"Training camp is coming, which means I won't be able to see you. Then the finale will be there, but there won't be much time for us to just... do things. Like we used to, right?" Bachira chuckled humourlessly.
"And well... it was a long time coming, but after the match, that'll be it, right?"
Your lips parted, struck speechless at the raw honesty in Bachira's words.
And the truth ringing within them.
To think that in the span of just a few weeks, you had not only reunited with Bachira and Isagi, two people you thought were out of your life for good, but also had come to grow even closer to than before.
It was a thought that you had assumed would've been momentarily.
Every shared moment with the two of them, whether it was to discuss laden topics like the finale or to enjoy an activity such as ice skating or even something as mundane as a meal, you thought they all would be momentarily.
You thought that these moments would fade into oblivion as you went your merry way into the picture perfect life you'd imagined for yourself.
But you had realised that that envisioned future wasn't so perfect after all. Cracks had appeared, risen from the tears of neglect and absence.
Your fiancé, sure, he was attentive and sweet, strong and thoughtful.
But maybe you had been wrong all along.
Maybe these past few weeks weren't momentarily. Maybe the only thing that was to be never-lasting, was the crumbling hope of a perfect life, without your two lifelines to keep you afloat.
"Are you... are you crying?" A voice softly asked.
"N--no." You quickly averted your eyes, blinking hard.
But blue eyes, as intense as no other ever could be, weren't so easily deceived.
Hands tenderly pried away your fingers covering your face, until a blurry blue blob appeared.
A helpless snort fell from your lips. What a reassuring sight. Funny how I've realised only now that that's what it always has been.
"Hey... we'll figure it out, alright?" A wobbly smile appeared on Isagi's lips. His eyes held a sheen to them.
"I think... I think I'll miss this." You whispered.
"We used to do this a lot, right?" Bachira recounted fondly, as he rubbed reassuring circles on your arm. "Back when we didn't have much money."
"You especially spent it all on food." You recalled with a wet laugh.
"I can still feel that dent in my wallet before we got our paychecks and I had to pay." Isagi shook disapprovingly his head, though the smile he wore belied the action.
"Those were the times, huh?" You said softly. "Even though we weren't wealthy, we were rich in other ways."
Bachira hummed. "I really liked that ice cream vendour we went to at 2 am on a random Tuesday. That was the prime offendor in my bankruptcy."
"The damn arcades is what did me in." Isagi chimed in.
"It was the mall for me." You sighed.
"But even though money is the least of my problems now, there are just the few things that aren't as simply solved with money." You said wistfully.
"Mhm, yeah. Your eyebags were horrible. No amount of money could've ever fixed that." Bachira teased.
You shoved his shoulder. "Oh shut it, you."
"Well, I guess time was the only thing that did you two a favour. You both finally don't look like half-zombies anymore."
Isagi scoffed. "My physicial state is in impeccable condition, thank you very much."
"Say that to the two muscles you tore last season." Bachira countered.
Isagi stiffened. "It was an important match."
You frowned. "Are they working you too hard? Or is it just your own rigorous training?"
Isagi pursed his lips and looked away.
"HA HAAH! She got you good!" Bachira snickered.
"Well, I didn't mean it as a joke. Back in the U-20 World Cup, you completely overworked yourself." You sent Isagi a concerned look.
Would he do something reckless this time, too? What if you weren't going to be around to help him up?
Then again, you thought bitterly, I haven't been there for him for five whole years.
"Guess old habits die hard, huh?" Bachira nudged you. "This guy's only thought for the past five years has been "training" all over."
Isagi clacked his tongue. "You're making it seem like I have no life outside of football."
"Oh well," Bachira devilishly grinned, "aside from the stalking of every online post of Y-"
"Shut up!" Isagi hissed. "As if you can talk, mister "I spend all my paychecks on pokémon merch"."
Bachira let out a scandalised gasp, "Excuse you? I'll have you know that they're limited edition!"
"The only thing that's limited here, is your brain capacity." Isagi grumbled.
Bachira stuck out his tongue. "Then, oh wise one, on which do you spend your precious money on."
"PAHAA!" Bachira roared, kicking the table in the process. "You're the worst saver I know! Your first paycheck you spent like fifty percent on that necklace for--"
Isagi reached over and slammed his hand over Bachira's mouth. "Shut. Up!"
Your eyebrows raised. "Necklace? For whom?"
"No one." Isagi curtly replied.
Isagi turned calmly over to you. "We were talking about arcades and money, right?"
"Well... yeah." You shot the two a hesitant look before continuing. "I mean, I wasn't so chummy as I am now. Though not that money is able to solve all my problems."
"Yeah, but at least you have an idea, right?" Isagi sat back down, finally releasing Bachira who took a big gulp of air.
"The only thing that's missing, is a way to execute it." You groaned. "But I have literally no idea how to plan it. We'd need cameramen, PR teams, directors... ugh I'm already starting to get a headache."
"You're forgetting the charming manager who'll save the day."
"Saving the day? Sounds like a hassle. Just like training camp."
Your heart stilled. Hope swelled up.
And when you turned around, your suspicions were confirmed.
A man clad in designer clothes wearing a dazzling billionaire smile.
Another man, lean posture already slouched off on a chair, dozing off.
The former turned to you, eyes lighting up in delight. "Missed me?"
The latter peeked one eye open. "Oh, that food looks delicious. I want one, gimme."
You surpressed a snort. Only them. Only they could make such a well-timed, dramatic entrance.
Only Reo Mikage and Nagi Seishirou.
After pushing another table against yours, Reo and Nagi sat down. Reo immediately waved over a waiter, ordering what sounded like a ton of food.
"Just to share." Reo shrugged, as if he hadn't just bought out half the menu to "just share".
"So I heard you were in need of help?" Reo nudged your arm gently.
Your eyebrows rose. "Yeah, but I was waiting for you to be back before I contacted you. How did you know?"
A knowing smile curled Reo's lips upwards. "A little birdie told me."
Your eyebrows furrowed in confusion, though time was of the essence, so you didn't dwell too long on it.
"We're missing out on supporters. Not in general but in the stadium. If we're going to be boo'ed all the time, morale will drop."
"Damn." Reo stroked his chin. "It's all because of the opposition, right? They stole all our sponsors."
You sighed. "Yeah. If we're lucky, maybe our supporters will fill up one out of five of the stadium."
"And that's only if we're lucky." Isagi added, a grim expression on his face.
"Which means less cheering when I score a goal!" Bachira complained. "I want a full stadium chant!"
Isagi rolled his eyes, shoving Bachira's shoulders. "Don't be so cocky now. I'll score first."
Reo snorted. "With the big target on your back? You know they'll be especially cautious around you, right?"
"Less angles for my five-volley trick shot." Nagi sighed.
You made a face. "Is that what you're all worried about?"
"Uhm... yeah?" Bachira sassed. "My goal is only super special if the crowd is super special, too."
Nagi nodded, "I want to see more cool edits of me."
"With a dwindling crowd, there won't be many opportunities for me to land some business deals." Reo deplored.
You exchanged befuddled glances with Isagi.
Geniuses and their genius problems.
Taking up the reigns, Isagi spoke up, "I think those are the least of our worries now. Winning here is most important, edits and business deals are secondary."
"Oh yeah. The World Cup. Why couldn't we have won last time? Now we have to do the finale all over again." Nagi flopped down on the table.
"We were so close!" Bachira threw his hands up. "Just the last decisive minute!"
"Oh wait, weren't you the one who had had the ball then?" Nagi turned to Isagi, eliciting the rest to do the same.
Isagi's face grew red. He shuffled in his seat. "Well... yeah. But uh..."
"The odds weren't in your favour." You swept in. "You lacked support. Not team wise, but from the fans. What did you hear while you were playing? What went through your head? Football's a mind game, too."
"Yeah, it's an integral part of the game. If we'd been there mentally... maybe we would've been the ones to defend the cup this time." Reo agreed.
"Uh... I guess... tactics? Yeah." Isagi chuckled weakly.
"And I was thinking about pasta with cheese."
"Why is he even putting up a front? It's so obvious that it's painful."
"Okay, okay!" Isagi acquiesced. "I guess... I was thinking about how we didn't have everyhing going smoothly? Something was missing..."
"Or someone." Bachira whispered conspirationally to Reo who snickered.
"... and I guess that didn't make me want to win badly enough." Isagi concluded, steering clear from the obvious laughter and teasing of the others.
A frown appeared on your face. "Someone"? Did Isagi have a "someone"? Was that "someone" maybe that same person to whom he had given that jewellery?
"Well, let's move back to the topic at hand." You hastily cut in. "Reo, me and the sponsor board were thinking about advertising the match. And me and Isagi, we thought it further out."
"Oh, oh! I'll take this one!" Bachira piped up. "You've seen that video of Isagi's blunders, right?"
Reo snorted. "Obviously. Who hasn't seen it?"
Isagi crossed his arms. "...thanks."
"Anyway," Bachira carried on, "it got a ton of views! What if you made something similair?"
Reo quirked up an eyebrow. "More blunders? Inspires much confidence, I presume."
"Or maybe something more... confidence inducing?" You suggested. "Japan's the underdog. But if we can somehow sway public's opinion in Japan's favour, maybe we'll get cheered on more."
"Which would lead to our victory, because that is what did us in last time." Reo nodded, comprehension dawning in.
"Yeah, basically." You confirmed. "We were thinking about some sort of video in which we show Japan's prowess. Got any ideas?"
"Oh, tons." Reo's eyes glimmered excitedly.
"But we can't disclose too much." Isagi warned. "Lest we want to give the opposition ammo."
"No, no, that's a given." Reo reassured him. "But I'm guessing you want the whole team in on this, and not only Isagi. Isagi alone attracts crowds enough, but it's about the entirety of Japan's team."
"Hmm... reminds me of NEL. That's when practically everyone went viral. Say, what if we recreate some viral clips of that?"
Your eyes widened in delight. "So, some sort of highlights display?"
"Bingo!" Reo said. "We don't want to give away all our secrets, but we also don't want to bore the viewers. The tricks of NEL are already well-known, and definitely not boring."
"Wait, that sounds amazing!" Bachira cheered. "I can show off my Monster x Ginga shot!"
"Five-volley trick shot." Nagi mumbled.
"There's probably even more," Reo reasoned, "you still have all the data of NEL, right?"
You inclined your head. "It's all stored away in my office at JFU."
Reo snapped his fingers. "Perfect. I'll arange a meeting with the sponsors at noon, then we can go over the details."
You smiled, looking each of them in the eye.
They all looked willing, even Nagi.
Hope swelled up in your chest. This could work. No, this will work.
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