23. Yo-gay

Rin had Y/n by his side ever since the incident. Y/n wasn't really complaining but he realized just how odd Rin was. Yoga? Really? Someone like Rin doing yoga? That wasn't on his Blue Lock bingo card, but he engaged in the activity with the younger Itoshi nonetheless. He found it to be rather calming; a break from the stress he put his body through.

His hands rested on his knees as he sat crisscross on a yoga mat next to Rin. The room was devoid of anyone besides them. The only noise was the calm breathing that came from Y/n and Rin, but Y/n found himself just a little bit sleepy. His back started to slump a little, and his breathing became a little more heavy like he was about to start snoozing.

Ren opened one of his eyes and looked at Y/n. His brows furrowed and he pulled Y/n back upright by his hair. Y/n grimaced.

"Ow!" He jumped and held the back of his head. "What the hell!?"

"This is yoga time, not nap time," Rin replied blankly, resuming his position and straightening his own back.

Y/n yawned and sniffled, closing his eyes again and trying his best to keep his back up as straight as he could. However, his eyes kept twitching and he couldn't keep his mind calm after being so mercilessly attacked by Rin.

Y/n groaned and grabbed the back of his head, whining a little as he mumbled, "That really hurt."

Rin opened his eyes and looked over at Y/n. "Well it wouldn't have happened if you weren't so tired. You slept all day yesterday and most of today because you were still healing and you skipped practice today. Get back into a routine."

"Well since you're no longer concentrated on letting go of all that"—he made air quotes with his fingers—"'negative energy,' could you help me do that thing where you balance on one hand?"

Rin raised a brow. "That single-handed handstand?"

Y/n nodded. "Yeah, that."

"Why? You jealous?" Rin inquired, his voice flat.

"No," Y/n retorted. "Just looks cool."

"So I look cool?"

"That's not what I said."

"Sure it isn't."

"Stop putting words in my mouth."

"I'm not."

"You are!"

"Not."

"Are."

"Not."

Y/n stood up and tried to kick Rin square in the nose. His body was angled to the side slightly and he reeled back his leg. He swung.

Rin noticed the display of aggression and leaned back, lying flat on the floor and successfully avoided the attack. He exhaled deeply through his nose and watched as the short individual huffed, clearing his throat and turning away like nothing happened.

"I'll show you," Rin complied. "If you hadn't gotten angry I would have said yes almost immediately after your incessant whining and complaining."

Y/n turned his head to the side a little and eyeballed Rin. "Really?"

"I guess so," Rin said, sitting back up.

He started to stand upright, placing an arm behind his back calmly. He leaned forward, his body almost scarily relaxed and balanced. His fingers were sprawled out on the mat as he suspended his legs straight in the air.

"You need a decent core to stay up like this," Rin directed. "And I'm not sure you have one."

Y/n felt offended at his words and furrowed his eyebrows. "Excuse me?"

"You heard me," Rin responded. "Just because we do yoga together doesn't mean we're buddies. Truth hurts."

Y/n grit teeth and tried to take Rin out by going to kick his arm. Rin swapped hands. Y/n tried it again. Rin swapped to balance on the hand he had started with. Y/n tried again. Rin swapped again. This went on for a little bit until Rin grabbed Y/n's ankle and threw him to the side. He was sick of it. Completely and utterly sick of it.

"Can you stop resorting to violence and cheap tricks, you dumbass?" Rin asked as he put his feet back on the mat and standing up yet again. "So predictable. You know, it'd serve you better on the field to be sporadic and not use some random skills from a child's soccer book."

Y/n was rubbing his back. "Be easy, man... I just got out of the medic." Y/n's eyes went wide for a moment. "Wait a damn minute, this isn't even about soccer!"

"And who's at fault for getting you into the medic?" Rin inquired with a raised brow as he crossed his arms, looking down at Y/n. There was no answer. "That's what I thought."

Rin then stood aside and pointed to Y/n's mat. Y/n raised a brow as he wasn't quite able to understand what Rin really wanted from him in terms of the mat. Y/n pointed to himself and cocked his head to the side as he looked at Rin, curious and confused.

"Me?" Y/n finally asked.

"You," Rin said and nodded. "Try."

Y/n's mouth made an "o" shape and he stood up, walking carefully over to the mat Rin had been pointing at. He had done it just as Rin hid. He put an arm behind his back, he leaned forward until his palm touched the mat, and he lifted his legs up into the air. Y/n grit his teeth as he felt himself wobble and tremble, his body alternating between stiff and relaxed. His legs were bent at different degrees and his eyes were wide. He felt hands on his calves.

Y/n hated it when people touched his legs so he started to squirm a little bit. He took his hand up from off of the floor and from behind his back, grabbing Rin's legs not caring if nothing but the younger Itoshi's grasp was the only thing keeping him from falling. He looked up at the green-haired individual. His eyebrows knitted together, his disposition irate and unfriendly. Rin rolled his eyes.

"Hand back on the floor. You'll live," he demanded.

"Why are you touching my legs," Y/n asked, though it sounded more like a statement than a question. "Hands off my legs."

"If I let go, you'll fall," Rin stated plainly. "Right on your skull."

Y/n grumbled, putting his hand back down on the floor but keeping the other one on Rin's calf. Rin moved one of his arms so it would snake around Y/n's thighs, and he had the other one wrap around Y/n's calves. Rin straightened out the shorter boy's legs and kept his arms firmly in place until the stiffness of them had almost completely disappeared. Y/n's face was a light shade of pink.

"Y/n," called another voice from the doors, "what's going on in here?"

Y/n turned all his attention to the door. He was met with the grinning face of Bachira Meguru who had a towel around his neck. Y/n yanked himself free from Rin's grip, falling right smack dab on his back. He scrambled to his feet and kept his distance from Rin.

"Yoga," Y/n answered.

"That was not yoga. Maybe yo-gay, but not yoga," Bachira snickered.

Y/n shot Bachira a glare. "Why did you want me."

"Shower's all yours now. I'm done," Bachira replied happily.

"Yeah," Rin interrupted, "we can tell you're done."

"Nudist," Y/n retorted. "Put it away. And the showers are communal, I could've gone in there any time I wanted."

"It's called freedom," Bachira cooed.

"This isn't America," Rin riposted.

🥀🥀🥀

Y/n turned the shower on. The water was cold and it felt like ice on his skin. He sighed deeply. His eyes were closed as he just kind of sat there on the small stool, like he was sleeping. He leaned forward a little, opening his eyes and groggily looking up at the shower head. He put out his hand and watched the water hit it without hesitation.

Why wouldn't it hit his hand? Water wasn't a sentient being and if you're in its way, it'll hit you. He realized that the water was like him in a way. Even so, he couldn't stop thinking about what his monster had said. Not give him what he wants? What did he want, truly? He didn't even know. He kind of just wanted to play soccer normally again but this fear of failure was setting him up for, well, failure.

He sniffled, some water getting into his nose.

He reached for the shampoo, and then for the conditioner, and then the body wash. 'Routine.' He was too tired to get into a routine. He didn't want to have one, really. He felt it unnecessary but what he feels isn't what's true. He had learned that.

He turned off the shower and sat there, staring at the knob. Water dripped off his body slowly. He felt kind of lonely, but he digressed. Didn't matter to him whether people liked him or not.

He stood up and walked over to the bath, getting in it soaking his body as he relished in the water's warmth and its comforting temperature.

"Hey."

Y/n slowly turned his head to look at the source of the voice. It was none other than Rin Itoshi.

Y/n hummed in response, too unbothered to open his mouth to speak.

"Are you feeling better?"

Now that wasn't something he'd expect to hear from Rin Itoshi. Not in a million years. His eyes went wide and he looked incredibly perplexed.

"I'm sorry?" Y/n asked.

"You heard me," Rin said. "Are you feeling better?"

"Yeah, why?" Y/n responded skeptically.

"Good, we need you up and running again for next match," Rin sighed in relief, standing up and walking away.

Y/n found how he carried himself rather odd. Not that Y/n wasn't the same way, though. He was like the weird kid trying to start up conversations and the introvert trying his best to attempt feeble small talk, ultimately failing in the end.

Even so, he wiped the confusion off his face and turned his attention to the water that was becoming increasingly hot.

It got too much to bear.

Y/n hopped out, still feeling the burning of the water on his skin and shuddering in response to its heat. He fixed his attention to the towels and wrapped one around his waist. He exited the baths, grabbing his pajamas which sat on a small shelf near the door.

After getting dressed, he went and brushed his teeth, staring at himself tiredly in the mirror. He spat into the sink and rested his elbows on the counter, looking straight down and rethinking every choice he ever made. He remembered choosing to go to Blue Lock, choosing to join soccer... The thoughts flowed into his mind in no particular order.

He moved the toothbrush slowly around inside his mouth, his eyes half-lidded and his body tired. The thoughts of his past invaded his mind as he ran the toothbrush agonizingly slow over his teeth. He looked up slightly and turned the water in the sink on, rinsing the excess toothpaste out and tapping it on the edge of the sink. He spit out was left in his mouth.

The room. Right. He made it back to his team's shared room. In his state of exhaustion, he got into the first bed he saw. He flopped on it, sighing heavily. The light was off so the room was dim and he could actually get a good night's sleep. And that's exactly what he did. He got comfortable in Rin's bed, and fell asleep while everyone was gone and they were all off doing their own things.

Rin walked through the door, hair still relatively damp from the showers. He froze when he saw a figure in his bed. He slowly walked over to it, irritated that someone would dare take what was his. He looked at the face of individual and his brain just stopped working. Y/n's finger twitched and his brows furrowed.

It was so early, why would he be so tired? It was about seven in the afternoon and he was already fast asleep. To be honest, the lights were off and the room was cool. It was perfect for someone to fall into a deep, undisturbed sleep.

Not Y/n, though. Not him at all. He was restless. His limbs would jerk every so often and his body curled up in the fetal position. He emitted little sighs or huffs every few minutes and it looked as if he was struggling to keep away any bad thoughts. He started to breathe quickly, hyperventilating.

Rin placed a delicate hand on Y/n's shoulder, hiking a leg up onto the bed and resting his back against the wall, eyeing Y/n. He moved his hand from Y/n's shoulder to his head, just watching him. He didn't want to sleep in Y/n's bed, either. He wanted to sleep in his own.

He was just eradicating his fears for the next game so it wouldn't hinder his ability. That's all he was doing. He wouldn't dare look at some selfish player with hearts in his eyes. Never ever.