It could all be chalked up to the inevitable. The lack of communication. The quiet, suffocating abandonment. Not just of you, but of Rin too. Two people who had placed their trust in Sae, only to be left behind without much of a word once he left for Spain. It was devastating. Especially for you.

You, with your childish hope and blind optimism, had a bond with Sae that you thought couldn’t be broken. He even made you promise before he left. Made you swear to wait for him. Said that once he hit it big, he’d come back home and solidify the feelings that had been there since you were kids.

Rin was a part of that bond too. Being close to Sae meant being close to Rin, who had always been there, trailing behind, especially when you were younger. He was like an extension of Sae, and when Sae ghosted both of you, Rin was all you had left. Maybe it was selfish, especially on your end. Maybe it didn’t make sense. But something about Rin reminded you of Sae in ways you couldn’t explain. Maybe that’s why it felt safe. Why it brought you comfort, even when everything else felt like it was falling apart.

And as the silence from Sae stretched longer and heavier with each passing year, Rin started to fill that empty space. And you did the same for him. Maybe it was morally fucked up. Maybe there was a line you two quietly stepped over. But neither of you ever talked about it. Because deep down, you were both thinking the same thing:

Sae had hurt you two first.

And that thought… kept you together.

But as inevitable as it might’ve been, Sae never saw it coming. And maybe, selfishly, he should have.

A part of him knew you’d be at the U-20 vs. Blue Lock Eleven match. He had accepted that. Even prepared for it. Prepared himself to explain why he disappeared the way he did. If he couldn’t reach Rin, maybe he could still reach you.

But once the match ended and U-20 had lost, Sae scanned the crowd, hoping to catch a glimpse of you. And when he did, it hit him.

Not because you had changed. Not because guilt had caught up with him.

But because he saw you running toward Rin. Arms thrown around his shoulders, in a way that was far from friendly. In a way you used to run to him. The grin you gave Rin. The peck to his cheek. And Sae just stared. Stared at everything he had missed. At the years gone by. His jaw clenched. The betrayal sat heavy in his throat as he made his way toward you, catching you just before you slipped back into the crowd.

A rough tug at your wrist, and your head whipped around. His eyes met yours, that familiar unreadable expression on his face sending a chill down your spine.

But he spoke first.

“Of all people…” The bitterness in his voice was sharp. “Of all people, and you had to go for my own brother?”

No hello. No hi. No hug. Just resentment.

But who was Sae to judge? Who was he to question your choices, when he was the one who left? He saw it. The way your brows knit together, the way your mouth opened to fight back. You had every right. This was years of silence. Years of abandonment. Years of mental hell. And you were ready to throw it all at him.

But Sae didn’t stop.

His grip tightened. “What’s all this, huh? Some way to get back at me? Some kind of revenge?”