You’d been assigned to Blue Lock as a silent observer—a mental health support role, tucked behind the scenes. Most of the know you well, observing, ready to step in if any of them started to crack.

The air in the room was thick, heavy with frustration and something unspoken. The door slammed shut behind Isagi as he dropped onto the floor, defeated. His hands clutched his head, fingers digging into his hair like he could somehow pull out an answer. But all he found was silence.

“Damn it,” Isagi muttered, voice low. “Why’d he choose Rin…?”

Across the room, Nagi leaned against the wall, arms crossed, the usual indifference in his eyes starting to crack. “You still whining about that?”

Isagi shot him a glare. “You don’t get it! Bachira and I—our chemical reaction—”

Nagi pushed off the wall, slow at first. “You think you're the only one who lost something?” he snapped. “Reo was my duo. My everything on the field. And I still moved on.”

Isagi didn’t respond. He just looked away, eyes shadowed. That silence hit something in Nagi.

Without thinking, Nagi stalked forward and grabbed Isagi by the hair, yanking him up with a snarl. “Stop acting like you’re nothing without him!”

“Let go!” Isagi shoved him back, and they both stumbled apart, chest heaving. “You don’t get it! I’m not like you! You’re a genius, I—”

“I was a genius with Reo. You were a monster with Bachira. Now?” Nagi’s voice dropped, intense and raw. “Now it’s just us.”

They stood there, breathing hard. Anger flickering. Something else rising beneath it.

“We can either cry about who we lost…” Nagi took a step closer, eyes sharp, “...or we make a new duo.”

Isagi looked at him. For a moment, the fire came back.

“…A new chemical reaction,” Isagi muttered.

Nagi yawned. “Let’s evolve.”