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“Kunigami, what happened in the Wild Card round?’ Chigiri whispers softly, looking through his locks at Kunigami. He’s settled on the gym floor, some feets away from Kunigami who is cleaning up. Bachira and Isagi had just gone back to the dining room in their respective stadiums, but Chigiri stayed behind.

“Why do you want to know? To get ahead? I don’t need to tell you shit,” Kunigami barks back, rolling his shoulders as he dabs off the sweat with a towel. The gym is dark, given that it’s late and everyone was told to get some rest before their next match in the Neo Egoist League. 

The statement is cold and not something the hero would have ever said before. It wounds Chigiri, to think that Kunigami perceives him as some selfish bastard. He can understand it for Barou, Rin, and maybe even Isagi. But himself? Chigiri doesn’t think he's that selfish. As the thought crosses his mind, he pauses. 

No, he is. It’s Blue Lock, they are all selfish bastards. But Chigiri isn’t cruel.

“To get ahead? That’s not who I am, I don’t care about that when I ask-”

“You should,” it's sharp and cutting. By this point, Kunigami has finished getting cleaned in the gym. Whipping down the equipment and completing his stretching, he looks down at Chigiri on the floor with his mat. Before the second selection, Kunigami would offer to help Chigiri, at the minimum sit next to him. They would talk, complain, or just sit in silence. They would exist together. 

He remains standing above him. Looking down at him, like he was beneath him. 

“Isagi told me about the Bastard München placement training, how they determined the starters and collected data,” he says, rolling out his calf first. Chigiri is staring at the ground, focusing on making sure the mat does not slip from beneath him. He knows Kunigami is still there. Whatever Ego put him through, surely didn’t change that much at least. He hopes.

“Told me you placed 3rd, outperformed one of the starters,” he continued. “I’m asking you again, what happened during the Wild Card round?” Pulling his hair back, he looks up at Kunigami. 

His face is hardened, his eyes are darkened, and his eye bags have never looked worse. He looks like a corpse of his former self, only evolved in every physical aspect. A fallen angel, Chigiri thinks best describes him. Fallen from grace and had his own nature weaponized against him. He can’t really blame him, Blue Lock is a dog-eat-dog world. Kunigami did what he had to do in order to keep his dream in tack. 

Chigiri just wished his dream didn't have to die in the process. His dream of Kunigami, of the man he was. He looked up to him, truly. Even when he would stay quiet and in his own world, he would always tune in whenever Isagi and Kunigami spoke. The way he maintained himself, conducted his behavior, and believed in fairness. It was admirable, especially in Blue Lock.   

With a click of his tongue, Kunigami concludes this entire conversation is beneath him. He gathers his water bottle and begins to head out when he stops in his tracks. 

“You completely ghosted me after the second selection. What happened to you?” It's a desperate plea, one he's never heard from Chigiri. The speedster was never the type to beg, so the sorrow in his voice struck something in Kunigami. Turning on his heel, he meets Chigiri’s eyes, and sees the aching in them. 

Renuske Kunigami has changed. He is not the same man he was when he arrived at Blue Lock. “I did what I had to do in order to survive. Now piss off,” he bites as he turns to leave. 

“Oh fuck off,” Chigiri finally snaps, sick of it. “I’m so tired of your attitude of being above everyone else. Tough shit, you're still here, huh? You don’t just get to sit there and ignore me like we weren’t…” The words die on his tongue because what were they? It was something Chigiri never quite figured out. Yes, he knew what he wanted them to be, but your dreams are vastly different from reality. Blue Lock taught him that. 

“Weren’t what?” Kunigami asks, still by the door, gripping onto the frame, but not looking back at Chigiri. That seemed to strike a chord in him, and Chigiri had a shimmer of hope left. 

“You know what…” he sighs, continuing to roll out his leg. This was not the way he wanted the conversation to go, especially not with the cameras he knew were recording. Realistically, this wouldn't be shown, but Chigiri has stopped trying to understand Ego’s methods. 

“Don’t know the fuck you’re talking about,” its quiet and a growl as Kunigami pulls the door open to leave.

“Rensuke,” by this point, Chigiri is standing. Giving up on his leg, he looks at Kunigami’s back, willing him to look back at him. “I told you I’d be waiting for you, and you still haven’t come back.”

“I’m fucking here, ain’t I?” Maybe it was the usage of his name, but Kunigami turns around and properly faces Chigiri now. “No, you’re not. I don’t recognize who is in front of me.” 

“Are you fucking blind? I don’t have time for this shit,” No, no. Chigiri refuses to let this conversation end. He’s spent so long in despair after seeing Shindou arrive and not Kunigami, he spent so long regretting his actions in the second selection that lead to him getting picked over Kunigami. He’s been tearing himself apart inside, battling from joy that he’s still standing in Blue Lock, and anguished Kunigami isn’t next to him. 

“In the back of my mind, I felt like I killed you… getting chosen.”

“Piss off, you weren’t responsible for my fate. I was weak, pathetic, and naive. I wasn’t going to make it in that state. I needed to change.”  That’s the most Kunigami has said to him since his return. It’s heartbreaking hearing him speak about himself, and Chigiri won’t stand for it. 

“I hate who I see in front of me,” he starts. “Yes, you’ve improved so much physically. You’re fucking ambidexterious now, wonderful! But Kunigami, you haven’t spoken to me since you came back. I’m so fucking sit of waiting patiently for someone that won’t even arrive at this point! What happened to the hero that was so righteous and fair? You evolved? Killed him?” 

He doesn’t realize when he walked over to Kunigami nor when he grabbed onto his shirt. He feels his hands shaking as they cling to the fabric, his voice following suit. 

“Fuck, I miss you,” it pains him to admit it, but it hurts so much more to not have Kunigami in his life. “I miss us, Rensuke,” Chigiri begs and maybe it's because it’s late or just the fact that it's Chigiri, does Kunigami turn to face him. 

There’s something shifting in the hero’s eyes, a glint of a light, and then in a moment, Kunigami collapses.

“I can’t keep doing this anymore…” with a sigh, he’s turning to leave. Something Chigiri said must have gotten to him, something must have broken through, and Chigiri has to follow. 

However, the sudden movement shocks and locks up his leg, dragging him back to the ground. 

“Chigiri! Are you okay?” On instinct, Kunigmai turns back to hold Chigiri. He’s crouched down next to him and is eyeing his leg with concern. 

“There you are,” it’s a breath Chigiri lets out, upon reflex once Rensuke touches his leg. His hands are calloused, more than he recalls. However, they’re gentle on his leg, tender. Kunigami holds his leg like he’s afraid he’ll break it. It should piss off Chigiri, he’s not some damsel in distress, but right now, he lets that feeling disappear. 

“Hi,” it's a soft breath that comes from Chigiri’s breath, and the tenderness of his tone brings a smile to Kunigami’s face. He releases his legs, and brushes Chigiri’s hair behind his ears. The action was so tender, something he used to do the first few days at Blue Lock. Something that makes Chigiri’s heart swell.

“What happened to you?” Chigiri turns his head so it’s in Kunigami’s hand, holding his face. The facade Kunigami has put up is starting to crack, and the question makes him turn away, but still holds Chigiri. “Look at me, please.” 

“You don’t wanna know,” Kunigmai says, but this time any edge to his voice is lost. It’s a genuine plea, and Chigiri isn’t cruel, he knows when to stop pushing. “Here, let me help with your leg. You haven’t gone through your stretching, right?” Of course Kunigami would have noticed. The minute Chigiri walked into the gym, Kunigami made a silent note of watching him. 

Because Resnuke Kunigami hasn’t changed. He’s the same man, but his bark is reactive to the Wild Card. He learned quickly that if he’s cruel and dismissive, similar to Rin, then others will leave him alone. Being an asshole and pushing others away gave him room to breathe after the round. If no one tried to speak to him, no one would try to ask. He didn’t want to remember, he didn’t want to talk about it, he didn’t want to be asked about it.

But that was the thing that initially peaked his interest about Hyoma Chigiri, he was always surprised. From his speed on the field, his regard in his appearance, and his ability to catch Kunigmai off guard, he liked it. 

He liked Chigiri. Kunigami was man enough to admit that. He’s missed him, he’s missed talking to him after practice, sharing laughs with him, rolling out his leg, and brushing his hair. Fuck, he’s missed him so much. 

“What…were we?” Chigiri asks, always the bold one. Kunigmai runs his thumbs along his cheek bone, memorizing his face again. He’s missed holding his face, being close enough to share breaths. 

“I… I’m not sure. I know what I wanted us to be.,” Kunigami boldly says, hushed as he uses one of his hands to massage Chigiri’s knee. “I know I’ve been a raging dick, but my…” 

He takes a ragged breath in, and finally meets Chigiri’s eyes. Finally, does Chigiri recognize him. “My feelings for you haven’t changed…” 

There’s a bridge between them, one that used to be a mere step in distance and then turned into a mile. However right now, in the dimming lights of the gym, seated on the floor, in the middle of the night, does Chigiri feel that distance closing in. He’s aching for Kunigami, every minute he spent thinking he got eliminated was suffocating. He thought that he had lost him before they had gotten time to explore whatever this was. So, once he saw Kunigami walk back through those doors, he vowed he wouldn’t let him slip through his fingers again. However, the Kunigami that came back wasn’t the same, at least not on the outside. But right now, the Kunigami holding his face like he’s precious, is his Kunigami. 

“Hyoma,” Kunigami just whispers his name, and suddenly both of their lips close the distance between them. Cradling his face, Kunigami runs a finger along Chigiri’s lips, brushing his hair behind his ears. Reflectively, Hyoma clings to Rensuke. He brings his hands up to rest on his shoulders, much wider than he remembered, but firm nonetheless. Rensuke’s hand on Hyoma’s knees makes comforting circles around it, massaging it gently to relieve some of the tension. The action is so kind, that Hyoma cries into the kiss, quickly consumed by Rensuke’s tongue. The hand on his knee travels up to his thigh, providing a grounding squeeze and tracing imaginary shapes. 

The bridge between them is closed, evident in how they are one on the gym floor. They couldn't care less about the cameras in the facilities, it was the last thing on their mind. Right now, they were killing the space between them. Hyoma was killing the facade Kunigami brought back, and was pulling Rensuke back to the forefront. As the facade crumbled, the kiss became evidence of the man Hyoma knew Rensuke to be: delicate, gentle, and tender. There is no battle for dominance, no roughness or bitting, just a desperate need to connect. 

At some point, the hand on Hyoma’s thigh makes it up to his waist, and soon he feels his back hit the floor. It’s not rough, the hand on his face cradles the impact and he allows himself to hold the back of Rensuke’s neck. The hand on his waist continues to trace shapes on it, slipping underneath his shirt. It’s still so gentle, it makes Hyoma whine. This is the Rensuke he remembers, this is the one he wants. Not the beast that came back, ripped and lacking empathy. No, but the one that is gentle, loving, and holding him on the ground and kissing him with a reverence Hyoma has never experienced. 

He’s a gentleman, Hyoma notices. And he tastes like tangerines. 

“I’m happy you’re back,” he pulls apart to tell Rensuke.