Rinsagi ²

Rin Itoshi dropped the last moving box onto the apartment floor and stared at the empty space with his arms crossed. The afternoon sun streamed through the windows, illuminating the white walls that would soon be filled with furniture, with life, with two people sharing the same roof.

—I hope you don't snore

He said without looking back, in that dry tone so characteristic of him, although there was a hint of amusement hidden in his words.

It had been almost three years since they had last shared the pitch on the youth national team. Now, with contracts signed at the same European club, the management had insisted that living near each other—or even together—would facilitate training, tactical analysis sessions, and the constant coordination required by the new playing system. Rin hadn't objected. On the contrary, he was the one who suggested the apartment.

He finally turned, leaning against the frame of one of the stacked boxes, and fixed his gaze on Isagi, who was struggling to fit a crooked lamp on a table that still had no fixed location.

—You're going to have the back room—he continued, with his usual imperturbable calm.

It has better lighting for when you want to review your gameplay videos at three in the morning.

His eyes, cold but attentive, scanned the new space that would now belong to both of them. There was something in the air—perhaps the closeness, perhaps the shared history between them—that made "living together for football" sound like much more than a simple club strategy.

—Any objections, Isagi?