Chapter Text
BLTV was a genius idea in Anri's opinion. The JFA too.
The Blue Lock project could rake in money and fame all across the world, not just Japan, and make stars out of young men who started out as nothing.
It was quite the brainchild of Ego.
However, despite him being a smart man, nothing could have caught him off guard more than when Anri burst into the Blue Lock TV room and exclaimed "Ego-san!! You and I are trending!!"
....
Ego felt his heart almost stop when Anri showed him the comments under the U-20 vs. Japan match video on her tablet.
She zoomed in on the camera panning to her happy tears and Ego's shocked yet victorious eyes and low pumped fist.
"Fans have been extracting this specific clip of us, Ego-san." Anri stated.
"Why?" Ego frowned. "What's so special about us that warrants fan's attentions more than the winners of the match?"
Anri swallowed nervously. "Ego-san... it's the shipping."
Both of them stared at eachother for about 5 seconds before Ego tilted his head to the side in confusion.
"Shipping?"
Anri's jaw dropped. "No way you don't know what that is, Ego-san."
"I do," he muttered confidently, crossing his arms. "It's the mail and parcel distribution system all around the world that takes way too Goddamn long all the time."
"Not that!" Anri sighed and rubbed her forehead. "The OTHER shipping."
"What other shipping, Anri-chan? Don't screw with me."
"I'm not!" Anri grumbled and shoved the tablet in his face again. "Look at these comments closely."
Ego adjusted his glasses and began to read the comments from fans under the U-20 vs. Japan match:
"ANRI MY QUEEN"
"Ego said 'have faith in our Blue Lock' WDYM OUR?"
"ANREGO!!!!"
"They're both Blue Lock's parents fr"
"They look so cute together MY HEART"
Ego knit his eyebrows together. "What the hell do they mean-" he suddenly stopped, reading one last comment that made everything click and his heart practically stop:
"Old married couple core."
Anri swallowed when she saw the realization on his face. "Yes, Ego-san. They're shipping us."
...............
In mere hours since the U-20 vs. Japan match was uploaded, fans poured alot of attention into the now viral phenomenon known as "AnrEgo".
Videos, clips and social media posts shipping the two and making edits and comments were flying everywhere. Some even had photos they didn't even know they leaked until now.
This is bad, Ego thought. This is really really bad.
Jinpachi Ego was a relatively calm man. He hardly stressed or freaked out over things, and if he did, he never allowed it to breach his tasks or performance.
But this was the only exception in pretty much his entire life.
Seeing all this online fan content made his head spin at night more than usual. More often than not, he found himself distracted with his tasks, not just because of NEL and all tje drama that came with it, but constantly checking on HIS OWN DRAMA that seemed to take flight among BLTV supporters.
Because as much as Ego really hated to admit it to himself...
He actually did kind of like Anri.
He never admitted it to anybody of course, nor did he even write it down or let any hint of his feelings slip away.
Yet SOMEHOW, these fans who barely knew him caught wind of his dynamic with her and started shipping them.
Ego would be lying if he said he wasn't looking at AnrEgo comments and edits in his very little free time.
He told himself it was all he had, to keep his feelings at bay, to "monitor BLTV's fame." But he knew he was lying to himself.
Because how on Earth would Anri ever like an ugly, wiry, sleep-deprived maniac like him?
..........
The days since, more fan content kept piling up, and slowly, a new trend started to occur.
The 2nd day after the NEL was announced, Anri walked into the office with her tablet again. Ego already felt his heart stop.
"Ego-san! BLTV fans have been coming up with something new!"
He already knew what Anri was going to say. After all, he refreshed the AnrEgo hashtag every 20 minutes.
"What is it now, Anri-chan?" He tried to sound annoyed. "I already told you I don't care about this AnrEgo thing." Lies.
"Well, you need to care this time! This could change the future of Blue Lock and its finances!" She prodded, showing him her tablet screen.
The man sighed and gazed at the comments section of the latest NEL training session, this one showing footage of the Barcha team.
He tried to focus more on the normal comments, but in the end, he couldn't deny what the more intense fans wanted:
"Day 1 of asking Anri and Ego to hug in the next match"
"Day 2 of asking Ego to propose to Anri"
"DAY 3 OF ASKING FOR AN ANREGO KISS"
Ego gulped but tried to keep up his indifferent attitude.
"Okay, so? What does this have to do with money?"
Anri sighed and sat down beside him. "The Burasuta Tanuki man came up to me yesterday. He proposed an... interesting idea."
Ego frowned. "What?"
The redhead gazed firmly at him.
“He suggested fundraising tiers. To achieve every “dare” that the comments are asking for, we set a certain funding goal. Once we reach it, the dare should be done…” she cleared her throat. “For instance, ‘$2000 gets them an AnrEgo hug. $3000 gets them a dance”... you get the idea.”
Ego almost spilled his coffee.
“WHAT?! Anri-chan!”
“I know it's a ridiculous idea!!” She scoffed, crossing her arms. “But we're running out of funds, Ego-san! And this is a good idea to get BLTV traction and money!”
Ego sighed and had to rub his forehead.
He had to concede that Anri made a good point. But… ANRI?! Doing all those things to ANRI?!? HUGGING HER FOR $2000?! KISSING HER FOR $10,000?! How could he not do that without busting?!
Before he could open his mouth, Burasuta had already announced it to the board with a tweet to the BLTV account.
Anri growled under her breath while Ego blushed discreetly.
God, save me from this gorgeous woman.
……….
Stretch goal #1: $2000 for an ANREGO hug after the next match!
Stretch goal #2: $10,000 for an ANREGO kiss the following match!
Stretch goal #3: $15,000 for an ANREGO dance after the final NEL match!
And if the Blue Lock U-20 team wins, Ego must propose to Anri Teieri!! STAY TUNED TO SEE THE ANREGO PHENOMENON!! WILL THEY OR WON'T THEY? IT'S UP TO YOU!!