Chapter Text
Ego Jinpachi hated the rain. How utterly useless, how meddlesome it was. It fogged up his glasses, caused numerous team injuries, and worst of all, resulted the early closure of his neighbourhood convenience store- the one with the 800 yen for 2 packs sale that he so desperately needed to stock up on. 'I can make my own luck' a voice of his past self said, ha- what an absolute joke. 'Can you make it stop raining then hotshot' he thought in response, grumbling as he trudged through the desolate sidewalk, past the array of "closed" signs that littered his vision. It was cruel, so cruel that he had to make his way to the large grocery store that was blocks away from where he lived, even crueller that he had missed the bus earlier, yet there was nothing to be done.
"Oi out of the way!"
5, no- 6 kids ran past him, all of them clinging to their coats as they ran back home, their new edition Noel Noa cleats splashing the ground with every step. 'Great,' Ego thought, 'more snot-nosed brats for the national roster.' It was all they got anyways, all they had got ever since parents stopped trying to instill passion within their kids, favouring the comfort of mundanity within this awfully mundane nation. He gave no more thought to that notion, focusing on making his way towards his own passion- the taste of store-bought ramen.
CLANG
The loud, unmistakable noise of a soccer ball hitting the post interrupts his ramen-filled fantasies, making him turn towards the field skeptically.
'Huh.. they must've forgotten a snot-nosed brat..'
Ego raises his eyebrow, however, when he fails to see a single soccer-esque thing about this player. They were wearing a dark green raincoat, a hoodie battling the wind to stay atop their head and some heavy track pants. That wasn't what astounded him however, what was almost horrific to see as a former pro was the pair of tattered running shoes that the mystery player was wearing, ones he swore were outdated even when he was a kid.
"FUCK! These fucking shoes.."
As if reading his thoughts, the mystery player- Ego could presume based on their young and high pitched voice that they were in fact a mystery girl, cursed at her shoes, slamming her hand against the grass before getting up. This was far from normal- everything about this was bizarre. Ego checked the time, making sure he had enough minutes to spare on a detour while still getting his ramen, before walking in through the gate, approaching the field. If the girl saw him she didn't seem to care, instead going to pick out another ball from a bag filled with old-edition ones- seriously, who was this, an antique shop ambassador?
"What am I even looking at.."
Just when shit couldn't get more absurd, he glanced at the makeshift tent that had been made, at least 5 umbrellas covering the bag with balls and pairs of socks. Just as he was about to leave in absolute confusion, dubbing this yet another strange mystery of the world alongside FNAF lore and the mind of a woman, he sees it. A high toss in the air, challenging yet perhaps feasable, followed by a perfectly executed bicycle kick, sending the ball straight into the bottom left hand corner of the net.
"That's 8.. two more then right side"
Brushing the grass off her coat, the strange girl gets up, going to retrieve the ball as it rolled around in the now-muddy net area.
"This third-rate training regiment can't possibly be worth getting sick and missing your next game brat, go home"
Ego spoke in a loud and blunt manner, wondering which idiot parents let their kid do this insanity.
"If that's what you see this as, then you don't even deserve to step foot on any soccer field old man"
'What the fuck,' thought Ego. Who the fuck was this kid- and moreover-
"Don't be an idiot, do I look like an old man to you?"
"If you're so blind that even with glasses you can't see the purpose of this practice then yeah you definitely do, old man"
Now he was offended. As he prepared to go on an all out roast-fest with this random kid that had somehow managed to provoke Ego more than the rain did, she spoke up in a more assertive voice, interrupting what would've probably ended up with another warning from the JFU-
'This is really bad for the press Ego-san, as someone associated with us you can't provoke random kids just because you think they're bad.' Fuck them. Fuck that.
"I won't get sick."
Now that was just falsehood.
"Kid, listen to yourself, there's-"
"As long as my feet don't get wet, I won't get sick. That's why I change my socks every 7 minutes."
She points to the dry pile of socks and soccer balls, as if that was the most obvious conclusion as to why someone was setting up shop on a local soccer field. 'Alright, not bad,' Ego had to admit, he's seen worse logic in his lifetime. But still, it made no sense.
"Why are you-"
"-Doing all this to play in the rain when I can just come practice any other time? It's simple, I can't."
Ego was getting sick of this kid.
"What do you mean you can't."
"It means I can't. When it's sunny outside, bunch of different boys soccer teams train here. I have to wait for all of them to leave, at around 9:30, so I have much more time when it's raining and their idiot brains can't fathom possibly practising in such a horrendous weather condition."
'Huh'
"Well that's stupid"
"I know. But that's just how it is."
Awkward silence mixed with the repetitive pitter-patter of the rain ensued. Ego wondered why the hell he was still here, he had always been unbothered by his lack of acquaintances, but perhaps he was truly going insane in finding a conversation partner who was rude and too young to even drive.
"So what, you didn't make the girls team and now you're stuck on rain duty?"
Then the kid laughed. She fucking laughed, right in his face. Ego was really getting sick of this kid.
"Old man- you high or something? What fucking girls team- there are like 5 real ones in this whole region, and let me tell you they're not from schools like these."
Now that was just depressing. He'd had just about had enough of this sob story, the store was closing in 45 minutes anyways. It appears he had done something to spite some god- perhaps the god of annoying soccer kids, because the ball was tossed right to his feet, urging him to look up at the mystery girl with the blank face of rejection.
"No."
"Come on old man- just up to 5 goals"
"Just?"
"Well, it'll be 5-0 for me, so yeah- just."
Fuck this. Fuck the JFU, this kid would get humiliated so badly they wouldn't even go complaining out of sheer and utter embarrassment after Ego dealt with them. He sprung to action immediately, kicking the ball forward as he unpredictably dribbled toward the net, completely sidestepping the mystery girl. He could see it however, for just a fraction of a second, the unmistakable movement of her feet immediately after sidestepping her. She knew he would do that- or no, she didn't know, but rather, she knew how to deal with it. Sure enough, the kid ran to where Ego would intercept the ball, determined that she could get to it first. He was expecting the attempted intercept, he knew that it would be no match for his pristine rabona*. What he didn't know, however, was that she would slide past it, her entire back covered in grass, just to intercept and kick the ball in the air, sending it out of bounds. It was disgustingly effective, Ego could almost hear the surprised gasps from the imaginary stands, yet the ball was still graciously in his possession.
"What the fuck old man.. You a pro on vacation or something?"
He doesn't answer, too focused on determining what exactly made that kid do what they did. Sure, she was good. She had talent, the same old yada yada that every washed Japanese player had at one point. But that wasn't it. He needed to see more.
"Ball is in play, let's go kid"
And for the next 30 minutes, the strange retired football player engaged in an intense 1v1 with some random kid. Ego won, of course- what did you seriously expect? But it wasn't just another win and another embarrassment of some poor unsuspecting soccer fan, no- he had seen what this kid was capable of, and it was game-changing.
"Good game old man. Now get me on the team."
"What do you mean- you think I'm some JFU loser or something? If you can't get there yourself then-"
"Shut up.. Listen old man-"
A pained expression crossed the girl's face. Ooh, this admittance was definitely gonna hurt her pride determined Ego, 'fucking kids and their wannabe Ronaldo mentalities..'
"...You're good. Fuck.. you're really good. Maybe you've got connections sure, but more importantly, you have time. There's no way you're doing anything better with your life- so train me. I don't care if I have to play in these godforsaken shoes for the rest of my life, I am getting on the national team, and I am winning the world cup. I don't need you, but I'll be damned if I let an opportunity like this slip by, so train me"
Insane. This kid was insane. Insulting someone in the same breath as asking them to give up their time to train you? Added with the fact that Ego knows he's got the ominous build akin to a creepypasta- especially at night in the rain. These were the makings of an insane person, and he was looking right at her.
"Absolutely not, I've rejected far more generous offers before."
"You don't think this is generous? I don't think you understand me old man. I'm going to win this nation a world cup- nothing non-factual about that statement. I'll win, and I'm asking you to train me- to get there with me. Don't you want to be on the winner's side?"
"I'm still not-"
"-please!"
Now this was new. A full dogeza**, right on the filthy wet grass- yeah, this kid was beyond insane.
"Get up kid, I'm not-"
"I'll die here if you don't say yes! I'll stay here- right like this- until hypothermia takes over my body and I succumb to a tragic and painful death! I'm warning you- I will do it!"
Involuntary manslaughter was really not something Ego wanted to be dealing with right now, he sighed for what felt like the millionth time in this conversation and glared at the annoying girl.
"No ramen is worth this shit...fine- just get up already, I can't train a sick person."
"Great! I have this recorded by the way so you can't back out- let me pack my things and then we can discuss logistics old man."
As the girl waved her phone in warning and headed to the makeshift tent, Ego thought about how much he hated kids. Ego really hated kids- teenagers- whatever you call them. Adults were worse- but they didn't bother him as much. He hated the stupid pompous brats that would claim to be the next best thing because they could kick the ball better than the average person. It was stupid- he hated people like that, especially ones he would get in trouble for drop-kicking. Truly, fuck them kids. Despite this dedication to being a hater, Ego admitted there was a special motivation this mystery girl had, one he hadn't seen within the nation since- well, himself. So 'why the hell not' he thought, 'the kid's got a point, I'm not doing anything better with my life'.
The kid in question had finally packed up all her things, 2 large duffel bags thrown over the shoulder making her look straight out of a Law and Order episode.
"Why were you out here anyways old man- you got bored of doing nothing?"
"It's Ego. Ego Jinpachi, and I was going to the grocery store."
The girl walked beside Ego, intent on making sure he would uphold his promise of training her.
"No way your last name is Ego"
"It is. You need my government ID or something kid?"
"Thats.. Actually pretty fucking cool, I'll call you old man anyways- but still."
How annoying. After a few more minutes of bickering and begging the store owner to let them buy ramen before closing shop (The girl did the begging, Ego just watched, suddenly content with having a persuasive kid on his side), it was finally time to part ways. Ego was perfectly alright with this- he'd had enough social interaction for a day- scratch that, more like a week, yet he knew he had to do one more thing.
"I'm not a bad person.. I'm not a bad person.. You have to do this.."
"Hey old man- you good?"
"...You better win that fucking world cup"
The girl smiles assuredly, giving the muttering maniac a pat on the shoulder as he rummages through his wallet.
"Of course I will, don't worry old man."
"No. Not yet." Ego sighs, he knew he had to do it, he would probably get struck down by the soccer gods if he didn't.
"Let's go get you some real shoes kid. What's your name anyways?"
*The girl's eyes widened, her cocky demeanour disappearing for a split second as she dealt with her disbelief. They were really doing this. She had a chance, a one in a million, one she wouldn't let go to waste. With a determined look in her eyes akin to a once young prodigy who rivalled Noel Noa himself, she smiled.
"Renate Hatanaka, I'm a diamond in the fucking rough- lets crush some dreams together Jinpachi Ego-san"
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*Rabona: The Rabona is a skill where a player kicks the ball with their legs crossed in order to confuse opposing players, when paired with other tricks it can result in a dangerous combination.
**Dogeza: An element of traditional Japanese etiquette which involves kneeling directly on the ground and bowing while touching one's head to the floor. It can be used to express the desire for a favor from someone, however it is rarely used as it is seen as very disrespectful to yourself.
A/N:
I think there's something incredibly Camp about Blue Lock, so this fic should really encapsulate that with the perfect amount of cringe and absurdity. NO this is not a Mary Sue moment, no we are not about to rival Messi or some shit. I love football (or soccer idfk) too much to do that, but I know how female athletes can rise above male ones because of their drive. Yes there will eventually be romance, (NOT WITH EGO THAT'S WEIRD), but I really do want to establish MC's place within the world first so that when she does take names and kick ass it's more satisfying cringe than just.. normal cringe.
I do not have a list of love interests, but ig to note the Blue Lock kids are behind compared to reader (She's 15 here and it's 2.5 years before the start of BL), so she'll definitely be more around the 18 year old mark when the actual show's plot begins. I don't know who is endgame, nor who is a serious interest. First and foremost this is a passion project; a convoluted and shitpost-filled love letter to football. The older characters like Sae and Aiku (maybe even Loki but idk cause lmfao that's deadass just Mbappe) will have a more prominent role in the beginning compared to others (and Kaiser but ew Kaiser), later on when Blue Lock's plot starts we will see more characters from (big surprise) the Blue Lock program.
NONE OF THIS IS SET IN STONE! I'd love to hear your input on this! As always a big thank you for reading and feel free to comment down any thoughts, ideas, shameless simpery, and ofc praises.