Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

It was the prefectural finals of Saitama. Ichinan versus Matsukaze Kokuou, 0-1 in favor of Matsukaze. Isagi was breaking through the opponents’ defenses with the ball.

He heard his teammates’ cheers as he dribbled through the last defender. Now, it was just a one on one between him and the goalkeeper.

Nationals. Score. Shoot. Those were the only things in Isagi’s mind as he ran to the net. He only had to get a bit closer and score, then it would be a tie and they would get overtime.

He only needed to- “Isagi!” A voice to his right snapped him out of his mind.

“Over here I’m free!”

Isagi looked to his right to see his teammate, Tada-chan, waving his arm for a pass. Now, he had two options, to pass, or to score.

“Isagi! Remember, it’s one for all and all for one!” Screamed his coach.

‘That’s right. Soccer’s played with eleven guys in a team.’ And so, Isagi started analyzing the field.

The defenders were all behind, so it was all reigning on the goalkeeper. The goalkeeper himself was definitely panicking, but he obviously had his eyes set on Isagi. If he passed to Tada-chan, then they would definitely score.

With that plan in mind, he passed over, catching the GK off guard as he watched Tada-chan swing his leg. Isagi had his hopes up...

‘All right! Now we’re tied-‘

…But it all came crushing down when Tada failed the shot and hit the post.

‘NO FUCKING WAY!’ He cursed in his head while the opposing team’s number 7 took the ball and passed it to the worst person possible. Their number 10, Kira Ryosuke.

And with that, they started countering while Isagi was left behind. ‘Crap! They’re gonna score!’

“Stop them!” Yelled Isagi’s teammates.

“Get through!” Yelled Kira’s.

Eventually Kira made it to the penalty zone and kicked the ball, scoring the winning goal for Matsukaze.

The whistle pierced through, announcing the end of the match. Matsukaze was celebrating their win, while Ichinan was crying over their lose. Yet among all of this, Isagi remained impassive, his neutral face unwavering as he sat down.

He was about to fall on his knees when he remembered something his brother told him. Something about not getting on his knees when he lost, because it was humiliating and stupid, so he just sat down, like usual. He took a few quick breaths before glancing through his teammates, who looked absolutely crushed at the loss.

“Sorry guys…! If only… If only I’d scored!” Lamented Tada, with tears and snot running down his face.

“It’s not your fault Tada-chan.” Said his other teammate, who was also crying.

Despite the amount of sorries and cheers that resounded through the field, Isagi felt nothing. He just felt… anxious, like something inside him was waiting to blow up, but he didn’t know what or why.

“Come on *sniff* Isagi, let’s *sniff* go.” Said Tada as he offered a hand to Isagi.

Isagi took the hand, feeling slight disgust from Tada’s snot, but also pity for the boy. He couldn’t imagine the frustration of missing a goal and bringing the team down because of it.

“Come on team *sniff*, go the coach *hic*.”

No one said anything as they all stood up and walked over to the coach, who also had tears in his eyes. While they walked by, Isagi saw Kira being interviewed by some woman, and decided to see a bit.

“Kira-senshi, people call you the jewel of Japanese soccer. You were even called up to play for Japan’s U-18 team. Could you tell us about that?”

“Well, right now, I’m focusing on winning at nationals with this team. The only thing I can really say is… The only reason I am who I am now is because of the guys in this team.”

He smiled as more praises rained over his way, and Isagi couldn’t help but think that his brother wouldn’t have liked those words of his. He didn’t know why, but he felt it. Niyodo may have even mocked the interviewer for calling Kira the jewel of Japanese soccer, because he definitely knew better players that deserved that title, Niyodo included.

Isagi went over to his team and stayed in the back, still panting and looking at his breath turn white from the cold of winter. But unlike the rest, he didn’t look at the coach in the eyes, he looked down at the grass, pondering over his feelings of losing the match.

“You guys fought well.” Started his coach. “The third years are retiring, but you should be proud of the days you spent fighting together as a team. Someday, you’ll look back at this loss…” And then coach let the tears out. “…And feel like *sniff* it wasn’t a waste!”

Everyone then followed with their tears, a few sniffing to hold their snot back, while Isagi just looked in front of him, slightly out of it.

“As far as I’m concerned, this Ichinan team is the best damn soccer team in Japan!”

‘No. We’re a team that didn’t make it to nationals ‘cause we lost in the prefectural qualifier.’

———————————★——————————

Isagi walked back home in silence, his thoughts were running in a disorganised manner to the point he didn’t feel like riding his bike.

‘And I’m and unknown second-year forward in that team. That’s the reality.’

‘I wonder if dinner’s ready? I am a bit hungry.’

He then replayed that time he watched Noa score a goal on the TV, while he hugged a ball close to his chest. ‘I’m sorry, Noa-sama. I doubt I’ll be able to become a superstar like you.’

‘Did nii-san come back from Spain? He did say he was going to visit pretty soon. I miss him a lot.’

He then remembered how he was praised in soccer by his teammates when he was younger. ‘I admired you so much.’

He pulled his scarf up. ‘I hope he’s back, I wanna tell Niyocchi about the match, I wanna analyse it with him.’

An image flashed of him celebrating with his teammates in middle school. ‘Nice shot! You’re way too good to be a middle schooler!’

‘Hmm, are we gonna have omurice? Niyodo does love omurice a lot.’

‘And continued to play soccer, but…’

An image of his coach flashed. ‘Remember, it’s one for all and all for one! Let’s go to nationals together!’

As much as his thoughts were disorganised, they ended up orbiting around his time in Ichinan, how his hopes and aspirations were crushed in that match.

‘It looks like my dream will never be more than a dream. My idiotic dream of becoming a star striker for the national team and winning the World Cup, all stupid now.

If I hadn’t passed, and instead took the shot, could everything have gone differently?’

Isagi looked up to the sunset coloured sky. “One for all. All for one.” A few kids whispered between them in front of him, giving him weird looks, but he didn’t care at this moment.

“Soccer is played with eleven guys in a team.” He didn’t care, not when his heart felt constructed and overflowing.

“You can’t do it alone.” He griped his bike.

And then he screamed to the floor like never before. He felt everything spilling right then and there, including his tears.

“Dammit, I really wanted to win.” He cried some more before finally going home. After all, there was no use in crying over spilled milk.

———————————☆——————————

“I’m home.” He closed the door behind him and began taking off his shoes.

“Welcome back! How did the game go?” Asked his mother.

“We lost. I’m hungryyy.”

“Too bad. I even made por cutlet for good luck.”

“You’re supposed to eat that the day before the game.” Yoichi said, slightly judgemental.

“He’s right mom, luck rituals must be done beforehand! Right? Yocchan?” Said a new voice coming out of the dining room.

Yoichi’s eyes brightened up when he met eyes of the same ocean blue shade as his. (Really, the only difference in their eyes was that Niyo had long upper lashes)

The boy with blue shaggy hair that reached his shoulders was wearing a loose gray shirt and a dark blue and black flannel jacket, which complimented his eyes. He paired it up with black jeans, a black belt with a silver buckle and long black socks.

He also had some jewellery on. A black cross shaped pendant on his right ear, a white one on his left, followed by a white bracelet followed by a black bracelet on his left wrist, while his right wrist sported a fancy silver watch. His fingers were decorated with various rings.

“Anyway, he just lost a match! What he needs now is comfort! Welcome back Yocchan! Give your nii-san a big hug!” His brother’s pendant and bracelets jingled as he turned his head to look at him and opened his arms, while his tongue piercing poked out from his mouth and slightly shined along the light of the hallway.

Yoichi immediately ran over to his brother’s arms and wrapped his over him. “You’re home Niyocchi! I missed you!”

Niyodo rested a hand on his head and and the other on his back, rubbing his thumb over Yoichi’s hair and viceversa. “I missed you too, Yocchan.”

Yoichi could feel Niyodo's bracelet on the nape of his neck, the cold sensation contrasting the warmth of his brother’s hug. But the feeling was not unwelcome.

Their dad had come out of the living room to see his son’s hugging it out, and locked arms with their mom, who was smiling softly at the scene.

They stayed in that position for a few second before Yoichi finally pulled away and threw his bag on the floor, next to the shoe shelf. “Come on let’s go, I’m hungry…” Whined Yoichi as his stomach grumbled a bit, causing the family to laugh.

“Alright alright, let’s go give Yocchan a consolation dinner!” Exclaimed his father with a raised fist.

“Ok!” Exclaimed the rest as the went in and sat down while their mom went to the kitchen to grab something. There were three plates of tonkatsu on the table.

They all grabbed their chopsticks and started digging in the meal. “This is good! Ah how I missed mom’s cooking!” Said Niyodo with a pleased smile on his face.

“Of course! It’s your mother’s cooking after all!” Exclaimed their father.

“You're such a dear Niyocchi! Your omurice may be far better than mine, but you can’t beat me on this!” Said their mom as she came out of the kitchen aisle with a letter on her hand. Yoichi nodded along. Honestly his brother’s omurice was so yummy, and whenever he came back he would alwats make a few plates for the family.

“Mom, what’s that letter?” Asked Niyodo.

“Oh! It’s a letter from Yocchan from the Japan Football Union!”

Yoichi was very confused while Niyodo looked joyful. “What?” “Really?”

“Yeah! Here Yocchan, open it!” She said as she handed the letter over to Yoichi.

Yoichi picked up the letter and opened it while his brother leaned over and rested his head on his shoulder.

Yoichi unfolded the paper and was even more confused. “A “certified athlete”?”

Their mom looked to their dad. “That’s a good thing right?”

“No idea!” He exclaimed a hit too joyful for his cluelessness.

Niyodo looked very happy as he rested his chopsticks on his bowl and proceeded to wrap his arms around Yoichi’s neck.

“It’s definitely a good thing! It means that the JFU has seen Yoichi’s talent for soccer and want to train him!” He explained.

Yoichi was wide-eyed as he stared at the letter. ‘Why me? I’m not that good at soccer, so why me?’ He started to doubt himself as his thoughts tried to make sense on why they would choose him.

Niyodo noticed this, and patted Yoichi’s head, quieting the other's spiraling thoughts. “Don’t talk about youself like that Yoichi. They gave you this letter because you have talent. It doesn’t matter that you lost that match, they still recognised you for your skill.”

Yoichi snapped his head to look at his brother’s direction. “But why not you? You’re far more talented than me! And you got a scholarship in Spain! SPAIN! S-P-A-I-N! Just because of your soccer skills!” He questioned.

“Well… probably because I’m usually out of the country, so they couldn’t consider me as an option. Plus, I was already playing for a pro team, so this training probably benefits you more than me.” He tried to explain.

“But I still don’t get why me…”

“It’s alright Yocchan, I’ll be there to support in any way I can, ok?” He reassured his brother.

Yoichi hesitated a bit before letting out a sigh. “Ok.”

“That’s great Yocchan! Do you have to bring anything?” Asked their mom.

Yoichi read further down. “Uh… I just gotta bring my usual football gear, that’s pretty much it… Oh! And you have to sign this.” He said as he slid the paper to his parents.

“Oh really? Niyocchi, can you go get me a pen please?”

“Already got it dad. Here. But please read the terms and conditions first.” Niyodo warned as he handed a blue pen to them.

“Yes yes, but we’ve got you two for that, don’t we?” The twins sighed fondly before going over the contract to make sure nothing suspicious was there, before their parents finally signed it, all while finishing dinner of course.

“Ahh, I’m beat.” Said Yoichi as he stretched his arms.

“Come on, go to sleep, Mr. Certified Athlete. You gotta wake up early tomorrow.” Niyodo teased as he grabbed Yoichi’s arm and dragged him up the stairs.

“By the way Niyo, what did you mean when you said you were gonna be there to support me? Family members can’t enter the facility at all.” Asked Yoichi.

Niyodo scratched the back of his head. “You’ll see what I mean when you get there. It’s a surprise, so I can’t spoil it!”

Yoichi pouted before lunging at his brother and trying to tickle him. “I’ll make you tell me then!”

The boy meanwhile tried to defend himself. “Wait wait! We’re on the stairs Yoichi I don’t wanna fall!” He exclaimed as he finally got away and ran up the stairs.

“Then I’m taking this upstairs!” Yoichi yelled as he followed behind while their parents giggled at their antics.

They took in the sight with tenderness brimming in their eyes. They too, missed the feeling of a full home after all.

———————————★——————————

The next day Isagi was standing in front of a building, letter in hand. Trying to confirm whether or not he was at the right place.

He woke up super early and got ready to head to the JFU, and he also had omurice for breakfast, courtesy of Niyodo. Speaking of Niyodo, the boy also woke up incredibly early, and even left earlier than him, but he didn’t say were to, he just said he had to prepare Yoichi’s surprise, which he still was curious about.

After all, his brother’s surprises were the best surprises ever. For example, for their 14th birthday he managed to get a signed shirt from Noel Noa and gifted it to Yoichi, who ended up smothering him and crying from joy. Isagi in exchange gifted him a Gengar -one of Niyodo’s favorite Pokémon- keychain, which his brother still uses to this day. So he was quite nervous about what might wait for him here.

“Oh, hey, you’re from Ichinan.” Isagi perked up and looked to his left, where Kira approached him.

“Isagi-kun, right? You were invited too? Figures. You did good in yesterday’s game. Do you remember me?” He pointed to himself with a thumb.

“Uh, Kira-kun. Y-yes, of course. We lost to you the other day.” Isagi wasn’t really ready for an interaction like this first thing in the morning. Especially with from someone of Matsuzake, let alone Kira himself, so he was quite anxious.

“That’s good, I totally remember you! You’ve got a broad perspective on the game, a high soccer IQ in fact! If we were on the same team, I’d bet you’d hit some amazing passes to me.”

“Uh, thank you.” Isagi gave an anxious smile, since he didn’t know how to take the compliment. It was pretty backhanded after all, so he opted for the polite approach.

“Then, shall we? You know, I have no idea about what we’re gonna do here, so I’m kinda excited for this!”

“Neither do I, but it does sound kinda promising.” Said Isagi as they began walking to the building.

Kira turned his head around to look at Isagi. “No need to be so polite, we’re the same age. Nice to meet you, Isagi-kun!”

Isagi was pretty relieved. Kira was pretty nice to him. He honestly didn’t know what he would do if he had to talk someone hot headed. “Thanks! Nice to meet you too!”

They did some small talk and took a look at a few maps to make sure they were going the right way, after all, this place looked pretty fancy and big, so a few of the hallways were a bit confusing. But they managed to quickly navigate through and arrive to their corresponding room.

“Alright, this seems like the place.” Said Kira as he opened the door.

Isagi was shocked at seeing so many people, specifically high schoolers, on the room. They all turned to stare at the newcomers and Isagi felt nervous at the attention.

“There’s a ton of guys here.” He glanced through the room and did a very quick headcount. ‘Probably around the hundreds… maybe around 300 and 350?’

“I see some guys I recognise.” Informed Kira.

“Sennou’s star player, Okawa. The tallest high school athlete, Ishikari. Oh! And even Nishioka, the “Messi of Aomori” is here.” To be honest, Isagi felt kinda intimidated as Ishikari’s height. After all, he was only 176cm while his brother was 184cm. It’s obvious who got the height genes.

But he glanced through the room once again with the info Kira had provided. ‘Huh? Is everyone here a forward?’ His scanning was paused when the lights suddenly turned off.

He heard someone walk to the front of the stage and testing a microphone. He tapped Kira and pointed forward. Kira got the message and slowly closed the door, before they both headed to the front to get a better view.

“Congratulations, diamonds in the rough.” A slender and bony man stepped to the front of the stage, as a white light shone on him. He had a black bob cut, back square glasses framing his black void-like eyes, a black button up, and black pants paired with a surprisingly white belt and black dress up shoes.

But what Isagi focused his attention on more was the mic the man had attached to his left cheek and the soccer ball shaped necklace the man had. Except that the necklace wasn’t actually on his neck. It was a soccer ball locket which had two blue strings going through it, but most of the string was hidden under the shirt’s collar.

“You are the 300 18 and under strikers -Isagi mentally cheered about his assumption being right- who have been chosen according to my arbitrary and biased decision-making.” Isagi then sweat dropped a bit at the man’s honesty.

“And I am Ego Jinpachi, the man hired to make sure Japan wins the World Cup.” People started whispering around. Some confused by the turn of events, some questioning the man’s looks and words, and other’s just had blank or skeptical looks.

Isagi was on the second group. ‘What did he just say? Wins… the World Cup?’

“Do you know who he is?” Asked Kira.

“No, no clue.”

“Simply put, there’s one thing Japanese soccer needs to become the best in the world: The birth of a revolutionary striker.” He said, while the projection of the Japanese flag appeared in front of him. If you asked Isagi, the red light made the bony man look kinda unhinged.

“I’ll be performing an experiment here to turn one of you 300 into the world’s best striker. And that’s what this facility is for.” The man stepped to the side and the projection showed a new image. The logo of Blue Lock.

“Blue Lock.” The projector zoomed in on the logo and showed a few of the rooms of the building in black and neon blue.

“Starting today you will live here together and undergo the special top training I’ve devised. You won’t be allowed to go home, and you’ll say goodbye to whatever soccer life you’ve been living up to now.” Isagi was starting to think the guy was insane.

“But I promise you this: If you manage to survive and beat out the other 299 guys here to become the last man standing, you will be the world’s greatest striker. That is all. Nice to meet you.” Somehow, that just reinforced the idea of him being crazy even more.

Then the lights turned on, signaling the end of the presentation.

‘What is he talking about?’  Asked Isagi in his mind. This sounded like some crazy evil ass project created by Mr. Emo Vector wannabe over there.

Kira then raised his hand. “Um, excuse me. I can’t agree to the conditions you just laid out. Each of us has a team that’s important to us. Some of us have nationals coming up. I can’t abandon my team to participate in some nonsensical program.” He complained.

After that, more complains started rising up from other people in the room. Isagi would’ve normally agreed with them. This was absolutely bonkers, and wasn’t included in the contract their parents had to sign. Yet, for some reason, he didn’t feel opposed to the program, maybe it was because his brother promised a surprise, and he was very curious about it. Or maybe it was something else.

Ego rubbed his head slightly, as if thinking what to say. But somehow Isagi felt like the man was already prepared for this.

“I see. You’re all seriously ill then.” He said.

‘Says the guy who looks like the wind could knock him over.’ Thought Isagi, slightly perplexed at the man’s choice of words.

“Lock off.” He said in English as he made a shooing motion with his hands. “Anyone who wants to leave can go.” Both Isagi and Kira were kinda surprised that the man would just let them go if they wanted, after all he looked like those mad scientists who would do anything for their projects to succeed.

“Is becoming the number one high school team in this backwards country more important to you than becoming the world’s best striker? Hm?” He said in a judgmental tone and incredibly wide eyes, their glare sent shivers through everyone’s spines.

“Just thinking that the future of Japan is in your hands makes me lose hope.”

‘Huh? What?’

Ego walked once again to the front of the stage. “Listen up. The power of Japanese soccer organizations is first-rate. You could call it the result of Japanese thoughtfulness. But in all other aspects, it is undeniably second-rate.

Let me ask you this: What is soccer? Is it about eleven guys working together? Valuing your tied to others? Self-sacrifice? Playing for your teammates? This is why this country’s soccer has remained weak.”

The screen glitched and eventually went blank, while Ego leaned slightly with hands on his pockets to give them the scariest fisheye jumpscare Isagi has ever gotten. Not even the horror games Niyodo loved could compare to this, and those were high quality games that scared the shit out of Isagi. Those void eyes of his now had very thin white lines going in circles over his irises.

“I’ll tell you the answer. Soccer is about scoring more goals than your opponent. Whoever scored the most goals is the greatest. If you want to play friendly games with your buddies, the lock off.”

All of this made Isagi arrive to one conclusion: ‘Alright, this guy’s definitely fucking crazy.’

Despite this, Kira kept talking, and honestly? Isagi respected the guy for being brave enough to keep talking to this Vector wannabe. “That’s a terrible thing to say. Take it back. There are many athletes in the Japanese team who I respect. We grew up watching them fight together as an eleven! They are my superstars! You’re wrong.” He yelled as he glared at Ego’s unsettlingly calm face.

“What? The Japanese team? Hmmmmmm.” The man hummed before giving everyone the most creepy almost ear to ear smile Isagi has ever had to witness on a human being’s face.

“But they’ve never won the World Cup, have they? I’m talking about becoming the best in the world.” He said in a mocking tone while the screen then showed different players and their names.

“”Instead of assisting my teammates to win 1-0, it feels better to pull off a hat trick and lose 3-4.” These are the words of the world’s greatest striker, Noel Noa, who beat Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo to win the Ballon d’Or.

Eric Cantona said, “I don’t care about my team. I just want to stand out.”

Pelé said, “The world’s best forward, midfielder, defender, and goalkeeper. Whichever you ask about, the answer is still me.”” The man then proceeded to lean backwards while the microphone let out a screech, scaring the crowd even more.

“WELL? AWFUL, RIGHT? But they’re all top, top players! And they’re all extraordinary egoists!” He said in a manic tone before he finally leaned back up.

“That’s what Japanese soccer lacks.” He then fixed his glasses in the weirdest way possible, but it gave way to his eerie, shadowed face.

“You can’t become the world’s best striker unless you’re the world’s biggest egoist.” He stated as a matter of fact.

The man was definitely crazy and probably slept like two hours per day, but his words made something in Isagi crawl up his head, something he- no, others had been keeping down.

‘The things this man is saying…’

“I want to create that kind of person here.” Continued Ego.

‘…are probably wrong.’

“Someone who will stand in 299 corpses. A solitary hero.”

Isagi gulped. ‘I can’t do it. After all, I haven’t achieved anything.’

“Just imagine it. You’re in the World Cup final. Eighty thousand people in the stands. You’re standing in the field. The score is 0-0. It’s the second half of extra time. It’s the last play. With a pass from your teammate, you’re through the defense. It’s you against the goalkeeper.

Six meters to your right is your teammate. If you pass, you’re guaranteed to score a goal. In a moment when the entire nation’s hopes and the championship are riding in you… only an insane egoist can take that shot without hesitation.” Somehow, Isagi managed to imagine the whole thing, and got a feeling of deja vú over this scenario.

‘This… it happened before didn’t it?’ Resounded through his head.

The big white doors in front slowly opened, white fog seeping through them, Ego in the center of it. “Pass through these doors. Abandon all common sense. On the field, you’re the star.” He announced.

‘Nobody ever taught me any of this… did they?’ Isagi reminisced his time with Ichinan before the image of him playing a one on one with his brother on a random football field struck him.

It was the summer of last year.  Yoichi had just lost a match 2-1, the one goal being his. He was practicing in some random field, practicing some shots under the sunset. He accidentally hit the pole with the ball, and it rolled to the side, where there was a small hill of grass which led to the sidewalk.

He quickly went for the ball, before a foot stepped on the ball, stopping its momentum. He looked up to see his brother, smiling at him, as the sunset shone behind him. He was wearing a beige and black flannel jacket (he apparently liked those a bit too much) and a white shirt. Paired up with black pants and black sneakers.

“Hey Yocchan, I’m back!” He waved to Yoichi, who quickly went over him and hugged him. After the reunion, the both sat down in the grass to talk about how they were doing, and Yoichi talked about his match, and how it all came down.

“I sometimes wonder if I’m just not good enough for this.” He said melancholically adding he hugged his knees to his chest.

Niyodo looked at him with an undeciferable expression, but then he tapped Yoichi’s shoulder. Yoichi was afraid he had said something wrong, but he still looked at his brother... Who flicked his forehead?

“Ouch! Hey! What was that for?!” He complained as he rubbed his forehead with his hand.

“Yoichi.” Niyodo began.

Yoichi just turned to look at him with annoyance, but he immediately cooled off at his brother’s serious expression.

“Never degrade yourself like that. You are good enough to be standing in the field and you are good enough to be a striker. It’s not your fault that your team lost. In fact, you scored a goal didn’t you?” He cocked his head to the side, waiting for Yoichi’s answer.

“Yea, I did. Were you not listening?”

“Then it’s your team’s fault for not being able to keep up with you.” He said in the most deadpan voice Yoichi had ever heard from him. Yoichi was about to defend his team when Niyodo put a finger in front of his mouth, shutting him up.

“Besides, don’t you feel good that you managed to do something? That you could actually compete against the opposing team even with that ragtag team of yours?” He continued as he averted his gaze to stare to the riverbank in front of them and he also hugged his knees close to his chest.

“After all…”

“Nothing should bring you more joy than your own goals.”

Right then and there, Ego’s and Niyodo's voices overlapped.

‘That’s right, nii-san did say all of that, didn’t he?’

He then remembered what Niyodo said to him last night as they went to bed. “Hey Yoichi, you better go there no matter what. It would be a waste to see you wither here. Plus, I wouldn’t want my surprise to be wasted!”

“Live only for that moment.” Said Ego, before Isagi remembered the next words his brother told him in that sunset ridden field.

“Isn’t that what it means to be a striker?”

And with that last overlap of voices, Isagi took the first step, before running straight ahead to the doors leading to Blue Lock with one thought in mind.

‘I am a striker!’ He ran through the crowd and shoved a few out of his way, while Kira looked shocked at this turn of events.

Meanwhile, Isagi had triggered a chain reaction between all 300 players, inspiring the rest to run ahead to the doors. Even Kira, who was so opposed to this, ended up running along, albeit for different reasons.

Ego just smiled, pleased at this. “Shall we begin?”

They all ended up riding buses to the gigantic facility that was Blue Lock, which was built on a hill around the forest.

Isagi sat down on a window seat, he did like the view after all. But he was also pondering about what just happened.

‘Just what came over me? Why did I run? Why was I so excited? Was it because of Niyo's words?’ He pondered over these questions while others looked at him with recognition. It wasn’t everyday you saw a guy run straight ahead into what could be absolute hell.

Isagi snapped out of it when the bus stopped and the driver announced that they had arrived. They were let out by people which they assumed were the staff, and were separated between five sections of the facility.

“Here, this is your uniform.” Said a member of the staff when he entered his stratum.

“Oh, thank you.” He took the uniform which was folded and sealed in a plastic bag and proceeded to head further into the building.

‘Hmmm, I’m 299 Z, so my room should be room Z.’ He looked at the black door next to him. The door had “ROOM Z” carved onto it in light neon blue.

He stepped in front of the automatic door as it opened, and inside he saw several strangers that were already in their uniform.

Isagi did a quick headcount, and counted up to twelve people including himself. He looked around the room. For some reason, it felt kinda familiar. And the number of people in this room also weirded him out for some reason.

Before he could find out what that reason was, Kira came up to him, already dressed in the uniforms provided by the staff.

“Isagi-kun, I’m so glad I’m sharing a room with someone I know.” He said.

“Im relieved too.” ‘After all, some of the people here seem a bit… unapproachable?’

He then had a shirt thrown to his head from the right, which startled him and made him yelp a bit on the process.

“Oh, my bad. Threw my clothes a bit too hard.” Said an orange haired guy who looked a bit too much like Ichigo.

Isagi simply removed the shirt from his head and approached the Ichigo lookalike. “It’s totally fine, here.”

“Watch where you’re walking.”

“Eh?” Isagi looked down, just to see he was about to step in a guy who was curled up on a fetal position sucking his thumb.

“Hey, Zico. Pass. Pass the ball Zico.” The boy mumbled in his sleep. Isagi was kinda weirded out but him, but at the same time he couldn’t help but like the guy’s hair color. It was a simple black with a vibrant yellow under it, which kinda gave the guy a very carefree and somewhat cheerful vibe.

‘What the heck is he dreaming about?’ He circled around the boy and gave the shirt back to Ichigo’s lookalike. The boy muttered as small thanks and Isagi have him a nod in acknowledgement before he headed for one of the lockers and changed himself. And while he didn’t feel super comfortable changing in front of strangers, he had no option but to do so. 

He put in the tight shirt and pants which he was sure Niyodo would hate. The shirt being tight was alright, but Niyo absolutely detested overly tight pants, because, according to him: “They’re so freaking uncomfortable to the point I’d rather wear a damn skirt.”

He finished adjusting the shirt before some guy went over to Kira and grabbed both of his wrists, shaking them up and down.

“Are you the Kira Ryosuke? Wow, it’s really you!” He said excitedly.

“Uh, thanks.” Responded Kira awkwardly, to which Isagi could understand. It wasn’t everyday a guy looking like a monk approached you in recognition and decided to invade your personal space.

That said, Isagi noticed that the monk guy had a badge displaying the number 300 and the letter Z on the side of his arm, close to his shoulder. That was another thing that was bothering Isagi. He had seen the same thing plastered or Kira’s arm with the number 289 instead. Was this a ranking system? If so, did that mean Isagi was practically at rock bottom?!

Isagi started panicking a bit before the monk guy noticed him staring at them, and he faced Isagi and introduced himself. “Hey nice to meet you! My names Igarashi Gurimu.”

“Oh, nice to meet you.”

“My family runs a temple, but I don’t really want to take over the family business. So when I heard all that earlier, I couldn’t stop shaking! I feel like this is the chance to change my life!” Isagi looked a bit weirded out.

‘Why’s this guy telling me his whole damn backstory? Is this pity party time of what?’ He thought before the big screen on the room lit up showing Ego, except that he didn’t have the microphone this time.

“Have you finished changing, diamonds in the rough?” Everyone turned to look at the definitely sleep deprived man.

“Hello there. The guys you’re sharing you rooms with are both your roommates and rivals who will help you improve.

Your abilities have been quantified and ranked by me according to my arbitrary and biased decision making. That’s what the numbers in your uniforms represent. You can feel at a glance what your rank out of 300 is.”

Isagi took a quick double take before looking at his arm. ‘Shit, I was right. And I’m fucking 299, crap .’

“Your rank can change based in the results of your training or matches. And the top five players will unconditionally get to play in the tournament being held six months from now. They’ll be registered as forwards for the U-20 World Cup.” He announced out of nowhere.

‘The U-20 Japanese team?’ Questioned Isagi in his head.

“Additionally, anyone who loses at Blue Lock… will never get to play for Japan.”

That left Isagi stunned. ‘What? Is this a high risk high reward kind of thing?’

“What you need to gain here is ego. I’ll be testing you know to measure that.

So, it’s time to play tag. ”

A ball the dropped from a hatch on the ceiling, the sound of it echoing through the room while Ego explained the rules.

“You have 136 seconds. Whoever’s struck by the ball is “it”. Whoever’s “it” the moment time runs out will be locked off. Also, no using your hands.”

“Huh? What?” The screen showed a timer and displayed Igarashi’s full name along with his rank and a cartoonish drawing of him, indicating that he was “it” first.

———————— ▀⃞▄⃞▀̅ ⃞ ▄⃞ ————————

In the control room

Ego turned around to look at his newest staff member, who was looking at the screens and analyzing every player’s data.

“Oi Lock. You better get to Room Z right now and fetch the loser. Escort them like you did with the others. Wouldn’t want any loose rats crawling around.” He ordered.

“Got it Ego-san, I’ll head out now, don’t worry about that. But do save the recording for me please. I wanna review it later.” Lock said before walking out of the room with their hands interlocking on the back of their head.

They didn’t need to know what Ego’s answer was. After all, the man didn’t mind doing an analysis rant with them from time to time, and especially about a certain player that Lock was very excited to see.

They grinned as they imagined the look on his face when he saw them in here.

———————— ▀⃞▄⃞▀̅ ⃞ ▄⃞ ————————

Igarashi headed for the middle, screaming as he did so. Eventually, he managed to corner four people, two of them including Isagi and Kira.

“Hey! Stay away from me!” Yelled the brunette next to Isagi.

Meanwhile, Isagi was getting a very bad feeling from how Igarashi was looking at him with a grin.

“Sorry Isagi-kun! Amen!” He yelled as he kicked the ball to the corner.

The four boys dispersed and avoided the ball before quickly heading down to the opposite side of the room.

“Crap!”

Kira stopped for a second with Isagi when they were both far away enough. “This is ridiculous. I’m here so I can prove him wrong. This is definitely wrong. I won’t let him ruin my future.” He declared.

Meanwhile, Igarashi was getting desperate, going for anyone around him, while those that were targeted managed to avoid the ball and sometimes cursed at him.

“Damn it! I can’t get anyone!” The monk-doesn’t-wanna-be-one complained as he chased down the ball, before he saw the perfect victim in front of him.

It was the guy from before, y’know, the one that was sleeping? Isagi was honestly surprised that the guy could sleep that peacefully among the ruckus. The bluenette himself was a light sleeper like his brother, not that he knew the reason why though. He just chalked it up to his mind being very active (unlike his brother, who was aware about the very sensitive senses they were both born with).

“He’s still asleep. Gotcha!” Ok, now Isagi was judging the guy. You don’t just announce you’re going to do a sneak attack while you’re doing it. That’s just stupid.

But before the ball hit Mr. Sleepy on the head the guy used his arms to push himself off of his back, doing a handstand and spreading his legs slightly to hit Igarashi’s cheek with his foot.

Isagi winced at the slight crack sound the kick had produced, but wasn’t surprised to see Igarashi had a nosebleed. Honestly, whether or not you got a nosebleed, being kicked by bare feet on the face had to be somewhat icky.

Despite tumbling back a bit, Igarashi wasted no time to complain as Mr. Sleepy started getting in his feet. “Hey, that’s a foul! If this were a game, that’d be a red card!”

The perpetrator just rubbed his eyes with his palm. “Only handballs are against the rules right? Morning.” He said in a sleepy tone as he finally opened his eyes, revealing a honey like color.

Isagi was convinced that guy had definitely something going on in his head, whether it was weird or not he couldn’t decipher it. (However, he did notice at how the boy kinda looked like a bee).

The Ichigo lookalike then placed a hand on the bee guy’s shoulder. “Hey, I’m not a fan of dirty play. Play fair.”

Bee guy just gave him a bored stare. “Mr. Strait Laced, huh?”

The ball then shockingly landed on Ichigo lookalike’s face, making him wheeze from the impact.

“You left yourself open. Amen.” The screen changed from Igarashi to the Ichigo lookalike, who was named Kunigami. ‘Well, it’s nice to finally put a name to the face.’ Isagi thought as he looked at the screen, but when he looked at Kunigami? The guy looked furious.

“Bastard. I’ll destroy you.” He said, as he prepared to swing his left leg. ‘Wait, left leg?’ Isagi thought before he was pulled by Igarashi, who had an arm around his neck and another around his shoulder, caging Isagi into place.

“Here!”

“Hey! Let go of-“

A boom echoed through the room as Kunigami kicked the bal with a fuck ton of power. The worst part is that it landed squarely on Isagi’s stomach, leaving him out of breath for a second.

At that moment, the bluenette swore that he almost saw his life flashing through his eyes form the power of that kick.

“Amen!”

“Isagi-kun?!”

“Oh, sorry. Wrong person.”

The screen then changed to Isagi with one minute in the clock.

To say Isagi’s mind was scrambling through was an understatement, no amount of writing his thoughts would represent just in how much of a panic, pain and incredulity he was in.

‘THE FUCK YOU MEAN WRONG PERSON BITCH?!’

‘Holy fuck that hurts like hell… I feel like I’m going to puke…’

‘Shit I gotta get to the ball!’

‘Fuck. If I don’t hit someone, my soccer career will be over in a minute.’

Isagi coughed a few times and clutched his chest as he felt saliva run through the corners of his mouth and down to his chin.

‘I don’t want things to end here! I can’t let them end here!’ He stood up with a look of determination on his face as he kicked the ball to the two people in front of him, who jumped to the sides.

“Safe!” Exclaimed Mr. Closed Eyes.

The ball rebounded to him and he started chasing people around towards the other side of the room.

‘They’re so athletic. I’ll have to aim carefully if I want to hit anyone.’

He turned his head to the left to lock eyes with Igarashi, who immediately looked alarmed.

‘I should go for someone lower than me.’ 

The monk just sped up. “Can’t catch me!”

‘Is my fate really going to be decided by this game? Shit, this is really bad. No. I don’t want to lose, I don’t want things to end. I’ll do anything! I just want to win. I want to keep playing soccer! I don’t want my dream to end! I want to stand next to my brother! Not behind him!’ Isagi was having. An inner turmoil until a soft laugh pierced through his ears.

He looked next to him to see bee guy who was clinging on Kunigami’s back. He had his arms wrapped around his neck and his legs were around his waist. Meanwhile, Kunigami tried to shake him off, with no avail.

“You little shit! Get off of me!” He complained.

“Here’s your chance!” Bee guy sung.

“Let go of me!” Kept complaining Kunigami.

“Get him! Over there!” Yelled Igarashi as he stopped to run.

“I said play fair!” Yelled Kunigami before finally grabbing bee guy and throwing him forward, making him crash on top of Igarashi.

“Ow.” He complained, despite his face wearing a joyful grin.

“Get off me now!” Yelled Igarashi before shoving bee guy out of him, and trying to stand up, but it seemed that his ankle wasn’t in the best shape, leading to him being stuck on the floor.

“Oh, shit. Wait, timeout.” He said as he checked his leg.

Everyone looked at him as if he was a big fool, which he was, because what kind of prey would just say that in front of their hunter?

“Isagi-kun, hit him! Quick, before it’s too late!” Yelled Kira.

Isagi slowly approached Igarashi with the ball, while the monk raised his hands in an attempt to make him stop. “Hey, wait. Stay back. Stay away from me. I don’t want this to end here!” He yelled.

Isagi ignored him, since he was in his own trance. ‘I can win. I can survive. But this guy’s soccer career would end.’

Igarashi started crouching back, trying to get as far away from Isagi as possible while he muttered some words Isagi couldn’t quite catch.

‘No, I have to do it. That’s how things work here. If there are winners, there must also be losers. Making my dream come true means ending someone else’s.’ He concluded as he was getting ready to shot the ball. Igarashi looked like he was shutting his pants and he tried to at least blocked his face with his arms and closed his eyes, getting ready for the blow.

But when he felt nothing, he reluctantly pried his eyes open, surprised at seeing Isagi standing still, the ball still under his foot, and not heading towards Igarashi’s way.

“Huh?” He muttered, confused at Isagi’s unmoving form.

“That’s not right.” Isagi whispered while his mind flashed image’s of yesterday’s loss, but also of Niyodo talking about how happy and shocked Isagi was going to be when he figured out the surprise.

“If I don’t change, I’ll still be the same person. I won’t be able to follow nii-san’s footsteps. I came here to change my life. I came here to be the best in the world. This might be a gamble, but…” He declared, before turning around, his eyes looking like a swirling tide in black and white, replacing the ocean blue that coloured his irises.

‘…unless I beat someone stronger than me, nothing will change!’ Isagi ran ahead, before looking up and noticing bee guy standing in front of him. ‘Wait, since when is he there?’

Bee guy then pointed a finder at him. “I like you. You’re right. If you’re gonna beat someone…” He got the ball stolen from him, but he still watched in a daze as bee guy ran through him with it.

“… it should be the strongest one here.”

‘Huh?’ Isagi didn’t think that he could be even more confused today, but this weirdo proved him wrong.

The screen changed to display his name, ‘Bachira Meguru’. ‘Huh, so even his name has the character bee, no wonder.’

Bachira kept running until he finally found his victim, Kira Ryosuke .

“ME?!”

Bachira grinned from ear to ear as he quicker the ball inform of him. Kira turned towards his direction and jumped up, narrowly avoiding the hit.

Then, as soon as Kira landed, Bachira jumped up and was ready to give him a kick to the face, but Kira managed to duck in time and run away from Bachira.

As that happened, the ball hit the floor and bounced up, giving Bachira the perfect chance to do a handstand and perform bicycle kick over Kira’s head.

Kira looked utterly relieved. ‘I’ll survive. My soccer career isn’t over yet. I’ll get to keep playing with my teammates.’ But his face widened in horror as he saw the ball land in front of Isagi.

Kira wasn’t afraid of Isagi being eliminated, after all Isagi could just move out of the way and the weirdo would leave him alone. But it was the… almost monstrous yet concentrated look on Isagi’s face that almost made him flinch.

“The strongest guy…” Muttered the bluenette.

‘Nothing should bring you more joy than your own goals.’

“Boom!” Yelled Bachira.

And in that moment, Isagi kicked the ball, which hit Kira on the face, and gave him a nosebleed in the process. Kira ended up tumbling down the floor, and just then, the last second ticked down. The alarm buzzed, signalling the end of this tag game.

Isagi was absolutely bamboozled, both at what he just did and at his feelings in the matter. He just kicked a ball straight into Kira’s face, because something told him to .

And he honestly didn’t feel anything bad, in fact he felt incredibly good! Like something had just disappeared off of his shoulders, he finally felt… free as a striker. 

‘Is this what Niyodo feels when he wins? No wonder he said all of that back then! It feels pretty fucking good!’ He was about to smile when suddenly, the reality of the situation came tumbling down on him.

‘Wait, did I… just destroy Kira-kun’s soccer career?’

Blood and sweat dropped from Kira’s face and stained the floor, while he looked up to Isagi with an exasperated expression that was slowly morphing into contempt.

“Isagi-kun? What are you doing? Wait, what is this? What just happened?” Kira was trying to process what just happened as he touched the blood that flowed down his nose like a small stream, slowing getting faster.

“I-I’m sorry. It’s just… The ball came at me out of nowhere and…” Isagi tried to explain, but he couldn’t come up with anything other than hollow excuses, because he didn’t know why he just did that out of nowhere with zero hesitation.

Kira now looked angry. “Huh? Don’t give me-“ A few claps reigned down from Ego himself, as he appeared on the screen once again, as if he was the fucking villain of Jigsaw congratulating the winner who was pretty fucking traumatised and processing what the fuck just happened.

“You lumps of talent, only results matter here. Losers lock off.” He said, while granting them with the honor of witnessing a second fisheye from him.

“Kira Ryosuke, you are disqualified. A member of the staff will come soon to take you and escort you to the exit.” Now, it dawned on everyone that every single thing this man said was serious —including the not getting to play for Japan part— setting the pressure was on from day one.

Kira looked absolutely shell shocked, like he had just gotten whiplash. But he gathered the strength to stand up, and his polite face dropped, leaving a snapping teenager, angered at having their dreams crushed.

“This is bullshit. How is it possible for my future career to lie in tatters… ALL BECAUSE OF SOME STUPID GAME ?! I’M JAPANESE SOCCER’S JEWEL IN THE CROWN!” Somehow, Isagi felt that his brother wouldn’t agree with what Kira just said. He was sure his brother could name a far better player than Kira who was also around Kira’s age. (For example, a certain Itoshi Sae).

“You’re telling me Igaguri and Isagi are more talented than me ?! HUH?! Why does this silly game of tag even matter ?! What does it have to do with soccer?!”

Even though those words kinda hurt a little, Isagi could understand why Kira was so desperate. Imagine having your life-long dream which you spent so hard working on shattered because of a game of tag (not that he could relate).

Ego scratched his head before answering. “In Blue Lock, everything has to do with soccer. Look around you, Mr. Mediocre Elite. The room you are in is the same size as the penalty area.” He informed.

‘Oh. OOOHHH! So that was why the size felt so familiar!’

“Roughly 75% of all goals are born within these confines. If you can’t do your work in this space, you have no talent as a striker.”

“S-so what? Tag is nothing like soccer!” Kira kept complaining despite Ego’s words slowly driving him into a corner.

“If you’re the one running away, you need a keen sense of interpersonal space, tactics, and positioning. If you’re the one doing the chasing, your dribbling and aim must be precise. And the quality of your kicks must be high. That makes it an excellent soccer training drill, wimp.” Countered Ego.

“Even so, how can you know anything about me in just two minutes? A soccer match is 90 minutes!”

“On average, the total amount of time any player spends on the ball in a 90-minute game is about 136 seconds. You wasted the chance that was afforded to all of you equally.”

“B-but, nothing could be done in those last ten seconds!-“

“Would you say the same thing if this was a match? When the ball hit you, there was still one second left on the clock. You could’ve survived if you’d blasted it at the immobile Igaguri (so that’s his name now?) but you didn’t see it.

In a way, it was the last play right before the final whistle. The moment your teammate’s shot hit you, you gave up and accepted defeat. That’s why you didn’t see it. You missed your chance at victory by not taking that extra step.

Whoever is “it” in this game of tag might be the loser if he holds onto the ball for too long. But he also might be the winner, as only he has the power to choose who is hit next. A striker shoulders that responsibility and fights until the very last second.

Isagi Yoichi targeted someone ranked higher than him, not the fallen Igaguri. Bachira Meguru stole the ball off him and went after the strongest guy. That’s a selfish obsession with victory that isn’t affected by the group’s common sense.

That’s the egoism of the striker I’m looking for. You lost because you ran away from it.

Kira Ryosuke, lock off. The staff member should be arriving very soon.” Ego finalised his speech, giving some very albeit slightly crazy points, yet Kira still looked desperate, having not accepted defeat.

“But… B-but he came at me… Bachira came outta nowhere… BACHIRA CAME AT ME OUTTA NOWHERE! ” He screamed, all masks thrown off, leaving behind a raging teenager.

Isagi was very weirded out, but he still tried to call out to the boy. “Kira-kun…” He slightly flinched at the face Kira gave him. He was clenching his teeth, his eyes were wide open, his entire face screamed ‘fuck you, I hope you fucking rot’ and other similar things.

“This isn’t right. It… can’t be.”

“Now, now, please don’t fight, I don’t feel like having to drag someone again.” Everyone turned their heads to look at the new voice who entered the room.

It was a boy who looked their age. He wore a white collared shirt with its sleeves rolled up to his elbows. He wore a red tie, which was almost entirely hidden by the sleeveless beige sweater that he wore on top. He also had black jeans which were held up by a black belt with a silver buckle and sported black converse shoes with long above ankle level black socks.

He also had an unbottoned coffee brown cardigan, but he wasn’t really wearing it. He had the sleeves on around his forearms and the clothing was slothfully circling around his waist, but he didn’t have the cardigan around his shoulders, that part just draped off behind him, kind of giving him an ethereal look thanks to his pretty features.

He also wore a black choker and the same football necklace that Ego had, representing him as one of the staff. Around his wrists were black round cuffs, and he also had a black digital watch with the Blue Lock logo on his right wrist between the cuff and a beaded blue and white bracelet.

However, what caught Isagi’s attention the most was the boy’s face. Same shaggy blue hair, same piercing blue eyes, and the same freaking jewelry and voice. THAT WAS HIS DAMN BROTHER!

Isagi was practically gaping at what his eyes saw. That was Niyodo standing there, not as a player, but as a member of the staff .

“Who are you?” Asked Kira, his voice laced with contempt.

“Oh, I guess introductions are in order." The boy? gave them a flashy bow. "I am Lock, a member of the staff at Blue Lock, and I’m your supervisor slash caretaker. I’m in charge of overseeing every athlete of this facility, including you guys.”

Yoichi was about to speak up before his brother's head lifted up and his eyes pierced him. His amused smile was all he needed to know that his brother wanted him to keep quiet.

A red haired boy spoke up instead. "And why in the world would we need a caretaker around our age to supervise us?"

Lock simply offered him a polite smile.  “Trivia questions for later. Right now I have a loser to escort to the exit, which I assume is the guy here who looks like he wants to kick someone.” He said as he pointed to Kira.

Kira looked very hesitant, he definitely didn’t want to go, because it meant his soccer career was truly over. Lock noticed this and sighed as he set a palm to his forehead before locking eyes with Kira.

“Look, your soccer career in Japan might be over, but that doesn’t mean you can’t play for other countries. It’s a small yet cruel mercy Ego has given you, since trying to be a forward in other countries is a lot harder than being a forward in Japan.

You’ll have to go through grueling training and exercise before being even able to sit on the damn bench. So come on. It might be over here, but there’s still a world outside you know?” Lock smiled softly at Kira, who looked more calmed down. Lock knew more than anyone how hard it was to get a spot as a striker outside of Japan, but a few white lies wouldn’t hurt anybody, would they?

Yet, these words were meant more to soothe Yoichi, who looked slightly pale. And with Kira glaring at his brother, Lock had picked up on the context clues and immediately intervened as appropriate. After all, in the last room he had to drag someone to the exit. And he'd rather not see Yocchan in the infirmary.

Kira nodded and walked out of the door, while Lock stayed for a bit. “By the way, as your supervisor I’ll be overseeing you guys. This includes your training, and making sure you guys are awake when needed and sleeping when it’s required. I’ll do rounds tonight, so I better see y’all dozed off! What you do after I finish my rounds is no concern of mine, as long as you guys aren’t actively being a danger to others or to yourselves. With that said, see ya later!”

He went to the door and waved everyone goodbye. He poked Kira and started guiding him towards the exit to grab the rest of his stuff.

“Is it me, or are they like… very pretty?” Asked a brunette.

A few hums in agreement resounded through the room. While they weren’t gay, they knew when someone gave off pretty vibes. Even the red haired diva-looking guy nodded along.

Meanwhile, Isagi had finally processed everything, and was slightly weirded out. That was his brother for god’s sake! But decided that the whole thing with his brother could be sorted out later. Right now he had to deal with the moral problem that was him ending Kira’s soccer career. At keast in Japan.

‘I ruined someone’s soccer career, but why do I feel so pumped up? What the hell?’ His body wasn’t really synced up to his mind, so he was kinda lagging out a bit.

‘Wait, that guy…’ Isagi looked up to see Bachira sat down on the floor criss crossed. Bachira caught his stare and stuck his tongue out in a mischievous manner.

Isagi began walking up to him. “Why did you pass it to me? If I hadn’t kicked it, you would’ve lost.” Bachira just shifted to look at him, a wide grin plastered on his face.

“Hm? Because I knew you’d kick it. It was written on your face.” He answered.

“Huh?”

“Only results matter here”, right? So I l believed in you, and I won, right?” He winked at Isagi, who just gave him a deadpan stare.

‘This guy’s totally crazy.’ He concluded for the nth time that day.

“Is this ridiculousness going to continue?” Complained Igaguri.

“Ridiculousness?” Intervened Ego.

“You’re right? That’s the world of “win or lose”. Those world-class strikers you so casually adore put their lives on the line like this everyday.

How does it feel to fight for you career for the first time? Does it scare you? Does it excite you? This is normal in Blue Lock. Are you shaken up? Did it make you go, “All right! I survived!”?

That’s what victory feels like . Etch that into your brain. Every time you get a taste of that pleasant sensation, your ego grows. And that will elevate you to the height of the world’s greatest striker.

Congratulations. You have passed the admission exam for the Blue Lock form.” A few cheered at that.

“There are eleven of you in this room. You eleven will be living together. At times, you’ll work together. Other times, you’ll betray each other. You will be rivals who wreck each other’s dreams. Blue Lock. Team Z.” Everyone was excited, after all, this whole shebang was nuts.

“You have the rest of the day to get used to this place and remember the schedule that is placed on your lockers. If you need any assistance, you can always go Lock’s dorm room to ask him for help. Or you can send him a message in the touchpad next to the door. Although you’ll have to wait for him to read it on his computer or in the touchpad itself.” Explained Ego, before showing the Blue Lock map of this floor.

To get to Lock’s dorm you’ll have to go through a metal door which will scan you and your rank. Access to the hallway leading to his room will be granted or denied by either the system or by Lock himself. This is mainly to avoid players from different stratums seeing each other and possibly causing information leaks.

Access priority will be given to those with either higher rank or bigger number of visitors from that stratum depending on the circumstances.

I’ll explain the details about the ranking system and stratums tomorrow. Bye bye for now, diamonds in the rough.” And with that, the screen turned black.

“So, how about we introduce ourselves?”

Additional Time!

“Your mom and I don’t know a lot about soccer, but it’s impressive that you got chosen by the JFU, Yoichi.”

“Isn’t it just amazing? But then again, you’ve always been good at soccer just like Niyocchi over here, even when you two were just little kids.

“Hmm, I guess.”

“Isn’t nii-chan just amazing? To get scouted by the JFU just like that!” Exclaimed Niyodo.

“Huh? I think getting scouted for a school abroad is even more amazing!” Yoichi retorted incredulously.

Their father tried to break apart their little discussion. “Well, well, what matters is that you two got scouted by big shots because of your skills! You two have always loved football the same, but Yoichi always made more of a fuss over it.”

“Yeah! I still remember when you asked Santa Claus for the World Cup trophy for Christmas, and when you wrote "the world’s best striker" in your dream job sheet that your kindergarten teacher gave you.” Their mom said.

“You can stop now. It’s embarrassing.” Said Yoichi, but his expression didn’t show any embarrassment. He just looked slightly joyful.

“You were glued to the TV whenever a soccer game was on. and you’d cry your eyes out if we switched the channel.”

“Wait but I wasn’t the only one! Niyocchi over here also watched those matches! Not only that, but he did so while pretending to do homework! And he also complained with me!” Retorted Yoichi.

“Hey Yoichi don’t you dare throw me under the bus!” Complained Niyodo while their parents laughed at their bickering.

“But what Yocchan’s saying is true. You both whined and complained together until you finally fell asleep from all of that, and when you guys woke up. The only thing was that Yoichi didn’t remember a thing, but Niyo’s face would go so red from embarrassment, he almost looked like a tomato!

Not only that, but you used to forget to do your homework all the time, and Niyo only had halfway of it done, so you’d come home together pouting because you got scolded by the teacher.

That’s why their grades back then weren’t very good, right?” Iyo said her husband.

“Yup, you were very lucky you got picked, Yoichi. And Niyo’s lucky he got a scholarship just from soccer skills, his grade were disastrous after all!” Said their father as he started to laugh along with their mother.

“Wait, were you dissing us at the end there?” Asked Yoichi, while Niyo just looked embarrassed at the memories, reddened face poorly hidden by his hands.

“Well, yeah, but remember that one time when Yocchan was scared of a mosquito and ended up crying and you guys thought it was a ghost? You even considered calling a priest to the house to exorcise whatever “demon” your sons were seeing!” Huffed Niyodo, sporting a grin from finding the "perfect distraction".

“Oh yeah! Yocchan really gave me a scare back then. And when you came out of the bathroom and told us “You can’t see it?”, that was the nail on the coffin.” Sighed their mother.

“Luckily, I noticed it was a mosquito. But I gotta say this: Yoichi was crying, so it was understandable that he couldn’t completely explain just what was wrong, but you Niyo? Your words didn’t help at all! If anything, you made our assumptions look even more real!” Complained their father.

“Oh, look at the time, guess I gotta go sleep! Bye bye!” Niyo whistled before quickly getting up and leaving her plate on the dishwasher and heading out.

He could have almost escaped the conversation if it wasn’t for Yoichi pulling his jacket as he passed the table.

“Oh no no no, you don’t get to escape this, my dear brother~” Said Yoichi in a sing song voice, which was obviously laced with a teasing intent.

“That’s right, come sit down dear, let’s take time to reminisce about the past before Yoichi has to go.” Said their dad as he winked to Yoichi.

While Niyodo knew that they were just making excuses to embarrass him, he couldn’t deny quality time with his family. After all, he owed them lost time from the past.

“Sit down, Niyocchi! We’re going to talk about how you rubbed your heavy swearing tendencies on little Yocchan’s mind!” Okay, now he kinda wanted to leave the room. Fuck quality time.