Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Come on, Mom. Do I really have to go with you to your company's meeting or whatever?" The boy whined, pulling up your blanket closer to his face. "I'm already 17. I think I'm old enough to stay home alone."

"Well yes, but you're also old enough to start learning about business and your social skills." His mom snatched his blanket away. "Who's going to take over the company when I'm all old and unable to do anything." She dramatically sighed.

His mother had been single handily maintaining a beauty company focusing on products and ointments, so looks really did matter in her case. 

"I have two younger siblings. Ask one of them to go with you." 

"They're eight and thirteen, Y/n."

"Gotta teach them young then." He yawned.

"I'll get you dessert if you go with me."

"I'll be ready in five minutes."

His mom smiled and had left his room to also get ready. In fully honesty, he still couldn't get used to how his family's lifestyle was ever since your mom became successful. The meetings, the house, the clothes, all of it still felt so new. Going from being a normal kid to getting almost everything he wanted was not an easy adjustment, not that he was complaining.

But even with all of that Y/n still felt... bored. The closest he had ever gotten to escaping that dull feeling was many years ago

Y/n took a deep breath. Now wasn't the time to be thinking about things like that.

The sound of him running down the stairs echoed a bit, alerting his mom he was coming down. 

"Y/n, I told you to dress fancy. This is an important meeting, not a casual walk to the mall." His mom picked at his shirt and pants.

"Oh no. You know I totally would change, but I'm pretty sure we're late." Y/n showed his mom the time on his phone.

"Again?" His mom gasped. "Come on, we've got to go. No time for you to change." She was basically already running out of the door.

Y/n laughed. At least things like that didn't change.

Y/n watched as the other cars and signs quickly passed by his window as he happily drank your milk tea and ate his favorite treat. The people, plants, and shops all going by in one big blur. He wondered, was his life ever going to get more entertaining? Y/n knew what he already had was good enough and was grateful for it all.

Yet, he still wanted more. Something felt missing from his life. Y/n just couldn't put his finger on it. The more he thought about it, the more selfish it felt.

Before he knew it Y/n was already in front of the building and following his mom throughout the long hallways. His eyes looked around at the designs of the walls and decorations while his mom was talking about something his brain didn't care enough about to remember.

Y/n's head shot up when he heard something along the lines of a world class striker.

He didn't know what happened but his body just refused to continue following his mom, and he stayed there listening in on the conversation. Y/n's mom had gotten too distracted with a call to even realize he wasn't behind her anymore. There wasn't much to work off of through the small crack between the two doors. It seemed like they were talking about some sort of project for soccer. 

Y/n heard a man's voice. "The goal of this project is to make a revolutionary striker. But a striker like that is more than just any regular soccer player. He must surpass mentality of the weak and take risks needed to come out on top."

Then a woman's voice. "A shocking and daring program like this is exactly what Japan needs to change soccer forever."

The two voices continued talking, bringing up the benefits and other points of how this idea would take Japanese soccer to a whole nother level. 

A new voice spoke. "As great as it would be to improve Japanese soccer, there are too many uncertain factors. The cost, the amount of time, I mean, who knows if anyone other than you two are actually up for this crazy plan."

"I am." Y/n stepped through the doors without thinking. 

All eyes went to him in an instant.

"This is a private meeting, sir-" 

"If it was so private then you should've locked the door." Y/n said, while keeping his eyes on the two people at the other end of the table. "I can aid in the cost and whatever else. But I want in on this project."

"Bold move coming into here." The man with the bowl cut and glasses smiled. "What was your name again?"

"Y/n Kasai." He hasn't said that name in years. "It's been awhile, Ego."

"It certainly has." The two grinned at each other. "I almost didn't recognize you. You've seem to grow a lot since you were young."

All of the men around the table than began speaking among themselves, glancing back at him every so often. Y/n Kasai? The Y/n Kasai? The one who denied thousands of offers from multiple organizations to play soccer for them? The one who basically threw away his whole soccer career for who knows why. The one who disappeared from soccer spotlight seven years ago?

Though no one would ever outwardly say it, soccer enthusiasts and organizations had always wondered about how Japanese soccer would be is Y/n continued that path he so clearly was destined to follow. The chance to get the Y/n Kasai to start playing soccer again was an opportunity that only someone out of their mind would let slip past. 

"Well? What is your answer, board of JFU?" Ego grinned, already knowing the answer.

"If someone like Y/n Kasai is up for it then it would be foolish to not go along with this project."

The other board members nodded in agreement. 

Finally... something that will take Y/n out of the boring cycle of events called his life. 

"By the way," Y/n had realized, "what's the name of this project?"

"Blue lock." The woman answered looking at him now full with hope because of his eagerness in the program.

Blue lock. Y/n repeated in his head, smiling about how entertaining he knew everything was about to become. That one fire in his chest which he was sure he had put out years ago began to set alight all over again for the first time in forever. 

"Y/n, your mood seems to be a lot more up than when we left the house." Y/n's mom looked in the mirror at her son. And well. she definitely wasn't wrong. "You know, you worried me a lot disappearing like that. I looked away for one second and you were gone." She sighed.

"Sorry, Mom." Y/n chuckled sincerely.

"Did you run into a cute girl or something? Or boy too. That's alright as well." She raised her eyebrows.

Y/n's face flushed. "No! Nothing like that!"

The boy’s mom gave him a look, but then went back to focusing on the road. 

He was trying his best to act like nothing happened, but Y/n couldn't help bit indiscreetly smile. The man who he learned was named Ego Jinpachi had talked to him after the meeting to figure everything out. The plan was already being set in motion and Y/n just had to wait patiently for that wonderful day to come. The woman, Anri Teirei also spoke with him, excited that someone who quit soccer with so much unexplored potential picked soccer back up for their project. Y/n began thinking about all of the other talented soccer players he was going to meet. Their personalities, their skills, how challenging it would be when going against them. 

It would be an understatement to say that Y/n was competitive. 

Y/n couldn't wait to face all of them off.

To learn from them and grow as a player? To feel motivated again for the first time in a while? To gain bonds with others who would understand his motives and ideals?

As if.

He wanted to absolutely obliterate each and every single one of them on the field until all of their hopes and dreams were destroyed far beyond repair.

___

Y/n's mom cried. "Y/n, oh my sweet baby boy. Why do you have to leave so soon?" She pinched his cheeks until he had to yank them off because of the pain. "You're going to be gone for so long, and you know how much I miss you guys when one of you are gone."

"You'll still have the other two kids. Plus I'm sure I'll be able to call you and whatnot when I'm there." He patted his mom's shoulder.

"I'm glad that you're finally playing soccer again, but I still don't fully get why you want to go to this program so bad." She frowned. "You know I'll support you in everything, but it just doesn't make sense to me. You refused even just to look at a soccer ball for a while after you quit playing."

"That was seven years ago. People change." Y/n reminded her. 

"Alright, just stay safe out there." The woman brought down his face and kissed her son on the cheek multiple times. "I love you so much, my first born."

"Mom, we're in public. I don't want people thinking I'm some kind of mama's boy." Y/n complained with a smile, wiping off his mom's kisses.

She pretended to wipe away a tear. "Okay, okay, I'll go. I think the longer I stay here, the more I miss you."

Y/n and his mom waved goodbye at each other before she drove off and he headed towards the building entrance. Y/n was one of the first people to arrive and stayed off to the side to avoid any attention. What kind of weirdo would just stand in the middle of a huge nearly empty room?

Slowly, more and more guys came into the room, filling up more and more space. 

Y/n hated how close everyone felt next to him and the crowdedness of the room. When was Ego going to come out so he could get out of the sea of people?

His back accidentally hit into someone else while trying to avoid getting squished by other players.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Y/n quickly apologized. He then had to look up at the guy he had just bumped into. He instantly thought he was doomed. 

The white haired boy sighed heavily. "I almost died just now." His eyes stuck to the game he was playing on his phone.

"Don't worry about him. He's basically already forgiven you." The guy with purple hair waved his hand to the side. "You seem familiar..."

"Uhm..." Y/n's voice trailed on.

"Oh yeah." He snapped his fingers. "You're the son of the founder of that beauty company, Y/n L/n, right? You've been all over the media lately."

"Yeah, that's me." Y/n breathed a sigh of relief. "Wait, I think I know you too. Reo Mikage? I'm pretty sure our parents have worked together a couple of times."

He smiled. "You're right. And this is Nagi Seishiro by the way." Reo pointed over to Nagi who was still focused on his game. The purple boy stepped closer. "Those advertisements and reviews weren't lying. You really are as good looking as people say. No wonder you're usually shown in your mom's company's posts."

Y/n's eyes widened. "Thanks, you're too kind." He tried covering up his flushed face.

"I'm being honest. It's pretty much just a fact. Right, Nagi?" Reo looked back at Nagi.

Nagi finally looked up from his screen. "Uh huh."

Y/n was about to say something but then was interrupted by a tap on his shoulder.

"Hi, uhm." The nervous blue haired boy wearing a school uniform looked everywhere but into Y/n's eyes. "I'm Isagi Yoichi. You're Y/n Kasai, right? I recognize you from when you-"

Shoot.

The sound of a microphone feedback cut off Isagi and shut up everyone in the room in an instant. It was so silent that even breathing a little too loud felt wrong. 

"And, test, test, test."

Y/n grinned. It's about damn time.

"Congratulations and welcome, diamonds in the rough." A bright spotlight shined onto the skinny man. "You are the 300 eighteen and under strikers who have been chosen according to my arbitrary and biased decision-making. And I am Jinpachi Ego, the man who was hired to ensure Japan's future victory at the world cup."

Everyone but Y/n immediately started murmuring to each other, wondering what the hall was going on. Ego and Y/n looked each other right in the eye, unbeknownst to anyone else. 

He continued. "I'll be performing an experiment to turn one of you 300 into the single best striker in the world. Here, at this facility, Blue lock." Ego then started to state more about the project. "You won't be allowed to go home and your previous soccer careers will be a mere memory. But I promise you this, if you fight hard enough, if you survive to be the last man standing out of the 300 candidates assembled here, you will be the greatest striker in history."

A chill went down everyone's spines.

"That's all for now. It's been fun." Ego lastly said before the lights turned back on.

The chatter and whispering grew louder and louder as Y/n walked forward towards Ego, fully ready to bring his soccer path back to life. 

All of the attention was then quickly taken away when a white haired guy who was standing next to Isagi raised his hand and spoke up. "Excuse me. Sorry, but I can't agree to these conditions."

Y/n rolled his eyes.

"All of us have teams we've given our loyalty to. And some of us have nationals coming up." The guy became more irritated. "You want me to abandon my team? For what? To participate in some crazy-sounding program?" He yelled.

The crowd began to speak up as well, bring up their games, their teams, their complaints were going to drive Y/n crazy.

“Some striker you are.” Y/n muttered loud enough for Kira to hear.

"Just who do you think you are talking like that? You must be just as out of your mind as that Ego guy." Kira yelled back.

"Someone who wants to win, idiot." Y/n rolled his eyes. "If you're seriously choosing mediocrity over the chance of being on top, you'll never become one of the best. You don't have what it takes, and you never will." He paused between each word and scoffed. "I almost feel bad for you."

Ego watched as the crowd murmured to each other in a state of worry and hesitance. "So my diamonds in the rough, don't become discouraged because of fear. Let go of common sense. Join for chance to beat everyone else, and prove to yourself and the rest of the world that you are not only the world's best striker, but also the world's biggest egoist."

The crowd still stayed frozen. Still talking amongst each other. 

Y/n’s back faced the crowd. If he was going to give soccer one last chance, then he wanted someone who wasn't afraid to put everything on the line to go against. 

Ego continued with his speech while Y/n stood there, waiting. But once he had finished his part, still no one moved.

The sound of someone stepping forward then echoed through the silence.

That blue haired boy Isagi had started running towards the opened door with a fire in his eye that Y/n knew was only for those worthy to compete with him.

"Now that's more like it!" Y/n's mood instantly shot back up. And with his left foot he charged forward along with Isagi as if they were racing against each other shoulder to shoulder.

Everyone else then followed behind them, disregarding their past complaints and issues. Rationality meant nothing in a place like that.

Chapter Text

Y/n stood away from everyone, not like they'd want to stand around him after his little speech earlier. He would be shot with either dirty looks or scared glances. He sighed. Y/n knew he wasn't the best at conversing or socializing with others, especially with how sarcastic or brutally honest he could be. His mom always told him that it was because they were intimidated by him, but her words didn't really help at all.

...

He had done it again. Whenever soccer was involved, his whole mindset just seemed to flip.

Y/n was then reminded on how similar he was to him and why he had quit soccer in the first place.

His thoughts were soon interrupted by the several buses that had showed up to take everyone to the Blue Lock facility. As he walked in between the seats of the bus to the back, Y/n wouldn't stop receiving gazes from the other soccer players.

But it wasn't the stares that bother him. It was the rush of past memories appearing in his mind. Of how he used to be, of what he did.

Y/n sat down, staring out of the window, a habit he developed when he was young.

He was caught off guard when he felt someone sit right next to him.

The other boy had a wide grin on his face. The yellow hair underneath all of the regular hair was what registered in Y/n's brain first. Y/n waited for the smiling guy to say something, but instead the other boy stared at him in silence. It was a bit too much, even for Y/n.

"Can I help you?..." Y/n looked away and then back at him.

"That stunt you pulled earlier was awesome. So the monster told me to sit next to you."

Is this guy schizophrenic or something? What the hell is he talking about?

"Monster?- Never mind. But uh, doesn't what I said earlier.. make you mad? You don't think of me as some arrogant bastard that peaked seven years ago?" Y/n tilted his head to the side. "I didn't know what came over me earlier." He sighed. "All of that learning how to be nicer taught by my mom just down the drain." Y/n muttered into his hands.

"Not at all!" The guy's energetic disposition surprised Y/n. "People like who are exactly the kind of soccer players I want to play with. And I can't wait to see if you're still as ground breaking as you were seven years ago."

It was a rare moment where Y/n's attitude didn't scare off someone, and having at least one companion wouldn't hurt.

"I'm Y/n L/n." He reached out his hand.

"Bachira Meguru." Bachira took Y/n's hand and shook it aggressively.

"Doesn't your face hurt from smiling that much?" Y/n laughed quietly.

"You're right. I am pretty tired now." Suddenly, Bachira was resting his head on Y/n's shoulder, already knocked out. Interesting first impressions from both of them. Yet, neither seemed to be bothered in the slightest.

It was.. almost comforting that Y/n didn't have to put up a front anymore. Y/n was finally free to do what he wanted.

"Okay, buddy, you must really not know what stranger danger is." Y/n remarked as Bachira unconsciously snuggled closer into Y/n's neck and wrapped his arms around the other boy's waist. Was being this touchy normal with other teenage boys nowadays?  Y/n had never really focused on making many friends in his life. Willingly socializing with others felt like a foreign concept to him.

After getting off of the bus and receiving a uniform of some sort, Y/n and Bachira walked together, adjusting to their new environment. The black and yellow haired boy yawned.

"You're still tired? Even after basically using me as a bed?" Y/n commented with an eyebrow raised and a small smile.

Bachira yawned. "Mhm. I just want to find our room and go right back to sleep."

The two boys had showed each other their new clothes and the number they each were given. They were both assigned to the Z room, but Bachira had gotten number 290 while Y/n had gotten 300.

Just like he and Ego had planned.

"So you want to become the world's best striker? After all these years?"

"That's right." Y/n raised his eyebrows. "Is that an issue?"

"Well, it's possible that your skills may have deteriorated since the last time you participated in a legitimate game..." Ego scratched his head. "Adding you into the program would be quite the gamble-"

"Then rank me last." The h/c boy put his hand on his chest. "You said that everyone would be split up based on ranking and their skills, right? If I'm placed as worst of the worst, then it pretty much fixes up that whole issue." 

"If that's what you want..."  Ego thought about it for a few moments. "I won't be telling you any other information other than the basics of Blue lock and few minuscule details. Everything else that you will face in there, you won't learn until it happens."

"Do we have a deal, Mr. L/n?" Ego reached out his hand.

Y/n showed him a sly smile and took his hand. "Deal."

Bachira and Y/n continued wandering throughout the halls, chatting about something random every so often, until they had finally found room Z.

"This seems to be it, Bachira." Y/n looked up at the sign above the door. "I guess we've got to get changed and prepare for whatever comes next." 

"I'll race you." Bachira grinned and stuck out his tongue.

"Oh, you're so on- Hey wait! Starting before doing a count down is so cheating! Wait!" Y/n quickly ran after Bachira, holding on tight to his new clothes. 

However, the playful attitude changed once they had entered the room full of silence and judgmental looks. These guys all look so creepy... Y/n sighed. If only he had that same random surge of confidence as he did earlier. 

That was when he saw that white haired boy again. 

"Kira." To at least greet him was the polite thing to do.

"Hello again." He replied, clearly still salty about Y/n's previous comments.

They both stared at each other, waiting for the other to speak.

"Come on, Y/n." Bachira pulled Y/n's arm. "Don't waste your time on someone like him." He snickered. Y/n just looked over at Kira with an mocking expression and then back at Bachira. Y/n's eyes scanned over the multiple lockers until he saw an empty one. He quickly changed into his new outfit, which unfortunately did not come with socks to wear. Feeling the cold floor beneath his feet was not a very pleasant feeling.

When Bachira and Y/n finished putting away their things, they moved over to an empty area. As expected, Bachira fell asleep straight away, curling up into a ball and lying on his side. And leaving Y/n alone with his thoughts.

"Have you finished changing, my little diamonds in the rough?" The huge screen way up high flashed on, showing Ego. "Welcome, all. Please think of the players you're sharing this space with as both your roommates as well as your rivals.”

"I have quantified your skills and ranked each of you according to my arbitrary an biased decision making. Thus, the numbers on all of your uniforms." Ego held out his hand, which displayed a holographic pentagon. "You can tell at a glance what your rank out of 300 is."

Kira looked over at Y/n, sure that he would have some type of reaction being placed as last, but only got annoyed at Y/n's calmness.

"Those in the top five will be registered as forwards in the U-20 team for the world cup. Additionally, anyone who loses while here at Blue lock will forfeit the right to ever represent Japan."

Quiet gasps could be heard around the room. However, Y/n had nothing to lose if he lost in Blue lock. Not like that would happen anytime soon.

"Only those of you who gain the biggest ego will succeed here. Which I will now measure by administering a test. Let's play a game of tag, shall we?"

Ego swiftly explained the simple rules of this unique version of tag. Whoever is it at the end of the 136 timer would be locked off, and no hands allowed. 

The screen then changed to an funny looking icon of Y/n as well as his full name and rank along with it. Seeing the Y/n L/n ranked so low calmed down a great deal of the other players nerves. Just as he planned.

Y/n stood up before a soccer ball fell from the ceiling right at his feet. He looked around the room as if he was examining for the perfect candidate to mark as the next it. Y/n made a random sudden movement and giggled at the sight of them all flinching.

"Scaredy cats." Y/n whispered before suddenly lifting and kicking the ball with the same foot right into Igaguri's shoulder. It happened so briskly no one had processed what just occurred.

"Awh no! Why me!" Igaguri chased after the ball after it bounced off of him.

"Your haircut pissed me off, that's why." Y/n rolled his eyes. Shoot, I'm doing it again. "I mean, you just kind of left yourself open..."

Igaguri began frantically running around, trying to find someone to hit, while also yelling for some reason. Everyone else ran around, keeping as far away from the ball as possible. It wasn't long before the whole room became chaotic with people desperate to continue their soccer careers.

The monk had then missed again. And as the ball hit the side of the wall, it rolled over right in front of a sleeping Bachira.

"It's a cheap shot but, so what?" He pulled his foot back. "You're it-" Igaguri was kicked right in the face by Bachira who was in a handstand.

It seems that Y/n had made friends with the right person.

"Punk! That's called a foul. If this was a real game, you'd get red carded." The monk pointed at Bachira as he held his bloody nose. Bachira slowly rose.

"He said only handballs were against the rules, didn't he?" Bachira rubbed his eye. "Good morning." A hand placed on his shoulder.

It was some orange haired guy. "Look, I'm not a big fan of playing dirty. I want a clean game you got that?"

"Whatever you say, Mr. Straight-laced." Bachira replied, still sleepy from his nap.

"I hate wasting time." Y/n trapped the ball under his foot before Igaguri could reach it. The other soccer player's expressions changed from anxious to confused. Who the hell would voluntarily take the ball? And why?

No one had a second to think before Y/n had shot the ball again. This time right into the back of the head of the orange haired guy.

Isagi stood in awe. Y/n had always been one of the soccer players he had admired when he was young. Of course, that interest had faded overtime when Y/n disappeared. But what was so intriguing about him now was how he didn't seem all that different from those previous years. Isagi wanted to know more. No... he needed to.

"I'm going to kill you, you bastard!" The orange haired boy shouted in rage.

Isagi had blinked and Y/n had appeared inches away from his face. 

"Hi there." Y/n said in a sing song voice.

"Hey. What are you-"

The h/c boy abruptly ducked, dropping into the splits and catching himself with his hands. Before Isagi could form a thought, the soccer ball slammed into his stomach with such force that he was sent flying back. 

"Ou, glad that didn't hit me." Y/n stood back up, moving his hair out of his face. 

"Nice move, Y/n!" Bachira jumped onto Y/n. "I knew you'd be fun."

"Come on, Bachira. We have a game of tag to focus on." Y/n patted his head as he put him down. Before the black and yellow haired boy left Y/n's side, he whispered a little plan into Y/n's ear. The h/c boy raised an eyebrow but then quickly grinned. "Ah what the hell. Let's do it."

The two ran into different directions in a flash. 

In all of the mayhem, Igaguri had tripped and hurt his ankle, keeping him from running around anymore and right at Isagi's mercy. The monk started pleading with blue haired boy. Y/n kept his eye on the whole scene, waiting for what Isagi's next move would be. 

To almost everyone's shock, Isagi turned around and charged towards Bachira instead. 

"I like you." Bachira pointed at Isagi, smiling. "You're right, wanna beat someone?" He stole the ball from Isagi. "Then it should be the strongest player." Bachira glanced over at Y/n, who responded with a nod.

"Wait, what, me?" Kira yelled in panic, seeing Bachira run towards him with the ball.

"Hello there." A voice from behind him sent chills down Kira's spine. 

"You too? This isn't fair! You guys are ganging up on me!" Kira dodged a near punch to the face from Y/n and a shot of the ball from Bachira. The black and white sphere had bounced off of the wall, right at Y/n's feet. He passed it to Bachira who had flipped into a handstand and kicked the ball all the way across the room. 

Kira thought that Bachira had over shot the ball and missed him. He ran with a smile on his face, knowing that he was safe from elimination. However, that 'over kick' turned out to be a pass. 

Right over to Isagi. 

"Come on, Isagi, prove yourself worthy." Y/n whispered under his breath. That moment would decide on how he would think of Isagi from then on. Y/n knew he saw that same fire as his in Isagi's eyes when they were running through the entrance earlier. He just wanted to confirm it.

The timer ticked down to the last seconds.

"Boom!" Bachira exclaimed. Moments before Isagi launched the ball right into Kira's face. 

A buzzer went off, and Kira had lost.

"Isagi, hey..." Blood ran down Kira's nose. "What're you doing? Wait, what happened?" 

"I'm sorry the ball just came to me out of nowhere." Isagi seemed to come back to his senses and realized what he had just done. 

"Don't give me that!-" Kira was cutting off by the sound of Ego clapping. 

"Well done, my diamonds in the rough. Only results matter here." Ego's face then appeared close to the camera. "You lost, Ryosuke Kira and are disqualified."

"Now lock off, loser." Ego's words rang throughout the room. 

Kira stood there in shock before yelling and screaming at Ego. Talking about how none of it was fair, before Ego explained why he had lost. He only stayed there for a few more moments until storming out of the room, defeated and enraged. 

"Sore losers, am I right?" Y/n put his arm around Isagi's shoulders. "Anyways, you said your name is Isagi right? I think you and I are going to get along." 

What with these people? This guy... and Bachira too. "Uhm, yeah, it's nice to properly meet you." Isagi scratched the back of his head, afraid of getting on Y/n's bad side if he pushed him off. He then looked over to Bachira who was sitting with his legs crossed.

"Why'd you pass the ball to me?" Isagi questioned the overly cheerful boy. "You would've lost if I just hadn't kicked the ball."

"I saw the look on your face. I knew you'd kick it." Bachira explained with a wide smile. 

"So I trusted Bachira to make the right choice, and Bachira trusted you to shoot the ball. Call it a team effort if you will." Y/n released Isagi and walked over to Bachira's side. "In the end, we won, didn't we?" The two boys fist bumped. But Isagi could sense the sinister morale behind those welcoming smiles.

Chapter Text

The rest of the day was spent on a series of multiple fitness tests. Each person had pushed themselves as hard as they could in fear of getting locked off. Everyone believed that Y/n would do horribly at the tests since he didn't all that strong at a glance and hadn't played soccer in years, but his results were better than what anyone expected. 

Raichi had challenged Y/n in who could last on the treadmill the longest and yelled at him when he lost. Y/n couldn't jump as high as the best of them but only came a few centimeters short. And he absolutely humiliated Igaguri at everything.

Once Y/n completed all of the tests, he sat down near the corner of the room. He closed his eyes and leaned back, resting the back of his head against the wall. 

Thank goodness he had decided to practice for a few weeks before going to Blue lock. 

Y/n stood with a soccer ball in hand as the door in front of him slid open, revealing an outdoor soccer field. It had remained untouched for almost a decade yet it looked exactly the same as it did to when he was a kid. 

"Mom must've gotten someone to clean up this place." Y/n sighed before dropping the soccer ball on the ground.

He practiced the basics, dribbling, shooting, all that kind of stuff. Y/n didn't really understand why he wanted to become a striker so bad after all that time. He had his chance, and he let it slip away. Was he chasing after something he should just let go?

"You've changed, Y/n, remember? You'll never make another mistake like that again."  Y/n launched the ball into the net. As long as he didn't lose control, everything would be fine he told himself.

"Hey, Kasai." 

Y/n had opened his eyes to see Isagi standing in front of him. 

"No need for the formalities. Y/n is just fine. What's up?" He tilted his head.

"The way you and Bachira played earlier. Your guy's thoughts just seemed to be totally in sync." Isagi held onto the towel around his neck. "How did you guys do it? You two must've been playing with each other for a while, right?"

"Oh no, we just met each other today."

Isagi blinked. "What?"

"Yep. There's nothing much to it. Once you find someone who's on the same wavelength as you, everything just seems to flow." Y/n took of sip of his water. "That's why the ball was passed to you. Not back to me. Not to Kira."

"But to you." Y/n shrugged. "No offense to your now locked off friend Kira, but it was clear he never had what it takes to become a somewhat decent striker. You could see that in the way he hesitated the entire time." He stood up. "So I'm excited to see you on the field, Isagi Yoichi. Because you don't hesitate."

Y/n patted his shoulder before walking off. 

It took getting lost a few times, but Y/n had finally found the cafeteria. His mom had packed him snacks in his bags, but he forgot to eat them before putting all of his things away in a locker. 

"Gah, mom's going to freak out because I'm responding to her texts or calls..." Y/n's hands pulled down his face. 

The machine in the cafeteria made a beep after scanning the pentagon on Y/n's shoulder. 

"Hm, tamagoyaki. I haven't had this since I was a kid." Y/n picked up the small plate of the rolled omelette pieces. He looked around the large cafeteria. He figured that everyone had split up based on what team they were in. Every table looked occupied however, and Y/n didn't want to sit with strangers and his future opponents.

"Y/n! Over here!" Y/n turned around to see Reo waving at him. "Nice to see you didn't get locked off. But I'm surprised that you didn't get into at least Team V with us after your bold speech earlier. You've got guts, man!"

Y/n pulled out a chair right next to Reo. "I can't lie and say I don't regret some of the things I said. Though it's a little funny because Kira actually ended up losing. Seems I wasn't so wrong." His voice got a little quiet at the end. 

"I'm curious though. Earlier that blue haired boy called you Y/n Kasai. But you also respond to Y/n L/n. What's up with that?" Reo innocently asked, not knowing the weight of that question.

"Oh uhm..." Y/n put down his spoon full with rice. "Kasai is my father's last name, and when I was eleven I took on my mom's last name instead." A partial truth wouldn't hurt anyone. Y/n wasn't ready to start unpacking his past. 

"Ohh, I see. I'll be honest, Nagi and I are pretty new to this soccer thing. We've only started a few months ago." Reo chuckled. "Sounds like that last name Kasai has some value to the soccer world."

"I guess so." Y/n took a bite of his food.

Y/n had swiftly changed the subject from himself to other things that he and Reo could chat about, as well as the occasional grunt from Nagi who was across the table. After finishing his food, Y/n waved goodbye to the two others and walked around the halls. He might as well get used to his surrounds if he was going to be staying there. 

After wandering around the facility for about 30 minutes, Y/n returned to his room to see everyone asleep on the floor in rows.

"Psst Y/n." A voice called for him. "There's a free bed next to me."

"Oh thanks, Isagi." Y/n spoke in a quiet tone while getting comfortable in his own bed. It had been awhile since he slept in a bed like this. Maybe he had gotten used to the rich life.

"No problem." The blue haired boy said before turning over and falling back to sleep.

But Y/n couldn't get himself to feel tired in the slightest. The room was so silent yet loud enough to be one of the things keeping him up. He never liked it when there was nothing else for him to do except think. Because that would lead to him remember things he wished he could erase from him memory. 

Y/n pushed the blanket off of him and stepped out of the room. He needed something to do to clear his mind. Oh, how he missed sugar at that moment. But tamagoyaki would have to do. Y/n ate all of them until he was too tired to fight back his sleepiness.

Y/n woke up to a chime from the speakers above. "The results of the fitness test have been assessed. All players, please return to your rooms and confirm your latest rankings."

"Oh shit." He quickly rose from his chair. "Ah my back hurts. What was I thinking?" Y/n frowned as he picked up his dishes and put them away. He couldn't even remember how he ended up in the cafeteria instead of his bed. Where was room Z again?...

Y/n ran throughout the halls until he found room's door to see everyone checking out their new rank. He leaned against the door frame, taking a few short breaths. Y/n spotted Bachira and Isagi and strolled over to them. 

"Hey guys, what's going on?" Y/n asked still slightly out of breath.

"We were worried about you Y/n. You just straight up disappeared. Bachira and I were going to look for you just now since Ego finished talking." Isagi gave him a look of relief. "I got 274 by the way." Isagi answered.

"And I got 267." Bachira replied. "How about you Y/n?"

"Ah, I was so excited for you guys I forgot to check my own." Y/n looked down at his shoulder. "Hm, 265."

"What the? You moved up so fast!" Isagi stated in shock. "You must've really been pushing yourself for those tests, Y/n. That's impressive."

"Wait, I don't understand." Y/n blinked.

"25 people were locked off yesterday, so the new amount of people is 275. So out of all of us here, you're ranked the highest."

So Ego must've switched my number to be the closest to my proper rank after that little event...

"What, no way, that's sick" Y/n beamed with joy. The sight was almost blinding for Isagi and Bachira. "By the way, what happened while I was gone..."

"Oh, well, to put it simply, we'll be going against four other teams, and only the top two get to move on. But the top scorers on the losing teams get to move on. He also mentioned creating soccer from zero. Whatever that means." Isagi looked down. "And we are also the worst team in Blue lock objectively speaking."

"Then we'll prove ourselves in this competition and come out as one of the top two teams." Y/n declared. It was too early for him to decide whether or not Blue lock was worth his time.

"You better keep that promise, Y/n." Bachira teased. "Because we're going up against team X in an hour."

Y/n's jaw dropped. "Only an hour? This Ego guy really isn't waiting any time, huh?"

The plan was simple. Keep Isagi as the center forward and just so whatever was necessary to win. But Y/n could feel the impatient atmosphere all around his team. And he knew there was no way in hell all of them would actually stick to the established system.

A loud whistle marked the start of the kick off and Isagi slowly moved forward, three players from the opposing team charging towards him. Before Isagi could come up with his next move, Raichi had stolen the ball from him. Until Kunigami then took the ball from him.

Eventually, the desperateness to move onto the next selection had taken over almost everyone's brains, resulting in a mob of players trying to take the ball for themselves.

"Look at them." Y/n sighed, walking right behind a stunned Isagi. "Like a bunch of wild hyenas." He tsked. Maybe Blue lock was pointless after all. There's no way he'd be caught dead playing in a team like that.

Suddenly, a red eyed player broke through the large amount of people and dashed towards the goal. The remaining team Z players on their side tried to stop him but it was no use. And he had scored the first goal of the game.

Team X broke out into cheers, no longer feeling the uncertainty of losing.

"Listen suckers," Y/n saw that the name of the guy talking was Barou Shouei. "and remember these words. When I play the ball isn't my friends or anything or any nonsense like that. It's merely a spherical servant that exists solely so I can shine."

"A lot of confidence with this one, hm?" Y/n snickered to himself. 

"What the hell did you just say?" Barou clenched his jaw.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did all of that hair gel you use get in your ears?" Y/n raised his eyebrow. "Or have they gone deaf after how much you yell total bs." He grinned.

"You little!-"

"Team X and Z. Resume the game." The voice over the speakers commanded.

Everyone returned back to their positions. Y/n could tell how everything was at just a glance. How the other team had figured out a strategy and were composed, while his team was anxious and hungry to get the ball all for themselves. 

"Bachira, Y/n." Isagi had the ball under his foot.

They both responded with a hum.

"Let's pass to each other and score a goal."

"Okay." Bachira gave him a thumbs up.

"You got it. Captain, O, my captain." Y/n winked.

Isagi kicked the ball over to Y/n, but it was then stolen by Igaguri. Isagi had yelled something at Igaguri and he had yelled something back, but Y/n didn't hear a word of it. 

That selfish brat...

"I wasn't expecting that, Y/n- Hey are you alright?" The look in his friend's eyes frightened Isagi. Before Isagi could get in another word, Y/n surged forward in a flash. The wind blowing Isagi's bangs to the side sooner than he could react.

Igaguri was about to get the ball taken from him by a player from team X before Y/n had rolled the ball towards himself in a split second.

"What the?" Igaguri and the other played both stared at Y/n in shock. 

"You're a sad excuse of a striker, Igaguri." Y/n clicked his tongue. "If you can even call yourself that." Barely any of the team X players had expected him, and they certain didn't expect Y/n's speed.

Hm only three players to pass... This feels too easy. 

He would feel disappointed if he wasn't so irritated by Igaguri's idiotic move. The defenders stayed alert, getting ready for whatever Y/n planned to do next. Y/n encountered the first one. He looked over to his left. 

The team X player grinned and lunged towards the left. But to his shock, Y/n had lightly tapped the ball to the right with his eyes off of the ball, trapped it with that same foot, and spun around the him with ease. 

One down, two to go.

"You passed him but you're not getting through me." The guy reached his arms out. 

"You talk to much." was the last thing he heard before he caught on that Y/n kicked the ball over his head with his heel and already passed by him in a blink. 

"Stop him, dude!" He turned around, chasing after Y/n.

"You think I don't know that?" The last guy frantically answered, his eyes trying its best to keep up with Y/n's fast, unpredictable movements.

"Do me a favor, would you?" Y/n's voice sent shiver's down the other boy's spine.

"What?" He stuttered.

"Move." Y/n gently tapped the ball to bounce off of the guy's chest. He only made the other boy even more confused when he drawn back his left leg as if he was going to shoot.

There's no way this guy is going to kick the ball. He'd be kicking right into me. The team X player thought before ducking immediately out of fear. A second before Y/n kicked the soccer ball with such force that it hit and slid past the goalie's fingers into the back corner of the goal.

The ball fell to the ground, only rolling a few inches forward. The score on the screen changed to 1 - 1. 

Y/n stood over the cowering soccer player before turning around and walking over to his team's side.

Igaguri moved over to Y/n. "That was my ball, Y/n! I know it looked like I was going to lose the ball but-"

"Shut it." Y/n stared daggers into Igaguri's soul. "I meant when I said you're a disappointment of a striker. Getting past those idiots was so easy my eight year old sister could do it better and faster than you." He shoved past the monk, hitting his shoulder against his. "Talk to me when you learn how to play."

"O-okay. My bad..." Igaguri's voice cracked.

So this is the play style of one of the past best forwards in the world. Isagi watched Y/n with wide eyes. He could understand what happened, but he just couldn't wrap his head around why.

"Y/n." Isagi said once Y/n was close enough to hear.

"I know, I know. I didn't stick to the formation." Y/n rubbed the back of his neck. "I guess I just kind of lost it when Igaguri pissed me off. I don't know what came over me." He tried disguising his guilt with a small laugh.

"Not that, well, we can talk about that later." Isagi waved his hand to the side. "That last move you did before you shot the ball. I know that you knew you could've hit that guy if he didn't duck at the last second and gotten a yellow card or even worse, red card."

"True, but he moved out of the way, did he not?" Y/n switched back to his friendly nature. "I suppose, the simplest way to put it is gambling."

"Gambling?" Isagi repeated, trying not to act like that was the one thing he didn't expect Y/n to say.

"And I always win." Y/n stuck out his tongue. 

His play style however was much more than that. It was something he wished but couldn't unlearn. It's hard to give up something that almost always results in his benefit. Too much effort and elements were put into his technique for him to give it up that easily.

Y/n sighed. "I don't think I'm going to try the rest of this round."

"What?" Isagi gasped. "We can win this if we get you to keep scoring and built a structure around-"

"Nobody has figured out how to make soccer from zero. And I play with people who have. Plus, haven't you seen how the others are acting?" He looked over to the rest of the players. "They're a mess."

"How are you supposed to learn anything if I just carry you all? "Y/n gave Isagi and Bachira a small smile before walking over to a corner.

"Hm, he's not wrong about the others." Bachira leaned in.

"I don't get it. I mean, not working with the others I see that, but what about us?"

"Didn't you see it, Isagi?" Bachira smiled. "The whole time he had the ball. His eyes and aura didn't change a bit."

So Bachira is saying that the whole time Y/n was basically just doing warm up?  Then what in the world could his genuine play style look like?  Why is he ranked so low if his skills are so clearly above ours? 

Isagi nodded. "Ah, I see."

Chapter Text

In the end, team Z had suffered a loss of 5 - 2. Kunigami was the one to score the last point, with the aid of Isagi's pass. Y/n look at his teammates, sweaty and defeated. It seemed that all hope was lost for them.

Y/n watched as Raichi shoved Isagi to the ground.

Raichi felt a tight grip on his shoulder. 

"Don't be pissy because Isagi didn't pass the ball to you, Raichi." Y/n's grip pressure increased. "It's not his fault no one would want to pass to someone as demanding and hot tempered as you."

Raichi pushed Y/n's hand away. "I was clearly more open than Kunigami. If I had been chosen as the center forward, then we wouldn't have lost!"

"Like hell we would've." Y/n pushed by Raichi. "Listen, Isagi," He reached out his hand. "We will do better next round."

We have to anyways...

"Right." Isagi took Y/n's and stood up, still out of it. 

The rest of the group had already left the field, leaving Y/n and Isagi to catch up. The two boy walked side by side, both quite unsure of what to say.

"Uh, Y/n?"

"Hm?"

"Why'd you quit soccer? And why are you just picking back up again? You could've been one of the world's best strikers if you didn't disappear."

Y/n's eyes widened. "Oh, uhm-"

Isagi's face flushed. "Nevermind! I'm sorry I asked!" He laughed to hide his embarrassment. "I shouldn't have asked. Too much of a personal question, huh?"

"No, no. It's alright. I just..." Y/n looked down. "I haven't really been thinking about that kinda stuff lately you know?"

Isagi nodded. Y/n didn't know what it was but something about Isagi made him feel like he was trustworthy. Was it his eyes? 

Y/n opened his mouth but then closed it. "You don't have to hear this, you know? You might become my rival someday or something." He quietly chuckled.

"Tell me what you're okay with me hearing." Isagi looked at Y/n with a determined look. "That's enough for me."

Y/n smiled. "Do you have a girlfriend or something? Guys shouldn't be this good at communicating."

"No! I mean, not at the moment, no..." Isagi looked away. "Just tell me already, would you?"

"Right, sorry to keep you waiting." Y/n tucked his hair behind his ear. "When I was younger, there was... an accident. I listened and did something I should've never done." He paused. "I didn't know what to think at the time. Everything was just too much for ten year old me to handle, you know?"

"I guess, soccer carried too many bad memories for me at the time that I just couldn't play." Y/n fidgeted with his shirt. "But that was so long ago, and I've gotten over it so yeah."

Y/n had finally gotten himself to look at Isagi again, who so intently listening to every word from Y/n's mouth it almost scared him.

"By incident, do you mean what happened to your father?" Isagi asked with a soft tone.

Y/n stopped right in his tracks but quickly composed himself. "Yeah, I suppose that was a part of it."

Y/n's father had been one of the best soccer players in Japan, showing great promise for a new era in the soccer world. A striker, just like Y/n. His mother had met him when he was younger and supported him throughout his whole soccer journey from the bottom. A few years after dating Y/n's parents had married, and soon after had Y/n. 

"Look, Dad!" The young boy beamed with excitement. He walked out in his dad's jersey, tripping over it as he ran to his dad. "I'm going to be great as you when I'm old enough!"

Y/n's dad picked him up, tossing him up in the air and catching him. "You will once you fit into that jersey. But until then daddy's going to help you become the best striker and you're going to continue the Kasai legacy. Okay?"

The innocent boy laughed while shaking his head up and down. "I promise! I promise!"

"Are you okay, Y/n?" 

"Yeah... I am." Y/n took a deep breath. "I just remembered some stuff. Let's go shower and join the group before it's too late."

Y/n grinned. "I'll race you."

"You're on! 3... 2... Hey! You didn't wait till 1!" Isagi reached out his hand and chased after Y/n with his remaining energy.

"Little trick I learned from Bachira!"

"Where were you guys?" Kuon scolded them both when they finally arrive to the team meeting. "You two are lucky though. You both just made it on time to discuss our next strategy."

"We can't lose this next match, right?" Y/n sat down in an empty space, drying his hair with a towel. "So it better be a damn good strategy."

The atmosphere in the room became intense. No one wanted to go home so early on in Blue lock. 

"Well if you got any ideas then let's hear them." Igaguri stepped forward. 

"Uh... none yet." Kuon's brows furrowed.

"Well that's that." The monk looked at one of the walls.

Kunigami opened his mouth. "Truth is, without Bachira and Isagi, I would've never scored that goal. I'm not sure what happened in Y/n's case, but you all catch my drift right?"

"Oh yeah," Y/n smiled. "You also scored a goal. Guess we're tied for most goals."

Raichi, irked by Y/n's calmness about scoring a goal while he didn't, spoke up. "You two just want to be the team's top scorers, don't you?! And Kunigami, there's not point in your comment at all since Y/n was able to score with no help!"

Igaguri raised his hand. "I mean I was able to get the ball close to the goal before Y/n stole it from me."

"Oh please." Y/n rolled his eyes.

"But it was amazing." Bachira walked in, no towel.

Raichi greeted him with a loud Huh.

"One of the best goals of today for sure!"

"Bachira, please, cover yourself..." Y/n stared at the ceiling. 

"If we do that a lot, we can win. Right Isagi? Right, Y/n?" Bachira said as Y/n tried his best to put a towel around him while looking away. 

"You know, I don't think everything that guys been telling us is right." The red haired guy took a water bottle out of the small refrigerator. "Ego talked a bunch about how this country can 'win' at the World Cup. He was throwing names like Cristiano Ronaldo, Messi, and Cantona around."

"And none of them won a World Cup." Y/n sat back down. "Ego saying creating soccer from zero or creating one from zero must've meant more than just surface leveling stuff like scoring."

The red haired boy nodded. "It must've been like some kind of riddle to solve."

Isagi stood up. "I'm going to be honest. I don't have any strategies at the moment to help us win but I know what the 'zero' means I think."

"Well say it, blue boy." Y/n leaned against the wall.

"Today, what happened? Everyone was thinking about scoring for themselves. It looked like our first soccer match. That's probably what it means to be at zero."

"Not gonna lie, some of you guys looked like idiots out there." Y/n looked at the wall.

"Shut the hell up, Y/n!" Raichi was basically seething.

"Just an observation." He raised both of his hands.

The sharp toothed boy grabbed Y/n's shirt by the collar. "You piss me off! You wanna go?!"

"Fine by me." Y/n gripped onto Raichi's hand with a shocking amount with strength. "But I'm not one to play fair."

Kuon put his hand and both of their shoulders. "Calm down, you guys. This team can't afford one of you being injured."

"As if this guy could even do anything. Him on the field or not, I'll just score the same. Maybe even better without this chihuahua barking at me the entire time." Y/n reeled his arm back.

"That's enough, Y/n." Ego appeared on the tv screen. "Use that energy for when you're on the field, not the locker room. I'm going to have to ask you to stand outside of the room."

Y/n put his arm down and sighed.

He and Raichi stared each other down one last time before the door closed behind Y/n. He was a bit annoyed that he was kicked out instead of Raichi, but he let it go. Y/n's mom had been reminding him about forgiveness and not holding grudges for years.

It wouldn't hurt to explore a little bit again.

Y/n whistled while walking through the multiple halls. He couldn't help but notice how almost each one looked scarily the same. If it wasn't for the obvious signs all around, he would've gotten lost way early on.

Y/n then suddenly walked into an unknown force.

"I seriously got to get better at looking up when I walk." Y/n rubbed his head. "Oh hey, Nagi." 

"Y/n..." Nagi stared at Y/n for a little longer than necessary before opening his mouth again. "I'm tired. Hold me."

"What wait-" was all he was able to say before struggling to carry the sleepy 6'3 giant. "Dude, you're all sweaty. Now I have to shower again."

"Sorry about him, Y/n."

"Reo?"

The purple haired boy chuckled a bit. "It's funny running into you again. But about Nagi, we just won 8 to 0, so he must feel pretty worn out after that."

"Wow, nice. Seems like you're doing better than my team. We lost 5 to 2." Y/n adjusted Nagi to hold him more comfortably. 

Reo frowned. "That sucks. I wish you could join our team, Y/n."

"You don't even know if I'm any good." Y/n raised an eyebrow, smiling.

 Reo thought about it, holding his chin. "True, but I like you and that's good enough for me." 

"Okay dude, just help me move this guy to the showers." 

"Oh right, sorry." Reo rushed over to Y/n's side, holding Nagi's other arm. The three boys walked over to the showers which were empty by the time they reached them. Y/n did a quick rinse to feel clean again while Nagi and Reo did their own thing.

Y/n didn't know how to describe the feeling but for some reason he felt less alone. He wasn't used to being around so many people all of the time. 

And if he was around a group of people, it would be strictly for his mom's business.

It would be a lie if he said he didn't feel a bit overwhelmed occasionally. Most of the time his attitude and unfriendly stature scared other people off immediately.

"It's not good going to sleep with wet hair, Y/n." Reo grabbed Y/n's hand and dragged him off to some place. "I just finished drying off Nagi's hair so now it's your turn."

Reo sat down Y/n into a chair and plugged in a hair dryer.

"Is this really necessary, Reo?" He asked in a polite tone.

"Of course it is." Reo clicked a button, speaking louder so he could be heard over the noise of the hair dryer. "This hair dryer could be of better quality but it does the job."

Y/n was so distracted by Reo running his hands through his hair that he hadn't notice Nagi shoving of seats together to make a somewhat bed.

The h/c boy looked down to see Nagi resting his head on his lap, unbothered and tired.

"Hey Y/n!" Reo kept moving around his friend's hair. "You should join us for dinner. Since Nagi and I have higher ranks, we get stuff like steak."

Y/n sighed. "I totally would but I'm pretty sure if I keep on eating with you guys so often, people will start thinking I'm on your team or something."

"Plus, I haven't really made the best impression on my own teammates." Y/n thought back at his and Raichi's interaction.

"Well next time then." Reo turned off the blow dryer. "And we're all done." He ruffled Y/n's hair.

"Thanks, Reo." Y/n was about to get up before remembering Nagi. "Hey Nagi... I kind of need to go so could you maybe?" He trailed on.

"But I'm comfortable." Nagi looked at Y/n.

"Uhh." Y/n scratched his hair. "Maybe you'd be more comfortable in a bed rather than my lap?"

"But you're warm."

"Okay uhm." He glanced over at Reo with a 'do something' look.

"Come on, Nagi. We've got to go." Reo grabbed Nagi and pulled him up and off of Y/n.

"I'll see you guys next time." Y/n stood up. "And good luck with your next matches. Doubt you'll need it though."

"You too, Y/n. You'll climb up the rankings for sure." Reo winked at Y/n before walking out the door, dragging Nagi along with him.

Y/n stretched as he walked through the halls. And of course, he was alone with his thoughts. A part of him wanted to help his team to progress as one of the passing teams, but on the other hand, he didn't want his team to start getting dependent on him to score.

It'd be ridiculous to say Y/n didn't like winning. He just didn't like doing it when it was so easy. So boring if you will.

Plus, Y/n didn't want to raise the others expectations of him since he was the son of one of the best strikers. In a way, Y/n did follow in his father's foot steps, just as in both vanishing from the soccer world.

The door opened.

"Gosh what is with this guys and randomly leaving..." Kuon rubbed his temples. "Y/n, you've got to start being here when we have team meetings."

"Well I'm here now." Y/n shrugged with his hands in his pockets.

"Y/n." Bachira whined. "I'm tired. Come over here." He reached his arms out.

"Okay, sleeping beauty. What happened to sleeping on a bed?" Y/n commented as he sat down next to Bachira who instantly rested his head on Y/n's shoulder and hugged his waist. "What am I? Your stuffed animal?" He snorted.

"Anyways, to catch you up Y/n," Kuon lifted up a notepad. "We were going over our different weapons."

"My weapon is my magnificent shooting techniques." Raichi pointed to himself. "And my motto is: Sexy soccer! I see you laughing Y/n! You're not slick!"

"Mine is getting in behind."

"Mine is... being physical."

"I'm an all rounder."

"Mine is my 'never give up' attitude."

"Mine's the power in my left-footed shots."

Bachira murmured. "Mine's... dribbling." He said before falling right back asleep.

"Mine is jumping." Kuon wrote down some stuff. "Who's next? Isagi?"

Isagi stuttered. "My weapon? I wonder what it is..."

"Your passing?" Igaguri teased.

"I can't say that as a striker." Isagi said discouraged.

"Well, tell us when you think of something." Kuon wrote another thing before looking at Chigiri. "What about you, Chigiri?"

"Not telling." Chigiri sitting away from everyone, knees to his shoulders. "I know, but I don't want to say it."

"Then I guess that leaves, Y/n." The pencil tapped the paper. "I noticed you shot with your left foot earlier. Would you say that's your weapon? Like Kunigami?"

"No, I wouldn't say that." Y/n stroked Bachira's hair.

Y/n acted all innocent and oblivious, but Isagi could see through that facade. It puzzled Isagi that Y/n hadn't shown his full potential yet, and why he was ranked so low. He’s hiding something.

"Ah I guess I don't know what weapon I have. Just like Isagi." Y/n shrugged.

Kuon sighed before writing a little more in the notebook.

Chapter Text

After the group meeting, most of the team moved around to talk with their friends before going to sleep. There was this nervous 

Isagi moved over to Y/n and informed him that getting to know his teammates more would mean a higher chance for team Z to win. The rest of team Z were talking amongst each other, but Y/n could sense their occasional glances. All of the others did not want to tell Y/n, so they had sacrificed Isagi to be the messenger.

"Are you saying I have to actually talk to them." He whispered back, the color from Y/n's face disappearing. 

"It can't be that bad, Y/n." Isagi patted his shoulder. "Plus, you used to be on a team when you were younger, right?"

"Yeah but even so, no one really liked each other all that much." Y/n paused. "Or maybe it was because they just didn't want to talk to me." He humored.

"What are you talking about? You seem pretty nice to me."

"You wouldn't think that if you met me seven years ago. That's for sure" Y/n rubbed his head.

Isagi gave his friend a confused look.

"I don't know. Maybe it was because my last name was Kasai, if you know what I mean. But the other players didn't really try to talk to me, and I wasn't really the friendliest kid on the field." 

"You still can be a little ruthless to people on the field, man..."

Y/n playfully slapped the back of Isagi's head. "No need to call me out, dude. Anyways, since you think I need to bond with my teammates more, let's start with you."

"Oh, well. That's a good point." Isagi raised his eyebrows. "What do you want to know then?"

"How about why you joined Blue lock?"

"My reason isn't all that deep. I just want to become the world's best striker and win the world cup."

"Nothing wrong with that." Y/n put his hands behind his head. "Makes sense for someone like you."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing." Y/n trailed on, laughing a bit.

"Psst, Isagi," One of the boys tried getting Isagi's attention, "Did you tell him yet?"

"I don't see why you all are acting like he's going to fight you." Isagi stated.

The other boys looked at each other. "I mean... look at him."

Y/n raised an eyebrow. "What's that supposed to mean?" A shadow casted over his face, and he cocked his head to the side.

But to everyone's surprise, he laughed. "It's like you guys are scared of something, Look at your faces." Y/n covered his mouth, still laughing quietly.

"Quit laughing!" Raichi stood up. "I didn't make a face!"

"Keep your voice down." Bachira muttered, still resting on Y/n.

Y/n sighed. "I know there's something that's stopping you all from talking to me." He breathed in. "Is it because I'm my father's son?"

It was nearly impossible for a soccer player to have never at least heard of the name F/n Kasai. Besides, it was much more common for young soccer players to idolize Y/n's father. He had brought himself up from nothing into one of the world's greatest strikers, similar to Noel Noa. The public know almost nothing about Y/n's father until the young, naive Y/n had been introduced as his son on the same path as his dad. The rest of Y/n's family had been kept secret for safety reasons. 

The article titles grew from 'Well-known F/n Kasai's has a son?!' to 'Y/n the young genius continuing the Kasai legacy.'

Everything had been going perfectly. Y/n and his dad were winning championships left and right, and despite being a youth, Y/n exhibited strong potential to become the world's next best striker. 

The entire world seemed to collapse when the incident happened. It was soon later announced to Japan that they had lost their dear striker. A car accident they were all told. And only a few months after the heartbreaking news, Y/n had disappeared from the soccer world as well. The whole country talked about how much young Y/n must have been grieving that he couldn't play soccer, but had hope he would come back.

Though, after the first few years of Y/n disappearance, everyone had understood that the Kasai name was forever gone from soccer.

"Listen, I get it." Y/n looked up to the ceiling. "I disappear for seven years without a word and then suddenly show up out of nowhere at an all or nothing soccer facility."

"Yeah, everyone thought you died." Igaguri was immediately punched on the shoulder by the others.

"From here on out, don't think of me as Y/n Kasai." Y/n put his hand on his chest. "Y/n L/n is my name, and I'm just any other soccer player."

The other's reactions varied, but all had the theme of acceptance.

"See, Y/n?" Isagi smiled reassuringly. "If we keep this whole connecting to each other thing up, we'll become a solid team in no time."

"All of this talk is making me tired." Y/n threw back his head. "Goodnight." He said as his lied down and pulled a blanket over him.

"Y/n, that's Bachira's bed."

"So what? It's his fault for holding onto me so tight." Y/n pulled up the blanket, revealing a sleeping Bachira hugging onto his waist.

___

Y/n wasn't sure if it was because of Isagi's constant pestering and the pressure from the rest of the team, but for the first time Y/n had actually joined his team during a practice. He thought about Kuon's operation: 'Next Up, It's Me' Eleven. Sure, the name needed some serious work, but overall the idea wasn't all that bad.

"Hey, Isagi," Y/n jogged over to his friend. "You seem a little bit distracted. What's up?"

"I'm just trying to figure out what my weapon is." Isagi rubbed his forehead. "I just can't seem to find out what it is. And I'm starting to fear that I may not have one." 

Y/n shook his head. "Nonsense! If you didn't have one, then you wouldn't be here right now."

"I guess you have a point." A thought popped into Isagi's head. "Could you show me how to be more flexible? You really surprised me with that split you did on the first day."

"Oh that? Yeah. no problem." Y/n smiled. "Take it as my apology for when you took that soccer ball to the gut. Must've hurt."

"It did." Isagi sighed.

"Though I have to warn you. If you aren't already flexible, this is going to hurt a lot."

Isagi assured Y/n that he would be just fine with anything he threw at him. That was before Isagi started grimacing and yelping at the pain.

"Come on, Isagi, you haven't even reached that far yet." Y/n put a little more pressure on Isagi's back. Isagi was sitting on the ground with his legs a bit apart, trying to reach past his feet.

"My legs feel like they're going to break off! What kind of soccer player is so flexible that this is just a warm up?" 

"The kind that used to do ballet. Now keep pushing yourself."

"You used to do ballet?" Isagi asked Y/n in shock.

"I've done a lot of things, Isagi. And that's beside the point!"

"I'm not going further until you tell me."

Y/n moved off of Isagi and sighed. "Fine... basically being one of the best kid strikers, I was trained in pretty much everything. And everything involved a bit of ballet. But I stopped doing it a few years ago. Happy?"

"Wait, so since you say you trained in everything, is that also why you're able to shoot with your left leg?" Isagi sat up normally.

"Mhm."

"And is it also why after you jump, you land like a pretty ballerina?" Isagi snickered. Before Y/n could land a hit at the back of his friend's head, the two were called over to continue practice with the rest of the team.

It was then the day of the next match. Team Y vs. Team Z. The enemy team had red jerseys while team Z had blue ones. The tension was intense. Both teams needed to win that next match or else they would have to kiss their soccer careers goodbye.

Y/n stretched a bit.

He could read the other team like a book. The guy in the number nine jersey he had learned was the team's scorer and practically the leader as well. 

Y/n was staring at the other team until he was caught off guard by a pull of his arm into his team's circle, putting their heads together.

"Come on, Y/n. You're a part of this team too." Kuon sighed. "Anyways, let's have faith in our practice will pay off guys. We'll win this game even if we die trying."

Now that's a bit much isn't it? Y/n looked at the faces of his teammates.

The team all responded with a confident 'yeah' and then spread out according to the plan's formation. The strategy was simple, who ever was the team's forward would have a chance to score with their weapon while the rest of the team would build around that forward. 

Now, Y/n didn't exactly have a weapon yet, but he was a hell of the striker and ranked first in their team.

He walked up to the center of the field. 

"You guys don't mind going easy on me, do you?" Y/n innocently smiled. "I am a bit rusty after all."

"As if." The other team's forward replied. "We're going to make sure your team says goodbye... Fraud."

I should punch this guy in the face right now. "I guess, we'll just have to wait and see."

The whistle blew, starting off the game. 

Y/n passed the ball over to Bachira, who received it and moved up the field. The h/c boy followed close to his friend, looking around at all of the players. Bachira had made it pretty far up the field before getting surrounded in a 3 on 1. 

"Come and get it, pretty boy!" Bachira smirked, kicking the ball over to Y/n.

At first, Y/n thought he should just charge right towards the goal and score, quick and easy. But where's the fun in that?

What's up with this guy? The team Y player stood tense, reacting to Y/n running towards him. Block or steal the ball from him, simple. That was all he needed to do. He had been training for this. All of the team Y had a basic understanding of Y/n's play style, and there was no way it could be above average since Y/n hasn't touched a soccer ball in years.

A small laugh made the player's skin crawl. 

"That's your form, really?" Y/n covered his mouth, not even hiding his grin. 

The other boy looked down at his stance, trying to fix his defense. But in that short moment of uncertainty, Y/n quickly scissored past the insecure player. He barely had time to think before he was passed.

But what Y/n did next confused everyone, Y/n seemed to be going slower than his full on running speed. 

"Block his shot!" A boy with bangs in his face shouted.

Two players nodded and sprinted towards where the ball would be when Y/n would shoot. They both slid on the fake grass and stretched out their leg, waiting for the ball to be launched. But when they looked up, it was instead Y/n with the ball jumping over both of them. He had sprinted while they were distracted. Neither of the boys had enough time to get back up.

And Y/n wasted no time, drawing his right leg back and kicking the ball, which flew inches away from the goalie and into the net.

The whistle blew again, and the points on the screen changed to 0 - 1. That one point brought a new hope to Team Z.

"Ah, excuse me." Y/n politely stepped over the two other players, their faces full with shock and confusion from what just happened. "Thanks for going easy on me." He smiled before walking back to his side. 

"Nice scissoring, Y/n!" Bachira was almost jumping out of excitement. "We've got to practice dribbling one day."

"Huh? Scissoring?" The confused boy blinked.

"You know? You did it when you got past the first guy." Bachira pointed up.

"Ohh, so that's what it's called." Y/n nodded, seemingly just as cheerful as Bachira. "You'll have to forgive me. It's been so long. I don't remember a thing about soccer." He chuckled quietly.

Well that was somewhat hard to believe. Y/n might have said he didn't know what he's doing, but his skills clearly said otherwise. Plus, his good attitude was starting to get on the other team's nerves.

"You know, you still have a few minutes of your turn." Kunigami walked closer. "You think you can score another goal?"

"Yeah, but I think I'm going to pass the reigns to Bachira now." Y/n winked. "Don't wanna steal the spot light, you know?"

"What happened to prioritizing your own success over your team's?" He referenced to Y/n's little speech on the first day of Blue lock. 

"That only applies to the other team is an actual challenge."

Chapter Text

After a bit of talking to his teammates, and those teammates chatting with the other team members, team Z unanimously decided not to let that one goal get to their heads. Letting their guard down would lead them to failure, as Y/n would tell them.

"Choosing to play defense?" The red haired boy asked Y/n, who was seemingly taking in the structure of the room for some reason. "Don't you want to be the world's best striker? Not like there's anything stopping you." That last sentence gave Y/n a strange feeling that there was more to Chigiri's words than what he was letting on.

But it wasn't the right time to ask yet.

"Yeah," Y/n shrugged. "Aren't you?" A thought popped in his head. "Besides Isagi, you're the only one who didn't say your weapon, right?" 

"Yeah? So?" Chigiri said in confusion. "You didn't say as well."

"So that's why we're on defense." Y/n proudly stated. "Plus, I trust this team to be able to score and win." He wanted to wait and see if anyone in his team was worth being seen as a challenge. At the end of the day, everyone in Blue lock was his rival.

It would be a pain to have his teammates relying on him anyways. Dependency would lead one to his downfall. Y/n was taught that when he was young. 

Or, more accurately, had learned it.

"You make absolutely no sense." Chigiri sighed before returning to his spot on the field. 

That red haired boy wasn't the only one who thought that. Having the abilities to be able to be the best but never using them to their full potential. If Y/n's goal wasn't to become the world's best striker, then what was it? As much as his teammates wanted to find out, no one would volunteer to ask. And if they did, in full honesty, Y/n wouldn't even know what to answer with.

In one of the many moments when Y/n was no where to be found, the team had gotten used to it after the first few times, he was brought up for the reason of figuring out different strategies, which eventually strayed into a discussion of curious speculations about him. 

"I'm being honest! I fully believe that Y/n was planning on punching Kira in that face!" Naruhaya exclaimed, arguing against Gagamaru's guess that it was done as an intimidation tactic and that Y/n would pull back his punch the last second if it got too close.

"Y/n at this point just seems to like picking fights," Isagi couldn't help but point out. "He's a lot more approachable than when he was young though."

"Yeah right! Approachable?" Raichi scoffed. "His 'sweet' looking smile and plain personality is just a facade."

"It's still a lot more than before." Isagi commented. "I remember seeing him on t.v. sometimes, and I swear, during interviews, he was nothing like a usual energetic child." 

He looked at his group's faces, some nodding, some confused as hell.

"It was like all there was to him was scoring goals and winning." Isagi leaned back, propping himself up with his hands. "I get keeping his private life hidden because of the fame, but it was clear that Y/n wasn't a normal kid even if he didn't show it. And to be honest, he still is kind of a mystery now too."

A sound of someone rustling in their bed caught everyone off guard. "But it's not like he's normal now either." Bachira sleepily sat up, his eyes not fully open yet. "He has grown up for sure, but the monster is telling me he still has that same passion to demolish his opponents, no matter who it is." He fell back again, pulling up his blanket. "There's a monster in him too that makes Y/n have to win, but in his own special way."

What is this guy talking about? Team Z looked around at each other.

The game restarted, Team Y kicking off the ball. 

Everything played out as normal. Players passing the ball around to each other, others running around anticipating what would happen next. Y/n stayed off to the side, watching. 

"Steal the ball!" Someone shouted.

What's their plan?  Y/n asked himself. He had noticed that the other team hadn't tried going on the offense yet, and their supposed best striker in their team hasn't done anything very eye-catching either. Y/n looked over to Isagi. You're noticing it too, huh?  He stared at the focused expression his friend has on.

Just before the team Y player became too closed in on, he passed the ball to some kid that had his hair way too in his eyes. Y/n wondered how in the world that guy was able to see.

Y/n's attention then shifted to the player with the 9 on his shirt, the striker, who started dashing towards team Z's side as soon as the ball got to the other boy's feet. 

"What took you so long, Niko?" Team Y's top scorer smirked in a way that got on Y/n's nerves for some reason. 

But Y/n's emotions were a mix of annoyance and a bit of surprise? He wasn't expecting any of that at all, but who could? And there was nothing he could do but watch as team Y scored a point, bringing the scores to a tie. The score on the wall changed to 1-1. There was no way he could run fast enough to block the other guy's shot, and Y/n knew that. But he felt frustrated at himself. The fact that he couldn't figure out why he felt so irritated was not helping either. 

"Y/n?" A voice caught him off guard.

"Huh?" Y/n looked up at Chigiri.

"You've got a strange look on your face. If it's about how we're tied with the other team, you shouldn't worry so much." He reassured. "Didn't you basically say that you believe in this team? Don't tell me you're going back on your word already." Chigiri raised his eyebrow.

"Of course not, dude!" Y/n put on a smile. "I was just getting sidetracked, you know?" 

Chigiri did a mix of a laugh and scoff. "During a game?"

"Well, you don't have to say it like that." Y/n dramatically sighed. He did feel a little bit better compared to before though. It took him a minute to realize that the game restarted again, and it was Kuon's turn to be the team's forward. All he could say was 'damn' after seeing how high Kuon could jump.

Kuon heat-butted the ball over to Kunigami, who was already being surrounded and cut off from his teammates. Kunigami didn't even have a second to think before Niko stole the ball from right under him. 

"They're not even trying to score." Y/n observed how the other team was only passing the ball around to each other, tiring out his teammates making them run around. He couldn't wrap his head around it entirely. Shouldn't their priority be scoring another point to secure their success?

After what felt like forever, Igaguri had somehow manage to make contact with the ball. However, his attempt at stealing the ball ended up being a free ball instead.

Y/n watched as the ball flew up in the air. "Idiot." His feet pushed against the ground before dashing toward where the ball would land. Y/n then felt a force against his right side. When the hell did this guy get over to team Z's half?

"I've been learning about your play style, Kasai." Niko said, keeping Y/n from making it to the ball. "Reckless, instinctive-"

"It's Y/n L/n." Y/n cut off Niko. "And what's your deal?" He muttered, trying to get his opponent away from him. It felt like all of his moves were being predicted and prevented, and there was nothing he could do about it. Unfortunately, Y/n was so distracted by trying to pry Niko off from his side, he hadn't noticed that one of the team Y members made it past their defense and scored another point with the free ball Y/n wasn't able to reach in time. The buzzer went off, and the screen changed the score to 2 - 1.

What the hell happened...

It was all happening too fast. That same feeling of doubt and frustration from earlier started coming back to Y/n. He wanted to do something, anything. Instead, Y/n silently watched Niko as he returned to his side of the field. 

"Alright! It's Raichi time!" Y/n looked over to the guy who was making all of the noise. "Just keep passing me the ball! I'll take care of the rest! You guys got that?"

"Oh jeez..." Y/n's shoulders slumped.

Raichi still kept that same energy when it turned half time and everyone was resting in the locker rooms, however it had transformed into anger. Y/n covered his ears, waiting for Raichi's yelling to die down. He leaned his head back against the wall when Naruhaya started shouting back at Raichi.

"Can you guys quit it?" Y/n spoke up, his volume louder than he wanted, but at least it shut up the other two. "Sorry."

"It's fine guys, I've heard that even pros have a hard time with super defensive teams." Igaguri commented.

Iemon chimed in. "To win, we have to be more aggressive in the second half." 

"But you know, is this plan even going to work?" Chigiri looked away from everyone. "If our weapons are ineffective against them, we'll just die a slow death."

"You can't even tell us your weapon, so stop your damn yappin'!" Raichi stated, but Chigiri continued anyways.

"To improve our chances of winning, instead of wasting time on useless weapons. I'm saying we should focus on Bachira, Kunigami, and Y/n, whose styles annoy the other team. Plus, Y/n doesn't even have a weapon that he's aware of." Chigiri added as if Raichi hadn't known already.

"Who are you callin' useless?!" Raichi walked over to Chigiri until Kuon came in between them.

"Stop arguing. It's riskier to change the plan at this point." Kuon changed the subject. "I'm certain it'll be harder for them to figure out countermeasures if we keep switching up our tactics. Our attacks are not useless." 

Y/n didn't bother to listen to the rest of what Kuon had to say. He wasn't all that much a fan of motivational speeches. It would be a lie if Y/n claimed he didn't zone out until the buzzer went off again, signifying the start of the second half.

Even though it was the second half, it felt exactly the same as the first half. Team Y was trying to get team Z to run around the field like idiots, and win by doing that until the time ran out. Y/n decided to take a risk, and slid his foot between the other players feet.

If Y/n didn't kick that ball just right, he could've sent it flying in some reason, or worse, missing it entirely. It seemed that luck was on his side that day since his kick sent the ball straight towards Gagamaru, just how he wished it would.

Gagamaru dribbled the ball forward a bit before passing it over to Isagi. "Counting on you, Isagi!"

Isagi answered with an assuring hum, scanning over the field. He drew his foot back, and kicked the ball, but ended up over hitting it. Y/n was sure that Gagamaru wouldn't be able to reach it, but was shown otherwise by Gagamaru leaping and going head first.

The attempt at a goal was blocked, but Y/n didn't think about that, worried about Gagamaru after his face went through dragging against the ground.

"Dude, are you alright?" Y/n jogged over to his teammate. "Your face is all red..." His tone sounding a little frantic."

"Darn. I'll try again." Gagamaru rubbed his chin.

The team Y player, who was standing close to Gagamaru as well, gave Y/n a confused look, which Y/n replied with a puzzled expression and a shrug. They then just both looked at Gagamaru, trying to understand what was going on inside of his head.

"Stop standing there, morons, and get to position! It's a corner!" Raichi was very close to just pulling Y/n by his collar.

"Doesn't your throat hurt from all of that screaming?" Y/n couldn't help but ask.

"What did you just say?!"

"Okay, okay," Y/n raised both his hands. "I'm getting in position."

The closeness made Y/n feel uncomfortable, but he bared with it. He just needed to wait for the corner kick to be over with. Bachira kicked the soccer ball up in the air, but Y/n's eyes were on Isagi, who dashed away from the goal post. Just what did you figure out, Isagi?  Y/n thought before following Isagi's actions.

Raichi was close to getting the ball, but it was punched by the goalie instead, sending it flying towards the middle of the field.

"Crap! We sent too many forward." Kuon cursed. "If they pass the ball to Ohkawa!"

All seemed lost, until Isagi appeared, receiving the ball with his chest, and Y/n marking Niko. Isagi and Y/n looked at each other with grins. Y/n then switched his attention to Niko. 

"Not so fun being marked is it, Niko?" Y/n held his arm out, slowing him down from catching with up Isagi, who was running towards the goal. He tried to shoot the ball, but it was blocked by someone. 

Y/n was sure the ball would be out until Gagamaru jumped towards it, getting the ball into the goal, but receiving a painful blow in the stomach by the goal post. 

"Gagamaru?!" Y/n blurted, that time running towards him. "Are your ribs okay?" He stood over the lying down teammate.

"Nice pass, Isagi." Gagamaru and Y/n both looked up at Isagi.

"Gagamaru?" The blue haired boy also stood over his teammate.

Y/n helped Gagamaru up, while the rest of the team was celebrating. He almost didn't notice the score changing to 2-2. "That was pretty impressive, man. You didn't even think twice about going after the ball."

"One more goal. The comeback win is on." 

Y/n gave him a nod. A thought then came into his mind. "Hey, Isagi." He called for his friend was he made his way to him. "Earlier-"

"You two caught on, huh?" Niko interrupted. "Without you receiving the ball, and you marking me, we could have countered and killed off the game."

Isagi and Y/n's attention was fully on Niko.

"We won't let you run free now." Isagi stood confidently. "We will shut you out and win this game."

"Good luck trying to win now." Y/n crossed his arms.

"You guys have the same eyes as me. But you can't beat me." Niko raised his hand, which was in a circle shape, to his eye. "I'm the one controlling this game." 

"Come on, Isagi." Y/n put his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Let's go score that last point." He said before walking back over to their field side. Once Y/n and Isagi were far enough from the other team, Y/n spoke again.

"Okay, I'll be honest. I have absolutely no idea why you ran towards the middle of the field. I was just curious about what you were doing and followed along." Y/n confessed in a quiet tone.

"What?" Isagi blinked. "You're telling me you just went along with what I was doing even though you had no idea what was going on?" His tone had a bit of a laugh in it.

"I mean... yeah. But you know, lets just say I'm a quick learner." Y/n waved his hand back and forth. "And also, what did Niko mean by eyes? I'm pretty sure he can't see anything with all of that hair in his face."

Chapter Text

"Let's go an all-out attack!" Naruhaya shouted enthusiastically while running ahead.  The rest of the team followed with a new born hope. Isagi with dribbling the ball towards the other team's goalpost. In a short moment, he kicked the ball over to Naruhaya, which frustratingly blocked and stolen by Team Y.

"Damn it." Y/n muttered, watching the ball get passed around Team Y. He then looked over at Niko. His whole reading the field and controlling the game talk intrigued Y/n. There was so much more to soccer than what he remembered. And he hated that feeling of unawareness.

The ball was instantly kicked over to Niko, until Isagi blocked it with his leg. 

"I'll snuff out every single pass that comes your way!" Isagi declared to Niko. Y/n was unable to hear it, but he could tell Niko murmured something back. The blue haired boy quickly passed the ball over to Igaguri, telling him to continue with Naruhaya's plan, before running off again.

The two teams consistently blocked and snuck past each other, but Team Z was slowly closing in on Team Y's side of the field. The emptiness of Y/n's side bothered him for some reason. He was starting to feel that something was off. Something wasn't right...

The timer! Y/n was so distracted by everything going on with the other players, he had forgotten all about the time limit. His eyes shot to the clock. Two minutes. His team could still score, right? 

That hope in his team almost fully disappeared when Y/n saw the ball at player 9's feet. How could he have not realized it before?

Y/n felt like he couldn't do anything but watch as Team Y closed in on him and the other defenders. But his feet still carried him around the field, not allowing himself to do nothing. 

"Stop him!"

"Get back! Get back!"

"This is bad! Someone stop him!"

"It's up to you guys!" Someone shouted at the last defenders. 

Y/n couldn't help but notice how almost of a Team Y was keeping their distance from him. Like they were purposely shutting him out. His eyes scanned around for an opening  towards the ball. The gap between two players was thin but possible to squeeze though if Y/n could sprint fast enough. 

But as soon as he made that first step, some random player was already blocking his path. 

"Don't let him get near!" He heard Niko yell. 

"Seriously?" Y/n had mixed expression of annoyance and admiration. He'd admit it was a smart move to try to cut him off. 

One minute left.

Y/n's mind felt scrambled with trying to think of ways to pry off the guy that was marking him and get to the ball. But every single one of his movements were being monitored and followed. His eyes looked everywhere for an answer. That was when he saw Isagi rushing towards Ohkawa instead of Niko, who appeared to be the one shooting the winning goal. 

Everything connected for Y/n in that moment, and he sprinted towards the other team's side, catching the player who previously in his way off guard. 

A wave of doubt and defeat washed over a majority of Team Z. Ohkawa and Niko were right at the goalpost, and Niko had Iemon right where he wanted him before kicking the ball over to Ohkawa. 

Suddenly, Isagi showed up, stealing the ball with his foot and making a sharp turn around. When Y/n and Isagi made eye contact, Y/n could've sworn something had changed in his friend's pupils.

With a single nod from Y/n, Isagi pulled his foot back and put as much force as he could into kick the ball over to his teammate. 

"What the hell, dude! You were supposed to be marking him!" 

"I didn't know what to do when he suddenly started running away from the ball!"

Y/n could still hear Team Y scolding their player for letting him get away when he trapped the ball with his chest and ran towards the goal. It wasn't long before he felt two forces delay his path. "A 2 v 1? Really?" Y/n's hands pushed them away for a second, giving him enough time and space to pass the ball over to Bachira. "It's all yours, dude!" Less than a minute left.

"Thanks, pretty boy!" Bachira grinned, dribbling past the Team Y players like it was nothing. Team Z continued to weave though Team Y's defenses. Once he had gotten in the area where he wanted to be, Bachira kicked the ball over to the left side of the field.

Gagamaru dove head first, but missed the ball.

But Y/n knew that was all good and fine as he watched the it instead land right at Isagi's feet. And with the sound of what Y/n would describe as a bang, Isagi shot the ball into the back of the net. 

It was nothing but silence until Team Z erupted into cheers and enthusiastic shouts. 

The sound of a horn went off three times. "Time's up. Team Z wins Blue lock. Building 5's fourth match, 3-2." A woman's voice over a speaker announced.

"Y/n!"

"Oh hey Bachi- Bachira! Hey!-" Y/n braced himself before getting jumped on by his friend. While those two were having their own moment, the rest of Team Z circled around Isagi, questioning and complimenting him and his winning goal.

But Isagi just seemed to ignore all of them and walked towards Niko, who was on his knees defeated with tears forming in his eyes. 

After Isagi stood over the poor boy and forcibly pulled away by Y/n, they walked next to each other at the back of the group.

"Feels good doesn't it?" Y/n surprised Isagi a bit by asking that.

"What do you mean?" Isagi looked away, already knowing what Y/n was implying.

"The feeling of..." Y/n took a moment to think of a way to put it nicely. "pretty much ending your opponent's careers. I know for a fact you didn't walk over to that graveyard of soccer futures for nothing."

"I... I don't know how I feel about that exactly." 

"Okay then." Y/n shrugged. "I know I'll be able to tell when you get your feelings figured out." He winked.

When Y/n was a kid, there was a simple routine he'd follow after winning a soccer game and keeping up his public image. Go home, train, eat dinner, get ready for bed, and go to sleep. Overtime, he had grown used to eating by himself since soccer games and training for those soccer games took up so much of his time. And Y/n understood his family was busy most hours, plus dinner time was one of the few moments where he felt like he could relax, besides sleeping.

So Y/n's confusion was awfully apparent when his teammates asked him what he was bringing to the group's celebration of their win. They almost believed that Y/n was offended by their question until he clarified he just wasn't used to eating with a group unless if it was a holiday or something similar to that.

After all of that time at blue lock, for many of Team Z, it was the first time they saw a different side of Y/n. As if some of his walls were finally starting to crumble.

Something about the atmosphere of the room made Y/n feel... safe? That was the only way he knew how to describe it. He thought about it for a moment, when was the last time he hung out with a group of friends?

"So this potluck style, we're just sharing our side dishes and stuff?" Y/n asked to no one specifically. 

"I'm curious, Y/n. What does the best player in Team Z have?" Isagi jokingly raised an eyebrow.

Y/n put his dish in the last free space on the table. "Well, it's nothing much, just katsu chi-" 

"You've been getting katsu chicken!?" Many of his teammates interrupted him. 

"I mean yeah, if you guys want it, take it. I get it everyday anyw-" Y/n instinctively pulled back his hand to avoid getting caught in all of the chopsticks grabbing at his plate. He couldn't help but laugh a little at the scene. 

After taking bits of different side dishes on the table, Y/n sat down and leaned his back against the wall. Team Z's win seemed to bring up everyone's spirit. Y/n felt that same joy as everyone else, but for some strange reason he didn't feel satisfied. Before he could figure out his feelings, Y/n felt a warmth at his side.

Bachira put his arm around his friend's shoulders. "What are you doing sitting away from everyone?" He teased.

"Just a bit tired that's all." Y/n gave him a reassuring smile. 

"Maybe you just need a bit of steak to get your energy back." A mischievous grin crept on Bachira's face as he raised up his fork with a piece of steak at the end of it. "Say 'ah.'" Bachira open his mouth in example. 

Y/n sighed, not having enough energy to put up a fight, and leaned forward a bit, waiting to be fed. His face instantly flushed red when Bachira drew his hand back at the last second, snickering to himself.

The boy tackled his friend, who was still laughing and struggling not to drop the steak. "Are you trying to make a fool out of me?! I swear!" He started laughing along with Bachira. The two made sure that their play-fighting didn't accidentally drag in anyone else.

Bachira was only able to calm Y/n down by finally feeding him the steak.

"Damn, it is good." Y/n was able to say while chewing. The steak did remind him about declining Reo’s offer, which made him feel a little bad though.

"I knew you'd like it." Bachira sat back up.

___

It was another one of those nights where Y/n couldn't sleep. He would just go to the cafeteria and eat, but he still felt so full from the team dinner celebration and knew he couldn't eat another bite. Besides tossing and turning in bed, the only thing left for him to do was train. Y/n knew he needed it anyways.

The boy cautiously pushed aside his blanket and quietly rose from his bed. After readjusting his pillow and covers, Y/n walked over to one of the practice fields while slipping on his shoes. 

"I haven't practiced like this in forever." He reflected while his foot rested on top of a soccer ball. Y/n scooped up the ball with his foot in a quick motion, let it hang in the air for a moment, and kicked it into the back of the goal.

"Hm, not enough force." Y/n's brows furrowed as he swung his right leg back and forth, trying to figure out the best way to angle his foot and leg. He gently nudged a ball from the small pile of soccer balls he arranged in front of himself again. 

Y/n stepped back a bit and intentionally kicked the ball with a little more power than the previous time. However, he was so caught up in how much energy to put in his leg that the ball bounced off of the goalpost, leaving a ringing sound that set him off more than it should have. 

"Seriously?" Y/n clenched his fist, strode over and got another ball. 

The passing time consisted of a similar routine. Y/n's mind wouldn't focus on anything else unless if he had accidentally kicked the ball a little too rough, missing the spot where he wanted to place it. Then Y/n would have to pay more attention to putting it in the right position. 

Y/n panted as his hands were on his knees, sweat uncomfortably dripping down his forehead, while staring at the goal with an intimidating gaze. His eyes didn't look away until he heard the sound of the door opening.

"Y/n? You must've woken up early." Isagi walked over. "No wonder you weren't in your bed this morning."

"Huh?" Y/n blinked. "I've actually been here since yesterday, I guess? I didn't even notice so many hours went by."

Isagi had a shocked expression on his face. "You've been here since last night? Aren't you hungry? Or tired?" His concern for his teammate was very apparent. 

All of a sudden the lack of sleep and food caught up to him. "Well... now that you mention it, I should go eat something." Y/n scratched the back of his head, smiling. "Thanks for reminding me. Almost forgot there." He patted his friend shoulder before walking away.

"What about your sleep?" Isagi shouted at Y/n, who was already at the door. 

"I'll be fine! One all nighter is nothing!" He replied with a smile before the doors closed.