Chapter Text
The sudden change of scenery surprised the drowsy Isagi that morning. Instead of the familiar black walls and ceiling that usually greeted him when he woke up in Blue Lock, he saw a familiar place — his room.
“Is this some kind of joke?” Stunned, Yoichi started looking around, hoping to find a hidden camera. He didn’t find anything like that, but he did notice something strange. The posters of Noah and other football legends, which he had torn down at some point, were hanging back in their original places.
Suddenly, there was a knock on the door, and Isagi froze.
“Yo‑chan, are you awake?” The gentle voice of his mother made his mind start working again.
He ran to the door and opened it. Isagi Yo, standing in the doorway, stared at him in surprise.
“Mom, what am I doing here?” A flustered Isagi grabbed her by the shoulders.
“What are you talking about, dear?” She covered her mouth with her tiny hand, but her bewilderment quickly turned into understanding. “Ah! Poor thing… You had a dream about the upcoming match, didn’t you? Don’t worry, your dad and I believe in you! Didn’t you say this is the last match before the national tournament?”
Having gotten this information, Isagi immediately began to analyze it. All attempts to come up with a normal conclusion fell apart. Only one crazy hypothesis remained.
“National tournament? Match? Is this what I think it is… But how is any of this even possible?”
His mouth stretched into a crooked smile. Yoichi couldn’t believe this nonsense. Mumbling to his mom that he needed to get dressed, he turned around, closed the door, and pinched his arm hard.
Isagi felt the pain. This wasn’t a dream.
Now Yoichi understood that he really had traveled back in time.
***
It felt strange to see his school teammates again. They were all tense because they were about to play a match against a team that included the city’s popular player, Kira Reiske.
As for Isagi…
“I freaking won the Under‑20 World Cup — what the hell am I doing back in the past?! Ego must be planning something even bigger…”
His face stayed calm, giving away no sign of the emotional turmoil raging inside him.
The tense atmosphere in the locker room was broken by their coach.
“You’re going to win, but remember: football is a team game, and there’s one important saying you all know,” the man looked at everyone expectantly.
“One for all, and all for one!” The team shouted in unison, and only Isagi chose to stay silent.
Luckily, the coach didn’t notice. He was distracted by the tournament organizer.
“Alright, guys, show Ichinan what you’re made of!”
Leaving the locker room, the team waved to the spectators in the stands, who greeted them with loud cheers and whistles.
The grass rustled under Isagi’s feet, and the breeze gently played with his hair. On the pitch, he always felt a rush of pleasure and anticipation before a game. But today, that sense of anticipation was missing.
When Matsukaze’s team took the field, each player took their position. After the coin toss, the opposing team got the ball. Their midfielder immediately passed it to Kira, who swiftly moved into attack.
But less than ten seconds later, Isagi intercepted the ball between passes. He executed a feint in front of the midfielder and dashed toward Matsukaze’s goal, ignoring the shouts of his teammates.
Yoichi rapidly got past one opponent after another, approaching the penalty area. He felt fine, but he quickly realized that this body’s stamina left much to be desired. To avoid running out of steam before the first half ended, Isagi set himself a new goal after scoring: he needed to start conserving his energy.
Defenders surrounded him, but he quickly found a gap in their defense — the moment when one of the defenders shifted too far to the side. Isagi exploited it and kicked the ball with full force. The goalkeeper tried to catch it, but the ball spun and slipped past him into the left corner of the net.
“One‑nil for Ichinan!” the commentator’s voice rang out.
Cheers erupted from the stands. Isagi kept his distance from his celebrating teammates, responding only with simple phrases and trying to avoid their questions about what had come over him, as well as the coach’s stern gaze. He knew he wouldn’t be able to pull off something like that again, since he’d taken advantage of everyone’s confusion.
So he decided to slow down and stay out of the spotlight, saving his energy, until, in the 29th minute of the match, Matsukaze decided to run a quick combination, which resulted in the ball ending up on the wing, where Reiske was positioned. He received the ball and rapidly headed toward Ichinan’s goal. Seeing this, Isagi rushed to intercept it. Kira tried to deceive him with a pathetic feint.
“Like I’d fall for that, idiot.”
Isagi quickly took the ball from him and spun around to shield himself from the midfielder who was Reiske’s support.
Dodging defenders with turns, Isagi noticed Tada on his side, a little closer to the goal and wide open. His mind flashed back to the memory of Tada missing a shot while trying to score.
“Pass to me, Isagi!” Tada shouted.
“Yeah, right, like I’d pass to you, loser,” Yoichi replied coldly, speeding up.
With a direct shot, Isagi sent the ball into the goal, leaving the opposing goalkeeper with no chance to react.
“Two‑nil for Ichinan!” the commentator shouted again. The fans enthusiastically welcomed the news.
After that, he retreated into the background until the first half was called. Approaching the coach and the substitutes, the team began to recover their strength — but the coach interrupted them.
“Isagi!” From his tone, Yoichi could tell the man was furious. “Care to explain what the hell you’re doing, ignoring the strategy we discussed? You’re supposed to pass the ball when the situation calls for it. You should have passed to Tada — no one was marking him, unlike you!”
While Isagi was being lectured, his mind was elsewhere.
“Why didn’t I leave this crappy team earlier? Why didn’t I listen to my gut and let my ego take the lead?”
Of course, his mild temperament had played a part, but now Yoichi was tougher, and he definitely wouldn’t tolerate being disregarded or having his feelings dismissed anymore.
“Isagi! Are you even listening to me?!” The coach raised his voice, and a splash of spittle hit Isagi’s face, finally draining the last drop of his patience.
“Why are you unhappy? I’m doing what I’m supposed to. It’s my job, and as a striker, I have to do it. What’s the problem?” Isagi spat the words out bitterly, his face twisting into a grimace of disgust.
“You forgot the most important thing! Football is a team game!” Seeing no reaction from Isagi, the coach sighed.
“Since you can’t grasp the obvious, I’m making a substitution.”
But the announcement made Yoichi smile.
“Go ahead! I’d love to see how you mess this up!” With that, he flopped down onto the bench.
He didn’t care. All Isagi cared about was Ego’s reaction to his goals and behavior. If Yoichi didn’t catch Jinpachi’s attention with his play, he’d definitely spark his interest. So he wasn’t worried about anything, lounging in his seat.
Isagi was distracted from watching the start of the second half by the mocking voice of Hiroshi, next to whom sat a smirking friend.
“So, you decided to show everyone your attitude, huh? Let me tell you as a friend: that was a terrible idea,” followed by laughter from the other teammates around.
“Really? And now you’re my friend? News to me!” Smirking, Isagi moved closer to Hiroshi. “I don’t ask for opinions from losers sitting on the bench. Unlike you, buddy, I scored two goals. Maybe we should ask the coach to put you in, since you’re such an expert?”
The guy, unable to come up with a reply, shrank back and turned away, staring at the pitch.
“God, this petty bickering is nothing compared to the abuse I got in Blue Lock.”
Frowning at the unpleasant memories and the realization of what lay ahead, Isagi focused on the game. As expected, Ichinan lost their edge, struggling to withstand the opponents’ pressure. Nine minutes later, Matsukaze scored their first goal, and somewhere in the distance, Kira’s fan club cheered.
“Damn, just let this end already…”
For the rest of the time, Yoichi kept watching the opponents’ score climb, occasionally glancing at the coach, whose expression was almost comical.
By the end of the match, the score was 3–2 in favor of Matsukaze. The opposing fans shouted words of praise, while the players gathered to celebrate and take a group photo.
Later, the coach asked them to line up, and Isagi, not wanting to hear his teammates’ sobs, stepped forward.
“I won’t say anything. I think you’ve all realized your mistake by taking me out. Farewell.” Yoichi wanted to look at their faces, but he was too tired, so the young man headed home.
***
Sitting at the table, Anri watched Ego with concern. He’d been glued to the computer screen for a long time, rewatching the same match over and over.
“Ego‑san? Are you okay?” Worried, the girl finally decided to get his attention.
“Send an invitation to the candidate named Isagi Yoichi. Hurry up,” Ego’s firm tone made the girl spring into action.
A little later, Anri heard him say:
“This guy will be a great fit for Blue Lock…”
***
After having dinner with his family and getting ready for bed, Isagi lay down, but he couldn’t fall asleep. Yoichi couldn’t shake the thought that he’d have to go through the events he’d already lived through again. Only this time, Isagi didn’t plan to change them drastically.
Yoichi glanced at the letter he’d received from the football association and sighed.
“Well, I still have a lot of work to do to build up my body…”