Chapter Text
It is the first day of the school year at Blue Lock High, and it is visually one of the most beautiful days the students have ever seen.
The cherry blossoms have bloomed beautifully, accompanied with the rustling of the leaves. Its petals and other leaves float around the campus with a cool and gentle breeze that carries its scent, quietly calming anyone nervous for their first day.
The artistically bent metal gates, crafted by master artisans remain wide open, welcoming students to the pavement that guided them into paths— one led to the stairs that elevate the main building, highlighting the school’s overflowing budget with its intricate architecture, and the rest led to the massive school gardens that housed rare and blooming flora.
The sun shone gently onto the light blue walls of the giant school, creating an unusual but visually pleasing contrast that gave the campus a warm and welcoming air around it. The school fountain catches its rays and spreads the light in glittering fashion, similar to the way the sea shines at dawn.
Students arrive in a deep blue European-style uniform, a bold color choice, alongside the five-sided crest of the school pinned on the front of their breast pockets, walking calmly through the courtyard. Some are already sitting on the nearby mahogany benches, showing their friends the photos they've taken in countries they visited during their break using their bedazzled smartphones, while others run towards comrades, eager to greet them after a long time.
The ethereal movie-like scene, one that is sure to keep students reminiscing about it in the far future, is regarded as one of Blue Lock’s must-experiences for all students. It marks the end of bygones and the start of new beginnings, hopes, and dreams.
As the seasons change, the new school year bids goodbye to the graduating students of yesterday and welcomes new and returning students of today.
Blue Lock International High School, more colloquially known as Blue Lock High, is a prestigious high school that boasts its top-tier facilities and exceptional educators. It's well-known for being the Alma Mater of successful businessmen, leaders, and athletes all across the globe, which made the school the dream high school that parents wish for children to attend.
Of course, this fame and level of attention to the quality of life students get is not cheap. The entrance exam is difficult, and unfortunately, tuition is horribly expensive, making it difficult for the average person to attend. However, scholarships are handed to those the Admission Office decides are worthy, although scarcely, so the majority of those who attend are either amazingly intelligent, physically impressive, or extremely wealthy.
Among these groups, the most popular group of people naturally belong in the extremes, the cream of the crop. One example is the Blue Lock High Football varsity team, the epitome of fame and power, the jocks of Blue Lock High.
The Blue Lock football club has always been popular and has always been considered as one of the best high school football teams in Japan, but the current team really elevated the expectations towards the future of football. Ever since the members successfully passed the tryouts with flying colors during their first year, they've managed to turn the football team theirs.
It was quite unusual, especially when the team was competing, as it was full of first-year students as opposed to the usual formation of mainly second- and third-year students and the occasional genius first-year student. At first, enemy teams would underestimate them, but they'd eventually flee with their tails between their legs once the team would show their fangs, terrifying any opposing player that dares to try to block them on the field. To this day, the team remains undefeated under the guidance of the fairly new and eccentric coach.
However, when a couple of students arrived for a three-year exchange program from partner schools, the football team got even more entertaining. Some of them were part of an elite world-class football group: the New Generation World XI. The year was filled with entertaining rivalries and bets on who gets more goals, but it was all good at the end of the school year when they all improved their skills.
This morning, the aforementioned football team sat on the stairs of the school, spread across the different steps. It's unusual to see them sitting together, though it's quite a stretch to consider them sitting ‘together’, much less without chatting or bickering about some missed shot or a shitty pass.
Today, they’re oddly quiet, their eyes staring directly at the entrance, as if expecting something to appear out of nowhere. If they were to stare at it even longer, the heat from their eyes would probably melt the gate.
On top of them, high above the ground, plastered on the wall lies the school logo, its metal lettering shining and reflecting clearly. Underneath it sits an analog clock that reads ‘7:15’, 15 minutes before their classes start.
Rin sits elegantly on a clean step, but one close look at him betrays the restlessness he tries to hide. The relaxed posture falls apart under how tense his muscles are. His eyes are overshadowed with a gloomy look. Some would think that someone might’ve pissed him off at the very first day of school of all days.
The illusion of peace shatters as Bachira scoots over with a smirk next to Rin and places a hand on his shoulder. Rin, busy staring at the gate, flinches at the sudden force. He looks at Bachira, frown deepening at the sight of his face.
“Rinnie~,” He calls out in a sing-song voice. “You nervous?”
Rin rolls his eyes. “For what?”
The black-and-yellow haired boy giggles. “You know, her! Isn’t she the reason why you’re waiting out here?”
“D-don’t be ridiculous!” Rin stutters, eyes filled with disgust grow wide at the accusation. He throws the offending hand off of his shoulder. “Why would I be nervous about her?”
“Don’t worry, I’m sure everyone is nervous to see her again, especially after a long time.” Kunigami cuts in, bringing a hearty pat to Rin’s back that makes the other slightly jerk forward at the force. Chigiri hums and nods at the statement.
Aiku chuckles. “It’s okay, younger Itoshi,” he smiles, smugly. “Being shy about a girl when you barely dated anyone is normal.”
The dark green haired boy scoffs. “I’m not like you lukewarms, I don’t get nervous.”
Four people walk nearby before stopping in front of the little group. Kaiser, in all his arrogance, steps in front of Rin, blocking his view of the gate. Ness stays close to Kaiser, following like a clingy shadow to the older boy.
“Ah…” Kaiser subtly looks at the group up and down. “You’re all here already.” His distaste towards them is clear as day.
Sae sits on a nearby bench, calm and relaxed, unbothered by the circus happening beside him until Bunny flops himself on the empty space. Sae intends to ignore his presence as much as he can to enjoy the wonderful morning before classes officially start.
Rin’s scowl deepens. The large group started to catch the attention of the people around them more than usual and his previously peaceful waiting session dissipated into thin air.
Helpless, he hides his hands in his face, trying to block out the annoying faces. Bachira continues to annoy him, Kunigami and Chigiri begin to chat with the new arrivals (note: argue), and Aiku starts to yap about his adventures with different people he ‘encountered’ during the break, all while Sae and Bunny refuse to engage with all of this. Waiting for her became increasingly difficult by the minute.
Almost five minutes pass when Rin checks his watch.
‘7:19,’ it reads.
“She's going to be late at this point…” Rin mutters under his breath. He abruptly stands up and looks around, about to leave for his first class when he catches a glimpse of a familiar head.
The rest of the group catch his hesitation and look toward the gate where he was staring at.
Before the first bell rings, a clinking sound passes through the gates, one similar to wind chimes twinkling in the breeze. Black, school-approved heels click as the girl hurriedly hops towards the entrance, passing through the stone pavement. The world slows as long, brown hair flows with the wind, framing the girl’s fair face in an angelic manner. Sweat drips down her forehead, but with the way her bright golden eyes glimmer under the sunlight, the panic in her face still shows a degree of excitement that rushes through her.
The darling of Blue Lock High has just arrived.
“Ah! I'm gonna be late!” She mutters.
Even though she’s clearly in a hurry, when students nearby look over to her and smile to greet her, she doesn't hesitate to stop and greet them back.
“Good morning, Darling!”
At the sound of her name, Darling looks at them and waves. “Good morning!”
“Morning, Darling!”
“You’re just in time, Darling!”
“Darling! Looking great!”
“Good day to you, Darling!”
Darling Nakajima waves at everyone who greets her, happy to see familiar and friendly faces.
“Ahhh, she’s so nice!” Someone whispers nearby.
“I know, right! She’s like an angel!”
“She really is ‘darling’.” The students giggle at the little joke.
From the beginning, Darling Nakajima has been an enigma.
First, she was a late enrollee.
She was first introduced to her class late, a week after classes began, catching the attention of the public, as not a lot of people were given exceptions to be enrolled so late. At first, people speculated that her family was just that powerful to be given such, which brings us to the next point.
Darling Nakajima is a normal person.
Her background was nothing exceptional— she was half Japanese, the daughter of a single mother, lived the first few years of her life in Japan then moved abroad, and returned after a few years, and she had pretty good grades and extracurriculars. She had some talents she was proud of, but nothing that made her stand out. She wasn't filthy rich, or related to some politician. Maybe, because she was in a school full of special people, that being normal was something interesting to them. And because of that, rumors started to spiral.
Third, despite the rumors that began— such as that her mother had seduced the principal or any other person in power into enrolling her daughter into the school, or that she herself did all of that— they expected her to become desperate and try to reclaim honor in some way, but no. Darling Nakajima remained kind and helpful to everyone.
At first, it confused people, but then they learned that she really just did not care about such things because they were not true. This would often backfire on people who take this route, but the universe seemed to be on her side as this just made people appreciate her, until they finally found out how she got in.
Turns out, her mother was a close friend of Ego Jinpachi, the current coach of the Blue Lock football club, and was her godfather, whom she endearingly calls ‘Uncle Ego'. Darling was able to enroll because Ego proposed a deal with her and her mother— if she were to take the entrance exam and successfully pass, Ego would offer to pay for most of the tuition in exchange for helping him manage the football club until she graduated, meaning she couldn't join any other club she wanted. It was a pretty good deal so she agreed to his terms, even if she barely knew anything about football. However, there was a slight processing error that delayed her enrollment, which was why she was introduced pretty late.
What she didn't expect was to become good friends with the entire football team.
Her first day as the assistant manager to the football team was difficult, to say the least. The club student manager, Teieri Anri, her senior by 1 year, definitely had it worse, but she still had the time and heart to help out Darling settle in as the assistant manager.
There were so many forms she had to fill out and so many students to chase for these forms to be filled out. Aside from that, she also had to help out the seniors find new recruits, then help out with the tryouts, then clear up the field. It was a very busy day for her, but it eventually got a bit easier when the members were finalized.
When she first met the complete and final members of the club, Darling didn't expect much. Anri introduced Darling to the team to be a new member of the club as her assistant once her membership was official. Darling greeted them and hoped that they could all work well together, but none of the boys gave more than a ‘welcome’ before returning to do whatever it was they were doing.
Darling knew men were rowdy, and these men were no different. They were all different tints and shades of chaos— Rin and Barou were incredibly difficult to get along with, Bachira was all over the place, Chigiri was sassy, Hiori always looked like he was planning something, Shidou was a pervert, Nagi was lazy as hell, Karasu was judging someone, and Otoya was always flirting around. The only people who were considerably normal were Kunigami, Yukimiya, and Reo. She almost quit just trying to get most of them to quiet down and listen to Anri’s instructions on something she didn't know about.
But Darling wasn't a quitter.
If she was, she never would've agreed to Uncle Ego’s deal. If she was, she never would've made it to Blue Lock High. If she was, she never would've considered even applying to better high schools.
But she isn't.
So that night, Darling went home with the biggest headache, downed a paracetamol, and devised a plan on how to get these manchildren to listen to them to help Anri finally get a moment of tranquility, and even did some research about football to get to know the sport better and not be negligent in any way. By the time she finished, it was late at night, and she definitely didn't want to deal with anyone remotely annoying with barely enough sleep, so she skipped dinner.
Implementing the plan was also difficult. Not because she was scared to talk to huge and muscular men who could throw her with a single hand if she annoyed them, but because they always managed to avoid her. In fact, she was very proactive in making small-talk with them, but they're always too busy for something during club time.
So she changed it up a little and talked to them outside club hours— she'd go eat with them during lunch where they sit even without invitation, she'd greet them whenever she saw them on the way to school, and even talk a bit before leaving.
They first thought she was trying to get closer to them with romantic intentions, so when Darling went to greet them a few minutes before Coach Ego arrived on the field, they confronted her— or more accurately, Kunigami did (since he lost a quick rock-paper-scissors on who would, despite it literally being Aiku’s job as captain to communicate with the managers and coach), while the rest listened close by while warming up.
Kunigami walked up to her. “Nakajima-san, do you have a moment?”
She looked up to him from her checklist and nodded her head. “Yeah, what's up?”
Kunigami started fidgeting. “Uh, how do I say this…”
Darling felt concerned. Was there something wrong?
“What's wrong? Do you guys need me to talk to Ego about something?” She offered.
“No! No, I actually… We actually wanted to talk to you.”
“Oh… Did I do something wrong?”
Kunigami shook his head. “Not really… we just wanted to tell you…” he scratches his head in embarrassment.
“We're not interested in you.”
Darling stood there. Confused.
“...what are you talking about?”
“Wait— I mean, we think you're doing great as assistant manager and you're a great person and all, but we're not interested in you…” Kunigami waved his hand around.
“...Romantically.”
Darling frowned. “Okay? Congratulations, me too. You're not that special.”
Now it's Kunigami’s turn to be confused. The others started to listen in much more closely. “What?”
“Look, you guys are great football players, but there's a lot of things you have to work on,” she says hesitatingly, this time to everyone nearby.
“But of course,” she adds. “No one is perfect and neither am I so who am I to talk about such things—”
“So you're not… trying to flirt with us?” Reo interjected.
“No.” Darling shook her head. “When did I ever?” She says in a deadpan voice.
“Then, why did you start sitting with us? And greeting us every morning and stuff?” Bachira starts counting moments with his fingers.
Darling’s jaw dropped, then she scoffed. “Seriously? Trying to know you is considered flirting now?”
Everyone turned away, embarrassed.
“You guys suck. You all don't realize it but you've kind of been an asshole to Anri. It doesn't hurt to be a bit more cooperative when she's practically babysitting all of you—”
“Babysitting?!”
“Yeah! Believe it or not, you're all incredibly difficult to talk to. You're all like a bunch of children! You're all, like, 15! Or— 16, I don't care! Grow up!”
Darling walked out of the field, leaving a bunch of flabbergasted boys on the field questioning their self-awareness.
When Ego arrived, he was met with the destruction his goddaughter left. He eventually found out what happened and made her apologize, which she did with no objection. In the end, Darling got the result she wanted. The team apologized to her and Anri, promising to be more cooperative with her.
After the incident, the team did try to be more considerate of how they treated Anri, and she felt the difference almost immediately as she talked to Darling the next day as if the universe gave her the answer to all her problems.
“Darling! It's a miracle!” Anri said, running to Darling with a bunch of papers in her hand. She places her free arm on Darling to help steady herself. Darling lets her, and even helps her out.
“They—” she stopped, huffing.
“They finished their forms! I can finally submit them!!!”
That day, Anri treated her assistant to melon bread from the cafeteria, not knowing that the girl was the reason why she could finally stop worrying about deadlines. Even though her plan didn't exactly work as she expected it to, Darling still felt thankful that it worked out in the end.
During lunch the next day, Darling intended to give the boys some space, thinking that they were uncomfortable with her presence. But to her surprise, Aiku invited her to sit with them after she grabbed her lunch.
This time, they all properly introduced themselves, and Darling Nakajima became an oddity to the public as a close friend of the closed-off football team.
As time passed by, the team slowly, without noticing, changed the way they acted around Darling. Compared to the roughness of football, they were gentler when they were with her.
Whenever they spoke to her, they talked with a fondness that wasn't there before. Whenever she saw them and greeted them, they’d run to her and initiate conversation themselves. Whenever she'd do something for them, something as simple as getting a runaway ball, they'd see it mean deeper than it seems. Every simple interaction with her started to morph into something else.
By the time they noticed, they started becoming more hostile to each other, unaware of the jealousy that shifts inside them whenever one of them had just enough distance from everyone that they could be considered to be alone with her, even if it was for club-related reasons.
At first, they let it be. The negative feelings were not strong enough to affect their playstyle, but it eventually started to seep into every aspect of their life. It became increasingly difficult to just talk to each other.
Ego noticed something was odd, of course he would. He noticed how aggressive Rin’s shots started to become, how Hiori’s pass became more difficult to receive, and how Aiku’s defense became more hostile.
Quite frankly, he was pissed. His team was falling apart for some reason outside of club time, where he couldn't monitor every interaction they had with anyone else and within themselves, and a week before a scrimmage with a rival school.
When Shidou ended up tackling Rin in the middle of training, Ego decided that it was time to intervene. He hauled the entire team off their asses, brought them to bleachers, and started listing how much their play deteriorated. All the boys could do was hang their heads low in shame.
As an ultimatum, he declared that, until they fixed whatever was destroying their team, no one was touching a single ball nor would they undergo any training. Afterwards, he immediately left to give them time to do whatever to remove the cracks in their teamwork.
The scare tactic was implemented, and it was effective. They didn't know what was wrong, but one of them did.
Karasu was the first to speak, and he's never one to sugarcoat his words.
“I think we all like ‘er.”
They all look at him.
“What do you mean?” Chigiri bravely asked.
Karasu shrugged. “Reason why we're falling apart’s cause yer all jealous that Darlin's been talking to some of us alone, and honestly, I am sometimes.”
“That’s it?” Nagi yawned. “That's why we've all been off recently?”
Rin scoffed. “How lukewarm…”
“You're one to talk. Did you forget what Ego just said about your aim or do you need me to remind you?” Reo narrows his eyes at Rin. Rin immediately stands up, ready to fight.
Before it could get worse, Aiku steps in. “Hey, hey. Calm down now, we're here to fix all that.”
Yukimiya raised his hand. “Then, what should we do? If we're jealous because some of us spend more time with her alone, what can we even do about that?”
“Then we call the others in some way when we see her.” Barou grunted. “That way, no one hogs her attention and we all get to spend time with her. You peasants are too narrow-minded.”
“Wow,” Bachira whistled at Barou’s direction. “The king can be useful from time-to-time, huh…”
“Why you—”
“Guys, not now. But yeah, yer idea’s great.” Hiori said, nodding. “I'm good with it.”
“Sure, whatever.” Shidou laid back, bored with the conversation.
From that day on, the agreement was set in place, and continues to be in effect until today. Case in point, Kunigami was the one who suggested a week before the first day to arrive early so that everyone gets a chance to talk a bit with Darling before classes start.
But that didn't go as planned, since Darling just arrived at the campus, with only around 10 minutes left to spare.
She finally gets to the building and sees some of her friends. She waves enthusiastically at them, excited for the new school year.
“Hey guys!”
She moves forward to hug each of the people present at the moment. They all hug her back, giving a gentle pat.
“It's been a while.” She looks at all of them. “Where's the rest of ya?”
“They’ll be late, I presume.” Sae puts a hand on his waist, shifting his weight. “Hugo and Loki’s flight back is today, so expect them tomorrow.”
“Older Itoshi’s half-right,” Aiku says. “Dunno where the rest are, but Reo and Nagi aren't coming back for a week, Shidou’s already gotten in a fight, and Yukimiya’s on his way from a shoot.”
Darling nods in understanding. Not everyone's first day goes well.
“You look very excited for school Darling,” Kaiser steps forward, flipping his hair. “Can't say the same for me.”
She lights up immediately. “Yes! Actually—”
The first school bell rings. Everyone looks up at the giant clock, minute hand already at the twentieth minute.
Chigiri takes her arm gently. “Let's go, we shouldn’t be late for the first day.” They all turn to move toward the opening of the building, but Darling tugs her arm back.
“Wait! Let's just wait for a few more minutes!”
Looking back at her, Rin huffs. “You know how big this school is. We're in our second year. The classrooms are further, we’ll be late. The other guys can catch up.”
Darling pouts, irritation evident in her face. “I know they can, but that's what I was going to talk about!”
“I'm waiting for someone!”
Her words settle in.
She's waiting for someone.
From her statement alone, this someone is not part of their group.
But who?
Anri?
If it was, she'd just say that she's waiting for Anri, but Darling didn't mention her name. And Anri isn't technically a part of their friend group since she almost never talks to them outside of club-related things.
A classmate? If it was, she'd also just mention the name, since some of them were classmates with her last year, and they'd immediately be familiar with this person.
The only logical conclusion is that it's someone they don't know.
Darling turns around, looking at the gates, waiting for whoever she was willing to be a few minutes late for.
“Who are you waiting for?” Ness asks, curiosity lacing his tone. Darling was practically buzzing in excitement, even more than Bachira usually is.
“I’ll introduce ‘em to y'all. He's new so—”
Instantly, the group’s brains started running a thousand miles per hour. The atmosphere turns chilling with dread with the new information.
He. Darling is waiting for a guy. Someone who only started classes this year.
Who is this new guy?
Did she meet him over the break? Why didn't she tell them about him?
Is it her brother?
No, it can't be. She's an only child since she keeps mentioning wanting a baby sister when she was younger, but her mom was never able to be back in full health to have another child, so it can't be.
Is it… her lover?
Panic spreads over the group, worried that Darling had already gotten a boyfriend before any of them could confess how they feel for her.
Before Darling could finish her sentence, she screams, excited.
“Oh! There he is!”
Unfortunately, they couldn't distinguish who she was talking about since a large group of students just passed through the gates.
Darling runs toward the group and reaches out for someone there, hand clasping tightly around a wrist. She pulls on the arm, eventually revealing a boy who wasn't even visible at all. How did she even see him?
Once the boy separates from the group and ends up being grabbed by Darling, the group could finally see who she was so excited to be with for the first day of school.
Eventually, the two reach the group and Darling pulls the boy close to her side, arms wrapping around his left arm. The group finally takes in the sight of the new guy.
He leans his face closer to Darling, whispering something, but she cuts him short.
“Shhh, lemme introduce you first!”
The first thing they notice is that he's shorter than all of them. He’s barely taller than Darling in heels, making him look less of a threat.
The second thing they notice is how blue he is. His hair is a deep black that shines blue under the sunlight. His eyes are a metallic blue and very reflective. It’s annoying how it compliments the shade of blue the uniforms have.
Lastly, they notice his features. He looks like prey, like there's nothing to fear about him. His body looks soft and unassuming, his hair looks awfully fluffy and cute with the little sprout on top, and his eyes are round in a way that makes him emit this aura of gentleness.
All in all, one could chalk up these observations into this simple sentence: the new guy is pretty.
The average person would let their guard down around this guy. From experience as athletes, the group knows not to underestimate people with such a body type, since these people tend to be unsuspecting powerhouses in some teams.
They intend to apply the same conclusion outside of football. This guy, they all collectively thought, is a threat.
He could easily be Darling's type (is that Darling's type? Did she prefer to date men like him?), or he could trick her into thinking he's harmless and eventually make her fall for him. Whoever this guy is, they were not going to let him be part of their already huge group of admirers.
But for now, they ignore how tight she grabs onto him, how her eyes sparkle so bright when she looks at him, how he refuses to look at the group for too long before turning his head away to shyly look at Darling. They need to know more about a new enemy.
“Everyone,” Darling starts, looking at the group and bringing the new guy even closer to them with a distance than he is clearly uncomfortable with.
“This is Isagi Yoichi. My childhood friend!”
Darling puts her face close to Isagi. “Yocchan, say hi!”
Isagi faces the group, a slight blush visible on his cheeks. He does a slight bow to the group.
“Uhm…Hello.”