Blue Lock: Fast Lane

A New Genuis

'Too Slow' James thought as he stripped the ball from an opposing defender, it was like watching babies play with a soccer ball. He accelerated with the ball into the box, nobody even dreamt of catching him.

The keeper looked at him nervously, which only fed his desire to drill it in with power. With a decapitating swing, his foot impacted with the ball and zoomed into the net.

"Goal! Nagano Junior's New Ace has scored!" The announcer screamed as James let out a small fist pump. This was nothing to be proud of. It was a measly middle school tournament.

The whistle sounds and his team erupts into cheers. "That's the sound of Nagano Junior winning the Nationals for the first time in its history! Many thought it would be under the leadership of Aoi Sakamoto, but no, a new Genius has emerged! Number 9, James King!"

He watched as the reporters swarmed near him, he couldn't care less. There was no sense of triumph, he had to slow himself down because his team couldn't keep up with him. Not that he blamed them for it, he was just built differently.

"James! Over here!" one reporter hollered as many more crowded around him. "How do you feel? You just won the nationals as major underdogs!"

James looked at the reporter, many things went through his head before he spoke. "If this is the level of competition I have to face for the next two years, you won't see me lose a single game"

All the reporters went silent. They had just struck the proverbial gold, a star who hadn't been conditioned by the system. "You're confident that your team will win the nationals for three years straight then?"

"That's what I just said right?" James asked back, shoving his hands in his pockets. "I'm just using this publicity to get me scouted by a European Youth Program. So be warned, I'll reject any offers that aren't from that part of the planet"

"Would you say that your upbringing shaped you into the soccer star that you are today?" Another reporter asked, which James thought was a dumb question. He was still growing up.

"If you're trying to get a rags to riches story you're asking at the wrong time... though it would do well to highlight how poorly underfunded and understaffed the orphanages of Japan are. I'm lucky that the school subsidises all my football equipment, so big shout out to them and coach for taking me to games. That's all the time I have for questions" James replied, smiling more towards the end.
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"Look I won't critique you on your speech or anything, but do be considerate of other people's feelings. Not everyone's a freak of nature like you James" Coach explained as they drove back to the orphanage. "But what I am going to critique you about is your play, today it was sloppy, your heart wasn't in it"

"I'm thinking of the longevity of the team. They'll get too used to me blitzing everyone and become reliant on me, when I'm gone your jobs going to get way harder" James replied, he wasn't completely heartless when it came to his school, they had and will support him for as long as he would be a student, it was only fair that he would find a way to make sure it prospers after his tenure there.

"How about you focus on leading them then? If you cultivate the team, it can become stronger and gain a culture of winning. That was something no-one before you has been able to accomplish." The coach replied, not surprised about James' willingness to give back to the school. "Or on the field you could work on your spacial awareness, sure you're fast, but that's only going to get you so far, or even think of a player you want to emulate"

James looked at him, he already knew who he wanted to emulate, his future self who could blaze through lines of defenders with speed and dribbling. That version of himself was undoubtedly the best in the world. "Spatial awareness huh? I guess i'll need to know where the enemy is all the time"

The car stopped outside of the orphanage, James opened the door. "Thanks for the lift coach, I'll see you at school for practice?"

Coach laughed. "The season's over? Get some rest"

"If I'm going to be the best in the world, I can't rest, not now, not ever" James replied as he stepped out of the car, he was about to close the door but the coach's hand stopped it from closing.

"Good work today James" The coach praised before slipping a paper bag through the crack in the door. "You're going to need that if you want to reach the next level"

James grasped the bag and was surprised by its weight. More so what he thought was inside of it. "Thanks coach!"

"Ahh shut it kid, now piss off I have booze to drink!" He replied, shutting the door then driving away.

James smiled, it was nice to be treated like a kid sometimes. He walked into the orphanage, by this time dinner was being served, it would be nice to have some rice and topping before he went to bed to have a nap.

He entered the mess hall, everybody was sitting in their groups, and then there was a face he had never seen before. It was the face of someone who had lost something recently. A girl no older than his body's age was sitting there, poking at her rice.

The orphanage got new additions every now and then, it was never a good thing when that happened. She was sitting at the table he normally sat at, in his seat. Not that he was going to give her any shit about it though.

He walked over to the serving desk and was granted a bowl of rice with some steamed veggies and sesame topping before making his way over to the table. He placed his plate of food on the table, he sat down letting his bag drop to the side of the table.

She looked up at him, her blue irises surrounded by bloodshot whites. She looked at his food and then went back to poking her own. James started to eat his own food, eying the newcomer every two or three minutes.

She hadn't taken a single bite of her food. "You should eat"

Her eyes focused on him again. "Not hungry"

"They would want you to eat" James replied as he noticed that he was running out of food. "Eat what you can and I'll have the rest"

She looked at him with narrowed eyes, almost morphing into a glare. "How would you know what they would want?"

"I'm assuming that they passed away" James replied, noticing the others listening in on their conversation. "They would want you to be in the best health possible"

She looked at him silently before reluctantly taking a bite of her food. James watched as she finished all of her food. His task here was complete, grabbing his empty tray he walked away.

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Walking to school he noticed the banner hanging across the school.

Congratulations on winning the Nationals, Soccer Club!

This wasn't a big achievement, James didn't feel the need to celebrate something he put minimal effort into. Though for everyone else it was, no matter what the score or the game that he played said, this was a team win.

If you could call hopping on his back, for the ride, a team win then he would accept it. He looked at the newspaper that had been dumped on a bench, something which was unusual. As he got closer to it he read the headline.

The Next Itoshi Sae? James King leads Nagano Junior to become National Champions!

His eyes widened and his face split into a maddening grin, he cursed himself for being this ignorant. Noel Noa, Manshine, Barcha and now Itoshi Sae, this wasn't any parallel universe. No, this was the universe of Blue Lock.

"It all makes sense now..." He could feel his ego explode, the first time he had any sort of feeling resembling that dream in years. His intense aura startled those who were around him, blue eyes zeroing in on the article's picture of him and Itoshi Sae. "This makes things much more interesting!"