NIKE -Blue Lock-

Worth

"Only today?" he asked in fact, shifting the others' attention to a detail that had been ignored.

"If you're so anxious to see me more often I'll make sure to clear my schedule for you." the boy commented mischievously, forcing the other to look away to point his gaze to the ground.

Ikki Nikko knew of the girl's true identity, and he was still confused about her presence within that project. He only knew that being in the presence of the famous Nicole Vinciguerra was a source of extreme anxiety for him.

Snuffy resumed the word, at least drawing the eyes of those who were already part of the team to himself.

"Yes, only for today. This choice was not mine but that of the project maker, Ego Jinpachi, for reasons I think futile to explain for the purpose of our training." he said, silencing further questions before they could arise.

Red eyes met slightly lighter and brighter ones, and a certain tension began to surround Barou's figure.

And it was a tension so obvious that even Snuffy was able to sense it. His clear irises carefully watched the expression of the boy he had chosen as goal predator, trying to understand the thoughts.

Inferiority.

He was releasing it from every pore. And it was so intense that the master striker was almost sure he could touch it.

But there was something else. Something, however, that left him confused since it was in stark contradiction to the personality the boy had displayed up to that point.

Uncertainty.

But uncertainty about what? Or because of what? Or because of who?

Snuffy let his analytical gaze wander over all the Blue Lock boys, noticing different expressions in some of them. Like the hesitancy of Ikki Nikko, whose face was still drooping downward, or the contentment and intense focus of Oliver Aiku, whose eyes seemed not to want to leave the redhead's figure even for a moment.

Snuffy did not give away his thoughts, but he could not help but shift his pupils to the figure at his side, wondering what on earth he could have done for his presence to merit such different reactions in others.

Perhaps Nicklaus Vinciguerra would prove even more interesting than he already was.

French stratum

"GUYGAL IS HERE AND NO ONE TOLD ME?"

"Uh..."

"Of course they didn't tell you, you horny psycho." spat the youngest of the Itoshi family with venom on his tongue, once again provoking a possible fight and causing the young prodigy from France to sigh.

Julian watched confused and unsurprised as the two began to argue, regretting having mentioned Nicklaus Vinciguerra's name in front of the players of that stratum.

What he had noticed was that, compared to Shidou Ryusei, the other Blue Lock candidates had shown decidedly different reactions.

There were those who had shown imperceptible rancor, like Itoshi Rin. Those who had looked away, like Tokimitsu, Tsurugi, and Nanase, and those who had shown no such exaggerated reaction other than a small ecstatic smile, like Karasu.

The French boy hadn't had much to do with those characters, but he was pretty sure that among them was someone who was aware of Nicklaus's true identity.

Shidou Ryusei was pretty blatant, but he had figured that one out when he had had the opportunity to challenge them both during the Team 7 vs. Team World Five match.