as you stood in front of the gates of a tall building, you couldn't help but look at all the different applicants that had been invited into this programme
they were all males and you had been informed of that in the invitation letter they sent, but you still decided to come
you knew it was going to be awkward at first but you'll get the hang of it
you just wished your older brother, Genji, could've came like he was supposed to
you and your brother had always admired soccer more than anything as young children
you both wanted to be the world's greatest strikers but had never competed negatively over it
you had always been there to support each other and learn from each of your mistakes to grow more capable together
there was never any bad blood between the two of you and with your supportive parents, everything seemed possible for the both of you
there was a problem for you though
you couldn't play for school teams since no females were interested in playing football
they were more into sports like basketball, track or volleyball
and so you resorted to asking the principal if it was possible for you to join a males football team and luckily there was no rule against it
that's how you were able to continue striving for your goals as the male football team's striker
you had good control over your dribbling and long shots which led you to your position
despite being a female your teammates didn't treat you any differently and treated you as one of them
you and your brother didn't go to the same school
he was his school's striker
you knew you were bound to face him in the field and when it came to that,
you wouldn't hold back on him
"the day has finally come when Joshibi high school and Hibiya high school face off to determine who makes it into the nationals! staring on the right side, you have Joshibi High School, known for its very high defensive skills and its female striker! and on the left, you have Hibiya High School who's known for its tremendous strategic gameplay!" the announcer announced through his microphone
as your team walked threw the gates on your side, you looked to the other side looking for your older brother
you caught the sight of a pair of (e/c) eyes staring right at your form with a smirk to on his face
the day had finally come when you and your brother faced officially
your coach was revising the plan you had to follow but you couldn't help but space out thinking about who would come out the winner of this match
I mean you and your brother knew each other from the back of your hands
you had practiced together since childhood
as the time finally came for teams to go into position, your team was starting with the ball
Hibiki was holding the ball atop with his foot, he passed it to his right where you were standing
you began running with the ball invading the opposite team's players
you felt a presence behind you speeding towards your figure and as it was about to reach you, you passed it to Akihito who was open ahead of you
you didn't bother looking back as your teammate Masaru went to cover the player behind you that was readying to sprint toward the ball
you continued forward to reach the other team's goal
the defence was tight and overwhelming but you didn't let that trouble you and you continued your way towards the net
Akihito had managed to stall long enough for you to reach the other team's goal
he passed it to you but right as it was about to reach your side, a figure ran past him and caught the ball on his chest as it fell to his feet
"you didn't think I'd let you score that early in the game (y/n)" smiled your brother
"I kind of did and if I were to be honest with you, I was starting to think your team wasn't as good as you boasted" you smiled back
3-3 with 10 minutes left for the game
(y/n) had 2 goals with an assist while her brother Genji obtained 3 goals
both teams turned blind eye to their exhaustion and continued to play all out
it had been back and forth each team's defence putting hard pressure on each other
forwards running across the field with the objective to get a hold of the ball
5 minutes left...
3 minutes left...
the match was practically over but both teams refused to give up
Joshibi had possession of the ball with (y/n) sprinting like never toward the opposite team's net
she had two defenders in front of her but didn't bother looking for open teammates as she sprint past them
she had almost reached the goal when a tall figure stood in front of her, fire burning in his eyes
Genji
they stared at each other with the same look in their eyes
Genji stretched out his left leg to snatch the ball from his sister
1 minute left
(y/n) was too focused on scoring and threw the ball in the air behind Genji and proceeded to run around him to reach it
he turned inhumanly fast and as he was about to run after when
crack...
he stopped moving and fell to his right leg
due to the tension on the field, no one noticed his fall
(y/n) ran like never toward the goal
her position was
2 defenders running from behind her
1 on her left side
to her right her teammate Hayate was momentarily open but you could see a defender coming up behind him from his right
you debated on whether you were going to pass it onto the most likely shot or shoot yourself directly
your logic said pass but your spirit said shoot
"screw it"
you shot the ball with all your remaining strength
it sped past the goalie's face as he stared forwards with wide eyes
"GOAL!!!" declared the announcer
as the final second fell the loud end ringer rung signalling that the game was over
Joshibi High School won against Hibiya High School 4-3
loud cheers came from your teammates as they pounced on each other
you stood in front of the goal, hair covering your eyes as you panted heavily
you had won
won against your brother
a loud shout brought out your inner cheer
the stadium went quiet as they all looked toward the shout
it came from a person
not just any person
Genji.
your eyes widened as you sprinted towards him and crouched on his side
"Genji! Genji! are you alright, what's going on!" you exclaimed in worry
he held his left leg as he continued to scream in pain
you could only hold him speechlessly
medics came over and took him to the hospital
you didn't bother to wait any longer and ran out of the field into the changing rooms
as you were done changing, you met up with your parents who immediately rushed towards the hospital
it took about an hour and a half for a doctor to finally come out of the room they had been operating on your brother
they came out with terrible news
Genji had a full rupture of his tendon and ligament and it would most likely take over a year to heal and even after that he's have to take a break in order for it to fully restore
he then proceeded to call out for you since your brother had called for you to come in first and alone
as you made your way toward the room you couldn't help but overthink
maybe your brother despised you and blamed you
I mean you did notice something wrong when he stopped chasing after you but your selfish self decided to ignore it and focus on winning
your thoughts worsened as you entered the room only to face your brother's gloomy figure looking outside the window of his bed
you marched towards him anxiously, hands holding onto each other
he turned to face you with the same sad look on his face
guilt continued to build up as you finally reached your brother's side
he held his hand out to you and...
...pat your head
he gave you a closed eye smile as he continued to rub his hand on your head
wasn't he angry
he should be furious
I'm the reason why he has to take a break from soccer
"hey don't sweat it, I know you're beating yourself up for my injury but it's my fault for being careless" he chuckled
tears welled up in your eyes as you finally stopped holding back
"I'm so sorry Genji! cause of me you can't play soccer anymore. it's my fault yet you aren't furious with me!" you sobbed in his arms as he held you on his chest
he continued to rub your head
"hey, don't worry lil sis, on the bright side, it's not like I can't permanently play. I've just gotta wait till my injury heals up. yeah it may take time but if I love something I can be patient for it" he grinned
you stared at him for a few moments before whipping away your tears and returning his smile
"while you're on your break I'll improve my skills for the both of us!" you declared
with that, you walked out of the room while your parents went in to check on Genji
Genji had always been the calm and reasonable guy
you on the other hand was a very tempered person and when it came to stressful annoying events
you always resorted with violence
maybe you should try and take after him
and as you know the blue lock invitation letters were sent to both of them but sadly Genji couldn't go
and so you had to go alone
yes you were nervous
I mean staying in an all-male camp isn't an easy task
no matter, you were here to improve for yourself and Genji
and it was good training before the upcoming nationals you were going to compete in
you entered the room you were directed to and stared curiously at all the selected contestant
there were a few famous faces you could recognize
sennou's star player, Okawa
the tallest high school athlete, Ishikari
even Nishioka, the Messi of Aomori
as you continued walking forward, you could feel a couple eyes staring down at your figure
they were probably wondering why a girl like you was here
"maybe they hired a manager to help out in this camp" you heard one whisper
"no i don't think so, she seems familiar, i've definitely seen her at a football game and she definitely wasn't on the sidelines, but on the field" you heard another
"wait isn't she the female striker for Joshibi high school?"
"the prodigy?"
"oh yeah, that's where i remember her from, she plays in the male's football team"
the whispers about you continued but you just walked away towards a wall so you could lean on it
you were about to close your eyes when the lights turned off
"Congratulations, diamonds in the rough"
the lights pointed towards a figure on the stage
" you are the 300, eighteen and under strikers who were chosen according to my arbitrary and biased decision-making" started the dark haired man with a bob cut
"I am Ego Jinpachi, the man hired to make sure Japan wins the World Cup"
all the applicants started whispering among themselves after that statement
"to put it simply, there's one thing Japanese soccer needs to become the best in the world:
the birth of a revolutionary striker"
"I'll be preforming an experiment here to turn one of you 300 into the world's best striker, that's what this facility is for"
"Blue Lock"
"You shall all live together and undergo the special top training i've devised"
"you'll have to say goodbye to whatever soccer life you've been living up to now"
"But I'll give you this one promise. if you manage to survive and beat the other 299 guys and female to become the last man standing, you'll be the world's greatest striker"
"that's it, pleasure meeting you all"
you were absolutely speechless
what kind of madness was this man on
but you couldn't deny that you felt a bit excited
i mean who wouldn't like a good survival game
i wide smile sprung on your face, you knew you had upcoming nationals and you weren't allowed to go home but
this seemed like it'd be a fun experience
"um, excuse me" a boy with ash blonde hair rose his hand with a frown on his face "I can't agree to the conditions you just laid out"
"we each have a team that's important to us and some of us have upcoming nationals" spoke the boy "i can't abandon my team to participate in some nonsensical program"
the majority of the males in the room all began shouting in agreement about also having nationals and why they should live together with strangers
you eyed the people from the wall you were leaning on
"I see. you're all seriously ill then" spoke Ego
"leave."
"If you want to leave then go ahead" he shoowed them away "is becoming the number one high school team in this backwards country more important to you than becoming the world's best striker?"
"just the thought of the future of Japan in your hands make me loose hope" he said with wide eyes
"listen. the power of Japanese soccer organization is first-rate but in all other respects it is undeniably second-rate"
"if i were to ask you, what is soccer? it's about eleven people working together? valuing your ties to others? self sacrifice? playing for your teammates? this is why this country will always remain second-rate"
"if i were to tell you what soccer is, it's about scoring more goals than your opponents. whoever scores the most is the greatest"
"if you want to play friendly games with buddies talking about all that teamwork bullshit, then lock off." he said with wide eyes
the same ash-blonde haired guy from earlier was trembling while clutching his fist "that's a terrible thing to say. take it back"
"there are plenty athletes on the Japanese team whom i admire and respect" he started " we grew up watching them fight together as a team of eleven, you are wrong"
Ego looked up scratching the top of his head " the Japanese team?"
he turned towards the ash-blonde male with a crazed smile " But they're never won the world cup, have they?"
"here are some quotes about your so called hero's" he looked towards the screen
"Noel Noa: instead of assisting my teammates to win a 1-0, it feels better to pull off a hat trick and loose 3-4. these are the words of the world's greatest striker who beat Messi and Christiano Ronaldo to win the Ballon d'Or"
"Eric cantona said: I don't care about my team. i just want to stand out"
"Pelé said: The world's best forward midfielder, defender, and goalkeeper. whichever you ask about, the answer remains me"
"Awful aren't they? but they're all top players and they're all extraordinary egoists." he leaned backwards with his arms out like some comic villain
"that's what Japanese soccer lacks"
"you can't become the world's greatest striker if your aren't the world's biggest egoist" he said with a horrifying face
jeez this guy was creepy
"that is what I'm trying to create here"
"someone who will stand on 299 corpses"
"A solitary hero"
the doors behind him opened and that's when one of them finally broke
a black haired male ran towards Ego and then it followed with the rest of the contestant following behind
you weren't an exception
you ran towards the door and you were all separated into different buses
"Shall we begin" smiled Ego
yeah no I'm not good at writing sentimental scenes 💀