an envelope, sitting right here. who would want to talk to me anyways? i didn't really bother, kicking my shoes off, throwing my school bag aside. i'd rather take a nice, warm shower and eat dinner.
and that's what i did. after changing into some comfortable clothing for sleep, i threw myself down to the chair, staring at the leftover from yesterday.
my eyes slowly travelled towards the envelope, and i couldn't help it. i grumbled in defeat, snatching the piece and opening it.
it was from the Japan Football Union, what do they want with me? I've already stayed in German for a while with that Kaiser, who was a pain in the ass for real. I've went to Spain just to train with that Sae Itoshi, what do you seriously want with me.
goddammit.
"Kumi Shonan-Sama,"
"You've been selected for a special player training programme."
fuck you.
wait no... it was selected...? i mean- it does sound interesting, no?
b-but...! if you go there, you might miss out on staying at home, watching television! oh no! that's... really a necessity!
aish, whatever. it's not like i'm going to die anyways.
i heard some new voices and shuffling next door, so my attention shifted towards my fridge. probably a new neighbour, fortunately there was some chocolate chip cookies left from last night, so i reheated the cookies up and gently placed it inside a plastic container.
i didn't really need to change, it looks okay, i poked my head outside my door, seeing a few boxes. it was a habit to meet anyone living near me, building a better relationship in case anything happens, i'm literally a teenager living alone. my dad never really cared about me and left to work, my mom was sick from cancer and died a few years ago, where else, my older brother was born in South Korea on my parent's honeymoon, and he lives there too. i never asked for his number since he left so early.
i pressed onto the doorbell, revealing a woman with pink hair. "oh?"
"urm... i live next door, i just want to give you these cookies for moving in..." i bowed down and gave the container to the lady, who smiled dearly. "oh my, thank you! please, come in!" a hand was behind my back, pushing me into the newly designed apartment, a scent of jasmine and lavender invaded my nostrils, and it was surprisingly fresh.
"such a good girl," she complemented, a flowery aura around her while her husband sat next to her. i only bowed and fiddled with my fingers until she gave me something in return. "here, have these! my daughter made too much..." the husband gestured, while a voice in the corridor came, "we have visitor...?" it was feminine voice, revealing a girl with long pink hair, a smile plastered on her face.
she was really pretty. "oh! sorry! please, make yourself home!" she shook hands with me, a strawberry scent came off her, she was really nice too... "Hyoma!" she called, placing her hands on her lap. now it was awkward while we all waited for this 'Hyoma', but the person soon was facing the family and a stranger.
"oh..." the voice sounded like a male, so i was expected a male-looking guy... nope. he literally had long, silky, red hair like the rest of his family member. "sorry to disturb you... maybe i should go..." i suggested, placing my hands on the side of my frame to get up. "please stay!" the feminine voice argued, i made an 'o' shaped mouth. "maybe you guys can get along! you guys look the same age!" the dad smiled, 'you guys' probably meant me and that guy. "...sure." he spoke before i could, he waved his arm in the air as a gesture to follow him, so i obeyed.
i entered his room, not even knowing his name. his room was filled with... football related stuff, maybe he was interested in football like me. i just realised he was in the middle of drying his hair, "sit down." he patted the seat next to him on the bed. it was really awkward since like... i've never been into a boy's room and we just met each other this hour.
"what's your name?" i asked out of the blue, when he unplugged the hair dryer. "Chigiri Hyoma. how bout you?" he returned the question, as if we were playing table tennis. perhaps he was also invited in Blue Lock, then he would know that i'm a female! uh oh, can't expose myself now!
"just call me Shonan." i said simply, while he cocked his head in confusion, "are you a foreigner?" he questioned, "um... no... i just prefer people calling me Shonan."
he nodded in the slightest way, "you... like Football?" i inquired, "yeah... I wanna be the world's best striker... but i got into a slight accident a few years ago..." he looked down, i felt like this topic was uncomfortable so... "sorry." was all i could murmur, "no, don't. you didn't do anything." he warmly smiled, somehow my stomach flipped, just a bit.
i bit my lip, staring at the floor. "it's just... unfortunate if something gets into your way to achieve your dream, no? it's so... frustrating."
"yeah..." he trailed off when i felt his stare on my side profile. "is there something on my face?" i jerked my head towards him, his ears redden, instantly avoiding my eyes. "no..." he stared at my feet.
what he wanted to say was,
'yes. beauty.'
even though they've only met for less then an hour, he finally believed in love at first sight.
𝐦𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐚𝐲-
i creaked the door open, hoping to really just see one familiar face, but nope, god wasn't on my side today. this Ego guy talked to me before, persuading me to join this programme over the phone, wonder if he was the organiser or something?
a bowl cut man coughed and stuttered a bunch, catching everyone's attention. i jerked my head around, oh hell no...
it's probably all boys.
99.99998% sure.
the lights went dull, spotlighting the male on stage.
"congratulations, you unpolished lumps of talent." i'm taking that as an insult to be honest.
"according to my personal judgement, the three hundred of you are... The best strikers under eighteen."
"my name is Jinpachi Ego. I was hired to give Japan a world cup victory." he used hand gestures for no reason, but this is the Ego guy, yes?
mutterings and gossips passed down to the room, "I'll say this plainly. only one thing is necessary for Japanese soccer (football but i'll just use soccer cuz that how people say it in Japanese) to become the best in the world: The birth of a revolutionary striker. With the three hundred of you here... I will conduct an experiment to create the world's best striker."
I quietly snickered, tilting my head in a questioning manner. "This is the facility created for that purpose... look." he pointed at the giant screen behind him.
""Blue Lock.""
"Starting today, you'll all be living here together... while undergoing the special training I've devised. You can't return to your homes, and this marks the end of your previous soccer careers." wow, going rough. luckily i brought a huge bag of everything i need to live. actually, a bunch of bags hugging around me.
i'm a girl, ya know! we need a lot of things in order to live!
with a lot of stinky bois 😒.
"But I promise this... Whoever survives this Blue Lock... and outlasts the other two hundred ninety nine... The last remaining person... Will become the world's best striker."
"That concludes my explanation. Thank you." He ended as the lights went bright once again.
a white haired male spoke up, questioning the guy on stage. but i didn't really care, at this was an escape plan away from school. "Let me ask you... Just what is soccer?" he critically hit, but no response came out.
"A sport in which eleven combine their power...? "Treasuring our bonds"? "For my friends' sake"...? Wrong. and that's why this country's game has always been weak." he mocked, "I'll tell you... soccer is... a sport in which you score more points that your opponent."
wow, very straight forward but powerful at the same time.
"whoever scores the most points is the best. If you want to play at "getting along," then piss off." he dropped his finger, eyeing the male who probed.
"I disagree. Please take that back..." the white haired male shook, "Players like Honda, or Kagawa, there are plenty of others... Watching eleven people battle together... We grew up watching out Japanese teams cooperate! They're my heroes! And you're wrong." he tried to prove the Ego guy wrong, key word: tried.
"hm...? Honda? Kagawa? Hmmm? none of them have won the world cup, right? then they're trash. i'm talking about being the best in the world. got it?" Ego spatted back, and no one could think of any comeback. "take Noel Noa, for example... He beat out Messi and Ronaldo to take the ballon D'or... do you know what the best strikers in the world said?"
""Instead of assisting my teammates to win by 1-0... it feels better to pull of a hat trick and lose 3-4." You see? Eric Cantona, the greatest soccer player of the twentieth century, said..."I don't care about my team. I just want to stand out." And the greatest player of all time... three-time world cup winner Pele, said... "The world's best forward, midfielder, defense, goalkeeper... Whichever you ask about, the answer is still me." that."
Ego threw his head backwards, spreading his arms wide like a drunken man. "How about it? awful, right?! but these guys are number one! they were all revolutionary strikers!! all of them are peerless egotist, what Japanese soccer lacks is ego. If you're not the world's top egotist... You can never become the world's best striker. And I want to create... someone like that in this country." he eyed me, i returned a smug smirk.
this feels like real life squid game, but, no violence, that is.
"The lone hero who will stand atop two hundred ninety-nine corpses." change that to heroine.
"now, you lumps of talent. let me ask one final question... imagine... you're at the last match of the world cup... eighty thousand spectators... you're on that field. the score is 0-0... the game has gone into overtime... the last play... you've broken through and received a pass from your teammate, it's a one-on-one showdown with the goalkeeper... There's a teammate twenty feet to your right. if you pass, you can almost certainly get a point, but you gamble your nation's hopes, and the assurance of victory...to shoot without hesitation. only those... sorts of crazy egotists... May process ahead." a door swished open, smoke coming out for dramatic effects.
"I'll say this once more... soccer is a sport that exists for you strikers. think of everyone besides yourself on the field as supporting actors. discard your common sense. on the field, you're the leading actor. rejoice in your own goals over all else... and live for nothing but that moment. that's what it means to be a striker." everyone was suddenly running towards the entrance, i was pushed by shoulders and bags, deciding to enter last.
"thanks for helping me escape school, Ego." i added, as the door closed with a big bang.
15 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐮𝐭𝐞𝐬 𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫...
we were all seated in a bus, but we quickly arrived at a big... place.
"Next... Shonan-chan." A woman handed me a uniform, which there was a 'Z' and the number '0'.
wait... i thought there was three hundred people...?
"Now then, please head to the room indicated by your uniform's letter, change into your uniform, and then stand by." she informed me, which i returned a small bow.
i took a sharp breath, and stepped into the space.
nope, no luck at all. no girls... wait, there is a guy with long red hair, but his chest was literally flat. wait a second... isn't that Chigiri?
my luck!
shut up... Kumi.
hold up... didn't the woman said to change?!?!?
shit.
i quickly hid in the sides of the lockers, and changed into the uniform in insane speed.
"Are you done changing? You lumps of talent..." his face was displayed on the small screen, his fingers were literally scrunched up, waving. "The others in your room are your roommates... and your rivals, who will push each other higher. I've used my personal judgement to quantify your abilities... and rank you. that's the number displayed on your uniforms. Now anyone can tell with a glance where you stand amongst the three hundred of you."
i took a quick glance around everyone, hugging myself to purposely cover my number.
#298...?
#295...?
i think i'm placed in the wrong room...
"That ranking will change by the day, and will go up or down depending on training and games. Finally, those in the top five... will unconditionally be registered... for the U-20 world up... happening siz months from now."
"By the way... those of you who fail Blue Lock... will forever lose the right to represent Japan. What you need to succeed here is ego. And so now, we'll hold a little entrance test to measure your aptitude."
"you know who you are." i think he was talking to me...
"Now... time for some tag. the time limit is one hundred and thirty-six seconds. if you get hit with the ball, you're "it". whoever's "it" when time runs out... has to piss off back home." wow, we've been here for like 5 minutes bro.
"Also, you can't use your hands..." he added, before the screen glitched, switching to another slideshow.
"Those are the rules... even pros will play tag as part of their warm-up... but this is an egotism test in order to ascertain who has the essence of a striker... prepare yourselves for battle. this is no ordinary game of tag.
people started to talk and worries coming out, realising the door wouldn't open up. since #300 was the tagger, there is possibly no way i could be the tagger since i'm a hundred in front.
"damn, i can't hit anyone...! wait for me, ball!"
"haha...you!! still asleep?! you're mine...!!" he exclaimed, while the ball rolled to the sleeping figure.
but what caught my guard was, the guy who was sleeping literally flipped himself, kicking #300.
"that's a foul, right?! Fould!!"
the boy sat up, his honey orbs flickered open, "if this was a game, that'd mean a read card...!"
"mm... we just can't use our hand, right? mornin'."
"hey, i hate dirty methods. let's fight fair and square."
"someone's a goody-goody." ooh, i like this guy...
not romantically, no.
not... yet?
the ball hit the orange head, so he was "it", but quickly, number #299 was "it".
only a minute to go...
the guy tried to kick the ball to several of people, but he missed, all of them. until he stopped in front of #300, "i came here to change my life... to become the world's best... I'm here."
good, at least he isn't a lameass that targets people who have a lower rank than him. but all of a sudden, the one with the bangs caught it, kicking to ball towards the white haired one, but tricking him. the ball flew over the white haired male, "Isagi-kun..."
"The strongest guy..." the ball hit the white haired male's face, right on the spot when there was one second left.
that was it...
he was gone.
𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐞𝐞 𝐝𝐚𝐲𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐁𝐥𝐮𝐞 𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐤...
we had all sorts of tests, running test, jumping test, you name it. all i had to do was to wait until meal time was announced.
i had udon everyday, and i'm not complaining. but the thing is, i had to sleep, shower, eat, do everything with boys.
thats a bit... ew.
but i somehow managed through 3 days, i'm such an amazing person.
"Ding dong ding dong~"
"err... we've finished compiling the data from the past three days' stamina test. please return to your rooms. we will present the new rankings."
i made my way back to the room, or so called dorm. i was just in time and i wanted to say hi to Chigiri , but i couldn't see him anywhere.
"nice work, everyone. you lumps of talent. are you enjoying life in Blue Lock?" he asked, the answer was obvious so... yeah.
"The reason it's shitty here is because you're all so shitty at soccer, idiot." he spat.
"HUH?"
"allow me to say a little about Blue Lock. this facility is composed of five wings. teams B through Z, twenty-five in all... are split into groups of five and are living together in each wing. by the way, since one person was kicked out of each room during tag, there are currently two hundred seventy-five in Blue Lock. you're split into teams in order of rank. ranks 1 through 11 are team B, 12 through 22 are C... so you get it, right?"
i glanced at my shoulder, i was still #0. so i... didn't improve? great.
"Your team Z, is in the lower ranked of the five wings... Wing #5. additionally, your team is made of the bottom tier in the wind, numbers 265 to 275." Ego eyed me, i wonder why he placed me here.
"those in the upper ranks are enjoying good food and training in the top wing, and are leading a lifestyle befitting a top striker. whoever is best at soccer here is king. if you want a nice life, then win and boost yourselves."
i could literally be up there bro! this bowl cut placed me at the bottom for no reason? what the hecking heck?
"now then, let's begin... Blue Lock's first selection. for the first selection, all of you in Wing 5, will have a round robin tournament for all five teams. after the final match... the top two teams will clear the selection. it's a survival match."
sounds really important. "huh? so all twelve of us in team Z count as one team? even though we're all forward...?" a familiar voice chirped, i glanced around, until i found Chigiri on the other side of the room.
"Chigiri!" i was so quiet, but he could hear me, "Shonan? oh my god... you're here too!" we secretly celebrated our reunion while others complained about the positions.
"listen. soccer is primarily a game about scoring points. having all eleven players as forward makes perfect sense. the positions and tactics that have been stupidly imprinted on your brains... were just roles that were created as a part of soccer's evolution. when soccer first started, all players were strikers. play soccer from the starting point, rebuild it from zero in your heads."
"It's for just one person... to be a hero. Messi, C. Ronaldo, Neymar... Soccer's evolution is limitless thank to those lone heroes. the defensive system was created to stop them and new tactics are required to surpass that. one person's light can change a team, a country, and even the world! that's the kind of sport soccer is! are you ready for battle?"
"all of it... is in Blue Lock!!!"
four players played a simple game of rock paper scissors and Isagi won, and he decided to play forward. i didn't really care either ways, i was just glad Chigiri was here.
"for the first Blue Lock selection round, the five teams in each wing... will have a round robin tournament. at the end of all ten matches, the top two teams will get to remain here... and the bottom three will be eliminated. and all their team members will be forced to leave Blue Lock..."
upon leaving, they'll lose the right to represent Japan. damn, that was big.
"however! players from the three losing teams will have a chance for a comeback. once all the matches are over, each team will have a "Scoring King"... whoever scores the most goal on each team, gets to move on to the next round. if there's a tie between members of the same team, we'll use a "Fair Play Point" system, and whoever has the least penalty points will be the winner. "My own goals" or "The team's victory"... this first selection will test your destinies as a striker!"
"This is a battle to rebuild soccer from zero. the first match is in two hours. Team X versus... Team Z!"