Ego looked at the monitor. He couldn't help but grin at the things his screen was showing him. it was quite similar to the villains laughing at their master plan. Which was just the cherry on top for Ego. Because he loved being the villain.
"EYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY", Kunigami shouted and hugged him. "That was almost like that goal from Ronaldo in 2018!"
"What the actual fuck was that?", Raichi butted in and punched the raven haired playfully. "You weren't flying, you were fucking floating!!!"
"That was cool!", Chigiri also came into the celebration, Yoichi failed to avoid.
"Alright guys, let's raise that point differential though. Just winning up by one is too boring for me.", the youngest Kageyama managed to say through his breath. 'Jeez, what is it with this muscle freak...'
Kunigami quickly set his friend down. Everyone rushed back to their positions and awaited their opponents to restart. The atmosphere changed in a strange way. Everything changed. The eyes of team Z shone like a wild cat waiting for its prey patiently, while panic spread slowly inside team V. The brightest eyes, however, were blue. None dared to even look him into the face because they know, once they do, there is nothing that's gonna save them.
"Tch.", Reo cursed under his breath and passed it to Nagi. He was beyond angry. His tactics, his dribblings, his crosses, nothing seemed to work after that one goal of that stupid number eight. And the bicicle kick from that Yoichi Kageyama who dared to put up a fight against him in the cafeteria that night. Some part of him believed, that it was just some lucky shot, but the other part inside him knew that that was just his delusional self. There was no way that thing wasn't luck. Sure it was definitely out of order when the number eight didn't position the cross in the right order, but the improvisation was not a lucky shot. It was pure effort that created the balance of that guy, who is able to use it to command his own body at his own will in any kind of situation. Clearly, he might not be able to recreate it anytime soon, but that doesn't mean, it was out of luck and that's the thing that pissed him off the most. He received the pass back from Nagi. Reo stared at the player in front of him. Number ten. That stupid defender locked him down in any kind of way. If he could just create an opening for his precious jewel, they are going to score easily because there was no one there on the opponent's team that can possibly even touch the ball in possession of the white haired or can he. Reo looked at Kageyama. Blue eyes that shone a cold light that presented one message, "I dare you."
The purple haired passed the ball to Zantetsu who immediately went for the box right away. At the beginning of his sprint he was able to gain some distance from his predator, but just as he passed the five meter mark, the pink haired caught up. Instead of crossing it immediately however, this time he stopped and watched Chigiri sliding past him into the void. As the coast was clear now, he swung his leg and set up the white haired who waited inside the box already. Nagi got a hold of the ball, but as soon he was about to make the second touch team Z's number 11 butted in with his foot and brought the ball to Raichi. The defender with the shark teeth passed it back to him. Yoichi used the momentum and faked out Reo to get past him. He then rushed through the middle with an imense speed. With this new ability of his that acted like a radar, he was able to see everything, even the dumb four eyes who tried to sneak up on him from behind. Yoichi dodged him elegantly and span around the the speed like defender just to nutmeg him mid way to get the ball to Kunigami who didn't even hesitate to cross it out to Bachira. The dribbling monster trapped it with his heel and used it to flick the ball over his marker without using a small pause to start his rampage. Some scissors before rushing to the left and then a turn around to the right. He got to the base line and cut in towards the goal. There, Kunigami was already waiting. However, Bachira had no eyes for him. There was someone more dangerous and destructful for team V's dream of becoming number one in this group phase. Kageyama Yoichi who stood ready just behind the middle line of the pitch. Bachira sent a long pass to the raven haired. Yoichi trapped the ball with his chest and looked at the player in front of him. Somehow he managed to react to his play. The gray eyes which were normaly full of boringness came to life. They shone in a turhish light that met the blue ones of Yoichi who started with his dribbling. A fake to the left and then a turn around to the right, one of his standard moves. Nagi reacted to it.
"I can sense every fake.", he whispered in a dangerous voice.
"Is that so?", Yoichi challenged and scissored and then pushed the ball a bit with the tip of his foot. Right after that he quickly stepped over the sqhere and rainbow flicked it over the white haired. Nagi turned around to follow him and tried to steal the ball mid air, but the foot of Yoichi got there before him. A small tip to keep it in the air and then a bump with his chest to get it to the front. Yoichi ran forwards leaving Nagi in the dusts. A small pass to Kunigami to reposition himself for a better angle on the left side followed. Kunigami placed into the run way of his team mate, but then, a certain white haired got there unexpectedly to body Yoichi.
"Ain't gonna lose to you.", he spoke to the man he was trying to keep off the ball.
"You know, why you can't win this match?", Yoichi retorted and set his last step with his right foot. An unusual thing for him to do, since he mostly shot with his right foot.
"Why?", Nagi retorted. Just then Yoichi swung his left foot and spiked the ball into the the net, without even giving the goal keeper a little chance to dive for it. What was there to feared of? He trained for it. That's the logical sequence.
"Because your so called talent or potential will leave you once it becomes important.", Yoichi whispered. "The only thing that matters in sport is effort. Not your fucking fantasies about winning without even setting your foot into the training grounds."
With that he walked back to his side of the pitch.
"You better lose yourself to the sports you like.", Yoichi spoke without turning back. "Or else, you'll have no chance of winning anything."
A fire started to burn and once it burns, it is only going to be able to be extinguished by the person who enflamed it in the first place. Nagi felt it. His heart beat quicker as he saw the last goal scored by his opponent. They had a 5-3 lead now. All because of him. Because he wasn't able to score more goals. Because of him the only ace from team V. He ran for the ball inside the net and sprinted for the circle to restart. There was no way he was going to let it end like this. There was no way, he was going to let the efforts of his several team mates go in vain like this.
"Quick, Reo.", he shouted shocking everyone on his team. "There is still time! We can still turn the tables!!"
Only then did the purple haired stop staring at the clock that has run up to 87 minutes. He quickly got to his position and passed the ball to Nagi. This time however, the white haired didn't return it. He kept it. Raichi went immediately for Reo. Igaguri stepped up to stop him. Nagi just moved his leg to the left. These minimal movements were his weapons. His strengths. The ability to make anyone fall for his fakes. Poor Igaguri imidiately went for his right side to stop the player in front of him unknown to the real intention of his opponent. Nagi immediately drove to his right hand side and got past the first annoying defender. His real deal was waiting for him.
'Fucking shit... that guy really took my words to heart. What was the one thing Nii-San always told me again?', Yoichi thought, as he saw Nagi getting closer to the goal every second. 'Oh yeah. Always give the advice after the game. FUCK!!!'
Nagi was now in front of him. This was not good. Even for him. Yoichi looked at his opponent. The fear washed away right after the fierce battle for room started. Nagi, just wanting to score and Yoichi not going to give in one inch. Just in that moment however, Yoichii managed to tap the ball and out of the fierce grasp of team V's number 11. Igaguri quickly picked it up and shot it forward to Kunigami who literally went through Reo just to shoot it from 29 meters into the net. 6-3.
Nagi quickly ran back to fetch the ball, but it was already too late. The whistle for the final minute has tweeted.
"EYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY", everyone of team Z shouted celebrated their victory. a lead by 3 goals. Three goals, which were all scored through incredible ways. The announcement of the system, "Game over, team Z wins with a 6-3 victory." was far away from the heads of the fellow team members. The only thought that took over their mind was celebration and victory. Nothing less and nothing more. Only one guy stood at the gate with a very bitter look on his face, which quickly turned into a toxic grin over the purple haired who walked out of the arena.
"Why the long face.", Kuon asked Reo as he was getting to the locker room. He had his arms crossed and his back leaned onto the wall.
"Cause we lost, ya dickhead.", Reo retorted. Annoyance clearly written over his face. Soon Nagi and Zantetsu followed him.
"Oh yeah? I remember someone telling me, he didn't need my help.", the toxic player of team Z said. "That someone said, he wanted to win fair and square, or some bullshit like that and yet, he has fallen so low, that his pride is no where to be seen."
"Someone, who hasn't even played should not open his mouth and mock the efforts of worthy opponents.", a new voice butted in. A voice that could only belong to the one and only Yoichi Kageyama. He walked past his former team mate without acknowledging him. Then just as he came to Reo, he stretched out his right hand, "Good game mate. That was one very nasty cross out there."
Reo just looked at the hand. It wasn't meant in a disrespectful way. Quite the opposite. A respectful good bye to the opponent and for that reason, the purple haired took it.
"All games of the fifth stratum have concluded!! We will now present the results of the first selection.", the announcement came from the speakers. Everyone raised their heads to pay attention to it as it continued, "The final rsults for the five-team-round-robin are as follows..."
Yoichi looked back at the huge monitor from the entrance of the gate he was standing at. Team Z was on top, because they've no losses, while team V is in second. Team W was third while team Y and team X finished fourth and fifth.
"In first, team Z with eleven players and in second its team V with its eleven!!", the speaker spoke again. "Lastly the three top scoring players that will be pulled from each of the losing teams, Junichi Wanima, Ikki Niko and Shohei Baro. With this, 25 players from blue lock fifth stratum made it through the first selection."
Minutes later, as everyone has showered, the celebration, that couldn't be ended on the pitch resonated in the sleeping room as the team Z members gathered around a fiest for their survival. Yoichi was already zoning out. He was excited for the second selection of blue lock. Another thing he knew already was the fact that he isn't going to get any sleep tonight because of that. 'At least it's not going to be because of Raichi and Kuon fighting, since they've kinda made up... which I still find very... very... surprisinig...', Yoichi thought remembering those hate posts from OKC-fans when Kevin Durant decided to join the warriors, which is still haunting him up until today. But that has nothing to do with him, so he stood up to get himself something to drink in the cafeteria.
"Ey, Kageyama, mind if I joined you?", Bachira asked him as he made his way out.
"Sure, why not?", Yoichi answered and together, they entered the dining hall. A calm and comfortable silence filled the room. The only hearable sound was the water getting into the bottles of the two teenagers who then found a table in the huge dark room to sit down. Suddenly crying sounds ruined the great mood. Yoichi looked at the gate to the hall and saw the players that didn't make it through.
"Oh my...", he said inside his mind and looked at the long cew.
"Congratulations on team Z's victory.", someone said and ripped the raven haired out of his train of thoughts. Yoichi turned around just to meet the eyes, no hair of Niko, "Niko."
"It's been a while, Kageyama.", he continued. "I survived too, as team Y's top scorer."
"Congrats. I saw that.", Yoichi replied truthfully.
"I came by because I have something to say to you, Kageyama.", Niko said while he walked into Yoichi's direction.