"That was a close one...", Luna muttered inside the showers. He was still thrilled from the bicycle kick Yoichi almost made in that match they've just had. If Loki didn't save it last minute, they would have lost their faces there.
"Yes, but it was quite interesting, if you think of it.", Loki said. "I mean... that one pass of that guy..."
"I know what you're talking about.", Silva said. "That raven haired and that green haired were a pain in the ass. Especially that raven haired. That brat has no respect."
"Yes, because you started with the trash talk.", Loki reminded him. "If you could have shut that big mouth of yours at the beginning, maybe we could have hosted a nicer greeting before our match."
"Whatever.", Dada replied and applied some shampoo onto his hair. "So what would be the rankings?"
"That number five should be at number one.", Luna pointed out his opinion. "Then Itoshi and then that white haired dude. The crazy dribbler should come in fourth and the last one would be that one with the gloomy hairstyle."
"Imma disagree with ya. Green haired on first place and the raven haired on last place.", Pablo intervened and switched off the water.
"Really? Just because he didn't get your name right?", Luna said.
"Gotta agree with that one though.", Dada Silva said. "Those plays were way too risky. It's not something I would like to trust on if I were his teammate."
"I agree with Silva.", Adam spoke and tapped off his shower too.
"Well guess what, he had to play a fucking one versus three against us.", Luna mentioned.
"Still...", Pablo said.
"Well folks, then let's have a vote.", Loki proposed to end the argument. "Our personal rankings of the five are still not reported to Ego after all."
"Alright."
One week later, Yoichi looked at the table in front of him. Books filled with English exercises and other Grammar stuff were stacked on it.
"Looks like I can run away from school, but I can't run away from this shit...", he muttered and started with some books. Unlike his brother, he had to study English at home. He had no choice after all. Tobio had his captain that drilled him to it. He, on the other hand, was met with the other option, which was believed to be more effective. In his opinion at least. It wasn't even that hard. English was an easy language to learn after all. If it weren't for the nuisance inside the room...
"Sunday... Mohnday... Tyusday... Wed... We... We...", Bachira practised his speaking while writing the new vocabulary into a note book. "Wedonesday?"
"It's Wednesday, you moron.", Rin replied annoyed. "And you got everything but Sunday wrong. How did you even pass middle school?
"What a hassle...", Nagi murmered with his face on the books. Academics weren't really his strengths.
"Oi, you!!! Put up some effort!!!!", Rin ordered and tapped his head.
"No, it's too much of a hassle...", Nagi retorted without moving.
"Hey, Rin. Is it true that when you introduce yourself, you can say 'Ai-mu' instead of 'Mai neimu izu?'", Niko asked genuinely trying to learn something. His genuine question couldn't reach Rin though as he was occupied with making Nagi study.
"It's a hassle, it's a hassle, it's a hassle.", Nagi repeated himself constantly and refused to look up to start studying.
"Ai kyan Flyday!!!!", Bachira shouted with his horrible English out of the sudden and threw a paper plane straight to Rin's head which hit right on target. That was the straw that broke the camel's back.
"ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!!!!!", Rin snapped and threw books at Bachira and Nagi. "JUST HOW LONG ARE THEY GONNA MAKE US DO THIS FOR!?!?!?!?!?!?!"
This has somehow made Nagi get up and invited him to start a war of book throwing. Niko desperately tried to calm the situation, but Bachira prevented that with his poor pronounciation.
"Aimu sorry! Abe sour! It's extlemely regretable!", he appologized and shielded his head with his hands. Although, rather than being sorry, he seemed more amused over the fact that two people in the room are throwing books at each other and creating a huge mess. In the middle of the storm of chaos was Yoichi still doing the exercises inside the book provided by the facility. That was until Nagi grabbed it, making Yoichi accidently draw a huge line to the ende of the page, and threw it back at Rin. Yoichi looked at the blank table in front of him. Finally he caught on the fact that his teammates were having a pillow fight with books instead of pillows. Soon a book landed on his face. A red mark of a rectangle formed itself on his forehead. Yoichi touched it with his fingers and quickly pulled his hand away as it hurt after putting some pressure onto it. He then had a look of his surroundings. Paper everywhere. The books he was studying with were left in shreds.
'What a waste of paper...', Yoichi sighed and now stared at the four males who were throwing those things in the first place. "Are you done now?"
An angry face was then hidden right behind a fake smile.
"Are you done now?", he repeated his question. The four males immediately froze to that voice. Even Rin. The raven haired walked around them and picked up the book that he has used to exercise before it being forcefully taken away by Nagi to be used as a weapon. It got ripped apart in the process. If those guys knew how expensive these books are.
"This has been the fourth time this week now. You know that, right?", he told them in a quite threatening way. "Look at this mess around us. Thanks to your great idea of starting a fight, we have to clean that shit up again."
He almost seemed like a furious mother scolding her children for misbehaving and fighting. His demands for his teammates were however lifted through an announcement that was signalled through a bell. Similar to the ones at the railway station.
"The second selection has just come to an end.", it said. "All members who will advance to the third selection have now been gathered. Please promptly put on your BIB uniforms and gather in the central joint room."
As if on que, all the boys who were fighting rushed to their locker to get their uniforms.
"Finally out of this room with you guys...", Rin muttered in relief. Bachira who was on the other side of the room, celebrated through all of his heart, "Yes!!!! No studying anymore!!!!! I was getting sick of it!"
Yoichi just sighed as the fight has resolved itself and they could finally move on. He then proceeded to get into his uniform himself and walked out of the door with his other companions.
"Altogether, 7 teams, comprising 35 members have successfully advanced.", the announcement continued as they marched through the corridor surrounded by plain granit. "Members will be admitted in the order that they cleared the selection."
"Seven teams, huh?", Bachira said behind Yoichi and stretched his arms. "Looks like a lot of people failed out."
"Yep...", Yoichi answered while being deep in thought. 'I wonder if they were able to win their way up...'
"I wonder if the other teams have also been studying English.", Bachira murmered to himself. Yoichi on the other hand was only thinking about the other team Z members.
"Now then, to start,...", the announcer, probably Ego, spoke. "1st clear team, please enter."
Yoichi walked through the gate that has been opened to them. Rin and the other guys followed him soon.
'Whatever...', Yoichi then concluded. 'There's no use to hope for them. No matter how you do it. You need to reach this point to have the right to become the world's best. That's just simple reality. It's fair and square. No matter the outcome. That's the reality I, no, everyone have to accept. Because this is, Blue Lock. Excuses are for the weak.'
"Moving on, second clear team, please enter."
In came Barou, Chigiri, Zantetsu, someone with the number 59 on his kit and the number 21.
"Good to see ya again, Chigiri.", Yoichi exclaimed and smiled.
"Don't forget about me, you squirt!!", Barou retorted before the pink haired could do anything. "I'm the real king, don't forget about that."
"Moving on, next team. Please enter."
Five strangers walked through the next gate. One of them was recognised by Yoichi from some magazines.
'Yukimiya Kenyu... was it?', he asked himself and looked at the male with round glasses. 'Yeah... the high school model...'
"Hm... don't recognize a single one.", Bachira muttered with his arms crossed.
"Well... it's not like we were the only ones fighting out there.", Niko muttered.
"Moving on. Fourth clear team."
Another group full of strangers walked out of there. One particular stuck out to YOichi. He had the number 99 kit and wore a bandana. As if he was a ninja.
"Please enter. Fifth clear team.", the announcer continued none the less.
Tokamitsu and Aryu walked through that door along with three different players.
"Moving on. Sixth clear team. Please enter."
Voices of disagreement and arguing came out of the gate that was about to open. Just as it finally opened, three players fell to the ground.
"Oh man... if it isn't anger issues...", Yoichi said dead panned.
"GRAHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!", he shouted at the two lying on top of him. "SEE WHAT I SAID, YOU DUMBASS!!!!!!!"
The two on top of him were apperently Gagamaru and the other Wanima twin.
"What a lame entrance...", Gagamaru stated. The other two players behind them were staring at the scene with an embarrased look.
"Ah! Hey guys!", Gagamaru finally spotted the other ones inside the room. "There's a bunch of faces I haven't seen in a while!"
"Gagamaru you little cunt...", Raichi brought out while he was still being pressed to the ground by the taller male.
"I told you to move it...", Juichi murmered.
"Just one more team left.", Chigiri muttered.
"Yeah.", Nagi replied. "And Kunigami and Reo aren't here yet."
Yoichi just stared at the door with huge expectations. He did wanted to play with Kunigami again. But in their game against them, he didn't really want to take him since he had the feeling that he hasn't reached his fulles potential just now. So he left him with Reo and Chigiri so they could fight themselves up again. But seeing that the pink haired got split up with them, he concluded that his efforts were left in vain. Though, this shouldn't be his concern right now. After all, he did all he could to help them from his point of view.
"And lastly, the seventh clear team, please enter.", the last door sizzled as it pneumatic mechanism started to move. The one standing behind it shocked everyone. Igaguri was waiting there with his arms outstretched as if he was Jesus.
"Buddha be praised.", he said. Two other players flanked him. Another player then walked out of the shadow behind the bald.
"Reo!", Nagi said relieved. Yoichi observed the scene in front of him. There was only one left. Who is the last one to pass? A tall figure appeared behind everyone. His steps echoed through the room. The hight of that guy fitted Kunigami. Was it him? But why would they choose Igaguri out of everyone? He was the worst player in the whole facility. Yoichi could not imagine someone being worse than him. It was almost impossible. Then the face of the player revealed itself. A boy with some insane embattled hair entered the room. He had neon pink eyes. His pink coloured strains that covered both sides of his face highlighted those even more. Though, in Yoichi's opinion they seemed more like they were from a different world. Almost identical to the eyes superhumen or aliens.
"Surprise~", the unknown male said saddisticly.
"Kunigami...", Yoichi was shocked. Even though he has sworn to himself that he wouldn't care for his former teammates anymore. But something like this? Something that didn't match his calculations? That was a hard one. Even for him.
"Hey, Reo...", Yoichi asked the purple haired, right after the announcement that those were all the ones passing the third round selection. "Why aren't you with him? Hey?"
Silence answered his question. Reo simply looked down.
"Kunigami isn't the type of person to just let it end there...", Yoichi continued his reasoning.
"It's over now.", the Shidou guy whispered inside his ear. "I sent him straight to hell."
Yoichi turned around and faced him.
"Well... it is true that his physical abilities were good.", the pink eyed admitted. "His heart was noble, as he was honest and undoubteldly pure."
Shidou paused with a sigh, "However, you won't find people like him on the field... but I don't give a shit. Someone who only explodes for a moment is human trash. That pure, piece of shit of a hero. He has no worth of being in my story. He is a slime that won't even help me level up."
"Don't fuck with me. What did you do to Kunigami?", Yoichi asked and switched to his cold voice.
"As I said, it doesn't matter.", Shidou replied. "Just like your own story."
Suddenly the blonde jumped up and roundhouse-kicked Yoichi. But the raven haired caught it with both of his hand and locked the position.
"Do you know how fragile an ankle is?", Yoichi asked. His voice turned even colder.
"Your future is right now in my hands, are you sure you wanna keep going?"
"Okay, okay, let's leave it at that, unpolished gems.", Ego interrupted the little fight. "If these little outbursts continue, you'll end up getting thrown out. Anyways, all of you have no time to be worried about those who had been dropped. At any rate everyone's football life even, will soon be thrown into the worthless hellfires of Blue Lock and disappear with the rest of the trash."
Yoichi let got of the foot from Shidou he was holding.
"Oh, before that, good job to everyone.", Ego continued. "Your matches in the worldwide battlefield held a hopeless defeat, I assume? We'll explain that another time. The upcoming third round selection to pass your language studies and well... there's plenty of other things I was planning on narrowing down until the last five players, but... change of plans."