Chapter Text
Rin clicked his tongue in disdain, face drawing into a sneer. Even after seeing this, he doubted this wannabe hero would’ve noticed what that meant.
The rest of Team Z straightened in their seats, the shift almost uniform. For the most part, most of them had only realized Isagi was missing halfway to bedtime or they hadn’t noticed at all until he’d slid back in through the doors, looking sullen and morose.
Bachira and Chigiri were focused intently on the screen. They’d never asked Isagi where he’d gone and he’d never told them. The sentence had been itching in their throats, almost crawling out of their mouths to ask before they’d clamped it down because why should they? They weren’t Isagi’s parents, after all.
And at the time, they were close but not close enough to ask the other where he was off to all times of the day. It was supposed to be none of their business.
But that hadn’t stopped them from exchanging inscrutable glances when Isagi’d returned, looking even worse than when he’d left.
What did he do? They wanted answers to questions they couldn't ask. Who did he meet? What did he realize?
The door slid shut with a quiet grinding, sealing off Bachira and Chigiri’s unreadable faces with it.
Instead, a practice field slid into view, a soccer ball bouncing across the green lawn as Isagi stood half-hidden in the shadows of the entrance, closing his eyes and taking a deep breath.
Sendou’s eyes flickered across Isagi’s features before glancing away momentarily, schooling his expressions.
Aiku smirked.
Oh… practicing. Niou nodded to himself. He’s probably thinking of his piss-poor skills.
Ah, he was realizing the slim chances. Yukimiya mused, adjusting his glasses. It’s unsurprising he was upset - he was likely replaying the starring trio of Team V’s moves in his head and realizing there was no way to defeat them.
Shame. His pleasant smile remained unchanged.
Isagi released a breath and slowly opened his eyes, the ultramarine blue underwater color alternating between catching the light and lazing about at the bottom due to the byplay of light and shadow.
Their jaws threatened to unhinge themselves as the pale green words on the screen threatened to burn their retinas.
Building 5
1st Selection
Top Scorer
10 Goals
“No, no fucking way.” Hiori choked out because there was no possible way Isagi would go looking for him. It had to be an accidental meeting.
But… but Blue Lock had a system where it showed everyone who wanted to use any room, aside from the living quarters and watch room, who was using it.
(It helped avoid a great deal of conflict.)
S-so Isagi had to have known….
Isagi, you goddamn masochist. Hiori thought, normally calm blue eyes sparking up like an open wire during a rainstorm. He’d teamed up with the other and considered him a good friend, but now the boy was actually starting to get wildly more interesting!
“Are you crazy?” Chigiri hissed, pink eyes flashing.
Isagi’s eyebrows shot up before he slightly narrowed his eyes in defense. “We were going to lose, Chigiri.” Isagi gestured helplessly. “I needed something that would help me win.”
“Uh- us.” He quickly corrected to the other’s scrutinizing gaze.
Chigiri scoffed and tossed his head, his pink hair gleaming attractively in the light as he smiled challengingly at Isagi. “Don’t apologize. That’s what we’re all here for anyway.”
“What's up, brainless?”
Calves like they’d been carved from marble, with deep grooves etched into the bodysuit to emphasize every flex of those swollen thigh muscles. A back broad and sculpted like it belonged in a Florentine chapel - seemingly chiseled by some long-dead Renaissance artist - tapered into shoulders broad and thick enough to make an ‘50s action star seethe in jealousy. Steam wafted off the huge body as its owner raised a cool eyebrow before sneering at the boy half-hidden in the shadows, his back still to him.
A deep voice rumbled over the speakers, sending shivers down all of their spines as they stared at the hulking, envy-inducing form of Barou Shouei.
“What are you doing here?”
“Tell me something, Barou.” Isagi stepped forward onto the field littered with countless still soccer balls but kept a healthy amount of distance between him and his opponent.
“How can I be more like you?” He demanded. He had little care for what the other might think of him.
He really doesn’t care what anyone would think of him. Mensah marveled. Because the only thing that matters to him is ensuring he’s the best. No sense of shame or the shyness he normally displays is present here when he’s standing in front of someone who brutally took him apart once. The loser is commanding the highest victor to answer to his summons.
Incredible. If nothing else, Mensah admired the boy’s ability to demand his enemy’s obedience and control. It’s like there’s something inside the boy that is endlessly hungry. There’s a hole inside him that keeps searching and taking without consideration…
Something snapped inside Barou, his annoyance at being disturbed twisting into a sick, violent feeling. The calm he’d originally had instantly eroded.
One second Barou was mildly entertaining the twerp’s presence and the next his leg muscles were contracting, moving faster than thought could form as his foot snapped out.
Isagi didn’t have time to react as a hurtling at breakneck speeds smashed against his face, his neck snapping backwards as he fell to his knee with a yell. It took everything in him not to drop to both knees from the pain and the suddenness of the action.
Several people frowned around the room. This was assault. Where was Ego when all this happened?!
Akira Endoji glanced curiously at Ego only to find him completely bored. Now, Endoji wasn’t a big fan of the Isagi dude nor did he really know him, but Endoji was a football player. He had been schooled and warned against these sorts of instant red card behaviors for the betterment of his future and teams. And though Ego was…. more lenient…. than most coaches would dream of being in the area of taking control of their players’ actions, he also had a limit. The dude’d electrocuted both Rin and Shidou for fighting so why had the man let this continue? Why hadn’t he given a yellow card, and why, at the very least, hadn’t he assigned Barou a warning?
“Hey, come on…” Isagi groaned, clutching his face. There wasn’t any blood there, right?! It hurt so badly!!
Barou was done with this idiot. “Use your brain, you donkey.”
“Hold on!” Isagi barked, ignoring the pain. If he let Barou leave now, there was no chance of him getting the answers he was seeking and he could kiss his football career goodbye! “”You can score goals all by yourself.”
“You're the strongest player I've ever met.” Isagi forced himself to his feet as Barou stopped walking. The other boy didn’t turn around but Isagi didn’t care - all he needed was his attention. Even for a moment. “I don't want it to end here. I want to win.”
Himizu Aiki cringed, his entire body curling backwards into the plus of his chair as his face twisted into a grimace.
“Soooo gross…” he hissed. The way the boy spoke, his words were so raw, so true, that Himizu felt his stomach twisting into knots. It was similar to the feeling you get when listening to Christmas songs as an adult, or grasping your grandparents’ words from 10 years ago, or realizing the reason, now, behind why your mother asked you those questions you didn’t understand then.
Isagi trembled, face scratched and bleeding from being assaulted but pupils shaking in determination, “I want to be someone who can do it alone!”
Himizu found it unbearable how honest the boy was. He squirmed in his seat, unable to sit, completely unable to stand the feeling of his blood running backwards in his body. His hands gripped the armrests, knuckles turning white. Each word cut through the thick haze of comfort Himizu had spent years wrapping around himself.
People lied. They lied, they lied, they lied. His parents lied. His teammates lied. His teachers lied. His opponents lied.
Everyone lied, lied, lied so much that Himizu had developed an inherent ability to sniff out and kill those lies - like a snake sensing prey.
This boy… he was so brutal… so real… that instead of snapping his fangs and catching a mouse, Himizu felt the palpable fear and then almost realistic pain that he’d been sliced open by a hawk’s talons.
“Hey, brainless.” Barou drawled, “That dream-filled, garbage ego of yours… I'll crush it, right here, right now.”
A one-on-one? Isagi’s head reared back in disbelief and a hint of fear as Barou started charging towards him with the ball rolling. I'm no match for him physically. I'll watch his feet and the ball, and steal it when I can. I'll move when he tries to set it up. He decided.
There! Isagi thought as Barou dodged to the left upon nearing Isagi. Isagi immediately moved to intercept and right as he placed himself in front of Barou, the taller boy shot the ball to his other side and moved in one fluid motion, almost as if he had just switched his point of balance.
He had baited him.
Isagi whirled around to see Barou streaking down the field.
But he hasn't gone past me yet. Isagi thought, but it was too late. Everything was too late.
Huh? He gaped as Barou’s foot shot it into the goal.
More than 20 meters from the goal, and he aimed for the top-right corner? Isagi watched the ball bounce to the ground, vaguely aware of the other boy walking away. His precision is insane.
“See you never, donkey.”
“Hey, hold on!” Isagi whipped back around and kicked the ball to Barou’s feet. “One more time! Please! Come on! Don't tell me you're done!”
Barou narrowed his eyes in affront. “Who do you think you're talking to?”
“I am the king!” He roared, pouding down the length of the football field. HIs face blackened in threat.
Isagi scrambled to keep up, running alongside him. I won't lose him this time. I'll stay on him so he doesn't get a chance to shoot.
Isagi tried to get a leg in but he was nowhere close to succeeding as Barou shoved a thick, muscle-corded arm against his chest, keeping him at bay.
Damn it, he's going to shoot. He panicked. But I can almost reach it-
Time slowed to a stop.
Isagi came to a slow realization, disbelief coloring his thoughts. A feint?
Time sped up again and he could only stare helplessly as Barou’s foot descended on the ball. It shot straight into the top corner of the goal with a blinding white streak of power and light.
Holy crap. Was he aiming at exactly the same spot?
“You're finished, donkey.”
A momentary gap is all he needs to score a goal from wherever he is. Isagi’s heart thundered as his mind raced, piecing the player before him together. So this is Shouei Barou…
Awe coated his tone.
Slow claps echoed around the room as Snuffy smiled, pleased with the boy’s attitude.
Barou fought down a smirk as his chest puffed out, pride blazing like a fire inside him-raw, molten, enthralling.
This. This is what it’s like to be a king! Unshakable. Unmatched.
Before he could voice these thoughts, Nagi’s monotone voice killed every bit of joy he had in him: “You should’ve savored those days, King. You’re never going to get them again.”
Barou felt instant rage, reddening his face and sending his heart rate spiking. The white-haired moron has a unique way of making him want to throttle him. He and Isagi both always knew what to say to bring out the worst in him. (The best too but that was another matter he would die before admitting).
Well, Barou knew how to throw a punch as hard as one he received. “Shut up, left-behind.”
Nagi’s eyes narrowed dangerously. “You too, idiot.” He said but Barou could see his words had unsettled him.
A slow, dark and visceral satisfaction unfurled within Barou. Looks like it still affects him.
“Still sore about being abandoned?” He asked, voice low, almost taunting. “Guess some things do get under your skin.”
Nagi didn’t answer, but his jaw clenched. That was enough, thought. Barou didn’t bother hiding his smirk this time. Good. Let it burn.
“The formula for scoring.” Isagi suddenly recalled Ego’s holographic message to them and something clicked in his brain. His mind expanded to carry him away from the field and into his own world.
Barou tensed. No. There was no way Isagi would have figured out something in that short of a time. Against anyone else, he could see the boy doing it but not against him- he was the king! He won this match!
The knowledge of victory didn’t help him feel better though - it only served to increase his fear frustration more.
But wait. The holographic line in Isagi’s headspace panned out into an entire football field. If Barou has a formula for scoring, then…
Then, what?! Barou silently growled. His leg twitched in the need to kick something, something he didn’t want to name beginning to build up inside him. What did he possibly discover?!
The ball rolled until it hit the back of a pair of shoes, bringing both the walking and the rolling ball to stand still. “I'll stop you this time.” Isagi slowly curled his fingers toward himself, daring -challenging- the other to face him. “Come at me, ‘King.’ I know what you're capable of.”
His voice reeked of quiet power.
It was the kind of acknowledgement that sent chills down all their spines.
Kurona’s pupils dilated, heart racing at the challenge and command.
Tsunzaki Taiga grinned wildly as his golden, spiraling iris lit with an inner flame, brightening it even more. He felt that rare emotion - like a hunter in the midst of a chase - every one of his senses was honing into the moment - the person - and his blood coursed with a wicked rush that drove him almost mad. He wanted to be there amongst them!
Reo’s purple eyes brightened to a fuschia at the temptation. He forced himself to stay still and look disinterested but it still couldn’t kill the glow in his eyes.
“Stop your barking, lowly commoner.” Barou seemed to grow in size, Indigo flares of drive and Ego rippled off his body as he responded to Isagi’s call.
Isagi always seemed to have that kind of… quality. Something about him, whether it was the words, the tone, his eyes - something - called forth a buried thing from deep within them. It dragged it out of them until they were bleeding that hurt, anger, and raw power all over the field.
And Isagi - the sick, sick monster - fed off of it. He devoured it and taunted them and used them and they still came crawling back to him on their hands and knees begging for him to use them more.
“Know your place.” Barou snapped and charged toward isagi with all the might of a wild lion king who knew its strength and position as the feared head of the savannah.
If my hypothesis is correct, he won't shoot from this position.
A wild animal is said to have instincts far greater than a human. It was crucial for their survival in the wild and it’s how the term “hunter’s instincts” was coined. It describes the ability to ‘sniff out’ something out of the ordinary.
“Slightly left-of-center. About 40 to 45 degrees.” A bead of sweat slid down pale cheeks, dripping off a slim, pointed chin.
And Barou, the wild lion, snapped his eyes open wide.
All of Hiiragi Reiji’s predictions and fortune telling abilities died a mystical death as his prophecies ran dry. This boy…
At 23 meters out.
Hiiragi felt a whip cracking in his chest. He was so good at predicting people’s ability - his entire football career was built on it - but somehow with this boy…!
A flame red circle opened behind Isagi in a bird’s eye view the others had quickly come to realize was Isagi’s special trait. From there, an ultra-fast bending shot to the top-right corner….
From there two red lines pointed into a view to the white goal post, a targeting beacon roamed before locking itself into place. That's Barou's guaranteed scoring range!
Barou’s jaw flexed as he ground his teeth. His calculations weren’t right but…
He won't shoot yet. Isagi calculated as Barou dribbled the ball between his feet before evading him. Unlike previous times, he didn’t panic. So it's not like he can score from just anywhere.
….But he had been able to discover too many things too fast! It wasn’t possible. No - it shouldn’t have been possible.
Barou gets a ton of goals because there's an area where the chances of him scoring goes up exponentially. Isagi thought, keeping even pace with the other as he recalled every experience of his past plays with Barou in quick succession. But during a game against opponents, he can't easily enter that area.
So he makes it possible with his burst of speed. That's why he needs that incredible physique! Isagi concluded in excitement. The pleasure of unsolving a mystery pushing him further and further until he was heady on the feeling of a breakthrough. Once he started, he couldn’t stop himself.
The wind rustled the grass as clouds of it whipped in circles around the two players on the field, bringing him out of his flashback and back into his bird’s eye view. By doing everything to get to this area, Barou reproduces his goals. That's the trick behind his formula.
Only my eyes can see that!
Anri bit back a whimper at Isagi’s visage. She always hid behind the blanket when she was watching a horror movie with a boyfriend or someone else. They always laughed and teased her for it, but it was scary!
Now, as she took in sweet, little Isagi’s soulless black left eye that looked like it had been stolen, replaced with the grim reaper’s, alongside his abnormally enlarged right one, she felt her throat close up with the kind of fear that made her forget how to breathe.
He looked like he’d lost his humanity.
Worse, it looked like he’d lost his humanity - and didn’t miss it.
Where was the boy who helped her put things away and politely thanked her for her work?!
If I can keep him out of that area, I can stop him!
Barou’s usual frown suddenly flipped up at the corners.
Anri took back everything she said. Actually, she didn’t, she just wanted to add more please - they were both monsters! She forcefully swallowed down bile as the camera shot up to reveal the eyes of the devil; there was no other way to explain it.
Kami-sama! She prayed, squeezing her eyes shut. Not even a second later an eyelid was pried open by long, spindly fingers and she used that eyeball to glare full force at Ego. She quickly snapped the other one open too and jerked away when she noticed a chopstick moving in her direction…
“Don't get the wrong idea, donkey.” The devil grinned, his voice of gravel raking over Isagi’s skin and bursting his thoughts. “My range is actually…”
A foot shot out before Isagi could even comprehend what happened. His head reflexively followed the sound of the ball as he hit the net precisely where he’d predicted before crashing to the ground.
“23 meters!”
Barou’s lips curled in a feral smile.
He's a monster. Isagi marveled.
Good.
He tilted his head back, red eyes gleaming with challenge and smug satisfaction. “Damn right I am.”
Isagi rolled his eyes with crooked smile.
“Monster?” Teru tilted his head, blinking in considering. “Well, a little bit, I think. But, he also looks like a ballerina, right?” He asked earnestly.
“What?” Barou barked.
Niko whipped his head back to the screen to see it had been rewound and Barou perfectly paused at the moment he had shot the ball.
His right foot was high up diagonally across his body while he balanced on his left toes. His torso was twisted such that his left arm was slung at a downward angle, facing front while his right was stretched straight towards the back.
It did look like he was mid-pirouette.
Now Barou looked more like a beast than a man as his face reddened to the howling cackles of laughter that rose in waves among the audience.
Their eyes feasted in wicked delight at the juicy opportunity.
“Very elegant,” Aryu appreciated the delicacy and precision in the form. Such strength was carefully curated into the perfect precision to achieve this sort of grace. “Very stylish.”
Aryu’s words, while well-meaning, only served to worsen the ongoing delight of the other football players.
“Stylish as hell,” Karasu added, half-laughing, half-impressed. “He looks like he’s about to call for an encore performance.”
Tanaka Shingen sweatdropped while raising a disbelieving eyebrow. Honestly the thought of Barou being something like a ballerina wasn’t very pretty to picture…
“I t-think it’s 'e-en pointe,’ Barou.” Tokimitsu said helpfully, blinking nervously. “That’s the word, right? The ballerina p-pointed toe-thing?”
“Shut up, all of you!” Barou roared, flailing as if he could fight the screen itself. “It was a shot, not a damn recital!”
Even Rin was smirking and that was amazing given that boy never smiled at anything. Instead staring at people like they were bacteria in a petri dish .
Lavinho laughed, “Nothing to be ashamed of, bailarín! Football is a dance you have to learn.” He said, gyrating his hips in his seat. “It’s all about movement. That’s the fun of it.”
Barou looked one second away from committing multiple felonies.
Isagi was now half-crying from laughing so hard. He grinned and clapped his hands together. “Don’t worry. I’ll make sure it’ll pass, Twirling Tyrant.”
Barou seethed. “You’re dead.”
“You’ll have to catch me first - twinkletoes.”
It took a long time to settle down after that.
As I thought…
Isagi’s next words killed their amusements and restored balance.
He's amazing!
The players felt that familiar choking sensation again, as if someone had wrapped a hand around their throat and squeezed.
It was sickening and beginning to occur with frightening frequency.
“Th-Thanks, Barou. For teaching me.” Isagi smiled brightly, a pleasant flush settling over his cheeks as he stuttered in that soft, irritatingly earnest way.
Barou frowned at seeing it now. The urge to shove Isagi into the grass face-down so he wouldn’t have to see it was almost overwhelming. Yeah, it was definitely because he’d pissed him off looking so happy after losing.
“I didn't teach you anything.”
Isagi’s smile fell as Barou kept walking, not glancing back at the boy listening to him closely.
“I just made you realize that I'm on the field. That's more than enough to make a brain-dead donkey like you quit out of despair, isn't it?”
“So cool.” Isagi whispered before raising his voice to be heard. “Even so, thanks!”
Barou tensed before rolling his eyes and shrugging it off with a heavy huff. For as much as Isagi got on his nerves by pestering him or acting like a loser, he made it really hard to stay mad at him. Irritatingly.
Barou didn’t care as he exited the area, but Isagi still smiled, grateful to him.
He crept back into the Team Z sleeping commons and sat down on his futon, wrapping his arms around his knees while everyone else slept silently in the dark.
Only 20 hours to go until the final match.
([Absolute weapon A] A) x ([A situation where “A” can be used] B) = [Mass production of goals] C
He calculated. I get how Barou's formula for goals works now, but his weapon isn't the kind I can copy.
My weapon is spatial awareness.
Kaiser rubbed his chin in amusement at the boy’s logic and jeered at the lack of knowledge and skills. So much left to learn… this is the same person who stole the world’s attention?
An empty puzzle piece remained in the equation. But by itself, it's not something that can help me score.
Isagi’s hand shook as he stared down at it, coming out of his mind. I'll have to find my answer in the game.
He tried to still his hand to no avail; it continued trembling relentlessly.
Am I scared?
Everything gets determined tomorrow. His voice quivered, thinking about the faces of Nagi, Reo, and Zantetsu. My soccer career might end.
If we lose, I'll…
His whispered thoughts faded out as he recalled himself that day after the Ichinan loss. The way tears streamed down his cheeks and his chest hurt so much he couldn’t breathe and how his life was over-
“Hey, Isagi.”
It took a moment for the quiet voice to infiltrate his memories, the pain and detail of them so fresh it blurred with reality.
Delayed, Isagi jerked his head to the right with a startled sound.
“Tomorrow…” Igarashi began with a hopeful smile. He was quivering from head to toe and appeared second away from crying. “We'll have our answer.”
“Igaguri…”
“I can't sleep because I'm too scared.” Igarashi continued, breathing turning into pants. He couldn’t suck enough air into his lungs, anxiety and fear overwhelming him. “If I don't become a soccer player, I have to take over the temple. Blue Lock is my last chance.”
The Blue Lock players listened quietly, eyes fixed on the screen in seriousness and respect. All of them - except perhaps Rin - each of them had to fight for their place here. Whether they were on Team Z, X, K or some other team, they’d also spent nights worrying over their fates just like the two of them.
His smile was barely hanging on by a thread. It was becoming increasingly warped in his effort not to cry. “I never knew the prospect of your dream ending could be so scary.”
This whole program - it had always been about one thing only: kill another’s dream or kill yours.
It wasn’t always the fittest that survived in this hell - it was the boldest. And that boldness that defined them, that had them taking risks; It was everyone’s last chance to prove something. Not to anyone else. Just to themselves.
“I see.” Isagi muttered, the puzzle pieces in his brain that were always forming and reforming put together the answer they always did but this time Isagi could take no pleasure from it. “I'm shaking because I'm scared.
No, you're right.”
Igarashi was so taken aback that he stopped shaking. “Huh?”
“We fight because we're scared.”
The Team Z players listened silently to Isagi’s words, almost every one of them kept awake from the same horrible emotions.
“Fear makes us grow strong.” With every word he spoke, his voice grew stronger, a will and sense of purpose bleeding back into his being and reflected in his tone.
“Isagi…” Igarashi whispered, his voice almost mute.
“We're going to win.” His words came out steel cold. “We're not done yet.”
That, Snuffy thought with a minute smile on his lips, is the mark of a captain.