Chapter 10

-Third Person POV-

“talking”

‘thoughts’

Kuon: “To commemorate the victory of Team Z’s second game…”

Sitting around a small table with food spread all over it, Team Z raises their drinks and exclaims loudly.

All: “CHEERS!!”

The Team digs in, sharing their side dishes and the steaks Kunigami, Isagi and Gagamaru bought for the rest of their team.

Igaguri: “I forgot how good meat tastes!”

Naruhaya: “nom nom nomm!”

Gagamaru: “Gah! That’s the meat Isagi, Kunigami and I earned for our goals! We said you could eat some, but leave enough for us!”

Standing up, Gagamaru grabs Naruhaya and tries prying the, already eaten, steak out of his mouth.

Kuon: “Alright everyone, let’s calm down okay? There are plenty more dishes to try besides the meat, so don’t fight!”

Iemon: “We’ve even got Natto!”

Igaguri: “Hey guys! You can have some of my pickled daikon too!”

At the monk’s offer, the rest of Team Z turns away, pretending to not have heard it.

Gento: ‘Fuck that!’

Kunigami: “Anyway, you really stepped up at the end, Isagi. I actually thought Bachira’s pass missed after Gento couldn’t get to it.”

At this Gagamaru, who still has Naruhaya in a headlock, looks at the goalscorer.

Gagamaru: “Same here. Did you know where the ball was going?”

Isagi: “Nah, not at all. There’s no way I could’ve known, of course, but I was just running because I wanted to score, and I thought maybe the ball would end up there, It was sheer luck it ended up that way.”

Bachira rushes over, nearly knocking over Gento, who was sitting next to Isagi.

Gento: “Dude-“

Bachira: “I saw you, Isagi!”

Holding out a fork, with a bit of steak on it, he continues.

Bachira: “That’s why I passed it to you! I made the right choice!”

Gento: “Eh? You didn’t realise that we basically repeated what we did against Team X?”

Isagi: “Wait… What?”

Gento: “Yeah, you know me dragging the defence away from you, before Bachira sends a ball towards you and you just…” *mimicking an explosion with his hand* “Shoot it.”

Hearing this Isagi kind of just stares at the younger striker, who stares back at him. Their staring contest gets interrupted by Bachira waving his fork around.

Bachira: “Enough serious talk, Here comes your reward Isagi, say ahhh!”

Isagi: “It’s okay, Bachira… I can eat on my own.”

Bachira: “Don’t say that! Eat, eat, eat!”

Gento: ‘He sure is interesting that one…’

Bachira continues to try and shove the fork into Isagi’s mouth, not being a fan of Bachira shoving things down his throat, Isagi actively dodges the fork.

Bachira: “Ah ha, gotcha!”

The bumblebee yells, whilst stabbing the fork into Isagi’s mouth, suddenly Bachira manages to form a coherent thought.

Bachira: “Wait a sec…”

He turns towards Gento, who was eating his food, whilst silently judging Bachira.

Bachira: “How come you didn’t buy a steak?”

Gento: “Didn’t feel like it…”

Narrowing his eyes, Bachira leans his face closer to Gento, who looks to the side.

Bachira: “You’re not lying to me, are you Gen-chaaaan?”

Gento: *sigh* “… I wanna get my phone back… So I’m saving up my goal bonuses…”

Bachira: “Eh?”

Before Bachira’s interrogation can continue Kunigami speaks up, dragging Team Z’s attention towards him.

Kunigami: “I honestly think Isagi’s weapon could be that “Goal Scent” he mentioned before.”

Gento: ‘Thanks for the save Ichigo’

Kunigami: “I mean, I can’t say for sure since it’s something he would know best but it felt like he saw that last goal coming from a mile away.”

Kuon: “Now, then with this game won, Team Z lives to see another day!!”

*Flash forward to night time.*

Gento is seen lying awake whilst the rest of his team was still sleeping.

Gento: ‘I’m going to cut that bald headed monk’s dick off if he doesn’t shut up in the next fifteen seconds’

Igaguri, who was mumbling in his sleep, had managed to kick Gento in the head waking him up and now, the continued mumbling about pickled daikon was keeping him awake.

Gento: ‘Would I get in trouble if I suffocated him with his pillow? Ego wants us to trample eachother… he should be supportive of murder if it helps me become a better striker…’

Out of the corner of his eyes, Gento sees that Isagi, who was sleeping on the other side of Igaguri, had also been woken up by the restless monk. Gento jolts when Isagi suddenly shoots up into a sitting position.

He watches as Isagi slowly makes his way out of Team Z’s room.

Gento: ‘I could follow him…

Nah fuck that!’

Standing up Gento drags his futon over to Bachira, promptly lying down next to the boy and lying down.

Gento: ‘Hopefully the weirdo doesn’t kick wildly in his sleep.’

*Cut to Team Z’s training field, early the next day*

A still somewhat sleepy Gento, currently playing defense and standing near his own penalty box, watches as Isagi shoots the ball, slightly missing the goal in front of him.

Igaguri: “‘Kay Isagi, you missed, So it’s time to swap!”

Choosing to ignore, the most likely idiotic conversation that was about to start, as is common with conversations involving the monk, he turns towards Chigiri who was actively staring daggers at Isagi’s back.

Gento: ‘What’s up with him?’

Gento walks over towards the long haired boy tapping him on the shoulder, causing the reddish-pink haired boy to look at him.

Gento: “You good, Chigiri? You look like you’re ready to stab Isagi.”

Chigiri: “Yeah I’m fine, don’t worry about it.”

Gento: ‘Yeah very convincing princess…’

Gento: “You sure? If something’s wrong then-“

Before the white-haired boy could finish his sentence the monitor on the wall turns on, revealing Ego, who was currently eating some instant ramen.

Ego: “Greetings, you unpolished gems.”

Gento: ‘Can you, I don’t know, maybe not talk with food in your mouth?’

Ego: “I knew it… This blend of sauce and mayonnaise hits the spot. Anyways the sixth match just ended. Here’s the current standings.”

Rank 1 – Team V – 6 pts – +12

Rank 2 – Team Z – 3 pts – +2

Rank 3 – Team W – 3 pts – -1

Rank 4 – Team X – 3 pts – -2

Rank 5 – Team Y – 3 pts – -11

Ego: “Until now, it was your performance and plays that determined your spot within our Blue Lock ranking, forming our teams. But the fundamental criteria of your rank is a striker’s greatest strength: their goals.

This is your new ranking Team Z:”

265 – Isagi Yoichi

266 – Gento Hirako

267 – Rensuke Kunigami

268 – Gin Gagamaru

269 – Meguru Bachira

270 – Wataru Kuon

271 – Jingo Raichi

272 – Okuhito Iemon

273 – Asahi Naruhaya

274 – Hyoma Chigiri

275 – Gurimu Igarashi

Gento: ‘Huh?! How the fuck is that guy ahead of me?!’

Seeing as he is only the second highest ranked player within Team Z, Gento gains an irritated expression on his face. However unbeknownst to him Ego gains a small grin on his face, seeing the young striker’s irritation.

Bachira: “Agh! I’m lower now!”

Gagamaru: “Oh! I rose a few.”

Raichi: “Fucking hell…”

Igaguri: “I’m still dead last!”

Ego: “I believe I have told you that a weapon is merely the first step a striker must take in order to thrive, but such a treasure cannot lay stagnant once acquired. As such, your next step is to hone your weapon and make it exceptional.

Consider Argentina’s Lionel Messi. Taking in his power at a glance, his weapons are his quick-touch dribbling and his left foot’s outstanding shot speed. With those peerless weapons, he climbed to the very summit of the world’s finest players. In other words, he has dominance over every other top striker.

The weapons you carry vary from person to person. It then follows that the methods to hone said weapons differ with each and every one of you. Simply following the same steps Messi took will result in your weapon being wasted.

Your own unique weapon, the core of your very foundation will evolve into an even greater asset only with its strength multiplied in this manner.

You must seek your own playstyle and make it exceptional. Unpolished gems are nothing but dirt until their talents have been honed to crystal clarity.”

Upon finishing his speech Ego vanishes as quickly as he appeared leaving a countdown on the monitor.

Next Game – Match 7

Team W vs Team Z

Time until Kickoff: 23:59:58

Making his way towards the exit with most of his Team, Gento is lost in thought.

Gento: ‘What does Isagi have that I don’t? I scored more than him, I have more assists, hell I’ve been a better defender than him.’

Suddenly stopping, seeing as the rest of his team aside from Chigiri run back on the field to follow Isagi, he becomes even more irritated.

Gento: ‘Without me that fucker wouldn’t have gotten that goal, so why are they so hung up on his goal?! I’m the first to score against Team X and they only cared about Kunigami’s goal. Without me that game against Team Y could have gone either way…’

Quickly changing and moving towards the cafeteria to grab something to eat his thoughts continue to run wild.

Gento: ‘I don’t blame Bachira, he seems to do whatever the fuck he finds the most fun, he’ll probably hop around me at the end of next game, but the others? I work my ass off so that they actually get a chance to shine, yet they don’t give a shit?

Am I doing something wrong? What is it that I’m missing, or are they just to blind to realize my input?’

– End of Chapter 8 –