45. Weapons

"I'm sure you're all wondering. Why was Sae Itoshi here, in Bluelock? And why did Y/N L/N go with him?"

Later that night, the now 34 players sat in a classroom-like room. Rows of seats faced a screen, each one with a table in front of them. The tallest people sat at the back, the shortest at the front.

On the screen at the front, Ego Jinpachi was sat in his normal chair. He wore the exact same black shirt as normal. "Well, it's a simple answer. Sae has expressed displeasure with the quality of the Japanese U-20 team."

Everyone's eyes were fixed on Ego. "So a compromise was made. Sae would get to choose one Japanese player to play with him, on the U-20 team. If we didn't agree to the terms, he wouldn't play, and therefore the match would be cancelled. So I did."

"Sae didn't choose any of the professional Japanese players. He didn't choose any retired players, up and coming talents, or any of you. No, out of the entire country, Sae chose Y/N L/N." Ego observed the reactions in the room with a cold gaze.

"Y/N L/N will play against Bluelock, for the U-20 team."

"I'm sure you're confused. Why him and not you?" A few players nodded. "Aside from the fact that he scored three goals completely solo against the World Five, this is where what I was talking about earlier comes into play."

The screen switched off Ego's image, turning into a digital timeline. The Bluelock logo, labelled underneath as 'current time', was in December. "Remember how I said Bluelock is the second attempt to train talent?"

The timeline changed, going back eight years. A new logo popped onto the screen, one of a shrine. Like one they would see in temples, a podium dedicated to some obscure god. "Eight years ago, on the same day that Bluelock began, there was another project, run by the government themselves in a pathetic attempt to invest in the growing soccer market. They called it the Ascension Project."

The screen changed. An audio file played, filling the room with a quiet, hopeless voice. It was dated six years ago.

"Ascension, day seven hundred and fifty three." It was a man's voice, low, tired, and completely out of energy. "That's it. It's over... they've had enough. They're shutting down Ascension."

There was a long pause, a shaky breath. "I... We should've expected this. It was already getting bad, losing out on Kaoru, Daichi, and Takehiro. But they were only the third, fourth and fifth ranked. It could still continue, but like I said last week, it was Julian Loki leaving that pushed the government over the edge. We spent so much money on him, and he just left us all for France. Ungrateful brat."

"And now they're investigating." The voice sighed, a rush of static coming through the microphone. "They say we're not allowed to do what we do. They're calling it illegal. They don't realise what we're trying to do here. They don't understand us!"

It raised suddenly. A few boys jumped with surprise at the sudden outburst. The man in the file was breathing heavily. "They don't understand it. They want to jail us. Kuroi is safe, that bastard. But the rest of us are going down the drain. They're trying to take Y/N away from us! He's all we have to show... he's staying right here."

The man sounded rabid. He was breathing heavily, his voice growing with intensity the longer he spoke. "I'm not going to jail. I'm not. They say the project was unsuccessful, don't they? Well, I have the proof that it was! Who cares if we lost everyone else, we've done it. We have what we came for."

"Y/N... he's the last one. Everyone else is gone. So the project is finished. He's beaten Ascension." There was a soft chuckle, laced with venom. "Take that, idiots! You think just because you're shutting us down, you've stopped us? Even if we're all dead, as long as Y/N lives, it's proof! We succeeded."

"But I'm not going to prison. Never." A dull thump sounded. The sound of nails on wood, as the man breathed heavier. "Let them try to take me." Another dull thump. The audio clip clicked, and ended. Ego's image returned.

The room was silent, and shocked.

"That was just a small audio clip taken from one of the main organisers of Ascension." Ego looked unfazed as ever. "Apologies for how disjointed it was. Unfortunately, the man was beginning to go insane by the end of the project."

"I hope you got the gist of it, though. Ascension was a two year long project that ultimately was shut down before it could finish. It gathered the top 1000 young talents in Japan, aged nine to eleven, and trained them in order to produce the best striker in the world."

He let that sink in.

"If you think Bluelock is brutal, Ascension would ruin you. The project was illegal in so many different ways, traumatising most of the boys involved, even if they were only there for a few days." Ego listed a few things on his fingers.

"Illegal experimenting, dangerous and illegal drug and steroid usage, conditions harsher than they were in the army, constant pressure and danger, and physical, mental, and verbal abuse. Those things are some of the things that happened in Ascension, to a bunch of kids half your age."

Ego sighed. He rubbed the bridge of his nose, the most emotion some of them had ever seen him show. "Y/N is the sole winner- no, survivor, of that project. And he is playing against us. As such, I've enlisted some... help."

His lip curled with obvious distaste. "Kuroi, come in."

All eyes flicked to the room's side. A door opened, and, stooping a little in order to get through, a man came in.

The only way to describe him was dangerously attractive. He wore a completely black suit, physique visible through the thick material. Dark eyes stared out into the room, and his black hair was slicked back. He looked more like a model than Yukimiya did.

Yet as soon as he started talking, there was something about him that made the front row of players stare with fear. A sharp, terrible lilt in his voice, he spoke. "My name is Kuroi Jigoku. And I am the man that spearheaded the Ascension project."

He waved a hand dismissively at their stunned looks. "Don't trust what the government says, and don't trust Ego. He knows nothing about the true nature of Ascension. He has no idea what I was trying to do."

"I hate to get someone like him in," Ego muttered. "But you'll need the help."

Kuroi smiled. "Before we start, any of you fancy signing up for a new project I'm going to work on? It's gonna go live in about... three weeks and three days."

The room was silent. Kuroi wasn't fazed. "No takers?"

"Just get to it already." From the screen, Ego snarled down at him. "I asked you to talk about one thing only."

Kuroi just chuckled, a low laugh beginning in his chest. He nodded once, focusing on the players. "Well. I'm here to tell you all about Y/N L/N's soccer."

The room was silent. Everyone watched him, some with fear, some with nervousness, some with interest. In the front row, Karasu clasped his fingers, predatory gaze fixed on Kuroi as he drew in the information. Niko, in the back, had his hands clenched, breath shaky as he stared at the monster at the front of the room.

Shidou licked his lips once, reclining in his chair. Isagi listened attentively with wide eyes. Chigiri looked like he was about to punch the lights out of Kuroi. Nagi was half asleep. And Reo's eyes were widened, recognition dawning in them at Kuroi's features. The purple-haired boy tried to wear a mask, tried to not show the sudden tornado of emotion that sprang to life inside of him.

He knew him. The man that had caused so much trauma to Y/N. But he hid it.

"Let's start off simple. While most people have one, maybe two weapons, Y/N has multiple." Kuroi's eyes scanned the assembled players.

"First off, is his next level speed, and agility. His top speed is on par with players such as Julian Loki, from France, and his agility is unparalleled. There are maybe three players in the world with his kind of movement."

"His second weapon is what I call Metavision. He's always called it by a different name, though. Essentially, it's where a person's brain and eyes have evolved into an almost godlike vision of the field. You'll know it if you achieve it."

Kuroi nodded. A small, predatory smile came onto his lips. "The third ability is his shooting power. Y/N boasts some of the best shooting power in the world, in both his left and right feet. In that, he is on par with strikers such as Adam Blake, Dada Silva, and perhaps Michael Kaiser."

The room was in silence. They'd heard so much over the past few minutes, it was terrifying. Since when had Y/N been so good?

"And despite all that, he would only be an above average pro." Kuroi smiled. "The thing that puts him far above them? The thing that lifts him to the level of players the media calls the New Gen XI? Perhaps even above those, to the level of pros like Marc Snuffy, Chris Prince, Noel Noa, Lavinho?"

"It's his innate nature to be unpredictable, to nearly anyone. Even Metavision users will find it nearly impossible to read him. He's a destroyer of soccer. A completely uncontrollable entity, to both his team and the enemy."

"Thank you, Kuroi. Now be quiet." On the screen, Ego drew the players' attention back to him. "So that's Y/N strengths and his history. But we're not interested in that. We're looking to try and win against him. We need his weaknesses."

"It's not going to be an easy fight." Kuroi added. "Even with full knowledge of what he can do."

"If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles." Ego said.

There was silence.

Eventually, Ego and Kuroi both spoke. Their voices spoke together, as one. Every striker in the room listened.

"So here's how to destroy him."

Ascension - A Bluelock x male reader story.

Act 1 - Completed.