2.21. Standoff

"W-what?!"

"He missed?!"

"Not only that, it looks like the ball has hit a manager for the Bluelock team?!"

"Did he purposefully shoot for him? Surely not...?!"

Everyone was on their feet for two reasons. One, that Y/N L/N, the newest Japanese prodigy, had just fired the ball off the field. And two, that the whistle had blown right after, and the match was over.

Bluelock players streamed onto the pitch, colliding with each other as they screamed out congratulations, exchanged hugs, and tossed water bottles to their fellow teammates. On the other side, the U-20 players let out sighs, hands on hips as they sucked in huge lungfuls of air.

And up above, the commentators were trying to figure out just what had happened in the last minute of the game. "It looks like medical staff are headed to that manager's location... there's a bit of a nosebleed at least, but it was a powerful shot, maybe there was more damage?"

"It looked like maybe he wanted to pass to a teammate on the wing, and overshot it? The manager simply got unlucky?"

"Oh, I have no idea! But anyways... with Isagi Yoichi's shot on goal in the last minutes of the game, Bluelock takes the victory, 5-4!"

As they spoke, voices nearly overlapping with their excitement, the players of both teams formed lines, Rin at the front of one, Aiku at the front of the other. They walked forwards, passing each other as they exchanged quick words and handshakes.

And right after, they broke off. Isagi was swarmed by teammates, huge smiles on all of their faces as they laughed, dizzy from the victory. The U-20 team was a little more reserved, a few faces of worry. Because Bluelock now controlled the U-20 team, they could choose who played and who didn't in the World Cup.

Isagi found Igaguri yelling into his face. "This is nuts, Isagi! They're calling for you on TV!"

"Huh?" The teenager found himself dragged to his feet, and shoved over to the side of the field. A camera crew was waiting, as well as a man holding a microphone. His legs moved automatically, even though they were on the verge of collapse.

The man grinned, white teeth easily visible. "Ah, here he is! Isagi Yoichi, the player who scored the final, winning goal for Bluelock!" He took a few steps forward, shoving the microphone into Isagi's face.

"Please, let us know your feelings on that match! Did you enjoy it? Because I certainly did!"

Isagi was caught completely off guard. "Uh... yeah... happy..." He stammered. "I'm very happy with it..."

The man winced a little bit at the response, but did his best to keep his smile up. "You certainly looked like it, and so did your teammates! And I'm not surprised, because with this, Ego Jinpachi now controls the U-20 team!"

"Yep."

"So, here we've seen just a little of the talent that the Bluelock project has been cultivating. May I ask, what other goals does this project have? Or more specifically, what are your goals as a player?"

Isagi paused for a second. He glanced around. The entire crowd was cheering, for him, and for Bluelock. The name Isagi Yoichi was being thrown out everywhere, and he knew it wouldn't just be in the stadium, but all over the country.

From now on... my goals. To Isagi, it was clear what he wanted. It had been clear ever since he'd joined the Bluelock project.

"Win..."

The reporter moved the microphone a little closer. "Sorry, what was that?"

"Bluelock will win the U-20 World Cup." Isagi hesitated. "We will... no, that's not quite right."

"Then, what is?"

Isagi took a deep breath.

"I will lead Japan to victory in the World Cup."

🥕🥕🥕

Y/N had lost. But for some reason, he didn't feel so bad about it.

He grinned to himself, remembering Kuroi's expression. Hunched over, both hands to his bloody nose, glaring at Y/N with an expression that promised revenge. But he didn't care, because it was the first step.

Y/N wanted to be free. And to him, disobeying Kuroi's order to score was the very first step.

Every person he shook hands had something to say to him. Some of them were happy, some of them were concerned, some of them were gleeful that they'd beat him. Well, only one, and that was Raichi.

"What was that last shot?!" The blond boy burst out laughing, holding onto the handshake was much longer than was needed. Y/N stopped, the two of them locking hands as the entire queue of players behind them had to pause. "You fumbled the entire game with it!"

Y/N coolly met Raichi's eyes, his own completely calm. He didn't regret it. "I did, didn't I..."

"Huh?"

"What?"

"You're not angry?"

"Why would I be, when I got what I wanted?" Y/N let go of his hand, continuing down the line to shake Reo's, then Nagi's hands.

When he passed Chigiri, though, the princess leant in close to his ear. "Stop by our changing room when you're done cooling off? Anri's going to give us our phones back, and then we're headed back to Bluelock."

Y/N took in his bright pink eyes, and hopeful voice. He grinned. "Sure, I'll come along!"

When the two lines of players separated, and Isagi was dragged off to his interview, they began walking back to their changing rooms, down the same tunnel they'd entered from at the start of the game. Despite the loss, there wasn't much animosity between the two teams, besides healthy banter.

Aiku was speaking quietly to Rin, smiling at the younger Itoshi's lack of emotion at the win. Barou was trying to intimidate Niou, and the man was doing the exact same back. Shidou and Sendou were both trying to see who had the larger biceps.

Y/N was surrounded by his former team from Bluelock, chattering animatedly with them. A bumblebee on his left, a princess on his right, it was exactly as it had been when the Bluelock project started. Though, most of the players were giving him... almost pitying looks.

Sae held back, just watching him from the back of the group. Y/N looked much better than he had during the game. Kicking the ball at that psychopath must have been therapeutic. He didn't mind that he'd lost - the game wasn't serious at all to him, and was just a way to see Bluelock in action.

It was good to see him happy, though.

"Where do you think you're going?"

A quiet voice echoed down the concrete corridor. The players at the front of the group all stopped. The players behind them, confused at the lack of motion, were forced to stop as well.

Five people stood directly in the centre of the corridor, blocking the path. One man in a suit, the front of his white shirt bloodied with drops of crimson, and tissue paper held to his nose. Then, on either side of him, two pairs of one man and one woman. They all wore expensive clothing.

Behind them, seven more men. All of them wore the exact same suit, trousers and shoes, everything a dark shade of blue. They had the same hairstyle of a buzzcut, and even the same bored facial expression.

The Bluelock players immediately recognised the man in the middle. Kuroi, the head of the Ascension project, and the one that had trained Y/N L/N. His dark eyes burned with fury, and his previously perfectly symmetrical face had now been ruined by the gruesome, crooked angle of his nose.

But it only took them a few seconds to realise that the others weren't just nobodies. On Kuroi's left, the brown-haired man, and purple-haired woman were some of the richest, most successful people in Japan.

They owned a lot, especially in the Tokyo area. Chiyo and Yamato Mikage, the owners of Mikage Corporation, a company valued at over a trillion yen.

The man and woman on the right were even more well known. Famous not just in Japan, but across Asia for their huge advancements in specialised technology. Security... industry... AI... and most importantly, biotechnology.

Eiji and Yume L/N.

Kuroi was the only one speaking. "None of you are going anywhere, until he shows up."

Sae's eyes flickered to the side, instantly finding Y/N. He made the connection near instantly. L/N Technology...? Are those the parents he talked about? Sae pursed his lips. Thankfully, Y/N was hidden behind quite a few taller Bluelock players, as well as some of the U-20 players. He wouldn't be instantly spotted.

With the sound of a little shuffling, Aiku stepped forwards out of the group to address Kuroi. "He? Gonna have to be a bit more specific." Calmly, with a small smile on his face, he gestured around. "And we really do need to get past, take some showers. I can smell my own team without even trying."

Kuroi ground his teeth. "You know. Y/N L/N."

"What do you want him for?" Aiku's smile grew wider. "Not anything funny, seeing as you felt the need to bring seven bodyguards with you."

"What we want him for is none of your business."

"Actually," Aiku put on a nasally tone, raising a finger and scrunching his face up. The Bluelock players had been giving Kuroi death stares, but a few smiles broke out at Aiku's complete lack of seriousness. "Bluelock won. So they own the U-20 team, so I'm technically his teammate."

Y/N wanted to move. He'd seen the group of people, and at first had tried to walk out into the open. But Chigiri had grabbed him, guiding him by the arm to hide behind Barou's towering frame. Barou glanced down at them, rolling his eyes. But he stayed put, covering Y/N.

"Who cares?" Kuroi snarled. "He has to come with us."

"Has to?"

"He has to."

"Oh, yeah?" Aiku raised his gloved hands to his mouth. Using his teeth, he pulled them off, balling the gloves up before tossing them to the floor. "Who says?"

"I say."

The voice was new, from Yume L/N. The woman who Sae assumed was Y/N's mother. He stared her down, watching with barely concealed disgust as the woman spoke. "I'm Y/N's mother. And I'm saying, he has to come with us."

It was Sae's time to step up. He spoke in a quiet, controlled voice. "Clear a path."

The group of players moved to either side of the corridor. Sae strode right down the middle, stopping a few steps away from Yume. "My name is Sae Itoshi. I'm a midfielder for La Real."

"Yes, yes, I know who you are. Where is Y/N?" The woman brushed him off. Sae didn't give her anything.

"Why does being his parent mean you get control over him?"

"We have legal ownership of him." Yume answered coldly. "He's our child. If he doesn't show his face right now, we'll just call the police. Tell them you're keeping him against his will."

Sae could've laughed. Instead, he just scoffed. "You? Call the police on me?"

"They'll go for whoever pays more." Yume's face was set in stone. So was Sae's.

"They'll go for who they think is right." Sae replied. "And you are very much wrong."

"Excuse-"

"Shut up." Sae cut the woman off, drawing an astonished look from her. She probably wasn't used to that. "The U-20 team did some background checks into Y/N L/N. According to the law, he has no legal ties to L/N Technology, and certainly no ties to Yume and Eiji L/N."

"We're his pare-"

"Shut up." Again, Sae cut her off. "Y/N L/N lives in an apartment owned by him, paid for in cash and is as such untraceable. He goes to Hakuho High School, and his fees are paid monthly, from an anonymous source. There is nothing that links him to you, and as such, you have no say in what he does."

"Who do you think pays for that school? Who do you think bought the apartment? Who do you think gives him money to live on every month?" The man stepped up. Eiji L/N... Sae's face was made of iron. "If we have no say in what he does, then we'll just stop giving him funds then."

"Sure."

"S-sure?"

"Sure." Sae shrugged. "Stop giving him money. He doesn't need it, not with a national soccer athlete's salary. And certainly not with support from me."

There was silence for a few seconds. Eventually, Chiyo Mikage quietly spoke. Everyone glanced at her. They now understood why the L/N family was there, but not why Mikage Corp was with them.

"Reo, dear? Point out Y/N for us." She moved her hand forwards. Three of the suited men walked right up to her side. "These men will take him off your hands."

The attention swapped to Reo.

The purple-haired boy had been trying to stay silent, keep his parents' piercing gazes off him. As the players gradually looked towards him, he gulped, trying to not look at Y/N behind Barou's back. The other boy was wisely staying silent.

"Reo. Now."

He met his mother's eyes. "I can't..."

"I said now, Reo. That means now."

"Why are you even here, huh?" Reo burst out.

"Why, we're sponsors." Chiyo smiled. "For the Ascension Project. You would know that if you attended the business meeting three months ago."

The corridor was deadly silent again. Mikage Corporation... L/N Technology...? Sponsoring Kuroi? It would make sense, how Kuroi managed to restart the Ascension Project.

Moving forwards, the three suited men attempted to move closer to the mass of players. Sae and Aiku simply stepped into their path, unbothered by their opponents' glares. In fact, as the entire group of bodyguards moved forwards, more and more players faced off against them.

The air was charged with tension. Both Bluelock and the U-20 far outnumbered Kuroi and his sponsors, and everyone knew it. But neither side was willing to back down.

Until Ego Jinpachi appeared.

WIthout even needing to say anything, the players made a path for him. He walked slowly straight down the middle, his bony hands in his pockets.

"Well, Kuroi. You lost. How is your nose?"

"Give me Y/N."

"No."

Ego walked straight past two bodyguards, not even looking at them. His eyes were fixed right on Kuroi. "Why should I? You deceitful, greedy, dogmatic, weak-willed bitch."

It wasn't like Ego at all to insult someone. But he had a very... specific idea behind it. The words even sounded awkward coming from his mouth, but he knew Kuroi wouldn't notice. As soon as he moves... I can strike back.

Kuroi clenched his teeth. Ego smiled cruelly. "You look better with that broken nose. Matches the rest of your ghastly face."

And for Kuroi's inflated ego, that was too much. He swung straight for Ego, his fist moving in a powerful arc. The Bluelock players started forwards, moving straight for the bodyguards. But they didn't need to.

As muscular as Kuroi was, as powerful as he looked, and as strong as he behaved, he was nothing compared to Ego Jinpachi. The man stepped aside, avoiding Kuroi's swing, and kicked out with one leg.

He hit right behind Kuroi's knee. Said knee buckled, and as the man collapsed, Ego's leg moved forwards. He smashed his foot right into Kuroi's face, aiming for his already damaged nose. A crack echoed through the corridor.

Kuroi collapsed to the floor, bleeding even more and wholly unconscious.

Calmly stepping over his body, Ego beckoned the players to follow him. "I believe you have changing rooms to be. You stink of sweat."

With that, they started walking forwards. Hushed murmurs broke out, building into awed chattering as they strode right down the centre of the corridor.

"Did you see that kick?!"

"I hope his nose is shattered."

"I would've done it if Ego didn't."

"Yeah, right. You'd get laid out before you could even land a punch."

"Look at them, cowards. They don't even want to fight."

"I was hoping for a scrap. Would've been fun."

"Well, we know who the dumbasses that sponsored Kuroi are now."

"Who's Kuroi?"

The bodyguards pressed themselves to the walls, not even trying to go against the over forty strong group of players. Both the Mikages and L/Ns were forced to do the same. As for the boys, the joyful, excited mood returned as they continued down the corridor, voices echoing off the concrete.

"God, I need a shower."

"Hell yeah, you do."

"Wanna do it together?"

"That's gay."

"Not if you have socks on."

"It's a bro thing, right?"

"Yeah. You have pretty eyes, by the way. I'd hit that."

"Ay, same!"

"But in a bro way, right?"

"Of course."

And right in the centre of the players, with a huge smile on his face and hop in his step, Y/N's heart was lighter than ever.