6. Let's Play Tag (Part 1)

Y/N unceremoniously dumped Bachira's body onto the floor, groaning as he shook out his arms and legs. Chigiri just glanced over, feeling sorry for the boy.

"He doesn't look heavy, does he?" Y/N questioned, staring down at the sleeping bumblebee. Even though he'd just been dropped onto the floor, he was still soundly sucking his thumb, curled into a ball. "Or am I just weak?"

He looked at his arms in confusion. They weren't exactly ripped, but Y/N never aimed to get bulky, soooo it was okay, right? He pouted slightly.

Chigiri just chuckled softly, patting Y/N on the shoulder. "You're fine. Maybe he's just heavier than he looks."

Upon reaching the Bluelock facility, Bachira had completely refused to wake up, snuggling into Y/N's side. It stopped both Y/N and Chigiri from getting off the coach, and so Y/N had to resort to carrying Bachira off the coach.

He'd ended up carrying the other boy much longer than expected, through the corridors and all the way to the door labelled 'Team Z.'

His player card read that he'd be ranked 295, in Team Z alongside Bachira and Chigiri. Both were ranked higher than him, which slightly ticked him off, but he just smiled and ignored it.

"Hopefully."

Y/N glanced around the room - a few people were already there, chatting amongst themselves in twos and threes. A line of lockers stood along one side of the room, and Y/N beckoned Chigiri over. "Looks like we all have a locker!"

They walked over, Y/N quickly finding his locker with the number 295 on it. Inside was a form-fitting sort of training suit, as well as a water bottle and a small piece of paper.

He took the paper out of the locker, looking over the words printed on one side.

Leave all personal belongings in the locker, including all mobile devices and jewellery. The only things not going in the locker are your underwear and the Bluelock uniform. All belongings can be retrieved after the project has concluded, or if you are disqualified.

Y/N sighed dramatically. "Goodbye, mindless scrolling." He placed his phone inside of the locker, before peeking around the room.

Nobody seemed like they had their attention on him, so he stripped off his jeans and hoodie, then his t-shirt, shoving it all in the locker as well. Cold air hit his bare skin, and he shivered, goosebumps rising on his arms.

He took out the Bluelock uniform, holding it at arm's length while he looked over it. It was black, with blue lines criss-crossing over it, and as he pinched it looked to be quite thin. Like it was made from some sort of nylon.

And it was probably the most unflattering thing he'd ever seen, hugging the body literally everywhere.

"Hey, tiny!" Y/N yelped, spinning around to see a blond boy stomping towards him. His eyes were narrowed with anger, and his teeth were clenched together, showing pointed, almost shark-like shapes.

"Me?" He pointed at himself, and the blond boy growled - actually growled.

"Yes, you!" He stomped up to Y/N. "What are you doing, just standing there holding the uniform? If you're gonna put it on, stop wasting time preening and do it!"

"Um..." Y/N struggled to find a response. "I was just looking at it. Do we really have to wear it?"

"Better than standing around nearly naked, dumbass!"

Y/N blushed, stuttering slightly. "Y-Yeah, good point." Everyone in the room was watching them, alerted by the noise of the other guy's shouting. "I'll just..."

He turned away from everyone, getting into the suit and placing his arms inside of the sleeves. The material felt extremely light, and it felt cool and somewhat breathable. Huh, not bad.

It did feel a bit funny though, sticking to his skin. Y/N did a few hops on the spot, walking back and forth till he felt a bit more comfortable.

It was then that another boy walked through the door, bringing the total in the room up to twelve players.

Y/N froze. Twelve? He counted them all again, eyes drifting over everyone. The other boys looked relatively normal, with the exception of the shark boy.

There were a couple of tall people, some shorter people, and one or two of them that didn't look like strikers at all. Though, they are in Bluelock, so they must be good, right? He hated to admit it, but also, he was one of the shortest in the room.

"Hey, Chigiri?" He walked over to the pink-haired boy, who had been watching him closely. "Why are there twelve of us?"

"Hmm?"

"If we're all on the same team, then why are there twelve people in this room? There's only eleven on a soccer team..."

Chigiri's face paled. He went to count himself, muttering each number before reaching the same conclusion Y/N had. "They're going to remove one of us?"

"Probably?" Y/N looked around the room, eyes widening with sudden panic. Ignoring Chigiri, he yelled loudly. "Hey, careful where you're stepping!"

He acted blindingly fast. Jaw clenching, muscles tensed, he moved.

One second, he was standing in front of Chigiri. Next, he was twenty metres away, with his hand placed on a surprised boy's chest.

The pink-haired boy blinked in shock. Just how fast had he gone? "Y/N?!"

Y/N shoved the boy backwards a bit, pointing down at the floor with one hand. Bachira was curled into a small ball, his brown-blond hair splayed out over the floor as he continued to suck his thumb. "Careful!"

It was the newcomer to the room - a medium height, relatively normal looking boy with blue eyes, and dark blue hair. He stumbled back a bit, even though Y/N hadn't really put much force into the push. "Sorry!"

He sheepishly rubbed the back of his neck, seemingly recognising Y/N. "Hey, you're the guy that walked up to Ego first, aren't you?"

"Yeah? What about me?"

"Oh, nothing." The new guy flushed red. "Just thought it was cool. Y/N, right?"

Y/N nodded, smiling at the boy in an attempt at reducing his embarrassment. "You are?"

"Isagi Yoichi."

"Nice name!" Y/N grabbed Chigiri as the pink-haired boy walked over to them, throwing a casual arm around his shoulders. "This is Chigiri Hyoma, the best soccer player in the world!" He said in a half-joke.

"Maybe in another world." Chigiri teased. "Besides, you haven't even seen me play. Maybe I'm worse than a middle-schooler, you never know."

"Nope!" Y/N grinned. "I believe."

"I'll prove you wrong then." The pink-haired boy squished up to Y/N, pretending to glare down at the smaller boy.

"You'd do bad at soccer just to spite me?" Y/N faked an expression of hurt, rolling his eyes at Isagi who just watched with a curious, yet confused expression on his face. "Woooow... I'm injured."

Isagi left a moment later, walking away from the pair (and the sleeping bumblebee on the ground). There wasn't much to do except get changed.

Y/N had quickly lost interest in whatever Isagi was up to. Instead, Chigiri and him were messing around, laughing to each other. High above on the wall, the screen crackled, and a familiar face appeared.

"Have you finished changing, diamonds in the rough?" Ego was still wearing the black shirt from earlier.

Y/N glanced towards Isagi, who was trying to get changed into his Bluelock uniform at the same time as trying to hold a conversation with a small, kind of goblin like boy, and that white-haired guy from earlier. Kira... Ryosuke?

"Hello, hello." His attention was drawn back to the screen as Ego waved. "The guys in this room are your teammates, as well as your roommates. However, they are also your rivals."

Ego raised one hand, and a hologram of a player appeared in his palm. "You have all been classified and given a rank based on your skills and analysed performance. This is displayed on the side of your uniform."

Pulling his own shoulder into view, Y/N huffed under his breath at the low ranking. 295? Out of 300? Really? He pouted. "Not a very good analysis, is it?"

Though, it would help me blend in. If I have a low rank, I can go unnoticed for longer...

"Your ranking can change depending on your performance in games and training." Ego flicked his wrist, changing a number on the hologram. "The top five players in Bluelock at the end of the program will unconditionally be allowed to play on the Japanese U-20 World Cup team."

The man didn't seem to note the excited gasps coming from around the room. "Though. If you lose at Bluelock, you will never get the chance to play for Japan ever again."

Y/N stilled, meeting Ego's eyes on the screen. Higher stakes now, huh? I'm not surprised though - the more important each game is, the harder people will work.

"What you need to gain here is Ego. I will be testing you on that, right now."

Smiling grimly, Y/N turned to face Chigiri. "Guess we were right about that test."

Ego's voice rang out across the room, cold and menacing.

"So, let's play tag."