25. Revealed Lies

Team Z's dormitory was silent, at 6:29 in the morning.

The boys lay out on their respective mattresses, snoring away after their draining training the day before. Most of them lay snug under their covers, with the exception of Bachira who had his arms flung to the sides like he was imitating an aeroplane, and Igaguri who was somehow sleeping on his neck and back, with his legs stuck into the air.

Y/N slept soundly, curled up catlike smothered in blankets near the edge of the room. As the clock hit 6:30, the lights flickered on above, and a soothing chime of electronic bells rippled around the room.

"The first selection is now complete." A calm electronic voice rang out from hidden speakers.

Groaning softly, Y/N stirred under his blankets, attempting to get under them to get out of the light. He whined, hands pressed firmly to his ears. "Five more minutes..."

The electronic voice didn't care one bit. "Those who have passed, please put on your training gear, and come to the central basement area of your building by following the lights on the wall."

All around Y/N, Team Z was waking up. Naruhaya cheered tiredly. "It's finally over...!"

Gagamaru nodded along with him. "It is... over."

Next to Y/N, Raichi sat up in a sudden blur of movement. Y/N didn't notice, still trying to go back to sleep as Raichi yelled out beside him. "Took those bastards long enough. If it'd taken a day longer, I'd have trashed the whole damn place."

"Don't be so loud, please." Y/N squirmed inside his blanket, hands now covering his eyes in an attempt to get rid of the light.

"I'm with you." Iemon didn't seem to hear Y/N. "I'm going to take away everything those higher ranked players have."

"Alright!" Igaguri screamed, making Y/N sigh and finally remove the blankets. No point in trying to sleep when I'm surrounded by idiots. "What's so good about being ranked high anyway?!"

Team Z's room became a hive of activity, extremely quickly. Most of them were itching to touch a soccer ball again, rushing to put on their uniforms and to get out of the room. Others, like Y/N, were still trying to get awake.

He rubbed at his eyes drowsily. Passing in front of him, Bachira dropped a pile of Bluelock uniform on him, smiling cheerfully. "I got your uniform for you!" The bumblebee sat next to him on his mattress. "Are you excited?"

"I would be more excited if it wasn't half six." Y/N sighed again, blinking sleep from his eyes as he picked up the uniform.

"Of course." Bachira crossed his legs, examining his own Bluelock uniform with wide, childish eyes. "But maybe the second selection takes a lot of time, so we need to wake up early."

Y/N just shrugged.

He took off his sleeping clothes, quickly changing into the tight-fitting, soft clothes they usually wore for training and matches. Everyone around the room was doing the same thing, just much, much faster as they rushed to get out of the door.

Before they could, Kuon and Kunigami both stopped them. "Let's go down as a team. Show some respect to your fellows."

Y/N took his time, zipping up the uniform, pinching at the sides and around the joints to make sure it fitted him well. He was still trying to wake up properly, and headed over to the bathroom to splash water on his face.

When he'd finished, drying his skin quickly with his sleeve, Team Z had gathered at the door. Isagi grinned widely at him, tugging on his wrist to pull the small boy out of the door. "Ready, Y/N?!"

"Mhm, sure, whatever." Y/N rubbed at his eyes again, yawning.

Isagi had no clue what to do. Y/N wasn't at all taking it seriously, and looked like he'd rather be asleep in bed. He internally panicked. Does Y/N not like soccer? Does he have an ego like Ego said all good players do?

They walked as a group down a set of stairs, following the lights. Like everything else in Bluelock, the walls were a boring slate grey, broken only by the lights glowing gently every so often. The air was comfortably cool, like everywhere else, but it was charged with an electric tension as they fixed their eyes on a wide set of doors.

Everyone was hyped up. Isagi stared forwards with wide eyes, as if he could see something nobody else could. Bachira's hands fidgeted constantly, and Gagamaru kept clapping for no apparent reason.

After a short walk, in which everyone grew ever more antsy, they emerged into a huge atrium.

🥕🥕🥕

Team V was already there, along with the three individual top scorers. It seemed like they'd entered from the same doors as Team Z, standing in a small group by themselves. Nagi's white hair and Reo's purple were easily identifiable, and next to them the imposing figure of Barou towered over everyone else.

"Hiya!" Two of the Team V boys approached them, smiling. They seemed a lot more casual now, one of them pointing with his thumb over his shoulder. "We've been waiting a while. I think you're the last team to arrive."

"That would probably be Y/N's fault." Bachira giggled. "He's a big sleepyhead."

"That's the kid that scored those two crazy goals against us, right?" One of them checked. "Is his leg alright?"

Y/N, hearing his name, emerged from the back of Team Z's small group. "Hmm?" He drowsily looked over to the other boys.

"Y/N." Reo walked over to them, the rest of his team following behind like lost sheep. "You haven't eaten with me for a while." He sounded oddly stern, but in his haze of sleep the other boy couldn't pick any of it up.

"Mhm. Training was tiring."

"All the more reason for you to eat the best food." Reo replied curtly. He smiled, patting Y/N's shoulder. "Whatever, but I'm feeding you again during the second selection."

"Sure..." Mumbling under his breath, Y/N turned to look at the rest of the large room.

It was shaped like a pentagon, with double doors embedded in each wall. Large black screens overlooked the entire room, and the ceiling was practically made of lights with how many there were, making the white, polished floor and walls glow.

A small blue arrow in one corner of the pentagon pointed towards another set of double doors. Each of the main entrances seemed to have a small group of boys standing by them, but this last door had nobody. That's an exit?

As Team V and Team Z joined into one larger group, huddling together as they watched the people from other buildings, Y/N began to spot things. Despite his tiredness, he smiled to himself.

That's Team W there, and Team X. But those guys aren't from our building, so I was right. The rankings are fake.

Overhead, each of the large screens flickered on with a chime. Ego Jinpachi shimmered into view, waving with a bored expression on his face.

"Hello there, diamonds in the rough." He lowered his hand, all five screens acting simultaneously as he stared at them from all angles. The players looked up to him, each group watching a screen. "Good work on your physical training."

He raised a hand to his face, brushing away some hair. "If you're smart, you'll have noticed there is nobody from Buildings One, Two, Three or Four in here. That is because only Building Five exists in Bluelock."

As murmurs of shock spread through the room, many of the players turned to other groups, surveying their ranks and names displayed on the sides of the uniforms. Ego held out a hand, a hologram appearing. "You all believed you were at the very bottom of the pile, and fought like dogs to get through the first selection."

Shouts of anger, annoyance, and surprise echoed through the hall, as gradually, people realised that everything they'd been told was a lie. Ego had to have a microphone somewhere in the room, because he nodded his head, listening.

"Yes. That's right. It was a lie I'd set up to destroy your half-baked confidence, and give you the hunger to become the best in the world." As Ego spoke, eyes lasering into each player, Y/N watched him carefully.

And here I was thinking the JFU got more humane. He sighed, taking advantage of his tired mind to try and get the memories of Ascension out of his mind. Bluelock is better, but it looks like they still haven't gotten rid of the habit of hurting people.

The shouts only increased, with people crying out in outrage. They seemed to despise being lied to, despised being put through the nine days of physical training. A boy near enough to Y/N on Team V was especially angry. "What the hell?! We're not your toys, creep!"

Ego was quick to strike back. "Idiots. I'm calling your sentiment, your comfort half baked." He effectively silenced the entire room with a few words. "Listen. Let's take Noel Noa as an example. Right now, he's considered the best striker in the world, but he grew up in a slum in France."

A few pictures flashed onto screen, a picture of Noel Noa being the first. The best in the world... While most people saw the tall, pale man as their idol, Y/N saw nothing more than a rival. Next, came an image of a grimy, crowded street, dilapidated houses lining each side.

"Surrounded by crime and poverty, the only way to change his life was with a ball. Soccer was literally his only option. Countless strikers around the world share similar stories. That is what gives them immeasurable hunger for goals, and drives them to become the best."

Ego reappeared on screen. "You were all born and raised in Japan, living a cushy, easy life. You have no true hunger for goals, and that is why Bluelock is here. In fact, you all came here wanting to beat the people ranked higher than you, believing you could win."

The noises of protest had died down a lot. Everyone seemed fixed on his words, hanging on to each sentence. "That hunger will change the world."

He sat back. "We will begin Bluelock's second selection."

"The first selection was about finding what it means to be a striker, and turning zero into one. The second will be about fighting to turn that one into one hundred on a cutting-edge training field."

He held out an arm, another hologram appearing. This showed a pentagon in the middle, with five small squares surrounding it. "There are five stages to the second selection. If you pass, you can take part in a training camp with the five of the best strikers in the world that I have personally handpicked."

With a whirring mechanical sound, the floor near the blue arrow opened up. Baskets of soccer balls rose to the surface, lining the arrow. "That's all I have. When you're ready, go through the gate alone. This selection exists to get rid of any trash. If you got carried by good teammates, you're in trouble."

As Team Z talked to each other, Bachira and Isagi sharing a nervous glance, Y/N slowly plodded forwards. He waved tiredly to the group of players, heading directly across the centre of the room for the blue arrow.

"Hey, Y/N?" Chigiri called out to him. "What are you doing?"

Confused, he paused for a second, glancing back. "Doing what he told us to do?"

"What about the rest of us?" Reo spoke up, eyes locked with Y/N's.

"I'll see you on the other side, won't I?" Y/N felt a small smile growing on his face. "Or are you too weak?"

"Never."

Y/N's eyes drifted to Niko, who stood with Barou watching him. The young boy mouthed a 'good luck', and with that, he was continuing on his journey to the next selection alone.

Before he could get to the arrow, a taller player stepped into his view. Y/N checked the side of his uniform as the boy turned away from him with an arrogant, cold expression, picking up two balls from the crates.

"Hi, Rin Itoshi." He said a quiet greeting to the other, but his sea green eyes seemed to completely avoid him. It was only the two of them standing anywhere near the exit.

The boy placed both balls on the floor. He stepped back, completely ignoring Y/N as the smaller boy tried to get his attention.

Rin kicked one ball, using the top of his foot to send it into a clean, high arc nearing the top of the video screens Ego had been displayed on. The noise echoed through the hall, and every player gathered there was drawn to watching him and Y/N.

The second ball, he kicked hard and fast, hitting the corner of the ball to make it spin wildly through the air. The players' eyes tracked both balls as the first one slowed down, colliding with the second as another thumping noise rang through the room.

Y/N tilted his head at the show-off, as he walked to the double doors completely ignoring him. "Open the door." Rin's voice was calm and measured. "I'm done with my warmup."

As if they'd heard him, the two doors slid open. A dark corridor was the only thing on the other side, and Rin walked directly into it without hesitation.

All eyes were left lingering on the door, a few moving to Y/N as he stood on the blue arrow, near the door.

The name Itoshi Rin appeared on a small screen above the exit, with the familiar Bluelock logo. Murmurs spread through the hall at the name, but Y/N didn't understand why.

He tiredly shrugged, taking out a soccer ball from the nearest basket. Everyone watched him, probably wondering what the hell he was doing, but he just ignored them.

The first ball, he sent all the way to the other side of the room. It was a hard, fast kick, sending the ball to the opposite wall.

As soon as the first had left his feet, Y/N grabbed a second, kicking it into a steep curve that went straight up above his head.

With a third ball he quickly fished from the basket, he tossed it into the air next to his head. Y/N let himself fall backwards, placing both hands on the ground behind him. A jolt rushed up his arms, and he kicked off the ground.

The resulting bicycle kick sent the ball flying towards the closest wall to Y/N. He dropped to the ground, brushing his hands slowly against his uniform as he walked down the blue arrow.

Behind him, he heard shocked yells, even a cry of outrage as he neared the door. The sound of balls colliding rang loudly through the room, but he didn't need to turn around to see what he'd done.

He already knew. The first ball would bounce off the far wall, colliding with the second that was hovering in the air in the centre of the room. The impact would push the second directly into the path of the third, and therefore all three balls would collide midair.

"I must look hella cool." He muttered, not turning around as the entire room erupted with surprise.

The door opened, and Y/N walked into the darkness.