3.3. Champagne and Death

Y/N lay on his bed, tossing a bottle of water up into the air before catching it deftly in one hand. Up... down. Up... down. Up... down. His other hand held a sheaf of papers, eyes scanning the words and diagrams drawn on it.

Prince's exercise plan was... definitely something. It gave him plenty of free time, and highlighted every single exercise in detail, how to do them properly, and why they were useful specifically for Y/N's body. The majority of them were for the legs, but he noticed a few shoulder and back workouts mixed in.

A ding from the desk in his room alerted him. Slowly, Y/N put down the papers, catching the water bottle again and making his way over to the tablet. The notification glowed brightly on the screen.

EGO JINPACHI JFU

The first Neo Egoist League match takes

place in five days. Bastard Munchen,

against FC Barcha. You're required to

attend this game, as well as all other

games taking place.

Also, you can access the Bluelock

player database on your tablet. It

shows the statistics and abilities of

each player, including you.

Y/N just liked the message in response, humming under his breath. "Bastard is Noel Noa's team... and it has Kaiser in it, right? Then the other team is Lavinho's..."

He wasn't sure what to think of the Master Strikers. They were likely more capable than him - and as hard as that thought was to swallow, he wasn't delusional. But Kaiser... Kaiser was definitely his level. Or lower.

Y/N had been waiting for a chance like this his whole life. To be able to play for himself, without his past dragging him down. To challenge himself against the best players in the entire world.

Flicking through his tablet, he quickly found the player profiles. Everyone he knew had pretty high scores, with Isagi being at B rank with 76 points and Kunigami at A rank with 89 points. Kaiser was at S rank, with a total score of 97 points. That's crazy... how is he that close to 100? Is 100 a perfect player?

Kaiser's individual stats were pretty good too.

Speed - 91

Offence - 96

Shoot - 98

Dribble - 86

Pass - 79

Defence - 74

But as soon as Y/N clicked on his own profile, his face brightened a little. He was ranked above Kaiser, at a total score of 99. Immediately, he began looking through his own profile.

Speed - 100

Offence - 99

Shoot - 97

Dribble - 99

Pass - 75

Defence - 78

There was a little note at the bottom as well, that Y/N's eyes were instinctively drawn to. He read it out, speaking quietly under his breath. "In order to raise stats and become more effective, each of the Master Strikers have personally recommended things to improve."

"Obviously Prince wants me to improve my body... Lavinho wants me to be more creative with my plays... Loki wants me to be more flexible and thoughtful against opponents... Noa wants me to take rational approaches... and Snuffy hasn't got anything for me."

Y/N shrugged. "Pretty much the exact same things they said in that meeting..."

Guess I'll follow this routine to start off. Leaning his arms on the back of his chair, Y/N smiled to himself. Five days, then I won't just show myself off to Japan. I'll make sure the entire world knows who I am.

🥕🥕🥕

"Dearest clients, it is an honour to have you here. I just want to say that first."

A shady private room, in one of Tokyo's most prestigious restaurants, had been rented out. While the restaurant had many different people dining there, most of them ate out in the main room. Smaller rooms like these were reserved for the rich of the rich - or those that wanted to talk secrets.

At the head of the table, Kuroi Jigoku loomed over the rest of the people gathered. He was, as usual, dressed in a black suit, hair slicked back and face calm and composed. Any sign of emotion from the U-20 game was gone. His nose had already set, the crooked position out of place on his otherwise perfect face.

Next to him on his left sat Chiyo and Yamato Mikage. On his right, Eiji and Yume L/N. The rest of the people at the table were from all over the world - international soccer club owners, researchers, and people simply looking to turn a profit.

"Now, I know you're all busy people." Kuroi began. "I myself have a surgery scheduled with one of you to reset my nose. But I called this meeting here, just to... talk some business."

His voice in English was low, quiet. Yet it somehow managed to silence everyone else at the table. A deep baritone that filled the entire room. Underneath it, there was nothing. No emotion at all, except for perhaps a little amusement.

"As we all know." Kuroi weightily said. "The Ascension Project has seen a little... setback. What with the Bluelock Project continuing, we have a competitor. At least, in the eyes of the public, we do."

"But remember. Most of the work we do is out of the public view. We don't need fame right now. All we need is trust, that we will create someone amazing. A person who will take the soccer world by storm, in the process making hundreds of millions." Kuroi played the clients perfectly. Across the table, eyes lit up at the mention of money.

"Thanks to the generosity of L/N Technology in providing a building and land, and to Mikage Corp for providing most of the required tech, the Ascension Project is now underway. Volunteers from all over the world are being flown here as we speak. They're all desperate, and have agreed to go through whatever is required of them."

His eyes flickered from one sponsor to another, snakelike. "So it's just up to you all now. If I remember correctly..." He gestured to a few people at the table. "You're going to work on the players themselves."

Those people were researchers, medical staff, and drug producers looking to test out drugs, and research into human anatomy. Producing steroids and new drugs was a lengthy process, with hundreds of legal procedures. But Ascension was a way to bypass all of that - because the participants had agreed to anything.

It wasn't just medicine. L/N Technology, while already being a leading producer and researcher of biotechnology, was still looking to get ahead of the competition. Usually, athletes would be quickly discovered if they'd had drugs or steroids used on them. But L/N Tech had a way to hide it.

"And you're going to handle security, as well as marketing, and the management of the facility." Kuroi gestured to a few more people. These were corrupt cops, dishonoured yakuza members, and businessmen who simply wanted to make money.

"I expect to see all of you in the facility in three days, yes?" Kuroi leant back in his chair, watching as everyone else nodded. "Good."

"Now, does anyone have questions?"

Silence. Kuroi frowned a little teasingly, lightening his voice. "Come on. I gave you all briefings to read, but surely there's still some grey areas? Don't be scared. I don't bite."

Eventually, one of the businessmen spoke up. "You mentioned Bluelock..." His eyes widened slightly at Kuroi's gaze on him, and he shrank back in his chair. "If they're so popular, how are we supposed to get anywhere?"

"Remember, Bluelock is a short term cash grab." Kuroi spoke. "They're marketing the hell out of it, and using it to entertain people. We're looking longer term. We're looking to make a legacy. So it won't be a problem."

"Uh..." Another person spoke up. "I wanted to operate on some of the participants. We're researching if you can artificially bind muscle fibres into a person's body?"

"As long as you're reasonably sure it'll work, and you're ready to accept the monetary loss if it doesn't, then you can do anything you want." Kuroi casually spoke.

Silence again.

One of the members at the table swallowed hard. The noise was audible even to Kuroi, whose eyes immediately locked in on the person. "Yes?"

"Huh?" The man's head shot up so fast Kuroi thought he looked like a rabbit. "W-what, me?"

"Yes, you. What's the problem?"

"Well..." The man's eyes flickered around the room. Kuroi stared him down. "I don't want to take part anymore. I signed up to work as a doctor, not to illegally operate on people!"

"Illegal?" Kuroi tilted his head to the side slightly, in an innocent manner.

"Yeah, illegal!" The man rose from his chair. "You're sick, all of you. These volunteers offered to be trained to be soccer players, not to be operated on and used as lab rats." The room was silent, in a state of shock.

Kuroi smiled.

The hellish sight was enough to make the man pale with fear. Kuroi also stood up in his chair, towering over the man. "That's where you're wrong, I'm afraid. All of them know full well what's coming to them."

"W-what?!"

"Desperate people take risks." Kuroi licked his lips. "And besides, everyone wants to be an athlete. You make lots of money."

"S-shut up!" The man spun on his heel, making for the door. "I'm done. I might even call the police, you know. So don't even try contacting me." All eyes followed as he made his way over to the door.

"The police...?" Kuroi slowly said. The grin didn't leave his face, Satan's signature spread across his lips.

The door swung open. Waiters flooded into the room, forcing the man to stand to one side. They carried all sorts of food. Steaks... seafood... noodles... soup... and hundreds of side dishes. It wasn't just Japanese food, but Chinese, Korean, and Western foods were mixed in. A true feast.

The man stood to one side as the waiters laid the table in barely a minute, before flooding out of the room. All the clients seemed stunned by the amount of food in front of them, complemented by bottles of wine and whisky, cans of beer and soda, and every drink possible in between.

After the waiters had left, the man tried the door handle. All eyes returned to him as the handle didn't budge. Kuroi pursed his lips. "Door not working? What a shame."

He made a vague gesture. One of the men seated at the table stood up, opening a bottle of champagne and pouring it into a glass. He walked around the table, pouring a full glass for each and every person seated with the perfect manner of a waiter.

"What the hell?!" The man tried the door again. "This... did you do this?"

"You have no right to talk to me about illegal." Kuroi quietly said. "Asai Seiichi, a disgraced doctor who has not only let gangs into hospital rooms in order to kill off injured enemies, but also stolen countless pieces of hospital equipment and medicine to sell on the black market."

The man's eyes widened. "How do you know that?"

"The point is." Kuroi completely ignored him. His palms rested on the table as he leant forwards. "You were rumoured to have fled the country. You're a missing person."

"Yeah, but I stayed." The man angrily said. "I have a family, do you expect me to just leave them alone? They won't have money if I leave them."

Kuroi sighed. "What a shame."

"Shame...?" The man thumped his hand on the door. "I don't know what kind of prank you're pulling, but just because you have dirt on me doesn't mean that I'll hesitate to call the police!"

"Okay!" Kuroi's voice grew more upbeat. As the champagne was all fully poured, he nodded to the man who had poured it. Instantly, the waiter placed the champagne bottle on the floor, reaching inside his dinner jacket. "I think it's time to eat now."

The man at the door shouted across the room. "Eat? You haven't even let me out, you bastard!"

Kuroi just ignored him. Everyone else stood, raising glasses of champagne to the ceiling. The waiter drew a knife from his jacket, holding it loosely in one hand as he slowly walked towards the angry man. His shouts immediately turned to cries of fear. "W-what?! This sicko has a knife! Call the police!"

"A cheers." The noise of clinking glasses filled the room, alongside a wet squelch from the door, and the cries of the man intensifying. Kuroi's eyes focused on the champagne glass in front of him, even as the thud of a body hitting the floor echoed across the room.

"To the Ascension Project."

🥕🥕🥕

"Welcome, all, to the very first game of Bluelock's Neo Egoist League! Today, in the thrilling opener to the hottest soccer league in the world, Spain's FC Barcha stands off against Germany's Bastard Munchen! My name is Natsuki, here with Tereasa, and we're your casters for today!"

"I gotta say, I'm stoked to cast this game. Two of the best European teams, complemented by new Japanese talent! All the details of each team have been sent directly to the BLTV website, where you can view exactly who is playing!"

"Let's welcome both teams to the stage!"

From either side of the field, players began filing in. They didn't greet each other like a normal game, simply hovering in two distinct groups. On one side, Bastard Munchen's team. The only player from Bluelock that had made it in was Kunigami, placed in a forwards position as a support role for Kaiser.

On the other side, FC Barcha had readily accepted Bluelock members. Bachira was right at the front, in the striker's position, and Otoya was on the wing. Both of them seemed comfortable in their team, contrasting Kunigami's exclusion from the team huddle that Bastard were forming.

"Right, let's quickly go through the rules!" The casters had been taken right from the U-20 game, sounding very happy to cast such a high level game. "This game will be first to three goals. There are infinite substitutions allowed, for any reason!"

"Yep! And on top of that, to spice up the games, the Master Striker of each team will be able to join in the game, for a max time of three minutes! This is Bluelock's Star Change system! More information on it is available on the BLTV website."

"That isn't Bluelock's only system, though!" The other caster chimed in. "I know many of you viewers have watched the U-20 versus Bluelock game, and from there, we're bringing back a young Japanese prodigy!"

"That's right! Whichever team concedes the first goal will have the Mercenary, Y/N L/N added to their substitute roster! He's a star player for Japan, and I can't wait to see him play again!"

"Are we ready?" The casters' voices rose with anticipation. Bastard Munchen started with the ball, Kaiser placing it right down in the middle of the field. "Let's get started... Neo Egoist League, Match One begins now!"