[Blue Lock] >
"THE CHOICES WE MADE IN THE PAST ARE WHAT GAVE US THE CHANCES WE HAVE TODAY."
The only thing Jin Saito has ever wanted was to become the best female striker in Japan. So when she's given a special opportunity to attend the elite new c...
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~~~
It was frustrating watching Team Z prepare for the upcoming match against Team V knowing there was no way I'd be able to play. But I did what I could in the gym to stay in shape, biding my time for when I could explode back onto the pitch. My last unsuccessful goal had left me feeling incomplete and itching for more.
Though the doctor had told me to stay away from football all together, I begged Isagi and Bachira to stay a few times with me after practice to pass the ball around. It wasn't much, and at first they were a little hesitant, but how I saw it, anything was better than just sitting around. Though it bothered me that it took some persuading to get the two to join, I knew they only wanted what was best for me. But it still managed to make me angry.
Everything, it seemed, made me irrationally angry while I was injured. So when it finally came time for the match, it was all I could do not to throw on my uniform and march onto the field with them.
"We get our very own little cheerleader!" Bachira cried happily, prancing around the locker room. "I've always wanted someone to cheer for me during a game!" He seemed to be the only one dumb enough, besides maybe Raichi, to say something like that. Which was ironic, really.
I shot him a glare so sharp it could've cut through metal, making him shiver involuntarily, before smiling with false happiness. "I'll gladly cheer for you Bachira! I'll even cheer after I accidentally break your legs!" I said sarcastically, taking a menacing step towards him. He jumped back with a squeak just as Isagi stepped between us.
"I'd really rather not be down another player for this match, Saito. If you get what I'm saying," he spoke seriously, although I caught the ghost of a smile pulling at his lips.
I waved him off. "Yeah, yeah. Just go out there and win this, would you?" I asked, addressing the rest of the team with a grimace. "I want to keep playing just as much as you guys do."
"Don't worry about it, Saito," Kunigami said, giving my good shoulder a pat as he stepped up beside me. "We got this."
"Yeah!" shouted Naruhaya with a grin. "Let's go kick some Team V ass!"
~~~
As the game kicked off, I watched from the entryway leading onto the pitch. Even without regards to their stats, I knew from the looks of it that Team V was going to be a difficult team to beat.
In one of the first plays to start the match, Bachira stole the ball from their number ten, Zantetsu Tsurugi, giving a fantastic long ball across the field to Gagamaru who went for a header towards the goal. It missed by just a few inches, bouncing off the post and out of bounds.
Their number nine, Reo Mikage, seemed extremely excited over that last ball. Though I couldn't make out what he was saying, he was grinning wildly.
When the ball was put back into play, I was shocked to see Mikage take the ball down the field a ways before rocketing it straight to his teammate, Seishiro Nagi. It was the exact same ball that Bachira had sent just moments before, and with a perfect trap, Nagi buried the ball into the back of the net.
