Blue Lock: 13 Steps

Sayonara

Sho wasn't sure how long he stood there, looking at Chigiri while he ran up to his teammates and celebrated with them.

One thing he knew for sure was that he hated that twisting feeling of his stomach and the distaste left in his mouth.

"We tried our best, right Sho."

The heterochromatic eyes of Sho blinked in surprise at the sound of Junichi's voice. He loosened his balled-up fists and steadily turned around.

Junichi grinned at him. He was slightly exhausted as he wiped the sweat off his forehead. "You're not upset, Junichi? Both you and Team W won't be able to play in Blue Lock anymore." Sho ushered the rest of Team W as he broke the news to Junichi.

"I thought I'd be more upset but to be honest, after watching you play I knew I couldn't cut it," Junichi admitted. A sudden crackle was heard from the big television against the wall as it displayed the score of their fourth match and Team V's third match.

The rest of Team W crowded both Sho and Junichi as some of them began to either cry or scream in angst at their untimely end. As they let out their pent-up emotions Sho turned to Team Z celebrating, high-fiving each other, and was met with a dreadful memory he wishes he forgot.

The memory of defeat during the Nihon Sageru Tournament resurfaced. He vividly remembered the cries of happiness from Shutoku's players and the heartbroken looks on his teammate's faces, easily comparing it to this moment.

"I'm so tired of this," Sho aimlessly spoke as he patted his teammate's backs and peeked over his shoulder in disdain at Team Z's joyfulness.

A few more minutes passed until their cries were stifled. Team Z was long gone from the field, now celebrating the rest of their victory in their locker room. "Come on, let's get off the field and get some food," Sho declared as he held his stomach and walked off the field.

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In Fifth Stratum's Dining Hall, Sho walked along the concrete walls until he found his name with a metallic button next to him leisurely pressing it. After nearly 3 minutes a warm bowl of rice and General Tso's chicken passed through a small hole in the wall.

Since no one else on Team W wanted to eat, Sho found a quiet corner in the dining hall and ate by himself. Many thoughts of his new weapon crossed his mind as he aimlessly grabbed another piece of chicken with his chopsticks.

After 10 minutes, Sho finished his food in peace and deposited it back into the small hole in the wall, and then went on his way out of the cafeteria.

"Don't you dare mock football!" Was heard from across the dining hall as Sho backpedaled from the exit. He stealthily leaned against a nearby vending machine and peaked past it.

Sho noticed Isagi confronting Team V but was more interested in the player that latched onto another's back. 'Nagi.' Sho predatorily stared as he remembered Nagi's extraordinary weapon from tape. A ripple pattern momentarily flashed over his eyeballs but immediately reverted to his normal heterochromatic eyes.

Soon after he finished snooping around, Sho walked over to most of Team W packing their bags. "Why are you guys packing so soon? I thought you guys had a few more days?" Sho said as he shut the sliding steel door behind him.

"That's what we thought but Ego just broke the news to us and said we had to pack up and leave by tonight."

Nearly 30 minutes went by as everyone finished packing and sat by their futons and talked to one another about the small number of matches they did play together. Everyone was surprisingly in high spirits as they all faced the television.