Blue Lock: 13 Steps

|| A Rare Recurrence ||

"I'd say I was upset, but I'm not—later." Otoya smiled, thinking about the road ahead. "Hey, wait up for me."

He jogged in Sho's direction, entering the winner's gate, leaving his fallen comrades to think for themselves.

"Fuck, I would've slaughtered them if you've just passed me the ball." Baro angrily yelled while grabbing the collar of Bachira's shirt, "You're just a shit underling that doesn't know when to bow before greatness."

He looked into Bachira's now devastated eyes and sighed.

"You really are hopeless," said Baro, easing the grip off his collar.

He stomped off the field towards the loser's gate and aimlessly said, "Join me when you're ready to win."

But just before entering the loser's gate, he peeked over his shoulder and watched as Bachira stood unmoving in the same position, immediately pitying him.

'Why do I feel like I'm missing something important.' Thought Bachira, as a tear threatened to fall from his eyes. 'I couldn't even create a chemical reaction... like Sho and Yukimiya did. If I lose the next one—that'll be it for me.' Bachira surveyed the area, confirming no one was in earshot before a spine-chilling scream left his body.

Bachira erratically breathed in after that scream, then began gathering himself while he wiped a stray tear from his cheek.

After his episode, he got up and loosened the laces to his cleats.

A sigh of relief escaped as Bachra followed Baro's footsteps leading him to the loser's gates. A sensor detected his presence as the gates automatically opened, revealing a medium-sized room in the shape of a pentagon, with a big black star painted on the floor. Robust, uncomfortable chairs also littered the room as Baro remained in one silently, closing his eyes, thinking to himself. Bachira sat in a chair and, without delay, the gates to the second stage opened, revealing a tall player with pitch-black hair. His long hair matched both his painted nails and his piercing eyes.

"This isn't very stylish, is it?"

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"You think he made the right decision?" Asked Yukimiya.

"... Yeah, I don't think he'd be the one that would play favorites."

Karasu closed his eyes before leaning back into the cold concrete walls. Silence filled the air until both Karasu and Yukimiya heard faint footsteps from across the narrow hallway.

"So Sho, you've been in there for a while," it had been a few minutes, "Who'd you get."

Yukimiya's voice echoed through the narrow hallway as Sho entered his view. Sho gestured the ok sign as Otoya peeked over his shoulder. After he caught Karasu's gaze, Otoya walked ahead of Sho and waved in Karasu's direction. As they approached the end of the hallway, Otoya reintroduced himself to Yukimiya, while Sho noticed the sign above the steel gate they were about to enter.

'Second Selection, Fourth Stage, Entrance.'

Sho pushed the steel gate ahead of him and held it open for everyone else as they set foot in the slightly bigger room from the previous one. As they entered, one of the many ninety-inch monitors in the room turned on, revealing Jinpachi Ego.

Everybody gave Ego a staredown before they wordlessly sat in the many comfortable chairs littering the large room, giving Jinpachi their undivided attention.

"As you can see, no one has yet to join you in this stage of the selection so. You'll follow the arrows towards your living quarters from the 'Breakroom Gate,' then return here in exactly eighteen hours from now."