Dream on || Blue lock x Reader

6. Us and Them

"Hey there, diamonds in the rough! The second selection's third stage starts here." 

Ego's voice rang through the room, as the six of you watched the man with a bowl cut. You had an idea of what was to come, and what the challenge of the next stage would be. I mean, why else would Ego choose to wait till another group came to explain the rules of the game. It was obviously going to be a 3 vs 3 game.

"The third stage is a mini game style battle and the team that scores 5 goals first wins. " He continued. "Although, this is by far a normal 3 vs 3 game. The winning team will pick one member from the losing team and steam him for your own team, forming a team of 4."

Ah,so that's what he was planning. It was an interesting twist on the single-elimination type of tournament that was normally presented. A pretty forgiving system too... for Blue Lock standards. Still, you wouldn't want to be caught in the position of a 2 vs 2 game, that would be pretty risky.

"By rising up in the stages, you'll increase the number of teammates by one each time. The team that creates a team of 5... will have cleared the second selection. However, the losing team will have to go back to the previous stage, and end up as a team of two."

Ego's voice seemed to drop an octave and an ominous feeling had washed over the room.  "The moment you lose a 2v2 match, the person who's not chosen in the end will drop out."

Although Ego's voice had gone back to normal, the tension in the room was still heavy. Whichever team won, would be putting the others in serious risk of getting kicked out.

"This is where you rob each other of rivals. The true form of the second stage is a "rivalry battle". This way you're free to pick whoever you want, to be your opponents. The match will only be made if both parties agree to it."

You fell silent as Ego's explanation ended.

Now that you knew the rules, a shameful thought had entered your head. What if you were to throw the match...

If your team lost, not only would your friends be able to pass but they would probably pick you too. Getting to play with your friends and being able to move up the ranks? That was your ideal situation.

But then again, what if they didn't pick you? Then you would be screwed. This "ideal situation" was a complete gamble, and with someone like Rin also on your team you doubted they would choose you over someone like him, especially if you purposely tried to lose. 

On the other hand though, if you won that would be putting your friends at jeopardy, and whoever you don't pick might hold a resentment towards you. Agh, you really oughta just wait for your friends next time. If Reo could see your internal dilemma, you were sure he would be laughing his ass off.

Nagi's voice cut through your thoughts. Instinctually, your head turned towards the source of the voice.

"Since we steal someone by winning... it might be good to fight against a team with members we'd want to get" Nagi said, voicing his thoughts out loud. You could have sworn that he glanced at you from the corner of his eye, though perhaps you were just delusional.

As you turned back to face Ego waiting for a response, Nagi's gaze stayed on your form. He would be lying if he said he wasn't just a little bit annoyed you chose to pair with these strangers, rather than waiting for him. Though, he really shouldn't have been one to complain considering what he did to Reo. Even so, his emotions always seemed to rule over his logic when it came to you.

Nagi was going to win his [Lastname] back. That was a promise to himself, and to you.

"Exactly." Ego said, confirming Nagi's line of thought. "The key to clearing this stage is picking your allies. And to represent that, new Blue Lock rankings are being announced. Your ranking will be in order in which you cleared the first stage."