"Congratulations, you unpolished gems." An ominous voice resounded through the enclosed establishment, its undeniable source being a tall, bony man who appeared from thin air on the stage. Along with his sudden appearance, active chatter from below the podium vanished as well.
Silence dominated the dark room as he was obviously waiting for someone, that person joining him seconds later, the sound of her shoes getting louder as she made her appearance from behind the red curtain.
Her cold eyes glanced at the chosen strikers, and her face barely showed any emotions at all. Such a gaze was enough to make anyone shiver. As soon as she stepped into the spotlight beside the man, he resumed talking with a voice so stiff as the girl's face. The resemblance between the two's behaviors was unmistakable.
"I am Jinpachi Ego, the one that hand-picked all 300 of you, strikers under 18. My job here is to make Japan a team capable and worthy of winning the World Cup." He stopped for a brief second, observing the reaction from the teens, yet a quick glance at his sister's unamused face was everything he needed to continue his speech.
"In simple terms, Japan only needs one thing to become the strongest. That is a revolutionary striker, which is my mission to forge here in this project. We have built a facility for this project only. This is Blue Lock." His figure moved, introducing the structure of Blue Lock, shown on the wall behind him in great detail.
The facility was definitely a strange construction, its pentagon shape raising some eyebrows in the crowd. As for the buildings, they seemed to have multiple training grounds, gyms, basic necessities such as a canteen, and of course, the many very essential football fields.
"Starting today, you'll all be living in Blue Lock, following a strict training regime, personally designed by me. You won't be able to go home for the entirety of the project, and your football careers are as dead as they can be. But I will say this: the last player standing will truly be the best striker in the whole world. That's about it. Nice to meet you all." The upper part of his body leaned forward, bowing modestly at the youngsters, whilst the silhouette of his sister remained arguably the same. Her eyes still observed the sight carefully, nothing of importance catching her interest, and she audibly sighed.
Yet this was only the calm before the storm.
"Hey, there's no way we can accept these terms. A lot of us will participate in the nationals. Our teams have priority, and I will not abandon my own team like this." A certain, light-haired boy spoke up, chatter emerging from the others beside him that gained courage soon after. To that, Jinpachi Ego simply scratched his head in confusion as his headset got snatched from his ear and the mic screeched.
"That's why you're not the best in this room. No one's keeping you here, so get lost. There are too many of you guys anyways." A new voice spoke up, monotonely, this time the girl that so innocently stood on the stage like a porcelain doll for what seemed like an eternity.
She stared the guy down, as if she was looking right into his soul, her gaze piercing through him. It felt like she had an almost visible aura, and her (e/c) eyes had a unique shine to them. It was practically unnerving how calm, yet angry and bitter she seemed, only from a few words spoken, and the sheer contrast between her facial expression and her words was way too unsettling for a first impression.
"If to you football is only teamwork, you're wrong. Your teammates are dummies that you keep molding, yet you, as the player that scored the most goals, you're the star. Truthfully, you're the team. Teammates are unpredictable, so unless you mold yourself to fit and adapt to all roles and possibilities, you're just an average player." She shrugged as the boy's teeth clenched, his fury slipping through his actions. It was an amusing sight for sure, as her lips soon curled into a nice, rosy smile.
"Take that back! You can't talk like that about any of us, especially those that shape our national lineup. Those are our stars! Who are you to talk like that about them?" The facade of Kira Ryosuke cracked little by little, resentment flowing like a river, as it was always in his veins to begin with.
"I'm the person that could take any of you down, one-on-one or with a whole team behind you, Ego (Y/N). You guys lack egoism. As petty as it is, it's fundamental. If you're not bold enough to steal the ball from your own teammate to score, what makes you think you can steal it from your adversary? Throw away all of your common sense and live for the excitement of a new goal, whatever the price of it might be, that's the point of Blue Lock." Words spilled out of her mouth with a hint of sweet honey, and the tone of her voice lead them onto what they thought was but a twisted ideology. Yet in her eyes, it was more of a lifestyle than baseless principles. It was more than they could ever imagine.
"Now make your choice. Are you the egoist Japan needs, or just a dummy? You decide for yourself." Silence flooded the room as a huge door opened behind her, and slowly but surely, steps were drawing closer to the door. As the first person passed through, more and more followed. In any other case, the lack of individuality would be considered almost comical, looking like a herd of sheep walking into the unpredictable unknown.
(Y/N)'s figure remained still with a smile plastered on her face as the teenagers got pushed around on their way to the door. From all the pairs of eyes she managed to get a look at, one of them finally caught her interest. Her heart beat out of her chest from the excitement those teal eyes provided her. Her hand reached out to his shoulder, turning him around with one swift movement.
"Hey, what's your name?" She looked up at him, getting a better look at his features. Dark hair, distinct eyelashes, and a tall, slim build. By the looks of him, her gut feeling told her that he was the one. His eyes were as cold as ever, and she just couldn't shake off the feeling of excitement.
"Rin. Itoshi Rin." He answered after countless moments of confusion. His expression was hardly readable, yet her smile remained spot-on at the sound of his name.
"Cute. See you around, Rin-rin."
YOU ARE READING
𝕬𝖈𝖈𝖎𝖘𝖒𝖚𝖘【Itoshi Rin x Reader】
Fanfiction|| accismus /ækˈsɪzməs/: a feigned refusal of something earnestly desired. || In which (Y/N), the younger sister of Jinpachi Ego joins him in the Blue Lock Project as his little helper at his request. Through the bitterness and anger of her otherwis...
