Locked Out(A Blue Lock Story)

Chapter Two - Team V

    

The lengthy man walked out on to the stage as the lights in the auditorium dimmed and a spotlight shined on him. He had his hands jammed into his pockets and he was hunched over in a sickly manner. He turned towards the ground and spoke as he reached the center of the stage, addressing the people that filled the auditorium.
     "Hello and Congratulations, my little diamonds in the rough. You are the 300 forward strikers carefully chosen through my arbitrary and unbiased decision. And I am Jinpachi Ego, the man hired to ensure Japan's future victory at the World Cup."
     Lonnie looked around, seeing all the different assortment of people, realizing that he was in a room full of Strikers like himself.
     There was a lot of murmuring going around regarding the likelihood of Jinpachi Ego's words. They seemed skeptical, however Lonnie stayed focused.
     "It's simple really" Ego spoke again. "To ensure Japan's victory and strip away the World Cup from the World's hands, Japan only needs but one thing: The birth of a revolutionary striker. I will be preforming an experiment to turn one of you 300 into the single best striker in the world. HERE at this facility. . . Blue Lock."
     Ego pointed to the white wall behind himself and a picture of a Pentagon shaped building followed by a couple of side pictures giving a quick look at what resided within the facility showed up on the projection.
     "Starting now, you will be living together here and undergo the same specialized training I've devised to transform you. You won't be allowed to go home, and your previous football careers will be a mere memory. But I promise you this: If you fight hard enough, if you survive to be the last man standing out of the 300 candidates assembled here, you WILL be the greatest striker in history. That's all for now, it's been fun."
     The lights came back on and the whispers around the room picked back up again, nothing more than a loud whisper.
     Suddenly, the whispers were broken up by a lone player who stepped up and spoke his mind.
     "Uhm.. excuse me but are you just expecting us to leave our teams behind? I mean my team just won the Spring Championship and now we're going all the way to nationals. Do you really expect us to just ditch it all for some stupid experiment?" The enthusiastic striker from Okamitsu high spoke up and caught the attention of a few others who ended up joining him in his protest, announcing their own convictions to a bothered Jinpachi Ego, who scratched his head and groaned, raising his hands out in front of himself and making a fanning motion
"You are seriously ill... Lock Off. Anyone who wants to leave can go. . ." Ego spoke so coldly and his words carried. He added, "But are your perspectives truly THIS limited? You'd rather be the top high schooler in this football backwater than to be the world's best striker?" Ego gasped a bit before continuing, "The future of Japan is in YOUR hands? It's enough to make a man weep."
Ego put his hands back into his pockets and paced the stage.
"Tell me, what is football about? It's about scoring more goals than your opponent does! The truth is if you score the most goals, you're the best plain and simple. So if you're looking for a fun game with your buddies, then Lock Off."
The same enthusiastic player from before spoke up again, in a more agitated manner than before, "Our team is not weak.. IT'S FULL OF BRAVE ATHLETES THAT FIGHT TOGETHER AS A SOLID UNIT OF ELEVEN!" The player gritted his teeth
Ego scratched his head again as he responded, "Japan's team isn't weak, huh? . ." He put his hand down and picked his head up, showing off a mischievous smile "Do you mean the same losers that haven't claimed a single World Cup? YOU'RE EITHER THE BEST THEIR IS OR YOU'RE TRASH, got it?"
Ego kept talking but Lonnie tuned out, thinking on his previous words for a solid minute. 'More Goals. More Goals. More Goals.' Thats the only thought that was spiraling through Lonnie's mind, as he was unable to think of anything else. It was the only thing that mattered. More goals.
Lonnie was so wrapped up in the Ego's ideology that he began to have a conversations with his own thoughts. Lonnie opened his eyes to see a blank white space, and standing before him was none other than himself. This mirror version of Lonnie was eyeing the real Lonnie down with this menacing glare, and spoke a thousand words without saying a thing. Lonnie understood clearly.
Snapping back into it, Lonnie came back to hear Ego wrap up his speech.
"GO MY LITTLE DIAMONDS IN THE ROUGH! BE TRANSFORMED!" Ego shouted as he sprawled his arms out to the side, allowing for the white wall behind him to open up and reveal a pathway.
Lonnie grinned and stayed still as he watched the other contestants pushing past him frantically to get inside and prove themselves. When the room was cleared out, Lonnie and his challenging grin stared at Ego, who had glared back with a similar grin.
"What? You need further explanation or something?" Ego questioned, putting his hands into his pockets.
"Nah. Just wanted to let you know that I have nothing to lose. Save your speeches for the trash players, I'll be claiming that #1 Striker spot soon enough." Lonnie chuckled as he walked past Ego.
When Lonnie and Ego were side by side, Ego mumbled, "Yes. That Ego of yours is blooming. You'll do just fine here.... Lonnie Aoi." Ego gave a small chuckle.
Lonnie walked through the doors and they closed behind him. He took a deep breath in his new environment and huffed out the air.