BLUE LOCK - a place where soccer is more than just a sport and a future of worldwide glory is within grasp. Desperate to prove her worth and break barriers, Keiko Iteya fights to hold her own in a rigorous competition against 299 young men in Japan...
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The next day came and per usual, no one wanted to battle our team despite Aryu's efforts to convince them. This didn't surprise me and I was secretly hoping no one would dare challenge us until Isagi and Nagi caught up. My words to the Rin the night prior may have gotten through based on the way Rin was acting today. He seemed more in thought and even sat next to me at lunch, immediately steering away all lingering eyes that had been locked on me. I didn't mind this and even smiled to myself, eating my lunch quietly until Bachira caught up to us.
"What do you think Isagi and Nagi are doing right now?" Bachira asked me as Aryu also sat down, the two across from Rin and I.
"Probably trying to figure out how to get here. If they've won the rest of their games, then we can probably expect someone to show up tonight," I said absentmindedly as I tried to scoop up some rice. "Given the whole 24 hour rule." I tilted my head and chewed my rice before adding, "How are you going to feel, Sunshine-kun, if we have to play them again?"
Bachira gave me a wry smile. "This is Blue Lock, Keiko-chan. I'll feel conflicted but I'm here to play soccer, first and foremost. I'm sure that's how you felt when you played against us the first time."
I nodded. "This is Blue Lock." My eyes shifted to Rin. "How about some more practice after this?"
Rin looked at me and nodded once before staring back down at his food.
"Iteya-chan, you should work with me on evasive maneuvering," Aryu told me and blinked thoughtfully. "Taller opponents, like myself, will always have an advantage over you. But given your smaller figure, you are likely to be faster. Practicing together would benefit the both of us."
"Okay sure, Aryu," I agreed with a nod. "Bachira can work with Rin while we work together."
After lunch, we changed into our training uniforms and moved to the training field. A warm up was followed by us running some more plays. Rin and I stormed the field against Bachira and Aryu, sinking ten lovely shots into the net. Then we split up into the pairs we discussed at lunch.
I decided that working with Aryu was actually nice. He was a lot taller than me and had an enormous reach. The practice against him would benefit me greatly against larger opponents. I was able to get around him a couple of times and other times he completely cut me off and stole the ball. It was a momentary decision of reaction when two opponents like us met on the field and how the ball was played. In the end, I think I actually was able to help Aryu a couple of times as well.
After a few hours of work, I decided to hang it up for the day. Aryu decided to join me in a return back to the room while Rin and Bachira opted to stay and train some more. Aryu and I entered the main room that was beginning to fill between the people who had been stuck in this stage and new teams arriving. I was walking through the space, my gaze fixed on the door leading back to the rooms with Aryu striding behind me when I heard my name called.
