Ascension│Bluelock x male reader

4. The First Step

Eventually, the hall filled up, and as the last few people trickled in through the doors, the trio of boys found themselves hemmed in by the crowd. Y/N took Nagi's phone, making the tall boy extend his hands like a baby and pout as Reo helped him stand up.

"Y/N, give it baaack..." He gently tapped Reo's shoulder, instantly grabbing his undivided attention as Reo's purple eyes stared at him. "Can you get my phone?"

Reo glared jokingly at Y/N. "Give him his phone back, be a good boy."

Y/N huffed in response, handing the phone back. You spoil him too much, Reo Mikage. How is he supposed to become the top striker if you do everything for him? He was smiling though - it was nice to have some familiar faces here with him. "Why do you spoil him?"

"He's my treasure." Reo spoke matter-of-factly, placing an arm around Nagi's hunched shoulders and pulling them together. "He agreed to come here too, it's the least I can do!"

Y/N blinked in surprise at the word choice there, but as he noticed the pink blush on Nagi's cheeks, and the way the pair pressed against each other, comfortable so close together, he realised what exactly was going on. "I see..."

Something passed through the whole room, a gust of cold air that drew the attention of everyone to the main stage. The lights dimmed slightly, and a black-clothed man walked into view.

"And test, test, test."

Everyone turned to face the man as he tapped his microphone, speaking in a heavy, serious tone.

"Congratulations, diamonds in the rough." A spotlight hit the centre of the stage, a bright circle of light illuminating the man. "You are the 300 strikers aged 18 and under chosen by my arbitrary and biased decision making."

So I was right! Y/N smiled to himself. We're all strikers. Wait... but why? How will we form teams? How will this Bluelock project even work with everyone playing striker?

"And I am Ego Jinpachi, the man hired to make sure Japan wins the World Cup." Those words sounded awfully familiar. Exactly like the person in charge of the Ascension project, except Y/N had never seen this skinny man before.

Whispers broke out amongst the crowd, and Reo turned to Y/N with a questioning look. "Have you heard of him before?" He just shook his head in response, studying the man.

"To win the world cup, Japan needs one thing, and one thing only." Ego's eyes scanned the crowd, landing on Y/N momentarily with a cold, dead gaze before he moved on. "The best striker in the world. And here at Bluelock, I intend to make one of you 300 into that person."

A large screen dropped down behind him, showing an animated video. "Starting today, you three hundred will live together at this facility - the Bluelock facility. You will undergo the special training I have devised, and compete against your fellows. You will not be able to go home."

So it's exactly like Ascension... Y/N shuddered at the thought, but kept listening. Bluelock is supposed to put us directly on the U-20 team, isn't it?

"If you battle it out and beat the other 299 guys here, you will be the greatest striker in history." Ego smiled creepily. "That's it. Thank you for listening."

The light came on a moment later, and immediately the sounds of confused and outraged strikers started to fill the room. Y/N stayed quiet. An intense training program... competing... sounds interesting. If it could help him become the best striker in the world, he'd take it gladly.

A white-haired boy near them raised a hand. "Um, excuse me?"

Y/N glanced over at the boy. He was tall, with an athletic, lean build. Another boy with dark blue hair stood close to him, looking surprised as his friend spoke. "My name is Kira Ryosuke. I don't think I can agree to your conditions."

Ego waved a hand in a 'go on' way, and the Kira person spoke a bit louder. "I have a team to play for, and we've got to go play Nationals soon. I'm not just going to abandon them so I can take part in this weird project."

His words seemed to hit home with the crowd, and Y/N scowled at the rest of the strikers as they muttered in agreement.

"Yeah, I've got nationals too!"

"Why would we just suddenly start living together?"

"Why can't we leave?"

"Who even are you?"

What kind of idiots did the JFU decide to take in? Everyone here calls themselves a striker, but I can only see a few that seem to want to be one. Everyone is so focused on nationals, on their pathetic little teams...

Ego waited out the outburst and rush of noise. When it was beginning to die down, he spoke weightily. "I see - you're all seriously sick. Well, if anyone wants to leave, you can."

Silence fell through the hall.

"You really think becoming the number one high school team in this country matters more than you becoming the best striker in the world? If you all think like that, then I'm worried for the future of Japanese soccer."

Ego strode to the front of the stage. "Japanese soccer organisations excel at coordination." A picture of the Japanese team flashed onto the screen behind him, but all Y/N could look at was the skinny man who actually seemed to know what he was talking about.

"But in all other aspects, it is second rate." Ego's sharp eyes scanned the crowd, meeting everyone's eyes. "Let me ask you this - what is soccer? Is it about eleven guys working together? Playing to help your team? Serving your team? This kind of thinking is why Japanese soccer is so weak."

The image of the Japanese team fizzled out, overwhelmed by a sudden rush of static. "No, soccer is about whoever scores the most goals."

Y/N watched closely as Kira's eyes narrowed, and he shouted loudly. "That's a terrible thing to say!" He placed a hand on his chest. "Many of us all grew up together, watching the Japanese team. They're stars, not weak at all!"

"Hmm?" Scratching his head, Ego seemed stumped for a second. But the look on his face gradually turned into a wide, almost insane smile. "They've never won the World Cup, have they?"

More pictures appeared on the board behind him, pictures of strikers from all over the world. Each one had a quote floating just below it.

Noel Noa - "Instead of assisting my team to win 1-0, it feels better to get a hat-trick and lose 3-4."

Eric Cantona - "I don't care about my team. I just want to stand out."

Pele - "The world's best forward? Ask anyone, the answer is me."

Ego threw his head back, screaming loudly into the mic. "Well, awful right?!" A screech cut through the hall as the microphone momentarily cut out. "Well, they're the best players in the world!"

"You can't become the world's greatest striker unless you're the world's biggest egoist. The goal of Bluelock is to create that person. Someone who will rise above 299 other strikers. " Ego raised a hand out to the crowd. "On the field, you are the star."

Y/N grinned, eyes concentrating on Ego as he talked, lips moving to match the black-suited man's words. "Live only for your own goals."

Reo glanced at him in surprise. He ignored him, speaking with Ego. "Isn't that what it means... to be a striker?"

The speech was clearly over. And so Y/N strode forwards, his footsteps loud on the wooden floor.

Hundreds of eyes turned to look at him as he walked forwards, his own gaze fixated on the doors behind Ego. Murmurs broke out, but he ignored them, walking right up to the steps.

He tilted his head, looking up at Ego with a spark of interest. Everyone held their ground, watching the teenage boy as he took the first step up towards the doors.

"This might not be a waste of time after all."