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...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
TWO AND A HALF YEARS PRIOR TO BLUE LOCK
It was my first year of high school and life was going as good as it could. I easily made the women's soccer team at my high school. Soccer had some what of a reputation at this school, the men's team recognized a few times by the Japan Football Union for their multiple championship wins in the past. The women's team, per usual, didn't get the same notice. But it was close as I could get without being picked up by a professional club or team. I would take whatever opportunities I could get until something better came along.
My first high school game went swimmingly, our coach putting me in as center forward in the second half and my two goals winning the game. My third year senpais were a little jealous of the attention and skill I was already acquiring, but they were happy for the team regardless. It was the day after the win and I was sitting at lunch with a few of the girls from the team. My school tie was loose so I could not feel so constricted as I laughed with my new teammates.
"Hey you," a voice said.
All of us girls turned to see that a tall boy had approached, his blonde hair pointy and his bright pink eyes on me.
"Are you talking to Iteya-chan?" the girl on my right, Haru, asked.
"Yeah, the girl that took the win for the girl's soccer team last night." He was smirking at me.
I furrowed my eyebrows. "Can I help you?"
"I just wanted to know the name of my competition," the boy said, tilting his head to the left.
"Competition?" I blinked at him in confusion, eyeing our matching school uniforms. "We go to the same school."
"That's true but I aim to be the best soccer player in my year at this shit facility," the boy proclaimed and pointed at me. "I heard that you're my competition. The coaches were talking about you this morning in the teacher's lounge. It was Iteya this and Iteya that."
"Maybe you misheard," another girl two seats down from me interjected. Her name was Yuki and she was obsessed with my brother, something I had gathered from a few conversations I'd already had with her. "Iteya-chan's brother, Iteya Hikaru is a well known player in the region! They were probably discussing him." I silently grumbled and visibly rolled my eyes at this. I couldn't seem to escape Hikaru's shadow wherever I went.
"Who?" The boy squinted and shook his head. "No, they were definitely talking about a girl."
The bell signaling the end of lunch rang and we all stood up, collecting our lunch remains and throwing them away. A few of the girls said goodbye to me as I tossed my meal into the trashcan and turned to walk to class. I stiffened in place as I turned, the boy with pink eyes in my way.
