Extraordinary // Blue Lock Fanfic

17: World All-Stars

The night passed in the blink of an eye as the World All-Stars match neared with every passing second. I tied my shoes as we walked through a hallway with big arrows pointing towards a double door. The words '3rd Selection' were printed slightly above the door.
Compared to our chatty atmosphere when we completed the Second Selection, the hallway was eerily quiet. The only thing you could hear were our footsteps.
Iga-guri fidgeted nervously with his uniform, Aryu tried to be more glam and Kurona shot nervous glances between me and Shidou. Well it was a natural reaction. We'd been playing pretty well together and considering our usual casual conversations, this had been the complete opposite. I was avoiding his gaze and Shidou looked... more or less conflicted with something.

"Let's just get this over with.", I finally broke the silence with a bored voice.
"As long as I will stay glam and stylish.", Aryu added while striking a dramatic pose.
"Y-yeah. We'll do our best! Amen!", Iga-guri added with an unsure expression.
Shidou stayed silenced as he eyed me with a concerned look. He nodded nonetheless.
I can't wait for this day to pass. The only thing I can hope is that he won't recognise me.
Right now, I don't think I'm able to really have a composed conversation with him. At least, not now.
The time ticked down as the double door finally opened. We walked through and arrived at another one of Blue Lock's football fields. The pro players were already waiting for us as they eyed us with amusement.

(The underlined part means they're talking in english.)

"Damn! They're scrawnier than I thought!", Dada Silva exclaimed with a grin.
"I told you the Japanese tend to be less muscular.", Adam Blake added with a bored expression.
"Hold on. Is that Sachi Asher? The one who's rumoured to be on par with the New Gen XI?", Leonardo Luna added with a curious smile.
(New Gen 11 will be changed to New Gen XI :))
"A...sher?", another voice chimed in with a shaky voice. The French pro player advanced to me with big steps as tears threatened to spill out of his eyes.

"They're... talking in english? Does anyone know what they're saying?", Iga-guri asked.
"Wait, did one of them say Asher?", Aryu questioned as he played with his hair.
Before Loki, yes, Julian Loki, could embrace me like he did all those years ago, I slapped his hand away earning a surprised look from everyone.
"Don't touch me.", I replied which didn't help the shocked face on Julian's face.
I panicked. Why did I instinctively slap his hand away? It somehow felt like my body was acting separately from what my mind had wanted.
"Wow! Asher, you speak english? That's cool. That's cool.", Kurona exclaimed with bright eyes.
My heart was racing so fast I could barely process what I just did. A friend. No, my best friend whom I hadn't seen in like 10 years. What is... wrong with me?
Before I could even register anything else, all noises were drowned out by my rapidly beating heart. My breath became unstable and ragged which Shidou immediately took notice of.
He ran over to me immediately, standing right between me and Julian.
Even though Shidou wasn't fluent in english, his face expression and his protective stance in front of me were more than enough to tell them, something was wrong with me.
I struggled to catch my breath as black dots began to dominate my vision rapidly.
My knees gave out under me and I prepared myself to hit the artificial grass, however I landed on something else. Or more like someone else. Shidou caught me right before I touched the ground. His usual persona was nowhere to be seen. His brows were furrowed and his face seemed to carry an anxious expression.
"Asher! Tell Ego! Ego!", Kurona called out with panic beginning to take over.
"Where's that bowl cut guy when you need him!", Iga-guri cursed under his breath.
The World 5 just stood there with mixed reactions. Surprise, curiousity and Julian Loki with a pure look of horror. The speaker turned on and a female voice called out things that I couldn't make out. The double door opened as the doctor entered the field with a fake worried look. Everyone bought his innocent act except 2 people. Shidou and Julian.
As he hurried over to take me from Shidou's embrace, Shidou shot him a nasty glare.
Julian had composed himself and had walked over and stood between the doctor and Shidou who was still holding on to me.