when you arrived they told you to wait till your number was called out

when your turn came, you were given number 288Z

they led you to a door that said ʼroom Zʼ

once you got in you notice the room was empty

guess you were the first one to arrive

lucky you, that meant you could change in peace

not too long after you were done changing, the room started filling with players

you stayed sat with your eyes closed by the wall you were leaning on

you refused to open your eyes cause you knew you wouldn't be able to handle the naked body of a bunch of men

as you dozed off, you heard the sound of a familiar male which cause you to finally open your eyes

"hey Isagi, I'm glad there's at least one person I know here," said the ash-blonde male from earlier

"uhh, yeah" nervously responds the said male

as they walked ahead, a white shirt flew into the dark-haired male's face

"oh my bad, my shirt flew away," said a ginger with a deadpan

as your eyes met his body you instantly turned away and covered your eyes out of embarrassment

how were you supposed to live with a bunch of men for who knows how long

attractive ones as well

you zoned out into your world as a way to distract yourself until the voice of Ego spoke up

"have you finished changing my unpolished gems?" started the male

silence reigned over the players in the room

"your abilities have been ranked by me. according to arbitrary and biased decision-making, that's what the numbers on your uniform represent" said the male with his hand out

"you can tell at a glance what your rank out of 300 players is"

you looked around the room, quickly checking out the other players numbers

ʼso I'm the top play in the roomʼ you thought still sitting against the wall eyes closed 'still 288 is pretty low out of 300 people'

"anyone who loses here will be stripped from their right to play for Japan"

a bunch of huhs and what resonated in the room

"what you need to gain here is ego and I'll now test yours with a game of tag" silence

"you have 136 seconds. whoever is struck by the ball is ʼitʼ. the person in possession of the ball when the timer runs out will be locked off" continued the male

"oh and like basic soccer, no hands," he said pointing at his hand

as you finally opened your eyes to look at the screen where Ego had previously been podcasted from, a smaller version of the bald guy was shown with a timer under his image

"what the hell, this isn't soccer" spoke a sharp-toothed guy

"damn! being ʼitʼ first since you're ranked lowest" cussed the igaguri " alright, let's do this"

he then started running different players in the room, muttering an ʼamenʼ every time he shot the ball

you stood up but remained next to the wall you were previously leaning against

it was then the ball shot toward you but you managed to move your head aside

"damnit! I can't even hit the people who are immobile!"

the impact of the ball against the wall caused it to land further from igaguri

as he ran to get the ball back, he noticed it had landed next to the head of a guy sleeping on the floor, thumb in his mouth

"he's asleep. too bad" spoke the monk as he positioned to kick the ball

right as he was about to shoot it

the same guy who everyone thought was asleep sprung up and landed his foot on igaguri's face

ouch

"hey! that's a foul!"

"only handballs are against the rules right?" the guy with black and yellow undercut hair said rubbing his eye tiredly "mornin..."

cute

"hey I'm not a fan of dirty play," the orange-haired male said "play fair"

after that sentence, he received a ball in his face "you left yourself open. amen"

the previous image of igaguri changed and it was now ginger's turn to play it

"you bastard, I'll destroy you!" said kunigami with a devilish expression

igaguri proceeded to grab isagi and hide behind his figure

kunigami shot the ball straight into isagi's stomach which causes him to cough out saliva

that's one strong leg you sweat-dropped

"oh, sorry. wrong person"

the it persona changed into isagi's with 60 seconds left

isagi stood up after recovering from the shot and started shooting at everyone

he looked desperate

"hey over here! here's your chance" childishly smiled the sleepy male from earlier as he hung onto kunigami

"play fair!" kunigami said as he threw the male who landed on igaguri

man this guy has strength

you finally walked out of your corner and headed next to the ginger-haired male

he didn't seem to notice your presence and so you stayed quiet

as igaguri got the energetic male off him, he tried to stand up but failed as he realized he had sprung his ankle " hey wait" he reached his hand towards isagi

silence...

everyone stared at the male

this was isagi's perfect chance to survive but he made no move to shoot

"Isagi hit him" shout his friend from earlier

25 seconds...

as he marched towards the male on the floor, he stopped directly in front of him

"that's not right. if I don't change I'll remain the same loser" whispered isagi loud enough for you to hear

a smile sprung on your face

he ran towards the male you came to know as bachira who then pointed towards the male

"I like you" bachira smiled

"you're right. if you're going to beat someone.." he ran and took the ball

the persona had now changed to him

"...it should be the strongest one here"

15 seconds left

he chased after Kira who hurriedly ran away

he shot toward him but the male dogged he then aimed to kick him but Kira then ducked

bachira then looked up and shot the ball over your head on the other side of the room

where was he aiming

your eyes suddenly widened as you looked back to see isagi already in the position to shoot

6 seconds left

"strongest person.." he muttered

"BOOM!" scram bachira from his side of the room

he shot the ball like never as it reflected off your forehead and knocked you back

jeez, that's had to leave a bruise

still mid-air you looked at the timer

5 seconds left

that's about enough

you put your hands back into a handstand position

4 seconds

positioned the ball onto your right foot

target locked

you shot the ball forward towards the one and only...

Kira Ryosuke

the ball landed exactly on his left cheek and he was sent back with blood oozing out of his nose

2 seconds

1

0

you placed your feet on the floor and stood up straight, brushing a few strands of hair to the side

"damn isagi, that shot was brutal," you said blankly while rubbing your forehead

isagi stood frozen in front of you

how were you able to recover so fast?

you turned to look at Kira as he was staring up at you in shock

"huh?"

clap. clap. clap

you all turned to the screen to look at Ego

"diamonds in the rough. only results matter here"

"losers lock off." said with wide eyes the dark-haired male "Kira Ryosuke, you are disqualified"

incoherent noises were all that came from Kira until he stood up "this is bullshit"

"how is it possible for my future career to lie in tatters, all because of a childish game?!" he said with a crazed facial expression

"I'm Japanese soccer's jewel in the crown!" he pointed to himself "are you implying that igaguri, isagi or even worst that girl is more talented than me!"

"What does this silly game of tag even matter?! what does it have to do with soccer?!"

"in blue lock, everything here has something to do with soccer" came the voice of ego "look around you. Mr. mediocre elite. the room you are currently in is the size of a penalty area"

"75% of the goals in soccer are obtained in this area. If you can't do your work in this space. you have no talent as a striker"

"And? tag has nothing to do with soccer!" gulped nervously the ash-blonde male

"If you are running away, you need to be aware of your interpersonal space, tactics and positioning. if you are the one doing the chasing, your dribbling and aim must be precise and the quality of your kicks must be high"

"it still doesn't make sense, how can you know anything about me in just 2 minutes, a full game is 90 minutes"

"the amount of time the average player spends with the ball in a 90-minute game is about 136 seconds" Ego pushed his glasses closer to his face

"you wasted your given chance that was equally afforded to you all"

"what was I supposed to do in 10 seconds—"

"would you say the same thing if it were the case of an official match?" quickly interrupted Ego

"while you were knocked into the air, there were still 2 seconds left"

he then looked at (y/n) "you saw how quickly (y/n) responded when she was still knocked in the air"

"she took the initiative to position herself and look for the closest player"

your stomach swelled in pride. I mean who didn't like a compliment or two

"you would've survived if you had shot at the immobile igaguri but you didn't see the chance" he looked back at him "if you had just taken an extra leap it wouldn't have come to this"

"Whoever is ʼitʼ in this game might be the loser if he holds onto the ball too long but he might also win if he has the power to choose who is hit"

"your responsibility as a striker is to fight until the very last second"

"Isagi aimed for a person ranked above him instead of the immobilized igaguri. bachira stole the ball and went after the strongest guy"

"the obsession with a victory does not affect the group's common sense," said Ego with his arms out "that's what I'm looking for"

"you lost because you ran from the ball, so Kira Ryosuke,

lock off."

Kira then began shouting about how it was unfair and bachira had come out of nowhere

you finally had enough

a leg sprung and landed directly on Kira's already bleeding nose "man you're like some overgrown child who can't take no for an answer. just get over it, take your loss and leave. I've just had enough of your nonstop whining"

the man stared up at you in shock before getting up and walking out without another word

isagi then walked towards bachira who stuck his tongue out at him

"why did you pass the ball to me, if I hadn't shot it, you would've lost" stated the male

"that look on your face said otherwise" smile bachira "only results matter here. I believed in you and won"

"even though we weren't aiming for the same person, we still got a top player out," he said as he faced you

isagi then turn to face you "how did you recover so quickly" he questioned

"it was simple quick thinking and limitation of movements so I wouldn't make any unnecessary moves" you started walking over to a wall

Ego started speaking again but you weren't trying to listen to one of his long lectures again so you tuned his voice down and started daydreaming

"congratulations on passing the admission test. you twelve in this room will be living together as teammates and rivals. you are blue lock's team Z"

day 3

training room

"isagi! igaguri! how can you talk about becoming the world's greatest strikers when you look like that!" shouted raichi

you ignored their voices as you focused on your leg press machine

when you were done training, you headed out so you could get the shower first

you've always taken your time in the shower

i mean, you always felt better when you felt clean

"man, I wonder how long this blue lock thing is gonna last" you sigh, water dripping down your face

when you got out of the shower, you changed into your pyjamas and headed out to the cafeteria

as you reached the place, it was completely empty

guess you took too long in the shower

you went over to the designated place where you scanned your number to get food

grabbing your tray, you walked over to one of the many empty tables in the cafeteria

as you took your first bite, you faced up only to come face to lazy looking eyes

"ah"

you both stared at each other nonstop until you realized there was another male next to him

he had purple long hair let out loose

"sorry, didn't see you there" you said as you proceeded to get up

"no don't worry, we were just leaving anyways" chuckled the purple haired

you just nodded and sat back down

"not much of a talked, huh" he smiled looking down at your number "team Z"

you looked up from your plate and stared at the males in front of you

team V

"and your the top team in this building" you said looking bad down at your plate

a pale hand reached out for your plate and you pulled it back protecting your food from whoever wanted to steal it

"hey, can't I just have a little?" the white-haired boy asked

"this is all I've got to eat today, no way" you said protectively

"Nagi, you just ate" the purple-haired male deadpanned at his friend

"but Reo, I'm still hungry" he responded with a slurred voice as he leaned down on the table

you could only stare blankly at the two friends in front of you while eating your food

they finally finished their small argument and looked back at you

"since you've already heard our names, what's yours?" reo asked

"(y/n)" it came out as a mumble since you were chewing on your food

"well (y/n), how has your experience in blue lock been so far?"

"awkward, cramped a bit fun, only of the first day though"

"living with all boys must be hard" he laughed out

"yeah, their a little bit too comfortable." you chuckled a bit "like there's this one guy who half of the time I see him he's shirtless"

"there's also this other guy who for god knows why is always holding onto me in his sleep, and let me tell you, his grip is hard"

"man, you've got quite the teammates" he sweat dropped

"yeah, it's still weird since we just got here, but I'll get used to their habits" you got up "well I'm going to head out, goodnight"

"yeah you two" he responded as he moved to pick up the now asleep Nagi

'well I'm not feeling tired' you looked ahead

you were headed out to the field for a short late night practice before going to sleep

when you got there, you caught sight of your cuddly sleep mate, bachira

he and isagi seemed to be practicing on the right side of the field so you decided to mind your business and go over to the left side

you wanted to practice your aim and precision

grabbing a couple balls, you spread them around your side of the field a few meters from the goal

top left corner

the shot landed exactly where it was aimed to be

you continued taking your shots till you caught the voice of your teammate calling your name

"yo (y/n), fitness test results were assessed, they're calling us to go check our ranks" bachira ran up to you putting his arm over your shoulder

'264' you thought as you looked down at your number

"man, you're still one over me" childishly pouted bachira

"hm" you looked over at the screen, ignoring bachira's childish complaining

"hello, diamonds in the rough" waved Ego "how are you enjoying your stay in blue lock"

'yeah no' you turned to walked away over to a wall you could lean on and doze off 'I'm not trying to listen to another one of his long lectures'