61. EMPEROR AND HIS LACKEYS

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THE

path to the camera room for the Germany Stratum was a short one, but it felt like it'd been hours since you'd been beside the blonde German woman. Mariele.

She's caught you staring at her more than three times already, but you can't find it within yourself to stop. The way she smiles, the way her eyes are filled with a strange sense of blankness—it intrigues you more than anything you've ever felt before.

You want to know more about her, but you aren't sure exactly how to start up a conversation. Before this moment, you two have never had a chance alone, and her face is far too pleasant—it makes it impossible to tell what she's feeling, or even thinking.

You're sure with Merodi, or even that curly-haired woman, Bianca, it would be ten times easier. They're both pretty expressive people—

"You chose Germany, yes? Very exciting." She shatters the silence with her voice, glancing down at you with eyes squinted upwards. Somehow, even though she's speaking Japanese in your ears at this very moment, her German accent is still incredibly prominent. "I'm glad you chose Germany. This is a very good team. You should be excited, too."

You finally pick up your fallen jaw off the floor and muster up a response before she begins to believe you're strange, "R... Right. I just... felt like this would be a good team for me. I believe rationality is important."

She laughs at your words—not degrading or fake—a laugh that instantly warms the tense mood that's been created and you feel your shoulders relax, "That is good to hear. Being logical can never be a bad thing. That is what our coach believes. But... some people on our team are not so logical."

Her words confuse you. You're both now standing in front of two large sliding doors—once they sense your presence, they slowly start to open. You don't tear your eyes away from her, even as the screeching sound rings through your ears. "What do you mean?"

Her expression doesn't change in the slightest. "On our team, there is a set playstyle we follow. Just follow the ace's lead, and if you do not, you should do well to be ignored. Nobody scores their own goals except the ace. You could think of him as the emperor and the rest as his mere lackeys."

Your eyes widen, and you jolt back in shock. Seriously? That's the opposite of everything that's happened here in Blue Lock... is this kind of philosophy really all that common?

"I, personally, am not too fond of them playing like this, but it's not like I can do anything about it." You both step inside the room. It's dark—the lights on the cameras flickering and being the only light source in the room does not help. Still, you can catch those bright green eyes—almost similar to a cat's—easily. "That is why I am interested in you Blue Lock people. I wish to know what you and your... egoism... will bring to our team."

You open your mouth, but no words come out. You don't know how to respond, so you don't. Your eyes tear away from Mariele and you finally look at the screen in front of you. 

The players from Blue Lock walk into the German stratum. Isagi. Gagamaru. Igaguri. Raichi. Yukimiya. Hiori. There are three other guys dressed in the Blue Lock uniforms that you can't see too well, so you're not too sure who they are.

As soon as they step in, they're met with a hologram of Ego, and finally learn the truth behind what they must do within the NEL. Then, they're met with the German team—on their back, there are big letters spelling BASTARD MÜNCHEN, with a sword going right through the middle—and also with their new coach, Noel Noa.

He seems to say little to the Blue Lockers, leaving them perplexed (you then remember that he probably isn't even speaking Japanese, and there's a good chance they do not have the earbuds you received), and as soon as he walks out the door, a big countdown in the middle of the room starts ticking.

10. 9. 8. 7.

The players start stretching—still mildly confused—and shrug off their bags containing all their stuff. You're guessing you'll have to be the one collecting all of it. The thought makes you wilt.

6. 5. 4. 3. 

You catch a glimpse of a head of bright orange hair, with a Blue Lock uniform. That's weird. Nobody here in Blue Lock has orange hair. At least, you think so. There are a few people you still are not too familiar with. You squint at the room and move your head closer to get a better look.

2. 1. 0.

All the players start running through the obstacle course. You can't stop looking at the unfamiliar man. Tired and sunken orange eyes. A tall, muscular build. Fair skin. He's the only Blue Locker keeping up with the German players.

Your eyes widen and your jaw practically drops to the floor in shock. No way. 

No way...

"Is that Kunigami?" You can't help but voice your thoughts aloud you're so shocked. Mariele gives you a confused look but quickly averts her eyes back to the screen when the players reach the third zone. 

Kunigami is back? A smile spreads across your lips and curls up against your cheeks. Warmth blooms in your chest at the thought. Kunigami got locked off before, in the second selection, but now he's back, and he looks...

Different. He looks more muscular than before, for sure, but his face...

He looks so tired.

You swallow thickly but shake the thought away. The superhero is back. It's been so long since I've seen him. Even when I was quiet, he always made me feel welcome within the team... I should do that for him, too. You feel a newfound sense of determination and anticipation at the prospect of seeing your old friend again.

A ding at the top of the screen catches your attention.

GOAL — NUMBER ONE: MICHEAL KAISER

Your eyes widen in surprise since most of your Blue Lockers were only on the fourth stage by this point. Has he finished already? That's impressive.

However, Mariele looks considerably less impressed. She looks annoyed, actually. "Of course, he finished ahead of everybody. He cannot wait, can he?"

The way she talks about him makes him sound impatient—and you don't think you've seen a change in her expression up until this point. She lets out a huff—annoyed sounding—and says, "Well, they are all nearly done. We should make our way to the end goal."

You want to ask her what her deal is with that Kaiser guy—but choose not to. It might be a sensitive topic or something. I shouldn't fan the flames. So, you choose to nod silently and follow beside her through a door leading to a bright light.

Amazingly, you're brought to the end of the training course—a path to dribble around and a big dart-looking target that the players have to shoot at. Coming up from the fourth stage, is Isagi, which makes you immediately turn your eyes to him. 

He rushes up to a path and a soccer ball appears from the ground—he wastes no time in starting to dribble down the path and slams his foot into the ball towards the spot in the middle worth one hundred points.

However, it seems there were other plans.

A guy with long blonde hair that faded to blue at the ends and a tattoo training up his left arm runs forward with a soccer ball of his own, "I wanted to meet you, Yoichi Isagi. I'll call you Yoichi, okay?" 

His German accent is thick and prominent, and the way he talks practically oozes with self-confidence. At the sight of him, you can viscerally hear Mariele groan. The man slams his foot into the soccer ball within his possession, and it perfectly meets the ball that Isagi kicked, slamming it away from the goal. 

One of the balls flies towards you—it nearly smacks you in the head, but Mariele moves you out of the way, behind her, before it grazes a single hair on your head. She looks down at you without her signature smile. "Are you okay?"

You think your face is red. You're not sure, but she doesn't mention it, so you don't give it too much thought. "... Y—Yeah. I'm fine." You let your shoulders relax and you look over her to see the cocky face of the German man.

"Huh?! You fucker...!" Isagi glares at the smirking man with blazing-hot anger in his eyes—you don't think you've ever seen Isagi so pissed off the field. The other man quickly recovers his posture from kicking the ball so hard.

He lifts his head so you all can get a good look at his face. Long, slim nose, angled jaw, sharp cobalt blue eyes and an equally blue rose decorated on the left side of his neck. He grins a perfect pearly white smile, "I'm Kaiser, the one who reveals what's "impossible". Kneel, Blue Lock."

Mariele swiftly turns on her heel, and her expression is completely unreadable. "Kaiser. Noa told you specifically to not interfere with another player's training."

She sounds so different, is your first thought. Her voice, usually soft yet charming, has done a complete 180 and is now stern and cold. Is this her manager-sona or something?

He doesn't amuse her with a response—only a cold meeting of their colourful eyes that is silent with animosity. You wonder what their issue with each other is. Still, your attention is quickly diverted by the loud voices of your friends behind Isagi.

"Trouble?" Yukimiya pushes up his glasses.

"Hey, what's up?" Hiori perks up from behind him.

"Hey, Isagi! Why the hell are you just standing there?!" Raichi screams, sharp teethed bared in an aggressive way as always. It's comforting to know he hasn't changed.

The jet-black-haired boy shakes his head, eyes razor-focused on Kaiser when he speaks, "No, he... blocked my shot."

Before anybody else gets a chance to speak, there are footsteps heard on the metal plating of the ground—light, tepid footsteps that you follow with your eyes until you see a pleasant-looking face belonging to another European man. "That won't do, Kaiser. They couldn't understand you. They gotta wear these."

He gestures towards his ears, and you now realise that he has the same earbuds that you do right now. He turns towards where Mariele stands, back to him and facing you, still smiling guilelessly, "Mariele? Is it time to hand them out yet?"

All eyes suddenly fall on her, and she balls up her fists before speaking, smiling plastered on once more when she turns towards the players, "I was just getting to it, Ness."

With that same empty look she had when you two had first met, she walks over to the Blue Lockers and individually hands them a case, containing two earbuds that fit perfectly within their ears. "These are provided to you all by Jinpachi Ego. It is a micro-interpreter. It allows you to interpret every language you hear as the one you understand the most."

Isagi's eyes widen in shock at the blonde—you can see the cogs turning in his head when you assume her voice fades from German to Japanese.

Ness clears his throat—gathering attention back to him—eyes wide, blank, and owlish as he places a hand on his chest and speaks, "Pardon us for our late introduction, Blue Lock. My name is Ness."

Igaguri gasps, mouth wide open, "Woah, cool! I'm hearing him in Japanese!"

Gagamaru twists his head around wildly, hair flying all over the place as he speaks, "And it doesn't seem like there's a risk of these falling during matches either!"

Yukimiya inspects one of the earbuds through the lens of his sports glasses before slipping it into his ear, "That sponsor he mentioned... was Mikage Corporation?"

"Reo's family!" Gagamaru exclaims.

You have a feel of the earbuds in your own ear, and sure enough, protruding out of the top of the buds are those exact letters. Reo's family sponsored Blue Lock? Huh.

Another pair of feet starts walking their way over to you all. You see it's another member of the German team, with spiked-up hair and slanted eyes. "Come on, Ness, don't pretend to be amiable with these *smegma. I came all the way here because the club owner was going on and on about how amazing Blue Lock was. But my time would be better spent listening to Mariele rave on about tactics."

At the mention of her name, Mariele's brow twitches and you can visibly see her trying not to roll her eyes. "Still as vulgar as ever, Gesner."

Ness's smile doesn't fade as he looks towards Gesner, "How foul. Gesner, that's what we call being a pottymouth."

"Well, they are smegma. Smegma. Smegma."

Another voice cuts through the strange man's words—a voice sounding like he's in pain—emotional and physical pain, "No, we made a poor decision... it's only right to be angry..." Looking at the source of that sorrowful voice is a man with bleached blonde hair and brown roots, front bangs curled and eyes dipped in despair.

"For rage... is a sign of rejection for not accepting sadness..." The man's voice trembles as he falls to his knees, hugging himself tightly. He throws his body around the place in a dramatic fashion. "You cannot grow if you do not accept sadness... however, sadness always hurts you... Yet, sadness is also proof of life...! I can't get enough—It writhes...!"

You watch the interaction between the emotional man and Gesner in silence, dotted eyes blinking with confusion. These people... are really weird. Are all European men this strange?

Mariele lets out a loud, tense breath and squints her eyes at the sorrowful being, "Give it a rest, Grim. You're making yourself cry again."

You can't imagine dealing with this every single day. But, then again... I did have to manage Shidou... he might be just as bad.

Speaking of Shidou, you wonder where he ended up. You feel bad for whichever manager will be his caretaker from now on. You wonder—

Your thoughts are abruptly cut short when Isagi lets out a strange, strangled sort of noise. You blink, just to see Kaiser with Isagi's chin pinched between his fingers and looking down at the blue-eyed striker with full-blown cockiness, "Yoichi. I came here to meet you, Blue Lock's ace striker—Isagi Yoichi. Don't let me down, new hero."

You think he's just about to lean down and kiss him—when his hand gets slapped away by a (very rightfully so) pissed-off Isagi, eyes narrowed sharply, "Quit it! Don't freaking touch me...!"

But Kaiser isn't seeming to be bothered by Isagi's defiance, and simply grips harder onto his outstretched wrist, successfully holding him in place, "Fucking shut up. Prove to me that I didn't come all this way for nothing. Yoichi... you gotta be a proper obstacle in my life."

You aren't sure what propels you to move forward, but your feet crash against the grassy floor before you can think and as soon as you know it, you're standing in front of Isagi and shoving the touchy German away from him with a narrowed glare, "Who do you seriously think you are?"

You don't know when you became so protective over this certain striker—but in a way, you feel indebted to him. Even unknowingly, he did change everything about you. I... don't think I mind standing up for Isagi.

Kaiser blinks at you, lips parted slightly. Then, instead of bubbling anger like you expected, a bright grin stretches out across his fair skin and he checks you out up and down, "Hey, isn't that interesting? A little docile manager becoming so vicious for her player—and I don't even know your name! Ness, handkerchief!"

Like he were a dog, the frog-like boy tottles up and obediently starts wiping down the hand that he used to touch Isagi. As if you weren't standing between him and Isagi—and as if Isagi wasn't even there, Ness started talking about him in a third-person perspective, "So then, what's Isagi Yoichi's role?"

Kaiser removes his hand from Ness's handkerchief-ed grasp and places it on his chin, eyes fluttering shut in thought. "Hmm... let's see. In the theatre of me becoming the best striker in the world, for now, Blue Lock is a small play that goes between the intermissions."

He gestures towards the other Blue Locker's on the team, "These guys are the circus animals that give some flair to that, for when I get on the stage myself, Yoichi is... a foolish clown, who thought he was the protagonist until now—and you..."

Suddenly, it's like the world is closing around you and all you can see are Kaiser's electric blue eyes boring into you like you're the strangest thing in the world. "I will rescue you from this hellscape, and you'll become the perfect manager for me."

You blink at him like a frog in absolute shock. Is he... actually serious? 

He sounds like he's roleplaying or something—but from his unwavering, overconfident tone, it's clear that he is absolutely, one hundred per cent, dead serious. 

What... the hell is wrong with him?

"Nice to meet you, Blue Lock. Blossom and fall... for my sake." His smile is simply that of pure, unadulterated egotism. 

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*smegma: dick cheese. yes. it means dick cheese.

note: i feel like i have to explain why kaiser is acting the way he is. so i think i made it obvious there's some sort of animosity between mariele and kaiser (mostly because she doesn't approve of the way he thinks/treats others) and obviously that means they don't have a good relationship/a friendship at all

so seeing you fearlessly walk up to him and defend isagi like that shocks him, but also makes him kind of want something like that of his own (somebody who will defend him without a moment's hesitation. he already has ness, but let's be real ness is more desperate and less stern like you are and ness isn't a pretty girl like u are so mwah) so instead of trying to build up that relationship he just decides yep. i want this so like. ur mine now.

but not even in a romantic way. its literally the same as taking somebody else's pet and expecting them to care about you as much as they care about their original owner lol. kaiser just a freak like dat.