Blue Lock : Second Selection. Match 2: 4 vs 4.
Team White (Isagi, Rin, Bachira, Reo) vs. Team Red (Nagi, Barou, Chigiri, Kunigami).
Score: 2 - 3 (Team Red leads).
The digital afterimage of Nagi Seishiro's goal flickered on the retina of every player on the pitch. The stadium was silent, save for the heavy, ragged breathing of the eight egoists locked in this digital cage.
Isagi Yoichi stood near the center circle, his eyes fixed on Nagi.
He devoured Barou, Isagi analyzed, the gears in his mind grinding against the impossible reality. Nagi Seishiro used the most selfish player on the field as a stepping stone. He didn't ask for the ball; he took it. He didn't cooperate; he conquered.
Isagi felt a cold shiver run down his spine. It wasn't fear. It was recognition.
That's the same logic I used on Rin. Nagi has reached the same conclusion: In this place, teammates are just variables to be manipulated.
"Hey, Isagi," Bachira Meguru's voice floated over, unusually quiet.
Isagi turned. Bachira was standing a few feet away, his bangs shadowing his eyes. He wasn't smiling. The usual playful bounce in his step was gone.
"Nagi... he's gone far away, hasn't he?" Bachira whispered.
Isagi looked at Bachira coldly. "He evolved. He threw away his dependency. He stopped looking for Reo and started looking for the goal."
Isagi stepped closer to Bachira, his blue eyes piercing.
"What about you, Bachira? Are you still playing 'pass with friends'? Because if you are, you're going to be left behind."
Bachira flinched. The words cut deep.
Left behind...
Bachira looked around the field.
Rin Itoshi was a demon of solitude, fuming with rage at being used.
Nagi Seishiro was a newborn monster, drunk on the power of individualism.
Isagi Yoichi was a God, observing them all from the sky.
Everyone is fighting alone, Bachira realized, his heart squeezing in his chest. Even when we are on the same team, we are alone. I thought... I thought if I found a monster like me, we could play together forever.
He looked at Isagi's back as Isagi walked away to restart the game.
But Isagi doesn't want a friend. He wants a weapon.
The Loneliness of the Monster
RESTART.
Team White kicked off.
Isagi passed to Reo. "Reo, hold the center. Rin, wide left. Bachira, right."
Isagi orchestrated the formation instantly.
Reo received the ball. His face was a mask of determination. I won't lose to Nagi. I'll show him I can evolve too.
Reo drove forward. Barou charged him. "Don't get in my way, copycat!"
Reo didn't challenge Barou physically. He passed quickly to Rin.
Rin took the ball. The aura around him was jagged, unstable.
"I'll do it myself," Rin muttered.
He started a solo run down the left flank. Kunigami moved to stop him.
"I won't let you pass!" Kunigami roared.
Rin used a Scissors Feint, shifting his weight violently. Kunigami didn't bite.
He's holding his ground, Rin analyzed. Annoying.
Rin looked to the center. Isagi was making a run into the box.
If I pass to him, he scores. If he scores, he wins again.
Rin's ego revolted. I'd rather die than assist him again.
Rin forced a shot from a tight angle.
"Too selfish!" Chigiri sprinted back and blocked the shot with his speed.
Block.
The ball deflected high into the air, falling toward the right side of the field.
Bachira was there.
The ball dropped from the sky.
Bachira trapped it with a soft, velvet touch.
He looked up.
Isagi was screaming for the cross. "Bachira! Far post! I'm open!"
Isagi calls for me, Bachira thought. The Monster tells me to pass.
It's the best play. Pass to Isagi. Isagi scores. We win.
But as Bachira pulled his leg back to cross, a shadow fell over his heart.
If I pass now... I'm just another Reo. I'm just another tool.
Isagi won't look at me. He'll look at the assist.
Bachira's foot stopped.
He didn't cross.
He put his foot on the ball and stopped it dead.
"Bachira?!" Isagi yelled, confused. "What are you doing? pass!"
Opposing defender Chigiri Hyoma rushed in. "He hesitated! I'll take it!"
Chigiri used his speed to steal the ball.
Bachira lost possession.
"What the hell was that?!" Rin shouted. "You waste of space!"
Reo looked shocked. "Bachira?"
Isagi stared at Bachira.
The counter-attack was on. Chigiri was sprinting down the field.
But Isagi didn't run back immediately. He glared at Bachira.
"You ignored the logic," Isagi said, his voice dropping to a terrifying whisper. "You had the checkmate, and you threw it away because you wanted to stand out?"
Isagi turned his back.
"I don't need a broken toy. Fix yourself, or get off my field."
The Descent into Trance
The words echoed in Bachira's mind. Get off my field.
The counter-attack raged on behind him. Chigiri passed to Barou. Barou shot. Reo blocked it on the line. Chaos.
But Bachira stood still.
The world was turning gray. The sounds of the game were muffled, like he was underwater.
Isagi... rejected me.
Nagi... surpassed me.
I'm alone.
Bachira closed his eyes.
Deep inside the darkness, he looked for the Monster. The shadowy figure that had been his imaginary friend since childhood. The voice that told him to have fun, to play freely.
Hey, Monster, Bachira asked. What should I do?
The Monster usually smiled. The Monster usually whispered, "Pass to Isagi! It'll be fun!"
But this time... the Monster was silent.
Bachira looked closer.
The Monster wasn't smiling. The Monster was fading.
Why? Bachira panicked. Don't leave me!
And then he realized.
The Monster isn't leaving.
The Monster is Isagi. The Monster is Rin. The Monster is Nagi.
They are real monsters.
And I... I am just a boy looking for a friend to play with.
Bachira opened his eyes.
The play had reset. A throw-in for Team White.
Reo threw the ball to Bachira.
"Don't lose it this time!" Reo yelled.
Bachira trapped the ball.
Barou Shoei charged at him. "I'll crush you, little bug!"
Kunigami Rensuke closed in from the side. "Double team!"
Isagi was watching from the center. He wasn't calling for the ball anymore. He had written Bachira off as a dead variable.
He's not looking at me, Bachira realized.
Fine.
If you won't look at me...
If you won't play with me...
A smile cracked across Bachira's face. But it wasn't his usual sunny smile. It was twisted. Manic. Broken.
Then I'll play by myself.
I don't need Isagi. I don't need the Monster.
I just need to dance.
The Solo Performance
Barou lunged. A massive, physical tackle.
Bachira didn't pass. He didn't dodge.
He flicked the ball over Barou's head.
Rainbow Flick.
"What?!" Barou gasped, looking up.
Bachira spun around the giant. "Bye-bye, King."
Kunigami was waiting. "I won't fall for that!" He kept his distance, watching Bachira's hips.
Bachira didn't slow down. He started performing scissors feints. High speed.
One. Two. Three.
I don't hear the voice anymore, Bachira thought. It's so quiet.
It's so fun.
He dropped his shoulder left. Kunigami shifted.
Bachira exploded right.
Elastic Dribble.
The ball seemed to snap back to his foot like it was on a rubber band.
Kunigami's ankles buckled. He fell to one knee.
"Fast..." Kunigami grunted.
Bachira was through the midfield.
Now, the real challenge.
Chigiri Hyoma. The Red Panther.
"You're not passing me!" Chigiri sprinted to cut off the angle.
Bachira looked at Chigiri.
You're fast. But you move in straight lines.
Bachira stopped the ball dead.
Chigiri, moving at top speed, couldn't stop instantly. He overran the play by two steps.
Bachira did a 360 Roulette spin, using Chigiri's momentum against him.
"Too fast for your own good," Bachira giggled.
He was at the edge of the box.
Only Nagi Seishiro remained. The genius had dropped back to defend.
Nagi looked at Bachira. "You're dancing too much, Bachira."
Nagi extended his long leg. The reach was impossible. He covered the entire shooting angle.
Isagi watched.
Pass it, Bachira, Isagi calculated. Nagi has blocked the shot. I am open on the left. Rin is open on the right. If you pass, we score.
Pass.
Pass.
Bachira heard nothing.
He looked at Nagi's leg.
Obstacle.
Bachira lifted the ball with his right foot. He hopped.
He hit the ball in mid-air with his left heel behind his back.
Air Rabona.
The ball didn't go to Isagi.
It didn't go to Rin.
It looped over Nagi's head, spinning wildly.
Bachira ran past the stunned genius.
"I'm done waiting," Bachira whispered.
He caught the ball on his chest.
He was alone with the goalkeeper.
He didn't shoot immediately.
He did a Double Touch in the air to fake the keeper down.
Then, he rolled the ball into the empty net.
GOAL.
(Bachira Solo Goal)
Team White: 3 - Team Red: 3
The New Monster
The stadium was dead silent.
Bachira stood in front of the goal, panting. His eyes were wide, the pupils dilated. The "trance" was fading, leaving him exhausted but exhilarated.
Isagi Yoichi walked up to him.
Isagi didn't high-five him. He didn't smile.
He grabbed Bachira's face with one hand, squeezing his cheeks.
"You ignored me," Isagi said softly.
Bachira stared back, fearless. "I didn't hear you."
Isagi stared into Bachira's eyes. He saw it. The dependency was gone. The fear of abandonment was gone.
In its place was a pure, unadulterated ego.
Isagi let go of Bachira's face and smirked.
"Good," Isagi said. "Finally."
Isagi pointed at the scoreboard.
"I don't need a friend, Bachira. I needed a Monster. And now, you're finally scary."
Bachira grinned, wiping sweat from his nose. "I'm not your friend anymore, Isagi. I'm just me."
The Final Stretch
Score: 3 - 3.
Match Point.
The next goal wins.
Team Red was rattled.
"He dribbled past all four of us..." Kunigami muttered, shaking his head. "What is this team? Isagi creates order, Rin creates destruction, and Bachira creates chaos. It's impossible to defend."
Nagi looked at the scoreboard.
"3-3," Nagi said. "It's getting fun again."
He turned to Barou.
"Hey, King. One last play."
Barou growled. "Don't order me."
"Just run," Nagi said. "Run until you die. I'll use your corpse to score."
On Team White, the atmosphere was electric.
Isagi gathered them.
"Rin. Bachira. Reo."
They looked at him.
Rin, the hateful general.
Bachira, the awakened monster.
Reo, the vengeful copycat.
"We are disjointed," Isagi admitted. "We hate each other. We steal from each other."
Isagi's eyes glowed with the light of the God's Eye.
"But that is why we are unstoppable."
"Don't coordinate. Don't compromise."
"Devour each other. The one who devours the most... wins the game."
Isagi turned to face Team Red.
"Let's go," Isagi declared.
"Time to end the rebellion."