Chapter Text
“We’re both strikers. Let’s see who scores the most goals, Yoichi”
“Well?”
Before Isagi Yoichi could even respond to Kaiser’s bitter threat, he felt his body shutting down and the darkness slowly swallowing his vision. He can sense the shift of other players around him tensing up before he falls to the ground helplessly.
The moment Isagi regained consciousness; his whole body felt so sore. Honestly, he'd be more surprised if he didn't feel any muscle pain, especially considering his current physical strength; which is way too weak. Maybe it was endorphins that allowed Isagi to perform like that.
‘I need to increase my stamina training, maybe even core training...’, he mumbled quietly to himself.
“Did you have a nice nap, Mr. I ran out of gas?”
Isagi’s eyes flicker to the side, revealing a white hair with a godly figure in front of him. Staring directly at the teen, Noa Noel is preparing something on the coffee table. He opens his mouth, ready to question how he was transferred from the field to his master's room but Noa beat him to it.
“You overexerted yourself and passed out. You have been asleep for the past 10 hours.”, says Noa calmly before asking if Isagi wanted a drink.
‘No wonder my throat feels so parched’, he thought. Isagi accepted the drink with a sheepish thanks, his eyes gazing up toward his idol.
“So, How was it? Did you manage to defeat Kaiser?”
After that, Noel and Isagi spend quite some time discussing his tactics in the game and what he strives for in future games. He even obtained hidden information about the one and only, mysterious coach of Blue Lock facilities; Ego Jinpachi.
So he was also a football player, huh? Wonder how Isagi had never heard of the man's name before the Blue Lock project when he was a hard-core fanatic who watched anything related to this sport. He doubted anyone here would know of the news either, seeing how secretive Ego was.
Isagi giggled softly in the hallway, feeling excited and giddy after spending time in his master’s quarter room. Noa seems to enjoy his presence a lot earlier, chatting and discussing tons of topics. Anyhow, he probably should go hit the shower. Sleeping for 10 hours after the match with all those sweats and grime, he knows he must be smelling super stinky right now.
As he entered the room he shared with the other blue lock players, Isagi noticed the room was currently empty with no residents.
‘They probably went to training’, the boy thought before deciding that he would also go find them later to train.
‘I can’t relax like this when others are still improving!’ Isagi whispered to himself.
Clenching the soap bucket he loaded from his drawer, he bolted to the empty shower room. He washed up quickly before hurriedly moving to his locker to put on the Bastard München's uniform. Yet before he could even touch the neatly folded clothes in his case, a blooming monotone voice merged from the white speaker; startling the boy.
“Don’t you even try to join in the training, Isagi Yoichi. Your body is still not fully recovered from the last match.”
Isagi faced the camera in the right corner of the room with an expression fully reflecting what was filling his mind. Why can’t he join in the training? He’s fine the way he is, even though he was brimming with sore aches throughout his muscles; he didn’t think he was in any condition that would be a burden to others on the field.
“And why is that, you four-eyed freak?”
A quiet yet psychotic laughter spills out the second Isagi's snarky reply is made, surprising the raven.
'Is Ego messing with him right now?'
“Isagi, Your attitude toward your beloved idol and mine is so far apart. Is this the respect I get when I have built you to become this talented?”, spoke Ego in half-amusement.
Those sentences leave the teen stunned. He never really thought someone like Ego would care about formalities or nicknames. After all, Ego Jinpachi seems like a man who does not have his life in order and is only motivated to chase something stimulating for his brain to digest. Even the lanky man's diet consisting of instant noodles or junk foods makes him seem like a laidback and simple man.
Plus, didn’t Ego interact with him just fine when they were matching against Japan U-20? Isagi even called him Four-Eyes back then, so what's the difference now?
“Put all of the thoughts aside, Isagi Yoichi. You are currently penalized and punished~”
“What?!”, the teen's eyes widen and he unconsciously tightens his jaw hard.
“Just because I didn’t call you-”
“Nope! It is already decided a while before.”
“Then what with the sudden penalty? I’m not even playing on the field right now! You can't just give me a fucking penalty!” Isagi shouts, losing his temper. What exactly is Ego trying to do?
“Oh, I’m sorry, I think you're misunderstanding my word. I didn’t mean the penalty on the field but from all the problems you have caused outside the game during your stay in Blue Lock~”, Ego continues.
“I didn’t do anything that deserved punishment, Ego.”, hissed the blue-haired boy, eyes still sharply gazing at the CCTV camera; as if he was directly glaring at the man.
“Really? Let’s see your record then, Isagi!” Then comes the sound of papers shuffling exiting the device before Ego speaks.
“Not switching off the light in the locker room before leaving, three times. Failure to complete the dietary requirement given and went to exercise sessions and training without eating, for a week. You arrived late to the practice for 2.5 minutes, one time. And- Oh! Will you look at this~ Sneaking into the control room in search of your phone when it is forbidden?! Big Mistake, Isagi.” Ego finished his sentences with a fake surprise noise. From his voice alone, Isagi can mentally picture that creepy man smiling all sadistically in his dark office. When did he even get the time to write down all of these?
“Now Isagi, be a good boy and do your punishment; will you~? And maybe I will let you touch the field again.”
Isagi bites his lower lips trying to control himself from cussing out again. He can’t believe he got detained for such stupid reasons. He could use this precious time training with others or improve his stamina and gameplay but now it's all over because Ego said so?
Not only that but Ego’s excuse to punish him is full of bull craps. Other players in Blue Lock had done shits too. Sometimes, they can be even worse than him.
And since when did Ego care about how much money the facility spends? Igaguri always arrives late to the training and Isagi only does it once because he overslept, after secretly training the night before. Hell, when they sneaked into the Control room, both Bachira and Nagi were with him. So why exactly only he have to suffer the penalty?
Nevertheless, the boy knows that none of his opinions matter since Ego is still one of the highest authorities in Blue Lock, and Isagi still needs the man to survive here. Until then, unless he can prove that the authority is the other way around, Isagi still has to obey him unconditionally. No matter how absurd his requests are. He scratches his nape annoyedly, releasing the tenseness on his shoulder before he answers.
“Fine. What is my punishment, Ego?” Isagi surrenders, accepting his fate to that psycho. Whatever the punishment is, he will complete it perfectly and prove himself to the elder. He’s not that weak to be defeated by something as silly as this, not when he was able to stay this long in the Blue Lock.
“Great! Your instruction is in the envelope taped under the divider in your locker. As well as the items you will need!”
Isagi’s fingers instantly slide under the cabinet and feel around the surface to find the envelopes. In just a couple of seconds, Isagi was able to peel off the envelope from beneath and brought the sticky letter closer to inspect it.
“You cannot stop until you finish it. Do not cheat and you have 24 hours to complete the trial. Good luck Isagi and don't forget to amuse me!”, chirped Ego enthusiastically. The teen couldn't even question the man before the green LED light from the speaker turned black indicating the speaker was shutting off. Ego probably didn’t want to intertain him anymore and left him alone.
Isagi sighed defeatedly and slumped down onto the bench. He runs his hand over his damped hair casually before tearing the letter open. ‘Well, let’s see what we have here.’, mouthed the boy to himself.
The inside of the envelope is thin and light, only containing two pieces of paper along with a flat digital watch. One of the papers is a hugely laminated sign with a bold font of Free Hug words imprinted on it and connected to it is a brown rope. Next to it is folded instruction paper. Isagi flips open the letter, revealing its contents.
His eyes widen in surprise the more he reads the instruction and soft pink color rapidly took over his face and even invaded the tip of his ears. Then, the only thought that comes into his head after, is to kill Ego Jinpachi; right there and then to ensure his dignity and sanity. Because what exactly was that lanky bastard thinking when he wrote this?
Isagi Yoichi Trial (Hug)
- Isagi Yoichi must receive hugs from every member of the Blue Lock players.
- Isagi Yoichi obligated to bring along the sign while asking for hugs from players, to make sure that other parties are aware of the punishment.
- The watch should be worn before hugging. Its function is to count the player’s total hugs from the body heat detector.
- The duration of this period is around 24 hours, starting from today at 8.00 p.m. till the next day at 8.00 p.m.
- Isagi Yoichi must be able to complete the punishment in the time set along with the instruction assigned before joining the usual training schedule.
- Any refusal or changes in the plan that lead the trial to fail will be penalized with a bigger punishment.
The boy pursed his lips, shaking from head to toe and deeply contemplating the decision he made. He couldn’t back off now, not when he had already accepted Ego’s challenge with confidence plastered on his face. So with a new profound motivation, Isagi slapped the watch on his wrist determinedly.
Guess he just has to steel himself and do it.