hi quick note before u begin

1. im skimming over the entirety of the 1st selection bc boo there's no important characters featured in (Y/N)'s pov 

and

2. (Y/N) is gonna b replacing tokimitsu in the second selection bc no one cares ab him <33

yeah thats it enjoy pls

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In the end, (Y/N)'s promise to keep in touch with their parents was just about ripped to shreds right as it was set in place. Before any of the 300 strikers could even bat an eye, they were stripped of their electronics and other personal belongings such as wallets and informed that they would be getting them back sooner or later, an answer none of them were happy with.

This was quite the predicament for (Y/N) in particular, seeing as they had needed to give up their meds, causing some panic in the teen. Internally freaking out, they boarded the bus along with the other players and watched as they drove up to the actual facility, 5 buildings at least 10x bigger than the gym where Ego had spoken to them.

(Y/N) glanced around the crowded bus, taking in the faces of athletes they knew, like Kunigami and Shindou, as well as the ones they didn't. The realization was now dawning on them that they'd need to fight their way through all of these people if they even wanted a chance at the top spot. Maybe this wasn't such a great idea...

Eventually, the buses slowed to stop with a small lurch and everyone exited. The players were then given jerseys with a corresponding room and rank number. (Y/N)'s read room X and the number 252.

Man... am I really that bad? They thought internally, sighing to themselves as they strolled the hallways, looking for their room. If they were this low compared to all the other players, what in the world were they even doing here?

(Y/N) snapped out of their thoughts right as they neared the door labelled X and opened it, abandoning their train of thought. Surprisingly, they were the first one there. After double-checking twice, they decided to enter, feeling it would probably be more awkward if they stood outside.

Using their advantage of being alone, (Y/N) decided to change into their Blue Lock bodysuit without any possible prying eyes (well, apart from Ego, they assumed,) and contented themselves in sitting in a corner, waiting for other people to walk through the room's threshold.

In no time at all, the room filled up with players. To their disappointment, there didn't seem to be anyone worth their while. They were all pretty average-looking for the most part, almost to the point that (Y/N) wondered why they were placed among this lot. Because of this, they didn't bother remembering any of their names either. What was the point of remembering people they were just going to crush anyway?

After everyone was in their uniforms, Jinpachi Ego's face loomed into sight on a wide screen on one wall of the room, hushing and capturing the strikers' attention. First, he explained the ranking system of Blue Lock before moving on to the important parts.

"Those of you who fail Blue Lock... will forever lose the right to represent Japan." He stated monotonously, shocking everyone in the vicinity. Anxious murmurs broke out, voices wondering if they's heard him right.

(Y/N) stiffened, thinking of their dream, if you could even call it that. Play alongside Sae Itoshi... how could they make that happen if they failed Blue Lock? Now knowing what kind of person Ego was, they were not ready to put the possibility that he could in fact ban them from Japan's National team. They shivered, anticipation and–was this adrenaline?–coursing through their veins.

Ego spoke again, pretending as if he couldn't care less what the players thought of this, which, in retrospect, was probably true. As he explained the task before them, a soccer ball dropped into the middle of the room from a hatch on the ceiling, spooking them all. The black haired man's eyes widened scarily, his pupils seeming to swirl into a dark mess of colour.

"Time for some tag."

* * *

The match of soccer-tag was interesting to say the least. The ball started with a mousy haired boy, the one ranked last in the room, before making its way to a blonde kid who then hit (Y/N) square in the side of the head.

Enraged and slightly dizzy, they'd hit it towards their next target a little more forcefully than necessary, knocking the other athlete's feet right out from under him, earning (Y/N) a couple fearful looks.

Good, let them be scared. They'd thought, watching the clock count down to 0 as the other players struggled to tag each other. Thankfully, no one came towards (Y/N) again after their brutal kick, earning them at least a moment's rest.

Finally, one of the boys was eliminated. The rest of the room watched him sob as all his soccer dreams were snagged away from him. In truth, (Y/N) would be lying if they said they didn't feel bad for the poor boy. However, all they could think of was at least it wasn't me.

As soon as the beginning selection was finished, Ego popped up to greet them again ("Hello, my unpolished gems,") as well as inform them on their next challenge: the round robins.

Every team from V-Z would play each other in a pool format and the two teams ranked highest would have every single player move on while only the top-scorer of the other three teams would proceed.

As soon as Ego disappeared from the screen, (Y/N) sighed, sitting back against the wall as everyone else broke into a frenzy of who would end up playing striker in the upcoming game(s). They didn't actually care who got the ideal spot, why did it matter when they were just going to steal the spotlight away from the assigned 'striker' anyway?

They scoffed as the situation escalated, watching with a half amused expression as the players argued amongst themselves as they let their mind roam.

By dinner time, (Y/N) had some chest pains, probably caused by running around in room X without a warm-up. When they entered the cafeteria hall, they were delighted to find that Blue Lock actually had a mini medicine dispenser/pharmacy.

Situated snug in the wall like some supermarket display was a multitude of drugs for all sorts of things: painkillers, ADHD meds, even antidepressants, but most importantly, they had the exact brand of medicine that (Y/N) took every day. Talk about convenient.

However, they didn't fancy the idea of taking their stuff from the shelves in front of all these other people. They supposed they'd just have to last until nightfall, where no one would be able to see them.

By next morning, (Y/N) was feeling better than ever after their medication and a good night's rest; perfectly refreshed for their game that afternoon. Yet, after they played with their makeshift team, they doubted being refreshed or not would've made a difference.

The match went terribly, no other word for it. Team X managed to lose 2-5, both goals scored by (Y/N) themselves. They'd used their instincts, agility and unpredictable nature to successfully manoeuvre around the multiple guards and score twice on the inexperienced goalkeeper.

Despite being ahead of everyone else in team X, the feeling didn't give them much satisfaction as they were getting dirty looks left and right from their teammates. Honestly, as much as the goals had fuelled their ego, this was kind of like dousing the flame with water.

Throughout the next couple of days, the round robins continued and ended. To (Y/N)'s predictions, team X had arrived in the bottom half, leaving them as the top scorer being the only person to move on. There had been maybe one or two other players who'd scored, but the (h/c) striker still managed to outdo them all.

Goodbye, average nobodies. They thought dimly as they proceeded through the hallways and away from room X, not bothering to spare a look backwards. Even though it didn't feel the best to be the downfall of all their careers, those without skill weren't fit for a place like Blue Lock.

To their disappointment, instead of moving directly into the second selection, they were to undergo physical training along with the other top-scorers of the rejected teams. (Y/N) had done training to hone their body before, but nothing quite like Blue Lock. Ten days of absolute hell began right then and there.

Every single day, the players were forced through the most brutal exercises they'd ever experienced. Usually, (Y/N) had the option to opt out of such activities because of their illness, but seeing as no one here knew anything about that, they were stuck with the rest of the strikers.

If it hadn't been for the excellent pain medication that (Y/N) could get from the cafeteria, they assumed they probably would have died of agony. Every single morning, it took all their energy to even get up, much less train. However, the idea of being left behind by everyone else was enough of a threat to keep them going.

On the tenth day, the players were woken by the sound of a bell over the loudspeakers announcing that it was time to proceed to a common area where they would finally commence the second selection.

About time! They thought happily as they followed the other players out of the room, trying not to grimace from soreness.

Eventually, their feet had carried them to a common area among the strikers. There, they saw dozens of other players from the two teams that had moved on as well as from the other buildings. Looking more closely, (Y/N) noticed that every single player had the rooms of V-Z on their jerseys, many whom they didn't recognize.

At first, they thought that this must've been a mistake, but once they racked their brains more, they realized that making every single player believe they were among the lowest of the lows was the exact kind of thing that Jinpachi Ego would do to spur the athletes onto greater heights.

They now looked around again, searching for familiar faces in the crowd of people. (Y/N) found Shidou and Kunigami with ease, even sharing a quick smile and a wave with each. What they hadn't accounted for was the appearance of another familiar face.

(Y/N)'s breath hitched in their throat as they saw the long eyelashes and teal eyes. For a moment, they thought they were looking at Sae Itoshi, but they quickly whipped the thought out of their head. That was impossible... right? They shook their head, summing this up to only being coincidence.

As they shifted their feet, wincing from the pain in their legs, Ego began speaking from–you guessed it–another large screen. He explained many things and made some analogies to other great football players like Noel Noa and starting at the bottom before making one's way to the top. (Y/N) was surprised at how accurate their read of the V-Z situation was.

"The second selection is divided up into 5 different stages," Ego announced, a hologram of the Blue Lock facility appearing in his hand. "It's a levelling system where you'll only be allowed to move after completing each stage." The diagram shifted again before disappearing.

Ego concluded his explanation informing the players that they would have to face part one alone. Many people looked uneasy, but not (Y/N). They hadn't made it this far relying on teamwork and they certainly weren't going to start worrying.

They swallowed before heading towards a heap of soccer balls, intending to only get a feel for the movements again before entering the second selection, but someone got there first. It was the same dark haired boy that shared Sae's eyes.

The (H/C) player paused, a couple feet away from the balls as the boy grabbed two and headed off. His blue eyes met briefly with their (E/C) ones and (Y/N) could've sworn that they shared a flash of recognition.

How could they have forgotten? So focused on being Sae's friend back in elementary, (Y/N) had almost forgotten the (then) striker had a younger brother who rivalled his skill.

The black haired teen stood before the doors before booting the ball high and far in a perfect arc. (Y/N) gazed in awe as he proceeded to kick the other soccer ball in a twisting motion, making the balls collide in midair. The room erupted in stunned silence, (Y/N) among them. They laughed quietly to themselves as they watched the athlete proceed through the doors, causing a couple letters to appear on the screen.

Challenger: Itoshi Rin

This confirmed their suspicions. It was indeed none other than their childhood friend's brother. (Y/N) sighed, determining that with him around, it was going to prove to be much more difficult than they originally had intended to achieve their dream.

Nevertheless, (Y/N) wasn't ready to give up the spotlight that easily. Now, it was their turn to show off. They walked up to the door, ball underfoot as the gazes of the 100 other contestants turned to face them.

They rolled the ball underfoot for a second, feeling the payoffs of their hellish training in their improved leg strength. In a moment, they'd rainbowed the ball arching into the air with peak control before continuing with some precise, no-look juggling, causing gasps and even more shocked silence from the other athletes.

Finally, they kicked the ball into the air with a killer spin, not even bothering to look as it spun to a stop and landed in the furthest bin away from them, effectively drawing every eye in the room onto them.

"I'm sufficiently warmed up, I think." They said to no one in particular as they stretched their shoulder and walked through the door, half relieved that they hadn't made a fool of themselves. This determined it, then. To rise to the top of Blue Lock, the first player that they'd need to crush underfoot was Rin Itoshi.

Behind the retreating figure of (Y/N), the doors snapped closed once again, leaving the screen to beep to life. The small Blue Lock stick figure of them blinked into existence, the same nonchalant expression on its face that the striker always wore. Beneath it were three words exhibited for the whole world to see.

Challenger: (L/N) (Y/N)

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cool cool we're done yay

what interactions with which characters do yall wanna see?