Chapter Text
Isagi Yoi was in front of the silver blue gates of Blue Lock Academy.
The enormous portal was standing proudly in front of her. A three-meter-high metal gate with a big "BLA" golden logo in the middle was showing a) its creator and director, Ego Jinpachi's un-not-noticeable way of showing he had money, and b) Yoi didn't really know, since there was literally a sign saying "Blue Lock Academy" right next to the massive doors.
Her dark blue hair was waving softly in her back, tied up with black silk ribbons her best friend Bachira Meguru had bought her for her birthday last year. The light blue plaid uniform skirt matched the black of the blouse topping it. Knee-high white socks were completing Isagi's look, her black designer school bag hanging loosely on her left arm.
They were not forced to wear the school uniform all the time, except the first day of school (that's one of the weird rules that Isagi never understood in two years of going to the Academy). Her luggage had already been settled in her dorm, which she would be sharing with Meguru once again.
She took a deep breath and zoned out. The vacations had passed fast, like way too fast, and in the blink of an eye, she already had another school year to face. She hung out with Bachira, a lot, went shopping with her parents, and did not spend a day without training for her beloved sport : soccer. If she wanted to become the best striker in the world, she couldn't miss a day without practicing.
She exhaled and entered the code on the small box located on the side of the portal, which opened up at the recognition of the six same numbers. It was supposed to change every week, but since Ego had trouble memorizing it every single time, Anri, the vice-director, had to keep the same one for over a year now. After multiple times of waking up at 5a.m. because her superior was locked outside the building, she didn't really have a choice anyways.
Isagi lifted her eyes up, always amazed by the modern, almost robotic architecture of the Academy. It was much better than the previous building, which was just a boring pentagonal centre. Now, they had a whole cathedral, a new generation castle of blue windows, silver brick walls and gold details. It was very intimidating for first years at first, but when they realized that almost half the school was just gyms, ice rinks and soccer fields, they were immediatly reassured.
The girl entered the actual school, who wasn't less impressive in the slightest. Elevators were in the middle of the staircases and dozens of doors all indicating different things. A whole lot of girls her age were chit-chatting and walking in the same way as her. Isagi spotted Nanase, with her long dark hair and traditional headband, and waved at her with a smile, which she quickly returned. Thank god, it wasn't Isagi's first rodeo, so she pretty much knew where she needed to head towards in this ocean of people, but there was one slight problem.
She didn't remember her dorm number.
She seriously tried, okay? She just couldn't remember it the first days. There was so much, what did they expect? Hundreds of rooms were hidden in the massive building (last time she counted 724 before one of her matches). In fact, one of the most embarrassing moments of her entire life was that one time when she walked in the wrong room and caught two girls in action. The door was unlocked : what did they think was going to happen? A big "OHMYGODI'MSOSORRY" escaped her lips as she ran out of the room, blushing and mortified. She called her best friend seconds after, who laughed at her for five minutes before Isagi hung up -after asking the right room number, of course.
Like she had read her thoughts from afar, Isagi felt her phone vibrate in her pocket seconds later, with the annoying duck sound that Bachira had set up for her to know when she was texting.
Private messages between Isagi and Bachira
Bachira : WHERE ARE YOUUUUUUUU
Isagi : Girl give me a minute i literally just arrived
Bachira : YOU'RE TOO SLOOOOW
I'm bored (╥﹏╥)
Isagi : im coming don't worry I just gotta remember where the dorm is first...
Bachira : ISAGI.
YOU PROMISED YOU WOULD REMEMBER THIS YEAR.
Isagi : I KNOW I KNOW IM SORRY I JUST FORGOT
Bachira : YOU SAY THAT EVERY TIME
Isagi : NO I DONT BITCH
Bachira : YES YOU DO BITCH HURRY UP ROOM 502
Isagi : OK OK OK
She accelerated her pace, bumping into a few students in the way, and she finally managed to get into one of the three elevators leading to the dorms. She was sending Bachira a voice message, saying how she would be there in no time, and she stopped mid-sentence when she saw the girl that just got into the elevator. She blinked twice, making sure it was real, then started staring at her for an awful lot of time.
The magnificent creature in front of her had dark wavy green hair that reached her hips, legs seemed to go down forever, and beautiful, muscular thighs. Her body was the definition of perfect - and that wasn't even the best part. Her turquoise eyes were surrounded by gorgeous, endless dark lashes, and her pink lips were matching with the slight blush on her cheeks. She wasn't smiling, she just looked like she wanted to get out of this elevator as fast as possible, but Isagi did not mind. As long as she could stare at her and her goddess-like beauty.
Isagi had never witnessed such magnificent person.
The girl was so lost in her intense staring, she didn't notice that the elevator was going up, and up, and that it eventually passed the fourteenth floor - the one where room 502 was located. They reached floor eighteen, the last one available to students, and the goddess got out of it, giving Isagi a weirded-out look before turning her back, her black boots clacking on the floor.
That's when, alone in the elevator, Yoi realized.
Floor eighteen only contained five student rooms, which were all occupied except for one that the mysterious girl was probably heading to. That meant that not only did she need to get back on her floor, but the model probably thought she was following her or something, since literally nobody is allowed here.
For fuck's sake.
***
Bachira Meguru was laughing. So hard she had a tear slipping out of her eye.
She was happy her best friend of two years Isagi Yoi didn't mistake their room for another. However, the story she had for her was even funnier than anything like that.
"I can't believe it!" she cried, still hysterical. "How could she be so pretty that you missed your floor?"
"That's what I'm saying! I don't know what got into me! AND STOP LAUGHING, damn it!"
Meguru simply couldn't. Her already short hair was put up in a palm-tree-looking ponytail on top of her head, mixing yellow and brown strands of hair together. "I'm sorry, it's just...I'm still shocked, y'know? How could THE Isagi Yoi be so interested in some girl that she ended up looking like a stalker? I never even saw you having a crush!"
The navy blue-haired girl buried her face in her hands, all red and flustered. She ended up finding the room, which was as decent as the two previous years : white walls with the Blue Lock Academy pentagonal sign on it, two queen-sized beds, a small modern kitchen, some storage space and a bathroom, which was already trashed with her best friend's skincare and makeup products. Yoi figured out soon after their first cohabitation that Bachira was not the type to clean after herself -and the room would quickly get disgusting if she didn't warn her about it.
They became roommates on their first year in the Academy and instantly clicked. They became inseparable. The two following years, they specifically asked (begged would probably be more appropriate) Anri to put them into the same dorm again so they could still be close, even if they weren't practicing the same sport. The minute Isagi arrived in the room, Meguru hugged her so hard they fell together on the ground -even if they had seen each other less than a week ago.
Bachira was a beast of volleyball : probably the best player in the entire school. Everything from her passes to her smashes was insanely precise (and confusing for the opponents, who never knew where to look when they played against her) and strong. She knew where to aim and where to hit, and Isagi didn't even remember the last time she saw her losing a match.
"I'm SO telling the groupchat about this." Meguru said, wiping tears out of her eyes.
"Don't you fucking dare!"
Isagi jumped onto her best friend and started to tickle her -her weakness. The mattress squealed, and so did Bachira. When she begged her to stop and promised not to tell anyone, the soccer athlete finally let her go, a threatening glare as warning.
"Anyways, did you tell the others that you were here? Yuki was just asking me earlier."
"Right, I forgot!" Yoi said while opening her phone.
someone mute shidou
Isagi : YUKIIIIII
Yukimiya : ISAGIIIIII
WHERE ARE YOU I GOT SOME GOSSIP TO TELL YOU
Isagi : ROOM 502 COME RN
Kurona : hello too ig
Isagi : don't worry I didn't forget abt u <33
Kurona : <33
Reo : Has anyone seen Nagi?
I can't find her 😥
Otoya : girl she was next to you thirty minutes ago
could never be me 🤭
Niko : I still have that one pic of you and Karasu.
Otoya : THAT WAS ONE TIME BITCH
WHERE DID YOU EVEN GET IT
Niko : I have my gays
ways*
Shidou : WORKS EITHER WAY MOUHAHAHAHA
SAE WHERE ARE YOUUUUUU
Sae : What do you want.
Shidou : You 😘🥵🔥
Sae : blocked.
Shidou : WAIT IM SORRY DONT DO THAT EWUYCFNAOWIET&$092NH1IJUH
Karasu : what the fuck.
Niko : like you're one to talk
Karasu : SYBAU
Nanase : Everyone pls calm down it's the first day of school 🙃
Niko : yes nanase
Otoya : yes nanase
Karasu : yes nanase
Shidou : yes nanase
Isagi : wtf is happening
Otoya : how could we say no to the peacekeeper of this group 😖😖
Niko : our ray of sunshine 😖
Karasu : our role model 😖😖
Shidou : the hottest girl alive 😖😖
Sae : okay.
Shidou : WAIT BAE YOU WERENT SUPPOSED TO SEE THAT AWIERGAWBHFEOAWEHBRF
Nagi : reooooooooooo
Reo : YES TREASURE
WHERE ARE YOU IVE BEEN SEARCHING FOR YOU FOR 20 MINUTES
Nagi : cafeteria
Reo : GIVE ME TWO MINUTES AND IM HERE
Reo has gone offline.
Isagi : down BAD 💀
Bachira : like you're one to talk lmao
Isagi : STFUUU
Shidou : ISAGI HAS A CRUSH????
Isagi : I DONT EIWOEHAWIBFEB
Otoya : yk its bad when she does the shidou typing style
Niko : lmfao
Karasu : lmfao in the big 26 💀
Niko : do you want me to leak that photo?
Karasu : WAIT NO IM SORRY IM SORRY
Yukimiya : ISAGI OPEN UP IM HERE
Isagi : IM COMING WAIT 2SECS
Karasu : the way bachira was just tossed aside 😭
Bachira : (｡•́︿•̀｡)
Yukimiya : don't worry babe you're getting the gossip too
Bachira : ＼(≧▽≦)／
Isagi has gone offline.
Yukimiya has gone offline.
Bachira has gone offline.
***
A brown-haired girl jumped into Isagi's arms right after passing the door. Thick, round glasses were sat on her nose. She had a dimple on her left cheek and glossy pink lips, and a small nose in the middle of her face. Her tall and elegant frame was just proving how obvious it was that she was modeling.
"I missed you so much!" Yuki said, her arms wrapped around the smaller girl's neck before going for the other one. "And you too, Bachi!"
Yukimiya Kenyuu was an incredible soccer player, more precisely striker. Her street-dribbling style made players crazy, and her natural talent with the ball wasn't a common find. She was ranked in the top 10 Blue Lock Academy soccer players for two years now (Isagi had been into the top 10 last year only), and still managed to have incredible grades and a very successful modeling career.
That girl was definitely something.
"Y'all are going to freak out. There's three new students in our year, and they're going to be presented at the third years meeting! Apparently there's two ice skaters and one soccer player. We're getting new rivals!"
New arrivals were rare in BLA. Yes, there was a lot of girls at first, but since the school is mainly divided into three sports, the number of students in each category was pretty equal. Each month, there was a ranking released by Ego himself (which was probably in fact half-written by Anri) showing the 15 best players of each sport in each year. The first years dorms and areas were always the most packed, but a lot of teenagers decided to give up on the school when they realized the level.
Three new students in the same year? That was certainly weird. At best, one athlete joined the school on the first day, but never more than that. These girls must be talented as hell.
"Ain't no way, three?" a small scream escaped Bachira's lips. "And none of them are doing volley? That's so tragic!" she fell on the bed with a dramatic expression. "But at least y'all get new besties!"
"Or enemies" Isagi said, arching her eyebrow. "I don't want another impossibly annoying girl to play at my level", she continued, knowing that the two girls in front of her knew who she was talking about.
Michaela Kaiser. Blue Lock's empress, would probably add her best friend (or was she?) Alexis Ness.
Long blond and blue-streaked hair that reached the middle of her back, hypnotizing gaze and a muscular body that was still slim and well-proportioned, the type that was envied by the entire school. She had expensive and classy clothes, tons of jewelry, and designer shoes. Her overwhelming presence was always accompanied by the dramatic "clac-clac" sound of her heels. She was top 1 since she first arrived at the Academy, had good grades, and was very popular : she still managed to have lots of friends even with her ... attitude.
Intimidating, sophisticated, she didn't take shit from anyone. Her personality was definitely something else.
Isagi despised her, unlike her friends, apparently.
They really did not understand her hatred toward the girl. So did Isagi, to be honest, but she just couldn't bring herself to like her. Not like the blonde had ever tried being friendly with her, anyways. Whatever situation they were in, they would always argue -and they only fought physically once, last year, and Bachira and Ness had to separate them.
"Isagi... you two should really try to get along soon," Yuki started, giving an awkward look to Meguru who was next to her."If y'all are actually going to play soccer for years together, you might as well start now."
She knew the model was right. When wasn't she? But still, they'd have to go through a lot together to possibly getting alone one day. And maybe a little character change. Who knows.
A loud stomach growl suddenly echoed through the room. The culprit was obvious.
"Hey, let's go eat a bit before the opening meeting!" Bachira shouted.
The two other girls agreed and got out of the room with a laugh.
***
Kunigami Ren was early. She always was.
She sat down in the auditorium, fifteen minutes before the meeting was supposed to start. Headphones covering her ears, auburn eyes closed, oversized black and orange jacket draped over her muscular frame, she was lost in her world.
The music would probably keep blasting throughout the entirety of the meeting, which she was hoping would end as fast as possible so she could go train. Her gym bag was already resting at her feet. She didn't care about the other students - she simply prayed that she wouldn't have to share her room with a newbie. She liked silence. Privacy. So Director Ego better keep it that way.
Her legs and arms were crossed. Her long orange wolfcut spilled against the cushions of the seat. She was tired as always, dark circles highlighting her exhaustion to the world. She did wear makeup, but didn't bother to hide them with it. Plus, she was always sweating from soccer practice, so why would she waste expensive products just for them to be gone ten minutes later?
Her phone was buzzing with notifications from the group chat that she didn't have the heart to quit. She didn't even know some of the names in it, like Nanase-something, and skipped the new chats most of the time, but she just couldn't bring herself to leave it. A small thought inside her head said, "It's the only thing connecting you to who you used to be", but she pushed it back and cranked up the volume - as if it would help.
She was almost asleep when she felt a tap on her shoulder.
"Kunigami! Are you awake? The meeting's about to start!"
Bachira Meguru was talking to her, poking her shoulder the same way an annoying insect would. Kunigami's fingers tightened around her phone in irritation, her face -of course- not showing any emotion. "Stop that." she answered calmly as she noticed that she was not the only girl invading her space.
Isagi and Yukimiya, her teammates, were already sitting beside her, chatting about some random gossip that Ren did not care about. Calm down, she said to herself. There's a lot of seats in the auditorium. They still had time to switch spots, even if the hall was starting to be packed with third-year students.
She did not hate the girls. In fact, they'd always been friendly and kind to her. It's just that their friendship wasn't the same anymore - and the only one to blame was Kunigami and her drastic character change that nobody could explain but herself (and even if she could, she didn't want to). But now, with all of her feelings that had been ripped away from her, she didn't really feel anything, except tiredness, irritation, and the need to be the best striker in the world. It wasn't complicated.
As Bachira sat down after yet another joke aimed at Isagi, Kunigami realized she was fucking stuck between them with no way to escape. She had specifically taken a seat in the back of the enormous room. Why the fuck would they choose these specific chairs? Why did they care about her? After everything that happened, how was it even possible?
She didn't have time to think about it because some bowl cut dude in a navy blue suit interrupted her with his cynical, raspy voice.
"Hello, my dear unpolished gems," he exclaimed while a beautiful, short-haired woman appeared behind him in formal clothes that enhanced her beautiful curves. Anri Teieri, the Vice-director and personal assistant of Jinpachi Ego, was now on the big stage, holding a pencil and a notebook.
"Hope you all practiced during break. This is your last year before final evaluations, so it means it's going to be the hardest one yet. So you can either foolishly believe that you have what it takes to make it, or immediately pack your things up and walk home."
Isagi gulped. The Director being intimidating (a.k.a. straight up arrogant) was nothing new. They often had these kinds of speeches, which shockingly worked pretty well to motivate the teenagers. She didn't even have time to locate her other friends before the lights had turned off, the projector illuminating the two leaders of the Academy.
"The rules stay the same. You will all receive your schedule by email at eleven p.m. tonight. The dorm assignment is almost done, but there's always a possibility that some of you get a new roommate before the end of the night."Ego explained while making all sorts of gestures with his arms like his words weren't already clear.
"For your final year, we needed to go big, which is why every Division is getting new coaches. For the volleyball players, this year's instructors will be Christiana Prince and Marc Snuffy. The first one spends more time looking at her reflection than training and the second talks so much you'll fall into a deep coma before the match even starts. But their explosive and power-oriented playstyle and unbearable personality are suprisingly terribly effective. Consider yourselves lucky that you can even breathe the same air as them, 'cause you are not even close to reaching their level." he added as a certain girl with a brown-and-yellow ponytail nearly fell out of her chair at the announcement.
Bachira's eyes lit up with a mix of excitement and admiration. Her two biggest idols who she had been following for years were going to coach her. Teach her new techniques. Develop her potential. She was seconds away from exploding. She looked at Isagi with that one "OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD" look while her grin nearly split her face in half.
"For the ice skaters, it'll be Lavinha. An absolute lunatic with horrifying fashion sense who holds four World Records and two Olympic titles. Before learning from her, you'll start by trying to understand what the fuck she's saying, and it could possibly take months, so good luck." Somewhere on the side of the auditorium, Karasu and Otoya were getting scolded by a supervisor from laughing too hard.
"And last but not least, Noelle Noa is now the coach of the Soccer Division. I don't really have to say anything about her, except that her technique -and eyeliner- are flawless and that y'all should take notes." Murmurs of indignation and giggles were heard in the room. "Also," Ego continued, "You're getting Julie Loki as assistant coach, and the only reason for her not to be Noa's equal is because she's your age."
Isagi almost fainted, flashbacks of all of the Noelle Noa merch she owned as a kid flooding her mind (she still did, but why would anyone need to know that?). Her idol since, what, forever? Yukimiya stared at her with wide eyes, unsure whether it was a dream or not. Trembling, they couldn't believe how insane that third-year was going to be, and almost (keyword : almost) felt bad for the athletes who had just left the school.
Meanwhile, Kunigami was having a completely different reaction to the news. Did Ego really think she would receive orders from someone her age, maybe even younger? No way in hell. It's either give me the ball or fuck off. There's no in-between on the field. There couldn't be one if she wanted to become the best striker ever.
"You will meet them tomorrow morning. Today, you will get a personalized training via the Blue Lock Tablets. Each of you will receive it at the end of this meeting, already logged in to your profile. I highly recommend not going on illegal or adult sites, because we can see everything you do live on the device." That line was obviously targeted, but apparently Shidou Ryuuna didn't notice the dozens of pairs of eyes that landed on her as soon as it got out of The Director's mouth.
She had created last year a "joke" image of Ego on XXX platforms (no need to elaborate. Really). It had already gone around the entire school before the staff members even noticed - weirdly, the leader of the Academy had decided to sleep in front of his computers that one day and seriously regretted it. Every student in the school was summoned one by one the following days, classes suspended and gyms closed, to find out who was the author of this disgusting picture, and Shidou faced serious trouble - and almost got expelled. That week, she was especially seen around Sae, but that's another story.
"You already know the rest : the fields, ice rinks and gymnasiums all open at 6:30 a.m. and close at 11 p.m. Lessons start at 8:45 in the morning and end when your schedule tells you to. I don't care if you don't like it : you all chose your program, so deal with the consequences. For students with exterior activities, your classes are scheduled a little earlier than everybody else. Oh, it's unfair? Don't give a fuck. And also, you girls are only authorized to leave the school areas when you don't have classes on the weekends. I don't have anything left to say, so I'll kindly let Anri handle the rest."
The projector shifted toward the gorgeous woman on the right. She cleared her throat before starting.
"As some of you may know, we are getting three new students. It was supposed to be a surprise, but it leaked god knows how. You will all meet them in person later tonight, but we'll still present them to you now and announce who they are paired with for the dorms. No disrespectful comments about them will be tolerated. Is that good?" She said with a smile on her face.
The thing with Anri is that she was genuinely nice, but often restrained by Ego to develop the girls' ego (this was a running gag between the girls by the way) and capacities. Smart and charismatic, she would honestly be more qualified to run the Academy than to play babysitter with the Director.
She muttered something into Ego's ear, and he snapped his fingers twice. The lights didn't reappear in the room, but now illuminated the entire stage with a dramatic clap. An enormous screen had replaced the wall in the back. The image shown on it was simple, and the teenagers knew it by heart : a white, blank background with a big blue pentagon in the middle. Blue Lock Academy's symbol that was present all around the school.
The thing with new students was that they were so rare that they needed to be phenomenal. Sure, you needed to be very good to even enter the school, but to arrive on the third year? That was a whole other level of good. Imagining the level of these three new girls made Isagi shiver. The screen changed, fading back to black, and Anri spoke up.
"The first new student of the year is named Hiori Yo. She will enter the ice skating program. Her style is graceful and sharp, and she makes it look effortless even if we all know how hard this discipline really is."
On the TV, a magnificent pale blue-haired girl appeared. Her face showed delicate features and soft cyan eyes bordered with long, full lashes. Her hair almost reached her hips. She was in an ice rink, in the middle of a routine, and was sliding on the ice in a way that felt unreal, hypnotic, executing jumps that seemed almost impossible, yet landing them flawlessly, completely mastering them.
Her arms moved gracefully, as if time had suspended itself, eyes closed from concentration. An invisible string was holding her body straight as if she was ascending. She spun at a breathtaking speed, her left leg lifted high behind her head with her hands (Isagi recognized the Biellman spin because Reo had once shown her when they had free time) before finishing her program in an elegant pose.
"Hiori possesses insane control on the ice. Her movements are all calculated to the millimeter, like a machine that was made for winning."
Sighs of admiration fell out of the other athletes' mouths, especially the skaters', in the silence of the auditorium. Impressed, jealous, anxious, everyone seemed to feel something different at the moment. But no one was living such intense sensation as Nanase.
She felt a swarm of butterflies erupt in her stomach at the view of the skater. She was absolutely mesmerized by her and her fragile beauty which resembled a snowflake. She was tall, too (like the majority of the girls in the Blue Lock Academy), and the thoughts flowing into Nanase's mind as she admired her legs in these tight Lululemon leggings were definitely not PG-13. She was definitely going to spam the groupchat about it after the meeting ended.
The video changed to show Hiori's new icon - that goofy-ass drawing that each of the girls were associated to, showing their most recognizable features and turning them into an 8 year-old drawing - but hers surprisingly wasn't that bad. Some girls really got exposed with that icon though. Wasn't her case apparently, it was even a pretty accurate comparison.
"Next up, a new girl is joining the Soccer Division. Insane speed and sprinting skills, her 50 meters personnal record is 5.77 seconds- which is the women's World Record." Shocked murmurs and applause were manifested. "She dominates the field before her opponents even realize the game started. Her natural talent and overwhelming speed earned her recognition way before she was accepted at our Academy."
The screen shifted again, but this time, it was a succession of clips filmed on a soccer field. The camera was oriented towards a slim, curvy body, and slowly moved upward to show bright pink eyes that were concentrated on the ball at her running feet. For some reason, they had cut the part where her face was revealed and only her eyes were visible. The students hoped she was sprinting, 'cause if not, they were actually fucked. The Vice-director wasn't lying : that girl was so fast it was concerning. The ball didn't leave her feet for even a second.
She was dribbling competitor after competitor, her pace never decreasing. Her technique was flawless, fluid, smooth, almost elegant. When she entered the penalty box, the focus moved onto the other girls trying to stop her, but they simply couldn't. She was too fast, too good, too everything. She aimed at the goal, took a shot and scored with a magnificent volley shot over the head of two athletes.
Complete silence.
Then applause. Tons of applause. The students were impressed, more than that. Isagi was so focused on clapping her hands together that she didn't notice that the orange-haired girl next to her had lifted her head, abruptly straightened up, even stiffer than usual, recognizing that incredible, unreal speed. It couldn't possibly be her, right? There was just no way.
The camera took its time to show a few other scoring clips from the mysterious pink-eyed girl, never showing her face properly. During their time at the Academy, the girls had understood that Blue Lock loved suspense and build-up, taking all kinds of detours before arriving to the main point. They were only proving their point now.
When the camera finally zoomed on the player's face, gasps erupted in the auditorium, and Kunigami seriously had to use all she had left in her to keep an indifferent face, her knuckles whitening from gripping her phone so hard.
Short bright pink-red hair covered her head in voluminous layers, the longest back ones reaching the end of her nape and the shortest ones cut a little beneath her ears. The strands fell over her forehead and in the middle of her eyes, framing her face perfectly, just at the right spots to keep her eyes open to the world. Bachira was definitely going to ask her the name of her hair stylist later, 'cause damn.
The face of the girl appeared androgynous, almost masculine, and you could only completely prove she was a girl looking at her gorgeous, well-built body. Long, dark lashes and glossy pink lips -even if she had just played a whole entire football match- were completing the mix, creating the student that was surely going to be the collective lesbian awakening of the school during the following days.
“Chigiri Hyoma is one of Japan’s best under-20 players. I traveled the country myself to find someone like her, and—”
“We get it, Anri.” Ego interrupted her, completely unbothered. “She’s extremely good, blah-blah-blah. Yes, she definitely is, but let’s not spend too much time on the subject, shall we? We still have another student to present, and I’m getting hungry — the noodles better be cooked before the end of this.”
The students were afraid the vice-director was going to explode. She didn’t look particularly angry, but after two years of seeing these kinds of interactions, they learned how to distinguish a real smile, like the one she addressed to the girls, and the forced ones she gave to the Director in this type of situation.
"If that's what you want, Ego, I'll hurry up. To conclude what I was saying, that girl is a gem, a jewel, a pearl, and you better not underestimate her abilities..."
"Because she's better than most of you" Ego completed, unfazed as tons of students were staring at him in shock realizing the Director had just potentially complimented someone.
The monitor shifted again to show Chigiri's new chibi icon, an animation making it make its way to the list of pentagonal profile pictures representing the other students. Only one spot remained. Who would be worthy enough to complete the board? The girls couldn't wait to find out.
"Our last participant's name will probably ring a bell for most of you. She is Rin Itoshi, and will enter the Ice skating division." Confused whispers made their way to the stage. "Itoshi?", "Is that Sae's sister or something?" or even "She's related to the soccer prodigy?" were some of the sentences pronounced.
Strangely, nobody outside the skating division had realized that Rin was not only famous for her surname, but because she had been making headlines for years.
On the display, a magnificent woman appeared. She had dark, rich wavy green hair that reached her hips, and it only took that to make Isagi connect the dots : it was the girl from the elevator. Except she wasn't in some practice costume like Hiori -she was clearly in the middle of a competition. She wore a black bodysuit dress with green details and feathers that evoked a dark swan. A matching headpiece rested on her head, almost blending in with her hair.
The music started, dramatic and intense, just like the girl skating on it. And when she glided forward, it was like time had stopped. Her program was far away from Hiori's, which had the beauty of an ephemeral flower, it was brutal, ruthless. She controlled everything in her body to the tips of her toes, a cold, serious look on her face. Her rhythm was surgical, calculated, executing every single movement flawlessly in a terrifying way. Graceful, but still opressive. Beautiful, yet unsettling.
There weren't enough adjective to describe her jumps. She executed not one but two quad toe loops and then a quad lutz -one of the hardest in figure skating. Each time, she landed perfectly, her leg lifted high creating a "Y" shape with her body. She skated on one foot only for a moment that was so long it was almost embarrassing, before getting back on two. Her pirouettes almost made her arms look like blades. It was more than a pleasure to look at.
She did a fucking quad axel, which only made her overwhelming aura even heavier on the watchers' shoulders. Even the elite of Blue Lock Academy skaters sometimes had a hard time landing one or two quads : she had just executed four. She wasn't here for the spectators ; she was here to dominate the ice. A cantilever waved across the ice soon after.
The blades of her skates carved perfect circles in the ice with a violence that was suffocating, but they weren't the most dangerous thing on the ice at the moment. The commentators didn't have the words to describe what they were witnessing. The other skaters of the room were frozen. How the fuck were they supposed to compete with that?
She didn't have a drop of sweat on her face, like her routine wasn't tiring at all, just a random Tuesday morning exercise. The program ended in one final sharp movement, her arms lifted in an eagle spread and her chin lifted up, and it was like thousands of spectators were applauding, little scars covering the ice where she stood. Little did they know, there actually was.
You knew it was bad when even Bachira stopped smiling.
But the video didn't end here. It faded into another shot of Rin seated on a bench, a puffy black coat on her shoulders. She was waiting for her score, looking completely indifferent, and only Sae in the auditorium could identify that she was anxious - she had this little spark in her eyes that only showed when she was stressed. When it appeared, the entire room gasped in disbelief.
Anything above 230 in women's figure skating was inhuman. But Rin had just reached 243.7.
She buried her face in her hands in shock, almost falling from the seat. Her head faced the ground, her hair gracefully framing it like a curtain would, her shoulders shaking with emotion. Sae had to seriously restrain herself to not go slap Ego on the face for showing her little sister like that. The Director, who seemed weirdly amused to see her reaction as she folded under the pressure.
The display changed one last time, now zooming on Rin stepping on a podium - and clearly on the highest step. A rich-looking man in a classy suit shook her hand, which she really didn't care about according to her expression. Only about the title she just received. At only 16 years old.
The fucking World Champion.
(So that was where they had heard her name. How could they not have connected the dots earlier? Had they really forgotten that much during the break?)
That girl was on a whole other level - she was literally aiming for the Olympics. AND Sae's sister, apparently. So why the fuck was she coming at the Academy? Why would she need it? Did Ego really just liked to crush teenagers' lives?
Speak of the devil.
"Well, I don't think I need to add any unnecessary information about Itoshi Rin. You pretty much got the entire painting here. Please behave and don't embarrass me at tonight's dinner when you will meet the three new pupils. On that note, you'll excuse me, because I have three packs of noodles to eat."
He disappeared behind the curtains with his sneaky smile, and Anri finished :
"To conclude the reunion, we only have the final dorm assignment to sort out. Itoshi Rin was supposed to be assigned with Sae Itoshi and Shidou Ryuuna, but on her demand, she'll have a dorm for herself on floor eighteen."
Sae sighed. Did she really have to call her out like that, in front of the entire year? Now, the demon with pink tips was going to ask her all kinds of lukewarm questions about how their relationship as sisters was going. That night was going to be tiring, she could feel it.
"Hiori Yo will share the dorm of Kurona Ranze and Nanase Nijiro..." she continued, not noticing the headband lover nearly shooting out of her seat in joy, and finished with "And on The Director's recommendation, Chigiri Hyoma will be paired with Kunigami Ren for this entire school year. That's it. Hope you have an exciting year at Blue Lock Academy, unpolished gems." She smiled as she borrowed Ego's favorite nickname, and the lights turned off just as she got out of the stage.
The girls' shocked faces were even more visible in the light.
***
After receiving her tablet, Kunigami almost ran to her dorm. She didn't listen to Bachira who asked her to stay with them. She was too panicked to be with anyone at the moment.
She closed the door and fell against it, her back sliding on the wood until she sat on the ground. She put her hands on her face and started breathing heavily, like she couldn't get enough air into her lungs. Her fingers were shaking, too.
What. The. Fuck.
Why was she here? Why the fuck was she assigned to her dorm by Ego's demand? Did he want her to kill him? ́’Cause that was certainly the thing coming to her mind right now. They hadn't seen each other in so long, right after right after it happened. What was Chigiri going to think about her? Not that she cared, but...they used to be so close, and... what was she going to do now? She had changed so much and...
Her hair.
That was the first thing that stood out to Kunigami when she saw her on the gigantic screen. She had cut her long, silky, precious hair. NOT THAT IT WAS BAD, she just wondered where half of it went...and why. The Chigiri she knew would have never gotten rid of it. Even if she had some difficulty to play soccer with it, she would never cut it from more than a centimeter, when it was due. That's it. So why?
To be realistic, that new - or was it? - haircut suited her well. Like really well. She was even more stunning than before. And hotter too. And literally everyone knew that Kunigami had a thing for napes, so seeing hers discovered like that...
WHAT THE FUCK WAS SHE THINKING?? It's CHIGIRI, damn it! Where were these thoughts coming from all of a sudden? Wasn't she supposed to have moved on?
...moved on. Right. She needed to get out of the room before some cringe interaction between the two happened.
She stood up from the ground, took a deep breath to prepare from all the sounds of the cafeteria, opened the door, and-
There she was.
Chigiri Hyoma was standing quietly just outside the room, holding a black suitcase. She wore a shirt that clung to her torso, an oversized star-patterned vest covering her shoulders and black jeans with multiple belts and chains on it. Her neck was covered in silver necklaces and her ears in earrings. Kunigami froze and looked at her. Like they hadn't done in so, so long. Her eyes were still that rich, satisfying pink shade, even more beautiful than on the gigantic screen. They were her favorite thing about her.
What was she thinking? She didn't like anything from her. She was her rival, her opponent. They would maybe play on the same team at the Academy, but they were still both fighting for the same thing.
Chigiri's heart started to beat way too fast for the unreadable face she was trying to pull. Those cold auburn eyes she never thought she'd see again were now staring deep into her soul. Kunigami hadn't changed for a bit, except for the fact that her hair was longer and more voluminous than in her memories. And that she was taller, too. If she reached her jaw a year ago, she would now face her shoulder if she didn't look up.
But of course she did.
"I'm guessing I found the right room?"
***
someone mute shidou
19:07
Nanase : Y'ALL IM IN LOVE
DID YOU SEE THE FIRST GIRL
THE ONE WITH BLUE HAIR
Isagi : we all did babe
Niko : she was so cuuuute
Nanase : AND SHES IN ME N KURONA'S DORM TOO
IM PANICKING RN ARRGHHHHHHH
Bachira : Don't pookie!!!
You have to be strong and alpha to bag her up!!!!!
Isagi : I don't think thats how it works...
Shidou : Yes lock in sunshine!!!
Turn into an alpha wolf and you'll get her number!!!
Kurona : sharks better tbhh
Otoya : @Shidou reminds me of someone...
Shidou : YOURE RIGHT TOYOTA
SAEEEEEEEEEEEEEE I STILL DONT HAVE UR NUMBER BBG
GIVE IT TO ME PLSPLSPLSPLSPLSPLSPLS
Sae : no.
Shidou : pretty please?
Sae : fine.
Karasu : WTF??????
Otoya : SAE EXPLAIN YOURSERLF.
Yukimiya : idk wtf just happened but NANASE HAS A CRUSH???
Otoya : Oh i guess we'll skip the ryusae part then.
Sae : what?
Otoya : nothing.
Nanase : I THINK YES
Yukimiya : im so happy for you pooks😘😘
Kurona : same same
Nanase : ty <333
Otoya : anyways can we talk about the redheaded baddie??
Bachira : IKR
SHE'S SOOOOOO HOT
Otoya : THATS WHAT IM SAYING
FINEST WOMAN IVE EVER SEEN
Karasu : babe?
Otoya : after you baby ofc 😘
Niko : hmm hmm
Bachira : AND CAN WE TALK ABOUT THOSE CURVESSSSSS
LIKE WHATS HER WORKOUT ROUTINE
Otoya : SHE WAS SO FCKING SEXY FRFR
Kunigami : Don't talk about her like that.
Isagi : ???
Reo : ???
Otoya : ???
Karasu : ???
Shidou : ???
Nagi : you're alive?
Bachira : LMAOOOOO
I CANT I CANT NAGI WTF
Isagi : I CANT BREATHE
Otoya : @Kunigami YOU KNOW HER???
Kunigami : would you leave her alone if I did?
Karasu : WOOOAHHHHHHH
KUNIGAMI GETTING POSSESSIVE???!!!!1!1!
(gone wrong!)
Yukimiya : (police was called) (someone got killed) (emotional)
Niko : EMOTIONAL 💀💀
Bachira : GIRL GOT TERRITORIAL REALLLL QUICK
Isagi : LMAO
Niko : btw guys can i add my roomate? reo already knows her
Isagi : sure :)
Karasu : ofc a new baddie to hangout with is always welcomed
Niko has added an user.
Charlie : WASSUP GNG
Shidou : CHARLIE MY GIRLLL
@Niko YOUR ROOMING WITH MY BBG???
Niko : shouldve known you 2 knew eachother tbh
Reo : hey Charlie 😊
Charlie : HEY REOOOO
U DOIN GOOD
Reo : I am, thank you 😘
Yukimiya : @Nagi new rival spotted?
Nagi : what?
Karasu : LMAOOOO
SHE RESPONDED THIS TIME
Otoya : ONLY REASON SHE TALKS FR
Reo : dont worry bbg we're just friends
Nagi : thats what you said about me before we got together
Niko : damn even full sentences 💀
Sae : down bad lmao
Isagi : DID SAE JUST LAUGH?????
Bachira : rare sight lol
BTW are you related by ANY CHANCE to the Rin girl?
Isagi : bitch they have the same family name 💀
Bachira : maybe a popular one!
Sae : we are, actually.
19:18
Sae : why you bitches taking so much time to respond?
Shidou : SHES YO SISTER???
DAMNNN HOW U BOTH SO HOT
Otoya : terrifying genes frfr
Sae : ?
Bachira : FUCKING TWO BAD BITCHES
AT THE SAME DAMN TIME 🔥🔥🔥
Charlie : FUCKING TWO BAD BITCHES🔥🔥🔥
Shidou : AT THE SAME DAMN TIME🔥🔥🔥
Isagi : why do I have a bad feeling about these three...
Yukimiya : same girl same
***
The third cafeteria was full, which was surprising because everyone normally had different eating habits. Some ate their supper in the middle of the night, others way too early in the afternoon. It was 20:30, and apparently everyone had decided to go there at the same time in hope of meeting the new students.
Hiori, the cyan-haired girl, was already here, and was getting almost interrogated by Reo on her "superb program that deserved to be sponsored by Mikage Corporation." Let's not forget that Reo's family was one of the most influential in Japan, with tons of million dollar partnerships in bank. It was her family who paid the translation earphones that they would have to wear almost everyday, when a teacher, a coach or even a student was from another country (like Kaiser, for example).
That girl was loaded. Some girls even envied her girlfriend Nagi Seira for that one specific point, the others either had a secret crush on Reo or wanted her money (when Reo told the groupchat that her male elementary school teacher once confessed to her, their reaction was so intense that Nagi got her phone confiscated - she forgot to mute the groupchat in class). Fun fact, the latter wasn't at the cafeteria, because "eating was too much of a hassle" (The entire year wondered how she had abs even if she only ate fruit pouches 24/7).
Hiori was calm, peaceful and smiling gently at everyone. Her hair was tied in a braid that reached her waist, the cyan shade more beautiful than the ocean itself. She wore a light blue off-the-shoulder top layered over a pale cami, with a black skirt and white stockings. The school's fashionistas already accepted her as their rival at this point. She had a pair of round golden earrings matched to one single necklace. Speaking softly, she nodded silently as the other girls around her talked without stopping for a second. She was a very good listener.
She had already connected with Nanase, staying close to her at all times, and the teenager was making panicked gestures at Isagi whenever she had the chance to show her how stressed she was. Isagi responded to her with thumbs up, mouthing "you can do it!" to give her some courage (which didn't really help at all, by the way), happy with the sight of her friend being so shy. Her skin's red tint hadn't changed since Hiori had stepped into the cafeteria, and it only made the situation funnier. The skater had a quiet personality, but was sweet and caring. Nanase was fumbling more and more by the minute.
Chigiri showed up a few minutes later, "fashionably late", as they could tell by her outfit. Black metallic headphones decorated with stickers rested on her head, the chains of her pants clinking at each of her movements. Her long nails were painted in dark polish, and she wore a lot of jewelry, as Isagi's table could tell by how they were sparkling under the cafeteria lights.
As soon as she walked down the stairs leading the cafeteria, heads turned out in her direction. Around twenty girls ran to her to ask her about her snapchat or her number. She did seem pretty embarrassed about it, but still managed to play it cool, which only made the students fold even more.
Charismatic, funny, she was nice and sassy at the same time. Due to her haircut, some girls even called her "Prince Charming", which only made her even more awkward, but she had to admit the nickname was pretty accurate. Her laugh, her humor, everything about her was like a magnet for the students, who kept gathering at her sides even more.
If her smile at first was awkward and forced, it was now sincere and wide. She was in her element, what she was best at after soccer : socializing. It didn't take long for a whole lot of girls to start laughing at her funny stories and anecdotes, and you could see the nervousness in her shoulders releasing as she saw them burst into laughter. She was already getting comfortable.
Isagi and Yukimiya had to physically restrain Bachira and Otoya to get up. They kept repeating "how gorgeous and funny she was and how they NEEDED to go talk to her", even if half of them was already in a long established relationship with Karasu, who didn't seem bothered, actually. She even laughed seeing her girlfriend's attitude, saying that was just how she was and she loved her that way. Corny but cute, Isagi thought. At least they looked happy, because the words escaping Otoya's mouth did NOT beat the cheater allegations. Sae and Shidou had just arrived (together?) and Niko, Charlie and Kurona were talking about something on their side of the bench that Isagi couldn't comprehend because of how loud her best friend was.
Kunigami was nowhere to be seen.
Around twenty minutes later, the loud sound of high-heeled boots clacking on the floor was heard. Conversations gradually died out the moment Rin Itoshi entered the room. the atmosphere instantly changing. Sae looked up before anyone else. Dark makeup and lipstick, a long coat draping over her frame, she looked more like she was heading out to town rather than dinner. Dark green strands of hair were tucked behind her left ear, revealing a white earphone.
The same cold and intimidating aura she had during her performance was surrounding her, sharp and impossible to penetrate. The students didn't dare approach her the way they had with Chigiri ; their gut was telling them it was no use. She was holding her phone, not bothering to look away from it. Her expression wasn't letting place to any unnecessary confusion : she was not here to make friends.
She walked through the hordes of students, unbothered if she was bumping into them or not. These NPCs could survive a little hit on the shoulder if they were in Blue Lock Academy, even if Rin believed that it was filled with a bunch of morons. She put her phone into her pocket to pick up her food, ignoring the fact that everybody was staring at her. She didn't acknowledge any of the stares. On the other side of the cafeteria, a pink-haired girl caught herself following each of her steps, a storm of feelings causing havoc in her chest.
She had grown so much. But of course, Sae would keep that thought to herself. She wasn't the fourteen year old girl she remembered. And why the fuck was she so tall? What had she been eating? Her legs were at least five centimeters longer than Sae's. Now, people would ask who was the oldest when it used to be so obvious. And she had grown her hair, too. Her new (or was it?) haircut suited her even better than the previous one. She sighed, a faint wave of nostalgia making its way to her heart before she chased it away quickly. She didn't have time for all of these lukewarm thoughts.
Once her plate was full, she turned back toward the stairs, not looking at the confused looks behind her back. She silently got back to her dorm, music blasting into her ears, food in hand. She didn't even say a word the entire time she was at the cafeteria, Isagi realized, not even a "thank you" to the Lunch Staff. Didn't look at anyone. Just observed, and left, at a speed that some students probably didn't even have the time to register. No greetings, no words, no hesitation... Nobody in the cafeteria seemed to know what to say after she left.
In the span of one day, Isagi had met a girl she wouldn’t stop thinking about, discovered it was in fact Sae Itoshi’s sister, and watched three newcomers completely overturn the balance of the Academy.
Classes hadn’t even started yet.
But Isagi already knew that this year would change everything.