We went back to our Locker rooms dejected and surprisingly silent. Even Raichi, who I thought would be raging at everyone, was silent. Isagi, especially looked like a Puppy who had just been kicked in the ribs. The reason? What Barou said when Isagi was through on Goal but Barou was there to stop him, "Hey, No.11, You're trash, you know that? At least your teammate, No.10 (that's me, by the way) was decisive in front of the King, but you? Ha, if you get nervous in front of goal, then you have no talent as a Striker, you chump.". Isagi crumpled onto the floor in Despair. It seems he has some battles with himself he needs to fight through. But I have faith he'll pull through. He has to. This is Bluelock after all.
As we all sat down, I stood up and asked, "Alright. What happened out there? We had a gameplan and everything, we had plays that would have netted us goals and got us the win but the second the Whistle blew to start the game, its like it evaporated from your minds. WHAT HAPPENED OUT THERE?!!!!". This enraged Raichi and he stood up in my face and responded to my rage with his, "YOU CANNOT BE THIS DENSE! WHAT HAPPENED IS WE LOST BECAUSE YOU IDIOTS WOULDN'T PASS IT TO ME!!". I grabbed his Collar and pulled him closer to my face, etched with fury, "And what did you do when the ball got to you, huh?!! Tell me!! Did you do anything worthwhile throughout the Match, you conceited piece of shit, huh?!!!! The first thing you did was throw the whole plan into the bin by pulling that stunt you pulled, but did you redeem yourself by putting in the work? HELL NO!! YOU JUST KEPT ON DEMANDING THE BALL AS IF PASSING TO YOU WOULD MIRACULOUSLY RESULT IN A GOAL!!". Raichi responded in kind, grabbing my Collar and squeezing hard, "WHAT DID YOU SAY?!!". At this point, we were head to head, ready to duke it out until Kunigami and Isagi had to restrain the me while Iemon and Gagamaru restrained Raichi.
"GUYS, THAT'S ENOUGH!!! FIGHTING WILL GET US NOWHERE!!! WE NEED TO FIGURE OUT A WAY FORWARD FROM HERE. WE'VE ALREADY LOST ONE GAME. WE CANNOT AFFORD TO LOSE ANYMORE AND GET LOCKED OFF!!!" Kunigami, being the voice of Reason, barely managed to restore Order. I freed myself from their grasp as did Raichi who bellowed back, "Yeah, that's rich coming from Mr. Top Goalscorer. If we get locked off, there'll only be you left so what do you have to lose, huh?!!". "RAICHI, THAT'S ENOUGH!!! STOP ANTAGONISING EVERYONE. YOU'RE NOT HELPING MATTERS HERE. IF YOU HAVE NOTHING MEANINGFUL TO SAY, SHUT THE HELL UP!!!!". That was Iemon who had finally had it with Raichi's attitude. He explained further, "Listen, we've already lost one game and that means we can't afford to lose anymore. For example, let's say every team has 2 wins and 2 losses, that would mean we're on 6 points apiece. So, the benchmark for those who pass 1st Selection will have to be 7 points. Seeing as we've already lost, losing again all but guarantees us getting locked off. Is that what we want? If we don't figure things out and fast, we're done. Our Dreams, our Careers, everything will disappear. Just like that.", he finished by snapping his fingers to emphasize his point. "Did Ryosuke Kira's locking off not teach us anything?".
Everyone quieted down immediately after recalling Kira's reaction after he got locked off, his barely conscious body on the floor, his despaired expression, his twitching body, it sent a collective shiver up our Spines and we all cooled down. Soon, a quiet voice spoke up as he went to get water from the Fridge, "You know, not everything that Ego guy said is completely true. He was throwing names around like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Eric Cantona but if you think back, none of them have ever won a World Cup. If anything, what he said about playing the game the way it was meant to be played and turning 0 into 1 was some sort of Clue or Hint. He wants us to figure something out by ourselves." he calmly explained as he at down, slurping from the bottle. Isagi, with a towel draped across his neck, stood up and said, "Um, guys. I might have a clue about what Ego meant. It's not complete but it's a start." Everyone turned to face him. "Come on, Out with it, noob.", that was Raichi's infuriating voice. I turned to glare at him, which he returned, until Kunigami had to stand in-between the both of us. Isagi continued, "Alright, think back to the match, when everyone was pushing and shoving everyone around, fighting for the ball. That madness couldn't be called Football, could it?". "Obviously not. Luckily, nobody came out with an injury or something.", was my response. Isagi nodded in agreeance and continued, "That was a 0, I think. But what broke through that madness? It was Barou's play. His wonder goal opened the floodgates that created more opportunities for Team X to start working together. Using his powerful body and immense talent, he forced a way forward for his team which galvanised them and before they knew it, the goals came flying in in droves for them. But what did we do? We were still tearing at each other's throats.". My eyes flew wide open and my fist hit my palm in realisation. "Whoa, Isagi, you may be on to something there. If you think about it, the same thing happened to us, albeit on a smaller scale. When you, Bachira, Kunigami and I worked together and produced our first goal, the amount of fighting actually reduced significantly. Our backline slowly strengthened and because Kunigami and I stopped Barou, we had more chances moving forward. Hell, there was like 5 minutes in the match where we had the ball and they didn't come anywhere close to touching it.". Isagi pointed at me and said, "Yeah, you're right. So that must be Ego's message. If we wanted to become a real team, our Egos had to clash and combine in that match. All it takes is one person with the agreed greatest talent to force a way open and the rest will rally around that one cutting-edge Striker. THAT is how a team is born. THAT is Ego's message." The realisation had finally dawned on us at a crucial time.
Ego's face suddenly appeared on the big screen yet again, "Hello there, Diamonds in the rough. By the way, another of Building 5's 1st Selection matches just ended. Team V battered Team Y, beating them 8 - 0.". All of us recoiled in shock. "What the hell? 8 - 0? Hold up, if Building 5 is the lowest of all the Buildings in Bluelock and teams are getting destroyed 8 - 0, then what would have happened if we faced teams from other higher ranked Buildings? We would have conceded like 20 goals or something.". That reaction came from Igaguri and I.
Ignoring our reactions, Ego continued, "Well, at least you're on the right track. At least, you're close to it. You still don't truly understand what it means to turn 0 into 1. But, luckily for you, Ego is here to save your sorry hides. What you need, my Diamonds in the rough, are your WEAPONS. What are you good at? Your strongest attributes, your qualities that make you stand out. What can bring you the most goals? Is it Speed? Dribbling? Technique? Shooting Accuracy? Power? Whatever it is, take it and smash it into the other team's structure. The act of scoring Goals is just as psychological as it is physical. With every Goal you score, you further destroy the other team's structure. Their plans go out the window and their hope of winning dims further and further the more you score. You know what that means? Strikers are Destroyers. So take up your Weapons and use it against anyone and anything in your path. Oh, yes. Without it, Victory will all but remain a pipe dream." And with that, he disappeared again, leaving a blank, black screen with the Bluelock Logo as the screensaver.
"I'll go take a bath.". I stood up and left the Locker room, heading for the bathroom. Entering the bathroom, I stood in the Shower, motionless, mulling over Ego's words. "He's right. But since everyone is different, they'll obviously have different Weapons. The question now is how are we going to combine them in such a way that it will give every one of our weapons an equal chance to shine so everyone gets their turn while also allowing us to score as many Goals as possible?", I thought out loud in the running Shower. "AHHHHHH!!! LEAVE IT TO THAT JERK TO MAKE THE MOST COMPLEX THINGS IN FOOTBALL SOUND EVEN MORE CONFUSING, THAT BASTARD!!!!!" I screamed out while angrily scratching my head in frustration.
"You know what? Forget it. My Brain is about to explode so I'll just leave it.", I relented and finally got out of the Shower. Unknowingly, I had spent over 30 minutes in the Shower, thinking, but I came up empty-handed. I dried myself off and put on the baggy Bluelock tracksuit and went to the Cafeteria to eat. Getting there, I met Isagi and Kunigami talking so I went and grabbed my food and side-dish and placed it beside them. "What's up, guys. What are we talking about?", I asked while separating my Chopsticks. "Oh, hey Kaido. Nothing much. Just chatting up on something. Also, Kunigami was thanking me for the 2 assists in the last match.". I smiled at Kunigami and casually said, "Eh, don't think too much on it. He's just nice like that, ain't that right, my man?", I asked with a playful smile. Kunigami just shrugged and replied, "Well, it's only fair that I thank him, isn't it? I'm, if nothing, a fair and square type of guy. Nothing wrong with that.". "Well, let's see how that Mentality holds up in Bluelock. Hopefully, it doesn't change you too much.". Kunigami doubled down on his beliefs and replied, "Bluelock can't change me. It will only better me. That's all there is to it." One can only hope. Having enough of that, I switched the topic and asked, "So what were you guys talking about?". Isagi perked up and answered, "Well, I was asking Kunigami why he plays Football. Why he works so hard and what drives him, you know?". Well now, that's a deep question, isn't it, Isagi? Kunigami answered with all seriouness, "Well, it's simple. I want to be a Superhero." Huh? The hell kinda answer is that? And he's serious about it too. The more I learn about Kunigami, the more I wonder if Bluelock is the right place for him. He even explained further, "As a kid, I never idolised Super Sentai Rangers, Pirate Kings, WWE Superstars or even other fictional characters. No, my Idols were real life Warriors, fighting on green Pitches, representing their Clubs and Countries with every fibre of their being, bringing Joy to people with their amazing plays, their incredible tackles and most importantly, their Goals. From the closest tap-in to the farthest Screamer. That's who I want to be." Damn, Kunigami. Way to prove a guy wrong. Maybe Bluelock IS the place for you afterall. But then again, only Time will tell whether he stays or gets locked off. "That's so idealistic, Kunigami. Some might even dare to say childish.", I reasoned. He defended his beliefs with, "I know it's childish, idealistic and straight up unrealistic. But who cares? I certainly don't. it's MY Dream, afterall. No one will make it come true for me except me. So I'll do what I have to do to make it come true, starting with surviving through this 1st Selection and then, conquering Bluelock.". Gotta say, man. I almost envy your drive. But then again, at this point, it's a prerequisite if you want to survive Bluelock. Isagi looked impressed and said in awe, "Man, that's so cool. His drive, his belief in his dream. Its so motivating. Makes you wanna believe in yourself a little bit more, right, Kaido?". I smiled at Isagi and turned to watch the leaving Kunigami. "Yeah. I guess that's what Superheroes do. They inspire people to give it all they've got. Just like his Idols did for him. But really, Isagi, at this point, it's a prerequisite if you want to make it in Bluelock. Pushing yourself to heights you've never seen before is what Bluelock is all about afterall. Come on, let's ea….." I stopped in my tracks and looked seriously, "Isagi, you're a lower ranked player, right? Please explain to me how on EARTH, you managed to get your hands on pure, properly cooked, perfectly sauced up Steak.". He froze and explained that Kunigami shared it with him as thanks for the assists in the last game. He even showed me the Goal Bonus chart where we can exchange the amount of Goals we scored with certain benefits like Deep Tissue Massages, a Recovery Room, and even a One-day trip OUTSIDE BLUELOCK?!!! "WHAT THE HELL?!! HOW DID NO ONE TELL ME ABOUT THIS?!! I SCORED A GOAL TOO, YOU KNOW?!! A BEAUTIFUL ONE TOO!! GOTTA BE GOAL OF THE DAY , FOR SURE!!!", I complained loudly as I was shaking Isagi's shoulders vehemently.