Proyect: Bland King - Ayanokouji Kiyotaka en Blue Lock

With the score now 5-1, team Z has been given some new life. Isagi ran over to Ayanokouji.

Isagi: Ayanokouji-kun!

Ayanokouji: What is it, Isagi?

Isagi: Help us get another goal!

Ayanokouji: (I see. He wants to start building a structure with another goal, this time a team goal.)

Isagi: With you, me and Bachira, we can score a goal. (We can turn 0 into 1.)

Ayanokouji: Fine by me. We only have 3 minutes left. I'll play with both of you. At the very least, our goal difference will look better. 

Bachira: Works for me. 

Ayanokouji: Use me as bait. They just saw me score a goal. I'll pick a double-team and leave you open for a goal, Isagi. 

Nodding, the three changed the formation and had Isagi in the front with Ayanokouji and Bachira up top with him. 

Baro checked the ball and sprinted completely forward. He saw Ayanokouji's goal and decided that he needed another to utterly rule over the woeful team Z.

Baro: You think just because of a wimpy goal, you can survive my rule?

The first person to react to Baro's advance... was Ayanokouji. 

Ayanokouji: The pressure you exerted in the beginning of the game...

With his full strength, Ayanokouji pushed right into Baro, surprising him and dislodging the ball away. Ayanokouji controlled it and moved forward towards the goal.

Ayanokouji: ...is starting to wane, self-proclaimed king. 

Old information filtered out of Ayanokouji's brain and new pieces were sucked in and analyzed. Each piece of the pitch seemed almost like a chess board. 

Baro's weakness couldn't be exploited by Ayanokouji. In order to defeat him, his strength would have to exceed Baro's and in that moment, it did. 

???: I have you!

Another opposing player charge towards Ayanokouji. He looked to his left and saw Bachira had escaped from a cluster of defenders who had kept him in check for a good portion of the game. 

In one, swift motion, he dart passed to Bachira who touched the ball beautifully and advanced even further up. 

Bachira: I see you... Isagi. 

Before he was tackled, Bachira lobbed the ball right towards the middle where Isagi controlled it and now was 1v1 against the goal keeper. 

Isagi: (Bullseye. Nice pass, Bachira.)

Bachira: Yes!

Isagi: (It's 1v1. I'll score it!)

Baro: Hey, number 11. Don't stand out more than me. I told you I am the king. Try getting past me, sucker. 

Ayanokouji: (Oh, looks like he overexerted himself to get back on defense. His pride won't allow a goal to be scored on this chance, it seems.)

Baro was now right in front of Isagi, stopping his path towards a goal. 

Isagi: (What's he doing there? Did he read our plan? In a situation like this, a striker would...)

Raichi: Isagi! Behind you!

Still a meter or two away, Raichi called for the ball. On the opposite side, Kunigami ran through but was guarded closely by a defender. 

Raichi: I'll shoot it!

Kunigami: Here!

Isagi: (Do I pass? No. I gotta go for it!)

Baro charged forward, ready to intercept Isagi. 

Isagi: (If I want to live in Blue lock... If I want to be a striker...)

Suddenly, an image of the entire pitch flooded Isagi's brain and, for unknown reasons, he instinctively passed to Kunigami who had broken free of his defender. It was still 20 or so meters out. 

Ayanokouji: (He saw Kunigami separate from the defender and passed it to him without meeting his eyes? Strange. Knowing what I saw in the admissions test, I assumed he would have attempted a shot.)

Raichi: Huh?!

Bachira: Huh?

Kunigami: Nice ball, Isagi. 

???: There's no way he can score from there. 

Uncorking his left cannon of a leg, Kunigami hit it dead in the center and smashed in the goal top-right from outside the box. 

Kunigami: Eat it!

Pumping and swinging his fist, Kunigami celebrated a goal that derived from 'teamwork.'

Raichi ran over and grabbed Isagi by the shirt. 

Raichi: What the hell are you doing, Isagi? Why'd you pass it to Kunigami?! I was more open than he was!

Isagi: No... I was planning to shoot. But for some reason, my body just- 

Raichi: You stupid? Like, seriously stupid?! Who passes when they're trying to shoot?!

Kuon got in the middle of the scuffle and separated them. 

Kuon: Stop that, Raichi! We scored a goal. 

Raichi: Huh?! Are you stupid too? Only the top scorer goes through if we're not one of those two teams, dumbass! Why should I be happy someone who isn't me scored a goal in a 5-2 loss?! This stupid idiot had a chance to score and passed. Why'd he even come here? Huh? Why did you?!

Isagi: But... the pass was... unintentional. 

Baro: I got your answer for you number 11. You got nervous and passed up your chance. If you get nervous in front of goal, you're not cut out to be a striker. Simple as that. You have no talent. 

Ayanokouji: (I remembered he passed it to a fellow teammate who then passed it to another and score. Doesn't that contradict what he said? Ah, whatever. I guess you win this round, King.)

Speaker: In Blue Lock Building 5's first match, Team X wins 5-2. 

In anger, Raichi shoved Isagi on the ground. The match concluded and Team Z left the pitch in defeat. Two players stayed back.

Isagi lamented over the loss while on the ground. 

Ayanokouji: If it's any consolation, Isagi, you shouldn't take Baro's words to heart. So what if you passed the ball? It would have been more embarrassing to have your shot blocked by him. I don't know how you did it, but you sensed Kunigami would score that before even feeding him the pass. That's talent. 

Unmoving, Isagi seemed to listen to Ayanokouji's words. 

Ayanokouji: We should head back to the locker room. Lamenting a meaningless loss is pointless. 

Isagi: Pointless?! We got destroyed and I... shied away from the goal.

Ayanokouji: What we had could not be considered a team. It was more like a mob. Aside from Baro, their team is terrible. Any other decent team will most likely destroy them. They simply took advantage of the chaos we were experiencing. If you plan on advancing to the next part of Blue Lock, we need to work as a team and win at the very least two of the next 3 games, most likely a tie as well. At the very least, with you Bachira, Kunigami and myself, we can try. Ponder it over and meet back at the locker room. 

Leaving Isagi alone, Ayanokouji used a towel, pretending to clean his sweatless face. Despite losing in terrible fashion, Ayanokouji completed his secondary objective: a goal. 

Based on a point system, a goal registered as a point. With three goals, he could get his cell phone back. 

...

...

...

Inside the locker room, the fighting continued on raging. 

Raichi: In the next game, it'll just be me up top. 

Naruhaya: No, it should be me. We can win if I'm the center forward. 

Igarashi: I'm not playing in defense again, ya hear?

Raichi: Losers can shut up. 

Igarashi: Huh? Says the loser who Isagi didn't want to pass to. 

Raichi: You wanna go?!!

Ayanokouji quietly sat at his locker an cooled his head with a cold towel. Isagi, on the other hand, was still reliving that last moment. 

Isagi: (Why did I pass? I haven't changed at all since I got here. Damn it. To survive in Blue Lock, what am I lacking as a striker?)

Raichi: Just pass the ball to me!

Naruhaya: Me! Me!

Gagamaru: No, me. 

Kuon: That's enough, all of you!

Ayanokouji: (There he goes again. He's certainly making his case to be our leader. He doesn't have conviction in any of the words he's saying though. It's almost like it's all a front. A true leader is completely passionate and straightforward with his words. The only phrase I've heard this man say is: 'That's enough!' or 'Stop!')

Kuon: Do you understand the situation we're in? We're a team that already lost once. This first selection is a five-team round robin. Only two teams progress. Suppose all teams win two, lose two. We'd all be on six points. Which means, in order to advance, we have to aim for 7 points and higher. That's the likely cutoff line. 

Lemon: So in short, if you lose twice, it's a yellow light that's about to turn red. 

Kuon: We're already at the point where if we lose the next game, we're done for. If we don't get serious about how we're going to win, it really will be all over for us. 

Igarashi: Then, have ya got any good ideas?

Kuon: Well... I don't really...

Igarashi: What the heck? Then what good is all this talk?

Kuon: But still, we have to do something. 

Kunigami: I have something. 

Kuon: Oh...

Kunigami: Ayanokouji broke through their defense and gave us a bit of momentum with his free kick. And then for the second goal, Isagi was able to break through because of Ayanokouji and gave me a pass that set up my goal. I think we should just do it that way. 

Raichi: If we do it that way, you and Ayanokouji are just gonna hog all the goals and one of you will go through. Total bullshit!

Igarashi: And Ayanokouji's free kick was a fluky goal too so we can't rely on that. He said it was lucky after all!

Naruhaya: Yeah, it was!

Bachira: But it worked!

Entering the locker room, Bachira was naked since he just finished showering. 

Bachira: Ayanokouji's goal was the best goal of the day. If we can do that alot, we can win! Right, Isagi? Right?

Isagi: Bachira...

Ayanokouji: (He has no shame in anything he does. He's like a blank slate with bundles of potential. His dribbling and passing can grow as well.)

Chigiri: I don't think everything that guy says is right. Ego talked about how to 'win' the World Cup, throwing names like Christiano Ronaldo, Messi, and Cantana out there. But none of these guys have ever won the World Cup. If anything, him saying "This is a battle about creating soccer from zero" was sort of a hint. 

Isagi finally stood up, finished mellowing over about past events.

Isagi: I don't have any strategies that'll help us win, but I might know what it means to be at soccer '0'.

Naruhaya: Huh?

Raichi: So what is it, noob? Spit it out. 

Isagi: Both teams today were completely in chaos because we all were fighting for the ball, making soccer 'zero'. The thing that broke through this 'zero' was Baro's goal. It acted as a catalyst, creating a clear path for goals, which led them to play as a team. Baro used his talents to turn the 'zero' of chaotic bunched up soccer into a one. 

Ayanokouji: It was all because Ego mentioned that final rule about the top goal scorer. It led to everyone working for themselves and not as a team. 

Ego: Yes, very good. You're on the right track. Hi, there diamonds in the rough. The second match in Building 5 has just finished. Team V beat Team Y 8-0.

Bachira smiled while the rest of the team lost motivation. Ayanokouji looked at the screen's images regarding the three top players on the opposing team. He'd have to gather information on them in order to find a realistic way of beating them. 

Ego: You're almost there. In this sport, you can't win by simply doing the tasks you've been given which is why you need personal skills. Individual skills. In Japanese soccer, the positions we can be proud of are our midfielders and full-backs. They work like dogs for the team. They turn the 'one' created by the striker into 100. 

Ayanokouji: Oh...

Ego: Without the devotion of those players, Japanese soccer wouldn't be where it is now. Therefore, there will be no revolution. So, diamonds in the rough, overwrite your consciousness. In soccer, scoring a goal means destroying the other team's structure which makes a striker a destroyer. Diamonds in the rough, do not let yourselves get trapped in by the notion of roles! Or you won't create one form zero. 

Images of multiple 'weapons' in soccer like headers, free kick, dribble, technique and speed. 

Ego: Take up your weapons, strikers! Identify it clearly. Which weapon will you use to mess with the other team, make them yield, and destroy them? Think hard what you can do with your body and mind. It's always your weapon that kickstarts this revolution known as scoring!

Ayanokouji: (He's right. When I scored that free kick, sure there were some who didn't even care. But Isagi ran up to me and pleaded with me to help them score another goal alongside Bachira. I've already gained those two alongside Kunigami.)

With that, Ego took his leave and the screen turned black. 

Isagi: (A Weapon. That's the breakthrough we need in order to win in the first selection.)

...

...

...

Huddled in a circle, each of the members of team Z began to tell everyone else what they thought their weapons were. 

Raichi: My weapon is my magnificent shooting techniques. And my motto is "Sexy Soccer."

Naruhaya: Mine is getting in behind, off-ball movement!

Gagamaru: Mine is... being physical. 

Lemon: I'm an all-rounder. 

Igarashi: Mine's my 'never give up' attitude!

Kunigami: Mine's the power in my left-footed shots. 

Bachira: Mine's... dribbling...

In one movement, Bachira went to sleep. 

In a notebook, Kuon wrote down each of our weapons. 

Kuon: Mine is jumping. Who's next? Oh, Ayanokouji. 

Ayanokouji: Free kicks.

Igarashi: Your talent isn't any good if we don't get any free kicks. Kind of lame. 

Kuon: Ok, Isagi-kun you're next. 

Isagi: My weapon? Oh, hm... I wonder what it is...

Igarashi: Your passing? 

Isagi: No, I can't say that as a striker. 

Raichi: The fact that you don't even know means you're doomed. Next!

Isagi: Wait... hold on.

Kuon: Well, tell us when you think of something. Now last of all, Chigiri. 

Chigiri, curled up, gave a blank answer. 

Chigiri: Not telling. 

Igarashi: Huh? But that's the whole point of this conversation. 

Chigiri: I know but I don't wanna say it. 

Raichi: What the hell? Let's just ignore the selfish queen over there. 

Kuon: Guess we'll have to. Anyway, a striker needs a powerful weapon, and how you make use of it is important. 

Lemon: But if everyone does what they want, won't it end like the last game?

Ayanokouji: It won't if everyone gets a chance at being striker. 

Kuon: I don't follow. 

Ayanokouji: Throughout the game, we'll differentiate our attack so that each player aside from the keeper can have a chance at scoring a goal. It makes it fair and simple. In one formation, we focus on making a perfect chance for Kunigami to score his outside lefty shot. In another formation, we can focus on crossing the ball in so Kuon can hit a header. And in another formation, we can bring the ball up and center around Bachira's dribbling ability. No one will fight for the ball if everyone gets an equal chance at scoring. It'll also make our attack completely unpredictable. 

Kuon: Oh, that's genius. A fair chance for all of us. We can call it: 'Operation Next up it's me!'

Ayanokouji and Isagi: (Lame.)

 ...

...

...

Team Z trained for the remainder of the day on their new formations so they could be ready for their second match. 

Since they were all completely exhausted, most of the team quickly ate dinner and retired for the day early. 

Ayanokouji collected his dinner and side dish, pickled radish. He sat down alone until Raichi swung by and ate with him, talking about their new tactics. He might be a hot head, but even he seems to understand that working as a team will be better than going in it alone. 

Raichi: I didn't know you were that good in free kicks, Ayanokouji. 

Ayanokouji: It's about the only thing I'm good at right now. 

Raichi: At least you got a goal. 

Ayanokouji: Tomorrow, you can show us your 'sexy shooting' or whatever your ability was. 

Raichi: With pleasure, loser! I'll show you what it truly means to be the best striker, hahaha!!!

His side dish was ramen. Looking back at Ayanokouji, Raichi had an idea. 

Raichi: I bet ya don't like that pickled raddish, Ayanokouji. I can give you some of my sidedish but ya gotta support me next ga-

Ayanokouji: No thank you. I ate enough for today. 

Raichi looked down at Ayanokouji's plate and saw he had eaten the remainder of his food. 

Ayanokouji: Tomorrow, let's just give it our all. 

Raichi: Tsk...

Retiring for the night, Ayanokouji slept in his sleeping bag along with the rest of team Z.

...

...

...

Early in the morning, all members of Team Z were woken up, changed and met at their locker room, where Kuon wanted to go over the formation-strategy once again. 

Kuon took out his notebook and showed his plans to all of them. 

Kuon: This is an ultra-offensive system that makes the best use out of all our weapons. But if each of us use our weapons with no real plan in mind, we'll just crumble. Ayanokouji, can you explain this part? It was your idea after all. 

Ayanokouji: The premise is very simple and easy to execute as long as we all willingly participate. We'll divide the clock and take turns as the front man in a clockwise formation for us 10 outfielders. In order to use the front man's weapon, we all use our weapons solely for support. I've decided to do it by rank since it seems to be the fairest option. However, Lemon, if you're ok with this, you'll need to stay as a Goal Keeper in order to keep continuity. It would destroy our defensive structure if you also rotated around. 

Lemon: As long as we win, I'll abide with my role. 

Chigiri: I can also stay back as a defender to maintain the same structure so you don't need to rotate me around either. 

Raichi: Ha, you lack self-assertiveness, which means ya got no talent! I'd rather not do it like this, but just this once, I'll go with your plan. 

Gagamaru: Me, too. 

Kuon: Ok, so everyone except Lemon and Chigiri will rotate positions every ten minutes. Alright, we can work with this!

...

It was time for Team Z's second match. They arrived first to the pitch and soon after came Team Y, their opponent. 

Raichi: Here they come. 

Kuon: Like us, Team Y lost their first match, so their backs are against the wall. They'll be desperate. We need to keep a close eye on their number 9. His shooting's off the chart. Kumamuto prefecture's top scorer: Okawa Hibiki. 

Okawa: Let's go, guys!

Ayanokouji: (His build is the preferred one for a striker. He's tall but not too tall. He has high levels of strength in his upper and lower body, and he has the mentality of one too. The top goal scorer of an entire prefecture is no fluke. He has to be doing something right. But it's safe to say he's nothing like the king, Baro. He's not worth my time analyzing. There must be someone else.... someone that can give me an advantage...)

Another striker with hair covering his eyes lurked in the shadows of his group, acting as if he was a nobody. 

Team Z huddled together to discuss their plans a final time. 

Kuon: This time, we concocted a plan. Let's have faith our practice payed off. Even if we have to die for it, we'll win, Team Z!

Everyone: Yeah!

Isagi: (The key to this plan is the weapon Ego was talking about. With our formation, we'll just have to rely on that.)

In the first iteration of the formation, Bachira remains the lone striker, with Kunigami and Ayanokouji in the Center attacking midfielder positions, Igarashi and Kuon on the wings, Gagamaru as the sole midfielder, Naruhaya and Chigiri as the center backs, Isagi and Raichi as the left and right fullbacks and Lemon as the goalkeeper. 

Bachira: All right, let's go!