Proyect: Bland King - Ayanokouji Kiyotaka en Blue Lock

It was time for the first match. 

On the screen, the groups A, B, and C, were finalized. Players who were not in the top 6 voted on which team they wished to join and Nagi, being the number seven player, had to choose twice. 

While the top six played in every single game, and the number seven played in two, the other 28 players had only a single chance to show off their skills. 

The goal was simple: who could mesh perfectly together with the top six?

The first match was group A vs group B. 

Kiyotaka and Karasu waited on one side of the pitch while the other side had Rin and Shido who continued to bicker with one another. 

Eventually, the four were joined by the rest of their teams. The matches would be 5v5 just like the second selection with the winning score being 5 goals. 

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 The teams are: 

 Team A - Shido, Rin, Tokimitsu, Igarashi, and Nanase.

 Team B - Kiyotaka, Karasu, Raichi, Shiguma, and Gagamaru. 

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Kiyotaka: Oh, Raichi and Gagamaru. 

Raichi: It's good to work with what I know. 

Gagamaru: You beat me so it only makes sense. 

Shiguma: ...

Kiyotaka: Ok. 

Karasu crept alongside Kiyotaka and whispered in his ear. 

Karasu: So what devious plan you got cooked up for this match?

Kiyotaka: Would it be any fun if I told you?

Karasu: Hm?

Kiyotaka: Follow my lead and find out how my mind works yourself. If you really do think like me, you'll figure it out. 

Karasu smiled. 

Karasu: Fine by me. 

Raichi: How are we lining up?

Kiyotaka: Karasu and me up top, the rest on defense. If I decide to include you, be ready. 

On the other side, Igarashi eyed Kiyotaka. 

Igarashi: I'm gonna show you. I'll be in that starting eleven in no time. 

Rin: Just follow my lead, antenna fuck. 

Shido: Why should I follow the number two who's a salty loser? 

Shido and Rin were in the attack while Igarashi, Tokimitsu and Nanase were in the back. 

Kiyotaka: Let's go. 

A whistle sounded the match kicked off. 

A pass over to Karasu was met instantly by another pass back to Kiyotaka as they itched up forward from the middle. Rin charged forward alongside Shido as Kiyotaka dashed without the ball. 

Karasu was trapped in by Shido and Rin, as the two didn't differentiate who they wanted to guard. 

Karasu: Easy enough. 

He sent over a dart pass to Kiyotaka as the duo made it clear into the final third. 

Shido: Watch where you're going, bro-con. 

Rin: Fuck off, tan freak!

Their attack was so quick, and Rin and Shido were so disjointed, that Kiyotaka and Karasu had completely blitzed through the middle with sheer ease. 

Nanase attempted to react to Kiyotaka's advance but he was left in his dust as, in an instant, he was right past him using his ground-breaking speed. 

Nanase: (Where'd he go?!)

Karasu: Hey, save some for me. 

Igarashi and Tokimitsu stayed in position to not give away anything on the back but it didn't matter. 

Five continuous step-overs, and a roulette confused the two as Shido and Rin were recovering from their instant failure. 

Just as Rin and Shido made their way to Kiyotaka, he rabona flicked it across the field to Karasu who looked a bit shocked from the pass. 

Karasu: (Is this guy for real? He curved stationary rabona kick?)

He controlled it perfectly as Kiyotaka danced across both Rin and Shido.

Igarashi: You're not getting past me-

*DASH*

All the spectator could see was Kiyotaka's eyes looking forward, not even registering a human life form in his presence. 

Karasu: Ah, I see where you're going. You went through such a lewd opening it took me a bit to figure it out. 

Rin had pushed off Shido, surprising him and appeared right in front of Kiyotaka's vision.

Rin: I'm right here, Antenna ass lover!

Kiyotaka: Oh, what's up. 

Karasu: Pinpoint. 

Kiyotaka latched onto Rin's side and flipped around as Karasu's high-speed pass went through the grasp of the running Shido behind. Rin struggled as Kiyotaka's tough shoulder hold made it impossible to challenge him. 

Right within sight of Rin, Kiyotaka smashed the ball right through the dead center, scoring the first goal of this selection. 

Team A [0] - Team B [1]

 Rin and Shido continued to argue with one another as Kiyotaka walked back to his side of the field with no emotion on his face. 

Kiyotaka: (That was ok. A bit lackluster. I guess not all plays are going to be as incredible as I had it with Shido, but I just didn't think it'd be this boring. I was spoiled.) 

Karasu: Not a bad plan. You knew the two wouldn't get along and opted for a quick buildup rather than a slow, possession battle. 

Kiyotaka: It's good you got the gist of it. I wasn't expecting a pinpoint pass but not bad. This combination will work. 

Karasu: You don't seem so happy about it. 

Kiyotaka: It's not your fault. It's my fault for spoiling myself. 

Karasu was confused but didn't care, since they got the first goal. Raichi, Gagamaru and Shiguma congratulated them but also wanted to have their own role in the offense since it would be these performances that would determine the starting eleven. 

Igarashi attempted to calm down the duo. 

Igarashi: Rin, Shido, let's all calm down-

Rin and Shido: Who the fuck let you speak?

It was now their turn to kickoff. 

Rin: Don't get in my way. 

Shido: What'd I do to get stuck with this fucking loser? I'll never know. 

Tension was certainly present to say the least. Two conflicting personalities that dominated their team of five. 

The teams get in position to kickoff again as Rin passes it over to Shido, surprising him. 

Shido: Not bad, you know you're place. 

Rin: Just don't fuck it up, bastard. 

Karasu and Kiyotaka, instead of meeting the rush head on, dropped back at the exact same time. 

The two were analyzing what kind of attack Rin and Shido had in mind. 

Igarashi: I'm open!

Rin sighed and sent a pass over to Igarashi as he glared at him to send the ball over to him immediately afterward. 

Igarashi: (This is my time to shine!)

Karasu met Igarashi before he could do much of anything. Raichi kept his body up front to block Shido's rush and Kiyotaka glued himself right onto Rin. Gagamaru got on Tokimitsu and Shiguma was on Nanase. 

Shido: I've always liked your guts, shark-teeth ya know that?

Raichi: You're not getting past me. 

Suddenly, Shido screamed out. 

Shido: IGARASHI, GIVE ME THE DAMN BALL!

This shook him in his place and he fumbled the ball slightly and sent a shitty pass to a covered Shido. Karasu did deflect it slightly but it made it in the direction of Shido. 

Shido: Thank you, dumbass. 

In that instant, Shido dashed forward and than retracted, spinning his body around 180 degrees to bypass Raichi and snatch the loose pass without even setting eyes on it.

Shido: Bingo!

Raichi: Fuck!

Shido dashed with the ball forward and lined up his shot. As the ball left his feet, it was immediately deflected by a high speeding Kiyotaka with his leg fully extended, saving the goal. 

Shido: EH?!

Kiyotaka's teeth gritted because he didn't clear it well enough. It unluckily landed to the feet of Rin, Kiyotaka's assignment that he left in order to block Shido. 

But Karasu was on the uptake and after Igarashi's terrible pass, he figured out Kiyotaka would move to guard Shido so he took the weakened side. It only made sense that Karasu knew to do this: his thought process did mirror Kiyotaka's. 

Rin: Tsk, annoying. 

He stopped his motion of shooting and instead cut right but Karasu followed closely, still trying to decipher any kind of weakness he can exploit. 

Tokimitsu glided off of Shiguma, something that caught Rin's eye. He sent a pass over to Tokimitsu as he bodied him with his superior build. 

Tokimitsu: Oh, no! I'm gonna screw it up!

Raichi: Yeah you are, you meathead. 

He tackled him cleanly, taking the ball right from under him. However, it rebounded off his other foot and was displaced right into the penalty box. 

And the first person to react to this displaced ball... was Shido himself. 

He moved forward away from Kiyotaka's grasp using his incredible spatial awareness and smashed the stray soccer ball right through the hands of the Blue Lock goal keeper. 

Team A [1] - Team B [1]

Shido: Ah~ not a bad appetizer. Guess I win this time, Kiyo~

Kiyotaka: I have to hand it to you. Your spatial awareness is incredible. 

Rin glared right at Shido as he smirked in sheer glee. 

Karasu walked over to Kiyotaka. 

Karasu: Well that was something. 

Kiyotaka: You've gotten the gist to his capabilities then, right?

Karasu: Yeah, pretty simple but damn effective. Their chemistry is pretty ass but when it comes to his athletic abilities, they're insane. I've gathered my intel. It's time to dismantle them by weeding out the weak links. 

Kiyotaka: Fine by me. 

Raichi: We're not gonna screw up again. 

Kiyotaka: Raichi...

Raichi: Yeah?

Kiyotaka: Stick to my back. 

Kickoff once again started up for Kiyotaka and Karasu but this time, Gagamaru, who had been pretty quiet, rushed forward alongside the pair. 

Kiyotaka sent a quick pass over to Karasu who was met by the surprising Igarashi. 

Karasu: Oh, looks like ya made it easy for me. 

Igarashi: WHAT?!

With his arm out, Karasu's ball control and retention prevented Igarashi to do anything. However, he did attempt to do something a bit sly. 

He pushed off Karasu's stretched-out hand and fell right onto the grass field. It was an unworldly flop. 

However, because Blue Lock has cameras and VAR technology, there was no call and instead, Karasu was given free passageway through. 

Rin: Dumbass

Shido: Can't even fake it correctly. 

Karasu and Kiyotaka were building the attack up. With a quick through ball though towards the other side of the pitch, Gagamaru jumped up and headbutt the ball towards Shiguma.

Shiguma: ...

Kiyotaka looked over to him and he passed it to him right away but he was met by Rin immediately. 

Rin: Try to get past me. 

Kiyotaka: No thanks. 

In that split second, he had analyzed his options and backheeled the ball back to Raichi as both Karasu and Kiyotaka coordinated and dashed forward. 

Shido switched with Rin clumsily as the two screamed at one another. 

Shido: Now it's just me and you!

Raichi, holding the ball saw both Karasu and Kiyotaka go in opposite directions, opening up the entire middle of the field perfectly. Gagamaru and Shiguma took note of this and rushed in the open pocket of land alongside their defenders, Nanase, and Tokimitsu. 

Finally, Raichi sent a soft pass to Gagamaru as he sent a risky and terrible pass that was off target to Kiyotaka. 

But in that moment, Kiyotaka had broken down exactly how Shido moved using his incredible spatial awareness, and matched it using his own physicality.

With hands, elbows all over each other, Kiyotaka and Shido dueled to receive the poorly-timed pass. 

Karasu saw exactly what Kiyotaka was doing as he noticed Kiyotaka's motive. Raichi, after giving Gagamaru a pass, rushed forward and behind Kiyotaka, mirroring him. 

So when the terrible pass came towards Kiyotaka and Shido, the objective wasn't to control the ball. Instead, it was to let it go through. 

Kiyotaka slightly won their battle and opened his legs wide enough so the ball went through and into Raichi's feet. He dashed forward as Rin and Shido ignored everything else and charged at the free Kiyotaka. 

Kiyotaka: You both aren't seeing the big picture. 

Raichi kicked the ball forward right above Kiyotaka's head. 

Karasu: Shitty pass but I'll make due with it. 

The ball comfortably landed next to Karasu and he smashed the ball right in the back of the net for the lead. 

Team A [1] - Team B [2]

 Raichi: Hehe, let's go! 

Kiyotaka: I'm surprised you followed through with it. You're smarter than you look, Raichi. 

Raichi: Don't lump me in as just another meathead!

Kiyotaka put his hands up in surrender. 

Kiyotaka: I would never. 

Karasu walked over from the place of his goal. 

Karasu: Not bad number three. You made me work my brain around for that combination. 

Kiyotaka: Let's continue with the momentum. 

Gagamaru: Nice goal. 

On the other side, Shido grabbed Rin's jersey as Rin did the same for him. 

Rin: I'VE HAD IT WITH YOU, PRICK. GET OUT OF MY WAY!

SHIDO: YOU WANNA GO! I'LL BUST YOUR SKULL OPEN!

Before punches were thrown however, Kiyotaka had thankfully intervened. 

Kiyotaka: Shido, you're going to get a red card at this rate. You know better than to jeopardize yourself. You should focus on the score more than the corpse. You're down by one. 

Kiyotaka smirked slightly at Shido, completely turning his attention to him. 

Shido: Just watch, Kiyo! My next explosion is gonna knock that smirk right off your face!

With this, Shido let Rin go.

Shido: I'll be the one to defeat Kiyo. You can stay behind and look at my explosions from the sideline, brother-lover. 

Rin: Shut your mouth and stay in line, antenna fuck. Get in line and work for my goal. 

Nanase: (Ah, why did I choose their team?! I can't even get a word in with all their arguing and our chemistry is beyond awful. What do we do?!)

Tokimitsu: Ah! I'm being useless. I have to help or they're gonna yell at me!

The uncooperating pair kicked off. Shido took the ball from Rin and pushed forward.

Kiyotaka: How are you going to evolve without chemistry? I wonder. 

Shido: I'll just run through ya!

Both of them crashed into each other in an effort to come out of the skirmish with the ball. What was apparent to anybody watching, was the smile the two shared as they fought. 

Shido pushed forward with the ball close to his feet but just like a slippery slime, Kiyotaka used his great balance and sense of direction to deflect the ball right from Shido's grasp. 

Rin, however, plucked it from the chaos and dribbled forward right past Raichi, leaving him in the dust. He sent a dart pass to Nanase who sent another back towards Rin to bypass Gagamaru and Karasu. 

Karasu attempted to use his well-placed positioning and physicality only to be met by Rin's perfect shoulder blocking and pro touch. 

In Rin was a determination that's been present ever since his loss to Kiyotaka. He wouldn't be outdone by the person responsible for his PTSD.

Kiyotaka, seeing Rin's breakthrough, left Shido's side and switched with Karasu. Rin dribbled to the right and was stopped by Kiyotaka's left leg. No matter the amount of stepovers and cuts Rin did, Kiyotaka was in front of it. Eventually, he attempted to fake him out by using Tokimitsu's presence as a screen. 

Kiyotaka saw right through this and slipped right around Tokimitsu's frame and dislodged the ball from Rin's feet. The ball neatly landed in Igarashi's feet. 

Not wanting anything to do with it, he passed it right back to Rin who recovered and dashed forward. Nanase moved forward as well as coordinated with Rin since he was his best option. 

They traded passes but despite this, Kiyotaka still kept up using his full speed until they reached the penalty box. 

Finally, Rin flicked the ball forward a yard and smashed the side of it perfectly, creating a wonderful spiral. 

Akin to a case of Deja-vu, Raichi headbutt the ball right into the post, saving the goal. 

RIn: Tsk!

Karasu: Alright, counterattack-

Shido: Hehehehehe...

Before the ball even landed on the pitch, Shido tracked the ball in the air and contorted his body, shooting a bicycle kick right past the Blue Lock man. 

Team A [2] - Team B [2]

Shido: Ah~

Karasu sighed. 

Karasu: My fault. I didn't think he'd score from that angle. 

Kiyotaka: It doesn't matter if their chemistry is atrocious. Shido's physical stats and spatial awareness negates that. 

Karasu: So how are we going to approach this?

Kiyotaka: Triangle offense. Follow my lead. 

Karasu smiled. 

Karasu: Whatever you say, number three.