Proyect: Bland King - Ayanokouji Kiyotaka en Blue Lock

Isagi looked on as he saw Kiyotaka smiling, surprising him. 

Isagi: (He didn't copy my direct shot. It didn't look like mine. He just took my weapon and... made it better? There's got to be some way he's doing it.) 

Kiyotaka looked on at Isagi, with his eyes looking like he was seeing right through Isagi.

Isagi: (His eyes... it's like they're seeing something beyond me and everyone else on the field... a new vision entirely.)

Kiyotaka was joined by Chigiri, Karasu, and Nagi who celebrated shortly alongside him. Baro looked frustrated and wanted to start the next play all over again. 

Karasu: Scoring from out of the box like that? What are you, Roberto Carlos?

Kiyotaka: It was my only chance. Had I waited a second longer, both Rin and Isagi would have stopped me in my tracks. 

Baro walked past the group and to the other side of the pitch, waiting for play to restart.

Shido started whistling. 

Shido: What an explosion. That might be his farthest distance goal. It's making me really jealous... 

Rin: Shut up antenna fuck, can't you see we're losing again? You're not going to be Kiyotaka's rival if you can never beat him in a match, dumbass. 

Shido pondered and then seemed to have a revelation at that moment, smiling. 

Shido: You know, that's the first thing that's left your mouth that made sense. Not bad, brother-lover. 

Rin, ignoring Shido, walked over to Isagi, Hiori, and Bachira. Isagi was still in a train of thought. 

In Isagi's mind, revolving pieces of a puzzle started slightly connecting. 

Isagi: (How can I reach that level? How can I see what he sees?)

Rin: You three, just play for my sake if you want a chance to share the same field as me. 

Isagi: (Cocky much?)

Hiori: Ok...

Bachira: Only if you can stop Kiyotaka, hehe. 

Hiori was curious what Isagi was contemplating and asked him about it. 

Hiori: Isagi, what are you thinking about?

Isagi: Oh, sorry, it's just that... well, I want to know what Kiyotaka is seeing. 

Hiori: Oh, you're curious about that too, huh? Well, it's really simple: He's seeing everything.

Isagi: But how is he seeing it?

Hiori: Well, honestly, you're thinking about it in the wrong way. Sure his vision is levels ahead of yours, but that isn't the issue. It's how fast he processes this information and his body responding to his vision.

Isagi: I don't get it. 

Hiori: I guess you can think of it like this. I'm a huge gamer myself. You know those tile-matching games like Tetris and Puyo Puyo? In those games, you start out slow, so you have time to plan your moves, right? But by the end, they're way too fast, so you don't have the time to think about it, right? The best gamers can process that information at high speed and are able to press the buttons to the best course of action by reflex. That can also be applied to football. Even if you can see something, if you're too late then it's pointless. The right way to do it is building up your body to handle your vision but there's no time for that. 

Hiori: You're going to have to watch him like a hawk to understand how he can see what he sees. The rest will come later.  

This popped a vein on Rin's head, as he walked right past Bachira and to the middle of the field alongside Shido. 

Karasu was conversing with Kiyotaka. 

Karasu: So what's your take on the match so far?

Kiyotaka: It's a stalemate. Their most dangerous player is Isagi. 

Karasu: Hm?

Kiyotaka: Why do you think I've been picking on him? I have to break him before he breaks us. 

...

...

...

Rin checked the ball first and passed it over to Isagi. 

Isagi: (I'll find out what world Kiyotaka sees during this match!)

He sent a low pass over to Hiori who playfully pushed it forward and sent a fast and precise pass through Chigiri and Nagi over to Rin who was in open space. 

Baro crashed right into Rin, annoying him and he backheeled it over to Isagi. 

Isagi analyzed the field and saw Shido darting forward. 

Shido: Come on, pass it over to me NPC. 

Instead, Isagi sent a sideways pass over to Bachira. 

Bachira: Let's crush them. 

Kiyotaka immediately got on Bachira to defend him as the two entered in a duel. Bachira pushed and weaved through the side and committed stepovers until he hit Kiyotaka with a new move, his rendition of the Cruyff turn.

Bachira: I can't keep giving you bland dribbling moves to predict. That's not me anymore.

Kiyotaka: Not bad. 

Bachira got around Kiyotaka using his move and before he had the ball taken from his feet, he sent a cross over to Shido who was heavily guarded by Baro. 

Surprising Shido, Baro headed the ball away, annoying him.

Karasu controlled it perfectly and smiled. 

Karasu: Counterattack-

Isagi's eyes gleamed and he snatched the ball away from Karasu. 

Isagi: Like hell you are!

Karasu: What?

Isagi: (I almost didn't make it. I saw the play coming together but I barely stole the ball. Kiyotaka is built like a soldier so his body can keep up with his vision. I can't change that now, but I can improve my vision. I'll keep spying on you and eventually devour you, Kiyotaka!)

He looked around him again and saw Rin, Shido, and Kiyotaka dashing into the box. 

Hiori offered his aid as he sleekly shifted his weight and passed through Chigiri to receive the pass. 

A quick one-two between the both of them, left Isagi in the left side of the penalty box, by himself. 

Isagi: (NOW!)

A quick blink later and a familiar figure arrived in front of him.

Kiyotaka: Incredible. Your vision is just like mine. It's a shame your body can't keep up though. 

Isagi: (How?)

His direct shot was slightly deflected as it hit the left post. 

Baro and Nagi were guarding both Shido and Rin. The four rushed towards the loose ball. However, the first person to react to such an attempt, was Rin. 

He controlled the ball and faked a shot, causing Nagi to slide across the ground. He was now at the right-most point of the penalty box and normally he'd be in a prime position for a cross. 

This was Itoshi Rin, we were talking about, however. The brother of Itoshi Sae and one of the top three players in all of Blue Lock... he had too much pride. 

He shot the ball cleanly through the sky and into the net, chipping the goal keeper from an impossible angle. 

Rin pumped his fist slightly in celebration for his goal. 

Team A [3] - Team B [3]

...

...

...

Isagi angrily hit the ground with his fist. He was adapting to Kiyotaka's vision but his body was failing him. 

Hiori: That was a good try. 

Bachira, curious at Isagi's different mindset, smiled widely. 

Shido: This sucks, now I gotta hear from this fu-

Rin: 2-1 shitbag. 

Mutiple veins appeared on Shido's face. 

Shido: We'll see who finishes with more goals, brotherfucker. 

Kiyotaka: (Isagi, I knew you'd be the one to make this an interesting match. A match I don't know the outcome of: Shido was right: Football is exciting.)

Karasu: Isagi went right past me, my bad. 

Kiyotaka: Don't be, he's better than you so it makes sense. 

Karasu: Eh?

Kiyotaka: Isagi is my assignment. I want to face him myself. 

Chigiri: Isagi finally caught your eye, Kiyotaka?

Kiyotaka: He's always been there. First selection, he finished my assists and now he's getting even better. His vision, I want to test it. 

Baro: Isagi this, Isagi that, he's mine to crush. Lay off!

Kiyotaka: Or what? Do something about it or get out of my way, fake king. 

Nagi: Are you going to let him say that about you, trashy king? 

Baro: Fuck off Lazy bastard. I don't need your input.

 Kiyotaka and Karasu kicked off as the score was a stalemate, 3-3. 

Immediately after passing to one another, both Rin and Shido ran forward for a dogfight. 

Kiyotaka backheeled the ball to Karasu who passed it through Shido's leg unexpetedly, giving Kiyotaka some space. 

Rin dashed forward and almost stole the ball as Kiyotaka replicated Bachira's twist on the Cruyff turn and improved upon it by making it faster, nutmegging Rin and then retracting the ball. 

Finally, when Rin was slightly unstable, he pushed the ball forward and passed right through. 

In that moment, Chigiri, Nagi, Karasu, and Baro charged forward. 

Connecting with Chigiri, Kiyotaka darted around and was picked up by Shido who smiled. 

Shido: What new trick are ya gonna pull up, Kiyo? I'm excited!

Kiyotaka: Me too. 

 Chigiri, using his speed dashed past his assignment, Bachira. 

Afterall, in a footrace, there was no other person that could beat him. 

From all sides, Kiyotaka's team competed with a light-speed attack in order to take them by surprise. 

Chigiri passed it behind to Karasu who sent a lob pass over to Nagi who controlled it and cut through the middle. 

He looked ahead and saw Baro was getting himself open and finally decided to give him a chance and sent him a pass so he could score. 

However, that was when Isagi charged in between the both of them and stole the ball away, surprising everyone. 

Isagi: I knew you'd do that!

Baro: TSK!

Isagi pulled forward for a counterattack as did Rin, Shido, and Hiori alongside Bachira. The momentum shifted almost entirely. 

Isagi did a one-two action with Hiori to get everything rolling. Hiori was slightly taken aback by Isagi's new approach. He was beginning to go more with the flow of the game rather than doing anything out of his own means. 

Baro and Chigiri were annihilated by the pair as Isagi passed it over to Bachira who was guarded by Karasu. 

Karasu: Where are you going, little monster?

Bachira: Right past you!

Assimilating another move in his dribbling arsenal, he performed an array of scissors coupled with a stepover fake and cut to bypass the unaware Karasu. 

Bachira started to smile and stick out his tongue. He saw Shido dashing through the middle and decided to find him again for the second time of the game. 

Bachira: Kiyotaka's favorite tool, let's see your so-called explosion. 

A near-perfect lob pass soured through the air towards the box as Shido levitated off the ground almost in a trance, souring for his explosion.

Kiyotaka, with great effort, matched Shido's jump and displaced the ball in the air as small droplets of sweat came off his face. 

Shido: YOUR'RE JUST THE BEST!

Kiyotaka: You're my responsibility. No one else on my team can guard an awakened monster like you. 

Rin attempted to go for the loose ball but Isagi ran past him for it. 

Rin: What?

Isagi: (I'm seeing more and more by looking at you, Kiyotaka! It's all coming together.) 

The puzzle pieces, slowly but surely, were beginning to full connect. 

Isagi, before the ball fell to the ground, completed his direct shot and smashed it right towards the goal. 

Using all of his athleticism and vision, however, Kiyotaka had recovered from his initial aerial battle with Shido, and jumped again, barely hitting the ball with his head, as it hit the crossbar and out of bounds. 

Kiyotaka collapsed on the ground and got up with a slight cut across his forehead from the shot's incredible velocity. 

 Isagi: (He could still reach that? No, I can't discourage! It took him all he could muster to block my shot! I'm getting better!)

Isagi went over to Kiyotaka after realizing he was bleeding. 

Isagi: Oh shit! Are you ok?!

Instead of anger or anything of the sort, he was met with another small smile from Kiyotaka. He tore off a piece from the bottom of his shirt and tied it over his forehead to stop the slight bleeding. 

Kiyotaka: Now that's a shot. How much more can you grow, Isagi?

Shido: Oh no, Kiyo!

Taking advantage of the situation, Shido hugged Kiyotaka as the two fell to the ground. Annoyed to no end from this development, Kiyotaka threatened Shido.

Kiyotaka: Get off of me before I revoke your first name rights. 

Shido immediately got up and lent a hand to bring Kiyotaka up to his feet as the rest of the players ran over for the corner. 

Karasu: You sure you're ok?

Kiyotaka: I'm better than ok. I thought I hit a plateau when me and Shido were separated. This... this is even more exciting.

...

...

... 

Hiori took it upon himself to take the corner as everyone else guarded each other heavily. Kiyotaka switched over to Isagi.

Isagi: (He sees me as a threat. Arguably the best player in Blue Lock knows my worth. However, it means nothing if I don't score a goal. That's the end goal!)

Karasu was on Bachira, Chigiri on Shido, and Baro on Rin.

Kiyotaka and Isagi looked on at one another, almost like they were dissecting each other. 

Isagi smiled. 

Isagi: Slowly but surely, I'm making my way to you. 

Kiyotaka: I wouldn't have it any other way. That's partially why I entered Blue Lock in the first place. 

Isagi: Huh?

Kiyotaka: In all my life, there wasn't a single person that could overpower, or outsmart me, neither children nor adults. For once, I wanted to leave my comfort zone and find a challenge. And I think you might be the challenge I've been looking for. 

Isagi was stunned at Kiyotaka's words as Hiori sent the cross through to the penalty box, straight towards Shido who had the mismatch. 

In that moment, Kiyotaka's body moved first, leaving Isagi in the dust. 

Isagi: (Damn it, he's still better. He can still see and react better! Fuck!)

Jumping higher than anyone, Kiyotaka had intercepted the pass and dashed forward, leaving everyone else in his dust. 

Isagi, with everything he could muster, was able to retreat back to counter Kiyotaka. 

Kiyotaka: You're still not seeing the full picture, Isagi. 

Without looking, he sent a sharp lob to the other side of the field, right towards Chigiri who was speeding forward, no one fast enough to catch up. 

Rin pulled off to guard Chigiri while Isagi continued to follow Kiyotaka up as he ran closer and closer to the penalty box in this stellar and quick counterattack. 

Isagi: (A little closer... just a fraction of a second closer... come on, you sorry body of mine... break through! BREAK THROUGH!)

With everyone marked, passing lanes were almost impossible to differentiate. Eventually, before Rin could catch up and snatch the ball from Chigiri's feet, he sent a crazy far cross over to the box with little to no accuracy. 

Isagi attempted to predict the trajectory of the pass until he finally realized where it would land. 

However, it was a few milliseconds slower than what Kiyotaka processed. 

Using his own ability to perfect Shido's immense spatial awareness, he contorted his body and spun through Isagi and nailed a scorpion kick right into the top right corner of the goal almost instantaneously for the lead. 

Team A [3] Team B [4]

Kiyotaka rolled across the ground and gave a thumbs up to Isagi, which annoyed him to no end. 

...

...

... 

The momentum shifted yet again. Kiyotaka, using a blend of his own athleticism alongside Shido, was able to make use of a pass that wasn't all too great to begin with.

With the score now being 3-4, everyone aside from Baro celebrated in their own little way. Amongst Team A, Isagi continued to put the pieces together. With the capabilities he had right now, he couldn't match Kiyotaka. However, there was a way: he would have to take him by surprise.

Rin immediately brought the ball back to the middle of the pitch, alongside Shido as the two were determined to leave their mark on the game.

Shido: I'm the one who will...

Rin: ...crush him!

Bachira: This match sure is heating up.

Hiori continued to look on at Isagi, seeing that he was smiling.

Isagi: For just one time, I'll reach you!

Both teams prepared themselves and got into position as Team A started with the ball. Shido kicked it over to Bachira who started play.

Bachira: It isn't looking too good for us, but oh well. There's no better time than now to let loose. I'll pave my own way for my goal.

Baro pressed forward to guard Bachira for the first time.

Bachira: You're my first victim, king?

Baro: Come on, Bangs. Fuck up and give me my path towards a goal!

Multiple stepovers, a sharp turn to the right and a burst of speed through Baro's legs left him discombobulated and stranded in no-man's land.

Baro: What?

Bachira's aura grew to new heights as his smile widened. He was going for his own iteration of a solo goal.

Both Chigiri and Nagi coincided to guard him, knowing very well that he wouldn't be passing the ball anytime during this play.

Bachira performed a mid-air elastico and then a Cruyff turn followed by a cut through the left, allowing him to tiptoe through a small gap between the two.

Shido looked on in amazement.

Shido: No wonder Kiyo decided to emulate his moves. They're really flashy.

Bachira was getting into his own groove as he ignored each and every one of his teammates all for the sake of his own goal. Karasu didn't have much of a chance either as he put him in reverse, breaking his ankles using a rainbow after shifting the ball in both directions using chop dribbling.

The one person standing in his way was the man of the hour himself, Kiyotaka.

Bachira: Everyone else can't see how I'm dancing with this football, but you can. You can see where I'm going which is going to make defeating you all the more satisfying.

Kiyotaka: Show me your new form of dribbling again. You won't get lucky a second time.

Bachira: With pleasure!

And he meant every word. For this one duel, Bachira attempted to combine two of his favorite moves: Zizou's 360 and Puskas' V dribble creating an array of space until he changed pace and nutmegged the impressed Kiyotaka.

But his moves were too perfect for its own good.

Kiyotaka didn't need to tell where the ball was going, rather, trap Bachira and separate him from the ball when there was a change of pace and that was exactly what happened.

Isagi: Thank you!

Stealing the displaced ball from Kiyotaka's grasp, Isagi stormed forward. Kiyotaka had recovered from the hiccup and bumped into him, forcing Isagi to retract from his initial plan.

Isagi: I'll get a goal back for us!

He sent a low and fast cross through to an open Shido, with Kiyotaka being unable to stop him. Karasu was too out of place and weak to put much of a front.

Shido: Thanks, NPC.

Shido smashed it through the net using his left foot for his second goal of the game.

Team A [4] - Team B [4]

Shido: Ah, thanks Isagi... that dopamine is addictive...

...

...

...

Kiyotaka looked on to Isagi in an emotion that was very new to him, sheer glee. There was finally someone who could keep up with his vision and despite his stature, could also pull his own weight. A player who was just like him.

Like two peas in a pod...

Kiyotaka: (I wonder if Isagi could react to my pass. This excites me to no end. Can you beat me here and now, Isagi Yoichi?)

No words were exchanged amongst both teams. There was no time for celebration. All they wanted, was to start the final play immediately soon after. 

Kiyotaka and Karasu checked the ball first and Karasu noticed something that happened at that exact moment. 

Kiyotaka's eyes started to widen as a slight droplet of blood streamed down his eyes. His golden aura began to exude his own personality and his mind was completely dialed in. 

Shido, Rin, and Isagi also saw this swift change in Kiyotaka and acknowledged it.

Shido began to fangirl and blush. 

Shido: There it is! My Kiyotaka's flow!

Isagi: (That looks like what happened in the 1st selection, but it seems a bit different now... and what is this thing called flow? What did he tap into?)

Rin: (I know that look. Those bloody eyes, he's locked in...)

The match begun with Karasu softly passing it to Kiyotaka after the immediate shock of Kiyotaka's full transformation. 

Bachira looked on at the display and began to sweat a bit more profusely. 

Bachira: This has to be what he showed against the World Five! I have a front-row seat to witness Kiyotaka's ego!

 Kiyotaka dashed forward and was immediately met by Shido, Isagi, Rin, and Bachira as Hiori stood back. 

Chigiri: What's with this sudden change of tempo? What's going on?

Baro: What is this shit?

Kiyotaka replicated Bachira's movements and passed right through Bachira and Shido themselves, leaving them in the dust. 

Rin and Isagi clung on for dear life on both his sides. 

For every one movement Isagi and Rin made out, Kiyotaka completed another two in quick succession. 

 Rin: (How much better did he really get? I can barely determine where he's going.)

Isagi: (Ah.. my eyes are killing me... how many movements do I have to keep track?!)

Kiyotaka lined up both Isagi and Rin together, threading a ball right in between both of their legs towards a darting forward Baro. 

Isagi: (SHIT!)

Rin: (Fuck)

Baro dashed forward with Hiori being his only competition for the moment. He used an array of chop dribbles to dart through, with a goal seeming almost imminent!

Kiyotaka had already scanned the area and accounted for everything, already passing Baro with his own lightspeed, and signaling for a pass. 

Baro, however, did not comply. And, of course, he paid for that indeed. 

Shido had made his way back to the penalty box and cleared the ball. 

However, Kiyotaka, knowing where the ball would land, controlled it perfectly. Rin met him as soon as he had even a smidge of control of the ball.

Before the ball could be stolen, Kiyotaka hit the ball with his full power, as he sent his acclaimed 'perfect' pass right over to the open Nagi. 

With such precision and speed, Kiyotaka knew very well that only Shido could react perfectly to such a pass. 

However, his emotions in that moment got the better of him and he decided to test the capabilities of the unsuspecting Nagi. 

Even for the likes of Nagi Seishiro, the ball was impossible to control if you miss the short window it decelerates, and he missed it completely. 

The ball swerved off his feet awkwardly in the penalty box. 

Nagi: (It's right there, just a little more...)

Isagi: I knew you would screw it up, Nagi!

To Nagi's surprise, Isagi had completely left Kiyotaka to his own devices with Rin and instead predicted where he would send the pass.

Isagi: (Nagi could barely control Kiyotaka's first pass he sent his way. With him being in this so-called flow, he had no chance this time to even retain possession. Now it's time for the counterattack!)

Isagi dashed past Nagi as Shido, Rin, and Bachira sprinted up the field in a full lighting counterattack. 

Karasu: Everyone back on defense!

Isagi passed it to Hiori who passed it back to him, creating a one-two highway straight for the penalty box. Despite Karasu's best efforts, Isagi completely bypassed him and nutmegged him with the goal looking awfully appetizing. 

 Kiyotaka, however, did not falter. He hit his full speed and immediately stopped Isagi in his tracks. 

Isagi: (Damn it, he got back so quick! I need something else! I need that flow if I even have a chance of scoring against this calamity!) 

However, before he even thought about anything else, Shido dashed through the chaos. 

His eyes gleamed in sheer focus and determination. He too, had unknowingly entered in his own flow. 

Isagi: (Him too?!)

Shido took the ball straight from Isagi's feet and turned on a dime to get a proper angle at the goal. 

Shido: THIS IS MY EXPLOSION! THIS IS HOW I REMAIN AS YOUR RIVAL, KIYO!

He smashed the ball at full strength right in the direction of the goal. 

Kiyotaka: TOO BAD! I STILL OWN YOU, SHIDO!

The perfect shot was also perfectly blocked. S-tier offense lost to S-tier defense. 

In the battle of flow, Kiyotaka himself won. 

However... the pieces simply didn't align. They never did. Because they were in the favor of one player, one man, one human in that moment. 

Dashing right in the middle of both Kiyotaka and Shido's chaos, was this match's X-Factor... Isagi Yoichi. 

His eyes gleamed his own aura and his determination permeated through to Kiyotaka as his eyes completely widened. His attention immediately was solely towards Shido since he had entered in flow. He had lost track of someone he never should have. 

For this one play, for this one attack, for this one second... Isagi Yoichi saw the bigger picture faster than Kiyotaka did. 

*SMASH*

With his direct shot, the ball traveled like a rocket through two of the best players in Blue Lock, and then through the Blue Lock Man, for the final goal of the match. 

Team A [5] - Team B [4]

Everyone was left in sheer awe. Rin, Shido, Baro, and even Kiyotaka looked on ahead, as Isagi roared and dashed forward, in celebration of his very own super goal.