I might change some characters personalities to my liking. Just letting you guys know
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The electronic hum of the stadium's scoreboard was the only thing louder than the heavy, ragged breathing of Team Y.
Forty-five minutes. That was all it had taken.
Renzo Takamine stood in the center of the pitch, the teal of his eyes glowing with an intensity that seemed to drain the color from the rest of the world. Around him, the players of Team Y were scattered like debris after a hurricane. Hibiki Okawa was on his knees, staring at the turf with hollow eyes. Ikki Niko, the boy who thought his vision could encompass the field, was trembling, his bangs damp with sweat, hiding a face etched with pure despair.
Renzo hadn't just beaten them. He had erased them.
The fourth goal had been a display of surgical cruelty. Renzo had received a long ball from Reo, trapped it with a touch so soft it seemed to defy physics, and then simply walked. He didn't sprint. He drifted. Every time a Team Y defender lunged, Renzo shifted his weight — that impossible, Leo-inspired balance keeping him perfectly upright while his opponents overcommitted and tumbled. He had slalomed through five players, leaving them tangled in their own feet, before tapping the ball into the corner of the net.
The fifth goal, the one that had just occurred seconds before the half-time whistle, was the one that truly broke their morale.
Renzo had intercepted a desperate pass from Niko. Instead of counter-attacking with speed, he stopped. He waited for Team Y to reorganize, for them to find a shred of hope that they could stop him. And then, he destroyed it. He accelerated from a standstill to top speed in a heartbeat, a jagged blue aura crackling around his frame. He didn't even look at the goal. He struck the ball with a curling left foot from thirty yards out. The ball traced a trajectory so perfect it looked like it was being guided by an invisible hand, slamming into the top bin with a sound like a gunshot.
Team V: 5 - Team Y: 0 Scorer: Renzo Takamine (5)
The referee drone buzzed, signaling the end of the first half.
The Team V players began to congregate, huffing and puffing, their faces a mixture of awe and lingering fear. Even Reo and Nagi looked stunned.
Reo was checking the tablet, his eyes wide.
"Five goals," Reo muttered. "A hat-trick plus two in one half... Renzo, you're a monster. If we keep this up in the second half, we can set a record for goal difference."
Renzo didn't look at the scoreboard. He didn't look at the teammates who were starting to see him as a god. He simply wiped the sweat from his forehead and began walking.
Not toward the dugout. Toward the exit tunnel.
"Hey! Renzo!" Reo called out, his brow furrowing. "Where are you going? Half-time is only ten minutes!"
Renzo paused at the entrance to the dark tunnel. He looked back over his shoulder, his teal eyes sharp but strangely calm. The predatory fire was still there, but it was being pushed aside by a different kind of focus.
"I'm done," Renzo said.
"Done?" Zantetsu adjusted his glasses, his face a mask of confusion. "That is illogical. The match is only fifty percent complete. Your presence is required for a total victory."
"I have five goals," Renzo replied, his voice echoing in the quiet tunnel. "Five goals equals five points. That's all I needed for today, plus it's not like you guys need me anyway."
Nagi tilted his head, his grey eyes searching Renzo's face. "Renzo... are you quitting the match?"
"The team can handle the rest," Renzo shrugged. "You and Reo want to be the protagonists, right? Go ahead. The stage is yours. I've got a more important appointment."
"An appointment?" Reo marched forward, his hands on his hips. "In the middle of Blue Lock? Who the hell could be more important than winning this match?"
Renzo let out a short, genuine laugh. It was light, almost fond.
"I'm going to talk to my beautiful redhead," Renzo said.
Before any of them could respond — before Reo could explode in anger or Nagi could ask what a 'redhead' was — Renzo turned and vanished into the shadows of the tunnel.
The members of Team V stood on the pitch, staring at the empty space he had occupied.
"Beautiful... redhead?" Retsu whispered. "Does he mean... a girl?"
"He's crazy," Reo hissed, his face turning a shade of purple that matched his hair. "He's actually insane! He's walking out on a First Selection match to make a phone call?!"
"It's okay, Reo, " Nagi said. "We've got to show what we've got."
Hearing this, Reo calmed down and nodded. " Hell yeah!!"
*****
Renzo walked through the dimly lit corridors of the facility. His cleats clacked rhythmically against the floor.
He reached the heavy, reinforced door to the control room — the nerve center where Jinpachi Ego spent his days staring at screens. Renzo knocked once.
"Enter," a nasally, bored voice drawled from the other side.
Renzo pushed the door open. The room was cold, lit only by the blue glow of hundreds of monitors showing the other matches in the strata. In the center of the room, Ego was slumped in his high-tech chair, a cup of lukewarm coffee in one hand and a bag of cheap snacks in the other.
Ego didn't turn around. He was watching the replay of Renzo's fifth goal on a loop.
"You're early," Ego said. "The second half hasn't even started. I assume you're here to claim your prize, you unpolished gem."
"Five goals, Ego," Renzo said, standing in the center of the room. "Check the stats."
"I don't need to check. I watched you devour them," Ego rasped, finally spinning his chair around. His bug-like eyes searched Renzo's face behind his thick lenses. "I'm glad to see you've stopped pretending to be a 'safe' player. That look suited you today. It was... efficient."
Renzo held out his hand, palm up. "My phone. I've earned the points."
Ego let out a dry, rattling chuckle. He reached into a drawer and pulled out Renzo's smartphone, tossing it through the air.
"Five points deducted," Ego said, turning back to his monitors. "Most strikers would use those points for a better bed or a steak. You chose a piece of plastic and glass. Your ego is strangely sentimental, Renzo Takamine."
Renzo slipped the phone into his pocket. "I am equally happy, Ego. Thanks for the exchange."
He turned to leave, but Ego's voice stopped him one last time.
"Don't get too comfortable. This is just the first step. If you stop being a monster, you'll be the one falling through the trapdoor next time."
Renzo didn't reply. He simply closed the door behind him and headed for the Team V dorm.
Soon, he reached the dorm. The rest of the building was empty, the players either on the pitch or in the stands watching the other games. Renzo plugged his phone into the charging port, watching the screen flicker to life.
0%... 1%...
He felt a surge of nervous energy he hadn't felt once on the soccer pitch today. He stripped out of his sweat-soaked bodysuit and stepped into the shower. The hot water washed away the physical grime of the match, the steam filling the room. As he scrubbed his skin, he thought about the five goals. They felt like nothing compared to the weight of the phone sitting on the counter.
He stepped out, dried himself off, and pulled on a fresh grey hoodie and sweats. He grabbed the phone.
40% charged. Good enough.
He sat on the edge of his bed, his thumb hovering over the contact name. Koyuki.
He pressed 'Call.'
The ringtone felt like it lasted for an eternity. One ring. Two rings.
Click.
"RENZO TAKAMINE, YOU ABSOLUTE BASTARD! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT TIME IT IS?! DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA HOW LONG I'VE BEEN STARING AT MY PHONE WAITING FOR A CALL?!"
Renzo instinctively pulled the phone away from his ear as a familiar, fiery voice exploded through the speaker. He couldn't help the massive, stupid grin that spread across his face.
"Hey, Kuki," Renzo said softly. "I missed you too."
"DON'T 'HEY KUKI' ME! Where are you? What is this 'secret project'? My brother is gone, you're gone, and all I get is a cryptic text saying you're going to be the best in the world?! I should kill you! I should find that camp and burn it down!"
"Relax, relax," Renzo laughed, leaning back against the wall. "Listen to me for a second."
Koyuki let out a huff on the other end, but she quieted down. "Fine. Talk. This better be good."
Renzo spent the next twenty minutes explaining everything. He told her about the concrete prison, the three hundred strikers, the 'unpolished gems,' and Jinpachi Ego. He told her about the Onigokko, the elimination of Kenji, and the suffocating pressure of Team V.
As he spoke, he could hear her sharp intakes of breath.
"Wait," Koyuki interrupted, her voice dropping from a yell to a low, intense tone. "You mean they actually kicked a guy out for life? Just like that? Because of a game of tag?"
"Yeah," Renzo said. "But Kuki... it's exactly what I needed. I'm playing the way I did in Tokyo. No, better than Tokyo. I'm not holding back anymore. I scored five goals in forty-five minutes today just so I could get enough points to call you."
There was a long silence on the other end of the line. For a second, Renzo thought the call had dropped.
"Five goals?" Koyuki whispered. Her voice sounded different now — softer, warmer, but still with that underlying fire. "Just to talk to me?"
"I told you," Renzo said, his voice reaching a level of tenderness that would have made Reo's head spin. "You're the only one who normalizes me, but you're also the only one who loves and accepts my true self. I couldn't stay in this place without hearing your voice."
He heard a faint sniffle on the other end.
"Ren... you're such an idiot," Koyuki murmured. "I'm already missing you. It's been so quiet here without you and Hyoma. The house feels empty. I have to cook for myself, and I keep making too much because I forget you're not there to eat the leftovers."
"I miss your cooking," Renzo admitted. "The natto here tastes like gym socks."
"Ugh, disgusting!" Koyuki laughed, her spirits lifting. "Can't you just take a day off? Tell that Ego guy that your girlfriend demands your presence."
Renzo chuckled. "I joked about that. Well, not with Ego, but with myself. I found out it costs ten points for a day out. That's ten goals, Kuki."
"Ten goals?" Koyuki's voice immediately regained its competitive edge. "RENZO TAKAMINE! If you don't get those goals as soon as possible, I swear to god I will find a way into that camp! I'll climb the walls! I'll seduce a guard! I'll do whatever it takes!"
"Don't seduce any guards," Renzo teased. "I'll get the goals, and be home for a date before you know it."
"You'd better," she said, her voice dropping to a sweet, lingering tone.
"And what about that little shit? How is Hyoma?"
"Princess is fine," Renzo said. "He's on a different team. I haven't seen him since the first day, but I'm sure he's surviving."
"Meh, whatever," Koyuki said dismissively. "I've had that little brat in my life forever. He can take care of himself. Get to the top soon. I can't wait to see you on TV!!"
"I will," Renzo promised. "I've already started."
"Good. Take care of yourself, Ren. Don't get hurt. And... love ya."
Renzo's face softened into a smile that was completely unrecognizable compared to the one he wore on the pitch. It was the smile of a celebrity, a look of pure happiness that made his sharp features look almost angelic in the dim light of the dorm.
"Love you too, Kuki," Renzo said.
He ended the call and stared at the screen for a moment, the silence of the room returning.
The door to the dorm room hissed open.
The rest of Team V filed in. They looked exhausted, their bodysuits drenched in sweat. They had clearly finished the second half without him. Reo was in the lead, looking ready to commit murder, while Nagi trailed behind, looking more like a zombie than usual.
But then, they all stopped in their tracks.
Renzo was still sitting on his bed, the soft, lingering smile from the call still etched onto his face. He looked like a different person, not a monster, not a chill teenager, but something else entirely.
Renzo looked up, blinking as he realized they were back. "Oh. Hey guys. How was the second half?"
None of them spoke.
Reo's mouth hung open. Zantetsu's glasses slipped down his nose. Nagi actually rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.
THIS FREAK CAN SMILE LIKE THAT?!! The collective thought screamed through the minds of every member of Team V. The man who had just systematically destroyed an entire team's hope, the man who had laughed like a demon in the locker room, was now sitting there looking like the lead in a romance drama.
"What?" Renzo asked, his smile fading back into his usual calm expression as he noticed their stares. "Did we lose?"
"No," Reo finally managed to choke out, his voice a mix of disbelief and exhaustion. "We won 8-0. Nagi got two, I got one. But... Renzo... who the hell were you talking to?"
Renzo stood up, pocketing his phone and heading toward the door.
"I told you," Renzo said, his voice returning to its cool, level tone. "A beautiful redhead. Now, if you'll excuse me, I think I've earned a nap."
He walked past them, leaving Team V in a state of absolute, shell-shocked silence.