[Blue Lock] Itoshi Sae Doesn't Want to Make Friends

Blurb:

Itooshi Sae.

A world-class midfield genius, hailed as a Diamond Generation talent and Japan's national treasure.

Back home, there's even a dedicated forum where people discuss him, not to mention his huge fanbase, drawn in by his stunning looks and those half-lidded eyes that make him seem like an untouchable flower on a high peak.

By all accounts, he should be living the dream, running freely on the soccer field with no distractions until retirement.

But...

"Beep! Beep!!"

"After monitoring you for eighteen years, we have determined that you have zero friends, social skills at -40, parents who feel 'at a loss' around you, and a younger brother who 'hates' you (currently turning dark). Your total score is below the passing mark. The System will now be bound to you automatically."

"Newbie mission:

Choose a lucky stranger, greet them, and say hello within ten seconds."

"Failure will send you to a punishment world."

Itooshi Sae: ???

Once he figured out that the System's ultimate goal was to turn him into a sociable charmer who made everyone feel at ease, and help him make five friends whose affection for him was strong enough to risk their lives for him...

The midfield genius fell silent.jpg

He didn't exactly look like someone who made friends, okay?

And what was that supposed to mean about Rin (currently turning dark)?

A sadistic, sharp-tongued, foul-mouthed older brother is utterly bewildered.

-

[Short Scene 1]:

The only permitted form of entertainment in Blue Lock was watching soccer news. Among the videos shown, interviews with Itooshi Sae during his time in Spain had by far the most views.

To make the battles on the field even more intense,

Ego had promised to invite Itooshi Sae to visit the "prison" after the final assessment.

Today was the day he kept his promise.

Central meeting room.

A lean, not especially tall boy stood expressionless on the podium. He wore a sports jacket zipped all the way up, the collar covering part of his chin, with both hands in his pockets.

The members who had advanced sat on the floor.

Most of their bodies were swallowed by darkness. Their expressions were hard to make out, but their eyes glinted like wolves, and their presence was terrifying.

The genius on the podium mistook this for a beast's provocation.

He lowered his eyes, arrogant and aloof.

He paid it no mind.

[Short Scene 2]:

Itooshi Sae decided to join the Blue Lock project.

In addition to the players who had advanced from the first project, Ego invited several members of Japan's U-20 national team. They would spend a month in a closed training camp alongside Itooshi Sae.

[You're pretty dense, genius.]

The national treasure's face remained cool. [Huh?]

[Haha,] the captain scratched his head. [It's nothing.]

So...

When did their simple admiration and awe begin to change into something else?

They thought,

They had completely lost track of it.

The admiration they'd once felt while watching him on TV was no longer pure. The lofty genius wasn't actually so far out of reach, and his back was even a little smaller than theirs.

The members' ever-growing ambition, nurtured within them, would make their fangs itch to bare.

They would bide their time,

then tackle the one standing at the very front, facing the light, and pin him down. With a husky laugh, they would leave a vicious bite mark on his neck.

-

Note:

A dense genius x a rabid dog.

The main world is Blue Lock. In the punishment worlds, he goes to other sports anime to make friends.

I couldn't find anything to read, so I started writing on impulse. I just love stories about cool, composed, lofty geniuses being pursued (hehe).

Theme: Better to die holding fast to the fragrance on the branch than be blown down by the northern wind.