Capítulo 4: Seeing Unborn Monster
It was already dark, and the sole shower was letting the stream of water fall on Dennis's brown hair. It was ice-cold water that would make anyone else shudder the second it touched their bodies. But for the German, this was regular exposure to cold, and he was just as cold. He just stood with his head bowed, watching as water flowed down his body like a river through muscle separations.
The previous question by Ego was not insulting but rather ridiculous. Was it even a question for the guy who claimed to always be correct with his evaluations? as if he was trying to taunt him to say something else. Still, he avoided it without saying anything.
The German fisted his palm under the cold shower: 'I must stay on my path and not turn in a different direction. I still have a goal to reach... but it doesn't seem like I'm getting any closer.' Just like anyone else, the youngster had a goal. It was, however, not like the others.
Dennis let go of the soap in his hand, and it fell due to gravity. The blue eyes followed it throughout its freefall, and it neared the floor as his leg intercepted the rough landing. The slippery material, such as soap, was balancing on the German's foot, and even if it was wet, it didn't make the boy feel it differently from the ball.
His goal was simple, but it only appeared because of the coach's ridiculous statement. to feel the football as an extension of your body. Sometimes footballers believe they have accomplished something, but they have not; juggling the ball for an extended period of time does not make the ball your body part. It will never be physically possible.
But in the mind of a footballer, the ball always exists as a separate entity or an object. Dennis doesn't want to think like that; he wishes it to be different. Dennis has been a football fan in any way or shape possible since he was a child and has been watching the game since he was able to comprehend the reality around him.
These stars at their beginning and the representatives of an old classic, he watched them all. Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo Nazario, or the legends of the new era, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. There were a lot of exceptional footballers, and Dennis has a lot to learn from them.
However, there is still one thing that Dennis can't comprehend. He viewed the footage of various football players during their warm-ups and official games, and he can't say that he has achieved anything similar to what Diego Maradona and Ronaldinho Garancho have been doing so naturally…
There was something different about those two that made them stand out even from other great dribblers and skilled players. The way they acted with football was so different, you could truly say that they were dancing with it. They were having fun doing all the fancy stuff, and the public enjoyed it.
Now, he, for example… can't seem to handle the football in that way, and as to why it is so... Dennis cannot understand. 'There will be a day when I will do even better.' He didn't promise himself, he was sure that the day would come eventually.
Dennis explosively lifted his foot and threw the soap high into the air. He easily caught it and put it in a trash can. After drying himself and doing his basic skincare routine, he went back to the room where his other teammates were sleeping. Then he picked up his mattress and just went into the dream world.
… … …
It was early in the morning, right after the press conference held by the Japanese Football Association about the new project Blue Lock. And it appeared that people already had opinions about the project, thinking it was extreme and endangering the futures of the next generation of footballers.
Anri gave the speech that enraged the press, so it was natural to get totally trashed in newsletters, but Ego didn't care, as he had more plans for the project. Soon, the entire country will realize the worth of this project and support it.
"So, how was the press conference?" Jinpachi ate from the noodle box in his office as Anri arrived back at the facility. "I expected their reactions to be wilder and the JFA to act; however, these oldies in the association are totally head over heels for you." He slurped on those noodles in satisfaction, while the girl only scowled.
"They don't care about football at all! All they can do is count money and expect some miracle to happen. But you!" Anri angrily pointed at the director of the project, whom she decided to trust, and screamed, "You are just as crazy shithead as them! I swear, if we anger the press too much, they'll start the hunt, and the European boy you have in the program might be the reason for our demise."
Ego placed his cup of noodles on the table and raised an eyebrow. "Why do you think so?"
"The entire German football fan base might be after us, don't you understand?" If the information gets leaked too early or something happens to Dennis, the German press and football fans would be incredibly upset. Furthermore, you should never underestimate the yellow wall...
The director just huffed, "That can be a problem; however, the choice was made by Dennis. We didn't force anybody." Ego had some plans, and they included partnerships with foreigners for better results for the project; nonetheless, Dennis could prove himself to be a great asset.
Ego suddenly got interested in why Anri was so concerned about Dennis, because yesterday she didn't think much of him. So he asked directly, "Why are you so worried about Dennis Kemp now? Previously, you didn't mind him at all."
Anri narrowed her eyes at her friend. What was he trying to say with that? She was thinking…"I watched the footage of him playing in the Dortmund Youth Academy; he already had too much attention on his back. We won't be able to handle it if something happens."
The girl in reality checked everything available to the public on the internet to see Dennis' life in Germany. Everything in his life revolved around football, which is why he is so skilled and physically capable. He didn't have to worry about anything but football, and his parents initially helped him out.
She even watched an interview dated back three years, where Dennis was questioned about who was his favorite player in the entire world. His answer was unique in a sense. He was fourteen at that time.
Dennis said, "There are too many good players to choose from, and not to rumble my brain over it, I just decided not to have one favorite. I can start naming them all, but I'll get cold, so please excuse me." In this way, he avoided the press and simply entered the dressing room.
'Even at that age, he had his way around the press; why can't those oldies even try and replicate him.' Anri was actually amazed at how well the young Dennis handled the situation; it was hard to imagine how he would do it now. Obviously, he had grown mentally and physically.
Ego clapped his hands, "Anyway, I was about to update the rankings. Denni has moved up the most, which I expected. Then, everyone basically stayed in the same position they were in before in their groups." His voice turned serene: "We'll have to wait for more for better results."
"For just data collection, they have improved quite a lot…"
The director pushed his glasses with a finger and gave a girl a smirk, "This is just the beginning. It will be like an explosion of the star as they evolve and their egos become bigger…"
… … …
It was no secret to the entire group that Isagi was unconfident. He didn't dare respond to any taunts, which was weird for a teenager. Also, they didn't forget that, after Ego's speech, he was the first one to run into the building. There was more to a boy than they knew, however, and they were unaware of that.
'I'm too anxious to even sleep…' The first nights of the Blue Lock project could be expected to be underwhelming. Isagi had wide-open eyes, as if he didn't even try to sleep. His roommates were too calm for the situation, which made him nervous. 'I don't have time to sleep either, I should work.'
The time to get up was approaching, not that Isagi had any idea how far away the morning was; he simply decided to work before anyone else. He got up and looked over his sleeping teammates; all of them were asleep. He noticed the way Gurimu was sleeping, 'Dude, we are not supposed to sleep on the floor.'
On the other side of his mattress was Dennis, 'This guy, he saved me during the entrance test. It's interesting how he feels about kicking Kira out.' Out of everyone, he was sleeping the most normal, with his face looking straight up at the ceiling.
"Isagi," The blue-haired teen instantly shuddered as he saw Dennis open one of his eyes and called out to him out, "Next time do better, you woke me up." He then closed his eyes again, leaving the guy baffled.
"Sorry…I'm just going out…" Isagi with soft steps got off the room, looking back again and again if he woke up someone else, fortunately, he did not. It felt like he sweated more this time than during training. "Fuh, Dennis has some extraordinary senses." He had already mentioned it outside the room. Unawares, something hit his head from behind.
"Hehe, I know, right? He also noticed me getting up two days ago." Isagi was surprised to see Bachira up. He suddenly switched the theme to "Wanna train with me? One on one." Meguru asked his teammate.
Isagi didn't know how he could refuse his teammate, so he just responded with "okay." He had a question for Meguru, so might as well ask him now while they are alone. The two put on their Blue Lock uniforms and went onto the training field barefoot. They placed the cones around the field to mark the bounds for the one-on-one game and started.
The blue-haired was the first to speak up: "Hey, Bachira. Can I ask you something first?" The person in question was confused, but the questioner proceeded nonetheless. "When we were playing tag... why did you steal the ball from Dennis? You could've simply stayed away."
Bachira smiled, "I knew you would ask me that, you also have that monster in your head, don't you? But whenever Dennis had the ball, you could never tell what he would do; you had not even the slightest idea about his intentions."
'What monster is he talking about?' Isagi was weirded out; he had absolutely no idea what his teammate was talking about, and he considered that he might have mental problems.
"Call it intuition if you want, but when I play football, I listen to what it is telling me; however, when Dennis was playing, I wasn't hearing anything. I was so bothered that I stole a football from him to see if my monster was still present." Isagi could feel it; Bachira was speaking honestly, and it bothered him now, what monster does he have that Bachira knows of? He wants to learn more.
Bachira dashed with the ball at his feet, "What about you, Isagi? What did you feel when you were chasing the white-haired boy after he betrayed you?" This question was sensitive, maybe, but Isagi was madder at himself.
He didn't know Ryosuke Kira as a friend, they just met on a few occasions. However, the fact that Isagi trusted him on the test was bizarre. It's now that he can't believe this fact, but at that time he somehow did, didn't he? A lesson was learned.
As Bachira tried to dribble past him, Isagi contacted the smaller opponent with his core and turned the hustle into a physical battle where he held some advantage against Bachira. "To be honest, I don't think my mind was clear at that time. All I had in my brain at that time was the wish for revenge." He said as Meguru moved away with the ball.
"That was your monster! Hehe. Kind of scary monster you have, Isagi." The dark-haired boy still couldn't understand what that monster was, but at least he acknowledged the fact that there was something in him that he had no idea about.
Isagi moved closer to Bachira, but the latter rolled the ball behind to secure his possession. Then, by driving over his feet and instantly doing the reverse of that motion, Meguru tricked Isagi into going in the wrong direction. From now on, the shorty only had to use his speed and agility, by literally going through the cones.
Number 297 had to sigh, "I have no talent in defending at all and you are also too good with dribbling."
"Well, you moved before I could do anything. You were trying to predict me, which I noticed in time. If I haven't, you'd have a ball at your feet." That was a nice compliment from Bachira, who also mentioned the flaws nicely. Meguru got back into the square, and the round this time was commenced by Isagi dropping the ball at his feet.
Bachira could now observe how well Isagi could play, and it wasn't bad. Honestly, Yoichi had good dribbling, he had everything except the will. Whenever he attempted to make a dribble, the guy just wouldn't risk it and searched for other options.
For minutes, they sweated like that, trying to outplay each other. More and more, Bachira realized Isagi's worth; he wasn't dumb to not notice the potential this guy had. He had a peculiar football vision.
Ring! Ring!
The voice rang out in the two's ears as they looked up to see the source. Ego's voice announced to them that the rankings have been updated and now they have different numbers on their shoulders. Isagi had a new ranking, it was 274th. His eyes lit up, 'Finally!'
--- --- --- Author's Notes --- --- ---
Another chapter! A Pretty large one, p@-treon already has 3 large chapters published as well. If you wish to read ahead of time [p@-treon.com/yellowlock] it's right here.
Also, I love how many power stones you were sending, but without 15 reviews on the story they can't do anything :C So please, consider reviewing the story, I'm also interested in what I have to improve on.
Status de energia semanal
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