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For some reason, before the Japan stratum participants could go meet their mentor, they were required to put on some strange bodysuits.
They were tight, but they looked decent under their uniforms and jackets. Additionally, they were provided translator earbuds, which they put in before waiting outside their assigned stratum’s door.
“Excellent,” A tall, lanky Japanese man commented from behind a screen, pushing his glasses up as he analyzed the players in front of him. “Noel’s Bastard International Program doesn’t seem to be too going bad, given the circumstances.”
“Is that…?” Alexis whispered in Michael’s ear. “Jinpachi Ego? The world’s number one striker…? What’s he doing on the screen?”
“Maybe he’s the Japan stratum’s mentor,” Michael snorted. “Can you imagine? Noa going to beg the world’s number one striker to come and teach for him?”
Before Alexis could even laugh, the doors in front of the people who had chosen the Japan stratum opened. Inside the room was Jinpachi Ego himself, surrounded by a team of Japanese players. “Welcome, you unpolished gems.”
Kaiser scoffed. He and his team were definitely polished, even though they were going through this shitty experimental program. He wasn’t a particular fan of the big shots like Jinpachi Ego, finding them to be much, much too arrogant.
Ego grinned. “Let’s play a game of tag, shall we?”
He left the room, and before anyone else could say anything, a ball dropped from the ceiling. All of the doors shut and made an audible locking noise.
No one moved.
A screen lit up from the side of the room, displaying Erik Gesner’s name right next to a timer that began counting. Erik sprinted forward, kicking the ball over to Alexis. Alexis trapped the ball, looking around and seeing that his name and icon had replaced Erik’s.
Ah. So it was quite literally tag. Alexis and Michael made eye contact, and Alexis nodded. He passed to Michael, who instantly shot the ball toward the crowd of Japanese players.
The ball spun right towards a short guy with pink braided hair, almost nailing him in the face if he hadn’t ducked right away. Michael sighed, looking up at the board that showed his name and an… interestingly designed icon.
“Surely I don’t look like that?” Michael scoffed, lips curling up in a sneer as he saw the depiction of him. His gaze trailed to the displayed time next to the icon.
Well then.
He had fifteen seconds left.
“Michael!” Alexis yelped, making a gesture toward the board.
“I know!” Michael hissed, sprinting forward.
He held the ball under his foot, quickly analyzing who he would hit. Before he could do anything, though, a Japanese player stole the ball from him. Michael whipped around to face the player, eyes wide in shock. He immediately looked at the board to see who had the audacity .
“What the fuck…”
Yoichi Isagi, the board displayed, with 3 seconds left. Now why did that name sound familiar…?
The Yoichi guy kicked the ball back with his heel, it shooting backward and slamming into Michael’s gut. The German's sight went fuzzy. Michael wheezed, doubling over as his world spun. He slammed into the ground, knees first and toppling over as he struggled to regain his breath.
Michael wheezed, fists clenching where he was crumpled. “Shit—!”
“Are you alright?!” Alexis yelled, sliding to his knees next to Michael just as a loud buzzer noise filled the room.
“Michael Kaiser,” a feminine voice announced from the screen. “You are out. Please move on to the next room, and tag will resume shortly after.”
“Excuse me?” Alexis hissed, eyes blazing with fury. “Out? Why is he out?”
“He’s not out of the whole program,” Yoichi Isagi rolled his eyes. “You’re overreacting.”
“And who the hell are you?” Michael hissed, slowly getting up from his knees. “Bastard…”
“Yoichi Isagi,” the boy introduced himself. “…of the New Gen World 11.”
The German teens tensed up.
“W…what are you doing here?” Alexis asked, eyes narrowed. “In a place like this?”
“Well that’s easy,” Yoichi shrugged, his gaze flickering over to Michael, who was walking to the next room. “To see how Noel Noa’s Ace, Michael Kaiser, performs.”
“What?” Michael hissed, teeth gritting as he turned to face Yoichi.
“I don’t want to crush your spirit too early,” Yoichi smiled easily, casual charm in his voice. He crouched down, tracing a finger down the German’s chest teasingly. “Let’s devour each other, Kaiser.”
Michael left for the next room, cheeks a bit warmer than normal as he grabbed at the rose tattooed on his neck. What the hell was that guy on about?
—
“You’re next, Ness,” Isagi hummed, pointing at the magenta-haired boy. “So you can go join your boyfriend.”
“He’s not my boyfriend!” Ness hissed, eyes squinting even further in rage as Isagi rolled the ball to offsides so the room could reset.
“…Oh?” Isagi paused, turning to look at the German. “Huh.”
The two stared at each other for a moment, not breaking eye contact. The tension in the room was nearly suffocating, the German team astounded their ace got eliminated so early. Isagi had pulled off a shady trick, something they wouldn’t have expected from the average-looking boy.
“Isagi,” Kunigami said with a warning tone. “Whatever you’re thinking, don’t.”
“I’m just intrigued,” Isagi shrugged, looking thoughtful as the ball reset. “You know how it is… Places to be, people to devour.”
The seconds ticked down slowly, and the blue-eyed striker stole the ball from a fuming Ness. He stalled with the ball for a bit, mainly shooting at his teammates for fun. With ten seconds left on the clock, Isagi paused. He had Ness in a corner, a neutral look on his face— but his eyes were blazing with an unknown determination.
“Isagi!” Hiori shouted, his brows furrowed. “What the hell are you doing?”
“I’m following my protagonism, Hiori!” Was all Isagi said, turning his head and watching the time run out.
The loud buzzer noise returned, and Isagi nudged the ball over ever so slightly. The ball touched Ness, and he jolted, glaring up at Yoichi very, very confused. “Why…”
“Yoichi Isagi,” the feminine voice returned. “You are out.”
Isagi had a gentle smile as he shuffled over to the next room.
“Don’t look all calm and peaceful!” Hiori scoffed playfully. “You know we’re gonna have a million questions, you egoist.”
“Just… Trust me, Hiori!” Isagi protested, waving to his friends playfully as he walked back into the other room. “Besides…”
Isagi turned to look at Michael Kaiser, the blonde glaring at him and raising to his full height. The doors slowly shut behind him.
“It's always more fun to start at the bottom, right, Mihya?”