Chapter 34: Cops and Robbers

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----Tohoku University, Japan----

In his dorm, Manabu sat down with his soccer nerd friends who begged him to watch the newest spectacle of national football on a week that didn't have any club football. He reluctantly agreed and sat at the end of the couch, not exactly all too interested in Japanese football. 

All he heard were the ramblings of Itoshi Sae playing for Japan's U-20 team against an unknown Blue Lock.

Their friend group consisted of 5 girls and 5 boys including him, balanced as all things should be. 

Their decently sized flat screen tv lit up and the game was about to start. 

???: Come on, Manabu. You should at least pretend to have fun. Here, have some soda. 

Manabu: Fine. 

Taking a can of soda from his friend and popping it open, Manabu just relaxed in place, pretending to care about the strangers he saw on screen. 

Manabu: (Soccer games tend to last at least two hours. This is going to be annoying)

???: Ah, there he is! Itoshi Sae! 

However, in that moment, something caught Manabu's eyes. The familiar presence of a kouhai he cherished flashed on the screen. 

Manabu was surprised but resorted to keeping his composure. It didn't last long, however. What appeared next proved it wasn't a fluke or hallucination.

 What appeared next proved it wasn't a fluke or hallucination

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*PFFFFFFFFFFFFFFT*

He spit out his drink and coughed slightly much to his friend's shock. 

???: Hey, are you good man? Something scare you?

Manabu: That player from Blue Lock... the one on the right wing... he was my underclassman. 

Another friend chimed in.

???: Eh?! Are you serious? Small world huh. 

Seeing Kiyotaka line up for the start of the game, Manabu couldn't help himself and started to chuckle.

???: No way? Is he... laughing?! I don't think I've even seen him smile!

Manabu: (I can't believe my luck. I don't know how you ended up playing soccer, Kiyotaka. But it doesn't matter. I know you can run pretty fast but what else can you do? Thanks for making today bearable.)

...

---MATCH START---

...

On Blue Lock's bench, where the subs, Anri and Ego sat, confusion surfaced in regard to their opponent's offense. 

Igarashi: The opponent's starting lineup doesn't include Shido?!

Raichi: Why the hell not?! Are they looking down on us?!

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