𝐀𝐃𝐃 𝐌𝐄 ?!

𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫

you pressed your elbow against the head office's access panel, letting yourself in to bring ego his lunch.

you guessed it, yakisoba, again.

by now, you still haven't gotten his ideal yakisoba order down to perfection, but you sure as hell were trying your best. this was the 102nd, no... 106th one you made already in your entire stay? although it wasn't always perfect, it was at least edible, so thankfully your boss had enough mercy in him to eat it and not waste it.

"mr. ego, lunchtime." you set the tray of his noodles and a bottle of water in front of him.

the older man seemed to be focused on the large collection of surveillance cameras that was playing the current first-selection match between team z and team v.

"it's nagi and reo— ah, and zantetsu too." you pointed at the two who were chatting on a part of the field. "since when were you acquainted with those lot?" he suddenly perked up while stirring his noodles.

your eyes widened and you leaned back on your heels, rocking back and forth to your tiptoes.

"mm, never. i just think they're cool. kinda like the holy trinity of team v." you hummed, staring into the screen to watch the match play out. "if you think they're cool now, they're only going to get cooler the longer these selections play out. their egos still have yet to develop plenty." ego told you as he guzzled down the yakisoba.

you turned to him curiously.

"what's up with you and your obsession with these guys' egos? seriously, did you get this job just 'cause your name is ego or something?" you joked. "of course not, you nincompoop." the nickname he gave carried extra sass on it.

crossing your arms, you hopped on the table and sat there, swinging your legs idly as you asked another question, this time more seriously.

"so then, why did you choose to create blue lock?" you tilted your head. "the jfu approved of my proposal because they believe that i can lead japan to winning the world cup. however, to attain that, japan needs an extraordinary striker with a perfectly developed ego. i instigated the blue lock project because its harsh tests will be what will bring that singular striker into the world of soccer." he interlaced his fingers together as he leaned forward in his seat.

you scratched the top of your head, unable to understand anything this man was spouting because of your lack of football knowledge. nevertheless, you rolled your eyes and sighed.

"mr. ego, was there ever a time where you tried to be that striker? i mean— if you could just work out a little bit everyday then get jacked, y'know, maybe you could? why're you putting this much effort and money just to create a little high school prodigy when you can—",

"i can't."

your eyes went a little wide as you turned your head to stare at ego, who wore a serious expression. "huh?" you tilted your head.  ego was quiet for a moment before holding out his hand and revealing a hologram.

it was noel noa. or rather, a younger version of him.

even if you were quite dull with the entire soccer world, you were obviously familiar with the world's greatest soccer player ever. especially since your aunt was a total geek about it, too.

however, in the hologram, you could see next to him, a tall boy with black hair who was crouched on the ground with his arm around noa's shoulder. they both wore cold stares, but their lips were quirked up into proud smiles.

no way. was this...?

"at least not anymore." the man completed his sentence as he expanded the hologram.