Chapter 1 - Arthur: The Prodigy

"Just shoot! Arthur!" My teammate yelled at me, snapping me out of a state of complete focus. As I returned to the real world, I found myself facing the goal with no goalkeeper. And as simple as it sounds, I scored the goal.

"What a magnificent goal by Arthur! My God!"

What? What do you mean magnificent goal?

"What a fantastic goal! You're a phenomenon, Arthur!" The team captain runs towards me, followed by the rest of the team, and they quickly lift me up, tossing me into the air.

Whistle Blows

The sound of the whistle echoes across the field and is drowned out by the screams of the stands; I am in the final of the Okinawa regional soccer championship, but I can't remember my goal. As my team carries me almost like a trophy, the opposing team is in shock, all staring into nothingness, lying on the field. After being tossed up a few times, they let me down.

"We're going to nationals! For the first time in our school's history, we're going to nationals!" The captain begins to cry with emotion.

"Not only are we going to nationals, we're going to win it!" Hiroshi slaps my back.

"Definitely, we can't lose with Arthur on the team!"

"Can someone explain to me how I scored the goal?" I didn't want to interrupt the moment, but I was really curious about how that goal happened.

"How do you always forget these important goals? Alright." Toji stares at me and puts a hand on my shoulder. "You received the ball in midfield, glanced at the clock, and saw that there were only a few seconds left, tied 1-1."

"Okay, got it."

"As soon as the ball came close, you gently lifted it with the outside of your foot and chipped it over the defender who was marking you tightly. He didn't like that, then he tried to stop you with a nasty foul, kicked you at knee height, causing you to stumble as you exited the play."

"So thats why my knee hurts a lot..."

"Their defensive midfielder saw you were off balance, quickly tried to tackle to steal the ball, but somehow you managed to touch the ball past him and nutmegged him."

"Wow, thats nuts, sounds like something I'd do."

"You recovered after the nutmeg, regained your balance, their defenders forgot to mark our wingers, they double-teamed you, but like an idiot, you didn't pass."

"That sounds like me too."

"But even so, you managed to bypass them by pushing the ball forward and making a tremendous run. You looked like a jet. Finally, when you reached the goalkeeper, he was off his line trying to intercept the ball before you, but you performed a rainbow flick, and the ball went over him, and..." Okay, from here I already know the continuation.

"I was facing the goal with no goalkeeper, and you shouted for me to shoot."

"Yeah, that's right."

Wow, it was a beautiful goal. But I blacked out; now that he's talking about the goal, I can remember it better, but I was really too focused to realize how crazy I was in that play.

"The Ushima school team is the champion of the Okinawa regional tournament! They will be representing the region in the nationals starting next week!" The announcer begins to speak. "With two goals from Arthur, becoming the tournament's top scorer, for the first time in history, Ushima will be in the nationals!"

The team captain messes up Arthur's hair. "Good job, kid! Even though you're a freshman, I knew you would lead us here, now enjoy the glory of your awards."

The Ushima school team is taken to the podium, lifting the trophy; Arthur Saito is announced as the tournament's MVP.

In the locker room, the atmosphere is electric, still enveloped in the adrenaline of victory. Towels fly in the air as the players laugh and celebrate. "That was amazing, Arthur! You got us to nationals, man!" exclaims Toji, holding the regional trophy.

"It's not every day we win a trophy this big, huh?" says Hiroshi, another teammate, admiring the shiny prize in his hands.

"The nationals are a whole different level, guys. We'll have to train even harder," comments Takeshi, a tall defender with a serious expression but a gleam in his eyes.

"We definitely have to train... But we have the top scorer and MVP of Okinawa on the team, that's training enough already." Hiroshi sits on the bench, resting.

A towel flies towards Hiroshi's face. "Are you gonna let the freshman carry you all the way to nationals? Mr. striker without goals." Toji jokes.

"No goals but more assists than anyone!" Hiroshi throws the towel back at him. "Now put on that damn thing before anyone sees you naked!"

I want to win, I need to win this tournament; all my seniors deserve it, they're all great, I'm going to dominate this tournament.

Arthur goes home after the tournament; his parents greet him with many compliments and celebration, but he goes to bed early, tired.

"What a day, what a feeling." Arthur was looking at his MVP and top scorer awards on the shelf. "But I'm not satisfied. I want the nationals."

The night passes, and when the sun rises, Arthur gets out of bed. "Argh! Damn it!"

His parents quickly rush into the room; he was sprawled on the floor, holding his knee. "What happened, Arthur?!"

"My knee... It hurts so much."

They quickly take him to the hospital. Arthur and his mother wait for the doctor in his office until he finally arrives with the results of the X-ray.

"Well, I have good news and bad news; you didn't tear your knee ligament, but you did have a partial strain." The doctor continues. "You'll need to refrain from physical activity for 3 to 6 weeks."

It was as if the world had collapsed for Arthur; the expression of melancholy and despair emanated from his face.

"What do you mean 3 to 6 weeks?! Next week I have the national tournament; I can't afford to be out!"

"Well, unless you can play with just one leg, I'm sorry, kid."

Thats so unfair... Am I going to miss the tournament? After everything I did to get there?!

3 days passes. A magazine arrives at Arthur's house.

The most promising players from the national soccer tournament... "Arthur Saito: Despite being one of the most promising, he got injured shortly before the start of the tournament. We mention him here due to his magnificent campaign in Okinawa. He is the only freshman on the list." Horrible magazine, why mention me in this tournament if I wasn't even registered because of the injury.

Arthur throws the magazine against the wall, which dislodges a note from within.

A letter from the Japanese Football Federation?! What is this about?

Arthur opens the letter with trembling hands.

"You have been chosen for reinforcement."

Reinforcement? What does that mean?

"You have been called up; appear at this location indicated in the image at 1 p.m. Blue Lock."

Blue Lock? What's that? It's tomorrow... I'm still injured... Screw it! It doesn't matter. I'm not going to miss the opportunity to attend something from the Japanese federation. I'm going to the Blue Lock.

 END OF CHAPTER.