Chapter 51: Ryosuke Kira, What Kind of Background Do You Even Have?
A few hours later, Kira arrived at the entrance of Blue Lock in Kagetora's car.
"So this is Blue Lock? It's way grander than I imagined."
Riko stepped out of the car and stared at the five pentagonal buildings connected together. She couldn't help but gasp in admiration.
"Then, I'll get going."
Kira was carrying a huge backpack and holding two smaller bags in his hands—
all filled with snacks and nutritional supplements Riko had prepared for him, plus extra treats for him to share with his teammates.
"And thank you too, Uncle!"
"No need to thank me, brat. I'm only doing this because my precious Riko asked."
Kagetora still wore his usual fierce, intimidating expression.
"And listen well—
even if it kills you, you better finish the bento my precious Riko made for you. Got it?!"
After saying that, the corner of Kagetora's mouth twitched slightly, as if remembering something unpleasant.
"Even if it kills me… yeah, I understand."
Kira turned toward Riko—her gaze still fixed on him without budging even an inch.
"Then I'm off, Riko."
"Mm! And remember—when the Inter-High prelims begin, you have to come watch!
So hurry up and score another ten goals!"
"Okay, okay! I'll score twenty and take two whole days off to visit, how about that?"
"Do it first before bragging! Hurry and go!"
Riko laughed brightly and watched him step away. She didn't look away until his figure disappeared behind the gates, then finally left with her father.
Meanwhile, Kagetora stood with arms crossed, staring solemnly at the massive facility.
"Kid… since Riko thinks so highly of you, you better not embarrass yourself."
…
Inside Blue Lock, Kira finally stepped back into the building.
"You've returned."
The giant screen suddenly lit up, Ego's face appearing once again.
"Ego-san, you're really starting to feel like some sort of AI…"
Kira muttered. Ever since entering Blue Lock, Ego had only ever appeared through monitors.
"Right, Ego-san—can I bring these into Blue Lock?"
"You can."
Ego adjusted his glasses and nodded without hesitation.
"But only you."
"Only me?"
"No more questions. Head back to your room. Another match is coming soon."
"Got it."
Carrying all his bags, Kira returned to Team Z's dorm while Ego fell silent again.
Technically, items like this were absolutely forbidden in Blue Lock.
But he'd received a direct order from the Football Association's president.
That man controlled the entire budget of Blue Lock. For something this trivial, Ego simply pretended not to see anything.
Still… there was something that bothered him.
Why was the FA president paying such close attention to Ryosuke Kira?
Kira's strength and "background" were both far beyond what Ego had initially uncovered in his investigation.
…
At the Japan Football Association headquarters, President Hirotoshi Buratsuta was struggling with the same question.
Who exactly was Ryosuke Kira?
Just recently, the head of the Basketball Association contacted him, asking him to tell Jinpachi Ego to allow Kira certain small privileges.
The Basketball Association president held a position equal to his own, but they were on good terms.
Maintaining relationships by helping each other was essential to surviving in the political side of sports.
So for him, granting a tiny favor like this was nothing—just good networking.
In truth, it all came from Kagetora.
As a former core member of the national team and a man with overwhelming prestige in the sports world, he had strong ties with the Basketball Association's president.
So he asked for a small favor: make sure Blue Lock didn't reject the homemade lunch his precious daughter had prepared.
It was a trivial matter—yet it made Buratsuta deeply curious.
Why did this kid, Ryosuke Kira, warrant such treatment?
And that wasn't all.
Even Sae Itoshi had shown unusual interest.
He had asked his agent to request Blue Lock match footage again—but only the matches and training sessions involving Ryosuke Kira.
Clearly, Sae had taken a keen interest in him.
"How strange… Sure, Ryosuke Kira is somewhat well-known, but nowhere near the level where so many big names should be watching him. Does he have some hidden background? Even Jinpachi Ego seems unusually fixated on him… how bizarre…"
Buratsuta muttered to himself.
…
Meanwhile, back inside Blue Lock, Kira returned to Team Z's room.
The moment he opened the door, everyone rushed toward him.
"Kira! You're finally back!"
"So jealous! Score ten goals and you get free time outside? Also—what's with those bags? Did you go camping or something?"
"Kira, what'd you do outside!? Don't tell me you were with sis-in-law!"
"Ah, yep."
Kira smiled and nodded, pulling out his phone. He'd already received several messages from Riko.
Riko: We're heading home! Come out again soon! I have to prep for our games too!
Riko: Don't forget to share the snacks with everyone!
Riko: And the bento I made! You must finish it! Dad said it's delicious!
After replying, Kira opened the bags and handed out the snacks.
"These are from your sister-in-law. She told me to bring them for all of you."
"Thanks, sis-in-law!"
"Tastes amazing!"
"Is there more? More?!"
Within minutes, the huge bag of snacks was devoured.
After two weeks of eating the same cafeteria meals, these treats were basically priceless treasures.
Watching everyone enjoy themselves, Kira took a deep breath, gathered his courage, and opened the bento Riko made just for him.
The moment he lifted the lid, he froze.
The bento was supposed to be shaped like a cute bear.
But the ingredients had clearly… suffered.
What stared back at him looked less like a bear and more like a horrifying monster.
"This… this is sis-in-law's love bento?!"
Imamura peeked over, frowned deeply, and quietly backed away.
"I'll try it… maybe it tastes better than—
ugh."