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Nagi is a very simple person.
After all, making things overly complicated doesn’t jive with his desire to live the most carefree, least troublesome life possible.
Efficiency is very important, so things that he dislikes can remain disliked, things that he doesn’t want to do can remain undone. The only things that he bothers doing are ones that would impact him negatively otherwise.
He’d occasionally talk, to prevent his neighbors, classmates and teachers from suspecting that he’s a dangerous individual. He’d reply to his parents’ texts and calls, to prevent them from possibly calling the police and asking them to kick his door open when he’s deep into his games. He’d perfunctorily answer tests when getting a low grade means being demoted to a special class that has a required attendance for remedial work. He’d pass the entrance exam to a posh high school if it means having teachers afraid of meddling with their students’ lives, and if it means making things easy for him to have a cushy living in the future.
A simple, easygoing life, where even his meals of eating different types of bread every day follows the flow. Unchanging, unperturbed. Nobody likes him and nobody meddles with him. He returns the favor, not liking anyone and not meddling with anyone either.
A perfectly balanced life, calm on the surface and underneath.
Of course, that has all changed upon meeting Reo.
He’s heard of him, certainly. It’s difficult not to. Every morning, there’s a mini-congregation by the school gates, a welcoming party fit for celebrities. They all call out to the heir of Mikage Corporation. They all flock to him, a sea of faceless people rotating around a shiny purple head.
He’s heard of him, of course. It’s his name that’s yelled during sports events. It’s his name on top of the top scorers list for every exam.
But he has a feeling that acknowledging his awareness of the other’s presence would cause the other man to ask more questions, so he says, “Ah. You’re that rich guy’s son. Give me money?”
As someone who keeps to himself all of the time, he has enough self-awareness. He knows that he’s considered a weirdo by his peers. He knows that his teachers sigh at his lack of effort. He knows that he’s a troublesome guy. He knows that there’s nobody sane who’d stick with him, especially if he displays the extent of his troublesome personality.
But then, there’s this one guy—
His almond-shaped eyes are sparkling. He looks at him like he’s bringing him so much happiness, even though he’s saying things that would be considered unreasonable by modern society.
“Interesting! That’s fine! You don’t have to change a thing!” He looks at him like he’s the most precious treasure in the world—and coming from someone who’s surrounded by luxury since birth, that is saying something. “Let’s play soccer!”
Still, Nagi is a very simple man.
He likes the things that he likes. He dislikes the things that he dislikes. He doesn’t force himself to mingle with things that he finds troublesome. He doesn’t do things that he truly doesn’t want to do.
Soccer is a very troublesome sport. It involves running, kicking, stretching, sweating, bumping into people. More than the game itself, Reo insists on training every day.
Just like how Reo insists on being called “Reo”, instead of using his powerful surname, he agrees to it. He rarely asks anything, because he knows that Reo treats him really well, so he trusts that he wouldn’t do anything harmful to him. Plus, Reo’s mind is really good, and there are very rare instances in which he does something without studying its aspects inside-out.
He actually enjoys working hard. What an alien, incomprehensible being.
“You’re really weird, Reo.”
“What’s with that? I don’t need you to tell me that…”
He’s really weird. Nobody else would deign to piggyback a 190-cm man, just because of his complaints about being too lazy to move. Nobody else would ditch his luxurious limousine and instead use a commoner’s bicycle, just because Nagi finds it troublesome to have to explain to nosy neighbors as to why there’s a long car in front of his house every day. Nobody would else would study his habits and his food intake, would buy him all sorts of things to make his life more comfortable.
Nobody else would indulge him like this.
He’s too lazy, too unmotivated, too disinterested, too obsessed with being carefree and doing nothing but sleeping and playing games. He knows that he’s a troublesome person with the bone-deep acceptance that he’s fine with not amounting to anything much in life.
“Because it’s troublesome to be with me,” he says, because he knows just how unsuited he is for interactions with others.
But then Reo just laughs at him, carrying him smoothly. “Haha, it’s within acceptable range,” as if dealing with someone so troublesome is something that he actually enjoys.
“Plus, it’s fun being with you,” Reo adds, and for a moment, Nagi thinks that he’s regretting asking for this comfortable Reo-limousine. Reo’s eyes are probably sparkling again, in that now-familiar way of him being happy when he’s with him.
Such a strange man, being interested with someone like him.
Nagi is a very simple man, after all.
He likes the things that he likes. Soccer and working hard are things that he doesn’t like, but he likes the feeling of Reo looking at him out of happiness. He likes the feeling of Reo looping an arm over his neck, of Reo walking by his side. He likes the things that he likes, so he doesn’t mind as much, doing things that he finds cumbersome, if it means being able to let things stay like this. It comes to the point that he ends up entering and staying in Blue Lock out of Reo’s desire.
To him, it’s just the logical conclusion.
It’s not something about being Reo’s lackey or slave. He likes the things that he likes, and so he takes the appropriate steps in order to stay close to those that he likes.
He finds it troublesome, but if Reo wants him to get back his phone using his own points, then that’s what he’d do. If Reo says that he finds his futon too terrible, then he’d pass to him so he’d have enough points to get a comfortable bed, even if Nagi himself would also like something comfy. If Reo wants to develop Team V into a team that would work together based on his plans, then he’d do his best to convince Zantetsu to listen to Reo’s orders.
If others think of it as him being submissive, then that doesn’t matter to him.
The only thing that matters is that he lives his own way: liking the things that he likes, doing things that needs to be done, listening to the words of the one worthy of being called ‘his king’.
There’s only one king, so that troublesome person claiming that he’s instead the King isn’t worthy. Especially since he has the bad taste to just charge into Reo, and to call Nagi a mere slave awaiting orders.
“I’m not a slave,” he says, rushing forward and making sure to hold onto Reo’s waist so he doesn’t fall to the ground. It’s one thing to allow rumors to fester, and another thing entirely for someone to misconstrue their relationship. He finds so many things troublesome, but he’s here because he actually wants to go along with Reo—it’s not as if he’s doing this unwillingly. He feels himself quietly burning as he declares, “I’m Reo’s partner.”
This person who claims that he’s the real king, this person who has knocked Reo down so rudely, this person who has looked down on their partnership—Nagi finds soccer troublesome still, but he doesn’t mind working hard now to ensure to defeat this guy thoroughly.
Nagi is a very simple man, and for him to continue his way of life, he has cultivated certain skills. Being able to remember things after seeing or hearing them once is one thing. It’s his formidable weapon against exams, which means that he doesn’t have to waste time reviewing and can instead play more games.
He remembers everything easily. Reo’s words, Reo’s dreams, Reo’s actions, Reo’s promises. He remembers them all.
If Reo tells him that he wants to be the strongest, then he’d do so. If Reo tells him that his ego is for Nagi to become the winner of Blue Lock, then he’d do so. If Reo tells him that he wants them to be so strong that they wouldn’t be defeated, then he’d do so. If Reo promises him that they’d stay together until the end, then that’s just an unshakeable truth.
Losing to Isagi is so frustrating. Since he’s lost, then he isn’t the strongest. And if he isn’t the strongest, then how could he fulfill his promise to Reo?
He has once mentioned that he wouldn’t mind it if Reo found someone stronger than him, but—
In the end, he has promised to bring victory to Reo’s side.
They’d be the strongest, they’d win the World Cup together, they’d stay together until the very end.
Those are promises that he’d never forget.
Everything he’s doing is for the sake of that. It’s not something that can be called a ‘dream’, because for him, it’s just something that he needs to do.
He has thought that it’d be okay, to live with the pinch of sadness at not having Reo by his side. But, in games, the party doesn’t always stay together. There’d be side quests and there’d be power-ups that can only be done on separate routes.
It’s fine, it’s fine, everything will be fine.
A part of him makes him grab his phone to check on the last LINE message he’s received from Reo. An innocuous question about what he’d like for breakfast, on the day Ba-ya drove them over to the Blue Luck facility. It feels like a lifetime away.
Reo hasn’t claimed a phone, because he wants to devote himself to Blue Lock, and stay out reach from his parents’ meddling contact. That means that Nagi can’t send a message now, can’t ask him how he’s doing, can’t ask him if he’s kept the comfortable bed. He can’t do anything at the moment but continue to be stronger, so he’d be worthy of being the treasure that Reo wants to shine.
He’d work hard and improve on the skill that Reo has seen in him. He’d work hard and in times of a pinch, Reo’s plans and strategies could inspire him. The triangle method that they used in their first-ever match, the way Reo has anticipated the pass route and intercepted it, he’d use everything that he’s seen Reo use, so it’d just be like they’re still playing together.
Nagi is a very simple man, so he likes the things that he likes, and he remembers all the promises that he’s made.
So why is it that Reo’s eyes aren’t sparkling anymore? He’s doing his best to be stronger so he can grant him his wishes, but Reo doesn’t look happy when he looks at him anymore.
It’s fine, it’s fine, everything will be fine.
It’s part of what they must do in Blue Lock, that’s all.
And so, he wins as he must.
He has done his best to pitch his choice. He really wants Reo back, but Isagi made a good point. For the sake of being stronger, and being able to fulfill his promise, he will acquiesce to getting Chigiri instead.
For the sake of fulfilling his promise, he—
“Then choose me,” Reo tells him, broken beyond belief.
—he’s going to choose him. He’s going to tell Isagi that he’s the one who has scored more goals, so his vote should have more weight. He’s going to choose Reo, after all—
“You’ve gone ahead and changed, Nagi. You’ve forgotten our promise.”
…It hurts.
He’s doing his best to fulfill their promise, and yet here Reo is, accusing him of disloyalty to their cause.
He knows Reo well. So well, in fact, that it makes him feel gutted to hear him say these words. He knows that Reo despises boredom, that he’s gone ahead and abandoned his luxurious life because it gave him so much boredom.
It’s why he doesn’t want to teach him his games—they’re a comfort to him, but Reo’s mind is too smart to be tricked by the game developers and he’d solve it and find it boring immediately. He doesn’t want to bore his king. Reo should always be excited, should always be happy.
A boring team, a team destined to not break past their limits—those things cannot fulfill their promise, nor can they make sure Reo isn’t bored by this to the point that he’d find something, someone else more exciting.
And so, learning from how Reo has skillfully used his words to weave Team V together, he uses the same method to sever this moment.
He can’t quite bring himself to say that he doesn’t want to fulfill their promise anymore, even if it’s a lie. The best he could do is to claim that, “You’re troublesome now, Reo.”
It’s fine, it’s fine, everything will be fine.
Reo would manage to get his way, he’s sure of it. They’d end up together again, he’s sure of it. They’re even now: him apparently hurting Reo, and Reo hurting him. The next they meet, it’d be back to an even field.
Nagi thought he could wait.
Even after that perfect pass during the U-20 match, after the 2-week break of resisting to contact Reo’s phone.
But Zantetsu asks him, the two of them falling back together during the get-together during the break. “You once said that you’re playing soccer for Reo’s sake. Does he know that?”
Of course, he knows.
He should know that, right?
Reo’s smart, after all. It’s not as if Nagi has made it a secret about how much he finds everything a pain, yet he never bothers denying Reo’s wishes. He’s made it so obvious that he doesn’t have anyone else as important in his life, to the point that he’d even have to entrust Chouki to Ba-ya.
But what if Reo doesn’t know?
What if Reo has thought all this time that Nagi isn’t playing for the sake of his dream?
There’s no non-awkward way to bring it up. If he says it, then wouldn’t Reo end up blaming himself for misunderstanding Nagi’s intentions? No, it’s fine like this.
The match against Isagi gives him a chance to choose Reo publicly, and this time, he doesn’t hesitate anymore.
Nagi is a very simple person, after all.
He likes the things that he likes, he does things that needs to be done, he listens to the words of the one worthy of being called “his king”.
He likes Reo, and he’s going to do everything necessary to pay tribute to his king.
Later on, he’d suggest that Reo take his surname instead, if he’s so adamant in not using ‘Mikage’ anymore. It’d be something that would bind them together, regardless of match results or team biddings.
But that’s for later.
For now, he says, “I need you, Reo.”
And it’s always been the very simple truth.
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end