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The first time Reo has heard of it, he resolves to simply ignore the chatter. Such drivel doesn’t deserve attention—there are plenty more things they need to do to whip up the club to the shape of a prefectural champion.
It irks him, of course. But he also knows that paying it attention would give it legitimacy. It would make them think that there’s a truth to such nonsense. It’s why he doesn’t react, treating it as mere noise pollution.
He steers Nagi away from such things. They’re almost-always together anyway. At school, it’s only during their classes that they’re separated. Everywhere else, it’s only when Nagi’s sleeping at home that they don’t have any contact. With this, he could be sure that Nagi’s ears wouldn’t be polluted by those things.
“…I’m tired, Reo,” is the soft whine from beside him. It’s immediately followed by the other’s body slouching against him, cheek pressing against his left shoulder.
It’s part of why Reo still gets a bit surprised whenever he checks the results of the constant health checkups and physical tests. Nagi likes leaning against him, slouching so that their faces would be aligned, resting his head against his shoulder. It happens so often that it’s enough to make one forget that Nagi’s five centimeters taller than him, perhaps the tallest one in their entire cohort.
His left arm immediately goes to the other’s tailbone, supporting his weight. His treasure is the most important part of their team, it wouldn’t do to not catch him. What if he gets an injury? Nagi’s already careless enough when shooting those amazing goals, twisting through the air and landing on the ground without care for cushioning his fall.
“You’ve done well today, Nagi,” he praises generously, even though there’s still two more laps to go. “Just a few more, okay?”
Around them, members of the Hakuho Soccer Club are also doing their wind-down stretches. Reo and Nagi still have a few more exercises to go through—none of the other members are as motivated to win the Nationals, and Reo knows that he can’t push them too hard, in case they’d end up being more dissatisfied and unwilling to work.
The pace of their jog slows down, transforming to something like a three-legged race. Nagi’s nose pushes towards his neck, as he mimics a koala embracing his tree. His feet continue to move, half-jogging, half-dragging himself.
It’s an obvious indulgence, but Reo supposes that it could be additional training for him, to be able to maintain his form even when there’s a giant sack of weight behind him. Nagi’s hands are clasped together by his waist, forming a manacle around him.
Reo is used to receiving all sorts of stares. He could feel them keenly now. He could also hear various murmurs around them—with their continuous success, their soccer practice has become an attraction, with hordes of students watching them and cheering them on from afar.
There are unpleasant rumors about Nagi being a dangerous individual. About him being troublesome, about him being a friendless weirdo, about him being so lazy and manipulative of Reo’s good graces, about him scaring other students away.
Reo could understand the comments about Nagi being lazy, weird and troublesome—it’s part of what makes him Nagi, and those things aren’t an issue in his eyes. Nagi is Nagi, and Nagi is Reo’s treasure. He’s happy spoiling him and spending time with him, carefully honing him to become the best striker in the world.
But Nagi being manipulative? Nagi scaring other students away?
He’s too lazy to even bother with chewing his own food, how could he have the energy to do those things?
Plus, Nagi is so… Nagi.
It’s difficult for Reo to imagine him being scary or terrible.
Perhaps in the eyes of their opponents, he’s such a terrifying figure, but isn’t that great? More people should see his treasure shining brightly! They should acknowledge him more!
A pinch to his waist disrupts his thoughts. “Reo is distracted,” sounds almost-coquettish.
He can’t help but feel his heart soften at it. He shifts so he could see the other’s face, slack and pouty, eyelids on a half-mast like he’s halfway to dreamland, content with simply hanging all over him like a limpet. He also can’t help but reach out and rub the other’s hair, mussing it further. Nagi exhales and becomes even more boneless, practically melting into him. See? Nagi’s like this, how could he ever be considered as scary?
Isn’t he just like a cute pet bunny like this?
“I’m thinking about various tactics for our next game,” he says, moving his hand so that he’s wiping off the sweat from the other’s face, since he’s too lazy to bother with it.
It really can’t be helped. Sometimes, Reo wonders just how did Nagi survive living alone for so many years, when his parents don’t even worry about him not eating well or not bothering with more than one button in his clothes or not reviewing for exams or basically not having the energy to cultivate his survival skills.
It should mean that Nagi at least has basic life skills that could make him survive independently during his life prior to meeting Reo.
But… isn’t it nice like this?
Even if Nagi’s actually capable of doing all of these things before and is simply too lazy to do them because he trusts that Reo will do them for him… Doesn’t that mean that Nagi trusts him enough? Doesn’t that mean that Nagi actually likes that he’s helping him?
This way, Nagi’s eyes will always be on him.
Isn’t it nice this way?
“Reo’s mind is always so busy,” still retains that coquettishness. It could be said to be similar as to how various ladies would approach him and ask him for a study session, with it being a prelude to a date invitation. But there’s no blushing, no playing with the hem of his clothes, no making sure that he’s all perfect before approaching him. Nagi just approaches him and treats him so naturally that it’s refreshing.
“Isn’t it because I promised to take care of everything!” He rubs the other’s hair again, before resuming their jog around the field. “You can leave the thinking and planning to me, all you need to do is to wait for my pass and score how you like!”
A sigh against his earlobe. “Soccer is really troublesome.”
It might be impossible to reach the day when Nagi would say that soccer is fun. But isn’t that fine? Even if Nagi thinks that the sport is troublesome, he still goes along and performs better than everyone else, truly worthy of being his treasure.
“Right, right, we still need to some more drills after this lap.” He pats the other’s arms, still wound around his waist. “I’ll treat you to a meal after it, so make sure you play well, okay?”
Cycling Nagi back home is already part of his routine to help build up leg muscles. While it’s more comfortable riding the limousine, the airconditioning is counterproductive to the post-workout muscle-care that he’s established. Plus, Nagi says that he likes the feeling of the wind, whenever he bikes him home.
Thankfully, it’s not a long trip. That way, Nagi doesn’t fall completely asleep while seated behind him. He just makes sleepy observations and comments about the day, cheek pressed against his back the entire time.
Today, because of Reo’s promise of a treat, they don’t go straight back to Nagi’s home. He detours them to a shopping street, buying all sorts of things. “Isn’t this cute?” He points at one lemon-shaped keychain. “Don’t you like drinking this the most?”
A bit aggrieved, “Mm, but didn’t you say that drinking too much lemon is bad for my stomach lining?”
“Everything must be in moderation,” he says, patting the other’s hand. See? How could Nagi be ever considered as dangerous? He’s as calm as his name, even when he has to miss drinking his favorite as part of the meal plans to maintain his best health. “After we win the next two matches, I’ll bring you to a lemon-themed café.”
“Hmm? Is that a new place?”
He shows his phone to the other, right where he’s browsing for its reviews. Nagi’s chin is on his shoulder. A lazy hum, “You haven’t been there yet?”
“It’s a pretty new shop, I heard about it from my classmates.” He doesn’t bother bringing up their names, since Nagi wouldn’t care anyway. In fact, aside from him, he’s never seen Nagi interact with anyone else in the soccer club. It’s not that he’d actively avoid them if they give him a high-five or something, but he also wouldn’t bother approaching them. Reo’s pretty sure that Nagi isn’t even aware of his other teammates’ names.
See? How could Nagi be considered dangerous and scaring other people away? He definitely isn’t the sort to waste time doing such a thing—he’d probably find it too troublesome.
Not that Reo’s been able to interact much with his classmates lately. He’s just been too busy with soccer and taking care of Nagi. Plus, his classmates like to passive-aggressively complain about Nagi taking up so much of his time, or talking about how sloppy Nagi is.
It’s true that Nagi’s too lazy to even comb his hair, but for others to call his treasure ‘sloppy’ is still a bit annoying. Reo makes a mental note to dress Nagi up a bit the next time he brings him out to Akihabara, as part of his promise to buy him new games if he scores a hat-trick.
An easy agreement, “Mm, okay. Bring me there then.”
See? How could Nagi be considered as anything but his treasure? He’d complain about troublesome things but he’s very agreeable, always listening to him.
Reo completes the shopping trip with a bag of groceries hanging on the bicycle’s handlebar. Reminding Nagi to buy household items usually ends with grief, so he also helps the other with stocking up his pantry. Growing boys also need more nutrients, so aside from eating snacks on the way, Reo’s going to try his hand in cooking a simple, nutritious dinner.
He’s used to busying himself with various projects and honing his talents on different disciplines. Mastering cooking isn’t a bad skill to put under his belt. If it could help Nagi be in top-shape, then it’s just hitting two birds with one stone, a win-win situation.
“It tastes good,” Nagi always says towards whatever he cooks for him. It’s one level higher than his usual “so troublesome” towards his bread rotation, so of course Reo’s going to keep on cooking for him as much as possible.
See? Even if Nagi’s considered a weirdo and lacking in communication, he still knows how to praise him!
His treasure is truly wonderful.
That’s why, when the next day comes and he sees Nagi with a dark look on his face, eyes like a vortex keeping others in place, he doesn’t even hesitate to take the other’s side.
“Okay, okay, stop!” He laughs, raising his hands so he could place them onto Nagi’s shoulders. They know each other so well, so he could read the other’s desire to pummel something. It’s strange but also thrilling. It’s rare to see Nagi take initiative, especially if it requires physical exertion. “Nagi, we still have training.”
One of the guys around them has chattering teeth. “H-He’s a monster!”
Reo looks at Nagi’s face. Sure, he looks a little angry, but he’s really nice and docile most of the time. He’d rub his cheek against his hair and ask to be carried by piggyback. “He’s my treasure,” he explains.
If anything, that makes the other party gasp in fright. “You—! Abnormal—! That Nagi Seishirou is abnormal! If you keep on defending him, then you’re also—!”
That makes Reo shift, ready to turn on his heel and remind this person—oh, hey, the voice is a bit familiar, isn’t this his seatmate, the one who kept on talking about that new lemon-themed café?—that Hakuho is a dignified institution, and talk like this is unseemly. Especially since he’s insulting his treasure, who’s obviously so good to him.
Of course, he isn’t normal.
He’s a genius above the rest, he isn’t anywhere near the word ‘normal’.
“Oi,” Nagi says, that one syllable dripping with violence. “I don’t care if you talk about me, but why are you insulting Reo?” His eyes grow darker, his entire body radiating the desire to beat someone up. “Apologize.”
“I…”
“Apologize,” Nagi repeats, voice low.
“Okay, okay, Nagi-kun!” He waves his hands, before putting them both on Nagi’s cheeks. He rarely uses an honorific with him—especially since Nagi is older than him by a few months—but he supposes that this change would help snap the other out of the strange mood he’s in. As expected, it makes Nagi blink at him, a bit confused, like some befuddled rabbit. “Training is more important, so let’s go ahead, okay?”
Getting involved in fights isn’t good, because it could be grounds for suspension from games. Of course, it’s possible for him to put pressure on the teachers to make sure this doesn’t go out, but he’d rather not involve his father’s influence in his dream to win the World Cup with Nagi.
His eyes are only for Nagi and right now, Nagi’s eyes are only set on him too.
They both don’t notice it when his classmates clamber away.
Keeping his hands on the other’s cheeks, “Were they insulting me? Was that why you were going to fight them? For my sake?”
“…Not really,” comes after a few moments’ pause. “They just shouldn’t be spreading false news.”
He remembers one conversation, where Nagi calls him a weirdo. It’s absolutely true. He knows that his personality can be overbearing and he knows that there are too many people flocking around him in hopes of rubbing off his influence as the Mikage heir. He hates people having misconceptions about him, and misattributing his achievements to anything aside from his own efforts.
“Mm, it’s fine, it’s fine,” he says, and pulls Nagi towards their locker room.
“You shouldn’t spend time with them anymore, since they’re just insulting you behind your back and refusing to apologize,” is mumbled against his neck, Nagi already seemingly tired from that confrontation. There’s an underlying promise in his words, something that says, “I’ll make sure they apologize the next time we meet.”
Reo pats the other’s shoulder. “It’s fine, we’ll be busy with the prefectural tournament anyway, so I won’t have time to talk to them.”
Nagi lets out a satisfied sound. “Okay. I’m sleepy now, carry me?”
At that, all thoughts about the previous encounter is whisked away from his mind. He smacks his forearm, insisting, “We still have practice, Nagi!”
“Eh, how troublesome…”
See? His treasure is someone like this, those who call him dangerous and scary are really blind.
And so, their peaceful days continue, with Reo’s eyes focused on his treasure’s brilliance, without looking at the dark shadow that festers in its undercurrents.
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end