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Nagi Seishiro was exhausted after another intense day at Blue Lock. Training so much was a real punishment for someone with a lazy nature. That's why he spent most of his remaining time thinking of ways to optimize the rest of his daily tasks, so he could put in the least effort possible. While staring at the shower, he daydreamed about the day someone would give him a bath. Maybe then, he could finally rest properly.
If he were still talking to his former friend, Reo Mikage, he might be able to convince him with his best "puppy dog eyes" look. But, at the moment, Reo saw him as a rival, and all of this was a big hassle. Resigned and with no other options, he applied shower gel all over his body at once, including his hair, and stepped under the warm shower.
Afterward, he headed to the communal bath area and jumped into the large jacuzzi, hoping not to be noticed because he didn’t want to talk to anyone. Not that he was completely antisocial; it was just that moving his jaw also tired him out.
Other players were resting while chatting; some sat by the jacuzzi with their feet in the water, others were tucked into corners, enjoying the massage jets to relax their backs. Nagi stood out from the rest as he floated in the middle of the pool.
“Hey, you clumsy oaf, can’t you read the rules?” Barou shouted from outside, his voice imposing.
Nagi only realized he was the target of Barou’s outburst when he saw a ball speeding toward him. In a quick reflex, he turned his back, caught the ball with the back of his neck, and volleyed it back to Barou, who managed to defend it. After that little mishap, Nagi resumed floating.
“Floating is different from swimming. And the rules also say no balls are allowed here, you insane king,” Nagi replied monotonously.
Barou eventually gave up on using the jacuzzi and went back to the shower, as he became more stressed than relaxed with the crowd of clumsy players. He didn’t even know who brought the ball to the area, but that was just one more thing that annoyed him.
The other Blue Lock competitors were always amazed by Nagi’s reflexes and his ability to execute any body movement with creativity and improvisation. Yukimiya, his partner from the third selection, started laughing at the situation.
“Nagi, the other day I said you looked like a sloth, but I take it back. You floating, with your white hair spread out, playing with a ball, reminds me of a polar seal!” he laughed with his hand on his mouth, shaking his head.
“A circus seal, right?” Bachira added, paying attention to everything, in a playful tone.
The pool erupted in laughter, and when it calmed down, Nagi added, still staring at the ceiling:
"Hmm, whatever... But you still look like a psycho tarsier, Yukki."
Yukimiya swallowed hard, confused. He still didn't understand Nagi's comparison. After all, he wasn't even wearing his round glasses that could remind the small, wide-eyed animal.
“And me? And me?” Bachira interrupted, his eyes shining with excitement. “What animal do I look like, Nagi?”
Nagi, still floating in the warm water, pondered for a moment before replying.
“A meerkat.”
“I agree. Bachira is agile, full of energy, and mischievous,” Yukki said.
Bachira swam to the middle of the pool and started analyzing the others, excited.
“Now it’s my turn. Hmmm… let me see…” He pointed at Igarashi with a mischievous smile. “Igarashi looks like a turtle.”
"Namaste, Bachira. I'm Zen, but I don't hesitate to act promptly when the situation calls for it, especially here at Blue Lock, where I will become Japan's greatest striker," he replied with determination.
The other players just rolled their eyes or muttered a half-hearted “uh-huh,” without any enthusiasm. The monk then continued the game, choosing Raichi because he looked like a shark — a choice so obvious that it earned him a boo.
“A shark, huh?” Raichi grumbled, moving slowly through the water like a predator. “I’ll take a bite out of you guys if I keep playing as a defender in this crappy place! Someone give me a better position so I can play my sexy football,” he roared with his arms open.
His teammates threw a lot of water at him to try to calm him down, and it was finally time to choose the next participant. Raichi stared at them all and, perhaps influenced by the talk of sexy football, fixed his gaze on Chigiri. The guy, with his long red hair thrown to one side, gave an enigmatic look over his shoulder.
“Since it’s my turn, I’ll analyze the princess!” Raichi opened his sharp-toothed smile, full of malice, before continuing. “Chigiri is so agile and elegant he looks like a cheetah—”
“...he looks like the Pink Panther,” Nagi spoke at the same time as Raichi.
The audience erupted in laughter, except for Chigiri himself.
“Go fuck yourself,” he responded bluntly, crossing his arms.
The androgynous guy with no filter refused to pick someone else for the game, which caused a bit of a commotion, with everyone talking at once. Barou approached the jacuzzi again, with a towel wrapped around his waist, uncomfortable because he wanted silence and the commoners did not obey him or disappear from there.
“This place is like a zoo!” Barou shouted, attracting everyone’s attention. “If you’re gonna act like animals, why don’t you go graze somewhere else?”
“Namastê, Barou, no one even waved a red scarf in front of you for you to be this mad,” Igarashi intervened, trying to keep the peace like a good monk.
“Good one, Barou’s a horned bull!” Bachira added. “Now it’s the king’s turn, who do you pick?”
“I’ve got more important things to do,” Barou responded gruffly, settling in front of a massage jet and placing a towel over his eyes to stop seeing anyone.
“Then I’ll continue,” Bachira swam over to his best friend and pushed him to the center of attention, continuing the game. “What about Isagi? What animal does he look like?”
“He looks like a beetle because of the antenna in his hair,” Nagi replied promptly. Then he stood up and turned to Isagi, examining him from head to toe with his big, bright eyes. “We can’t tell now because his hair is wet.”
Reo, Nagi’s ex-best friend, was there, trying to stay indifferent to the conversation, but he was suddenly overcome by jealousy when he saw his “treasure” speaking and analyzing his new crush shamelessly right in front of him—at least that’s how Reo saw the situation. He was still hurt that Nagi had chosen Isagi over him in one of the Blue Lock stages.
“I agree,” Reo said seriously. “Isagi’s an insect I’m going to crush when I get the chance,” he said, his purple eyes glowing with malice, followed by a devilish laugh as he clenched his fist tightly.
Isagi never understood the complicated relationship between Nagi and Reo, and once again, he felt like a football bouncing in the middle of that rivalry, ready to be kicked. Before the drama escalated, he tried to take the focus off himself.
“And Reo, huh? He looks like a chameleon, right, guys?” Isagi asked his teammates in the pool, with a forced smile and a slightly tense voice, expecting the obvious response, since “chameleon” was Reo’s style of play.
Everyone agreed, with some mentioning that his specialty was copying moves, while others commented on how his tongue was never inside his mouth because he always pointed it at his teammates.
Nagi, who had gone back to floating in the pool, pondered Isagi’s question.
“I agree, he looks like a chameleon because he uses that tongue better than anyone,” he said naturally.
The players exchanged glances after the comment. Some tried not to laugh, while others frowned, confused. Reo, embarrassed, changed color and turned red, like a good “chameleon.” After an awkward silence, the young man tried to brush it off.
“Oh, yeah, it’s because I speak several languages, right?” Reo said, tense, forcing a smile. “My dad made me learn because it would help with the family business.”
Nagi, however, knew exactly what he was talking about. He stood up and began explaining.
“No, Reo, I’m talking about when you used to massage my shoulders and then nibble on my base and slide your tongue down my neck,” Nagi narrated, pointing his finger. “Wow, it was so good and—” Nagi continued speaking calmly until he was interrupted by Reo, who rushed over and dunked him into the pool.
Everyone stopped to watch yet another public drama between the former friends, including Barou, who removed the towel from his eyes to watch. Raichi seemed triumphant because he had won a bet with Igarashi about Nagi and Reo being — or having been — more than friends. After Nagi's indiscretion, they may remain enemies.
“See, these two never miss a chance to get tangled up. This was the easiest money I’ve ever made in my life,” Raichi said, pointing at the duo.
When Nagi finally managed to break free from Reo, he noticed that most of the teammates were watching them, stunned and wide-eyed.
“What’s up?” Nagi asked, not understanding the fuss.
Since no one answered, he sighed, looking at his paralyzed teammates.
“You all look like a bunch of owls now!”