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As Nagi trudged himself through Blue Lock’s loser’s gate, he wanted to wallow in his own defeat and shame. Nagi had given up on soccer, and realized he valued Reo’s presence more than the sport attached to him. At least, that’s what he thought. The overwhelmingly empowering voice of Isagi Yoichi dared to wake Nagi from his failed dream.
“Don’t give up on soccer!”
The words haunted him more than the dark, eerie hallway to his hollow home ever could. Isagi’s gut wrenching plea was a harder pill to swallow than his own lock off. For the egoist’s words didn’t fall upon deaf ears, but rather reawakened ones. The foreign fire Nagi once felt when playing soccer with Isagi was reignited, albeit slightly. But instead of running back towards that light, Nagi chose to walk the path of darkness and isolation. He would return back to his empty house, void of any signs of life— even with him in it. Such a lonely but carefree existence was easier than chasing a cryptic flame that felt so out of reach.
Losing isn’t what drained my fire, caring was.
The belief clouded Nagi’s troubled mind, focusing all his energy towards acceptance and away from tenacity. All he had to do was exit through one more door, than his eyes would once again grow dull to the sight of boredom, loneliness, and–
…
Isagi?
Nagi presumed he had opened the door to his old life, but was instead met with the sight of his ideal one. Isagi Yoichi, his teammate and friend, was standing tall before him. The striker’s eyes were still teary, but hope shone through them nonetheless.
“Nagi…why didn’t you say anything to me back there?” Isagi asked with a mix of concern and trepidation. Nagi on the other hand knew how to respond, but didn’t want to.
A lie would be easier than the unacceptable truth, he determined. Nagi knew he couldn’t deceive the analytical genius that was Isagi Yoichi, but he’d still do what the other egoist miraculously always prompted him to: try.
“I had nothing to say–”
“Your eyes did.”
Isagi cut Nagi’s fabrication off before it could even shift into fact. The former genius internally questioned whether to debate Isagi further, but found gathering a case against someone he shared a mutual belief with to be difficult.
“…Which puzzle piece told you that one?” Nagi finally asked.
“I didn’t need any…” Isagi began genuinely, “I only need puzzle pieces when I’m, well—puzzled. There was nothing left to be analyzed from such a clearly drawn out picture.”
Nagi kept up a stoic expression, but found the task of maintaining his dull eyes to be increasingly tedious.
“And what did that picture illustrate? Regret? Hope?”
“Fire.”
Isagi’s assured answer was one Nagi knew well, but refused to accept. He couldn’t dive back into the flame that soccer provided, terrified of being burned again.
“That was a feint…just like my world-class goal.” Nagi muttered with a trace of bitterness “You heard Ego’s words, my talent has withered away. It won’t return, no matter how much you water it–“
“It’s not water that you need!” Isagi challenged before realizing the desperation in his words. He tried to gather his emotions, speaking more evenly now;
“You need Fire. Watering abilities that have already grown endlessly is unnecessary. What you need is the light to see your own capabilities.”
Nagi grimaced at Isagi’s words, not fully believing them; “I had light, Reo showed me that. I failed because I was too dependent on my talent, on my own teammates. I saw too much light that I looked beyond my surroundings. I looked towards Reo’s dream… I looked away from my individuality–”
“Look at me.”
Isagi’s riveting request elicited a gasp from Nagi, his gaze instinctively meeting the other’s determined one. Just like before, Nagi’s eyes flicked with the same fiery emotion as Isagi’s. And just like before, he looked away before the flicker could grow into a flame. Isagi sighed and took a tenacious step closer, both concerned and curious about his friend.
“Why does it scare you?” He asked quietly, leaving Nagi with no resolve left to avoid his gentle questioning.
“I’m not afraid…just tired.” It was the honest truth, no matter how simpleminded it seemed. Nagi didn’t want to delve back into the battlefield that soccer commenced on. Reo told him that he didn’t have to try anymore, so Nagi was done with the sport.
“Even if that fire’s still there…it’ll die out eventually. Everything I touch does. Death is my ego.” Nagi continued, his mind flickering back to the absence of his parents. Isagi’s expression softened further, empathising with the defeated prodigy. He didn’t know Nagi’s past or circumstances, but could assume from his dependent tendencies and unfamiliarity with the world that his life was one of loneliness. Isagi took another step forward, briefly hesitating before inevitably wrapping his arms around Nagi. He kept his hold loose enough for the other to break free from, but tight enough to make his presence known. Nagi trembled slightly, his dull eyes lightening in an instant. The teen wasn’t sure if it was fire or relief he felt, but whatever feeling Isagi bestowed was enough for him to return the hug. Nagi held Isagi tightly, afraid that he’d slip away the moment he let go. Isagi attached himself to progress, not people; and that trait led the egoist to thrive in blue lock.
So why is his grip tightening in return?
Nagi questioned the other’s now secure hold, curious as to why he was clinging on to a failed egoist. But like always, Isagi’s next words answered the other’s query;
“Your touch doesn’t kill, Nagi. I’m still alive, and so is that fire within you.”
Nagi wanted to deny his words, but he could feel Isagi’s ever-strong heartbeat against his own chest.
Then why didn’t my parents hug me? Nagi wondered the reason behind their neglect dreadfully. If his touch wasn’t lethal, then what wretched part of him was? They gave up on him so easily, so why couldn’t Isagi?
“Please…Just let me go home.” Nagi pleaded desperately.
“You’re already here, blue lock is your home.” Isagi reassured without hesitation, not having to know Nagi's living circumstances to understand that it wasn’t his own.
“I’m locked off, Isagi.” Nagi mumbled agonizingly, only now grieving his sealed fate. His eyes began to fill with tears upon truly processing that he could never return to his home. “I can’t stay here…”
“So take a part of it with you…take soccer with you.” Isagi replied with a tone so comforting it prompted Nagi’s withheld tears to silently fall.
“And do what? The club I received an offer from is lower division…I wouldn’t be able to play against any of you–“
“So work your way up.” Isagi answered firmly, “Fuel that undying fire within you, and climb your way up the ranks to receive a better club offer. I don’t care whether you end up on my team or a rivaling one, just keep fighting.”
Nagi took a shaky breath, not used to such a foreign request. He was accustomed to being bound—to feeling compelled to work alongside others. But here Isagi was, uncaring of where he ended up, as long as it was in the soccer world. “Why…?” Nagi asked with confusion, “Why not tell me to aim to work with you?”
“Because this isn’t about me.” Isagi once again provided a clear answer to alleviate the other’s clouded mind. “Just witnessing your brilliant talent evolve is enough for me, so go succeed at whatever path soccer takes you down—Nagi Seishieo.”
Nagi pulled away slightly to meet Isagi’s teary eyes with his own, both pairs now emitting the same fire.
“Okay…I’ll listen to this fiery drive…I swear I’ll understand it when we next meet.” He promised before reluctantly letting go of Isagi, who replied with a sad smile; “I’m looking forward to it. And who knows? Maybe Ego will let you back into Blue Lock after seeing your progress…Kunigami was never truly locked off, after all.”
It wasn’t quite hope, but Isagi’s words were enough to quell all lingering doubts remaining in Nagi’s mind. Regardless of whether his newfound path of determination would end in success or a familiar sense of failure, he would willingly walk down it. Nagi was past being carried around, now ready to advance towards the unknown with his own two feet. Nagi understood the difference between light and fire now. While Reo showed him light, it was never his own. Nagi was a moth hovering around a temporary source of warmth, one that comfortably soothed his insecure feeling of frigidity. But fire on the other hand, was his own. It was a burning sensation that only Isagi could draw out from him, but Nagi was now determined to learn how to channel the fiery sensation himself. It was Nagi’s flame of individuality that Isagi naturally fueled. And now, Seishiro would ignite his fire independently. He began to make his way down the path leading away from Blue Lock, and towards his uncertain future. Nagi paused after a few steps and looked back at Isagi, certain that he’d one day see him again;
“Thank you, Isagi…”
Isagi’s eyes widened slightly at the pure and genuine gratitude in Nagi’s tone, leading him to reply with bewilderment;
“For what?”
Nagi smiled faintly, finally having a clear answer formed out of certainty rather than doubt;
“For fueling my own fire.”