Chapter Text
"Welcome, you unpolished gems..."
A couple days ago a rather mysterious envelope fell into Nagi's letter box. At first he thought it was junk mail–and right fully so seeing as the letter itself was pretty vague– until Reo told him he received that same letter and somehow convinced him to go. Truthfully, he would've gone anyway considering that Reo wouldn't be with him at school if he said no and a program conducted in junction with the national fashion union was nothing to scoff at... that's what Reo said anyway. Nagi didn't really care. Maybe he should've upon reflection as he was now standing in a large box-like room with blaring, insufferable white lights while hundreds of people were all sharing the same bit of personal space all squished together way too early in the morning for his liking–and to make matters worst, it was a Sunday. He essentially signed himself up for torture and it put a dent– albeit a miniscule one– in his trust of Reo's definition of an 'invaluable experience.' Just as he put that pin on his mental cork board, the man himself leaned over to whisper something,
"Nagi, I think we got the wrong place. These guys are literally wearing Bape to a JFU function..." He followed this up by side eyeing a short guy with red hair before spotting someone in the most hideous Supreme jacket dupe paired with skinny jeans– to this he brought a hand to his face to hide his terrified expression. "Then...can we leave?" before his question could be answered, the skinny guy on the platform asked what Nagi assumed to be his idea of a 'profound question' as everyone around him (including Reo) seemed completely flummoxed by it even though it didn't take much to imagine oneself opening their own House* after all, was it really even that difficult? All you needed to do was make good clothes. The man concluded his speech (that Nagi only half listened to in-between COD rounds) to a room filled with pin drop silence that no one seemed brave enough to break– even Nagi himself remained quiet but he always was so its not really worth mention– no one except a boy with deep indigo hair, a Noel Noa suitcase* and a Trapstar windbreaker. He seemed like some sort of shounen main character as he dashed into the poorly lit hallway behind Mr four eyes. This seemed to have rallied the hearts of the other hundred or something guys around him as everyone started hauling their luggage along with them towards the sketchy corridor. To Nagi, this scene reminded him a little of the Hunter Exams which piqued his interest till he remembered how cumbersome taking the hunter exam would be and he didn't want to put himself through that on a Sunday at 7am of all days (he might've participated if it was a Friday or something.) At this point, it was just him and Reo stood together in the once crowded room with Reo urging him to come with. He didn't really want to as it seemed like a hassle and he was only into the whole designer thing because Reo liked it. The four eyed guy seemed to take an interest in this display,
"Are you not going with the rest of them?"
"...This place isn't for me."
At this Ego raised an eyebrow. "What makes you so sure, 'Genius?'"
Nagi took a moment to think before giving his response. "It was way too easy imagining myself next to the worlds best." he said– his designers haki swirling in air around him. Suddenly the room felt a little heavier and the air a little thinner.
"Heh, is that what you think?" He paused, sending a chill down both of their spines as he broke out in an ear to ear grin, "That type of dream's impossible for you."
Nagi's calm composure gave an inch after the mans rebuttal. For someone like him, the word impossible had never once been used to describe them so what was this scrawny bowl cut dude talking about? Ego turned towards the now lit corridor while giving his final words.
"I have no interest in you self proclaimed 'prodigies' so fuck off and rot in hell for all I care."
Nagi didn't take his words to heart– why would he care about some randoms 2 cents?– and instead thought about it a little before turning to leave. He was given permission to go so he planned to do just that.
"Bullshit!" Reo exclaimed, "Nagi's different from all those frauds, he's the real deal and if you can't see that from behind those thick frames of yours then ill just have to force you to see things my way!" Reo looked genuinely annoyed as he grabbed his friend by the collar forcing him to stand next to him (as opposed to being halfway out the door.) "So what if you don't acknowledge him, he's a damn good designer and if you don't believe me then I'll just have to make him someone you can't ignore! That's my Ego!" Nagi was about to refute the boys bold claim before he was dragged down to look Reo in the eyes.
"Just shut up Nagi. I'll show a life that's loads more fun than playing Block Blast and Cookierun all day." He looked a little intimidating as he uttered the words with a snarl on his face but if there's one thing Nagi knew for certain, it's that Reo would never lie to him.
"Really? then promise me one thing..." The air between the three had gone from plain cold to frigid as fog began to form— a manifestation of their will— as they walked through the thick steel doors. "Promise you'll stay with me till the end."
"Of course, Nagi."
–—
After dropping off their luggage, all 300 participants were divided into 25 groups and led to small rooms lined with various unique bolts of fabric from top to bottom on three of the walls with the free one being a window that allowed for natural light to flow through the room as well as granting a beautiful view of the forest down below and the city several kilometres away. The workroom was stationed with two wide tables fit for six ppl each in the centre that had sewing materials already set out in front of every seat while against the window sat one long, low shelf filled with every sort of book a designer could ever need; from guides to look-books and portfolios, it had it all. a few people were already sat discussing what might await them in the project while others were either examining the different bolts or off doing their own thing save for one familiar looking boy with a fade and mean look about the eyes– Ryo Nameoka, the guy that got absolutely crushed by Reo and Nagi in their first YFD* competition.
"Well, well, well, if it aint the Jenus Brothers.* Fancy seeing you guys here!" he looked quite happy to see them though both Reo and Nagi had no idea why– or who this guy even was for that matter. "The last YFD comp I underestimated you and didn't bring my A game but this time'll be different, i'll settle this here once and for all and show you who the better designer really is!"
"... :x"
"... And you are..?"
Ryo flicked his eyes from one boy to the other as he stood with a dumbfounded expression. How could they not know him? They must be doing this to ragebait him and if they were, it was working as his face shifted from confusion to outrage by the next second.
"What!? It's me! Y'know, Kanagawa's most promising designer? Hello? The guy you beat by fluke at that one contest?" Nagi, being the empath that he is, could sense that he was angry but he had no clue why so to get him to stop literally shouting in his face, he decided to give him a vague reply. "Yeah I remember you..." While Nagi was locked in a conversation he found increasingly bothersome to continue by the second, Reo had gone over to examine a person wrapped up like a mummy in about 10 meters of atrocious rainbow organza– how he achieved such a feat was a mystery to all yet also kind of impressive. Reo grabbed one end of the fabric as he called out to Nagi.
"Hey, Nagi, get a load of this idiot." He began to roll the organza from around the boy while he spun in place like a pinwheel– the sight arousing a few giggles from here and as the human windmill started yelling something that might've been 'stop' to the trained ear but also could've not been, the fact that he was spinning made it hard to tell. "How'd you even manage to get yourself wrapped up like this? Are you the patron saint of clumsiness or something?" The boy with black hair didn't answer as he stumbled to the ground, his eyes replaced by thick black swirls behind a pair of sixteen-hundred euro platinum cartier frames*– glasses even Reo could admire but not for too long as a large white sheet slowly descended in front of the windows bringing along with it the same cold atmosphere both boys felt in their aura battle with Ego just moments ago. The cloth flickered a multitude of colours before settling on the gloomy white of Ego's face.
"Hey, you unmoulded lumps of talent..." He started with a voice as exciting as watching rocks race, "Since your little introductions are done, let me make some things clear. Those guys aren't your 'pals' or whatever, they're your stepping stones to becoming a better version of yourself so don't think too highly of one another." They exchanged glances, each thinking along the same line of 'So that's his plan...' or not. Some of the guys looked especially nervous or in one persons case, especially clueless. "All 300 of you have been carefully hand picked by none other than me and so far you've been grouped by area code but that will change soon enough when you officially start the program and start earning more points. Points are used in order to gauge your skill and are awarded under a strict criteria designed to weed out all you frauds." At this comment, Reo could feel a certain someone staring daggers into his skull but he wasn't going to let that faze him so he ignored it. "Six months from now, I aim to have the top 5 contenders participate in the Andam Fashion Awards* where you will win and cement your name in fashion history." Even Nagi, being as unknowledgeable in the industry as he is, could understand the gravity of such a statement. Reo had mentioned such a competition briefly once and stated that every past winner went on to not only have a global influence but also an unforgettable legacy in the ever changing tides of the industry which Nagi thought was kind of cool. He never expected to actually participate however. That was less cool almost... a little nerve wracking.
"Don't fool yourself into thinking the journey will be easy though." The short smiles, gawks and whispers died in an instant. "Those of you who prove to be misaligned with the Blue Lock standard will be thrown out along with any dreams you might have of ever becoming a professional designer. I'll personally make sure of that." A foreboding feeling washed over Reo. "This will be nothing like the little seminars or contests you've participated in thus far. Blue Lock wont hesitate to break you down so you better work until you've earned the title of 'Best,' I wont accept any half baked egos..." He paused as if carefully choosing his next words, however everyone knew that the truth would be a little more sinister. "Now, take a seat everyone, the entrance exam is starting."
All 12 of them found a place at the large tables– a shared mix of dread and anxiety brewing in each and every one of them as Ego began stating the rules of their 'exam' which more so resembled a eulogy reading.
"The time limit is 90 seconds. In this time frame you are to fill in the embroidered outline of a chrysanthemum* using only French knots*…" Just as the words left his mouth, the wooden door slid open to reveal two workers carrying six hoops* all roughly 15x15 centimetres in size. "You will be judged by overall coverage and execution of said stitch. If you fall short, you're out." Ego's face flickered off screen and was instead replaced by a frozen timer "Good luck~" His words rang through the air without a hint of encouragement as the timer began counting down. One by one people started threading their needles.
"This is what our futures riding on?.." muttered Ebina
"How is this even relevant?" Atatame questioned
"What on earth is a French knot?" Hohai cautioned. He was cooked. Our protagonist on the other hand were cooking.
"Isn't this amazing, Nagi? If we win this (Bllk) then our dream'll be just around the corner." Nagi had seen it dozens of times, Reo's determined expression, and every time it ended with Reo coming out on top. It was like that in everything he tried at–be it football, the guitar or his next aspiration– he always reached his desired outcome so to an unmotivated Nagi, gazing at the figure with his hair pushed back by a thin, wire headband, he couldn't help but feel all fired up.
"Reo sounds super cool right now." And just like that, the two initiated the first step towards their shared goal with a minute and 23 seconds to spare...
Ryo Nameoka however, wasn't pleased about seeing such a calm show from the two. "Hey! Don't just forget about me!" He was already three knots in making steady progress. "I'm going to make sure to crush you both and devour your shitty dream!" His loud declaration fell upon deaf ears as everyone, now accustomed to his habit of shouting, chose to ignore him which was rather embarrassing on his end so he shut up and now the only noises ringing throughout the rom lit by morning sun was the beeping of their knell, light breathing and the chirps of nearby birds. It was truly too early for all this.
.
.
.
After their 'entrance exam' had ended, they were all allowed to freely explore their stratum and enjoy the free breakfast provided in the canteen (cafeteria(doesn't matter)) while all hoops were being judged and to Nagi's absolute dismay, phones weren't given back so he was forced to actually talk to people who weren't a 6"1 rich kid with purple hair named Mikage Reo. It was awful. Results were going to be announced at 9am so while there was a relaxed atmosphere in the air, there was still something undeniably dreadful floating around the room like a fly buzzing around at night as you're trying to sleep, like Nameoka shouting down your ear as you're trying to nap, like...
"Hey, are you even listening to me right now!?" Like I said– Annoying. "Anyway, like I was saying, both of you're techniques were so bad I'm surprised you weren't disqualified immediately." he looked so proud of himself– for why Nagi had no answer but he was starting to get used to his bitching, it made for good background noise as he started dozing off on Reo's shoulder.
"Its obviously because their natural disasters.*" Zantetsu, who was also sat at the same table bothering them, interjected whilst adjusting his sixteen-hundred euro platinum Cartier frames.
"What? What are you talking about man!?" Now Reo was stuck in the middle of two idiots having an idiotic conversation– oh how he wished he could also lay on his own shoulder and nap but alas, that was uncomfortable and bad for the neck. So suffer he must and suffer he shall...
—Additional time!—
In the team Z dorm some time in the near future
Immamura: "Haizz... how am I supposed to talk to girls without my phone... what kind of life is this ah~!"
Naruhaya: "Pff– don't kid yourself man! Girls don't talk to you, bleh." *sticking his tongue out*
Immamura: "Oh yeah? Then why was your mum in my DMs 2 days ago!?"
Naruhaya: "How could she be in your DMs if she's dead huh?" He says this as if it isn't a massive thing to drop at 9: 30pm in the shared sleeping quarters
Immamura: "..." Immamura stares at him with a shocked expression unsure how to traverse this rest of this conversation.
At the scene in front of him, Chigiri sighs while rolling his eyes as he thinks 'God just get me out of this place' to himself. Coincidently, he hears Gagamaru utter the same words from nearby and as the two lock eyes for a moment, years of understanding pass between them, a bond had been established between the two.