Chapter Text
Nagi is often called an overgrown child. It doesn't bother him nor does he really care. In a way he can see where they were coming from. Reo spoils him rotten as if he’s incapable of doing anything on his own and Nagi wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.
Never would he have imagined the child and adult roles would be swapped.
“What do we do, Chigiri?” Nagi’s quiet question disrupts the soft snoring of the small boy in the bed before them.
“Why the hell would I know?” The redhead shot back in a hushed whisper, both still staring at the sleeping child.
Reo’s half his usual height, his hair longer and choppier than its usual style. His cheeks are round and soft with all the innocence in the world. Nagi’s half tempted to squish them to confirm they’re real (not because they're one of the cutest things he's ever seen, that's totally not part of it).
He’s wearing his usual Blue Lock designated clothes, but they’re twice his size. The shirt alone swallows him whole.
The tiny boy can’t be any older than ten.
“Did you—like, I don’t know, do anything weird last night?” Chigiri asks as he shoots the white haired striker a suspicious glance. “Did he eat anything bad? Take some suspicious pill?"
“Uhm,” Nagi rests his hand on his neck as he thinks back to the night before. Remembering things was such an unnecessary hassle. “We practiced then bathed. Reo washed my hair and brushed my teeth cause it was too tiring for me.”
Nagi ignores the way Chigiri’s face shifts, eyebrows furrowed disappointedly and mouth tugged in a disapproving frown.
“Reo helped dress me then tucked me into bed,” Nagi concludes his story and lazily places a hand on his chin in thought. He half heartedly mulls it over for a moment longer before the dots suddenly seem to connect and he continues, “Ah, I invited him to sleep in my bed, but he refused.” He turns towards Chigiri as if this is mystery solving input. “Maybe he knew this would—”
“No, he was probably just tired,” Chigiri deadpans with a sigh. “That was no help.”
Before the two Manshine players can discuss further, Reo stirs on the bed that was far too big for him. He rolls over, placing his hands over his eyes as he adjusts to the bright lights of the room, faintly mumbling incoherent words as he sits up.
Nagi and Chigiri stand frozen in place and stare stupidly at the sight before them.
Reo blinks. Once, then twice before he looks around the room. He pauses when his eyes land on the older boys.
Nothing happens at first, the room silent and unmoving as they stared between each other.
Then, Reo's eyebrows furrow and his lips tug into a frown. He glances around him once more, this time as if he were searching for an exit, then brings the blanket on his lap against his chest and speaks softly, his voice trembling so slightly it was almost unnoticeable. “Ba-ya?”
“Ba-ya?” Chigiri repeats the name, turning towards Nagi to see if he recognized it.
“His nanny,” He answers quietly, not taking his eyes off the small Reo in front of him. His hair’s ruffled, sticking out in all sorts of directions after having slept on it. His pupils are small, eyes wide with the fear of being in an unknown place.
Nagi's chest grows tight with a need to comfort him. He wants to hold him close and assure him it’s alright; that his treasure's got him.
“Reo,” The white haired striker calls gently and takes a step forward. The closer he gets, the more Reo has to crane his neck to look up at him. Nagi’s heart clenched painfully as he watches the small child scoot back on the bed, putting distance between them both. Reo's lips faintly quivered as Nagi's huge figure loomed over him.
Nagi freezes, not daring to move an inch; afraid of scaring him off further but also unaware of what else to do. He brings his hand up to offer it to Reo, before realizing that may frighten him further and drops it to his side.
“You’re too big for your own good,” Chigiri’s criticizing voice echos from behind him. Nagi turns and watches as the redhead walks forward, stopping in front of the bed then crouching to be eye level with the boy who watched him wearily.
“Hi, Reo,” Chigiri's voice was sugary sweet as he offered a smile. “Do you remember us?”
There's no answer, just silence as Reo once again looks between both boys. His gaze settles on Chigiri when he finally speaks.
“No… Where am I? Where's Ba-ya? Did you kidnap me?”
“No, no, we didn't kidnap you, let's get that idea out of your head,” Chigiri quickly answers as he waves his hands dismissively. “And this is Blue Lock.”
His head tilts to the side at the name.
“Ah, it's a soccer facility.” Chigiri adds.
“Ba-ya’s not here right now,” Nagi chimes, drawing the attention back to him. He mimics Chigiri and crouches down beside him, peering at Reo as if he's trying to see inside his brain. “Reo really doesn't remember me?”
He frowns when Reo shakes his head. It only makes sense a Reo of this age has no clue who he is. Regardless, a naïve part of Nagi hoped Reo would be able to recognize his face no matter what.
“How old are you, Reo?” Chigiri asks as he soothingly brings his hand to fix Reo’s messy hair. Reo neither leaned into nor away from the touch, only watched him carefully.
“Eight,” he mumbles.
“Thank you for telling us,” Chigiri smiles at him and pats his head. Nagi never imagined he would be so good with children. Maybe he really was a princess. “This may sound crazy but you seem to be in the future.”
“The future?” Reo questions, looking at them like they’re lunatics.
“Mhm,” Chigiri hums as he pulls his phone out of his pocket. He clicks around a few times before turning it towards Reo. Nagi moves so he can see as well. Pointing at the screen, Chigiri continues, “That's you.”
It's a selfie of Chigiri making a kissy face with an unaware Reo behind him braiding his hair. Chigiri scrolls to the next photo, this one showing the two boys with their arms around each other, hands brought up to form a heart together. The next photo is one of Nagi, face pressed into the mattress, asleep with drool pooling on the bed below. Chigiri quickly scrolls past it to another photo of him and Reo both wearing face masks.
“I saw that.” Nagi accuses flatly.
“Me and you are friends,” Chigiri explains to Reo, completely ignoring Nagi's remark. “We play soccer together here at Blue Lock.”
Reo gazes at the phone, staring at the cheeky grin of his future self. It’s undeniably him, the only difference being a few years of age. Nagi wonders if it felt similar to looking in a mirror. A weird, time shifting mirror.
“Okay,” Reo mumbles. He doesn't seem entirely satisfied but he accepts that that was in fact him. “Then what about you?”
Nagi blinks when Reo turns to him.
Who is he to Reo? That’s an easy question.
“I'm your partner,” Nagi responds, making it sound like the easiest truth in the world. To Nagi, it is.
“My partner?” Reo's head tilts to the side. “What does that mean?”
“We’ll be together forever and ever.”
“Like,” Reo flushes slightly as the words process in his head. “I’m married to you?”
“Yup—”
“Don’t listen to him,” Chigiri interrupts as he smacks Nagi on the back of his head. He ignores Nagi’s grumbled noise of complaint. “We should take him to Ego, maybe he will know what to do.”
“That bastard doesn’t even deserve to see baby Reo’s adorable face,” Nagi scoffs, a lazy pout overtaking his face.
“Not like we have any better option,” The redhead shrugs. He motions at the shirt that drooped over Reo’s entire body. “We need clothes that fit him too.”
Nagi sighs– he supposes he’s right. With no more complaints, and a compliant Reo in check, the trio makes their way to the man’s office.
“What the hell,” Ego’s flat voice echos through the dark room lit with countless monitors hung on the wall behind him. He sits in his chair as he stares down at the child before him. “That ain’t no striker of mine.”
“We just woke up and he was like this,” Chigiri explains. “We thought you might know what to do.”
“I’m a soccer coach, not some wizard.” He states dryly and leans forward in his chair. “How old are you?”
“I’m eight, sir,” Reo’s voice wavers as he tenses under the older man's intimidating gaze. He fixes his posture to stand tall, hands clenched nervously at his side. Nagi notices the faintest quiver in his lips, almost like he was expecting to be scolded on his poor etiquette.
“Hm,” Ego places a hand on his chin, collapsing against the back of his chair as if this wasn’t that big of an issue. Then, with a flick of his wrist; “Let Anri deal with this.”
Shirking the responsibilities onto the woman. Nagi can't say he’s surprised.
A quick phone call and a few minutes later, the door to the office is thrown open with a flushed Anri in tow, a large box and multiple bags in her hands.
“I came as fast as I could,” She pants as she places the stuff on the floor and scans the room. Her eyes grow wide with adoration when they land on the small child standing at Nagi's side. “Oh wow, he really is a kid! How cute!”
She walks over, then crouches down before the boy and introduces herself with a smile. “Hello, Reo, my name is Anri.”
Nagi watches as Reo scoots behind his leg, shielding himself from the older woman; looking smaller than ever before. He shifts uncomfortably and stumbles over his words before quietly responding, “Hi.”
“Reo?” Chigiri asks, noticing the way the boy fidgets. “Are you alright?”
“Yes,” He replies immediately, his gaze not meeting anyone– locked onto the floor as if it's the only thing in the room.
“Are you sure?” Chigiri asks again, eyebrows scrunching with worry. He takes a step towards him, debating whether to pick him up or not. He ultimately decides against it, giving the child his space.
“I’m fine.”
He looks everything but fine to Nagi. Reo’s clinging to his leg as if the older woman is here to take him away.
Anri obviously notices the shift, her mouth tugging in a small worried frown. Being the kind lady she is, she gives the boy his space. She opts to turn around and grab the box near the door. She smiles– not too wide, not too subtle– as she places it in front of Reo. “I brought these for you.”
Reo’s eyes light up as he peaks inside to see the mountain of toys. Cars, figures, dinosaurs, anything a young boy could want– Anri had gotten for him. Nagi has to give her credit for all the effort she clearly put into this. Compared to Ego’s uncaring attitude, Anri was a saint.
Reo excitedly rummages through the box before going off to the side to play as the others discuss what to do about the situation.
“Should we send him home?” Anri suggests, with a quiet sound of a toy car wheeling around in the background.
“No way,” Ego declines without a second thought. “Send him home like that to Mr.Mikage? We’ll be sued for all we’re worth.”
“But he obviously can’t play like this?” Chigiri scoffs at Ego’s selfishness. Nagi hums his agreement.
Seriously, that's Ego's concern here? Nagi's always hated the guy but that hatred burns fiercer each day.
The group goes back and forth for a few minutes, deciding what would be best for Reo and possible ways to return him to normal. Not even 10 minutes pass before Reo waddles up to them, dinosaur in hand with a blank expression on his face.
“I’m bored.”
That was fast, Nagi thinks as he stares down at him.
“We’ll just keep him here and hope he returns to normal,” Ego concludes with an unbothered shrug. “If he goes about his regular life maybe he will turn back. If nothing changes after a week, we can decide what to do then.”
With no better option to choose from, Chigiri and Nagi have no choice but to accept that. It doesn't mean they're satisfied, but, really, what else can they do?
“I can’t believe Anri got him his own custom size,” Chigiri mumbles as he stares at Reo with his now perfectly fitting Blue Lock uniform. It was kind of unsettling– seeing a child wearing the uniform for a life or death soccer program. The redhead's holding Reo’s hand as he leads them to the cafeteria.
“Mhm,” Nagi hums as he watches the tiny Mikage heir walk by his side.
When they arrive at the cafeteria, Reo looks around curiously. There are only a few other people, most players having already begun practice.
The first person to notice their presence is none other than Zantetsu.
“Reo?” The boy calls out in surprise as he walks up to the trio. He adjusts his glasses and squints. “Reo… Did your hair get longer?”
He’s met with silence and three blank stares.
“He’s—he's serious, isn't he?” Chigiri sighs loudly, his shoulders dropping with the effort.
“Who are you?” Reo asks as he stares up at Zantetsu.
“Your hair has grown and you've forgotten me…” Zantetsu notes aloud. “Has it really been that long since we've seen each other? It must have been a millennial of years…”
“Millennia,” Reo corrects before turning towards Chigiri with an exasperated stare. “This guy's an idiot.”
Chigiri brings a fist up to his mouth and turns away, trying to hide his laughter as Zantetsu just watches them, looking as clueless as a goldfish.
Then suddenly, Nagi picks Reo up from underneath his shoulders and holds him in front of Zantetsu’s face like a prize. Reo's legs are left dangling in the air. “Does nothing else look off to you?”
“Hmm…” The dumb striker places a hand on his chin and investigates the child carefully. “Is that a new uniform?”
Chigiri immediately bursts into laughter, clutching his stomach as if each laugh is painful. “Oh my God, Zantetsu, he's eight.”
“He's ate?”
“Yes!”
“What did he eat?”
Chigiri begins laughing even harder, tears forming in his eyes as he starts to wheeze. Even Reo is laughing at him now.
“You're funny,” Reo giggles as he points a finger at him. “I like you Zantetstupid.”
Zantetsu simply stands there with his head tilted to the side, trying to figure out what he was missing.
Nagi gently places Reo back on the floor and crouches to be eye level with him. “Reo can choose a seat for us,” He offers and lazily ruffles the child's hair.
“Okay!” He chimes and walks ahead to scout out a table.
Once Reo is a few feet away, Nagi stands back up. Explaining the situation was a boring hassle, Reo doesn’t need to be a part of it.
Chigiri, who finally managed to stop laughing, goes off to grab them breakfast as Nagi recounts the story of kid Reo to Zantetsu. He only has to repeat himself a million times for the black haired boy to finally understand. Although, in his defense, the situation is rather difficult to comprehend.
After a couple minutes, Zantetsu excuses himself to go practice and Nagi joins Chigiri in grabbing food.
“Okay, where did that little guy go sit…” Chigiri drawls as he glances around the cafeteria with two plates of food in hand.
“Ah,” Nagi nods his head to a table across the room when he spots that familiar mop of purple hair. “Over there.”
Chigiri glances in that direction then pauses when he notices Reo sitting next to another familiar face. The larger boy with his hulky build was a stark comparison to the small child in the seat beside him.
“Reo has good taste,” The redhead says proudly with an accomplished huff.
The two Manshine players sit across from Reo and his seemingly new friend who gives them an unwelcoming glare.
“Hey, Reo,” Chigiri smiles and then turns to the hero next to him, his smile growing even wider. “Hello, Kunigami.”
His greeting is met with a strained huff, Kunigami not bothering to give them the time of day as he silently continues eating his food.
“Reo,” Nagi begins as he curiously glances at all the empty tables surrounding them. “Why’d you sit here?”
“Cause,” Reo replies plainly as Chigiri places a plate of food in front of him. Just as Nagi thought that was it, he continued. “He looks nice.”
Personally, Nagi wouldn’t consider the current Kunigami a child lover—that… sounds a lot worse than Nagi intended. He wouldn’t qualify Kunigami as someone who enjoys spending his time around children (that’s better), but Reo has always had weird tastes so maybe Nagi shouldn’t be so surprised.
The tiny Mikage heir picks up his fork and begins eating, taking larger bites than necessary and ignoring Chigiri warning him to slow down. Nagi watches as he scarfed down his food quickly, brimming with energy and kicking his legs underneath the table as he quickly cleans off his plate.
As Chigiri attempts to make small talk with Kunigami, Nagi half heartedly picks at his food. He’s not all that hungry, especially now that Reo isn’t here to feed him. Well, he was here, but as shameless as he is, Nagi isn’t about to ask an eight year old to spoon feed him breakfast.
“I’m bored,” Reo complains as he hooks his legs on the bench and leans his weight back, rocking forward and back in an attempt to do anything that isn’t sitting still. “Can we go do something?”
“Don’t do that, you’re going to fall,” Chigiri scolds as he points his fork at Reo. “I’m almost done eating, we can leave soon.”
Reo doesn’t listen, instead choosing to lean even further off the bench which earns an exasperated sigh from the redhead.
“Why? It’s not like I'm gonna fall—”
Perfectly jinxing it, Reo’s legs accidentally unhook from under the bench and he falls.
“Reo!” Chigiri calls, panic running through him as he hops up from his seat.
Nagi's eyes go wide as he watches Reo barrel towards the floor, the small boy’s eyes squeezed tight as he braces to hit the ground.
However, that doesn’t happen, instead, he falls onto Kunigami’s firm hand which effortlessly catches him before he can get hurt. Reo blinks his eyes open when he’s gently scooped back onto the bench.
“Be careful,” Kunigami huffs nonchalantly. His arms cross over his chest and he fixes Reo with a warning stare. “I wouldn’t want you to get injured.”
“Kunigami,” Chigiri stares at him with amazement, admiring the hero’s effortless rescue.
Nagi heaves a sigh of relief as he stares at Reo who was now sitting perfectly still in his seat.
“Whoops…” He mumbles and avoids meeting Chigiri’s scolding gaze.
Reo was then forced to sit through a lecture as the redhead finished his food.
It’s late in the afternoon by the time the trio find an empty field to practice on. Nagi would have preferred taking the day off but Chigiri insisted that Reo follow his usual schedule as per Ego's idea.
“Why soccer?” The Mikage heir asks as he holds a ball in his hands, spinning it around to see every side as if it would have the answer written on it.
“Hm?” Chigiri stops the ball he had been dribbling under his foot.
“Why do I play soccer?” The boy repeats as his head tilted to the side, reminding Nagi of a confused puppy.
“Reo's dream is to win the world cup,” Nagi answers from the ground, the lazy striker opting to sit around instead of actually putting in effort to train. “With me.” He added.
Reo hums thoughtfully, dropping the ball and letting it bounce near his feet. He weakly kicks it, the ball sloppily rolling towards the middle of the field. “But I don't know how to play.”
“He didn't start playing till high school, right, Nagi?” Chigiri asks, earning him a nod from the boy in question. The redhead wipes sweat off his chin with his wrist. “To think he's as good as he is having only played for such a short time…”
“Reo's amazing,” Nagi sings lazily, resting his back in the grass as he lays flat. He doesn’t care to mention that he himself has been playing for an even shorter amount of time.
“Since you're not doing anything,” The redhead starts as he lightly kicks a ball against Nagi's head. “You should explain the rules to Reo. I'm busy, you know, actually practicing.” He says flatly with his hands on his hips, a ball resting under his heel.
“But that's a lot of work…”
“Even for Reo?”
Nagi rolls his head to the side, meeting Reo's expectant gaze before turning back to Chigiri. “Never too much work for Reo.”
“Exactly,” Chigiri’s giving him a look now, Nagi can’t put a name on what it is.
“But Princess, I barely know the rules myself,” He states lazily, spreading his limbs against the fake grass. “I just do what Reo tells me.”
“You're hopeless.” The redhead sighs.
The rest of practice Nagi spends contently resting on the floor. He watches as Chigiri explains and demonstrates how soccer works to Reo. The boy nods along enthusiastically and is a fast learner. Nagi had no doubt that he would be. Even as a child, Reo has always been talented when it comes to learning new things.
Reo kicks the ball back and forth with the redhead, boasting when he receives a pass that was almost out of reach for him. Chigiri indulgingly praises him which earned him a cheeky grin.
An odd wave of fondness washes over Nagi as he watches the scene. Reo's cheerful laugh always makes him feel more satisfied than any goal ever could.
Having only met Reo in high school, he never got to experience life with him at this age. He wonders how different things would be if they had bumped into each other sooner.
Once Reo begins to yawn and rub at his eyes, considering how late it had gotten, Chigiri decides to call it. He quickly puts away the equipment, before yelling at Nagi to get up.
“For your first time playing, you did really well, Reo,” Chigiri comments with an impressed smile as they leave the field.
Instead of coming up with a smug reply, Reo hums sleepily. He holds onto Chigiri's shorts to keep himself from toppling over, his head hanging low as if it were too heavy to keep up. All the child’s energy was spent after such a long day of playing.
Nagi gazed down at him curiously. After practice, if he was tired (which is almost always) Reo would offer to carry him. He never considered it being the other way around.
Nagi picks the small boy up from underneath his shoulders and brings him against his chest. Immediately, Reo melts into him, bringing his arms around Nagi's neck and resting his cheek against his shoulder like a pillow. He mumbles something unintelligible before his eyes flutter shut.
A wave of fondness runs through Nagi, along with the urge to kiss the boy's forehead and never let him go. His stomach swirls with a warmth only Reo ever makes him feel.
With Nagi rubbing soothing circles on his back and the steady rhythm of his steps, Reo was asleep in less than five minutes.
—
Two small hands shaking him is what Nagi wakes up to the next morning. Groggily blinking his eyes open, he realizes it’s much too bright. The lights above unwelcomingly blind him, not something he appreciates first thing in the morning.
He squints his eyes and turns to see Reo at his side. Reo was bright as well, he always shined in his own way. The light he radiated was warm and one Nagi craved. Dressed in his mini Blue Lock body suit, Reo stares at him determinedly.
“Chigi said it's time to wake up,” The child half his size states and continues to shake him back and forth. Even at eight years old, Reo’s awake long before Nagi.
“Mmh,” Nagi mumbles in acknowledgment before allowing his eyes to flutter shut. “Five more minutes…”
He lets out an ‘oof!’ as Reo abruptly jumps on his stomach. He rests his hands on Nagi's chest as he peers over his face. “Chigi said no five minutes!”
Nagi blinks at the child above him. His eyes shine with the duty of accomplishing the task assigned to him. Nagi knows better than anyone that when Reo is determined to achieve something, he will get it done. But that doesn't mean Nagi can’t try.
He idly wraps his arms around Reo and rolls on his side, successfully bringing the boy with him. Nagi holds him tightly against his chest, similar to how one would hug a teddy bear.
“Reo's so tiny and cute as a kid,” Nagi mumbles into his hair. “Let’s just sleep the day away.”
“Don't be lazy!” Reo complains as he attempts to wrangle his way free of Nagi's hold. In his current state, he stands no chance against the white haired striker’s strength. Nagi briefly wonders if he could over power the regular Reo like this. “Let me go! Chigi, help!” He whines as he twists around but to no avail.
The redhead isn't in the room at the moment, off doing his hair in the bathroom, so his pleas fall on deaf ears. Nagi tightens his hold, pulling him closer as he murmurs a soft ‘good night’.
“Don’t go back to bed!” Reo scolds then scoffs when Nagi ignores him and gets more comfortable. Realizing his struggles are pointless, Reo whines and accepts his fate captured in Nagi’s embrace.
With a tiny Reo in his arms and all the sleepiness of a toddler, Nagi goes right back to bed.
Around ten minutes pass before the redhead returns to the room. Noticing the eerie quiet and the unusual stillness, he paused in the door frame.
Nagi's back is facing him, asleep without a worry in the world. Chigiri rolls his eyes then glances around the room. Panic immediately runs through him.
Reo is nowhere in sight.
“Nagi!” Chigiri calls as he runs up to the white haired striker. He places a hand on his shoulder and spins him around. “Reo!? Where's Reo—”
He falls silent as Nagi rolls over on his back, the soft mattress dipping with his weight. Hidden in his arms, Reo is fast asleep.
Chigiri blinks at the sight before sighing. He should’ve known Nagi would pull such a stunt.
Despite the slight annoyance of inevitably eating a late breakfast, Chigiri can’t hide his faint smile as he snaps a photo.