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“I like you.”
“Huh?”
The milk carton straw drops from Reo’s lips. He stares at Nagi, his eyes wide. That had come out of nowhere. Just when he thought their days would turn back to normalcy, Nagi once again flipped his world upside down.
“I won’t do anything to you, don’t worry. I just…I’ll get over it, I promise. I just need time and space. No I don’t hate you, this is something I need to work through on my own.”
“…Nagi…I’m …Uh, sorry, I don’t know what to think, it’s so sudden-” Reo stutters.
“Don’t apologize. We can still be friends after, I just need some time.” Nagi nods his head a bit and heads outside of the classroom.
Typical Nagi. Dropping a bomb like that and dumping him in the same sentence.
—
Nagi thought that would be the end of it. He had lied, obviously. Nagi had no intention of being friends with Reo afterwards. He was hoping that his second confession would scare off Reo for good, like how Reo politely rejected the rest of the girls in the school. Nagi could simply detach himself from Reo, and slow fade into the background. Then he could simply enjoy watching Reo from afar, it was safer for his heart that way.
That curly brown haired girl finds him crouched down in the corner of the school building by the patches of grass.
Nagi hates her. With every fibre of his being. She incessantly flocked around Reo, asking him on study dates. When she asked about Reo with that stupid happy look on her face after his elimination, he wanted to punch her.
Beforehand when he was so self assured in his place by Reo’s side, he thought of her as no threat. Reo would easily blow her off, and hook his arm around Nagi. He hardly spared a thought, a feeling of superiority that he was the one Reo chose.
Since the whole blocking then unblocking incident, Nagi’s entire sense of self and belonging had been shattered. Although he and Reo had made up since Nagi returned via side B, Nagi remained insecure.
“So you got rejected too?” She asks, sitting next to him.
He knew he wasn’t special anymore. Nagi knew he was no better than her, and here she was to kick him when he was down.
Nagi side eyes her. “Come to gloat?”
“Not at all. Welcome to the club. I’m Miko.” She extends her hand in a handshake.
Nagi frowns in confusion. Miko takes his hand anyway and shakes it.
“The Reo Rejection Fan Club! Quit that soccer club and join us. We’ve all been rejected by Reo several times, we actually started off as a support group. Though it’s the first time we’ve had a boy recruit!”
Nagi hesitates, eyeing her suspiciously. “Uh…sounds like a pain..”
“Don’t be like that! We collect posters of Reo and make photocards. Then bake cookies and chocolates for him and go on fan pilgrimages of the places he’s been to. It’s super fun, and we can all support Reo from the sidelines!”
From the sidelines…
“It’s like after we confess, where do those feelings go? Love can’t just vanish like that. So we express it creatively as a healthy outlet. It’s better than hating Reo, right? You can still love him, as a fan.” Miko digs around into her book bag and pulls out a Reo trading card. She pushes it into Nagi’s hands with a supportive pat.
He could still love Reo? He didn’t have to squash or suppress those feelings?
He looks at the photo of Reo smiling at him and makes up his mind. It was futile to think he could ever get over those feelings for him.
Nagi nods. “Mm. Ok. I’ll join.”
——
The Reo Rejection club had a few rules. One of which was that Reo was not allowed to know it existed. Nagi was pulled into a weird initiation ritual, involving candles and ominous chanting. He’s experienced weirder shit in Blue Lock, so he just goes with it.
“Nagi, let’s go to practice.” Reo announces. “I’m not ignoring what you said, but we still need to be in top form for soccer.”
Nagi had gotten so caught up in the pre registration documents and Mikage knowledge handbook given during initiation that he had forgotten to tell Reo that he’d quit.
“Can’t. I joined another club.”
Nagi slings his bag over his shoulder, he couldn’t be late for his first club meeting.
“Another- another club? What club?” Reo’s looks dumbstruck. “You’re supposed to be playing soccer with me!”
“It’s uh- um.” Nagi doesn’t want to admit what the Reo Rejection Fan Club actually was. The school wouldn’t allow something as stupid as that, so club activities were usually on the down low with fake titles. There was a secret encoded group chat, with passwords that changed every week.
“Art and…crafts?” Nagi mumbles, before bolting off.
Reo watches him run off in shock. Since when did Nagi like art and crafts?? God, Nagi was avoiding him again, wasn’t he? Shit!
——
Reo’s fan club welcomed him with open arms. They all sat around the decorated club room in a circle, sharing their stories with the new recruit. Nagi was lowkey surprised to hear that he was far from being the first recipient of heartbreak of Reo, in fact he was victim #46. It was probably more impressive that even after getting their hearts stomped on they were even more loyal and devoted to him.
“Reo rejected me after school by the lockers. His face was so cute when he was turning me down.” A black haired girl squeezes her hands by her heart at the memory.
“Reo shot me down during lunch on the rooftop! He was so nice about it, too. I’m glad I get to brag to my future grandchildren that I got rejected by the Mikage Reo!”
“Reo rejected me via text, now I will keep that souvenir forever!”
“Reo turned me down to play soccer with our newest recruit, Nagi Seishiro! Share your rejection experience with the circle, Nagi-kun.” Miko says happily.
Nagi looks around to see 45 eager pairs of eyes on him.
“Uh… I confessed to Reo on live TV. He cried and I was kicked out. I camped outside hoping to see him again and kept going past the Mikage Building. Uh, he blocked me on everything. Then when I came back to the program, I confessed again, and he said sorry.”
A sympathetic murmur ripples amongst the group.
“Yeah, I saw that on Blue Lock TV. The treasure of your life was a crazy confession!”
“He blocked you? He just leaves me on delivered, so being blocked must’ve hurt so bad, I’m sorry.”
“That’s okay, because Reo doesn’t belong to anybody! He is a god amongst us, untouchable, our perfect Prince! We can only worship at his feet and be grateful we were even breathing the same air.”
“So what’s Reo like?” Curious gazes circle him. “You guys were so close, you must have more Reo facts.”
Finally, something Nagi had a PhD in.
“Reo isn’t a god, or perfect. He’s pretty selfish at times, and insecure and lashes out a lot. He likes to stick his tongue out a lot and rile up people and tell everyone what to do. Reo’s a pretty crier, and very vindictive and possessive. When Reo likes something, like non alcoholic champagne, steak, soccer, or weird artwork, he needs to share it and make you enjoy it too. Reo’s a little childish too, but extremely hardworking and adaptable. Reo is spoiled and thoughtlessly says things like he’s unaware of his wealth, but he always does it with such a happy smile that you can’t get mad at him.” Nagi rambles.
The girls are enamoured, furiously taking notes like it was a press conference.
“Write that down, write that down!”
“Woah, this intel is next level.”
“No way, do we promote him?”
——-
Nagi had abruptly cut off their friendship after his confession and picked up a harem of pretty girls. Not just one or two, but entire groups of their female classmates are hanging off him, offering him food, excitedly chattering away. They follow him like ducklings, and whenever Reo gets close they immediately stop talking or lower their voices to a whisper.
Since when did Nagi like girls?! Let alone girls Reo had rejected? Were they plotting against him??
Nagi had just dropped the I like you bomb out of nowhere, self rejected himself and dipped. He hadn’t even given Reo time to even process it. Reo is starting to think he just imagined the whole thing, or that Nagi made that confession as an excuse to cut Reo off in retaliation of the blocking incident.
Even worse, Nagi and these girls would spend all their time at places that Reo would frequent. He was beginning to think Nagi was doing it on purpose to rub it in his face.
There was that curly brown haired girl, Miko was it? She seemed to be the closest to Nagi out of all of them. Instead of playing soccer he was goofing off and being a playboy!
They were so damned secretive about it, too. Even after asking everyone in the school, no one could tell him where the club was being held, or how to sign up. It took up all of Nagi’s time, he couldn’t get a single moment alone with him.
Even worse, instead of the passive way he’d been forced into soccer, Nagi actually seemed to be enthusiastic about this club. Sometimes he had traces of glitter on him, or colourful paper poking out of his bag.
Fine, if they won’t tell him, he’ll find out himself! They won’t say anything while he’s there, so Reo dons on a black wig, a cap, sunnies, and a baggy hoodie. He’s paranoid that he’ll still get caught, so he studies and copies strangers gaits and imitates their walk.
His chance finally comes when instead of being holed up in the clubroom, Nagi and his gaggle of girls head out together after school. Reo seethes, that was their thing. He treasured those times when they’d ride one bike together, and spent all their time together until nighttime fell.
He hides behind the wall, overhearing Nagi talk to the girls in a low voice.
“Reo should be at a meeting with his father during this time. It’s always at 4pm every second Tuesday of the month.”
Nope, he had cancelled on his father that week! Take that, Nagi!
Reo follows the group from a calculated distance, until they enter a cafe. The girls bring out balloons and streamers and start decorating the table with purple themed tablecloths.
They take out a plush doll with purple hair, an acrylic stand, photocards and cup holders.
Wait a minute.
They were all of his face. What??
He watches dumbfounded, as Nagi assembles the life size cardboard cut out version of Reo. The girls shriek in excitement, gathering around to take photos with it.
“Oh my god it looks so good!! How much did this cost?!”
“$300.” Nagi replies easily.
Reo’s own face stares back at him. Reo can’t believe that this is his life. Was this the club that the whole school kept secret from him?? Honestly if it was just the girls, he would’ve turned a blind eye, but Nagi of all people being in it- he couldn’t even comprehend it.
The girls are oohing and aahing and taking photos of the spread as another classmate brings out a cake with Reo’s face on it. Someone even popped confetti and brought a sparkler as they start singing to Nagi, a paper crown on his head.
What the fuck… it wasn’t even Nagi’s birthday? Or Reo’s, for that matter?
“46! 46! 46!” They chant. Reo is completely clueless on what that number meant.
Nagi claps along, looking blissful. Or as blissful that his impassive face would give away. Miko fans him with a purple Blue Lock hand fan. The fuck was he looking so happy for?
“Congratulations Nagi Seishiro, our new acting President!”
Miko puts a purple decorative sash over his uniform.
“You have proved your dedication and extensive knowledge on all things Reo. Your vast experience, and willingness to teach our members have moved us. I am privileged to bequeath you this honour.”
The girls cheer, and clink their Reo themed drinks with Nagi’s. He’s enjoying the praise, until he catches sight of Reo who had taken off his wig. All the blood drains out of his face.
“Nagi.”
Reo’s glowering over him. The girls around him squeak in shock, and frantically swipe everything away. They tuck their merchandise back into their bags and put away the cake. Someone shoves Cardboard Reo underneath the table and whistles nonchalantly.
“Nagi what is this?”
“Um. Nothing to do with Reo.” Nagi lies, ushering the girls behind his tall frame.
“My face is literally on the cake!” Reo bursts out, annoyed.
“What cake?” Nagi attempts to gaslight him.
“That one!” He points to the now smudged image of himself, hastily covered up by a napkin.
“It’s an anime character. With purple hair.”
“Oh really? If it is, then let me join your “club”. I’d love to see it.”
“Uh. Reo’s not allowed to join.”
“Why not?????” Reo says indignantly. “It’s literally about me! I heard my name!”
“It’s against the rules.”
“What rules?” Reo asks, flabbergasted.
“Club rules.” Nagi rubs the back of his own neck apologetically.
Reo feels like he’s crashed his own surprise birthday party that he wasn’t invited to and turned away at the door.
Reo hated it. Instead of Nagi being by his side, he was in some stupid club that involved him in some sort of inside joke that he wasn’t privy to. They were probably using his image as an effigy and destroying it in revenge.
“Stop lying. Are you all making fun of me or something? Like some sort of organised bullying? Did you just sell out information about me to get girls to spoil you?”
“No!” Nagi denies it fervently. “I would never. We all appreciate Reo! It’s written into the club Constitution.”
“The. The what?” Reo’s mouth is hanging open.
“It’s hard to explain…”
“You’re my soccer partner, not-“ Reo waves his hand in confusion- “whatever cult you’ve found yourself in.”
“But I don’t want to be Reo’s partner.” Nagi protests. “I want to be a fan.”
“A…a fan?”
“It’s…” He glances back at Miko, who just nods.
“It’s a fan club. For Reo.”
Nagi shows off a keychain photocard of Reo.
“Look, the girls helped me decorate it with Bonobonos.” There’s acrylic gems and stickers around it, it was even holographic.
Reo slaps it out of view.
“That’s so stupid. You’d rather moon over merchandise than talk to the real thing?”
“Yeah?”
Reo’s outraged. How is he losing to a stupid picture keychain?
The girls are avoiding eye contact like they’re waiting for him to leave so the fun could start again. Reo feels like he’s in the twilight zone.
“Sorry Reo, we kind of need to continue with club activities…”
“Fine! Suit yourself, I don’t care! I’ll put an end to your stupid club!” Reo storms out of the cafe. No one goes after him, and as the attention seeker he is, makes him feel worse.
His mind goes a mile a minute, thinking of ways he could dismantle the club. He’ll show Nagi and give him a taste of his own medicine.
Reo shows up the next day at the clubroom, his schoolbag tucked underneath his arm. He raps on the door like a seedy car salesman.
Nagi opens the door, blocking the entrance to the clubroom.
“Hm? Reo?”
“Reo’s here?”
“Shh!”
“Enjoying your little club? You won’t be for long.” Reo sneers.
“Fan clubs aren’t illegal. That’s what my lawyer said.” Nagi replies firmly.
“What?” Reo asks. He waves a hand. “Don’t worry, I’m not here for that.”
“Oh. Good, because I don’t actually have a lawyer.” Nagi admits.
“I just wanted to show everyone something!” Reo pushes past Nagi and enters the clubroom. He stands in front of the girls and rolls out a huge banner with a flourish.
“NAGI FAN CLUB” It spells out in huge block letters.
“Attention! Looking for recruits!” Reo shouts obnoxiously, to Nagi’s dismay.
“Reo, what-”
“Join the Nagi fan club, we have more funding! Free tickets to the next Blue Lock match included with every sign up!” Reo beams, holding out sign up forms.
The Reo fans look at their merch, then back at Reo. There’s a long pause, before the clubroom breaks out in commotion.
Half the girls scurry towards Reo, grabbing the forms and frantically filling in the sign up sheets.
Reo smirks at Nagi’s stunned expression.
“You think I can’t copy you?” He sticks out his tongue, ever the chameleon. Reo picks up the charm dangling on the side of his bag.
“Look, we match.”
He lifts up his own bag charm of Nagi, tucked away in a glittery silver photocard sleeve.
“I decorated mine with Reri. Isn’t it cute?” Reo coos.
“That’s not..that's not how it’s supposed to work.” Nagi clutches the side of his head, uncomprehending.
“What, I can’t start my own Nagi fan club?” Reo fires back.
Reo had stayed up all of last night, angrily gluing rhinestones and glitter on his merch. He had printed out sign up forms, gotten Ba-ya to pick up magazines featuring Nagi and printed out photos of Nagi from his phone camera roll. He’d art and crafted his heart out, cursing Nagi out all the while.
“Traitors!” Miko called out to the girls who had eagerly filled in their sign up forms.
“But Prince Reo said to join his club!” They protest.
“He is supposed to be admired from afar! We are worshipping Reo, not Nagi! I am not making Nagi merch!”
“But Blue Lock tickets?!”
“You’re such a sellout. We made a blood pact! You’re betraying the sisterhood!”
“Prince Reo’s word is gospel! You’re the traitors!”
“Well you’re signing up to worship a false deity, lured by material bribes!”
“If the material bribe is Reo, then I’ll gladly do so!”
Reo smugly watches the commotion as flyers flew everywhere as girls started fighting amongst themselves. Nagi watches the onslaught helplessly, afraid to jump in and lose a finger in the ruckus.
“Ready to admit defeat?” Reo folds his arms, pleased that he had regained his power.
Nagi shakes his head stubbornly.
“Reo always fights dirty.” He sulks. Nagi can’t leave Reo’s orbit no matter what he tries. Reo was always so selfish, pushing him away, then coming back when convenient.
——
Civil war started at Hakuho High.
Reo commanded his club like a king, he was poaching members from the Reo fan club left and right. Nagi was hemorrhaging members like crazy as Reo sweet talked them one by one until they gave in.
It turned out he actually had to run the club in addition to his soccer. So now he had a captive audience in the classroom next to Nagi’s.
“I’ll have you know Nagi rejected me plenty in Blue Lock! Hell, he’s doing it right now!”
The girls are enamoured at seeing another side of Reo.
He makes everyone watch clip compilations of Nagi’s goals on the projector in the front of the classroom. Reo makes his own life sized Nagi cardboard cut out and makes everyone make music playlists about him. He ropes everyone into making DIY lightsticks for him for their upcoming soccer matches.
They make poster boards of Nagi from soccer magazines. He instructs everyone to draw Nagi fanart, and write fanfiction about Nagi. Reo then happily decorates the clubroom with it, lowkey in awe of the girls skill. They really did capture his treasures essence, his downturned eyes and long bangs.
Wait, this was actually fun. Reo almost forgot his original goal, as he sends out the fangirls in white wigs in makeshift Nagi cosplays just to piss Nagi off.
“Now you know what it feels like, hey? Annoying, isn’t it?” Reo sing songs, leaning out the ground floor window. Nagi sits just below it as Reo obnoxiously bounces a soccer ball off Nagi’s head. “Come back to the soccer club and I’ll call the whole thing off.”
Nagi grits his teeth. “No.”
“You can’t avoid me forever. You know exactly what I’m like, so isn’t it easier just to give in now?”
Nagi gets up to close the window, but Reo quickly grabs the frame. They’re face to face now.
“Can your Reo poster do this?”
Reo tilts Nagi’s chin up, so he’s looking into his eyes directly.
Nagi slowly goes red at the proximity. He tries to turn his head away, but Reo’s hands easily guide him back. Nagi’s cheeks were so squeezable.
Reo grins.
Nagi covers his face in embarrassment. He’s trembling a bit under Reo’s fingers, which sends a thrill up his spine.
Reo grabs his wrists, trying to pry them off so he can see Nagi’s blushing more clearly. It was fascinating, even the tips of his ears were going red. Did he really have that sort of effect on Nagi?
“Reo, stop teasing.” Nagi whines helplessly, craning his neck away from him. “You’re being unfair.”
“Oh~? How am I being unfair?” Reo asks breathily.
“You know how I feel. Leading people on for your evil bidding.”
Reo barks out a laugh. “Right, what you said before. I’m evil and lead people on, but you still like me?”
Nagi purses his lips in dissatisfaction. “I take it back.”
“No take backs.”
“Do you do this to everyone you reject?”
“Hm, no. But with you it’s so fun.”
“This is why Reo is mean.”
“Yeah but you like it.”
——-
Reo’s new hobby was chasing Nagi around the school. Well, more like he’s fallen back into old habits.
Reo was so frustrating, so annoying, so damned pushy- yet Nagi was still ridiculously head over heels in love with him. It was illogical, Reo could kill someone and he’d still have these stupid feelings. Though in this case the person he was trying to kill was him.
Reo wouldn’t give him space to grieve or even give those feelings an outlet in the club. He was going crazy, and it seemed like the only solution was to run.
The trending topic was the President of the Nagi fan club vs President of the Reo fan club were battling it out. Of course being soccer players, they end up outrunning the other members and making it into a storeroom.
Reo catches Nagi in a surprise tackle after Nagi was too exhausted to keep running.
“Caught youu~” Reo crows, arms fastened around Nagi’s waist. His eyes are glimmering with mirth, too reminiscent of those flashbacks Nagi kept being haunted by.
Nagi just groans. “Get off.”
Reo places a finger on his chin thoughtfully. “Nah. Cause you like me, right? Isn’t that what you said? You like-like me?”
Insufferable…
“Sooo, what do you like about me?” Reo asks conversationally. “All the nitty gritty details.”
Nagi freezes for a second, biting his lip.
“Come on, tell me. You’re always so stoic. I’m starting to think you just made it up.”
Nagi says something quietly under his breath. Reo frowns and presses him to repeat what he just said. Through gritted teeth, Nagi relents.
“My smile?!” Reo guffaws. He’s laughing so hard, there’s tears beading in the corner of his eyes. “What the hell! That’s so innocent!”
Nagi just sulks, lip jutting out in a pout.
“Normally when girls like me, it’s because of my looks or money.” Reo says thoughtfully.
Nagi’s eyebrows furrow at that. “I’ll talk to the girls, they should know there’s way better reasons- wait, you stole half of them. Give them back.”
“Nope, I think they should learn about the church of Nagi instead, hm?”
Nagi just sighs.
“Okay, okay what else? Why did you fall for me?“ Reo says eagerly.
“Ask Zantetsu.”
“What, you told Baka-tetsu? When was this??”
“Like a week into Blue Lock.”
“Well? Why?”
“Reo was the first person to.. ever take an interest in me.” Nagi reluctantly explains. “Like being seen for the first time. Being believed in, I- I wanted to…live up to that, to return the devotion. Though at the time I didn’t realize my feelings and took you for granted.”
Reo falls quiet for a moment. “So when did you realize?”
“Final match of the second selection.” Nagi replies immediately. “When I was about to lose.”
“And?”
“How sorry I was…how badly I wanted to see you…”
“…How do you know it wasn’t just in a platonic way?”
“Uh- well- the fantasies made it pretty clear-“
“FANTASIES???” Reo half shrieks, a shit eating grin on his face. “No way, what fantasies??”
Nagi seals his mouth shut, stubbornly refusing to say anything.
“Tell me! Was I naked in this fantasy??”
Nagi looks caught, his startled yet guilty face giving him away.
Reo bursts into delighted laughter, falling into a hysterical heap on the floor. “HAHAHHAHA no way, this is too good- help, I can’t breathe-”
Nagi should be mad that Reo was using him for his own sick entertainment, but he hasn’t seen Reo look this happy in months. Maybe he didn’t need his feelings returned, seeing Reo dissolve into giggles was enough.
“So you think I’m hot??” Reo gasps in between fits of laughter.
“Why is this so surprising to you, everyone knows-”
“What about my body? Did my working out pay off?” Reo interrupts to flex his arm muscles.
“Reo, hasn't your ego had enough?”
“Nope!”
Reo experimentally pulls down his shirt to expose a nipple.
“Wh-”
Nagi chokes on nothing and accidentally hits the back of his head against the cabinet behind him.
Reo looks at him in shock at the violent reaction. “But you saw this in the bath! You’ve seen me naked before!”
“It’s different.“ Nagi winces. “You surprised me-stop stripping.”
“It’s fanservice, isn’t it? Wanna take a photo for your little club?” Reo asks, leaning over Nagi and taking his phone out. “Or should I take a photo for mine?” His hands are tantalisingly close, inching up and under Nagi’s shirt.
“I-uh-”
The door bursts open.
“Nagi-san-”
“Reo-kun-”
The girls all speak at once. The two boys whip their heads around to see the two fan clubs gaping at the sight of Reo on top of Nagi.
There’s a poignant moment of silence. Nobody says anything, but Nagi slowly tugs his shirt back down.
Miko finally breaks the silence.
“….Do we combine our clubs?”