Work Text:
It's another tough day at blue lock over, relaxation pours in while adrenaline spills out of Nagi. Yes, this is the best feeling, is what Nagi thinks as he buries his face into Reo’s neck as he's being carried by him at the same time.
It's a mystery how he doesn't mind Reo’s sweaty scent even if they just finished a soccer match, not a mystery he cares to solve though.
“Reo, you're the best..” Nagi holds onto Reo's back tighter.
…
“Hey, never leave me okay?” He isn't insecure, at least, he wouldn't call the need to have Reo's security insecure.
…
“..? Reo?” Nagi finally picks his head up because there's about 0 universes where Reo would ignore him not once, but twice. This is the first time Reo's ignored him so blatantly, should Nagi be excited about the new perhaps tsundere scenario he might unlock, or be worried about the not so new shundere scenario to come?
Moment of truth..
Eh?
In front of Nagi, is not, or, is? But isn't exactly the Reo he swore held in his arm 5 minutes ago. I mean, this is in fact Reo's face.. Nagi thinks? The man in front of Nagi has Reo's face, but there's a different feel to Reo, he just knows it.
This realisation stumps Nagi, but his instincts move first and get off the phony Reo instantly. So, the situation now, Nagi is standing in the middle of the hallway with a very clearly fake Reo. Or not really clear, but it's evident enough in the way Reo hasn't said anything but smiled his casual smile all this time.
It's a little condescending, Reo would never do that. Not to Nagi at least..
“Who are you, where’s Reo?” what a bother, Nagi thinks, the mood to relax has completely disappeared.
But “Reo” doesn’t reply, continuing to walk forward, and soon running. Running away? Running towards something? It doesn’t matter, Reo has never been able to outrun Nagi after all. Nagi keeps a stable pace right behind Reo, he might find a lead then.
The running ends, and they’re in front of a door, closed. So “Reo” made Nagi run all this way for nothing? “You’re just asking for a beating, aren’t you?” Nagi raises his arms and readies his fist, there’s nothing in his books containing anything against not hitting anyone that isn’t Reo, even if they share the same face.
Nagi knocks the imposter over, pinning him on the floor and raising his fist about to make a hit.
*creak*
The door opened. Tch, thinks Nagi, still peering in.
…
“Oh my god.” The sight inside makes him weak.
The assaulted Reo takes this time to slide out Nagi’s hold, walking into the room.
The room— It’s filled with Reos. How many is this? It doesn’t matter, the real one has to be in here. Nagi doesn’t waste a second and rushes in, it’d be bad if the door were to close.
Inside, the room is still, very much filled with Reos. The Reo earlier has already been mixed together with the pot of Reos. Upon closer inspection, the room’s layout is very much blue lock-esque, big led screen and white asylum coloured walls. Oddly enough, the room is familiar, but also stranger. Nagi was running with so much tunnel vision earlier he didn’t even realise the unknown route he’d run on. Where is this even?
The led screen brightens and words appear.
“Welcome challenger! This creator has analyzed the person you are fond of most, then cloned them a hundred times! Please complete the following task(s).
- Find the one you long for most.
- Eliminate all imposters.
- To eliminate, simply say [ eliminate number. xxx ] according to the numbers on their shirts.
- Time limit : unlimited
Goodluck.
*note, the one you long for is 100% in this room, elimination of them will automatically end the game, returning you to your point in time before them, erasing all memories of them.”
100/100
Is this seriously what Nagi has to be doing after a tiring practice day? No matter, for the sake of Reo, Nagi won’t complain. The threat of Reo disappearing from Nagi’s life proves to be very effective. His fatigue is basically gone now, replaced with fervor.
With no time to waste, he looks away from the screen and observes the Reos.
They're all just.. Speaking with each other. It seems Reo was spawned in here and instead of panicking, chose to interact with his doppelgangers. It’s not strange really, great minds think alike, Reo’d say, after all, every mind here is Reo’s mind. If there were 100 Nagi’s in a room… perhaps the game wouldn’t even be able to start before a snoozefest started.
As it stands right now, Reo seems to be unresponsive to Nagi’s existence. Tough game, but Nagi will manage. He makes his first move, walking to the group of 5 Reos talking together, the merrier the better.
Reo #5, #76, # 82, #73 and #26. The effort to this cloning is really no joke, the Reo’s have different hairs from his different times in life and different outfits too. Rather than kidnapping Reo and cloning him on the spot, it’s more like looking into his brain and cloning his memories. Albeit interesting, there’s a reason human experimenting is illegal pretty much everywhere.
That makes it easier for Nagi, since the one he’s most fond of will always be present Reo, the way he is. Despite that, he’s still caught up with the Reo’s he misses, nostalgia is hard to ignore even for Nagi.
Reo #5 is dressed in their school Hakuho uniform, Nagi has always found him handsome in it, even before he heard the girls in their class fawning over Reo. He’s engaged in a heated argument with Reo #82 (a younger student Reo variant from before Nagi) about career paths.
Nagi’s never cared enough about careers, all he knows is how comfy the office life would be. However, he’s always thought Reo to be set on business the moment his eyes met this world. What is there to argue about between himself?
“Business stream is the way! Money everyday!”
#82 argues back, “That’s a narrow mindset! Money can’t fix everything. Go into STEM, research cures.”
“How do you think they do those researches? It’s all a cycle, they need each other, but business will have the better end of the stick in the end.” Reo #5 says confidently, spoken like a true man who had this argument with himself before.
The reply genuinely stuns #82, he turns to #76 for help. #76 seems closer to present age, closer to the time he met Nagi. Nagi thinks he can guess what #76’s opinion will be.
“Huh? You both are wrong, so wrong. The best career to go into is obviously soccer!” He exclaims happily.
Of course Nagi was right.
#82 and #5 seem even more disappointed and even saddened by his answer. “You know dad shut us down years ago. It’s hopeless.” they sigh in unison. Ah, so they were reminded by bitter memories, Nagi realises.
“Ahem!” interrupts #73, seemingly from a similar time as #76 “that’s your future you’re talking to, if he says it’s good, it means you’ve done it, don’cha think?” #76 nods to that.
At that, the younger pair seemed to light up, as if an epiphany had struck them. Nagi wonders, are the clones here from different timelines that will alter their own paths— fates? If so, then maybe there’d be 99 other Reo’s interested in pursuing soccer even harder after this “event”.
The conversation continues less aggressively but with the same passionate energy, what a save Reo #73. As expected from (most likely) the eldest, the social events must really help.
At the side, Nagi notices #26 doesn’t contribute much, but when he does, it seems only negativity ensues. Very much not in line with what Nagi’s used to. Moreover, the negativity has only increased after the mention of soccer, there’s only one point in time of life of Reo this could be. He’d rather not think about it.
No matter the passionate conversation, Nagi will have to cut it short.
[ eliminate number 26 ]
[ eliminate number 82 ]
[ eliminate number 5 ]
Golden light surrounds them as they disappear
97/100
Hm, the other two survivors seem to be shocked, but are quick to recover, guess they’re all just waiting for their turn to be back in their timeline. Anyway, do all Reo clones, and even Reo himself, stay so calm under otherworldly science experiments?
Moving on, the faster he gets to Reo the better. It's better to get rid of the easy ones to start with. For example.. probably the ones that aren't even past 4 feet. Yes, they seriously kept baby and toddler Reos in here. Unfortunately, Nagi and baby fevers have never intersected on the venn diagram.
However, this situation does stir mixed feelings in Nagi. Has this game creator never played a game in their life? All gamers should know the basic criteria of a game that is to maintain entertainment and challenge so as to avoid boredom and frustration! As a gamer, this mistake is simply unforgivable. On the other hand, he's glad the road to Reo isn't a tough one.
Giving the entire room a look over, there's about.. 50% of child and teen Reos? The line between before and after puberty is very much easy to discern. Luckily, Reo is only 17, if he were 20, the memories there would be near impossible to discern. Nagi isn't one to boast about his smarts, but this feels like the right moment to, alas he won't.
What's a video game character's voice line that would fit this moment right now, hmm.. right.
“Time to clean up.”
Nagi walks around the room, eliminating any short statured Reos mercilessly. Satisfying? Kinda but not so much, it's similar to warming up with the dummies in shooter games, too easy.
[ eliminate number 55 ]
[ eliminate number 28 ]
[ eliminate number 27 ]
[ elimin…
[ e..
..
.
This feels kind of wrong, you know, removing kids from the world. Quite wrong.
Just as he’s about to get rid of his.. 20th something child, there’s a feeling.. On his leg. Looking down, it’s as you’d expect in a room full of Reo’s, it’s a Reo hugging his leg. Aged 5-7(?) to be specific. Nagi looks further down at the kid’s shirt, #11. Hm, his team V jersey number, not bad at all.
Wasn’t he supposed to be invisible to these Reos? No way 99 other Reos choose to purposely ignore Reo except for this one. Guess he’s a special case.
Moment of silence for thoughts.. The verdict has been decided! He can stay.
Still, Nagi’s a little busy eliminating other kids right now. He continues droning out the rest of the kids.
By the end of it, there’s only one thing on Nagi’s mind. “Water would be good right now..” his mouth hasn’t had this much exercise since.. His dinner last night probably.
48/100
Due to a certain.. Constriction holding his leg back, he’s had to eliminate the rest of the kids standing in one spot. Not that he’s complaining, less walking is a rarity in this facility these days. Anyhow, he has all the time in the world, guess it’s time to address the elephant in the room. Or well, the mini lion?
“So, what are you doing here.. Little Reo.” Truth be told, he’s spoken to a child about.. 8 times his entire teen life. Moreover, half of those 8 times might’ve just been little kids asking him for a favour.
The Reo stares at him with the biggest eyes, as if he’s been waiting for that question all while patiently waiting for Nagi to.. Wipe off other kids.
“You.. You’re so cool! So tall! You don’t talk like the other adults and and..” The way he speaks really does seem like a duplicate of present Reo, gesturing at every word, akin to a child that’s joined and won one too many public speaking competitions, he already looks ready to present proposals.
Out of habit, Nagi waits before replying, allowing Reo to say even more words he couldn’t fit in that breath.
“Wanna play the ps4 together? After we’re out here..” ps4? That’s new, the Reo he knows once groaned in frustration after losing his 5th round with Nagi on Mortal Kombat. It seems Reo didn’t grow up always being in love with soccer. This isn’t bad, he can learn about what games Reo is familiar with, and then, they’ll play together after they’re out of blue lock.
“Sure.” what’s next uhm..
“So, what do you play?” Nagi says as he looks away from the guy, spotting the next Reo targets to remove. One hand ruffles #11’s hair.
“I like..” #11 goes silent, putting his hand on his mouth, probably mimicking the cartoons he sees on TV. Good job, while he thinks, Nagi can get a closer look at what’s going on with other Reos.
A few steps later, Nagi finds himself in front of another dilemma between Reos. This crowd is a lot more mature, they’re debating with each other just like professionals. Surely, this would be intimidating to Nagi if they knew of his presence. Nagi wonders, is this what goes on inside of Reo’s head?
1, 2, 3, 4, 5,... There are 25 Reos sitting in the style of imagine if there were a cliché rectangular business meeting table in the middle. Looking at their faces, all 25 Reos seem to be around 17.
This is a lot more eerie than Reos of different ages being together, is what other people might say. But for Nagi, this is literally Reo heaven. Picture this, it's school lunch and Nagi is laying on the stairs. Suddenly, multiple Reos show up, doing anything really.
..oh yeah that's heaven alright.
“So!” That brought Nagi out of his little world quick, upon closer inspection, the voice came from.. Reo #86.
“For our 308th interreo soccer strategy meeting, I propose a new idea!” #86 says enthusiastically.
#9, a fellow Reo wearing glasses, sits at the head of the table, “Please, begin your proposal.” he replies seriously.
“I propose that instead of Reo #67 the front, we should move him to the back. Other than that! I believe Reo #95 should be a gatekeeper instead, replacing Reo #43.” #86 proposes, standing up.
#9, gives the idea some thought. “Huh.. very interesting. Please elaborate.” Nagi’s brain is about to have a meltdown from all these numbers.
“For starters, Reo #67 might be slow, but he's careful, he can be our watch tower. As for Reo #95, I know it's not time to be experimenting, but his sharp instincts on the field can be put to better use.” #86 has this smug look on his face, like he's confident he won't be wrong.
“Very well.. I am not against your idea for #67. However, I am on the fence for #95.” He lays his face on one hand. “Members, you may give your opinions.”
Almost immediately, #43 stands up. “First of all, this proposal of yours.. better have gone through actual trials before you just decided my replacement right in front of me. Second of all, I will only allow my replacement in unofficial matches. On the condition that #95 proves to me he is worthy of the goal.” The Reo attitude is definitely there, Nagi thinks.
#43 coughs, “That is it for my opinion, please, think rationally about this.”
Finally, the awaited #95 speaks up, “I’m sure we all know about the chances we never take being the ones we regret.. I think it’d be a pity to not have me for official matches as goalie. Our stats are evenly matched, but everyone knows I’m the better one!” He stands smugly.
“What did you say?!” You don’t even have enough experience to be saying all that and..@*#&*#^&@%” Nagi rarely sees this side of Reo, he never knew arguing with oneself could be this intense.
“Why don’t you stick that ball up—
“Big brother!” #11 comes rushing to Nagi’s view point, jumping up. That’s one way to distract Nagi from the conversation going south.
“I’ve thought of my answer! I like Minecraft, Lego, and and.. Spiderman!” It sounds like Reo’s parents just asked for the most expensive and popular games in the west and threw it to their kid. Damn, Nagi’s jealous.
Despite his thoughts, he kneels down and pats #11 on the head, “Sounds great, let’s play, after all.. This. is over.” In response, #11 squeals out of happiness, jumping around, probably telling all the other Reos about it.
It’s very cute indeed, nevertheless, Nagi has business to get to. Just as he stands up and looks back in the direction of the soccer meeting.
Oh! So they’re all arguing now! Save for #9, the leader that just seems disappointed and wants to leave. To Nagi’s surprise, he does just that, leave.
An admirable move from Nagi's point of view. It’s very much present Reo-like to utilize what he’s learned from Nagi; knowing when to give up. Thus, solidifying the genius’ decision—
to remove every Reo except for #9 at that table! It’s a risky move for sure, removing this many clearly 16+ year old Reos at once. However, doubt isn’t Nagi’s middle name, in fact, he doesn’t even have one!
[ eliminate number 95 ]
[eliminate number 43]
[eliminate number 86]
[elim…
[e.
.
24/100
It's been a full.. hour? Since this crazy event started, Nagi’s finally reached this far. “Never again.” is all that’s in his mind at this moment.
He’s done this much, maybe it's time to change strategies. As a true friend, best friend, and potential boyfriend of Reo, he should be able to differentiate real and phony Reos in .1 seconds. His instincts are clearly pretty great since the game has yet to end.
The rest of the Reos left are mostly in trios, pairs or alone now. Nagi makes quick work of them through pure instincts. Surprise surprise, he’s currently on a winning streak.
“Looking a little too tired.”
[ eliminate Reo 16 ]
“Reo would never let his hair fall that way.”
[ eliminate Reo 79 ]
“This shirt seems too dirty, impossible”
[ eliminate Reo 52 ]
Of course, how could Nagi go through the Reo elimination process and not get help from the actual Reo? #11 is kind enough to provide his opinion on which Reos don’t seem “Reo”. Well, all of them are Reo really, but Nagi doesn’t want to correct #11 on that.
“I would never let myself talk like this!” says #11 confidently about his future “segment”. “you very much would talk this way..” is what Nagi wishes he could reply with, but elaborations are too much work. Instead, he opts for, “Yeah, that’s so true” and proceeds with the elimination. He needed a reason on why this Reo seemed off anyway.
.
.
.
And the eliminations just kept going until there were—
5/100
Nagi splats to the floor on the last Reo elimination. Body physically tired, brain mentally drained, but he also got to see 100 Reos today. Is this hell or heaven?
Finally, Nagi can present his top 5 candidates for the “most likely to be real Reo” competition. Perhaps, more like top 4, #11 has been his one source of joy this entire time so he’d rather not get rid of him before the others. A room with 100 Reos may be nice, but not so nice when none of them can converse with Nagi.
Presenting his top 4 Reos—
- Reo #9, leader of the Reos
- Reo #76, enthusiastic about soccer Reo
- Reo #73, enthusiastic about soccer Reo no.2
- Reo #100, giving very Reo feelings
All 4 candidates have about everything in common with present Reo, which, yes they’re all Reos.. but they are the Reo-est of the Reos.
Embarrassingly, the greatest Reo fan cannot differentiate between 17 year old Reo’s from different months. That’s why he’ll have to rely on the ancient methods of simply watching for behaviour and listening to conversation. There’s a really simple solution to getting by the invisible barrier between Nagi and the Reos: the kid.
Putting a hand on #11’s shoulder, Nagi says with his usual monotone way, “could you get four of them to talk to each other maybe?” and the Reo, if his eyes were to shine any brighter, Nagi might go blind. Guess proactive kids are just different, Nagi could never imagine little him being this excited about receiving orders. Not to mean little him hated orders, as it was more indifference than hate.
“Aye aye, big brother!” He salutes Nagi before making his way to his future doppelgangers. If Nagi had to guess just what timeline #11 was transferred from, perhaps it’d be when the little guy had just finished watching cartoon family shows.
In a blink of an eye, the Reos are gathered and a conversation is actually happening. Reo has always been efficient after all.
#73 starts off the conversation. “So, what is your, I mean, our, favourite soccer player?
…even Nagi knows that’s a stupid question.
“Let’s say it on the count of 3.. 2.. 1!”
“Christiano Ronaldo”
“Christiano Ronaldo”
“Christiano Ronaldo”
“Christiano Ronaldo”
#9 continues with sarcasm, “It’s almost like.. We’re the same person.” The other Reos chuckle in response. After that, silence ensues.
This does beg the question, what would Nagi even talk about in a conversation between 3 other hims that are only a few months apart? There wouldn’t be much future to discuss, and talking about match results would be a no-go as it would definitely demotivate him from playing.
Maybe out of guilt, #9 decides to break the silence, “What do you guys plan to eat tomorrow?”
And Nagi doesn’t know how, but it works. All the Reos lit up and actually contributed some bit to the conversation about food. There’s only one takeaway here, no one wants to eat the same food everyday even if it's their favourite food. Nagi is amazed, only Reo could think of a conversation starter between 4 people that know one another a little too well that works.
Watching the Reos smiling and chatting quite excitedly together, Nagi can’t help but space out and admire the look on each of their faces. Regardless, the challenge won’t end on its own, he’ll have to make his conclusion now.
“I have no idea..” he says audibly to no one in particular. Honestly, he’s about to ask #11 which one he thinks would be the right choice. So he does, except instead of shiny eyes looking at him, #11 looks tired and lets out a yawn. Oops, Nagi almost forgot kids actually take afternoon naps daily.
“Big brother, I’m tired.. Can I go back?” The kids that Nagi rarely sees are usually playful and annoying, so he’ll really miss this, but there’s no choice. “Of course, goodbye, Reo.” Nagi gives a final pat to #11.
“Byebye! If it’s big brother, he knows me best.” #11 responds, leaning into the pat.
[ eliminate Reo 11 ]
4/100
That’s that, now it’s time for the rest. According to the kid, if Nagi really does know Reo best, then his hunch shouldn’t be wrong. The real Reo in this timeline is—
[ eliminate Reo 9 ]
[ eliminate Reo 76 ]
[ eliminate Reo 73 ]
1/100
Reo #100 is the true Mikage Reo!
Congratulations on passing the challenge! You have successfully proved Mikage Reo to be the one you are most fond of. You may now exit together with them.
Then, Reo seems to have suddenly gained consciousness, similar to being unpetrified of stone. The first thing he does is sprint to Nagi as the white haired welcomes a big hug for him.
“Welcome back.”
“I’ve missed you.”
.
.
.
After a well deserved rest
“Oh yeah, Nagi, how did you know which one was me?” says Reo as he sits cross-legged, allowing Nagi to splay himself on his lap. Ruffling around with his hair, they were only apart for an hour, but so close yet deprived of speaking with someone creates another kind of yearning Reo didn’t know he had.
“Well.. #100 wasn’t as active in conversations. I’d assumed you got bored as the hour went by.”
“That’s such a stupid reason.”
“What can I say, I know you best.”
.
.
.
THE NIGHT BEFORE
It’s hard to sleep tonight. Today, Nagi spent the entire day training non-stop, even a chance to offer him a towel was hard to come by when Reo had his own duties too. What really annoyed him to no end though, was the fact that Nagi hadn’t come looking for Reo himself. Has he lost the person he once was to Nagi?
Reo flips over and over in bed constantly. Soon he sighs,
“If only there was a way to know if Nagi even cared for me…”