Note: those enclosed in Quotation marks/“ “ are dialogues while those in Parentheses/ ( ) are like internal

monologues or thoughts.

UNTIL WE MET.

BLUE LOCK SPIN-OFF NOVEL CONTENTS:

Chapter 6: Inter-class Ball-game Tournament.
Chapter 7: Keeping a Cactus.
Chapter 8: Career Path.
Chapter 9: A Chance Encounter.
Chapter 10: The Chosen One.
__________

Chapter 6: Inter-class Ball-game Tournament.

September. The calendar says it's fall, but it's still hot in Tokyo.

(It's a pain to walk home in the heat…… I wonder if someone can give me a piggyback ride.)

That’s what he is thinking about quite seriously at that moment.

In the middle of the classroom, the jocks and the extroverts have gathered and made so much
racket. Next month is the biggest event of the second semester, the Inter-class Ball-game
Tournament. Those with good athletic ability can showcase their skills. They were eagerly
discussing practice, strategy, members, and so on.

“Nagi, since you’re tall, are you gonna play volleyball?”

Since it didn’t matter even if he didn't want to, he was forced to participate in the Men’s
Volleyball. The captain is that talkative guy who sat next to him in the first semester. They say
things like “Will he be fine? He’s tall but I feel like he’s gonna be useless.”, “If he’s that big, let’s
make him scare ‘em off!”. He’s the Thousand Year Netaro who sleeps all the time, an indoor
type who only plays games. It was no wonder that no one expected him to be a force to be
reckoned with. Because he’s just there to make up for the number, they didn’t particularly
complain even though Nagi didn't participate in practice even once, and the day of the event
arrived.

**********

“Huh!? You don’t even know the rules!? For real!?”

Those who are seriously taking the ball-game tournament are surprised. He’s not interested in
volleyball so he doesn’t know the basics, such as how many points are needed to score to win.
“Don’t hold us back~ We’ve been practicing every day after school.”

Saying that, the captain pushes their team bib against him. He thought, “then why don’t you just
leave me out?” but it seems that it's a rule that each person has to participate at least once.

“Just stand still. When the ball comes, jump and block. If we fall back, just stay out of the way.”

“Fine~.”

After receiving a rough explanation, he stood up on the court.

(Let’s go home early……)

Just play one match and then go home. That’s what he thought but things didn't go as Nagi had
planned. They won three matches in a row and reached the Finals. Nagi has been a member all
along.

“As expected, being tall was an advantage! You don’t even have to jump just to block, what a
cheat!”

“You just happened to be at the ball~ you lucky boy!”

After getting a hard slap on the back, he thought, “Ouch…… I wanna go home……” Nagi is just
standing in the court as instructed by the captain to "just stand still". When the ball comes, block
it as instructed and return it to the opponent's court. However, it seems to look like he just “put
his hand out there and just happened to block it”. Everyone thinks that there is no way a
beginner can easily repel a sharp spike with the palm of their hand in such a normal and relaxed
manner. In reality, Nagi reacts quickly to balls within his reach with his amazing reflexes and hits
them back accurately.

Humans can only understand what they can imagine. That is why no one knows how amazing
Nagi is. Thanks to Nagi, the team wins a close game and advances to the Finals. If it wasn’t for
Nagi, they would have been eliminated early.

**********

With each win, the audience grew and the gymnasium for the Finals was overflowing with
people. The captain puts his hands on his hips and sends out encouraging words.

“The other team is strong. They won in straight sets from the first round. But we have teamwork.
Don’t give up, let's keep at it till the end! We've come this far, we're gonna win! Don't give in to
the pressure! We can do it!”

The team formed a circle and shouted "Yeah!” (though Nagi didn't say it).
“Good luck~!”

“Fight on~ ♡”

A group of cute girls waved from the walkway, the members’ nostrils flared at the sight of their
white legs visible at the perfect angle.

“We’re gonna win this!”

“Yeah~!”

(Ugh… I wanna go home.)

It’s the best stage for those who take the game seriously, but for Nagi, it was simply hell. And
then, the opponent team is strong. All of them are tall, especially the two who seem to be from
the volleyball club, spiking one after another.

“Alright!”

“It’s an easy win!”

The tall team is centered on the active volleyball club members. Despite being overwhelmingly
disadvantaged, Nagi's team held on. Perhaps thanks to the girls' cheering, they showed
amazing concentration and produced fine plays that exceeded their abilities. They connected
the balls with miraculous receives, and although they lost the first and second sets, they won
the next set in a row. As a result, (...It doesn’t end.)

The fierce match went to a full set. The number of spectators grew as they watched this rare
and heated battle. Even in the fifth set, it was by all means a heated battle. Nagi glanced at the
scoreboard and saw the score was 14-15.

“One more point! One more point! One more point!”

Nagi's classmates, wearing matching T-shirts, are standing shoulder to shoulder, cheering
loudly. The rhythm of their cheering sharpened the concentration of the players (except Nagi).
Dripping sweat falls onto the court. Thanks to all that cheering, Nagi finally realized.

(......If we get one more point, we win?)

In volleyball, the final set is first-to-fifteen, with a deuce if the score is 14-14 and a win if there is
a two-point difference. Nagi thought.

(One more point and I can go home. I can play games.)

Nagi catches up with the tension on the court.

Thwack!

The underling character of the basketball club who made a fool of Nagi back in Spring hits a
powerful serve. He has been training stoically since then, and his shoulders and back are solid.

When the enemy libero dives to receive and then, “Got it!”, “Nice one!”, a deafening cheer
breaks out. The setter raises the ball high, and the attacker steps in to match it, making a
squeaking noise. His muscles pulsate as if a bow being pulled to its limit.

“Get it at all cost!”

“Here it comes!”

His teammates prepare themselves for a strong spike coming, lowering their backs at once to
defend. The enemy attacker’s powerful jump shows aggression. From that…

Pon.

Using his five fingers, he dropped the ball gently.

“It’s a feint!”

The cheering of their classmates turned into screams. The ball loosely falls where no one is
there. The captain next to Nagi who jumps to block, with a look of astonishment on his face, just
watched the ball go. A perfect position that no one can react to.

(If we don't get this ball, the game will continue.)

He doesn’t want that. Nagi stretches out his left leg.

(Uhm, I just have to return it, right?)

Just before the ball makes contact with the floor, he gently kicks it up with the top of his foot. It
should land just above the setter's head.

“Whoa!”

The setter was startled and lifted the toss.

“Oh!”

The captain barely reacted and returned it to the opponent's court.

Bam.

A stubborn spike landed in the middle of the standing opponent team. They couldn't react to the
sudden return of the ball, which they thought had been perfectly scored.

Pon, pon, pon……

There was a pause, and then the “piiii” sound of the whistle echoed through the gymnasium. At
that moment, the shrieks turned into screams of joy.

“We did itttt!”

The captain raised both fists in the air and struck a fist-pump pose.

“Whoa! Amazing!”

“Kya~! Congratulations!”

The crowd cheered so loudly that the gymnasium shook. In the midst of the excitement, Nagi
was the only one slightly withdrawn.

(Eh….. Fist-pumping for something like this…… might be a bit…… embarrassing.)

His classmates who were thrilled about winning hugged each other while dripping in sweat, and
the girls hugged each other and jumped with joy.

“Lucky us! It hit Nagi’s feet!”

“Trapping a volleyball, that’s hilarious!”

“Yeah, but the rules say it’s safe to use your feet!”

Everyone thinks that the ball that hit Nagi's foot just happened to go up to the setter's position.

“Damn it, so frustrating~!”

“You just got lucky!”

He heard mumbling and complaining from the other side of the net. The opponent volleyball
team was chattering their teeth in frustration, as if their pride had been hurt.

(Frustrating……?)

“Why?”, Nagi becomes bewildered.

(I wonder how everyone can be so happy or so frustrated……)

Nagi could not understand the feelings of his teammates expressing their joy with every fiber of
their being, and also the feelings of the defeated who speak out their frustration. It’s happy to
win, but it's frustrating to lose. Nagi's overwhelming potential kept him away from these feelings,
which is natural for people who play sports. It is probably the same as an adult not being happy
when they win a running race against a kindergartener. A definite difference between Nagi and
the people around him.

In the midst of the frenzy, Nagi quietly left the gymnasium. It’s hot outside, but it still feels good
because of the breeze.

"Ah…… I'm tired…… Somebody give me a piggyback ride……"

The tiny monologue fades away without being heard by anyone.

(It took longer to win than expected…… Next year, I'll just stand still for real……)

Chapter 7: Keeping a Cactus.

Cherry blossom season has come again. Nagi is in second year. He wants to play games and
live a lazy life. Even as the school year progressed, this feeling of Nagi's never wavered. Nagi
didn't change, but his surroundings did. It was as if the heat seemed to have gone up a notch.

“Is that your girlfriend? She’s cute.”

“Don't look at people's smartphones without permission~”

"Whoa! The rookie tournament is already next week!”

“Let's do our best! We’ll win for sure~!”

Even in high school, the second year is a particularly special year. In the third year, the focus is
on entrance examinations, so they want to enjoy club activities, romance, part-time jobs, cultural
festivals, and other youthful events before that. Whether they are aware of it or not, they are all
doing their best to be high school students. To put it in a word, they’re gleaming. Because they
are 17. Of course, Nagi is not among them and during breaks he plays games by himself. Even
today, he sat down on the stairs of their school building and took out his smartphone.

Bang!

He aims and shoots at the enemy player coming out of the abandoned house from behind the
car. He is a burly macho soldier wearing sunglasses. He aligns his sight perfectly and finishes it
off with continuous fire.
“Sit!” “Kill!”

In pursuit of the enemy, he shoots, using cars, shacks, and other obstructions to his advantage.
At that moment, Nagi suddenly realized that he had not spoken to anyone for a week.

(It's been a week and I haven't spoken to anyone……)

In real life as well as in games, Nagi does not make friends, so he hardly ever talks to anyone.

He thought he didn't see anything wrong with that, but it might be dangerous.

(If I want to live in this society, I have to communicate at least at minimum, otherwise I'll be
considered dangerous as a person……)

In Nagi's case, it's not like he's lonely or wants to talk to someone. However, it is also a bother
to forget how to speak out loud. Nope, if this society doesn't have a problem with it, it's fine. But
surely it’s not.

“......Ah, I’ve been shot.”

The words "GAME OVER" appeared on the screen.

**********

After two weeks of not talking to anyone, Nagi made a decision. On his way home from school.
He took a detour and stopped at a flower shop. As a high school student, he tries to be a little
more proper. He will maintain the minimum communication skills. But he doesn't want to go
through the hassle of making friends for that. He doesn't even want a girlfriend. Preferably
non-human, and that means a pet. Above all, he prefers something that is not too troublesome.
Dogs and cats cannot be kept in the dorms, and even if he could, it would be impossible to take
care of them. Birds, hamsters, goldfish, killifish, and beetles are also not allowed. Feeding
himself is a pain, what more feeding his pet. He thought about smart speakers and AI pet
robots, but even if he bought them, they probably wouldn't talk to him, so there's no point.

A communication partner should be at least a living thing. So he thought, and decided on plants.
It would be nice to have some greenery in his room, just like a high school student. The florist in
the neighborhood is not very big. When he opened the door, he saw colorful cut flowers in a
steel bucket.

“Welcome~”

He was greeted amiably by a woman at the checkout counter, wrapping a ribbon around a
bouquet of flowers. Looking around, Nagi realizes. He doesn’t know what kind to get. But it
doesn't matter.
“Please give me the least troublesome one.”

“...... Huh?”

“......I want to communicate with a plant that isn’t a pain to take care of."

“......Ah……Uhm……if that’s the case, how about a cactus?”

The clerk tilted her head, but familiarly guided Nagi to a shelf lined with potted cactus plants.
There are ones that are very round. There are those with long thorns that look a little painful.
There are also those that look like they belong in a desert scene in a movie.

“They all require very little care. Any lazy person can raise them. Oh, how about this one?”

Among several cacti, this one was recommended by the store clerk. It's the kind that kinda looks
like a pet…… but maybe it's just because the name says it’s a "bunny”...... a ”Bunny Cactus”.

The cactus is shaped like a flat bunny ear. It is light green with white thorns, about the size of a
palm of Nagi's hand.

“Place it on a window getting good sunlight, then only water when the soil is dry so it’s easy.
Conversely, it's not good to overwater them or take care of them too much, so you can basically
leave it alone.”

“Please give me this.”

He made a snap decision. He took the Bunny Cactus home and placed it by the window.

(Since it’s a pet……I better give it a name.)

It looks like rabbit ears, but it also looks like the scissors for rock, paper, scissors. For this
simple reason, he named it "Choki”*. It was a name he gave without thinking, but when you give
a name to something, you get attached to it. That night, he said “Good night” to Choki.

*In じゃんけん/Janken or “Rock-Paper-Scissors”, パー/pa is paper, グー/gu is rock then チョキ/choki is scissors.

He keeps poking it, and no response. It's a pain to greet a human being, but a cactus will do.

(Yep. This is gonna be a proper high school life……)

Thus, Nagi cleared his mission(?) of “maintaining minimal communication skills”.

Chapter 8: Career Path.

It’s a good thing to have Choki. It wakes the weak Nagi every morning. The alarm makes a
ringing noise, breaking his comfortable sleep.

“Nyah……”

He reaches out to stop the alarm, only to raise his upper body.

“Mornin’. Choki.”

He pricks Choki’s thorn as he greets it.

(“Ouch…… I’m awake now.)

The mild pain awakened his still half-asleep brain. The first thing he does when he wakes up is
play a game. He lay down on the bed again and picked up his game console. As he’s lazing
around and shooting “bang bang”, he can hear the buzz of commuters from outside. If possible,
he wants to keep playing games, go to bed, wake up, then play games again. For the sake of
realizing that comfortable infinite loop.

“......A career path, huh……”

He thinks he thought the exact same thing two years ago. Now that he’s in his second year, he
has to decide whether he wants to study science or humanities, choose a course to study, and
decide which university he wants to attend. A bothersome future is approaching fast. Nagi has
zero desire for material things, so he doesn't want a big house or a luxury car. All he wants is a
room and time to play games. Earn money without overworking and tiring himself, retire as soon
as possible, and stay in his game room……

Just as he envisioned such a future, he was shot dead.

(I should get up soon……)

He can play around as much as he wants, but he does go to school. He knows it's not good to
just play games. First, breakfast. A jelly drink. He doesn’t have any idea on how to cook a meal,
and eating is a pain so he has jelly drinks at home. It doesn't need to be chewed or digested,
but he’s too lazy to sip it these days.

(Why do I get hungry…… If I don’t feel hungry, I wouldn't have to eat.)

If you don't eat, you don't have to brush your teeth and you don't have to go to the toilet. Despite
those good things you don’t have to do, his stomach growls when he gets hungry, so he has no
choice but to fill his empty stomach with jelly drinks.
(Taking a bath and changing clothes are also a pain…… If only I could live on water like
Choki…… I wonder if I can photosynthesize……)

Because wearing a tie is a pain, he wears a hoodie inside his blazer instead of a shirt.

“I’m off.”

He left home with Choki to see him off.

(Ah~ha. I wish I didn’t have school…… What a pain……)

Nagi was already tired of living anymore.

**********

"Nagi Seishiro, come to the staff room later."

He got a red mark on his Japanese test (he fell asleep because it was boring) and was finally
called in by his homeroom teacher. He wasn't last year's teacher Isshiki, but this year's teacher
is a sweaty man with a protruding belly. He kinda doesn’t like him.

“Nagi, you can do it, so why don't you do it? Don't you have something you want to be in the
future? You have to work hard from now on, no matter which university you go to. I think if you
work hard, even going to a first-class university isn't a dream. This is the time for you to do your
best.”

Sitting at a desk with a pile of papers, the homeroom teacher wipes the sweat from his face with
a handkerchief and looks up at Nagi.

It was almost like the same sermon that was given to him about two years ago?

“You have to think about your future more seriously”. After being told the same thing as if it were
déjà vu, Nagi was finally let go.

(......Future……)

Corridors with university information posters, students walking around reading workbooks, and a
library full of study spaces. About three steps out of the staff room, it became a pain to think
about the future.

(Why does everyone try so hard……)

The homeroom teacher didn't know that there are true geniuses in the world. And that Nagi is a
natural-born genius. Nagi is still an unconscious genius. He can do things without trying hard.
Even in studying, if he wants to remember, then he can. He does not have to study as hard as
his classmates. He was not someone who could be grouped together with the other students.
And if it was something that could only be obtained through working hard, Nagi would have
given up on it in a heartbeat, because he had yet to encounter something that he wanted that
much. So, even if someone says, “You can do it”, Nagi will just give them a “?” look, tilting his
head. It is impossible for a hard-working, ordinary person to understand Nagi, who is a genius
by nature. They see the world differently. The gap between them is very wide. Nagi is still
unaware even of this.

(Whatever. Let’s play.)

At the usual staircase, he took his smartphone out of his pocket. While her classmates were
busy with their studies, club activities, and romance, Nagi who’s detached, continued to play
reaching over 2,000 hours of total playing time. He runs around the field and gun down enemy
players. Right side, left side, shooting from a standing position and shooting in rapid succession
and killing them with a bang.

As he was immersed in his world of game, “Bump”, he felt an impact on his side. Nagi was
sitting on the turn of a staircase, which was a blind spot from above, and bumped into someone
who was coming down. Someone with purple hair. The impact made Nagi fall forward. His
smartphone pops out of his hand.

“Ah. Sorry…”

The purple-haired one apologizes for kicking him, though it was unintentional. At the same time,
Nagi leaps down the stairs after his smartphone.

Chapter 9: A Chance Encounter.

(Oh no. My smartphone will break.)

If the screen breaks, he can't play games. He doesn't want that. Suddenly, he put all the
pressure to his toes.

Thud!!!

Chasing his smartphone, he jumped from the stairs almost motionless. He leaps down the
seventeen steps in one go with his knees bent.

"Huh."

A purple-haired guy who kicked him, fretted thinking he had fallen. but he's not. Nagi extends
his right leg. He just barely reaches the smartphone just before it hits the floor. The smartphone
was caught by the tip of his leather shoe, oddly with a soft touch. At the same time, his left knee
and right hand absorbed the impact of the landing. Without bouncing off, the phone stopped on
his toes.

(Whoa! Nice trap!)

Despite that display of excellent technique, Nagi only looked at his smartphone as usual.

"He-- hey... You're amazing! Are you from the soccer team?"

Along with the sound of someone coming down the stairs, there was an excited voice. Despite
being spoken to, Nagi doesn't take his eyes off the screen.

"Ah. I died."

"Who the hell are you!? Wanna play soccer with me?"

He finally looked at the owner of the voice because he died. The guy who spoke to him... he
knows him. He has a face with strong-will and has almond-shaped eyes, and somehow, a hint of
upbringing. Nagi isn't interested in anyone, but because he is the most conspicuous student in
their school, he kind of knows him.

"Ah. You're that rich kid. Gimme some money."

But that was the only information he had.

Reo is bewildered.

Mikage Reo, total assets of 758 billion yen, heir of the Mikage Corporation. A born super
celebrity, he is good looking, intelligent, athletic, a superman in his own right. Even though he
has been spoiled, he has never experienced this kind of reaction before.

"I don't play soccer. I never even played sports. I just wanna live lazily for the rest of my life. So
gimme some money."

Nagi thinks he might give it to him if he just asks, so he offers his hand.

The reaction was also a shock to Reo.

(What's with this guy!? He's never played soccer...?)

His emotion was shaken like crazy. Even a pro with advanced trapping skills wouldn't be able to
trap a smartphone while jumping down the stairs.
"Wait, wait. That trap and the form, you definitely have the talent!".... he suddenly came rushing,
Nagi backed off a bit.

"Let's play soccer together! If you work hard, even becoming a pro isn't a dream!"

If you work hard, XXX isn't a dream.

If you work hard, even going to an elite school isn't a dream. If you work hard, even becoming a
regular isn't a dream. If you work hard, even going to a first-class university isn't a dream...

He has heard those inexplicable words many times. That's why he still thinks of it this way.

"If I have to work hard, then soccer sounds like a pain."

Reo's eyes widened. This expression of incomprehension is something Nagi has seen many
times before.

"I hate annoying stuff. I don't wanna work."

He turns his head away then resumes playing. Sitting at the bottom of the stairs, he was
immersed in his own world again. After freezing for a while, Reo could hardly suppress the
excitement welling up inside him.

(He has talent, but he doesn't even realize it......!?)

For Nagi, it was nothing. If he wants to remember, he can remember, if he wants to move so, he
can move so. There's no reason, that's just how it is.

Reo was the first person in Nagi's life to realize his amazing potential.

Chapter 10: The Chosen One.

Mikage Reo has always been craving for his "one and only treasure". With the power as the heir
of the Mikage Corporation, he can get everything that he wants. However, things that can easily
be obtained are boring. The first thing Reo ever wanted in his life was the gold trophy from the
World Cup. Soccer fans all over the world are in a frenzy for the World Cup. He wants to
become a pro soccer player and win the World Cup. It wasn't until he became a high school
student that he finally found a dream that he would be passionate about. But his parents wanted
to crush his dream. They had given him everything, but they wanted to take away Reo's dream.

"Forget about it. You're my successor. Besides, only a chosen few can become soccer players.
There's no way you can make it if you're just starting now."

"That's right, Reo. You'll go to a top tier university and become a top tier businessman."
"We're saying this all for your sake."

He didn't mean to give up just because of those words. He'll silence his parents. To do so, he
will lead his high school to the Nationals Championship with his own hands... However, Their
soccer team is very weak because Hakuho High School is an elite preparatory school. No
matter how good Reo is, he cannot play soccer by himself. The weak soccer team is far from
enough pieces to win the National Championship.

"Ah, damn it!"

As he was wandering aimlessly around the school, pondering, he happened to bump into Nagi.
Reo saw a glimpse of talent right before his eyes. As his father said, "Only a chosen few can
become soccer players."

(There's one right here... A chosen one...)

What Reo was looking for suddenly appeared in front of him like a gift from God. A partner to
help him win the National Soccer Championship. Beneath the expressionlessness, indifference,
and apathy, is exactly the talent Reo was looking for.

(I want this guy......!!!)

He's kind of an oddball, but that doesn't matter. No, rather...

"You're interesting! We'll do things your way then!"

The rich kid suddenly clinged to him. He forcefully put his arm around Nagi's shoulder.

Even if people don't interest him, if they've gone this far, even someone Nagi will look at Reo.
Something's making him so happy that his eyes are sparkling. Something's making him fired
up... is it me?

All his life, others have never been interested in him, but he's also never been interested in
others. Even his cactus, Choki, doesn't talk to him either.

"Let's play soccer!"

Nope, don't wanna. It's a pain.

Nagi Seishiro, his dream for the future is to live a lazy life. That day that he would be fired up will
never come. Not until he met Mikage Reo.

___________
TL: @hoshi801_ (twitter). Thank you for reading! But I still encourage everyone to buy the original copy if it is available in your region to directly support
Blue Lock! Anyone is free to retranslate this to their own language as long as it is properly credited and has no intention of publishing it for sale.