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Tsurugi inhaled. And then he took a long, breathy exhale. He felt *exhausted* — not particularly from the team’s extra-long soccer practice in preparation for Holy Road, no. He was far too used to rigorous soccer practice sessions than any teenager should be. His body wasn’t exhausted — his mind was.
Tsurugi was exhausted from trying to figure out the best way to ask his teammate, Tenma Matsukaze, on a date.
It had been months since Tsurugi had joined the team as a Seed sent by Fifth Sector. He came to Raimon with one goal, and one goal only: Destroy Raimon’s soccer team. It seemed like an easy enough task; Raimon’s team had lost the shine it had years ago. Tsurugi wasn’t necessarily happy to do it, but when Ishido Shuuji gave Tsurugi the offer to pay for his brother’s surgery, Tsurugi took it in a heartbeat.
That was then. Only a few months later, Tenma had finished convincing Tsurugi that soccer was not meant to be used as a weapon. To be fair, Tsurugi wasn’t going to actually listen to Tenma, but the heartwrenching push he’d received from Yuuichi convinced him fully.
The day before, Tsurugi had visited Yuuichi in the hospital once again, bringing over a bouquet of flowers he bought at a vendor before their bus left Teikoku. He remembered that Yuuichi specifically liked carnelians, so it was perfect that a flower shop right next to the military soccer school sold bunches of them.
“How’s soccer going, Kyousuke?” Yuuichi asked after he had graciously accepted the flowers. The smile to Yuuichi’s face had returned — a soft smile, with welcoming eyes that always eased the tension in Kyousuke’s chest.
“It’s going well,” Kyousuke answered with a smile back. “We just got back from Teikoku — it was a hard victory, but we won. Turns out that Kidou was playing along with Fifth Sector and was actually running an underground resistance. Imagine Tenma’s face when he found out that more people believed in their cause — it was like a child at a candy store.”
“As they should,” Yuuichi chuckled. “I’m happy you’re away from Fifth Sector now, Kyousuke.”
Kyousuke nodded, sitting down in the chair by Yuuichi. Even though Kyousuke hadn’t said anything, he knew that Yuuichi could always sense the tension or stress off of him.
“And what about your teammates?” Yuuichi asked, keeping the conversation light.
“Oh,” Kyousuke shrugged. “It’s the same as usual. Tenma is working on another hissatsu technique. Soyokaze Step has really helped our team a lot, and it looks like he has an Avatar now, too. It’s pretty fascinating, seeing a non-Seed be able to summon an Avatar. I suppose someone as obsessed with soccer as Tenma could do it.”
Yuuichi laughed. Kyousuke laughed back, feeling a lot lighter than usual as he talked more about Tenma, and only Tenma.
Once there was a pause in their conversation, Yuuichi asked something quite shocking to say the least. “Are you going to ask Tenma out, soon?”
Kyousuke blinked. “What?”
“You know. On a date,” Yuuichi chuckled. “You’ll do it soon, right?”
The blood rushed to Kyousuke’s face. His cheeks must have been beet-red. Instinctively, he stood up, a terrifying realization washing over him. “A— a date— I… why on Earth would I…”
Yuuichi rolled his eyes, clearly amused.
“Yuuichi! Stop— stop teasing me!” Kyousuke tried to keep his voice down so as not to bother other patients, but almost failed. “There’s no way that I… I like…”
“Are you sure?” Yuuichi asked. “You’ve talked about almost nothing but Tenma. It’s okay, Kyousuke — crushes happen in junior high. It’s completely natural.”
“Yes, sure, but — but Tenma?” Kyousuke exhaled. His eyebrows furrowed, he slumped back in the seat. “I…” Somehow, the blushing on his face grew hotter. “I like… Tenma?”
“Very obviously, yes.”
“I… how did I not know?”
“To be fair, you kept saying you hated his guts for weeks.”
Kyousuke was silent. Thoughts raced through his mind. He… he liked Tenma. He felt so stupid, so childish, having a crush on — on that idiot! Kyousuke had no idea how he let that happen.
“So, back to my original question,” Yuuichi said, dragging Kyousuke out of his shocked fugue. “You’re planning to ask him out soon, right?”
The memory of that particular visit repeated itself on a loop through Tsurugi’s mind. He looked at the group from afar, still keeping his distance. Of course he wasn’t actually watching the whole team, it was mostly Tenma, and… nope. He was just straight up staring at Tenma.
Tsurugi scoffed. He had a crush. He had a crush on *Tenma*. The mere thought of that was laughable to him, but the fact it was actually real was horrific. What would the other teammates think of this? Of cold and distant Kyousuke Tsurugi falling in… in love with…
“Tsurugi!” Tenma’s voice calling out to Tsurugi hit him like a fleeting train. Tsurugi sputtered, bringing himself back to reality as he acknowledged Tenma — or at least tried to, until Tenma overwhelmed him with his energy. “That pass you did to Shindou was so cool! And the way you took the ball from Kirino was awesome!”
“A-ah,” Tsurugi tried to collect himself. “I-it was nothing,” he looked away, blushing furiously.
“I’m so excited to play more soccer with you!” Tenma kept going, leaning into Tsurugi with vitality. “It’s so good you’re on our side now!”
Even though Tenma’s voice was bursting at the seams with energy, hearing Tenma’s voice was soothing in a very odd way. It made Tsurugi feel like coming home. Home wasn’t a place, it was... no, it was too soon to think things like that!
“I… I feel the same,” Tsurugi stammered out. Damn it, why couldn’t he say that to Tenma saying something like ‘I love you, Kyousuke’?!
“You’re such a good soccer player,” Tenma said, pulling back a bit and his voice growing quieter, more relaxed. “I look up to you so much.”
Tsurugi flushed again, the same redness on his cheeks he got from his visit with Yuuichi. “You… you do?”
“Yeah! I mean, you’re so cool, like you do everything in soccer just… so awesome!” Tenma held the soccer ball to his chest and blushed. “I hope I can become as good at soccer as you, Tsurugi!”
Tsurugi flushed. He desperately wanted to shove Tenma away and run back to his apartment to hide in a corner and keep his feelings to himself. Tenma was overwhelming — moreover, he was so obsessed with soccer. Who knew if Tenma actually cared about him other than his soccer abilities?
Tsurugi inhaled. No. He wasn’t going to run away anymore. He wasn’t going to let Yuuichi down again.
“Matsukaze, I… I have a question,” he started, his voice unusually quiet.
“Huh? Yeah, what’s up, Tsurugi?” Tenma cocked his head to the side confusedly.
“Do…” Tsurugi inhaled. “Do you want to go like… to dinner, sometime?”
An awkward silence hung above the two of them. Tsurugi’s heart raced and he instantly regretted saying anything. Oh god. He just asked Tenma out. And Tenma obviously wasn’t going to accept! Tenma very clearly wasn’t into him. Tsurugi’s heart sank as he realized he just ruined his chances. He almost stepped away.
“That would be awesome, Tsurugi!” Tenma’s energy came back all of a sudden, seeming like he just needed to process it. “Let’s go tonight!”
Tsurugi sighed in relief. He wasn’t really dressed for a date, but Tenma probably didn’t mind. At least Tenma accepted his offer for a date. Maybe he liked him back?
Tsurugi’s face fell when Tenma spoke again. “Let’s go to Rairaiken! We can talk about my new hissatsu more, right? Oh, and we can strategize more for Holy Road!”
“I…” Tsurugi was stunned speechless. His mouth agape, he tried to process the fact Tenma thought him being asked to dinner was so *Tsurugi could talk to him about soccer?* “That wasn’t… what…”
“Huh?” Tenma hummed. “Oh, okay! Why don’t we talk about our next steps for our revolution? You know, trying to figure out what Fifth Sector wants?”
Tsurugi couldn’t respond to that. Tenma spoke up again with a slightly more disheartened expression. “is that not what you meant either?”
“N-no,” Tsurugi stammered, in an attempt to stop his middle school crush from breaking into tears. “Let’s… talk about all that, yeah.”
Predictably — this did not go as planned.
~~
Of course, the first place Tenma would take Tsurugi for lunch was obviously Rairaiken Ramen. It was the go-to spot for the entire Inazuma Eleven team to decompress from matches, discuss their next strategy, or have a nice meal over venting some frustration. Tenma and Shinsuke ate there numerous times; Tsurugi would often bring his brother ramen from there; and one time, Coach Endou convinced his wife to pass on cooking and have dinner together at Rairaiken. (Tenma could hardly blame him for that.)
Tenma and Tsurugi had gone here a few times as well, though it was usually accompanied by another few members of the team. This was good for Tsurugi, because it meant Tenma was completely distracted from Tsurugi’s blushing over his enthusiasm.
Tsurugi wondered if Tenma could tell how much he was blushing. Or, was he too engrossed in finding the best menu option? The ace striker loved how much thought Tenma put into his food choices, and also his ambition with his resolve to try a new dish every meal.
“So, Tsurugi, did you want to talk about that new hissatsu?” Tenma suddenly perked up, having decided his order and putting down the menu.
“Ah… well,” Tsurugi bit his tongue as he was about to change the subject. “Y-yeah. What kind of hissatsu did you want to learn?”
“Actually, I was thinking of learning a defender hissatsu!” Tenma enthusiastically replied. “Our opponents are getting stronger offensively, so it might work to have some moves to take the soccer ball back! Especially if they get all aggressive, like… like some of them have been.”
Tsurugi nodded, humming in agreement. He winced, remembering some of the cruel techniques the soccer teams under Fifth Sector’s power would use, and the way he used to do the same things to his supposed allies. “A defensive technique could be good. It might help if it’s a technique that subdues how violent they can be.”
“Yeah!”
Tsurugi forgot to think before blurting out, “and I wouldn’t want you to get hurt.”
His cheeks flushed far redder than they’d been before. Tsurugi was in sheer disbelief that he let himself say that. Now Tenma would know, and he probably did. His eyes were already wide and sparkling.
“Um… oh, wow, Tsurugi, that means a lot!” Tenma blushed as well as the vitality returned to his voice. “I’m so happy you care about me that much…”
Tsurugi froze as Tenma placed his hands on top of Tsurugi’s. His hands were so soft and warm, and even just having that kind of skin contact… it caused a wave of relief and safety to wash over Tsurugi. He felt safe, comfortable. And also extremely gay, and very panicked.
“I don’t want you to get hurt either, Tsurugi!”
Tsurugi’s face must have been beet-red at this point. He stammered, trying to think of a good response. Was this a good time to confess? There couldn’t be a better time, he internally declared. “Matsukaze, I…”
Thunder crashed through the clouds of love drifting around Tsurugi, as Tobitaka came up with a hearty greeting and a notepad to take their orders.
Tsurugi had no real reason to hate Tobitaka at that moment, but boy was he angry.
“Welcome, guys! Good to see you again,” Tobitaka grinned. “Have you given the menu a look yet?”
“Uh…” Tsurugi scoffed. He actually didn’t pay attention to the menu in the slightest. “No, not yet.”
“Well, have y’all checked out the special for today?”
“The special?” Tenma cocked his head to the side. “That sounds good! What is it?”
Tobitaka grinned widely. “It’s called the Couple’s Lover’s Ramen! A nice bowl for two to share, and super spicy to warm your hearts. Of course, you don’t need to be a couple to enjoy it, but it adds to the experience.”
Tsurugi definitely had a reason to hate Tobitaka, now.
“That sounds fun!” Tenma said enthusiastically. “What do you think, Tsurugi? Sounds tasty, right?”
Tsurugi had to physically pick his jaw up from the floor. He couldn’t believe anything he’d heard in the last 30 seconds — but, he thought, if Tenma wanted to… then saying no would definitely hurt his sensitive heart. Screw it.
“Sure,” Tsurugi answered, the venom dripping from his voice as he forced a smile. “That sounds fun.”
“Yeah!” Tenma handed the menu to Tobitaka, who took Tsurugi’s menu as well. He then turned back to Tsurugi, with a wide smile on his face.
Just two boys, having the Couple’s Lover’s Ramen together, as… friends.
~~
Somehow, Tsurugi had convinced Tenma to stop by the mall with him after their meal. He made up something about needing to walk off the massive, spicy-as-all-hell bowl, and luckily Tenma believed him. Tsurugi both wanted to spend a bit more time with Tenma, trying to muster up the courage to ask his middle school crush out.
And also, it was Wednesday, and the local cheap jewelry/makeup store had its weekly sale then.
Tsurugi used at least a bottle of their eyeliner a month. It wasn’t so cheap that it would melt Tsurugi’s eyelids off, but it wasn’t too expensive that it would bankrupt him. Not to mention, their foundation was also the exact shade he liked. Their jewelry was also a nice touch to Tsurugi’s usual outfit, though he usually kept it off for soccer matches — after all, his cape hindered him enough without a bunch of necklaces hanging off of his neck.
Anything for the fashion statement, after all. Tsurugi led Tenma inside the sparkly pink store, ignoring Tenma’s joke about how he’d never guess Tsurugi was into this stuff. His crush, of course, was immediately distracted by the more glittery jewelry himself; Tsurugi opted to look at the skull, knight and sword necklaces and bracelets first, before hopping on over to the makeup section. As always, his favorite eyeliner was 50% off on Wednesdays, so he grabbed a few bottles.
Hm, Tsurugi thought… Maybe it’s time to try some eyeshadow… But what color, and what shade? There were so many shades and palettes lining the cabinets and walls, that Tsurugi didn’t even know where to begin looking. He glanced over to Tenma quickly, who was busy picking out some cute jewelry. Presumably for Aoi.
Tenma wouldn’t know… but it wouldn’t hurt to ask anyways.
“Hey, Matsukaze,” Tsurugi called over. Tenma peeked over from the register as the cashier handed him a small bag with all of his purchases. He ran over to his friend’s side, looking at all the eyeshadow.
“Wow, there’s so much here!” Tenma noted. “What’s up, Tsurugi?”
“Um… well,” Tsurugi cleared his throat as he mustered up the courage to speak. “What color… do you think would look good on me?”
“Huh?” Tenma looked extremely confused. “Don’t you already wear eyeshadow?”
“No, this is eyeliner,” Tsurugi responded, bewildered how Tenma didn’t know even that. “I’ve never tried eyeshadow before. I can never decide which one would look good. I… know you’re not into makeup—“ to say the very least, “but what do you think?”
“Hmm…” Tenma moved closer to the eyeshadow wall, putting a finger to his chin and contemplating deeply. He gazed at every corner of the selection. Tsurugi felt a pit form in his stomach. Oh no, Tenma was going to laugh at him, right? Why did he even ask? Tsurugi felt the urge to punch himself, before Tenma grabbed one off the wall and spoke up again.
“What about this one?” He opened it and flashed it to Tsurugi. It was a vibrant palette of magnificent hues — it was a mixture of bright purples, lilacs, and then shades of gray. “The purples suit you, I think! They kinda go with your hair! Oh, and it’s water resistent, so… I think that means you’ll be able to practice in it, right?”
Tsurugi examined it closely. Some of the shades glittered, but not in an obnoxious way. The lilacs were so deep and yet so calming at the same time, with the brighter hues on the more bold side. It was the perfect mixture; not to mention the black and white tones would also be good on a casual day!
“Tenma, this is perfect,” Tsurugi said — a rare brilliance to his voice. “Thank you so much.”
“Oh, no problem! And hey, the white and black kinda reminds you of a soccer ball, right?”
Tsurugi chuckled lightly. Leave it up to Tenma to have a singular brain cell. That brain cell also, of course, being a soccer ball.
Tsurugi went up to the counter to check out his three bottles of eyeliner and the gorgeous palette. The cashier handed him another small bag with pink glitter and white tissue paper, and the two began to head out. Still, Tsurugi hadn’t asked Tenma out — for all Tenma knew, this was still supposed to be a strategy meeting for making his new hissatsu and taking down Fifth Sector. Why was he such an idiot? Why was he such a cute idiot?
As they exited the store, Tsurugi noted in the mirror a display of double necklaces. One was in the shape of a heart with a soccer ball pattern. He briefly debated going in to grab it… and then turned around, deciding against it. No, it was far too soon for anything like that.
~~
On the way back to their homes, Tsurugi could see the sun beginning to lower into the horizon. It wasn’t quite sunset yet, but it was soon approaching dusk. Tsurugi thought about turning around and going home, leaving his task of asking Tenma out — for real — unfulfilled. He almost wanted to punch himself for it; how could he have spent an entire day with Tenma, not even ending in him confessing?
Maybe if there was a way to stretch out their friend-date together, Tsurugi could buy himself some time. He glanced around on the path home, trying to find any excuse to stretch out their time together. Maybe…
“Matsukaze!” Tsurugi called out, pointing to a nearby flower stand that seemed like it was just about closing up. “Those flowers look nice, don’t they?”
“Huh?” Tenma was jolted out of his thoughts again, probably having been thinking more about his proposed hissatsu. “Oh, yeah, they do!” He ran on over, taking a longer look at the various bouquets in various colors. Tsurugi followed closely behind Tenma, identifying the roses, dahlias, daisies, carnations… his first instinct was to give a bouquet of red roses to Tenma, but that would be far too obvious. Not to mention, Tenma would probably melt from the embarrassed shock. He was trying to buy time though, right? How about…
Tsurugi brought out his wallet, nodding to the stand owner. “Can I buy a bouquet of orange and yellow roses?” He asked, handing the shopkeeper enough money for it.
When Tenma looked confusedly at Tsurugi, Tsurugi added with a soft innocent smile, “do you mind if we stop by the hospital quickly? I’d like to surprise my brother.”
~~
Predictably, Tenma was perfectly fine seeing Yuuichi with Tsurugi. Tenma and Yuuichi always got along, after all, though they hadn’t met many times. Regardless — Tsurugi was buying time to ask Tenma out, and he got to see his brother again. Feed two birds with one scone, right?
They got to Yuuichi’s room rather quickly, about 15 minutes before visiting hours were over — just in time to pass off the bouquet and enjoy some conversation. Yuuichi turned his head around as the door opened, greeting his brother with a warm smile — and then Tenma with a pleasantly surprised grin.
“Kyousuke! And Tenma, as well,” he greeted warmly. “What’s the occasion?”
“I got you some flowers,” Tsurugi smiled. “We happened to be passing by a flower stand, so I wanted to surprise you.”
“Well, this is lovely! Thank you so much, Kyousuke.” Yuuichi graciously accepted the flowers, holding them in his arms graciously. “Matsukaze — is my brother being good company?” he asked.
“Oh, yeah! We talked about my new hissatsu technique! And we also went to Rairaiken,” Tenma answered, energy bursting in his voice as always.
“Really?” Yuuichi grinned. Tsurugi felt his face flush, remembering that Yuuichi *knew*. “Did you talk about anything else?”
“Huh? Hmm…” Tenma placed a finger to his chin. “Um, we talked about the ramen! It was really good! And we also went to the mall together, and went shopping.”
“Hmmm,” Yuuichi’s grin only widened, noting how flustered his brother looked. “Did Tsurugi ask you yet?”
Tenma blinked. “Ask me… what?”
“Y-Yuuichi!” Tsurugi protested. “How about we change the topic?!”
“Wait, did you want to ask me something, Tsurugi?” Tenma deflated a little. “Did… I say something wrong?”
“No!” Tsurugi exclaimed. “It’s — it’s nothing important!”
“Oh, okay,” Tenma perked right back up. “Is it about soccer? Yuuichi, you also love soccer, right? Who’s your favorite soccer player?”
“Come on, Kyousuke,” Yuuichi teased, ignoring Tenma’s question and keeping Tenma in a state of complete confusion. “Don’t you want him to know—“
“Matsukaze,” Tsurugi suddenly interrupted, turning to his massive crush. “How about we go to the riverbank and practice some soccer? That defensive hissatsu you mentioned sounded interesting. Yeah, let’s do that. I think Yuuichi needs to take his meds now, anyways!”
Before Tenma — or Yuuichi, for that matter — could answer, Tsurugi dragged Tenma out by the arm, leaving as quickly as they came in.
~~
“Honestly, my brother… always looking to tease and embarrass me,” Tsurugi grumbled under his breath. “If only I could…”
“Huh? Did you say something, Tsurugi?”
Tsurugi stopped his muttering. “N-no, nothing at all. Just clearing my throat.” They continued down the path, Tenma talking excitedly to an increasingly disheartened and flustered Tsurugi.
Tsurugi didn’t enjoy feeling like he failed something that should have been so easy. But he felt something worse: weak. This should have been one of the easiest things he’d ever have to do in his life, right? This was a non-task, compared to the years of brutal training Fifth Sector had put him through. All he had to do was tell Tenma he loved him. Why was that so hard? Why did it look so easy, and yet, it was the one thing the talented Ace Striker couldn’t do?
“Tsurugi,” Tenma mentioned, stopping in his tracks. “Is everything okay? You seem down… um, can I help?”
“I-I do?” Tsurugi stammered as if it wasn’t plainly obvious. Despite all the years of suppressing his feelings towards anything, he was deep down the kind of person to wear his heart on his sleeve. It was no wonder that empathetic, warmhearted Tenma Matsukaze could tell something was *off*. “No, I’m… I’m fine. It’s nothing you did, Matsukaze. Just… a lot on my mind.”
Before he could walk himself further into a hole, he noted that they were finally at the riverbank — the sun had set and the stars and moon twinkled above the two of them. “It’s a nice day out,” Tsurugi changed the subject. “Do you want to play soccer?”
“Ah, yeah!” Tenma immediately brightened up. “Let’s play soccer!”
They spent what must have been a few hours passing the ball back and forth, practicing their accuracy, power and speed. Tsurugi was quickly finding that Tenma was beginning to catch up to Tsurugi’s level, which warmed his heart that much more. They kicked the ball over and over again, laughing all the way despite the looming threat of Fifth Sector above them. Tsurugi loved that about Tenma — that he could just drag Tsurugi out of his thoughts with his bright smile.
And yet… he didn’t ask him out. He failed that one very simple task. He kicked the ball much lighter back to Tenma, his head downcast and his kick lacking in any of his usual power.
“Tsurugi…” Tenma frowned. “I don’t think everything is okay. Please, tell me what’s going on!”
“I… it’s nothing,” Tsurugi lied again.
“Tsurugi, I’m your friend! We’re soccer buddies! And I’m… your teammate. I don’t like seeing you so sad. Please, tell me…”
The way Tenma’s voice was slowly dying led Tsurugi straight into action. He had to quell Tenma’s worries, even if it meant Tsurugi feeling humiliated. Tsurugi took a deep inhale, knowing that Tenma’s worries would be assuaged — even if he was rejected.
Okay, here goes…
“Matsukaze, I… when I asked to hang out today, I wasn’t thinking about talking about soccer or Fifth Sector or training,” Tsurugi admitted, taking a long pause.
“Huh?” Tenma looked much more confused than usual. “Then… what did you want to talk about?”
“I wanted to go… I wanted, with you, to… to go…”
“Go where?” Tenma *still* wasn’t getting it, somehow.
“A date!” Tsurugi yelled a hundred times louder than he was planning, and he could feel the air silence above them. Almost as if the world had stood still. “I… wanted to ask you out on a date, Matsukaze.”
Tenma still looked bewildered. Tsurugi was awful at talking about his feelings, but he sure as hell could try. “When I’m around you, Matsukaze, things feel… beter. I feel like I can breathe fully when I’m next to you. I’ve never felt this way about anyone. I… I know you think this sounds stupid, but… I just wanted to spend time with you. I always want that. And… ah, crap, I sound like such an idiot… I’m so sorry, Matsukaze.”
Tsurugi turned around and began to leave, hiding his face in shame. Before he could walk even halfway across the soccer field, Tenma stopped him.
“Why didn’t you just say so?” he asked as if it were obvious.
Tsurugi opened his mouth. No words came to him.
“I mean, I would have said yes,” Tenma said sheepishly. “Isn’t that obvious? I like you too, Tsurugi!”
Tsurugi once again felt like he could naturally breathe, as if he weren’t holding his breath again. “You… do?”
“Yeah! I mean, aside from you being good at soccer, you’re so genuine. And you care about other people so much! Heck, even to a fault, with what happened with your brother… I like nice people, and you’re a nice person! So… of course I’d like to go on a date with you!”
A small, relieved laugh escaped Tsurugi’s lips. He almost collapsed from the adrenaline rushing through him — not to mention the massive blush across his cheeks. “I’m… so glad.” Without even thinking about it, Tsurugi dropped the soccer ball in his hands, running up to embrace Tenma. He didn’t even care about how embarrassed he was feeling, especially as Tenma hugged him back. His hug was so strong and warm that Tsurugi felt like the ice inside of him melted. As he pulled back, Tsurugi looked into Tenma’s sparkling eyes warmly.
He cleared his throat, admiring Tenma’s massive smile once again, before asking—
“So… when’s a good day for you, Tenma?”