08/28/18:
It becomes very hard to resist the urge to just redo and revamp every single story I've posted here on this site once you've gone back and read them again. I've long left the Inazuma fandom but dear lord there were so many good parts of this story I just couldn't help myself.
It was a fine Sunday afternoon. There was a clear blue sky that covered the small but bustling town with just the hint of clouds here in there. Birds were chirping their songs while the sun had reached it's highest. Sunday meant it was a free day for the students of Raimon Junior High, as well as for the members of its elite soccer team. It was then they could do whatever they please, whether it be fishing or bike riding or even to hone their skills still when they didn't need to. Today, however, didn't seem like a good day for Tsurugi.
He was standing just outside of the school gate, his phone in his hand as he played a mindless game to pass the time. Every minute that went by he would glance at the time on his screen and every minute that passed without any news lessened his already thin patience.
"Tsurugi-kun!" He stopped his game to look up and towards the call. He internally grunted to himself. Did she have to run and yell like that? It was the middle of the day for goodness sake. When she reached him, she stopped and smiled. "Hey."
"Yeah."
She was breathless from the running, which he thought was a little annoying. "Sorry I was late, had a bit of a setback with my clothes. You look nice though! This is the first time I've really seen you in something other than your soccer uniform or—"
"Let's get this over with." He crossed his arms, ignoring the compliment she was trying to make and turned around. Aoi pouted.
"A little rude, but alright. Let's go." Getting over it pretty quickly she joined him by his side and the pair began walking.
Their walk was silent althroughout and it bothered Aoi a little. She wanted to say something to at least break the ice that started to form between them but kept deciding not to in the end. It was in her nature to be friendly but it was also in Tsurugi's nature to kill a conversation between friends down in an instant or to just simply ignore it.
Then she paused and thought about it. Were they friends? Or were they just two people who were both in the same club together?
Aoi sighed a lot during their walk. She wondered if what she was doing was even remotely close to a good idea.
They soon arrived at a café in the more busy part of town. It was a rather popular one but the pair were lucky enough to grab a table the moment they arrived. Once seated, they were each given a menu to gloss over. Tsurugi stopped browsing after a few seconds and looked around him while Aoi was still pondering over her choices.
Every table that surrounded them were only occupied by two people, couples. There was a group of friends sitting together in one corner of the café and an old man reading a newspaper by the door, but everywhere else there was only a pair that sat near each other, either holding hands or talking sweetly.
Tsurugi already felt the bile in his throat. He needed to remind himself why on earth he agreed to do this.
It was saturday. End of the school week, start of the weekend. Students practically stormed out of the campus the moment the bell had rang. Minus the club members of course. The soccer club was taking a day off from training it turns out. Coach Endou was sick with the flu and the captain and vice-captain had taken the weekend off with their families. Haruna saw it best to give the team some time to rest in in the weekend without training, but that never really stopped a few of the members from using their personal time to play soccer.
Tsurugi left once it was announced that training would resume the next week, not waiting for an energetic idiot to drag him into anything unnecessary. He slipped back into his casual uniform and was just about to leave the campus when he heard his name being called out.
He turned around and saw one of the team's manager run up to him. "Tsurugi-kun! Wait!"
"What do you want?" He asked immediately when she got close.
Aoi placed her hands behind her. She looked nervous despite being the one that had stopped and made him wait.
"I, uh, I was wondering if I could ask you for a pretty big favor." She looked at him with a hint of red in her cheeks. It sent an uneasy feeling to his stomach.
"Does it involve a life or death situation or about the team?"
"Oh. Uh, neither. The favor I'm asking is personal, actually." He turned around and started walking away. "Wait a minute!"
He heard her lunge toward him and she grabbed his arm. "This is just really important and it would really mean a lot to me if you'd at least hear me out."
Tsurugi stared at her, his gaze almost threatening, but Aoi matched his with one unwavering. After a solid minute, he sighed silently and she sported a successful smile.
"Fine. I'm giving you this one chance." He gently removed Aoi's hand and proceeded to cross his arms. She lightly hopped in her place.
"Thank you so much Tsurugi-kun! Now, would you go on a date with me?"
He didn't even bother to speak and just turned and started walking away again.
Aoi was stunned. "Where are you going?"
"Anywhere but here." Not ready to give up she ran and grabbed his arm again, this time her hold was much tighter than before. Tsurugi turned to her once more and met a couple of pleading eyes.
"C-can't you reconsider?" She asked.
"Why on earth would you want to go out with me?"
"Because I want to know what it's like!" Her hand loosened slightly on his arm. "I asked Midori-san but she's never been on a date before and Akane-san's 'hang outs' with Captain and Kirino-senpai don't exactly count."
"Then get a boyfriend." The irritation was becoming clearer in his voice. He'd do anything for this to end already.
Aoi's face heated up at the mention of the word. "I-it's not that easy! B-besides I'm not ready for something like that just yet!"
"Then ask Matsukaze or Nishizono or somebody who is not me." He tugged at his arm but she wouldn't budge.
"I can't."
"And why not?" Frustration started to take place of the irritation itching at his chest.
"Because if I went out with Tenma then it'd be the same as hanging out with him every day! The same goes for Shinsuke and well, everyone else in the team!" Aoi defended. She believed her reasons were perfectly sound. Tenma was her best friend and the two of them were always together in class and in their spare time. Shinsuke was the same. She was on good terms with the others and sure she'd thought about asking any of the other boys to do a trial run on this date with her but she had a feeling that going on one with Tsurugi would make it different.
She needed to see the end result of that feeling of hers.
"I don't care." Was Tsurugi's immediate answer and he gave one good tug and got his arm out of her hands. "Go deal with this yourself."
"But I…!" Aoi looked around her surroundings. Crap, she thought. She's running out of things to try to convince him. In hindsight maybe she should've thought this out a bit more before engaging the plan. Right now, she needed to come up with something fast before Tsurugi lost complete interest, if he had any remaining at all. She was hanging by a thread. Then Aoi realized something and decided to put on a determined face and grabbed his arm one last time. "Tsurugi-kun, if you don't accept, I'm afraid I'm going to have to use my secret weapon."
Tsurugi rolled his eyes. Secret weapon? Was she seriously going to go with that? If her last resort was to threaten him he wished she had the decency to word it less embarrassingly. When he looked at her he noticed her eyes seemed a little glassy.
Suddenly in seconds Tsurugi watched as tears started to pour and she began crying.
Oh no you fucking didn't, he swore to himself.
Aoi, with her free hand, began wiping at her cheeks and speaking with an evident crack in her voice. "I just thought that… that because we were friends and all Tsurugi-kun I-I…"
She wasn't crying out loud or dramatically but the way she spoke and how she trembled with each word that left her made the whole ordeal look as real as it possibly could. Tsurugi commended her for her acting skills but he had enough of the waterworks show.
He grabbed the arm that held him, pulled it away once more, and held it up. "Alright that's enough this isn't going to—"
"Wait, isn't that Sorano-san from 1-A?"
"What's going on? Is it a lover's quarrel?"
"She's crying so much… what did that guy even say to her?"
"Dude that 'guy' is Tsurugi Kyousuke."
"How mean… I knew he was trouble. Should we call a teacher? Maybe Otonashi-senpai could do something about this."
Whispers grew louder by the second when students that still lingered around the gate witnessed Aoi's act themselves. Normally Tsurugi didn't pay attention when harsh judgments were directed at him. He's had to deal with them ever since he started going to school here. But then he heard a few talking about calling faculty and most importantly their club counselor… he was definitely not in the mood to deal with her.
He pulled himself closer to Aoi and shut his eyes, knowing full well he was going to regret what he was going to say next. He said, barely above a whisper, "Alright I'll do it. Just… stop crying, Sorano."
When she lifted her head up, her tears had magically disappeared and though her eyes held the hint of redness, they no longer were glassy.
Aoi smiled brightly at him. "Great! Let's meet at Raimon's gate then. Tomorrow at 1:30, okay?"
Tsurugi grunted and dropped her arm. "Fine."
Oh yeah, that, he sighed to himself upon remembering. Aoi glanced up from her menu to look at him. A waitress then approached their table with a notepad and pen in hand.
"Good afternoon, have you two decided on what you wanted today?" She said, putting on a work-required smile.
"Uhm, yes. I'll just have a cup of green tea, please." Aoi said after placing her menu down on the table.
"Alright, and for you sir?"
"An earl gray and two Caesar salads." Tsurugi said, handing over his menu.
"A green tea, an earl gray, and two Caesar salads coming right up. I will be back in a few minutes to bring over your food." She took the menu in Tsurugi's hand and the other Aoi put down and promptly left.
"You've got quite the appetite today." She teased, resting her head upon her hand. Tsurugi was unaffected by her quip.
"The other one is for you."
His answer caught her off guard. "For… me? But I didn't ask for a salad."
"We're having lunch, not a light snack." He said matter-of-factly. Aoi could only pout at him and began looking through her purse.
"Tsurugi-kun, I don't have enough money for a salad. How am I going to—"
"I'll pay for it." She stopped and stared at him. He kept the plain expression on his face.
"What? That's not fair." It really wasn't. Aoi only brought with her money she was actually going to use. It wasn't that she didn't want to eat lunch but she didn't anticipate the café she wanted to go to would be that expensive nor how pricey dates usually were. It wasn't that she was too hungry either. She had a pretty late breakfast after all. Plus she'd always been nervous about bringing large amounts of money with her. Not that someone would try to snatch her. Inazuma Town was a pretty peaceful place. And even if someone did try, she had Tsurugi with her. He'd probably chase after the guy, right? He was kind enough to do that for her, right?
Aoi snapped out of her thinking when she realized he was just staring at her. She waited for a response but he simply said nothing.
"You're not going to change your mind, are you?"
He crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow.
She sighed loudly and leaned back on her chair, resigning to his stubbornness for the meantime. She fiddled with the vased flower that decorated their table, her fingers caressing its small petals. She paused to glance at him and noticed he was watching her play with the plant.
She cleared her throat and sat up straight. Now was not the time for awkward silences. She had to be her old peppy Aoi self if she wanted Tsurugi to stay and not think she was dull and leave. Wait, why was she so concerned about him thinking that?
Aoi visibly shook her head and intertwined her hands together. "So, anything new lately with you?"
"This is not a date." He replied at once and looked sternly at her.
"I know, I know." At least not a real one, she thought. A real date meant going out with someone she really liked, maybe even loved. This was a trial run. Something to pique her curiosity or prepare herself for the real thing one day. "I'm just trying to make conversation. You know. As friends do."
Before she could really think about that word again their waitress returned with an apologetic smile. "I'm terribly sorry sir, but it seems that our salads have been very popular today and we are only able to create just one Caesar."
Aoi perked up, a smile of her own tugging at her lips. "Oh that's okay! I wasn't planning on eating one anyway!"
Their waitress seemed relieved at her answer but Tsurugi only narrowed his eyes at his companion.
"Bring the salad and an extra fork."
"Right away, sir." She left again after receiving the request, though it sounded more like an order instead. Aoi could only stare at Tsurugi wide-eyed.
"What do you think you're doing?" Her voice was almost accusatory, shocked to the point that it sounded like she just witnessed him commit a heinous crime.
"You are going to eat that salad," he took the white napkin on the side and placed it expertly on his lap with a gaze as serious as he's ever been, "even if we have to share."
"You madman." Aoi whispered but was just loud enough for him to hear. What he was suggesting was the most intimate she's ever been with a guy she wasn't best friends with. Though she knew she was being serious as well, the slightly playful tone in her own words surprised her. The faintest hint of a smirk on Tsurugi's lips sent mixed signals in her head.
Before any other actions could confuse her even more, the waitress returned with their order in hand.
"Green tea for the lady, and an earl gray for the gentleman." She placed the cups down in front of them followed by a bowl. "And the Caesar salad with two forks as you've requested."
She then bowed, wished them a pleasant meal, and left to attend to a different table.
Aoi immediately took a sip of her tea, hoping to clear the weird thoughts that began circling in her head. She then sighed and a little too loudly placed her cup down. "What are you staring at me for now?"
Tsurugi maked a swift glance at the salad before them, making sure that Aoi noticed him do so.
"I am not going to eat that." She crossed her arms and leaned back.
Tsurugi mimicked her actions. "Neither will I until you take a bite. We'll both be stuck here until you do."
She hated how he managed to corner her like that. His stubbornness was starting to get to her. Aoi could walk out right now but thought against it. Not after she went through all the trouble of getting him to agree in the first place. Plus, it would be rude of her, and at this point she was determined to show him she was the better person. As much as she wanted to go against him, the salad did look really appetizing.
Aoi made it a point to grunt loudly before grabbing one of the forks and propping a part of the salad in her mouth. "Happy now?"
He relaxed his posture and nodded ever so slightly, taking his fork and eating as well.
She doesn't know why but she's not entirely mad at him.
Aoi should be mad, what with the way he acted like he was in charge of her or something. But she couldn't stay mad because whether he knows it or not he was being thoughtful and nice in his own little Tsurugi way and she could appreciated the effort. He's usually never this way. Not that it was a bad thing; it was a good thing, actually. It was great to know that Tsurugi had the capacity to care about things other than soccer and himself.
Though they ate the salad quietly, Aoi found herself enjoying the silence this time. She'd glance at him and when their eyes met she offered a tiny smile. It was actually really nice just being with him.
The salad had been completely eaten and the pair were now just finishing up their teas. Tsurugi raised his hand up to catch a waiter's attention.
"Bill please."
Aoi started to prepare her purse. "My share should be around 300¥ I think."
"What are you doing?"
She paused for a second to look at him. "Since you won't let me help pay for the salad we both clearly shared, I'm paying for the tea I actually ordered."
"I'm paying for everything."
"But Tsurugi-kun," she fished out the exact amount for her tea and smiled a little knowingly at him, "this isn't a date."
She felt clever having thrown back the words he's used against her earlier and waited for the annoyance to etch into his expression.
"I know. So?" He pulled out a couple of bills out of his wallet, unaffected by the sarcasm she was proud of, well, before he ruined it. Aoi, despite how tired she was of trying to overcome his surprisingly stubborn nature, thought to defend herself anyway.
"So," she tapped her fingers on the table, "it means the guy doesn't have any obligation to pay for everything." He nodded his head, giving Aoi the understanding that he finally agreed with something she said today.
"You're right, it isn't my obligation."
"Thank you, Tsurugi-kun." She was just about to place her share of the meal on the small black tray their waiter brought when he suddenly slammed his hand on the table, causing her to jump and catch a few eyes.
"It's a want." Quicker than she can react Tsurugi placed his money on the tray, thanked the waiter for his service, and took Aoi's arm, dragging her out of the café.
Once they were standing outside, Aoi was a little disheveled about how fast Tsurugi's movements were. She looked between him and the door to the café, unsure whether to yell at him first or to go back inside and pay for her share herself. She had second thoughts on the latter, however. Though it would definitely show him a thing or two and boost the pride she was beginning to have it also meant causing a bigger scene, what with Tsurugi's actions to begin with.
Aoi stood there and angrily looked at him. He casually waited for any response, his hands deep within his pockets. She crossed her arms and looked away.
"This wasn't what I expected when I asked you on this date." She felt like the feeling she had from yesterday betrayed her. Tsurugi glanced at his watch. "And yes, okay, I know. This is not a real date. Good gosh, how many times have we said that today. It's not a date. Yeah, I get it, even I'm confused as to why I decided to ask you of this and I know I said because maybe it would be different like a different kind of good—"
In the midst of her rant she noticed Tsurugi start walking so she followed him and continued. "Not that it wasn't a different kind of good—it was actually pretty nice but then sometimes it wasn't pretty nice and it's so weird because I don't even know how a real date would go and I don't know if you were genuinely trying or not but here we still are going on this 'date' but not really treating it like a date and it's just been—"
She stopped when she bumped into him from behind and when she stepped back Tsurugi turned around. Aoi rubbed her nose and raised her eyebrow at his sudden gaze. "What?"
"It's over now. Go home." He said simply.
It took a second for her to respond. "No."
"Excuse me, no?"
"Okay listen to me, Tsurugi." The lack of a honorific raised his own brow. "You owe me, a lot. After the way you acted a few times today I'm a little… upset. The least you could do is let me follow you."
"Chatty for someone who's upset." She shot him a glare and he let out a frustrated sigh before turning back around in his initial direction. "Fine."
They walked in complete silence. That was usually how it went the entire day with Tsurugi, Aoi noticed. She wondered if he's like this with everyone. She wondered if he'd act this way, if ever, on a date with a girl he actually liked. On a date that he actually considered a date. She wondered why just the thought of that upsetted her more than how this entire non-date went. Aoi never really wanted him to like her. Maybe she just wanted him to simply like her.
A few minutes later they arrived at a pedestrian crossing. Tsurugi stopped to look both directions for incoming cars. Once he was sure it'd be safe to cross he reached out behind him and grabbed Aoi's hand. The girl jumped at the sudden touch.
"Wh-wha-what—" She sputtered as her hand hung loosely in his his unusually soft and gentle hold.
"Stay close." He said, not looking at her. He started to cross the road, pulling Aoi along so that she was standing beside him. When they reached the other end he let go of her.
Aoi rubbed the hand he suddenly held, her cheeks warming upon fully comprehending what Tsurugi just did. "What… what was that for?"
"Your hand was cold."
"What?" He doesn't say anything after that. He doesn't even make eye contact with her. He stands for a minute, not quite looking at her directly, or anything in particular. Then he begins to walk again but rather quickly, almost leaving her behind. "H-hey wait!"
Aoi hurried to catch up and lingered at the newfound fact that Tsurugi can be gentle if he wanted to.
They later arrived at the town's general hospital, much to Aoi's surprise. She wondered why Tsurugi would be here and if he was actually sick in any way. She started to feel bad about being so pushy about following him, if that were the case. She thought about apologizing for it, for saying she could leave him to his personal duties if he wanted. Before she could work up the nerve to do so Tsurugi turned around to look at her after busily talking to the man at the reception.
He handed her a pen. "Write your name and sign."
Though a little hesitant she took the pen and glanced at the top of the page. It read 'guest book'.
Her eyes widened as she took a step back. "Tsurugi-kun, are you sure? I mean I don't have to…"
She trailed off when she finally met his eyes. The gaze they held were less stern this time. He spoke softly, his hand hovering over her shoulder. "It's okay. I… want you to meet him."
He was sincere, Aoi could tell. So just hoping for the best she signed her name on the guest book and Tsurugi led her down one of the hallways and in front of a room.
Tsurugi glanced at her for a moment before knocking and sliding the door open. A young man sat on the bed, a blanket draped over his legs and an open book in his hands.
"Oh, good afternoon Kyousuke. You sure are late to arrive today." The young man mused, placing his book down. Tsurugi shifted his weight between his feet.
"I was preoccupied."
"With what may I ask?" Tsurugi slowly stepped aside, revealing Aoi standing shyly behind him. The young man's smile slowly started to grow. "Who have you brought, Kyousuke?"
He motioned for her to step closer and after receiving a nod from Tsurugi, Aoi did as asked. "U-uh, my name is Sorano Aoi, sir."
"Why hello Sorano-chan, my name is Tsurugi Yuuichi. I'm Kyousuke's older brother."
She stood up straight, looking dumbfounded. "I-I didn't know Tsurugi-kun had a brother."
"Yes well unfortunately Kyousuke isn't one who openly boasts about his Oniichan you see, unlike most siblings." Yuuichi placed a hand on his cheek and sighed wistfully but continued to smile sweetly at the girl. "Anyway, what brings you here? And with Kyousuke personally bringing you to me at that?"
"Oh, Tsurugi-kun and I had lunch together actually."
"Did you now?" Yuuichi had given his brother a knowing look, who remained planted on his spot at the doorway. "I hope he wasn't much trouble, Sorano-chan."
"Well, he had been a little difficult at certain times. It really took a toll on my patience… ah, sorry if it's coming off that I'm badmouthing your brother, Tsurugi-san."
"Call me Yuuichi, dear. Tsurugi-san is my father." They shared a small laugh. "And you don't need to worry about Kyousuke. He's been stubborn ever since he was a little boy."
"It's amazing how you were able to put up with him all these years, Yuuichi-san."
"You'll get used to it soon enough. He makes up for it with how endearing he can be after a while. Though he's very selective of it. You'll see. He becomes very sweet once he feels you're worth the effort." Aoi felt the warmth return to her cheeks. Her hand curled up to a close as she was reminded of what happened at the crosswalk.
"Y-yeah."
"So tell me, Sorano-chan. How did you two meet?"
"I'm a manager of the Raimon soccer team. I'm also a first year so we met each other on the first day of school." Aoi answered, not quiet understanding the true intention of the question the young man had posed.
"That is just lovely." Yuuichi turned to his brother, his tone teasing yet proud at the same time. "Wow, Kyousuke, you sure found yourself a keeper."
"What? A Keeper?" Aoi's eyes shone at the mention of the word, heavily misinterpreting Yuuichi's intentions and wording to mean that she was actually goalkeeper-material (a quiet dream she's had ever since watching Endou play soccer).
The obliviously delighted girl beamed at Yuuichi for his words and when she looked at Tsurugi, her chest felt even lighter. She thought about what his older brother said about him and she remembered all the little things she liked about today.
"Tsurugi-kun?" He looked at her, face unreadable. "It wasn't what I expected and it was far from perfect but… I enjoyed today. Thank you for going on this date with me."
Tsurugi averted his eyes for a bit then stepped into the room, finally. He shut the door behind him only to lean against it. He met her eyes. "You're welcome."
"So you guys went on a date?" Yuuichi grinned, his hand twined together.
Tsurugi stared at his brother, his teeth clenching and his ears reddening. "It was not a date."
04/07/13:
THERE YOU GO! It's done! Another TsuruAoi story for your reading pleasure. These two seriously deserve more attention and love!
If you've read the previous story I posted only hours ago, Shooting Star, then this would serve as some kind of prequel to that. This was fun to do, and I can finally take it off the list of stories in my profile! Now to get back to writing my OT3.
As usual, that will take a while. But good thing I'm got the draft down already!