"Damn it!"
It was another day in Teikoku Academy, another day of results. As expected of the high standards, many were groaning about their results, Sakuma Jirou included.
"Only 7th?! I was sure I was going to make it into the top 5 this time!" he cried.
"Oh lighten up. At least you're in the top 10," Genda Koujirou sighed and patted his back. Being 16th was already satisfactory for him.
"Argh! I wonder what went wrong," Sakuma wondered and started to recall every single question on the test paper.
A few steps away was Fudou Akio. Genda turned to see him scan the roster and smirk. He too scanned and knew why.
"Ah... Fudou got the top spot," murmured the unruly-haired goalkeeper.
"He and Kidou would've tied for it if Kidou were still here," the bluenette sighed.
Their eyes moved down to second place and gasped. Upon seeing the name, Fudou's smirk changed to a sneer.
"What?! A tie?!"
Everyone turned to the source of the voice. A certain pinkette was practically tearing her hair out in frustration. The two sighed.
"Is being the top not enough?" Sakuma approached.
"Oh, Sakuma, Genda," Zaizen Touko lowered her hands from her hair.
Touko had transferred at the beginning of the school year, reason being she wanted to be able to play soccer with the Raimon team. However, her father insisted that she receive the best education and sent her to Teikoku instead. Despite the terrible things the soccer club had done, the education was indeed top level.
"What's wrong with tying if you're already on the top?" Genda asked.
Touko pouted. "I didn't think I'd tie with him. Can you get extra credit points here at Teikoku?"
"If you're good enough to the teachers, yeah," Genda replied casually.
"Genda," Sakuma hissed.
"What? She did ask," he casted a cheeky grin, nudging his head to a fired up Touko.
"She's determined," Sakuma chuckled nervously.
"Well, she's got the brains," smirked a snarky voice.
"Fudou..." Sakuma murmured.
"Must be because of your strict upbringing, eh?" Fudou jeered.
"I'm only striving for the best," Touko said with pride.
The brunette frowned. "I'll be above next time and not because it's in alphabetical order."
"Don't count on it," she replied in a low voice and he walked off with a wave.
"Well, you earned yourself a rival," Genda said.
"You can expect a serious fight though. He wasn't smirking," Sakuma murmured.
"Yeah, I know," Touko said and smirked herself. "Bring it on."
- w -
"Who knows the answer to this question?" asked the maths teacher.
Touko raised her hand and answered,"The answer is 2x6."
"Very good, Zaizen-San," the teacher praised but she cared not for the praise. It wasn't enough. It wouldn't be enough to beat Fudou.
"You should've seen her in class, she was the only one answering the questions," Genda laughed, sipping his apple juice.
"She really must be trying," Sakuma mumbled as he munched on his sandwich, his eye landing on Touko.
She was just a table away, chatting away with classmates. Some girls, though, glared at her. Obviously, her position mattered. Suddenly, she stood up with her lunch and made her way to the boys' table.
"Mind if I sit here?" she sighed.
"What's the problem?" Sakuma asked, scooting aside.
"They kept asking about my life, being Prime Minister's kid and all. Got annoying after a while," she huffed, plopping down in the free seat.
"Tough with popularity, huh?" Genda said, still sipping on his juice.
"What's more annoying is that your soccer club doesn't even allow girls," Touko angrily ate her food.
"No one bothered to abolish Kageyama's rule," Sakuma shrugged.
"Oi, oi, what's this?" they heard the all too familiar voice. "You don't mention a dead guy like that."
"She doesn't know everything that happens here, Fudou," Sakuma said calmly.
"How could she not? We're only halfway through the semester," Fudou said sarcastically.
"Shut it, Fudou. Next test, I'll beat you," Touko glared.
"Oh, can you now?" he smirked. This only flared her up more.
"You can bet on it," she growled.
"Alright, the winner can get a wish granted by the loser," Fudou chuckled playfully. "Though we already know who it's going to be."
"Literature test next Friday. Results will be posted the following Monday," Touko said as she glared daggers.
"Deal," he smirked.
As the two glared at each other, the duo that seemed invisible to the rivals sighed.
"Wanna bet who wins?" Genda smirked.
- w -
The literature test ended as a tie again. So did the next test. So did the next three tests.
"How did he get the teacher bonus points the same time I did?!" Touko cried out at the school gates with Genda.
"No kidding. Me and Sakuma keep doubling the amount we bet on you guys each time you time," the goalkeeper sighed, earning himself a glare. "Kidding!"
"Where's Sakuma anyway?" she asked.
"Classroom duties. Stuck with Fudou," he snickered. "Sucks to be him."
"Sakuma has been slowly making his way up in the rankings too, right?" Touko brought up with curious eyes.
Genda nodded with a lazy yawn. He explained that Sakuma didn't want to be left behind either and seeing the both of them compete motivated him.
"Sakuma was always smart so I think he'll be able to get into the top three soon," Genda added and turned. "Speak of the devil."
The eye-patched male walked past the gates while stretching his arms, his bag slung around his shoulders.
"Finally, that's over. Should get me some extra bonus points for extra work," he approached the pair with a sigh.
"Hahaha, great—"
"Does Fudou get extra points as well then??" Touko interrupted Genda.
Sakuma looked at her with a weirded out face. He avoided her gaze and scratched his cheek. "Technically, he does since he volunteered..."
"Dammit!!" Touko groaned and ruffled her hair in frustration. "Especially with the exams around!"
"Your bet has been going on for two semesters now. Why bother for so long?" Genda asked and then gasped mockingly. "Is it... that?"
Touko burned up, pink from head to toe, stuttering her words. Genda couldn't help but grin at the reaction while Sakuma watched the teasing with an oblivious face. The pinkette tried to speak but all that came out were spluttered words.
"I haven't even said anything specific," Genda chuckled, causing Touko to burn up even more.
"Well, well, what a group," Fudou came from behind. "Two people and a tomato."
Touko growled at the statement, ready to clobber the obnoxious mohawk off him. She would've done it if Genda hadn't held her back.
"Fudou, that's enough," Sakuma warned. "Just because you-"
"Hush now," Fudou hushed him, covering his mouth. "You've spoken too much, Sakuma-Kun."
The eye-patched male tried to reply but incoherent mumbles were all that came out. Being curious as she was, Touko perked up with a sly face.
"Don't," Fudou shot a glare in her direction and she backed off with a giggle.
Sakuma swatted Fudou's hand and huffed.
"Anyways, aside from childish secrets, I have a suggestion with the exams coming up," Sakuma said. "A study group."
"Ooo sounds fun," Touko clapped her hands with a grin. "When?"
"There's this burger place that just opened up. Wanna go there this Sunday?" Genda suggested.
"Yes!!" Touko cheered but then she halted. "Is he coming too?" she asked while jerking her head in Fudou's direction.
"I'll gladly stay out of your little play date," he said in a low growl.
"Touko, I know you two have hard feelings regarding the tests but that was a bit too harsh," Sakuma murmured.
"No, not that. I was only wondering how many people were coming," she replied nonchalantly.
The three of them glanced at her with questioning faces, Fudou most doubtful.
"Well, I'll be off. Message me when you've confirmed a time!" she called out as she walked off.
"I'll get going too," Fudou announced, going in Touko's direction.
"Following me now?"
"My place just happens to be in your direction," he barked.
Sakuma and Genda exchanged worried looks as they watched the bantering pair walk off.
"Will this study group go well?"
- w -
Sunday quickly arrived, without a cloud in the sky. The group were already inside the restaurant, Raimei Burger, quizzing one another away with history questions.
"According to legend, the Shinto Sun Goddess blank was the Great-Grandmother of Emperor Jimmu, the mythical founder of Japan and the Japanese Imperial family. Who was it?" Sakuma asked.
"Amaterasu," Fudou and Touko replied in sync.
"Who was the captain of the first unit of the Shinsengumi?" Genda quizzed.
"Okita Souji," the two replied again.
"Wow, if you two weren't obviously rivals, I'd thought you were a mind reading pair," Genda chuckled.
"The largest Kofun tomb has been attributed to the tomb of..." Touko shot at Genda.
"Emperor Rantaku?"
"Nintoku," Sakuma sighed and proceeded to scold him for not focusing.
"Can we move onto maths equations now? I'm weaker in those," Genda requested, trying to avoid the lecture.
"That's better," Sakuma let a small grin creep onto his face and whipped out the maths textbooks. "Ready?"
Genda groaned.
Touko sighed and started doing maths questions on her own. She prioritized her maths right before her linguistics, so she wanted to ensure that she would, without a doubt, get top scores for it.
"Advanced matrices? You jumped pretty far," Sakuma pointed out.
Touko said nothing, wanting to focus. She needed to be on top. She had too.
In front of her, Fudou was staring out of the window, sipping on his drink. Touko took a peek and a weird feeling took over her. She definitely felt fury take over her thanks to his negligence to study but also weird in her stomach. Fluttery. Fluffy. Warm?
"Fudou! Aren't you taking me—" Touko hesitated. "The tests seriously?!"
Not even bothering to glance at her, he replied, "Not in the mood."
Touko seethed under her breath as warm feelings were replaced by hard, cold ones.
"Listen—!"
"You got the formula for inverse matrices wrong. It's one over ad–bc, not adbc," Fudou interrupted loudly, still refusing to glance at her.
Shocked, Touko checked her workings and sure enough, he was right. Infuriatingly right.
"...thanks," she murmured and never looked up since.
The warm, fluffy feelings rose up again and she felt her cheeks tint pink.
"Is it... that?" she remembered Genda asking.
It couldn't be. She refused to believe it. But if it was, did she really want to win now?
- w -
Exams were here and the pressure was high. Sakuma was reading over his notes one last time, Genda was eating his breakfast, Touko was chanting some good luck motives to herself and Fudou was no where to be seen in the hallway.
"You sure you don't want to read your notes over one last time?" Sakuma asked Genda.
"I was going to, don't worry about it," Genda reassured, whipping out his own set of notes.
"Fudou doesn't seem to be here yet," the two heard Touko murmur.
"Heeeh~" Genda nudged. "Didn't think Zaizen-San would be so worried about him~"
"Genda!" she squeaked, face burning up.
"Didn't deny it," Genda shrugged mischievously. Even Sakuma let out a small chuckle.
Before Touko could string out sentences of nonsense to defend herself, the bell let out a sharp note. Everyone had to be in their classrooms or the tests would start without them.
"Alright, good luck to both of you. We'll meet at the canteen again later right?" Sakuma asked.
Genda nodded, and jerked his head towards the direction of their classroom to signal Touko. She nodded in acknowledgement, following him.
"Good luck," a whisper brushed her ear, and she whirled her head around, seeing nobody except the crowd of students rushing to their classrooms. She swore she felt a hint of a smirk.
She didn't need to see the person to know who it was though. Rough, snarky, the voice that always made her hair stand on ends.
The young captain felt herself burn up and mumbled to herself, "Shut up, Fudou Akio."
- w -
The week that passed felt like an eternity, as if someone had cast Heaven's Time. Finally it was the last day of exams and it was Maths. Touko was practically bouncing down the hallway, ready to get the last test over with and get results.
"Who gets excited for a maths test?" Genda raised an eyebrow upon seeing Touko.
"Just because it isn't your best subject doesn't mean everyone hates it," Touko rolled her eyes with a small grin.
"Sure..." he replied, doubtful of her statement, as everyone else was practically panicking or groaning that they would fail the test.
"You'd better remember that formula Genda. It's important," Sakuma reminded.
"Yeah, it appeared in my nightmares," Genda shuddered.
The bell rang, once again signaling them all to go to their classes. Genda and Touko waved goodbye to Sakuma and made their way to their classroom.
"Have you seen Fudou yet?" Touko asked Genda.
"Like every other day, no," he replied with a sigh. "You were fine before the exams. What brought this on?"
"I just need to talk to him," she said exasperatedly.
She could not meet with Fudou since the beginning of the exams. Right after the first exam, she skidded all the way to his classroom only to be met with Sakuma at the door.
"Gone?!" she had exclaimed.
"Yeah, disappeared the instant he passed his paper. Why?" Sakuma had replied.
Even asking him to stop Fudou before he left was futile. Other classmates could not approach him either.
"Argh, what's his problem?" Touko grumbled.
"Never thought the usually energetic, hardworking Touko would worry over such a problematic guy~" Genda grinned. "Yes, I conclude it's—"
"Your imagination," she elbowed him and he laughed.
"Just focus on the last exam for now, your grades are priority," he advised. "Especially with your still ongoing bet."
Touko grinned and nodded, putting all her focus onto her last exam. Maybe she would finally get an answer to her questions if she won.
If she won.
If she won? Of course she would win, why was she doubting herself now? She would win and put Fudou in his place. She would win and have Fudou grant her wish. She would win and have Fudou...
Did she even know what she wanted from Fudou? Surely she did. It was her chance to get back at him for everything he made her feel. Anger. Annoyance. Admiration. What??
"You have 30 minutes left," the examiner announced, snapping Touko out of her daydream.
She looked down at her paper in a panic and checked through it. Two questions were still unanswered to her shock. She never left questions unanswered.
"Crap," she mumbled, reexamining the first question. It was advanced matrices, inverse to be specific. In her wave of panic, she forgot the formula and decided to move on to the next question. It was the same topic.
"Tch," she clicked her tongue, massaging her head. She had to figure it out. To win the bet.
'Was it subtraction or addition? Subtraction or addition?' she thought to herself repeatedly.
"10 minutes left," the examiner announced again.
Touko jolted in panic and was losing hope. How could she forget such a simple formula? Out of all the other complicated equations it had to be this one. It was all because her mind was occupied on Fudou.
"...it's one over ad-bc, not adbc," she remembered Fudou saying.
She immediately lit up and zoomed through the questions without any more troubles.
"Five minutes left,"
Using that little time, she managed to scan over her paper for any mistakes that she could have made.
"Time's up, put your pens down and pass them to the front," the examiner said and Touko did so with a triumphant huff.
"You fine? You looked panicky just a while before," Genda approached.
"Yeah, it's alright. Managed to solve and check through it all one last time," she grinned.
She knew, though, that she wasn't fine. Not when she knew what she really wanted now.
- w -
"Ooiiii!" Sakuma called out.
The weekend of anxious thoughts had already passed and it was the day the results would be announced. Everyone was gathered around the bulletin board, waiting for a teacher to come out and post the results on it.
"Alright how do you want to scan the results? Top to bottom or bottom to top?" Genda asked.
"Bottom to top, increase the tension," Fudou smirked.
"And where have you been this entire week?" Touko flared instantly.
"Aww, missed me that much?" he teased.
"Quiet, you two," Sakuma hissed and then turned to Fudou. "But seriously, why did you always leave so early?"
"None of your business," Fudou waved off. "The teacher is here."
All their attention instantly tore away from their discussion and glued onto the teacher walking towards the board with a large scroll of paper. He stopped in front of the board and started to unroll the scroll from bottom to top. Once the top was pasted, he left instantly to escape the crowd of students running towards the board.
Groans of disappointment, sighs of relief and cheers of happiness mixed into noise and filled the hall. Touko trembled nervously, going from the tenth to the first.
Tenth, Oono Densuke... seventh, Genda Koujirou...
"Genda, you're seventh!" Touko cheered.
"That's a gigantic improvement," he stared at his name in shock. A grin crept onto his face and he let it take over.
Fourth, Goujou Masaru... second, Zaizen Touko...
She felt her world crash. Second. Fudou did beat her after all. Color drained from her sight, all sounds were muted and her mouth was agape. Her legs trembled, but she willed them not to give away.
Or so she thought.
That was what she'd always thought would happen if she did lose. Loss of senses, loss of purpose. She used to play the scene over and over in her head, paranoid. Yet, it didn't happen. Disappointed, yes, but fine. No regret, no resentment, just calmness.
She looked above her name and sure enough it was Fudou's. Right next to an annoying 2.
2?
"Did you two seriously tie again?" Sakuma sighed with a blank stare.
"Second...?" Fudou murmured beside him.
They all snapped to attention. If Touko and Fudou both got second, then neither got first. Their eyes crawled to the top and the results shocked them.
"Sakuma?!" they all cried.
Right at the top of the list was Sakuma's name. Right beside a 1.
"Congratulations, Sakuma! I knew you'd get it!" Genda threw an arm around the tanned male.
"I-I got first!" Sakuma trembled with shock and happiness.
"Congrats Sakuma!" Touko joined the cheers, throwing away the little disappointment she had. "You deserve it!"
Fudou gave a simple grunt, slightly upset but acknowledging.
"We're going to celebrate this after school alright? Meet up at the gates right after dismissal," Genda ordered.
They all nodded and the bell rang, to signal the start of classes.
"Wait!" Touko cried as she tugged onto Fudou's sleeve before he could go. She could not let him escape again.
"Hm?" he turned around, wondering what Touko could possibly want.
"I..." she started but then cut short. She never thought this far. "Could you meet me at my classroom after school?"
Her heart was beating faster each second. She absolutely didn't want him to refuse. Not when she needed to tell him her feelings.
"...alright," he mumbled.
She let go of his sleeve in relief, a small smile on her face. He walked off, waving as he did so. The gesture made her face tint a light shade of pink, and she clutched her chest.
She'll get her feelings to him, right?
- w -
Touko was cheery the entire day. Being second really didn't affect her in the slightest, and she was still facing the classes without any problems.
'Can't wait for the celebration,' she thought dreamily. 'Maybe I can share a drink with Fudou.'
There he was again. In her mind. Thinking so often about him, it shocked her. Before sleeping, first thought of the day, Fudou would somehow be there. However, after the exams, she learned to embrace those thoughts. Treasure them even. She was so sure of her feelings now, getting rid of them was going to be impossible.
She still found herself trying to convince herself that she was happy because of the celebration but she knew the real reason. It was the after school meeting.
The final bell rang and the class slowly emptied. Touko told Genda to go ahead, that she would catch up later. At first he was confused, but then grinned and told her that it was no problem. He left with an encouraging smile and wave, confusing Touko. It was as if he was cheering her on.
4.00 pm, she saw the clock and waited at her desk, looking outside. Her thoughts raced through her mind like bullets. How was she going to face him?
She had strived for many things in her life. To get better at soccer, to become captain of the SP Fixers despite her age, to save her father when he was kidnapped. All her qualities had to be at the top, from her attitude to her dress code. Yet, this was the first time she was terrified she was going to fail. The type of terrified that left one feeling purposeless if they failed.
Touko heard the classroom door slide open and she instantly turned her head around. Fudou stood there with a slightly confused look, going in and then turned with his back facing her to close the door.
She stood up and made her way to Fudou. Her heart pounded, her stomach was fluttery, her face no doubt red. Her mind was a mess and her hands trembled. Was this nervousness? She had to get rid of it.
"So, what is it?" Fudou asked, turning around again and felt a bump at his chest. He looked down to see Touko had accidentally bumped into him.
"S-Sorry!" she squeaked, jumping back.
He raised an eyebrow and scratched the back of his head.
"If you're going to just stand there—"
"You won the bet!"
Wait, that's not what she wanted to say.
"If it weren't for you, I would've gotten lower on my maths exam! You helped me remember the correct formula and let me get it correct! So, you won!"
She blurted it all out, not stopping to think at all. She tried to stop speaking but she couldn't.
"Then, I knew. I was mortified to realize it but I knew. You constantly being in my mind, whether you slept well when I just woke up, whether your family's situation was getting any better before I sleep. Whether you were paying any attention to the teacher during classes, whether you were going to eat in your class alone during lunch."
"Hey—"
"And that's why, the exams was the last straw. The bet, the wish, everything! I'd fallen for you during all those events. I, Zaizen Touko, am in love with you, Fudou Akio. That's why I called you here today. To tell you I love you."
She finally said it. The words she needed to say. A minute passed and the female midfielder panicked.
"Of course, it's not like you'd like me anyway, what's there to like? All I am is a loudmouth who only knows how to—"
The brunette grasped her arm and yanked her towards him. Holding her chin, he lifted it up to meet his face and connected their lips.
The pinkette froze in place, but thawed as she let the warmth of his kiss take over. It was rough, but passionate, its flames influencing her to feel the same. She felt warm, comforted, safe, all at once.
They parted slowly, neither pushing the other away.
"If you know you're such a loudmouth, shut up," he murmured, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
All she could do was stare into his ashy grey eyes, the eyes that used to send shivers down her spine.
"So I can say I love you too," he smirked.
The pinkette's heart leaped in joy, ecstatic to hear those words from his lips. She flung herself towards him with an ecstatic squeal.
"O-Oi!" he cried out, struggling to keep his balance.
She simply giggled, and kept her grip on him.
Even though Fudou had won, it felt as if she was the one having her wish granted. For he had helped her achieve her ultimate goal.
- w -
"So who won the bet?" Sakuma asked his unruly-haired companion in a sing-song voice as they walked towards Raimei Burger.
"You," he grumbled, looking through his wallet for the amount he'd agreed to pay. "You cheater."
"I didn't cheat, I just followed my instinct," the eye-patched male grinned. "Pay up."
"Fudou, that egghead. You'd think he was more of a man," Genda muttered. "And you knew this entire time he was too chicken to do it!"
"No, he was too prideful," he corrected. "He never wanted to admit he liked the girl that he wanted to beat in the grades."
"Wonder how she never noticed though, real dense," the goalkeeper said.
"It's because she's so dense I bet she'd be the one to confess. If she figured out before, she'd probably convince herself to dislike him even more," Sakuma grinned.
"Yeah yeah, genius, I get it," the goalkeeper waved off the statement and stared at his phone. "This'll be my least favourite text for the week."
Zaizen Touko:
"I confessed to Fudou and he accepted!! We're on our way to Raimei now!"