Date: 19th May, Wednesday

Tenma's POV

Yesterday Tsurugi had asked me to train with him in today's practice. I wondered why he asked all of a sudden though. I had been thinking about this since yesterday. I headed to the locker room with Shinsuke. The locker room doors slid open revealing Tsurugi exiting. I greeted him with a simple hello.

"Oh hey, I'll see you on the field." He replied.

"Yeah okay" I replied. As he left Shinsuke asked curiously about our awkward interaction. I just said that he wanted to do some practices together. We never interacted with each other that much in the first place. As I opened the locker and took off my shirt to change into my uniform.

"WOW Tenma!" Shinsuke said in suprise.

"Hm?" I turned around to face him.

"Your scar" He pointed at my back. I just chuckled a little before putting on my uniform.

"How did you get that?" He asked.

"When I saved my dog from a pile of wood planks. they were quite heavy so it sorta wounded my back." I explained to him.

"Oh i see, So that's where you found Sasuke right?" he asked as he remembered about Sasuke.

"yeah he was really small at the time but now he's so now big and lazy too." I replied. I headed to the outdoor field after saying bye to Shinuske. As soon as I arrived Coach Endou called me over.

"Tenma! Can you come here?" he called out. Tsurugi was there standing in front of him.

"Tsurugi want the two of you to pair up to train, what do you say?" He asked.

"I do- I- I mean Yes." Phew almost slipped there.

"Okay then you guys can go practice on the right side of the field." Coach Endou said as he pointed behind me. Tsurugi caught the ball which Tsumugi threw to him and walked over to the right corner side of the field.

Tsurugi said that he wanted me to steal the ball from him. As simple as it sounded I underestimated this guy. He was quite amazing. He got a good control of the ball, and didn't even let his guard down even at my silly distractions.

"Look a UFO" I exclaimed.

"..." Tsurugi just gave me a stare in disbelief.

"Who taught you that?" He asked. I just laughed off before running towards him to steal the ball.

 We did like almost 10 rounds and I haven't stolen the ball yet. I tried to release some energy to let the wind surround me but it kept failing. The wind disappeared or made me fall. As I was out of breathe I asked Tsurugi to take a break for a moment. This guy wasn't even sweating nor was he tired. What the heck?

As I was drinking my water a question popped into my head. This seemed to be a good time to ask him as well.

"Hey, are you and Tsumugi dating or something?" I asked him. He got surprised and choked on his water a bit. After clearing his throat he asked. "No, does it seem like we are?"

"Sorta" I replied.

"I see" He muttered.

"I mean she's the only one who calls you by your first name, plus you both seemed to know each other" I said. 

"Our moms were friends that all" He added.

"So what's you guys relationship like? Just friends?" I asked curiously.

"In her perspective, Yeah." He said in a quiet tone.

"Oh... but what about yours?" I asked.

"..." A silence passed for a minute as he looked gave a glare downwards. I called out his name to snap him out.

"Tsurugi?"

"How about a deal?" He asked.

"A deal?" I questioned.

"If I tell the truth, tell me who you have a crush on?" He asked.

"..." Another silence passed as i thought about it. I mean Aoi was the only one I am ever around so saying her name seems appropriate. Plus I do like her.

"Okay" I agreed.

"Then tell me who you have a crush on?" He asked.

"Aoi" I answered.

"oh, I feel like I should had expected that" He said. "You really should had, so You have a crush on Tsumugi ?" I guessed.

"Well I did" He answered.

"WHAT?" I blurted out in surprise.

"We met each other for the first time when we were younger, around 8 or 9. She used to amaze me with all types of knowledge she had read in books. She also liked soccer and we used to play often with each other. So naturally it was the first ever time I spent time with a girl that much. So I just developed a crush on her. I'd try to impress her and - " He looked over to me and stopped talking and asked a question.

"Where did the glasses and the notepad come from?" He asked. 

"Don't worry about it" I said

"I am a bit worried" he said.

"just continue talking about your crush" I said.

"uhh, where was I? oh yeah I'd try to impress her with my soccer or knowledge. But She moved away and after that I never saw her until on in class on first day in school here in Raimon. It made me happy to know she was in my class, though she tend to joke around and be friendly with everyone. But I stopped having feelings for after  a few days" He dropped his smile and gazed down.

"Because she was annoying?" I asked.

"I wish, but its more of because of an arranged marriage actually." He answered.

"What?"

Tsurugi's POV (At his house)

I was heading down stairs to grab a drink from the fridge. As I walked into the kitchen to grab a drink I heard my mother talking. Although I don't listen to my parents conversations in secret, my brother seemed to be in the conversation as well. I stood leaning against the wall beside the doorway.

"Since you will be heading overseas to go pro, maybe you may not have the time to find someone. So we decided to choose a fiancé for you before hand." Mom explained.

A fiancé for my brother? I thought. Since he is going pro he won't really have the time to date someone i guess. It doesn't seem to be a bad idea. 

"Your mother and I have agreed to this. We even chosen the perfect girl." dad said.

"May I know her name?" Yuuichi asked.

"You remember my friend, Aoi. It's her daughter, Tsumugi Haru." Mom said excitedly.

My eyes widened in shock. 'Haru?'

"Haru? As MY fiancé?" Yuuchi spoke in a quiet tone.

"Yeah, she's quite the intelligent kid. And from what I have heard from her mom she plans to become a doctor. So when she finishes high school, she will most likely apply for collage or university. So you both can get married by then." Mom explained.

"Does she know about this. Is she fine with this arrangement?" He asked.

"Of course, her mom asked her about it and she said it's fine." She said.

Haru agreed to the engagement? why would she-

"What about Kyousuke?" He asked.

I froze as he mentioned me.

"What about him? We can get him a Fiance for him later as well if he plans on going pro" My dad said jokingly.

"No what I mean is, Isn't Kyousuke and Haru more suitable for each other than me and her?" Yuuichi said.

"Yuuichi, we have already talked about this her mom and we stand by it. We won't be changing this decision." My dad spoke in  serious tone. "But-" Yuuichi got cut off as my dad got angry. "Yuuichi that's enough" Father said in a loud and angry tone. I went upstairs back into my room.

Tenma's POV

"I see, I didn't think it was this bad. I'm so sorry" I said. 

"Its fine, I moved on from it." He said.

"Are you sure though? I mean look at her." I said as I turned my head towards her. She was there standing shouting at everyone for support.

"I think both of you will make a great pair rather than anyone else. You seem to have a connection with each other." I said since I quite had a feeling they both shared some chemistry with each other.

Tsurugi looked over to Tsumugi and admired her.

"Maybe you and your brother can talk about it to change the marriage?" I suggested.

"..." he sighed and put his water bottle down.

"Lets get back to practice, your energy must be recovered." He said as bouced the ball on to his feet.

"Eh wait a minute" I said in panic as I drank my water.

"Nope" He said before shooting it at me. I quickly ducked and dodged the ball. "Go get the ball. " He said as he looked down on me.

"Oh come on" I muttered. I grabbed the ball and dribble towards him. He looked at me and smiled. It was the first time I seen him laugh and smile. I smiled back and continued to train with him. The day ended with me discovering his relationship with Tsumugi.