Spontaneity

Ochi's morning started off ordinary. By the time he woke up, his roommate and partner had already left. He wanted to sleep some more, but he knew breakfast was going to end if he decided to stay in bed for longer. Sighing, he dragged himself to the bathroom to get ready for the day before hastily making his way to the dining hall to get whatever was left for food. The entire time, he was looking out for Mouri, but couldn't find the other giant kid with crimson red hair anywhere.

"Oh, Tsukki! Looking for your partner?"

The Mental Assassin turned his attention in the direction of the voice, only to see Tanegashima waving at him from a table. Oomagari and Irie were sitting at the same table, the former looking unamused and the latter looking equally as intrigued.

"Have you seen him?" he asked the other three.

"I saw him leave the hotel lobby with a girl," Irie reported. "They're probably out on a date."

"A girl?" Ochi seemed surprised by this.

"I remember seeing her on the boat," Tanegashima added. "She's from your school, Tsukki!"

"...I see."

"And that point is relevant, why?" was Oomagari's retort. "Hurry up and finish. The coaches want us on the courts in the next 20 minutes."

"You're so rude, Ryuuji," Tanegashima pouted. "I was just stating a fact."

Ochi didn't pay much mind to this, as he knew a vast majority of the Hyoutei student body from the middle and high school divisions were in attendance for the World Cup. He quietly and quickly ate what he could while the rest of his tablemates got up and left. As he finished and started making his way to the practice courts, he managed to run into his doubles partner and that aforementioned girl from earlier. But rather than saying anything, his jaw dropped.

"Oh, Tsuki-san!" Mouri laughed. "Is it time for practice already?"

"You two know each other?" the girl asked the nonchalant redhead. "Small world."

"Oh, well. I think I gotta get going, but I'll see you later?" Mouri responded.

"You have my number," the girl nodded. "Good luck with practice. See you as well, Mitsu-kun."

When the two boys parted ways with the girl, Mouri couldn't help but begin teasing his usually-expressionless partner.

"'Mitsu-kun,' huh? Didn't know you and -chan were so close, Tsuki-san."

"She's just a family friend," he brushed off. "We're not even in the same class."

"You seemed so shocked when we bumped into each other, though," Mouri pointed out. "Aw, do you like her, Tsuki-san?"

"N-no," he denied. "I'm not particularly interested."

This nervous response only made his partner laugh even more. "M'kay! Let's hurry up before the coaches murder us. I think we're late."

Morning practice for the high schoolers was brutal, but they had to be in peak condition for the tournament. Luckily for Ochi and company, the courts were only booked for the morning and they had the afternoon off since Byoudouin and Kimijima had media matters to attend to. The absurdly tall player had no idea what he wanted to do with his free time. Opting to walk around the player village for a while, he eventually found his way to a bookstore and began browsing the shelves for something interesting. He was so engrossed in his search that he didn't notice someone coming up from behind him.

"I'm not sure you're going to be able to find something you can read in this section, Mitsu-kun," the person snickered. "These books are all in Swedish."

"What are you doing here, ?" the man asked. "I didn't think you were the type to watch tennis."

"I'm not," she confirmed. "I'm only here so I don't fail the breadth requirements to graduate."

"Coming to the World Cup counts as a breadth requirement?" he asked, confused.

"Surprisingly, it does," she nodded. "It was either here or Switzerland, but since I don't like the cold..."

"I see," was Ochi's tepid response.

"That Mouri-kun is an interesting fellow," she said, changing the subject entirely.

"How so?"

"He's adorable and sweet," she smiled. "His accent is really cute, too."

"Is that so?"

Ochi wasn't sure why these compliments about his doubles partner were suddenly bothering him. He was used to hearing these sorts of things about Mouri, but it felt weird to hear them from the mouth of his long-time friend.

"Anyway, I thought you had practice, Mitsu-kun," mentioned.

"It ended already," he answered rather quickly.

"It did? So, that means Mouri-kun's available, right?"

The mental assassin glared menacingly at the girl, who only laughed in amusement.

"I'll take your icy daggers as a 'yes', then."

"We have an important game coming up, ," Ochi said in an annoyed tone. "Don't distract him."

"Mouri-kun is his own person, Mitsu-kun," she reminded him. "Let him decide what he wants to do."

Ochi had no further rebuttal as he just sighed and continued to browse the books written in languages he couldn't read.

"Mitsu-kun, crouch down, will you?" requested.

"What is it, now?" he groaned as he obliged.

quickly slapped both of her hands onto Ochi's round cheeks, startling him to the point where he almost fell over.

"Stop being such a child," she smiled. "If there's something you want, then say it."

"There's nothing that I want to say," he cursed. "Please don't jeopardize the preparations the team has gone through to be at this point."

"Just admit that you like him," she taunted. "I'll back off if that's the case."

"That isn't what I mean," he scowled.

"Say what you will," was her nonchalant, sing-songy reply. "I need to go meet with him, so I'll see you later, Mitsu-kun."

Ochi said nothing in response as he watched frolick away from him. He knew that he shouldn't be bothered by this; in fact, he shouldn't care about this at all. He resigned himself to ask his doubles partner about it later in the day as he struggled to focus on picking a new book to buy.

Mouri was nowhere to be seen by the time everyone had finished eating dinner that night. No one else seemed to care that he was missing, except for his roommate and doubles partner. Ochi was making his way back to his room following the meal, only to see the missing Genius 10 member fumbling with the keys to it.

"Mouri."

"Oh, Tsuki-san," he smiled as he dropped his keys to the floor. "Ah!"

"Let me get it," he said as he shuffled towards the door with his own set and unlocked their room.

Mouri bent down to pick up what he dropped on the floor. "Thanks. What's for dinner?"

"The usual," was his answer. "There might not be much left, though. It's late."

"Oh well," he shrugged as he let himself into the room. "Good thing -chan and I already ate."

"What are you doing with her?" he demanded. "Where were you?"

"Jeez, Tsuki-san, didn't know you were her dad," he laughed. "We explored the place and talked a lot! Nothing else."

"...Really?"

"I can't move that quickly, Tsuki-san," he snorted. "Even if -chan is into me, that's too soon."

"She's into you?"

Mouri's eyes narrowed slightly as a mischevious grin grew on his lips. "You're acting awfully funny, Tsuki-san."

"I-I'm just w-worried about y-you," he stammered.

"Ain't you sweet?" Mouri laughed. "-chan is really nice. Anyone would be lucky to have her."

"Yeah, she is," Ochi sighed wistfully.

"She's really caring and pretty," he gushed. "Ah, I think I'm in love, Tsuki-san..."

"Don't get carried away," he said, snapping the younger one back to reality. "We still have the tournament, remember?"

"Yeah, yeah," he brushed off. "She probably doesn't like me in that way, though."

"That's too bad," was Ochi's half-hearted answer.

"Y'know, you're more than welcome to join us tomorrow," he offered. "-chan wants to check out the pier that's nearby, but I said we could only go after practice."

This was Ochi's chance to say something and tell his doubles partner not to go and to take his position on the team seriously. He knew that it was what he wanted to say, but what came out of his mouth was the exact opposite.

"No, that's okay. You two have fun, but be mindful of the time."

This answer made his roommate raise an eyebrow. "You sure?"

He nodded without another word.

"M'kay, but we're meeting up in the hotel lobby once afternoon practice is done if you change your mind."

Calamity seemed to have befallen Mouri's luck the next day as the coaches asked him to stay behind after practice for some additional training and tests. Ochi couldn't help but feel that something was rotten in the state of Denmark, but he figured the least he could do was tell his date that he wasn't showing up. After hitting the showers and changing into something more casual, Ochi made his way to their predetermined meeting spot. His friend was sitting in one of the dozens of armchairs, mindlessly scrolling on her phone when he got there.

Ochi was taken aback slightly by how simple 's style was, and yet how it made her look all the more attractive. She was sporting a fitted T-shirt with demin shorts and a light cardigan on top. She had platform wedges on that only made her a tiny bit taller, but paled in comparison to Ochi. He felt his heart skip a beat in his chest as he approached her.

"So, you've decided to join us," she mocked. "Didn't take you as the third-wheeling type."

"Mouri can't come," he said plainly. "The coaches needed him for something."

"I know," she answered. "He told me already."

"If he told you, then why—"

"Am I not allowed to loiter in the lobby of a hotel I paid to stay in?" she asked with a heavy sarcastic undertone.

"I... I suppose..."

"Well, considering you're here, why don't we go without Mouri-kun?" suggested. "I'd still like to see the pier and it'd be a bit boring without a friend. If you're free, that is."

Ochi really wasn't interested in the slightest, but what came out of his mouth was: "sure, let's go."

There were many things he wanted to think about as the pair made their way down quieting streets towards the ocean. But, the only thing occupying his mind was how it had been a very long time since the two of them spent time together like this. The salty scent that lingered in the air coupled with the early evening sun illuminating the deep waters was a sight to behold.

"This reminds me of that time our dads left us in the bay area after getting distracted by something," laughed. "Do you remember that time, Mitsu-kun?"

"Yeah," he nodded. "Our mothers didn't let them forget it."

"You were so cute back then," she sighed. "You used to call me ',' too. Why'd you stop?"

"...I didn't want people to start speculating about us at school," was his hesitant answer. "That's all."

"What's wrong with a little speculation?" she asked. "It never bothered you before."

"Things changed," was his empty answer.

"I'm not sure what's the big deal considering no one messes with you," she shook her head. "Oh, that food stall looks interesting."

Ochi only stood and watched as went over to purchase the strange food item, returning with two strange pastries in hand. She held up one of them for him to take.

"My treat," she insisted.

"What is it?" he asked as he accepted the foodstuff.

"According to the sign, it's like a curry bun, only the curry is green and the bun is actually a flaky pie crust," she answered before taking a bite. "Hm! This is interesting."

Ochi hesitantly bit into it and was pleasantly surprised by the simplicity of it. The flavour left a lot to be desired, but the buttery texture of the crust made it taste better than it actually did. Before he knew it, the pastry was gone.

"You really liked that, huh, Mitsu-kun?" she snorted. "You haven't changed."

"What do you mean by that?"

"I said what I said. There's nothing else to it." crumpled up the trash in her hands and tossed it into a nearby bin. "Shall we move on?"

Ochi followed suit and disposed of what was left in his hands in the same bin before the two continued to walk to the end of the dock. The sun was only beginning to set by the time they reached the edge. leaned on the guardrails and looked down below at the murky waters while the moving skyscraper standing behind her felt uneasy about the prospects of her falling over and placed one hand on her shoulders to stabilize her.

"I'm not going to fall over that easily," she commented. "This is nice. I'm glad I got to come here."

"You do realize that this isn't supposed to be a vacation and that you need to write a report on this once you get back, right?" he asked her.

"Duh. Everyone knows that."

"Take it seriously, then," he scolded.

"My grades are perfectly fine," she defended. "I can't say the same for you when you've done nothing but be on the road for the better part of the last three years. Can you even graduate at this rate?"

"I will," he insisted. "I'm not a kid anymore. You don't need to worry about me."

"Someone should," she insisted. "Mouri-kun tells me that you have to watch over him."

"What about it?"

"I just think it's strange, seeing as Mouri-kun is responsible," she shrugged.

"He is anything but," he corrected. "He wouldn't show up for practice if I wasn't there."

"Aw, is someone being pedantic?" she playfully mocked. "Jealousy isn't something that suits you, Mitsu-kun."

"I'm not jealous."

"Look, if you like Mouri-kun, just say so and I'll back off," she repeated. "He doesn't seem like he's interested in me anyway."

"What makes you say that?" he asked.

"Gut feeling," she shrugged. "But, I guess I won't know unless I ask, right?"

"..."

"What?" she questioned. "I know you don't approve, but it's not your decision to make."

"No," he stopped her, "I was going to ask if you could delay telling him until after the World Cup."

"And why would I do that?"

"Just... Please," he begged. "That's all I ask."

gave Ochi a perplexed look. "Okay, but only if you carry me back."

"Why—"

"These shoes were not made for walking," she said as she pointed down at her now-swollen feet.

Ochi sighed as he got down to the ground and turned his back towards her. "Get on."

climbed onto his back and wrapped her arms loosely around his neck to keep herself upright as Ochi readjusted her position to make it easier for him to carry her back. But rather than hurrying up the process, he took his sweet time walking back to their hotel. The girl didn't seem to mind in the slightest as she started humming a soft melody along the way.

"The view's nice from up here," she teased.

"Why?"

"You can see everything without people blocking your vision," she answered.

"It's not that great," he lamented. "People complain if they're stuck behind me."

"No wonder you're always sitting in the back," she realized.

"It is what it is," he shrugged.

"You're a lot more talkative than usual, Mitsu-kun," pointed out.

"What of it?"

"Just an observation."

rested her head on Ochi's shoulder. Strands of her long locks fell onto his neck, tickling him slightly. He felt his face heat up more the closer they got to their hotel. The gentle humming that was soothing his nerves had turned into light snores. The faint scent of citrus conditioner wafted through his nose. A small smile grew on his lips as he found it amusing that she was that exhausted. Though unaware of his own feelings, the supposedly unwavering Mental Assassin was smitten.

Ochi was feeling rather sore in the morning after he woke up. Once more, Mouri had already woken up and left while he was asleep. Silently wishing he could catch a break today, he pulled himself out of bed to get ready for practice. By the time he made his way down for breakfast, he noticed Mouri was sitting at a table with , laughing amongst themselves while the rest of their teammates were staring at them in awe. Ochi took a vacant seat at a table with half of the Genius 10, who barely noticed him show up, save for Oomagari.

"They've been going at it all morning," he groaned. "Never thought I'd hate the sound of a girl giggling, but..."

"You're just jealous you don't have a cute girl like that to talk to, Ryuuji," Tanegashima teased. "Morning, Tsukki!"

"I think it's cute," Irie commented. "I remember when I was young and in love..."

"You're not even that much older than him, Kanata," Tanegashima pointed out. "Tsukki, you okay? You're zoning out."

Ochi snapped out of his trance and shook his head. "I'm fine. What are we doing today?"

"Ah, you missed the announcement," Irie realized. "It seems like the German team double-booked the courts with us and there was a heated argument about it, so morning practice was cancelled."

"I see," was his tepid answer as he took a sip of his tea.

"Afternoon practice is still on, so don't wander off too far," came the stern warning from Byoudouin, who appeared out of thin air behind them all.

"Aye aye, boss man," Tanegashima saluted. "C'mon, Ryuuji! You still owe me for losing that bet last night."

"Gimme a fucking break," the disgrunted stamina specialist mumbled as he got up to leave.

"I should get going as well," Irie dramatically sighed as he got up to make a grandiose exit.

Much to his surprise, Byoudouin slapped his hand down on his shoulder as Ochi tried unsuccessfully to finish eating his breakfast. The ruthless leader of the Genius 10 could tell exactly what was bothering his No. 9 rep and he wanted to get to the bottom of it before it got any worse.

"Go for her," were the three simple words out of his mouth.

"Byoudouin..."

"That's an order," he huffed as he left. "You'll thank me later."

He couldn't help but glare at everyone before reverting his gaze back to his doubles partner and his longtime friend. For some reason, this was the first time he noticed how the morning sun filtering through the large windows illuminated her soft features. There was an alluring aspect to the way conducted herself—and Ochi could feel that he was starting to gravitate towards it.

'No, I can't,' he stopped himself. 'That wouldn't be fair to Mouri.'

Still, Ochi had to wonder why this thought was now occupying his mind. Just a few days ago, he was totally against the idea of his doubles partner getting involved with his longtime friend. Was it a change of heart, or did he seriously believe that he didn't stand a chance? He wasn't sure, but all he could do was watch from afar. Not long after, Mouri got up and left, leaving him to stare directly at —who was staring at him with curiosity. She got up and walked over to his table, sitting down directly across from him.

"It's not nice to stare, Mitsu-kun," she teased. "Your friends all left, huh?

"I suppose," was his lukewarm reply. "What are you doing today?"

"Me? I'm on babysitting duty for some of the middle schoolers, but I'll be free in the evening after you're done with practice. Why?"

"No reason," he brushed off.

"Oh?" A mischievous grin grew on her face. "Did you want to do something, Mitsu-kun?"

"No," he answered. "I didn't have anything planned."

"Did you want to do something, then?" she asked. "We could go for dinner."

"...Wouldn't you rather ask Mouri?" was his hesitant response.

"Would you rather he come with us?"

"N-no, but..."

"Mitsu-kun, if there's something on your mind, just say it," she teased. "I promise that I'll support you no matter what. You're my friend."

"...Just a friend?" was his rather quiet response.

seemed confused by his sudden behavioural change. "Yes? Is something wrong, Mitsu-kun?"

"No, forget it," he sighed as he got up. "I'm not sure about dinner yet. Can I get back to you about that?"

"I guess?" was her confused response. "Don't take too long."

"I'll try not to," he promised. "I have to get going."

"I know," she smiled. "See you, Mitsu-kun."

Ochi was distracted for the rest of the morning as he failed to get through his usual gym routine. Everyone seemed to be noticing his unusual behaviour, but the only people brave enough to confront him about it had already done so. The onus now fell onto the last person he'd ever think he would be scolded by—Mouri Jusaburou.

"Tsuki-san," he poked, "can we talk about something?"

They were both on their lunch break before afternoon practice was slated to start. The taller one had barely taken a bite of anything on his tray. Ochi looked up at his doubles partner and nodded without saying anything.

"What's wrong with you?" Mouri asked. "You've been acting really weird all week. Everyone else is noticing but they ain't gonna say anything about it."

"What's wrong...?" he parroted back, confused by the statement. "It's nothing. I'm fine."

"Are you?" he accused as he furrowed his eyebrows. "Tsuki-san, you're a terrible liar."

"I really am," he protested. "It doesn't concern you. Don't worry about me."

"Tsuki-san, you're my doubles partner," Mouri reiterated. "If you're not gonna be on your A-game, that affects me as well."

"Really, it's nothing," Ochi tried to brush off.

"If you're not gonna tell me, I'm gonna go ask -chan about it," the younger boy threatened.

"No, don't!" he exclaimed all of a sudden. "Don't involve her."

Mouri was taken aback by how abrupt that denial was before a mischevious smile crept onto his face. "You like -chan, don't you?"

Ochi made various failed attempts to hide his quickly reddening face from his doubles partner. He was unable to get out any words to defend himself as Mouri dug deeper into it.

"I knew it!" he laughed. "You do like her!"

" i-is just a f-friend," he stuttered.

"You're a terrible liar, Tsuki-san," Mouri taunted. "Don't you agree, -chan?"

There was a look of horror on Ochi's face as he turned around in his seat, only to find his friend standing right behind him. grabbed a hold of his jersey collar and pulled his face closer to hers, kissing him tenderly on the lips. Whatever computations were occuring in his empty head had ceased. He was frozen, unable to do anything other than taste the peach lip gloss that was making its way to his tongue.

"Now, what did I tell you about asking for what you wanted?" the girl scolded the Mental Assassin. "Honestly, are you a child, Mitsu-kun?"

"...!"

"Even after all this, you still refuse to call me by my name?" she huffed. "You're hopeless, Mitsu-kun."

Ochi had no idea how to form coherent sentences anymore. "B-but I... You... And he..."

"Well, I was flirting with -chan initially," Mouri began, "but then I noticed you liked her and -chan told me she liked you... I had a bit too much fun!"

"Mouri-kun was an excellent actor," she nodded. "Perhaps he was a bit too good."

"I don't understand," Ochi admitted. "You liked me, ?"

"Of course I do—you're my type," she declared. "I was just wondering how long it would take for you to notice that you liked me."

"Tsuki-san ain't as smart as he looks," Mouri teased. "Now that this has been sorted, can we get back to practicing seriously now? The World Cup starts in a few days, Tsuki-san."

The Mental Assassin was still struggling to comprehend how badly he had been played by his closest friend and doubles partner. It took a few good slaps to the cheek from to bring him back to reality.

"The World Cup is less than 72 hours away and you're supposed to be playing in the group stage match against Greece," she scolded. "You're also the No. 9 rep for this team, Mitsu-kun. Pull yourself together."

"..."

"Do I need to kiss you again to fix this?" she asked him. "Is that how men work?"

"N-no," he stopped her. "Sorry, it's just... I'm relieved."

"That I like you?" she questioned.

"Yeah..." he smiled wistfully as the blush on his cheeks deepened. "I've liked you for a long time, but... I didn't realize until now."

"There are a lot of things you don't realize," insulted him. "But, I suppose better now than never."

"That's just Tsuki-san for you," Mouri grinned. "M'kay! Practice time!"

The two players quickly finished their meals (in Ochi's case, trying to shovel down everything without choking) and tidied up before heading out. But just before they left the room, called out to them once more.

"Mitsu-kun! Did you forget something?"

Ochi glanced back, but didn't seem to remember if he did. Still, he walked back just to check and be safe.

"Ahem," she cleared out her throat and gestured at her face in hopes that he'd take the hint.

"Ah," he realized. "Dinner tonight sounds great. Just text me with where to find you."

"Ah, close enough," she snorted. "I was hoping for another kiss, but it'll do."

"Sorry..."

Ochi tried to lean in and give and awkward kiss, but the girl had stopped him before he could.

"Save it for later," she said. "Go get ready to win, Mitsu-kun."

Ochi nodded as a small grin crept onto his lips. "Thanks, ."