Bent-Oh!

Bodies flicked back and forth within the crowd, a mixture of blue and yellow uniforms. Haru’s eyes scoured the ground before them, waiting for a white and black ball to suddenly pop out. In an instant, a swift kick launched it right toward Haru.

Ha! Not faster than ‘Speed of Sonic’!

Being king of whack-a-mole games had made Haru’s reaction speed top-notch. And after a few weeks of training, his body could keep up with his eyes. Two steps to the right and he was in position to snatch the incoming soccer ball. Honed instincts and the call of a familiar teammate drove him right into a spin that gave his toss the momentum needed to sail halfway across the field.

The other team had left a lone defender in the back, and he had been caught with his pants down. The ball landed right before his look of surprise before Daichi shot in front of him, carrying it away. Now, it was a lone confrontation between him and the goalie.

With a cheeky smile, Daichi kicked, only to stop right before hitting it. But the goalie dove left on the bluff, utterly fooled. A clear hole in the defense remained, which a slight tap of the ball sent it to the other side.

Cheers erupted in the stands. Another easy goal scored for Daichi’s team. A swift assist coming from Haru. With that, their win was solidly in the bag. Five minutes later, the whistle blew, leaving the score at 3-0. Haru did a dance, celebrating how nothing passed him by.

“Yeeeaaah! Not in my house, no no no!” Haru yelled. A finger wag followed to add on the salt.

“Harucchi, you dumbnuts. That’s a basketball meme!” Daichi ran up to him, and they both jumped for a chest bump.

The stars of the game, the ace captain and the impassible goalie – they had made the regional match a cakewalk for the team.

“Keep doing that and we’ll qualify for the Winter Kokuritsu! How’d you get so good, so fast, you little cheater!”

Daichi’s comments puffed Haru’s ego. While his friend had certainly noticed Haru’s natural talent, instincts were another matter. It normally took a while for any player to maintain a sense of control, especially when a ball came rocketing toward him.

“Image training, Daichi. Even while I sleep.”

Daichi had a laugh as he clapped Haru’s back. A typical Harucchi excuse to those that knew him. Haru flashed a grin to hide how perfectly serious he was.

After joining the team, Haru was dropped onto an empty grassy field, a goal on either side. Grace was sprawled on the grass, sunbathing, until she noticed his presence.

Hopping to her feet, a chant of magic had her donning shorts and a jersey, her long hair tied up in a ponytail. A soccer ball materialized before her as she went to kick it… only for her to fall flat on her rump.

Haru burst into chuckles as he rolled on the ground. Their idle chats of Daichi had materialized into a desire for action from Grace. After he had his fill of teasing her, he got up, ready to play kiddie ball with her.

But then, a soccer ball rocketed right past his head, burning the tips of his hair as it passed by. Haru felt a cold sweat run down his back.

“Hey, no fair! You can’t use magic to compensate!”

Grace stuck out her tongue at him. Her cuteness made him want to forgive her so bad, but then he saw how her leg ignited with a fierce aura. A loud crack split through the air as the soccer ball caught flame, sending Haru diving for cover.

After a few patches of grass had been turned to ashes, Haru wised up and decided that he had enough of being the butt of target practice.

“Oh yeah? Two can play this game!”

Haru channeled his inner shaolin kung fu, or at least, what he could imagine from a silly Hong Kong movie. He would not be afraid of something in a dream; there was no point to. With a flick of his chin at the incoming inferno and donning a pair of shades, Haru was granted an instant boost of confidence.

Now prepared, he slammed his fist right into the incoming ball, ricocheting it out of bounds. A stern look of command was sent to Grace, a very burnt fist raised at her.

“Bring it on!”

Grace certainly upped the challenge. Haru spent the occasional soccer-themed dream repelling storms and meteors. Special moves that invoked natural disasters caused by Grace. He half wondered if he had done something to tick her off. But the smile of utter joy on her face as she unleashed her powers made her seem like a child run wild. She couldn’t possibly be hiding an M streak, could she?

Haru let out a sigh of relief as the trauma from his dreams made balls kicked by mortal legs no contest. Of course, he would be fearless after that. His mind concentrated on being in the right place at the right time, his quick wit taking care of the rest.

Haru slapped a bunch of hands as he passed by, the congratulatory ritual to end a match. His eyes barely looked at the players. Instead, he had them trained on the crowd. Particularly, a certain girlfriend that had come to cheer him on.

He strutted over and plopped an elbow on the railing, a smug grin on his face, a pose of swagger.

“How did you like my defending?”

“Like a clown in one of your shows.”

“Aww, come on. People like a little showboating.”

“And who was it that lacked the confidence to join until recently?”

“Ouch! Sore spots. Though, I hunger for that brutal honesty.”

“Then, I guess you won’t have room for this?”

Kasumi dangled a bento box in front of him. Haru’s eyes widened. It looked homemade. His stomach pleaded as he reached for it like a lifeline thrown from above.

“Alright, alright. I’ll act normal,” Haru said, discarding his jovial arrogance. He wasn’t sure how to act when it came to dating, but it seemed like Kasumi wanted things to stay the same. Still, he felt urges to impress her at times like this, still in doubt that someone could be attracted to his normal self.

Today was special after all, being his first official match. Soccer practice took up his mornings on other days, where he would meet up with Kasumi afterward for a quick lunch before her job at the maid café. Her part-time job gave her spending money, and she was too proud to simply accept handouts. Instead, Haru made sure to order plenty of service whenever he dropped by. That was, if he was willing to endure the watchful gaze of Megu.

After Kasumi’s shift, they hung out nearby if he didn’t have practice with BUST. All in all, it seemed like the standard fare.

Haru accepted the bento with a gracious bow, a congratulation or consolation depending on how the game went. Regardless, it made Kasumi blush. Having a lunch prepared specially for him by a girl was a first. He didn’t count Grace’s magic or her futile attempts at cooking.

“Try it before you thank me…”

Suddenly, it was Kasumi’s turn to be meek. Haru felt a red flag raised. He hurriedly opened the box, half-expecting something dreadful.

Rolled tamagoyaki. A crispy croquette. Pickled vegetables. Rice and furikake.

Boxes were mentally checked as his eyes saw no flaw in execution yet. But looks could be deceptive. He picked up a croquette with chopsticks and gingerly took a bite, preparing himself for sugar instead of salt.

It tasted normal. Normal good. Normal delicious. Normal-

“Will you stop with the theatrics, you loony bin?!”

Haru hadn’t realized but his face had been scrunched up like he was ready to pull out his inner Gordon Ramsay. At least, he was hoping for a meme to escape his lips, but Kasumi’s food was exactly as promised.

“Just eat. I know it tastes fine because I tried it myself.”

One trope averted. I guess reality is different from anime, Haru thought as he tried the tamagoyaki next. An imbalance of sweet and salty. A hint of char along the edges. Somehow, the imperfections caused by human error felt more endearing, different from the mass-processed meals from konbini that were made all the same way.

“Thanks, Kasumi-chan. That really hit the spot,” Haru said after polishing off everything. The empty box seemed to make her glow, along with the compliment.

“I figured that this would be a nice change over eating out. Glad to see my efforts paid off.”

Now, it was Kasumi’s turn to act smug. They both grinned at each other and stared. At least, until Haru felt a sack of balls on his head.

“Oy, get a room, you two. Anymore and my teeth will feel the cringe.”

Daichi loomed over Haru, having finished cleaning up finally. He couldn’t help but tease the new couple. That was his job as the comic relief.

“Alright, already. I wouldn’t want you flaunting date #420 in front of my face either,” Haru teased back.

“Wait, I haven’t-” Daichi counted on his fingers for a moment, “gone out with that many…”

Before he could finish, Haru and Kasumi had escaped from his sight. Running away, hand-in-hand, they stopped after a few blocks to catch their breath. Kasumi lightly smacked him for dragging her off, leaving his friend in a moment of confusion. Haru turned into the smacks to spite her, making her laugh instead.

“Seriously, just when I think I have you figured out.”

“And you, you decided to date a fool that frolics with an imaginary girl in his dreams.”

It wasn’t that Kasumi believed him exactly, but Haru couldn’t deny how good it felt knowing that it didn’t matter to her regardless. It was a huge weight off his chest, believing that certain aspects of his behavior could be blamed on Grace.

“Say, Kasumi-chan. Can I get your help with something after work?”

That made silly requests all the more palatable when Kasumi simply nodded with curiosity.

“Can you teach me how to cook?”