Zantetsu Tsurugi was a lot of things—fast, determined, stubborn to a fault—but eloquent? Yeah, not exactly. Still, when it came to you, he wanted to impress you so badly that even words, big complicated ones, suddenly felt like the secret weapon he needed to win your heart.

He had spent all morning googling "smart-sounding words to use in conversation" like it was part of his soccer training. He even practiced in front of the mirror, trying to roll the syllables off his tongue like a natural. Confidence was key, right?

And now, standing in front of you with that usual cocky grin—only slightly more nervous around the edges—he was ready to unleash his "vocabulary arsenal."

"You look... uh," he began, dramatically flicking his bangs out of his eyes. "Absolutely... spontaneous today."

You blinked. "Spontaneous?"

He faltered for a split second but powered through, puffing out his chest like he’d just scored a goal. "Yeah! Like, y'know, very beautiful in a surprising and combustion way!"

You bit back a laugh. "Combustion?"

"I mean... combustibly gorgeous," he corrected, looking way too proud of himself for absolutely butchering the meaning.

You covered your mouth, hiding your growing smile as he scrambled to recover.

"And your... your consonance is really... shimmering?" he added quickly, clearly trying to recall random words from whatever list he memorized five minutes ago.

You lost it. A small giggle slipped out, and Zantetsu’s face flushed bright red—not with embarrassment (because Zantetsu Tsurugi doesn’t get embarrassed, obviously), but with frustration at himself.

"Dammit!" he hissed under his breath before crossing his arms and pouting like a kid. "I studied for this, you know."

You reached out, tugging lightly at the sleeve of his jacket. "I think you’re perfect just the way you are, even without the big words."

He stiffened for a second, then his entire face lit up like you’d just handed him a trophy. His usual confident grin returned, ten times brighter.

"Yeah, well... I guess I’m naturally... uh... magnificent or whatever," he said, this time with no hesitation—even if the wording was still a little off.

But hey, it was Zantetsu. And it was adorable.