The raindrops poured down rapidly on the caravan with seemingly no intention to stop. Harsh wind blew the trees and plants from almost every direction and a thin fog was starting to form. Kariya witnessed through the small window as Mother Nature took control of the environment around them, making the situation more troublesome by the minute.
Kariya leaned forward to try and see anything besides the rain and fog. But after a few minutes of trying, the defender eventually gave up. The rain limited their field of vision, and the growing fog was making it worse. Kariya could barely see the big trees around them, let alone the road ahead.
Kariya groaned. Of all times Mother Nature had to throw a tantrum, it just happened to be when they were going home. As he came up with that thought, Kariya absentmindedly reflected back on the chain of events that eventually had led him and his friends to their difficult situation right now.
Three days ago, when the team was doing their morning practice, Otonashi-sensei suddenly came down to the field and told them that they had been invited to a friendly match against a skilled team in Okinawa in three days.
The team was, naturally, excited. It had been a while since they last played against another team. Sure, practice was fun and sometimes unpredictable (since Kidou gave them training menus that seemed to be out of this world), but doing it again and again would bore even the brightest of people – heck, even Tenma was bored, and he was the brightest of the bunch! So, it was logical for the team to agree almost instantly.
Endou and Kidou also agreed to the idea. Both of them thought that this would be good for the team to put their skills to the test. Kariya recalled Kidou mentioning that they needed to update their data of the team as well. So a meeting, some planning plus a signed letter later, the team officially had something to do three days from now.
Then, the day of the match came. Kidou had told them earlier that he was going to stay back at Raimon, since there was still some paperwork he needed to do. And sadly, it couldn't be delayed any longer. So the only ones who came were the team, Endou, Haruna and the driver, Furukabu-san.
Everyone gathered at the school and quickly departed for Okinawa. They didn't bring that much stuff, just the same things they bring whenever there's a match and also some change of clothes.
The match, according to Kariya, was pretty quick. It wasn't a breeze, because the Okinawa team actually proved to be quite a challenge. Their hissatsu tactics, in particular, was a pain. But in the end, Raimon managed to win by a single point difference. All in all, it was a good experience for everyone.
What wasn't a good experience, though, was getting stuck on the side of the road on their way home.
Kariya rested his cheek against his palm and sighed. "And here, I was looking forward to the new video game I just bought yesterday." The boy muttered with a small pout.
"Cheer up, Kariya-kun." Kariya glanced to his right and saw his purple-haired friend, Hikaru, giving him a smile. "You can always play it tomorrow."
"Will we even be home tomorrow?" Kariya retorted with a skeptical tone.
"I'm sure we will." Hikaru replied confidently. "The rain's not going to last forever."
"Although that is true, Kageyama-kun, but the rain will continue until at least tomorrow morning." The two boys blinked at the voice and peeked above their seats to see Haruna, who was a few seats away from them.
The club advisor typed a few more things onto her laptop before adding, "And, the temperature is dropping by the minute." There was a glint of urgency in her eyes when she looked up from her laptop and said, "We have to find shelter quick."
"But, Okinawa's known for having little to no rain!" Sangoku retorted behind Haruna.
"Yes, exactly." Endou nodded as he stood beside the club advisor. "That's why when it does rain, it comes at full force."
"This is strange, though." Haruna muttered before bringing her hand to her chin. "The weather report didn't say anything about rain in Okinawa."
Endou frowned, that was what he had thought as well. The rain just came out of the blue, leaving all of them unprepared. The coach took a quick glance around the caravan to see how his players were doing.
Most of them were obviously cold. The players slightly shivered while they were rubbing their arms. Some of them even chattered their teeth. The decreasing temperature also affected the managers as the coach spotted them hugging each other to make them warm.
Not liking the situation one bit, Endou stepped closer to Haruna and whispered, "Did you bring any blankets?"
Haruna gave him a regretful look and shook her head. "Unfortunately no, Endou-kun. I thought this was a short trip, so I didn't bring any."
Endou scowled at her answer. "Well, we need to find shelter eventually." Then, the coach turned to the front of the caravan and saw a certain driver looking through his window. "Furukabu-san, anything?"
"No, Endou-kun." Furukabu replied as he brought his hand above his squinted eyes while not looking away from what he was observing. "I can still see the road, but nothing else."
Endou didn't like what he was hearing, but he nodded nonetheless. "Alright."
Right now, the coach was at a loss of what to do. His students were getting cold, there was no shelter in sight, and the rain continued to pour down without a care in the world. Endou began to think that the raindrops were actually mocking him.
The brown-haired adult silently balled his fist as he desperately tried to think of a way out of this mess.
A few seats away from him, Tenma stared at his coach with clear concern. The brunet was actually one of the three people who weren't affected by the temperature at all. The other two were Shindou and Tsurugi, whom Tenma had no idea to why the cold didn't bother them.
Tenma lowered his head and frowned. To be honest, he knew of a way to get his friends to a shelter from the very beginning. The solution had arisen the minute Furukabu-san drove the caravan onto the side of the road.
Although, that…shelter was a place Tenma personally preferred to avoid. It was a place he had never thought of returning to.
But, Tenma thought as he looked around and saw his friends shivering from the cold. This is an emergency.
After a few minutes of serious deliberating, Tenma finally reached a decision and turned towards his coach. "Um, Coach Endou?"
Endou instantly broke out of his thinking phase and averted his gaze towards the team captain. "What is it, Tenma?"
Tenma seemed to hesitate for a second before he eventually smiled. "I think I can get us to a shelter."
Almost immediately, everyone's attention transferred towards the brunet. Tenma sweat-dropped as he could feel his friends staring at him. At the same time, Endou raised his eyebrows in slight surprise. "Really?"
"Yes, I was originally from Okinawa after all." Tenma nodded before glancing at their surroundings outside. "I know the roads here like the back of my hand."
"So, you can get us out of here?" Shinsuke asked beside him.
In response, Tenma gave his friend a nod and confidently said, "Yeah."
Shinsuke's eyes lit up and the defender pounced onto the brunet. "That's great, Tenma!"
Simultaneouly, most of the team sighed in relief, Endou included. "Alright, Tenma." The adult smiled and gestured the boy to come to the front of the caravan. "Where are we going?"
"My house." Tenma said as he got out of Shinsuke's grip and made his way to the seat beside Furukabu.
Endou blinked at the answer. "Your house?"
"Yeah." Tenma glanced back at his coach. "Fortunately, it's quite near."
"Are you sure your parents won't mind all of us staying, though?" Tenma turned to Tsurugi, who sat on the seat the brunet was passing by.
The striker had a frown on his face (like usual), but this time Tenma could see a glint of doubt on his face. Tsurugi stared at Tenma with a scrutinizing look, and it seemed like he could tell that something was off.
Tenma mentally smiled, it was just what he had expected from Tsurugi. Of course he'd notice something so quickly; the striker was one of the sharpest people in the team, after all.
That would be a bit troublesome to deal with later, though, since Tsurugi was a never-back-down-until-he-gets-what-he-wants kind of guy (or was that him?). In addition to that, the question Tsurugi just asked was…painfully ironic.
But, Tenma brushed those thoughts aside as he gave Tsurugi a smile and replied, "Don't worry. We won't be staying for long, anyway."
Tsurugi gave him an odd look, but Tenma quickly turned away before he could see it and continued to walk forward to the front. "Otonashi-sensei was right, the rain's not going to stop until tomorrow morning - I was raised here, Otonashi-san. I can tell just by seeing it - so we're just staying there for tonight."
Tsurugi narrowed his eyes at the boy. Tenma didn't give him a proper answer. Instead, the brunet avoided the question and said something else. Although it irritated the striker slightly, Tsurugi got to admit; Tenma's tactic was pretty clever. Anyone else wouldn't even notice that he dodged.
It did nothing to decrease Tsurugi's curiousity, however. And, the strange glint he saw in Tenma's eyes wasn't something he could just turn a blind eye to.
But before he could say anything, Nishiki suddenly intercepted Tenma and hugged the midfielder with all his might. "You're a lifesaver, Tenma! I thought I was going to freeze to death!" Nishiki cried out with a smile.
Tenma laughed nervously before wincing at how tight Nishiki was hugging him. "Y-Your welcome, Nishiki-senpai."
Meanwhile, Tsurugi just stared at the two boys with an unimpressed expression before sighing. Well, there goes his chance.
But the striker mentally shook his head and lied back on his seat; he would just have to keep a close eye on Tenma later. For now, he had to deal with this annoying Okinawa weather.
Honestly, if the rain were a person, he'd love to kick it a few hundred times with a soccer ball.
