A/N : Sorry, I'm late.

"That's an understatement."

Alright, sorry that i'm later.

"It's still an understatement, idiot."

Ouch, that hurt. Anyway, I finally finished my exams. And fortunately, I did good in most of them! Like, most of them are A or A+!

"Good for you."

Thanks! And, since my exams are finished for now, I have a school break until the week after next week!

"That just sounds weird."

Really? Ah, whatever. Sooooo, in that spare time, I managed to finish this chapter for y'all! I had good motivation, so it took me less than three days to finish this one.

"What's you motivation?"

If I don't do this, they're going to kill me.

"Wow, nice. And true."

That doesn't help me one bit, you know.

"Your welcome. Apologise then."

Oh yeah. For everyone who waited so long for this chapter, I'm sorry for making you wait but thank you for your patience! I hope this chapter meets your expectations! If not, then I'm sorry too.

"Took you long enough."

Should I apologise to you too, Mr.?

"Mr.?"

Oh, you're not a Mr.?

"It wouldn't be fun if I just tell you that, right?"

Oh. My. God.

"What?"

You just...teased me.

"...so?"

YOU JUST FREAKING TEASED ME! I THOUGHT YOU HAD NO PERSONALITY WHATSOEVER!

"WHA-HEY! YOU THINK I'M EMOTIONLESS?"

YES!

"DON'T SAY IT SO BLUNTLY, YOU IDIOT!"

FINALLY! A HINT TO YOUR OWN EXISTENCE! YOU LIKE TO TEASE!

"Hey, that hurt."

YOU CAN FEEL PAIN? WHAT DID I DO TO DESERVE HAVING TWO HINTS IN ONE DAY?

"Ugh. Just say the disclaimer. This note is long enough."

THIS IS A NOTE!?

"SHE DISCLAIMS! IGNORE THIS CHAT AND ERASE THIS FROM YOUR MEMORY! JUST READ THE FREAKING CHAPTER!"

Aw, you do care.

"Are you sure you want to go, Tenma?" Aki asked the teen. "I could just tell your teacher that you're tired today."

"Nope. I'm going." Tenma said stubbornly. "Even though I hate school, I hate piles of homework even more."

Aki stifled a giggle. "Is that so?"

The brunet nodded, taking a sip of his soup. "Yeah. Literally, the only thing I like about school is the after-school activities and the chance to see my friends. That's basically the only reason I signed up for Raimon."

"Well, I can't argue with that." Aki stated, slowly drinking her tea. "Is there soccer practice today?"

"No. Coach Endou said that we could have a day off for today. We'll continue practice tomorrow." Tenma replied.

Aki's eyes softened. "I see." The young woman wasn't surprised at the sudden statement. In fact, she'd be surprised if there wasn't a day off. Everyone must've been tired (both physically and mentally) from what happened these past few days; it's normal and expected for Endou to announce that they'd have a day off.

"Well then, I'll be going, Aki-nee!" Tenma's voice snapped the woman from her thoughts. She turned to the teen, who had finished his breakfast and was now heading towards the door.

"Be careful on the way, Tenma!" Aki reminded him.

"I will!" Tenma said as he quickly put on his shoes and ran outside. "See you later, Aki-nee!"

Aki waved at the door, even though she knew that Tenma couldn't see her. Now alone in the dining room, the young woman couldn't help but reflect on these past few day's events.

"...I broke my promise with him. I had told him that I wouldn't tell anyone, but I went behind his back and told everyone. But, I didn't have a choice! I just couldn't watch my best friend suffer and do nothing!"

"Please, Tenma-kun. We don't want to see you hurt."

"It's okay if you don't forgive us. But, please let us help you. We want to repay you for everything you've done."

"How are you going to help me?"

"That's simple. We'll always be by your side."

Aki unconsciously gripped her glass of tea. Despite the fact that Tenma was a very forgiving person, she knew that it'd take time for even him to bounce back.

She didn't blame anyone for what they had done. Tsurugi and the others heard of Tenma's situation and decided to take action about it. Tenma heard of what they did and took it the wrong way, making him not trust them anymore.

Aki was worried, to say the least. She knew and believed that in the end, Tenma would trust his friends again. But until then, what were they going to do?

"Oh, Tenma…" Aki sighed, resting her cheek on her palm. She was about to head off to the kitchen to was the dishes when she heard footsteps rushing back from the door. Aki turned around just in time to see Tenma burst in and turn his head around frantically.

"What's wrong, Tenma?" Aki asked him.

Tenma finally noticed he wasn't alone and he turned to her with a panicked look. "Aki-nee! I almost forgot my bag!"

Aki blinked at him before she let out a small giggle. "Of course you did."

"Good morning, Aoi." Shinsuke greeted the young girl as he entered the classroom and made his way to his table.

Aoi looked up from her phone and waved at the small brunet. "Good morning, Shinsuke."

"Is Tenma here yet?" Shinsuke asked, putting down his bag.

The girl shook her head, glancing at the empty table beside her. "No, not yet."

Shinsuke frowned. "He said that he'd come today."

"And, he will come." Kariya appeared behind him, startling the small defender.

"Kariya! You scared me!" Shinsuke cried out.

The teal-haired boy flashed him a small grin. "Sorry."

Aoi giggled at the two boys and slipped her phone into her pocket. After managing to calm down a bit, Shinsuke took in what Kariya just said.

"How are you so sure, Kariya?" Shinsuke questioned.

"Don't know. Just have a feeling that he will." Kariya shrugged and put his hands behind his head. "You know that Tenma's late sometimes."

A small smile appeared in both Shinsuke and Aoi's faces at the fact. "Well, I can't deny that." Shinsuke chuckled.

"But, what should we do when he comes?" Kariya asked.

"What do you mean, Kariya?" Aoi tilted her head in confusion.

"You know, when Tenma comes here. What should we do? Act normal or something?" Kariya repeated.

Aoi and Shinsuke frowned, recalling yesterday's events. Fortunately, they had made the problem easier by showing Tenma that they were sorry. But, they knew that wasn't enough to make the brunet trust them yet.

Trust is fragile, and it's certainly not an overnight thing. The only way you can earn someone's trust is by being there with them every step of the way and show them that you care.

Because of what they did, Tenma didn't trust them anymore. It may take weeks or even months to earn his full trust back, but in this case they don't have that much time.

It's not that they're impatient (they stayed up the whole night just to wait for Tsurugi to come back and give them updates on Tenma, they're anything but impatient), but this time they have a very strict deadline.

Besides, the sooner they can help Tenma, the better.

If not for Tenma's sake, then for their own sanity.

Somehow, they need to make Tenma trust them in a matter of days, even a little bit of trust is fine. Anything to make him feel comfortable spending time with them again.

The question is, how?

"Shindou-senpai said that we'd stay by his side." Shinsuke stated. "But, you know how well that went back in Okinawa."

"That's because we were doing it wrong." Aoi scowled, crossing her arms. "Like what Tenma said, we took action too fast. Back then, every single one of us tried to talk to Tenma at the same time." Aoi's scowl deepened in the slightest, her eyes showing mild concern. "I could tell that made Tenma feel uncomfortable."

"Well, we know what we did wrong. We were too obvious and too blunt." Kariya stated matter-of-factly. The teal-haired boy slipped his hands from his pockets and did a thinking pose. "That means we need to take it slow, and show him that we care in a more...subtle way."

Kariya looked up and saw both of his friends blinking at him like he just grew another head. "What?" Kariya said, a bit agitated.

"Kariya, you just said something…smart." Aoi mumbled, still taking in what the defender just said.

Said boy raised an eyebrow, not getting what she meant. "Yeah, so?"

"The world must be ending." Shinsuke thought out loud. "Kariya said something smart. What's next? Tsurugi will ace in his Maths?"

"Hey." What devil's luck Shinsuke had, as Tsurugi was standing right behind him the second he said that. Shinsuke froze and he slowly turned around to see Tsurugi glaring at him, demanding for an explanation.

"T-Tsurugi..." Shinsuke stuttered under Tsurugi's scary glare. "Um, good morning?"

"What do you mean by that, Shinsuke?" Tsurugi asked, slightly pissed off.

"N-Nothing! I was joking, Tsurugi! You're great at Maths! Ahaha…" Shinsuke laughed nervously. Aoi and Kariya sweat-dropped at him.

Tsurugi's eye twitched, but he sighed and put that matter aside. "Whatever. What Kariya said is right, though."

"Really?" All three of them asked in unison, ("I'm right?")

"Yeah. We can't make Tenma feel cornered again. We want him to be comfortable with us." Tsurugi nodded, making his way to his table that was behind Shinsuke's.

The striker made sure nobody was listening to their conversation before adding, "Tenma said that he'd tell us everything when he's ready. If being around us makes him uncomfortable, then he'll never tell us his past."

The three of them already knew what he meant by "everything".

"Alright, that means we'll treat him like we always do. It doesn't matter what happened to him, Tenma is still Tenma." Aoi stated without hesitation.

Shinsuke smiled and nodded. "We're not going to look at him differently just because we learned a bit of his past. Tenma's our friend, he always will be."

Both Kariya and Tsurugi nodded, with the slightest smile (grin, in Kariya's case) seen on their faces. The four of them looked at each other and with one glance and a silent conversation, they knew what to do.

"By the way, where is Tenma?" Tsurugi now noticed that the brunet was nowhere in sight. And, the bell's about to ring any second.

"On the way, I think. He's probably going to be late." Shinsuke chuckled before adding, "Again."

Aoi shook her head and sighed. "At this rate, he's going to make a new record."

"Record? Of what?" Kariya raised his eyebrow.

Aoi chuckled and turned to the teal-haired boy. "Of coming to class late, of course."

Tsurugi was about to scoff at the name when he heard someone running in the hallway. He didn't hear shouting, but rather the gust of wind that someone is making from running so fast.

"What's that?" Shinsuke asked, feeling the slight shake from the floor.

"Sounds like someone running." Kariya commented. "Fast."

Aoi's smile turned to a fond smirk. "I think I know who that someone is."

"Yeah, me too." Shinsuke sighed, as though he wasn't smiling in excitement. "I can recognise that sound anywhere."

"How can you recognise someone just by their sound?" Kariya questioned them both.

The duo merely shrugged. "Side-effect of being his friend, I guess." Shinsuke said.

"Whose friend?" Kariya tilted his head, not getting what they meant. Tsurugi, on the other hand, knew that familiar sound too and he couldn't help but smile. "You'll see."

Kariya looked at them with a confused and annoyed face. The teal-haired boy pouted, "Like I said, who are you talking about?"

"Well, these footsteps-" Aoi started.

Thumpthumpthumpthumpthumptump-

"-could only belong to-"

-thumpthumpthumpthumpthumptump-

"-one person." Aoi smiled, glancing at the classroom door. The three boys beside her did the same, two in expectation and one in confusion.

The footsteps got louder and louder and louder, until suddenly the classroom door slammed open. Aoi and Shinsuke grinned, Kariya's mouth formed an 'o' in realization while Tsurugi just had a smile.

"Tenma."

Said boy was still gasping for breath as he ran a bit too fast on the way. He closed the door behind him and slowly walked towards his desk. The brunet noticed the four of them and flashed them a smile.

"Good morning, guys!" Tenma said cheerfully as he approached his table, which was beside Aoi's.

The four of them sent him a smile and simultaneously answered, "Good morning, Tenma."

"Sorry I came in a bit late, accidentally left my bag at home earlier." Tenma said sheepishly, putting said bag on the table.

All of them sweat-dropped. "Of course you did." Aoi sighed.

Tenma let out a laugh at that as he pulled out his chair and sat on it. "That's what Aki-nee said too!"

Tsurugi shook his head at the brunet, and couldn't help but notice that Tenma wasn't walking to them. Tsurugi mentally frowned, as that was proof that the brunet still didn't trust them, but he didn't show any of that and simply walked towards him. "So, did you finish your homework?"

Tenma's eyes widened. "Homework?"

"Yeah." Aoi nodded. She noticed Tsurugi's intention and was about to do the same when she suddenly remembered what happened at Okinawa, and decided not to. They don't want to make Tenma feel cornered again. "Maths homework, to be exact."

"S-Since when did we have Maths homework?" Tenma questioned nervously.

"A week ago, Tuesday I think." Shinsuke replied, doing the same as Aoi. Though, he was stopped by the warning look Tsurugi gave him.

"Wednesday." Kariya corrected him. The teal-haired boy looked at Tsurugi for permission, and after a few seconds the striker gave a small nod and didn't react as Kariya walked towards him and Tenma and pulled out a chair from the table in front of Tenma's.

"Wha-Why didn't any of you remind me?!" Tenma was a bit close to panicking at this point. He said so himself that he hates homework, but forgetting to do the homework itself is slightly worse.

"We did. I texted you last night." Aoi stated

"You know I don't check my messages at night, Aoi." Tenma groaned.

"Oh yeah, sorry. I'll call you next time."

"Yeah, that's better-WAIT! HELP ME WITH THE HOMEWORK, PLEASE!"

Tsurugi sighed and shook his head. "I knew this would happen." The striker muttered as he quickly grabbed his textbook from his bag and smacked it on Tenma's head. "Here."

Tenma winced at the sudden contact on his head and retrieved the textbook from the striker's hand. Then, the brunet looked at Tsurugi like a fan looking at an idol (albeit with his eyes a bit teary) and said, "THANK YOU, TSURUGI~!"

Tsurugi's eye twitched in annoyance. "Just do it already."

Tenma nodded and he quickly took out his own textbook and wrote in Tsurugi's answers.

"Wait, are you sure Tenma? That's Tsurugi's, you know." Aoi said as she pulled out her textbook from inside her bag. "All of it may be wrong-"

"Hey."

"-so use mine instead. I'm sure it's mostly right."

"Thanks, Aoi. I'll just compare both of your textbooks real quick, then I'll write down the answers." Tenma said, accepting her textbook and putting it beside Tsurugi's.

Aoi shrugged. "Alright, suit yourself."

Tsurugi frowned, but he didn't say anything. Shinsuke and Kariya glanced at each other and silently gave a thumbs-up. Aoi giggled, watching them all from her desk. Tenma tuned everyone out as he focused on doing his schoolwork (it's not homework anymore since he's doing it at school), so he was oblivious to the fond looks his friends were giving him.

Deep down, the four of them knew that this was the right way. They're being by Tenma's side, but they didn't corner him like back at Okinawa. They didn't make him confused or uncomfortable. It also wasn't a one-sided awkward conversation.

They're doing what they have always done. They're treating him the same, and they didn't make him the center of attention.

Tenma won't trust them that easily. That's a fact everyone knows. It'll take a while too.

Though they didn't know how to speed up the process, they now know what to do to actually make it work.

This is what Shindou had meant when he said, "We'll always be by your side."

It means being there when Tenma needs them, and never intending to leave.

That's what the four friends decided to do, and were determined to complete.

They'll laugh with him, they'll play with him, they'll study with him and they'll always be there for him.

They'll treat Tenma exactly the same like before.

Because to be honest, Tenma never actually changed. He's still the same Tenma. He's still their Tenma.

And, they're going to keep it that way.

Outside the classroom, Shindou and Kirino silently watched as their juniors laughed and enjoyed their time together. Even the silent and stoic Tsurugi seemed like he was having fun.

Kirino smiled fondly at the sight. "I guess we were worried for nothing."

Shindou nodded. "It seemed like they found a good way to help him now."

"They care about Tenma, of course they did." Kirino chuckled.

"Well, I can't argue with that." Shindou admitted.

Because really though, it would make them complete idiots to not notice how all four of them were gazing at Tenma like he's the glue that holds them all together.

But in a way, Shindou smiled. He kind of is.

A/N: Aaanddd, there you have it! Hope you enjoyed and tell me your opinions! And, if you have any advice, please do tell!

"Advice?"

Yeah. In many ways, I am still a newbie. I don't have any experience and all that stuff, so I may have written a lot of mistakes. So, if you have any advice you want to give me, then give it to me. JUST. DO. IT. YOU. ARE. GREAT!

"What does that have anything to do with advice?"

I don't know. Just wanted to say it, that's all. And, I'll try to update soon! I don't know if I can do it, but I will try for you! Have a good day!

"And?"

Have a cookie! (::) (::) (::)

"That's more than one cookie."

You're just jealous that you don't get one.

"Not true...definitely not true."