A scream ripped through his throat. Electricity crackled in high voltage around his body. Dangerous chemicals were being injected into his body, his veins turning purple.
Tenma was in pure agony; he wanted to move, to run, but he was restricted to the metal table. He lacked the strength to break the steel cuffs holding him down. Needles poked at his body, piercing his skin and injecting painful liquids into his bloodstream before pulling out to refill with something different. He couldn't keep his screams of pain in. The scientists surrounding him rushed around, not affected by the boy who was screaming in pain. His screams didn't bother them in the slightest. They were too excited. They wanted the surgery, as one could say, to go smoothly.
Tenma's head felt like it was splitting apart. They were tinkering with his head. He knew that. He was desperately grasping for the fragments of his memories with the Raimon Eleven; he didn't want to ever forget them. No matter what. However, the scientists didn't care what he wanted. They only cared about getting the procedure done.
Blood lightly stained Tenma's body. The newly purple color of Tenma's veins contrasted against the red blood leaking from his already broken body. His Raimon Eleven Uniform held no protection against the unavoidable pain.
Another scream ripped through his throat.
They were deleting his memories. Despite already having changed Tenma's past so he was never saved by a soccer ball, the boy still held onto the memories of the Raimon Eleven. He didn't want to let them go. He couldn't let them go. He could be fighting against the poisonous venom threatening to take over his entire body, he could fight against his restraints to get free, he could use his power to blow everything away. But that wasn't what he wanted; all he wanted was to remember those he cared about. Even if he were to blow away everything in the room, he wouldn't be able to blow away the machine deleting his precious memories. He just wanted to remember those who he cherished and fought alongside. Why was it becoming so difficult to do so?
Tenma attempted to focus. He did his best to block out the scientists shouts, he tried to ignore the agonising, unbearable pain throughout his entire body, and he tried to focus solely on his memories. He didn't care what happened to him. As long as he could remember them. They could do whatever they wanted to his body; as long as they allowed him to keep his memories of those he cherished.
Every time he clung to one fragment, another disappeared. He'd reach after the fragment which had disappeared, and whist doing so, the fragment he was holding onto would disappear while he was distracted.
So he settled for a single fragment which he would not let go of no matter what. The day the Raimon Eleven took a picture with all the members present. The old Inazuma Eleven, the coach that was fired when they faced Fifth Sector, Fey, and other time travelers, the managers, everybody. As long as he still remembered that picture, he was sure he'd find a way to remember everybody again. He focused the little drop of energy left in his entire being to cling to that fragment.
Tenma could feel his heart break as he watched his other memories be destroyed. Tears escaped his eyes as all the time he spent with everyone, was practically erased before him. But no matter what he saw being erased, he refused to let go of that one fragment.
He could only watch as his childhood memories crippled, his best friend Ruby, disappearing as if she never existed to begin with. As if their promise never existed to begin with. Tenma could hear both of their words as the memories were deleted.
"Alright then! Ruby, I promise I will never join Fifth Sector! I promise on my life! And if possible, I'll take Fifth Sector down!" A young Tenma promised the girl with ruby hair, who was lying in a hospital bed in front of him.
"I'm glad... But you don't have to go as far as to take down Fifth Sector... I don't want you to put too much pressure on yourself," Ruby muttered, a small smile on her face.
"No, I want to do it! But, you have to promise me something too, Ruby!"
"I do? What is that?"
"To make the promise even! Promise me that we'll meet again one day!"
"Meet again? Fine. I can deal with that. Okay then, I promise you Tenma. We'll meet again one day. I'll get better and I'll come see you once you've joined Raimon. And make sure you do! I'll be waiting!" Ruby promised, a smile on her face.
Tenma's heart was officially broken. He kept his promise, but Ruby wouldn't have anymore time to keep her promise. Even if she did, Tenma wouldn't recognize her. He wouldn't remember her. Assuming he ever had the thin chance of going back home.
Tenma turned his head away as the memory was destroyed. The promise was to be broken after all. Tenma could only watch as a fragment of a memory with his mother was also destroyed. The memory of when he first met Aoi passed through his mind before it was destroyed. A hollow feeling filled him. They were deleting all his childhood memories.
Somewhere along the line, he had lost the memory of being saved by a soccer ball. He couldn't remember why he wanted to play soccer so much to begin with, but he still remembered his time with the Raimon Eleven and that was enough to keep him going. He clung to the fragment which he chose to solely protect.
"We've hit the 48% mark for deleting his memories!" A scientist shouted over the various different noises. "But he's putting up some resistance! We can't get to a particular memory! He's beginning to resist the procedure!"
"So that's why he hasn't resisted so far? He's been protecting that memory," Another one mused.
"I don't care what he's protecting! Delete it! I don't care if you have to break him to do it! Ensure that memory is deleted or it may cause further problems later on!" The head scientist shouted.
Tenma felt the electricity around him amplify; he felt like he was being cooked alive. His head was about ready to explode from the pain as they tried harder to delete the fragment he so strongly tried to protect.
A smirk covered his face as he watched the procedure. He casually leaned against the wall behind him as he stared through the glass window.
"So he's finally resisting, huh?" The boy muttered to himself. He was the only one watching the procedure, and beyond him the walls were completely soundproof. Only him and the scientists could hear Tenma's screams. "Trying to hold onto a single memory so you have a chance to remember them... Not bad, but not good enough." The boy pushed the door opened, walking through the frenzy of scientists. A few sent questioning looks to him and two moved in front of him to stop him. Before they could say anything the boy stated; "Ignore me. I just want to do something. Continue the procedure."
"But Yuugure, sir, its dangerous here and-" The scientist started. Yuugure sighed.
"I hate it when people call me Yuugure. Just call me Yuu. And besides, its far more dangerous for him. I can handle a little pain. Or do you think I'm weak?" Yuu challenged, narrowing his eyes at the two scientists before him.
"N-no. Please do as you like, sir," With that, the two scientists scampered elsewhere and continued to work on the procedure. Yuu walked up to the boy writhling in pain on the metal table. The boy cracked open an eye, probably sensing Yuu's approach. Tenma's screams had ceased; this had confused Yuu greatly but he temporarily ignored it.
"There, there, Tenma. Your pain will be over soon enough," Yuu muttered to the boy in front of him. He patted the boy's head, not even flinching from the ferocious electricity burning his skin. Tenma looked at him with confused eyes as he opened his other eye. Yuu smirked. "You don't have to suffer anymore. I'll make sure of it. It's almost over. Bear with it a little longer. All you have to do, is just let them go, Tenma. Then, I'll protect you."
Tenma glared at Yuu. "I won't ever let them go," He rasped, his voice hoarse and his throat sore from his earlier screams. Yuu, already expecting such an answer, sent a sickeningly sweet smile towards Tenma. Tenma knew it wasn't a real smile; it held no warmth to him, it only served to send a chill down Tenma's spine. "Who are you?"
"I'm Yuu. And from now on, I'll be your new captain," Yuu introduced.
"New... Captain?" Tenma muttered. Honestly, Yuu was surprised. The procedure still raged on but yet Tenma had silenced his screams and managed to speak actual sentences; Yuu had yet to see anyone else do this. But it only proved to him how strong Tenma was, making Yuu want Tenma on his team even more.
"That's right; You'll be joining my team soon enough. Once you're a little more... Complainant, that is. I'm fully aware that you would constantly try to rebel against me should you remember who you used to fight alongside. Your loyal, which makes things very difficult for me. However, soon your loyalty will serve to help me. You'll serve and be loyal to me and only me. And no one will be able to change that," Yuu explained.
"You... I won't ever be loyal to you. I won't ever accept you as my captain! Shindou is my captain, and you can't change that! I will not follow someone like you," Tenma attempted to shout his words, but he kept his voice low due to his strained throat. Yuu smiled once again.
"But it's not like you'll have a choice. As far as you'll be concerned, you're joining a new team who you've never met before and that's as far as your memory will go. Why else do you think your memories are being deleted? So we can input some new ones without trouble," Yuu leaned down slightly on the metal table Tenma twitched on. Tenma sent a weak glare towards Yuu before he screamed in pain. Yuu closed his eyes, waiting for the scream to pass.
Tenma panted, his lungs struggling to take in oxygen. He felt like he was going to break. Like his body was about to snap into two from the pain. He was about ready to break entirely.
"We've reached the 50% mark. We'll be taking a break now, Yuugire, Sir. Otherwise his body won't be able to hold out," The head scientist stated, bowing slightly towards Yuu.
"Yeah, sure. Just remember to call me Yuu next time. You can all go now," Yuu dismissed all the scientists with a wave of his hand. The scientists filed out, eager to take their break.
The electricity around Tenma had calmed down greatly to a much more bearable heat - at least, compared to earlier. Tenma's headache had also calmed down to the point where it was like a normal headache, with the addiction of the annoying pounding in his head. The needles had stopped pricking Tenma's skin and instead lay still inside the machine, waiting for the procedure to begin again.
The various noises around the room had quietened down to a robotic beating and a few lights flashed from the bright colour of the buttons. A lot more blood stained Tenma's body, his blood leaking mainly from his arms and legs. Tenma felt like there was a hole in his torso, - a burning hole. Whatever had been injected into him seemed to be travelling to his chest, creating an intense burning feeling there.
"Well? How are you feeling? The pain should have mostly died down now," Yuu asked, standing up straight. Yuu stared down at Tenma. Tenma opened his eyes, the dull blue colour seeming more dull than usual. Yuu smirked at this.
"I won't join you," Tenma stated bluntly. Yuu sighed.
"So we're still on that, are we? In that case..." Yuu walked over to a beeping machine. He stared at the screen before a large smirk crossed his face. "Lets see what you're so hardly trying to protect," Yuu typed rapidly on the keyboard. Various different memories flashed through Tenma's head at an alarming rate. Fear crossed Tenma's face as he struggled to understand what was happening. He couldn't think straight due to his memories interrupting his train of thought. Yuu noticed the fear on Tenma's face.
"Try not to worry too much. All I'm going to do is delete that memory you're trying to protect," Yuu explained, his eyes scanning the screen in front of him. Tenma's eyes widened. He struggled in his restraints, desperate to find a way to escape the hell he was strapped down to.
Yuu sent a quick glance at Tenma's struggling before his eyes returned to the screen. "This memory must really mean a lot to you then..." Yuu muttered. Finally, the memory of which Tenma held dear appeared on the screen. Tenma froze instantly.
"I guess I found the right one..." Yuu noted Tenma's reactions. "Now all I need to do is delete it," Yuu hummed happily, about to set the computer to erase the memory. Just as Yuu was about to do so, Tenma's shout made him freeze.
"NO!" Tenma screamed, suddenly thrashing violently in his restraints. "Don't! I won't allow you!" Tenma continued to shout. Yuu took a step back, his eyes widened; he was temporarily shocked. Slowly but surely, Yuu completely understood the type of person Tenma was. Yuu regained his posture.
Yuu walked back up to Tenma. The boy didn't even notice his approach as he continued to thrash. Tears spilled from Tenma's eyes.
"It won't matter soon enough. They'll just be a distant memory. No matter how much you fight, Tenma, I will win. There's nothing you can do but accept it," Yuu grinned down at the boy in front of him. Tenma momentarily stopped his struggling to stare up at Yuu, fear striking him hard. Tenma felt powerless against the person in front of him, and no matter how much he wanted to deny it, he knew he wouldn't stand that much of a fight against the boy hovering over him.
"No..." Tenma muttered. "It will matter!" Suddenly, something exploded behind Yuu. A powerful wind blew throughout the entire room, various different things smashing. Yuu attempted to shield himself as broken glass flew throughout the room, piercing and ripping at his skin.
"What are you doing?!" Yuu shouted, recognising the powerful wind as Tenma's power. The screen to the memory eraser began to smash. Yuu's eyes widened as he realized what Tenma was doing. However, Yuu was not about to let Tenma win.
Yuu rushed over to the computer, abandoning the thought of defence. Yuu typed rapidly, desperately trying to finish what he started before Tenna could destroy the machine and accomplish his goal. Just like Yuu, Tenma had completely thrown away his defence in order to destroy the machine and in doing so, made it far easier to delete his memories.
Yuu's eyes scanned the computer as he rapidly typed. "Almost there..." He muttered. Another heavy crack smashed the machine and it's functioning. Yuu mentally cursed. An alarm sounded, but it sounded far away despite the fact it came from the same room; Yuu was too busy concentrating. If he could just do this, then it didn't matter what Tenma destroyed from there on. He could destroy whatever he wanted, but without his memories he wouldn't be pushed to rebel as much and he would simply be a solider in which Yuu could break and control.
Yuu smirked as he finally found what he wanted. He stared at the screen for a second longer, heeding the warning but not really caring. Yuu pressed the button 'Enter' and allowed the machine to take control.
Yuu smirked in victory and a laugh erupted in his throat. Yuu's laugh echoed throughout the room, almost drowning out the sound of the wind. Yuu walked back to the boy on the table, his laugh dying down slightly. Yuu grinned at Tenma's face which was filled with fear.
"I told you, Tenma. I will win and you will lose," Yuu stared down at the boy in front of him, a powerful eerie aura surrounding him. "There's nothing you can do to stop me now," Yuu sent a quick glance to the now smashed memory eraser. However, it had been switched to a far more powerful setting that could not be undone. It may damage his brain, but it would delete all Tenma's memories no matter what.
"I win, Tenma. Game over," Yuu grinned as Scientists rushed into the room in a frenzy. Tenma mustered up all the hate he had, sending the most ferious glare he had towards Yuu. However, Yuu remained unfazed, knowing he had still won. Pain skyrocketed in Tenma's head.
Tenma didn't know how long he screamed for, but he remembered the electricity amplify, the pain in his head worsened, his lungs burning, and something painful enter his neck before he passed out from the pain.
The entire time, Yuu stood back and grinned at his victory.
'I win, Tenma.'