The hospital was usually quite a calm place, despite what most might think. Sure, there was the fact that it was filled with injured or sick people, but it was an ordered chaos really. The grounds were almost always filled with laughter, and you could see various people strolling around. There was rarely a ruckus in such a calm environment as-
"TENMA, SIT DOWN!"
"No! Let me go, Yuu!" Tenma cried back. Yuu wrapped his arms around Tenma's waist, dragging the boy back.
"You have a broken leg," Yuu hissed, "You are not prohibited to run around like this!"
"I don't care!" Tenma gripped Yuu's arm, attempting to pry him off so he could do as he liked. After seeing the game of soccer, the feelings Tenma had for the game refused to fade away and Tenma couldn't take it anymore. He just had to play, injured leg or not. He would put up with the pain if need be. As long as he could play soccer himself!
Which was why Yuu as currently restraining him. Tenma could understand his concern, but he really wanted to play! Yuu didn't want him to injure his leg any further than he already had and refused to allow him to play the game.
"Tenma!" Yuu demanded, having to use more force to drag the boy back. Yuu had known that Tenma's physical strength would be nothing to laugh at, what with his natural strength and actual training, which had been enhanced by the procedure he had gone through. But damn, Tenma was stronger than he originally thought. This kid and surprises.
"Yuu, let me play!" Tenma cried.
"No! You'll only injure yourself!" Yuu dragged Tenma back further but Tenma only continued to recklessly kick his legs and claw at Yuu's arms. Tenma's body had already healed his leg but that wasn't the problem anymore. His body was still adjusting to the modifications and stress to his body could result in unforeseen circumstances.
"I don't care! I just wanna play!" Tenma continued to struggle, attempting his best to pry Yuu's hands off his waist. Both boys ignored the looks they were receiving. Yuu grunted, somewhat impressed at Tenma's struggling, considering he was kicking both his legs wildly. Did Tenma really not feel much pain for such actions or was he ignoring it for the sake of wanting to play Soccer? Either way, Yuu was impressed.
But frustrated.
He was sure this would one day come in handy but right now, it was working against him. It would definitely be highly useful one day, no doubt about it but right now was not a moment where Tenma needed to go against his pain to get what he wanted. No, what he needed now was to heal. Something he couldn't do if he was playing Soccer.
"You're ridiculous! Stop this! Or so help me, Tenma, when you come back to the team, I'll keep you off training for an extra two weeks for this!" Yuu hissed angrily, finally having enough. Tenma stopped with a gasp as he craned his head back to look at Yuu in both a mixture of shock and disbelief.
"What?! You can't do that!" He cried indignantly. Yuu carefully set Tenma down but kept a firm grip on him in case he started struggling again.
"Yes I can," Yuu hissed, glaring at his to-be team mate. "I'm your captain, I can do whatever I want and you'll have no choice but to follow my orders. So if I choose to keep you off training for two weeks because you won't listen to me, then you'll be off training for two weeks."
"But... Pleaseeeee?" Tenma begged, turning around to face Yuu as his eyes sparkled and he clasped his hands in front of his chest. Yuu's glare merely hardened. Yuu had his own orders to follow, he couldn't be preoccupied with Tenma's whims.
"No," he repeated, his mind set on not changing. "Now, we are going back inside because apparently, you cannot be trusted out here, even with someone accompanying you," With that, Yuu turned around and picked up Tenma's crutches and then handed them to the disappointed boy.
"But..." Tenma trailed off, not really knowing what to say as he slowly took the crutches, looking incredibly upset and disappointed. If anything, he looked like he was about to cry. Yuu stilled for a moment, eyes scanning Tenma's face before he sighed, the tension leaving his body. This was the way things had to be. But still... Yuu ran a hand through his hair.
"Tell you what," Yuu started, managing a small smile as Tenma looked up at him, still looking very much like a kicked and hurt puppy. "When you join the team, we'll have a practice match so you can get your frustration out. How about that?" Yuu offered. It benefited both sides and got Tenma under control. Tenma immediately perked up, all traces of sadness disappearing within a flash.
"Really?" He exclaimed and Yuu can swear there are sparkles in his hopeful eyes. Yuu nods in confirmation.
"Really," He confirms and Tenma begins to cheer. Yuu's smile quirks up a bit as he watches the red-eyed boy. Shaking his head, he turns to the direction of the doors. "Come on. Let's go back inside."
This time, Tenma doesn't protest, more excited at the thought of having a practice match once he's healed and of course, by extension, being able to meet his new teammates. He couldn't wait.
~~~
Whenever Tenma was left alone, he felt... empty. Like a part of him was missing. Like it had just been torn away from him and disregarded somewhere on the road and even as Tenma tried to retrace his steps, nothing worked. His memory just wouldn't reboot. He couldn't remember what he had lost or why it was important. He didn't even know what he was grasping for.
Whether it was a memory or an emotion, he didn't know. It was like being shrouded in darkest and there was the thinnest shred of light and whenever he tried to reach for it, to see it, the more it darkened. The more it hid away from him and moved further out of reach. It was frustrating because no matter how much he tried, he just couldn't reach it. He couldn't grasp it and get the answers he wanted.
If he wasn't already doing something, he'd let himself get lost in his head. The doctors and nurses often found him blankly staring at the space ahead of him when he got lost in his thoughts. He heard them murmuring once, probably thinking he was still out of it - he had been but the sound had gathered his attention just enough that he snapped out of it - they said he would often sit there, staring at nothing for hours on end and just not moving. Just sitting there and thinking, barely blinking. If he was being honest, Tenma didn't even notice. It was like whenever he got lost in his mind, he was there. Actually there, in that space, that void filled with nothing and a light that was just dying. The doctors were worried about his mental state and Yuu would just stare at him weirdly - not the type of "what are you on" type of weird like Tenma originally expected but like a sort of wary kind of weird. Like he was waiting for something to happen - or perhaps he was waiting for Tenma to blow up? Tenma wasn't sure why and when he asked Yuu about it, he had just shrugged and said he was worried.
But there was something else there, Tenma just didn't know what. Eventually, his frustration got the better of him and he ended up giving up on it altogether.
Tenma directed his gaze to the window, watching the curtains flutter in the evening breeze. It was warm but as the day went on, the temperature dropped. He would have to close the window soon. Not for the first time, Tenma threw himself back onto the pillow and let out a long-suffering groan. Everything was so boring here. If he stayed here any longer, he was going to jump out that window and just escape...
He yawned, deciding the best way to waste away his time was to go to sleep and hope Yuu visited in the morning. His eyes slipped shut and he was soon sucked into a trance of tranquillity.
/BREAK/
After weeks of being in that boring hospital and tasteless room, he was finally discharged and allowed to join Difficult Pulse.
In hindsight, he really should've enjoyed the hospital's peace and quiet more.
Tenma wasn't exactly sure what qualified as "normal" but he was sure it wasn't this. He had many questions and even less answers as he was introduced to his new team. Rinji, a boy with muscles the size of Tenma's head, is the first one to walk up to him and throw his arm over Tenma's shoulders. The weight of his arm alone nearly knocks Tenma to the ground, let alone when Rinji actually starts using his strength to put Tenma in a headlock and aggressively ruffle his hair so hard it hurts. Yuu stands to the side, watching the entire interaction with a straight face and unreadable expression. Where Tenma could once tell what he was feeling, he could now pick up absolutely nothing.
It was like Yuu had transformed into a different person the second he came into contact with Difficult Pulse.
"Welcome to the strongest team in all of Citadel, kid! Can't wait to see what you're made of," Rinji laughed, finally releasing Tenma and giving him a rough pat on the back that had him stumbling forward.
"Like a baby deer..." a girl with wavy blue hair muttered, stepping forward. "Welcome to Difficult Pulse, I am Hikaru and it is a pleasure to finally make your acquaintance."
"Ah... nice to meet you, I'm Matsuzake Tenma. I'll be in your care." Tenma muttered, wondering about her last comment. Baby deer? What was that meant to mean?
"I assist Yuu with many matters, and if he is unavailable or you can't find him, feel free to come to me. Also, don't mind Rinji. He has soccers for brains." Hikaru flickered her ocean eyes at the aforementioned boy who looked affronted at her comment.
"I do not! I'm just greeting our new recruit! What's wrong with that?" His arm went around Tenma's shoulder again and Tenma instinctively froze as his grip tightened. Holy hell, he had the strength of a bear... he could probably crush his head if he wanted to!
"You forget your strength and are in danger of crushing him," Hikaru replied coldly, her eyes sharp as they purposely looked at the arm around Tenma's shoulder. Rinji sighed and pulled his arm away.
"Whatever, ice queen," Rinji scowled. Hikaru continued glaring at him before directing her attention back to Tenma.
"Allow me to show you around," she offered and the brunet felt a smile tug at his lips. He nodded excitedly. From what he saw outside, this place was huge. He was definitely going to meet a tour.
"Meet back here afterwards," Yuu added strictly, his arms crossed over his chest. Hikaru nodded and then gestured for Tenma to follow. Tenma nodded to Rinji and then bid farewell to the rest of the team, following Hikaru into the halls.
/BREAK/
The Citadel was huge. It turned out the building actually went deep underground (although Tenma wasn't authorised to go to the deepest levels), despite having having a good twenty levels above ground. Hikaru didn't bother showing him around the entire building - it would've likely taken hours for that, simply showing him the areas he was likely to visit. The west wing was where Tenma would be spending most of his time - the area behind dedicated to Difficult Pulse. There were dorms, two fields for them to use at their leisure, as well as common areas and even a library, which Tenma got an extensive tour of it. Hikaru explained the basics of the structure - the south area was dedicated to three other teams, "the weakest" of the Citadel, while the north belonged to two teams, which were just under Difficult Pulse in terms of power and authority. DP (Difficult Pulse) was the strongest team in all of Citadel, which is also why they had extra privileges like having an entire wing dedicated to them. The highest levels of the building were offices and belonged to their superiors and the other higher-ups. They weren't allowed on the very top floor without permission, but anything below that was fair game as long as you weren't being a nuisance. They were to take orders from their superiors without question, even if they didn't agree with it. When Tenma had questioned her about it, she merely told him to talk to Yuu about it, as him being the captain of the team meant he was more informed and better prepared to "educate" Tenma on the matter. (Tenma didn't like the way she said that - there was something sinister about it, like a snake hiding under the surface waiting to strike.)
The medical wing was in the centre of the building, near a canteen where they could ask the cooks to make any food they wanted for them. There was even a media outlet for some reason and while Tenma was allowed to go there, she advised against it as it was usually too hectic to be casually walking around. (He'd have to ask Yuu for any details about what they actually did there.) The underground levels of the Citadel belonged to research areas and labs. (Which he was also advised against going to, but not forbidden.) There was even three entire floor dedicated to a library, containing all sorts of books - from research, general studies, history, or fiction, it was the best library to go to. He mostly had full access there.
Apparently he wouldn't actually be allowed in the more confidential areas until Yuu was done teaching him the way things worked around here, which Tenma supposed was fair. There was a schedule for training and "business", but beyond that the rest of his time was all his - but until his probation period was up, he was meant to report to Yuu every night. Essentially, as well as being the captain of DP, Yuu acted as a manager for all the teams, and dealt with any issues that arose that didn't immediately require the attention of the higher ups. There weren't to bother the higher ups unless it was important or Yuu and Hikaru were out of commission for whatever reason. Although Tenma was meant to have a meeting with one of the main heads next week, as part of his settlement into DP and Citadel. He wasn't sure what to think about that, but he supposed Yuu would fill in the rest of the gaps.
All in all, Tenma could tell life here was going to be busy.
/BREAK/
Drops update out of the blue*
Hi.
Disappears for another five years*
