"Hello again, Riptide. How was your day?"

I open my eyes and look around me cautiously. I am in a place where everything is completely black as the void itself. Using my other senses, I can "see" that I am inside some sort of cave right now, wrapped by tough and unbreakable boulders. The only source of light is two flames in front of me, which show a strong, metal-barred gate. Behind it I can see two pairs of ice-blue eyes, glittering at me.

"Not this place again," I groan, hugging my head. "When are you going to let me go?"

A chuckle. "Probably never, my little friend." Those pair of ice-blue eyes seem to soften a bit.

"Just when did I become your friend?" I retort, sitting down in front of the gate and staring straight into those eyes. After years of communication, I'm not scared of those eyes, not anymore. "I didn't remember asking you to be a friend of some sort."

I know he's joking. But still, he is right about us being friends-no matter I like it or not-for a long time. And, to be honest, I like him as my friend. Not because, well, he is kind of inside me so I have to become friends with him to avoid trouble, but because I have gone through a hard time with him, and I simply trust him. I open the gates and go inside, closer to the friend that's still invisible.

"Chill tiger. We are always good friends. You know that." Those eyes sparkle in amusement and at me playfully. "Our relationship is stronger than the ones between your soccer friends, and you know it. We're like, the best buddies in the world! Right?" He then moves forward in an attempt to break through the iron gate, but I swiftly push him back.

"Right, right." I answer absent-mindedly, closing the gate. "Now, I know you haven't been out for like, a decade, but you know it's not time yet."

Gentle flames start to appear in the cave, lighting the space up, and the friend I am talking to finally shows himself under the dim lights.

"He" is a large Chinese water dragon, with sky-blue scales and golden markings over his larger parts, fins on his shoulder and some armours on his claws and legs. "He" wears a helmet that is shaped exactly like his head and therefore, fits on it perfectly. "He" also has sharp and big spines along his back, and his tail is a blade-like big fin, with a silvery-white underbelly, decorated by some dim blue lights that's used for Aquatic, which is the language spoken only by the sea dragons.

"Awe…that's not fair!" The dragon whines and curls himself around me, looking at me with big and watery ice-blue eyes. "You do know it feels like hell, right? Not being out for ten years! Please Ten-chan, lemme out~" He nudges his snort at my face, like Sasuke always does when he is begging.

I laugh and half-pat his snort away. "Sorry but no…not the time yet. People are still awake, and who knows what will happen if they see you, a real dragon?"

"They'll think you're a god!" He quickly adds, his large finned tail lashing from side to side. "And when they think you're a god or some sort, you can release me anytime simply because people wants to see it! Please~~~"

"Gome Tear, but I really can't…" I apologize, wincing at the sad tilt of the dragon's ears. "I promise I will let you out as soon as I figure out a way or as soon as things start to go back on track, alright? You know I never eat my promises." I lean on his blue-scaled body and look into his eyes.

"Alright then!" The dragon, full name Tearykazam, abbreviated Tear, gives me a toothy grin and rests his large head on my lap, which barely fits.

"By the way…I don't remember you being this childish from the stories I used to hear from nii-san," I trace the faint lines on his horn. "In the legends, you're supposed to be calm and mature."

"In the legends, you said," the big blue dragon rolls his piercing ice-blue eyes. "But do that guy who tells the legend around actually knows me? I doubt that. Yes, I am mature and calm, but deep down I still like to have fun and play like a normal child."

I can't help but sweat-drop at that. "But you're the Lord of the sea and wind…"

"And does that mean I can't have fun?"

"…you win." I sigh and raise both my arms up, signalling my defeat. Tear simply grins.

A long silence passes before I sigh again, patting my dragon. "What's wrong? You sighed a lot these days." He says worriedly, nudging my chin again.

"…Just thinking about nii-san." I try to fake a reassuring tone but fail, tears strolling down from my face. "I miss him like a lot…just thinking about him makes my heart aches…if only I held on to him when we escaped…then he might be with me right now, away from the disasters he might be suffering from…or maybe he died from…after all, I don't even know if he's still alive or what…"

Tear is silent for a moment before he replies to me, catching my tears with his helmet. "That's not your fault. From what I saw, he willingly let you go instead of the other way around." I look into his eyes and realize they are shining with wisdom that is only held by the longest-living myth creatures that ever exist, who have seen through the world and had walked on it before the first animal is created.

"Your brother was stuck in a trap set by those people at that time, and it wouldn't help if you choose to hold on. Shark wants you happy and free instead of scared and trapped. He knows the depths of your potential more than you do, and he also knows that the only way you can release them is to let you go."

Tear then licks my tears off using his forked tongue, which causes me to smile a bit. "It is never your fault Riptide…it is their fault." He snarls a bit at the mention of the word "them", but I don't blame him or anything. I hate them too, as much as he hates them.

The cave walls start fading, and I look up in surprise. "What the…wait the dream is ending?! I don't even know it is morning already! I need to wake up soon! I have soccer practice today!"

"Did you oversleep again Tenma?!" The big blue dragon gasps and exclaims in frustration. "Damn it! There are so many things I still wanna tell you about or discuss with you!"

"Gome! I really don't know I overslept again! I will sleep earlier tonight so you can tell all the things you want to tell and discuss for as long as I sleep! Alright?" I rush toward the iron gate again and walk out, turning back to look at the dragon. My dragon. "And arigatou, Tear."

"For what?" He tilts his head in confusion.

Again, I can't help but laugh. Tear is simply so cute and kind-hearted; I don't even know why he is sealed inside my egg like some sort of monster. "Thanks for comforting me," I smile at him and shut the gates.

He is quiet for a second, then grins brightly. "My pleasure, Tenma!"

I nod again and, with that, I exit my dream and wake up in the real world, gasping at the clock as I see the time. 7:45am?! That is so late! Soccer practice is starting already!

Rushing around in my room and the nearby washroom, I quickly get changed and grab my school bag and soccer uniform. Then I run downstairs, saying hi to Aki-nee and the others before I quickly swallow everything on my plate.

After that, I slam the doors as I speed toward outside, starting another sad but hopefully-will-be-bright day.


Shindou's POV

Meanwhile, in the soccer building…

"Shindou, are you okay?" Kirino asks worriedly when I walk in, the others either focusing on stretching or casting curious looks to our direction. "It's nothing," I lie, not willing to tell my best friend what happen yesterday. Not yet, when he doesn't seem to notice anything wrong with our captain lately.

"Then can you please explain why the legs of your pants are ripped like that?" The pink-haired boy crosses his arms in front of his chest and eyes me suspiciously.

I swallow hard and look down. Indeed, they are ripped because I was hiding in the bush yesterday…I guess I should never, ever do that again. "I fell hard on the ground on the way home…some twigs were on the ground so they ripped a little…anyways," I change the subject quickly, hoping Kirino won't notice. "Is everyone here already?"

"Actually Shindou-Senpai, almost everyone is here except captain. I wonder if he is still sleeping or is grounded, ya know. With his love of soccer, his grades are probably so low Aki-san has to trap him in his room to study…" A certain teal-headed boy jokes, which earns him a soft smack from Kirino. "Ouch! What's that for, Kirino-Senpai?"

My friend frowns. "That slap is to tell you not to spread false information."

"Hai, hai," The first-year mutters and walks away, leaving us alone, still muttering. I can't help but laugh at the sight, which Kirino sighs at. "Seriously Shindou…why are you laughing at me?"

I think for a moment and decide to give him the simplest answer. "Because I think it's funny."

Again, my best friend sighs in frustration and looks at the clock. "Well, if Tenma is not here, we will have to start practice without him…"

"Why don't we wait for a bit more?" Sangoku, our goalkeeper, says patiently. "Sometimes we are late and he always waits for us."

"Yeah, but it is always us who wait for him." Kurama snorts. "Seriously, is his hearing that bad? I thought it was a joke when he told us about how terrible his ears are!"

My heart sink at the mention of Tenma's terrible hearing-or should I say deafness? It seems like my teammates actually have no idea that our captain is not capable of haring any sound without deaf-aids, which can never function as well as real ears, resulting in his "terrible hearing".

It seems like either me, Tsurugi, Shinsuke, Fei or Aoi will have to tell them the truth about Tenma really soon…maybe so soon none of us will like it…but what choice do we have?

"…dou? Shindou are you listening?"

I snap my head back up when I name is called. Kirino is looking at me with those concerned eyes again. "Shindou, are you alright?" He asks again. "You rarely zone out like that. Is something bothering you?"

To be honest, I am at the edge of spilling the beans out if it isn't for what happens next.

"GOME MINNA!" A rush of footsteps and a familiar voice echo around my ears. I closed my eyes and smile in relief, knowing who is here. "Uh I have to get rid of the habit of sleeping in!"

Nah, you're not, I almost say out loud. You're here just in time to help silence Kirino for a bit.

"Morning Tenma." Sangoku nods at him with his chin as the brunet speed-walks toward the change room. "Be quick! Practice is starting!" Kurama adds.

"Roger that!" Is the answer from the cheery boy before he slams the change room doors.

Judging from the actions of Tenma just now, perhaps he gains his happy-go-lucky mood back…which is good, because I definitely don't want him to cry like yesterday, under the apple tree. It pains me every single time he is either hurt physically or mentally due to whatever cause. I remember the time when I met the young boy, and wince at how harshly I had treated him.

Not going to repeat that mistake again. Not going to let him get hurt again. Have to figure out what is bothering him soon, and we will know more about him eventually; His past, the cause of his deafness, and his probably-dead missing relative. Everything will come to the surface slowly.

I made a mental note to myself and walk toward the field, Kirino following me. I can feel his gaze is still on me, probably he is still worried. But I shake that aside as our captain rushes in and, as usual, practice his shoots with Shinsuke, who is trying his best to block them and succeeds.

Without anymore troubling thoughts, I begin to form a team with Kurama and Hayami, playing a mini match with Kirino, Hamano and Kurumada.

Everything seems to be normal. No: everything is normal.

Until that moment when Wandaba screams in terror. "M-MO-MONSTER!" The bear-like robot goes behind Fei's back in an attempt to hide himself. "Don't come near me!"

"What's wrong Wandaba?" The mint-haired boy asks in confusion and annoyance, following his gaze. "It just a hedgehog…" His face color turns paler as he says the words. "A…hedgehog that has light blue eyes, a black snout, ears, white fur, large red claws, and a small tail…"

Tenma, who is just ready to shoot, stops in surprise and listen to Fei's description intensely. I don't know why our captain is suddenly so interested; normally Tenma will carry on for a while more.

"…Its feet have two digits, and its hand have three…its thumbs are clawless…it also has a zigzag-shaped mouth and yellow marks on its belly and under its eyes….gray spikes all over it…the larger strings of fur on the top of its head are yellow, and the fur under its ears also has yellow tips…"

By now Fei is shivering with fear. I walk up front and see what he is seeing.

"What the heck is this…" I manage to whisper out loud, bewildered.

"Shindou-Senpai? Fei? Can I take a look?" Tenma's voice rings beside my ears. Not waiting for an answer, the brunet gently pushes Fei away. His metallic blue eyes merely widen when he sees the creature. But for some reason, the creature widens its own light blue eyes and stares back.

The two simply stare at each other for so long everyone, including the coaches and the managers, form a circle around the two. I can sense something flowing in their stares, and from the look of Tenma, I know that he is not shocked by how the creature looks like.

Rather, he is shocked at why it is here and how did it come here.

"…Tenma?" Aoi says softly.

Then, without warning, the brunet and the creature say each other's name at the same time.

"Herissmon?"

"Tenma?"