Welcome back everyone! I almost didn't upload this chapter today... remember how Archie was sick two weeks ago? Now it's my turn XD It's nothing too bad, dizziness, headache, upset stomach, but it still sucks. Anyway, I'm sure I'll be better soon!
Let's get to the reviews, hm?
Coco Baldwin: Thank you, I'll try!
Mizuki Kokoa: I'm glad you liked it! I love exasperated Shindou, he's hilarious XD I haven't written Raimon finding out about Endou being married and I'm not yet sure if I will, but maybe I'll make a one-shot out of it if it doesn't make it to the story. Archie's feeling better, luckily. Side note, now I'm sick :'D We've got perfect timing, don't we? I should be sleeping but I slept for four hours earlier today so I'm not tired… so instead I'm uploading this XD
Ryamy: I'm happy to hear you liked it ^.^ Raimon hasn't really ''joined'' Soar yet, but they're supportive. Well, Fifth Sector is so influential they have people everyone and the Resistance was panicking after what happened to Tenma. Yeah, maybe they didn't handle the situation perfectly, but they did what they could to protect Raimon, so they're not the villains here. Anyway, enjoy!
Eeveeobsesser: Sorry for the wait! Lots of fluff, I thought you readers could use a little break before the other heavy stuff gets here! Raimon family is totally a thing. I loved their interaction previous chapter. Is that conceited, since I'm the one who wrote it? XD Ahahaha Gryphon… Keshin… anyone think the Keshin problems are over? Wellllllllllll-
Sonia Kumar: Eeeeey Nishika~ I'm glad it cheered you up ^.^ Yeah, the story's been pretty dark so I added some lighter stuff before we get to the… next part… Raimon's different from in canon, much closer this time. And Tenma's just a weirdo so that influences them (the horror). The Resistance aren't the villains, but they're just panicking. They don't know how to handle the situation – they never expected this to happen (honestly tho who could ever expect Tenma). Yasss a show would be awesome, would give me much less trouble describing everything too XD Ah, future Tenma just did something stupid again, nothing really important and Shindou was fed up XD ''not thinking clearly trying to protect his teammates'' it's not even that – in fact, there's more of it in this chappie. Archie's better! But I'm not. Now I'm sick XD I should be sleeping instead of uploading buuut I slept from two to six so I'm really not tired… Anyway, enjoy!
2ndOutOf7: Glad you're happy! And thank you ^.^ The Resistance is mostly just panicking, they never expected Raimon to get in this kind of trouble (this isn't really something they could protect them from, after all). ''Inner Tenma'' is such a beautiful description XD Nooo classes are important! Thank you again! XD
Hoppy854: Yeah, they pretty much only fully trust Endou. Since Endou's great-grandson hasn't featured in this story, Raimon has never met him so they don't even know he exists.
Purple Marshmellows: You're welcome! Yasss chaos Raimon is hilarious XD Hope you enjoy this chapter as well!
Shiranai Atsune: Thank you! Please enjoy!
Uwuduwu: I'm glad you love it!
shiho59: Salut! My holiday was great, thank you. Yup, Archie's better, but now I'm sick XD Great timing, right? I'm really glad you like it so much – your support really means a lot to me. Shindou's awesome XD Raimon using logic is still a feeeeew ways away, but they're getting there XD Kidou and Gouenji definitely should fear for their mental health. Definitely. Endou too, but he mostly goes along with it so he's kinda safe. Not sure what I'll do with Fuyuka yet, though! Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter as well!
And that's it for the reviews!
Disclaimer: don't own.
Well then, enjoy this chapter!
Accidental Reverse Arc 3
For safety, Raimon's spends the rest of the weekend at Teikoku Academy.
They're allowed to go home for one to two hours to gather their things, accompanied by at least one Resistance member, and then they're brought back to the headquarters. Their parents are informed and, after the happenings at the Genei-Raimon match, don't need much convincing to allow their kids to stay with the Resistance.
Tenma's sitting on his bed in the room he shares with Tsurugi, Shindou and Kirino, working on his laptop that Aki brought with her when she arrived, almost an hour ago. She must've hugged him for at least five minutes, shaky and pale, before letting go and inspecting him closely. Only Fuyuka's assurances managed to get her to relax.
Aki clearly hadn't wanted to leave him alone, but the Resistance leaders decided she – as Tenma's temporary guardian – should know more about Fifth Sector's interest in him, so about half an hour ago, she finally conceded and joined them. Around that time, his teammates left as well to make their stops at their homes, Tenma's being unnecessary considering Aki brought a bag of his things.
Now the brunet is downloading all of the information from the flash stick onto his computer, watching as file upon file pops up on his screen. He impatiently drums his fingers against the mattress as he watches the 67% jump to 71% while chewing on his lip.
He can't help but grin when, a few minutes later, the download finishes. Checking to see if everything's still on the flash stick and finding that it is, he quickly takes it out and hides it in his bag again – always safe to have a backup somewhere.
Then comes the part he's really been waiting for.
He connects his phone to his laptop, starting the download of the pictures he took.
While waiting for it to finish, the brunet glances around the room again. He already knows there aren't any cameras, but it won't hurt to check again.
Once he is, again, reassured that he's completely alone, he gently presses on his communicator. ''Headquarters,'' he says, waiting for the device to find the frequency that connects directly to their main computer. There are two soft beeps and he grins. ''Jũ here, HQ come in.''
The response is immediate.
''HQ here,'' comes Seiji's voice and Tenma wonders if he has mistaken the relieved undertone in the teen's voice. It's hard to hear over the comm. ''Are you okay?''
Yup, definitely relieved. ''I'm alright,'' answers the brunet, smiling slightly despite the situation. ''A little worse for wear, but nothing I won't heal from.''
''You were covered in blood,'' that's Minamisawa, ''and you expect us to believe you're 'alright'?''
Tenma can't help but laugh at that. ''Hello to you too, Striker,'' he says, half wondering what exactly his friend is doing at HQ in the middle of the weekend. ''Don't worry, the Resistance has people everywhere, even hospital staff. I've been given the all clear.'' Well, technically he's been ordered to take it easy, but details. ''Anyway, there's business. During my time in Fifth's custody, I did some sneaking around.''
There's an exasperated sigh. ''I honestly didn't expect anything else.''
''Shush, Striker. Jũ, what did you find?''
The brunet smirks at Seiji's reprimand but quickly focuses again. ''Quite some interesting things,'' he answers, checking the download from his phone to his laptop. Almost complete now. ''In fact, I hacked completely into their main system – they really need better security – and I pretty much downloaded everything. I'm downloading it on my computer now and I'll get it to HQ as fast as I can.''
''That's great!''
Tenma hesitates for a few moments. ''I… found something else, too.'' They can obviously hear his guarded tone, for they stay silent and wait. After a few seconds, the brunet sighs. ''There's someone else working behind the scenes at Fifth Sector. Someone a lot more dangerous than Ishido. And… he's targeting the Resistance.''
For a long moment, there's silence.
Then Seiji curses. ''Hold on a sec, I'll get Link into this,'' he says and then suddenly a new voice joins their conversation.
''Kasai? What's up, why'd you add me to the frequency?'' asks Jiro.
Tenma nods to himself, already seeing what the older teen is doing. ''Because of me.''
''Holy frick, Jũ? When'd you get- wait, no, don't answer that. If you're adding me to a private frequency, it must be important. So, what'dya got for me? And are you okay?''
He has to give her credit. She certainly doesn't dance around the point.
''I'm fine,'' he says, getting that out of the way first. ''I've got new info, a lot of new info – I haven't checked it yet, but it comes from Fifth's main system so it's got to be good. More than that, there's someone I want you to investigate.'' Jiro seems to be listening intently. ''His name's Senguuji Daigo and, if I'm right, he's more of a threat than the Holy Emperor himself, so be careful.''
''Senguuji, huh?'' she muses. ''Alright, I'll see what I can do, and no worries, I'll be fine. What about you?''
Tenma glances at his computer again, sitting up a little straighter when he notices the download is complete. ''I'm going to do my own work, as much as I can, anyway. Oh, and last time I called, Shimo said something about a new location?''
''Yeah,'' says Minamisawa in response to that. ''It's actually going well and we're setting up our main system there tomorrow, with Eito's help.''
After promising to have Aki tell him the address, there's a quick goodbye and a warning from Minamisawa to visit HQ the first chance he gets, and then their link is closed off again. The brunet immediately focuses on his computer, disconnecting his phone, and goes through the pictures. They're a little dark, but Seiji will be able to work on that later. For now, it's good enough.
Filing all of the 'Resistance' photos together, he clicks on the first one to zoom in and starts to read.
THE RESISTANCE (May 2018)
Onigawara Case (July 2012) – Detective Onigawara Gengorou, personal investigation started. Disposed of evidence (August 2012), investigation continued several months. Ongoing.
Legal Investigation (August 2012) – Authorities started investigation. Cleared.
Onigawara Case (January 2013) – Temporary disruption of private investigation (July-December). Ongoing.
Kidou Corporations (March 2013) – Kidou Orochi proposed dealings. Ongoing.
Onigawara Case (May 2013) – Detective Onigawara Gengorou further delayed. Ongoing.
Kidou Corporations (September 2013) – Kidou dealings cut short. Financial status of Kidou Corporations low. Lawsuit started. Ongoing.
Kidou Corporations (November 2013) – Kidou dealings ended. Investigation started on Kidou Yuuto's involvement. Ongoing.
Underground Network (February 2014) – Investigation started on former Inazuma Japan. Connections found. Seemingly responsible for Legal Investigation (cleared, 2012) and Onigawara Case (ongoing). Finances stemming from Kidou Corporations. Ongoing.
Kidou Investigation (January 2015) – Kidou Yuuto investigation continued. Temporary shutdown of 20% of Kidou Corporations. Ongoing.
Onigawara Case (April 2015) – Return of Detective Onigawara Gengorou. Detective removed. Cleared.
Underground Network (December 2015) – Spy network infiltrated the 'Resistance'. Known members: Hibiki Seigou. Hirai Shinzou. Midorikawa Ryuuji. Ongoing.
Underground Network (January 2016) – Suspected members: Raimon Souichirou. Raimon Natsumi. Endou Mamoru. Kidou Yuuto. Kiyama Hiroto.
Kidou Investigation (March 2016) – Kidou Yuuto cleared. Installed as Teikoku's Commander. Cleared.
Underground Network (May 2016) – Spy discovered. Last known members: Hibiki Seigou. Hirai Shinzou. Midorikawa Ryuuji. Kiyama Hiroto. Last suspected members: Raimon Souichirou. Raimon Natsumi. Endou Mamoru. Ongoing.
Legal Investigation (December 2016) – Involved: Kiyama Hiroto. Midorikawa Ryuuji. Cleared.
Underground Network (April 2017) – Cleared: Raimon Souichirou. Endou Natsumi. Endou Mamoru. Ongoing.
Underground Network (April 2018) – Suspension of Hakuren Coach, Fubuki Shirou. Cleared.
Raimon Revolt (April 2018) – Matsukaze Tenma's first appearance. Kudou Michiya suspended. Ongoing.
Underground Network (April 2018) – Instalment of Endou Mamoru as Raimon Coach. Last known members: Hibiki Seigou. Hirai Shinzou. Midorikawa Ryuuji. Kiyama Hiroto Raimon Souichirou. Raimon Natsumi. Endou Mamoru. Fubuki Shirou. Kidou Yuuto. Ongoing.
Raimon Revolt (April 2018) – Raimon joins Holy Road. Ongoing.
Raimon Revolt (May 2018) – Matsukaze Tenma brought before Holy Emperor and set free. Identified: unknown threat. Ongoing.
Six years.
Senguuji has pulled up the Resistance records of the past six years, from the start of their first appearance in July 2012, until three weeks ago.
Tenma finds it very, very hard to breathe all of a sudden. Almost two pages worth of Resistance activity – how has anyone missed this? How has Gouenji missed this? Senguuji must've done an amazing job at covering all of this up, especially since the Holy Emperor would never let him continue with this if he knew.
Further inspection shows that Senguuji has made full chards of all known Resistance members, which is filled with so much detail that it's terrifying. Daily schedules of known members have been worked out to the hour and all deviations have been noted down.
''Oh my god.'' The whisper leaves his lips without permission, but he's too stunned to care much right now.
His fingers fly over the keys, page after page popping up on his screen, grey eyes frantically scanning them. The more he reads, the harder it becomes too breathe, because-
''Oh my god.''
He stops all of a sudden, hands stilling, and then he's sagging against the headboard of his bed. The brunet merely focuses on his breathing for a while, in, out, in, out, until he doesn't feel like panicking anymore, and then he just simply sits there, running over all the new information in his mind.
He's not sure how much time has passed when the door suddenly opens and his head snaps up. Then he catches sight of pink hair and he breathes out slowly, allowing himself to relax. ''Kirino-senpai,'' he greets quietly.
Kirino, to his credit, immediately frowns in concern. ''What's wrong?'' he asks, slipping into the room and closing the door. He throws his bag – most likely filled with clothes and other necessities – on his bed and moves to the brunet's side. ''Are you okay?''
Tenma nods, smiling weakly. ''I-I'm alright,'' he says, hesitating for a few seconds. His eyes flicker to his laptop and then back to the defender, who is frowning curiously, clearly having noticed the glance. Making a decision, the brunet sighs. ''I just… got my hands on some data from Fifth Sector,'' he says, lowering his voice. ''It… it took me by surprise.''
Kirino doesn't seem reassured by that. ''What's wrong?''
The time traveler pauses, unsure, and then shakes his head. ''If- if I tell you, you'll only get more involved,'' he mutters quietly, not daring to meet his friend's eyes. ''I don't want to put you in even more danger.''
He braces himself for the reaction, whether that's anger or disappointment or something else, so the soft chuckle comes as a complete surprise. He can't stop himself from looking up in shock, taking note of Kirino's slight smile and warm blue gaze. ''Hey,'' says the defender, sitting down on the bed next to Tenma, ''I'm your friend and your senpai. It's my duty to make sure you're alright, so don't start worrying about me now.''
The brunet can't help but relax a little at that.
''Thanks,'' he says quietly, and then quickly turns his eyes back to his laptop. ''Basically, there's someone at Fifth Sector who is pulling the strings – the council man who's responsible for my second kidnapping. He's more dangerous than Ishido, and, turns out he's been investigating the Resistance.''
''The Resistance?'' echoes his friend, disbelief clear in his voice. ''But what…?''
The brunet turns his laptop so that the defender can see the screen. Taking the invitation, Kirino quickly scans through the pictures and with every page, his frown deepens.
Once it seems he has seen most of the document, he leans back, eyes dark with worries and unreadable thoughts. ''That's not good,'' he settles on eventually, and the brunet would snort at the understatement if the other didn't sound so grave. ''I don't… is Soar already working on this?''
Tenma shakes his head quietly.
''I should inform them,'' he mutters, already reaching for his earpiece. Kirino's eyebrows raise when he notices the hidden piece of technology and the brunet smiles as he pushes down on the device. ''HQ, you there?'' he asks, purposefully avoiding his code name.
''Yeah, we're here,'' comes Seiji's voice. ''What's up with the call? Forgot to mention something?''
He can say that again.
The time traveler wipes a hand over his eyes. ''Yeah,'' he mutters, not as confidently as he would've liked. ''The guy Link's looking at? He's investigating the Resistance, records go as far back as July 2012.''
A moment of silence.
Then, ''what the fuck.''
The brunet laughs dryly, aware of Kirino's blue eyes tracking his every move. ''I know,'' he says, a wry grin spread on his lips. ''Can you pass the message to Link? I'll see if Aki-nee can bring you the info, but I can't make any promises. I'm stuck here for the weekend.''
Seiji agrees and with that, their little rendezvous is cut short. Tenma sighs as he lowers his hand again, slumping back against the headboard as his eyes find his laptop again. Right. He should check out the files he downloaded and sort them, then get the flashdrive to his relative so she can take it back to Soar's headquarters.
His head is spinning with all the thoughts popping up, of this and that that he has to finish, of calls he has to make- he needs to talk to Raimon when they get back, explain more of the situation to them – should he tell them about Senguuji? He at least has to talk to Shindou and Tsurugi about his Keshin… and to Nishiki, too- and Shinsuke, about both his new position and his slumbering Keshin-
There's a sudden steadying hand on his shoulder and grey eyes blink up to the owner.
''K-Kirino-senpai?'' he asks and his voice sounds distant to his own ears.
The pink-haired defender gives him a slight smile, although the concern in his expression is still as clear as day. ''You should get some rest,'' he says gently. The midfielder opens his mouth to protest but the older boy shakes his head before he can even get a word out. ''You're exhausted, Tenma, you can barely sit up straight.''
''I- I need to talk to Aki-nee,'' mutters the brunet, ignoring his senpai's words as he saves the pictures and pulls out the flashdrive.
A gentle hand catches his wrist, halting him in his movement.
''What you need to do is rest,'' stresses the older teen softly. ''If you think Aki-san won't spend the night here, you're wrong. She's worried crazy about you, she's not going to leave you now,'' he tells the younger boy and wow there's the guilt again. ''Stop worrying – you're hurt, that's our job. If you continue now, you're only going to burn yourself out. Besides, no one's going to blame you for taking a break after what happened.''
Maybe it's the soft voice Kirino is using, or maybe it's the clear concern in his face. Whatever it is, it causes a sudden pang to go through the brunet as he's painfully reminded of the defender's older self.
(''You guys are all taking a break or I'm getting Sangoku.'' Kirino laughed softly at the whines coming from his younger friends, shaking his head good-naturally. ''A stay-awake-challenge, come on. You couldn't expect that to work out, could you?''
They all had to admit, even Kariya, that it probably wasn't their smartest idea.
The pink-haired defender just smiled fondly. ''You can crash for a few hours in the clubroom, I'll make an excuse for you to skip out on practice just this once.'')
The memory is a half-remembered one, but it still has Tenma nodding. Now that he's giving in, he can feel the exhaustion crashing over him again. His friend is right – he should've taken a break long before this, the half hour nap not counting.
He logs out of his laptop and shuts it. Kirino takes it out of his hands and places it under the bed, while the brunet lies down and pulls the covers over himself. The second his head hits the pillows, his eyelids suddenly feel heavy, and a yawn breaks free from his lips.
The defender smiles fondly as he grabs the younger's bag and places it next to the laptop. ''Get some sleep,'' he says, ''I'll tell the guys to be quiet.''
No real encouragement is needed, for grey eyes are already closing as their owner relaxes. Tenma can hear his friend's footsteps move to his own bed and the brunet, just before giving in to sleep for real, whispers, ''Kirino-san? Thanks.''
He can hear the smile in the other's voice.
''Anytime.''
By the time the door of their room opens again, Kirino is quietly unpacking his things as to not wake the sleeping brunet.
Glancing up, blue locks on brown and the defender quickly raises a finger to his lips to shush the new arrival. Shindou blinks but does as requested, slipping into the room and closing the door behind him without saying a world. A raised eyebrow is all that's needed to convey the question and in response, Kirino nods towards the single occupied bed in the room.
The captain follows his gaze and his expression softens when he notices the sleeping figure, the wavy brown hair revealing the boy's identity.
''How long has he been sleeping?'' asks Shindou quietly as he makes his way to one of the free beds, placing his bag down.
Kirino glances at the clock on the nightstand closest to him. ''Half an hour?'' he guesses. ''We should let him sleep, though. He looks like he needs it.''
His friend smiles humorlessly at that, starting to unpack as well. They both work in silence for a little while, but the defender finishes quickly, having had more time, and grabs a book. Before he can actually start reading, Shindou's quiet voice interrupts. ''How long do you think he can take this?''
Kirino glances up.
His captain isn't looking at him, his face turned away so the defender has no way of telling what he's thinking.
''I don't…'' he pauses, uncertainly.
''Don't,'' says Shindou, sharp and short, but still doesn't look at him. ''You know exactly what I'm talking about.''
No use playing that card, then.
The defender swallows, his fingers clenching his pillow tightly, and he takes a second to shoot a look at Tenma. ''Shindou, he's… I'm worried,'' he admits, finally, and apparently that's what the other needed to hear for the tension floods from his shoulders. More confident now, Kirino continues. ''He's opening up to us, finally, but I think… he's still trying to protect us.''
''You noticed it too?''
''Yeah,'' he says, nodding even though the other can't see it. ''I don't know what happened the times he was at Fifth Sector's headquarters, but I'd bet he's covering for us. He's taking the blame so we won't be targeted. And while he's here… he's finally, finally trusting us, about Soar and everything, but he still seems unsure about it.''
Shindou has long stopped unpacking and with a sigh, he pushes his back away and instead turns around to lean against the side of his bed. ''I think that he's trusted us from the start,'' he says after a moment. ''But it took him until now to let him give us the chance to trust him.''
Kirino doesn't quite know what to say to that.
After a moment he settles for a soft, ''that sounds lonely.''
Shindou grins bitterly.
''It is.''
Neither of them speaks after that and there's silence until Tsurugi arrives. The striker raises both eyebrows, much like Shindou before, when he's shushed by the other two. A single look at the one occupied bed answers all his questions, however, and a frown decorates his features as he makes his way to the only free bed left.
It takes less than twenty minutes for him to be done with unpacking and then the three unanimously decide to leave their room behind, making sure to be quiet as to not wake the sleeping teen. There's a common space for the Raimon team just down the hall and the sound of voices makes it obvious some of the others are already there.
Tsurugi immediately moves towards an empty couch, grabbing his phone to presumably contact either his parents, his brother, or both. Kirino and Shindou join Sangoku and some of the others, returning their greetings and making small talk until eventually the entire team has gathered there.
''Where's Tenma?'' asks Sangoku, not able to keep himself from frowning, especially when the captain and the defender share a look.
''Sleeping,'' answers Tsurugi, not looking up from his phone. ''Has been for at least an hour now.''
Sangoku grimaces, and although the expression is mirrored by several of the other teens, there are some relieved looks too. ''That's at least something,'' mutters Kurumada, leaning back in his seat.
The momentary pause in the conversation is then broken by a hesitant Shinsuke. ''So… what now?'' he asks, glancing uncomfortably at his older teammates. ''We're… we're with the Resistance now, so we should be safe, but…''
Do we trust them?
He doesn't even need to ask the question for them all to understand.
''They've messed up before.''
Kurama states it clearly and without hesitation, daring anyone to deny it.
No one does, though. ''They have,'' agrees Ichino instead. ''But does that mean we're not giving them another chance?''
''I don't like this,'' says Amagi to that. ''It used to be pretty easy. Play free soccer. Beat Fifth Sector. The end. But now, with Soar…'' he lowers his voice at the last part.
Everyone seems to be in agreement about that.
''Tenma just had to go and get involved with them,'' mutters Kyousuke, running a hand through his hair and grimacing at the knots he finds there. ''I'm not even surprised.''
''I wouldn't be surprised if he was more involved with it then he lets on,'' muses Nishiki, his arms crossed as he frowns. At the disbelieving looks he gets, he shrugs. ''He's a kid, yeah, but it's Tenma. His age hasn't stopped him before, has it?''
He has a point there.
''He had contact with them…''
Everyone stares at Kirino.
The defender blinks, pulled from his thoughts when he notices the focus on him, and it's easy for him to deduce where the sudden interest comes from. ''While he was at Fifth's headquarters, he's been gathering information, I think,'' he explains. ''He was looking it over when I got back and we discussed it a bit, and he contacted Soar's ''HQ'' directly.''
There's a beat. ''How?'' asks Shindou then.
Kirino shakes his head. ''Some kind of radio in his ear. It's pretty well hidden.''
Some surprised looks are shared at that, but before anyone can really respond, they're interrupted by Aki when she calls them all for dinner. Deciding to leave the subject of their conversation to his rest, the team quickly makes his way to what seems to be the dining room.
Dinner is, unsurprisingly, a quiet affair. No one feels up to their usual joking and teasing that is a daily occasion during lunch and training breaks, but neither do they want to discuss anything of importance in such an open space. Especially since some of the Resistance members have joined them.
Although the adults are clearly trying to coax them into a conversation – they seem to have finally acknowledged their less-than-ideal position with Raimon right now – it takes them a shockingly long time.
But really, they should've expected that.
At least the teenagers, no matter how stubborn, give in after a while and hesitantly join in. They have to admit, the Resistance members present – Hiroto, Midorikawa, Fubuki, Fudou, and Sakuma (seems like Kidou is still avoiding them) – are pretty nice and give some great soccer advice.
By the time they've finished dinner, the mood has gotten a lot lighter. Still, Raimon is exhausted, both from the stress of the past few days and the match today, so they retreat to their quarters where they all gather in the common room.
Kirino offers to check up on their wayward midfielder and they all wait for him to return. ''Tenma's still sleeping,'' he tells them, settling down on the couch between Shindou and Aoyama. ''Poor guy looks exhausted.''
A humorless snort comes from Kurumada. ''Can you blame him though? He was thrown against a mirror. Can't have been nice.'' He says it flippantly, but the dark look crossing his face defies the tone.
There's a sudden knock on the door and the teenagers all fall silent as it opens. Surprisingly, or not, depending how one looks at it, Kidou steps inside the room.
Their coach doesn't look very happy. But at least he's not avoiding them anymore, so that has to count for something, right?
Kidou scans the couches, frowning behind his goggles. ''Where is Matsukaze?'' he asks, instead of greeting them.
Still mad, then.
''Sleeping,'' says Kirino, sharing a grimace with his teammates. ''He needed it.''
The coach nods. ''Good,'' he says, and crosses his arms. ''I'll get right down to it. Does anyone have any idea how in the world he managed to get a Chained Keshin?''
Surprise colors their faces – sure, they know it's an important topic, but for their coach to just ignore their earlier behavior and skip right to it? ''What about it?'' asks Sangoku, frowning.
Kidou massages his forehead and that does nothing to put their worries to rest. ''Matsukaze having a Chained Keshin makes him a liability,'' he says grimly. ''A Chained Keshin reacts badly to other Keshin. Now that Matsukaze is suffering from it, he won't be able to face Keshin users, not even the ones on this team.''
Wait, what?
The entire team seems to share that thought.
He can't be serious is clearly conveyed by Ichino's quickly narrowing eyes, mirrored by most of the other second-years.
The grim tone to Hamano's expression is a clear respond. Well, seems like he is.
They know now, Tsurugi's eyes seem to say, and yet they haven't even bothered to check their facts? They haven't even bothered to see if this has been going on for longer?
Of course not, scoffs Kariya, we're kids, remember?
Kidou is watching them quietly. The man seems to have realized the team isn't reacting like he thought they would, and their interactions – while something he has noticed before – are throwing him for a loop, now.
Something is going on with this team and he doesn't know what. 'If only Endou was here,' and yet, no matter how involuntarily that thought, he doubts his friend could deal with this any better.
''Tenma,'' says Shindou, startling the coach out of his thoughts especially when he takes note of the captain's low voice, ''has had a Chained Keshin since he joined the team.''
Kidou stares at him.
It seemingly takes him a moment to register those words, but when he does, he pales rapidly and he opens his mouth as if to say something. He's left standing like that, though, for the sharp mind he is known for seems to have screeched to a stop.
And then a single, breathless ''what?'' escapes his lips.
Raimon doesn't even look at him, most gazes directed at the floor, gritted teeth and clenched fists all around.
''It's true,'' says Sangoku quietly, taking the responsibility both as the oldest and as the one who knows the most of the situation to talk for all of them, ''he's been hiding it from the team for months. He told me, after the Tengawara match, when I forced it out of him, and told the team during the Hakuren match.''
No one breaks the silent for a while after that.
And then Kidou raises a hand to his face, pressing it against his lips, although it doesn't cover the ''my god'' he whispers immediately after.
Their coach is clearly struggling to get his composure back and the teenagers themselves aren't doing much better, the memory of their youngest midfielder during his seizures still ingrained in their minds.
''Why didn't anyone tell me?'' Kidou eventually manages to bring out, his voice strangled.
Shindou shakes his head helplessly. ''He didn't want to tell anyone,'' he says quietly. ''Not even coach Endou knows.''
The older strategist closes his eyes.
If only Endou was here.
Endou.
His eyelids snap open in realization and he bites back a curse.
''I'm not following the Resistance's orders, Kidou.'' That's what his friend had told him, when he left. ''Raimon is my priority and I think- god, I hope you will understand why when you take over as coach for me, because they need that. They need someone that will fight for them when they can't fight for themselves.''
Looking at the team now, the dark circles underneath their eyes, their pale faces, the exhaustion lining their every move, Endou's words hit home harder than ever.
A red gaze sharpens behind green goggles and Kidou straightens. ''Go to bed,'' he says and the team stirs in surprise at the tone he uses – stern, but with a certain softness they haven't ever heard before from him. ''You all need rest. We will talk about this more tomorrow, when Tenma is here too.''
The team shares a few looks, the use of the brunet's first name not going unnoticed. ''What- what are you going to do, coach?'' asks Hayami, hesitantly.
Kidou spins on his heel and makes his way to the door. ''I have a few words for the Resistance,'' he tells them, pausing for a second to add a gentler, ''goodnight.''
Then he's closing the door behind him and forcing the weariness away.
He has a duty, both to Endou and to Raimon, and he's not about to walk away from it any longer.
Tenma wakes up to the sun shining in his face.
There's a short period of the confusion that comes with suddenly being pulled from the realm of dreams, and then a little sigh escapes him as he sinks into the warm softness surrounding him.
He could've fallen asleep like that, but it won't come.
That's when a frown crosses his face and he carefully opens one eye, immediately catching sight of the morning sky through the window.
Which is considerably weird, because he can remember it being late afternoon by the time Kirino got back, so that would mean he'd slept through the entire evening and night. Definitely a solid fifteen, if not more, hours.
Determined to find out if his suspicion is right, the brunet pushing himself into a sitting position, a yawn involuntarily escaping his mouth as he stretches his arms above his head. Taking a look at his surroundings, his eyebrows rise when he catches sight of the three other beds, all clearly occupied.
Glancing at the clock on his nightstand, the brunet hides a smile when he sees it's just past eight. No wonder everyone's sleeping – no self-respecting teenager would be up at this time during a weekend, especially not after the match and the emotional turmoil from the day before.
It also mean he has slept for over sixteen hours.
Seems like he was more exhausted than he first thought.
Now, however, any traces of weariness have left him and the idea of lying down again doesn't really appeal to him, so instead the brunet pushes the covers off and slips out of bed. The floor is cold underneath his bare feet.
He digs through his bag for toiletries and clean clothes, and then he ducks into the bathroom to shower.
After a short debate with himself, the time traveler decides to take a quick shower without washing his hair, since he's stuck with the bandages. Keeping them dry is a bit of an effort, but it mostly works out, so he congratulates himself on a successful victory.
Then he quickly dresses in comfortable jeans and a plain blue shirt with white accents that, according to Aki, 'really brings out his eyes'. Drying his hair with a towel, the brunet exits the bathroom barely fifteen minutes later and makes his bed. Then he sits down, cross-legged, with his laptop on his lap.
Now that he's in his right mind again, Tenma sheepishly realizes Kirino was right. A good night's rest did wonders, and the brunet settles down against the pillows as he gets to work sorting through all the new info. He also checks the Soar website, which the guys have definitely been working in his absence. Several videos and new articles have been put up, and the forums – specifically made to discuss Soar topics and ask the staff questions – are overflowing with comments.
The latest is, undoubtedly, the video of his own arrival in the stadium yesterday. A short report on the match follows it, together with a short piece on the brunet's condition – no doubt Jiro's work.
Tenma pauses, wondering if he should upload some of the content he now has, but then decides against it. Better to discuss it with everyone else before doing anything.
Instead he continues sorting out the load of files. Since he downloaded pretty much the entire server, there's more than enough to look at, although he's certain at least a third of it will be useless to them in the long run. Still, there's bound to be something useful in there somewhere, and he's proven correct not long after. Training centers for Seeds especially are very informative, and the brunet takes an extra look at God Eden in interest.
Mentions about 'the Ultimate Team' are the first thing he notices, although it's not surprising. Zero was their major bet, after all, but what does come as a surprise is the Holy Emperor's apparent disinterest in it.
''Seems like Ishido isn't quite agreeing with them,'' mutters the brunet to himself as he scans several failed attempts at persuading the Emperor to personally visit the island. Then there's a part, of only a few days ago, mentioning Raimon and a curious eyebrow raises. ''So he's only going there because of us, huh…''
No surprise there, though. As much as Ishido seems to ignore the island – no doubt because of Gouenji's distaste of such cruel methods – he still has a cover to uphold.
It's about thirty minutes into his work when Tenma's attention is pulled by movement from his left. Glancing up, the brunet's gaze is caught by orange eyes, and Tsurugi partly pushes himself up.
''Morning, Kyou-chan,'' chirps the brunet, beaming at him.
The striker's eye twitches slightly, but he only heaves a disgruntled sigh. ''Good morning,'' he says, half-succeeding at holding back a yawn. ''How long have you been up?''
Tenma glances at the clock on the nightstand and then answers with a shrug, ''about an hour.''
Tsurugi stretches and then gets up, straightening the covers of his bed as he does so. Once done, he reaches for his bag and digs through it. ''Are you feeling better?'' he asks offhandedly as he grabs what seems to be his normal purple cape. ''You were already asleep when I got here.''
A sheepish smile crosses the brunet's face. ''Much,'' he answers, watching Tsurugi make his way to the bathroom.
''That's good,'' says the striker, opening the door quietly. ''I'm going to shower, you'll be fine on your own, right?''
Tenma stares blankly at him.
''Seriously?''
''Hey,'' the other shrugs, ''I'm speaking from experience.''
''Oh shut up.''
Tsurugi doesn't bother to grace that with a response, instead ducking inside the bathroom with a last glance at his friend. Grumbling something about annoying tall people, Tenma turns back to his work, hearing the telltale sound of running water only a minute later.
It doesn't take long for Tsurugi to return, dressed in his usual purple and red outfit, and by that time both Kirino and Shindou are waking up as well. The latter is having more success and quickly gathers the things he needs to take a shower. As he's passing Tenma's bed, he takes a moment to pet the brunet on the head – indigo Keshin energy sparking around it for a moment – and mutter a ''morning'' accompanied by a yawn, and then he's closing the bathroom door behind him.
They settle into a quiet routine like that, not bothering each other much. It's surprisingly calming and soon enough, Kirino has also showered and the four of them are all dressed and ready to face the day.
Said day starts easily enough, meeting up with the rest of the team and moving to what seems to be some sorts of dining room, where Aki and several of the other adults have taken the initiative to prepare breakfast for them. Natsumi, luckily, isn't among them and that passes mostly without incident.
Then there's the issue of what to do the rest of the day, since they won't be allowed to go home yet, and, being a soccer team, that's pretty easily solved.
That's why, less than half an hour later, Raimon is gathered on Teikoku's inside field. Having gotten permission from Sakuma to use it – considering Kidou is having a temporary break from his position as Teikoku's Commander – they all quickly changed into their uniforms and are now left to their own devices.
''You're not playing.''
Tenma is not pouting, he's scowling.
Shindou is, decidedly, not impressed by his expression. The captain has his arms crossed and is staring the shorter teen down with a stern gaze.
''You're not the boss of me,'' mutters the brunet.
The older boy narrows his eyes. ''No,'' he says, ''but I have Sangoku-san on my side and if worst comes to worst, Fuyuka-san is just a call away. I have the whole team at my disposal. I can blackmail the Resistance themselves. Are you sure you want to challenge me on this?''
…one can say a lot about Matsukaze Tenma.
But one should never forget he has learnt how to pick his battles.
And this is not one he should risk.
Still.
''But DQE-senpai-!''
''No, Tenma,'' says Shindou and there's no room for arguments left now. ''You're hurt. You were thrown against a mirror and you should be happy if we're going to let you out of our sight in the next two years,'' he hisses that last part when he sees the brunet's scowl-not-pout grow.
Tenma crosses his arms and huffs, muttering something about 'smothering, overprotective teammates'.
That has all of them shoot him annoyed look of various degrees, Kurama being, obviously, the worst. ''We are not overprotective,'' says the striker, shooting him a dry glare.
The time travel scoffs. ''Yes, and I'm actually sane,'' he retorts, rolling his eyes. ''Like I'll believe that, senpai.''
There's a slight pause and then Nishiki's, ''that's a surprisingly accurate way to express disbelief,'' followed by an ''ouch!'' when Midori slaps him. He rubs the goose egg that is now growing on his head and glares at the redhead. ''What was that for!''
The manager shrugs.
''It's true though,'' mutters Hikaru softly, turning scarlet when all eyes suddenly move to him – he clearly hadn't meant that to be heard by the others.
Kariya slings an arm around his shoulders, grinning deviously. ''Veto to make ''yes and Tenma is actually sane'' our official way of calling someone out on their bullshit.''
That earns him a slap from Kirino and a ''language!'' from Sangoku.
Eventually, though, the brunet admits defeat and they get around to actual practice. Tenma joins the managers on the bench, sometimes shouting comments to his teammates – whether they're helpful is another question entirely – and generally ''being bored'', although everyone else seems glad that he's taking it easy.
'Well, I suppose I have been causing quite some trouble lately,' he can't help but smile at that thought.
After a while, he excuses himself for a while because his stomach is demanding food – unusual for him at this time of day, normally he doesn't get hungry until lunchtime, but since his body is still healing it isn't that shocking. It takes him a little while to find the dining room again, where, to his surprise, Aki is doing the dishes.
''Aki-nee!'' he chirps cheerfully when he sees her.
His relative smiles warmly and would've most likely given him a hug, had she not been standing with her hands in the soapy water. He moves to help her, but she shakes her head. ''No need for that,'' she tells him. ''You should take it easy and we wouldn't want your bandages to get wet.''
The brunet gives in, then, because she's clearly still worried. Although he wouldn't mind helping her, if it sets her mind at ease, he'll refrain for now. He can easily make it up later – living with over a dozen neighbors in one house means there is a never ending amount of dirty dishes to be done, after all.
''I made lunch for the team later,'' Aki tells him, ''but I don't think they'll mind if you take some now.''
Tenma is already grinning at the prospect of his relative's delicious cooking, checking out the various things she made – she went all out in her motherhenning, it seems – when he sees it.
''Hey, Aki-nee, mind if I take this?''
The young woman turns around in confusion and takes a look at what he's holding. Then her eyes widen and she's forced to stifle her giggles with a soapy hand.
''Of course not,'' she brings out, not completely capable of hiding her mischievous grin, ''but tell me, should I be worried or your team's health?''
Tenma thinks for a second and then shrugs. It seems to be enough of an answer, for Aki shakes her head and sets to finishing the dishes.
When, fifteen minutes later, Tenma returns to Teikoku's inside soccer field, no one bats an eye.
With how easily and quietly he sits down on the bench, without any complaint or random comment to his teammates, they really should've realized he was up to something.
As it is, none of the soccer players notice it.
The managers, however, do. Aoi turns to Tenma to say something when she pauses in confusion, taking a moment to understand the situation she's looking at. Then she watches with growing horror as her childhood friend unscrews the lid of a jar of mayo, scoops a gracious amount on his spoon, and enthusiastically eats it.
A small whimper involuntarily leaves her.
It manages to get the attention of both Akane and Midori, and both the girls merely stare at the brunet for a long while.
Then, Akane beams and chirps, ''my, that looks delicious!'' and Aoi and Midori can do nothing but flit their shocked and disgusted gazes between the two as Tenma cheerfully explains he found it in the kitchen.
When the brunet takes another scoop – this one twice as big as the first one, oh dear lord – Midori shudders. ''You are a disgrace to humanity,'' she says. ''Get that stuff away from me.''
Tenma looks at her and tilts his head, smiling so brightly it causes the redhead to shiver in terror, and then slowly raises the spoon to his mouth.
''I can't watch this,'' whimpers Aoi, hiding her face.
Midori takes a single deep breath, not able to keep the disgust off her face as the brunet cheerfully continues eating, and grabs the edge of the bench which such force it actually creaks. The last straw is when Tenma smiles innocently and chirps a ''would you like some too?''
The redhead screeches.
It has the added effect of catching Raimon's attention.
Being the overprotective worrywarts they are, and it being obvious the new situation somehow involves their wayward midfielder, the team takes an impromptu break and moves towards the benches.
Only to find the same horrifying sight as Midori and Aoi.
''I am disowning myself from this soccer family,'' whispers Hamano. Hayami next to him whimpers in agreement.
Tenma merely blinks large, sparkling grey eyes at them and takes another bite of his 'mayo'.
Ah, Aki really makes the best vanilla pudding.
Kidou's getting his stuff together. More about that soon!
And yes. Vanilla pudding. Mayo. I couldn't pass up the opportunity okay.
Anyway, imma head to bed now. Goodnight everyone, see you next chapter!
- Yara