Authoress: I'm back, baby!

Midorikawa: Wow, that's fast. You just posted not even a day ago, and now you put up the next chap?

Authoress: Yep! Okay, Midori-chan, please do the disclaimer.

Midorikawa: 'kay. HiroMido4ever does not own Inazuma Eleven or any of the characters. Except for-

Authoress: NO SPOILER!

Midorikawa: But-

Authoress: Shhhhhhhhhhhh!

~ x ~

Chapter 1: I'm Midorikawa Ryuji

Hiroto knew something was wrong with Midorikawa. He just knew it. He knew it was hard for his best friend to be Reize, to go out and destroy schools, using the sport he liked the most. Of course, while he was thankful the Aliea Meteorite didn't affect Gemini Storm as heavily as it affected Epsilon or the three master rank teams, the fact it had drastically changed his Midorikawa into someone he couldn't even recognise scared him. Not to mention the aftermath of it. Midorikawa was even more timid now, and the mere mention of the name 'Reize' made him flinch.

"Hey Reize." Burn had called him that once, while he was in charge of making dinner. Hiroto could still remember how stiffed Midorikawa's body suddenly became, and how pale he was when he turned around, eyes widened in absolute horror.

"Don't call me that." Midorikawa's voice came out only louder than a whisper. "Don't call me Reize. I'm not Reize. I'm not Reize. I'm not..."

Before anyone could understand what exactly was going on, Midorikawa was already at the corner, hugging himself while mumbling 'I'm not Reize, I'm not Reize, I'm not Reize' over and over again. Like a mantra. It sure gave Hiroto the fright of his life. It took Hitomiko nearly an hour to snap Midorikawa out of it.

At first, Hiroto had thought that the name brought back bad memories for his best friend, the times Midorikawa had his friends treated him badly, and was looked down by the other teams. But, as the time passed, Hiroto understood that it was something more. Something that no one knew but Midorikawa.

Understandably, after such a long time of being 'aliens', the children in Sun Garden Orphanage still sometimes accidentally called each other by their alien names, and some even when by their alien names for real, like Burn, Gazel and Desarm. Of course, while some people did get annoyed at being called by their alien names, no one else but Midorikawa reacted so badly just by hearing his.

"I'M NOT REIZE!" Gazel was taken back when Midorikawa screamed at him, and Hiroto was stunned at how hysteric the greenette sounded. "MY NAME IS MIDORIKAWA RYUJI! NOT REIZE! MIDORIKAWA RYUJI! I'M MIDORIKAWA RYUJI! I'M MIDORIKAWA RYUJI!"

Hiroto was worried, truly worried. And he was not the only one. The situation was getting worse, everyone at Sun Garden could see this. If he got hysteric just by hearing the name 'Reize' before, then now, Midorikawa seemed to have taken it upon himself to mumble 'I'm not Reize. I'm Midorikawa Ryuji. I'm not Reize. I'm Midorikawa Ryuji' whenever he could, wherever he was. Not only that, the greenette also started to get afraid of every mirror in Sun Garden, even went as far as smashed the mirror in his own room with a stick until it was nothing but dust of glass. Everything that reflect Midorikawa's reflection also suffered the same fate, be it the window, the tea in the tea cup or the door handle. Hiroto couldn't even recognise his friend any more. Midorikawa's hair was a mess, his skin became deadly pale, and there was always this crazed look in those black orbs. It didn't even help that he was now carrying the fire poker with him everywhere, clutching it so tight his knuckles turned white. The mantra now became 'I'm Midorikawa Ryuji, I'm Midorikawa Ryuji, I'm Midorikawa Ryuji'. Even when no one called him 'Reize' anymore, being extra careful before calling out for his attention, Midorikawa still kept mumbling his name over and over again.

"He lost it." Burn blurted out one night, when the four ex-captains of Aliea Gakuen gathered to talk about Midorikawa's condition. "He truly lost it."

"What could make him act that way, I wonder." Gazel spoke up. His voice sounded calm, but Hiroto could see how worry he felt in his eyes. "At first, I thought the name brought him bad memories or something, but even when we have stopped calling him 'Reize', he still doesn't get better."

"He doesn't even want to tell me what is wrong." Desarm frowned. Hiroto knew the Epsilon captain saw Midorikawa as his own little brother, and before this whole mess started, Midorikawa always told Desarm everything. "And he kept looking around like something would jump out and attack him at any moment..."

Hiroto nodded in agreement, and opened his mouth to say something. Yet, before any word could come out, they heard Ulvida scream from upstairs.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING, MIDORIKAWA? MIDORIKAWA!"

The four captains looked at each other, and without another word, they all bolted towards the stairs, trying to reach Midorikawa's room with all the speed they had.

Whatever they expected to see once they reached their destination was definitely not this. Hiroto felt his whole body go numb when he saw Ulvida hugging Midorikawa in her arms, as blood continued flowing out from the greenette's stomach, and his hand clutched the blood-stained scissors tightly. On the wall next to Midorikawa and Ulvida, there was a sentence that was written by blood.

MY NAME IS MIDORIKAWA RYUJI

~ x ~

Authoress: Eh hehehehehe, lovely chapter, isn't it?

Midorikawa: ...I sound like someone with serious mental problems in this chapter...

Authoress: Yeah! That's what makes thing more interesting ^-^

Midorikawa: ...and I thought I was your favourite character?

Authoress: You are! That's why I make you suffer like that! It's fun!

Midorikawa: O-O

Authoress: Okay, chapter 1 is done. I hope you guys like it. Stay tuned for the next chapter of 'The Other Side Of Me'! Now, HiroMido4ever out!