Wow! I didn't really think I'd get any reviews at all! All of you are so kind! Thank you so much!

I would like to say that this fanfiction is heavily based on friendship so all the fluff you'll be reading between the characters are bromance and nothing more (after friendship this fanfiction is also heavily based on mystery so y'all better be on the edge of your seats - because not all is what it seems like)

Phantom

Chapter 2

I'll be Okay

His body felt so heavy – like thousands of weights were on top of him. Tenma's eyes slowly fluttered open. His head throbbed but not as much as before. His vision was a little blurry. Slowly, his eyes adjusted to the darkness of the room.

"Huh…?"

The room was dark like night. Tenma didn't recognize the ceiling above him nor did he recognize the bed he was in. The brunet was tired – too tired to even sit up. He moaned and slowly moved his body so he was resting on his side. Tenma was certain by now that he wasn't in his room. But he had this strange gut feeling that he had been in a room like this countless of times before. He closed his eyes and tried to think of something up.

His eyes slowly opened again. Of course – Taiyou and Yuuichi-san were both placed in a room like this. So does this mean he was in a hospital? But… why?

"What… happened…?"

Tenma winced. His head throbbed harder. He tried to think of a good reason to why he was in a hospital room in the middle of the night but his headache only got worse. His hand held his head. Why couldn't he remember what happened yesterday? All he remembered was getting ready for school and everything else was blank. Tenma sighed and closed his eyes. Maybe he would get an answer when he woke up again. It would be best if he slept anyway – it looked like the sun was far from rising.

Fuyuka walked into Tenma's room. When she saw the teen's sleeping figure, she sighed. Slowly, she walked towards the windows and tied the curtains together – enabling the morning sunlight to enter the building.

She heard a moan and quickly turned her head to Tenma's bed. The teen was stirring in his sleep. Soon enough, his eyes opened and Fuyuka smiled.

"How are you feeling, Tenma-kun?" she approached the teen. Tenma looked at her with tired eyes and slowly pushed himself up from under the covers into a sitting position. The brunet rubbed his eyes before yawning. "Tired…" he replied.

Fuyuka giggled. "Aki-san visited you yesterday night, but she had to leave to take care of Sasuke."

Tenma blinked. "How long have I been here?"

"Less than twenty four hours – you were in a pretty bad shape when the ambulance took you here,"

The brunet shook his head. His eyes closed again. "Why… Why am I here?"

Fuyuka gasped. "You don't remember?"

Tenma shook his head again. He opened his eyes and stared at Fuyuka with a confused expression. "I only remember panicking in the morning because I was late for practice,"

"I see… Well, I don't know the full details so you might want to ask your teammates when you have the chance," Fuyuka smiled again. "Are you hungry? I'll get you something to eat,"

Tenma smiled a little and softly nodded. Some food sounded nice right now. Fuyuka nodded back and turned to the door. Before she closed it behind her, she turned around. "By the way, Taiyou wanted to see you ever since he saw your ambulance pull up. He was really worried about you, he even tried to sneak out again just to see you," she giggled. "Don't be surprised if he suddenly pops out of nowhere while you're in here," she advised and closed the door.

Tenma blinked. "Pft!" he chuckled. "Taiyou, huh?" he smiled to himself. He looked out the window. Soon the smile he was wearing turned into a frown. He wondered what his teammates were doing right now. Of course, they might be practicing since it was still early.

Hayami sighed and held his head. "I can't believe something like this happened! And it's barely been a week since the Holy Road finals!" he said a little shakily. Everybody in Raimon turned their heads to him. All of them had solemn faces.

The team was in the clubroom, waiting for their coach. Most of them were sitting on their designated tables while Shindou and a few others were sitting on the sofas in front of the TV. The managers were huddled together on one of the sofas.

"I hope Tenma's okay…" Shinsuke muttered his worry with a sigh.

"I'm not being rude or anything, but Tenma really scared me yesterday," Kariya said and was elbowed by a scowling Midori. A few murmurs were heard until Shindou spoke up.

"Kariya is right. Tenma wasn't himself yesterday. I would be lying if I said I wasn't surprised to see him like that," he gripped his hands together as he stared at the floor.

Just then, the doors slid open and Coach Endou walked in with a frown on his face. "Everyone, I'd like your attention please," the murmurs died down in the room as everybody turned their heads to the coach. "Aki just called me. Apparently, Tenma won't be coming to practice for today."

Gasps echoed in the room. "Coach Endou, why?! Whatever happened to him, it couldn't be that serious, right?!" Hikaru asked and approached the coach with a very shocked expression.

Coach Endou shook his head. "You're right, it's not serious. But the doctor told her that Tenma should rest for a few more days and also…" the adult pressed his lips together. His gaze averted to the side, not really wanting to tell his students the news but he knew he had to.

All of the soccer players waited in silence and worry – anxious of what their coach might say next. Tsurugi – who was leaning against the wall in his tracks – tapped his finger on his elbow. He got impatient. "And…?"

Coach Endou sighed. He turned his head to face everyone in the room again. "He advised her to never leave him alone – no matter what."

Everyone exchanged confused glances. Never leave Tenma alone? Why?

"Is there a reason behind it?" Tsurugi asked again. Everyone could hear the worry and curiosity in his tone.

Coach Endou shook his head. "I don't understand it myself but the doctor has confirmed Tenma to be depressed. He's not fully recovered but he's definitely better than yesterday though. Being alone might cause him to fall into depression again."

This time, the gasps were louder – a depressed Tenma? Was it the end of the world?

"So Aki has requested that you, the Raimon Eleven, help Tenma out of his depression by accompanying him at all times," Coach Endou smiled. He scanned the room. "When things work out, we'll get the Tenma that we all know and love again!" he grinned.

Even though none of them fully understood Tenma's problem, they smiled nonetheless. All of them looked at each other and nodded.

"Who knew a kid like him could fall into depression… Hey, Hamano, do you think something happened to him that we didn't know about?" Kurama crossed his arms behind his head and asked the black haired teen.

Hamano lifted his hands up and shook his head. "Beats me, I'm not around him 24/7,"

"What about you, Shinsuke?" the forward turned his head to the small first year.

Shinsuke gave the same reply. "Aoi is usually the one who hangs out with him," he tried to look for her in the room but found that she wasn't anywhere to be seen. "E-EH?! WHERE'S AOI?!"

All eyes turned to Shinsuke. But then their eyes started to look for Aoi. And once again, none of them saw her.

That is, until she walked into the clubroom with Haruna. Shinsuke heaved a sigh of relief. He quickly ran to the manager. "Aoi! Where did you go?!"

Aoi blinked at him before giggling a little. "I was helping Haruna-sensei with some work. Why did you ask?"

Shinsuke pouted. "I thought something happened to you, okay! Usually you and Tenma were the first ones to be in the room,"

The girl patted his head. "I'm here now, right?"

Shinsuke grumbled and turned to sit next to Hikaru. A few laughs from the other soccer players were heard. Shindou suddenly stood up from his seat. He walked towards Coach Endou.

"Coach Endou, I think it would be best if one of us visited Tenma at the hospital today," he suggested. Coach Endou nodded his head and his gaze immediately turned to the one person who would be perfect for the job. He grinned. "Tsurugi!"

The said first year looked surprised but recomposed himself before walking to the coach. "Yes?"

"I want you to visit Tenma after school today," Coach Endou said simply.

Tsurugi gasped at this. "M-Me? What about practice?"

"Yes, you. You're excused from evening practice. I want you to see if Tenma's doing well," Coach Endou's grin didn't fade. "He's your best friend, isn't he?"

Tsurugi's cheeks were a little pink at the mention of Tenma being his best friend. Shindou noticed this and chuckled. The navy blue haired forward nodded his head after a cough. He smiled a little. "I understand,"

Tenma shoved another spoonful into his mouth and grinned. "This is delicious! Aki-nee's cooking is always the best!"

The mentioned woman giggled to herself as she watched Tenma eat. She woke up really early that day and made some food for the brunet. She was lucky she ran into Fuyuka in the lobby before the nurse was able to buy some food for Tenma. Aki stared at Tenma with a soft smile. Worry was seen in her eyes. The conversation she had with Endou a few minutes earlier lingered in her mind.

It was a really shocking thing for her. Really, who would have thought that the cheerful teen in front of her was going through that? It was hard to believe – even harder when she's watching him eat so joyfully.

"Ne Aki-nee, when can I leave?" Tenma asked with a mouthful of rice. He swallowed.

"The doctor said you would have to stay here for the rest of the day and then you can go back home first thing in the morning," she said with a smile.

Tenma pouted. "Eeeh? Is my condition really that serious? I just want to play soccer again!" he frowned and shoved another spoonful of rice into his mouth. His face showed that he was unsatisfied with the fact that Aki had just told him.

"Tenma, take it slow and steady! You might end up fainting again if you rush yourself!" Aki scolded him with a worried frown.

The brunet stopped chewing. His eyes were wide and he turned slightly to the side. "I fainted?" he tilted his head – as if not believing what Aki told him.

Aki's eyebrows furrowed together. "Yes, during practice yesterday. You don't remember?"

"I don't remember anything from yesterday at all!" Tenma exclaimed with his eyes closed and mouth wide. Another spoonful of rice went into his mouth. "Not that yesterday was an important day or anything," he chewed with his eyes still closed.

Aki shook her head and sighed. The door to Tenma's room opened and an orange haired teenager walked in with a grin. "Tenma-kun!"

Tenma and Aki both turned their heads to the door. The brunet's face was decorated with a grin when he saw his friend. "Taiyou!"

Aki smiled to herself and stood up. It was time. "Tenma, I'll be going back home now. I still have chores to do," she picked up her bag.

Tenma nodded at her. "See you soon, Aki-nee!"

The woman nodded her head and walked to the door where Taiyou was still at. The teenager stepped back a little to let her pass. Aki smiled at Taiyou. "Thank you," she whispered and walked away. Taiyou nodded at her and walked into Tenma's room. He closed the door.

"So, Tenma-kun, how long has it been since we last saw each other?" the cheerful teen asked.

Tenma smiled nervously and scratched the back of his head. "I don't know, I sort of lost track of time!"

Taiyou pouted. "That's mean!" he sat on the chair Aki was sitting on earlier. He saw what Tenma was doing and his eyes brightened. "And that looks delicious!"

"It is delicious! Aki-nee made it for me. You want to try?" Tenma offered and held out a spoon of rice. Taiyou nodded and opened his mouth. He inched closer to Tenma. The brunet shoved the spoon in and grinned. Taiyou smiled. "Wow, this is better than the food they make here!" he said.

Tenma laughed. "Hey Taiyou, did you sneak out just to see me?" a playful smirk was seen on his face.

Taiyou choked before he even had the chance the swallow. "O-Of course not! Fuyuka-san gave me permission to sit here with you all day!"

Tenma's eyebrows shot up. "Really?"

The orange haired teen gulped down a cup of water and nodded his head. Tenma smiled. He started to laugh as Taiyou chocked on the water this time.

Tsurugi walked down the sidewalk. School ended a few minutes ago. As he was told to do, he was now on his way to visit Tenma. The brunet's antics yesterday really worried him – even though he didn't really show it. He was like everyone else. They were shaken up by Tenma yesterday too. And then Coach Endou told them the midfielder was depressed? As far as Tsurugi was concerned, Tenma wasn't the type who was easily depressed. In fact, if the brunet felt like he couldn't do something, he'll just smile to himself with a determined face and whisper 'Everything will work out!'

The navy blue haired teenager walked into the hospital lobby. He went up to the reception desk and asked for Tenma's room number. Once he got the information he wanted, Tsurugi quickly went to the elevator and pressed the 'up' button.

The elevator door opened to reveal Fuyuka. The nurse smiled at Tsurugi. "Are you here to see Tenma?" she asked while hugging her clipboard.

Tsurugi, who was a little surprised seeing her, nodded. Fuyuka stepped aside and Tsurugi walked in. The nurse pressed the right floor button for him.

"Thanks,"

"No problem," Fuyuka turned around and smiled. "I'm the one who should be thanking you. I'm sure you've heard of Tenma's condition, right?"

Tsurugi slowly nodded.

Fuyuka's smile didn't fade. "The doctor has given any friend of Tenma's special permission to stay until he falls asleep," she explained. "So I hope you'll take the job, Tsurugi-kun."

The elevator door opened at Tsurugi's designated floor. Stay with Tenma until he falls asleep? The lad smiled to himself and nodded. "Yeah," he said softly and walked out. Fuyuka giggled and the elevator door closed again. Tsurugi walked down the hallway until he found Tenma's name. He stood in front of the door for a few seconds, slowly trying to register the fact that Tenma was a patient in a hospital. Somehow, deep down inside him, it didn't sound right. He sighed and knocked.

"Come in," Tenma's cheerful voice said and Tsurugi slid the door open. When he walked inside, he gasped at the sight of his older brother accompanying the brunet. "N-Nii-san?!"

Yuuichi smiled at his younger brother. "Yo, Kyousuke. Nice timing you have, it's almost time for my rehab session,"

"Eh…" Tenma slightly pouted. But then he grinned brightly. "Good luck Yuuichi-san! Do your best!" he exclaimed. Yuuichi nodded at him and pushed his wheelchair to the entrance.

Kyousuke looked at his brother and they mentally exchanged a few words. The look in Yuuichi's eyes confirmed Kyousuke's assumption. His brother knew about Tenma's condition. Kyousuke pushed the door wider and Yuuichi nodded at him before he left.

The navy blue haired soccer player quickly walked into Tenma's room. He smiled at the brunet after he closed the door and sat in the empty chair. "You really gave us a shock yesterday, Tenma."

Tenma sighed and he stared at Kyousuke in the eye. The brunet's mouth was slightly pressed together. Kyousuke tilted his head. "What's wrong?"

"Can we not talk about yesterday?"

Kyousuke blinked. "Why?"

"Because I don't remember yesterday at all!" Tenma exclaimed and buried his face into his pillow. "I don't remember anything from yesterday!" he shouted into his pillow. "First Aki-nee said I fainted, Taiyou said he had no idea what happened; Yuuichi-san said that Gouenji-san told him that I was acting weird! And then Fuyuka-san refused to say why I'm still hospitalized!" the brunet grunted. He lifted up his face to see Kyousuke holding in his laughter. "H-Hey! That was not funny!"

Kyousuke shook his head and chuckled a little. "You're right, it's not funny. It's hilarious to see you whining," he added with a smirk.

"TSU-RU-GI!" Tenma shouted in a whiny voice. He threw the pillow at Kyousuke, who caught it without even flinching. "Mou…" Tenma rolled over and covered his face with his blanket. "I just want to play soccer with everyone soon!" he said.

"Dear me, I feel so sorry for Nii-san and Amemiya, who had to keep up with your constant whining all day," Kyousuke mocked. He pushed the pillow onto Tenma's head.

Tenma started to shout gibberish at Kyousuke. The other teen only laughed and teased him more. "Seriously, Tenma. I've never seen you whine before,"

"I'm whining because I couldn't play soccer all daaaay!" Tenma blew away some bangs from his face. "Wait a second; aren't you supposed to be practicing with the team right now?" the brunet turned his head and stared at Kyousuke – as if challenging him to say that he skipped practice.

Kyousuke crossed his arms and looked away. "E-Everyone was really worried about you… So Coach Endou sent me to visit you,"

"Really…?" Tenma's voice somehow sounded disappointed. "So if Coach Endou didn't tell you to visit me, you won't?"

That caught Kyousuke off guard. But he turned his head towards Tenma again, this time practically glaring at the brunet. "Why would you say that?! Of course I'd come visit, you're my best friend!"

It was silent for a few moments before Kyousuke finally realized what he had just said. Slowly his face turned red from embarrassment, mostly from the fact that he had actually shouted it. The teen covered his mouth and mentally cursed his self.

Tenma, at first, was too dazed to even respond. But then when his brain finally caught on, his face brightened up like the Sun. His eyes sparkled and a few tears of joys appeared. "Tsurugi…" Ignoring whatever warning Fuyuka or Aki or the doctor had gave him, the brunet lunged out of his bed and hugged Kyousuke.

"You finally said it! You finally admitted that I'm your best friend!" he shouted in the most joyous manner ever.

"O-Oi Tenma! Get off me!" Kyousuke tried pushing the brunet away. He stood up and tried to get the other teen on the bed. "You're supposed to be in bed!"

"No!" Tenma said and tightened his grip around Kyousuke's neck. "I promised to myself that I would hug you once you admitted that I'm your best friend! And I won't let go until you hug back!" the brunet said with determination. Kyousuke gasped at this. He gritted his teeth before sighing. Slowly, Kyousuke returned Tenma's hug. The brunet laughed and he let go. He grinned at Kyousuke, who looked away out of embarrassment again.

"Che, I swear you make a good blackmailer,"

"Hehe~" Tenma sat on his bed and patted the spot next to him. Kyousuke looked at him. He hesitantly sat down next to the brunet.

"Stop being so stubborn, Tsurugi~"

"You're the stubborn one!" Kyousuke exclaimed. He grabbed Tenma in a headlock and ruffled the brunet's hair with a smirk.

"ACK! Stop that!" Tenma tried to push himself out of Kyousuke's grasps. "You ruined my hair!" he whined again.

"You deserved it," Tsurugi smiled and let Tenma go. The brunet pouted at him before digging into his covers. Tenma placed his head on his pillow and looked away. "I don't want to talk to you ever again!" the brunet exclaimed. Kyousuke smiled at Tenma's childish antics.

Yeah right.

"Well, if Tenma doesn't want to talk to me, then I guess I'll take my leave then," Kyousuke threatened and slowly lifted himself up. But before he could stand on his two feet again, something grabbed his wrist. Kyousuke looked down and then at Tenma – who was on the verge of tears. The brunet was pouting like a five year old. The navy blue haired teen chuckled and sat down again.

"Hey Tsurugi…" Tenma started. He lowered his head a little.

"Hm?" Kyousuke replied. He was a little surprised at Tenma's sudden mood change.

"I'll be okay, right…? I'll be able to play soccer with you again soon, right…?" Tenma's voice was so sad and teary; it broke Kyousuke's heart a little – seeing the brunet all weak like this. He smiled and inched himself closer to the brunet. Kyousuke wrapped an arm around Tenma's shoulder as he himself lied down on the bed next to Tenma. He turned his head to side – his smile not going away.

"Of course, everything will work out, right?"

Tenma smiled happily at this. He laughed and nodded his head with a grin.

"Yeah!"