Ah... I believe some of you were right, I do need to take it easy. I almost got admitted again. Thank you all for the get well wishes! Please do enjoy this chapter!

Phantom

Chapter 9

One Piece at a Time

The skies were gray when they arrived by the port. Kidou, Gouenji and Haruna were already there waiting for them. A boat floated at the end of the dock—Kidou rented it for them. The wind was cold as it blew softly against Tsurugi's cheeks. His jacket waved in the breeze. Everyone huddled in a group as they waited for the adults who were talking among each other a good distance away. When all four finally approached them, everyone turned quiet.

"Endou and Gouenji will be coming with you to God Eden. Haruna and I will stay here," Kidou said. Nobody disagreed. "We'll have to wait a few more minutes until Furukaba finishes adjusting himself to the boat," Endou continued. "You can walk around if you'd like. We'll call you back when the boat's ready,"

And with that permission, most of the players wandered off. Not many stayed put. Tsurugi was among the people who decided to sightsee. He walked to the edge of the waters, relishing the cold breeze. It felt nice and in the same time... familiar. Without warning another shot of pain went through his head. He groaned and pressed his temple. He was glad he was alone—he didn't want anybody to worry about him. Besides, it was probably a migraine—a simple migraine that will go away.

He stood up when the pain subsided. The teenager looked around him. He could see everybody else in the distance and they were surprisingly very far away. Maybe he should turn back now. He didn't want to get lost. Tsurugi started to walk towards the group but something caught his eye. A peculiar looking bush that was far bigger than the ones next to it. It looked like it was... hiding something.

He neared it and slowly ran his finger through the leaves. Peering through the greens, indeed the bush was hiding something. He caught sight of black leather and some blue metal. Tsurugi wrapped his hand around the black leather and the other hand on a part of the blue metal. He pulled it out roughly with one thug and the thing looked like it had jumped out of the bush and onto Tsurugi. There was loud ringing—the sound resembling a bicycle bell and afterwards the sounds of spinning wheels. The teenager opened an eye—he was pushed onto the ground by whatever he had pulled out of the bush. And his assumption was correct, it was a bicycle. An old and worn bicycle that was really rusty now that it wasn't in the darkness anymore. It didn't even have any brakes.

"Tsurugi! Are you okay?" he heard a voice and the thuds of people running on the ground towards him. He groaned—telling Shindou who had been the first to arrive that he was not okay and he needed the heavy scrap of metal off of him. With the help of Kirino, the captain of the soccer team lifted the heavy bike off of the striker, who thanked them afterwards.

"What were you doing?" Kirino asked with eyebrows quirked. Tsurugi was rubbing his forearms. He shrugged. "I saw it in the bush. I was curious—why would someone hide a bike in there?"

"Curiosity killed the cat, Tsurugi. You need to be more careful next time," Shindou advised.

'But satisfaction brought it back,' the forward thought to himself.

More footsteps were heard and soon Endou and the rest of the adults were there. "What happened?" the brunet asked as his eyes shifted from Tsurugi to Kirino to Shindou and then to the bike. His eyes widened and he nudged Kidou with his elbow. The other man seemed surprised too and so did Haruna but Gouenji was indifferent. Tsurugi noticed the change of behaviour and he immediately questioned it. Endou pressed his lips together when Tsurugi asked if they knew the bike.

"It's the same bike Tenma used to get here,"

So they were on the right track. Gone all the hesitation and doubt Endou ever had about Tenma on God Eden. He really was on the island. How he crossed the sea to get there was a mystery but they'll find out soon when they find Tenma. Gouenji ordered the other soccer players to board the boat while Kidou and Haruna watched from the bus. Furukaba-san was seen discussing some things with Endou and the brunet occasionally nodded. Before long, they were off.

Kidou turned to see Haruna's worried face. "Do you think they'll be alright?" she asked her brother. Kidou let a small smile on his face. "All we can do for now is hope,"

They got into the car and drove away.

From what he remembered, the trip on boat took them around three hours. Shindou and Kirino were on the starboard side. The waters were murky and the only thing they saw were the shadows of their reflection. The brunet leaned against the railings on his side, head tilted as he did so.

"You look troubled," Kirino pointed out. His arms were on the railings, his eyes watching the ripples of waves as they cut through the water before he turned to Shindou who was next to him. The brunet gave him a small smile as he returned his best friend's gaze. "You're no different," he remarked. Kirino chuckled lightly. "I still can't believe we're going back to that place. I wonder how the others are feeling about this," he voiced out his thoughts and turned again to lean on his back, staring into the gray sky.

"Last time I checked, Tsurugi fell asleep on one of the chairs," Shindou said with amusement in his voice. Kirino's eyes widened. "I'm not sure if that's a sign he's taking it easy or he's too tired from all of this," the defender remarked.

"I'm hoping it's the latter,"

"Me too,"

Their conversation died as a number of seagulls flew in circles above their boat. Both teenagers watched the birds in silence, their squawks are the only sounds other than the waves and the boat's roaring engines.

Nothing changed about the island—nothing that they could see with the naked eye. Everything was the same when they docked—everything except the atmosphere. It was a heavy and gloomy atmosphere—and it felt thick to the point you could cut it with a knife.

Shindou looked around, half-expecting Tenma to run up to them with an ecstatic grin on his face. He sighed after realizing it was futile hoping for such a ridiculous thing. "Coach Endou," he called for the adult. Endou turned his head towards him with raised eyebrows. "How are we going to find Tenma? The island is big, we won't be able to cover the whole place in one day," he reasoned. Shindou watched as Endou scratched the back of his head.

"We can try the abandoned structures first. If he's been staying here since last night he would have needed a place to sleep in," Endou said. The others agreed in silence.

They brought everything they needed with them from the boat to the tower where they slept in the last time they stayed here. Everyone scattered around, looking for signs of the place being touched. There were none. Not a soccer ball, not a bag or any clothes that belonged to Tenma were found.

"He's not here…" Shinsuke said in a depressed manner. He looked at the stairs that led from the beach to the tower—where he had a race with Tenma to see who could bring the firewood up faster. He felt his eyes water and quickly wiped them away. "Tenma…"

Kariya watched the goalkeeper from afar. He felt sorry for the guy. 'But feeling sorry won't bring Tenma-kun back.' The defender started to walk towards a pathway into the forest. They checked the tower, what about the ruins where they first met Shuu? And the waterfall? There were still so many places they could check. Suddenly determined, Kariya broke into a sprint towards his next destination. The sooner they found him, the better.

He didn't realize there was a shadow following him.

The ruins were untouched like the tower. He checked every crook and cranny but there was not a single sign of human life. Kariya rested by the big tree where two small statues stood. One with a ball on its head and the other resembled a female child. He remembered Tenma said something about the statues to the team the first night they were there but he didn't pay attention so he couldn't recall what it was about. "I think it was something about… the god of soccer?"

He tilted his head and caressed the ball on the statue's head. "I wonder how old this thing is…" it was slowly eaten away by moss but surprisingly the grass around the whole place was kept nice and short. How was that even possible, he didn't know. If the statues were somewhat deities or gods of some sorts, it was probably best if he didn't disturb them anymore than he already did.

Kariya stood up and dusted his tracksuit. He decided to head for the waterfall next. If there were still no signs of Tenma, he was going to go back to the tower. The defender turned around when a gust of wind blew past him. It was strong enough to make him lose his footing but he managed to get right back up on his two feet. "Who's there?!" he shouted. He was quite certain the gust of wind was caused by a soccer ball that missed him. Kariya stole a glance behind his shoulder and he was right—there by the walls of the ruins was a deflated soccer ball.

Now he began to felt afraid. What if it was Tenma? Even worse, what if it was a possessed Tenma? Slowly, Kariya turned his head to the front again. His hands unconsciously gripped into fists and his eyes were narrowed. Suddenly his throat felt drier than usual. But his train of thought froze when he saw it.

There, cowering behind a tree was a shadow. It was standing still, barely moving a muscle. Kariya used his eyes to make out the features of the shadow but to no avail. The shadow was hidden too well. "Who are you?!" Kariya took the all the courage he had to step forward. Something at the back of his mind told him to run—run all the way back to the tower and to the comfort of everybody else. But another thing drove him closer and closer to the shadow. His steps were slow and hesitant but they weren't stopping.

He was still a few feet away when the shadow finally emerged from behind the tree. Kariya stopped moving immediately as his eyes widened. "You…!" he gasped. The other person's hand stretched out towards him, like an invitation for a dance. There was a sinister smile on his face as an unknown power forced Kariya to kneel onto the ground despite the teenager's protests. He tried to stand up, push himself up but it was no use. He started to panic. He tried to scream for help but his lips were zipped shut, unable to move. He had no control over his own body anymore. He couldn't believe his ears when the other spoke.

"Make a pact with me, Kariya."

Hikaru nervously played with his fingers. He looked to the left and then to right before his attention turned to his fingers again. A few moments later, he stood up from the ledge and hurriedly ran for Kirino.

"Kirino-senpai!" he yelled. Anybody could see the panic in his eyes. The called defender was surprised by Hikaru's sudden yell. "What's wrong?" he asked, taking note of Hikaru's jittery movements.

"I can't find Kariya anywhere! Do you know where he is?" he voiced out his worries. He was with Kariya a few moments after they docked but then when he tried to look for the defender when they cleared the tower, he was nowhere to be seen. He didn't want to cause a chaos so he stayed silent. But more than an hour later, Kariya still wasn't seen and he slowly started to worry. He tried to come up with a logical solution and the only logical thing he managed to think of so far was that Kariya probably told the somebody else where he went. He was holding dearly onto this strand of hope—Kirino was the only person left that Hikaru hadn't questioned yet. But it was ruined when he shook his head.

"No way…" Hikaru held his hands. He looked down. Where in the world was Kariya?

Kirino noticed Hikaru's disappointment and asked, "Why are you looking for him?"

"He's been gone for so long, and nobody knows where he went. It's like he disappeared!" he was trembling. He didn't want anything bad to happen to Kariya. Hikaru felt a hand on his shoulder and he looked up into Kirino's determined eyes. "Let's alert the others. If Kariya really did wander alone, then he could be in trouble," the senior said. He was right. If Kariya was alone, there was a higher chance of him encountering the Phantom and it would be more dangerous too. Hikaru nodded his head. They both turned around and it was at that time the leaves of a bush rustled—and out came a confused looking Kariya.

Hikaru gasped and he quickly ran towards the defender. "Kariya! Where were you?! I was so worried!" he asked in a fast pace. Kariya staggered slightly before he managed to stand straight. He was momentarily silent. "I was… by the ruins… when I fell asleep by a tree," he explained slowly, as if calculating his words. His eyes weren't focused on one place—they kept moving from one point to another. Hikaru watched his antics curiously. "Did something happen to you? Did you hit your head?" he questioned when he saw Kariya holding his head as if in pain.

The defender shook his head. "No, no, no such things happened," he denied. "I'm a little dizzy, that's all," he muttered and he slowly walked away from Hikaru, his hand still on his head.

The forward watched as Kariya retreated. He turned his gaze to Kirino, who had the same look of confusion on his face as Hikaru did. They wanted to know why Kariya was at the ruins but decided to ask later when the defender felt better.

Shindou realized Tsurugi hasn't spoken a word ever since they docked. He guessed that everyone else dismissed this behaviour since Tsurugi wasn't talkative in the first place. But this time he was even quieter than usual it was bugging the brunet. And remembering Tsurugi's pained look when they were on the bus worried him even more. The forward was hiding something—he could feel it.

But he didn't get a chance to push the forward into telling him what it was as Endou called for all of them. Shindou decided to put it off for later.

"I think the best course of action right now is to split into groups and search the grounds. We'll get nowhere if we stick to one place," Endou said with crossed arms. Gouenji stepped forward. "You'll go in pairs. Choose whoever you'd like to go with and come back in an hour," and after he said that everyone immediately decided who they wanted to pair up with. Amagi had grabbed Hikaru by his shoulders enthusiastically and ran off with him. Hayami clung onto Hamano while Shindou and Kirino looked at each other and nodded. Nishiki and Kurama walked away without any words exchanged and Tsurugi walked into another path to the forest—Kariya following closely behind him.

"The managers however, will stay here," Endou ordered before the three girls manage to run off. Midori whined loudly and grumbled a lot but once Akane managed to persuade her it was probably better this way, she calmed down. "Furukaba-san will be looking after you as well, so don't worry," Endou added and the two adults left the three girls to join the search. Midori angrily kicked a stone into a wall. "This isn't fair," she grumbled, still unsatisfied. "Why are we always excluded?" she sat down in a huff next to the standing Aoi. "What do you think, Aoi?" she asked the younger girl, after resting her chin on the palm of her hands. The blue haired girl shrugged. The older manager sighed.

Akane browsed through the pictures of the team she had taken with her camera over the month. Everyone in the pictures beamed from happiness. Not a single face frowned. The quiet manager's grip on her camera tightened. Everything changed so quickly. She didn't like this. Everyone was unhappy. She wished it would end soon. She wished the Phantom would go away soon. She wished so dearly for Raimon to be a cheerful place again.

"Ah, do you girls mind if I go back to the boat? I think the boys missed one of the cooling boxes," Furukaba asked the trio. Midori shook her head and so did Aoi. "Not at all—do you want some help with it?" the redhead offered.

The old man shook his head and Midori nodded in return. "I won't be long," he said and walked towards the shore.

Now only the three of them left, they sat quietly under the shade of the tower. Midori leaned against the hard wall, Akane sat on her legs to her right and Aoi stood by her left. None of them felt like sparking a conversation. What would they talk about anyway?

There was a lull in the forest. Akane's head lifted at the silence. "The birds… they've stopped singing," she muttered, staring into the dark sky. Midori heard her and listened as well. Akane was right. There was not a single sound heard. It was still. "The wind died too…" Aoi mumbled. "Nothing's moving," she commented, looking at the suspended trees around them.

"Oi, oi… this is getting creepy," Midori stood up. She didn't like this unpleasant feeling she had. Her eyes scanned the area for any sign of movement—any sign of life. "Midori-chan…" Akane watched her troubled friend. "It's probably nothing," she tried to reassure her but she was feeling uneasy as well and it wasn't helping.

There was a snap of a twig and three pair of eyes widened. They saw nothing unusual. Midori clenched her fists. The other two inched closer to her for comfort. "W-What was that?" Aoi stuttered, her hands close to her chest.

Thick black smoke appeared in front of them, making them gasp and take a step back. The smoke disappeared as soon as it appeared—a tall figure stood in its place, grinning at them. The girls recognized the figure immediately, surprised by his sudden appearance. Aoi stepped forward—she was about to call his name and ask him what was going on, when an agonizing pain hit them. They screamed before collapsing on the ground—unconscious.

Shindou and Kirino avoided the branches as best as they could but they couldn't deny it much longer—they were venturing deeper and deeper into the forest, where the trees were taller and the vines were thicker. The sunlight seemed so dim now—the canopy of leaves high above their heads was the reason. "Shindou, I think we should head back now. It's almost an hour and we could get lost if we go in any further," the defender said in a cautious tone. He looked around him and the darkness of the forest. It was dusty.

The brunet turned his head to look at Kirino, who was behind him. He realized Kirino was rubbing his forearms in an attempt to warm them. His eyes softened. Those eyes then turned to the trees around them. All the time Kirino had been following him, who pushed forward into the woods without even knowing why. It was… a hunch. He felt keen to go further and further in. There was something pulling him into these woods. He sighed. The creases on his forehead disappeared. "You're right. I'm sorry," he apologized for his abruptness and turned to Kirino again—before he gasped and lurched forward.

"Kirino, look out!"

Something snapped and the next thing Shindou knew, he was in a land of darkness, his best friend the last thing he saw—and tried to save.