Chapter Text
The second half started. Tenma heard some of his not yet convinced teammates murmuring to each other about what they were going to do. He grimaced a little, hoping some other players would come to their side.
Minamisawa and Kurama kicked the ball and the latter immediately passed to Hamano. Tenma didn’t waste time running forward and asking to be passed the ball.
He ran forward, ball at his feets, deciding to break through Tengawara’s defense and score again. If they got the upper hand at the start it would maybe encourage the others. He felt a lot better knowing their defense didn’t have as many holes anymore thanks to Kirino but that didn’t mean it was solid. He could be the best defender in the team but alone he’d have a hard time, especially considering Sangoku wasn’t on their side yet.
When Shinsuke lost the ball, shortly after a pass, Tengawara managed to keep it and run through their ranks. Tenma jumped to stop them but he was blocked by two players actively stopping him.
The ball was passed to Tengawara’s Kenshin user and Tenma dribbled past the two players blocking him only to realize it was useless when Sangoku jumped and took the ball from hair. He smiled brightly, stopping in his tracks.
“Kirino, Shindou, Shinsuke, Tenma” the goalkeeper announced, holding the ball tight between his hands and face set in determination “you’ve opened my eyes” he looked ahead “I’ll play my own soccer too”
“I want to see the goddess of victory smiling again after so long” he finished, looking briefly at the stalls where his mother stood, cheering. He then threw the ball forward to Shindou. “I’ll protect the goal, go!”
Tenma jumped up and down in excitement. “Fucking sweet!” he yelled for the whole field to hear.
“Language!” Kirino called again, a bit more pressing than before “you can’t curse everytime someone changes their mind on the field!” and Tenma smiled mischievously
“This is indeed the most desirable outcome!” He yelled back, watching the defender roll his eyes in veiled amusement.
They started their counterattack. Tenma felt giddy again. They had a goalkeeper and a strong defender plus two experienced midfielders with shooting experience and Shinsuke who was helpful in both defense and attack.
Shindou used God’s baton again, guiding the ball through the field as they ran toward the attack.
All of a sudden the ball was stolen by Tengawara’s seed, Tenma ran after him but he was a few feet behind him. He moved straight towards Raimon's field, visibly frustrated.
“Birdman Falco” the boy yelled as he called forth his Kenshin for the second time that game. He moved to shoot with his hissatsu technique but Tenma was in front of him, standing between the shoot and Sangoku.
“Demon God Pegasus” he called upon his own kenshin. He grimaced internally, wishing he could’ve kept this as a trump card for a little while longer but the priority was to win. The astral projection formed behind him, big and strong after months and years of non-stop training. He ignored the surprise gasps around him.
He took the shoot straight to his chest, making a full-body block and fought against the hissatsu energy. The teen grinned when the ball fell at his feets. “Cry about it” he mocked as he began to run back towards the other team’s goal, passing the ball to the others when necessary.
“Instrumentalist Maestro” Shindou called once he was in front of the goal. Sangoku encouraged him from behind telling him he’d be able to master his kenshin if he believed in it. Tenma smiled uncomfortably. There was no way he’d be able to completely master his kenshin without training or anything of the sort but he didn’t mention it, just being able to tune in with the spirit would be enough for now. “Harmonics” the captain yelled as he kicked the ball in an hissatsu shot. The ball tore through the other team’s defense easily.
“You did it captain!” he called, going to stand next to the captain with a smile.
The match went on for a little while after that where Raimon focused mostly on defense. Shindou decided that since they didn’t have the regular amount of players on their side it was more convenient to make sure Tengawara didn’t tie.
He watched with a smile every time Kirino stopped a forward from getting too close to the goal or, in case he failed, how Sangoku stopped the shots almost effortlessly. He himself only intervened when Tengawara’s seed attempted to shoot with his kenshin.
In the end they won 2-1 for raimon and Tenma cheered loudly, barely keeping himself from saying any curse words out loud. He was within smacking distance from Kirino and even if he could’ve dodged he didn’t wanna risk the glare he was sure to receive. “Heck yeah!” he called instead.
“Tanma!” Kirino called, exasperated by the first year behaviour “This is thrice in one single game” He continued as he turned completely around to face the brunette, placing his hands at his hips. Tenma flinched.
“Come on! Heck is not a curse word” he complained as they started to move towards the benches
“It’s an euphemism for hell” Kirino sighed, walking beside him
“I’m fifteen years old! do you seriously expect me not to say anything even remotely close to a curse?” Tenma moaned, sitting down on the grass
“You can say whatever you want as long as it’s not screaming it during official matches” Krino replied, crossing his arms over his chest and raising one single eyebrow
“Fineeeee” Tenma pouted. Itona snickered as he passed him a water bottle and Tenma answered by sticking out his tongue at him which earned him a light slap on the back of the head by an unimpressed Kirino. Tenma definitely didn’t sulk.
All of the Raimon rebels pretended not to notice how the other members were acting as if the club was done for good. Tenma didn’t bother repeating how they were safe because they won.
In the locker room Tenma chatted enthusiastically with Shinsuke as Itona listened to them. He noticed Kirino, Sangoku and Shindou chatting as well. All the other members had changed fast, only waiting for their friends and leaving with just a goodbye.
Their chatting was interrupted by an energetic song playing through the room.
“BAI BAI YESTERDAY sanbyakurokujuugo nichiban no omoi wa” the song played as Tenma searched through his bag for his phone. He managed to answer by the time the chorus was over.
“Muramatsu hi, how are you” the teen answered after saying sorry to Shinsuke for interrupting their conversation “Oh the others are there too?”he stayed silent for a few moments, likely listening to what he was being told “You were?” he continued with a smile before turning to where Itona was sitting on a bench. “Muramatsu and the others were watching the match” he started, covering the microphone of the telephone so the others wouldn’t hear “Muramatsu asked if we wanted to go over to celebrate”
“You’re talking as if I played” Itona joked then he seemed to consider for a moment “Is he making paitan ramen?” his eyes were starry shaped, Tenma nodded eagerly
“and Chinsuko” he replied seriously, Itona seemed pleased with the answer
“I’ll come” Itona chirped, pleased with the food options, Tenma rolled his eyes good naturally
“Sweet!” he sang before turning back to the phone “We’ll be there!” he listened to the phone for a few minutes “They can?” his smile widened at what he apparently heard “I’ll ask them! Thank you Muramatsu! See you soon” He said as he hung up
“Are you guys busy later?” he then asked, turning to the senpais and Shinsuke. They all looked at him with slightly widened eyes.
Shinsuke simply shook his head “I was just gonna go home”
“I don’t have anything to do," Sangoku hesitantly said. Kirino and Shindou looked at each other, seemingly speaking without uttering a word, after a few moments Shindou replied.
“Us either” he replied, tilting his head in curiosity “Why?”
Tenma grinned “Cool, I’m kidnapping you guys for today!” he exclaimed, going on his phone to type a quick text. He didn’t fail to notice how the three senpai looked at each other in confusion and he lightly chuckled.
“Can we ask you what’s going on?” Kirino asked with a smile
“Well. Some of Itona and I’s ex classmates were watching the match” he started, still looking at his phone “Well technically all of them were but that’s beyond the point” he shook a hand slightly “The point is one of them, Muramatsu, called to ask Itona and I over. His family owns a ramen shop and he wanted to treat us to a meal to congratulate us. Then he asked if i wanted to invite you guys over as well and who am I to say no” He grinned at his teammates, finally taking his eyes off the phone
“So you’re kidnapping us for a meal?” Shindou asked a bit surprised
“Sure” he replied, putting his phone back in his bag “What you don’t wanna come?” He then asked, pulling the best act Bitch-sensei said he could master. She always told him to point on being cute when trying to convince someone since he still had a sort of baby face, any sexual thing wouldn’t work with him as it would with some of his classmates.
The senpais looked at each other again before nodding “We’ll come” Kirino replied, gently “Thank you for inviting us” Tenma beamed
That’s how they found themselves at Matsuraiken after they left the stadium. Tenma asked Aoi if she wanted to come as well but the girl simply said she was busy doing a few chores since her parents were at work. He didn’t manage to catch any of the other managers as they had apparently already gone home for the day so he couldn’t ask them to come. The shop wasn’t far but they decided to take the bus since they were still a bit tired from the match.
“We’re here!” Tenma called, already sitting by a free table, patting the seats next to him to invite his friends to sit as well. There weren’t a lot of other customers but Tenma and Itona recognized them as regulars so they probably weren’t surprised to see them barging in like that.
The other teens sat down after that. Itona sat on Tenma's right. Shinsuke sat at Tenma’s other side, facing the goalkeeper. Sangoku, Shindou and Kirino were sitting at the other side of the table, in that order.
Muramatsu reached them shortly after, still in his work uniform since he had taken part time shifts during the weekend to learn more about the business. “I’m on break until you guys are here” he said as he sat down next to Kirino and Itona at the head of the table. “Terasaka and the others had to leave but they told me to congratulate you for them” He added, ruffling Tenma’s hair. The brunette pouted.
“I’m pretty sure this isn’t all of your teammates” Muramatsu observed once introductions were done “Why didn’t the other join you?”
“Pussies” Tenma replied curtly, almost petulant. Shindou choked on the water he was drinking.
“You sure swear a lot huh” Kirino observed as he patted Shindou’s back to help him breathe.
“Whatcha gonna do bout it?” Tenma asked with a childish grin, Kirino sighted then smiled slightly
“As long as it’s not during games” he hit Tenma with a look as he said that, the boy felt as if a cold blade had been pressed to his neck “Nothing. But if I hear you swear one more time during a match” The boy didn’t need to add anything else as he smiled threateningly causing Tenma to gulp. He wasn’t one to be easily scared, at all, but something in his senpai face screamed danger in that moment
Muramatsu whistled “10 out of 10 intimidation check, congrats” he complimented “I never want to receive a look like that” Tenma snorted at that
“So we’re not going to mention that time you-” The brunette was interrupted by a hand covering his mouth.
“Hush hush hush squirt” the blonde teased “The adults are talking” Tenma bit into his friend’s hand, hard. “Damn Tenma, that hurt”
“You’ll have to think twice about not only obstructing my form of freedom of speech but also for calling me names” the boy said, then he smiled threateningly "I'll see what Terasaka has to say about that”
“You wouldn’t” Muramatsu pleaded, slowly, Tenma’s smile widened
“Try me bitch”
“All Right that’s enough” Sangoku interrupted them as soon as he saw things getting too heated for his likings
“trust me they’re usually worse than that,” Itona added, sipping at his water before turning to the blond boy “Where’s the food?”
“Someone’s hungry,” Muramatsu whistled with a teasing glint. Tenma energetically nodded.
“He only agreed to come when I told him there was gonna be pairin ramen” he replied
“Sometimes I feel like he’s only my friend because of the ramen I make” The blond sighted shrugging his shoulder “And he even calls it mid!”
“I am” Itona said stoically, replying to the first bit “And it is” he continued replying to the second part. Tenma and Muramatsu clearly saw the tilt to his lips indicating his joke so they both just shook their heads well naturally.
The food arrived shortly after and the group fell into quiet conversation. The middle school trio spent a moment chatting among themselves to catch up on any event they might have not talked about on the phone or similar.
“So, why are you the only ones here?” Muramatsu asked again before sipping a few noodles off his ramen. Tenma sighed deeply and leaned back, leaving the food as he thought the question over.
“Well I mean they are pussies” he said with a pout “They don’t wanna fight Fifth sector”. The three senpai eyed the brunette in surprise, not expecting him to admit something like that quite so blatantly. They were only more surprised when the blonde only nodded in understanding.
“I mean can you blame them? You didn’t even make up your mind until graduation or something” Itona said as he slurped his food, he had already eaten almost everything on his plate.
“I knowww” Tenma groaned into his hands, keeping himself from face planting into his full bowl out of desperation. “It’s just frustrating to watch them be so…” he gestured wildly, not knowing how to put what he was thinking into words
“Sad, miserable, scared and angry like you were at the start of third year all the time?” Muramatsu smirked with teasing
“Exactly” Tenma replied, snapping his fingers, before realizing what the other had actually said “And I was not sad and miserable all the time”
“Whatever makes you sleep at night emo boy” Tenma groaned again
“I actually can’t picture emo Tenma, even trying” A new voice popped up from beside the brunette. Shinsuke was looking at them with wide curious eyes “Do you have pictures”
“Sadly not” the blonde sighed “We weren’t that close at the time yet. He was kind of a loner”
“You’re insufferable” Tenma pouted, crossing his arms
“I also find it hard to believe Tenma was like you described him to be just a year ago” The captain of the team said with a smile. When Tenma looked over he noticed there was no glint of teasing in his voice nor a face, just genuine surprise. “Also, Tenma you do realize we’re not allowed to talk about Fifth sector with outsiders?” the pianist continued, quirking an eyebrow.
Tenma blinked once, then twice, waiting for the captain to say it was a joke. He didn’t.
“Captain” Tenma started out, a bit slowly “You do realize that by going against Fifth sector’s score order we’re already rebelling, and with that disobeying them, so their rules kinda don’t matter anymore… yeh?”
It was Shindou’s turn to blink a few times then his face turned a light shade of red and he turned away sheepishly. Tenma smiled.
The conversation continued from there with the members of the club joining in more into the assassin’s conversation. The senpais talked about some of their old matches, the ones without score order where they were able to play for fun, while the assassins recounted some of their favorite memories from when they went to school together, omitting any incriminating detail.
Their hangout ended in the late afternoon as they stayed to chat long after they finished eating. They said goodbyes in front of the shop and everyone went on their way. Tenma obviously walked with Itona and Shinsuke and they kept talking about nothing in particular.
The next day started out mostly how Tenma had expected, miserably.
“Quit pushing your ideas of soccer onto us” Minamisawa stated, making himself be listened to by the rebelling members. Tenma felt guilty about pushing his ideas onto everyone but it was for the greater good, he just hoped they’d eventually turn to their side. When Shindou was about to reply the boy cut him off “Do you think Fifth sector will keep quiet about us going against their orders?” he asked, uncrossing his arms and turning to the captain “Do you guys not care if the club gets disbanded?” Tenma tsked, unable to keep himself.
“It’s not going to get disbanded” he stated, almost annoyed about having to repeat himself again “How many times do I have to-”
“I’m sorry if I don't trust a naive first year’s opinion on this” Minamisawa mocked as he interrupted him, Tenma eyes tightened “You don’t know anything-” Tenma felt his blood boil but before he could say or do anything someone else had already stepped in.
“You take that back” Itona glared at the teen as he stepped closer to the boy. Protectiveness showing off in killing instinct. The other assassin was the only one who didn’t flinch back. “You don’t know anything about Tenma how dare you-”
“Woah there calm down buddy” Tenma intervened and, before the white haired could do anything, he placed a hand on his friend’s shoulder and shook his head “Not worth it” he whispered for only the two of them to hear. Itona seemed to disagree but huffed out a nod and went back to sit. The brunette sighed in relief.
“There are plenty of schools whose clubs got disbanded for disobeying orders,” Kirino explained from where he was sitting, arms crossed next to Shindou. Tenma could see that the boy had only said that to explain Minamisawa’s point of view but it still stung to have one of the few members of their little rebellion stating against him.
“You didn’t even know that?” Kurama mocked. Tenma sighed to keep himself from lashing out
“Those schools don’t have the reputation raimon has” he stated slowly as if talking to a child “The reputation we have gives us protection, they aren’t going to disband the team” He finished, already knowing they wouldn’t be listening to him.
The other senpai kept talking it out between themselves, sharing fears and concerns.
“I can’t play along with you guys and put my future at risk” Minamisawa finished. Tenma sighed.
During training most of the team left to train on their own. Tenma felt like it was an accomplishment from outright leaving like they had been doing the last few days.
They trained in five. A simple offense against defense where Tenma and Shindou played offense.
When Tsurugi showed up to training everyone was surprised, especially once he asked to play in the next game after heading straight for the coach. Tenma watched the exchange carefully and even he was surprised when Endou simply agreed to let him play.
Shindou immediately tried to protest but the coach didn’t seem too keen on taking criticism. Tenma wouldn’t either if he was an internationally famous player but he still grimaced.
“Let’s just let him do what he wants” Hayami tried to convince the other, tone as nervous as always “If we start obeying again the club might not get disbanded” Tenma sighed
“If we lose now we are sure to get disbanded” he stated flatly “right now we’re riding on the wave of being second place in last year’s holy road. If we lose on the second game we’ll lose all the attention and Fifth will be free to disband us however they like”
“This is all your fault” Kurama growled, frustration evident in his voice “If you hadn't joined the club this never would’ve happened. We all knew the system was wrong but we kept up with it because real or not we wanted to play soccer. Stop trying to steal soccer from us”
Tenma stared wide eyed for a few moments, almost taking a step back but snapped out of it when he saw Itona going towards the boy. He stopped his friend from doing anything rash and spoke up. “If it hadn’t been for me” he said clearly “The club would’ve been replaced on the very first day by the dark knights” he was trembling lightly in a mix of anger, sadness and guilt. Itona kept a steadying hand on his shoulder, and Aoi also came closer to him to show silent support.
“That doesn’t change the fact that all of us are getting soccer taken from us” the boy bit out again in anger “Because of you”
Tenma looked away, not replying, not showing his face, not giving any hint that the words had hit him harder than he thought they would.
“If you want to blame someone blame me” Shindou spoke up, shielding Tenma from Kurama’s view. Tenma looked up in surprise “I am the captain”
“You wouldn’t have done any of this if it wasn’t for the new kid, Shindou,” Kurama spitted, tightening his fists.
“Maybe” the captain stated “but that doesn’t change the fact that I was the one that scored against Eito and Tangawara, all goals were made by me. If you want to blame someone blame me”
Tenma put a hand on the captain's shoulders and when Shindou turned around to face him he smiled “Thank you for protecting me, captain, but there’s no need” he said, stepping ahead so that he was at Shindou’s side “Kurama senpai is right. It’s my fault and that is why I’ll make sure Raimon is safe, at all costs”
The two soccer players looked at each other for a few long moments that were interrupted by a voice.
“Coach Endou” Minamisawa said, standing in front of where the coach was sitting down “I quit”
“Quitting? Are you serious?” Kuramada asked in clear surprise.
“Yeah, I can’t play along with this anymore” Tenma clenched his jaw. What he was doing was the right thing but it didn’t make him feel any better as he saw a senpai give up the club because of him.
The teen left after that and Tenma looked at the retreating form sadly.
“The one destroying Raimon’s soccer club isn’t Fifth sector or tsurugi” Kurama stated, also looking at Minamisawa’s back “It’s really you!” he added, screaming, moving his gaze to glare at Tenma instead. The brunette held eye contact for a few moments before nodding and walking away.
Practice wasn’t over but he wouldn’t be able to train either way. Shinsuke called out to him, held back from following him by Aoi, and he heard Itona talk back to Kurama. He didn’t listen to what his friend said but he’d probably have to apologize for it the next day since Itona didn’t have the greatest filter. He could feel Shindou’s eyes on him. When he looked over he saw the captain hesitating, trying to decide where he was needed most. Tenma nodded toward the team hoping the captain would get the message. He was fine, he just needed a moment alone. He’d fall back and get up as he always did.
He walked around town afterwards, aimlessly. Thinking about what had happened. He heard a few notification pigs coming from his phone and he knew that Itona, Shinsuke and Aoi must’ve been worried but he wanted some alone time. He just hoped Itona hadn’t told the others.
What kurama had said was true, if anything did happen it was going to be his fault that’s why he had to make sure that any collateral didn’t affect the club. He needed to bring the attention somewhere else, to himself alone maybe, make himself a target so that the others and the club would be safe.
As he was thinking he noticed a familiar figure walking past him. Tsurugi didn’t seem to have noticed him. He took advantage of his better than average stealth skills and hid so that the boy wouldn’t see him as he walked away.
The seed had come out of the hospital so, once Tsurugi was out of view, Tenma evaluated his chances and decided to go in. He had never had to go to this hospital in particular, last year he had to go to another once a few times but it was a government provided hospital.
When he got in he didn’t ask the reception for a name, instead he wandered around, checking the room names, until he found a Tsurugi Yuuichi. He stood in front of the door for a few minutes, thinking of what he was trying to achieve by being there.
He didn’t think much when he decided to step inside the hospital, he had been walking aimlessly most afternoon anyway so it just gave him some kind of purpose. He also didn’t think too hard about trying to find a familiar name but now that he was in front of the door he tried to decide on what to do.
He eventually decided to knock and see where this would take him. A warm but young voice welcomed him in. When he opened the door he saw what looked like a carbon copy of Tsurugi but older and not angry.
“Who are you?” The boy asked, not unwelcoming but confused. The teen’s body language wasn’t tense so he wasn’t scared to see an unknown person in his room but he did look surprised.
“Matsukaze Tenma” The boy replied, courtly “I’m in the same club as Kyousuke” he continued. The older teen’s face lit up.
“You’re friends with my brother?” the boy asked, giving Tenma a confirmation of their familial relationship “He never tells me anything about his team anymore, I think it’s because he’s embarrassed” the boy joked. Tenma nodded with a sad smile. He also never talked to Aki about his team when he was a seed.
“Why are you here?” Yuuichi asked after a moment of silence with a warm smile, Tenma almost took a step back
“I don’t know,” he replied, looking down. He had been feeling out of it and it was a spur of the moment decision that led him to knock on the door “could you tell me about Tsurugi?” He asked, genuinely curious. He knew seeds could be completely different people outside of soccer and he was curious if that was the case for Tsurugi as well.
Yuuichi nodded, gesturing to the chair. Tenma sat down without questions. It felt safe, this boy felt somehow safe and it wasn’t something he felt often lately. “Why do you ask?”
Tenma thought the question over for a while before answering, picking the best words he could think of “I don’t think he loves soccer anymore” he said, looking at his hands “I think he hates it but it’s clear in how he plays that it wasn’t always like that” he looked up to meet the teen’s eyes, they looked sad “I want to help him love soccer again but I don't know how”
For him it had been Korosensei that made him fall in love with soccer again, it was the man that teached him to find joy in a sport he had lost hopes for, but Korosensei wasn’t there anymore. The man that had taught him and his classmates for a year how to be the best version of themselves, the man that listened and helped them through whatever teen troubles they had, the man who in just a year had carved his place in each of their hearts. That man wasn’t there anymore and Tenma didn’t know who else to ask for help.
Karasuma and Bitch-sensei would definitely try to help him out but they were both so busy with their work he didn’t want to bother them. His ex classmates all had their own troubles to deal with and they were all grieving Korosensei the same, even when they had known he’d die the whole time.
“You’re a good kid,” Yuuichi said after a while, smiling. Tenma’s eyes widened in surprise. “Thank you for wanting to help my brother” he ruffled the brunette’s hair which made him smile. “I’ve had a feeling that something was wrong with Kyousuke for a while now and I also imagined it had to do with soccer… You see”
And like that the teen explained what happened in their childhood, how he had been paralyzed waist down since he was in middle school and Tsurugi elementary school. For about 5 years. Tenma felt his heart clench at the thought of not only not being able to play soccer but also not being able to move. The teen talked about the guilt Tsurugi felt once he learned of everything and how since then he struggled to talk about soccer and his team. Yuuichi had always figured Tsurugi stayed quiet about soccer out of sadness, because talking about it around him would hurt too much or maybe because of guilt, assuming the boy still blamed himself for the accident.
Yuuichi then talked about Tsurugi's personality. How the boy used to be as a kid and some nuances of how he still is that you could only notice if you knew him well. Tenma listened with rapt attention, taking in every detail and committing it to memory. They eventually parted ways as visiting hours were over and Tenma was kicked out. Yuuichi gave Tenma his number, asking to be kept in the loop and Tenma nodded, thanking him.
Tenma got out of the hospital feeling better than when he got in. He went to the field by the riverbank to watch the sunset. He stayed there long after dawn, enjoying the evening breeze. He didn’t even realize how late it was until he felt Aki sitting next to him on the ground.
“There you are,” she chirped as she sat down. She didn’t sound worried but Tenma realized she probably had been “Dinner is getting cold” Tenma hummed, staying quiet and looking at the stars. He didn’t feel like leaving yet but he didn’t know how to express it to Aki. Luckily she seemed to know regardless.
“Itona told me what happened. He wanted to come as well but I convinced him to wait at home” she explained after a moment of quietness she had willingly left in order to give Tenma space to reply if he wanted. “Do you wanna talk about it?”
Tenma breathed in loudly, taking a few moments to think it over. “When that person saved me, when I was a kid, I fell in love with soccer,” he started out. Aki hummed in acknowledgment but didn’t interrupt. Tenma wondered what she was thinking especially since she heard this story so many times. “Then my parents sent me here to attend Kunugigaoka” he turned to look down as he remembered one of his worst periods in his rather short life.
“I played along with Fifth sector out of fear of being thrown in the E section, which is ironic since I don’t know where i’d be if i never got there” he continued, pushing a hand through his hairs as a bitter laugh left his lips “I was mean back then, to everyone, even when they were just trying to help me”
“Then Korosensei arrived and our lives turned upside down” he muttered, looking back up at the stars, wondering if the man was watching him “he gave us a goal, he gave us hope. He taught me not to give up in what i believe in and he made me fall in love with soccer again even when i had started to hate it” he took a big breath
“And now I finally got to join raimon, the team i always wanted to join” he hid his face behind his hands, drywashing it a few times before leaning his head in them “I wanted to start being honest with soccer again and take down fifth sector” his voice started to tremble “But that’s causing trouble for everyone else” he took a few moments to collect himself before speaking again “I knew it wasn’t going to be easy, I knew that, but korosensei believed in me, he always did. Aki-nee, am I wrong to want to play true soccer?” his voice cracked when he asked the question and he cringed internally
“Look at all those stars” she said instead of answering, already looking up at the sky. Tenma followed her example. “Pretty, aren’t they? They aren’t just glowing up there. If you look closely, their color and size are different. No two of them are exactly alike. Humans are like that too. Each of us has a different way of thinking, so maybe what you believe to be right looks wrong to someone else. That’s why what’s important here, Tenma, is you. What is it you really want, Tenma?” she asked, turning to look him in the eyes with a warm smile. Tenma met her eyes.
And at that the brunette got a flashback of his teacher asking a very similar question. Saying he should stay true to himself and that he’d support him no matter what. Now Korosensei wasn’t there to support him anymore. Tenma gave a wet laugh, wiping at his eyes with his hands.
“I think you already know what you really want and I think you also already know the answer to what you should do” she continued, going back to look at the sky. Tenma hummed in agreement, he did know what he wanted.
“Thank you, Aki-nee,” he smiled.
Once they got back home and ate dinner Itona barely let him out of his sight, checking on him and making sure he was alright. Tenma assured him the whole time that he was feeling much better.
The next day, during morning practice, Tenma felt one cold set of eyes glaring daggers through his back. He didn’t even need to look over to know who it was.
They started off doing stretches and warm-ups. Shinsuke asked him several times how he felt and he could see some other of the people that joined them against Fifth check on him more often than usual. He appreciated the concern but he didn’t feel like it was necessary.
Once they were done with their warm ups he saw their captain walk up to him.
“How do you feel?” Shindou asked. His voice was more caring than he ever heard it be and he idly wondered if he should get used to it since they were now teammates on the same side.
“I’m fine. I was a bit shaken yesterday but I managed to think it through” he replied honestly “I’m not going to give up this rebellion” Shindou smiled
“Good. Remember what’s going on isn’t your fault” he said. Tenma nodded.
“Nope” he said with a smile “It’s Fifth sector’s fault” he continued, watching Shindou’s face morph into surprise. He had guessed the captain might have thought it was his fault instead and he had apparently guessed right so he was going to fix that “We wouldn’t be into this mess if Fifth Sector didn’t wake up and decided to be assholes” he continued, crossing his arms and gave an exasperated sigh “it’s truly not fair how we, simple innocent teens, gotta fix adults mistakes”
Shindou gave a light smile at that which made Tenma’s grin just a little bit wider “C’mon, let’s get to practice” the captain said which made Tenma jump a bit in excitement
“About that, I think it’s time you train your Kenshin,” he explained. The captain went still. He clearly did not expect that. He stayed quiet for a few moments before answering
“I should” he started out “I didn’t know you have a Kenshin” Tenma groaned, just a little
“I honestly wanted to keep it secret for a few more matches, I hoped i could keep it as a trump card or like an ace up my sleeves but noooo our first adversaries had to have a seed” he muttered petulantly “So much hate”
“Why didn’t you tell us?” Tenma looked up at the captain, eyes wide and not hiding his surprise. “We’re your teammates, Why didn’t you tell us you have a Kenshin?”
“No real reason” he said “I just didn’t think of it”
Shindou nodded, slowly. “Well, do you have any suggestions about what I could do to train mine?”
“It’s going to be hard,” Tenma said, face turning serious, arms crossed over his chest “I do not know less physically tiring ways but I’ll save you from the worst, I don’t think it’s that important anyway” he continued. The worst was literal physical abuse. He didn’t know better ways to train Kenshins than the way Fifth sector trained their Kenshin users, the way he himself was trained in. It got really extreme. He had thought of a few ways to make it lighter and especially not hurtful. He wasn’t going to put anyone through what seeds went through.
“I can take it” Shindou said, seriously “If it’s going to give us a better chance at winning I’ll endure all of it” he finished eagerly. Tenma smiled sadly and nodded. No amount of eagerness could make him change his mind, he wouldn’t go as extreme as Fifth went, but he would let Shindou believe he didn’t leave anything out.
They trained Shindou’s Kenshin the whole week. Sometimes Kirino, Sangoku or Shinsuke joined them. Itona recorded their training and noted down anything interesting to keep track of the improvement and Tenma reviewed the data he got during the evening, after dinner.
By the time Friday came Shindou was rightfully exhausted. Tenma nodded. “You’re not training today” He simply told him. Everyone within hearing distance watched him as if he had grown two heads.
“Tenma!” Shinsuke scolded hurriedly, Tenma watched him fidget nervously “You can’t say that to the captain!”
“Well I just did and I’m not going to back off” he said turning back to look at Shindou who looked as if he was trying to figure him out
“The match is tomorrow” the captain said “I need all the training I can get” Tenma shook his head
“Right now what you need is rest” he advised “You look dead on your feet and the match is tomorrow. If I let you train like for the past few days tomorrow you’re gonna collapse during the match. You need to let your body rest so tomorrow you can play at your best” he directed
“But-” Shindou seemed ready to argue but Tenma interrupted him quickly
“The most you can do is light training, emphasis on light. Warm-ups, stretching, some passes and dribbles. A few shots and maybe a short run. We’re going to see that as it goes” he explained “Definitely not Kenshin training. Your body is going to be glad, trust me” The captain sighed in defeat, nodding. Tenma had already proposed a better deal than he probably expected.
If he was being honest he would’ve preferred the boy not training at all, letting his body a whole day to rest up for the next day. They couldn’t afford to lose Shindou for the next game and playing it safe would be the best choice but if he forbade him from training at all then the boy would probably go train by himself and exaggerate. He also technically had no authority over Shindou so he needed to get him to agree with him or he could just ask someone else to do the Kenshin exercises they had been doing with him, there were a few of them that hadn’t required Tenma to use his own Kenshin so Shindou could easily ask Sangoku or Kirino for help and they’d probably agree.
Once practice was over and when the coach was sending them home for the day they were met with a bold statement from the man “I’m going to take down Fifth Sector but I’m not going to force you to join me. I don’t mind what decision you settle on” Tenma listened to the coach in silence. Having the whole team joining would be the best desirable outcome but it might be just a little bit unrealistic considering how some of them outright hated him (Kurama) and wouldn’t join him if it was the last thing they did. “I’ll be waiting on the field tomorrow” The coach concluded.
They went home after that. The members of the team who didn’t agree with their rebellion went away the fastest. The other took a bit more time to chat in the changing room. After their little hang out the week before they had started to talk a little more, even about unimportant things. They talked about school and classes and stuff they did during the day besides practice. It was the first time Tenma had teammates that felt like friends. He was also in just one team before this one so maybe it was normal, he couldn’t know.
Shindou was dead tired as he changed, barely keeping up with the conversation. Tenma gave him props for being able to stand without falling. He was glad that Kirino always walked home with the boy, at least he was sure he wasn’t going to pass out on the road or something.
He hadn't even done much training, even ending up sitting out the last part when he was called by Endou because he was too tired. Tenma saw him napping on the bench as everyone else kept training.