Sorry for the wait guys, I've been busy with an evil master plan. Oh, I've also been busy on Discord - come join us there, it's a lot of fun! You can find the link to it on Tieg2001's profile~

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Accidental Reverse Arc 1

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Tenma watches impassively at the Black Knights destroying the Raimon Eleven. Maybe 'destroying' is a bit of a big word, but the score is already 8-0 for Tsurugi's team. The brunet frowns slightly when another goal is made.

His future rival looks up and their eyes meet. Tenma blinks and then grins at him, waving cheerfully as his thoughts go back to what happened after the Raimon Eleven appeared on the field.

(Tenma has stopped laughing.

Shindou, much like the rest of the Raimon Eleven, stares at him in disbelief and indignation. The captain opens his mouth to say something but Tsurugi beats him to it. ''Why the hell are you laughing?''

The brunet, still chuckling, wipes the tears from his eyes as he straightens out his uniform. ''Oh don't mind me,'' he waves casually with his hand. ''Please go on with... whatever this is. I'm just a bystander.''

Shindou narrows his eyes at him. ''Who are you?''

''I'm Wasure Teta.''

The captain almost chokes on air, just like Tsurugi did before. ''Your name is 'I forgot'?'' he asks, stunned. Tenma just shrugs and Shindou shakes his head, glancing at the beaten up second team. Then he looks back at Tsurugi, dismissing the other first-year. ''What do you think you're doing here?''

''Soccer,'' answers Tsurugi, a smirk forming on his face.

The captain furrows his brows a bit. ''Show some manners, first-year.'' The Raimon team moves down to the field. ''Don't get high and mighty just because you beat the second team!''

''Beat them?'' Tsurugi tilts his head and crosses his arms arrogantly. ''I just played around with them for a bit.''

Tenma watches quietly as Shindou converses with coach Kudou about Tsurugi's identity. ''What did you come here to do?'' asks Kudou, directing his question at Tsurugi.

''I've been ordered to reform Raimon's soccer club,'' answers Tsurugi calmly.

'I thought he said he would disband the club. Can't he make up his mind?'

The forward continues talking. ''The whole lot of you are getting pitched with the rest of the trash.'' He chuckles quietly at Raimon's reactions as people appear behind him. ''Let me introduce you. This is the new...''

He raises his hand and snaps his fingers as the people who can only be a soccer team stand next to him.

''...Raimon Eleven!'' he exclaims. ''They're your replacements,'' he says and the official Raimon team looks at him grimly.

Tenma blinks as he looks at the black and yellow uniforms of the 'new' Raimon. ''No way...'' he says and Tsurugi looks at him.

The forward smirks. ''What? Too shocked to think of a witty remark?'' The brunet blinks and Tsurugi's smirk turns into a feral grin, until-

''Are they supposed to look like bees?''

Everyone stares at him again. Finally Tsurugi manages to say one, shocked word.

''What?'')

Another goal is made and the score is now 10-0. Casually Tenma walks towards the bench where Kudou is sitting. ''Coach Kudou?'' he asks and the man looks at him blankly. ''Isn't it the job of the coach to advice the players if they're having a hard time during a match?'' he tilts his head, hoping his wording will change the man's answer.

It does.

''Put on a spare uniform,'' he orders him and Tenma huffs quietly.

'He didn't even bother to answer my question!'

Kudou continues. ''Aren't you a candidate to join the club? I'm testing you.'' The coach looks over his shoulder at the brunet.

The time traveler stares at him. ''Are you allowed to do that, sir?'' when the coach doesn't answer, he shrugs. ''Okay. Just please don't say you're switching 'I forgot' in. That probably wouldn't do much good for your image.''

The coach's lips twitch slightly. ''Not your real name?'' it's more a statement than a question but the brunet nods anyway.

''Nope. I'm Matsukaze Tenma.''

Kudou nods and then turns back to the field, raising a hand. ''Switch players!'' the players stop, surprised. ''In place of Minamisawa Atsushi... is Matsukaze Tenma!''

(Déjà vu much? [Why can't he just keep out of trouble? Not that he's really trying, but honestly people! He's not some kind of tool to be used! First the chairman, now the coach?])

Five minutes later he's wearing a familiar soccer uniform that he hasn't worn in almost a year. Minamisawa moves from the field casually, but Tenma can see how he grits his teeth under the cool exterior.

(The purple-haired third-year never really warmed up to him, even after three years, so he doesn't expect it to be different now. It's a shame, the older boy is a good player, but he can't have everything in life (and honestly, Minamisawa is being completely unreasonable. It's not his fault Kudou told him to play in this match (but even so, Tenma is not really angry at him, since he did care for Raimon's other members and was at least civil to him in the end.)))

The brunet steps on the field and bows politely at Shindou. ''I have no idea why coach Kudou thinks this is a good idea, but I'll do my best,'' he says politely.

Shindou raises an eyebrow. ''Your name's not Wasure Teta?''

Tenma answers the look with his own raised eyebrow. ''You really believe someone would call their child 'I forgot'?'' he returns easily and moves towards his position, leaving a frowning Shindou behind.

''The new player, Matsukaze Tenma, has entered the pitch!'' says the commentator. ''Just what does coach Kudou have planned?''

And Tsurugi kicks the ball as the game continues. Tenma, still not used to his younger body, tries to steal the ball but fails again and again.

(Not that he's that bad, but he knows that for things to start working, Shindou must release his Keshin.)

  ~'0'~  

Tenma drinks from his water bottle as he looks at the current Raimon. The atmosphere is grim and quiet and the brunet mentally sighs as he stares out over the now empty field. 'I'd forgotten how everything started. I've gotten so used to the idea of being number one in Japan that I forgot what real hardships feel like. Maybe... maybe this is not so bad, after all...'

''Why'd you lie about your name?'' asks a familiar voice suddenly.

Tenma looks up into the brown eyes of Raimon's future game maker. ''I was messing with Kyousuke-kun's head,'' he smiles and shoots a look at the Black Knight's captain. Tsurugi narrows his eyes when their eyes meet and Tenma waves cheerfully. The forward turns his head away.

Shindou, after watching the exchange, narrows his eyes. ''You're on first name basis?''

The time traveler shrugs. ''Apparently. He called me by my fake first name first, so I thought I would just return the favor.''

The Raimon captain blinks and lowers his water bottle. ''Are you mocking him?''

For a moment, Tenma thinks about that question and then...

''Nope, this is just the start of a beautiful friendship between me and Stalker-san~!'' Shindou sweatdrops and Tenma just grins brightly. Then his smile falls and he looks at his future rival, sadness evident in his eyes. ''He... Tsurugi's hurting,'' he says after thinking about it for a moment. ''He hides it behind a wall of anger and arrogance, but he can't completely get rid of his emotions...''

Tenma closes his eyes for a moment as his heart goes out to the suffering soccer player.

(Because it had taken a long time to get Kyou to open up. When they were in their last year of Jr. High, best friends and rivals for over two years, when Tenma had proven again and again that he'd do anything for his friends, for Kyousuke, the latter had finally, finally opened up about the years of loneliness after his brother's accident. No tears were spilled, no unnecessary words were spoken, but when Kyousuke had finished his talk Tenma smiled so warmly when he promised he'd always be there to pick up the pieces and fit them back together, Raimon's ace couldn't help but believe him. From that day on, they finally accepted that they were more than just friends, that they were like brothers in all but blood.)

''Hurting?'' Shindou's sharp voice breaks him out of his thoughts. ''He basically destroyed the second team.'' The accusation is clear in his voice and the brunet has to remind himself that right now, the two of them are not friends.

Tenma sighs and, in a rare act of vulnerability, draws his legs to his chest and leans his head on his knees as sad silver eyes look out over the soccer field. ''Hai,'' he says softly. ''Everyone here is. Everyone here has lost something... maybe it has to do with soccer and Fifth Sector, maybe it has to do with something else. No one here... no one here can smile for real,'' and his voice breaks because he remembers the genuine, bright smiles on his friends', on his family's faces every day during practice, and now there are no smiles and instead there are brokenbrokenbroken and painedpainedpained eyes and it hurts to see the ones he loves so much like this.

(He wishes he was back in his original time, where every day would be a surprise. Some days he would walk in the clubroom to find that all his paperwork had already been done by the third-years, or that one of the second-years wanted him to taste the food they made in cooking class. Other days he would enter the changing room to find that all the lockers had been painted purple with glitters, and the only thing he could do was facepalm because seriously don't they have anything better to do, but in the end he would smile fondly as the culprits were being scolded by the others-)

Shindou seems a bit uncomfortable and Sangoku comes to his rescue. ''You know about Fifth Sector?'' asks the keeper and the brunet realizes that everyone has been listening to the conversation.

Tenma nods. ''Of course I do. Kinda hard to miss, hmm?'' he chuckles humorlessly. ''Deciding the scores before the match has even been played... what has Raimon come to?'' his voice is merely a whisper.

''Then why did you come here?'' asks Shindou, confusion evident in his voice. ''If you know about that you'd know that Raimon's reputation is fake.''

The brunet glances at him. ''It's been my life-long dream to play soccer at Raimon. I don't care about any fake reputation, I just want to bring this club back to where it belongs.''

Shindou closes his eyes for a moment and smiles. ''Life-long dream, huh...'' he opens his eyes and his expression turns grim. ''You're the only one saying things like that. Results are everything. If your soccer is weak, people will see you as worthless. To prevent this, Fifth Sector was created.''

A long silence follows, which is eventually broken by the start of the second half. Just before Tenma walks onto the field, he looks at Shindou again. ''This is not soccer,'' he says softly. ''Real soccer is feeling the wind through your hair when you chase after the ball, real soccer is the sound of cheering when someone makes a goal after working hard for it, real soccer is laughing and celebrating with your friends when you've won a match after practicing for hours on end.'' A soft smile lights up his face and everyone stares at him, obviously stunned. ''That is real soccer. Not this fake replacement.''

The second half starts.

  ~'0'~  

Tenma mentally grins when he shows off his dribbling skills. His body might not be like it used to be, and he might be clumsy because of his shorter limbs, but the familiar, agile movements that he has been practicing ever since he was three haven't forsaken him yet. His little contest with Tsurugi before the first team showed up has helped to with getting the motor control over his body back.

He's almost in front of the goal now. The brunet grits his teeth, fighting the urge to shoot because he knows his shooting skills are basically nonexistent right now and even if he did score it might have drastic changes for the end of the match.

''Hey, pass it here!'' yells Hamano as the brunet passes him.

Tenma shakes his head. ''Can't,'' he yells back, breathing heavily. He glances at Kirino as the pink-haired defender tells him to pass the ball to him. The brunet stops a few meters from the defender, glancing around as he explains his actions to his teammates (something he hadn't done first time 'round). ''They- they'll attack you again,'' he says between pants.

(Even though he knows that the Black Knights will attack him instead and when he stands up again, Tsurugi will eventually use his Keshin-)

''What?'' the shocked cry comes from Shindou and Tenma smiles ruefully at him.

Then the brunet glances at the captain of the Black Knights, and surely- ''Think it'd work that easily?'' Tsurugi snaps his fingers and a moment later Tenma is surrounded by the opposite team.

''Matsukaze!'' Shindou's voice is alarmed and the brunet can't help but look at him. When grey meets cautious brown the brunet smiles sadly, already knowing what will happen next.

'Sorry for this, Takuto-san, but you have to release your Keshin and this is the only way.'

Meanwhile, Tsurugi is standing in front of Tenma. ''Your face ticks me off,'' he growls (now, that's just rude!) and a blueish black cloud suddenly surrounds him. His Keshin forms, the blue and purple aura not warm and protecting like Tenma is used to, but cold and threatening and for a moment the brunet has to remind himself, he's doing this for his teammates, for their happiness, for everyone who loves soccer-

But he still braces himself for the pain that's surely going to come.

''This is my Keshin, Sword Saint Lancelot,'' grins Tsurugi. And while Raimon's members express their shock, the forward shoots forward and Lancelot's sword attacks Tenma.

PAIN.

The brunet certainly wasn't expecting this.

He forces his lips shut even through the- agonizing, burning, excruciating –pain, not wanting to give Tsurugi the satisfaction of hearing him voicing his pain. But it hurts so bad, burning-freezing-hurting-excruciating-agonyagonyagonyagonyAGONY-

(And this shouldn't be happening because he's been attacked with a Keshin before but then it didn't hurt this bad- the first time around, this was painful but it was bearable and this makes him want to scream and cry until he's swallowed by unconsciousness, and why this shouldn't be happening he should be able to deal with this this shouldn't hurt so much why why why oh god why it HURTS-)

His pain resistance in his thirteen-year-old body is lower. He's used to the high pain tolerance of his sixteen-year-old self, so his younger body that isn't used to everything he goes through has a lower pain tolerance and he's used to the higher pain resistance, he's used to feeling less pain than this and since he feels more pain now it's even worse.

Agony.

Hurt.

Pain.

And then everything happens at once-

The agony seems to come from inside him, something's trying to force itself out of his body, and it burns and it feels like his veins are on fire and it hurts-

M-make it stop- it hurts stop it no! Fire, ice, it hurts!

And Tsurugi continues with his attack-

The agony is getting even worse, something's trying to break free-

The Black Knight's captain stops and smirks, not tired in the slightest. Tenma falls to the ground, his whole body shaking from whatever it is that he's trying to hold back and a reddish black aura is surrounding him-

A reddish black aura is surrounding him.

Tenma's eyes widen when he sees the familiar yet uncontrollable, raging Keshin energy.

'Wha- what's going on? My body isn't strong enough to materialize my Keshin yet, and it looks so strange-' his breath stocks in realization and he pales drastically. 'Keshin Armed...'

His Keshin has already been awakened before and his body knows this, so, to counter Tsurugi's Lancelot, his body is trying to free his Keshin in its usual form- Keshin Armed. But his body right now isn't strong enough to support a normal Keshin, forget about Armed which takes even more energy.

Tenma might not be the expert on Keshin, but he knows that Keshin Armed would take too much energy. Even supporting it for only a second would make his body shut down.

But his Keshin, awakened while it shouldn't have awakened for another month or so (damn it, if he wasn't send to the past he wouldn't be dealing with all this), is reacting to the presence of another Keshin and it's literally tearing his body apart from the inside out-

A.G.O.N.Y.

Distinctly, he can hear screaming and, only slightly surprised because his attention is kind of on the fact that his body is trying to self-destruct, he realizes the voice that's screaming is his own.

He almost misses the feeling of falling on the ground as his body convulses uncontrollably, screams forcefully being torn from his throat, reddish black energy flaring around him and lashing out to anyone who comes too close.

Suddenly a long scream, filled with pure agony, tears itself from his lungs and a moment later he's a panting, crying mess as he desperately tries to force the energy back-

One voice stands out from the other voices in the background (screaming his name, perhaps). ''Matsukaze!''

A moment later he feels a hand on his shoulder and he forces his eyes open (when had he shut them?) only to see worried, familiar brown eyes staring down at him. Shindou is saying something but his voice is lost in the sound of another scream.

'CALM DOWN MATSUKAZE!' he grits his teeth to stop another scream from leaving his lips. 'Calm. Down. Control it. You can do it, just get the control back! Force it back, back to sleep-'

The wild energy is slowly retreating and with that the pain disappears slightly. It's not gone but at least it's bearable.

Everything is silent, the only sound coming from Tenma's heavy breath, until-

''...Matsukaze?'' asks Shindou softly. ''You okay?''

The brunet attempts to smile but it quickly turns into a grimace. ''Ouch,'' he mutters as he looks up at the captain. ''I'll be- I'll be fine,'' he breathes. From the corner of his eyes he can see Kudou stand up, his expression grim. ''Coach,'' he brings out as he forces himself up on his elbows. ''I-I'm fine.'' His voice breaks slightly but he ignores it in favor of turning his face in Kudou's direction. ''Let me play through to the end.''

Kudou looks startles for a moment, his dark eyes widening slightly. ''Matsukaze...'' he says softly, as if he is realizing something.

Shindou next to Tenma protests immediately. ''Don't overdo it, you won't last!'' he warns worriedly and Tenma glances at his teammates, who are all looking at him with worried and shocked expressions. The brunet grits his teeth-

(He'd do anything to make them happy. They're everything to him. It doesn't matter if he's the one getting hurt – as long as they're happy, he can take everything life throws at him.)

-and forces himself to stand up on shaking legs. Shindou, who is still kneeling on the ground, reaches out as if to stop him but the brunet's voice halts his movements. ''I want to play to the very end,'' he says as Shindou slowly stands up too, looking around seriously at the Raimon players. Shindou's eyes widen and he gasps at the sheer determination in his voice. ''If... if I make it to the very end...'' begins the brunet softly, and he suddenly turns around to look at Tsurugi. ''I'm sure we'll find a way through!''

Tsurugi ignores his words and prepares to kick the ball again, Lancelot's eyes glowing red for a moment. ''Take this!'' the ball hits Tenma in his stomach and he lands on the ground with a cry of pain. The out of control Keshin energy tries to fight its way to the surface once again but the brunet grits his teeth and, by sheer will power, forces it back.

''Matsukaze!'' Shindou runs towards him and helps him sit up. ''You're so reckless...''

Tenma remembers vaguely that something like this happened the first time too, but he ignores the memories for now and instead focuses all his attention on convincing Shindou to play. ''I want to play!'' he says, wincing when another attack of his raging Keshin wracks his body. ''I want to play soccer with everyone!''

Shindou looks slightly startled. ''You'd go so far for that...?'' he asks softly.

''Please...'' Tenma reaches out and grabs the lightning logo on Shindou's shirt. ''Captain... don't give up on soccer.''

The captain's eyes widen and then soften as he looks at the bowed head of the desperate brunet. ''Matsukaze...'' his voice is a mix of awe, shock and hesitation.

Tenma clenches his eyes shut, his hand trembling. ''Captain, please,'' he whispers and suddenly he feels a hand on his wrist. Startled, he sees Shindou stand up and realizes that this is it, this is where Takuto-san releases his Keshin.

Shindou is crying.

His tears fall on the ground as he balls his fists. ''Even I...'' he suddenly looks up, his eyes completely clear. Pain, doubt, fear, hope, and a bunch of other things are reflected in his chocolate brown orbs. ''Why?'' he asks. ''Why?! I can't even protect my teammates. What makes me a captain?!'' his grabs the red captain band on his arm. ''This thing is just...!''

And that's when it happens. A breeze suddenly seems to rustle his hair and clothes as he screams. ''Damn it!'' a purple aura surrounds him, growing into flames of energy. Then he crosses his arms as a wave of pure, blueish black energy rises up behind him and takes form.

Shindou's Keshin looms over Raimon's half, its owner's eyes wide with the rush of uncontrollable energy as an angry scream tears itself from the captain's lungs. Tenma stumbles out of the way and for a moment, he looks up at the impressive figure that suddenly appeared.

Then it feels like someone stabs a burning knife through his heart and he gasps, choking on a scream that is drowned out by Shindou's voice. The brunet stumbles and falls silently on the ground, clutching his chest as an aura of uncontrollable reddish black surrounds him, the darkness overtaking the red a little more than before.

(It hurts. The only thing his mind registers at the moment. It hurts. Somewhere in the back of his mind he remembers not to scream, but even if he wanted to he can't- his lungs won't fill with air and are starting to burn, but in comparison to the pain that is still raging in his heart it feels pleasant and calming. But that soon starts to change when the combined pain of the pure energy and the lack of air starts to build up.

He's choking on air, the precious air he so desperately needs. Something in his mind tells him he should focus on something, something but he doesn't know what-

A memory of blue and black flashes through his mind even as his body is fighting against itself. Blue and black... what? What are those colors?

En...er...gy...

What... what kind of energy?

He knows it's important but the agonizing fire is consuming his mind, reducing his ability to think. Desperately he grabs the memory of the energy, trying to distract himself from the pain but it's everywhere and it hurts-

What's happening to him?! What is it that's so important?!

A thought, a word, drifts up in his mind.

'Ke...shin...')

Suddenly the pain reduces slightly, but it's enough to allow him to breathe even though the simple movement of filling his lung with- precious, oh so precious –air is draining the small amount of energy he has left.

He can hear voices, one he doesn't know and the other familiar- whose voice is that? Why does it sound, feel, so wrong? Who is it? –yet wrong.

The wild, chaotic energy that streams through his veins is slowly falling asleep now. His whole body burns and his limbs feel like lead, but his mind is sharper and he can think again. He pants heavily as he wretches his eyes open and scans the situation.

The coach of the Black Knights is walking onto the field while announcing that they're withdrawing. Tsurugi is looking at him, obviously annoyed, and Shindou is on his knees, panting as well.

''Are you running away?'' asks Raimon's captain angrily, his brown eyes glaring at the coach of the other team.

''Running away?'' the red-haired man glances at him and smirks. ''More like we're letting you get away.'' Shindou grits his teeth and the coach continues. ''But to look at it another way, you could say you're existence has protected Raimon, Shindou-kun.''

With that, Tsurugi kicks the ball high into the air. When it hits the ground, the Black Knights are gone.

Tenma closes his eyes when he suddenly hears a thud. The brunet glances up to see Shindou lying unconscious on the ground. He wants to stand up and run towards him, but every movement feels like the blood in his veins has been turned into acid. So instead, he watches silently as Raimon's members run towards their captain. Somewhere in the back of his mind he's happy that no one noticed his little episode just now, because he certainly does not need the unwanted attention.

'But,' he muses quietly, 'if my Keshin is going to react like that every single time I'm in the presence of another Keshin, it won't be long before I can't hide it anymore.'

The brunet watches silently as Kudou carries Shindou away. He grits his teeth against the painful stings that shoot through his body as he carefully stands up. Suddenly he hears a familiar voice. ''Tenma.'' He looks up to see Aoi waving at him, smiling happily.

He looks at the girl. She's, of course, younger than he remembers. Her hair is shorter and reaches her chin, while in his original time it falls down her shoulders, and she wears the Raimon uniform. ''Aoi!'' he smiles at her.

Her smile becomes a bit uneasy. ''Are you okay?''

Tenma nods. ''I'm fine,'' he reassures her even as he fights off a wave of dizziness.

''Looks like a lot has happened before the induction ceremony,'' says Aoi. When she sees her friend blink in realization, she raises her eyebrows. ''What's wrong?''

''We haven't even had the induction ceremony yet, and I still need to change,'' he says and the two leave the field.

  ~'0'~  

While listening to the opening speech of the evil-Fifth-Sector-cat-slave-bastard, Tenma has his first encounter with Raimon's future keeper. The small boy pulls on his sleeve and the brunet looks down at Shinsuke's smiling face. ''That match earlier was sure something!'' whispers the smaller boy in his ear. ''You faced them head on even though you're a first-year!''

The brunet smiles at his enthusiasm. ''You were watching?''

''Yeah! And I already remember your name. Matsukaze Tenma, right? You're pretty cool, Tenma!'' he smiles cheerfully. ''We're in the same class!''

'Hmm... I never noticed, but Shinsuke immediately calls me by my first name,' muses Tenma. 'And... he's kinda stalkerish...' mentally, 'evil' Tenma cackles. ''Have you been stalking me?'' he asks, tilting his head innocently.

Shinsuke blinks, shocked, but then immediately shakes his head. ''Of course not!'' he whispers fiercely.

The brunet fights back a smile and instead puts up an innocent façade. ''Oh... but you already know my name and class... that sounds kinda stalkerish to me,'' he says, and the smaller first-year blushes in embarrassment.

''I-I just thought you were really cool...'' he stutters, looking down.

Tenma feels kind of bad for his future friend and decides that he can always mess with him later. ''Okay, I believe you. What's your name?''

Shinsuke brightens. ''I'm Nishizono Shinsuke! I'm going to join the soccer club!''

The brunet shushes him. ''Shh,'' he whispers, gesturing towards the chairman who is still holding his speech. ''That's awesome. Let's go together after class, okay?''

The future keeper nods enthusiastically. ''Sure!''

  ~'0'~  

Tenma watches emotionlessly as one by one, the members of the second team quit. Shindou- who seems to be alright now, thank god –is sitting on the table in front of the big screen, his hands clasped together and a sad, understanding expression on his face.

The members of the first team try to stop them from leaving, but to no avail. ''Are you just going to let them, Shindou?!'' asks Kurumada angrily.

''There's nothing I can do,'' states Shindou simply.

The last members of the second team announce their leaving as well, and then someone raises his hand. ''Us too,'' states one of the first players, Mizumori Tatsuya.

''We're afraid of Fifth Sector,'' admits the other first player, Kosaka Motonari.

''It'd look good on my student record if I stayed...'' says Mizumori and his voice sounds almost bored. He shares a look with Kosaka. ''But I'm not personally into soccer that much.''

While Kurumada lashes out at them, Shindou smiles at the two sadly. ''Mizumori, Kosaka,'' he says, ''thanks for all you've done for us.'' His hands are shaking as he fights back his emotions. Tenma gazes at him sadly, knowing what he must be feeling now.

(Because being the captain is a burden. You always have to be strong for your team even when you want to cry and scream. You have the responsibility over them when there is no one else to take the leader position. During the hardest situation, you can never show weakness (but it's worth it when you see the smiles of your team after you won a match, after you finally pulled through. Everything, the pain, the sadness, the burden, everything is worth it when everything works out in the end.))

The ex-players leave quietly. Unlike last time, Tenma doesn't try to stop them and instead simply stares them dead in the eye when they pass him. He looks at them with what his teammates have named the 'captain stare', the one that forces everyone who sees it to face their mistakes head-on. He stares at them quietly, and the disappointment- not judging at all, oh no, this is so much worse, this pure disappointment –in his gaze makes them shrink away as they pass him.

A few minutes later, Kudou and Haruna walk in. The coach takes a moment to assess the situation and then looks at the captain. ''You're the only ones left?'' he asks.

''Yes, nine in the first team,'' says Shindou. ''This is everyone. It was all I could do.'' The atmosphere is grim and dark.

''It's like rats abandoning a sinking ship, eh?'' asks Hamano, a hopeless smile on his face.

Kurumada looks at him. ''Then doesn't that make us something other than rats?'' he asks.

''That makes us members of the soccer team,'' states Amagi stubbornly.

Shindou, ignoring his bickering teammates, turns to look at the three first-years. ''Matsukaze Tenma, right?'' he asks.

The brunet nods. ''Hai.''

''Thanks for this morning.'' The second-year walks closer. ''I know you did a lot for us, but this is the Raimon soccer club now.'' He smiles sadly at Tenma.

The time traveler scans the group in front of him and offers an easy smile. ''Meh, I've seen worse.'' He shrugs. ''I'm still fine with it~''

''Yeah, me too!'' agrees Shinsuke.

The captain looks at the smaller boy. ''You're a first year too?'' the sad smile has disappeared and now his expression is guarded. Shinsuke nods.

Shindou stares at them for a moment and his face turns dark. ''Don't come here anymore.''

Tenma ignores Shinsuke's shocked gasp next to him and instead stares at the captain in defiance. ''You are a student,'' he reminds the older boy without hesitation. ''You have no right to decide who joins the club and who doesn't. That is handled by the coach.'' The brunet then looks at said coach. ''Coach Kudou, what do we have to do in order to join the club?'' he asks simply.

Kudou looks at him with piercing eyes. ''There is a test,'' he says. ''How about you come here tomorrow after school?''

The two first-years share a look. ''Yes, sir,'' they chorus.

Tenma lets his eyes move over the desolate forms of Raimon's soccer club and hides a frown. 'Guess I'm the one who has his work cut out for him, huh...'

  ~'0'~  

This covers episode two and three~ hope you enjoyed it!

The story will switch between serious and funny from now on. I really love the 'parody' part, like my friend Athena calls it, but me being me means there is a bit of 'dark' stuff in it - I need suspense in my stories. And besides, it's a story where Tenma goes back in time - that's not always gonna be easy.

So, since Arc 1 is already finished and just waited to be updated, there shouldn't be very large gaps between the published chapters~

Guess this is it... I have nothing else to tell you guys. So, thank you for reading and until the next chappie!

- Yara Meijer