Hello~ I'm sorry for the wait, I've just been crazy busy with other stuff (and I probably will be for a while, but I'll keep updating)!

Anyway, enjoy!

  ~'0'~  

Accidental Reverse Arc 2

~'0'~

''Have you guys seen this?''

The tense atmosphere in the changing room is broken by Kurama's disbelieving voice. He's scrolling through his phone, apparently reading something, and his expressions turns only more shocked. ''What is it?'' asks Shindou.''

Kurama looks up, his face stony. ''An article about Fifth Sector.''

''They appear all the time,'' says Kurumada, ''what's so special about it?''

The forward shakes his head. ''It's not like the other ones,'' he answers, still scanning the text on his phone. ''This is actually- oh my god,'' he mutters, his eyebrows rising in shock before narrowing into a frown. ''Check this. 'The Holy Emperor, leader of Fifth Sector, has full control of the organization and, by extension, the soccer world. The view of an adult who keeps an eye on the teenage soccer world has been forcefully ripped apart to show what lies underneath: something that could only be compared to the dictatorship that has ruled many countries in the past,'' he reads aloud.

''What the heck?'' asks Kurumada. ''Show me!'' without waiting for permission, he grabs Kurama's phone, ignoring the 'hey' from the forward as he scrolls through the article. '''There is evidence, coming from Fifth Sector itself, pointing to fake matches. The score of the matches was decided before they were even played,''' he quotes. ''What the hell?''

''Someone's attacking Fifth Sector,'' says Shindou, his voice alarmed. ''That's practically suicide – they'll be dealt with before the end of the week.''

Kurama, who has stolen his phone back, shakes his head. ''I don't think so,'' he answers grimly. ''You should check all these comments. It's everywhere. Apparently, it'll even be on TV tonight,'' he tells his team. ''Getting rid of this reporter now is pretty much confirming what the article said.''

A few players are already on their phones, looking up the article. Soon enough, everyone is quietly reading it. Tenma pretends to read it too, hiding a smirk, but instead actually keeps an eye on Kidou, Endou, Haruna and Fubuki. The four are talking in alarmed, hushed voices, but what he manages to pick up tells him it's about Jiro's work.

He has mostly recovered from the impact of Yukimura's Keshin, but he can still feel a sharp ache every once in a while. There are still ten minutes left of the break, though, so he should be fine once it's time for the second half.

''Everyone,'' says Endou, attracting the attention of the team, ''we'll be back soon. Something has come up that acquires our attention,'' he explains. Soon the four adults leave and only the teenagers are left.

They talk quietly, discussing what they just read, and Tenma pretends to be busy with his phone. Unfortunately, Shindou's voice catches his attention. ''Tenma.''

The brunet hides a wince. He didn't think the article would distract his team from questioning him, but he could always hope.

''Yes?'' he asks slowly, finally meeting his captain's unreadable eyes.

The game maker hesitates for a moment but then sits down next to him. The brunet blinks, surprised at the friendly approach the older midfielder is taking. He wasn't expecting it, but, on second thought, he probably should have.

''You promised you'd explain.''

This time Tenma really winces.

He knows Shindou saw it, and the rest of the team too, since they've been watching him since the game maker approached him.

He averts his gaze – he's never noticed that the floor matches the ice field outside almost perfectly, isn't that funny – and stays silent.

''Tenma,'' prompts Shindou after a while, half gentle and half stern. ''If something's wrong, we should know about it.'' When the brunet still doesn't say anything, he sighs. ''We just want to help you.''

The brunet grimaces. ''Yeah, wish it was that easy, San-san's been trying but he can't really do anything so it's really not worth it to tell you about it because you'll just worry andyoucan'tdoanythingsoyeahbetterifIjustdon'ttellyou-''

''Tenma!''

The time traveler quickly closes his mouth at Kurama's sharp voice.

''Wait a moment- Sangoku-san?'' Tenma carefully looks up through his bangs at Shindou. The captain is staring at the keeper with a betrayed look. ''I suspected you might know more, but- why didn't you tell us?''

The brunet looks down again but he still hears Sangoku's sigh. ''I'm sorry,'' says the third-year softly. ''I wanted to, I really did.'' They can all hear the pain in his voice and the time traveler winces again.

(It seems that he's only causing trouble for his team ever since he came to the past a month and a half ago.)

''Then why didn't you?'' asks Shindou again, kinder this time.

Sangoku stays silent for a moment, but then he sighs again. ''Tenma made me promise not to,'' he admits finally. The brunet doesn't look up even when he hears the restless murmurs of his teammates. ''I swear, I wanted to tell you, but I promised not to.''

''We believe you,'' says Shindou softly. For a moment it's silent and Tenma almost hopes they've forgotten about him, but then the captain shifts next to him and he knows his wishing is in vain. ''Tenma...''

The brunet can't take it anymore.

He pulls his knees to his chest, resting his feet on the bench, and hides his face in his arms.

He doesn't want to imagine his team's reactions and so he doesn't. So when someone – Shindou, probably – suddenly lays a hand on his shoulder, he's not prepared for it and he can't stop himself from tensing.

'Get a grip, Matsukaze.'

He tries to think of something to say, because they deserve to know, but how would he ever explain something like this? 'Hey guys, I just happen to be in excruciating agony every time someone uses a Keshin in my presence because my own Keshin is being a bitch and not listening to me'? Yeah, like that would go over well.

It seems that some deity above finally, finally takes pity on him – or rather, Sangoku. He hears the keeper sigh and then he starts talking. ''After our match against Tengawara, I noticed that every once in a while, Tenma would get these 'attacks'. Seizures, if you will,'' says the keeper softly. ''It looked like he was in a lot of pain and had trouble breathing for no apparent reason. After our match against Mannouzaka, I caught him in the changing room during one of the seizures and confronted him about it.''

The tension in the room could be cut with a knife. No one seems to know what to say and even Shindou sounds uncertain when he talks. ''Tenma, is that true?''

The brunet tenses again but then slowly lifts his head, letting his chin rest on his arms. ''Yeah,'' he mutters softly, keeping his eyes on the floor, not wanting to know their reactions.

''Are you... sick?'' asks Tsurugi carefully, his voice not giving any of his thoughts away.

Tenma shakes his head. ''Would you believe me if I said that it's actually something soccer-related?''

A murmur goes through the team. ''Soccer-related?'' repeats Kirino, confusion clear in his voice. It seems that with Tsurugi's interruption, others are willing to speak as well. ''How could soccer cause you to have... seizures?''

Instead of answering, the time traveler simply stretches his arm, the palm of his hand turned to the floor. A moment of concentration and a cloud of reddish black darkness takes shape around it.

He hears the sharp intakes of breath but still doesn't look up. Only when a pale hand reaches out for his own do his eyes move away from the floor to settle on Tsurugi's uncharacteristically hesitant expression. The forward is kneeling on the ground next to the bench. ''This is...''

Tsurugi's hand hovers close to his, just out of reach of the red energy. ''What is that?'' whispers Hikaru fearfully.

Shindou, however, seems to have realized the same thing. The captain kneels on Tenma's other side and shares a look with Tsurugi. The two Keshin-users seem to come to a silent agreement, for the game maker lifts one of his hands as well. They both concentrate for a short moment and then their own hands are covered in energy as well, though it's purple instead of red.

The difference between the red and indigo energy is almost palpable. Other than the color, the energy around Shindou and Tsurugi's hands is calm, almost flowing, while Tenma's is wild and lashes out as it swirls around his arm.

Tsurugi moves first. He reaches out, Shindou following a split second later, and lightly places his fingertips on the back of the midfielder's hand, while the captain places his own hand under the brunet's, fingers barely touching the skin.

The change comes almost immediately. Instead of attacking them, the red energy seems to settle a little. Shindou and Tsurugi share another look. The captain breaks the barely there touch and instead takes Tenma's hand in his, while the forward completely lays his hand on top of the brunet's.

It takes a few moments, but then they all see the change. The red changes from red to pink to purple to indigo and settles down, perfectly mixing with Tsurugi and Shindou's.

''A Keshin?'' breathes Shindou, his voice barely audible.

The time traveler nods. ''Yeah. But, as you can see, it's not exactly right.''

Tsurugi's voice sounds strangely strained, more than Tenma expected – of course he thought the forward would be worried, but there is something else too. ''How did this happen?'' he asks forcefully.

''Tsurugi...?''

The Seedling's head snaps up at the sound of his name and orange eyes settle on the brunet's face. ''Tenma, how did this happen?'' he asks again. At the confused expression, the forward looks at their hands again. ''I've seen this only once before,'' he admits softly. ''During my training as a Seed. All the players are tested for Keshin,'' he tells his team. ''The training is cruel and I've seen some horrific accidents happen because of it. Once, there was a class, a few years older, that was training and we were allowed to see it, as a 'lesson' on how to call our own Keshin. The players were being attacked by Keshin-users in order to call forth their own, but... there was this boy. It went wrong for him. I didn't exactly see what happened, but there were too many Keshin around him and they were hurting him too badly. One moment he was surrounded by them, the next they were thrown into the walls by some kind of red energy.

''The boy himself was in incredible pain. They brought him to the infirmary, but the doctors didn't have any idea what to do. He was eventually released but he had to return every few days because he'd get these pain attacks, mostly when in the presence of other Keshin but also during other random times. I was there for a few – it was horrible. He just kept screaming and it looked like he was choking,'' says Tsurugi in a hushed whisper, so different from his usual confident speech. ''Eventually he was placed in another training institution and I've never heard anything about him again.''

They all fall into silence, most horrified, others thoughtful, but all worried. The tension in the room is almost palpable and no one seems to know what to say.

''It's called a chained Keshin,'' whispers Tenma finally and all eyes snap to him.

Shindou opens his mouth to say something but seems to have lost his voice. Kirino says what's on all of their minds instead. ''Chained... Keshin?''

The brunet nods, allowing the Keshin energy around his hand to retreat. It's calm and soothing, like how he remembers it from the future. The contact with Maestro and Lancelot has actually managed to subdue Pegasus a little.

Tsurugi and Shindou are startled when he pulls his hand out of their grip, but don't fight it and instead lower their own hands as well. ''It's very rare,'' says Tenma, finally looking at his teammates. They're all listening intently, even Sangoku, despite having heard it before. ''It's what happens when someone's Keshin is forcefully awakened. The boy Tsurugi was talking about, he was being attacked by too many other Keshin and his own was forced to come outside to protect him before his body was physically ready to handle it.''

''What do you mean?'' asks Tsurugi lowly. ''Physically ready?''

Tenma gives him an unhappy smile. ''You and Shindou-senpai should know what I mean. Using a Keshin takes a lot of energy, right?'' the two nod after a moment of thought. ''It puts an incredible strain on your body, that's why people have to train to get one. There are rare cases, like with Shindou-senpai, where the user is already physically fit enough to manifest a Keshin, but often that's not the case. When something happens that endangers the user enough to awaken a Keshin before the body can handle it, it becomes chained.

''You see, since the body can't handle the energy, it can't settle down like usually happens when a Keshin isn't used. Instead it stays awake and it fights against the host to forcefully adjust itself, but since the body is too weak, it rejects it. It's a constant fight, but sometimes it becomes worse, like when that boy got those attacks. That's really, really painful,'' says the brunet softly. ''When faced with other Keshin, the chained Keshin becomes aggressive and tries to manifest in order to protect itself, but again, the host body can't handle it and it leads to another attack.''

They all fall silent again, going over everything they've just learned. Both Shindou and Tsurugi look deeply troubled, trying to imagine what it's like to fight against their own Keshin 24/7, and both are horrified by what they find.

Hikaru's voice trembles when he speaks. ''And- and you have such a chained Keshin?''

The time traveler nods. ''Yeah.''

And then Shindou's eyes widen in shock and suddenly he looks sick. ''Does-'' he cuts himself off there and everyone looks at him, concerned and shocked by how horrified he looks. They've never seen their captain lose his composure like this. Said captain takes a deep breath and starts over. ''Does that mean that every time we used our Keshin, we- we were hurting you?''

Tsurugi's eyes widen too and he has to sit down on the floor.

''No!''

Tenma's alarmed shout doesn't do much to reassure them. The Seedling covers his eyes with one hand while the game maker bows his head so that his hair is covering his expression.

The brunet watches them in disbelief. 'They're not seriously blaming themselves, are they?' he takes a deep breath to calm himself. If he acts rashly, they won't listen to him. ''No,'' he repeats, calmer this time. ''At- at first, you did hurt me,'' he says softly, wincing along with his two friends. ''But eventually my Keshin got used to Lancelot and Maestro and- and actually started to calm down around them. You saw what happened just now – my Keshin energy calmed down when yours touched it.''

Shindou seems relieved at that, if the way his shoulders sag and he breathes out heavily is any indication. Tsurugi, though, doesn't seem reassured at all. ''Tenma,'' he says instead and his voice sounds ragged, ''how did you get a chained Keshin?''

The brunet freezes. That's the one question he doesn't want to answer.

But he knows he has to.

''When-'' he bites on his lip, aware of the once again worried stares of his teammates. ''When you attacked me with Lancelot,'' he whispers finally.

Tsurugi doesn't do anything for a long while and his hand on his eyes prevents them from reading his reaction. ''So if I hadn't done that,'' he says slowly, ''I could've prevented you being in pain this whole time?''

''No,'' whispers Tenma softly. That finally gets a reaction. The forward's head snaps up and his disbelieving gaze regards Tenma sharply. The brunet bites on his lower lip and sighs softly. ''Something happened, not long before I got to Raimon, that pretty much awakened my Keshin already. It was already unbalanced when we played against each other. Even if you hadn't attacked me, just being in the presence of a Keshin, if it was Lancelot, Maestro, or any other, would've caused this.''

''I'm sorry,'' whispers Tsurugi.

The time traveler shakes his head. ''Don't be, it wasn't your fault,'' he tells his friend softly. ''Besides, you couldn't have known, and even if you had, nothing you did would've stopped it.''

Tsurugi does not seem convinced.

  ~'0'~  

The second half is almost starting when a familiar voice calls out to them. ''Hey! Shindou! Guys!''

They all turn around to find a dark-skinned boy with long black hair in a ponytail running towards them.

''Nishiki!''

''You made it!''

Nishiki grins. ''Sorry for being late!'' he calls cheerfully. ''Nishiki Ryouma has arrived at the scene!'' he finally reaches them and the team surrounds him. ''I heard you guys were stirring up a revolution and having a hard fight out here. I just couldn't sit still and watch it pass by me!''

They change their formation, replacing Hayami with Nishiki, after Tenma dropped some hints that caused the latter to reveal he's a midfielder now. The match starts with Hakuren's kick-off, but Kurama manages to steal the ball almost immediately.

They manage to connect their passes until Tsurugi gets it. They take their formation and again, yellow fire rises up around the two groups, covering them completely a moment later. ''Hissatsu tactics!'' calls Shindou.

''Double Wing!'' finish Hikaru and Tsurugi. Both wings shoot forward and Absolute Barrier moves to the right, and this time the wing actually shatters the icy wall, while the left wing breaks right through the now huge gap in Hakuren's defense, taking the ball with them.

''Hikaru, go!'' shouts Tenma, grinning when he sees his purple-haired friend shoot. The force behind the ball is as impressive as always and it shoots towards the goal, right past Shirosaki and into the net behind it.

''Goal! Raimon's new forward Kageyama finally manages to score a point!''

Tenma grins and high-fives Hikaru when the boy returns to their half of the field. ''I knew you could do it!''

The newest forward laughs embarrassedly, a happy grin on his face. ''Thank you,'' he tells the brunet sincerely. ''If you hadn't believed in me, I don't know if I could've pulled it off.''

The time traveler gives him a warm smile. ''You could've,'' he says with absolute certainty. ''You don't need encouragement to play to the best of your ability. You can do that all by yourself.''

Hikaru is positively beaming under the praise, embarrassed yet happy, and it only grows when the rest of the team comes to congratulate him as well.

They use Double Wing a second time, but this time Tenma is one of the front players, since he's closer than Hamano is when they take their positions. They break past Absolute Barrier again, only now Tsurugi's wing is in possession of the ball. The Seedling easily makes his way to the goal through the now ruined defense, but once there, he hesitates.

Tenma sees it and runs forward, closer to his friend. ''Tsurugi, do it!'' he urges him on and the forward shoots him a hesitating look. The brunet gives him a beaming smile. ''I'll be fine, trust me.''

That does it, for Tsurugi finally calls forth his Keshin. As the dark cloud takes shape, it dissipates to reveal the armored figure they're all familiar with. ''Sword Saint Lancelot!'' the forward throws his arm to the side and Lancelot's cape blows in an unearthly wind. The ball, surrounded by black and gold, rises up into the sky and the Seedling jumps after it. ''Lost Angel!''

He kicks it and Lancelot's sword gives it an extra boost. Shirosaki jumps, but he's too slow and the ball flies into the goal. ''Raimon finally ties the score!''

The moment it's clear that he's scored, Tsurugi's eyes leave the goalpost and instead search out Tenma. The brunet, anticipating this, gives him a smile when their eyes meet and he can see the obvious relief on the forward's face.

They move back to their own half, together, in silence. No words need to be shared between them.

Tenma knows it will still take a while before Tsurugi stops blaming himself, but this at least is a start. He smiles a little, but it fades away when he sees the events happening at Hakuren's bench.

A player switch.

The violent boy who injured Sangoku last time, Seki, is being switched in. And from the smirk on his face, it seems that he's exactly planning the same thing this time.

He talks with Hakuren for a moment, though it doesn't seem that the rest of the team is happy with whatever he told them. Soon after, the match resumes with Hakuren's kick-off and Yukimura moves forward. He passes Hamano, but is distracted by Seki. ''Yukimura, pass it to me!'' orders the other forward.

''I know, fine!'' calls Yukimura back through gritted teeth, and shoots the ball high.

''Yukimura sends up a centering!''

Seki jumps, and so does Sangoku. ''No!'' Tenma can't stop the cry from leaving his lips when he sees their keeper grabbing the ball and Seki turning his back to him in the air.

''Seki has lost his balance from the momentum!''

The forward falls, hitting Sangoku harshly with his back. Raimon's keeper cries out sharply and hits first the field and then the goalpost harshly. ''Sangoku smashes into the goalpost! He can't get up!'' the third-year lies shakily on the ground, gritting his teeth in pain.

The team surrounds him in a flurry, concern evident in all of their postures. They find themselves at Raimon's bench only a few minutes later, the keeper holding an ice bag to his shoulder. ''Are you alright?'' asks Tenma anxiously. 'Damnit, if only I'd acted sooner! I knew this would happen yet I couldn't do anything!'

''I'm fine,'' hisses Sangoku, squeezing his eyes shut against the pain.

Shindou turns away from the keeper, instead looking at the other bench. ''He did that on purpose...''

''Yeah, I think so too,'' agrees Kirino, looking at the smirking form of Seki.

''He plays dirty.''

''Unforgivable.''

A sharp intake of breath brings their attention back to the injured keeper. After a moment of hesitation, Endou grits his teeth and says, ''Sangoku, you're on bench.''

''I'm fine!'' protests the keeper. ''I can still play!''

''Not in that condition,'' disagrees Endou.

Sangoku looks up at the coach. ''But we don't have any other keepers.''

''That's right,'' agrees the man. ''You're the only goalkeeper for Raimon. Now and for the future.'' Sangoku looks ready to protest, but Endou isn't giving in. ''We have to keep fighting until we get the Holy Road championship. Don't push yourself too hard to protect the goal at this point. Got it?''

Sangoku's expression says that he does. ''Yes, sir,'' he agrees finally. ''But... we don't have any other goalkeepers. What do we do?''

Endou grits his teeth. ''I know, but...''

He shares a look with Kidou and Fubuki. Hakuren's ex-coach looks at the Raimon team thoughtfully. ''Have any of you ever played as keeper?''

''No, they haven't-'' starts Endou, only to be cut off.

''I have,'' says Tenma softly and all eyes snap to him. ''Only a handful of times, really, and I'm not very good, but... I've played.''

The three coaches share another look. ''Alright then, Tenma, put on the goalkeeper uniform. The defense will just have to work extra hard to cover you.''

Soon after, they find themselves on the field again, the time traveler once again wearing the orange goalkeeper uniform. ''Raimon switches out the injured Sangoku for Kurumada. And Matsukaze has been put into the goalkeeper's position! What is coach Endou thinking?''

Tenma ignores the commentator as he places the ball down in front of the goal and takes a few steps backwards. ''Everything will work out somehow,'' he whispers softly, and then runs forward. He kicks the ball with all his might and it flies over the field, where it's eventually grabbed by Hamano.

The game continues.

Hamano attempts to pass, but Seki steals the ball and dashes forward. ''The Mist!'' Kirino comes forward to stop him, but the forward moves through it with pure force alone and pushes the defender aside roughly.

Kurumada makes a sliding and manages to steal the ball. Yukimura is the one who gets it and Hakuren goes on the offense again. Hikaru, however, is suddenly in the way and with some mad moves takes the ball and passes.

Seki runs towards it but suddenly Nishiki is there, grabbing it out of the air before the forward can. The Raimon team keeps defending, but eventually Seki steals the ball again and makes it to the goal.

''Tenma!'' the brunet isn't sure who shouted his name, and he doesn't try to figure it out either. Instead he keeps all his attention on Seki, who makes a shoot. Tenma jumps and punches the ball out of the way of the goal.

Hakuren just keeps attacking and both Raimon's defense and their amateur goalkeeper do everything they can to protect the goal.

The northern team is attacking again. Seki runs up to the player who currently has the ball and orders harshly, ''give me the ball!''

The other boy tries to get him to calm down, but is ordered by his coach to give Seki the ball. The forward makes a shot but it's stopped by Shinsuke. The ball spins through the air and Yukimura jumps after it, but it's caught by Tenma before he can get it.

The match continues in Raimon's favor and despite Seki's best attempts, he doesn't manage to score again. Instead, Hakuren starts fighting amongst themselves. It's clear that the other players are fed up with Seki's playing.

Shindou uses God's Baton to direct the game, making use of the gaps in Hakuren's defense. The ball goes from Hikaru to Nishiki to the captain again, who races towards the goal. ''Instrumentalist Maestro!'' his Keshin takes shape and the ball, surrounded by blue light, is kicked harshly towards the goal. ''Harmonics!''

It's too fast for Shirosaki to use a hissatsu and the ball hits the net.

''Goal! Raimon finally turns the score around!''

When the match resumes, Hakuren's movements have changed. Instead of fighting amongst themselves and leaving large gaps in their formation, they work together like a perfectly oiled machine. Their coach shouts from the sidelines to give Seki the ball.

They ignore him.

Hakuren is disobeying Fifth Sector.

The revolution has finally reached the icy corners of the country.

The teams are evenly matched and time is running out when Yukimura manages to break past Raimon's defense. ''I'll make the goal!''

Suddenly, from Raimon's bench, Fubuki stands up and shouts, ''You can do it, Yukimura!''

The forward is shocked for only a moment, but then he speeds up even more as a dark cloud of energy rises up behind him. ''Abounding Snowfall Saya!''

Tenma ignores the worried looks his teammates are giving him and instead focuses on his Soul Trance to fight his Keshin. His eyes glow blue and an azure aura surrounds him. ''Give it your best shot.''

''Icicle Road!''

The ice covered ball shoots towards the goal.

''Hunter's Net!'' a net of pink energy rises up but the shot is too strong and breaks past.

The ball reaches the goal and Tenma catches it. He grits his teeth against the freezing force behind it and calls on more of his Soul, but he's aware of the seconds slipping away. With every moment he can feel the energy seeping away a little more and his Keshin growing stronger.

'I have to stop it...!'

He takes the last of his Soul Energy and uses it all at once. But it's not enough. The ball breaks past him and-

-hits the goalpost.

Three whistles sound.

''Raimon wins the match!''

Tenma falls to his knees, breathing heavily. He can feel his Soul Trance fading away within seconds and his Keshin return, and since Yukimura hasn't called Saya away yet, the pain coupled with the exhaustion makes it too hard to stand.

Agony.

He gasps for air that won't come, lowering his head so that his face is hidden by his hair. The public is cheering loudly, their cries resounding through the stadium, and they echo in his ears through the rushing of his blood. It's impossible to breathe and every heartbeat sends another wave of excruciating agony through his body.

(He's choking.)

Through his blurry vision he can see Yukimura's Keshin dissipating and he gratefully sucks in a deep breath of oxygen. He doesn't even try to get up, instead merely trying to deal with the waves of pain washing over him.

''Tenma?'' he looks up through pained eyes. Tsurugi is kneeling in front of him, unusually worried and gentle. ''Can you stand?''

''Need- need a moment,'' he gasps out. The younger version of his best friend patiently waits and the brunet can see the rest of the team close by. After a few minutes, he forces his body to work with him.

Tsurugi reaches out to support him but then thinks the better of it and stops, his hand hovering uncertainly as he watches the time traveler stand up.

He makes his way to the bench, as fast as he dares to go in his current condition, and lets himself fall down into one of the seats. He can feel his team's eyes on him, worried but not daring to say anything.

He takes the bottle Aoi offers him gratefully, chugging down half of it in one go. ''Tenma, are you okay?'' asks Endou after watching him for a while.

The brunet nods in response. ''Yes, I just hadn't prepared for a Keshin,'' he tells the coach. Actually, he had, knowing the chance Yukimura would use his Keshin was pretty big. Soul Trance had been the only solution he could think of that would both stop the shot and keep Pegasus contained, at least for a little while.

Endou gives a sympathetic hum and then goes back to talking with Kidou, Haruna and Fubuki. The managers focus on fetching the towels and with everyone still in the unknown occupied otherwise, Shindou sits down next to Tenma.

The rest of the team huddles closer, grim despite their victory. The captain regards the brunet carefully and with no small amount of worry. ''How did we never notice it before?'' he asks finally, softly.

Now that the rest of the team knows about his vulnerability when it comes to Keshin, it seems they have finally, finally seen his reaction to it. ''I've been wondering that myself, actually,'' mutters Tenma in response. ''You're more oblivious than I thought you were.''

His team seems embarrassed but they don't try to deny it, giving the situation. Tenma drinks another mouthful of water (because water is a gift from the heavens and he'll fight anyone who tells him otherwise) and gives a small smile. ''Just now wasn't so bad, to be honest,'' he tells them softly, hyper aware of the adults and the managers just out of hearing distance. ''My Soul keeps my Keshin contained when I use it, so it was pretty much subdued, until the end when I had used all of my Soul powers.''

''You mean it's usually worse?'' asks Kirino in a horrified voice. The rest of the team looks sick.

The time traveler doesn't bother to answer, but Sangoku does. ''It is,'' says the keeper, figuring the brunet won't tell them. ''I've seen it a few times, when I didn't have to stop a shot, and it's-'' he cuts himself off there and shakes his head. ''It's... bad.''

Tenma straightens and puts his bottle down. The water has helped to refresh him and the sharp stings of agony have died down to a deep weariness, but at least it doesn't really hurt anymore.

The rest of the team seems to want to say more, but Endou calls to them that it's time to return to the changing room. The brunet quickly stands up and stretches, grimacing at the familiar soreness. His friends are not happy with the interruption but they respect his wishes and don't say anything else when others can hear it.

Instead they all head to the changing room and wait impatiently for a moment to talk more, all slowly changing into their training jerseys in order to buy some more time. Eventually that moment comes when Haruna, Fubuki, Endou and Kidou disappear somewhere to talk – Tenma's pretty sure Raimon's coach will soon disappear and be replaced by Kidou.

Left alone in the room, the soccer team discards their earlier actions of changing and packing their bags, while the managers put the water bottles they were handing out away. Then all eyes snap to the brunet the moment the door closes.

''Tenma,'' says Shindou gently, ''I really think we ought to talk a little more about... this.'' He makes a loose gesture to the whole room.

The brunet blinks. ''We should?'' he asks carefully, and his teammates nod. The time traveler, having changed into his training jersey already, quickly grabs his bag and sprints to the door of the room. ''Nope, I really think we shouldn't. Bye bye!''

And with that he slips through the door, ignoring the shocked shouts from his team behind him.

After all, he has a meeting to get to.

  ~'0'~  

Well, I hope you enjoyed it!

So my friend Archerr (or 'A', as I called her before [I finally know her only name is SpaceArcherr so Archerr for short]) keeps telling me to update, cursing me, screaming at me, crying or telling me how evil I am and that she likes my stories. I'm lowkey starting to fear for my life, but luckily I can always tell her she'll never know how any of my stories end if she does kill me.

Also, I read a few of my own chapters today to make sure I didn't miss any details, and I finally understand why she acts like that. And why a lot of reviewers scream at me. Oops XD

Anyway, until next time!

- Yara Meijer