Hey hey~ here's chapter three! Please enjoy :)

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Accidental Reverse Arc 1

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The next morning, after coming back from his walk with Sasuke, Tenma packs his bag and looks at the old soccer ball on the cupboard. He places a hand on it and takes a calming breath. 'Things will work out somehow...'

Soon after it's time for school and the brunet makes his way to the classroom, preparing for a boring day.

(Time travel sucks, especially if he has to repeat things in school he already learned three years ago. He makes a mental note to make a list later of reasons to kill Fei- it keeps get longer and longer, and it's only been twenty-five hours since this whole mess started.)

The day passes relatively normal and when the bell signaling the end of the day rings, Tenma, Shinsuke and Aoi quickly make their way to the entrance exam. Thirty minutes later, the two boys and three other students are lined up in front of coach Kudou. The brunet listens calmly as Kudou explains the exam, trying to remember as many details as possible from the first time 'round.

Tenma somehow manages to make it through the exam without too much trouble – or that's what he likes to tell himself. His control over his body has gotten better after almost thirty-six hours of being in the past, but it's so frustrating because in comparison to his sixteen-year-old body, he's so slow and weak and he gets tired so easily and-

Shindou Takuto is being an absolute asshole, excuse the language.

He doesn't even try to hold back! After picking himself up from the ground for the umpteenth time already, the brunet makes a mental note- how many mental notes does he have already?! –to have a long talk with his best friend in the future about picking on over-excited underclassmen, because that's not nice, thank you very much.

At least the damned game maker isn't using his Keshin.

When the exam finally ends- after hours –the brunet stands up (again!), dusts of his ruined clothes and huffs as he walks past Shindou, muttering something about 'bully-tolerating policy and mean upperclassmen, picking on innocent first-years', to the aggravation of his future teammates.

As the five first-years line up again, Shindou walks past Tenma, loudly murmuring something along the lines of 'how the heck are you innocent?!' and the brunet simply grins.

''I will now announce the results,'' says the coach. ''Those who passed are...''

He pauses for a moment, and Tenma absentmindedly wonders if Shindou and Kudou aren't distinctly related or something, because drama much?

''Matsukaze Tenma. Nishizono Shinsuke.''

The brunet can see the surprised looks on the faces of the upperclassmen, and suddenly demon-Tenma has a devilish idea and he fights to keep a smirk from his face.

The other three first-years protest for a while but when the coach doesn't budge, they grudgingly leave the field, soon followed by Kudou himself.

Not exactly remembering if it really happened, but having enough common sense to speculate that yes, he'd probably do that, Tenma immediately walks towards the upperclassmen before Shindou has a chance to follow the coach.

He bows deeply, to the surprise of the older students. ''I want to apologize,'' he states sincerely, surprising everyone.

''What for?'' asks Sangoku, obviously bewildered.

Demon-Tenma mentally cackles as the brunet straightens again. ''For having to put up with me for the rest of the year,'' he states solemnly, almost smirking at the stunned expressions. ''I sincerely hope that you will all survive the oncoming months.''

Midori laughs uncomfortably. ''You're weird,'' she states, and the brunet turns to her with an indignant expression.

''On the contrary,'' he says seriously. ''I am merely a very unique being, for, unlike many others, I actually have this wondrous thing called common sense.'' Then a feral grin spreads on his face. ''And a thirst for revenge, not to mention.''

And with that he picks up his bag and runs up the stairs, waving cheerfully at Tsurugi, who was watching the exam and is now staring at the brunet with a twitching eye. ''Bye bye, Stalker-san!'' once he reaches the top of the stairs, the time traveler turns around and waves at his now-once-again-teammates brightly. ''See ya!''

(Perhaps he spent too much time with Drama Queen Extraordinaire Shindou Takuto.

But hey, at least it's fun!)

~'0'~

The next two days happen fast. The new first-years introduce themselves to the already soccer club members and soon after they hear about their match with Eito – and the score of 3-0, Raimon's loss. Before the brunet knows it, he's already standing on the field, trying to convince Shindou to play for real.

The match goes much like it did the first time, eventually ending with the score of 3-1 and Kudou's departure, leaving Raimon without a coach.

When Tenma wakes up the next morning, he stares at the ceiling of his room silently. He knows he should get out of bed, but he's too tired to really care.

Everything that's been happening is taking its toll on him. While messing with his friends is fun, it's also becoming harder every hour. He's constantly on guard- because if he slips up, saying something he shouldn't know about, the consequences could be disastrous –and it's so hard to see his friends like this, so cold and distant and pained- and he hates it, hates the thought that they were so sad only a few years ago, hates the idea that their older versions were like that once –and last but not least, the stress of making everything go like it went before- because some things haveto happen to make Raimon succeed against Fifth Sector, and it's giving him a migraine to just think about everything that could go wrong-

Tenma sighs and groans. ''Ugh, I'm really not cut out for this...'' he grumbles. ''I hardly remember everything that happened, how am I supposed to know what to do!''

There are just so many things that need to be done!

Endou will become Raimon's coach- 'Not much I can do to mess that up,' –he has to keep Shindou from quitting the club- 'Great, just great. He basically hates me. How am I ever going to pull it off? How did I pull it off in the first place?' –somehow he has to change Tsurugi's viewpoint- 'But he's stubborn as hell, and I didn't exactly make a good start with him... I don't even know all the factors for this one!' –the other Raimon members will have to be convinced to play real soccer- 'Again, didn't make a good start there. Now that coach Kudou is gone, they're less than happy with me,' –and more importantly, Raimon will have to become a real team- 'Which... shouldn't be too hard... once everyone wants to play soccer, that is. For that to happen, Tsurugi will have to stop trying to destroy Raimon and the senpai have to be convinced to go against everything they've known since joining Raimon's team... which will happen once they don't hate me anymore and know how much fun real soccer is, so... oh dear lord, how am I ever going to pull this off? But, let's say I do manage to get everyone to play for real, there is still the issue of the lack of trust between Raimon's members. The senpai can agree with each other for the most part, but they have no trust in me at all, some of them basically hating my guts. Speaking of which, the only player who really gets along with me right now is Shinsuke. Then you have Tsurugi, who isn't trusted by anyone and, likewise, hates everyone else. If Raimon would fight, there are too many weak links, like Minamisawa – who, hopefully, will quit soon – Kurama-senpai, Tsurugi and, even though I hate to admit it, Shindou himself, who is only a straw away from quitting,' –and lastly, they'll have to win every single match to beat Fifth Sector- 'Which should be possible, considering it's happened before. Actually, this is probably the easiest point of all, excluding coach Endou's arrival...'

The brunet can already feel a headache forming at the list of almost-impossible tasks and closes his eyes tiredly. ''And that's even without counting everything else! I'll have to try and contact the stupid rabbit, which is basically impossible since there is no technology that has anything to do with time travel right now! That means that my only chances of getting home are waiting till Fei arrives for the first time or till the stupid rabbit manages to find me. Next to that, I'm going to have to improve my soccer skills, since I'm nowhere near my old level... and then, most important of all, safely unlocking my Keshin.'' He groans and opens his eyes again. ''If I'm lucky, it'll be solved once my body is stronger...''

But, as he knows very well, luck is almost never on his side. As Tenma stares into space, only one thought goes through his mind.

'I'm screwed.'

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Later that day, Tenma is training together with Shinsuke in a corner of the field. The senpai are also training, but from the missed passes and shoots, it's clear that they're not really into it. He can feel the glares they should him and hides the hurt he feels at that, because these are not his friends. Eventually he manages to shake it off and training continues like before, the senpai still not really doing their best.

The brunet doesn't really pay attention to it, though, for all he can think about is coach Endou's arrival. His memories tell him that the older soccer player should arrive today, the day after coach Kudou left, but he can't remember exactly when, only that it was somewhere during practice – which will end in two hours.

Soon after it's time for a break. Tenma listens quietly to the conversation about coach Kudou while he pushes a cart with soccer balls together with Shinsuke. ''It's gonna be some guy from Fifth Sector, right?'' states Minamisawa about the new coach, leaning back nonchalantly while flipping his hair. ''As long as we do whatever he orders, it'll look good on our student records.

''And you're fine with that?!'' demands Kurumada.

Minamisawa smiles slightly. ''That's the point of doing soccer in school in the first place, isn't it?'' he flips his hair again.

''So it's gonna be the same no matter who comes, is that it?'' asks Kurama, pessimistic as always.

Suddenly a new voice joins the conversation. ''That's not true!''

Tenma's head whips up and he fights the smile that threatens to appear on his face. He's not supposed to know who the voice belongs to, so there's no reason for him to smile. Even though he knows this, he can't help but be happy when he sees the familiar man again.

Said man walks closer to the staircase that leads to the field, the sun behind him shining brightly and hiding him from view.

(Tenma wonders if Endou, Shindou, and Kudou aren't secretly related, because their dramatic streak is the same [he can't help but ask himself if this is really the Raimon soccer club, and not the Raimon theatre club] and seriously people, the whole 'sun-hiding-who-you-are' thing is getting old!)

(Not that it doesn't look cool [maybe he should try it once.])

Haruna's face breaks out in a smile as the new coach walks down the stairs. He passes Tsurugi, who watches the man in disdain, and Haruna's smile brightens as his identity is finally revealed.

Endou smiles as the advisor walks forward to greet him. ''It's been a long time!'' she says happily as she bows in greeting.

''Is this everyone?'' asks Endou, scanning the gathered soccer players.

''No, the captain is absent,'' responds Kirino evenly, inspecting the man clad in orange.

The new coach doesn't let his smile falter at the news. ''Okay,'' he says, addressing all players. ''I'm Raimon soccer club's coach starting from today, Endou Mamoru.''

(Tenma swears the man is enjoying their shocked reactions. He's sure of it.)

[Not that he really minds, though.]

''I look forward to working with you all!'' he says brightly. ''Here's the schedule after school,'' continues the keeper once everyone is done with outing their shock. ''We'll be practicing at the riverbank grounds.''

''The riverbank?'' mutters Sangoku, sharing a look with Kurumada.

Kurumada turns back to the coach. ''Why over there?''

Endou's smile widens. ''You might be able to see something that you wouldn't be able to see from the school grounds,'' he says. When Hayami questions why they would need to see something like that, he answers with a simple 'in order to win'.

''If we all train together, Raimon will surely get stronger. I'll be waiting!'' with that, he turns around and leaves the field.

Tenma looks on sadly as the senpai leave the field, obviously done with everything.

'How am I ever going to pull this off...?'

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After school, Tenma and Shinsuke make their way to the riverbank. When they arrive, coach Endou is already waiting for them. A moment later, they stand in front of the new coach, who inspects them curiously. ''Matsukaze Tenma.''

Unlike the first time 'round, when he was incredibly nervous, Tenma just gives a lazy wave. ''Hai~''

Endou smiles at him and then looks at the smaller boy. ''Nishizono Shinsuke.''

''Yes, sir!''

The man clad in orange smiles at them. ''I was waiting.'' When Shinsuke gives another 'yes, sir' Endou tilts his head. ''You don't have to be so tense,'' he tells the small boy. ''If you don't loosen up, you might get injured. Just look at Tenma, he's completely relaxed.''

Tenma just grins and shrugs nonchalantly. ''What can I say? You don't seem like the scary type,'' he tells his (favorite) coach, who laughs.

''Unlike coach Kudou, I'm sure,'' says the man, a mischievous glance in his dark eyes.

The brunet's grin widens. ''Coach Kudou? Nah, he seemed like the rainbow flowery type!''

Endou stares at him for a moment, but then smiles in amusement and shakes his head. ''You're very interesting, Tenma!'' he says.

The grin on the time traveler's face shrinks to a mysterious smile. ''Oh, you have no idea~''

Shinsuke watches the two of them for a moment but then follows Endou's advice and looks at the coach eagerly. ''Um, what are we going to do for training?''

Endou looks over his shoulder and the first-years follow his gaze. Next to the goal are some red traffic cones. ''That. Tenma, lay those out and line them up evenly.'' He turns back to the brunet. ''Dribbling is your specialty, right?''

Tenma stares at him with an unreadable expression for a moment. ''Oh. Look Shinsuke, it's another stalker.''

Shinsuke chokes on air and Endou blinks in shock, opening his mouth to say something but then closing it, completely speechless.

''T-Tenma!'' says the smaller boy after he stopped choking. ''Why do you keep accusing people of being stalkers?!''

Endou looks interested. ''He's done this before?'' he asks the blue-headbanded boy, who nods.

''Hai, coach,'' answers Shinsuke. ''I heard he started with Tsurugi, then me and now you!''

''Aha...'' Raimon's new coach looks at Tenma again. ''And may I ask why you call people stalkers?''

The brunet huffs indignantly. ''You make it sounds like I call everyone I meet a stalker,'' he mutters. ''Well, when I met Kyousuke-kun, he was all like 'you're a soccer newbie' and we hadn't even talked for five minutes yet, so there's no way he could've known how long I played soccer. Then, about two hours later, Shinsuke suddenly started talking to me, already knowing my name and class before he even introduced himself, and now you seem to know all about my soccer abilities,'' he sums up. ''The only possibilities I can come up with is that you are all mind-readers, or that all three of you have done research on me. Since the first option seems kind of impossible, it leaves the last, which would basically make you all stalkers.''

Endou stares at him blankly.

Shinsuke actually facepalms.

Tenma smiles brightly. ''It's called common sense,'' he informs the other two calmly.

The coach raises an eyebrow. ''I see,'' he says calmly. ''I can assure you, I'm not a stalker.''

The brunet narrows his eyes suspiciously. ''That sounds exactly like something a stalker would say.'

''Tenma, please,'' mutters Shinsuke exasperated. ''Could we continue with practice?''

After a moment of thought, the time traveler nods slowly. Endou takes this as his sign to continue. ''Very well then. As I was saying, your specialty is dribbling. We'll polish up that first. Go back and forth on the grounds until I say you're ready.''

Tenma nods. ''Hai~'' and then leaves the other two to start his training. After the preparations are ready, he starts his training, eyes burning with a determined fire.

When the ball once again rolls away and the brunet walks towards it, he looks up at the bridge over the field, seeing a familiar person standing there. For a moment, he simply stares at the pink-haired boy, as if to say that he's been spotted, but then continues with his training.

Even when the sun starts to set, they're still training. Then Endou decides that it's time to move on, and he shoots a ball high into the air. ''Okay, next drill!'' he calls, running over the field and stealing the ball. ''Tenma, dribble while going after me! When I make the call, pass it to Shinsuke!''

They continue the new practice, and out of the corner of his eye the brunet can spot two familiar figures standing on the bridge. 'So they've come, huh...' he focuses his attention back on the exercise, deciding there's not much he can do about Shindou and Kirino right now.

While running over the field, he spots his other teammates watching the training. 'They've all come.' Somehow, he's not surprised.

He can feel the exhaustion wearing on him and notices that Shinsuke seems to be tired as well, but both of them don't care. ''What's wrong, worn out?'' Endou smiles encouragingly at them.

Tenma straightens and smiles back. ''Not yet!''

''Me neither!'' agrees Shinsuke.

The coach nods approvingly and starts to run again. ''All right, let's keep going!''

Even when they both stumble and fall, the two friends don't care and stand up again. Tenma can feel himself smiling at the first feeling of real soccer he's experienced since coming to the past. 'This... this is it. This is my- no, our soccer!'

''Nice work! Don't give up to the very end!'' calls Endou.

They continue but eventually Tenma misses a pass. With a feeling of dread he looks up, already knowing where the ball ended up.

And indeed, the ball is lying in front of the staircase that leads to the road. On top of the staircase is a familiar figure, clad in purple and red.

''Tsurugi,'' says the brunet softly as Endou walks past him.

''Oh, you came, Tsurugi!'' he smiles and waves. ''Could you get that ball for us?''

The striker's eyes narrow. ''What?''

''Let's play soccer!'' calls Endou cheerfully, not worried in the slightest.

Suddenly the Seed seems a lot more dangerous. ''It's makes my blood boil...'' he hisses. ''Your 'let's play soccer', that is!''

(Huh, seems like Tsu-chan's also part of the Drama Family.)

Endou turns around and smiles at the other, hidden Raimon members. ''Hey! Don't stay back, guys. Come on out!'' soon, the senpai join the two first-years in front of the goal. ''For starters, show me your kick strength.'' Endou hits his hand with his fist, still smiling. ''One shoot each.'' Kurama tch's and walks forward. ''Okay, we'll start with Kurama.''

The teenager easily shoots the ball in the goal, scowling. Endou looks at in surprise for a moment and then turns back to the teenager with a big smile on his face. ''Nice shoot! Just what I'd expect from Raimon's forward.''

Kurama looks down uncertainly and then walks away. Hamano is the next one to shoot. One by one, they hit the net easily. Then Tenma's up and, like the first time, he misses. He stares at the ball for a moment. ''Oh, I missed,'' he states blankly. ''Shame.''

The coach smiles at him. ''That kick power was pretty intense,'' he compliments.

The brunet smiles back brightly. ''Thanks, stalker coach!'' he beams.

Endou points to himself questioningly, even as the Raimon members gape at the brunet. '''Stalker coach'?'' he repeats and the brunet just grins. After a moment, the man chuckles and turns to Tsurugi. ''Last is Tsurugi!'' everyone turns to look at the Seed, who grits his teeth. ''You're the only one left,'' reminds Endou. ''Let's play soccer!''

''Fine... I'll do it,'' hisses the blue-haired boy, and calmly walks down the stairs until he reaches the ball that is still lying there innocently. He moves to the middle of the field, the Raimon members automatically moving out of the way of the goal.

The Seed places a foot on the ball, standing face to face with Endou. For a moment, all is silent, but then Tsurugi moves. Everyone easily recognizes the movements for his hissatsu. Tsurugi kicks the ball that is surrounded by blueish black energy. ''Death Sword!''

It moves towards the coach with incredibly speed and strength. Even so, the coach keeps smiling and when the ball reaches him, he closes his eyes and tilts his head, letting the ball harmlessly pass him and hit the goal.

As the ball rolls back, Endou grins at the Seed. ''That was an awesome shoot! You're good!''

Tsurugi grits his teeth in disbelief. ''What a joke.'' He leaves the field angrily, nobody stopping him.

Endou ends the practice there. ''So what is it we weren't able to see from the school grounds?'' questions Kurama.

The coach walks closer so he can address the team. ''You all came here to train for winning, right? Then you've seen it.'' He smiles at them. ''The faces of your friends with their goal set for victory.'' He balls his fist. ''The faces of the guys who want to play real soccer.'' The Raimon members share hesitant looks. ''I'll be waiting for you at the school grounds tomorrow!''

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Not long after, Shinsuke, Tenma and the three managers are walking home, when the future keeper suddenly stops. ''Tenma, where's your stuff?'' he asks.

The brunet blinks. ''I forgot,'' he says after realizing the smaller boy is right. He waves at them as he turns around. ''Go ahead without me!''

When he reaches the riverbank, he sees coach Endou walking up the stairs. In one arm he has a soccer ball and in the other he carries Tenma's bag. He holds it up when he sees the brunet. ''You forgot something.''

Tenma smiles at him as he takes the bag and the ball. ''Thank you!''

While the coach hands the stuff over, he looks at the time traveler curiously. ''Why did you come to practice?'' he questions.

The brunet blinks in surprise, but then his expression turns determined. ''Because I want to play soccer! I'm not good at all yet, but I love soccer!''

Endou beams. ''I see! I'll be waiting for you tomorrow, Tenma.''

''Okay, stalker coach!''

Said coach chuckles at the nickname. ''Never thought one of my players would call me that,'' he says. ''Kind of refreshing, actually, not to be treated like some kind of god.''

The brunet shoots him a bright grin. ''What can I say, I-''

That's when it happens.

For a moment, Tenma's vision becomes blurry and the only sound he hears is the rushing of his blood. His whole body feels weak and for a split second he can't think clearly.

Then it's over and he opens his eyes, which he had closed, as reality returns.

He's panting heavily as if he just ran a marathon and his whole body is trembling. With a start he realizes that Endou has both hands on his shoulders to keep him upright. The coach looks at him worriedly. ''Tenma, are you okay?''

The brunet straightens and nods, which makes his head spin. ''H-hai,'' he says a little breathlessly. ''I- what happened?''

The man shakes his head. ''I don't know,'' he admits. ''You suddenly just stumbled and I caught you. How are you feeling?'' his dark eyes are filled with concern.

Tenma smiles weakly. ''I'm fine, just felt a little weak is all,'' he tries to reassure the man.

Endou's eyes narrow but he nods anyway. ''Maybe you're just a bit tired from training,'' he states finally. ''You should go home and get some rest.''

''Hai, coach,'' says the time traveler softly as he turns around to leave. After having taken a few steps he looks over his shoulder. ''Oh, and coach? Thanks.''

The keeper smiles. ''You're welcome.''

With that the brunet leaves.

  ~'0'~  

'That... should not have happened,' thinks Tenma as he falls on his bed, still exhausted from his little episode earlier. 'I'd remember if something like this happened the first time. No way was I just exhausted from practice. I might not be very good yet, but I'm not at a point where I'd almost collapse after a few hours of training.'

He looks at the ceiling of his room and breathes out slowly. ''But then why... what was that?'' whispers the brunet to himself. ''I'm liking this less every day...''

The time traveler curls up on his bed, his eyelids drooping from the exhaustion that overtakes him. ''What's going on... I shouldn't be so tired...''

But no matter how hard he tries to think of a reasonable explanation, nothing comes up.

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Dun dun duuun~! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter :)

- Yara