I lived, bitch.

~'0'~

Accidental Reverse Arc 3

~'0'~

Unfortunately, Aki won't let him skip dinner again.

Tenma understands where she's coming from, really, he does.

Doesn't mean he's not almost faceplanting in his porridge from the sheer exhaustion that has hit home after today's training session. His head is leaning heavily on the back of his hand as to not aggravate the cuts. He slowly and robotically eats his dinner without even tasting it, his injuries newly bandaged after Fuyuka stopped by a little while ago. There's a conversation going on around him, but the mood is much more subdued than it was during lunch – the entire team is exhausted, and it shows.

Another difference is the better contact with the Resistance members. Seems that, after training together, Raimon is finally opening up to them. The fact they're all too tired to care much about anything right now might help as well.

Kudou, surprisingly, has joined them for dinner as well, together with Natsumi and the adults present during lunch earlier. He's discussing something in quiet tones with Kidou and Sakuma, although their discussion finishes quite easily. Seemingly having agreed to a decision, the man gives Raimon's temporary coach a nod of approval.

''Everyone,'' says Kidou, seemingly taken it as a sign, and easily gathers the teenagers' attention, ''it seems to be in our best interest to stay here for one more night and get all of you home tomorrow before school starts so you can talk with your parents for a while. Practice will be suspended, if everyone agrees to it.''

There are some muttered agreements from the teens.

Sangoku, glancing around at his friends, suppresses a smile. ''I think that's fine,'' he speaks for all of them, since even Shindou seems too tired to give a straight answer right now. ''Will afternoon practice continue as usual?''

Kidou inclines his head.

''What's important right now, though,'' says a voice suddenly from next to the coach, and all eyes turn to Sakuma, ''is that your opponent for the semi-finals is clear.''

That wakes everyone up.

Tenma glances at the white-haired man, lazily playing with his porridge. ''Wouldn't it be, like, totally shocking if it turned out it's actually one of the current favorites for winning that has absolutely no fashion sense whatsoever, wouldn't know really but imagine them dressing in purple and grey and then combine it with yellow – seriously, have they ever seen a color chart, purple and yellow do not go together especially not with a green captain band – and wouldn't it be very terrifying and surprising if their captain is described as ''the genius soccer player that only comes around once a decade'', and what if it turned out it's actually just a first-year who happens to spend half of his time in the hospital and isn't actually supposed to play soccer at all, but who's enough of a soccer dork slash orange slash sunshine child to later join Raimon in the fight to save soccer from imminent destruction or something similar?''

His teammates seem, for some reason, a little annoyed. Or confused. Or both, really, he's not being picky.

Beyond that, the Resistance members are staring at him.

''He's gotten worse,'' comments Kudou bluntly as he reaches over to pour himself another cup of coffee.

Sakuma, meanwhile, has narrowed his eyes, possibly in irritation, and shoots the man next to him a look. Kidou pretends not to see it, and so Teikoku's current commander looks back at the brunet. ''Thank you, Matsukaze, for that refreshing description,'' he says dryly.

Tenma just shrugs. Shindou, watching him, sighs and directs his next question at the two Teikoku coaches.

''...it's Arakumo Academy, isn't it?''

''Yes,'' says Kidou between taking sips from his coffee.

Sakuma massages his forehead and mutters something under his breath. ''May I ask how you knew that?'' he directs his question at the brunet, clearly exasperated. ''After all, the match only ended a little while ago and we have just received the scores.''

Tenma shrugs, letting his eyes widen innocently. ''Me? Know? Not at all, sir,'' he hurries to say and calls upon the power of sparkles to help in his act. ''I just thought it would be a funny coincidence.''

Sakuma stares at him for a long second.

Then he raises both hands to his face to massage his temples and, if Kidou's sudden hiss is any indication, kick the man next to him under the table. The death glare Raimon's coach shoots him a second later only confirms that assumption.

''Anyway,'' coughs Hiroto, doing his best to ignore his former teammates and instead putting up a bright smile, ''Arakumo Academy! From our research, it seems it is a team that is perfect in every aspect. I won't lie, they surpass you in both tactics and individual strength,'' he says, eyes sharpening as he turns to the real issue now. ''It's another one of the schools under Fifth Sector's control.''

Kurama scoffs at that. ''Shouldn't we be assuming that by now?'' he mutters, drawing the attention towards him. ''We've just gotta continue down the path as we have before.''

Shindou nods, and, somehow, manages to ignore Hikaru and Shinsuke's fanboying in the background about ''cool senpai''. Ah, some things never change. ''Kurama's right,'' he says, glancing at his team. ''To win against this, we'll need a strategy and an adaptable one at that. We don't know the field we'll be playing on.''

Grim faces all around.

''Raimon's strong forte is Keshin,'' says Midorikawa thoughtfully. ''Nishiki, Tsurugi and Shindou all have fully usable Keshin. Matsukaze's Keshin, while a... setback, has the added bonus of 'Charging'.''

'And Shielding. And Armed. And Soul Powers. Wow, I'm really overpowered, aren't I?'

There's a pause in the conversation.

''We don't know enough about Arakumo Academy to counter them,'' says Kurama eventually, sighing. ''They're better than us, but their skill set this year has drastically changed from previous years. It's too unknown right now – later on in the year, we'll have played them before and know more, but right now it's just the first match. And,'' here he glances at the Keshin-users on his team, ''the question is, can we depend on just you guys to stop them, when, by all means, their superiority comes from their basic skills?''

Nishiki is frowning, while Shindou is gritting his teeth in frustration and their resident Seedling has crossed his arms as he leans back in his seat.

Clearly, Raimon's Keshin users can't deny their striker's words, no matter how much they might want to.

There's a sudden disturbance when Kudou shoves his chair back and stands up. All eyes turn to him, curiously, and he leans his hands on the table. ''The Resistance will look into Arakumo more,'' he tells them shortly. ''You should go to bed and rest. Tomorrow, you'll be able to look at this from a fresh perspective.''

Raimon shares a few looks and then decide to do as ordered – their former coach is right, after all. They're all too exhausted to think about this now.

The teenagers quickly finish what's left of their dinner and are ready to clean the table, but a kind smile from Natsumi stops them. ''No need for that, we'll take care of it,'' she says, glancing at Aki and Haruna. ''You should get some sleep, alright?''

There's a slight hesitation, but eventually, the temptation of their warm beds is too much to resist. ''Thank you, Natsumi-san,'' says Sangoku from where he's standing with a hand on Hikaru's shoulder, the younger player swaying on his feet. ''Come on, we really should call it a night.''

Taking that as their cue, the teens who are still awake enough to not walk into a wall quickly start guiding their friends away from the dining room and to the common area, where they split up according to rooms.

Tsurugi and Kirino are seemingly the most awake of the four bunkering together in their room and therefore make sure neither Shindou nor Tenma accidentally crashes on the couch in their exhaustion. Fortunately having taken showers earlier after practice, the four boys are ready for bed barely ten minutes later and with a muffled ''good night'' Kirino turns off the lights.

They're all asleep within moments.

~'0'~

The next morning, everyone has more or less regained their composure, and they're split into smaller groups after breakfast. Having packed the few belongings they needed for the weekend, they're now split up according to living areas.

Aki has offered to drive some of the teens as well, so Tenma, Aoi, Shinsuke and Aoyama all gather in their car and take to the road. This early, it's mostly empty – at this time, morning practice would only just be starting.

They first drop off Shinsuke and then Aoyama, leaving Aoi and Tenma to make small some small talk. It's not long after that they reach their second-to-final destination, though, and the girl quickly grabs her back while giving them both a wave. ''See you at school!'' she calls to the brunet, and then she's walking up the path towards her front door. Aki waits just long enough for them to see the door open and Aoi's mother usher her inside, and then the car is driving away again.

Neither relative says much, since it's just a short drive. ''How are your injuries?'' asks Aki as she parks the car once they've arrived. She quickly steps out and grabs Tenma's bag before he can do so himself, not willing to let him risk himself more than absolutely necessary.

He gives her a gentle smile. ''A lot better already, thank you,'' he tells her as they make enter Kogarashi Manor. From there on, the both of them quiet down, not wanting to wake any of the other residents.

Tenma quickly retreats to his room to get dressed in his school uniform and grab a fresh soccer shirt as well – the other one is, after all, still covered in blood. He was lucky Aki packed some simple and comfortable clothes he could easily move around in for the little practice he did over the weekend.

Once he has changed into his uniform, he grabs the books he'll be needing today and checks if he has everything for training later. Then he grabs the flash drive that has been hidden in his bag most of the weekend and stuffs it in a small side pocket of his school bag. He's definitely going to have to make a stop at Soar's HQ later today, after all.

By the time he enters the living room, it's almost time for him to leave. The brunet quickly searches for his relative – she's in the kitchen, stress baking, and a stab of guilt has him grimacing – and walks up to her. ''I'll be going to the Shinohara residence later,'' he tells her. The young woman frowns but nods, exchanging the expression for a smile.

With a last quick goodbye to her, Tenma moves to the front door and puts on his shoes. Then he's slipping outside and setting off towards school.

~'0'~

Classes are okay.

Really, they are.

It's just the stares.

Tenma scowls in annoyance at the whispers following him as he passes by through the corridor, random students watching him with wide eyes. He doesn't mind soccer being such an important part of society, but really, this is getting kind of overkill. His first-year friends are clearly sharing his opinion, if their fidgeting or death glares are any indication.

'Well,' he can't help but think, 'I did show up with blood on my clothes on live television, and then the entire team disappeared from the media radar for the whole weekend.'

Still, the logic behind it doesn't make him feel better at all.

Luckily it's lunchtime already, so the brunet quickly goes outside and slips through the trees until he's at the soccer club's usual spot. The second-years are already there and the younger teens easily join them.

''So,'' comes Kurumada's voice a second later, ''are we the only ones being stared at?''

The third-years join them, then, their annoyance highly obvious. ''No,'' responds Hamano, grinning slightly, ''in fact, I don't think our history teacher even remembered to take roll call. He was too busy gaping at us.''

There's some laughter at that, and Kariya takes the chance to lean an elbow on Tenma's good shoulder. ''Meanwhile, our history teacher was too busy fussing over 'the poor dear' to actually, y'know, teach.''

The brunet doesn't bother to acknowledge him, instead focusing on his attempt to pick up his chopsticks with the least amount of pain. It's easier said than done, though – both his hands are still hurting, fresh bandages wrapped around them. He manages his task, although not as easily as he would've liked.

''You could get a fork for that,'' says Tsurugi suddenly.

The time traveler glances up to see his friend watching him. ''Wouldn't change much,'' he says with a shrug. ''It'd still hurt.''

The striker frowns but doesn't respond. The rest of the team, now all gathered, get down to business not long after. ''So,'' says Hayami, leaning against a tree as he crosses his arms, ''what will we do now?'' at the curious glances he gets, he fidgets. ''I- I mean, things with the Resistance are kind of okay, for now, but... but what about Fifth Sector and Soar?''

Frowns all around.

''Well, Fifth Sector is sending one of their best teams after us now,'' muses Amagi, reaching for his phone. ''I've asked Mahoro, since they've had a practice match with Arakumo Academy before, and they're not one to be underestimated...''

''But the Resistance is helping with that,'' counters Kariya thoughtfully, reaching out to steal one of Tenma's rice balls, only to have his hand slapped away by Kirino. The elder's glare says it all – no stealing food from the injured person – and the tealhead grins as he snags a fried fish cake from him instead. ''Besides,'' he continues, munching on his snack and ignoring Kirino's rolled eyes, ''after all this attention, do we really expect Fifth to go after Tenma again?''

There's a pause there.

All eyes turn to the brunet in question.

Said brunet frowns, chewing on his lower lip as he thinks. ''Good question,'' he says finally. ''To be honest, the first time I was 'kidnapped', Ishido was behind it and he treated me surprisingly well. From what the Councilman this time told me, he was working without the Holy Emperor's knowledge.''

Everyone stares at him.

It's not hard to figure out what he's implying.

''Are you...'' Shindou raises his eyebrows, ''are you saying we're trusting the Holy Emperor to make sure nothing like this happens again?''

Tenma nods. ''From what I've seen, he's trying to keep up image. Fifth Sector depends on their sponsors, after all – if they destroyed that base, they'd have nothing left,'' he explains. ''The Councilman I encountered didn't have the same ideas. Even if Ishido doesn't know who was behind it, he'll keep a tight leash on everyone for a little while.''

There are some nods.

That makes sense, seems to be the mutual opinion.

And that's when their conversation is interrupted.

''HQ to Jū, I repeat, HQ to Jū!''

Tenma doesn't even need to wonder about the timing of the call to know something is wrong. The frantic tone coming through his earpiece makes that clear enough.

Without hesitation, he drops his chopsticks and raises his hand to his communicator. ''I'm here,'' he says, ignoring the surprised looks his team shoot him. ''KitCat, what's wrong?''

The realization washes over his friends.

''Jiro- Link's been attacked,'' gasps Maiko.

Grey eyes widen and Tenma's thoughts come to a screeching halt.

''Say what now?''

The girl seems to take the stunned words as a sign to continue. ''Barely three hours ago, she and Kasai were going to school when they were ambushed by what we believe to be Fifth's agents,'' she tells him, seemingly to calm down now that she can fall back on facts. ''Kasai manages to take some of them out but they were still chased. They hid and called HQ. It was Emiko-san's shift, then, so she told them to stay put and sent in Kogure-san to go get them.''

Tenma breathes out shakily.

''Are they okay?''

Raimon, seemingly realizing something is seriously wrong, stays quiet.

''A little shaken,'' says Maiko, ''but otherwise unharmed.'' The brunet can't quite stifle his ''thank god'' at that. ''According to Kasai, it was clear they were after Link – they only seemed interested in her, until he interfered.''

Of course. Seiji's alias has granted him safety, until now – the chances of the one behind the attack investigating him have grown significantly.

'And I bet it was Senguuji.'

That man has really become annoying lately.

But first...

''Tell everyone to proceed with caution,'' he says, narrowing his eyes. ''Keep Link and Kasai at HQ, if possible – Fifth will be looking for them. You have my permission to make a post about the attack – let's make the best of this.''

Maiko immediately agrees with his orders and she's continuing with some of the details of the attack, while Tenma glances at his teammates. They're watching him, curious, concerned, but quiet.

He's thankful for that. Questions now would be distracting.

''I'll join you at HQ after soccer practice finishes,'' he adds to his earlier words when Maiko finishes her report, ''and I'll bring Raimon.''

All heads immediately whip up to look at him, wide eyes all around.

''You- you will?''

The brunet grins, more for the sake of his teammates then the girl he's talking with. ''Yes,'' he says, his grin shrinking to a warm smile. ''I do believe they've earned that right.''

Maiko agrees, a little stunned, and they quickly hang up. The second the conversation is finished, Raimon takes the chance to speak up. ''Tenma,'' says Shindou, a little uncertainly, ''you- are you sure about this?''

The younger teen tilts his head and nods. ''Mm!'' he hums as he reaches for his chopsticks to continue eating. ''I trust you!''

He's about to ask if any of them don't want to come, but really, their expressions tell him he doesn't have to bother.

~'0'~

By the time training rolls around, Raimon has more or less recovered from their eventful weekend. They gather on the outside field, sharp eyes and determined stances all around, and when Kidou approaches them, he gives a nod of approval. Their coach stops in front of them, but instead of explaining the practice schedule for the day, he takes a good few moments to merely look at them. The silence lasts long enough for Haruna to glance at her brother, her brows furrowed together, but she seems to see something in his face that has her straighten up.

''Everyone,'' Kidou finally starts, and immediately follows it with a sentence that leaves them all in shock. ''I owe you an apology.''

He seems to take note of the confusion and Haruna's questioning ''nii-san?'' is the only thing that follows.

Raimon, instead of questioning the man, merely draw closer together.

The message is clear.

You're going to have to do better than that, Kidou-san.

And for the first time, he seems to understand it.

''Endou has entrusted me with your wellbeing,'' he starts, his expression unreadable, ''and although that might not mean much to others, I know him. He would not just ask such a thing of anyone. And instead of guiding you like I should have, I treated you like I would've treated Teikoku. I did not see that this team is different and although it all worked out in the end, that is still a mistake.''

They're still waiting.

Kidou, finally, lets a small grin grace his lips, before it melts away. ''What's more, I have been more concerned with the revolution than with you,'' he continues. ''I looked at you and I saw the Resistance's team and that has cost all of you dearly.'' There's a slight pause there, as if he's contemplating something. Out of nowhere he reaches up and, in one smooth movement, pulls off his goggles, revealing sharp red eyes to the world. ''Right now, I look you all in the eye and tell you that I'm sorry for that. This team should've been my priority. It wasn't, not like it should've been. I realize that now and I will tell you that, from this moment on, I will be the coach you deserve, until Endou returns to take up his old duties.''

He's played all his cards.

And now it's up to them to accept or reject it.

(It's strange, to be taken seriously like this. To be seen like this. There was concern for their wellbeing, for their fate, but the Resistance never actively tried to search them out or train them-

Things that have already happened here.)

''Thank you.''

Everyone glances at Aoi when she says that.

The girl stands up from the bench and dusts off his skirt. Then, she gives the man a gentle smile and, folding her hands neatly in front of her, bows politely. ''I might only be a manager,'' she says as she straightens again, ''but this team is important to me. I'd like to think I'm part of it as well and even though I'm never in much danger, I hate to see anyone else. So if you're going to try and make sure that doesn't happen anymore... then I can only say thank you.''

There's a second of silence following her words.

Then Midori's grinning and slinging an arm around her shoulders. ''Well said, girl!'' she cheers, Akane laughing next to her.

It seems to be the only thing the boys needed, for the tension flows out of them like water. ''Well, when put like that, I suppose we should accept the apology,'' muses Kurama, although he can't hide his smile.

''Should?'' repeats Sangoku in amusement, chuckling when Kurumada leans an elbow on Kurama's shoulder, the shorter teen growling in annoyance. The keeper turns to Kidou and, much like Aoi, gives a short bow. ''Thank you, coach,'' he says, smiling.

The rest of the team echoes those words and Kidou's lips twist upwards as he secures his goggles before his eyes again. ''Well then,'' he says, lifting his head with a grin, ''what are you waiting for? Get to practice!''

''Hai, coach!''

~'0'~

Once training has finished, the teens quickly change into their school uniforms and leave like they would any other day – with strict orders from Kidou to send a message once they've reached their houses – and meet up a few streets away from the school. They follow Tenma to Kogarashi Manor, the anticipation in their postures clear.

But, who can blame them? They're going to Soar's headquarters, after all.

By the time they've reached the brunet's house, several people have send messages that they're ''home''. It's not as if they like lying to their coach, especially not after their fresh start, but everyone has agreed it's safer to wait and see how Kidou will act for now, before trying to introduce him to their... ideas.

Aki greets them warmly, together with Kogure and an older man. ''Henkutsu-san,'' greets Tenma, a little surprised, and it's now that the team recognizes him from the Akizora Challengers. ''What are you doing here?''

''Aki-san asked me to give you all a lift,'' he says as he leads them around the house, until they caught sight of a bus parked behind the building. ''Said it's a friendly outing, that's why you can't use your team bus.''

Tenma hides a grin and instead beams. ''Thank you, sir!'' he chirps as he quickly gets on the bus, his team taking it as a sign to follow him. Aki and Kogure join them in front and lastly, Henkutsu gets in. Once everyone's secured, they quickly leave Kogarashi Manor behind.

It's a short drive, barely reaching the fifteen minutes, and then they're dropped off somewhere in a back alley on the outskirts of the warehouse district. Once Henkutsu has left and the bus has turned the corner, Aki turns to all of them with a smile. ''It's a few minutes walking, but since there were some complications earlier, we're being extra careful. I hope you don't mind, but you will be split in two groups, one with me and one with Kogure-kun. Is that okay?''

There are no objections and they quickly form groups. Tenma gets stuck with Kogure and the man quickly leads them through a maze of small streets, until they stop in front of a random building. It's small in comparison to the other storage buildings, only two stories, and if Kogure wasn't so clearly focused on it, no one would look at it twice.

Now, however, the man quickly goes around until they've reached the back door, and pushes it open. They all move inside and Kogure closes the door firmly, before leading them through the corridor and up a staircase. Down another hallway and they can hear voices float towards them, recognizing some of their teammates – they must've arrived earlier – before going through a half-open door.

''Welcome,'' says Kogure, grinning as he turns to the teens, ''to the Soar headquarters!''

Tenma, much like his teammates, takes the time to look around.

It misses the homey feeling the Shinohara swimming pool had, instead having been replaced by something a bit more suitable for their goals. One wall has been sacrificed for their main system, a long table pushed against it which holds six different computers. It's separated from the rest of the room by a glass wall with a sliding door. Seiji's there, sitting in a comfortable swivel chair and with headphones on.

There's a large meeting table with a dozen chairs around it in the middle of the room and a fancy bar to the left, while there's a large screen on the other side. There are three half-cleaned windows in the cream-colored wall it's standing against, and next to the bar there's an arched doorway that leads to a living room like space.

Aki and her group are already waiting for them and the teenagers quickly join together again. ''Took you long enough,'' jokes Hamano, earning a slap from Midori which has him ducking behind Amagi for cover.

Tenma, while his team expresses their opinions about the headquarters, wanders over to Seiji and takes the seat next to him. The older teen glances at him and pulls his headphones back so one of his ears is free. ''Tenma,'' he greets with a half-smile, keeping in mind not to use any code names with the team around.

''I came as soon as I could,'' says the brunet, a little softer than he otherwise would because the sliding door is still open. ''Are you okay?''

Seiji grins, although it's a little less bright than it would usually be, and gestures to Tenma's still-bandaged arm and hands. ''Shouldn't I be the one asking that? But I'm fine,'' he reassures the younger, ''not even a scratch on me!'' then he sobers, a pained expression crossing his face. ''It's just... they went after Jiro. If I hadn't been there, who knows what could've happened.''

''I'm sorry.''

The older teen's head snaps towards the time traveler. ''It's not your fault.''

''I dragged you into this,'' argues Tenma, gesturing to their surroundings.

Seiji shakes his head. ''No you didn't. We knew the risks when we signed up for this. Even if you hadn't invited us in, Jiro would've started working for Soar one way or another and we both know it. She's too stubborn not to.''

Tenma grins a little. A lot can be said about their favorite reporter, but she can, and does, give everyone a run for their money once she's set her mind to something.

They don't talk about the real issues both of them are thinking about; even though Raimon can be trusted, some things could still put them in unnecessary danger. Instead Seiji moves on to lesser problems, like the fixed scores of the other Holy Road blocks. ''Arakumo has won every match so far, obviously,'' he says, ''and part of that is because of the score orders. But if you check this...''

He pulls up a hologram and gestures to a list of scores. ''These are all from Arakumo Academy,'' he says. ''The thing that really stands out is that all of them, even the first matches, were score orders in which the other team scored at least once. So far, Arakumo has obeyed Fifth Sector's orders perfectly, but if someone's to analyze their matches... they make their opponents work for their points. Only if they still haven't scored the right amount in the last fifteen minutes does Arakumo deliberately leave holes in their defense.''

Tenma raises an eyebrow in curiosity.

'I never did ask Taiyou about playing for a school under Fifth's control,' he muses as he stares at the scores, 'although, now that I think about it, I have a hard time believing he'd just set matches up just for a score order.'

Out loud, he nods. ''You're saying they play seriously for most part of the match?'' he asks and Seiji grimaces. ''It's smart, if you think about it. They get to test their skills without ever disobeying Fifth Sector.''

Any further conversation is cut off when Aki calls for him and Tenma excuses himself. He joins the rest of his team in the 'living room', where his relative has prepared drinks and snacks for everyone. The time traveler takes a seat on one of the couches, next to Shinsuke.

''So,'' he says, grinning a little, ''what do you guys think?''

They seem lost for words. Truthfully, even Tenma is surprised by the work that has been put into this place; it's more than he could have ever imagined.

''It's amazing,'' says Shindou for them all. ''I didn't think it'd be this structured.'' Mutters of agreement from the entire team follow that statement.

Aki comes in with refreshments then, followed by someone else.

''Minamisawa?!'' Kurama exclaims as his former teammate enters the room.

The purple-haired teen holds up a hand. ''Yo.'' Then he walks over to the couch and cuffs Tenma – gently – over the head. ''That's for doing stupid stuff again. You really had to get kidnapped?''

''I was not kidnapped, thank you very much.''

Minamisawa rolls his eyes and steals one of Aki's cookies, while the young woman herself retreats to the main room. The striker then drops down on the couch between Kurama and Kurumada, glancing at the team. ''For the newbies I don't yet know, I'm Minamisawa Atsushi. Used to be a Raimon player, now, as you all should know since we played against each other, I'm a forward for Gassan Kunimitsu.'' He gestures to the cookies. ''Help yourselves. Aki-san's cooking is amazing.''

They don't need much more encouragement and soon enough, everyone is munching on the sweets. ''Mine are better,'' mutters Tenma under his breath as he reaches for the plate.

He flinches when the movement pulls at his injuries and immediately, there's a hand on his shoulder to pull him back. He glances up at Tsurugi but before he can say anything, Shinsuke is handing him a cookie. With a quick ''thanks'', the brunet settles against the couch.

''How did you even get involved with Soar?'' asks Kurumada, glancing at Minamisawa.

The other teen tears his gaze away from Tenma, who is attempting not to get any crumbs on his bandages, to shrug. ''Well, this and that...''

''Aw, come on! You can't leave us in the dark!'' protests Hamano. ''How did you of all people become Mister White Knight? You're more like the... arrogant antihero type!''

Minamisawa shoots him a dry look. ''And thank you,'' he says, drawing out the 'and'. As the team continues to pester him, he merely munches on another cookie.

After a little over half an hour, Tenma stands up from the couch. ''I've got some intel to share with Kasai. And see if I can find Link, is she still around?'' at the Gassan forward's nod, he smiles gratefully and turns to the rest of the team. ''I'll leave you in Minamisawa-san's care, so I'll see you guys tomorrow.''

With a chorus of 'see you tomorrow's and 'bye's, he ducks into the main meeting room and makes his way to where he last saw Seiji. To his surprise, Jiro and Maiko have joined him there and the brunet quickly scans the reporter for any possible injury.

There's a bandage on her cheek, but that seems to be all. Tenma breathes a sigh of relief as he ducks into the computer lab and closes the sliding door behind him, smiling at the three of them. ''Hey,'' he says, taking a seat next to Maiko. ''Have you been here this whole time?''

The brunette shakes her head. ''I just arrived. How are you?'' her eyes stray to the bandages still covering his arm and hands, worry clear in her face.

Tenma waves her worry away. ''I'm alright, someone at the Resistance took care of it,'' he reassures the three of them. ''More importantly, are you okay?'' he turns to face Jiro.

A small smile crosses the short-haired girl's face, and she takes a sip from the mug she's holding. He recognizes the smell of coffee. ''Little bruised, but I'll manage,'' she says. ''On another note, you got intel?''

''Sure do.'' The time traveler allows her to brush his concern off for the moment, although he hopes she'll open up to Maiko or Seiji later. He knows her well enough to know she's more shaken than she lets on. Instead he digs through his bag until he finds the flash drive.

Handing it to Seiji, the teen immediately sets to downloading it. As they wait for it to finish, Tenma connects his phone to another computer to upload the pictures he took.

Barely a few minutes later, the four of them are scrolling through file after file. Seiji whistles. ''You really went all out, didn't you?''

The time traveler shrugs. ''I didn't have much time to look through it, so I copied it all,'' he says. ''That alone took two nights.''

They search through it a little longer, eventually all starting up their own computer to work on. Time passes like that in silence as they sort through the countless files. Tenma keeps track of his phone as it uploads the pictures and once that's done, he looks through them again to see if he's missed anything of importance – typing is a little hard with his injuries, but he manages.

After a while, he leans back in his seat and hums.

''Guys,'' he says slowly, ''did we manage to hack into Fifth Sector yet?''

The other three pause and share a look.

Then Maiko nods slowly. ''Depends on what you call hacking, though. We've gotten through the upper layers, but that's all.''

Tenma hums again and turns back to his computer.

His friends, after a little while, seem to realize he's not saying anything else and get back to work as well. Tenma waves goodbye to Raimon a few minutes later when his team leaves, but doesn't leave to speak with them, too focused on his work to do so. Minamisawa and Kogure join them at the computers not long after, sharing just a few words before starting to work as well.

As Tenma's fingers fly across the keyboard, an idea starts forming.

That is quite reckless.

His rhythm barely hitches at the sudden voice. 'How long have you been there?'

Pegasus' amusement is clear. I'm in your head, young one.

Fair enough. Still, he's not about to admit that after the little stunt his traitorous Keshin pulled with his team, so instead he focus on the more important topic. 'It's reckless, but we both know that this thing – the Holy Road, Fifth Sector – is about to come to an end. If Soar wants to succeed with its goal, we're going to need to interfere more. This might be the only way to do it.'

His Keshin can't bring in anything against that and although he's clearly not happy with it, he doesn't comment further. Tenma hides a smile as he stops typing.

He turns in his chair, addressing his companions at the same time.

''Call a meeting of the inner circle.''

~'0'~

Yeah, first of all, there was a problem with this chapter, which is part of the reason why it's so late. There's also a problem with the next chapter and I haven't had time to fix it yet.

Beyond that, I'm extremely busy aaaaaand lost inspiration XD

Anyway, hope y'all enjoyed this and see you somewhere in the coming year! ^.^ Also very late happy 2020, everyone!

- Yara Meijer