~Bell rings~

The school started and everyone was sitting in their classes as usual.

"Hey! Tenma! Do you know by any chance where Serena might be?" Rin asked.

Tenma noded, indicating that he didn't knew where she was.

"What happened Tenma? You look pretty nervous." Taiyou asked.

"No...it's nothing..." Tenma replied.

"You know, you are ju-" Rin was saying something but she couldn't complete her sentence.

Icy came running towards her.

"Rin-chan!!! SOMETHING BAD HAPPENED!!" Icy shouted loudly.

"WHAT!!? WHAT HAPPENED!!? WHAT HAPPENED TO SERENA!?? IS SHE ALRIGHT!??" Tenma asked in a pretty hesitated way.

"Eh? I never took Serena-chan's name. I was talking about the plot of the weekly manga which Rin-chan and I read." Icy replied.

"Oh...right...umm...sorry...I...I think...I will go and get some fresh air..." Tenma said as he walked away.

"Is Tenma-san feeling alright?" Icy-chan asked.

"Aha! Don't worry about him. He is gonna be fine." Rin replied.

"Oh..Ok.." Icy-chan replied.

Right after Tenma went out of the class, Taiyou followed him.

Tenma! Wait! The lecture will start any minute now. We should go back to our class." Taiyou said.

"But..." Tenma replied.

"Are you worried about Serena because she didn't come to school today?" Taiyou asked as he kept his hand on Tenma's shoulder.

"Yeah...because she never skips classes.." Tenma replied.

"Oh god! You worry about her so much." Taiyou said.

"Then where is she? Why did't she come to school? She told me she was going to attend school today but she didn't. Is she alright? Are you sure nothing happened to her? Is she sick? Is she having feav-" Tenma kept on asking question but Taiyou cut-off his sentence.

"Sush!" Taiyou said. "She just overslept a bit. So, she knew she couldn't attend attend school. So, she said she is going to do some goal-keeping training." Taiyou continued.

"Thank god she is alright! I was so worried." Tenma said as he sighed.

"You over-think too much, oof!" Taiyou said.

Tenma sweatdropped.

"You said she is practicing, right?" Tenma asked.

"Yeah!" Taiyou replied.

"Where is she practicing?" Tenma asked.

"I have no idea." Taiyou replied.

"Does Rin know?" Tenma asked.

"No. She doesn't know either. Serena said she will tell us everything once we meet after school for practice." Taiyou replied.

"Oh! Okay! But how did you guys know all this?" Tenma asked.

"Well...umm...you see...Rin and I were talking to Serena during our lecture." Taiyou replied.

"WHAT!!? So you mean you guys were using mobile phones during the lecture!!?" Tenma exclaimed.

"Shush! You're too loud." Taiyou said.

"Sorry...but you shouldn't use mob-" Tenma's sentence was cut off.

"Oof! I know what you are gonna say but I think we need to go back to our class right now. I've a feeling our lecture has already begun." Taiyou said.

"Oh god! I almost forgot! Sorry.." Tenma replied.

"Ah! It's alright. Now let's get going." Taiyou said.

"Yeah!" Tenma replied.

~•~

"Finally, lectures are over! Phew~" Rin said.

"Hahaha! You seem so happy." Taiyou replied.

"Hell yeah! We get to practice now. I'm so pumped up!" Rin said with excitement.

"Amazing Rin" Tenma said as he smiled at her.

Tenma said as he kept his hand on his chest, closed his eyes and said "This is what I always wanted. The fun that we get to experience thorough soccer, the connection we make through soccer, making people realise that soccer isn't just a ball kicking game, it spreads love that we have for everyone too. Soccer is truly amazing. When I think about soccor, it makes me feel so warm, light as if I'm flying. This feeling...I want to spread it with everyone and let them know how amazing soccer is!". Tenma opened his eyes and smiled brightly.

"Tenma..." Shindou said as he smiled.

"You're not the only one who feels that" Kirino said.

"Yeah!" Shindou said.

"We all feel the same way too" Tsurugi said.

"Tsurugi...Tenma said.

"Count me in!" Fei said.

"Fei..." Tenma said.

"Me too" Taiyou said.

"Me three!" Rin said as she smiled.

"If you guys didn't count me in, then you all are definitely gonna regret it!" Serena said as she gave them a warm smile.

"Serena..everyone..." Tenma's eyes were filled with tears as he spoke. He quickly rubbed his tears and said "Thank you everyone!". Tenma smiled brightly.

"Alright guys! Now let's get to practice!" Taiyou said.

"Yeah!" They all replied cheerfully.

"Everyone! I'm here!" Endou said as he came running towards them as he waved his hand in the air.

"We all were eagerly waiting for you." Shindou said.

"Oh! Great! Now let's start with the practice, everyone!" Endou said as he grinned.

"But..coach Endou..." Taiyou said with a worried expression on his face.

"Eh? Anything wrong?" Endou said as he looked at him, pretty confused.

"Umm..coach Endou... it's just that.. yesterday you told us that today you are gonna tell us who will get to be in the team and who won't be." Taiyou said.

"Did I say something like that?" Endou replied as he thought.

"Yes you did!" Shindou said.

"Hahaha! I was just kidding. I know I said that and I've even decided who's gonna be in this team. Well, you all pass." Endou said as he grinned.

Everyone smiled.

"Yeah! I want you all to be a part of this team." Endou said.

"Coach Endou, I wanted to ask you something." Shindou said as he stepped forward.

"Yes? What is it?" Endou asked.

"Well, there are just eight of us in the team. What about the remaining players? The team should consist of 11 players and we definitely are in need of some." Shindou replied.

"Yeah! He's right, Coach Endou. We are short on the numbers here." Fei said.

"Ah! Don't worry about it, okay? I'll do something about it.

"Ok Coach Endou." Shindou said.

Everyone starts practicing.

~•~

~At night (around 11 p.m.), when everyone was about to sleep *Phone rings*~

"Wait...what? A video call for everyone? At this time of hour?" Serena said as she picked up the call shockingly, wondering if everything was alright.

It was Coach Endou who called.

"Everyone! Be ready tomorrow at 4 in the morning, our Caravan will be waiting for you outside your houses. So, make sure you are not late." Endou said.

"Ok Coach Endou!" Everyone said.

The video call ended.

"I wonder, for what might this be?" Serena thought.

                                   To be continued »

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Why did Coach Endou call them at night?

Was it some kind of emergency?

Comment below 👇 and let me now what you think.