Yara, what are you doing, posting a new story when you haven't even finished Still and Warped yet?

I just had this idea and it was really, really tempting. So I wrote it. Hope you guys like it!

Anyway, enjoy~!

~'0'~

It hurts.

That's the only thing he knows.

It hurts, it hurts so unbelievably much.

He only realizes that someone's screaming when it stops, and then he distinctly comprehends that it was his own voice that screamed.

''TENMA!''

Then everything goes black.

''I'm sorry, but you won't be able to play soccer anymore.''

~'0'~

The hospital room is filled with presents and cards, flowers standing on the nightstand to give everything some color. The boy in the bed is sitting upright and staring out of the window, his eyes fixated on the cloudy sky.

It's getting colder, he absentmindedly notes. Autumn is ending soon.

''-and then we...'' the voice trails off. ''Tenma...''

The brunet doesn't look away from the window.

A sigh, and then the rustling of clothes. Footsteps, and someone enters his sight. The brunet keeps his eyes fixated on the sky.

''Tenma, look at me. Please.''

The brunet clenches the bedsheet tightly and finally moves his gaze to meet the brown one directed at him. Shindou looks at him sadly and sits down on the edge of the bed.

''Please,'' he says softly when the younger boy moves away from him. ''Please, I...''

Tenma looks away. ''Tsurugi didn't come today either.'' It's the first thing he said during his friend's visit.

Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Shindou wince. ''You know how he feels about this,'' whispers the game maker carefully. ''His brother-''

''I know.''

A hand is placed over the brunet's and Tenma stills. ''You can't blame him- after Yuuichi-san, he can't stand to see another person he cares for like...''

Like this.

There's so much Tenma wants to say.

But he's my best friend. I need him. Why isn't he here?

He doesn't.

''...how's the team?'' he whispers instead.

I haven't seen them in a while either.

Shindou hesitates. ''They're... focusing on the exams,'' he says after a few seconds. ''Especially the first-years are stressing out, though the rest of the team is trying to help them through it.''

''What about the match next week?''

The game maker pauses.

Neither of them speak for a while.

''We're... training, for it. It's going well,'' says the older boy finally. And that's that.

The only contact he has with the team is through their group chat and every once in a while, a private message. Shindou is the only one who still visits him.

Tenma wonders how long that will last.

Then he wonders if it's really so easy to forget about someone in only four weeks.

Apparently, it is.

  ~'0'~  

It's been raining a lot, lately. Raimon must've started using the inside gym, now that the weather isn't working with them anymore. At least, he thinks so. It's been two weeks since he last saw Shindou – the game maker has changed his visiting schedule from once every day to once every one to two weeks.

Taiyou visits every once in a while.

So does Yuuichi.

Although, he hasn't seen them a lot lately either. Taiyou is busy with school, too, and Yuuichi... Tenma isn't completely sure, but he suspects the older Tsurugi brother feels uncomfortable in the hospital.

The doctors are nice, but it's not enough to make up for the lack of other friends.

Aki comes every day, but she tries to keep her visits as short as possible, and even then she's silent and awkward around him – it seems that with the loss of his walking ability, his relative has lost her conversational skills around him. It makes him feel even worse.

But at least he still sees her.

Shinsuke and Aoi stop by on very rare occasions. He can count their appearances after the first two weeks on two hands and still have some fingers left. It's been three weeks since they were last in his hospital room.

Tenma watches the Winter Road, the teams he has played, the people he has met.

Raimon's doing well, all things considered. They miss a vital player and captain, but Shindou has taken over his old duties again and the team seems to fit around it perfectly.

It's almost like they've always been this way.

If he's not watching the tournament or doing homework that Aki brings for him – apparently it's being dropped off at Kogarashi Manor by some of his classmates – he's watching the news or reading sports magazines.

His own name is finally disappearing from the media, after almost two months.

That doesn't mean he can't remember what was said about him.

Soccer career cut short.

So young, so much talent lost.

A shame, a real shame. He had so much potential.

Captain of the Inazuma Japan is no more.

What will happen to Raimon now?

He's done for.

  ~'0'~  

He's started therapy. To walk again.

It's hard and it hurts so, so much, but he pushes through. He has to. It's the only thing he has left.

No one's there to see him.

To see him falls.

When he stands up again, shaking and out of breath but standing.

Catch him, support him, tell him he's doing alright, he's doing great.

The people who should've done that are not there. It falls to Fuyuka and the other nurses to do that, to help him. He hears them talk, too, when they think he's sleeping. About the friends that don't show up, the family that would rather stay away – Aki's visits have lessened to once a week.

It takes him a month before he can walk from his room to the cafeteria for the first time. He needs crutches, but at least he's walking.

He's walking.

  ~'0'~  

His parents were there when he woke up after the accident.

They cried with him and held him, told him they loved him. That everything would be okay.

He heard them fight outside of his room.

He sees the distance between them.

They think he doesn't know.

And so he stays silent and pretends he doesn't.

  ~'0'~  

Endou sometimes visits, very rarely, but whenever he does come, Tenma feels better. Like himself, or at least a little bit.

There's no sign of Aki's unease, his parents' sadness, Shindou's reluctance, the nurses' pity. The coach simply grins brightly at him and talks, for hours and hours.

Sometimes Gouenji comes with him, sometimes Natsumi. They never say a lot, but he appreciates it anyway.

It's been a month since he last saw his coach.

  ~'0'~  

His mother walks out on them, twelve weeks after the accident, after another fight – this one worse than the other ones. They didn't even bother to keep their voices down.

They were right outside their son's hospital room. He heard everything.

We don't have the money for all these surgeries! We sent him to Tokyo so he could play soccer, and look where that got him! I never should've let you convince me! He's crippled, Kichirou, crippled! It's a miracle if he'll ever be capable of running again! Do you think he's ever going to make it in the real world somehow? Do you think he'll ever be able to leave his failure behind? Do you think we will be able to leave it behind? Because we won't and I can't do this anymore!

He's your son!

A week later, his father comes in, his eyes red. His mother finally contacted him and they came to an arrangement.

They're getting a divorce.

Tenma's not sure how to react.

They were fighting a lot, more than they ever had before, but he didn't think they'd actually get a divorce. But at the same time, a part of him isn't surprised. It's like he doesn't care.

Or maybe he does, but it's just numbed like everything else.

He's aware of the days that pass, but at the same time they blur together.

The flowers on his nightstand wilt. No one comes to bring new ones, so the nurses eventually throw them away.

He only sees his father in passing, and his mother disappears out of his life.

It's my fault.

  ~'0'~  

His mother leaves. He's not sure where to.

His father stays.

''We'll get through this,'' he tells him, holding him tightly and it's warm. ''We will. It'll be hard, definitely, but we will. I promise you, Tenma, if you need me, I'll be here. It'll be fine, everything will be alright. I promise.''

  ~'0'~  

The snow is starting to melt. The nurses tell him he shouldn't go outside yet, for he might get sick, but he begs until they let him.

It's cold and he shivers, but he still sits down on one of the benches. The hospital garden is empty for now. He asked for some time alone.

His eyes close.

He can feel the sun on his face and in the distance, he hears the chirping of birds.

Spring will be here soon.

  ~'0'~  

It's not surprising he manages to pass his exams, even though he had to take them in the hospital.

He's had more than enough time to study.

  ~'0'~  

''Congratulations, Matsukaze-san. Your recovery is going well and there's a large chance you'll be able to leave soon.''

  ~'0'~  

''I want to go back to Okinawa.''

His father stills. He's holding a bouquet of asters, about to put it in a vase – the first flowers that enter his hospital room in months.

''Buddy, where did this suddenly come from?'' he asks softly, placing the bouquet on the nightstand and instead sitting down on the bed. ''You've always wanted to go to Raimon. Don't you have friends here?''

He ruffles his son's hair and the younger brunet leans into the touch.

''I... I know, but... I want to go home,'' he whispers finally. ''It's- I don't want to stay here. I can still meet up with my friends and maybe... I don't know, maybe I'll come back one day. But... I just want to go home, dad. Please.''

His father looks at him for a long while and then smiles sadly. ''Okay.''

  ~'0'~  

Tenma doesn't tell anyone he's leaving.

No one visits him in the month that follow the conversation, just like they haven't visited him in the last two months either. It's something he thinks should be told face to face and besides, it's been weeks since he last messaged anyone other than his father and he honestly doesn't want to talk to them either.

Five months after the accident, Tenma finally leaves the hospital.

He has to use crutches, but at least he's walking on his own as he leaves.

It feels great to wear his own clothes again, instead of the hospital gown he's gotten so used to. The brunet has to admit that it was weird, looking at himself in the mirror, wearing normal clothes.

Seeing Sasuke again has him laughing for a good ten minutes.

The duo walks towards the car. ''Our plane is leaving in a few hours,'' says his father. He's spent the last few weeks packing his bags for him, still a little hesitant about leaving the day Tenma got out of the hospital. The younger brunet managed to convince him, though. ''It's two hours to the airport and we have to be there two hours early. But we still have some time before that... so, what do you say? Should we get some ice cream?''

The brunet doesn't say anything about it being the end of February and agrees instead.

  ~'0'~  

Being back in Okinawa is... surreal.

Tenma has visited his childhood home when he still lived in Inazuma Town, of course, but it's different to be back with the knowledge that he won't have to leave anywhere in the immediate future.

The restlessness that plagued him in the hospital hasn't disappeared, but it's lessened, now that he's out of that room. He still has to use his crutches and that most likely won't change for a long while, if ever, but he can take walks along the beach with Sasuke and through the town he grew up in.

He still ducks his head to avoid being seen. There are reporters, even now, and strangers who recognize him – former captain of the best team in the junior soccer world – and he hates the attention it brings him.

He's been back for two weeks, walking through the small shopping district of his town, when he notices something in the window of the shop he's walking past.

The brunet stills, hesitating.

It doesn't last for long.

He left Raimon, left soccer behind, left Inazuma Town. He's not Raimon's captain anymore, yet somehow, somewhere, he's still holding onto that image of himself.

To the Tenma he can never be again.

What's stopping him, except for himself?

The brunet exits the shop fifteen minutes later. He's not sure if the shopkeeper recognized him – probably – but she didn't say anything either, instead merely helping him look for a color that would seem natural on him.

He's pretty sure his dad will help him with dyeing his hair.

Then he passes another shop that catches his attention, an optometrist.

Well, I've gotten this far.

He enters the shop and it doesn't take him long to find the colored lenses. They're quite expensive, but the brunet hasn't used his allowance at all in the last half a year, so he has enough to buy four different colors.

Twenty minutes later he steps out into the sunlight.

For some reason, he feels lighter than he has in seven months.

  ~'0'~  

Matsukaze Tenma transfers to Kyuyo Jr. High as a second-year, a month after school started. The most notable feature about him are the crutches he uses to get around. It gets him a few curious looks, but no one wants to be rude by asking about it.

With his dark, chocolate brown hair, ever changing eyes – he has a habit of wearing different colored contact lenses every day – and apparently none sportive life, no one has any reason to connect the dots between the crippled transfer student and the world famous soccer prodigy Matsukaze Tenma.

If they share the same name, it's just a funny coincidence. Not like there aren't any more Matsukaze Tenmas walking around in Japan.

As far as the rest of the world is concerned, crippled Kyuyo student Matsukaze Tenma in Okinawa doesn't even exist and Inazuma Japan's former captain has disappeared from the face of the earth.

  ~'0'~  

Fourteen months after the accident, Tenma finally watches the last match of former Raimon captain Matsukaze Tenma.

''Only a few minutes left with a score of 2-2! Is it going to end in a tie? Both teams are evenly matched and- wait! Matsukaze steals the ball from Amemiya! He has a free shot at the goal!''

The Tenma on the screen dribbles forward, skillfully passing the Arakumo players that get in his way. When he's close enough to the goal, he slashes his arm out, turning, and the wind picks up around the ball. He kicks it harshly and the wind increases, blowing dust everywhere. ''Storm Tornado Hurricane!''

''There it is! Matsukaze's famous shoot, Storm Tornado Hurricane! So far, despite many attempts, no one has been capable of copying it due to the incredible amount of stress it puts on the user!''

And then it all goes wrong.

The tornado around the ball spins out of control.

Someone – Tenma – screams. Once the wind and the dust settle down, the ruined field is revealed. Pieces of earth and sand are scattered around, and in the middle of the destruction lies Raimon's captain.

''TENMA!''

He stops the video there.

''I'm sorry, but you won't be able to play soccer anymore.''

  ~'0'~  

It's impossible, the doctors had said.

The rest of the world agreed. Matsukaze Tenma? He's done for.

Even his own father, despite all his promises, hesitates. I just... I don't want you to get hurt again, buddy. What if next time... you really can't walk anymore?

Staring at Raimon's laughing faces as they hold the cup after winning the Holy Road tournament for the second time, Tenma doesn't think about any of that.

The only thing that matters in that moment is the anger shimmering underneath his skin.

The world has forsaken him.

His team and friends, his own family has left him behind, walking away while he was stuck in place. Turned their backs to him in his moment of need.

He remembers the last conversation between him and Tsurugi. The last fight between them.

It's over, Tenma! Stop torturing yourself with all this, with asking about the team and watching the Winter Road! You're crippled, you're never going to be able to play soccer again! Hell, it's a miracle if you'll ever walk again!

The rest of his team had been there. They'd forced Tsurugi to leave, but no one had contradicted his words.

It's the last time he'd ever seen them in person all at once. The next time he saw the whole team, it was through the TV.

Tenma slams his laptop shut and bites back tears.

  ~'0'~  

It's early, not even five yet. The whole town seems to be sleeping still.

He sneaked out before his father was awake.

Tenma stares at the soccer field on the beach, where he used to play when he was a kid. It's the same field where he first played against Protocol Omega.

Crippled. Never able to walk again.

His crutches are lying on the ground next to him. Sasuke is lying next to him, watching his owner with sad eyes, as if he can feel the pain the brunet is in.

Tenma takes a step with his good left leg. The ground feels steady under his foot and he breathes out slowly. Here comes the hard part. He lifts his right leg and takes a step.

Pain.

He grits his teeth against it and puts more weight on it. The pain increases.

He ignores it and takes another step.

Right. Left. Right. Left. Right. Left. Ri-

His leg gives out under him and he crashes to the field. ''Dammit!''

Four steps. That's all he can take. Four steps.

Sasuke whines and runs towards him, nudging his face gently. Tenma sits up, forcing away tears of defeat, and hugs the dog. ''It's not fair,'' he whispers and the traitorous tears roll down his cheeks. He hides his face in his dog's fur. ''It- it's not fair!''

Matsukaze Tenma? He's done for.

  ~'0'~  

It only hurts him, physically and mentally, but he keeps coming to the soccer field every morning, Sasuke beside him as the loyal dog he is. The only one who is there to see him struggling every single day, the only one to comfort him when he falls again.

Four steps. Three. Four, again. Five. Two.

He's not even sure who he's trying to convince. The times he falls to the ground, frustrated tears in his eyes, beads of sweat on his forehead and pain in his right leg, only remind him of how low he is now.

How the mighty have fallen indeed.

But then, a month after he started his secret training, he manages to reach ten steps and not fall.

Tenma doesn't allow himself to be happy.

Right now, he hasn't even left the starting line.

  ~'0'~  

Right, left. Right, left. Right, left.

It hurts, but not as much as it used to.

You're healing, say the doctors, and Tenma almost snorts at that.

If it wasn't for his own work, he'd probably still be stuck with five steps.

The sun is just coming up, the sea reflecting the sparkling light, and the beach is completely deserted except for one person.

Right, left. Right, left. Right, left.

He gasps for air, ignoring the sweatdrops rolling down his face, and takes another step.

Right, left. Right, left. Right, left.

His legs are trembling and pain shoots through his injured one, but it feels better than before. It doesn't hurt nearly as much as it did the first time he did this, and the physical exhaustion feels right.

Right, left. Right, left. Right, le-

He stops and his eyes widen.

Then he slowly turns around and drops to his knees. Sasuke runs towards him and whines worriedly. Tenma wraps his arms around the dog and hides his face in the soft fur. Tears fall from his eyes again and the sound that escapes from his lips is somewhere between laughing and sobbing.

He's done it. He's done it. Finally, finally all the frustration, the tears and the pain has paid off.

Two months and he has finally crossed the field.

  ~'0'~  

Three months after first taking a step without his crutches and Tenma can finally get rid of them altogether.

Miraculous, whisper the doctors, such a small chance of ever walking again on his own.

Tenma is almost, almost happy about that. But then he ends up watching a sports channel later in his room and he balls his fists.

Holy Road has started again, say the TV commentators.

Raimon is, unsurprisingly, participating.

So far they haven't lost yet.

  ~'0'~  

A year after his accident – he has been walking for three months now – and for the first time, he does something differently for his secret morning training.

He's standing at the start of the field again, Sasuke sitting close by.

Right, left. Right, left. Right, left. Right, left. Right, left, right, left, right, left, rightleft, rightleft, rightleft, rightle-

Pain.

  ~'0'~  

Rightleft, rightleft, rightleft-

Pain.

  ~'0'~  

Rightleft, rightleft, rightleft, rightleft, ri-

Pain.

''Goddammit!''

  ~'0'~  

He falls again.

It's been six months since he changed his training schedule. He's come far, but he still falls every single time he tries this.

Then he remembers the news from yesterday – after winning their second Holy Road, will Raimon get another trophy with the next Winter Road? – and grits his teeth. He wipes the sweat from his brow and ignores his trembling limps, exhaustion and pain wearing him down.

Tenma stands up.

  ~'0'~  

The more time he spends running, the less he falls.

Two years after his accident, and Matsukaze Tenma finally picks up a soccer ball again.

No one knows about this yet. Even after a year and a half, no one has found out about his secret training and it will stay that way, if Raimon's former captain has anything to say about it.

His first attempt at dribbling goes a little better than expected.

He can run, he can make turns, and his body doesn't get rid of a decade of experience so easily.

But it still hurts.

Twisting his leg hurts, and he's barely made it past the second empty tin can when he falls, harshly.

He keeps going for a little while longer, but his leg only keeps hurting, and eventually he stops.

He pretends he doesn't notice his frustrated tears.

  ~'0'~  

Matsukaze Tenma has been forgotten by the world. The former captain of the Raimon Eleven, robbed from a promising soccer career by a horrifying accident.

No one has completed Storm Tornado Hurricane after him, and eventually the attempts stopped. Too dangerous, people said.

Bullshit, says the creator when he learns about the apparent terror for the 'cursed shot'. They just don't know how to do it right.

(Did you?)

He stills at that.

(You failed. You couldn't control it and you failed. And now you can't even complete a dribble parkour you used to be able to do with ease when you were only ten. Did you really know what you were doing?)

I did.

Because he remembers the accident with horrifying clarity and, more than the pain, he remembers what went wrong.

It wasn't your fault, it was an accident, people had said when he was still in the hospital.

He disagrees with them.

After all, he was the one who continued playing when he had already injured his leg earlier in the match. He was the one who hid it from his team. He was the one stupid enough to use his strongest, most dangerous shot when the pain in his leg was telling him not to.

It's his damn fault and he's the only one who can correct it.

  ~'0'~  

Rightleftrightleftrightleft twist rightleftrightleft turn rightleftright twist turn turn leftrightleftrightleft twist twist rightleftrightleft and shoot.

He kicks the ball with his right leg and-

-it hits the net of the goal.

Tenma is breathing heavily as he stares at the ball, lying innocently underneath the net.

Two years and five months since the accident and he finally, finally scores a goal.

''Yes!''

  ~'0'~  

''Tou-san?''

Matsukaze Kichirou blinks and looks up from the book he was reading. ''What is it?''

His son is standing in the doorway of the living room. It took him a while, but Kichirou eventually got used to the dark locks and ever changing eye color – it's electric purple today. ''I want to show you something. Out- outside.''

It's rare for Tenma to seem so nervous about something, so Kichirou puts a bookmark in his book and then places it on the coffee table. ''Now you've made me curious, son!'' he grins.

The brunet smiles, relieved, and quickly leads his father outside and to the beach. When they reach the soccer field, Kichirou takes one look at the tin cans lined up there and immediately knows what this is about.

He's seen his son practice like this almost every day for years. It would be impossible for him not to recognize this.

Even so, he was not prepared for this. The brown-haired man turns to his son with wide, disbelieving eyes. ''Tenma,'' he whispers, his voice shaking. ''Are you- what- what have you been up to behind my back?''

The younger brunet shrugs. ''The doctors said I could never play again,'' he says softly and Kichirou only notices the soccer ball lying on the ground when Tenma walks towards it and picks it up. ''But I- I didn't, I couldn't listen. Soccer is... it's everything to me. So I started training.'' He's not looking at his father, afraid of what he'll find if he does. ''The doctors said it was a miracle how well my leg healed, but... but I think it's actually because I started training.''

Kichirou hears the little quiver in his son's voice and walks towards him. He places a hand on the boy's shoulder and when electric purple eyes finally meet his own, he smiles. ''I should've known,'' he chuckles. ''You've always been stubborn. I should've known you would do something like this and succeed, too.''

The relief on Tenma's face hurts.

Ever since Aki's clear reluctance at visiting his son and after that, when his wife left them, the young brunet has been withdrawn, yet at the same time more dependant than he was even as a child. Tenma blames himself, Kichirou knows, and he's terrified that his last family will leave him too.

''Come on, show me what you've got.''

The teen grins and walks towards the parkour of tin cans. He places the ball onto the ground and simply breathes for a few moments.

Then he starts running and Kichirou's eyes widen at the speed.

Tenma quickly reaches the first obstacle and gracefully twists around it, to continue by immediately turning into the other direction to avoid the next. With skill and grace developed by years of practice, the brunet weaves through the parkour.

Left left turn twist right left left right twist right right turn twist twist left left right twist right turn left left twist.

After he passes the last tin can, he suddenly speeds up.

He launches himself forward, jumps and kicks the ball. It gets surrounded by a bright blue glow and then shoots forward with tremendous force, towards the goal. ''Mach Wind!''

It hits the net and then falls onto the ground, smoke rising up from it.

Tenma turns to his father and almost smiles at the stunned expression on the man's face. He doesn't dare say anything, instead staying quiet and waiting.

After a few seconds Kichirou finally tears his eyes away from the ball and looks at his son. ''Tenma,'' he whispers and then he's running, running towards the boy. He catches the teenager in a hug and holds him tightly. ''Tenma, buddy, that was amazing,'' he whispers, tears gathering in his eyes. It's been so long since he's seen his son so vibrant, so alive.

The loss of his friends and more importantly, the loss of soccer changed the boy into a shell of his former self. To see him like this is everything Kichirou ever could've hoped for and more.

His son laughs shakily and hugs him back tightly.

  ~'0'~  

''I want to go back to Tokyo.''

Kichirou pauses when he hears those words and turns to his son. ''You what?''

Tenma stares at the ground, fidgeting in place. Then he looks up – today his eyes are a pale red – and fixates a determined stare on his father. ''I want to go back to Tokyo,'' he repeats. ''For high school.''

His father turns off the stove and puts the spatula down. ''Are the high schools here not to your liking?''

It's a test, to see if his son is really as sure about this as he himself seems to believe.

And Tenma doesn't disappoint. ''They are,'' says the brunet, his voice sure and unwavering. ''But I want to go back. I have to go back. Being back here, home... it was great, it really was, and I needed it. I needed the time to get over what happened. But if I stay here, I'll just keep walking away from my time at Raimon and that's not what I want.'' He balls his fists. ''Please, dad. I can't- I can't keep living in my own shadow like this, I-''

Kichirou's hand on his shoulder cuts him off and pale red eyes snap up to meet warm brown ones. ''I believe you.'' His father smiles. ''But I needed to know that you were certain about this.''

''Wha- tou-san?''

The man wraps his arms around his son tightly, burying his face in the dark hair, and his son automatically returns the hug. ''I'll start looking for an apartment in Inazuma Town. At least, I take it that's where you want to go?''

Tenma breathes in shakily. ''Yeah,'' he whispers finally, hiding his face in his father's shoulder. ''Yeah.''

To be continued...

~'0'~

I have absolutely no idea where this is going. If any of you have suggestions, feel free to let me know - ideas are always welcome!

Anyway, chapter two should be up soon!

- Yara Meijer