Accidental Reverse One-Shot Collection

the lengths i'd go to (for you, for us)

Hey guys! This is the first part in the newest AR one-shot series, which takes a bit of a darker turn and focuses more on Raimon's dynamics. You'll see what I mean.

Now, enjoy!

~'0'~

Tenma's skin crawls as the silence in the clubroom ticks on.

It's been a long time since there's been a silence like this between them; they're a chaotic bunch on the best of days, always talking and laughing. Every other day Kariya is chased around by whoever he pulled a prank on this time, usually loudly shouting in his own defense. Aoi gives their first-years a scolding at least once a week.

No, they are anything but a silent group – and even if they are quiet, before an important match or late at night during training camps, it isn't like this.

This is heavy.

Heavy, tense, uncomfortable, or maybe that last one is just Tenma. He keeps his eyes trained on the wall in front of him, hands resting on his desk and fingers weaved together like Takuto always does when he's trying to steady himself. The younger brunet didn't realize he'd picked up the habit.

He hates this. This silence.

Hates the thought that being with his beloved team could ever be anything but content.

Finally he breaks his rigid vigil, lets his eyes stray through the room he has seen every day for nearly three years. Around him, some of his closest friends have gathered, just as quiet as he is; it's only them, all third-years now, when they used to be the youngest.

Tenma feels oddly lonely, though Kyousuke is right next to him, and Kariya is leaning against the lockers a few feet away, Shinsuke and Hikaru standing together with equally grim faces.

He's not alone, but it feels like he is.

His interweaved fingers tighten, his skin turning white under the pressure. It's wrong of him, Tenma knows, when this room is full of people who would support him, but... he misses their older friends.

He has been captain for over two and a half years, and yet he can't stop second-guessing himself. Wishing someone was there to guide him, whether that is a coach or an older teammate, but...

It falls to him now. Any decision made here, is his and his alone.

And he will bear that responsibility with his head held high.

Tenma's gaze settles on the others in the room, beyond his dearest friends; their younger teammates, those who have joined them these past two years.

They're just kids.

Kids he has taught and scolded, praised and trained. They're his teammates now, and while in truth Tenma only has one true team in his heart, he's grown fond of these kids. They might not be the people he wants to be with most at the end of the day, but he's given each of them a little piece of his heart.

Their presence only strengthens his resolve. They look to him for guidance now.

He refuses to fail them.

The smooth slide of the door opening would have gone unheard any other day, buried beneath the sound of voices and laughter. Now, it seems to echo in his eardrums.

He knows who he'll see even before he spots her; her hair might be longer now, her face may have lost its childish roundness, but her eyes are the same ones he's known for half his life. They're set as harshly as his own no doubt are.

The soccer players part like the red sea as their head manager strides into the room, her resolve and anger shining through every step she takes. In her hand, she's clutching a cellphone.