IEGO: CS || Wavering Hearts

『 CHAPTER 2 』

Tenma's mouth fell agaped. It soon shuts then opened when Tenma gasped, "...what?"

"[Nickname]'s dead." Sangoku tried not to cry. He reminded himself he had to move on, for your sake, for his mother's sake, for his own, too. "She died, together with her mother, in a fire accident."

Now the "doesn't make sense" fell upon Tenma. When ⸺ he wanted to ask aloud ⸺ when did this happened? But, he swore, all those days, all those weeks, all those months, you were with them all, well and alive. What happened to that reality he lived in, with you, with Sangoku, with Aoi, with Shinsuke, with everyone?

Then, an answer dawned on him. This reality ⸺ this current reality ⸺ isn't the true reality. Isn't his reality. 

"This...."

Sangoku and Tenma whipped their body to the back.

Behind them stood a slim masculine figure, with blank grey eyes that gazed down at them, who had a winged-like bob cut with side bangs that framed his cheeks. He wore an odd, alien-like tightsuit. Beneath his feet, was also an odd soccer ball with colours.

"This ... is unprecedented."

"W-who are you?" Sangoku spoke up first.

"You need not know who I am after that time. But it seems, now, that is impossible. Thus, I will introduce myself as Alpha. Matsukaze Tenma, you are coming with me."

"What?!" Tenma stood up, ready to run. Sangoku stood up too.

Alpha thought on the spot, quickly, as he shot up the Sphere Device. It announced as the colourful spots on it glowed:

Time Warp Mode.

"Matsukaze, run!"

Alpha kicked the Sphere Device right at Tenma's face. 

A bright light engulfed Tenma. Alpha jumped over Sangoku and touched the ball. Sangoku, driven by his seniorly instinct, grabbed onto Tenma's leg.

They warped. 

All that was left, in their place, were Sangoku's and Tenma's school bags.

♡ ┄ ♡ ┄ ♡

Alpha did not account the addition of Sangoku coming along in the plan.

Perhaps he should have gone after Tenma first, then you, and then Sangoku, and after that, everyone else in Raimon's Soccer Club. Unfortunately, he can't quite go back to the past right now and fix that mistake. 

Not when Sangoku, who had tackled him down when Alpha tried to stop Gouenji's shot, also took the Sphere Device.

"Give," Alpha said as calmly as he could, "that back."

"No." Sangoku glared. He glanced at Tenma. 

Tenma glanced back, then to Alpha. He shouted, "What were you planning?!"

"I suppose I didn't mention," Alpha replied. "My mission is to eradicate soccer. You, Matsukaze Tenma, being the last to remember Raimon's Soccer Club, was supposed to have his memories erased about soccer. Right at this moment."

Tenma glared. "I would never forget about soccer! I love it!"

Alpha blinked, but his face remained blank. "Give the Sphere Device back."

Sangoku shook his head. At this moment, at this short moment, Sangoku recalled what a young [Name] told him. No, not young, but [a/an] [Name] who was just two years younger than him in their teen years, who didn't tell him, but signed to him.