The Truth Behind His Smile

Welcome

Furukabu drove the caravan forward. Gasps of awe echoed inside. Endou glanced at the back and chuckled. Everyone's jaws, excluding Tenma and Tsurugi, dropped. Tenma's house wasn't just a house; it was a huge grand mansion! It's even bigger than Shindou's, Kirino thought.

It was almost twice the size of the Raimon school building. The front garden alone was at least 2 acres. It had every single flower in it, excluding the poisonous ones of course. There was a tall fountain in front of the main entrance. It had an underground garage that can fit 20 cars. There's a guesthouse that's half the size of the main house - basically it's amazing!

"S-Sugoi, Tenma! Your house is...huge!" Shinsuke said. Tenma blinked at his friend's reaction. He didn't think it was amazing. To him, it's just an average-sized house.

Furukabu halted the caravan stopped in front of the main entrance. He pushed the button that made the door swing open. Tenma got out - to be précised, he bounced out - first and the rest of the team, including Endou and the managers followed.

"So, this is Tenma-kun's house," Kariya said, looking around the exterior. "It's not a house, it's a modern palace!" Hayami said, flabbergasted. Tenma sweat-dropped, "Um, it's just a mansion?" he said as a matter of fact.

Hikaru blinked, and turned to Tenma. "Just a mansion? Tenma, this is-" Hikaru suddenly faltered, and seemed surprised. Kariya noticed, "Kageyama?" He saw that Hikaru was staring at something in concern. The team also saw this and followed his line of sight.

Tenma was staring at the door. But, it wasn't normal staring. He seemed...hesitant. And, dare they say this, scared. It was like he's scared of something inside. This of course worried the team. The last time they saw Tenma like this, it was when he doubted the revolution. But, his expression now was much worse and more concerning.

Tsurugi narrowed his eyes. "Ten-"

But before he could continue, Tenma turned around and grinned widely. "Welcome to my house!" he said, spreading his arms. The team stared at him dumbfounded. Just a moment ago, he seemed so miserable. But now? It's the total opposite. 'It's like he's putting a fake smile just for us,' Shindou thought, eyes narrowing.

Endou saw this but smiled cheerfully. "Hey, it's raining, remember? We need to get inside," The team glanced at their coach, surprised. It seemed that they were spacing out for quite a while. "Y-Yeah," Hikaru said reluctantly.

Tenma stared at them, "Guys? Are you OK?" Tsurugi stared at the brunet, 'We should ask you the same thing,' but he didn't tell him. He, along with everyone else, just nodded and smiled. "Yeah, we're just admiring your house," Shindou lied. Tenma tilted his head. "Admiring? There's nothing to admire for." Everyone fell anime-style.

"N-Nothing to admire, he said." Kariya stood up, clutching his head.

"T-Tenma..." Aoi sweat-dropped.

"Tenma, are you really that dense?" Midori stared at the brunette. Tenma, oblivious to what he just said, was even more confused. "Dense?"

Haruna put both of her hands in front of her chest to soothe the atmosphere. "Hey, what about we go inside? The rain's getting harder, you know," Everyone blinked, and then turned their heads towards the outside.

She was right; the rain was getting harder. It seemed that they were too focused on their conversation, that they just didn't notice it at all. "You're right, let's all go inside and take shelter!" Tenma said. The team nodded, and walked towards the door.

Tenma pushed it and it slowly opened. The light from the inside was almost blinding, they had to cover their eyes. When it was not so bright anymore, everyone scanned their surroundings. The first thing they noticed were the two curved staircases heading to the second floor. Then, a red carpet led the way to the staircase. There were 2 long hallways at both sides of the room and a chandelier hanging at the top.