The Truth Behind His Smile

The Dining Hall

Everyone walked forward to the end of the hallway. A bright white light greeted them when they got there. Most of them squinted their eyes, since the lighting was a bit too bright.

When their eyes finally adjusted to the brightness, everyone slowly opened their eyes. What they saw made them all speechless. They weren't in the hallway anymore; they're now inside a big room. Judging by the looks of the furniture, this was the dining hall.

"W-Wow..."

The first thing everyone saw was the long table in the center of the room. 22 golden cream seats were placed around it -10 seats on the sides and 2 seats at the ends. A large white tablecloth covered the entire topside of the table. The tableware was set elegantly. There was a plate and a bowl; the bowl was placed on top of the plate along with a cream-colored napkin. On both sides of the plate, there were forks, knives and spoons. The knives and spoons were placed on the right while the forks were on the left.

Aoi smiled widely, "So beautiful!" Akane joined her, imaginary flowers blooming around her. "It's like we're inside a castle!"

Shinsuke heard the two managers. He stopped gazing at the table and turned to their direction. The small defender waved his hand at them, "Aoi-chan!"

The manager heard him and waved back. "Shinsuke!" The team heard them and turned towards the girls. The girls also heard them and turned to the boys. This was the first time they saw each other after they separated to their rooms. Apparently, they were too busy admiring the room that they forgot to pay attention to the people around them.

"Midori, you're not wearing a dress? How shameful for a girl!"

"H-Hey! I can dress however I want! At least I don't look like you, Nishiki!"

"Shin-sama, you're so handsome!"

"T-Thank you, Akane-san. You look nice, too."

"Eh? Coach Endou, you didn't change your clothes?"

"I'm comfortable with this."

Aoi eyed the team. Everyone was present, except for one. The manager blinked. She thought that he was supposed to be with them. "Shinsuke, where's Tenma?"

Shinsuke's shoulders slumped slightly and he frowned. "He said he's going to sleep in his own room."

Aoi tilted her head. "Really?" she asked. The defender nodded. "Even though this is his house, he should sleep with us," Shinsuke sighed. "We are friends, after all."

Aoi felt sorry for Shinsuke he looked so sad. "But, he's still having dinner with us, right?"

Kariya heard them and walked over. "Yep," he said. "But, he's not here yet." Hikaru also joins in the conversation. "He should be here soon."

That caught Tsurugi and Shindou's attention. Even though they were a few feet away, they heard what Hikaru said perfectly. The duo quickly scanned the room, searching for the brunet. But, he was nowhere to be found.

Tsurugi and Shindou looked at each other and nodded. Then they approached Kenta, who stayed behind the group. "Kenta-san." Tsurugi said. Kenta turned to him, "What?"

Shindou stepped forward. "Where's Tenma? He should be here now." Kenta sighed. "The distance between Tenma-sama's room and this dining hall is pretty far," The butler pushed his glasses up. "It'll take him a while to get here."

Tsurugi and Shindou frowned. "I see." Kenta looked at them with pity. "But please don't worry!" he said. "Tenma-sama will be here soon. He never misses din-"

"Guys!" Everyone halted when they heard that voice. That voice could only belong to one person. With that in mind, everyone turned around. They saw that person, Tenma, standing in front of the same hallway the boys took. Kenta chuckled."See?"