The Truth Behind His Smile

Wake-Up Call

The next day,

The loud rapping against the wooden door finally disrupted Tenma's sleep. He awoke with a moan, getting up to open it with an annoyed mumble.

"Tenma-sama, are you awake?" A muffled question said from beyond the door. Recognising it at once, Tenma opened it. "Morning, Kenta...what time is it?"

"It's seven in the morning."

"Really...?" If that was the time, Tenma would rather that Kenta had let him sleep.

"Breakfast will be ready in thirty minutes. I wanted to wake you up early so you could get some while it's fresh." Kenta answered, aware of his wish to sleep from the disgruntled look on his face. "We made your favorite."

Tenma's face lit, suddenly feeling more awake. "You mean-?!"

The butler smiled at the brunet's expression. "Yes, peach pancakes with a butter sauce topping."

"You should have said that from the start! I'll be there soon! Oh, could you also ask them to make-"

"Extra slices of peach and cream? Don't worry, they already know. I still remember, after all." Kenta assured. Then, unable to keep from worrying any longer, he asked, "How did it go last night?"

"Oh," Tenma's smile dropped and he sighed. "What you'd expect. He wasn't happy."

"I...I see. My apologies." he said. "You'll be early, right? Stop by the kitchen on your way. I'll ask them to prepare some hot chocolate for you."

"Thanks." Tenma smiled, accepting his apology. "You know me so well."

Kenta mentally frowned at that, but he still kept his smile. "Alright, I'll go call your friends now. Please excuse me."

"Uh, Kenta?" Tenma called to him just as he was leaving.

"Yes?" The butler asked. "Would you like to make another add-on?"

"Yeah. Can I call them instead?" Tenma asked. That confused Kenta.

"Certainly, but I can do it for you."

"Nah. I want to do it." Tenma answered. Kenta frowned, unsure if he should be concerned or not.

"If that is what you wish," he said, giving in. "but if there's anything bothering you, you can talk to me, alright?"

"Of course." The midfielder nodded.

Kenta still looked unsure, but he just smiled. "Then, I'll leave it to you Tenma-sama. Please be at the dining hall in twenty minutes with your friends."

The said boy grinned in return. "Sure! Thank you, Kenta." The butler gave him a nod before finally exiting the room.

On the other side, Kenta heard a muffled "Wait, TWENTY MINUTES!?" behind him. A lot of quick footsteps - which he suspected was running - was heard also. He chuckled, flashing a genuine smile on his face.

Same old, same old.

-

"-nsuke, wake up." A voice said, carefully shaking the boy's shoulder.

"Ugh, g'way." the boy groaned, sinking deeper into the blanket.

"Shinsuke, wake up!" the voice said, louder this time - enough to make the said defender open his eyes halfway. He winced when the too bright light reached his eyes. It took a lot out of him to not close them and just duck under the covers once more. Ignoring the evil light, though, he saw a teal-haired boy standing above him, poking his body to wake him up.

"Leave me alone, Kariya." Shinsuke shooed his hand away, before covering his eyes with his arm - shielding him from the bright light.

"Come on, Shinsuke. Everyone's already up, see?" Kariya gestured to their friends behind him, doing their own activities. "Kenta-san's going to come here any minute to pick us up, all that's left is you."

Shinsuke yawned, "But, I'm still tired. I didn't sleep much yesterday."

"Why?"

"...I was thinking," Shinsuke uncovered his eyes, not caring anymore about the light. "About Tenma."

Kariya blinked, raising his eyebrows. "Oh." he muttered. Shinsuke frowned and averted his gaze to the other side of the bed. The tension around them grew. Kariya stared at the boy, unsure of what to do. He was not good at cheering people up, that's simply not his forte. Tenma's the expert on that, not him.

After a lot of thinking, Kariya eventually sighed. "Well, you're not alone on that one."

Shinsuke's eyes widened. He turned to Kariya, not believing what he just said. Seeing that look on his friend's face, Kariya couldn't help but smile.

"You think, after everything that happened yesterday, we won't think about it too?" the teal-haired boy put his hands on his hips, "I mean, I stayed awake 'till three because of it!"

Shinsuke looked down and bit his lip. "Sorry, I didn't think-"

"It's fine," Kariya reassured. "After all, it was a lot to take in."

Shinsuke nodded slightly, still pretty upset. "Yeah...I never thought Tenma experienced something like that." He began to sit up, his hand clutching the blanket. "He seemed so happy and cheery all the time."

Kariya scowled at that, before shrugging. "Well, you can't judge a book by its cover."

Shinsuke smiled a little, "You're right."

Kariya snorted. "I'm always right."

"Oh, really?" Shinsuke asked, amused.

"Yeah!" Kariya replied with a proud look.

"You're never right at names, though." Shinsuke pointed out, smirking.

"Hey!"

Meanwhile, their friends just looked at the happy duo with a smile. Even though they were all doing their separate activities, they still heard them loud and clear.

Besides, what they said was right. Almost all of them couldn't sleep because of yesterday. Even though they wanted sleep, it didn't come to them.

"Did we really judge him like that?" Shindou asked quietly, recalling what Kariya said.

You can't judge a book by its cover.

Kirino turned to him, frowning. "...I guess we kind of did." He said with guilt. Beside him, Tsurugi just scowled. But before there was any more time to wallow, a knock interrupted their moment.

"Guys, are you awake?" a voice from behind asked and everyone jumped, startled.

"T-Tenma?" Shindou yelled, clearly surprised.

"Shindou-senpai! Yeah, it's me. Can I come in?"

"N-No! I mean, why?" Shindou asked, getting from his bed and heading to the door.

"Breakfast will be ready by seven thirty. I came here to wake you up. And, I just realised that you guys, the girls, Coach, and Otonashi-san all probably slept in separate rooms...and Kenta never told me where they were." There was a hint of embarrassment in his normal voice. It was a wonder to Shindou how normal Tenma could be after yesterday.

"The girls are in the next room. Coach after, then Otonashi-san."

"Gotcha! Thanks! And seriously, be ready soon! If you thought dinner was good, then I need to tell you that the breakfast is amazing!"

Shindou could hear Tenma walk away soon after. The faint knocking from outside indicated that Tenma had gone to wake their other friends. Shindou could imagine their surprise. Shindou turned to see all his friends, more or less still shocked from their little, early morning scare.

"So...breakfast anyone?"

...

"Really?"