The Truth Behind His Smile

We'll Help

The ride home was as usual. Everyone was talking with each other as they always did. Tenma talked with Shinsuke, the two exchanging on how worried their families were. Shinsuke's parents weren't that worried, but Aki-nee was frantic the night before because Tenma had forgotten to call her. He mentally reminded himself to apologize to her once he got home.

"How long until we get home?" Hayami whined, because it must have been an hour now.

"We'll be there by four. We'll be stopping over at a place in the next hour." Furukabu informed, checking briefly with the bus' navigation system.

With not much else and still honestly a bit tired, Tenma decided to wait the rest of the trip out with a nap. His sleep wasn't all that good anyway, disturbed twice in a row of all times.

"I'm gonna sleep for a bit, Shinsuke." Tenma told him.

"Oh, okay."

He seemed down when Tenma said that, but he quickly struck up another conversation with Aoi. Tenma got himself comfortable, lied back, and did his best to relax and sleep.

-

Tsurugi couldn't help but smile at the sleeping brunet. He looked so peaceful, and Tsurugi intended to keep it that way. He wanted Tenma to be happy and continue being his happy-go-lucky self. He never wanted to see Tenma cry again, it doesn't suit him at all.

"He looks so innocent..." Shindou said out of the blue. Tsurugi blinked and turned to him, noticing that he was also looking at the brunet on the other side of the caravan.

The striker's eyes softened. "Yeah." he agreed.

"I want to keep him that way," Shindou continued. "Oblivious to the evil around him."

Tsurugi furrowed his eyebrows and turned back to Tenma. "We can't, he's already exposed to it a long time ago."

"...I know." Shindou sighed. Whether he liked it or not, he knew that Tsurugi was right. It's obvious that Tenma's father did this for years, and Tenma had been forced to take it all alone. On the outside, he seemed like a carefree person. But on the inside, he's a broken boy.

"But, we can help him. I know we can." Shindou said, determined.

"It won't be easy." Tsurugi frowned.

"I never said it would be." The midfielder said, flashing a small smile at the striker. Tsurugi rolled his eyes, before smiling back at his senior. "It's going to be a long and bumpy road, but I'll do it for Tenma."

"Me too." Shinsuke said. The duo almost jumped in surprise when they heard him.

"W-What?" Shindou asked, turning to the defender. Shinsuke was looking at them both, along with Aoi and the managers. All of them had a determined look on their faces.

"I'll do anything to help Tenma. He helped me many times before, I want to return the favor." Shinsuke stated, glancing at the sleeping brunet.

"Yeah, he's our best friend." Aoi smiled. "That goes without saying."

"Count us in! " Midori grinned, while Akane nodded her head. "We'll help too, Shin-sama."

"Guys..." Shindou said, smiling wide.

"Don't forget about us!" Kurumada half-shouted, referring to him and the other seniors. Sangoku nodded, agreeing with his friend.

"Tenma's our precious friend. He's the one who united the team in the first place, now it's our turn to help him." He stated, determined and serious at the same time.

"Sangoku-senpai..." Shindou's cheekbones were starting to hurt from grinning too long, but he didn't care. He was touched at how much his friends care for Tenma right now.