Venous

Hey hey~!

Yep, another story, even though I'm still working on Warped, Still, Time Twins, Out Of Sight, Accidental Reverse, and a bunch of other things. Hey, I never claimed I was smart ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

On the bright side, this isn't going to be longer than a three-shot, so it shouldn't be too much work. Besides, this idea just wouldn't leave me alone and I had to get it out of my head!

Anyway, welcome to the first chapter of Venous! I hope you'll like it!

~'0'~

It's the night after Tenma's first match with Raimon's team – he played on Raimon's team, oh god oh god oh god! – when he notices it.

He has just pulled his shirt off, throwing it on his bed so he won't forget to put it in the laundry basket later, reaching for his pajama shirt, when he catches sight of the dark discoloring on his arm. He inhales sharply and pulls his arm closer to inspect it, wincing.

The brunet reluctantly admits that he should've anticipated this, but yet... it had hurt, definitely, but he hadn't expected to find his entire arm a sickening mix of black and purple, with hints of bright red standing out between the dark colors.

Almost afraid at what he'll find, Tenma moves to the mirror and hisses sharply at the sight of his torso. The right side of his ribcage is mapped in black, purple and dark red, with a thin edge of brighter red at the outside. It spreads out, down to his stomach and hip, and upwards to his shoulder and arm.

The left side of his body, while certainly not unharmed, is much better. A dark purple bruise on his shoulder, lighter bruising on his lower arm and stomach, but other than that, the only stains on his skin are a few older and smaller yellow bruises.

Tenma grimaces at the sight of his body and turns around, looking over his shoulder to catch sight of his back in the mirror. Mostly on his shoulders and upper back is the same chaotic mix of black, dark red and purple, as if someone splashed paint together without caring about the horrid mess it leaves behind.

With a sigh, the brunet grabs his pajama shirt and pulls it on, wincing at the soreness in his body – yeah, okay, he should've expected the bruising, but this is still a little... over the top.

He continues getting ready to go to sleep and soon crawls into bed, turning the light on his nightstand off and watching as the room is flooded with shadows. As he lies under the covers, he makes a mental note to put on some concealer to hide the new bruises. He's not too bothered by it, though – there's something else at the front of his mind right now.

He's finally going to join the Raimon soccer club!

  ~'0'~  

Shinsuke at first doesn't notice it.

He's just started at Raimon Jr. High and joined the soccer team, and while that isn't exactly what he was expecting, it's not so bad. He's already become friends with Tenma and Aoi, and they're really great! He and Tenma have been going to the riverbank ever since the entrance exam three days ago, and yesterday the brunet asked if he wanted to come over for dinner tonight!

That's why the two boys are now on their way to Kogarashi Manor, the manor where Tenma is renting a room. It was a little strange for Shinsuke to imagine the other boy already living without his parents, but after he met the brunet's relative, Kino Aki, it turned out that Tenma still has someone to take care of him. The other residents of the manor who he has met so far seem nice, too.