Accidental Reverse

Chapter 25

Hey there, guess who's back!

Enjoy!

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Accidental Reverse Arc 2

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Tenma is hiding in the halls of Snowland Stadium.

Or, rather, he's making his way to the back entrance – those small direction signs are incredibly helpful – while trying to hide from his teammates at the same time. He's turned off the sound from his phone after call number three, knowing they won't stop trying to reach him and, most likely, scold him for running away.

They're such worrywarts.

He hasn't come across anyone yet, with the exception of his teammates (and then he hid) so he's surprised to see someone wearing what seems to be the Hakuren training jersey.

The Hakuren player turns around when he hears footsteps behind him and blinks, slightly taken aback at the sudden appearance of one of Raimon's members. ''Oh,'' he says, not unfriendly, ''hey.''

''Hey,'' says Tenma, a little surprised as well. ''You're Yukimura, right?''

(He mentally snorts. He hasn't called Hyouga by his last name since they, together with Taiyou, formed the First-Year Captain Club, dubbed the 'baby captains' by the other teams – even their own!)

Yukimura nods. ''Yes, that's me,'' he confirms, suddenly looking a little sheepish. ''Uh, sorry, I never actually got your name...''

The brunet smiles cheerfully. ''No problem, I can't remember all the names of my opponents, so I hardly expect you to do the same,'' he reassures the other boy. ''I'm Matsukaze Tenma.''

Hakuren's ace returns the smile, relieved that he hasn't offended the other. ''I must say, I'm impressed that you managed to stop my Keshin shoot, since I don't believe you're a real keeper, right?''

The brunet shakes his head. ''No, I played goalkeeper a handful of times, and we needed someone to replace Sangoku-san, so...'' he trails off, shrugging.

Yukimura suddenly seems guilty. ''Listen, I'm really sorry about Seki,'' he says softly, not meeting Tenma's gaze. ''We- I shouldn't have listened to Fifth Sector. Now your keeper is hurt, and-''

''It's fine,'' says Raimon's time traveler, giving his future friend another smile. ''I'm just glad you're not working for Fifth Sector anymore.'' Yukimura winces and is about to open his mouth to respond, when they hear a voice calling the brunet's name. Tenma's eyes widen. ''Oh crap.''

He looks around, hearing his teammate come closer, and sees a door that leads to some kind of supply closet. Without thinking about it, he grabs Yukimura's wrist and pulls the boy with him. He opens the door of the closet, pushes the Hakuren forward inside, and then follows him, closing the door behind them. ''Matsukaze, what the hell?'' asks Yukimura in the dark.

''Shh,'' hisses Tenma. ''Keep it down!''

Through the dim light in the room he can see that Yukimura doesn't look happy, but at least the boy stays silent. They can hear the person outside, passing by their closet. ''Tenma!'' the brunet recognizes Kurumada's voice.

Suddenly another pair of footsteps enters the hall, slightly muffled through the door. ''Have you found him?'' asks another voice and the brunet recognizes it as Kirino's.

Tenma imagines that Kurumada is shaking his head. ''I could've sworn I heard his voice, but I can't find him anywhere,'' says the defender.

Kirino mutters something inaudible. ''Damn it,'' he says, directing it to Kurumada this time. ''Why did he have to run?'' then he sighs, or at least Tenma thinks he does, because it's too soft to really be heard right through the door. ''Come on, let's continue searching. He can't be far.''