Bring him back

chapter 19

Disclaimer! This chapter is rather short, doesn't even reach to 1k words, so, hopefully you still enjoy TvT

~'0'~

Everyone instantly recognised that voice and all of their eyes immediately lid up. Aoyama and Ichino spun around as fast as possible, and sure enough, there stood the familiar boy, but with a different touch, he wasn't transparent anymore and he also got all of his colours back, from his hair to his feet

"Tenma!"

The two seniors pulled the brunet into a hug before he could even let out a hello, the others also wanted to hug the earthling, but guilt plagued their hearts and minds like a disease and they restrained themselves from even going up to him.

Tenma on the hand, might've come back, but that doesn't mean his original self has come back completely along with his body, and as a result, he easily noticed the team's uneasiness and self blame

'I think... It's about time to let go of the past...' As the brunet thought to himself, he broke the hug between the two seniors, walked past them, each step closer to the other members, in the end, he extended his arms out with a compassionate smile, a clear sign of wanting a hug. The rest of the members, slowly began to feel their guilt being flooded away by the tears that began coming out of their eyes.

They all clutched onto one another, drowning themselves in tears, Aoyama and Ichino watched their friends with tiny little droplets in their eyes, content with the fact that they've finally learned to let go, same with the adults, who also watched them from the sidelines. Tenma also had droplets in his sockets as he slowly melted away in the group hug that his heart has been longing for

'Feels like home...'

"I'm glad you're all at peace now."

The Raimon members looked towards the voice owner - Katra Paige - and alongside her, there were also the other two familiar aliens

"Thanks for everything, Katra, Lalaya, Ozrock."

"It's the least we could do for letting Okita out of our sights." Responded Lalaya to the brunet in a humble voice for all three of them

"Anyway, now that Matsukaze is finally back, everything from the past will be kind of forgotten."

"What do you mean?" Asked Shindou to Ozrock with a confused expression, along with the other members

"In other words, everyone on this planet will forget that Matsukaze has ever died, your teachers, friends and classmates will all forget about the tragic events, and basically behave as if nothing has ever happened." Answered Ozrock in a very composed yet stern manner "Except for you guys and those who have seen Matsukaze in his ghost form, you will all remember the past events, from Matsukaze's death to his reincarnation."

The first part of the explanation was pretty light hearted actually, at least people won't be freaked out by the presence of a boy who was supposedly dead, but the second part, not so much. It would've been better if they could also forget about all the tragedies and hardships they had to face during this period, but even so, at least it's better than nothing

"We have to go now, goodbye everyone."

"Goodbye." Said the members in union while the bright beam of light shot upon the three aliens, taking them back to where they belong.

As the light dissipated, the brunet slowly turned around to his friends and they all had the same thing to say

"Welcome back, Tenma!"

A small yet warm smile slowly began to form on his lips, knowing that he's finally at home

"Feels good to be back..."

~'0'~

After that day, just like Ozrock had said, everything went back to normal, nobody other than themselves, Aki and Yuuichi remembered anything related to Tenma's death, the past news also disappeared along with everyone's memories. And right after the aliens went back to their planet, Tenma went to visit both Yuuichi and Aki, and needless to say, their reactions were both over the top emotional.

After a few days, Tenma decided to rejoin the team, but he refused to take over the captain role again, unsure of his ability to lead anyone after all the events that have happened so far. And as much as the team didn't like that decision, they respected it wholeheartedly, after all, the brunet did get betrayed as a captain, he even got thrown down from his rightful spot as their captain, so it's only natural for him to be afraid and for them to understand.