Stand

Fighting Back

Hey everyone, here's the next chapter! I hope you ejoy it~!

~'0'~

The girl smiles. ''Thank you, Tenma-san. But anyway, if the whole soccer club knows what is going on, they'd be prepared and on guard, I think.'' The boys nod in agreement. ''So that'd leave...'' suddenly, she looks up. ''Who is after all this?''

The three soccer players share a look, and Shuu answers. ''The director, Ishikawa Jirou, and the coach of the soccer club, Ishikawa Kazuo. Why?''

Ayumi grins victoriously. ''If it's the director, he'd have a whole school of students he could use, right?''

Tenma's eyes widen in shock and understanding. ''Of course... he could just use the students as blackmail! Haru wouldn't risk the lives of all those students!''

The red-haired girl nods, smiling that the boy caught on. ''Exactly.''

~'0'~  

The next day, the three boys are back at God Eden. The three of them know that it's a risk, because this is the place Endou and the others are suspecting, but they have nowhere else to go. And it's a big island, so if they really come to search here, Tenma can just hide somewhere.

Currently they are discussing everything. ''So Haru-san is being forced to work with the Ishikawa twins...'' mutters Shuu, deep in thought. They are back at the cave, thinking of ways to help Haru.

Hakuryuu sighs. ''But how?'' at the questioning looks, the white-haired player explains. ''I mean, how exactly did they blackmail Sakaki? How did they threaten him?''

Shuu nods in understanding. ''Yeah... that's the question. If we don't know how the students are in danger, we can't stop it... so we need to find out what the Ishikawa twins used to endanger the students...'' he trails off, deep in thought.

''Um...'' the two look at Tenma, who looks a bit hesitating. Shuu gestures for the brunet to go on, and Tenma sighs. ''Our bond... Haru is blocking it,'' says Tenma.

Shuu nods. ''Yes, you already told us that. What about it?''

The brunet frowns. ''Well... the block is like a door that Haru is forcefully keeping closed. Usually, the door between our minds is closed, but not locked, like now. That way, our minds don't get messed up... I think. But like I said, Haru is 'locking' the door, but that takes a lot of energy...''

Hakuryuu and Shuu frown, not seeing where this is going. Tenma sighs and explains further. ''Haru has been keeping the door closed for a few days now. Like I said, it takes a lot of energy... and it's slowly weakening.'' He looks up, eyes determined. ''When he first locked the door between our minds, he used a lot more force than he does now. Maybe if I try to 'open' the door now, Haru will be caught off guard, and I will get access to his mind...''

The white-haired player nods. ''Yeah... Sakaki's attention won't be on you right now. But what will you do when you enter his mind? Look through his memories?''

Tenma immediately shakes his head. ''No. It's not that easy. I can get access to Haru's mind, that way I can talk to him. But by looking through his memories...'' the brunet trails off, looking for a way to describe that. ''That way, you won't be able to hide anything. Even if it's just a few memories. You see everything the other sees, feel everything the other feels, hear every thought... by opening your mind to someone, with the bond we have, you practically give your life, no, your entire being away.''

Their eyes widen in awe, not being able to understand what Tenma is talking about. 'So no forcefully looking through memories, then,'' concludes Shuu. ''But Hakuryuu is right. If you can get access, you can explain the situation to Haru-san. Maybe he'll help.''