Stand

Escape

Hello everyone!

Here's the next chapter~!

~'0'~

Raimon gathers around their coach, when someone else walks up to them. Endou's eyes look at the orange-haired boy in surprise, and the teen bows. ''Please! Take me with you!'' says Taiyou.

''Amemiya...'' says Endou in surprise, before smiling softly at the boy. ''I'm okay with it, but you'll have to ask your coach.''

Taiyou stands up straight again, looking at his coach. The female inspects him for a moment, before sighing and smiling good-naturally. ''Fine, fine, you can go. Just don't get into trouble.''

''Thank you!'' says Taiyou happily.

A few minutes later, Endou nods. ''Okay, let's go.'' He walks towards the exit.

The sixteen teens share a look, before following the coach. 'Hold on, Tenma, we're coming.'

~'0'~  

The first thing Haru notices is that he is lying on something soft... a bed? Probably. The second thing he notices is the burning pain in his left eye, followed by his sore body. The third thing he notices, are the soft voices from somewhere next to him.

When he strains his ears, the redhead can only just hear what the voices are saying. ''... has been out for a few hours now,'' says a strangely familiar voice. ''Do you think it has to do with... you know, the experimenting?''

It's silent for a moment, before someone answers. ''Yes. Shuu-san called me a while ago... Matsukaze-san is in the exact same state as Sakaki. They even had to bring him to a hospital.''

Someone curses softly – a female voice. ''Even though the hospital staff would find out about his identity?'' asks the third voice.

The second voice answers. ''They didn't have a choice.''

'Who are they? Why do their voices sound so familiar?' thinks the redhead to himself, before concentrating on the conversation again.

''Tch, bastards,'' mutters an annoyed voice. ''They just have to fucking mess with our bodies, don't they?''

'Who are they?! How do I know them?! I can't remember anything!'

A fifth voice signs softly. It's another female voice, softer and kinder than any of the other voices. Suddenly, Haru feels fingers carefully intertwine with his, and the girl's voice finally says something. ''Haru-kun...''

'That... that voice... that's... Hitomi-san...' Haru realizes suddenly, as he recognizes the voice of the youngest manager. 'And the other voices... Akemi-san... and Ueno-senpai, Mizuno-senpai and captain... I want to see them.'

The redhead concentrates on finding his eyes, trying not to flinch back from the pain in his body. Slowly, he gets the feeling back in his limps, before he slowly feels his eyes again – and the pain in his left eye immediately increases.

In reflex, Haru squeezes Hitomi's hand, and the girl gasps. ''Haru-kun...? Can you hear me?'' she asks, and the other voices stop talking.

The redhead just groans in answer, as his other hand flies to his face. Carefully, he touches the bandages that cover his left eye, and he forces his other eye open.

As a single orange orb is revealed to the world, the others in the room wait with bated breath. As Haru's eye focuses, he forces himself to ignore the pain in his other eye. Instead, he scans the room. He's in the nurse office of his school, lying on one of the beds. Hitomi is sitting on the chair next to his bed, her beautiful reddish pink eyes looking at him worriedly. Behind her are Shimizu, Ueno, Akemi and Mizuno, also looking worriedly at the younger boy.