The next day, the brunet woke up an hour earlier than usual, without the need of his alarm. He still remembers distinctively staying up late last night, because he couldn't shake off a weird feeling of unexplainable sadness that just came from nowhere. Which he is still feeling, even though it's already the next day
He tried not paying attention to it. He tried to convince himself that it was just something that would eventually disappear, but, to no vail.
He knew that it wasn't just something that would go away on its own that easily. He had no idea why it came back, but now that it's back, the brunet knows that the days ahead of him weren't going to be easy at all
'I hope I'm not going to suffer one of those again...'
And with that in mind, the brunet began to get ready for his day. He felt it was going to be a tough day, but most important of all, he hoped that luck would be on his side, at least for today, to hide his condition long enough, until he decides what to actually do about it.
~'0'~
At school, he acted very normal, like any other day, but his feelings said otherwise. He payed attention to the lessons, but it was hard, even though he didn't show it on his face.
It was hard to keep track of what the teachers were saying, due to the fact that his feelings were so messed up. He felt like he was kind of suffocating, but he managed to pull through.
Although, training... Was hell on earth.
Before training even started, he already felt short of breath. The brunet felt like he was sweating, but he wasn't actually even sweating a single drop. He felt like he wasn't getting enough air, he felt anxious and just wanted to crawl away into a dark corner all alone... All in all, Tenma was just, having the 'best time ever'
'Ah geez. Mother luck! Listen to me! You've been an absolute b*tch with me for most of my life so far, but just let me push through today without my teammates noticing. At least today, please!'
~'0'~
At the end of the day, Tenma is extremely glad that mother luck finally listened to his prayer. He managed to go through the entire training without anyone noticing of his current condition, and as far as he knows, not even Kidou noticed anything, otherwise, the coach would've most definitely sent him glares if he noticed something was wrong with him.
After all, a coach is obviously gonna be protective of his favourite player.
~'0'~
On his way back home, Tenma began to feel really out of breath. His chest tightened up as if it was being asphyxiated, and tears were urging to come out of his eye sockets.
He hurried back home, and by the time he got there and slammed the door shut, he collapsed onto the floor, hands clutching at his chest and tears finally came falling out.
A wave of indescribable feeling washed over him and it made him hyperventilate more than he already did. He knew exactly what was happening, but it had been so long, that his body had long forgotten how it really is like to go through one of these.
He felt like passing out, but his head was keeping him wide-awake. He had a very big urge to just cut open his chest or throat and get some oxygen, but, even at this state, he knew that it was an extremely stupid idea.
After who-knows-how-long, the brunet finally began to calm down and steady his breathing. His throat muscles were still throbbing from his crying and hyperventilation, but, it was nowhere near as bad, compared to what had just happened.
After a while of calming down, he mustered up every drop of energy he regained, which really isn't much, and pushed himself all the way to the couch.
Once on a more comfortable surface, he finally felt his tense muscles relax, and how stiff his face is from his crying. But above all, he knew that there really wasn't a good way out of this, except for one
'I'm gonna have to ask Reo for therapy sessions... But... That will most likely mean I will not be able to hide my secret any further...' Thought the brunet, as he felt himself ready to have a second mental breakdown from just thinking about confronting Reo of his situation and the secret about his real brother
'I guess I have no other choice anyway...'
~'0'~
That night, the brunet stayed up until Reo came back, which was at around 11:30-12:00.
Tenma could tell that the older one was surprised to see him still awake at this hour, considering that usually, by this time, he would already be dead asleep
"Why are you still up, Tenma? Shouldn't you be sleeping already?"
"I... I need to talk to you, Reo..."
The brunet's voice came out cold, which isn't what he intended, but, at least it captured Reo's attention and stopped him from asking any further.
He eventually settled down on the wing chair, after hanging his jacket up on the hanger
"Go ahead, what is it?"
Although the brunet didn't show it, he was terrified on the inside. He didn't have a clue on how things would turn out after this conversation, but, on the other hand, this is probably the best chance he's gonna get to come clean with his guardian
"I... I think I need therapy again..."
It wasn't easy to get those words out, and the brunet didn't exactly intend to be that straightforward. But, then again, it would be bothersome and painful to go slow on such a matter.
For a minute, there was only silence in the living room. Until, Reo finally decided to speak up
"What...?"
The older one's voice sounded as if he was begging Tenma to tell him that it was all just a silly joke, but, reality soon sank in, and Tenma didn't dare to lift his head up to face his guardian
"Why...? What happened?" Asked Reo in a shaky, yet non threatening voice, which finally encouraged the younger one to lift his head up
"I-... I had a panic attack..."
The brunet suddenly heard a small, yet sharp inhalation of breath, coming from Reo. And that, just pained him deeply in the heart
"Fine... Is there anything else for me to know...?"
"..."
Tenma wasn't surprised. Apart from Kidou, Reo is the only one who knows him well enough to read him like on opened book, on certain occasions.
It certainly wasn't always nor often, but, they're the only ones who could ever do such thing to him
"You ever wondered why I agreed to join the soccer revolution?"
"Because you wanted to free everyone who are trapped in the wrong mindset?"
Tenma almost laughed bitterly at that. He can't imagine how much better things would be, if only it was that simple.
But no, life is never one to play games the easy way
"That may be one of my reasons, but... My biggest reason is..."
~'0'~
After explaining, with a few teardrops and hiccups here and there, Tenma finally got a chance to savour some fresh air. He felt suffocated during the entire explanation, which, mind you, barely even lasted 2 minutes.
The living room fell silent, the only sound that could be heard among the two was Sasuke chewing and rustling his hay in his large pen, but, other than that, nothing else rung in their ears.
Until, the older one finally gathered the courage to break the ice
"And why didn't you tell me any of this?" Asked Reo with a dominant voice.
Tenma had already expected a question like this to pop out in the end, he even practiced his confession for when he would be facing it. But, it seems like no matter how many times it is dealt with, the truth is never easy to face nor to say
"At first, when the offer was presented to me, I wanted to keep everything under wraps, because I didn't want to make it a big deal with anyone. I never intended to even start something like this, but when it happened, I just thought to myself, maybe it's better to just keep it for yourself, after all, it's your own plan and your own objective, so why bother to trouble anyone else?"
Once that was said and done, everything fell silent again. Although, this time wasn't anywhere near as bad and uncomfortable as before, and, this time around, it barely even lasted 10 seconds
"Next time, if there ever is going to be a next time actually, at least tell me. I don't care if you hide it from everyone else, but at least, let me know. I'm not gonna say anything to you this time, but, do not keep something like this in the dark from me, understood?"
Instead of answering, Tenma simply nodded his head. First off, because he couldn't find his voice, and second, guilt was just eating at him on the inside.
As disappointed as Reo was, to him, it just didn't seem right to be mad at the brunet. It's not even like he's terribly mad at him, especially after telling him the truth.
He can't really find a reason to fault Tenma's decision of hiding his motive, and at this point, he's no longer sure if he's disappointed in the brunet or in himself
"It's about time for you to go to sleep. I'll call the hospital and settle therapy sessions for you tomorrow. For now, just go to sleep and try to move forward, ok?"
"Mhm."
And with all of that being said and done, the brunet headed upstairs to his room, leaving the older behind.
Once in his room, he felt oddly light-headed, and almost as if he as lift as a feather. He expected Reo to maybe kind of blow up or something along those lines, but, oddly enough, none of that actually happened. And in the end, he sounded strangely calm and comforting, easing some of his original guilt
'Whatever secrets I may have in the future, I'm definitely not hiding them from Reo again.'
~'0'~
The next day, Tenma woke up with a pretty bad dizziness, but thankfully, it soon faded away after a few minutes.
He took a look at his phone for the time, and saw a notification from Reo on the lock screen. He assumed that he already settled down therapy appointments for him, and to no surprise, that's exactly what the message was about.
It was a long message, but the burnet managed to highlight the most important points of the message, in other words, the day and time of his appointments. All in all, it was a week of therapy, every day after training to be exact
'Well... This is going to be fun...' Thought Tenma to himself.
To be fair, it was him who requested the therapy sessions for his own good. But even so, it didn't mean he necessarily likes them.
----
School on the other hand, was no fun at all.
Is it because it was never fun to begin with?
Well, sort of. But for our dear brunet, it was mostly because of biology class.
As much as he likes biology, his teacher however, kind of grew a certain hatred towards him since the last time he practically 'told him off' in front of the entire class. An that alone, made the entire lesson a burden for the brunet.
The many times the teacher had glanced at him with a death glare are literally uncountable, and the many hard questions the teacher had purposely asked him are just insane. Questions that aren't even included or mentioned in the lesson context they were studying!
Like, what is hemophelia, what are the components of acid rain, why are certain animals capable of regenerating parts of their body...
In other words, Tenma's being targeted.
He was already being targeted as a threat by Fifth Sector and a player to look out for by the public, and one would think that would be enough for a teen who isn't even considered an adult, right?
But no! Of course mother luck wouldn't be on his side today, since he didn't beg her on his knees!
"And class is over."
That last phrase from the teacher, sounded exactly like music to his ears, his long awaited saving grace. One because he could finally get the hell out of there, and two, because it was the very last class of the day.
Tenma quickly grabbed his bag and sprinted right out of the classroom. He could've sworn he left a trail of smoke behind him, and maybe even some fire with how fast he was going, but, he didn't pay any attention to it. He just wanted to get out of that hell hole as soon as possible.
He sprinted all the way to the clubroom, and once there, he finally collapsed onto the bench. Panting heavily, with a couple drops of sweat on his forehead.
But even in the clubroom, he still couldn't forget the distinct urge of wanting to punch the biology teacher in the face. But, unfortunately, he isn't allowed to do that because of school rules, even though the teacher himself had been an absolute d*ck to him
'F*ck the teacher! He ain't even a comparison to a piece of dog sh*t!"