Tenma walked along the hallway. His steps were slow. The brunet's expression was blank. His blue eyes were focused on the front, but sometimes they would switch to the side.
"It's been a while since I've come here." the brunet muttered. A small smile formed on his face. He kept walking slowly, when suddenly he saw something out of the corner of his eye. He turned to the right and Tenma's eyes widened.
It was a large family portrait. There were three people standing in front of a mansion. On the left side, a man was standing proudly. He had straight brown hair, with dark blue eyes. He seemed to be around 20 years old. The man wore a dark brown tuxedo, with a red tie. He also wore black shoes. It was the classic formal attire.
On the right side, there was a woman. She had light brown hair, with light blue eyes. Her hair was slightly swirly like the wind. She wore a light green gown with long sleeves. She didn't wear many accessories, just a plain pearl necklace and earrings. She seemed to be around 20 too, although she looked slightly younger than the man beside her.
Both of them were gripping the back of a big golden chair. There was a young boy sitting on it. The boy had dark brown swirly hair, similar to the woman behind him. He also had big blue eyes. The color was a combination of dark and light blue. The child wore a yellow long-sleeve shirt. On top of it was a red T-shirt. He wore dark blue jeans on the bottom with green shoes. Compared to the adults behind him, it was a casual everyday outfit.
The three of them were smiling. They looked like a happy family.
Tenma's fists balled and he gritted his teeth. His eyes started fill with tears, but he held it in. He shook his head, remembering bits and pieces of the day the portrait was taken.
"Hurry up, Tenma! We can't wait forever." the woman said. Hearing his name, Tenma smiled and approached the woman. "Yes, Mom!"
Tenma's mother smiled, she then put her hand on top of a chair next to her. "Sit here and smile, okay?" she said. Tenma's smile widened and he nodded with excitement. He put one of his legs on top of the chair, desperately trying to sit on it. But, the chair was too big for a small child like him.
Tenma pouted and he tried harder. But, he just can't get on top. Beside him, Tenma's mother smiled at her son's attempt. "You need some help, Tenma?"
The brunet shook his head, "No, I can do it myself!" Tenma's mother sighed; her son was stubborn to the core. She was about to approach him, when something caught her attention.
Tenma, on the other hand, was still struggling to sit on the chair. His attempts were in vain, but that didn't stop him. Suddenly, a pair of arms lifted him off the ground. Tenma gasped, and he looked behind him. The person who lifted him was none other than his father.
"Tenma, everyone needs help sometimes." he chuckled. Tenma pouted angrily at his father. "Mou, Dad! Next time, warn me when you're going to do that!" His father giggled and he put Tenma on top of the chair.
"There, now we can take a picture!" he said, while petting his son's hair. Tenma grinned, glad that he was finally able to sit on the chair. His father grinned as well. A few feet away from them, Tenma's mother smiled softly at her boys.
"But that was a long time ago." Tenma said. He stood in front of the portrait, with his bangs covering his teary blue eyes. The brunet turned towards the woman in the portrait.
"Everything's changed since you left, Mom."
Tenma stood there for a few more minutes, then he continued walking back to his room.
-
*KNOCK*
*KNOCK*
Karin knocked on the girl's door. She forgot to inform them that dinner's ready. In fact, she didn't tell them that there was dinner at all. Karin sighed at her own clumsiness, when Haruna opened the door slightly. "Yes?"
"Ah, Haruna-san. I'm so sorry for bothering you," Karin said politely. Haruna blinked, and then she fully opened the door. "Karin-san! No, it's perfectly fine! Come in." the advisor said. Karin nodded and she slowly walked inside.
Apparently, all of the girls already changed into their casual outfits. Aoi, who was folding her clothes, wore a cream short-sleeved shirt with sky-blue jean shorts. She also wore a blue flower necklace. Midori, who was busy watching the TV, wore a blue shirt with a white jacket. She also wore dark blue jeans. Akane, who was still taking pictures, wore a knee-length light pink dress. She also wore a pair of purple panty-house; similar to the one she usually wears. And, Haruna wore a white shirt with a cream cardigan. She also wore a pair of black leggings.
Haruna had closed the door when Aoi noticed Karin's arrival. She quickly folded her clothes and approached her. "Karin-san! What brings you here?" the manager asked.
Karin smiled nervously, "I'm sorry, girls. But, I forgot to tell you something." Midori blinked, she paused the TV and turned to Karin. "Tell us what?" she said from her beanbag chair.
"Dinner's ready."
The girls blinked, "Dinner?"
Karin nodded, "Yes, dinner. We're having them at the dining hall right now. Kenta will have the boys there too." Midori smiled widely. The red-haired girl turned off the TV and walked towards Karin.
"Thanks! I'm starving." she said while rubbing her stomach. Akane stopped taking pictures and approached Karin as well. "Me too." the chestnut-haired girl said, holding her pink camera.
Karin chuckled. Then she turned towards Aoi and Haruna, waiting for their approval. Haruna smiled and she looked at Aoi. "Shall we?" The latter nodded, agreeing with the soccer advisor.
"OK then, let's go. Please follow me." Karin turned towards the door. The girls looked at each other, nodded and followed Karin.
Meanwhile, the boys had just finished changing their clothes, all except for Endou. He insisted that he was comfortable with his current outfit. While he said that, the players were beginning to settle in the room. They put their clothes in the closet and their bags under their beds. Some of them even put their belongings on the bed stand.
"I still want Tenma to stay." Shinsuke pouted from his bed. Kariya, whose bed was beside him, heard his statement. "You already said that 6 times now, Shinsuke." The small defender turned his head lazily to Kariya.
"You counted?" The teal-haired defender shrugged. "It's hard not to," he sighed. "But, saying it over and over won't make Tenma stay." Shinsuke frowned and he lowered his head. "I know." he said with a sad tone.
Kariya stared at his friend. He felt sorry for Shinsuke, but feeling sad about it won't change a thing. Besides, it was Tenma's own decision. They just can't force him to stay. "Hey, at least we get to see him at dinner. Remember?" he reminded.
"Speaking of dinner," Endou said from afar. "Is everyone ready?" Shinsuke and Kariya blinked, they didn't expect Endou to hear their conversation. But, they nodded nonetheless. "Yes!" the other players replied. Endou nodded and went to push the button beside the bed.
*THUD*
"..."
"Huh?"
The boys were surprised. Nothing happened. No, they didn't expect Kenta to be here the second Endou pushed the button. But, the button didn't make a sound. The only thing that was heard was the sound of Endou's finger making contact with its surface.
"That's strange. Not a sound." Hikaru approached the button. He put his finger over it, but didn't push it. "Is it supposed to do that?" he turned towards the rest of the team. Everyone shrugged; they didn't know either. Shindou narrowed his eyes and inspected the button carefully. "Weird."
*KNOCK*
*KNOCK*
The second Shindou said that, there was a knock. Everyone in the room turned towards the door. "That's probably Kenta-san." Tsurugi stated calmly. Hamano blinked, "He's fast."
Since Kirino's bed was the closest to the door, he was the one who went to open it. The pink-haired defender opened the door slightly to see who knocked it. Once he saw a butler uniform from the outside, he fully opened the door. "We're ready, Kenta-san." he said.
The mentioned butler looked behind Kirino to scan the room. He was right, everyone already changed. Well, except for the coach at least. Kenta pushed his glasses up, "Endou-san, why didn't you change your clothes?" he asked sternly. Endou narrowed his eyes, "I'm comfortable with my current outfit." the brunet replied with his hands on his hips.
Kenta went silent and closed his eyes, "Very well," he turned to his right, "Everyone, please follow me." After that, he walked away from everyone's sight. Kariya gritted his teeth, "Tch, weird guy." He then, along with the others, went out of the room and followed Kenta.
"What are we having for dinner, Karin-san?" Aoi asked the maid. Karin smiled at her, "You'll know when we get there." Aoi pouted from her answer. "Eh~? Tell us now!" The maid giggled from the manager's childish reaction.
"To be honest, I don't know it myself." That surprised the girls, apparently. "Why not?" Akane said from behind her. Karin turned around to see the chestnut-haired girl. "There's no permanent menu here, Akane-san. Our chef makes it a surprise for us all the time. It makes dinner more fun, I guess." the maid grinned.
Midori looked impressed, "Really? Well, that does sound more fun." Akane turned towards her, "It really does, Midori-chan!" Haruna nodded beside her, "Yeah, I agree! Let's do that with the soccer club too, shall we?" Aoi smiled with excitement, "That's a great idea, Otonashi-san!" Karin chuckled; these girls were so energetic.
Karin turned to the front and realized something. She turned to her guests behind her, "Girls, we're here!"
On the other hand, the team was not as energetic. The air was so tense; it could be cut with a knife. Sure it's just for dinner but the adults were making the atmosphere uncomfortable.
Tsurugi glanced behind him. Endou was eyeing Kenta suspiciously. He then averted his glance to Kenta, whose expression was unreadable. But the navy-haired forward can tell that he was trying to ignore Endou.
Not able to stand this atmosphere any longer, Shindou walked a little faster to catch up with the butler. "How much longer, Kenta-san?" he asked beside him. Kenta offered Shindou smile, "We're almost there, Shindou-san," he pointed a finger to the front, "You can almost see it from here."
Shindou followed Kenta's line of sight. He narrowed his eyes to see the dining hall. The midfielder blinked when he saw a glimpse of the room. "You're right." Kenta's eyes softened and he turned around to the team behind him. "Everyone, we're almost there!"
Nishiki smiled widely, "Really? Great, I'm starving!" he said while rubbing his stomach. The seniors sweat-dropped at him. At the front, Hikaru then blinked. "Oh yeah!"
It seemed like he remembered something so he went to approach Kenta, "What's for dinner tonight, Kenta-san?" The butler didn't expect that question so he stared at him for a while. But he recovered quickly and then winked at the forward.
"You'll know it when you see it."