Hey guys! This is the first part in the newest AR one-shot series, which takes a bit of a darker turn and focuses more on Raimon's dynamics. You'll see what I mean.

Now, enjoy!

~'0'~

Tenma's skin crawls as the silence in the clubroom ticks on.

It's been a long time since there's been a silence like this between them; they're a chaotic bunch on the best of days, always talking and laughing. Every other day Kariya is chased around by whoever he pulled a prank on this time, usually loudly shouting in his own defense. Aoi gives their first-years a scolding at least once a week.

No, they are anything but a silent group – and even if they are quiet, before an important match or late at night during training camps, it isn't like this.

This is heavy.

Heavy, tense, uncomfortable, or maybe that last one is just Tenma. He keeps his eyes trained on the wall in front of him, hands resting on his desk and fingers weaved together like Takuto always does when he's trying to steady himself. The younger brunet didn't realize he'd picked up the habit.

He hates this. This silence.

Hates the thought that being with his beloved team could ever be anything but content.

Finally he breaks his rigid vigil, lets his eyes stray through the room he has seen every day for nearly three years. Around him, some of his closest friends have gathered, just as quiet as he is; it's only them, all third-years now, when they used to be the youngest.

Tenma feels oddly lonely, though Kyousuke is right next to him, and Kariya is leaning against the lockers a few feet away, Shinsuke and Hikaru standing together with equally grim faces.

He's not alone, but it feels like he is.

His interweaved fingers tighten, his skin turning white under the pressure. It's wrong of him, Tenma knows, when this room is full of people who would support him, but... he misses their older friends.

He has been captain for over two and a half years, and yet he can't stop second-guessing himself. Wishing someone was there to guide him, whether that is a coach or an older teammate, but...

It falls to him now. Any decision made here, is his and his alone.

And he will bear that responsibility with his head held high.

Tenma's gaze settles on the others in the room, beyond his dearest friends; their younger teammates, those who have joined them these past two years.

They're just kids.

Kids he has taught and scolded, praised and trained. They're his teammates now, and while in truth Tenma only has one true team in his heart, he's grown fond of these kids. They might not be the people he wants to be with most at the end of the day, but he's given each of them a little piece of his heart.

Their presence only strengthens his resolve. They look to him for guidance now.

He refuses to fail them.

The smooth slide of the door opening would have gone unheard any other day, buried beneath the sound of voices and laughter. Now, it seems to echo in his eardrums.

He knows who he'll see even before he spots her; her hair might be longer now, her face may have lost its childish roundness, but her eyes are the same ones he's known for half his life. They're set as harshly as his own no doubt are.

The soccer players part like the red sea as their head manager strides into the room, her resolve and anger shining through every step she takes. In her hand, she's clutching a cellphone.

Tenma watches her come closer, and usually he'd smile; but right now his best friend looks so very grim that he can't remember how to form the expression.

When Aoi reaches his desk, she offers him the phone without a word. Just as silent, Tenma takes it from her and lifts it to his ear, seeing the ongoing call from an unknown number as he does so.

''Matsukaze Tenma,'' he introduces himself shortly.

Instantly, there's a sigh of painstaking relief. ''Matsukaze-san,'' someone says, the sound of his name just a little shaky. ''Thank the heavens we managed to reach you.''

The captain's eyebrows rise, and he looks up at Aoi. Her mouth twitches, as if she's biting on the inside of her cheek, knowing where his surprise comes from.

He recovers in a second, though. He learnt early on that dwelling on minor issues like this is a waste of time when he has an entire team to look after. ''Kishibe-san,'' he murmurs instead. ''What happened?''

''It's Raimon,'' the Kidokawa Seishuu player says, quickly clarifying, ''the Raimon High team, I mean. They've been taken.''

Tenma closes his eyes.

It's the only sign of weakness he'll allow himself.

''I am aware.'' When he looks up again, he can see his youngest players looking at him nervously, thrown off by his demeanor. He has no smile or reassuring look to give them, though, not right now. ''Gouenji-san has ordered us to stay put.''

From the other side of the line, Kishibe gives a wet chuckle. ''I figured as much, but... I didn't know what else to do. No one here can do anything, the Soccer Association is keeping the stadium on lockdown.'' He pauses for a moment, seemingly unsure what to say now that he's actually talking to Raimon's captain. ''The teams have been told to stay in the lounge while the Association tries to talk it out. We didn't know what else to do but contact you.''

''I'm glad you did,'' Tenma says, and despite the icy undertone in his words, he means it. He was willing to put his faith in Gouenji as long as he wasn't given a reason to interfere, but from the sound of it, the Soccer Association has lost control of this situation.

And Tenma's grip on the phone tightens. If he hadn't known it was Aoi's, he might've broken it on accident, but now he keeps his hold carefully controlled.

He had his doubts about this new threat from the start, but he stayed out of it because everyone asked him to. Gouenji, Endou, even his own former teammates; this was a threat to the high school soccer world, they all said, not something he should concern himself with. They had it handled.

Yeah, right. Look how that turned out.

Tenma never should have allowed himself to be pushed aside like this; a threat to the high school soccer world, who were they kidding?

In just a few short months, he would be a part of that world. Hell, he practically is – he's already been promised the Raimon High captain title, for heaven's sake. The media is impatiently waiting for him and his friends to make their debut on the junior nationals.

This has been his business since the very start.

And now his team has been taken captive while he wasn't there, and yet they dare ask him to stay out of it?

A hand presses down on his shoulder and his gaze flickers up. Some tension leaves him when he finds Kyousuke at his side, as he has promised to always be. His expression is pinched, fury in every edge, but for now he is composed.

Tenma would smile if he could. How ironic, for their situation to be reversed – this time, it's Kyousuke's turn to keep him calm.

''Do you know where my team is kept?'' he asks, focused once again. A rustle goes through his youngest teammates, but the guilt that follows is easily ignored.

Tenma is many things, but a saint isn't one of them. His compassion has limits, and those have been surpassed a long time ago. There is only one priority right now, and call him selfish for it for all he cares; anything else can go to hell.

He'll apologize to the kids when the rage isn't clawing at him from every angle.

''There's some kind of weird gate, I think,'' Kishibe says, quietly, possibly intimidated. Not that the brunet cares. ''It's on the field, Shindou and the others were taken through it.''

That's enough for him. ''We'll be there as soon as we can.''

Kishibe startles, although Tenma doesn't understand why. The strategist called him for a reason, after all. ''Matsukaze-san-''

''With all due respect, Kishibe-san,'' the captain cuts in, not caring about how rude he's being, ''if you were going to tell me to stay away, then you shouldn't have called in the first place. I was asked to stay out of this, and look where that has lead to.'' He rises from his chair. ''My team needs me. I won't let them down now.''

He isn't just talking about his captured friends.

Because there are Kyousuke, Aoi, Shinsuke, Kariya, Hikaru; the five of them are burning with the same fury, he can see it. Their eyes say it all. They will follow him to the ends of the earth.

What else can he do but meet them halfway?

For a few moments, Kishibe is silent. Then there's a soft sigh. ''I understand. I... shall see you soon, then.''

''Yes,'' Tenma agrees, and ends the call.

He hands the phone to Aoi and steps around his desk. Immediately, the other third-years join him, an unspoken command pulling them all closer like puppets on a string.

''What's the plan?'' Kariya asks, seemingly nonchalant, but there's a tension lining his shoulders which only a select few notice that says otherwise.

Casting a glance at the younger teens on the other side of the room, Tenma forces himself to take a deep breath in and out. ''Kyousuke,'' he says, focusing on the only one in the room who has any experience with driving, ''can we take your brother's car?''

''Of course.''

No one mentions that said brother would never agree, had he known about this. Underage, no driver's license; Yuuichi would absolutely flip. But that's the thing, isn't it?

It's just the six of them now. There's no one left to tell them what to do, because they were pushed to the sidelines this whole time. To play safe.

Tenma would laugh at the thought. Screw that.

''Let's go then,'' he orders shortly, and heads for the door.

~'0'~

There's no one who stops them on their way out. Of course there wouldn't be; the school's nearly abandoned in the weekends, and their many soccer contacts are otherwise occupied right now.

Not that Tenma would stand for it if anyone, even his own players, tried to get in his way right now.

No one's even aware that they were having this meeting, while their high school counterpart was playing that match.

And losing.

The captain keeps quiet as they pile into Yuuichi's dark blue car, which he left behind when Endou offered him a ride to the stadium. At the time, the third-years had protested vehemently at being left behind, but their coach was unyielding.

Look where that got us.

It's a tight squeeze with six people, but there are no complaints. Kyousuke is quiet as he starts the engine and drives out of the school's empty parking lot, turning onto the empty street and heading for the stadium.

Tenma keeps his eyes trained on the window and digs his nails into his hands. The pain barely registers as he instead fights the urge to break something – he's had enough warnings about keeping his temper in check when he's under this much pressure, at the risk of his Soul going haywire. Turning purple.

They're all aware of it, and maybe that's why Shinsuke gives an overly exaggerated sigh. ''My parents would kill me if they knew about this,'' the small keeper groans, and it's enough to get a soft chuckle out of Hikaru and Kariya.

In the driver's seat, Kyousuke grins wildly. ''Nii-san's fault for giving me driving lessons,'' he answers easily, steering the car with practiced ease despite his inexperience. ''And for leaving the keys.''

Even Tenma can't help but snort at that, the tiniest bit of tension leaving him. It's moments like these that he's reminded of why he loves his team so much – and that sends a sharp stab of anxiety through him as he's reminded of their beaten friends and the danger they face.

Fingers brush against his arm and pull him out of his thoughts; when he looks up, Hikaru is there, dark eyes worried and inquiring. The brunet tries to muster up a smile, but at the downward twist of the forward's lips, he knows he's failed.

But he can't bring himself to reassure Hikaru, not when two-thirds of their team is missing, captured; not when the situation is this grim.

Instead they delve into silence once more as they head into Inazuma Town's center and the roads get busier.

The quiet is only broken by the rhythm of Aoi's nails tapping on her phone as she tries to find out as much as she can about the situation in the stadium; it was broadcasted live until an hour ago, and enough people currently inside are posting updates.

The girl has to pause for a moment to gather her composure again, the image of her team scattered over the field burnt into her eyelids.

She shakes her head furiously and returns to her task. There isn't much; nothing they didn't already know, at least. The Soccer Association is still trying to negotiate Raimon's release. There's still an energy gate on the field.

Raimon is still captured.

''No change so far,'' she announces, her voice clipped and her shoulders tight.

Next to her, Kyousuke exhales sharply and his grip on the steering wheel tightens, but that's the extend of his reaction. From the back seat there's a sharp curse, courtesy of the teal-haired defender.

Aoi glances in the rearview mirror and winces at the dark look on her captain's face. He's right next to one of the doors and looking ready to jump out the second the car comes to a halt, arms crossed and face stormy. She's almost sympathetic for whoever his wrath is directed at.

Almost.

Instead she says, feeling especially vindictive, ''Amemiya and Yukimura-kun are in the stadium right now.'' When the brunet looks up, meeting her gaze in the mirror, her smile is all teeth. ''They know we're on our way.''

Tenma's answering grin is just as predatory.

''Good.''

~'0'~

Tenma shuts the car door with more force than necessary, staring up at the stadium with narrowed eyes. The parking lot is packed, but that's the only sign of how crowded it really is.

There's not a living soul in sight, and for good reason.

He lets his eyes sweep over his teammates, taking a moment to inspect each of them carefully. There's not a sign of hesitation in any of them, and it has something in his chest loosening just the slightest bit.

Before he can address them, there's a shout from behind, and the brunet spins around only to see a figure jogging towards them. He feels more than sees Kyousuke react in his peripheral vision. ''Hakuryuu,'' he mumbles.

Said forward joins them a moment later, holding up a hand in greeting. His usual smirk fades at the sight of them.

''We waiting on anyone else?''

''They're already inside,'' Kyousuke says.

Hakuryuu nods at that answer, glancing at the imposing building before them with a frown. ''How are we going to get in?''

All eyes turn to Tenma at that question and the brunet in question lets his lips curl upwards in a feral smirk. ''Simple.''

He rests a hand on his hip and tilts his head.

''We go through the front door.''

~'0'~

Ahahaha I wonder what you guys think of this? This is only the first part of a longer 'adventure', although it's a bit darker than it would otherwise be. I just wanted to build on Tenma's behavior in Accidental Reverse, his protectiveness and utter determination to protect his (younger) friends no matter what. Made me curious to see how it would portray with the older team, especially since it'd be a mutual reaction – and this was born.

Raimon is sort of... possessive, of each other? Possessive, fiercely protective, and one thing that team has in spades is determination. And so I had to wonder, what if part of Raimon is hurt?

Obviously they'd all go to the end of the earth for each other. It's just nice to see it in action for once.

Anyway, see you next time!

- Yara