Chapter Text
“Oi, brat.”
Sena stopped, looking up from his phone. Practice had let out a little earlier today due to the Cupid game tomorrow so he was slowly wandering home. He was so used to the nickname from Hiruma that he couldn’t help but respond. He didn’t know what that said about his life right now.
Three large teenagers stood in his way, halfway across the narrow bridge. The centre one was blond with a cross-shaped scar on one cheek. The one flanking to his left hand chin-length brown hair and a baseball bat in one hand and while the final one had light brown hair gelled up and away from his face, round orange sunglasses reflecting the early evening sun.
He recognised them from earlier. They’d tried to force him to get their lunch when he’d run across them in the corridors. He’d easily ignored them, continuing on his way to meet Ryokan for lunch. They had probably assumed he was a first year which wasn’t difficult with his smaller stature. One day he’d love to be as tall as Shin but that was pretty unlikely.
“You think you can ignore us?” The blond growled, cracking his knuckles.
Sena had been in a very similar position this time last year. He’d managed to escape them, just barely diving for the train, which had led to his kidnapping by Hiruma the following day. He was pretty happy he’d been kidnapped now but it’d been terrifying at the time.
The old fear that used to control him every time he faced some bullies was absent. These guys weren’t even that big; Takami was way taller and Shin and Otowara would dwarf them. Otowara could probably pick them up with one hand as could Ryokan. Zokugaku were also much more intimidating.
“Oi are you listening to us?”
“We should teach him to listen to his superiors,” the one with sunglasses grinned.
“Teach this shrimp some respect,” the brown-haired one tapped the baseball bat he was holding on his shoulder.
“I’m a year older than you,” Sena felt the need to point out.
“Lying to us now?” The one with sunglasses sneered, bending down. “You hear that, Kuroki?”
“Lying little weasel, Togano,” the one with brown hair replied.
At least Sena was finding out their names.
“Look,” he held up his hands. “Can we just leave this for today? I’ve got a big game tomorrow and I’d rather not get into anything before then.”
Hiruma would kill him if turned up with more than a scratch, especially from three untrained first years.
“Game?” the blond’s deep voice carried. “You think this is a game?”
They were deliberately misinterpreting him now. There was no talking his way out of this one. He knelt down to double tie his shoe laces.
“You think bowing to us will save you now?”
Sena stood up straight and re-adjusted the stuff in his pockets so they wouldn’t fall out. Last thing he need was to lose his phone. Kuroki adjusted his grip on the bat and Sena took his chance.
He leapt up, landing with one foot on the red railing. It was barely wide enough for his shoe but it would have to do. He hopped over the swung bat and met Kuroki’s wide eyes with an apologetic shrug. He took off down the bridge, jumping down when he’d cleared the last of the three boys.
“Stop!” “Get him!”
He sped up and soon reached the town proper. He could hear the three behind him but they were getting further away with every step. He weaved his way through the narrow gaps between buildings and easily dodged his way around pedestrians making their way home from work. He spotted a familiar mop of blond hair exiting one of the convenience stores. He darted down the main street, ducking beneath commuters and grabbed his arm.
“What the fuck?!”
“Bear with me, Hiruma-kun!”
He dragged the taller boy into the alleyway beside the store just before the three bullies made it to the main street. They ran past, yelling various threats, and soon they were out of earshot. Sena let out a sigh of relief as he noticed he wasn’t even breathing all that hard. His training was paying off!
“You better fucking explain yourself right the fuck now, brat.”
Sena abruptly let go of Hiruma’s arm, unaware he’d still been holding it.
“I’m so sorry, Hiruma-kun!” Sena winced. “I knew if you saw me you’d get involved.”
“Involved in what?”
“Some first years trying to bully me,” he admitted sheepishly.
“The fuck, Sena?” Hiruma yelled, pointing his finger into Sena’s chest. “You let some first years push you around?”
“No!” he argued back. “I just wanted to avoid trouble! The football season starts tomorrow and we can’t get into any trouble that might stop us from entering!”
Hiruma considered him for a moment before shaking his head, blowing a bubble of green gum.
“You can’t stay out of trouble for one fucking day,” he sneered, but it lacked the anger of before.
He stalked off to the main street, before turning to look back at Sena.
“You coming, damned brat?”
“You’re going to walk me home?” Sena asked, jogging up to Hiruma’s side. He’d asked it mainly as a joke but Hiruma set off in the direction of Sena’s house.
“You’ll get into some sort of shit if I let you go alone,” he huffed. “I need you in peak fucking condition to kick the Cupids’ asses tomorrow.”
Sena blinked in surprise before falling into step quietly next to the quarterback. He wished he could argue but he had a point. Sena’s luck really was terrible at times. He just hoped that it wouldn’t extend into the game tomorrow.
They hadn’t managed to recruit any new permanent members before the game, so they were stuck with temporary members Hiruma had blackmailed.
The Koigahama Cupids game was over as soon as it began. Hiruma kept Eyeshield 21 off the field but when it became apparent that the members blackmailed into playing wouldn’t be any use against serious players, even if they were the Cupids, then Eyeshield 21 stepped up to play a little after the second half started. Hiruma managed to get rid of Sakuraba and Shin so Ojo wouldn’t have recent footage at least, but it wasn’t liked they’d never seen him run before.
With all of his and Hiruma’s catching and formation practice, the game was a cinch. They scored four touchdowns, ending in a score of 24-14, as Hiruma missed all the kicks. It was times like this that Sena missed Musashi.
It was nice to play in a real game again. He hadn’t played since the Autumn Tournament so it was nice to know he hadn’t gotten slower at least. He didn’t feel like he was really able to stretch his legs, the Cupid team members seeming like they were running through syrup. It was nothing compared to what they would face in the Ojo game.
They had a couple days until that game so training resumed as normal.
“Fatty is already on the field,” Hiruma hiked his latest shotgun onto his shoulder, marching out of the clubroom. “We need to re-establish our baselines for the Ojo game.”
Sena nodded as he adjusted his practice gear, quickly following Hiruma out to the field. He patted Cerberus’s head on the way past, the former stray’s tail wagging.
“Oi fatty!” Hiruma yelled. “40 yard dash to start! Get your ass into position!”
Ryokan shouted something back and got into position. Sena stood next to Hiruma, watching as Ryokan set off, jogging to the line.
“You’re getting fucking slower!” Hiruma yelled at their lineman, throwing the stopwatch in Sena’s face so he could kick Ryokan’s ass.
He snatched it out of the air and looked at the time. 6.5 seconds; well, he was a lineman, not a running back. It couldn’t be helped. Ryokan had much more important roles to fill in the team; being fast was Sena’s job. He reset the stopwatch as Hiruma got into position down the field. He called a start and the quarterback sprinted for the line, crossing it in no time.
“Hiruma-kun, 5.1 seconds!” Sena shouted gleefully, waving the stopwatch.
“Ya-ha!” Hiruma pointed at them in victory. “A new personal best! I fucking rule!”
Sena couldn’t help but share in the genuine delight. Hiruma had been trying to shave 0.1 second off his personal best for months! He’d been there for most of the brutal training sessions the quarterback put himself through, mainly because Sena was also there trying to survive his own regimen. So many suicide runs.
“Your turn, chibi.”
Sena threw the stopwatch back and jogging to the starting spot, taking a deep breath. He could do this. Hiruma had managed to get 0.1 seconds off his time. Sena could do it too. He’d been training so hard and while 4.2 seconds was still one of the best times in Japan, he couldn’t help but feel that after a solid year of training he should at least be a little faster, even with the forced break from his injury. The Cupids hadn’t been able to touch him after all.
“Go!”
Sena sprang forward, his feet pushing off the hard ground and propelling him forward. His surroundings blurred and he pushed even more power into his legs, grinding out as much as he could give. It felt like he blinked and it was over. He looked over at Hiruma as he crossed the line, breathing hard.
“Well, you’re no worse.”
Crushing disappointment crashed through Sena’s chest. Still nothing? He wasn’t even a little bit faster?
“Don’t look so fucking crushed, most people would kill for this sort of fucking speed,” Hiruma tapped his head gently with a clipboard, forcing Sena’s gaze from where it had dropped to the ground. “You’re still the fastest fucker out there.”
“Thanks, Hiruma-kun,” he offered but his heart wasn’t in it.
They continued the rest of practice, going through the exercises and recording the results, comparing them to their first year. Kurita managed to improve his bench press to 160kg which was beyond impressive! Sena would be crushed under that. He himself had managed 40kg, which was the same as his personal best before he’d broken his arm. So he was back to baseline at least.
At the end of training, Sena found himself sitting in the clubroom, staring at the faded poster on the wall. He was better than he was the last time he’d faced Shin but Shin was also bound to have improved. Sena was exactly the same as he’d been in August. He hadn’t improved at all in that time, just managing to crawl back to that after his injury. What would Shin think of him?
“Are you okay, Sena?” Ryokan asked gently from the doorway.
“I’m fine, Ryokan,” Sena replied, mustering a smile he didn’t feel. “Just nervous to face Ojo again.”
“You’ve improved so much, Sena!” Ryokan encouraged, his smile wide and bright.
“He at least knows the rules this time,” Hiruma piped up from the other corner. “He won’t be running the wrong way down the fucking field.”
Sena blushed as he recalled that mistake. He really hadn’t known anything back then. Musashi had given him a quick rundown of the rules only a few minutes before the game started and then Hiruma had put the helmet on his head and shoved him out there.
“You’re right,” he said, the smile feeling a bit more real. “I’m not the same as I used to be.”
He didn’t know how this game would go but he couldn’t run from it. Shin was waiting for him and Hiruma and Ryokan needed him. This wouldn’t be like last year. Sena would make sure it wasn’t like last year.
They kept the same temporary members as they’d used for the Cupids game. They seemed in high spirits after the Cupids game, confident in Eyeshield 21 and their victory. Sena knew better. So did Hiruma and Ryokan.
“Shin is yours, chibi,” Hiruma said as they spoke quietly by the bench, the other members still hyping each other up in a circle nearby, Ryokan leading the cheerful chants. It wasn’t quite enough to compete with the screaming fangirls that had packed the stands but the lineman seemed undeterred.
He didn’t remember the player they were cheering for from last year. Sakuraba, was it? He didn’t know why the idol had decided to play football but Hiruma hadn’t seemed that concerned about him during the pre-game strategy meeting yesterday. They had much bigger obstacles to worry about.
“I know,” he replied. “Ryokan can handle Otowara but your throwing choices are limited.”
Hiruma flicked his helmet.
“You really have the fucking brain space to worrying about me when you’ve got Shin after your ass?” he scowled. “Just focus on running, Eyeshield. Leave the rest of the game to us.”
Sena knew that the temporary members were no match for the likes of Ojo, but Hiruma was right. Sena had to focus on his role. Shin would have been training all winter too and he may be slightly faster than the linebacker, but Shin was bigger, stronger and had a wingspan that meant his spear tackle could reach him when it really shouldn’t have been able to.
He admired Shin a lot. When they first faced each other a year ago, Sena had been a very different person. Shin had been the first one to tackle him and that had been a horrific wake-up call. Sena had quivered at the thought of getting tackled again and he knew it had affected his game play heavily. Shin had even taken to just holding him in the air rather than tackling him so his team could take the ball off him. It was embarrassing to think about now.
He did manage to best Shin once in that game. The desire to do it again had driven him through the brutal summer training and all of his practice matches since. They hadn’t played each other in the last Spring or Fall Tournament so it had been almost exactly one year since they faced each other. Sena was a lot stronger now and he could take a hit. He wouldn’t let this be a repeat of last year.
“Eyeshield 21.”
He looked past Hiruma to see Shin and Takami standing nearby, looking at him. He rose from the bench and stood to greet them.
“Shin-san, Takami-san,” he nodded his head respectfully, walking forward to stand in front of them. They really were far too tall. Hiruma hovered at his shoulder and judging by the tightening around Takami’ eyes, he didn’t want to turn round to see what his Captain was doing. “I hope we have a good game.”
Shin knew who he was but Takami didn’t so Sena pitched his voice lower, easier than it used to be after a year of practice.
“I see you are still squandering your talents, Eyeshield,” Takami replied. “I was surprised you didn’t take our coach up on the offer. Is the information Hiruma has on you that dire?”
Sena snapped his hand out to grab Hiruma’s wrist before he could reach for one of his guns. They could not shoot the Captain of the Ojo White Knights before the game. Despite what he’d said, Takami was still under the impression that Sena was being blackmailed into staying with Devil Bats. He probably wasn’t the only one.
It didn’t matter. Sena, Hiruma and Ryokan knew the truth.
“Thank you for the consideration, Takami-san, but as I told you and your coach last year I am happy where I am,” he replied politely. “No one is forcing me to be here.”
Takami obviously didn’t believe him, pushing his glasses further up his nose. Shin spoke up before it could get any tenser.
“I’m going to use all of my strength to crush Eyeshield 21 out on the field,” his deep voice carried, very serious. His dark eyes looked right at Sena’s, as if the visor wasn’t there. Sena met his gaze head on, a small smile on his lips.
“I would wish for nothing less, Shin-san,” Sena said sincerely. He would never want Shin to fight with anything less than his best. “May the best team win.”
“We will,” Takami cut in before the pair turned to head back to their own bench.
Sena kept his hand on Hiruma’s wrist as the Ojo players walked away, merging into the dozens of Ojo team members. Their team really was massive compared to the Devil Bats.
“The fucking balls on that motherfucker,” Hiruma muttered to himself, still looking twitchy.
Sena squeezed his wrist gently, prompting Hiruma to look at him.
“I choose the Bats, Hiruma-kun,” he said firmly. “We can show them why on the field today.”
Hiruma watched him for a long moment. He really went all in with his devilish look. His blond hair was spiked up, undaunted by the fact it would soon be squished under a helmet, and his silver hoop earrings shone under the soft morning sunshine. His eye-liner was as sharp as ever, only making his green eye stand out even more. A hint of sharp teeth peeked out from the wide grin that formed on his face.
“You don’t have to tell me that, damned brat.”
Sena let go of his wrist, confident that Hiruma was no longer going to cause an incident. Why would he, when he could do it on the field?
“Let’s kick their fucking ass,” Hiruma continued, cackling as his eyes narrowed at the Ojo bench.
Sena nodded, turning to start warming up. It was time to show Ojo that he hadn’t wasted the past year.
“We ain’t here to defeat our enemies,” Hiruma grinned sharply. “We’re here to murder ‘em! Rip their heads off, ya-ha!”
“YA-HA!”
The game started shortly after that. Sena bounced on the tips of his toes, darting forward as the whistle went. Hiruma ran with the ball but he was promptly tackled a few yards in. He waited as the rest of his teammates came forward, setting up for the next attempt.
“It’s time to remind everyone who exactly Eyeshield 21 is,” Hiruma wrapped an arm around Sena’s shoulders before shoving him forward.
“You don’t have to tell me that, Hiruma-kun,” Sena shook his head fondly as he caught himself from falling forward, looking up to meet Shin’s gaze.
They would finally meet again on the next play.
“Eyeshield will run around the line on the right,” Hiruma ordered in the next huddle. “And you line-GIRLS better block for him!”
“That’s easy for you to say…” one of the second years muttered.
“They’re so much better than us!” Another added.
“I don’t expect perfect blocking!” Hiruma replied harshly. “Half a second! You just need to each hold off your assigned man for half a second! That’s enough time for Eyeshield to break through!”
Hiruma had a lot of faith in him. Even if the linemen managed this, Sena still had to get past Shin.
“Set, hut, HUT!”
Sena sprang forward, easily catching the thrown ball across the short distance. He tucked the ball into his armpit and ran, the players around him becoming a blur. He saw a rapidly approaching shape out the corner of his eye and pushed harder. Shin suddenly appeared in his green-tinted vision and Sena pivoted sharply, dodging around the much taller player. There was a brief moment of relief… before an arm of steel wrapped around his ribs, squeezing to the point Sena could swear his ribcage was creaking. Shin dragged him down into the dirt and they hit the ground hard, knocking the air out of him. Sena managed to keep a hold of the ball but it was a near thing. Shin landed on top of him and Sena felt his shoulder and helmet being pressed into the ground.
The Spear Tackle was even worse than he remembered. He’d thought he’d memorised every detail about Shin’s play from their first game but time had appeared to dull those memories. He wheezed as Shin got off him and he took a moment to stare at the sky. So much for showing Ojo that he had changed since last year. This felt like a year ago all over again.
A shadow broke his stare and he looked up at Hiruma.
“Still alive?”
“Yeah,” Sena sighed, taking the offered hand and hauling himself to his feet.
“You only beat him once last year,” Hiruma pointed out. “You had a long break.”
“It doesn’t make it any less disappointing,” Sena sighed.
He flinched when Hiruma knocked a fist on the top of his helmet, rattling his head.
“Then turn that fucking disappointment into fuel for kicking his ass!”
Sena took a deep breath and nodded. He could do this. Once he got used to Shin again, he would have more options.
They didn’t manage to make any headway on their offence and now it was time to switch to defence. Sena hadn’t managed to get past Shin once and the frustration was boiling in his gut. He wanted to beat the linebacker so badly.
Sena winced at the excited shrieking from the stands when Sakuraba stepped on the field. This seemed a little excessive. Shin was Ojo’s Ace, not Sakuraba so he didn’t know why all these girls were insisting otherwise. Had they never seen a game before? If they had, then they would know Shin was the undisputed Ace. It was so obvious in the way he played.
Otowara stepped up to Ryokan and snatched one of the metal poles off one of the staff members, bending it out of shape. It was very impressive and Sena could easily imagine that as his spine. Ryokan picked it up off the ground and easily straightened it out, handing it back to the poor staff member with an apology. Sena tried to suppress the giggle that bubbled up in response to Otowara’s surprised face. The large Ojo lineman then walked off, laughing loudly. Sena shrugged when Ryokan looked at him in confusion. He had no idea what goes on in Otowara’s head.
Sena settled into his place in the goal line defence. They were horrendous at defence so he had no illusions about being about to fend off Ojo for very long, but as Hiruma always said, to win you just have to score more points than the other team. To do that, they needed to get the ball. Sena bounced on his toes, watching Takami carefully. Hiruma’s plan was a bold one and it probably only work once but they had to try before the other quarterback caught on.
The whistle blew and the teams collided and Sena waited. Sakuraba ran behind Deimon’s formation into the open space conveniently left wide open for him. Takami threw the ball and Sena moved. He ran at full speed right at Sakuraba and he could see the moment the idol figured out the plan, his caramel eyes wide. The wide receiver hesitated and Sena took his chance. He launched himself forward and grabbed the ball just before it hit Sakuraba’s hands.
“INTERCEPTION!”
Sena turned on his heels and ran like hell in the other direction.
“Come back! It’s a turnover!”
Sena ran as fast as his legs could carry him and when it seemed like he would make it, when he breezed past Ojo’s scrambling defence, he felt the familiar arm wrap around him, tackling him into the dirt.
“26 yard gain!”
Sena supposed it was better than nothing.
The next time, they managed to trick Ojo by Sena pretending to take the ball while Hiruma ran up field with it. It didn’t get them as far as they’d hoped but every yard helped. They weren’t able to carry through with the attempt and soon it was back to Ojo’s offence. Takami had adjusted to Sena’s speed and with Shin in the way, he wasn’t able to intercept any more passes. The temporary team members were struggling too, with some allowing their marks past them to chase after Sena. They couldn’t catch either so Ojo was able to intercept them with ease. Sena couldn’t even get himself into a position where Hiruma could throw to him, not with Shin following doggedly in his shadow everywhere he went.
It was a gruelling first half, the first and second quarter passing without Deimon scoring a single point. Sena scowled at the scoreboard, the ‘35’ on Ojo’s board staring him right in the face.
He knew that they were going to struggle against Ojo. They were one of the best teams in the country and Deimon only had three permanent members. Other than he, Hiruma and Ryokan, Deimon can’t catch, can’t tackle, could barely hold up against the might of Ojo. Sena was glad they were there, they couldn’t play without them and they were trying their best, but it wouldn’t be enough to beat Ojo. Sena knew in his heart before the game that they would not be winning like he wanted to.
But it hadn’t been about that, not for him. He wanted to beat Shin and he hadn’t managed to do that and it was killing him. Shin had been his goal ever since he’d started American football and he’d already near killed himself in Hiruma’s training with that goal in mind. Shin had gotten better too and Sena felt the gap between their skill levels. Speed was the only thing Sena had on Shin; Shin was the perfect football player in every other regard.
He rubbed his sore ribs as he walked over to the bench, gratefully accepting the water bottle offered by Ryokan.
“Ojo is so tough.”
“I don’t know how we thought we had a chance.”
“I wish this game was over already.”
“We’ve been so useless it’s a joke.”
Sena’s grip around the bottle tightened.
“Shut up, you fucking morons,” Hiruma snapped, looking over his clipboard. “We haven’t lost yet.”
“It’s a thirty-five point difference, Hiruma-kun,” Ryokan pointed out.
“There’s a 0.1% chance of winning this,” Hiruma replied, still looking over the pages. “It’s enough. Until our chances at 0%, it’s too soon to give up.”
Sena had always liked that about Hiruma. He calculated the odds and even if they were wildly out of their favour, he never gave up. No matter how small the chance. Sena took a deep breath. He wouldn’t let their chance go down to zero. He would make that 0.1% work.
“Compared to last year’s 99-7, we’re already doing way better,” Hiruma added, looking over at Sena.
“Shin hasn’t been able to pick me up like a kid at least,” he replied, something loosening in his chest as he answered Hiruma’s unspoken question. He was okay. He wasn’t giving up either.
“You looked kind of like a kitten back then,” Ryokan added with a laugh and Sena pouted.
“Kurita-kun…”
He was careful not to use Ryokan’s first name in uniform. It would be a really dumb way to give away his identity. He stood, turning to face the other team members.
“I appreciate this is tough,” he bowed, pitching his voice low. “You have been taking a lot of hits for me and I am thankful. Please bear with me a little longer. I promise I will find a way to score.”
There was a moment of silence before noise erupted around him.
“When you say it like that, how can we quit now?”
“You’ve been taking on Shin this whole time by yourself. This is the least we can do!”
“Stop bowing to us, man, we can barely keep up with you as it is!”
A foot landed squarely in the middle of Sena’s back as he straightened and he stumbled. He looked up into Hiruma’s grinning face.
“Not bad, chibi.”
“We have a 0.1% chance right?” Sena shrugged, unable to help a matching grin. “We’d be stupid not to take it.”
Hiruma cackled.
“Let’s fuck them up.”
The second half commenced and Sena kept running up against Shin. He stopped noticing what the other members of his team were doing, even what the other Ojo players were doing. They were keeping each other out of his way anyway. Sena only had eyes for Shin.
He would run up against Shin, trying to figure out a route and each time Shin would take him down. Sena couldn’t help but feel though that he was making progress. It felt like last year, when he’d managed to creep further and further away from Shin’s outstretched hand. He could feel the victory on the tip of his tongue. He just had to get out of range…
There was two minutes left of the third quarter when something changed. He spun around Shin with light feet, launching himself towards the direction of the end zone. He felt the brush of fingers against his back and he stumbled, pushed to the ground.
“Are you okay, Sena?”
“That was his fingertips,” Sena muttered to himself, not even hearing Ryokan. “He couldn’t get his full hand on me.”
He walked away from the worried lineman, back into position. He didn’t hear what Hiruma said to Shin. The only thought in his head was ‘just a little faster’.
The opportunity came when Ryokan managed to topple Ojo’s line. Sena watched as Tamaki was forced to switch targets and he sped towards the only one free to catch. He snatched the ball out of the air only a few yards from Deimon’s end zone and took off, leaving most of the players behind as he ran.
“Shin!”
He could feel the heavy presence of the linebacker behind him, keeping pace. He remembered Hiruma’s words from last year. Shin ran at the speed of sound, 4.4 seconds, but Sena ran at the speed of light.
“Touchdown!”
Sena stopped, breathing heavily. When had he reached the end zone? He looked back at Shin, seeing the linebacker staring at his hand, almost exactly the way he had last year. The whistle for the third quarter went and suddenly Sena was surrounded by cheering teammates.
“You did it!” “You beat Shin!” “You’re awesome!”
Sena tried to catch his breath, still looking at Shin. A dark look had crossed the other player’s face, as if also remembering when this happened a year ago. Sena had only managed it in the last quarter last time, having to be subbed off almost immediately after. He also had only played offence last year to conserve his energy, not both like today.
“That’s more fucking like it,” Hiruma grinned, shoving his shoulder.
“Eyeshield!” Ryokan cried, sweeping him up into a tight hug that pulled on Sena’s sore ribs.
“You guys are acting like the game is over,” Sena laughed.
The team paused around him.
“We still have another quarter left,” he grinned, watching Shin walk back to the Ojo bench.
He couldn’t be satisfied with just one after all. He had a whole year to make up for.
This game was going both exactly like Yoichi had expected and yet nothing at all like he predicted. He’d known that the players blackmailed to make up the numbers would be nearly useless against the White Knights, just as he’d known there wasn’t much they could do to stop Ojo’s offence other than Sena stealing the ball.
He had known Sena would be able to get past Shin. The brat had already done it before and the running back was hungry to do it again. He hadn’t expected the brat do it before the third quarter and he hadn’t expected the smaller boy to go even harder after he beat Shin.
He watched Sena get thrown back down the field, Shin only using one arm to throw the small running back all the way back to the centre line. Sena may have gotten past Shin once but the linebacker would be making sure it didn’t happen again. He watched Sena get up from a hit that would have most players crawl out of the game on a stretcher.
“Are you okay?” Kurita fretted, hands hovering worriedly over Sena.
“It didn’t hurt as much this time,” Sena answered, not even looking the lineman’s way, eyes only for Shin. “He got me at a different angle.”
Sena walked off, not listening to Kurita’s reply, back into position. Yoichi loved when Sena got like this. It was such a wonderfully singular focus; Yoichi knew he could probably mow down the Ojo team with one of his machine guns and Sena wouldn’t blink, as long as Shin was still there to beat. He wished this side of Sena would come out more often. It was always there under that timid, polite persona the brat called a personality.
“Keep everyone out of Eyeshield’s way!” he ordered the rest of the team. “Leave Shin to him!”
Shin was rougher with his tackles this quarter compared to the rest of the game. Sena must be getting under the bastard’s skin. Sena was thrown into another player on the next attempt and he just brushed it off, walking back onto the field, looking right at Shin.
The next play was cut off early as that damn fucking moron Sakuraba stepped on the field for some godforsaken reason and Sena slammed right into him, going down in a hard tangle of limbs and right into the Ojo bench. Helmets and water bottles went flying as dust obscured most of the fall. Yoichi swore and jogged over. He swore if a fucking moron that wasn’t even playing took out Sena just as he was about to beat Shin’s ass again, he would…
The fangirls were screaming as the Ojo coach called for a doctor. Yoichi reached the group and released a breath as he saw a fully intact Sena standing to the side, watching a doctor tend to Sakuraba.
“Brat?” He asked, walking up to stand beside the running back.
“I’m fine,” Sena assured him, rubbing his helmet. “I have no idea where he even came from.”
“The damn bastard came onto the pitch when he wasn’t even fucking playing!” Yoichi hissed, making sure to meet Takami’s eyes as he said it. “Fucking dangerous and a cheap ploy by Ojo to stop you getting past Shin again.”
He knew it wasn’t something Ojo would have ever actually done on purpose. The boring fucks were too honourable for that. It was likely that this was just a fuck up by Sakuraba alone but let it never be said that Yoichi ever missed an opportunity to press someone’s buttons.
“We wouldn’t…” Takami snapped back but he was interrupted by the doctor.
“He’s got a broken collarbone,” he announced solemnly. “He needs to go to hospital.”
At the announcement, the jeering from the crowd started. The girls hurled abuse at Sena for taking out their beloved Sakuraba. Yoichi grinned as it all bounced off Sena as the brat refocused.
“We still have a game to finish,” Sena looked over at Shin.
Yoichi cackled. Damn right they did.
Sena managed to get past Shin twice more before the game ended. The second time he’d managed to slip through by the skin of his teeth and the third had been hard fought, Shin catching him but not in time to stop Sena from reaching the end zone. They’d landed together in a clatter of limbs and Sena had just lain there, heaving heavy breaths at the sky. The final whistle went while he was lying there and he considered never getting up again. Sena didn’t think he’d ever been this exhausted in his life.
A hand crossed his vision and Sena followed it to a sweating Shin, the taller boy breathing just as hard as Sena. He grabbed Shin’s firm grip and let himself be hauled up to his feet.
“I still have a long way to go,” Sena smiled weakly.
He may have gotten past Shin three times but it hadn’t been enough to win the game and Shin had still stopped him many times more than Sena succeeded. They missed all three kicks so the score had ended up 68-18 to Ojo. While that 50 point gap weighed on Sena’s mind of how far he still had to go, he remembered that the last time he’d played Ojo the score had been 99-7. He’d been beating himself up over all the training he’d lost due to his injury but maybe he wasn’t as far away as he’d thought.
“Ojo WILL play in the Christmas Bowl,” Shin replied, letting go of his hand.
“Deimon will be the one to make it there,” Sena countered.
Shin looked at him for a moment longer before he walked away.
“You did it!” Ryokan bounced over. “You got another one!”
“We still lost, Ryokan,” Sena relied quietly, wobbling on his feet. “The tournament is over.”
Sena managed to jog over to line up for the final bow. He rose to meet Coach Shōji’s eyes briefly though his visor before turning away. He’d made the right choice staying at Deimon and he hoped he’d proved a point today. They may not have won but Sena would argue that while they had lost the tournament, they hadn’t lost completely to Ojo.
Their journey to the Christmas Bowl was just beginning.