Disclaimer: Eyeshield 21 is not mine. None of the characters that appear here are my original creation, they are Inagaki and Murata's.

Number Three

Chapter One: The Switch

"Uh…is your name…Sena? How about we switch numbers?"

The Deimon Devil Bats had taken their first step into football glory by narrowly defeating the Bando Spiders, led jointly by Hayato Akaba and the talented (yet somewhat ridiculous) Kotaro Sasaki. The air in the room where the Kanto Championship Lottery was taking place was far more intense than in any room the Devil Bats had wandered into. Each athlete present was a champion, a warrior who had taken part in the conquering of their region. One particular warrior had approached Sena with a rather clandestine offer…

"They still haven't checked them. No one would ever know, I'd say." The boy had a rather shady air about him (despite his wonderful suit, thought Sena) that seemed to complement what he was doing in the first place.

"Hah?! Haah?! HAAH?!" As if on cue, the Hah Brothers, as they were affectionally called, signaled their surprised in their own unique way.

"What are those three even trying to communicate? Regardless, I'll definitely pull this deal off…" thought the suit-clad young man.

"What do you think you're doing, fucking eyelashes?" came the equally friendly response of the demonic quarterback, Hiruma Yoichi.

"Hey, take it easy. I know you've got a score to settle with Seibu, so I thought you might wanna play them as soon as possible, I'd say." responded the young deal-striker.

"Wait…wait a second, Hiruma-san. I think we should accept this offer…maybe." interjected Sena. It was as the shady boy said – they did indeed have a score to settle with Seibu, as they were the reason the Devil Bats even had to struggle against the Bando Spiders in the first place.

"Well damn, fucking shrimp. What's gotten into you? I've never known YOU to be one to…bend the rules." said Hiruma with an amused, sharp-toothed grin.

"I know Riku-kun told me to draw a slot for Block B, but I would rather play him as soon as possible…just in case they lose, or something."

"Heh heh heh! Do what you want, fucking shrimp. We're going to destroy the entire tournament anyway, so who cares what order it's in?!"

With that debate settled, Sena turned to face the boy in the suit. "Uh…yeah. Why don't we trade?"

"Ah, wonderful. That's a good boy…I'd say." Sena glanced nervously on all directions, as if he was handing money to a drug dealer. The boys then hastily exchanged their little plastic footballs, and Sena hurriedly walked to the podium to submit his new number.

"Representing Tokyo…The Deimon Devil Bats will play in Block A, number 3." announced the commentator. After that declaration, Sena scurried back to his teammates, not liking the feeling of standing in front of that room of superstars.

"Now that that's over with…sorry for not introducing myself. I'm the Quarterback for the Hakushu Dinosaurs…Maruko. Sounds like a girl's name, I'd say. So just call me Marco, because it sounds cooler and Italian." said the young man in the suit, now acting more friendly and laid-back. He pulled out of seemingly nowhere some bottles of cola, which he offered to Sena and his friend, the ace receiver Monta.

"I guess we're both first timers," said Marco. "Let's pray we both don't play a good team right away."

"NO WAY! We're going to play them all eventually, so bring it on! Right Sena?" came the loud and eager reply of Monta.

"Representing Tokyo…the Ojo White Knights will play in Block B, number 7!" the announcer then said.

"What the hell?! I go to all that trouble trying to avoid tough teams, and then the White Knights just come strolling in and invade my territory, I'd say. Well, at least they're not in the same round as us." mused Marco.

"Representing Kanagawa…the Taiyo Sphinx will play in Block A, number 4!"

At these words, Kurita, the lovable (and fat) center, could've floated through the sky with pure joy. He had been looking forward to facing Banba again on the field since that game to determine who would play the Americans ages ago, and now he'd get to do it in the first round of the Kanto tournament!

"They're tough ones, those Sphinx. My deal may not have been in vain after all, I'd say. Hopefully we get matched up with that loud-mouthed boy with the facial scar's team, or perhaps the team of that strange large boy who keeps conspicuously staring at the commentator's chest," thought Marco after the announcement. He was getting increasingly nervous, but still had hope.

Just then, the ambient chatter of all the athletes in the room died to a halt. The gods of Kanto had arrived. One of these gods, a large lineman named Gondayu Yamabushi, walked proudly to the podium to draw his slot. He did so…

"Representing Kanagawa…the Shinryuji Nagas will play in Block B….number 6!"

"…SHIT!" came a sudden burst of exasperation. Every person in the room turned to face the source of the sound.

"…I'd say."