A/N - So I've recently re-read Eyeshield 21 and since I've never watched the anime and it's the start of the winter holidays, I thought now would be a good time to binge watch the entire thing. And it was great but I was a tad bit disappointed that it was cut a little short. The whole time I couldn't get this idea out of my mind so I thought getting back into fanfiction writing would be good. So here it is. Enjoy and please R&R!
Graduation
It was the end of the school year in Japan. For many this meant the start of vacations and a stress free few weeks. However, for the seniors, this was the time for them to say goodbye to the underclassmen and their school. And for the Deimon Devil Bats at Deimon High School, this meant a bittersweet farewell to Ryokan Kurita, Manabu Yukimitsu, Gen "Musashi" Takekura, Yoichi Hiruma, and their team manager Mamori Anezaki.
"Mamori!" the voice called from the other side of the door. "Sena, Taro, and Suzuna have come to pick you up. Please don't keep them waiting!"
"Coming!" Mamori shouted back. She looked at herself in the mirror once more to make sure her hair was neatly coiffed and the dress she bought by saving her allowance for months was wrinkle free. Lastly, she slipped on her favourite pair of heels and stepped out of her bedroom door and down the stairs to meet her friends.
"Uwah!" The eyes of her friends were nearly popping out of their heads. Mamori was aware she had some sense of style but this was a reaction she didn't quite expect. At least from Sena and Suzuna. Her face unwillingly became red from the attention and her eyes fell to her fancy shoes. As per usual, the max receiver was flat on the ground with what seems to be blood flowing out of his nose.
"Thank you for coming early, you guys," the manager said as they were en route to school. "I just had to make sure everything was perfect for today's graduation."
Sena scratched his head. "Don't you think having to organize your own graduation to be a little odd?" Sena chuckled nervously unsure as to how his best friend would answer.
"Eh?" the short haired roller blader exclaimed. "No way! Mamori is the best at this stuff. You should've seen the graduation committee before Mamori stepped in. Absolute disaster!"
"Haha." The senior laughed. "I guess all this time as the Devil Bats' manager paid off."
A sudden cry erupted to her left. "Mamori!" Monta blubbered through his tears. "You won't be the Devil Bat's manager anymore! Who will encourage me after my super max catches?"
This earned Monta a smack upside his head. "You still have yours truly, the cheerleader captain!" Suzuna posed with her hands on her hips. "Geez, Monta. You can really make a girl feel terrible."
The group laughed all the way to school. As always they made their way to their football club, which always seemed to get bigger with a new addition every time. With her hand on the handle, she hesitated. She was hearing voices. Numerous familiar voices. Curiously she slid the door open and was greeted by a pleasant surprise.
The club was decorated with colourful signs, balloons, and streamers hanging from the ceiling. On the table were various treats ranging from cakes, tarts, and Mamori's favourite: cream puffs from her favourite bakery. Never mind the treats and decorations, Mamori favourite part was her team throwing her, Kurita, Musashi, Yukimitsu, and Hiruma a farewell party.
All the Devil Bat's members turned towards the door. "Mamori!" they all said in unison and rushed to surround her. They were genuinely happy to see her.
"Everyone..." Tears of joy began to sting her eyes. "Why?"
"You think we weren't going to give you seniors a proper send off?" Jumonji jested.
"Yeah!" exclaimed the two other Ha-Ha brothers.
Kurita balled, grabbing all his friends in a bear hug. "You guys are the best!"
Togano and Koji spoke between breaths as they was being strangled in Kurita's love filled embrace. "Hey... This is... the third time... today!"
Everyone erupted in laughter and showering the seniors with praise. In the far back, the 60-Yard Magnum was quiet, his back leaning on the wall. His mature face only showing a slight hint of a smile.
After a while Mamori couldn't help but feel that something important was missing and looked around hoping to find what she was looking for. "Say, where's Hiruma?"
Everyone looked around the club as if just suddenly noticing their captain was missing. Hiruma was the private type. He never really told anyone where he was going and what he was up to. So his disappearing was actually a common occurrence and expected by his teammates. But the fact that he wouldn't even show up to a party organized by his friends irked Mamori a little.
"Oh! He said he had something important to take care of." The gentle giant explained. "Don't worry. I'm sure he'll make it in time for the graduation ceremony!"
A chilling feeling suddenly ran down Sena's spine- causing him to visibly shake.
"Hey, Sena. Are you okay?" Monta asked.
"Uh, yeah. Just a cold breeze."
Why do I have a bad feeling Hiruma's going to do something crazy? he thought.
"Attention all graduating students and guests; the graduation ceremony will begin shortly. Please make your way to the gymnasium. Thank you."
"I guess it's time…" Yukimitsu sighed sadly. He watched everyone exit the club until he was left alone. Graduation was a moment he dreaded for a long time. He had so much fun with his new friends that he never wanted it to end.
Yukimitsu felt the weight of a strong hand on his shoulder. "Let's go," Musashi said confidently. Yukimitsu nodded and chased after his friends. American Football had helped him grow more confident as a person and it was all thanks to the Devil Bats. Although all things must eventually come to an end, he knew this was the start of a new outlook on life.
~:~
"Ladies and gentlemen; thank you for joining us today as we celebrate the hard work of our beloved seniors." The school principal began his speech. He stood on stage and spoke behind a wooden podium that faced about a hundred students and their family members. In the front rows were the seniors dressed in traditional cap and graduation gowns featuring Deimon's colours: red and white.
"And now a word from your Valedictorian, Mamori Anezaki."
Mamori stepped up to the podium with index cards in hand. She was supposed to give the valedictorian speech with Yukimistu but he thought it would be best for Mamori to do it alone when he realized how many people will be in attendance.
The Devil Bats' manager cleared her throat and spoke into the microphone. "Today is the beginning of a new chapter for all of us. Through out our years at Deimon, we laughed, we cried, and most of all we've lo-"
Suddenly a loud roaring emerged. Everyone in attendance frantically looked around trying to locate the source of the sound. Louder and louder it got until the doors of the gymnasium violently burst open by a motorcycle and on top of it was a man dressed in a Deimon Devil Bats' football uniform.
"YA-HA!" shouted the driver as he rode past the crowd at breakneck speed. Just as it looked like he was going to collide with the stage, the man expertly jumped, leaving the vehicle to crash without it's driver.
"HIRUMA!?" shouted the Devil Bats' on looking their captain on stage.
The Commander from Hell burst into is signature devil-like smile and laugh "Kekekeke!"
"H-Hiruma!" Mamori choked. "What do you think you're doing?" Hiruma moved towards the podium and snatched the microphone from it's stand.
"Listen up fuckin' peewees!" He shouted towards the football team. "After this graduation, we are enemies. You better bring your fuckin' A game because in two years we'll be battling it out on the field and only one will come out on top!"
Sena looked over at his teammates and noticed their intense look in their eyes. They weren't scared. They were excited. Smiling even. Hiruma wasn't the type to express his feelings so they knew this was Hiruma's way of telling them he'll miss them. But this wasn't a goodbye at all.
"You better fuckin' train hard. I want it to at least be a challenge when it's time to put you six feet under! Kekekeke!"
"The next time we meet will be at the Rice Bowl!" Hiruma then started shooting his fire arms in the air like he always does. And as usual, Mamori yelled after him but then she noticed as he was running away guns blazing, he signed something to her in their made up sign language: "come by the club."
~:~
After the graduation ceremony, everyone had already left. Eager to start practising and get a head start on their training. After all, they very well knew defeating Yoichi Hiruma would be no easy task.
The sun was setting when Mamori made her way to the what was once considered a tiny shed but thanks to Hiruma's "persuasive" methods had grown to a bigger room equipped with a complete locker room for the players. She opened the door only to be met by the quarterback at the table typing away on his laptop with his back turned towards her. With some hesitance she stepped a little closer and before she could ask why he wanted to meet, he slapped a wad of papers in her hands. Upon close inspection she noticed them to be university application forms.
"Saikyoudai University application forms?" questioned the manager.
He kept quiet for a moment without ceasing his typing. "That's where were going, fuckin' manager."
He was asking her to go to the same university as him. Mamori didn't know what to say. "Hiruma..."
He stopped typing and pulled down the laptop screen and stood up with his back still turned towards her. "Teaching another fuckin' manager our sign language would be too fuckin' troublesome. Fill it out and I'll work out the rest."
She closed her eyes and smiled. "I figured as much. That's why I've already sent in my application." Being meticulous and organized, she had already sent her applications to numerous schools long before the due dates. Including Saikyoudai University.
He cocked his head to the side, enough to get a glimpse of his manager from the corner of this eye. He wanted to ask how she knew which school he chose to attend but Mamori was already ahead of him. As she often was.
"I was curious so I asked Kurita and Musashi if they knew which school you were applying for and they told me you wanted to go to Saikyoudai."
"That funkin' fatty and old man!" he walked past her, fire arm in hand and made a B line for exit door.
Mamori sighed. "They'll be stronger, you know- all of them. Sena will perfect his running even further. Monta too. He'll be even better at catching."
She took a short pause. As if she was reminiscing old fond memories. "Kurita and the other linemen too. We can't forget about strong players like Agon, Kid, and Shin. They will all have goals to make it to the Rice Bowl as well so we have to be better if we want to win. Right, Hiruma?"
She waited for his reply but all he did was form a bubble from his gum as he always does. Then he scoffed and out the door he went leaving Mamori alone in the club where it all their dreams began.
As the Commander from Hell walked away he felt the corners of his mouth curl into a smile. "You bet, fuckin' manager. Ya-ha!"
A/N - I absolutely love the way the author developed their relationship in the manga/anime. They're not in love or anything but there's a mutual and intense understanding and trust between both characters. It made for a good relationship in my opinion and I tried to keep that same feel throughout the story. I hope I did justice to the characters. Anyway please R&R! :]