Victory is Assured

Just an Idea that came to mind when I was watching the NFL's top 100 players list. Now I can't get it out of my mind. Probably only going to be a one-shot though.

Akashi had been waiting for this.

The Shutoku Marksmen. One of Tokyo's immovable Three Kings. And its ace was none other than his former teammate and quarterback Midorima Shintaro. An unstoppable force at Quarterback whose passes did not miss. The Shutoku team was a veteran one. One that was already good enough with Midorima.

Not that it would matter in the end.

Slipping on his Nike gloves and putting his helmet on, Akashi sauntered onto the field, lined up in man to man coverage against some no name. He could feel the receiver shake and heard an audible gulp. Lining up on the inside, Nebuya was prepared to stop any inside run. Adjacent to Akashi and in zone coverage was Hayama and lined up on the other side of the field was Reo.

The first play of the game.

"CHIBA! CHIBA!" Midorima began to audible. From out of the corner of Akashi's eyes he saw Shutoku's running back line up as a slot receiver. Four verticals was something that Shutoku ran a lot. And with Midorima's arm and accuracy, it was hard not to. But again Akashi and Rakuzan, it would not be enough. "HUT!"

And the ball was finally snapped.

Roaring like a gorilla, Nebuya pushed back the center and the right guard that were sent to double team him. No one could hold Nebuya. He was a good enough substitute for Murasakibara. Akashi bumped into his man. He was a little irked that Midorima wasn't even looking his way. As Nebuya broke free, Midorima spun over his right shoulder, avoiding a sack. He was still looking down the field. Two more D-linemen came at Midorima. He stepped up the pocket dodging both. Just as Nebuya put an arm on Midorima's torso, the Sniper of Shutoku fired a high arcing bullet down the field.

Akashi continued to follow his man. Takao had Reo barely beat. But that was enough for Midorima to throw a laser. A perfect spiral with his unmistakeable high arc.

Touchdown.

"Hmm…Don't worry too much about it. It was expected. For now continue to follow the plan." Everyone nodded. As Reo lined up under center, Akashi went out wide. Lining up in front of him, was Shutoku's very own Hawkeye. While Akashi would have much preferred it that it was him throwing the passes, Reo was the better passer. He could feel Takao take a deep breath and lock eyes with Akashi.

Playing as the middle linebacker, Midorima had dropped into a zone. "Safety blitz! Safety Blitz!" Akashi called out at Shutoku's safeties moved in position for a blitz. It was man to man coverage. That was easy to see. With a DB as good as Takao it was hard not to.

But against Akashi, there as might as well have no one guarding him at all.

"HUT!"

As soon as the ball was snapped, Akashi was off. Takao was in press man to man coverage and that just wouldn't do. You couldn't allow Akashi Seijuro to blow by you. Now with Takao at his heels, Akashi reached up and grabbed the easy catch. Juking another defender, Akashi was on the sideline. Just as he crossed the 40 yard line, he was pushed out of bounds by Midorima.

First down. 60 yards to go.

In the huddle it was Akashi who ran the plays, not Reo or even the offensive coordinator. If they did, it would be a waste of Akashi's strategic talents. "We want to keep their defense on the turf as long as possible. Tire Midorima out as much as we can. Halfback draw. Disregard the audible, disregard the audible."

Adjacent to Reo, was Hayama, ready to receive the ball and run right through the Shutoku defense. With Nebuya at the center position, there was no way that Shutoku's Otsubo would be able to get through and stop the run. And with the threat of Akashi catching a 60 yard bomb, Takao couldn't drop back to help stop the run. It was the perfect play.

If not for Midorima.

"Draw! Draw!" Akashi shrugged. So they knew. It was a matter if, they still had to stop the run. And while Midorima was a great tackler and was good at stopping the run, Hayama Kotaro was a different beast entirely. He didn't have the speed of Aomine or the elusiveness of Kise. But rather a combination of the two that while neither as fast nor as elusive made Hayama one of the best halfbacks in Japan.

With the ball snapped, Hayama jabbed his right foot into the ground, and waited for the O-line to create an opening, even a slight one, to shoot through. With Akashi blocking Takao and preventing him from helping, Hayama could, in theory, cut back and run to the outside. When he finally saw an opening, Hayama pushed off of his left foot and juked Shutoku's Miyaji. Just as he got the first down, Midorima came up from behind and wrapped Hayama's legs up and brought him down.

"Yosh! First down!" Hayama got up immediately and did a little shimmy. He cowed at Akashi's glare and ran to the huddle. "Another run? Feed the horse why don't you?" Akashi shook his head.

"No. Too predictable. We need to keep choosing plays that Midorima won't be able to predict. Normally you would've been able to break out past the secondary and run for a touchdown. But with Midorima, you're going to have to work for that touchdown. Inch by inch. Yard, by yard. Play by play. We're going to keep going with quick fast plays. Quick slants 2."

Shutoku had a 3-4 defensive scheme. Which meant that were usually only 3 defensive linemen and 4 linebackers, usually 2 Middle Linebackers. Their star defensive end Otsubo was known to wreck teams and their quarterbacks. And with Midorima playing as the MLB, it was hard to throw to a receiver running through the middle.

Unless you were Akashi.

Once again lining up on the right side of the field, Akashi could see that Shutoku was in a cover 2 defense. As soon as the ball snapped, Akashi ran forward. He planted his feet and made it seem like he was on an out route, but at the last second, cut inward and caught the quick lob from Reo. Takao came up behind him and tried to bring him down, but one stiff arm later and Shutoku's Hawkeye was eating artificial dirt. Nebuya ran out and pancaked Otsubo, sending the DE on his butt.

Staring him in the eye, only a few yards away was Midorima. Smiling slightly, Akashi planted his left foot like he was going to the left and then slammed his right foot hard into the ground and burst out into a sprint. All the while leaving Midorima in the dust and breaking loose for the 50 yard touchdown.

"Oh! Akashi really is unstoppable! Even Midorima couldn't stop him…What a juke that was! There's no way anyone can beat Rakuzan now." The crowd was chattering excitedly as Shutoku's return team brought the ball back to the 25 yard line and the Rakuzan defense was back on the field.

"Oh? You think you can take me?" Akashi smirked as Takao lined up in front of him. Gazing upon the Shutoku formation, Akashi could tell that it was a scissors play. He could tell that much. "Your loss."

Takao's gaze only became more focused as Midorima began to audible. The green haired quarterback faked a snap that no one on the Rakuzan team fell for and immediately afterwards snapped the ball. Takao exploded into a drag route. Akashi cut him off, forcing him to spin around Rakuzan's captain.

Apparently Midorima saw enough of an opening that he threw a dot at Takao. The ball spiraled through the air right into Takao's gloved hands. Not on my watch. Akashi's hands shot out quickly and stripped Takao of the ball before the ball was fully in his hands.

"Pass incomplete! Second down!"

"Next time, I will pick it off." Akashi told Midorima as their teams huddled up. The Shutoku quarterback growled, but said nothing. "Alright, if Shutoku has any weakness, it's their ground game. They don't have a reliable halfback that they can give the ball to. They may the second best offensive line in Japan, but against us that means nothing. Cover 2 zone defense, with 2 deep safeties. Alright, let's get this stop!"

Akashi never really moved around the field and just stayed on the right side. He wouldn't say that he was a lockdown corner, but he was. He hadn't allowed a touchdown from his receiver ever since he began to play defense. And that would not change anytime soon. Especially not against one of the Miracles.

His Emperor eye flashed and he could see what would happen next. An awkwardly high snap from Otsubo. Takao would sprint out in a post route.

"HUT!"

Takao thought he had Reo beat. It would be a free touchdown once again and Shutoku would be up two scores with time on their side.

Akashi Seijuro had other ideas.

Rakuzan's number 24 leapt into the air before Takao could even raise his hands to catch it. The ball was thrown perfectly. High arc. Perfect rotation. Perfect lead. That didn't stop Akashi. The moment the ball was snugly in his grip, Akashi's eyes were on Shutoku's end zone. As soon as his feet touched the ground, Akashi was off, weaving his way through the scrambling Shutoku offense. Out of the corner of his eyes he could see Midorima struggling to catch up to him.

"AKASHI!"

The Unbeatable Red Emperor reached out with his free hand and stopped Midorima in his tracks with a stiff arm. But Midorima broke through that and attempted to drag Akashi down.

"Not today Veteran King. Not today." Akashi whispered as he shook loose and took it all the way to the house. He made eye contact with Midorima Shintaro as he crossed the end zone.

"Sleep now, Veteran King. Sleep."

Do you guys wanna see this turn into a full story?

As to why Akashi and Midorima play both offense and defense? Well, high school teams usually don't have enough players to fully have a separate offense and defense. So sometimes players have to play both offense and defense.