Title: Armistice
Disclaimer: I do not own Eyeshield 21, but I worship the ground that Riichiro Inagaki and Yusuke Murata walk on
Demons never ask God for favors.
Not until the very end; when all was just about said and done. But in this moment, as he kneeled there holding the pig-skinned oblong ball in place with his long cold fingers, he prayed. Not for God to give his team members added strength; they had already achieved a resolute force of will that would be able to crush any emperor's advancing army. Not for the ball to go through the goal posts; that was a foregone conclusion from the moment he crowned the 60 Yard Magnum. After a life of being abandoned and feared, the blond haired man closed his unholy green eyes, and prayed that the rest of his life would always be like this: with her close by, on the sidelines, watching and waiting for him.
Angels never made pledges to the Devil.
It would not be until some years later when the auburn haired girl's fate would be sealed with a ring and a kiss, but she will always remember that day. It was the moment when she saw more in the brief pause of a fearless leader than anyone else around him; the moment when she witnessed the impossible. Not a team coming back from such insurmountable odds to triumph over the greatest of opponents. Not the brilliant arc of a ball kicked through a golden goal. For a split second, she saw a demon reveal his mortality; humble and pure on a gridiron battlefield. It was in that moment that her spirit signed the contract forever binding her to his side, and she silently willed him to carry on towards victory.
Both Heaven and Hell called a ceasefire for that day.