AN: Not another chapter :( Just went back and edited this because my grammar mistakes were causing me gray hairs.
"E-eh?" Sena asked from underneath the the heavy linebacker, eyes widening as he felt a whirling feeling beneath his skin. And then, overriding the pain of the spear tackle that had crushed him to the ground, Sena felt a deep calm settling into him, soothing and cool.
Shin also looked confused as he stared down at his right wrist, moving his glove to the side. His eyes widened minutely when he read the name Sena Kobayakawa tattooed in small, neat kanji on the inside of his wrist. Surrounding the name was a dark geometric pattern, a small cloud of spindly lines that connected and spun into themselves. The mark in its entirety was no bigger than his thumb. Shin furrowed his brows.
Huh, he had found his soulmate. Below him, number twenty-one, Sena, was looking at his left wrist where, no doubt, Shin's name had been marked and surrounded by the same pattern.
Sena murmured something, sitting up a bit. Shin felt a swell of possessiveness spike through him sharply.
Shin reached down, with every intention to take off the eyeshield and helmet, to see Sena's expression, to kiss his soulmate. It was beyond reason and logic since they hadn't even really met, hadn't introduced themselves, but Shin found himself following his instincts. He took his own helmet off and almost smirked as Sena gasped the slightest bit underneath him. There were various other sounds, but Shin didn't register them. He'd always had a one track mind, and this was no different, so he heard the sounds and let them slip through his mind. Sena pressed his small hands against Shin's ribs hesitantly, and the tinny murmur of the crowd grew louder but remained distant to the pair.
However, the peaceful atmosphere was not shared by everyone:
"Referee timeout!"
"Eh, what's going on, Hiruma-?"
"-fucking fatty shut up and-"
"Shin what are you doing-?"
"-fucking reveal our trump card-"
"Otawara go stop that bastard-"
"-oni jealous that he got to find his-!"
"The fuck? What's that trash-?"
"-fucker fucking-"
"C-could it be, that Eyeshield 21 and Oujo's Shin have-?"
"Oi, you damn linebacker, get off the twerp." That was Deimon's number one, who's expletives had grown progressively louder as he neared them, glowering above the soulmates. Shin retracted slightly, but was pleased when Sena followed him up, fingertips plucking at his shirt, and stayed close. Hiruma looked ready to maim.
"Fucking stop doing that, you clingy little shit," Hiruma said, and yanked Sena up and beside him. Sena offered Shin a hand to get up, which was completely unnecessary, but also completely necessary. Hiruma cracked his neck. "We need to finish this match and then, and only then, you two can go make out and shit."
"R-right, I just-" Shin's mouth watered at the soft voice Sena possessed.
"Met your soulmate I fucking know, please, I'm trying to keep my lunch down." Another sharp glare towards Shin. "And you. You better keep his identity a secret."
Shin thought for a moment; he didn't want the demonic quarterback to pester him or Sena so he nodded, curtly, once. "I'll do what I can."
Hiruma gave a disbelieving cackle, caught by surprise for possibly the first time in his life. "Yeah, yeah. Come on twerp, you gotta show your fucking lover over here who really owns this field." With that, Hiruma walked off, a small black notebook in his hand as he scribbled something down.
That didn't go as bad as he had expected.
He looked back at Sena, and a feeling of warmth seeped from the base of his feet to the tips of his fingers.
"Seijuro-" Sena's breath stuttered out, and Shin would have done a lot of things to see what the rest of Sena's face looked like- "I mean, I mean Shin-san!" His voice was colored in mortification and embarrassment and Shin smiled which only intensified Sena's sputtering.
"Seijuro is more than fine, Sena," Shin said just loud enough for Sena to hear; Sena audibly swallowed.
Distantly, he heard Sakuraba say, "Did Shin just drop a line at Eyeshield?"
To which Takami responded, "Who knew Shin could be suave?"
And as Shin and Sena parted across the field, they heard the news reporter titter: "Oh, star-crossed lovers, just like Romeo and Juliet! What are the chances, even?"
A man next to her replied: "Almost one in a million."
"How beautiful, to see such a thing among such handsome young men. Football really is interesting after all! What doesn't it have!"
Later when Shin's fingers couldn't even grasp Sena's small form, as the running back darted out of his reach and scored down an incredibly brilliant touchdown, Shin knew that it had to be love.
"I'll run back to the hospital," Shin said as he lingered after Deimon's and Oujo's match.
"Don't do anything that will embarrass the name of Oujo any further," his coach said, writing down the address of where Sakuraba would be. He narrowed his eyes before herding the rest of the team back onto the bus.
Shin nodded, and walked towards the back of the school to meet Sena. He really was small and thin, almost delicate, but he was still standing despite the numerous spear tackles Shin had subjected him to. Shin bit the inside of his cheek as guilt swirled in his gut.
Sena turned around, and Shin's gray eyes met glassy doe eyes, sparkling at the sight of Shin. There was an itch under Shin's skin at the sight, and he smiled as he reached out to thread their fingers together. They fit perfectly.
"Don't you dare fucking kiss in front of me, you dumbasses." Ah. Hiruma really was the devil.
"Hie- H-Hiruma-san," Sena said, cowering very slightly against Shin.
"Hiruma," Shin said, just the slightest bit annoyed.
"I'm here to set some fucking ground rules because losing the element of surprise is not part of my plan." He unwrapped a stick of gum and started chewing it. "Number one, you gotta keep those damn marks out of view. No one can see the names even if you die." As if to emphasize, he adjust the semi-automatic on his shoulder. "Rule number two, if you go out in public on a date or some shit," Hiruma looked physically pained at the thought, "you need at least another person so no one gets suspicious. And three, absolutely no fucking from three days prior to a game." Hiruma glared pointedly at Shin.
Sena covered his face with his hands at the mere thought, the tips of his ears pink. "Hiruma-san, please d-don't say things like that so l-loud."
"Understood," Shin said, amusement at the corners of his mouth.
Hiruma assessed Shin with a calculating look. The blonde quirked a brow, but seemed to more or less approve.
"Fucking great." Almost as an afterthought, Hiruma added, "Mazel tov," and walked away. Once he was out of ear shot (or as close as one could be out of a demon's ear shot), Shin pulled out two wristbands from his backpack, Oujo's emblem embroidered in thick white stitching on the navy blue material.
He handed them to Sena, who put them on, emblem side down on. Shin, because they were soulmates, understood perfectly, and felt his face heat at the thought of Sena's pulse kissing his name, his wristband.
"Hello Sena," Shin said, voice thick, greeting his soulmate for the first time.
"Hello, Seijuro," Sena answered shyly as he reached out for Shin's hand. "Thank you for..."
"You're welcome."
Shin felt very confident (having been blessed by the devil himself being a pretty good sign); so he finally, finally, leaned down and pressed his mouth against Sena's full lips.