Hello k-chan here and today I came up with a little one-shot that has really no importance to anything other than to make a tribute to one of the most underappreciated characters in ES21.
This is for Habashira Rui, I wish he really was my older brother T-T
Disclaimer: I don't own, just Hebi and any other OC
Warnings: Some curses (mostly Hiruma), *gasps* I really dislike OCs but Rui's under appreciation was bugging me. Write more for Rui!! He needs love!!
Summary: All her life she was the little sister of a loser, but that hardly mattered because he was always, and would always be her football hero.
***
Habashira Hebi (1) watched intently as her two older brothers tossed the football back and forth. It looked like they were having fun, tossing the ball to one another and tackling each other to the ground to try and make the other fumble the ball. They were both laughing their goofy loud laughter that made the window pane vibrate slightly under her fingertips. 'It looks like fun' she sighed longingly wishing she could play.
"Hebi!" her mother snarled causing Hebi to quickly snap her eyes forward. "Pay attention to what I'm telling you!" she scathed as she pulled down the shades, blocking the scene from her view.
The 5-year-old wanted so badly to sweep the books angrily off the table before her and overturn the table on its side yelling angrily at her mom to say she didn't care what elementary school she went to, and that the only reason why her mother wanted her to go to this school was because it would keep Hebi away from her, as quoted by her mother, 'trash brothers'.
Then she wanted to run outside and play with her brothers, play the game they loved, she wanted to cry as she ran into her older brother's arms, which were practically made for hugging, and just cry her heart out while gripping onto his ripped black t-shirt.
But instead she bit her lower lip and turned to face her mother with the mask of a dutiful daughter.
"Yes mother"
***
Like her mother wanted she made it to the elementary school that she Hebi never wanted in the first place.
She hated it with all her heart.
All the other kids were regular rich snobs with sharp pointed noses. Not only were they terribly boring but they were also smarter than her. Her mom had sent her into a school that was way beyond her abilities; she had to work hard just to maintain a C average.
What was worse was that it was far away from where her brothers went to school, so she couldn't even walk home with them.
She sat at her desk afterschool angrily seething, absolutely hating everything her mother was putting her through. She had to stay after school because as usual she had the lowest test grade, which meant the she was on class duty AGAIN!
"Hate this!" She snarled as she angrily swept the floor. She had come to realize that she was developing multiple personality disorder, but she had another name for it, her masks.
Around her mother she automatically wore the mask of a dutiful daughter. Around her classmates, she changed into a mask of cold indifference, but when she was alone she took them all off and let her true feeling be known to whatever inanimate objects were in the room with her.
"I hate this!" She snarled again screaming at the top of her lungs, she was alone now so why should she care what the walls think. "I wanna go home" she sobbed softly as she felt her eyes begin to burn with hot tears. The broom slipped out of her hands and fell to the floor with a loud clatter as she collapsed to the ground, holding her sobbing head in her hands. "I wanna go home…" she whimpered as she tried to stop her sobs.
She was so out of it she didn't hear or see the door slide open, footsteps walking toward her, and the small hands attached to extremely long arms reaching down to pick up the broom from off the floor to commence sweeping. The only time she noticed any of it was when a white trench coat was gently placed on her shoulders causing her to look up at her knight in the shining white trench coat.
"Stupid girl, you kept me waiting" Rui muttered angrily when he noticed her wide eyed teary gaze.
Hebi could have cried again if it wasn't for the fact that she had pretty much cried herself dry and her throat was hoarse from screaming. "You waited?" Currently after her emotional outburst, her mind was rather confused as to why Rui was here when his school was all the way on the other side of Tokyo. There had to be a reason, but currently the tiny people working the control panel of her brain were out to lunch.
Rui finished sweeping and turned to Hebi balancing his intertwined fingers on the tip of the broom handle. "Yes, idiot I waited, I was pacing around outside waiting for you to come out so we could walk home together, seeing as how we live in the same house but neither of us ever talk to one another. So I walked all the way here and waited and waited, even after all the after school sports clubs left. Once they were leaving I got worried that some creep ran off with my little sister so I frantically asked everyone on the sport's teams where you were, they told me you were here, I come in and see you crying. Now fess up and tell me whose ass I'm kicking." (2)
Hebi blinked up at her brother as his speech sunk in, vaguely in the back of her mind she noticed her brother's coat smelled like grass and sun and that the smell was making her feel oddly calm. Rui threw her completely off guard; he didn't give her a chance to put on a mask and it made her feel vulnerable.
"N-no one Rui, I-I was just…" She closed her eyes and became her true self for the first time in front of someone else. "I hate this school, I hate my classmates, I hate myself for being too much of a coward to say how I feel, I hate how far away our schools are, I hate how mother refuses to let me talk to you, but the one thing I hate the most is how I just let her, how I'm an actor playing some role for everyone and never letting myself be me" She felt more hot tears prickle her eyes as she spoke.
She reached up about to wipe them away until she felt a strong arm grab hers and pull her into a hug.
For awhile neither of them said anything, just sobs into her brother's shirt from Hebi and intent silence, with him gently rubbing soothing circles on her quivering back.
Finally he spoke, "Hey now, no more tears it's ok, you are a Habashira, we are a strong warrior race of noble leaders" he smirked when she gazed up at him from her sobbing.
"I'm not" she whimpered slightly as she rubbed her eyes.
Rui sighed, "Yes you are, you are just as strong as Tokage and me. The only way you're strong is when you never give up"
Hebi gazed up confused at her brother. "Huh"
"No matter how hard things get, no matter where you stand or how everyone looks at you, fight and never give up" He smiled as he patted the top of her head, "We Habashiras never give up got that?"
Truthfully, Hebi didn't get it at all, she was actually confused as to how something like that could make you strong, but instead of disappointing her brother she nodded her head and pulled a huge mask of a smile. "Yep, I got it"
"Good" he nodded with a huge grin on his face as he pulled away from his sister's embrace. "Now then let's go home"
A huge grin cracked her mask in half as followed her brother out the door, still wearing his trench coat. "Thank you for waiting"
He gave her a small smile back as he threw an arm over her shoulders, "No problem sis"
She liked how warm and fuzzy his words made her feel.
***
The small eleven year old Hebi, sat on the field as she watched her brothers practice. Tokage and Rui were both in middle school now, so that meant practicing for their middle school team. Hebi took the initiative to go to her brothers' school since it was a little closer and cheer them on.
"Rui! Tokage! Do your best!" She screamed frantically waving from the bench.
They both glanced up and waved back before going back to practice with intense looks on their faces.
'They look like they're having fun' She sighed sadly as she lowered her hand. 'I wish I could play too'
"Hey girl, who said you could come here and disturb our practice" She felt a hand grab her by the back of her collar and lift her into the air.
Hebi frantically kicked out her legs and arms, trying to make the older boy let her go. "Put me down! You meanie!" she snarled swiping at his face that was just out of her reach.
"Oi, you're a small little thing aren't you" He chuckled putting her down and pushing her toward the exit. "Beat it, football ain't for girls like you, it's a man's sport. Why don't you just go home to mommy?"
Hebi glare and did that thing that her brothers taught her whenever a boy was bothering her. "Hah!" She snarled kicking the boy as hard as she could in the 'soft spot'.
The boy crouched over letting out a loud groan. "You little bitch!" He snarled standing up with an angry look on his face.
"EEK!" She squealed quickly bolting onto the field and running toward her brother Rui. "Rui don't let that mean man hurt me!" She put on a mask of fake innocence making her eyes grow to the size of saucers and pathetically gripping onto her brother's long arms.
Tokage reacted instantly the way she wanted, angrily turning to the boy, ready to rip heads off.
Rui on the other hand just smirked flicking her forehead. "You can't fool me you little snake, I know you well enough by now to know you are more than capable of taking care of yourself"
Hebi pouted rubbing her head, "He said 'girls can't play football' and he told me to leave"
Rui smirked again, "He's right girls can't play football" He ruffled her hair. "But you're no girl, you are a baby snake" he chuckled then gave her a serious slightly pissed look, "and I suggest you call off Tokage before I kick your ass. We need that dick, or I suppose dickless, Kenji for a game and it won't do us any good if Tokage sends him to the hospital" He sighed patting her back "If you do that, I promise I'll teach you how to play football and practice with you, sound fair?"
Hebi vigorously nodded out of fear and excitement, before running over to stop her oldest brother from punching Kenji in the face.
She had no idea how her brother was able to see through her mask but it made her ecstatically happy to know that Rui knew her enough to know when she was lying. Rui was the only person to have ever done that, not even her mom could do that.
Yep her brother was the best big brother in the world.
***
"Hey Hebi, we heard a rumor your brother is in jail again"
The small twelve year old just slightly turned her head at the sound of jeers from her classmate, the cold indifferent mask cracking slightly at the mention of her brother. "Which one?" She asked coldly, hoping that if she showed disinterest they would shut up and leave her be before her mask broke off. "They've both been in jail for fighting"
"The one that always comes here, like some filthy loiterer making trouble for the rest of us." He sneered, his small beady eyes zeroing in on his target, hoping to shatter her cold attitude with his words.
Hebi felt herself getting angrier, her heart racing super fast while her mind was screaming to punch that dick in the face. But she kept her cool and her face straight; the only evidence of her being angry at all was the sudden squeeze on her textbook. "He's done nothing wrong; he just waits for me so we can walk home together"
"It's creepy if you ask me, they way he's always standing there waiting like some creepy stalker, I'd be careful if I were you, he might do something…inappropriate to you"
Her anger spiked times a thousand as she glared at him from the corner of her eye. This kid had better shut up.
"But don't worry, I made sure to look out for your well being, I told the principal about Rui, he called your mom, and she assured him that he will never ever be back here disturbing the peace again. Good riddance, yankee trash"
That was the final straw, Hebi felt her mask shatter into a million pieces as she launched forward and slapped the boy so hard he went flying. She was so mad, that she didn't even register the fact that it was homeroom, that there was a teacher and classmates were in the room. She didn't even say anything, she just ran right to the kid she knocked to the ground and kicked him in the stomach.
"Take the back" She whispered softly as she grabbed the kid by the collar and continually punched him in the face. "TAKE IT BACK!" She had on her face such a wildly angry expression that not even the teacher wanted to pull her off of him. It was always the quiet ones the snapped the loudest.
The kid didn't even have a chance to defend himself; he was just stunned by this sudden show of violence.
Eventually the teacher finally pried her off of the boy whose face was an utter mess of scratches and bruises, once she was off the boy then huddled into a sad little ball, later they had to cart him to the hospital.
Hebi on the other hand, sat after school in the principal's office, not regretting in the slightest what she had done until Rui came into the office looking both pissed and disappointed at her.
"You" the principal growled pointing a fat finger at the teenager. "I thought we made it clear that…"
"Relax old man, I'm just here to pick her up" He snarled pointing a thumb at Hebi sitting in the chair. Hebi gulped sinking into her chair and hiding her face behind a magazine. Anything would have been better than this, why couldn't they have sent her mom? She would rather have her yell then to have to deal with that look on Rui's face.
"Then take her and leave, and I hope you and your family realize that I'm expelling your sister from our school."
But Rui didn't say anything, he wasn't even listening. Once the principal said to 'take her and leave' Rui did just that walking over to his sister, roughly grabbing her arm, and dragging her out the door.
"Ow, Rui my arm" She whimpered softly trying to pull her arm out of his vice grip. But he refused to let go, he didn't even respond.
Hebi felt herself starting to get scared when her brother angrily ignored her calling his name. She was beginning to think that he hated her, or that she made him sick. He wouldn't even look at her.
"I'm sorry" She sniffled as she pressed her head against his shoulder. Rui just brushed her off
"Don't talk to me" He growled ultimately breaking the girl's heart, if it wasn't for his strong grip on her arm she would have run away sobbing.
"I'm sorry" She said again, ignoring Rui's command, even if he didn't want her to talk he could still listen. "I'm sorry, but he made me mad. He was saying you were a bad person, and told the principal who called mom. H-he said you were in jail, and other bad things and it made me mad because he said it the way mom does when she calls you trash but you're not trash" she sobbed shaking her head, "Please don't hate me"
Rui was silent before sighing and letting go of her arm "I don't hate you"
Hebi blinked up at her brother, but he still wasn't looking at her.
"Out of the three of us, you were the smartest, and the most talented. You got into good schools, and you were a hard worker. How could you just throw that all away and get yourself expelled?"
Hebi gritted her teeth and glared up at her brother. How could he say that? She hated those schools; she would have done anything to get kicked out. This was actually the first time she had control over something and now he was telling her that it was wrong. "You sound just like mom!" She hissed angrily her mouth just sort of flying away with her. "I thought you would be ok with it, I thought you would be proud that I finally took control over something for once in my life but no, you just give me that disapproving look like you are disappointed in me, and that I'm a failure in life."
"No Hebi that's not what I…" he had a pained look on his face, the kind that ultimately broke her heart but she couldn't stop screaming.
"Shut up Rui!" She screamed as tears started to prick her eyes "You don't talk to me"
"I hate you!"
With that she turned and she ran, not even bothering to look at the damage she had done. She had always defended Rui and now he had to go and give her that disappointed look like she had let him down.
He was the last person she ever wanted to let down. Deep down it hurt to know that she had done just that.
She didn't even know where she was running to, maybe deep down a part of her wanted to be lost. She was just running, making a turn every once in awhile, until she stopped in a random alleyway to cry, curled up in a tight ball.
She absolutely hated herself.
Suddenly the heavens opened up and it started to rain and rain hard. Hebi shivered and curled into a tighter ball hardly caring about getting wet or sick or anything else.
Her mind was just completely blank of all feeling.
In the alley way she saw people passing by her, faceless people, not one of them bothering to look at her.
Surprisingly she found she was ok with that.
"What you're just gonna give up fucking girl?" An angry voice spoke after what must have been an hour.
Blankly she looked up, staring at the most frightening face she had ever seen. It was a blond haired boy with shocking aquamarine eyes that were drilling angry holes into her head. His mouth pulled down into a frown with sharp pointed teeth poking out of his mouth and pointy elf like ears.
"…Am I dead?" She asked, figuring for certain that this boy was the angel of death about to claim her soul and take her to hell.
This just made the boy amused as he knelt down to her eye level. "What if I am?"
Hebi bit her lip and glanced at the ground. "I deserve it. I let him down, I said I hated him even when he said he didn't hate me. What kind of sister am I? I bet he would be happy without me."
This made him cackle, "Yep you certainly do deserve to die, die like the fucking trash you are with not one person caring whether you lived or not. I mean after all what's the point in fighting; fighting is useless when you're trash."
Hebi held back a sob as she buried her face into her knees.
"Keh, at least that would be what that fucking dreadlocks would say, but the truth of the matter is that people who fight are less of trash then people who lie there like a kicked dog and die." He cackled standing up "I could care less about this 'he' you are referring to but if I was 'him' I would be more pissed to see you giving up the second things don't go your fucking way"
"Habashiras never give up"
He was right, and she finally understood. Rui was mad because her getting expelled was almost like giving up. She had given up, and let him down.
She couldn't afford to give up again.
"I…I see now" she muttered standing up "T-thank you Devil-san"
The boy turned looking the girl in the eyes before walking away evilly cackling.
Once he was gone she ran out of the alleyway, she heard someone calling her name so she stopped and turned running towards the sound of that familiar voice.
"RUI!!" she screamed as she ran into a surprised Rui's open arm. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I didn't mean it, and I promise I'll never give up ever again" She sobbed burying her face into her brother's shoulder.
Rui was silent before he reached up and gave her a loose hug. "I'll hold you to that"
She smiled happily as they both took refuge into a nearby store while they waited for the rain to stop.
Rui purchased two towels and gently wrapped one around her shoulders as he began drying her hair with the other.
"So…" Rui said after he finished towel drying her hair, "I heard that you sent that kid to the hospital. Who knew you could be so vicious?"
Hebi laughed "What can I say, I learned from my brothers"
He chuckled as he lightly flicked her forehead "I'm gonna have to make a note to stay on your good side, you can be a frightening, chibi snake"
"Ow" she pouted rubbing her forehead "Meanie, I'm not chibi"
He laughed ruffling her hair. "No matter how vicious you are, you're always gonna be my chibi snake"
"Grr" She snarled trying to tackle him over. "I'll show you"
Rui laughed holding her back with his long arms. "Silly girl, you can't reach me with those small arms of yours"
Hebi pouted again before letting a small smile pull on her face.
At least her brother was happy.
"Hey look the sun's out" Rui commented throwing an arm over his sister's shoulder "Let's head home chi…"
Rui suddenly felt himself tackled to the ground with his little sister's arms wrapped tightly around his torso. "You little sneak" He chuckled
"Rui, you are the best big brother in the world, the very best football player and my hero" She smiled as she got up looking down at him. "When I go to high school I promise I'm gonna be the best football player ever, even better then you, so that I can be a sister you can be proud of." She pointed a finger down at him. "You better watch out because this chibi snake is going to grow up to be a viper"
"That so?" Rui smirked as he got up off the ground and dusted himself off. "It's a promise then, no going back. You just try and be a better player than me, I'll be waiting chibi snake." He ruffled her hair again as he walked away.
Hebi growled and followed after him "That's 'chibi viper' to you!" she called out after him.
"Hey sis I was thinking of getting a bad ass motorcycle what do you think?"
"I would rather you didn't you might get hurt"
"Aw is the chibi snake worried about me"
"That's 'chibi viper'!"
"Heh heh"
***
What happened next could only be described as a nightmare as Hebi and Rui walked through the door to find their mother waiting by the front door with a packed suitcase.
"I heard you got expelled" She sneered, the comment directed at Hebi but the glare turned on Rui.
"Y-yea I did" Hebi said softly staring at the suitcase with a look of horror. She could see a small strip of fabric sticking out that looked like a sleeve from her Frogger pajamas. "A-are we going somewhere? A vacation or something?" she asked squeezing her eyes shut and pray to whatever god was listening that it was not what she thought it was.
Her mother ignored her question. "That's good; it'll make the transition a lot easier."
"Transition?" She opened her eyes and glanced at her Tokage who was barely being held back by their father. She reached over groping blindly for Rui's sleeve; she needed something to hold onto.
"The divorce is now official Hebi, you and I will be moving to America" The woman sneered as she moved in between Rui and Hebi, taking Hebi's searching hand with her, dragging the girl to the car. "I've already packed your things now let's go, I don't want to miss our flight"
Only then did it fully register in Hebi's shocked mind…she was taking her away.
"NO!" She screamed breaking apart her 'dutiful daughter' mask and biting down on the woman's hand hard enough to draw blood.
The woman was so shocked of her daughter's outburst she let go. Hebi quickly ran to Rui's side, hugging tightly onto his torso, absolutely refusing to let go.
"Dad! Please don't let her take me! I don't want to go to America! I wanna stay here with you and Tokage and Rui, I wanna play football with Rui so I can prove I'm a better player than him like I promised! Please don't let her take me!" She sobbed burying her face into Rui's shoulders taking in his scent of grass, sweat, and sun. The scent of football.
"I'm sorry Hebi, but there is nothing I can do" Her father said sadly as he gently tried to pry her off her brother, but she absolutely refused to budge. "Hebi let go, you're only going to make things worse"
"No no no no no no NO!" Hebi angrily screamed shaking her head. "I hate her, I hate her"
"Hebi" Rui soothed lightly petting her head. "It's ok"
"We won't let that woman take you anywhere without a fight" Tokage snarled punching his palm.
"No Tokage…" their father sighed as he began to tug on Hebi, "If you attack that woman she'll see to it that you will get expelled, and never get the chance to play sports again."
"Feh like that scares me, I go to Zokugaku, that's the only school that she can never get me expelled from no matter how much she sleeps with the principal" he growled glaring at said woman as he pulled his sister into a bear hug. "Don't cry chibi snake we won't let them get you"
"Its chibi viper now" Rui muttered softly staring at the ground with a pained look on his face. Why did it seem like he gave up? That couldn't be right, Rui never gave up.
"Look at what you did!" she snarled holding out her bloody bitten hand. "I've tried to raise you to be a respectable young lady and you bite me, like some gangster!?"
"Nice…" Tokage whistled giving his little sister a pat on her head.
"This exactly why I wanted her away from the two of you, you two are nothing but a bad influence. So to get away from them, we're moving to the other side of the world where neither of you can poison her with your violence" She stomped right over to Tokage, uncaring that he was twice her weight and height, and tugged Hebi right out of his grasp, this time grabbing her by her upper arm so she wouldn't bite.
"Let's go, we're already 10 minutes late"
Hebi sobbed and tried to pull herself out of her mother's grasp, but her grip was too strong. "Tokage!" She sobbed as she saw her father holding her oldest brother back with all his strength.
She turned to her other brother who was just staring blankly at her. He looked as if he had died inside.
"RUI!" She screamed and all at once her brother broke out of his daze and angrily charged after her.
"HEBI!"
Hebi watched as body guards came out of the black car and ran to intervene, catching Rui by the shoulders and arms.
"Let me fucking go you ass wipes! That bitch is taking my sister away! Let me the fuck go!" He snarled punching one of the body guards in the face.
"Rui!" She cried again when she saw a body guard punch Rui back, but he still kept fighting.
"Get in the damn car" Their mother hissed lifting Hebi and tossing her roughly in the back seat before slamming the door shut and motioning for the driver to lock the doors and windows.
Hebi quickly sat up and pressed her face to the window. Somehow Tokage got free and was now helping Rui pound the guards into the ground. Rui broke free of the scuffle and ran to the car window cupping his face so that he might get a glimpse of his sister through the tinted window.
"Hebi!" He screamed, though it sounded muffled, he tried opening the door but to no avail. Instead he opted to pound on the window. "Hebi!"
He truly looked sad; she could see clearly the tears rolling down his face even though he couldn't see her.
She was trapped, there really was no way out of this, the least she could do was comfort her brother with a new mask she just came up with called the 'brave face'.
"Rui!" She screamed hoping he could hear her and not see the tears rolling down her face. "I'm not giving up, like I promised, I'll never give up. I'll come back someday as a high school football player and I will find you. I'm gonna be a viper, you'll see, but you have to promise that you will never give up either!" she screamed her voice going hoarse but her mask refused to let her give in. "You told me we Habashiras are strong, please you have to be strong for me and continue to play the game you love, Promise!" She commanded pressing her forehead to the window as her new mask was starting to slip "Please"
"I-I promise!" He screamed back, still pounding on the window. "I'll never give up so long as you come back some day chibi" he sobbed pressing his own forehead to the window. "I'll be waiting for you, like I always do"
"Driver, let's get the hell out of here" Her mother snarled getting into the front passenger seat.
Hebi watched as she felt the car jerk forward and Rui started to follow his hand pressed to the window. He still couldn't see her but he knew that she was still there, this pane of glass separating them.
"Good bye Rui!" She sobbed softly pressing her hand back on the window pane.
Rui didn't say it back, the only reason Hebi did was because that was what her brave face was good for, saying things she was normally afraid to say.
She didn't take her eyes off Rui as he was moving further and further away. Not even when he was nothing more than a speck on the horizon.
'I love you big brother'
***
"Hebi!"
The fifteen year old girl blinked as her teacher called her name.
"What is the answer?" He teacher grinned evilly happy to have caught the girl not paying attention.
"42." (3) She answered coldly as she turned her head to stare back out the window.
"Humph, that's right"
Hebi rolled her eyes, American schools were much easier then Japanese schools, that was really the only plus, and they had tons of breaks.
"Hebi-chan, are you excited for February break?" her Japanese obsessed self-proclaimed buddy Kerry cheered giving Hebi a huge 'glomp' hug.
"not really" she said trying to pry the girl off, Hebi found it rather difficult to keep on her mask of indifference around the girl. It was her heart's way of telling her she was lonely and actually enjoyed the peppy girl's company.
"What's wrong?" Kerry asked looking into the girl's eyes.
See what we mean.
"Nothing, it's just I'm still having a hard time understanding this whole 'American break' thing. We never had this many in Japan"
"Really, uh gosh how did you survive?"
"I managed" She sighed opening a book.
"You have football practice afterschool?"
"Yep"
It took quite a lot but Hebi had managed to keep her promise to her brother and trained to be a good football player. At first the coach was hesitant about letting her play, but when he saw the determination in her eyes and how hard she practiced, he figured he'd give her a chance, and she's never let him down since.
She was a quarterback now, been one since middle school. Being a girl she knew scare tactics were necessary if she ever wanted to stand a chance so she got herself colored contacts that looked like yellow snake eyes, and permanent teeth inserts, inspired by Devil-san, to look like fangs.
Her teammates aptly named her 'the Viper' for her cold clever strategies, her viper strike pass and her fearsome appearance of a poisonous snake.
Her mother didn't even know what was going on. She was constantly trying to maintain her frivolous lifestyle with only one salary coming in and occasional checks coming in from her divorced senator husband. All she knew was that her daughter was bringing home A's and acted like the dutiful daughters she always wanted.
Hebi found it rather ironic that she was acting even more rebellious once her mother moved here than she ever was when they were home in Japan.
"You know me, I'll be cheering you on, Viper" Kerry grinned as they both walked to the fields. "God that's so cool that you have your own code name on the team."
Hebi couldn't help but smile, "I worked hard for that name; it's the one I've always wanted before I came here"
"Wow…you are so cool, like Eyeshield 21"
"I've heard of him" She mumbled adjusting her pack. She remembered watching the NASA Aliens game with the rest of her team with excited tension. She could see her brother Tokage cheering for the devil bats but she couldn't find Rui anywhere in the crowd.
When they got close to the locker room, the two girls heard a bunch of oohs and ahhs coming from inside.
"What's going on" Kerry asked as Hebi stepped forward and slammed open the door.
"Heeey Viper, you can't just barge in here while we're changing! You're a girl with pure virgin eyes!" One of her teammates screamed covering his bare torso with his arms.
"Tch, please I have two brothers. It's nothing I haven't seen before" She rolled her eyes. "What's with all the commotion?"
"Well you see, Harvey got tickets to see the Japan vs. America youth cup tournament this weekend." Another one of her teammates stated hardly surprised by the girl's sudden appearance. She was like this with everything.
"I'm so pumped" Harvey cheered pounding his fist into the air. "This game is going to be huge, a first look at what pro football world is like, and I was the lucky 100th caller. The only problem is I have two tickets and I am only one person" He smirked, "You may now commence with the ass kissing and the retribution" he rubbed his thumb against the tips of his fingers signifying what kind of 'retribution' he wanted.
Instantly the team jumped up begging to go and emptying their pockets.
"Let me go" Hebi stated calmly her voice silencing the rest of the team. "It's my home country playing, I have to go" she reached into her pocket pulling out her wallet. "I won't beg to go, but I will pay you for your ticket, how much?"
Harvey sighed through his nose and handed her the ticket. "Not one cent Viper, I was only teasing" he chuckled closing her fingers around her hand. "The way I figure it, we all agree that you deserve the ticket after all you've done for us. And don't think I haven't noticed that you were looking for someone during the Aliens' game in Japan, you should know your mask doesn't fool me"
Hebi almost felt like crying. Why did this American boy have to remind her so much of her brother she left back home…even their positions was the same?
"Thank you" She said softly clutching the ticket. It almost made her feel bad that she was going to leave them during February break. She was going to miss her teammates, even the peppy girl Kerry, but she had made her promise and she wasn't giving up.
Ever.
***
While she was at the sports store on her way home, she purchased a football magazine that showed the line up and stats of both the American team and the Japanese All-Star team.
"Hey if it isn't the Viper" The man behind the counter chuckled in his New York accent.
Hebi smirked this was the thing about being a regular customer, everyone knew your business. "Hey Chief, I managed to get a ticket to the game."
The man gave a low whistle. "That's great, it's your country playing, ain't that right?"
"Yes sir" She smiled leaning her back against the counter and flipping through the magazine.
"Damn shame" he grinned sitting his elbows on the counter with his chin on his intertwined fingers. "I would hate to see your heart break when America wipes the floor with them"
Hebi closed the magazine with an annoyed expression on her face. "Excuse me but you're a bit confused, it Japan that's going to win, because they have all the better players" She smiled as she thought of her brother. 'at least I hope he made it'
***
Hebi walked home reading the magazine as she went, swiftly navigating around the busy streets of New York.
She scanned though the list of players and their stats, figuring her chances of them beating America when she spotted a familiar face "Ah, it's Devil-san!" She noticed when she spotted the blond haired quarterback. 'He's a quarterback too, awesome' she smiled 'Thank you for inspiring me Devil-san…no Hiruma.'
She continued to scroll through the list seeing familiar faces, such as eyeshield 21, Kurita, and Monta from the Aliens' game. But no Rui in the linebacker slot, only these scary looking guys she didn't know.
'Rui…' she angrily flipped the page looking at the replacement teams, still no Rui. She glared at the page like she had the intention of lighting it on fire with her heat ray vision. She then very calmly rolled the magazine into a tube before spiking with all her strength into the nearest trash receptacle like she would if it were a football.
"Are you fucking kidding me" She hissed at the magazine as if it was its fault Rui wasn't there on the team. "Rui should be fucking there, not some pussy with dreadlocks (4)!" she snarled successfully scaring all those around her "Fuuuck!" She hissed glaring at the magazine in the basket. "You fucking promised you wouldn't give up, and you didn't even make the fucking replacements, you asshole" She sniffled rubbing her eyes dry. "You liar…"
She walked away from the wastebasket still muttering curses under her breath until out of nowhere a man covered in bandages zipped in front of her, successfully stopping the girl in her tracks.
"Um…can I help you?" She asked carefully taking a few steps back. True she had seen people dressed even crazier in New York, Kerry being one of them (5). But this guy was really tall, strong-looking and frightening; she had to be careful around these kinds of whack jobs.
The mummy man said nothing. He held in his hand the rolled magazine she just threw out, and held it out to her, signifying she should take it.
"Uh…no thanks I don't want it but thank you anyway" she chuckled lightly as she took another two steps back before turning around. She would just have to take a detour home it would seem.
The mummy man zipped in front of her again, holding out the magazine to her insistently, but still not talking.
Hebi glared, "Don't you understand? I said no thank you." she huffed turning around again prepared to make a break for it until the man zipped in front of her again.
Hebi hopped back getting into a defensive fighting stance. "Look buddy, I don't want any trouble, but if you don't leave me alone then I'm prepared to defend myself"
The man huffed before opening the magazine that showed the replacement players for Japan and pointed to a picture of a man wrapped in bandages with stats.
"Oh…" She blinked walking over to take the magazine. "So you don't understand English?" she asked in clear cut Japanese, the man nodded.
"Ok, then let me tell you in a way you'll understand" She smiled sweetly, putting on her feigned innocent mask of butterflies and rainbows, as she closed the magazine and rolled it up again into a tube.
Her expression suddenly turned to one of vicious anger making the mummy man jump back in alarm as she spiked the crumpled magazine back into the waste basket. "I. DON'T. WANT. IT." She hissed dangerously saying each syllable as if it were venom on her tongue. They didn't call her Viper for nothing.
She then turned and walked away, this time the man not bothering to bolt in front of her.
She spared the man a glance over her shoulder to see if he would take the magazine out of the wastebasket again, which he did. Suddenly she stopped in her tracks, before turning to face the man full on.
The wastebasket, she now noticed, was completely empty and really tall. So tall in fact that a normal person would have to really stretch to even come close to touching the bottom of the basket. But the mummy man did it effortlessly, bending only slightly over the basket and reaching down with abnormally long bandaged arms to pick up the magazine.
He then stood up straight and turned to the girl now staring at him with a combined look of understanding, shock, and joyful tears. The sides of his face slightly upturned in what must have been a sheepish smile as he held out the magazine to her again.
"Rui…"
Quickly the mummy man dropped the magazine and took off, leaving a confused Hebi in his wake.
'Eh…' Was she wrong? No, that was definitely Rui…then why didn't he say something, like hello, or even a hug. She missed Rui's hugs. More importantly, why was he dressed like a mummy? Maybe he didn't want to be found out, by mother? His team? who knows? She smiled as she picked up the magazine he left behind, dusting it off before placing the abused magazine under her arm.
Either way her brother was there, so maybe she would get to see him play. That was good enough for her.
That and the fact she would be right there to cheer him on.
***
Game day
"These seats suck" Hebi snarled at poor Harvey who was just sitting calmly drinking his soda.
"I never claimed they were fabulous, I just said I won them on a radio station that usually means they suck. Be grateful we're even here"
"I am, you have no idea" she grinned childishly showing off her frightening viper fangs, "Just imagine all the people I would have had to frighten to get here"
"You frighten me sometimes. Is your bro here?"
"Yep" she pointed to the man wearing the bandages. "I don't think he knows I'm watching though, I want to surprise him"
"Vipes…" Harvey sighed taking another sip of his soda, "A person can change a lot in three years, I mean just look how you changed. Your brother might not be the same as you last remembered"
"I don't care" But deep down that made her sad, did her brother even remember their promise? Did he forget her?
She glared clenching and unclenching her fist. 'Of course he didn't, he's my brother, and even if he did I'll still cheer him on like I have nothing to lose. Please do your best'
It was a long while before her brother was put in. The linebacker Shin got himself injured and had to sit out. Rui was the replacement,
He took off his bandages, revealing to all his face. The face she hadn't seen in three years being placed on the big screen. He did look different, way different then she could ever imagine. He had a hard look on his face, none of the loving kindness she remembered. His hair was slicked back made to look like a mafia boss. Not only that, he was taller, more powerfully built, his eyes were cold and determined.
She gasped using her hands as a shield over her heart. Harvey gave a gentle chuckle, "See what I mean, he scared you didn't he? I bet you that you scared him just as much, maybe even more. To see someone you care about change so drastically, it can be shocking. That's probably why he ran away. He knew that you weren't ready for the new 'him' and he was ashamed. But give him time" he very gently pushed her out of her seat, "And your loving support and I'm sure he'll be ready to see you"
Hebi smiled a small smile before turning to Harvey and giving him a hug. "You tell anyone about this moment and I'll kill you in your sleep"
"Wouldn't dream of it Vipes." He laughed lightly hugging her back. "Gonna miss you when you go back to Japan"
Hebi quickly let go her mouth opening and closing like a gaping fish. "How did you…?"
"It doesn't take a genius to know where your heart is. I've really tried, but your smile is pretty half assed. I'm not the only one who's noticed, so has Coach and Kerry"
"Kerry too" Hebi sniffed, "Why didn't she say anything?"
"Because she loves you dearly, and knows, in your own way, you love her too. But don't stop now, get down there, your brother is sucking pretty badly now and is in desperate need of some support. Don't give up now. Or I'm gonna be so pissed"
Hebi sniffled and gave her teammate one final hug. Before turning around and pounding down the steps to get as close to the field as possible.
"Shin's replacement sucks"
"What a joke"
"What a disgrace"
'Shut up, shut up, shut up' she snarled in her head continuing to storm down the steps successfully shoving people away from her path with her glare that could kill and her strong well toned arms.
"Rui!" She shouted once she got to the banister that prevented her from going any further unless she wanted to get kicked out or severely injured.
It was so loud around her that her brother couldn't even hear her calling. She noticed Devil-san's ears twitch slightly from the bench as he turned his head slightly to look back at her, his eyes saying it all.
'is that all you've got fucking snake?'
'No it certainly is not' She glared back as she took in a deep breath and screamed again, this time a little louder.
"Come on Rui!!" she screamed, this time more of the people on the bench turned to Hebi with a surprised look on their faces as well as some people from the crowd behind her but still Rui could not hear her and Devil-san had that same look on his face.
She huffed angrily as she watched her brother get knocked down again. It was shameful, seeing him getting beaten around, to see him desperately cling onto his opponents' legs like he had nothing to lose anymore.
It was embarrassing and yet why did Hebi feel so proud? Why was she still looking at him as the best football player in the world even as others were beating him to the ground?
He was making a fool of himself, and yet he was still her hero, still the same amazing brother she remembered, in fact he seemed even more amazing to her then he had ever been.
His opponents saw him as weak, this crowd saw him as weak, even the world saw him as weak, but she didn't, not one bit. Rui would always be her hero, no matter how he played in a game.
She smirked as she took in a huge breath, right now she was Rui's only fan. Rui may not have as many fans as Eyeshield, or Clifford but the one he did have was prepared to shamelessly show the world where she stood just like her brother was doing.
This was it; she had to put everything into this scream. Her dying breath, just so her brother would look her way. Here goes nothing, 'I have nothing to lose'
"RUI!!!!! DON'T GIVE UP OR I'M GONNA FUCKING KILL YOU!!!!" She screamed in one breath, feeling faint from lack of oxygen. She held that 'Rui' for a good half minute.
It suddenly got eerily quiet, as everyone around her and on her side of the stadium turned to stare at the girl. Hebi suddenly felt self-conscious. 'Why are they are staring at me?' she thought as she glanced at the big screen. Sure enough, much to her combined horror and shock, she was the main feature on the screen.
"Seems we have a Rui fan with quite the lung capacity" the announcer chuckled.
Hebi blushed; well at least she knew he couldn't ignore her now. How can you ignore a girl on a ten-foot screen?
She gazed back on the field and sure enough, there was her brother, staring up at the screen before he began looking around frantically, for her she guessed. Devil-san chuckled rubbing his ear with his pinky. "Good job fucking Viper" he muttered as he waved Rui's attention and pointed a thumb at Hebi.
Hebi grinned before turning and giving her brother the wave she always gave at his practices. She couldn't see clearly but she knew Rui was smiling as he waved back.
***
After the game, Hebi jumped the banister and bolted right into her brother's arms. "Rui!" she cried ignoring the sudden shot of pain that hit her ankle.
Rui smiled and effortlessly lifted the girl in the air, burying his face into her hair. "Thank you for being here" he sighed taking in her new scent. She smelled like football now too. "Sorry I sucked"
Hebi shook her head as she took a step back from her brother, taking his head between her hands and gently tilting his head from the left to right, gazing at his green gold eyes. "God you look so cool, like a gang leader in a movie"
"Heh, you changed way more then I did. What's with those fangs? Lose a bet?" he smirked.
Hebi laughed, "Part of my new look, they call me the Viper here" She smirked showing off her teeth.
"You're still a chibi snake to me you know?"
Hebi laughed, she remembered when she had hated that nickname, but with everyone calling her Viper here, she had missed that nickname.
"Kekeke Well isn't this touching"
Hebi spun around to look at Devil-san who was flipping through a black notebook.
"Yokumoru Hebi, formerly known as Habashira Hebi, Nickname: the Viper, Age: 15, 40 yard dash: 4.5 seconds, bench press: 30 kg, position: quarterback, Jersey number: 9" He cackled as he read the information out loud.
Hebi frowned looking rather annoyed at having her stats read out loud. "Yea what of it?"
Hiruma looked up with an evil grin. "How would you like to join the Devil Bats when you get into high school? My source tells me your leaving America to play football in Japan, I think the Devil Bats would be perfect for you"
Hebi glanced at Rui who gave her a saddened but proud smile. "You do whatever you want, don't let me talk you out of anything"
Hebi could not stop the childish grin forming on her face as she turned to Hiruma "In that case, fuck off Hiruma, I'm joining the Zokugaku Snakes"
***
It makes me sad reading this, because I know it'll never happen. Poor Rui doesn't have an awesome sister who plays football
And for the record those stats are real, I take track so I've gotten pretty fast (not as fast as Sena but still). Pathetically, I really can't lift over 30 kg which is about 66 lbs.
I figured I shouldn't mention who I think will win the American vs. Japan game because let's face it; it could really go either way at this point. Go Japan mostly because I dislike Don and I love everyone on the Japan team, yes even Agon.
Holy Crap 20 pages!!
Some notes:
1) it means snake for anyone who didn't know. I already knew there was a character named Hebii on Zokugaku but I doubt anyone really knows or cares.
2) *Gasp* eight year old Rui has such a potty mouth. Tsk tsk
3) Coincidence? This authoress thinks not. I love it!
4) Give her a break she's been away from Japan for three years the girl doesn't know any better
5) Fear the cosplaying fan girl. We make hobos feel better about themselves