Pairing: HirumaxSena
Warnings: Mild shounen-ai and also some cursing on Hiruma's part. (I don't usually curse and it hurt me inside every time I wrote a curse word ;w; so I think you'll be able to bear with it). Also, SPOILERS: this is based on the anime Eyesheld 21, and if you haven't watched the whole thing, STOP RIGHT NOW!
Claimer: Yes! I own Eyeshield 31! ...Which would make some guy named Bud Walker a running back...but anyways, sadly I don't own Eyeshield 21.
A/N: To my fellow American people, Happy 4th of July! Of course I didn't write this for that, I just fell in love with Hiruma and Sena while watching the anime and whenever I do that I feel obligated to write something as a tribute. So here we are! Originally meant as a oneshot, but it became too long for that. Please no flaming, because everyone knows what starts with 'f' and ends with 'uck'...that's right! Firetruck! Anyways, enjoy. ^^
EDIT 7/6/12: I read it over and revised a bunch of grammar mistakes...sorry that I couldn't catch them earlier T_T. And thank you so much for the reviews (2, and 2 favorites too XD)! I'm so happy I could cry ;^;. It probably isn't much to the FanFiction geniuses around here, but I'm so grateful to you guys (even if you're anonymous and I can't really tell who you are...)
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A soft, golden ray of sunshine spilled across a mess of brown hair. The bustle of morning activity filled the outside air as birds greeted each other and smooth, pale green leaves rustled in the wind, all but oblivious to the sleeping brunette snuggled up in his sanctuary. His sleeping form rose and fell rhythmically, exhausted from the previous day's intense yet triumphant battle against one of the best teams in Japan, the Ojo White Knights. Unfortunately, even his beloved American football could not stop life from going on, the obnoxiously loud alarm clock signaling this as a fact for its owner to wake up from his fantasies.
"Ngh…" The boy turned over on his side in an attempt to block out the blaring before finally rubbing his eyes sleepily and sitting up with a yawn and a long stretch. However, the sudden stress on his already sore muscles caused a groan to escape.
"Sena!" A voice called from downstairs. "Sena, hurry up! Just because Mamori-chan isn't going to wait for you anymore doesn't mean you can slack off," his mother scolded fussily.
Fifteen-year old Sena Kobayakawa slid out of his bed, still groggy and half-asleep. He stood as if to make for his bathroom door, but a bright burst of pain erupted from his right knee in doing so.
"Ugh!"
Sena fell to the floor fully awake now, his arms cupping the injured knee, which had swollen considerably since the last time he'd seen it. His mind was swirling in a torrent of overwhelming pain, tears beginning to form at the corner of his eyes. It's been a day since the game against Ojo…it should've healed already, he thought amidst the dizziness and nausea he felt from the injury. He tried standing again, but when he placed too much weight on his right knee again, it buckled from below him and he tumbled once more to the floor. The noise did not go unnoticed by his mother.
"Sena? What is going on up there? Is something wrong?" A trace of concern could be heard.
"Ah- um, it's nothing, I just dropped my schoolbooks when I was trying to put them in my bag," Sena replied guiltily. "Silly me. I'll be down in a sec." Taking note of his past two mistakes, Sena half-limped half-dragged himself along the wall to the bathroom, where he immediately sank to the floor, panting. Bracing himself, he took a closer inspection at his knee.
The area around his kneecap had swollen to a purplish-blue that made Sena feel sick to his stomach as he kept staring at it in disbelief. It had become twice the size of his left one and wobbled when he tried to walk. Slowly standing and leaning on his left leg, Sena opened the medicine cabinet and grabbed a roll of bandages. "Guess it can't be helped," he said absent-mindedly to himself. After all, I was up against Tokyo's number one linebacker, Shin-san. There's no way I'd escape without at least this minor injury. As he wrapped the tender knee in bandages, the previous day's events came back to him in a rush of memories. It was still hard to believe that they'd won- that the Deimon Devil Bats (who'd lost their first game against Ojo 99-0, not in their favor) had won. They may have had Shin-san, but we had Hiruma-san, Monta, and the rest of the Devil Bats on our side. He couldn't wait to see them today.
Sena allowed himself a small victorious smile before he put up the rest of the bandages and tested his newly wrapped leg. "Urk-!" Sena winced, as the hellish pain hadn't left. But at least the wobbling had, thankfully. Hopefully none of his teammates would notice during today's afternoon practice. And then I can get Mom to take me to the doctor before the tomorrow's practice, Sena thought to himself. The hardest part would be keeping it from the Commander from Hell, who saw through everything. His blood ran cold at the thought of his evil captain cackling and firing bullets every which way.
Quickly finishing up his business upstairs, Sena grabbed his schoolbag before limping down the stairs and out the door, a sandwich in his mouth. He was on the verge of being late, again. I spent too much time taking care of my knee, Sena cursed. It didn't help that his speed was hindered by the nuisance.
He rounded the corner and dashed into his first period classroom just as the tardy bell tolled. Collapsing into his seat, Sena was once again aware of the blazing fire of pain that took over his knee. It was going to be a long, long day.
Somehow, by a miracle, he managed to make it through the rest of his classes without passing out. That was good. Perhaps his luck would even hold out through practice. Either way, Sena would find out now as he trudged to the American Football Club's very own clubhouse, equipped with a flashy sign that read "Deimon Devil Bats." He pulled the door open, slightly wary of who was already inside. I'm not late again, am I?
"Sena!" Monta came running at max-speed at him before draping an arm around his shoulder. "I was just about to get you!" He grinned. "There's no way we can celebrate without you."
"Ah, Monta," Sena said, relieved. "What's up?"
"Ya~" Suzuna skated her way towards them. "We were thinking that since You-nii isn't here yet, we might as well gather everyone around the table and celebrate our victory against Ojo." At this she clasped her hands together and beamed at him proudly. "After all, you guys deserve it."
"I guess," Sena smiled back sheepishly. "Though it's odd that Hiruma-san isn't here yet." He paused for a moment, a feeling of dread washing over him. "I hope he's not planning another surprise…" Sena trailed off into silence as a collective shudder went through the members of the room, effectively spoiling any festive mood they had earlier.
"A-a-anyways," Jumonji coughed.
"Mou, he always gripes to us to be here on time, and now he's the last one to get here!" Mamori fumed, waving her clipboard around in irritation. "I wish he'd just-"
"You wish I'd what, Manajerk?"
The group huddled together in fright as Hiruma kicked the door down, firing bullets in every direction and laughing maniacally. "Get to practice, ladies! I'm going to time you all on your 40-yard dash, so there better be some improvement!" A sinister glint in his eye got everyone moving, even the previously stubborn Mamori.
"B-but Hiruma-senpai, we just-" Monta tried to cut in.
Hiruma turned to face the receiver, towering over him whilst raising an eyebrow. "Eh? I don't seem to have heard you right. Did you ask for 100 extra laps? Well alright then." Then he stalked off, the large metallic gun in his arms in plain view. Needless to say, Monta joined the others outside on the field without another word.
"Argh! Frustrated-MAX!" Monta complained to Sena, joining him on his stretches. Sena didn't dare stretch his right leg for fear that doing so would cause the dull throbbing to blossom into a more audible one, which would be hard to overcome when Hiruma-san timed them.
Well, when someone else did, because that was obviously what the tone of his voice implied.
"Alright, line up!"
The team assembled themselves together in a line, with Sena second to last. He didn't have the courage to face Hiruma's wrath over his undeniably poor results. He began fidgeting nervously, bending down to gently massage his knee. Ouch…
"Ah-ha-ha! Leave it to me~" Taki lifted his leg in a 180-degree angle and began twirling idiotically. He, of course, had made it to the front of the line.
"JUST GO ALREADY!" The Ha-Ha Brothers shouted in unison.
"Idiot brother," Suzuna grumbled, embarrassed.
Taki took off, combining his long strides with a fast, trained pace. He reached the white line easily. Mamori glanced at her stopwatch and declared, "5.01 seconds." Even Hiruma couldn't object at that.
"Ah-ha-ha! My best time~" Taki flashed a sparking grin.
The others managed to do considerably better as well. Kurita shaved off 0.01 seconds off his time, evoking a burst of applause from Komusubi to his 'master.' Oh no…if everyone does well then my terrible time will stand out, Sena thought miserably as he moved up farther towards the front. Suddenly, he felt a hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry, Sena," Monta reassured, giving him a thumbs-up. "You'll do fine-MAX! After all, I'm Deimon's catching ace, but you're our running ace!" He patted Sena's shoulder.
Sena felt slightly comforted at this. "Thanks Monta," he smiled gratefully. That's right. I definitely can't let anyone worry about me when our game against the Hakushuu Dinosaurs is coming up. I have to pull it off. We will make it to the Christmas Bowl!
It was Sena's turn now. Crouching down low and putting his left knee behind him as a boost, Sena took off, running as fast as he could. Immediately, his right knee started screaming at him, protesting violently as it tried to get him to stop. However, Sena wouldn't let this slow him down. He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth to bear the pain, feeling the rusty taste of blood enter his mouth as he accidentally bit his cheek. My knee...it's throwing me off balance, Sena realized. He tried to accelerate as far as he could without his leg buckling below him to make up for it. Each second felt like an eternity, and it tortured him to keep moving, but he had to. For his sake. For the Devil Bats.
Sena didn't register when he passed the white line, his mind was in such a whirling haze. He could barely even hear the words Mamori spoke as she stated, "4.6 seconds." He fell to the ground ungracefully, panting heavily and desperately driving off the tears that longed to fall.
"Sena, are you okay?" Monta crouched before Sena, lending him a hand to help him up, which Sena accepted. His head was clearing up enough for him to notice that the pain in his right knee had reached its climax. No amount of bandages could support it now. He stood, leaning a bit more than normal on Monta as he tried to regain control of his footing.
4.6 seconds…was it enough?
It wasn't.
"Oi, damn chibi. Get over here." Hiruma managed to shout in a level voice. His eyes were hidden by shadows, so Sena couldn't tell exactly how mad Hiruma was at him. But just by his tone, he was able to tell that Hiruma was furious. Sena swallowed once and obeyed his orders.
"U-um…what is it, Hiruma-san?" He averted his eyes knowingly. My luck just never seems to hold out around him…
"Don't 'what is it, Hiruma-san' me! What was that shitty time you got?" Hiruma growled, mimicking Sena's meek tone. "You just don't seem to understand, do you? Just because we beat Ojo yesterday doesn't mean we have room to slack off!" He was glaring daggers at the smaller running back.
"I-I-I didn't mean to, I just-" Sena started trembling despite his attempts to be brave.
Hiruma jabbed a finger into his face. "Look at me when you talk, damn chibi." Sena flinched at the accusing finger, but slowly dragged his gaze to meet with Hiruma's unwavering one. It was cold. Very cold. Sena felt a hand clench at his heart, squeezing it so tight he could barely breathe. He could feel the heat radiating from Hiruma's fury flow towards him. Sena shivered.
There was a deadly pause before Hiruma spoke again. And when he did, the words were said in a chillingly low tone. "Pick up the pace or you'll be nothing more than a burden. Do you even want to go to the Christmas Bowl?"
That was the last straw. Fresh tears pooled in Sena's eyes before trickling down his cheeks. He'd never felt so miserable, so hurt in his life, even when he'd been running errands and being a gopher for bullies. And Hiruma didn't even see him cry, because his back was already turned and he was already marching towards the others. How could he? Sena thought, anguished. How could he say such a horrible thing?
It didn't help much when Mamori and Suzuna, both of whom had heard the last half of the conversation, had come running to his side. "Hiruma-kun!" Mamori shouted indignantly at the receding figure. "Hiruma-kun, you heartless brute! How could you?" She had her arms wrapped around Sena's shoulders protectively.
"Nee, Sena, are you okay?" Suzuna whispered, her worry genuine.
"I'm fine, Suzuna, thanks. And thank you too, Mamori-neechan, but I'll be okay." He forced a smile as convincingly as he could and gently unwrapped Mamori's arms from around his shoulders. Of course, they were still unbelieving and wanted to question him further, but he ran off to join the others before they could.
I'll have to work even harder to prove it to Hiruma-san…that I really do want to go to the Christmas Bowl with everyone! And Sena really did want to show Hiruma that his intentions were sincere. It hurt like hell when Hiruma had expressed his disappointment right to his face, and so bluntly. It hurt even more than his injured knee did, and Sena used this as motivation to work harder. Perhaps I'll start by joining Monta on his 100 laps…and maybe another 100 after that. It didn't matter that his knee was already overworked from the 40-yard dash. He would push it to his limits before he would dare to give up.
Practice had ended with everyone sweaty and panting from the rigorous training.
Sena lifted his helmet from his head and enjoyed the evening breeze that rippled through his hair, effectively cooling him off. He had managed to run 200 laps before his knee failed to let him even stand, much less run. He could only hope that Hiruma was satisfied, but Sena didn't exactly have time to stick around and find out. After phoning his mother during his lunch break, she'd managed to schedule an appointment with his doctor right after practice. Which meant he had less than five minutes to finish.
Sena limped as fast as he could to the changing rooms in the clubhouse, straightening to a normal, unsteady walk whenever anyone took notice of him. It was extremely vexing to keep up, not to mention painful. This appointment better be good, or I'm doomed.
Grabbing his schoolbag, Sena hurried out of the locker room, having changed at light speed. I should be the running back of changing too, Sena mused to himself absent-mindedly. He'd spotted his mother's car waiting for him on the street. Somewhere in the distance behind him, Sena could hear Monta's voice calling out a good-bye. Without even turning his head, Sena waved back before climbing into the front seat of the small yet comfy car.
"Mou, Sena, I wish you'd be a bit faster," his mother chided as she sped off even before his seatbelt was in place. "We'll be about ten minutes late, but I called the doctor ahead of time and he said that it'd be no problem." She kept her eyes on the road as she spoke, scanning the streets for the fastest possible route. Sena smiled to himself. I probably look like that when I'm trying to avoid a tackle.
"Thanks, Mom," Sena replied aloud. "I guess it's weird that you're waiting to pick me up when I usually just walk home."
"Well, don't let this become a habit. Miyagi-sensei will get that knee of yours fixed in no time, and you'll be walking home from school everyday from then, young man."
Sena laughed at that. This light-hearted conversation was exactly what he needed to drive the thoughts of Hiruma's enraged face from his mind. As much as he'd try to fool himself, Hiruma's approval meant more to him than possibly all of the other members of the team. Hiruma had introduced American Football to him and had always been the reliable Control Tower during their games. He'd pushed Sena back to his feet when he doubted himself. He'd placed a massive amount of trust in the smaller running back, believing that Sena would overcome his opponent no matter what. And that was why Sena's feelings for Hiruma ran deeper than just admiration.
Could this be…love?
He wasn't really sure, to be honest. He'd never loved anyone before, and the fact that Hiruma was a conniving, sinister guy just made him all the more confused at this strange emotion.
And besides, there's no way Hiruma-san reciprocates my feelings after what happened today…Sena thought bitterly. He was just about to curse his knee in despair when his mother's voice jarred him out of his thoughts.
"Sena, we're here. Do you need any help standing?"
"I think I'll be okay," he assured her. He'd only told her that his knee was swollen and that the swelling wouldn't go away. And who knows what it looked like now, after he'd pushed it to its limits. He hadn't been able to spare a glance at it, for fear that it had grown worse.
They entered the reception room. Sena was once again reminded of how much he hated going to the doctor as the plain white walls loomed down on him. There wasn't even anything interesting to look at. After running for 200 laps, he felt fidgety and couldn't bear just doing nothing but waiting for an old, bald guy. He didn't have to wait long though, as they were soon ushered into the doctor's office.
Well, at least the doctor wasn't an old, bald guy.
They sat themselves comfortably into to black chairs as a nice, friendly-looking middle-aged man smiled at them and introduced himself as Miyagi Masahiro. He had a folder in his hands and was scribbling on it in the rapid way that all doctors seemed to write.
"Sena-kun is it?" The doctor asked politely. Sena nodded. "Well then, Sena-kun, could you tell me what's wrong with your knee today?"
"Um…well my right knee has been swollen ever since yesterday…and none if it has gone away, it's only gotten worse," Sena began slowly. The doctor nodded for him to continue. "…And it really hurts to walk, it keeps wobbling and doesn't seem very stable." He swallowed, trying to recall all of the details of his injury. It didn't help that Miyagi-sensei was now frowning at him, though not in an intimidating way.
"Hm…okay, well, do you play any sports Sena-kun?" The doctor questioned after Sena had grown silent.
"Yeah, American Football." Sena was surprised by the question. For some strange reason, he also felt compelled to add, "I'm a running back."
This seemed to confirm the doctor's suspicions. A troubled look washed over his face which Sena did not like at all.
"Football, huh…I'll be honest to you Sena-kun, as of right now, I'm thinking that you have an anterior cruciate ligament injury," Miyagi-sensei informed him solemnly. Sena didn't have a clue as to what the doctor was saying, but it seemed that he wasn't finished speaking yet. "This type of injury is mainly seen in sports like American Football where you make sharp changes in direction when running. It can also be caused by rapid deceleration, sudden stops, landing from a jump improperly, and collision such as is seen in football tackles. Sound familiar?"
Sena pondered this for a moment. Unfortunately, it did sound familiar. Sharp changes in direction? Sena's running style was practically known for this. Luckily, he'd managed to overcome the rapid deceleration and sudden stops with the Devil Bat Ghost, but again, this made use of Sena's sharp running to quickly alter direction. And landing from a jump improperly? Well, let's just say that Sena did not know how to "properly" land and probably abused this factor more than he'd liked to with his Devil Bat Dives and all. And lastly, football tackles. Had anyone kept track of the number of times that Shin had Spear/Trident Tackled him yesterday?
Sena mentioned this all to the doctor, who just nodded sadly now. "I'll perform one last check to make sure. It's called a pivot shift test, and I'll need you to lie down on the examination table for a moment."
Sena obeyed, saying nothing. Miyagi-sensei rolled up Sena's right pants leg and peeled off the bandages surrounding his knee. Sena was not prepared for what came next.
To his horror, the once purplish-blue color had taken a turn towards black and blue, and the swelling had risen as well. He whimpered softly at the sight. Not even the doctor's reassuring smile could lift his hopes now. Sena squeezed his eyes shut as Miyagi-sensei's fingers prodded the flesh along his joint line, where the pain seemed to surface the most.
"Alright, I'm going to rotate your knee a bit, then flex it. Just close your eyes."
I would have done that even if he hadn't told me, Sena thought to himself. The doctor's firm hands tilted his knee to the side gently, then tilted it back before slowly bending the knee. Sena wanted to yelp at the immense discomfort, but he forced himself silent.
"It's all done," the doctor said, stepping away to allow Sena to sit up again. Once his attention was focused on the doctor again, Miyagi-sensei turned his gaze to Sena's mother, who hadn't said a single word since entering the examination room.
"Your son has an anterior cruciate ligament injury, just as I suspected," he confirmed. "By studying his knee, I was able to determine that the state of the ligament is very serious- it has been almost completely torn." He paused to let the words sink in. Sena's mother didn't budge. He continued, "Sena-kun will need surgery."
"S-s-surgery?" His mother exclaimed all of a sudden. Even Sena himself was frozen in shock. He hadn't realized that the knee injury had been so serious- he'd assumed that it was just like the one he'd accumulated during the game against the Shinryuuji Nagas. Now he felt scared at hearing the dreadful words. Sena had never had surgery before.
"I'm afraid so," the doctor replied gravely. "He can't continue playing sports with such an injury or he might risk fracture to his knee cartilage. The earliest I can schedule an appointment for him at the hospital is Saturday, two days from now."
Which means I'll have to hide it from the others for another day of practice…not to mention that we have morning and afternoon practice tomorrow, Sena thought miserably. His stomach had tightened into a knot and he felt like vomiting. Would the surgery be painful? Would he be able to play football again afterwards? Sena voiced these concerned aloud to the doctor.
"Before the surgery you'll be administered anesthesia, so you won't be able to feel anything. Completely painless, promise. As for your return to football…" the doctor paused a moment, thoughtful. Please say yes, please, please, Sena willed. Normally one would be skeptical to return to a sport that might possibly cause the same injury again, but Sena loved American football. He couldn't imagine living without it.
"Of course you can return, after a proper rehabilitation period."
"Yes!" Sena cheered, relieved. The surgery didn't worry him much anymore. He'd get it over with, then rejoin the Devil Bats on the field on Monday. "Thank you so much, Miyagi-sensei." He smiled warmly at the doctor, who smiled back.
Sena and his mother stood up to leave, bowing, until the doctor stopped them. "Ah, Sena-kun, I think I'll provide you with a knee brace to support your knee for the remainder of the day and for tomorrow, so it won't be so painful to walk."
Sena sat back down, puzzled as the doctor left the room, returning in minutes with a strange contraption which helped fit onto Sena's right knee. "It looks kind of funny, but if it'll help me walk a bit better I'll use it. Thanks again, Miyagi-sensei." Good thing it could be hidden underneath his pants leg. There was no telling what Hiruma or Mamori would say about it if they saw him wearing it.
The doctor handed his mother a sheet of paper and they bid their final farewell to him, thanking him for his time. Sena was just glad that it was all over now. The visit turned out well- the knee brace he'd received was helping to support his weight greatly, so much that the pain had receded to only a dull throbbing. His mother paid a visit to the reception desk, and then they both climbed into the car.
"Sena, you should've told me earlier if it was so serious," His mother frowned before starting the engine and backing out of the parking lot. "You never tell me anything anymore. Though I suppose that's a good sign, after all." Sena didn't reply to any of this. A thought had climbed its way into his conscience, and it was really bugging him.
"Nee, mom, did Miyagi-sensei say anything about the rehabilitation I'm supposed to do?" Sena pestered, suddenly sweating despite the cool air flowing out from the air conditioner.
"It's on the sheet, honey, read it. It has everything you want to know about your type of injury," she replied without taking her eyes off the road.
Sena grabbed the white paper and anxiously scanned the facts until he'd reached the words "physical therapy."
And what he read caused the fear to turn into dread. His shoulders began shaking as he struggled to grasp the enormity of the single line of words.
No way…
Haha. Cliffhanger~!
But then again I completely write all of my stories before publishing, so there's no need to wait XD.
Honestly, though, the thing that peeves me the most here on FanFiction is how authors never finish their stories. It's understandable if you have a really long story and you have to update it chapter by chapter, but don't just leave it hanging for years! If you start a story, you at least have an obligation to your fans to finish it, right? Right. Sorry for the rant. And those of you with abandoned stories out there, start writing them again!