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Chapter 2

It was Sunday, the day their dreams would come true and they would play in the Christmas Bow final. Every last one of them had fought with his all to get here and they were determined to win once more.

Sena looked at the excited faces of his team mates and felt fear creep into his heart. They looked so determined to win, had worked so hard to make this final dream come true in the last training sessions, sessions Sena wasn't allowed to participate in, and he wasn't sure if he would be able to play his best.

He had wanted to play against Oujou, against Shin, more than anyone else in the team, and now his body, the body he had always been able to rely on to aide him in his running, had become a liability, something he couldn't count on for sure.

Sena felt alright, the additional three days of absolute rest ("If you even think of walking faster than a turtle, I'll shoot you and spare us all some misery, got that, chibi?") had done wonders. But all it took to tell him that it was simply an illusion of health was one look at his arms that were adorned with ugly bruises courtesy of their last game.

He was startled out of his increasingly dark thoughts when a hand fell on his shoulder and the menacing voice of his infamous quarterback sounded right next to his ear: "Don't fucking think so much. There's a game to be won."

Amber eyes huge, Sena watched speechlessly as Hiruma walked by him and followed the others. Hands clenching into fists, Sena felt new determination race through him. Hiruma and Kurita had been working towards this goal for so long and so hard, never giving up, not even when they didn't even have a team to compete in the first place. He would fight as hard and as long as his body allowed him to, simple as that. As long as he did all he possibly could do, there would be no regret to be felt later.

This could very well be the last game he would ever play. He didn't want to regret anything later.

The atmosphere on the field was indescribable. The crowd's cheering was breaking over the players like an ocean, wave after wave after wave.

When Sena's gaze fell on his rival, the last bit of fear in his heart was replaced by excitement. With fire in his eyes to equal that of his team mates and adrenaline pumping through his veins, Sena took his position on the field.

It was the final quarter, when Sena began to doubt his ability to see the game through. Whereas Shin had only been able to stop him one of three times in the first and second quarter, exhaustion had forced Sena to continually drop his speed in the third quarter and he'd been tackled every second time he made a run.

The look he'd gotten from Hiruma after that last tackle, when it had taken him a few minutes to gather enough energy to even stand up again, had been a clear warning. Any more obvious signs of his body's faltering and Hiruma would make true of his threat and order him off the field to play bench warmer.

Breathing hard, he waited for Hiruma to decide on the next move.

"Alright, we'll give the fucking shrimp a little time to catch his breath. Monkey! Time to do the only thing you can do. Don't fuck up." The manic glint in Hiruma's eyes was warning enough of the repercussions should Monta fail to catch the ball.

"Eyeshield 21, you keep your position as rearguard."

Sena bit his lip to try and keep his frustration at his own weakness inside. Just as he had feared he was becoming a liability for his team. They were leading by two touchdowns, if they could get but two more there was a real chance Oujou wouldn't be able to catch up to them. Just two more touchdowns, just two.

A deep frown on his face, Shin glared at the short figure of his chosen rival, Eyeshield 21. At the beginning of the game their match had been just as exhilarating as he'd expected, however he hadn't failed to notice the big bruises on his opponent's arms, nor how his speed had dropped continually, nor how it took him longer and longer to get back on his feet after a tackle.

And now it seemed like Hiruma had decided to lay Eyeshield 21 on ice, letting him play rearguard.

Shin didn't like the uncomfortable feeling that action created in him, the best way to describe it would be as not pleased. No, Shin was not pleased at all with the sudden decline of his rival's ability.

Monta did manage to catch the ball and they gained ten more yards. Before Hiruma could call them into the huddle, Sena approached him and quietly said: "Hiruma-san, give me one more chance, please. If I don't make it in this run you can order me off field, but, please, let me run one more time."

Hiruma looked seriously into the younger boy's determined eyes, that couldn't quite hide his exhaustion and frowned.

Just as he wanted to decline, Sena added: "The others don't stand a chance against Shin and you know it. You'll have to replace me soon anyway, it won't hurt to let me try once more, at least I have a chance to get through."

Hiruma smiled viciously and called the others into the huddle.

"Eyeshield 21 will run this time, so make sure to fucking crush your opponents, got that?"

Shin's eyes glowed when he realized that this time his rival would make a run. Eyeshield 21's speed was at his peek and the anticipation level in Shin rose. Would he be able to stop the shorter boy this time?

Moving fast as lightning to intercept his opponent, Shin started his own attack, ignoring the signals his eyes sent him, fully concentrating on where he could feel his rival would move to.

Sena gave this last run all he had, mobilizing every last shred of energy he still possessed, to make it past his greatest rival.

He ignored the burning in his muscles and lungs, the slight tremors wrecking his frame and the bone deep ache that permeated his whole body and concentrated solely on the run, the way his feet fairly flew over the field, the determined glint in Shin's eyes and the rush of air, as he sped by him.

It was only a couple more steps before he would be in the end zone, when a great force crushed into him from behind. His vision was already starting to get hazy because of the pain, but he ignored it all and dove for his goal. It's just another inch or two, I can make it. I will make it.

At the referee's whistle, Shin stood up and looked at the small figure beneath him with new respect. Although he had been able to tackle Eyeshield 21, the boy had still been able to score a touchdown.

After a few minutes his rival finally moved again, rolling onto his back and staring into the sky.

Staring down at his rival Shin noticed that the boy's breathing was irregular and sounded painful. Narrowing his eyes, he finally motioned for the infamous quarterback of Deimon to come over.

The first thing that registered in Sena's brain, other than overwhelming pain, was the deep blue of the sky. Feeling dizzy and sick he decided to just keep lying there.

He was only dimly aware of hands propping him up and muffled voices around him. Suddenly the sky was replaced with the pointed face of his quarterback and Sena asked weakly: "Did, did I make it?"

"Damn sure you did, fucking chibi. It's time for the bench."

Closing his eyes, Sena smiled tiredly and mumbled: "That's nice."

Then he fell into the darkness that was calling to him with a siren's song.

Shin watched as the blonde quarterback propped his team mate up, only reacting when the small figure grew limp, clearly losing conscience. His tackle hadn't been hard enough to make anyone lose consciousness.

When the Deimon's quarterback called for a stretcher and an ambulance, he couldn't keep his eyebrows from rising in confusion. A look at Sakuraba, his usual source of information when encountering something outside of football, showed him that the blond didn't have an answer this time, either.

The paramedics took off the young boy's helmet, trying to wake him. After a short discussion with the quarterback they carried him off the field, obviously in a great hurry to get their patient to the ambulance.

The last Shin saw of his rival was a snow white face, two dark red tracks flowing freely down from nose to chin.

TBC