AN: Happy holidays everyone! First of all, I would like to apologize for totally changing the meeting scene between Riku and Sena from what happens in the canon series and also for making Riku rather OOC. But hey, they're like, what, eight here? I suppose I should be given some leeway with their character here because of that.

Muse: Still doesn't give you much of an excuse for your crappy writing.

Me: Muse-chan, why are you always so mean? *goes off to sulk in the corner*

Muse: Well, at least you updated. That's always a good sign, right?

Me: Of course! =D

Muse: Especially for a lazy-ass author like you.

Me: Mu~se-ch~an!!! Why do you have to be so me~an?! Dx

Muse: (is totally ignoring the author) The warnings and disclaimers and whatever necessary, random crap are below.

Disclaimer: I, Eternal Dumas, the author in no way or form own Eyeshield 21. Like I have said in many of my other stories, I cannot even draw stick figures properly.

Warnings: Story overall will be shounen-ai a.k.a. boyxboy love. If you are a homophobe or you simply don't like the idea of two people of the same gender kissing, press the back button NOW.

Flamers WILL NOT be tolerated here. Constructive criticism will.


Akaba Hayato had always treasured two things, above everything else, in his life: his guitar and Kobayakawa Sena. He would soon learn to grow fond of American Football as well, but that would not be until he entered junior high and met Sasaki Koutarou.

Nevertheless, Akaba's guitar and his childhood friend Sena held great importance in his heart for they came first and foremost in almost everything he did.

And, although it a rather obscure fact since Akaba was not the type of child to reveal such things, he did not like to share either.

*~*~*~*~*~*

The first backpack fell into Sena's hands with a dull 'thump' followed by a second one, then a third and the final one on top of all the others. He raised his head up to look at the bullies.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" the leader of the bullies, Toka, said sneering. "Hurry up and carry our backpacks to our houses."

"B-But that's impossible!" Sena squeaked out in a feeble attempt of protest. "There's no way I can carry so many backpacks without all of them falling. A-And shouldn't you all be carrying your own backpacks anyways?" As he spoke, Sena avoided all eye contact with Toka.

"Haaaah?! What'd you say you little shrimp?" Toka said, his tone both sneering and condescending. "I can't hear your squeaking ya little mouse!" Toka cracked his knuckles threateningly as he glared down at Sena. "You wanna speak up a little, shrimp?"

Sena let out another terrified squeak, stumbling backwards from fear. "N-n-no, nothing. I'll carry them home, I promise!"

Toka's friends snickered when they saw Sena stumble and began prodding him forward, forcing Sena to walk ahead of them towards the school gate.

Sena hung his head. 'In the end, I wasn't able to listen to Hayato-niisan's advice and fight back.'

"Hey, hey, what do you think you guys are doing?"

At the sound of a new voice, Sena's head snapped up at it, as though pulled by an invisible string.

'Hayato-niisan!' was Sena's first thought and was just about to call out the older boy's name when a blur of white run past him.

'Eh?' was Sena's oh-so-coherent thought. 'Since when did Hayato-niisan have white hair...and was nearly as short as me?'

His vision obscured by the all the backpacks in front of him, Sena could only make out the shocking mass of white hair that stood before Toka and his friends. Since the boy with the white hair (who was now definitely not Hayato-niisan) had his back turned to him, Sena could not tell who it was that had come to his rescue.

He couldn't help worrying though, wondering how the white-haired boy could possibly drive off Toka and his gang when he was only as small as Sena.

'What should I do?' Sena thought despairingly. He was afraid for the white-haired boy but couldn't think of any way to help him in his current predicament.

"Haha, are you looking to fight me, shrimp?" Toka jeered, raising his fist up for a punch.

Sena winced and closed his eyes, unwilling to see the scene unfold. Instead of the yelp of pain and the loud 'smack' of fist meeting flesh that Sena had expected to hear, there was only the 'whoosh' of displaced air and the quick flurry of footsteps on the ground.

Suddenly, Sena's arms felt lighter and he hesitantly opened one eye to see what had happened. What he saw nearly made his jaw drop.

The half a dozen or so backpacks that Sena had been carrying just a few minutes ago had been tied back to their owners…literally.

"Waahh!" Toka and his friends immediately let out a loud wail as they realized the humiliating predicament they were in: their backpacks literally stuck onto their body with tape and their legs bound so tightly together they had no choice but to hop away to avoid further humiliation.

"You won't get away with this Kaitani!" Toka yelled out, his last parting remark before he fell face-first onto the concrete sidewalk just outside the school gates.

'Ah,' Sena realized as the white-haired boy turned around and Sena came to recognize his face. 'I remember now. He's Kaitani Riku, the new kid in my class that just moved here.'

"Hey, you okay?"

It took Sena several minutes to realize that Riku was talking to him and it was only when Riku was standing a few feet in front of him, holding out his backpack that he had dropped did it register.

Sena, face flushed red when he saw Riku looking at him strangely, grabbed his backpack out of Riku's grip and stuttered out a reply. "Y-Yes, I'm fine. T-thanks for helping me back there."

Riku shrugged, almost impassively, as though he had done such things hundreds of times before.

'And I bet he has too. Kaitani's so fast, there'd be no way the bullies could catch up to him!'

"Hey." Riku was calling out to him again and Sena, not wanting to be embarrassed a second time, immediately looked up.

Riku was giving a scrutinizing stare that made Sena rather uncomfortable. It reminded him of the times Hayato-niisan looked at him when Sena was trying to hide the bruises the bullies gave him with long shirts and pants.

"Hey," Riku began again after several moments of silence. "Why didn't you try fighting back against those guys?"

Sena hung his head, unwilling to look at Riku when he answered. It was funny how, even though Riku and Hayato-niisan looked nothing alike, they still managed to make Sena feel intimidated whenever they looked at him with such piercing eyes.

"I-I was," Sena quietly stated, scuffing the toe of his white sneaker against the schoolyard. A sense of déjà vu washed over Sena as he traced senseless designs in the dirt. "B-but Toka and his friends are all stronger than me a-and even though I was trying to stand up for myself like Hayato-niisan told me to, I'm just too weak. There was no way I could have fought back."

The gloominess in Sena's voice was evident and was enough for Riku to pity the boy. The pity, not leaving Riku, helped him quickly come to a decision.

"I'll teach you."

"Eh?" Sena looked up, his wide toffee-brown eyes curiously looking into Riku's green ones. "Teach me what?"

"How to fight."

Sena's expression went from curious to terrifyingly pale so fast that Riku wondered if Sena was going to be sick.

"That's impossible!" Sena all-but shrieked out. "T-there's no way I can fight. Even Hayato-niisan can't think of a way and if Hayato-niisan can't, then there's definitely no way!"

Riku frowned; a little insulted that Sena had shot down his idea before it had even taken flight. He was also a little irked that Sena was constantly mentioning 'Hayato-niisan' as he talked; apparently, from the way he had just spoken of him, this Hayato-niisan was someone Sena greatly respected and admired.

"There's definitely a way," Riku insisted as Sena's complexion continued to stay a pasty white. "And I can teach you it, definitely!"

Sena, still disbelieving, could not help but grow curious at what this fighting method Riku was talking about with such confidence. Could Riku really help him? Could Riku really help small, cowardly Sena that always had to run to Hayato-niisan for help, become strong enough to fight off the bullies? From the way Riku spoke and the way his eyes seemed to shine with a bright confidence, Sena knew that the answer to all those questions was a resounding 'Yes.'

Sena swallowed, trying to bury the small insecurities and doubts that nipped from the corners of his mind—what if what Riku said was false? What if Sena only got weaker (though that seemed almost inconceivable considering Sena's present state)? Finally, in a wavering voice, he asked:

"C-Could you teach me then? If there's definitely a way for me to fight back, could you teach me?"

Riku grinned, wide and broad. "Of course I can. From today, as your big brother, I'll teach you how to fight back."

Sena felt something in his chest clench as Riku's 'big brother' statement; he didn't like how Riku had so easily claimed the title when he and Sena had known each other for less than an hour.

"U-um," Sena began as he saw Riku begin to march out the school gates, clearly expecting Sena to follow. "I already have a big brother so if you can, please don't use that title."

"There's nothing wrong with you having two big brothers is there?" Riku retorted, a little more harshly than he intended. He didn't know why but whenever Sena mentioned Hayato-niisan it just irritated him so much. He saw Sena flinch slightly and clutch the straps of his backpack tighter, his feet rooted to the spot.

Feeling a twinge of guilt, Riku stopped walking and faced Sena again.

"Sorry," apologized Riku. "My bad. I won't snap at you like that again but, like I said, as your big brother I'm going to teach you how to protect yourself from those bullies. That's a big brother's duty isn't it?"

Sena was about to open his mouth and tell Riku not to use the term big brother anymore but the sincere, albeit slightly embarrassed, expression on Riku's face made Sena stop.

Instead, what came out was:

"I…. didn't tell you my name yet."

Riku shrugged, as though he could have cared less. "It's Sena, right? At least, that's what I heard. I'm Riku, by the way."

"Nice to meet you," Sena muttered, suddenly remembering his manners and bowing.

Riku stared at him.

Sena blinked. "What?"

"You're too polite," Riku bluntly stated, crossing his arms as though to emphasize the importance of his words in a way only an eight-year-old could. "You don't have to be so polite, especially around your big brother—it's just weird."

'He's already taken being the big brother for granted….' Sena realized with slight dread, not sure whether he should try getting Riku to stop or just go along with it. He opted for the latter, as Riku seemed determined to call himself Sena's big brother no matter what.

And just as Riku was beginning to lead Sena out of the school to the place they would "train" together, someone else called out.

"Sena-kun!"

"Hayato-niisan!" Sena called out joyfully, breaking off from Riku for the second time in that afternoon to greet his first 'big brother'.

Nine-year-old Akaba Hayato, a small guitar case in his right hand, waved back to Sena with his left. He was glad to see that Sena was safe; he had heard from one of the teachers that Toka had been bullying Sena again so, after packing up his guitar, he had rushed straight over to where he knew Sena would be.

Akaba was also glad to see that there were no visible bruises on Sena either, that was always a good sign.

What wasn't a good, though, was the small white-haired boy standing near Sena; his green eyes glaring daggers at Akaba when their gazes met. Akaba's own eyes became colder as he looked at Riku, prickles of unease going down his neck and spine.

Akaba disliked Riku on sight (or something very close to it), a boy he had not met until a minute ago. And Riku, likewise, felt dislike and something more menacing boil in his stomach at the sight of Akaba.

Jealousy.


AN: That was a rather....uneventful chapter? And the ending felt a little too abrupt, or something. The good news is, I managed to introduce Riku! =D Everyone can probably already tell Riku and Akaba are going to be butting heads a lot when Sena's involved. xP

That's it for the second chapter! Thanks for reading. (bows)

Once again, I thank avalokannon for his constructive review. This story wouldn't be nearly twice as good if it wasn't for him.