Disclaimer: I do not own Eyeshield 21 or it's characters.
Special thanks: To my wonderful betas cheshirejin, Kirorokat, Mel's Merleawe and Angel Fantasy. I couldn't have done this without you all!
Note: Please read and review because I would really like to know what you think! Especially constructive criticism because I won't be able to improve if no one is willing to point it out to me. Your time and thoughts would be most appreciated. Thank you and please enjoy!
3rd DOWN: BREATHE LIFE INTO ME
By Wednesday after school, three confused devil bats stand in front of what can only be a military base.
"This is…"
"M-military."
"This brings back memories," sighs the happy center.
Both Sena and Komusubi blink at that. "What do you mean, Kurita-san?"
Kurita smiles in nostalgia as he spreads his arms in a flourish. "This is where I first played amefuto with Hiruma."
Sena gapes at him. "Here?! B-but, why at a military base?" Beside her, Komusubi nods furiously.
"Ah, that's because—"
"Get over here, you fucking brats!" The teens jump at the sudden shout and look to the other side of the fence to see their captain in full football gear sans helmet. A quick scramble later, they stand in front of a gleefully grinning Hiruma. Never a good sign.
"We're going to have our practice here from now on," declares the quarterback, to the mounting confusion of his teammates.
"Why?" asks Kurita. Beside him, Sena trades an uneasy glance with Komusubi, feeling a stomachache coming in.
"We don't need any interruptions or word going around to other teams about our running back," Hiruma states. The blond cackles as he grabs his helmet and makes his way to the field. "Get ready. The match is about to start."
"Match?" they chorus. Hiruma answers by pointing behind them. Turning, they stiffen, because making their way towards the field is a group of large military men. All of them wearing football uniforms, some red and some white.
"Why else do you think we're here, fucking brats?"
"Hie! That soon?! But Komusubi-kun and I have never been in a match before!"
"F-fugo!" Sena observes that even Komusubi, as eager as he is to prove himself to Kurita, appears anxious at the sudden turn of events.
"Then what a better way to start?" grins the demon. Beside him, Kurita feels himself sweat at his best friend's antics.
When the group of men is near enough, a tall African-American in white uniform steps forward. The man regards Hiruma with a wry smile, "You really haven't changed, Hiruma. Still a sly brat."
"Not my fault you lost," comes the smug reply.
Looking up at the assembled group, Sena feels the earlier stomach ache spears in with a vengeance. These men are their opponents?! They'll be crushed! Sena lets out a terrified squeak when a grizzly looking man places a large hand on her head, a sneer on his face.
"Hold on, a girl is gonna play? What sort of joke is this, Hiruma?" The man demands, turning to regard the quarterback. He stops short when a gun is placed right between his eyes.
"Just shut up and play, fucking bear," orders Hiruma, grin razor-sharp.
The man seems smart enough to take the warning as it is because he immediately releases his hold on Sena and steps back. The man raises his arms in surrender, a scowl on his face.
"No respect for your elders at all..."
Off to the side, Kurita gently pats Sena's back who is trying her best to control her racing heart. Dimly, she wonders how she can even hope to play with things as they are. Especially when Sena doesn't want to be a part of it in the first place.
The three devil bats look up when they hear the steady approach of footsteps to see the red uniformed group standing in front of them. A freckled redhead extends his hand, an easy smile on his face. "Hey, name's Durant. Tight end."
"I'm Kurita, it's nice to meet you. I'm the center lineman." The friendly giant hastily grasps the offered appendage and gives a customary bow.
"K-komusubi. Line!" The short lineman stands in attention.
"...Kobayakawa. Running back," Sena quietly mumbles.
Appearing sympathetic, the redhead crouches down until he's eye level with Sena. "Sorry about Hudson, he tends to be a bit of a jerk."
Sena blinks up at the man, surprised at his kindness. "A-ah, it's okay since I've never played in a match before s-so..."
"Don't worry about it. So, running back, huh?" When Sena gives a hesitant nod, Durant grins widely. "Then just focus on running with the ball and leave the rest to us, okay, sweetheart?"
Behind him, the rest of his teammates nod at his words, some even have encouraging smiles on their faces.
"...Okay."
Trading glances with her two linemen friends at her lackluster reply, Durant appears that he's come to a decision. Durant promptly stands then reaches down to bring Sena up to her feet.
"Let's go. We don't want to end up being target practice for a certain demon, right?" chuckles the redhead, as everyone shudders in a unison.
Smiling hesitantly, Sena nods as she follows her assigned team with Kurita and Komusubi at her side. Fervently she prays that the day wouldn't end up being a painful memory.
The first half of the match gone the way you would expect from a last-minute ragtag team.
Not. Good.
Now at half time, the score is 18-6 with their opponents in the lead. It's disheartening. Their team isn't bad but they're not all that good either especially since Sena and Komusubi are beginners. They're not used to playing with anyone else or each other. With Hudson, the opposing linebacker, hell-bent on targeting Sena, she couldn't attempt to get a touchdown. By now, she lost count of how many times she was tackled.
Huddling on one of the benches, she clutches a bruised shoulder. Why did she stay when it hurt so much? Blinking back tears she curls further into herself. Should she stop? She tried her best, didn't she? It's obvious this isn't going to work. She doesn't want to get hurt anymore.
"What's wrong?"
Sena raises her head slightly to see Durant plopping down on the ground with his back to her.
"... I just don't want to get hurt anymore," Sena buries her head in her hands. "I'm sorry."
"Why are you apologizing?" Durant turns and ruffles Sena's hair. "It's normal to not want to get hurt. And this is your first real match so it's even more so. Frankly, I'm surprised you're still here."
"W-well, that's because..." Sena shoots a quick glance to the side, where a certain quarterback stands. The older teen seems to be in deep in discussion with Kurita about their next play.
"Should've known." Durant sighs then messes up Sena's hair even harder. Durant grins, satisfied when she lets out a squawk in indignation, body finally rising from her defeated posture.
The redhead leans back with a laugh. "Listen, don't force yourself. If you want, I can talk to Hiruma for you."
"You can do that, Durant-san?"
"...I can try." Sena slumps at the sheepish reply.
When Sena looks at the field, she feels her hands clenched into fists as Hiruma's words echo in her mind.
You're weak, fucking chibi.
Sena hates this. This feeling of uselessness. Of being nothing more than a coward, too weak, too hopeless, too scared to even try. But what can she do? What can a girl who's done nothing but gives up and runs away do?
A fucking idiot.
Sena's teeth clench in frustration at those words even as her eyes sting with unshed tears. "To be honest, football is still a scary sport for me."
"But?"
"I want to try. I don't want to s-stay like this either. I just don't know h-how —" Sena hiccups. She wants to prove Hiruma wrong. That even if she might be weak, she's no idiot. That she can change. But is it even working? All she's doing is getting her butt kicked out there.
"You're a lot closer than you think, Kobayakawa."
When she blinks up at him, Durant gives Sena a gentle smile. "You already got yourself at the starting line. It's just a matter of going past that. It might be scary, but remember what I said earlier?" Durant thumbs at the field behind them with a grin, "Just focus on running. Leave the rest to us. You're not alone on the field Kobayakawa. So don't shoulder everything on your own, yeah?"
Komusubi, who's been sitting quietly beside Sena up until now, gently holds her hand. "Sena. N-not alone! Fugo!"
A stray tear slides down Sena's face at that. "Komusubi-kun."
Maybe she's going through this all wrong? Before she gotten into football, she'd always been alone with no one to back her up. Of course, Mamori is the exemption to that but even the other girl never really lets her be anything beyond the weak childhood friend that always needs protecting. It's unfortunately why her elementary years were so lonely.
But things seem different here. Right now, she's in a world filled with people playing a violent sport. A sport where there's no possible way you can play much less win if you're alone.
Oh.
She's not alone. Here, in this crazy place, playing a crazy sport, she is not alone.
Looking at her two teammates and their encouraging faces, Sena feels her fear slowly dissolve. Beyond them, she sees other members of their team, not the least bit discouraged even though they look exhausted as she feels. Some of them even grin and wave at her when they notice her staring. Blushing, she tentatively waves back feeling curiously warm.
'They're right. I'm not the only one fighting. Running away...'
Squeezing Komusubi's hand in return Sena carefully takes a deep breath and stands.
'Is no longer an option!'
Wiping away any traces of her tears, Sena makes her way towards the two remaining devil bats. Kurita, seeing her approach, beams at her. Hesitantly, Sena smiles back. She can do this. It's not too late for her. She can still change.
"H-hiruma-san."
The blond's ear twitches at her voice but doesn't turn around. "Hn?"
Quickly, Sena forces her words out in a tumble, "C-can we try that run again, please? I-I feel like I can pass Hudson-san now. Probably."
"Oh, think you can win, fucking chibi?" The quarterback finally turns to look at Sena as she fidgets.
"T-that's; I just think that now maybe I can —of course, that's n-not to say it's a guarantee b-but maybe I can at least try and—hie!"
Whatever else she wants to say is lost when Hiruma aims his gun at her, a tick on his brow. "It's a yes or no question, you fucking brat!"
"I'm sorry!" Sena squeaks. Hiruma's scowl softens into a thoughtful frown.
"Do you want to win?" Hiruma's voice is quiet and serious, as stares at her, appearing pleased when Sena doesn't look away.
Clenching her sweaty palms into fists, Sena resolutely looks back at that fiery green gaze. No turning back now. "Yes."
A wide bloodthirsty grin cuts through the older teen's face at that.
Turning on his heel, Hiruma swiftly fastens his helmet on. As he makes his way back on the field, the demon lets loose an unholy cackle that sends chills down everyone's spine.
"Then let's give them hell."
Sena feels her pulse thumping wildly in her chest as she stands on the edge of the field. Hands shaking, she opens a palm then writes the kanji for 'person' with a lone finger. Swallowing it, she repeats the action over and over again until she feels a familiar presence beside her.
"Not an idiot, huh?"
Blinking, she turns to see Hiruma looking over the field with his signature grin. A sharp contrast to the quiet words he just said. Glancing down at her, the older teen gestures in front of them.
"Prove it."
Brushing past her, Hiruma walks to stand behind Kurita, leaving Sena to stare confusedly after the blond as he shouts orders to the team.
Was that a threat? Or maybe it was some form of twisted encouragement? Wait, no. Hiruma isn't the sort of person to encourage people. Then again, from what she's seen ever since they met is that he's also the sort of guy who likes to do things in a roundabout way. So maybe...ugh, no, never mind. Once again, Hiruma is proving that he's a walking contradiction.
'Chaos incarnated demon,' her mind grumbles.
Well whatever it was, it takes out the sting of Hiruma's previous words somewhat. Feeling her heartbeat calming down, Sena makes her way to stand behind the quarterback. Getting into position, she grips her knees tight as Hiruma calls out the count.
"Set!"
Sena's aware that there are so many things that could go wrong with this. She herself still isn't all that sure about football. Even so, —
"Hut!"
She forcefully shakes her head to dispel those thoughts. It's unexpected, but this is her chance to change. And the little that she can do, she'll do it.
"Hut!"
Because what does matter is to score a touchdown. And to do that, all she needs to do now—
"HUT!"
Is to run.
Shooting out like a cannonball, Sena darts for the ball passing from Hiruma's grasp. Grabbing it, she sprints forward to the end zone.
The change is slight but significant. Before, she ran just so the match would end faster. Now, with the goal to at least score even just one touchdown, she feels her legs becoming a little less sluggish. More firmly planted on the ground.
Lips pressed into a thin line, she grips the ball tight as she envisions all the possible ways to get to the end zone.
A sharp left,
A dodge to the right,
A spin—
One after another, she leaves her opponents behind her in the dust. Dimly, she hears Kurita cheering with Komusubi echoing him as she passes the last player.
There are only forty more yards. She can't believe it. She might actually do it!
Thirty-six, thirty-five, thirty-fo—
That's when she feels it. The feeling of being chased that she felt throughout the game. She chances a quick glance back and sees Hudson running towards her with no signs of slowing down. The man's huge, but he's not lacking in speed.
Feeling Hudson closing in on her, Sena feels her pulse quicken.
'No. No, please...'
She's almost there. Just fifteen more yards, and—
"Not happening, girly!"
Sena lets out a yelp when she barely dodges the hand that shoots out from behind her. Catching herself at the last-minute, she spins on her heel and stumbled on forward. With a cry of frustration, she runs. Runs as hard and fast as her feet can take her. Even then it's far too slow. Not for the first time, she wonders if she's doing the right thing.
Because seriously?! Her, playing American football? In what universe is that even considered sane? She has gotten this far, hadn't she? She tried her best. It couldn't be—
Do you want to win?
Sena gasps. In her mind's eye, she remembers the fiery green eyes that seared into her. The words were quiet and calm, but his eyes overshadow everything around her. Every excuse. Every fear.
Running isn't easy. None of this is easy. True, it's just a practice game. It shouldn't matter if they don't win. But then, why did she feel that if they did lose, without her giving her all, she will lose something? Some indescribable momentous thing.
For the first time in her life, there are people who need her. The speed she possesses, that was once only good for errands and chores and running away from her problems, has the potential to be more. She can be so much more. More than being the timid wallflower. More than the spineless little girl that lets her childhood friend controls her life; resigned to her life as a victim, hiding away and let life passes her by.
Not an idiot, huh?
She finally has a chance to prove that though she's been a coward for as long as she can remember, she is not an idiot. Refuses to be.
Prove it.
Gripping the ball tighter to her chest, Sena steadily increases her speed. Slowly but surely putting a distance between herself and Hudson.
She might've not gotten into this crazy and scary world on her own, but hadn't she decided that this is her chance to change? That no matter how small that chance is, she would take it? Even if that chance is in a crazy world filled with even crazier people. She still doesn't know what she wants. Not even close. What's happening now certainly isn't what she wants. However—
It might be what she needs. Because as strange as it seems, Sena finds that she can answer that lingering question.
'Yes.'
Feeling her doubts fade, Sena then sprints, unrestrained, leaving Hudson to only grasp on air.
For one minuscule moment, Sena feels the world around her slow down and wash away. Only the sound of her breathing and the howling winds to echo in her ears remain. Glimpsing into a world of speed and freedom that makes her blood sings. And she grins. Wide and happy, a laugh bubbling at the back of her throat and spilling pass her lips in a tumble of delight.
When her feet finally touch the end zone, she dimly hears the roar of her team and the shriek of the referee's whistle that pierces the air.
"TOUCHDOWN!"
Sena kneels on the ground, her knees shaking while the grip on the ball is loose in her hands. Her breath coming in short bursts. Soon she feels a comforting arm—Kurita's— supporting her. She leans her head against the center's side, breathless and giddy. Then, for one impossible moment, her eyes land on Hiruma and see the fire in his eyes dancing with unrestrained glee.
Sena feels her lips tug into a small grudging smile at that.
'I do.'
Adrenaline spent, Sena closes her eyes leaving the cheers as the only sound she hears before the world speeds up again.
Well, it's a start.