Disclaimer: not mine

Warnings: see chapter 1-3

Chapter 4

For a second the world stilled around him, his breath froze in his lungs and his heart ached fiercely, then Riku walked over to the pale, dead looking figure that was practically dwarfed by the hospital bed. Only the slow rising and sinking of the sleeping boy's chest indicated that his friend was, indeed, alive.

The white haired running back sat down on a chair next to Sena's bed, shell shocked, and took in all the physical changed his friend had undergone since he had last seen him.

There was barely a fuzz of brown hair visible and Sena's emaciated face was paler than white, the dark bruises under closed eyes the only touch of colour.

Riku didn't know what exactly he had thought to find when he finally tracked Sena's location down, but it certainly hadn't been that. A broken bone perhaps, something that took time to heal but wasn't too serious.

Judging by his friend's looks, Sena's condition was nothing but serious.

Riku frowned as a thought occurred to him. Had Sena been hospitalized ever since his last game against Oujou? If so, why hadn't Sena told anyone? Surely it got boring, lying in bed all day with only nurses and doctors around and nothing to do for fun.

It took some time till Riku could break his gaze away from Sena's face, his eyes taking in the rest of the room. There were books and posters, making the room look strangely personal, like it was Sena's room and not only a temporarily assigned hospital room. He didn't think that just anyone was allowed to decorate their room to their personal tastes, which indicated that Sena had indeed been here for a long time already.

It was then that he noticed the IV in Sena's arm. Again his breath froze in his lungs and Riku felt faint with shock. People didn't need IV unless things became really serious or the patient had an eating disorder, which despite Sena's wasted appearance he strongly doubted.

Seeing his friend so ill and helpless was plain weird. It refused to make sense to Riku. Sena had grown so much in the last year, becoming stronger both physically and mentally. What had happened to reduce him to a sickly looking child again?

Questions chasing each other in his otherwise numbed mind, Riku just sat there and stared at Sena's sleeping face. He didn't notice that hours had passed since he first entered the room till a nurse came in and informed him cheerfully that visiting hours were over.

Sena hadn't woken up. After one last look at his friends face, Riku stood up and left. He would come back tomorrow.

"So, how did your visit to Deimon go?" Sakuraba asked Shin lightly during their daily evening training in the gym. The dark haired teen had glared non-stop since his return and Sakuraba was very, very glad that Shin had decided to visit Deimon after their football practice and not before.

"I don't know." was the curt reply, but Sakuraba had become better at interpreting Shin-speak and the fact that he verbalised his answer coupled with increased glowering told the blond that his friend had once again experienced something that didn't have anything to do with football and was therefore confusing to Shin.

"Did you meet Sena?" Eyeshield 21's real identity had become public knowledge after Deimon's victory last year.

"No, I was told he is absent and unlikely to return any time soon for personal reasons." confusion was now evident in Shin's voice and his violet eyes had narrowed even further.

Surprised at the info Sakuraba rubbed the back of his head. "That's strange, he was really into football."

Taking a closer look at Shin's face, Sakuraba finally figured out why the other boy was confused. Now, how to get Shin to figure it out, too?

"Are you more displeased about not meeting Eyeshield 21 as an opponent again or about the fact that you didn't get to see Sena?" the former idol asked seriously.

Shin frowned, considering both scenarios in his mind and dissecting his reactions to them. "It would have been great to play against Eyeshield 21 again, but I dislike the fact that I did not see Sena today more, it made me feel decidedly weird."

Sakuraba refrained from sighing and broached the subject again: "Describe "weird". Have you ever felt like that before?"

Once again Shin took his time, replaying every time he had felt an unusual, unnamed emotion before. "At the Christmas Bowl final against Deimon, after Eyeshield 21's last touchdown, I didn't like the feeling then either."

"Shin, my friend, one of these days you really should learn more about the world outside the football field." the blond groaned. "That "weird" feeling you had? You are worried about Sena, I guess. It's only natural after he got carried off by an ambulance the last time you saw him."

"How do I get over this "worry"? It is distracting during practice and makes me irritable." Shin inquired earnestly.

"Well, if you knew how he's doing you would have no reason to be worried, I think. You could always ask that blond devil quarterback at Deimon. That guy seriously knows everything."

"I'm sorry, but Sena-kun is not up to having any visitors today, I'm afraid." the nurse explained to an irritated Riku.

"What do you mean, he isn't up to it?" the white haired running back demanded to know.

"Sena-kun had a bad night and an even worse day, he is simply too exhausted now to be further disturbed." the concern in the young boy's green eyes mellowed her response quite a bit.

"Do you think I'll be able to see him tomorrow then?"

Before the nurse could answer another voice broke in: "Hey, you! What the hell do you think you are doing here, chibi ancient?"

Turning around Riku coolly met the furious black eyes of Deimon's former quarterback, also known and feared as the blond devil.

"Trying to check up on a friend, why? What are you doing here?" Riku replied defiantly.

The former quarterback smiled widely at that, took a hold of Riku's shirt and dragged him off into the solitary stairwell.

"Since I have been here for the last fucking six months, I don't think you have the right to question my presence. So, do tell me how Seibu's famous running back found his way to this hospital and who I am going to shoot tonight." Hiruma pointed the barrel of a gun nonchalantly at Riku's head.

"Oh, cut the crap. I've tried to find Sena ever since his last game and had to make a call overseas to Mamori to finally get anywhere. The distance did not make her shrieking voice any less annoying. What's wrong with Sena?"

Hiruma lowered the gun and glowered at the smaller boy. "Since you'd find out sooner or later, I'll tell you, but breathe a word of this to anyone else and you'll never breathe again, got it?"

Riku nodded quickly.

TBC