Chapter 4

Sena closed his phone with a goofy smile plastered on his face. He had just made a date with the girl that had sat at the top of his thoughts for the past few days; Koizumi Karin. When he had answered his phone he heard her soft soothing voice on the other end and it had been a welcome spot in his day and their conversation had flowed so naturally. He told her about his first game and Hiruma's tactics to recruit him and she in turn told him about her first game and Yamato's recruitment of her for the Alexanders; it turned out that she was exactly like him in talent and fears. Before Sena knew what he was doing he had asked her out. It was a short moment before a squeak of a "Yes" came from the other end eliciting a huge smile from his mouth and quashing the fear of rejection that had started to grown from the pit of his stomach due to her silence. He made plans for that very weekend with her and as quickly as the call had come in. He had chosen a medium size amusement park near Karin that he had seen while he and Monta had done their little scouting mission before the Christmas Bowl. It was a place where hopefully they could have some fun and get to know each other a little better. He had also hopped that no one who knew her would see them; which was just the reason he had chosen to go to her instead of the other way around. It wasn't that Sena would have been embarrassed if he was seen on a date with Karin but for now no one knowing about their little rendezvous would most likely be for the best, and somehow he thought that Karin would probably agree with him. He could only imagine the commotion them being seen together would cause within her school and her team, but mostly Sena was thinking of the problems that would be caused closer to home; in Tokyo itself. If they had their date here then they would run a much greater chance of being seen together and Sena had a chill about the problems that would cause. He wasn't afraid, well maybe about what Hiruma might do, but he didn't want to expose Karin to anything that might make her uncomfortable. Sena knew that she was about as shy as he and that so much attention might cause some problems for what Sena hoped would be the first of many dates.

There was also the problem of the press that he skillfully needed to avoid less they cause a huge uproar. He could just see the cover of either of their respective school news publications or American Football Monthly; a picture of the two of them huddled closely together as they walked, hands together with her delicate fingers intertwined with his; this would most likely cause a riot. Sena could see the legions of girls hunting Karin to see what she had that they didn't and all the boys hunting him to see who had finally snagged a date with the elusive Karin. Then he would have to deal with his team who he was sure to get an earful from, Hiruma's bullets flying at his feet, Mamori eyeing him and insisting on him seeing someone else or that he wasn't ready for a real girlfriend, and Suzuna in the corner being as quiet as possible all the while her heart breaking inside and that was the last thing he wanted to do. These thoughts remained paramount in Sena's mind as he walked up to Kurita's house and prepared for his evening of relaxation. The copy of American Football Monthly caught Sena's eyes as it partially hung out of the family mail box. He had been bombarded by calls from the magazine that his mother was always so happy to answer. They had wanted a simple interview but Sena knew from exercise that it would turn into an all-out assault on him with each and every question diving deeper and deeper into whom Sena was; it gave him shivers like only Hiruma could. Sena had told them no several times but they were very persistent with one of their most prestigious writers, "Bomberhead" Kumabukuro, personally calling him. His most recent call had been that very morning before he was able to leave for school. He obliged the man for a few minuets and they discussed the possibility of a personal interview. Sena of course was polite and rather insistent that he was undeserving; however "Bomberhead" was just as persistent; so much so that he ended the conversation with a polite "possibly" to his request for an interview. The man had given Sena more information about the possible interview though and for that he was grateful; all his previous interviews had been filled with Eyeshield 21 things that Hiruma had made up and never really went to the heart of who was under the helmet. He had also admitted to Sena, although rather reluctantly, that the interview would really be his daughter Riko's interview although he would be there as well and that although it would be a full profile about him rather then just about his playing. Apparently the magazine, in addition to the Devil Bats Club house and his locker, had been overrun with fan mail addressed to him. The magazine had then decided that in addition to the normal interview they wanted to know what kind of people were part of making him who he was today, but most importantly they wanted to know what kind of girl could actually "catch" the elusive Kobayakawa Sena. This part of the possible interview made him especially nervous, even more so now that he and Karin were staring something and he knew that if she was as shy as he was that something like that could possibly ruin any chance that the two of them had at starting anything. He would just have to avoid it as long as possible, but he knew that the longer he stalled the more likely they were to ambush him at school or even worse his home. Sena could just picture coming home to his mother spewing out stories to the father daughter reporting team and gushing over all the girls that would come calling on him; and of course Riko being a girl would definitely not escape his mother's attention.

Sena had already entered Kurita's home and waved to his parents in the front room. He entered the back and was greeted by a grateful looking Kurita who seemed to be under siege by Monta, who was bouncing around the room like a monkey on sugar. His suspicions were confirmed as he saw a couple of empty energy drink cans lying around. Sena sighed Monta had always been naturally energetic and now seemed to definitely not be the time for it. The room that they had settled into was already laid out for them to sleep and in true fashion for Kurita, was filled with food. The trio spent their evening watching a couple of movies, mainly come from behind underdog sports films; who would have thought. They spent the rest of the night engaged in conversation, mainly about the upcoming spring tournament and eating copious amounts of food, despite having practice the very next morning. Monta continued to steer the conversation towards girls and apparently making Sena uncomfortable. He would keep asking for details about all the girls who were asking him out and seemingly trying to find out every facet of what was now a non existent love life. He also interrupted every so often with the occasional Mamori question as he messily scribbled down Sena's responses into a notepad he had mysteriously produced from thin air. Sena knew that this could only end one of two ways; bad or worse. Although there was a quick change of the conversations pace when Kurita's father came and told him there was a girl on the phone for him. The huge smile on his father's face was definitely not missed by either Monta or Sena. When he returned they had bombarded him with questions and the shy giant eventually conceited defeat. Apparently a rather cute third year girl from Seibu had obtained his number from Riku who of course had obtained it from Sena. Sena smiled as it was nice for the big guy to get some attention from girls especially with all of his causing some jealously from his teammates and the rest of the schools male population.

As the night drew to a close the three went to their separate beds and began to prepare themselves for the hellish practice that they were assured for the next morning. Fortunately for once Hiruma had threatened someone to Sena's personal advantage. His first class the next morning was though by a teacher who just happened to have a fairly large debt to Hiruma and this allowed him some sleep and a little wiggle room in his first class of the day. Sena just closed his eyes and tired to fall asleep whilst Monta started mumbling in his sleep and Kurita began to snore like a beast. Sena just cleared his head and started to drift off; his head filled with dreams of the spring season and a certain long haired blond quarterback with whom we had a date that weekend. In the dark a small smile crept onto Sena's face.