Disclaimer: ES21, characters and their illegal weapons belong to their rightful creators ie Not Mine.

A/N: I just dug this up from an unexpected folder. Wow it's old. From back when they first played Seibu (my favourite team), I think.

Drabble 6

Deimon + Seibu


Any Improvement is better than None

Riku and Sena sat together by Deimon's football field, looking up at the clouds.

"Hey, Sena. After being bullied through all your childhood years," Riku commented, "This must be the first time you've ever enjoyed popularity in your life."

"Uh…" Sena fiddled with a blade of grass, "No."

"What? You mean in nursery you were—"

"No, of course not," Sena tore up the blade of grass and tossed it away, looking a little pensive, "Its just that I'm still not popular. Not now, not ever."

"Why?" Riku sat up, raising a skeptical eyebrow, "Aren't you the Devil Bats' star runner?"

"Um…but no one knows. It's supposed to be a secret…You know, the whole eye shield thing." Sena said awkwardly. He looked terminally embarrassed as he quailed under Riku's bemused stare.

The Wild Gunmen's runner sighed, "Does that mean you're still being bullied on a regular basis? Despite all the skills I've imparted to you? Have I failed that badly as your teacher?"

"Oh No!" Sena immediately denied, "I'm not being bullied anymore!"

Riku gave him a dry look that told Sena he was entirely unconvinced.

"At least," Sena continued, with less force but more conviction, "I have something to live for now. It's not just Mamori-neesan protecting me all the time. There's the entire team. And I want to be strong enough to protect them too."

He looked at his friend, eyes clear and determined, "I'll never get bullied again, Riku, I promise."

They looked up peacefully at the clouds, and Riku felt a slight smile ghosting his lips. Perhaps lost, pathetic, little Sena had finally found his place in life and perhaps he could finally stop worrying about his 'brother' now.

"OOI SHRIMP! WHAT THE FUCK DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING? GET YOUR BUTT BACK TO TRAINING!"

Sena let out a short scream as he jumped up to avoid the bullets and Riku watched as his friend was chased around the field by the quarterback from hell. It seemed as if Sena was still a long way off from fulfilling his promise.

But at least, Riku thought, it is a better sort of bullying now.