I own neither Eyeshield 21 nor the song 'Invincible' by Muse. Nor the lyrics incorporated into the character's speech at the ending. (WARNING: Hasn't been Beta'd)

Sena lay on a hill behind Deimon and looked up at the stars. It was late; practice had been over for hours, but he just couldn't find the motivation to get up and go home. He stared at the sky, struggling to keep his mind blank.

"Hey."

Sena jumped and looked over to who was addressing him.

"Hey, Monta." He greeted with a quiet smile.

"What are you doing out here? It's getting cold." Monta asked, but took a seat next to Sena's sprawled form never the less.

"Just got distracted by the stars. They're really beautiful tonight." Sena lied.

"Is this about the third years?"

'Monta always could see though me.' Sena thought, his smile turning wry.

"No." He tried again.

"Stop lying to me, Sena." Monta frowned down at him.

"… Maybe." Sena turned away from his best friend and lay on his side instead.

Monta's frown became more frustrated. He let the silence stretch between them, until it seemed brittle; like it would crumble at any moment.

"We don't even have a team without them; we're just a bunch of brats messing around. We're useless without our seniors." Sena spoke quietly.

Monta whacked him across the back of the head.

"Wh-what the hell, Monta!?" Sena shot up like a frightened cat, staring at his friend with a sort of incredulous shock. He rubbed the back of his head unconsciously. "You know it's true! We don't even have a leader!"

"You're the leader!" Monta shouted back.

Monta stood up suddenly and stared out at the school. "Idiot." He mumbled; his voice thick.

"Hiruma-san wouldn't have named you team captain if he thought you were useless. Besides, stop acting like you're all alone. You have Komusubi, Juumonji, Kuroki, and Toganou looking out for you on the line. You have Taki doing whatever you could possibly want as cornerback. You've got a HOARD of first years that can't wait to play with us. You've got me, Sena."

Sena sat up and hugged his legs to his chest. He looked away, ashamed. "Then why does it seem so hopeless without our founders?"

"Sena, listen to me. We can make our dreams come true. Don't give up the fight, we'll be alright." Monta smiled a little in the darkness. "I, of all people know how hard it can be to seem to have no results when doing something you love, but you should make a stand; stand up for what you believe."

Sena looked up at his friend in surprise and a little awe at how serious he was.

Monta continued; the only hint that he knew he knew he had his friend's rapt attention was the slight blush feathering his cheeks. "During the struggle, they will try to pull us down. But please, please, let's use this chance to turn things around. Let's keep the Devil Bats strong and leave a team our underclassmen can be proud of."

"Monta…" Sena started.

Monta ignored him and soldiered on. "And tonight, we can truly say: together we're invincible." He finished, eyes shining with repressed tears in the moonlight.

"Well, I guess he beat us to it."

"Juumonji?" Sena stood up, hastily wiping his eyes.

The new Deimon second years climbed the hill to be with their receiver and quarterback.

"But he's right; together we're invincible." Kuroki finished, looking away.

Komusubi patted Sena's arm. "US!" (Meaning, of course, 'As long as all of us are together, we cannot be beaten!')

"You guys…" Sena's eyes welled up again as Monta took his place with his teammates.

Giving up on words, Sena launched himself at his team with a watery grin, hugging everyone. "Tonight, we can truly say: together we're invincible." He agreed.

"You're such a wuss." Toganou insulted with his own teary, fond smile as the whole team hugged their captain back.

A/N: Monta/Sena if you squint really, really hard. Mostly this was about Sena feeling down if Hiruma didn't exert his powers to stay on the team. So, Hiuma, Kurita, Musashi, Ishimaru, and Mamori couldn't help, and Sena would be the team captain and quarterback. I think it'd be a really bittersweet time for Deimon's former first years. So mostly this is a fic about their bond they share… Please review!