Eyeshield 21: The Remix

Chapter 11: Half-Second Bodyguard

by: DC Coda -The Music of My Soul- Ivan

"Hut!" was called once again, and Sena, now Eyeshield 21, shot forward. The linemen grunted as they tried to hold each other back, one side so that Eyeshield 21 could get through and the other so that they could stop her.

Eyeshield took off along the side, running past the falling line, digging up dirt as she went. 'Ack!' she thought when she looked ahead and saw two players closing in on her. She made a sharp turn to the left, dogging them. 'They've already come round.' she thought, 'These guys are good!'

Otawara pushed away from the line, homing in on Eyeshield 21 as she ran past him. He saw the way she held the ball, only in one hand and away from her body, and slapped it away.

The ball tumbled out of her hands and several players dived at it.

"Get it!!" both Hiruma and the White Knights' coach shouted.

Eyeshield held back just as everyone jumped in, not wanting to be crushed.

Soon the pile backed away, only to see that Kurita had caught the ball.

"Way too risky!" Hiruma snapped, annoyed.

"Kurita's the only one who's stronger then they are." Ishimaru agreed.

"That Eyeshield 21. He wasn't in the video." Shoji, the Ojo coach said.

"It looks like he scored the comeback touchdown against Koigahama," Takami said, looking at a sheet of paper with information about the Devil Bats, "I wonder why he didn't come in until the final play..." he said.

"What do you two have to say?" the coach asked Shin and Sakuraba, "About number 21?"

"What do I..." Sakuraba started, surprised at being asked, "Uh, I don't... he seems pretty fast." he said finally.

Shin looked out at the field. Maybe this player was actually Sen-chan? The running looked so familiar, so much like hers. But... "I can't make any conclusions from a single play but..." he started, thinking about it, "He could be a touch football player." he said, "He isn't formally trained- but he's self-taught with years of experience." Maybe it wasn't her... but he hoped it was. Ever since he had first seen her run he had wanted to play against her on the football field, but she had never shown any interest in football, so why would she start now...

"Hm..." Shoji said, thinking about it and then agreeing. It made sense. Otherwise they probably would have heard of a player like that before.

"What is touch football again?" Sakuraba asked Takami. He knew that he should know this, but he couldn't remember...

"Instead of tackling, you touch the players in order to stop them," Takami told him, "It's the style of football that school kids and most girls play for fun. You don't need protective gear."

"That move isn't something that one can learn over night." Shin continued, "He can't be a rookie." That made it almost certain that it wasn't Sen-chan. As far as he knew, she had never played football. "But there is a timidity in his running," he added, and that made him certain that this Eyeshield 21 wasn't Sen-chan. He had never seen any timidity in her running(1), or anything of the like. "He is unusually afraid of contact." Shin said, "Facing one's opponent... it's not something to run away from. I don't think he's a threat to us yet." he concluded.

'He got all that from watching one play?' Shoji wondered, amazed, 'He's really something.' he thought.

"Well..." Sakuraba started, "If you say he isn't trained, then where did he learn to play?" he asked Shin.

"The way he carries the ball is sloppy." both Shin and Shoji told him.

Sakuraba glanced back at the field, remembering how Eyeshield 21 had been carrying the ball. "Yeah." he agreed.

"Hey, you," Hiruma said, coming up to Eyeshield carrying the ball, "When your running, how do you carry the ball?" he asked her.

"How?" Eyeshield questioned, "Normal..." she said, taking the ball Hiruma offered her and holding it out with one hand, "Like this..."

"You damn Chibi!" Hiruma swore at her, grabbing the ball back and hitting her over the head with it, "You're clueless about protecting the ball!" he shouted, annoyed. "Hold the end of it between your fingers..." he told Eyeshield, demonstrating, as she looked up, rubbing her abused head, "And tuck it into your armpit!" he finished, doing so.

Sena tried it, and found that it was much easier to hold the ball like this. It also wouldn't leave so many opportunities to have the ball stolen from her.

Up in the stands, the Shinryuji Nagas were talking about the game.

"So Agon..." the bald one asked the one with the dread locks who was using some binoculars, "What do you think of this guy?"

"The Devil Bats are an obscure team..." Agon answered, "But they have a couple quite unexpected additions..." he said, looking through his binoculars at the Devil Bats manager. He had looked around for the kid that Shin had been talking too before the game, but he hadn't seen them. That one had been interesting, dogging Shin's tackle like that.

"Great legs, huh?" the bald Shinryuji asked, referring to Eyeshield 21's legs.

"Oh yeah," Agon agreed, talking about the Devil Bat manager, "I want them..." He peered closer at Mamori, "I can tell even through the clothes. Nice curves..."

"What are you talking about?!" the other shouted, snatching the binoculars out of Agon's hands.

"I got it- that Eyeshield guy." Agon said, not at all bothered by his team mates reaction, "On this lightweight team..." he said, pulling his glasses back down onto his face, "They've got a nimble new recruit. That's all." he told the other, "But that doesn't mean a thing when your front line is made up of amateurs."

Down on the field, the ditzy reporter was still trying to understand the game.

"So, what are 'linemen?'" she asked her partner.

"They're the guys in the first row who act as a shield to protect the runner." he told her, wondering how she could be so clueless, "If you don't have a good front line, you don't stand a chance." he said, "No matter how fast a runner you might have, without strong linemen, it's impossible to beat your opponent." he added, turning to watch the Devil Bats in their huddle.

In the huddle, the Devil Bats were just starting.

"All right," Hiruma said, "We'll do the same as before," he told the team, "Eyeshield 21 will slip by on the right edge of the linemen." he told them. Then he turned on the linemen. "Linemen, you'd better block as hard as you can!!" he shouted at them. They all winced.

"He can talk all he wants..." one of the linemen said, "They're just too strong for us."

"There's no way we can stop them." another lineman agreed.

"There's no way amateurs can stop the White Knights." Hiruma said plainly, "So I'm not expecting perfect blocking from you." he told them. "Half a second." he said, holding out his hand to emphasize his point. "You've got to hold your assigned man of just half a second." he said, explaining, "That's enough time for Eyeshield 21 to get through!!" he told them

Afterwards, Kurita went to talk to Eyeshield, "Sena! Sena!" he called, then continued when she turned to look at him. "The White Knights' defense is probably the best in the country," he told her, "It's too much to ask that one person could beat them..." he paused, wondering how to phrase what he wanted to say next, "Think of us linemen and Ishimaru as your shields!" he told her, smiling when he figured out what to say.

"Shields?" Eyeshield asked, confused. She looked at the linemen (plus Ishimaru), and slowly, using her imagination, she saw them turn into shields. Maybe this would help her be able to run without fear.

They set up for the next play, Kurita ready to hut the ball to Hiruma to start the game.

"Set!!" Hiruma called.

'Ack!' Eyeshield thought, leaning away a little from the intensity of the line, 'I heard what he said, but really...' she thought, shuffling back when her foot caught on something. She glanced down at the ground and her cleats, which had prevented her from slipping. 'Last time...' she realized, 'The cleats really worked. I didn't slip at all...' she thought, 'I don't have to worry about it. My feet feel protected.' Like they had armor, she realized, imagining it on her feet, 'And now I know how to hold the ball...' she thought, remembering how sturdy that had felt. 'Hang on tight!' And now it felt like she had armor covering her arm as well. Then Eyeshield looked back at her shields made of the line. 'I can do this!' she thought, 'Maybe...' she added. It wouldn't do to get over confident about it. That always lead to bad things.

"Hut!" Hiruma called, Kurita giving him the ball.

'Hrmph' Otawara thought when he was tackled by two of the linemen while Kurita went after another, 'Double-teamed!'

Kurita, tackling a smaller, less strong opponent, crushed him, allowing Eyeshield a path to run.

'I don't need to run away...' Eyeshield thought, taking the ball from Hiruma and running forward, holding the ball like Hiruma had told her too, 'I've got shields!' She ran forward, straight at the opposing player that was closing in on her. Eyeshield feinted to the side, and the other player went with her, then, suddenly, she went to the right, leaving the player closing in on Ishimaru, who had run beside her.

"He broke free!" someone exclaimed.

Shin watched, surprised. 'His running...' he thought, 'It has lost its timidity!' And it had, Eyeshield was running on the field confidently, and now the running looked so much more like Sen-chan's running did, Shin realized, watching. Maybe it was possible that Eyeshield 21 was Sen-chan. If that was so, he wanted to get be on the field and play against her.

"Only 30 yards left to the goal line!" came the announcers astonished voice.

'It's useless once he gets by on the side...' Shin thought, 'There's no stopping that kind of speed.'

"On the 20!"

Mamori watched from the sidelines, surprised once again at Eyeshield 21's speed.

In the stands, the Shinryuji Nagas watched astonished as well at Eyeshield's speed.

The Ojo coach watched open mouthed.

"And the 10!"

"No one could have expected what's just happened..." the ditzy reporter said, surprised herself, "In the opening minute of the game, the first to score is..."

"Touchdown!!"

"The Deimon Devil Bats!!"

TBC...
1. Well Shin, you wouldn't seeing as you've never seen Sena-chan run when she knows your gonna tackle her. That makes it a whole different story.

A/N: Yay! Next chapter!

I have to say, writing, watching, and reading Eyeshield 21 all at the same time, gives me a headache.

Welp, the next chapters out, so have fun! And remember to review!

Ivan