Disclaimer: Any original characters are property of myself and myself only. Eyeshield 21 is a series created by Riichigo Inagaki and Yusuke Murata. All characters of Eyeshield 21 are property of the original creators, Shonen Jump and Viz Media. Any references to the NFL and its players are copyrighted by the NFL and credited to their respective teams.

Shidao could feel his eyes boring into and through her as Monta led her away from the field. She just knew he was watching them walk off together and it unnerved her. What was his deranged fascination with her? Ever since high school he would never leave her alone. He always had horrendous habits of showing up where he wasn't wanted or welcomed. And this time was potentially the worst of all. He had to have used his phone to track down Monta to Enma University. How else could he have found her?

All these things rang through her mind as Monta escorted her to the car. And she must have been shaking from the sheer anxiety of it all because he asked her with some worry, "Are you sure you are ok? Did something happen back there?"

His question pierced her heart like a dagger. Could she even answer his question without sounding insane? Some guy she knew from highschool that has been stalking her for years suddenly appeared at her college to try out for their football team? And even if she did answer it honestly, would he believe her? Even then, would he do anything about it? All these doubts pelted her psyche like a storm force wind.

When they finally got back to the car she sat against the hood and wrapped her arms around her torso anxiously. She kept casting fearful looks back in the direction of the football field and even the dense Monta seemed to catch onto them as he also looked back in that direction. His teammates were all busy helping out the participants of the tryouts and they all seemed disinterested in the fact that they stepped aside. All save for one that is. Number eleven was definitely watching them, only looking away briefly when Monta stared him down as well.

"Did someone say something to you?" Monta asked while keeping a wary eye on the impressive standout from today. He hadn't caught the interaction between Kohando and her earlier, only how she had reacted afterwards.

Shidao stiffened up at his sudden probing questions and she lowered her head shamefully. "N-no! It's j-just a di-dizzy spell I s-swear!" stammered the midori maiden unconvincingly.

Monta stood up and crossed his arms over his chest, still keeping an eye on number eleven and continued, "If you say so…" and then turned his attention towards her. "Look I won't force you to tell me what happened or what was said, but I've got your back ok…"

She flinched and glanced up to meet his gaze. His soft brown eyes were warm and reassuring and she nodded meekly. "Thank you Monta… I'll be fine… I just need a minute to process… some things…"

Monta nodded, but still didn't fully buy Shidao's explanation, or lack thereof. He stole another sideways glance towards the field and again found number eleven looking in their direction. "Is he someone you know…? Number eleven I mean?" and he nodded towards their peeping tom.

Shidao once again flinched and looked away from the field. "I… uhmm… y-yeah… I know him." she sheepishly admitted, with some fear in her voice. Anxiously she rubbed her arm with one hand and took a shaky breath. "I w-went to h-high school with him… h-his name's Kohando…" and she trailed off, still looking into the distance.

"And…?" Monta prodded further. Clearly something about this guy had set her off. And it was beginning to upset him as well. He didn't mind her being shy, but this was… different. This was uncomfortable, he could tell the mint haired teen was afraid of this guy.

She once more flinched at the probing questions from the receiver but took a steadying breath, "H-he was always really popular with the girls back in middle school. Everyone loved him. But uh… I never did. When we got to highschool and well… g-grew up a bit…" she blushed as she gestured up and down on her torso briefly, drawing a similar shade of realization in Monta before she continued, "He uh… would always try to a-ask me out… on d-dates… and followed me home sometimes… he would show up at my h-house… He was always smiling and saying whatever he thought I wanted to hear… and I-I always turned him down… b-but he was persistent… and began stalking me…"

Monta stiffened up at that and bristled with anger. He looked suddenly towards the field and it seemed as though this Kohando fellow must have been caught up in some other conversation because he was no longer looking their way. The simian receiver quickly brought his focus back onto Shidao and he asked, "He stalked you… like all the way here?"

Shidao was shivering at this point and wrapped her arms tightly around herself and nodded with some sniffles, "A few w-weeks ago he caught me as I was packing to move here and asked me out f-for coffee… I shot him down using you as an excuse. I t-told him I was having d-dinner with my b-boyfriend and had to leave."

Monta suddenly blushed at that. "B-boy friend?" he gulped at the sudden implications.

The midori maiden continued, "I must have let your name slip and I think he used it to find you online through the football team or something and well…" She waved a wary hand in the direction of the field finishing tearfully, "Here he is… again… I bet he didn't even know what football was until I mentioned you…" The mint haired teen pulled her knees up tight against her chest and buried her face in her arms in shame.

The simian receiver took one more glance in the direction of the field and returned his worried gaze on this poor shy girl that had quickly won over his heart. To think some creep from her past would go so far as to try and join the football team of her university just to get closer to her. The implications made his skin crawl. He didn't doubt Shidao's story. What reason would he have not to believe it? Here she was, practically sobbing into her knees about the whole scenario.

"H-hey… it's all right… I'm here." Monta said to try and build some walls of protection around her. He moved to sit on the hood of the car beside her and placed one of his large and strong hands on her shoulder. "After all what kind of b-boyfriend would I be if I didn't protect you from sleazeballs like that right? That is if you think I'm worthy of that title…"

The mint haired teen nestled instinctively into his protective embrace and she whimpered, still trying to regain some composure. It even took her a few moments for her brain to register what he had just asked her. A sudden jerk of motion brought her out of her shell and she starred in wide eyed shock at the apish receiver. "W-what?" she stammered in disbelief.

Monta's cheeks turned a tizzy of red and he repeated, "I said what kind of boyfriend would I be if I didn't protect you from jerks like that?" and he pounded his chest. He then added a bit more bashfully, "That is if you are ok with me being your boyfriend that is?"

He did say it! Shidao's face erupted in bright crimson shades as the words sank in. This wasn't exactly how she pictured him asking but, given the circumstances, it more than warmed her heart. He was willing to literally stand up and fight for her, to protect her. Suddenly she felt less afraid of the big bad wolf over the hill. Her ravishing king kong would protect her from him. She tearfully pressed her face into his shoulder and mumbled, "Of course I don't mind! I've been waiting for you to ask me…" she laughed sheepishly and let out a sigh before turning to rest her head on his shoulder and wipe away a few tears. "Thank you Monta… I feel a bit better now knowing you're here." She leaned around him and glanced towards the field briefly, "I don't know what his real intentions are… but if Kohando can help the football team… and as long as you're around… I think I'll be ok. Just… promise you'll protect me?"

The wave of emotions Monta experienced then was perplexing to say the least. He was relieved she felt better and had accepted him as her boyfriend, but felt torn about the scenario they were now stuck with. "Of course. You can count on me." he reassured her while placing a firm hand atop her own. He worried about how this was going to play out. He had witnessed first hand Kohando's catching ability and overall athleticism; he doubted the team would let him go based on some doubts Monta had about his character. He also feared for Shidao's mental well being if Kohando's mere presence alone was enough to make her feel unsafe. He could well imagine acclimating to a world with this Kohando character was not going to be a fun one.

Meanwhile over at the sidelines it looked like Juri was wrapping up and letting the hopefuls know they would receive word back whether or not they made the team after the weekend. A few well timed whistle blows allowed her to make just such a set of announcements and Monta and Shidao watched as the various players dispersed. Slowly little by little the lot of them left. But one seemed to linger.

After it became obvious that Monta and Shidao were not going to immediately return to the sidelines, number eleven made his way towards them. Kohando kept a tempered and practiced expression on his face as he approached the items of his jealousy and admiration. When he got within a few dozen paces of the pair he could see them looking warily at them. He put on his best cheshire smile and waved at them warmly, "Hello, I hope I am not interrupting. I was just worried about Shidao. She left in an awful hurry after that dizzy spell. Are you alright?" he asked, seemingly trying to wrap his words around Monta to ignore his presence.

Unfortunately for Kohando, Monta was quite adept at catching things thrown in his general vicinity and he made his presence known by replying, "Shidao is doing much better now, thanks for asking. I take it you know Shidao?"

Kohando bit back an annoyed scowl and masterfully played it off, "Of course, we go way back. We've known each other since, oh it would have to be middle school right Shidao?" Once again he seemingly tried to weave his words around Monta to target Shidao directly.

The mint haired beauty managed to eek out a simple, "R-right…" in reply and still sheltered herself behind Monta's protective form.

The graceful gymnast moved one of his bangs out of his face and gestured between Monta and the girl he so clearly thirsted after saying, "See, we're just a couple of old friends, her and I… and oh where are my manners." he held a hand out towards Monta and introduced himself properly, "I am Kohando Yokotowaru. A pleasure to meet you uh…?"

Monta was starting to see why Shidao was so leery of this guy. His very essence came across as phoney. Then again Shidao did set him up with a pretty poor impression of the guy. That said, Monta returned the handshake and replied with, "Oh pleasure… I'm Monta. Her boyfriend." And with those last damning words through this reptile's heart he squeezed Kohando's hand tightly. Perhaps a little too tightly.

Kohando's eyebrow twitched ever so slightly at that announcement as the ape's words pierced his heart. And this vice like grip! Oh it was painfully clear the simian simpleton was wiser to his schemes than he may have realized. However, the dapper gymnast played it off by returning the handshake with as much force as he could muster, granted it paled in comparison to the wideout's own.

When the boorish ape finally relinquished his delicate digits Kohando put on that plastic smile of his and replied, "Ah, that's right I remember now. Shidao did mention you the last time we spoke. You are a very lucky man Monta. Treat her well yes?" and he gave the ape a sly wink. His acting was Oscar worthy, and if Monta hadn't already been given a sour impression of the man by Shidao, he'd have likely bought it hook line and sinker.

With that the sleazy gymnast waltzed past the pair and said in parting, "Well I'm glad to hear you are feeling better Shidao, and I look forward to seeing you both again soon. Tah tah!"

The pair watched him walk away for a long time, mostly making sure that he actually did leave. Monta puffed out his chest and snorted in his direction once he was gone. When he turned to face Shidao the lithe little lady leapt into his arms and crushed him in a tight shaky hug. Seemingly taken by surprise he staggered back a step or two and gingerly wrapped his own arms around her. She said nothing, just quaked lightly in his arms, fighting back the tears. If it hadn't sunk in before how much Shidao was afraid of this guy, it was certainly seeping in now. Monta could only continue to hold her in his arms for a few moments before he saw Sena and Suzuna looking on and waving to them.

"Alright, he's gone, why don't we go help Sena and the others clean up?" he asked softly while still cradling her in his embrace. The younger Sawai sister took a few more long deep breaths and relinquished her hold on the receiver before wiping at her wet eyes and nodding silently in agreement with him.

The pair composed themselves and made their way back over to the field. Monta tried to linger nearby the sidelines to keep a watchful eye out for Kohando if the back handed creep attempted to return and corner his minty maiden. Unfortunately he was dragged away by Dante to help break down the ball launchers and other equipment from their station. Every chance he got he glanced back towards the sidelines and the tension in his body eased up a little more each time as he saw her helping Suzuna and her sister Juri with the leftover food and other materials.

Someone caught him gawking however and Monta received a rigid flick to the back of his head from one of Dante's boney fingers sending sharp twinges of pain across the back of his skull. "WHOOEEEEEEE! YOWCH! WHAT THE HELL!?" Monta screeched and began frantically rubbing the back of his head to try and diffuse the burning agony before turning to face the linebacker.

"Quit gawking at your mojito mama and move it chimpy! Juri wants these damn things on the trailer asap!" The brash red headed American hollered back at the ape.

"WHOOOEEE! Alright! Alright!" Monta whooped back in reply as he began to leap about and wheel another launcher onto the trailer they brought them in on. Shidao was fine for now. Kohando was gone and she was with her sister and Suzuna. The thickly sideburned macaque let out a long sigh as he wheeled the launcher to the ramps on the back of the trailer. If he was this stressed about this already, it was going to be a long season if the team decided to bring Kohando in as a player.

A heavy thud from the trailer next to the one Monta was loading the launcher on stole the receiver's attention. Suitokku and Kurita had just picked up the last blocking sled and roughly sat it on their own trailer adjacent to his. A sudden chill traced from Monta's spine and down his arms through his muscles as he registered again just how freakishly strong those two were. He watched Suitokku stretch one muscular arm the size of a fishing pier pylon across his chest and sigh.

The maritime giant reached up to his jaw and applied pressure to it while rotating his head. The audible crackling of his vertebrae rumbled like thunder to the simian receiver. Suitokku set his icy blue eyes on the receiver and moved in his direction. "Hey Monta, how's Shidao doin?" he asked before moving to grab up the football launcher from Monta's hands and effortlessly placed it further back onto the trailer to make room for the others.

The dopey ape moved aside and rested his hands on his hips giving the leviathan an incredulous look as he manhandled the heavy machinery. This guy was a monster! The wide receiver took in a breath of air and thought a second before replying, "She's fine. Had a bit of a dizzy spell and needed to get some air."

After slapping his massive bear trap sized hands together to dust them off Suitokku replied with seemingly simple, "That right…?" implying he wasn't exactly convinced. It wasn't like he hadn't seen the couples emotional embrace or anything after that new guy went over and talked to them. The colossal Okinowan was dense at times but he wasn't blind. After a brief pause however he conceded, "Good to hear then…" For now he'd just have to take Monta's word at face value.

"Oi! Orca if you're done moving sleds, gimme a hand with this last launcher!" came a raspy and gravelly shout from further down field. Suitokku and Monta turned to see Dante wheeling one of the final two launchers towards them and pointing to the one still sitting on the field.

Suitokku cupped a massive bear paw to his lips and shouted after the American, "Alright Gingerbread I'll pick up your slack!" The maritime giant then laughed when he received a one fingered answer from the foreigner. Suitokku gave Monta a light pat on the elbow and added, "Later Monta." before trotting off to help Dante with the remaining launcher.

The simian receiver watched the monolithic man march off and sighed. If he had that much strength then this Kohando guy wouldn't think twice about trying to pull any fast ones. But that was just wishful thinking on his part, nothing more. For now Monta would simply have to do what he could with what he had.

Later that same evening Sena and the other team captains held one final meeting before their game the next day. As the team gathered in the meeting room their wild haired captain took the podium once more. "Thank you all for your help on a successful team recruitment day!" stated the running back as he bowed in thanks. A soft echo of cheers and a mild applause was his response.

Sena continued with, "Based on an initial look at our candidates we believe we have found two potential recruits for the team." At this point the meek tail back fumbled with a clicker Juri had given him to go through a few slides she had prepared. "Duh...AH! Here!" he managed to stammer while fumbling with the device. On the projector screen they used for playmaking ideas the image of Kuzuri Kotai popped up. The stout little first year with the scar over his chin was wearing a broken toothed smile in his student id picture being shown on the viewer.

"His name is Kuzuri Kotai, a first year and a member of the track and field club and team. He's about 5'10" tall and weighs 250 pounds. He ran a 4.5 forty and lifted 220 pounds on the bench. Dante." he paused to look at the defensive captain to wait for his report.

The fiery linebacker shook loose his wild mane as he stood and stated, "He had good footwork on the cone drills and showed good lateral movement… but his hands were the pitts. But, he still shows potential for linebacker and could replace Cueball so he can focus solely on offense."

Kurita chimed in as well adding, "He also showed some decent ability at the lineman stations. With some grooming, at the very least he might serve as a backup for the line should any of us be out because of injury or otherwise."

With that Dante nodded his agreement and rose one hand upwards, decreeing, "I say Kuzuri makes the cut. All in favor?" and he gave a palpable pause as the other members of Enma's locker room agreed, all raising their hands and saying aye.

As the bestial lineback sat back down Sena once more struggled with the clicker to get it to go to the next slide. When the brunette finally managed to get it working the image of another recruit popped up. "Here we have Kohando Yokotowaru, first year, a new student at Enma. He has a background in gymnastics, and ran a 4.5 forty as well, and benched 120 pounds." Sena then paused and nodded back to Dante.

The lion like linebacker stood promptly and continued, "Guy's got moves boys. He made the agility skills tests his bitch. And he caught every single pass in the receiving gauntlet without any mistakes. He's a natural receiver and has the physical skills to be a good cover corner with enough practice." He crossed his hairy arms in front of his chiseled chest and blew out a puff of air before referring to Monta, "Mitts, you were there watching, what are your insights on his ability?"

Monta had been staring at Kohando's picture in stark silence up until this point. This guy was on his shit list and it put him in a bad position with the team and their interests in the dude. He must not have registered Dante's query because he caught a water bottle to the chest after a few moments of not answering the linebacker.

"OI MITTS! Wake up! Whatcha think of pretty boy here?" Dante reiterated while thumbing in the direction of Kohando's image on the projector screen.

The apish receiver straightened up and cleared his throat. "From what I saw he's definitely better at catching than any of the other recruits, and he was plenty fluid with the other drills." He sighed and leaned forward onto his knees and diverted his gaze towards Shidao in the back of the room next to her sister.

The midori maiden was nervously looking at the image of Kohando and pulling her hair hand over hand. She caught Monta's gaze and briefly nodded. As much as the guy made her skin crawl, if he was at all serious about this he could help the team make it to the Rice Bowl. Shidao forced herself to stop stroking her hair and folded her hands across her lap before closing her eyes and looking to Monta once more. With one final nod of confirmation she held that stare with the receiver giving him her approval.

With that Monta grasped his hands together and looked back towards Dante and Sena. "He'd make a good receiver."

A brief but awkward feeling seemed to hang over the room. Monta's usually more animated about receiving but something about his attitude seemed forced and muted. A handful of his friends picked up on it and Sena was about to ask about it but Dante's voice cut in.

"All in favor of recruit Kohando joining the team as a receiver and corner?" And rose his own hand high to vote for yes. The team followed suit and even Monta with a furrowed brow and conforming frown rose his hand as well.

Sena nodded and said, "That settles it. We will notify Kuzuri, Kohando, and the other recruits of our decision Monday. In the meantime thank all of you again for your help. Go get some rest for our game tomorrow against the Shuei Doctor Fishes. The bus will leave campus at 8 am. Meeting adjourned." and with that the lightspeed runner breathed a sigh of relief. Ugh, public speaking!

Coming down from the podium Sena found Suzuna waiting nearby and he slumped forward a bit. "I'll never get used to that…" he grumbled with a sigh. This only caused his girlfriend to giggle and place a reassuring hand on his back.

"I think you did just fine stud." Suzuna quipped with a wink. She sidled up beside him and gave his side a slight nudge with her elbow. "Hey… was it just me or did Monta seem a little… deflated just now?" The azure angel gave a worrying glance in the apes direction as he was now chatting quietly with Shidao.

Enma's ace running back followed her lead and stared in Monta's direction before answering, "He didn't seem too excited about Kohando. I would have thought he would be."

"Do you think he's jealous or something? I mean sure Kohando did a good job, but Monta's like the best at catching there is right?" queried the cheer captain through a pensive frown.

Watching on and seeing Shidao seemingly reassuring the receiver of something and Monta appearing to give in to something she said he could only reply, "I don't think it has anything to do with that." The wild haired brunette was now becoming a bit worried about what might be happening with his friend. He had been acting a little weird ever since he walked Shidao back to her car earlier. Did something happen?

As Sena stewed, Suzuna watched and as if sensing some sort of tension happening between the two distant lovebirds, her antenna perked up a bit. Abruptly she turned on Sena and whispered, perhaps a little too loudly, "Do you think something happened between him and Shidao!?"

Sena blanched under the sudden forceful presence Suzuna seemed to exude and he stammered, "H-H-How should I know!?" Oh no what had he just asked. To his horror it appeared as though Suzuna grew a pair of demonic horns and a grin spread across her face. A horrible spectre of demons' past seemed to leach into Sena's mind and he could have sworn he heard a distant "Ya-Ha!"

"There's a way to find out! Let's divide and conquer! You grill Monta on the way home and I'll target Shidao! Together we'll get to the bottom of this! Right stud?" The devilish raven haired beauty commanded more than requested of her boyfriend.

Pale as the very ghosts he left in defender's wakes on the football field, the lightspeed running back could only reply with a stuttered, "H-Hai!"