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.

It was a tumultuous night for some of the ligers. The nerves that built before game day affected each of them in their own ways. Some would sleep like stones, completely devoid of nervousness. Others would toss and turn throughout the night with anxiety or excitement about the game to come. And a select few found little to no sleep because of other events that had recently been brought to light.

The team was going to catch a bus from campus early in order to make it to Shuei Field for their game against the Doctor Fishes. It was a decent haul and they would likely be in traffic for the better part of an hour. But the bus should make excellent time in getting them to their destination. And it became rather obvious who had slept well, and who had not when the players arrived one by one to wait for the bus.

Monta arrived with heavy bags under his eyes and was double fisting a pair of to-go coffees from a local konbini. The simian receiver had a rough night thinking about all of this business with Shidao and that Kohando guy. He let out a long audible yawn and tiredly took a sip of the piping hot coffee. He was going to need all the caffeine he could get.

"I take it you didn't get much sleep?" came a voice nearby.

Monta groggily turned to see Sena and gave the running back an exhausted look saying, "Yeah you could say that." and then he took another long sip of bean juice.

Sena on the other hand had gotten enough sleep that he didn't feel completely drained. Sure he was kept up with some worrying thoughts about the impending Kohando situation as well, but it was understandably less centered on him. The wild haired brunette sighed after watching his long time friend yawn and rub at his eyes with the back of his thumb, precariously balancing the coffee cup the whole while.

After grumbling tiredly Monta did add, "Don't worry though, I'll be good for the game. Just gotta let this caffeine hit." The simian receiver gave a rattle of one of his cups and downed the rest of it before attempting to chuck it into a nearby trash can. Unfortunately, as with much of his highschool career, he was still terrible at throwing and the cup went careening well past the trashcan and bounced off of a roundish mound nearby some of their equipment.

The mound began to shift and grew two massive arms, stretching them out wide and let out its own tired rebuttal, "FurNURGyaaaawn…" The cavernous mouth of Kurita seemed to suck in the atmosphere nearby with that massive inhalation. He scratched at his lower back and pressed into it, giving a loud crack from his spine. "Ahhh…" he let out with a seemingly satisfied sigh.

Monta rose his remaining coffee cup and asked with a drowsy tone, "Hey Kurita. When did you get here this morning?" The wide receiver was prepared to hear some outlandish hour that Kurita dragged himself out of bed to the team room to gather the equipment, haul it out to the bus stop, only to fall asleep on it til now.

The chestnut shaped mammoth was bouncing slightly on his heels now and rotating his waist as he crossed his muscular arms over his broad chest to stretch. "Oh I've been here since maybe 2 am or so."

Sena chuckled as Monta snapped his fingers in an 'I'm not surprised' motion to match the runner's facial expression. The wild haired running back looked to Kurita and then back to Monta laughing, "Some things never change do they?" This drew a dry snort of amusement from the wide receiver.

Kurita continued to do some morning calisthenics before flexing his two humongous arms. A huge grin found its way onto his face and he stated, "I'm so excited to see Yukimitsu again! It's been forever!" That was something the three former devil bats all shared in common. The balding receiver was an integral part of their championship run at Deimon all those years ago. The trio all shared fond memories of their old teammate. It was going to be a bit strange facing him as an opponent.

The whimsical atmosphere that was bubbling up from the three former devilbats was popped rather abruptly by the gravely greetings of their fearsome defensive captain. "Oiiii! Rise and shine sleeping beauties! You ready to go grill some fish? Haw haw!" the boisterous beast belly laughed as he jogged up to join the group.

Not far behind him Suitokku plodded along as well. The monolithic Okinowan rose a bear paw of a hand in greeting, "Morning guys." As he idled up beside Kurita it was dumbfounding just how big he was. Sena and Monta were still getting used to it. The man was just as tall if not slightly taller than Kurita, and he cut such an intimidating figure of pure strength it was just ridiculous.

Dante wrapped a well defined muscular arm around Monta's shoulders and put the ape in a headlock. "The hell happened to you last night Mitts? You look like shit!" the fiery redhead tactlessly asked of his friend.

Monta could only tiredly reach up and grab at the hairy forearm pinning his head with his freehand and answer lazily, "Aw nothin… my pillow was just lumpy." The apish receiver then moved Dante's arm away from his neck and shrugged off the bigger athlete. Suitokku shared a quick glance with the American and the pair then looked back to Monta briefly. The tired tamarin noticed this exchange and waved it off, "I'm fine, just didn't sleep well last night's all." He then rattled his cup of remaining coffee and took another sip. "I'll be fine. No worries…" Monta then rose a hand meekly and issued a trailing, "Whooeee-aaaaawn." before smacking his chops sleepily.

Suitokku and Dante once more exchanged glances, not exactly convinced by the ape's performance. The bestial linebacker edged around back to his monstrous roommate and jabbed him with his elbow. He whispered sideways to the big guy in english, "Maybe you were on to something orca."

The towering tackle crossed his thick arms across his barrel of a chest and let out a low sigh. "Maybe…" he echoed back quietly in english as well. It seemed his suspicions that something happened involving Shidao and by proxy, Monta were at least accurate in the fact that something did happen. As to what precisely went down was between Monta and who he dained trusted enough to share that information with.

Sena gave the pair an odd look as he picked up a few pieces of their conversation in english and also gave a quick glance towards the embattled wide receiver. He frowned slightly and knew that this scenario wasn't just going to go away, and that even other teammates were already catching on to the change in behavior from the catch master. The wild haired running back let out a low sigh and thought to himself that this could not have happened at a more inopportune time. Their next game was but hours away and these types of distractions could prove detrimental to their performance. Hopefully they would manage well enough and could then shift their focus to the impending problem that seemed to be growing on the road ahead.

As more and more of the ligers squad showed up to wait for the bus it seemed as though the caffeine was finally starting to take effect for some of the group. Monta seemed a bit more chipper and was hiding any worries he may be harboring rather well now. His performance was commendable to say the least as. He greeted his teammates with enthusiasm, albeit slightly less than compared to his normal boisterous self, but no one else seemed to take much notice.

Juri arrived with Kotaro and when the light blue haired manager looked around to take roll she noticed a few folks were still missing. "Sena! Where are your girlfriend and my sister?" called out the older student when she couldn't locate the pair. She was worried about her sister after yesterday, but had faith that Suzuna would brighten her day and make the best out of whatever was happening.

Enma's team captain was responding to a text from the very pair in question and tucked his phone away in his pocket before answering, "They're on their way. I just got a text from Suzuna. They stopped to get egg salad sandwiches for everyone."

"Oh ok well that's goo- wait! With what budget?!" started the initially relieved older sister before the team manager part of her brain took over and screeched out in protest.

Sena bashfully put a hand on the back of his head and sighed, "I don't think Suzuna used the team funds for it." The cheer captain was not bashful when it came to utilizing her Hiruma Hell Card that was for sure. He had to wonder how much terror she incited in poor business owners when she flashed that piece of hellish plastic around.

Either way, his answer seemed to placate the elder Sawai sister and he breathed a sigh of relief. Juri could be intimidating when she was irked so this was by far the preferred alternative. Even Kotaro who was standing next to her seemed to have initially edged out of arm's length when she became upset only to move closer when she had calmed back down.

Shortly thereafter the pair of young beauties rolled up, bags in hand. The poor pair of teens seemed completely encumbered by the plastic konbini bags full of breakfast sandwiches for their hard working boys. As soon as they were within sight Sena dashed over at lightspeed to help lessen the burden of the two ladies. Suzuna gladly handed over three of her bags to the tailback saying with relief, "Oh thank god! I thought my arms were gonna give out!"

Shidao too, happily unloaded a few of her own bags when the running back offered to carry some of hers own as well. The minty haired teen shook her now free hand a few times to try and give it back some feeling. "I know right?" she seethed before adding thankfully, "Thanks Sena."

The wild haired running back nodded and easily hefted the bags he was given saying, "No problem! Thanks for picking them up!" Enma's team captain then walked with the girls back to the group and began reaching into the bag and tossing neatly wrapped little egg salad sandwiches to each of his waiting teammates. Many of them had likely eaten already, but some of them probably didn't have time. But each and every one of them happily accepted the morsel and thanked the girls for the thought.

"Awwww Suzuna's the best… where can I get a girl like her!?" Mizumachi complimented with happy tears streaming from his eyes as he nibbled at the delicious tamago sandwich.

Suzuna winked in his direction and said, "Awww you're sweet Mizuma-chan, but sorry to disappoint, there's only one me and I'm spoken for!" The azure angel continued to pass around sandwiches to the other players. Luckily she and Shidao had gotten plenty of extras because some of these boys had big appetites.

Shidao was also blushing from the many compliments and thank yous received by the various players. She wasn't used to so much positive attention that was fully genuine. When Monta, who had been patiently waiting his turn, came around she turned even more red and greeted him, "H-hi Monta. Catch!" and she tossed him one of the neatly packed breakfast confections.

The apish receiver easily caught the tossed package with one hand. His other hand was still nursing what remained of his second morning coffee. He gave her a tired one sided smile and replied, "Thanks Shidao." He waited a moment as she passed another sandwich to Chuubou who thanked her in kind as well before moving beside her and adding, "How are you feeling this morning?"

The shy teen sheepishly replied, "B-better." The verdant vixen turned her vibrant view on Suzuna and watched as the bubbly cheer captain continued passing out food before continuing, "Suzuna is really good at providing distractions." She smiled softly and turned to look at her simian sweetheart. "Thanks for encouraging me to go stay with her last night. We ended up talking about… well, wh-what happened and she helped me work through some stuff." Shidao reached out and grabbed at Monta's triceps and gave a thankful squeeze before finishing, "Thank you."

The apish oaf was blushing from the words of thanks and he replied, "I thought she might be able to help. I know I'm not really good at that stuff. And she's always been a good friend to me and Sena." He smiled thankfully in the cheer leader's direction and continued, "So I figured when she asked you that yesterday it might be a good idea. Anyway…" he paused and looked back to his newly minted girlfriend, "Glad you are doing better."

At this point Shidao finally had some time to really give her new boyfriend a once over as well after having focused on passing out food. She frowned slightly and asked, "What about you? You look like you didn't get very much sleep." The concern in her voice was straight forward and true.

Monta averted his gaze and answered bashfully, "Yeah I'm all right. But no, I didn't sleep too well. Call it a combination of pregame nerves and all of the stuff from yesterday." He looked back to her when he finished speaking and saw real worry there. The simian receiver quickly tried to assuage her concerns, "I'm fine, really! Th-this sandwich is just what I needed!" and he literally bit into the wrapper to tear away the plastic and carefully maneuvered it in his large hand to take a bite. Oh, it was actually really good. His sudden change of expression from flustered idiot to content delicious savoring made Shidao giggle slightly.

Nearby Sena had taken a seat on the curb beside his own beloved and had begun opening his own breakfast. He smiled slightly while watching the interaction of his friend and Shidao and he nudged Suzuna's elbow with his own saying, "Looks like Shidao's in better spirits."

Suzuna had already been enjoying a bit of the creamy egg salad sandwich when Sena spoke to her so she had to respond with a cheekful of tamago, "Hey, it's what I do." She gave him a sly wink and continued enjoying her meal.

With the crises at hand seemingly averted for the time being, the Enma Ligers finished their quick breakfasts while waiting for their bus to arrive. It was not long until the charter bus rolled into campus and pulled over to load up the players. Suitokku and Kurita helped to load their gear into the various luggage compartments along with the aid of some of the other lineman. In the meantime the remaining members of the team made their way onto the bus and took their seats.

Mizumachi was quick to claim back seat and took off running down the aisle of the bus to do just that. Kakei sighed heavily and shook his head, "Slow down!" he warned of his gangly teammate.

But the impulsive former poseidon just stuck his head out from his newly claimed throne with fishy lips and retorted. "Snooze you lose Kakei Hahaa!"

The other players were not as picky or immature about their seating arrangements and all quickly filled up the bus. Bigger guys like Kurita and Suitokku tended to take a pair of seats for themselves so they could stretch out a bit. Some of the smaller players paired up and chatted along the way. Others chose to put on some headphones and listen to music as they traveled. Dante in particular seemed to be rocking out to some rather loud and aggressive sounding music, whipping his hair back and forth while headbanging to the beat.

Of course, Suzuna sat beside her beloved running back and reached out to interlace her hand with his. Adjacent to them across the aisle sat Shidao and Monta. As the quartet of friends made their seats, Shidao leaned forward in hers to speak across the aisle to Suzuna and Sena. "Thanks again for everything last night Suzuna. I really appreciate it."

The azure angel tilted her head with a warm smile, "Anytime! I'm always happy to help!" The navy haired cheer captain then rested her free hand atop Sena's forearm and gave his hand a squeeze with the other. She was glad her friend seemed to have come out of her depression funk, at least for now. Seeing her sitting next to Monta was sweet and adorable as well. Suzuna was confused briefly as Shidao whispered something into Monta's ear and the apish receiver seemed surprised by whatever was proposed. Shortly thereafter he nodded with agreement and turned towards the both of them.

"SO hey! Uh… you guys busy tonight after the game?" asked the simian wide out.

Suzuna turned her head upwards questioningly at Sena and then back towards Monta, "No, at least not that I know of. Right?" she asked once more looking back to her beloved.

Sena could only shake his head lightly and agree, "No, I don't think so. Why? What's up?"

Monta grinned and asked, "Wanna grab something to eat with us, our treat for helping out and listening yesterday?"

Shidao was quick to chime in, "If you're alright with a double date." and gave a sheepish knowing smile to Suzuna.

The cheer captain's mouth popped open in an expression of coy surprise as she gave Shidao a knowing look in return. That little minx! Hoisted by her own petard! The little mint haired trickster beat her in her own games. "Proud of you girl!" she mouthed to the younger student before looking to Sena. "I dunno, what do you think stud? Free meal with good friends?"

Sena smiled and wrapped an arm around his girlfriend's shoulders and answered, "Sounds good to me. Just one request…" he put a free hand on his stomach and frowned adding almost distastefully, "Can it not be Lonestar's?" and he turned slightly green. The poor running back practically had beef PTSD from the last time he lost a bet there.

Monta blurted a laugh and responded, "I couldn't afford that anyway haha!"

Through the remainder of the bus ride the two young couples continued to make small talk and discuss the game to come. Around them their teammates continued to chat as well about Shuei Field and the Doctor Fishes. Some of them had caught a few extra z's while others continued to listen to their music in silence. Each player had their own pregame routines and rituals that they liked to follow. And everyone approached it differently. As the bus rolled into the parking lot beside Shuei Field, the last sparse remnants of the outside world disappeared. Once they stepped off the bus, the oncoming game became their central focus. All doubts went out the window, all other thoughts flew the coop, only one thing remained in front of them. The game.

The girls bid their heartthrobs good luck and a temporary goodbye as they made their way to their respective locker rooms. Suzuna led her cheer squad and the Sawai sisters into the women's guests locker rooms to get changed. The Sawai siblings weren't cheering so they instead chose to go directly to the field to help set up their respective sidelines and get things organized.

The boys went about their preparations each in their own ways. Mizumachi, as usual, seemed more preoccupied with pranks prior to getting suited up. But anything he doled out was returned two fold. That meant he ended up with more wet towel welts than his friends did.

The players assisted one another as needed with their awkward shoulder pads and other equipment. Some of them heavily taped their fingers and hands. Others similarly wrapped tape tightly around their ankles and other exposed joints. The extra reinforcement would help protect their bodies from the stresses during the game.

Before long, an official let them know that the field was ready for them for pregame warm ups. And the ligers, all padded up, jogged out of the locker room and into the awaiting sunlight of Shuei Field. Unlike Enma's own stadium, which hosted a largely competitive soccer team and was rather well constructed and put together, Shuei Field was far more minimalist. Bleachers lined up on one side of the stadium to host the home crowd, and a smaller section of bleachers were set up on the opposite side for the visitors. A tarmac track looped around the football field itself, and some spare track and field equipment was still lingering near the outer section of one of the endzones. It was readily apparent that sports were an afterthought at this medical university. Most of this school's money was pumped into the labs and academic side of its education. Sports were seen widely as more of an extracurricular activity than a main draw here.

As the ligers trotted out onto the green grass of the natural field they couldn't help but be reminded of many of their old highschool stadiums. It was simple and wasn't flashy by any means, but each of these players had logged countless hours practicing and playing on grid irons just like this one over the years. The nostalgia was a rich and welcome feeling.

While the visiting team began warming up and going through their various stretches and other routines, the home team marched out onto their half of the field for their own warm ups. To borrow an expression, the crowd went mild at their appearance. But to be fair there were maybe only a couple of hundred fans in the crowd, so the meager welcome was in all likelihood as good as one could expect.

As soon as both teams were gathered on their respective side of the field for warm ups, Sena turned a curious head in the direction of their opponents. He was keeping an eye out for Yukimitsu and Takami. The latter was not difficult to pick up due to his height. Takami was pretty tall all things considered. Granted he was still dwarfed by a few of the behemoths that played for Enma, but he was certainly not what one would consider a small fry.

And it wasn't long before Yukimitsu made his own presence known. The balding youth made his way to midfield after wrapping up his warm up routine and waved a hand in Sena and Monta's direction.

"Sena! Monta! Great to see you both!" the reflective headed cue ball greeted them as he made his way over in their direction. He looked very much as he did in high school. The opposing wide out was gaunt and about as athletic looking as he used to be. Maybe he had packed on some muscle over the years, and who knows, maybe the pads hid some of that progress. But at first glance Sena had to admit, the difference in athleticism between himself and his old friend was obvious. And the same could be said of much of Yukimitsu's teammates too.

The simian receiver was quick to bow in greeting to his fellow wide out. A large grin spread on his face and he replied, "Yuki! How ya doing man? It's been too long." and he wrapped his arms around the frail bookworm. The apish athlete slapped a powerful hand on the back of Yukimitsu's shoulder pads and then let him go.

Sena also bowed but spared Yukimistu the awkwardness of another hug greeting, "It's good to see you again too." The running back was about to ask how his old friend had been when the ground behind him began to quake. As the turf began trembling, Sena blanched and turned just in time to see Kurita rumbling full bore towards the three of them. "ACK!" blurted Sena as he dove aside just in time to avoid the orbital center as he left his feet to fall atop the two poor wide receivers in a literal crushing hug.

The alarmed cry that rang out from Monta and Yukimitsu were quickly muffled from beneath hundreds of pounds of blubber and jovial spirit. By the time Kurita stood and removed his massive bulk from their bodies, the two receivers were basically pancakes. Wasting little time the massive lineman picked each of them up, one in each arm and crushed them even more in an emotional embrace. Tears ruptured from the doughy tackle's eyes and drenched them both as he cried, "YUKIMITSUUUU! AAAAHHHHHHH I MISSED YOUUU!"

Sena held a hand over his heart and was white as a ghost. He was ecstatic and relieved to have avoided such a fate by merely a hair's breadth. Blanching, he watched the souls leaving Monta and Yukimitsu's bodies as they were flung around like rag dolls. When the rotund monster let them go they sagged up and down like deflated accordions

"G-good to s-see you too Kurita." Yukimitsu wheezed in response as he slowly picked his crumpled self up off the turf. "Stronger than ever I see."

Monta squeaked weakly nearby in agreeance, "My b-bones… are dust…" and he wheezed harshly.

The big dough ball fretted and quickly helped his teammate back to his shaky feet. Monta staggered left and then right and slapped his face with his palms. "Whhoooooeee!" he screeched.

"Sorry Monta! I just got so excited to see Yukimitsu again I guess I didn't gauge my strength!" Kurita was quick to apologize after having squished his friend half to death.

The simian receiver waved it off and gave a shaky thumbs up. "I'm ok!"

Yukimitsu laughed weakly in agreement, having narrowly escaped death himself. But he knew it wouldn't be the case once the game started. He would have to put himself literally on the line against this team. The Shuei Doctor Fishes had studied the Enma Liger's play from last week's game extensively. Kurita was a problem in and of himself to be certain. But there were other monsters on this team that put fear in their hearts.

The balding wideout surveyed Enma's side of the practice field and locked eyes on the one his team was the most fearful of. Number 92. That fearsome American had wreaked havoc all game long for the Koifish last week. And this week likely would not yield different results. Their game plan involved stopping him or avoiding him as best as they could. And while they had a sound strategy in mind, implementing it might prove difficult given the difference in their athletic abilities.

Not to mention they would also have to deal with the pair of former Poseidon aces in Kengo Mizumachi and Shun Kakei. Both of them were monstrous in their own right. Utilizing their great height and reach proved its own obstacle. And to add to it further, this new oceanic leviathan called Suitokku Tomo added a new wrinkle to the fold. Sure he was raw and inexperienced in technique, but that kind of raw destructive strength rivalled even Gao. If he got a head of steam going, there wasn't going to be much they could do to stop him.

Yukimitsu then turned his attention away from the big nasties and back onto Sena. And then there was Eyeshield 21. The once in a lifetime generational running back. The lightspeed kid. Even if the Doctor Fishes somehow managed to out wit and get around all of the other obstacles the Liger's posed, there was still him and that untouchable speed. Only one other player in Japan could even hope to match that insane rapidity, and he didn't play for Shuei. No, it would appear the doctor fishes would have to be surgically precise in their dissection of the Ligers to even stand a shadow of a chance. Even then, the likelihood of a successful operation today was less than one percent.