This is the 1st of the flashbacks Kaoru will be having, as I promised. The 2nd part is WIP, I'll try to get it done in a day or two. Just a reminder for those who didn't read my previous chapter, I'll be posting the names of potential boyfriends for Kaoru three chapters from now. Do vote your favorites or I'll take that decision into my own hands (evil laughter echoed into the air)

As to the continuation of my previous work in Eyeshield 21, I might try to work something out between Hiruma and Tsukikaba, aka Kaoru as well. Most probably will add another main casts from the manga. A villian this time round. I'm sure you can guess who. Anyway, onwards with the story. Do Read & Review. Ya-Ha!

Chapter 5

Flashback, day after the 1st meeting with Hiruma

"Well, hello. What have we got here?" She slowly approached a stout-looking dog. Kaoru got lost after she left the admin office and decided to explore the campus. She found herself facing a ferocious looking canine of unknown breed, lazing in front of an outhouse in a remote part of the compound.

It got up after being disturbed by Kaoru's intrusion into his territory and now stands facing her, its stance on high alert. It has long, sharp spikes on his collar, its mouth lined with Jaws-like teeth. It's staring intently at Kaoru, its body ready to pounce on her at the slightest provocation. She shifted until the distance between them is just a couple of feet away. Kaoru chewed on her gum absently as she tried to think of a solution to escape from this predicament. As she blows the gum, the hound's nose twitched. Sniffing the air, it moved its head around slightly, as if to find the source of the scent that caught its attention.

Cerberus sniffed at the familiar scent he associated with his human companion. When he didn't see him around the area, Cerberus traced the minty smell with his nose back to the female intruder. He watched her slowly lowered her body until she's squatting, with one knee raised, in a runner's starting position. Neither party is budging from their positions; it's a Mexican standoff for the two unless a third party interferes.

That third party appears in a form of the Devil Bats QB. Hiruma left Kurita on the field, training with a guard block dummy as he went back to the clubhouse to change his jersey. He took the shirt with a tear on the right sleeves instead of a new one back home. Luckily, there are plenty of extras in the locker back in the club. When he turned into a corner, he noticed Cerberus is standing in front of the entrance of the clubhouse, his stance aggressive. When he got closer, Hiruma saw his neighbor in a crouching position, her posture semi-erect, like a wounded-up spring, ready for action.

He comes to a decision to divert their attention from each other to him immediately after watching the two for a few seconds. It's one thing for Cerberus to attack someone in Deimon, regardless any given instruction. It's a whole new ball game when the target is not only his neighbor, but also someone who Hiruma secretly admire the courage for not backing down at him or the hound when pushed to a corner.

"Cerberus, that's a friend, not foe." Both human and canine turned their head towards Hiruma at the sound of his voice. Kaoru relaxed her body and got up slowly. Even though Hiruma gave his command, she'd rather play safe than sorry, not letting her guard around the beast. Hiruma walked up to the dog and start linking the chains pegged on the ground onto his collar.

"What the hell are you doing here? Walking around, looking for trouble? Or to get attack by Cerberus!" snapped the QB. She moved closer, until she's standing beside the incensed teenager. "Cerberus, huh? Did you fancied yourself being Hades, Lord of the Underworld?" Hiruma humphed, his gaze fixed on anything but her mirth expression. A slight tinge of pink is hinted on his cheekbones. Kaoru noticed the coloration and chose to keep her peace.

Her eyes widen as she took notice of the uniform he's wearing. "Amefuto club? Deimon Devil Bats?" Hiruma nodded, not expecting her to know right off the bat that he's playing American Football. "Damn, Takami never told me you being a player…. " Kaoru muttered under her breath, scowling at no one in particular. His ears peaked up as he picked up the name of Oujou White Knights QB being mentioned.

"What are you doing here? As far as I recalled, there's no one by the name of Yamamura studying in this school." Kaoru turned her attention back at him. Cerberus is just lying between them, his eyes looking at the two humans as his ears twitched at their voices.

"I'm getting myself transferred here, just handed in the procession forms. I'm from Seibu High initially. " Hiruma give her a look, the interest in this eyes doesn't border well with her senses. They are telling her the devil has plans and she's smack right in the middle of it. Desperately needing a distraction, she immediately squatted down, her gaze fixed at the dog.

"Where did you find him? Is he a pet of yours?" Hiruma arched his brow, telling her he's not fooled by her sudden change of topics. "He wandered into the field one sunny day during practice and we came to an agreement after a lengthy discussion." Disbelief etched on her face, Kaoru stared at him, waiting for him to clarify. Silence descends between them, and for a while she thought he's not going to continue. Then, he heaved a sigh, sounding like he'd come to some mental conclusion.

"See this tear, it's the handy work of this hound," Hiruma resumed as he pointed the jagged opening on his sleeve. "He gave me this as I slapped the collar around his neck when we squared off." He paused, emerald eyes gazing at a distance, unfocused on the present. "Actual fact, neither of us won. In time, we slowly get to know and understood each other better, using each other's strengths to get what we need. So, no, he's not a pet."

Kaoru nodded, not uttering a sound to break his monologue. When she sensed that he'd said enough, Kaoru decided to tell him a bit of her past to him. "I was a former track & field runner, unbeatable in the 50m and 100m sprint in my school. Last spring, before the competition, I pushed too hard and injured myself. Coach pulled me out of the team and told me take a break. It took three months of rest and rehab to get back to my feet." She stood up, needing to move around as she continues her story.

"It was at summer training camp when I realized that I couldn't run competitively. What's the use of me being in a sport where I can't be on the field?" Kaoru snapped, fists clenched, her eyes staring at an unknown opponent. Hiruma said nothing as he saw her vibrate with anger. Blinking, she brings herself back to the present, slowly relaxing her tense body.

"I dropped out and put up a game face to tide over the remaining months. When possible, I avoided my teammates and Coach. My brother told me not to push myself too hard. I've suffered injuries before so it was a matter of time before the stress pulled my body down." She stopped her pacing, and then explains further. "He's a doctor, so he knows what he's saying have some truth in it. I ignored it, and this is the result."

"That's why I transferred here. I need a new environment to get over it. The comforting words are nice but they're driving me demented. It's been roughly six months since I've run full throttle and almost a year off the tracks. I can run, very fast, but I'm not sure if I can race again. You race to win, not to get second best or third."

Kaoru stopped in her tracks, her back facing Hiruma. Taking a deep breath, she slowly exhales, letting out all the pent up emotion she felt during her talk. Hiruma slowly stood up, his face deep in thought. Before he could break the silence between them, she intrude in. "You are a private person, that much I guessed from our first encounter. I think, in some ways, we're alike. To share something private like your thoughts earlier…I thank you for placing faith in my trust. Any conversation between us will not be told to a third party." There was a moment of awkwardness after that speech, and then Kaoru chuckled.

"Sorry for setting such an uncomfortable mood. Anyway, if you ever need a listening ear, don't hesitate to approach me." Her back is still facing him, so she didn't see the look of surprise on his face. No one had him pegged so fast and that accurately before. The information she told him earlier was already in his book, including where she used stay and which is her former school. What he didn't expect was the passion and drive towards a goal only to be dashed by rashness.

This is the first time he was put in an unsettling position ever. Complete trust promised to each other and a vow of confidence in keeping a secret. Few people dared approach him, let alone offer help. This is a complete novelty for him. To be honest, he didn't know why he told her his thoughts in the first place. Maybe, as what she says, they are similar in some ways.

His lips curved into a grin, a genuine smile. When she turned back to face him, he's back to his devil incarnation look. "Do you want to race?" Kaoru blinked at his question. "Well? What's your answer?" she nodded, not knowing why her reply was any importance to him. Hiruma walked over the dog, which's already dozing under the shade of the clubhouse. He entered the building, only to reappear moments later, his arms carrying a set of football gear.

"Suit up and meet me in the fields." He pointed the direction where he came with his head and dumped the stuff onto her. Turning his back, he removed the jersey and replaced it with a new one. Kaoru looked at the stuff in her arms, then back at him. Shrugging mentally, she proceeded into the interior of the club to change.

He went back first and got Kurita to refill more bottles and get more ice to cool their drinks. Only when the huge figure entered into the premises did he prepare the layout for the 50m dash. So when Kaoru arrived at the field, fully geared except for the helmet, Hiruma was alone, with the cones lined to indicate the start and end point of the 50m. She stood there; looking at the cones, then turn to Hiruma for instructions.

"Go and stand at that end over there. When I give the signal, run like your life depends on it." She walked over and did some leg-stretching exercise and body warm-up to avoid any cramps. By the time she's ready, Hiruma's itching to go. "Hurry up, will you? I haven't got all day!" Crouching at the starting line, Kaoru nodded.

"Ready…, Set…, Go!"

BANG

Hiruma took out a flare gun and release it into the air. She shot off like a rocket, sprinting down the route with no hesitation or regards to her injury.

CLICK

Hiruma waved the dust away from his face. She tore down the track and went pass the finishing line without decreasing her speed. His eyes looked at the figures recorded on the stopwatch and raised his brows. Kaoru stopped a couple of feet away and dropped on to the ground like a rock. It's been too long since she done that and her old injury is reminding her that with a vengeance.

It's throbbing hard, not too much to aggravate her but just enough to tell her that's it for today. A shadow hangs over her, blocking most of the light. She tiled her head back and looked at him.

"What's your previous timing?" She squinted at him, "100m or 50m? Ok, ok, I know, bad joke. Ahh, about 6 s, for 50m, I think. Not my best timing though. My aim was to reduce it to 5.6s – 5.8s." Hiruma released the timer; the string attached to it was wrapped around his palm, preventing it from hitting on to her head. Kaoru reached out to stop the swinging pendulum and note the timing. "Oh…wow…that's out of expectation." Hiruma grunted. "If the distance was 40 yd, your speed will 4.2s exactly," he commented.

Kaoru took a few seconds to digest that information. "Could you, like help me up? I kinda overstrained my injury." Hiruma looked at her outstretched hand and back at her. He tightens his lips to a grim and quickly pulled her up. Turning away, he walked towards the benches placed at the vicinity and sat down. Kaoru followed, limping slowly. That didn't escape his detection as he took a sip. When she sat down with a sigh, Hiruma handed her a bottle of water.

Nodding her thanks, she swigs the liquid down her parched throat. Then she squeezed the remaining water over her head and face to cool off. The distance between them wasn't too close nor was it too far apart. He took out his black book and scribbled something inside. She closed her eyes, tiled her head back and zoned out for a while. Kurita found them in this position when he came back, in his arms are the refreshments per requested. He wondered who could be wearing one of their uniforms.

Kaoru sensed someone approaching them and cracked open an eyelid to spy. From the upside-down vision, she noticed that the person is a guy and boy, was he huge. The thing that nearly made her fall backwards was the unusual shape of his head. It looks like a water chestnut. Suddenly, an image float into her mind and she chocked back her laughter.

Hiruma felt the vibration as she controlled her giggling fits. He got a glimpse of Kurita long before Kaoru sensed him and waiting to see what reaction she will give. She behaved exactly as he predicted. Kaoru swung her body back to the front and tucked her head between her knees, trying to suppress her laughter. Her arms are around her waist, fingers digging into her sides. Then as sudden as she starts having the jiggles, she lifted her head up and took a deep breath.

Hiruma turn his head a bit and watched the scene played out before him; Kaoru stared forward, her opened eyes unfocused. Her grinning expression slipped away like water as she closes her eyes and exhales to compose herself. Then she turned to look at him. Inwardly, he's impressed at how fast she got her self-control back. She stood up as Kurita reached upon them. "Hello, I'm Yamamura Kaoru, going to be transfer here in spring as a 2nd year student. Yorushiko." He beamed at her, and introduced himself as Kurita Ryoukan, 2nd year Deimon student.

"Are you going to try out playing Amefuto?" Kaoru shook her head, "I doubt females are allowed in the field as players. I just wanted to see if I could run again and Hiruma-kun loan these to me." Kurita's jaws nearly dropped at her comments and he turned to look at his junior high buddy. Hiruma will never lend anything out to a complete stranger. Kaoru saw his response and realizes her mistake and another thing from the enigmatic teen. Deciding not to arouse Kurita's curiosity any further, she beats a hasty retreat.

"Ah, look at the time, I've got to get going now. Have something on later today. Bye Kurita-san, it's a pleasure meeting you. Ja, Hiruma. I'll leave the stuff inside the clubhouse." She waved and moves away as quick as her legs are able to without annoying her injury further. Kurita waved back, Hiruma couldn't be bothered, but she did peek over her shoulder and saw he nodded back as an acknowledgement.

Kurita popped a question as soon as she disappeared around the corner of the building. "Ne, Hiruma. Who's that?" Hiruma closed the book with a snap and stood up. "Just someone I've known," he answered back. "Come on, let's start practicing. Time's are wasting."

"Hmm," Kurita knows that the subject is closed and collect his helmet on the bench.