Disclaimer: I do not own Eyeshield 21. All rights belong to the creators of the manga and anime. I can only claim the overall plot and OCs mentioned in this story. I hope you enjoy!

File One: A Mysterious Phone Call

"Hurry up you slow chibis! One more lap!"

Mamori was frowning slightly as Hiruma sent another downpour of bullets on the first years. She sighed softly and went over to hand him a towel.

"You don't have to be so hard on them. They've been practicing all day for the game against Shinryuji."

Hiruma blew a bubble then snapped it between his teeth. "If I don't yell at them, they'll get lazy and we'll lose the game, got it, manajerk?"

Mamori huffed. "I asked you not to call me that..."

But Hiruma (as usual) didn't care or wasn't listening. He merely flung his towel over his shoulder and made his way over to clubhouse.

"Hiruma! We did so well today!" Kurita yelled cheerfully as he bounced beside the quarterback.

"Quiet down, butuma. We still have a long way to go."

"But Hiruma..."

"Hiruma is right." Musashi joined the conversation. "We need to be a lot stronger before we can beat the Shinryuji."

"Musashi..." Kurita sighed. He understood what both were saying, but he didn't see the harm of being excited about their progress. After all… they finally had a whole team. Not just a team full of substitutes from other clubs, but a real team of guys who loved football like the three original Deimon Devil Bats.

"Hurry up and wash up. You too, old man."

Musashi smiled slightly as he followed the other two into the clubhouse. As they entered, Doburoku-sensei could be heard pointing out areas that the team needed to work on. He was working with Yukimitsu on perfecting some strategies before practice completely wrapped up.

Soon, everyone was inside the clubhouse washing up and packing up their things. It was a little rowdy, but no one really minded as they said their good-byes and finally headed toward their homes. Hiruma was the last one out of the clubhouse (though Monta and Sena had come back in a hurry to lock up according to their punishment for being late for practice…).

"Hey, Hiruma! How about joining me and Kurita for dinner?" Musashi invited.

"I'll pass. I have to stop and get food for Cerberus and Butaberus."

"Doesn't Doburoku -sensei look after them?" Kurita asked curiously.

"No, he's too busy with the team, and with the old man drinking I wouldn't trust him with them."

Musashi and Kurita gave each other knowing glances. While Doburoku-sensei was great with football, he wasn't exactly the most responsible adult they knew. Musashi still had trouble wrapping his head around how Butaberus joined their Deimon crew to begin with… Poor Doburoku-sensei.

"Well then, we will see you at school tomorrow." Musashi waved good-bye and walked off with Kurita.

Hiruma watched them leave before turning and heading off to his usual convenience store stop. After buying some food for Cerberus and Butaberus, he bought an additional pack of gum and a few bento boxes for himself. There weren't a lot of bags… but Cerberus' food wasn't exactly on the light side. It took a little juggling to adjust the bags as he headed back to the clubhouse.

"Tch… It's locked." Hiruma scowled as he had to do some juggling with his bags. "Where'd those chibis put the key?"

He felt around the door with his foot for the hidden key.

"Stupid chibis... That's the last time I'm letting them lock it."

He was grumbling softly to himself as he stuffed the Cerberus and Butaberus's food in a storage closet. He slammed the closet door shut and sauntered out of the clubhouse.

"I'll show those little punks how to lock this place."

Helocked the door and stuffed the key in his pocket. He needed to find a better spot to keep the spare key. After giving the door a good kick, he pulled out a piece of gum.

"Thank goodness the convenience store had sugar-free gum this time," he muttered, stuffing his hands in his pockets and looking up at the sky. It was a momentary glance though. He was just heading over to check up on Cerberus and give him a scratch behind the ear.

"Give those chibis a good scare when they come in the morning."

But now… it was time to make his way to his apartment. Hiruma was a little reluctant to head home. He just had a few things on his mind, and his fingers were itching to pick up his cellphone.

Not yet... Just wait a bit.

His fingers seemed to be ignoring his inner command, pulling the cellphone out of his pocket and swiftly dialing the number.

I guess a little earlier won't hurt...

Hiruma lifted the phone to his ear.

Ring. Ring.

"This is Yōichi..."

Hiruma fidgeted a little as he spoke softly into his phone, "I have a big game against Shinryuji. You remember me telling you about them? Anyways, if you get the chance... come see Deimon's game."

He hit the end button and closed his phone with determination.

Off to eat, then work on some new plays for the team, then hit the sack.

Hiruma stuffed the phone back into his pocket and hurried to his apartment. It wasn't too far so he had arrived shortly and was able to make a quick dinner. Earlier, he had tossed his groceries on the kitchen counter and tossed his dufflebag onto his bed. He didn't bother putting his stuff away in any specific place. He had other things to take care of while eating dinner.

As he ate, he had his laptop out was busy typing up schedules for the practices they had left before the game against Shinryuji. They needed to take their practices up a notch to be even close to being ready for that game.

The monkey needs to work on those routes. The stupid chibi needs to work on his stamina again. He's been slackin'. Don't need to worry about butuma jr. since butuma's taking care of him. Ha-Ha brothers need to work on that play more…

Hiruma yawned and kept typing away, but soon his eyes began to droop. He was asleep.

Author's Note: To any old readers, you may notice that some of the chapters are slightly different than before. I have finally gotten around to editing and updating this story. I hope you guys like it!