File Three: Things… Are Kinda Revealed

"Slant!"

Monta dashed out and ran in a slanted line, obeying Hiruma's pass route. He had gotten pretty much all of the routes memorized. He was going to prove that he was the number one catch in all Japan!

From the sidelines, Mamori watched the team practice and made notes of every new move they did. Her pencil was rarely still during practice.

"Hey, Mamori."

Mamori looked up from her clipboard. "Oh, Musashi-san. Do you need something?"

"Actually, I just have a question for you."

"A question?"

A small sweat-drop appeared on the side of Mamori's face. She had been busy with studying for some tests, so she had slacked off on spying on Shinryuji. Hopefully, she would be able to answer whatever Musashi-san needed to ask of her.

"I was wondering... Have you noticed that Hiruma has been acting a little strange?"

Mamori blinked. That was that last question she thought she would hear from Musashi-san's lips. Hiruma acting strange? She glanced over to where the quarterback was. "Um... no. I haven't. Hiruma-san has been acting like he usually does."

And as if to prove that point, Hiruma was sending a downpour of bullets at Sena. "Stupid chibi! You gotta run faster than that!"

Musashi pursed his lips. "I guess it's just me."

After practice, Sena was cleaning his cleats when he heard a somewhat unfamiliar voice speaking softly. He cocked his head. It didn't sound like anyone on the team. He peeked over at the other side of the clubhouse and gasped softly. The voice belonged to Hiruma-san of all people!

Sena was shocked that Hiruma could even have such a soft (nice?) sounding voice! He actually sounded, well, friendly? He hadn't sounded this friendly even when he was trying to be oddly sweet with Mamori-oneesan and Yukimitsu-san at the school's sports festival.

Sena hid behind the lockers as Hiruma walked closer to the lockers. He held in a breath as he kept watching out of the corner of his eye. It looked like Hiruma was on the phone.

"Hey... Today's practice went well. I'm 100% certain that we'll win. So... I'm going to get tickets for you and reserve them in your name."

Sena cocked his head again then held another breath when Hiruma made a sudden movement toward the lockers.

Please don't come here!

"I gotta go... I'll call again."

Hiruma ended his call and left the clubhouse leaving a rather curious but very relieved Sena. After waiting for what he thought was a reasonable time, Sena left the clubhouse.

I wonder who Hiruma-san was talking to. His girlfriend?

He shook his head. It couldn't be a girlfriend. First off, no girl in her right mind would go out with him. His reputation as the Demon of Deimon was enough to scare any girl away. Second, if he did have a girlfriend, the whole school would definitely be talking about it. It had to be someone else.

His dad? But his dad is always abroad... and from what Kurita-san and Musashi-san have said, Hiruma-san hates him. Who could it be?

It was the day after Deimon's victory against Shinryuji, and there seemed to be a buzz in the air. Of course, everyone was absolutely thrilled that Deimon had defeated such a powerhouse in the Kanto region, but… there was a new rumor was going about. Almost all the school seemed to be whispering and gossiping.

What could it be about? It was rather obvious. It had to be about a member of the football team. All the glances they were getting made it painfully clear. But which member?

During lunch break, the Ha-Ha brothers were gathered around their desks informing Sena of the rumor that was floating around.

"Last night... after our party... they said..." Jumonji said in a low voice.

"That he was seen..." Kuroki continued.

"With a beautiful girl!" Togano ended.

Sena's eyes widened in surprise as he coughed out, "A girl?!"

The Ha-Ha brothers nodded in unison.

"Are you sure?"

They nodded again.

"Who is she?"

"No one knows," was Jumonji's reply.

"So, we were thinking," Kuroki started.

"That you should ask him about the girl," Togano finished.

"ME?!"

The Ha-Ha brothers nodded a little smugly as Sena walked slowly out of the classroom.

"Why is it always me?" Sena mumbled as he made his way down the hall.

He sighed and quickened his pace a little. There wasn't much time before class would start, and he knew the Ha-Ha trio would never forgive him if he didn't at least try to find out something. He glanced out the window to see if anyone was at the clubhouse when he collided into Musashi and Hiruma.

"Watch where you're going, shrimp."

"Hiruma-san!" he squeaked then bowed quickly and rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. Hiruma raised his eyebrow as he blew a bubble.

"Hiruma, as I was saying…" Musashi hadn't noticed Sena. "There is this rumor going on about you."

Hiruma sucked the bubble in and chewed on his gum. "And? I don't care what they say."

"Hiruma."

Sena looked up at Hiruma-san and Musashi-san nervously. Surely, the Ha-Ha brothers would understand if he just slowly slipped away and asked the question later.

"What? I don't care what they say about me."

"But I do! Hiruma, you are a close friend of mine, and I don't like lies being spread about you. So, please… just tell me who that girl was that you were seen with last night. Your girlfriend?"

Sena glanced back in surprise. He hadn't expected this turn of events… Since Musashi-san asked the question, he didn't have to. He would just tell the Ha-Ha brothers the answer Hiruma-san gave Musashi-san. He scooted a little closer to make sure he didn't miss a word.

"Ke ke ke. So, what if she is my girlfriend?" Hiruma smirked.

Musashi pursed his lips. "Then... I suppose I have nothing to worry about."

Hiruma started walking off. "She is not a girl… she's a woman."

"A woman?!" Musashi and Sena exclaimed.

Hiruma turned and gave them a crooked grin."Yeah."

Musashi and Sena turned bright red. Hiruma… with an older woman?

"Ke ke ke. She's my mom."

Musashi and Sena could only just stare as they watched Hiruma walk off. His answer was rather unexpected after all.

Hiruma never spoke about his mother before. He had mentioned his father once or twice in passing, but otherwise, he had never spoken of either of his parents. His teammates assumed that he didn't like either parent, so it was rather shocking to hear that he was with his mom.

Musashi recovered and set his mouth to a firm line. This must have been why Hiruma had been acting strangely the past few days.

Sena looked up at Musashi. "Um... Musashi-san?"

"Yes?"

"Did he really just say that he was with his mother?"

Musashi nodded. "He really said it."

"Wow…" Sena still wasn't sure how he felt about all this.

"Shouldn't you be in class?"

"WAAAAAAH! I need to be back in class!"

Musashi smiled and shook his head, watching the first year dash off to class. What was the kid doing outside of class anyways? No matter, he probably should be heading to his next class anyways. Hiruma was probably already there. And speaking of Hiruma…

There are soo many questions I will have to ask him later.