Gale-Dragon: New Chapter.
pRemember:/p
p"Talking"/p
p'Thinking'/p
p(Author making a comment)/p
p*TV*/p
p**Flashbacks**/p
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p4th Down: Battle Against the White Knights, Part Two/p
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p**Sena throws the oval ball into the air, rather poorly, and raced in the direction he threw the ball, passed it, stop right in the path of the ball, held his arms up into the air in order to catch it, and said happily "I'll catch it this time for sure." The ball hit him square in the nose and then started jumping all over the place each time it hit the ground. After Sena managed to get the ball he heard someone say "Reach out your hands! Your hands!" Sena turned towards the direction of the voice and saw Hiruma leaning against the wall in the shade. Hiruma said, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world, "If you reach after the ball comes, it's too late. You have to be ready with your hands out!" Hiruma held out her hands and said "Pinkies together when it's a low ball," she positioned her hands accordingly, fingers spread out with pinkies slightly overlapping. "And thumbs together when it's high," she moved her hands above her head, fingers spread with a thumb slightly touching./p
pSena moved the ball over his head and moved his fingers into the position Hiruma told him. Kurita and Mamori walked up to Hiruma. Mamori asked where Sena was and Hiruma quickly stated that he went to class. Sena poorly tossed the ball into the air and then raced ahead of it to catch it, but this time he was going to do with the way Hiruma showed him to do.**/p
pThe ball was flying through the air. Eyeshield 21/Sena was practically on top of Sakuraba as the two of them raced after the ball. Some of the fangirls in the audience were shouting at Eyeshield 21 to not get in Sakuraba's way (… No comment). 'I can get! With this height difference…' Sakuraba thought as he held out his arms to catch the ball. Eyeshield 21/Sena held out his hands as he thought 'Reach out with my hands, with thumbs together,' moving his hands in the position he remembered Hiruma showing him to do when he was a high ball. Sakuraba could see that Eyeshield 21's hands were blocking his view of the ball. The ball was closing in on Eyeshield 21. **Hiruma telling Sena "It's not gonna be our team's ball if you just divert the ball. Catch it no matter what!"**. Eyeshield 21 caught the ball as he was almost falling on top of Sakuraba. The ball slipped out of Eyeshield 21's grip. A look that practically said I-can't-believe-that-just-happened appeared on Sena's face. As the ball was closing in on the ground Sena thought 'That's why… I only practised a little bit… Life's not that easy…' A pair of hands manage to catch the falling ball, those very hands belong to Yoichi Hiruma. The She-Devil grinned and said to Sena "Good work chibi." Then she darted off in the opposite direction as she shouted "YA-HA-!" Takami shouted at her teammates "GO BACK! IT'S AN INTERCEPTION! GO BACK!" Two of the White Knights chased after Hiruma both of them thinking 'He's not that fast! We can stop him!' The next thing those two White Knights knew was that Hiruma was skidding to a halt. She tossed the ball in front of her and Eyeshield 21 came out of nowhere to catch the ball and rush towards the end zone./p
pShin stood up from his seat. The Devilbats that were off the field were cheering for Eyeshield 21. The sed Speedster was zigging and zagging in order to avoid the White Knights. Coach Shōji shouted at his team to make Eyeshield 21 go off to the sideline. White Knight #49 managed to push Eyeshield 21/Sena off-balance just enough to make him step out of bounds. The Devilbats on the sideline stated that it was almost a touchdown. The Devilbats were 13 yards (12m) from the end zone. Coach Shōji shouted at his team "DON'T BE INTIMIDATED! THE ONLY ONE YOU SHOULD WORRY ABOUT IS EYESHIELD!" Kurita handed the ball off to Hiruma and the play started. Ootawara kept his eyes on Eyeshield 21 as he thought 'Same as before… Eyeshield is on the right side…' Ootawara easily broke through the two Devilbat linemen that were on him and continued his way until he was in front of Eyeshield 21. When Eyeshield 21 got closer to the White Knight giant, he realized that the Speedster wasn't even holding the ball. Ootawara looked to his left and saw that Hiruma had the ball and was running towards the end zone without anyone on her. The Devilbats' quarterback faked the pass to Eyeshield 21. White Knight #25 managed to tackle Hiruma to the ground with eight yards (7m) left till the end zone. The Devilbats on the sidelines were practically cheering. "We can do it… Maybe we can do it!" Sena said happily./p
pOn the White Knight sidelines, was a totally different mood from the Devilbats sideline. With a serious tone Coach Shōji stated "I didn't think this could happen against Deimon… This is all because of that Eyeshield. We cannot embarrass ourselves further in front of Shinryūji." There was a quick minute of silence. "Shin." The coach stated plainly. Shin stated nearly as plainly, "Yes." Coach Shōji told Shin to the put a stop to this and Shin replied with a simple yes. Shin stood up from his seat. Kurita immediately trembled with fear and Hiruma stated with amusement "Heh, he's coming out this early in the game?"/p
pThe sports experts saw the Shin putting on his helmet, he said "I just remembered. I'm a professional in charge of the X League, but the coaches were always saying… "There's someone incredible in the high school American football world." "Every team would do anything to get him after he graduates." Shin pulled his gloves on, the gloves were sporting the logo of the Oujou Privet High School. The sports expert continued, "That's right, the strongest linebacker in all of Japan… Seijūrō Shin-shi!"/p
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pShin, in jersey #40, pulled his gloves on as he walked onto the field. The Shinryūji student in charge of reporting the game shouted that Shin was being subbed in. Sena thought as he watched Shin walk onto the field 'So that's him… The monstrosity with the fastest speed in the high school's scene, at least according to Hiruma!' Hiruma grand and stated to Sena "Hey, your rivals here! Go intimidate him!" And then she kicked him in the back, pushing him straight towards Shin. Devilbat #13 stated that Eyeshield 21 was declaring war on Shin, while Devilbat #58 said "What a sight! The Strongest Linebacker versus the Notre Dame Legend." Shin and Sena just stood there staring at each other, neither one of them said a word./p
pHiruma had a plan. As she was talking to Sena he stated "Doesn't take much effort to play word games. If we can get it his head even just a little, we'll have the advantage." Sena wasn't sure what Hiruma was talking about, at least until she said very loudly so that the other team could hear, "Pass! It's gonna be a pass! Next time we're on offence, we're going deep!" Sena couldn't help but think that nobody was dumb enough to fall for that. Ootawara was that dumb. He immediately told Shin that they were going to pass and then added "Or maybe they're saying that on purpose so they can catch us off guard! Hm? Maybe it's the other around?" Now though White Knight's giant was confusing himself. Shin stated rather plainly "It's pointless to guess. Seeing is believing. Just use the usual formation, defend as it is. This way the White Knight's defence won't be broken." Ootawara immediately cheered up, slapping Shin on the back, and stated happily "The whole mood changes the moment you step onto the field!"/p
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pDeimon Devilbats offense, second down./p
pBoth the White Knights and the Devilbats were in their formation. Looking through the binoculars, Yamabushi stated that everyone's expression had changed. Agon snatched the binoculars from his upperclassmen and stated "The White Knights are back to their usual selves again. This game's pretty much decided." Agon of the binoculars up to his eyes and said to no one in particular "Come on… Show us the 'Spear Tackle'!"/p
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pKurita handed off the ball to Hiruma. The She-Devil handed the ball to Eyeshield 21. Ootawara moved to the right side of the line, thinking that's where the Speedster was headed. Shin noticed that there were three people blocking the middle. Eyeshield 21 went straight threw the centre. 'Good! They still Kurita-shield, uh, oops, Kurita-san left to use any shield. No problem!' Eyeshield 21/Sena thought as him and Kurita ran towards the end zone. Shin rushed towards the two Devilbats. Kurita did his best to block Shin, but the other lineman easily moved around the bigger Devilbat and ran straight towards Eyeshield 21, who was less than happy about that. Eyeshield 21/Sena managed to get past Shin, but she managed to turn around quickly and tackle the Speedster to the ground. Sena thought he could feel one of his ribs break. Someone shouted, "IT'S THE SPEAR TACKLE!" Mamori was surprised when she said "That Eyeshield gut… This is the first time he ever got tackled…"/p
pSena placed his hand over where he thought one of his ribs was broken and thought 'So this is a tackle… I haven't felt pain in such a long time… I've always been avoiding 'pain', so I've never done anything dangerous, I always go on errands before I'm being up. Now I remember, this 'pain'! It hurts!' Shin looked at Eyeshield 21 and said to Ootawara "Those thin arms… Are unfitting for an athlete. I have a hypothesis…"/p
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p(Sorry readers, but this part of the game is just the White Knights scoring and Shin tackling Eyeshield 21, so really nothing much to write about. I'm just going to skip that)./p
pAt the end of the first half and the game was 35-6 in favour of the White Knights. It was half-time and everyone in the stands was taking the opportunity to use the bathroom, which means that all of the ladies rooms would be full for a while. Sena darted into one of the empty stands in the men's room and make sure to lock the stall. 'If I didn't have my pads on, my ribs would've been broken… I don't wanna play anymore, he's gonna tackle me again… I don't wanna feel any more pain!' Sena thought./p
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pTakami was going over the data for the first half of the game. "Five touchdowns in the first half, two were by Shin," she stated to no one in particular and not noticing that Shin was standing relatively close to her. One of the other White Knights stated "Haha… That hasn't changed… Shin supposed to be on the defence." Sakuraba looked at the stats for the passes and thought, 'I received two passes, I missed one, and the other was intercepted…'/p
pThe reporter stated to the camera "Due to Sakuraba's excellent performance in the first half, the Oujou White Knights are currently ahead by a big margin!" Sakuraba was able to overhear that, and he knew that it wasn't true. The entire White Knights team were scared halfway out of their skin when Coach Shōji shouted "YOU ARE ALL PATHETIC! WHAT HAPPENED IN THE BEGINNING OF THE GAME!? YOU GUYS GOT BLOCKED BY OUTSIDERS (Someone who doesn't normally play Amefuto)! SAME WITH THE ATTACK AFTER THAT!" (Wow, he's harsh). Than Coach Shōji turned his attention towards Sakuraba "SAKURABA! THAT FIRST PASS TO YOU! QUIT FOOLING AROUND!" Sakuraba eyed the ground and thought 'Oh crap…! He still remembers!' Coach Shōji noticed that the sticker on Sakuraba's helmet was peeling off slightly. The coach in the sticker off and shouted, "WHAT THE F* IS THIS?!" Miracle Ito saw and went to Coach Shōji to try to explain but the coach immediately shouted towards the man in the suit, "DON'T YOU DARE CORRUPT THE EQUIPMENT WITH THIS KIND OF CRAP! YOU CAN GET THEM INJURED IF YOU DO SHIT LIKE THIS!" (I'm going to assume that this has happened before, judging on mad Coach Shōji is about that sticker) Then the coach added after crumbling the sticker up "How can those who can't protect themselves battle with the enemy!?" And tossed the wad to the side, the wad was caught by the team manager who just happens to have a rubbish bin on hand. Miracle Ito pushed a confused Sakuraba away from the team as the coach was preoccupied. He handed Sakuraba an exact duplicate of the old sticker and said to secretly slip it on before he went on the field. Sakuraba tried to protest but Miracle Ito quickly stated "American burger paid Jerry Productions 30 million yen for the contract! Can you dish out that amount?" Sakuraba shook his head, Miracle Ito smiled revealing his golden tooth and said "You got it? Amefuto is just something for fun… This is important business! That's the last one, don't lose it!" Sakuraba looked at the sticker./p
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pInside the men's restroom. Sena was writing up a note that said I'm kind of busy, so I'm going home now - Eyeshield 21. Back on the field. Sena rushed towards Mamori, who stated "Ah! Your back? Looks like you went somewhere pretty far." Ishimaru looked around and wondered out loud where Eyeshield 21 was. Sena stated that he just passed him and it looked like he was heading home as he does to his pocket for the note that he wrote. Ishimaru sat on the bench and stated "I guess it can't be helped… He's been taking on Shin all along… We're supposed to help him around, but we can even become a proper shield for him." Sena was surprised. Devilbat # 81 stated that they were dragging him down and he probably got mad and didn't want to play with newbies. Mamori look to the ground solemnly and said, "Maybe he abandoned us…" Sena immediately shouted, "IT'S NOT LIKE THAT!" Now everyone was looking at him. He had to think of something quick. "Uh... No.. That's what I think because everyone's working really hard…" That was when Sena realized that a lot of the other Devilbat players were trying the hardest as well./p
pKurita looked at the scoreboard and said sadly "We're behind by 29 points… I think we pretty much lost…" Hiruma quickly stated, "We might still win, the chances are like 0.1%" (Was that supposed to make Kurita feel better?). Hiruma grinned and stated "Good chances! It's too early to give up as long as it's not 0%." Sena looked at the team, then looked at Shin, and then looked at the note in his hand. On the White Knights' side, Sakuraba seems to be the same dilemma as Sena. For what felt like hours, the two stared at the object in their hand. Sena crushed the paper and thought 'Forget it! Stop thinking about running away from pain by myself.' Sakuraba's helmet had the sticker on it, but Sakuraba didn't look too happy about his decision. The sportscaster announced that the second half would start soon./p
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pEyeshield 21 walk towards the Devilbats team. Ishimaru was delighted. Hiruma stated that he was late. With determination, Sena thought 'That's right, they're still 20 minutes left. Also, it's not impossible to break through!' Mamori looked at her phone, reading the text that Sena sent her. "Again? I thought we already had batteries?"/p
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pShin used his Spear Tackle on Eyeshield 21 once again. Kurita ran up to Sena asking if he was all right. As he got up, Sena said "This I know… Shin-san can tackle with just a single stretched hand even from a considerable distance, that's why it looks like a spear coming out." Kurita replied, "Y..yeah, normally an arm isn't enough to stop runners, but Shin-kun has enough power to do just that." Sena walked off stating that he needed to be faster next time. Kurita wondered what Sena meant by that./p
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pThe score was now 49-6 in favour of the White Knights. "Shit, only two minutes left in this third quarter…" Hiruma stated looking at the stopwatch in the timekeeper's hand, the timekeeper being a considerable distance away. Sena commented that Hiruma had great eyesight. 'If we can score, at this rate the game will be decided during the last four minutes 50 seconds of the fourth quarter.' Hiruma thought./p
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pShin was able to stop Eyeshield 21, but it was barely this time. Eyeshield 21/Sena thought that he needed to be faster next time. Shin looked at Eyeshield 21 once again. "That Eyeshield…" Shin stated, getting Ootawara's attention, and then continued "He's been doing too many anaerobic exercises during offence and defence, his muscles must be full of lactic acid." Ootawara wasn't sure what she was talking about, but he assumed that Shin meant that the Eyeshield guy was worn out. Shin thought 'That's right, yet… Little by little, just little by little… He's getting faster…!' Hiruma noticed as Shin passed her, she stated nonchalantly "Eyeshield 21… Lightspeed running back from Notre Dame University." The She-Devil grinned before adding "Let me make this clear, he's faster than you are." Shin gave Hiruma an evil eye before stating with his eyes closed "Nice try, but we don't get disturbed by such." As Shin was walking away Ootawara got angry when Hiruma stated that Kurita was stronger than he was. Perhaps Shin spoke too soon when he said 'we'./p
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pHiruma stated towards Eyeshield 21/Sena "Hey, f*ing chibi, since you can intercept their passes anymore. During offence, go out and take a rest, save your straight for the offence!" Sena stated yes and what to sit on the bench. Sena could see that Shin was also sitting on the bench of his respective team. 'Just a little more,' Sena thought as he tapped his foot on the ground./p
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pIt was the White Knights offence. Takami had the ball. She was about to throw toward Sakuraba when Hiruma managed to tackle him to the ground. Kurita was able to overpower Ootawara and broke through the line. Takami quickly threw the ball at another player before Kurita managed to tackle her to the ground. The pass was successful, thus scoring a touchdown for the White Knights. Ootawara was mad that he got beat by Kurita, Takami reassured him that it was alright and that they scored. Sakuraba was upset that he lost the pass./p
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pMost of the Devilbats were exhausted. Hiruma looked at the scoreboard, 56-6 in favour of the White Knights. 'A 50 point margin, even six touchdowns won't do,' she looked at the stopwatch 'The time left is… 4 minutes and 45 seconds.' The She-Devil took her helmet off and stated, "Shit, it's a game over." Sena noticed that it was time for the Devilbats offence. Both Eyeshield 21/Sena in Ishimaru noticed that Hiruma put her helmet on the bench. "You can coast to the rest now. I'm going home," Hiruma stated as she placed her duffel bag on the bench and remove her wrist sweatbands with her teeth. Kurita was flabbergasted. As Hiruma put her gear in her duffel bag she stated, "We still had a winning chance of one inability and a moment ago." Most of the Devilbats helpers thought 'T...This guy still wants to win…!' Hiruma settled her duffel bag strap on her shoulder and stated, "But it's all over now, they'll just waste time with huddles and that'll be it." With tears in his, eyes Kurita asked Hiruma to at least keep trying until the game ended. Looking at Kurita, Hiruma stated "So that people will praise you "you did well until the end"? You wanna comfort each other "we did our best even though we lost"?" Kurita nervously stated that trying has meaning in itself. Hiruma immediately said, "We are doing this too when trying without the winning intent is meaningless." As Hiruma started to walk off, Ishimaru wondered who would play quarterback. Sena glanced across the field at the opponent's bench. "Little more…" The running back said, getting Hiruma's attention. "Um… Just a little more…" The running back repeated. Hiruma turned around and stated, "Like I've just said, trying until the end or." "I MAY BE ABLE TO…" Sena practically shouted as he interrupted the quarterback, which did actually surprise her. Now back to his usual tone of voice, Sena stated as his legs twitched "Um… Well… I may be able to take Shin-san on, with just a little more." Hiruma was silent for a minute or so before she asked, "You wanna win against Shin?" Now practically fidgeting, which was making Hiruma irritated, Sena mumbled "Um… Well, it's nothing big… It's just that I might be able to take him on with a little more effort." Hiruma pulled out to assault rifles from her duffel bag and started shooting at Sena, who was dodging them out of fear. The She-Devil practically shouted as was running for his life "STOP MUMBLING, YOU F*ING CHIBI!" Hiruma snapped on her helmet and called huddle./p
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p**At Oujou Private High School. Shin darted by his fellow classmates as Takami click the stopwatch. She looked at the stopwatch and stated, "Shin's record for the 40-yard dash is 4.37 seconds." The other students were surprised and one commented that he got even faster. One of them asked how fast was 4.37 seconds. Takami explained, "Let's say, Suzuki Ichiro got 4.4 when he became the Steals leader, now you guys understand?" The other students were impressed. Sakuraba commented that Shin had sonic feet. Ootawara laughed, slap Shin on the back, and stated, "Sooner or later you'll be faster than 4.3." Shin stated calmly "There's a tall barrier in front of this… The human limit for the 40-yard dash is 4.2. Even professional athletes find that difficult. If 4.4 is the world of the speed of sound, then 4.2 is the world of the speed of light. That's what I mean by a tall barrier…"**/p
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pFun Facts: 40 Yard Dash Records./p
pShin: 4.4 seconds/p
pIshimaru: 4.9 seconds/p
pSena: 5.0 seconds (without Cerberus chasing him)/p
pSakuraba: 5.0 seconds/p
pHiruma: 5.1 seconds/p
pOotawara: 5.4 seconds/p
pAverage Joe: 5.5 seconds/p
pTakami: 6.0 seconds/p
pKurita: 6.5 seconds/p
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pAfter tackling Eyeshield 21 twice, Shin noticed that the running back was getting faster. Coach Shōji noted 'That's rare… For Shin to get so aggressive…' Shin was currently talking to Ootawara "That quarterback obviously wants me to take on that Eyeshield one-on-one." Ootawara asked if she needed his help in any way, but Shin declined and told Ootawara needed to focus his attention on the other players and said he would take care of Eyeshield himself. "He cannot break through my defence," Shin stated pulling on his gloves./p
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pSakuraba was sitting on the bench watching Shin tackle Eyeshield 21 and wondered why that person kept going up against Shin even though he couldn't win. Sakuraba lowered his head and mentally told Eyeshield 21 to just give it up. The sticker on Sakuraba's helmet peeled off and fluttered onto the field. Sakuraba remembered that that was the last one that Miracle Ito had and when after the sticker. Eyeshield 21 broke through the line again. He noticed that Sakuraba was directly in his path, there was no way he could avoid the other player. The running back collided with the receiver head-on. The fans in the stands continually shouted that Sakuraba was down. Eyeshield 21 quickly stated that he was sorry as the medic on duty when to examine Sakuraba. The only thing Sakuraba could feel was the pain. The medic stated "Not good! I think he broke his collarbone." Coach Shōji told someone to get an ambulance, but Miracle Ito insisted that he drive Sakuraba to the hospital himself and took Sakuraba, who is currently on a stretcher. The only thing Sakuraba could see at the moment was someone stepping on the sticker. Miracle Ito drove off with the teen idol./p
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pThe fans were completely outraged. Hiruma stated to his teammates that it was that fools fall for going onto the field and Kurita told Sena not to worry about the fans. Kurita noticed that Sena was focused on Shin. "Back then I would've been tackled anyway… Next time I'll get even more… Next time I will…" Sena stated and Hiruma grinned and stated "Well said." Now it was time to go over the final plan for the last part of the game. Hiruma went over the plan "Alright! Times running out! Prepare for the final showdown! Up until now because there are Shin and Ootawara in the centre, we've always gone around them from the side. This time we're breaking through the centre! We're gonna blitz! Once the past, one straight ahead! We're gonna break through their defence with speed and power!"/p
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pBoth teams were in their formation for the final play. Kurita handed off the ball to the Hiruma. The She-Devil handed the ball off to Eyeshield 21, who immediately started charging into the centre./p
pKurita and Sena versus Ootawara and Shin./p
pKurita and Ootawara immediately started off with the battle of strength. Kurita managed to push Ootawara off balance, causing him to fall back almost on top of Shin. Shin was able to dodge, but not without losing a few seconds off chasing Eyeshield 21. The stands, Agon stated that Shin won again. Shin was closing in on Eyeshield 21. Yamabushi was surprised that he was already catching up and Agon simply stated: "Yup, he's got him!" Sena could just feel Shin closing in on him as he thought 'Crap… Can't get away from him… No, I still got a chance! This is the chance the team creates for me!' Shin was almost on top of Sena when he thought 'I gotta… I gotta be faster… Am I gonna run away? No! I'm gonna win!' With that Sena pulled away from Shin in a blink of an eye. Amazed, Shin thought as he watched Eyeshield 21 rush to the end zone, 'The world of the speed of light, 40-yard dash… 4.2 seconds!' The referee called a touchdown and the Devilbats cheered. Shin just stood there. The audience and the White Knights were in the same state as Shin. Sena collapsed at the end zone. As Kurita carried Sena to the bench, Hiruma stated "Hey! F*ing dweeb! It's only this time! Even though it's only one of the many duels you've had with him…" Hiruma smiled as she said, "But this time, you win!" For some reason, Sena felt warm about Hiruma praising him, sort of./p
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pThe score was 62-12 in favour of the White Knights and most of the people in the stand were ready gone (probably because most of them were only there for Sakuraba and since he was now on his way to the hospital, there was probably no reason for them to watch the rest of the game). Some of the Devilbats' players, including Kurita, were playing defence. Hiruma was sitting on the bench and Sena was leaning against the building. Mamori approaches Eyeshield 21 and handed him bottled water since she was already handing them out to the rest the team. She said "Here… Thanks for the hard work." Sena knew that he had to change his voice so that Mamori didn't know that he was playing. Sena deepened his voice a little bit as he said "Thank you... Mamori-neechan…" Sena noticed too late that he said what he said. Mamori was shocked and Hiruma looked like she was about to kill Sena. Still, in a state of shock, Mamori said "Are you… Sena.." Sena knew he was in trouble until Mamori finished saying "Sena's friend? Did Sena tell you to come in that?" Mamori cannot see the connections between Sena and Eyeshield 21 at all. Hiruma couldn't help but think 'Prejudice can be so cruel…" (She's actually right….) Though Sena was relieved that Mamori didn't realize, but you need to make sure Mamori didn't find out so he said "I… I'm not his friend… I saw him during the break, that's all…" That was when Mamori realized that Sena wasn't back from a shopping trip and wondered where he was. Hiruma quickly said as she pointed to the bleachers "He's on the bleachers taking pictures! When you take pictures for Amefuto, it's better to do it from somewhere high." Mamori immediately believes that. She turned to Eyeshield 21 and said: "Later when you meet Sena, please tell him that even for shorter people, they can still fight hard." Eyeshield 21/Sena nervously nodded yes. Mamori continued "That boy… Is too cowardly. I wish he could gain the courage to face any sort of daunting task." Eyeshield 21/Sena was speechless. The White Knights scored another touchdown, and time is running out./p
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pEnd Of Match: Oujou White Knights 68 - Deimon Devilbats 12./p
pKurita was sad "It's all over… Even though we won the first game with great difficulty… We still lost this match…" Sena remembered that it was a knockout tournament, and now… It was all over./p
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pSince the game was over the Nagas were leaving. As the team was walking down the stairs of the bleacher's Agon stated "The situation has become clearer. I realized something, this year's Oujou's not as strong as last year." Yamabushi agreed and stated that all the stars senior players left. Agon stated plainly "Only Shin and Ootawara are tough to handle, at best, they can probably make it to the top four." Yamabushi did note that Diemon's on the rise. Agon was about to say something when the sound of a cell phone ringing interrupted him. It didn't sound like Agon's ring tone, so the Nagas, who had a cellphone, check to see if the ringing belongs to them. It was Yamabushi's cell phone. The upperclassman looked at the caller ID, was slightly surprised by who was calling him, and answered the phone. "Usagi-chan, this is a surprise. Not to be rude but why are you calling me?" Yamabushi asked the caller. Yamabushi was silent for a moment, waiting for the caller, Usagi, finished talking. "Agon? Oh, he's here, why?" Before Yamabushi to get an answer from the caller, Agon snatched his upperclassman's cell phone out of his hands, place it next to his ear, and said in a singy-songy voice "Bun-cha~n, why you calling Yamabushi~senpai's phone instead of mine~ if you wanted to talk to me~?" The Nagas that were close to Agon could hear a female voice on the phone saying "The reason that I'm calling Yamabushi-senpai is that a certain "Genius" has his phone off." Agon immediately replied "What?! No way in hell my phone's off!" Agon dug into his pocket, pulled out his cell phone, and flipped it open. The screen on the phone was black, indicating that it was indeed off. Agon looked at his phone in disbelief as he said to no one in particular "What the hell?! I know I didn't turn off." Usagi stated over the phone "I'm going to assume you didn't charge last night." Agon was silent for a moment. The Nagas knew that Usagi was right. Agon quickly regained his composure as he said "I might have forgotten to plug my phone in last night. Anyway, Bun-chan, how the doctor's appointment?" Yamabushi can practically hear Usagi sigh. "Same stuff as last time," Usagi said plainly and then added, "By the way, Agon can you stop by the market and get some spinach for me on the way home?" Agon immediately stated that he wasn't eating it for dinner then he said in disbelief "Oh, you're using the spinach for your wraps for your lunch tomorrow… Never mind then. Do you need me to pick you up from the doctor's?". Yamabushi was patiently waiting for Agon to finish his conversation after all Agon was using his phone. Agon nodded and stated got it before hanging up. Agon tossed the phone back to its owner and stated, "You guys can go back to school, I got stuff to do." None of the Nagas said anything after all this was normal for Agon./p
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pOotawara was upset when he said "I lost… I lost completely… I lost to Kurita!" The Devilbats went up to the opponent side of the field and bowed respectfully to the coach, minus Hiruma of course. Coach Shōji looked at Eyeshield 21 without a word. As the White Knights and the Devilbats past each other as they were heading to their respective sides of the field, Shin looked at Eyeshield 21 and thought 'If he is so fast that I can't touch him_ then it's no use no matter how strong I am.' As Shin passed Eyeshield 21, he said, "We Oujou will be the team that takes part in the Christmas Bowl!" Eyeshield 21/Sena wasn't sure what she meant by that. Coach Shōji placed his right hand to his chin and smiled./p
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pIn Miracle Ito's car. Ito's assistant was on the phone with someone who was still at the game "Ah, it's over? If Shōji-san is there, tell him to come to Joukamachi Hospital." When the system hung up Sakuraba asked how the match went, but Ito stated as he bit the steering wheel "Screw the match! What's gonna happen to your job?" (Really? That's all this guy is worried about?) The assistant told Sakuraba "It seems like… That Eyeshield made another touchdown…" Sakuraba was surprised that Shin was thrown off by that guy. The assistant reassured Sakuraba "The Oujou #85 there were placed you also touched out once, so no worries." That didn't reassure Sakuraba at all when he stated in a sad tone "Is that so… And underclassmen that took my place…" Sakuraba thought back to the game as he thought 'What am I doing… What the hell am I doing…' Tears streamed down Sakuraba's face as the car continued its way to the hospital (Poor Sakuraba…)./p
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pCoach Shōji said to the team "Alright… That's all for today. I'm off to the hospital." But before Coach Shōji could take another step, the reporter came up to him and asked him how he felt about today's match. Coach Shōji stated "Today's match… There's no winner. However… In this world of wins and losses, only those who have gone through disappointment will become strong. The year has only started!" (That… Was actually… A good speech). As Coach Shōji walked off the reporter stated that she didn't understand what he meant (No surprise there) a sports expert stated "How could you not?" Then he noticed that the Devilbats were walking in their direction and then he said "Right... We gotta interview the losers as well…" The cameraman stated, "We gotta make them look pitiful_ it'll be more interesting that way." (Hey now that's not right, especially after what Coach Shōji said). The reporter asked the cameraman if they should make fun of them (WHAT THE!? ARE YOU F*ING SERIOUS?! Oh, sorry for the language readers). The cameraman said, "Let's interview that fat-ass with not all over his face." (F*ing bastard, rot in hell. Oh, sorry again readers but how can that jerk of a cameraman be doing that after Coach Shōji's speech. I swear, some people). As the delinquent duo rush towards Kurita, Hiruma stepped in and placed her hand on the camera lens, effectively giving the cameraman a black eye (Karma~). Kurita wiped tears away from his eyes as he said, "Hiruma is being considered for me…" Mamori, Ishimaru, and Sena stated in an I-don't-believe-it tone "Impossible!" Hiruma pulled the camera away from the cameraman, whom he immediately covered his damaged eye, and threw the camera over the fence. The camera was run over by an oncoming car, but it looks like the footage was still usable. Every single one of the Devilbats, minus the now smiling Kurita, was in total disbelief (Wow… Didn't see that coming...). Hiruma looked at the team and stated "Oi, you bastards coming or what?" Kurita happily said yes, while the rest of the team just nodded./p
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pThe day after the match. Sena, his entire body was in pain when he muttered to himself "Ouch… I'm aching all over… But… I won't have to worry from now on… Probably… The tournament's over… I won't have to go through that hellish training anymore… Probably." Mamori appeared out of nowhere asking Sena was mumbling about as she playfully punched him in the back, which caused a surge of pain to want to Sena's body. Mamori immediately went into a panic as she asked Sena he was all right and if she should call an ambulance? (Calling an ambulance might be a little excessive…). Sena stated "I'm fine… This muscle ache from the match we just had with the White Knights is making me miserable…" Mamori was surprised when Sena mentioned that he had muscle aches. Sena quickly explained that the muscle aches were from him running around finding tapes and batteries for the camcorder. Mamori immediately relaxed and told Sena "Don't freak me out _ you sounded as if you took part in the match yourself. If they make you do that sort of stuff, I'll protect you!" Sena mentally sighed, there was no way he could let Mamori find out that he was actually in the game./p
pAs they walked past the school dates they noticed something in the direction of the amefuto club shed, so they decided to investigate. Apparently, the club shed was being renovated as Hiruma was talking to one of the construction workers, who was wearing a bandanna, as both of them looked over the blueprint. Sena can help ask what they were doing to the club office and that was when Hiruma notices the two. The She-Devil walked up to the two and stated to Mamori "F*ing manager, are you done with the tape editing?" Mamori immediately stated that that wasn't the way does talk to her as she handed Hiruma the VHS tape. Sena was worried that they were going to argue again. "Right! I want to see the pictures you took on the bleachers," Mamori said happily as she turned to Sena, who was about to freak out. Hiruma held out an envelope and stated that all of the pictures were here. Sena had no idea how Hiruma managed to get all those pictures as Mamori looked at them stating that there were pictures from every angle. Hiruma took the pictures and handed them to Sena and ordered "Organize these after school. Remember to leave Sakuraba's pictures behind, we can use them to change for next year's pictures." Hiruma held out a picture of both teams formations and stated: "The important ones are pictures that capture the formations, cause you can't get these pictures from the sideline." Hiruma also stated that because the club was being renovated, Sena had to organize the pictures after class in the classroom. The head construction worker as Hiruma who was paying for the renovations and Hiruma quickly stated the principal was. Both Sena and Mamori had no comment./p
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pAs the school day progressed, Sena couldn't help but think that everything has settled down. As the class before lunch ended, Mamori motion for Sena to come towards her. Mamori held out a bento box and an umbrella and said "Here's your lunch, I happen to have made enough for two today… Also, it might rain today, so this is my backup umbrella." (You'd think that she was Sena's mother or something….). As Sena ate lunch and as the day progressed, he couldn't help but think 'Everything… Return to what it used to be. But I won't need to do errands for others anymore. Nothing needs to be done, nothing will happen, that to the old days…' After the final class ended, Sena decided to organize the pictures. A lot of the pictures were of Sakuraba and Sena made a mental note to payment visit went he got the time. As Sena looks to the rest the pictures, he couldn't help but remember the roar of the crowd, the satisfaction of being on a team, and scoring the touchdowns. Then Sena noticed a picture of Shin, and the memories of the tackled by that linebacker flooded his head. Looking at the empty classroom, Sena realized that the past two weeks were over, like a dream. 'By now, the White Knights… Should be undergoing intense training for their third match… If we had been good enough… We could've remained in the tournament. I'd still be playing right now…' Sena thought as tears ran down his cheeks./p
pRain started to pour down. Hiruma slid the door open with her foot and shouted "F*ING CHIBI! YOU DONE WITH THE PICTURES YET?" Hiruma was carrying a box and Kurita was right behind her. Kurita immediately went to Sena and said "Sorry… We're not here to rush you… Since we can use the club office right now, this class is the only other room with a TV." Sena couldn't help wonder why his classroom was the only room with a TV. As Hiruma was connecting the VHS with the TV she stated that her and Kurita when this very class last year. That pretty much explained everything. The She-Devil pointed at Sena and stated "Right… Go home when you're done with the pictures. We gotta prepare for the Christmas Ball." Sena was confused "What? Isn't the tournament already over for us?" With a mouth full of pocky, Kurita happily said "There are two tournaments every year… In spring and fall. Only the winner of the fall games can take part in the Christmas Bowl." Hiruma said with an evil grin "The real deal is the fall games, we'll only have to take first place in it." And here Sena thought that Shin was being a showoff about taking part in the Christmas Bowl. Hiruma stated as she clicked the remote "We gotta find a way to deal with Shin. If we wanna win the fall games, we'll have to face Oujou again." So basically, the games just began./p
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pAs the rain continued to fall, Sena went out onto the practice field to pick up the equipment, since it was his job to do so. He saw the rope ladder and remembered that Kurita explained that it was used to remember the basic movements of amefuto. An image of Shin appeared in Sena's head for a second. Hiruma just happened to glance out the window when she saw Sena slip on the rain covered field as he was doing the ladder drills himself. Sena got up, tossed off his school blazer, and went back to the ladder drills as the rain continued. Hiruma just stood by the window, blowing a bubble with her gum, and continue to watch Sena. As she watched him, with the rainwater streaming down his determined expression, she forgot that she was blowing a bubble. It popped, getting the gum all over her chin, nose, and cheeks. Hiruma wiped the gum off as she continued to watch Sena. 'The f*ing chibi… Is actually… Being kinda cool right now,' The She-Devil thought with a slight hue of pink on her cheeks. Kurita, of course, noticed this and couldn't help but smile softly. The bigger player knew that it would be best to not say anything right now and just let Hiruma enjoy the moment./p
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p4th Down: Scored./p
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pOkame Moments:/p
pA big, white, glob of sticky substance hit the floor. Takami's eyebrows twitched and Shin had an expression that stated that he did something wrong, very wrong. "Shin…." Takami scolded as another smaller glob fell to the ground. "I apologize…" Shin stated in an apologetic tone. Now an even bigger glob hit the floor making Takami wince. Sakuraba was standing in the doorway with an expression that said Oh-My-God!-What-am-I-witnessing-right-now? A vain appeared on Takami's head as she shouted "HONESTLY SHIN! YOU SHOULD'VE ASKED BEFORE YOU DID THAT!" Shin immediately apologized again as even more globs of white goo drizzled onto the floor, which aggravated Takami even more. It looked like neither of them noticed that Sakuraba was standing not even a meter away and Sakuraba wanted to leave it at that, so he left before they could./p
pSakuraba walked into the amefuto club room. "Sakuraba, where's the ice cream you were supposed to be getting?" Coach Shōji asked the teen idol when he saw that Sakuraba was empty-handed. The blond looked at the ground and mumbled something. Coach Shōji told the teen to speak up. Sakuraba did so when he said, "Shin broke the ice cream machine…" The White Knights team was quiet for a moment before Sakuraba added: "Takami's currently scolding him right now." The blond still had the image of Shin standing by the machine as the ice cream oozed out of the broken nozzle and Takami's very angry expression. "Shin tried to use the machine? Why?" Coach Shōji asked and Sakuraba replied that he didn't know and that he walked in when Shin already broke the ice cream machine. Coach Shōji folded his arms wondered out loud why Shin would do something so odd. After all, Shin already ate lunch and wasn't going to eat anything else until his scheduled dinner. Then, why was Shin trying to get ice cream?/p
pShin was currently mopping up the ice cream from the floor since Takami stated that it was his fault and he should clean it up. Things really didn't go as Shin planed. He looked at the white goo and thought back to his plan. He knew that the team was going to have ice cream after lunch and he knew that Takami loved vanilla ice cream. Shin figured that Takami would be thankful that he went through the trouble of getting her some and maybe insist on sharing the ice cream, which would have given Shin an opportunity to get an indirect kiss via the spoon. Shin completely forgot the fact that tech breaks the moment his hands are on it. After Shin finished mopping, he thought 'I need to show her how I feel, but how should I do so?'/p
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pGale-Dragon: Chapter 4 is completed. Raimon "Monta" is coming up in the next chapter. Will he find out about Hiruma's "Secret" right away or will he assume Hiruma's a guy as well? … Probably the later actually./p