Gale-Dragon: I apologies to everyone for not working on this, but I'm in college and we all know how much free time that eats up. Anyway, enjoy my readers.
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"Talking or Quotations"
'Thinking'
(Author making a comment)
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11th Down: Dragons and the Knights
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The monorail to Enoshima was interesting, to say the least. The Devilbats had to share a cart with the Sphinx, each team kept to their side of the cart. (Talk about awkward).
Harao kept Isako, who was out of her Egyptian outfit, on a leash by her feet and Banba sat next to her. Kasamatsu was sitting across from the delinquent trio and was glaring at them as they glared at him. Kamaguruma was sitting on the last seat of the cart, as far away from Isako as he could.
Mamori did try to alieve the tension, but it was to no avail.
Sena suddenly stood up and walked until he was in front of the female Sphinx player and ask "Ano… Do you really like Amefuto?" Harao blinked. Okay, she's been asked why she plays a dangerous sport, but she's never been asked if she liked it. "I don't just like amefuto, I love it. Tis one of the reasons I play," Harao said with a smile. Sena questioned "One reason? What's the other reason?" Looking out the window, Harao said "The other… is to find an old friend that I haven't seen in a long time. I know she too loves amefuto." "Really?" was all Sena could say, but he couldn't help but wonder who that person was.
The train made a sharp turn, causing Sena to fall forward. The next thing the hidden running-back knew, he felt a number of killing auras from the Sphinx's side. He didn't understand why until he realized he landed on Harao. Both were redder than roses when Sena jumped off of the female QB and hit his head on the metal pole. Mamori quickly used the first aid kit.
Banba looked at the scene before him and said: "While I do admire your bandage work, miss, I must point out that he only hit his head." Yup, Sena was wrapped like a stiff mummy, curtesy of Mamori, again. (Ummmmm, I'm not sure what to say about this but Over-Zealous).
"Mui muan't mueave!" Sena muffled out through the bandages covering his mouth, he couldn't move. Monta asked what Sena said. The hidden running-back repeated what he said in more of a panic and tried to move, but couldn't. Monta still couldn't understand what he was saying. Hiruma noticed that Sena was turning blue and said "Oi F*ing Monkey, the F*ing Chibi's suffocating." Now the receiver was panicking as he tried to undo the wrappings on Sena. The bandages were too tight to do anything. Harao and Banba tried to help, but Mamori did too good of a job of wrapping.
"Kurita hold the F*ing Manager for a minute," Hiruma ordered as she pulled out her pocket knife. Kurita knew immediately that the She-Devil meant business when she didn't use the "nickname" she gave him. So the gentle giant grabbed ahold of Mamori's arms as Hiruma held the knife near one of the bandages on the suffocating Sena. The honour student was sooooooo not very pleased with this.
With what looked like one fluid stroke of her hand, the knife cute all of the bandages off. Swirls were in Sena's eyes as he fell back, right onto Harao's brea-, err, chest. The rest of the Sphinx team was enraged; Banba, on the other hand, was surprisingly calm. The Sphinx's QB waved a hand in front of Sena's face, the freshman made no indication he saw. "He has indeed lost consciousness," Harao stated plainly. Banba added, "A person loses consciousness if they are unable to breathe for roughly two minutes."
Hiruma looked at the lineman and said that that was true, looked at her wristwatch to confirm that Sena was without oxygen for two whole minutes, turned to Mamori, and added with a hiss "Next time, F*ing Manager, ONLY APPLY THE F*ING BANDAGES TO THE F*ING WOUNDED AREA. I so DON'T have to look for a new f*ing secretary before the f*ing amefuto game against the f*ing Americans." The only thing Mamori did was squeaked.
(Wow… has anyone ever heard the F-Word used that much in a sentence?)
Banba laid the unconscious teen on the seats, just because the freshman wasn't aware of landing on his girlfriend's chest doesn't mean he's going to let him stay there. The head lineman of the Sphinx saw that Harao was doing some hand gestures to him. 'The Devilbat QB seems more annoyed about the fact the secretary was nearly strangled' She signed. Banba signed back 'Seems like it'. The two returned to their seats as Hiruma finally calmed down.
Isako licked Sena's face, making sure he was okay. "Here, Isako," Harao said and the Doberman trotted over.
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When the Devilbats and the Sphinx got to the stadium, Sena and Monta were nearly run over by Torakichi in a wheelchair. Sakuraba was trying his best to keep up with the kid. "He seems to be doing well," Sena said as he watched them whizz by.
After everyone got to their seats, Sena noticed that there were more serious onlookers in this Oujo game. Oh, right they were playing against the Naga….. 'But that also means!' Sena thought when he remembered that Kongō Usagi was the QB of the purple and gold team. 'But she was in the hospital…..' the hidden running-back thought to himself, before thinking 'But she also seemed to be too healthy to be in the hospital… Maybe Hiruma knows why she was in the hospital.'
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A couple of minutes later...
Sena noticed that nearly all of the Shinryūji Nagas were sitting in a meditative state, in a row, in their school uniforms (which look like traditional monk clothing). The hidden running-back asked Kurita what they were doing. The main lineman sighed and stated sadly "It's a tradition of the Shinryūji Linemen... They aspire to spiritual unity before the game..."
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Yamabushi suddenly said "Oi, Usagi-chan." The only person on the Naga side of the field wearing the red and white minko clothing looked at the head lineman. "Try to disturb us," the adult-looking senpai said, not even opening his eyes. Usagi closed her eyes for a few seconds, brought her right hand to her mouth, and placed her thumb and middle finger inside her mouth.
TWEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET!
The whistle was soooo loud and so sudden, it startled EVERYONE in the stadium. Well, everyone but the Naga linemen. Coach Sendōda muttered an impressive "Not bad." Ikkyu, the Naga's Cornerback (and the one that looks kind of like Vegeta from Dragon Ball Z), had an excited grin on his face when he said (equally excitedly) "Amazing! The monks of the line are awesome!" The cornerback then pointed at the opposing team and shouted happily "Look! The Oujo guys are scared! Look at the frightened manager girl (the Oujo manager), oh, she's cute! Oi, the girl next to her is cute too (in this scene, the girl next to the Oujo Manager is Takami Ichigo)!"
This snapped the Naga line out of their meditative state to eagerly look at the two girls.
Sendōda sighed and said out loud "Perhaps I should have made more of an effort to recruit more girls to the school." This got the Naga line's attention.
The linemen of the Shinryūji started to pummel Ikkyu to the ground for disturbing their meditative state, or rather he made them ogle the girls. Usagi brought a hand to her mouth and started giggling. This made the linemen stop what they were doing. "Ano, Usagi-chan, what was funny?" Yamabushi asked the Naga QB, who said with a giggle "Nothing, it's just *chuckles* the way you guys build your teamwork is a bit silly." The Nagas couldn't help but blush at the pure innocence of Usagi.
'If only Agon wasn't her twin brother,' all of the Nagas thought at the same time.
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"Hiruma... Why did we have to come to watch the Shinryūji game?" Kurita asked with a heavy sigh. Sena wondered why the main lineman was so down. Hiruma pointed to Kurita and stated plainly "He use to go to Shinryūji." "WHAT?!" the other Devilbats exclaimed in utter shock. Kurita quickly said that he was only there for a little while and didn't really play on the best team in the Kanto region.
"Best team?" Monta question before adding "I thought Oujo was the best?" Mamori pulled out a stack of very poorly drawn picture cards that a toddler could draw better then. Sena stated that drawing was Mamori's only weakness in school. The honour student explained to the Devilbats the last time the Nagas and the White Knights faced off.
**Flashback: Last Year's Game**
"With five minutes left... Oujo's in the lead at 16-3," the sportscaster announced.
On the Oujo's side of the field... Coach Shoji was telling his team to keep up the attack and saying that this will be Oujo's era.
On the Shinryūji's side of the field... Coach Sendōda said "I had wanted to save them until the fall... Usagi... Agon... Get out there!" Two of the Nagas stood up from the benches.
Agon (short brown hair at this time) adjusted his wristbands as Usagi snapped her helmet into place. Glancing at the female amefuto player, Agon stated: "If you start feeling fatigued, you sit right back down and eat something, okay Bun~chan~?" Usagi scoffed and said, "You just make sure you take this match seriously, Baka Otōto (1)."
On the Oujo's side of the field... Coach Shoji asked Takami who the two are. Looking at the datasheet, the female QB stated "The Kongō twins... A brother-sister duo... First-years. They've only been playing on the team for two months?" She couldn't help but wonder why the Naga coach was sending them in the game. Ōtawara bellowed a laugh as he said "What? Since they're losing are they giving the first-years some experience?!" Coach Shoji had the same suspicions as Takami Ichigo.
**End Flashback**
Mamori showed the Devilbats the results of that game. 16-17 in favour of the Shinryūji!
Monta was shocked at that as Sena said in utter bewilderment "With only five minutes left..." Kurita and Hiruma watched the field with stern eyes. They wanted to see how one certain Naga player was doing.
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The photographer for the Amefuto Monthly Magazine told Kumabukuro "Shinryūji's gonna blow 'em out, right?" The afro man said as he wrote in a notebook "Right. As long as they've got Agon..." The manager suddenly said "Huh? Where's Agon?"
The Shinryūji Naga Genius Ace was missing!
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All of the Nagas were gathered in their amefuto uniforms. Usagi was on her cellphone when she shouted "AGON YOU BAKA! GET HERE NOW! THE GAME'S GOING TO START!"
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In another location...
Agon pulled a shirt over his head and said into his cellphone "Don't yell in my ear, Bun~chan." "SHOUTING AT YOU SEEMS TO BE THE ONLY WAY TO MAKE YOU LISTEN! BAKA OTŌTO!" Usagi shouted through the cellphone. The dreadlocks teen pulled the phone away from his ear when his sister shouted in the phone.
"Alright, alright! I hear you. I'm on my way. But, I'm telling you now, I had a long night," Agon stated with a yawn.
He was at some girl's house.
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With the Nagas...
Usagi was currently annoyed with her younger twin's behaviour. Ikkyu told his senpais "Agon's at it again..." The upperclassmen of Shinryūji were completely pissed. Yamabushi snatched the cellphone from Usagi and shouted into the phone "AGON, WHY YOU... I'M JEAL- I MEAN, THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS!"
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With Agon...
Agon said over the phone as he left the house "It should be an easy victory against this year's Oujo, even without me." In almost an evil tone, Agon said "When I get there... If you're losing, or if any of you guys are ogling my cute sister, I'll kill you. Got it?"
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Yamabushi shuttered at that. He wasn't sure what frightened him more, losing the game before the genius gets here or Agon's sister-complex... Probably the latter, in all honesty...
"Yamabushi-senpai? Are you ok?" Usagi asked the head lineman. Yamabushi heard Agon hang up and said: "Agon's just being Agon..." Usagi sighed and thought 'You'd think I'd be used to it...'
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If anyone blinked, then they missed 3/4 of the match (Aka, the end of the 3rd quarter).
The game was 28-0, in favour of the Shinryūji! The game was practically one-sided!
Through the whole game, Sena wondered why Hiruma didn't force him to get into his Eyeshield 21 persona. 'I mean with all the cameras and spectators, this would've been a perfect opportunity to capitalize on some publicity for the Devilbats. So, why hasn't Hiruma-chan ordered me to wear THAT get-up yet?' Sena thought with an eye on the She-Devil in question, who was completely focused on the game.
The sunlight was hitting Hiruma's face at just the right angle again. Sena blushed and thought 'She REALLY looks cute like that.' He knew she would kill him if she knew he was thinking those kinds of thoughts.
Monta somehow noticed the red dusting his friend's cheeks.
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Agon walked into the arena, saw the scoreboard, and said "Aww, well, well! Looks like I won't have to kill the senpais after all. I hope they're also heeding my warning about ogling Bun~chan." Agon stomach started to rumble, right... He hasn't eaten yet.
The Nagas broke through the Oujo's line and tackled Takami, but she managed to throw the ball towards Sakuraba before she hit the ground.
Just as Sakuraba was about to catch the ball, a blur swooped by and stole the ball in midair. "It's Ikkyu!" the blond receiver and the crowd shouted when they realized who it was. The Naga cornerback stole the ball yet again.
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"He's really fast, that cornerback," Monta said in a surprised tone. Hiruma was on her laptop, reading through some data when she said: "He does the 40 in 4.9 seconds..." "Isn't that about the same as Ishimaru?" Sena asked out loud, Monta added: "Well then, that's not really that fast is it?" Ishimaru, sitting a few seats away, mumbled: "But, I AM known as the star of the Track Team..."
Hiruma hit Sena and Monta on the head with her bazooka (that came out of nowhere...) and snapped "Let me finish my sentence, you f*ing chibis! He does the 40 in 4.9 seconds, RUNNING BACKWARDS!"
Now Sena and Monta could see that Ikkyu WAS indeed running backwards, in front of Sakuraba as the Oujo followed his route for the defence.
"Running backwards is one of the crucial skills of a cornerback. So you can keep an eye on your opponent's moves," Hiruma explained as Sena and Monta watched on in amazement. Ikkyu followed Sakuraba as he made a sharp turn. The She-Devil then said, "Hosokawa Ikkyu is known as the Backward Running Master, the best cornerback in the Kanto area!" 'The best...' Monta thought as he continued to watch the match.
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"Is Sakuraba worn out?" Coach Shoji asked Takami when he saw the receiver sitting on the bench, out of breath. Ichigo looked as Sakuraba and said "Well, he WAS just released from the hospital. Really, I thought he'd just be watching today." Rubbing his index finger on his chin, Coach Shoji said to no one particular "He can't possibly be at his best, can he..." Takami wondered what he meant.
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Shin just used his Spear Tackle on the Naga running back (sorry, don't know his name. He's the bald, effeminate, lipstick-wearing Naga player), stopping him dead in his tracks.
Usagi helped her teammate to his feet as he said "I can't believe it! Shin's even stronger than last year! I think he broke one of my ribs!" Usagi glanced at the Ace Lineman of the White Knights, who was currently glaring at the Nagas, and said "As I thought. We can't just expect an easy win with him. We should throw a pass to where Shin isn't playing."
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The next play for the Nagas went smoothly. Usagi was able to throw a flawless pass to a Naga receiver, who was running along the side of the field.
Takami watched the field and said to Coach Shoji "Usagi's a good quarterback. She always knows where all of her players are. Her field of vision is amazing. But... Should she really be playing right now with her health?" Sena and Monta didn't miss a word.
"Hiruma-" Sena started to ask the She-Devil when she snapped "After the match." "Eh?" both Sena and Monta asked at the same time. "You were going to ask about the little rabbit's health, right?" Hiruma stated rather than asked. The two shorties nodded. "I'll tell you after the game," the She-Devil stated, plain and simple. Sena couldn't help but wonder why Hiruma was acting, well... Like a normal person at a game... It felt really weird for Sena and Monta.
Kurita knew EXACTLY why Hiruma was acting this way.
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The game was now 35-3, in favour of the Shinryūji!
"Coach," Shin said, getting the whole team's attention. "There is only one weapon left to use to turn this game around," the ace lineman stated before adding "Please allow me, to use the Ballista."
Hiruma, Sena, and Monta heard.
Coach Shoji immediately said "No! That's an experiment. It can't be used in a real game." "But it IS possible," Shin stated firmly. The Oujo coach stated that the lineman was the only one who thinks so. That was when Takami said to Shin "The Ballista... It's a revolution in Oujo's game plan. But we haven't practised it enough! So we're not ready to use it!" Shin clenched his fist and said, "I understand..."
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Right before the next play, Ikkyu's competitive spirit got the best of him and he asked Usagi to throw the ball through the middle, so he could face off against Shin. At first, the Naga QB was against the idea, but Ikkyu stated that Shin couldn't beat him in the air. Usagi sighed and said "Alright, just this once! But you'd better be ready to catch!" "I will!" Ikkyu said with a smile. He wanted to impress Usagi, and the other Nagas knew it.
When the next play happened, Shin tackled Ikkyu to the ground before he had a chance to see where the ball would land.
"Incomplete Pass!" the referee shouted as soon as the ball hit the ground.
"Somehow I knew that would happen..." Usagi muttered with a sigh. The rest of the Naga players had mixed feelings about the play. They weren't sure if they should feel sorry for the cornerback or thinking that it served him right.
Agon saw this and wondered what the heck the cornerback was thinking.
Takami patted Shin on the shoulder and said with a smile "Good tackle." The lineman blushed slightly and thanked her.
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The game ended 41-3, the Shinryūji Nagas won by a landslide.
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As the Devilbats walked out of the stadium, Sena asked Hiruma about what Takami meant about Kongō Usagi's health.
After a moment of silents, and of Hiruma walking at the head of and keeping her back to the group, the She-Devil finally saying "She doesn't have long to live."
Mamori pouted and said, "Hiruma, stop being mean and spreading horrible rumours about her." "Ano, actually... That is the truth, Usagi IS sick, some kind of illness in the blood (2)," Kurita said sadly before adding "She really shouldn't be playing Amefuto with that kind of illness, but..." Yukimitsu quickly asked, "Wait if she's sick then how is she still playing?"
"She's got some f*ing willpower for one," Hiruma stated as a pair of birds flew by, but then added in almost a sad tone "But, even that has limits when your body's slowly shutting down on ya," Sena asked the She-Devil if she knew Usagi at one point. "It's kind of an open secret in the high school Amefuto community," Hiruma said sourly. "Unfortunately," Kurita agreed and added, "Some of the more 'Unsavory' teams tried using that to their advantage." "Yeah. The Dokubari Scorpions tried to 'Accidentally' cause the rabbit to have a blood episode (3) early in the year. F*ing dreads found out, so you can imagine what happened next to that team," Hiruma stated with a straight face.
"Dreads? You mean that Agon guy, Usagi's twin brother?" Sena asked, for some reason he felt like he met that Agon guy before but doesn't remember where. "Yeah, that guy's considered a genius with a gift that only appears every hundred years or so, but another thing he's famous for is his f*ing sister-complex. Pretty sure she's never had anyone ask her out because of that f*ing dreads," Hiruma said with a snicker.
"Don't laugh, he's probably worried about his poor sick sister playing a dangerous game... Why does he let her anyway?" Mamori said in a worried tone. Hiruma stopped walking and said, "Probably because he knows that she's not going to live long, and to make her happy in that time span and that she really loves Amefuto." "But, why? Why play when she's that sick? Why play a sport were everyone's bigger than you?" Mamori nearly shouted at Hiruma.
"She's one of the best, hardworking, female high school quarterbacks in Japan," Hiruma said calmly, then added "And she's willing to fight her own genius twin to do so even when she's as sick as she is. Try wrapping that around your little brain, f*ing manager," and walked ahead of the paralyzed group. To the other Devilbats, it sounded like Mamori hit another sour note. Only, Kurita, Sena, and Komusubi seemed to KNOW the reason why.
Sena ran ahead of the group to catch up to Hiruma.
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11th Down, Scored.
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Omake:
"Hiruma-chan..."
The She-Devil turned to glare at whoever DARED to call her -chan, but when she saw that it was just Sena, she stopped glaring. "You're lucky it's just us, f*ing chibi," Hiruma spat. Sena ignored the snapping tone and asked "Hiruma-chan, are you okay? You seem really upset..."
"You're imagining things," Hiruma said a little too quickly. Sena quickly looked around, seeing that he and the She-Devil were the only ones in the area. The hidden running back took out all of the courage he had in his reserve and took Hiruma's hand into his own as the two walked down the streets.
The She-Devil was utterly stunned by this.
"I know you're upset over what Mamori-neechan said," Sena said calmly as he tightened his grip on the She-Devil's hand, then he said, "You know just how hard it is for a girl to play Amefuto, and I'm going to assume that you know that Usagi had it worse than you because of her illness."
Hiruma glance to the side as Sena continued "I know you pretend to be a guy for some reason and you refuse to tell the rest of the team that fact, but maybe... You should at least try to explain to them why the fact that the other female Amefuto players seem to be a sour topic for you, it doesn't have to be YOUR real reason but you can make something up that can be close. I mean we ARE a team, right?"
"Baka chibi, you really think explaining THAT kinda thing is that easy," Hiruma stated as calmly as possible. "I didn't think it was, but you're the fearsome captain of the Devilbats. I don't think the other will think any less of you if they find out you're a girl, in fact, I think they might fear you even more," Sena said softly.
After walking in silence, still holding hands, Hiruma finally said "I know, but... I have to make sure my secret stays a secret as long as I can." Sena knew he wanted to know why, but he knew the She-Devil wouldn't tell him, so he asked instead "Can you at least tell me why you seem to admire Kongō Usagi a bit? Since you never seem to admire anything but your firearms collection."
Hiruma explained, "I saw Usagi go down in a game last year because of her illness, not the game against Oujo but a demonstration game afterwards." Sena knew the She-Devil was serious. After all, she didn't call the Naga QB rabbit.
Hiruma continued "She was coughing up blood everywhere, it got so bad that she could barely breathe. The refs had to call an ambulance. Even when all that blood was dripping out of her nose and mouth AND her twin telling her to say still, she still wanted to continue playing the game. They only reason the ambulance crew could take her away was that she passed out due to blood loss." Sena was stunned when he said "She still wanted to play? Even in that condition?" The She-Devil nodded and said sadly "Yeah, she had to be in a lota pain during that episode. I had to admit, her willpower is second to none and she's a strong person in general. But, she had to stay in the hospital for a solid month afterwards."
"Hiruma-chan... Do you actually feel sorry for her?" Sena couldn't help but ask. After all, the way she was talking made it sounds like she cared for the other female QB.
"In a way, I'm kinda jealous that Usagi and the other gals can play Amefuto so openly," Hiruma said with a sad smile. Sena tightened his grip on the She-Devil's hand and said: "You play." With an actual smile, Hiruma said: "You're right, Sena."
'She said my name! My actual name!' Sena thought giddily.
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Currently, Mamori and the other Devilbats were trying to figure out why Hiruma seemed bitter about the topic. Kurita and Komusubi were not participating.
"Maybe, Hiruma..." Mamori said seriously. Kurita and Komusubi started sweating. Did the honour student finally realize that Hiruma was a girl? Mamori then said happily "Has a thing for girls in amefuto uniforms." Kurita should really stop worrying about the auburn-haired girl finding out about THAT.
"I'ma not so sure about that," Monta stated as he folded his arms. He had a sneaking suspicion about the reason why Hiruma was a bit snappy.
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1) Otōto is Japanese for Younger Brother, sometimes little brother. Usagi IS the older twin while Agon is the younger twin, so Usagi can call Agon Otōto.
2) Before anyone asks, the illness Usagi has isn't AIDS or HIVES. I'm not going to make this complicated or use scientific terminology, this illness was just made up for this fanfiction (but if there is a real-life illness like this, then it's just pure coincidence) so... The illness that Usagi has is basically slowly attacking her own body from the inside out through the blood, it has some of the same symptoms of anaemia and is sometimes mistaken as it, but it causes a person to expel blood from the nose and mouth when the person doesn't eat enough, is really stressed, or gets really fatigued, this illness can also cause hospitalization and (rarely) cause one to have heart attacks, and people who have this illness don't live very long.
3) What Hiruma means is, that the Scorpions were trying stress or fatigue Usagi out enough to cause blood to expel out of her nose and mouth (amefuto players (high schoolers anyway) aren't allowed to play on the field when they are bleeding).
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