First thing: I am so sorry. The excuse I can say for this late update is: college. I am so busy I can't even spare a free time to write T_T

Alright, enough with the excuses! Let's get on with the chapter!

(Chapter unedited. There will be mistakes.)


Kick away and Catch it: Companionship


"…good morning, Musashi-san."

A man perched above the clubroom perked up and peered down at her. "Oh, you're early again. Good morning."

All Sena can do is force a smile. For inexplicable reason, she had a feeling that waking up early will be a common for her. A somehow foreboding feeling, she guessed. But aside from that… Sena looked up at the clubroom.

Even though Musashi-san worked hard and renovated the clubroom (or did he have help? She didn't saw anyone with him though), it's such a feat that it transformed into… something else. Into something not-clubroom-like. Like, for example, a casino looking clubroom.

"Yeah. I know," Musashi-san said, jumping down from above and looking over at his work. "I still don't know how Hiruma persuaded…" he trailed off, before sighing. "No, I know. Hiruma must have done it in his own way."

"Eh? Wha… what do you mean?" Sena asked, confused.

Musashi-san grabbed his tools that was set aside beside the clubroom. "It's better if you don't know anything, kid."

That made Sena nervous. Blackmailing is probably involved… Sena was sure of it. It was Hiruma-san-like, after all.

"My work here is done," he said nonchalantly. "You didn't lost the key I gave to you, right?"

"Ah—actually, about that—"Sena frantically opened her bag, searching for the key he tossed to her yesterday and offered it back to him. "I don't need this. I'll wait for Kurita-san to arrive here."

Musashi raised a hand. "No need, kid. I have my own spare." He rummaged his pocket and showed it to her. "You can take that, I don't need it anyway."

"If you insist…"

"Well then…" Musashi-san grabbed his tools again and started to walk away. Sena panicked when she saw his back turned to her.

"Pl-please, wait!" she called out.

He turned around. "Hmm?"

Sena fidgeted, now she got his attention on her. "Umm… I think I never got your answer to teach me how to properly kick…"

His thoughtful expression made her even more nervous. What if… what if he refuse? she thought, sweating. Wait. What if asking him about made him annoyed? What if he felt cheated because I replaced his position? What if—

"That Hiruma," Musashi-san muttered, which she nearly didn't caught. "What the hell is he thinking?"

Eh?! Sena paled. He's angry! Is it because she replaced—

"I'll think about it, kid," he told her before pausing. "Now that reminds me, I never got your name."

Sena perked at that, and immediately bowed ninety-degrees. "My name is Kobayakawa Sena. My position is running—uh, err, I mean, a member of American football club!"

When she raised her herself, she saw Musashi-san looking at her with frowning, suspicious face. "…you're… that eyeshield player, aren't you?"

She stood dumbstruck. No words came out from her mouth, leaving her like a gaping fish as her nervousness skyrocketed. He knew?!

"So you are then." He put down his tools and approached her. "A girl player. Seems like that ridiculous rumor was true after all."

That caught her attention. "There… was a rumor?" This is the first time she heard about it.

"Just within sports circles. It's not spread to general public. Not yet. They were suspicious of the build of the eyeshield player's body. Thinking it was from a woman's."

There were some people already suspicious of me… The thought scared her. If they knew the true identity of Eyeshield 21… what would happen to her? Will they hack her to pieces just Hiruma-san said to her before?

"But," Musashi-san continued, looking down at her indifferently. "The fact that you are asking me to teach you… you're serious about this, right?"

Sena looked up, making eye contact with him. Now that she's seeing him up close, he's actually scary, she thought. But… for him to ask her this… "Musashi-san, I'm not trying to replace you," she said, as resolutely as she can. "I… I'm just trying to be better. A better player in the field. I'm not… trying to intimidate you." Huh…? She thought, a little dizzy. What am I talking about? Nonetheless, she continued, surprisingly calm. "I'm just… I'm just trying to realize Kurita-san's dream to reach Christmas Bowl."

There was no indication of change in Musashi-san's face. Instead, he turned around. "I see. You're an idiot following another idiot." Then he started to walk away as he grabbed his tools again.

"Eh…? Wait, Musashi-san—"

"Practice," he said, halting his steps, not turning around. "No one becomes good just by trying it out once. Practice as hard as you can and gain experience. Follow your own pace. That's all I can give you as an advice."

Musashi-san's back disappeared as he walked out the school gate. Completely lost, she thoughtlessly walked and found herself looking over at the field where she, Hiruma-san, and Kurita-san had practiced. It is that pain and blood all over again, huh… It was dumb of her to expect that Musashi-san would personally train her on how to kick. Of course, he left the club and even the school… why should she even expect?

Dumb. Dumb idiot. An idiot who follows another idiot. That's what Musashi-san told her. Is he angry? she wondered. She doesn't know. She didn't know what kind of expression he made when he said that.

Dejected, she retraced her steps and opened the clubroom. And as usual, she stayed there until the first bell, ignoring Kurita-san's greeting.

Idiot. Idiot. That word occupied her mind.


Fighting back a sigh, Sena took a seat as soon as she entered the classroom. She folded her arms in the table and rested her head on it. Frustration. This is probably what she is feeling right now. Frustrated at herself for the expectation. The expectation that she would be taught, thinking it would come easily.

Frustrated at herself for expecting anything.

Of course that would happen. Nothing good happens if she expects anything. She's so dumb. A dumb idiot, just like Musashi-said. Oh, crap, she thought, catching herself. If Mamori-neechan saw me like this, she would know what happened. Sena forcibly shook herself. This is bad. Her childhood friend would surely scold Musashi-san because of the words he told her earlier.

"Oi, Sena, you okay?"

Sena immediately bristled, hearing a familiar voice behind her. "I-I-I'm okay, Jumonji-kun," she replied. That's right, these three sat behind her. She almost forgot about that. They're usually not in the class so it must have slipped from her mind.

"Are you sure?" Togano-kun asked, who looked worried, surprising her.

"I-It's okay! It's okay!" She flailed her hands, shaking her head. "I'm just… I'm just tired. That's all."

"You? Tired? I've never seen you tired though," Kuroki-kun mused, seemingly confused.

That made her think. Really? I guess that might be a reason she was their gopher… Sena sighed at the thought.

A heavy hand gripped on her shoulder. "Well, don't worry about that," Togano-kun said before pulling out a manga out of nowhere. "Have you read this manga, Shaman Queen? It's awesome to read!"

"Eh…?! A new manga?!" It usually made Sena tired just by listening him talking about manga almost endlessly.

"Here me out, okay?" he continued, "You see, this manga is about—"

"Shut it, Toga," Kuroki-kun interrupted. "It's just a rehashed ideas from previous popular manga."

"What did you just say?!"

"I've read it myself. It's so similar to Joan's Odd Journeys."

Sena laughed nervously, seeing Kuroki-kun and Togano-kun having their heated debate. She trailed her attention to Jumonji-kun who, to her surprise, was reading an English textbook. "Jumonji-kun, you can read that?" she can't help asking him.

"Ah?" He looked up, as if he woke up from a trance. "Just a gist of it. I can read it, but I don't think I have enough comprehension to understand it yet."

Whoa…! Those are some big words Mamori-neechan used back when she was tutored by her before. "But, for Jumonji-kun to read the words, that's already amazing!" Once again, she wondered why he was with Kuroki-kun and Togano-kun. He can even become an honor student if he wants to!

He scoffed. "There's nothing amazing about it. By the way, Sena…" she held back a flinched when he shot her an intimidating look. "Where were you yesterday afterschool?"

"E-eh? Err… uhmm…" That's right, they still don't know I'm in American football club… "I was in a club…"

Jumonji-kun's intimidating look washed away, blinking as if surprised. "You… were in a club?" he asked, which Sena caught to be a curious tone.

She nodded. "Yes. I'm in American football club."

A smirk spread on Jumonji-kun face. Sena slightly paled when she saw it. Good things doesn't follow after he makes that face… she thought, nervous.

"Hey, Kuro, Toga." The two stopped their argument. "How about joining American football club?"

"Eh?!" I-I mean, that's great! But… An image of a certain devilish-looking senpai came to her mind. Do they know about Hiruma-san…? His reputation is widespread in the school so… Despite everything they made her through, she offered a kindle of respect to them. Amazing! If they're joining means they are not afraid of him!

"Sena said," Jumonji-kun continued, "she's in American football club. How about we follow after so that we don't lose our golden gopher girl?"

…oh. That was the reason.

"Great idea, Kazu!" Kuroki-kun laughed. "Recommend us to the club, would ya?"

Sena sighed defeated. "I'll try my best…" But still, she's curious. Do they know about Hiruma-san? They seem to have no idea what they were about to enter…

A bag heavily landed to the table between them, causing all of them to jump in surprise.

"Oops, sorry! My bag just slipped from my hand!"

Sena gasped, recognizing the voice as she turned around. "Raimon-san?!" They were classmates?!

Raimon grinned. "Mornin', Kobayakawa! You having a great day? No one bothering you?" He made a pointed look at the three at the last part.

"Good morning, Raimon-san!" She greeted back, her voice high-pitched than intended from nervousness. "It's okay! They're, umm, my friends! Don't worry about it!"

He looked unconvinced, then shot her… 'friends' a pointed look that looked intimidating than earlier. "Strange friends you got there."

Jumonji-kun returned the pointed look he received with a bored look. "Well, if it isn't Monta, the monkey man."

"My name is not—!"Raimon-san was about to explode but the final bell rang, indicating it was time for a class. "My name is Raimon Tarou, not Monta! Nor Kaminari Montaro! Don't misread my name like that!" he told them before he turned to her covering his mouth from them. "If they are bothering you, don't hesitate to call me, okay? People like them don't have good intentions."

Sena nodded. "O-okay," she said. Raimon-san smiled in response and went back to his seat.

As other students slowly enters the classroom, Sena had her eyes locked on Raimon-san as he ate a banana. Even though his advice to avoid her 'friends' came too late, a few years too late, she was grateful at the gesture. To think there would be other people other than Mamori-neechan… She was incredibly happy. Even she tried to suppress it, she was so, so happy.

She spent the entire homeroom class trying to suppress her smile.


"Oi, Sena," Jumonji-kun called from behind when the bell rang for lunch. She turned around and nearly dropped the money that was tossed to her. "Buy the usual in the canteen."

She nodded without question. "Okay." Then started to ran outside the classroom—

"Wait a second." —but someone gripped her wrist before she could. Sena turned to look at her… friend (are they friends? She nervously asked herself) as Raimon-san gave her… err, childhood friends an unimpressed look. "Are you seriously asking her to do that? You got legs don't ya?"

Jumonji clicked his tongue. "This is none of your business, monkey. She agreed to do it. Is there something wrong with that?" he sneered.

"That's... true, but…" Raimon-san looked at her, as if expecting her to do… something. Anything.

Sena looked back and forth between them, inwardly trembling, nervous and jittery at the attention. What should I do, what should I do what should do, her thoughts was in overdrive as she thought and thought and thought for something to do, anything she should do. Doing something that was within their expectation.

However, if there's something she wants to do…

"I'll buy the yakisoba in the canteen!"

"…Sena?!"

She can hear Raimon-san exclaimed as she ran.


Sena avoided Raimon-san as much as possible. She was so ashamed she can't even face him. I'm sorry, she reached an apology to him as she grabbed her outdoor shoes in the locker and then closing it. He must have been so mad… she stood up when she finished tying her shoes.

And found Raimon-san standing beside her.

She flailed her arms in surprise, making a yelp when she saw him. "R-Raimon-san?!"

"You…" he started, his face twisted into a frown. Sena started to freak out as she saw it. This is bad! This is bad! This is bad! He's seriously mad at her. She tightly closed her eyes to prepare herself for the incoming onslaught. "…why are you avoiding me?" he said, finally.

"Eh?" She opened her eyes, dumbfounded.

"Don't 'eh?" me." He crossed his arms. "You better have an explanation."

"You… huh?" She scratched her head. "You're not mad that I ran earlier?"

"Why would I get mad for something like that?"

"I-I mean, I did something that you…" Her mind was in shambles, not knowing what to say properly. "I did something you didn't want me to do…"

Raimon-san sighed. "I won't blame you that. They were your bullies since you were kids, right?"

"I…" She can't argue with that. "I'm sorry…"

He shrugged. "Don't apologize. But seriously, you should do something. Talk to them, or, I dunno, fight back, I guess, to them."

Fight back. Everyone likes those words, isn't it? "I'll see what I can do…" she said, hanging her head in apology.

Raimon-san pat her shoulders in comfort. "Anyway, I'm going! They're posting the teams today, so if—no, when I made to the first string, let's celebrate!"

She blinked. First string…? Oh! She realized. That's how they separate the teams, right? Sena hoped he'll make it! So that he can… play… his first game… properly…

Go hit a home run, midget. Use any means to do it.

Oh, no! she thought, holding her head in realization. I was supposed to recruit him to our club, not support him in his current one! It completely slipped her mind because she wants to support him!

Steeling herself (and failing), she started to walk into the direction to the clubroom, preparing herself to receive a certain demon's wrath.

And as expected, Hiruma-san was angry. Not the loud and screamy angry, but a loud gunshots angry.

"I'm sorry, Hiruma-san!" She apologized again when the gunshots subsided. "I'm truly sorry!"

"Never mind," he scowled. "Seems like I have to use another method."

Its blackmail, isn't it… she thought, reaching an apology to Raimon-san once again.

"Get out." He kicked her out from the clubroom. "There will no practice today, go home!" Then he closed the door on her face.

What should I do now…? Sena failed to recruit Raimon-san, and now Hiruma-san is angry at her. I really am a failure, aren't I, she thought, inwardly crying as she made her way to the school gate to go home. Wait, she remembered, Raimon-san said they are posting the teams… And he seemed confident he will be in the first string.

She was about to enter the school to see the results if Raimon-san was indeed in the first string, but as soon as she turned around, a disappointed Raimon-san walked out the door, his eyes trained at the floor, not seeing her stand a few feet away from her. Don't tell me… she casted the negative thought and gingerly approached him. "Umm, Raimon-san… are you okay?" she asked, worried.

He blinked, as if waking up. "…yeah. I'm okay. It's just…" he briefly made a frustrated look. "It's just… I knew. I knew what was going to happen, but still…"

"You…" she was afraid to say it. He failed, she thought, he failed, isn't he?

"I failed." He confirmed her thoughts.

Sena just stood there, not knowing what to do. She never comforted anyone because they failed, it was always her who received that type of comfort. Mamori-neechan is the one who always gave that to her. Don't be sad, she had told her, comforting, failing means you have the chance proving yourself again.

"Well, that was uncool." Raimon-san suddenly said, wiping his eyes. He huffed his chest and grinned. Sena thought it looked forced. "That was seriously uncool of me. I was so confident I would get into the first string and I even told you that we would celebrate. That was so, so lame, me!" he scolded himself jokingly, laughing.

"It's okay, Raimon-san. You don't have to force yourself…"

Raimon-san stubbornly kept his composure, then it fell apart. His smiled dropped, turning it into a frown yet weirdly knowing expression as he sighed. Sena could offer him a forced comforting smile. "Don't worry about it. Compare to you, I did a lot of uncool things…" she said.

"No, no, no, it's okay, Kobayakawa. This is on me. It's my fault for expecting when I knew I was incompetent the whole time."

"But…"

"Don't worry, okay?" he told her firmly. Sena could only nod at him seeing him like that. "Now, let's go! I did told you we should celebrate, right? The reason why we're celebrate is, well, kinda failed, but let us celebrate at least!" he said cheerfully, which doesn't seem to be forced to Sena. This made her smile.

"Sena-chan, is that you?" a friendly voice said.

"Kurita-san!" she turned to see her giant friend. "Are you going home?"

"Yeah. Hiruma said there would be no practice so I'm going home." He looked disappointed. He shifted his attention to Raimon-san. "A friend of yours, Sena-chan?"

"Ah, y-yes! This is Raimon Tarou!"

"It's you! The one who caught Hiruma's thrown ball!" Kurita-san said, recognizing him. "That was impressive! You're really good at catching!"

Raimon-san looked flustered. "Th-that was nothing." He scratched his head, looking away. "I was only catching the ball, that's all."

Kurita-san nodded enthusiastically. "Say, say. Are you interested in joining American football club?"

Sena stiffened. Kurita-san, this is not the right time to ask that!

"You American football members sure are persistent, aren't you?" Instead of the annoyed look she expected from Raimon-san, he seemed to be amused.

"Are we…?" Kurita-san laughed in embarrassment. "Sorry about that. We're desperately looking for a wide receiver so…"

"…you're still looking for a wide receiver, huh…"

That caught her attention. Is he finally getting interested…? But… "You don't have to accept it now. You can… well… think about it for a while…"

Raimon-san let out a loud laugh. "You two…! You are really desperate, aren't you?"

Sena looked down. She can't deny that. It was her job to recruit him after all. "Sorry if we're sounding a bit desperate…" Kurita-san said as he bowed in embarrassment.

"You did offer it to me, right? Sure, why not?"

She and Kurita-san did a double take and looked at each other, not believing what they just heard. "You're accepting it?!" they both exclaimed at Raimon-san, who backed away from them in surprise.

"But you did say you'll give me time to think, right?" he said to them.

"We'll give you time!" Kurita-san was in cloud nine. "We'll give all the time you want!"

"Kurita-san means within this week!" Sena immediately corrected. "We'll wait for your answer this week."

"This week, then." Raimon-san said, flicking his nose with a confident smile. "Now, let's go! We're going to celebrate! You can come with us… er, what's your name, big guy?"

"I'm Kurita Ryokan, second year!"

"Then you can come with us, Kurita-senpai!"

"I will! I'll take care of the foods!"

"I'll leave it to you then!"


And that was how they end up having a picnic in the side of the river.

As usual, Kurita-san choose the most delicious looking deserts in large portions and proportions, and Raimon-san had a small argument with him that he should pay for it. "You don't have to!" Kurita-san had told him. "Don't worry about the prices, we're all eating these together after all!" said her giant friend that made Raimon-san relent eventually.

While they were all silently eating their shares, a couple of kids caught Sena's eyes playing by the side of the river. She was reminded of a… skirt that was given to her, realizing that those were the same kids who gave it to her. "Raimon-san, Kurita-san, can I leave for a while?" she asked them.

Both of them gave her a thumbs up, their mouths full. She left them to approached the kids as she grabbed the skirt from her bad that was recently cleaned when her mother Kaa-san noticed it wasn't hers, encouraging her to return. "Umm, excuse me," she interrupted them, causing them to stop their playing. "I'm returning this skirt…"

"Oh, it's that onee-chan!" one of them pointed at her. "That dumb onee-chan who jumped the river!"

That was a huge blow to her ego. It seems like the word dumb will be common for today, she thought despairingly. "Uh, y-yes. I am that onee-chan…"

"What are you doing here, onee-chan?" another kid asked, who seemed the most mature one.

Sena pulled out the skirt from her bag. "I'm here to return this…"

The kid stared at the skirt, blinking before he profusely shook his head. "No, no, you don't have to, onee-chan! We can't even wear it ourselves! We just found it in the river."

"You… found it?" The thought was incredulous. Why would someone throw a piece of clothing in the river?

"Rather than finding it, we actually saw who threw it. It was a scary man with googles. I remember him having a strange hair, too…"

What kind of person who threw something like this? She thought, still incredulous, but an invasive thought went through her mind as she thought the possibility. No. It… it can't be, right? It can't be something that he's throwing a piece of… his girlfriend's skirt, right? There's no way, right?

"You can have it, onee-chan," he pushed the skirt back to her. "We tried giving it to our sister… but they didn't like it because it was too short…"

Of course it is. It barely covered her butt but perhaps because of her short stature, it was wearable for her. "Well, if you insist…" she put the skirt back to her bag. She probably won't wear it in the future anyway.

"Onee-chan, onee-chan," a girl poked her in the thigh before pointing to a direction. "Isn't that the one who gave you the jacket?"

"It does." She nodded, looking at the father and son playing volleyball in the distance. Unfortunately, she didn't brought the jacket with her. Her mother told it doesn't get dry overnight unlike the skirt. She was about to walk to them but a hand gripping her fingers stopped her.

"I think it was cool, onee-chan," the girl meekly said, confusing her.

"What… was cool?"

"When you chased after the ball, it was like you flew to it!" the girl pumped her small fist, her eyes glittering. "It was cool, onee-chan! I don't think it was dumb!"

Sena laughed dryly. I'm glad someone saw it as cool it was actually a very uncool move. Instead of responding, she patted the girl in the head, grateful of her innocent words and approached the pair who's playing the volleyball. "Um, excuse me," she said to them as they stopped their playing. "Thank you for the other day and giving me the jacket. I'm sorry I wasn't able to bring the jacket because it's not dry yet…"

"It's nothing, kid," the father said. "If you want to return it, we'll be here in this river."

She gave them a grateful smile and bowed to them. But when she straighten herself, a glare from the son made her flinch and she was basically running away as soon as she saw it.

"Welcome back," Kurita-san greeted her when she returned to her position in their small picnic blanket. "I didn't know you know lots of people, Sena-chan."

"Actually, about that…" Sena told him of the incident that happened yesterday…

"Are you… feeling okay today, Sena-chan? You don't feel cold…?" …and somehow this was what Kurita-san was concerned about.

"I'm totally okay, Kurita-san." She pumped her fist in emphasis. "Actually, I'm surprised I didn't get a cold," she admitted. She was actually expecting she would feel miserable in the morning as the late arrival of cold would come, but she felt nothing but healthy.

"I'm glad!" Kurita-san picked up a cupcake from his share that was covered with sweet-looking icing and lots of sprinkle. "Here, eat this! You have to eat to be healthy!"

Kurita-san, I think this will knock me out from tonsillitis… Not wanting to offend her friend, she bit a small portion of the cupcake. While chewing, she shifted her attention to Raimon-san who had been strangely quiet the whole time, his share untouched and uneaten beside him.

Of course he would be like this. If she heard right, only people from the first string has a chance to play in the field, maybe some from second string too but she's not quite sure about that. He's probably in the third string… His reaction earlier gave her an impression that he has an abysmal chance of playing in the actual field.

"Kobayakawa," Raimon-san started. "…no. Can I call you Sena?"

"Eh? Uh, ye-yes, you can…" she nodded. "What is it, Raimon-san?"

"…can we do that catching thing like we did yesterday? Of-of course, I won't throw it like I did yesterday!" he hurriedly added.

Sena groped her bag and felt the familiar shape of the ball in it. Thank goodness I didn't left this in my room… "Of course we can."

Kurita-san observed them as Sena looked for the ball in her bag. "Catching thing?" he tilted his head, looking at her in inquiry.

"We, uh, we did some catching trial yesterday." And me being an idiot jumping in the river, she silently added.

"…can I come?"

"Of course, Kurita-san!"

"Having another player in the field is always welcome," Raimon-san added. She and Kurita-san exchanged looks before smiling knowingly. Raimon-san sure sounds like he's already in the team.

Leaving their small picnic blanket, they went to the open field in the side of the river that was unoccupied. However, Sena can't help but look back at their blanket and noticed a fancy looking wrapping that Kurita-san brought with him. She decided to take the thought in backseat and focused on throwing the ball. "Here I come, Raimon-san!"

He connected his fist together and readied himself. "Alright!"

Using the same form she did yesterday, Sena threw the ball. As expected he caught it, but this time… he did the somehow familiar pose, where he firmly grasped the ball close to him as he kneeled and pointing his finger to the sky. "CATCH MAX!" he said proudly.

"Amazing! Amazing!" Kurita-san clapped, smiling with equal pride as Raimon-san. "That was amazing, Monta-kun!"

"Mon…" Raimon-san staggered when he heard the name. "Why is everyone calling me that…?"

"That was amazing," Sena said, as she approached him. She received the ball when he offered it back to her. "You would be an amazing wide receiver, I'm sure of it." Gotta convince him, gotta convince him… Sena silently chanted, hoping he'll take the bait.

"Wide receiver…" Raimon-san hummed in ponder. "How do they exactly work?"

Her heart made a leap and hurriedly beckoned Kurita-san to come closer. "Kurita-san, he's getting interested in the position of wide receiver. Can you explain it to him?" she whispered to him. "I'm afraid I'm not good at convincing him if I explain it…"

"Leave it to me," he replied lowly. He walked up to Raimon-san. "Monta-kun, you want to know about the wide receiver?"

Raimon-san gave him a withered look at the name, then sighed. "Yeah, I want to know. Are they in charge of… receiving the ball?"

"It's really obvious from the ball, but yes! Their job in the field is to catch the thrown ball from the quarterback."

"…just catching?"

"Mostly catching. Of course they have to steal the ball from enemy quarterback and block the running back, but they mostly do catching."

"Hmm…"

Seeing them that Raimon-san and Kurita-san are now engaged to their conversation, Sena decided to return to their picnic spot. The fancy wrapping gift caught her eye again. She look back at Kurita-san still distracted at the conversation with Raimon-san and took the opportunity to sneakily look at the card hanging in it.

To Sakuraba Haruto.
We would like to apologize for the actions of Eyeshield 21. They didn't mean to do it. We hope you'll accept this apology.

Ah. That's right. Sena was the cause of the accident, she did bump into him. And I didn't even remember when it happened because I was focused on how to outrun Shin-san… Now Sena felt guilty. She should've have remembered that she bumped someone and it was Sakuraba Haruto of all people. His fans are gonna kill me if they knew I was the one donning Eyeshield 21. She was sure of that.

Sena waited for them to come back, as she continued to eat her food. When she saw them approaching, she didn't wasted time to ask. "Kurita-san, were you going to visit Sakuraba-san?"

"You knew, Sena-chan?" he laughed in embarrassment. "I just heard about it at the bakery I bought these deserts. He was actually nearby hospital so I thought maybe we could visit him."

"Did… did I hear both of you right?" Raimon-san interrupted with incredulous look. "You were going to visit Sakuraba Haruto?"

"Yeah," they both replied.

"That idol ace of Oujo White Knights with lots of fangirls?!"

"E-eh? Yeah…" Sena replied, confused why he's quite particular about it.

"Can… can I join you?"

"Of course, you can!" Kurita-san accepted.

"Alright!" Raimon-san brightened, fists pumping. Sena caught her giant friend looking at her with understanding smile. She replied with a nod.

I have properly apologize to Sakuraba-san, too.


Sena overlooked the stampede of a crowd currently gathering outside the hospital. Sakuraba-san's popularity is really amazing… she can't help but commend about it. However, her unfortunate circumstances are not, currently, amazing. Since the stampeding crowd mostly consisted of girls, the security guard who tries to keep the fangirls from entering the hospital advised her to not come in. "But she's with us!" Raimon-san had tried explain but the guard said his refusal firmly. It was Sena who tried to convince Raimon-san that it was okay, and don't worry she'll find another way. The guard raised an eyebrow to her when he heard it, but he whispered to her to make sure that others (the crowd of fangirls) not notice her.

She looked at the crowd, looking for a possible route to enter the hospital without being noticed. But there's barely any space to slip in and she's bound to bump into someone and she'll get noticed if she did. Earlier, thanks to Kurita-san's wide build (and perhaps he looks like a giant), the crowd parted in wonder or maybe in fear because of his figure and they easily arrived in front of the hospital.

Walking around to the back of the hospital and saw it was the same state as the front. Sakuraba-san's popularity is scary… To think that his fans will get this far and they seemingly want to inconvenient other people's lives just to see him…

Her cellphone rang in her pocket. She opened it and saw it was Raimon-san calling her, although his name on her phone is Monta (Monta actually suited him, she had secretly thought to herself when they exchanged numbers earlier). She answered it, "hello? Mo... er, Raimon-san?"

"Are you in? The sight of the crowd from the inside is scary," his digital voice said.

She sighed. "I know. Just trying to find my way in."

"Really? Well, Sakuraba's friends is still in his room so we can't enter yet."

"I see. I'll quickly find a way so that we can visit him together."

"Okay. Good luck."

"Thank you."

Turning off the call, she went back to the front. There's still no change… Sena bit her thumb nail, her eyes frantically darting to the crowd for a space she can slip in smoothly. I'll just run ahead straight up then, Sena made her mind. I'll just run faster than normal so that they won't notice me. She readied herself, taking a deep breath as she closed her eyes. When she opened it, a route was set for her run. It was small space but she can fit herself in it. I'll have to be faster so that they won't notice me even though I'm bumped to them!

With a destination in mind, she rushed forward.

She ignored the pain when she got elbowed from an unassuming person and simply ran forward. She swiftly made turns to dodge those were standing in front of her, following her instinct, the trusting route that was set for her to follow. When she got closer the entrance, a realization struck her. Wait, I have to stop at the door to open it! she thought in horror. If I did, they will notice me!

In her panic-stricken mind, she saw the door moved and saw someone (a doctor maybe, she hastily guessed) coming out. Sena focused her attention to the slowly closing door. This is my chance! she thought as she forcibly put more strength in her legs to make her even more faster.

Making a one last dodge of the security guard, not noticing his eyes going wide in astonishment, she made a quick sharp turn to slip through the door. Please make me made it, please make me made it, please make me made it!

And she did. She managed through it. However, a single moment when she relaxed herself because she was happy that she had made it caused her to trip at her own feet. The cold tiled-floor happily greeted her.

"Are you okay, miss…?"

She hastily stood up and straighten herself. "I'm okay! Anyway, have you noticed someone with a big body accompanied with a monkey-like man wearing a school uniform?"

The hospital personnel blinked in bewilderment. "That is quite a description, miss. But, yes, we did notice them. Are you their friend?"

Sena nodded. The personnel went to the reception table before returning back to her. "They're in the third floor, room 418. Sakuraba Haruto-san's room."

"I see. Thank you very much!" She bowed ninety-degrees, which made her feel a little dizzy.

"And also here."

Sena blinked, looking at the tissue offered to her. She looked up to him in confusion.

"Nosebleed," he told her simply.

Touching under her nose, she can feel the wetness and saw her fingers coated in blood. She immediately took the tissues. "Thank you—ouch…"

"You don't have to bow."

But she still did, although it was more like she was just slightly bending her knees as she 'bowed' to him. She left the area and entered an elevator, then pressed the third floor button.

That was embarrassing… she felt her go warm as soon as the elevator door closed. Although, she was surprised that she managed to keep her composure in front of the personnel considering the fact that she tripped and a nose dripping with blood. Professional people are amazing… And she realized that compared to her unlucky yesterday, today was an amazing day, not to her, but her amazement to other people.

Ding! The elevator made a noise, reminding that she had arrived her destination. Sena wiped her nose again as the door slowly opened. 418. It was 418, right… she reminded herself.

When the door has fully its door, she froze. Within her sight she saw Kurita-san and Raimon-san. However, they were not the reason why she went still. Shin-san! She thought, seeing the stoic face facing her, walking towards her, with an intimidating form.

"Hey, Sena!"

Raimon-san's voice snapped her out her trance, and she hastily get out the elevator so that Shin-san and his companions can enter it. They must have visited Sakuraba-san… she realized in thought. No wonder Kurita-san and Raimon-san didn't enter his room.

Sena stood at the side as they made their way inside. For an inexplicable reason, or more likely just a habit of hers, she bowed to them in apology, and ran towards her friends. "I'm sorry. I just made it inside." She made another bow to them.

"Is bowing your thing…?" Raimon-san noted in disbelief.

"I'm glad you made it," Kurita-san said. "Let's go. Let's apologize to him."

Sena nodded and opened the door. Behind her, she heard a whisper. "This has been bugging me, but why are you apologizing? Isn't that eyeshield's fault?" Raimon-san asked. She twitched when she heard it.

"Technically, umm…" She can feel her giant friend's gaze in her back. "We're apologizing for their sake. They're the one who told me to bring this gift after all."

"Really? Didn't you just earlier that you just bought it?"

"Ye…yeah, well…" Kurita-san laughed nervously. I get it, Kurita-san, Sena inwardly reached him a pat in the back. I'm not good at lying, too…

"Hello," a voice that Sena usually heard from the TV as Sakuraba-san greeted them. "Aren't you… from Deimon High?" He instantly recognized them.

Sena and Kurita-san bowed. Raimon-san followed after. "We would like to apologize!" She and her giant friend exclaimed as Kurita-san stretched his arms to give the wrapped gift to Sakuraba-san.

"Uh, yeah. What they said," Raimon said dryly.

"Really? Thank you." Sakuraba-san graciously accepted the gift and put it in the horde of other gifts in the side. "You didn't have to go this far and apologize."

"But…" Sena started.

"You didn't have to."

Huh? Sena was taken back. "B-but without you in the field because eyeshield collided on you, you weren't able to play in the field!"

"I know," Sakuraba-san said impassively.

"And I'm sure they didn't collide on you on purpose!" I gotta refute what Hiruma-san said as he posed as Eyeshield…

"I know that. I'm the one who carelessly wandered into the field. Besides, getting me out in the field didn't benefit you that much. Sakuraba Haruto wasn't there and yet Ojou White Knight didn't lost the game."

"Sakuraba-san…" I… didn't expect Sakuraba-san would be so indifferent… Sena never thought he would be so defeated like this, and seeing him like this…

"Sakuraba…" an unfamiliar voice said as the curtain beside Sakuraba-san slid off, showing a boy in a wheelchair. The expression of the boy changed. "It is you! Sakuraba Haruto! The real deal!" the boy exclaimed in happiness. "Can I please have your autograph?"

"Autograph on my CD? Yeah, well…" Sakuraba-san pulled out a sign pen from his pocket. "I can give you that, at least…"

"CD? What CD? I don't need any CD, I want you to sign this!" the boy pulled out a football from his bag. "Even though I only saw you once during that game, but you were amazing back then! That's why, at that moment, I always remembered your name! Ojou White Knights' receiver, Sakuraba Haruto, is my hero!"

A smile spread on Sena's face, finding the exuberant happiness from the boy contagious. "That game…" she heard Kurita-san mutter. "It's probably where we lost against them…"

"You fought with his team before?" Monta-san asked lowly.

"Yeah. 0 – 99, in favor to their team."

"Whoa! That's...! Not amazing on your team…"

"Yeah. We can't even fight back against them."

"Of course you guys lost! Sakuraba was in the team!" the boy said confidently. "He's the only player who can catch a high pass!"

"That's true," Kurita-san agreed.

"Even I'm still a shortie now, but when I grow older I'm gonna be suuuper tall! Like Sakuraba!" he turned to his idol. "I'm gonna be a hero just like you!"

Monta… err, Raimon-san covered his mouth as tears flowed his eyes. "Sena," he turned to her. "He's just like me! Just like how I admired Honjo-san's catching…!"

Who is that…? Sena could only tilt her head in confusion.

"That catch was just a coincidence."

That sudden refute from Sakuraba-san shut them up. "Hero… why does other people do the things like and turn me into a hero? I'm nothing like that. Far from it, actually. I am farthest what everyone expected from me." He paused. "…rather, I'm a fake."

"I understand you."… is what Sena want to say to him. She knows what he's going through. She may not know the particulars nor the struggles he's currently handling, but she knows. After all, she's fellow fake hero like him.

"What the hell are you talking about?" Raimon-san said, fuming, as he approached the blonde-haired idol. "How could you say that, huh?! It's a pain when people treat you like a hero, is that what you're saying?!" He grabbed Sakuraba-san by his collar, which made her and Kurita-san panic. "How could you say that to your fan?!"

"Shut up, monkey! What did you say?!" the boy exploded.

"Who are you calling monkey?!" Raimon-san shouted back. "I said what I said! Loser! Useless loser! Lame! Lame-o receiver! In short, lamer-ceiver!"

"Could you please…!" Sakuraba-san raised his voice, effectively stopping the chaos what was about to happen. He sighed. "Could you guys please pass the message to Eyeshield 21? Tell them that I'm sorry to have them involved with a small fry like me."

Is that what he truly thought about himself? Sena thought, realizing. That he's just a small fry… It doesn't suit him. Not at all. Rather, being a small fry suited her more than him. "Sakuraba-san!" she exclaimed, surprising everyone, including herself. "Sakuraba-san, you are no small fry. You're not." She paused, thinking what she should say more to him. A letter from Kurita-san wrapped gift caught her attention. "…as someone who knows Eyeshield 21, I remember they have something to say to you."

"Eyeshield 21? You know him?" Raimon-san beside her asked, but she ignored him for now.

"I was told… that there was a reason why he has to take you out." She tried to conjure of an image of Eyeshield 21 potrayed by Hiruma-san. "Taking you out means Ojou's power greatly decreased, and it was done on purpose. That's why Eyeshield did that killer tackle! Because they know you were a threat, an obstacle they want to remove. Eyeshield during that game told me they were lucky that you were no longer there."

Sena began to sweat as she became keen of their reaction. The boy and Raimon-san's increasing anger, Kurita-san's nervousness, and Sakuraba-san's surprised yet somehow grateful expression. Sena thought why he looks grateful. What she had said was nothing positive to him.

"Get out!" the boy shouted in great anger. "Get out from here! I'll never forgive YOU for talking to Sakuraba like that! You're all accomplices to Eyeshield 21! YOU'RE ALL BAD GUYS! GET OUT!"

In response to the boy's anger, they did what was told, and immediately gets out from there.


In the same circumstances earlier, it was Kurita-san and Raimon-san who came out first in the hospital, as Sena looked in the distance in horror as she saw them getting bombarded with questions like what room what Sakuraba-san is currently resting, how his health is going, will he get recovered from his injury, etc. As they barely got out from their clutches, it was her turn to run to get out the hospital and swiftly arrived at their discussed location, which was close to the shopping district.

"Man, Sakuraba sure is popular," Raimon mused, folding his arms behind his head now that their way is clear. "I guess being popular can be a burden, huh…"

Sena silently nodded. Kurita-san beside her also agreed, nibbling on a cupcake he bought on the way.

"Well, I don't mind being popular that way!" Raimon-san said enthusiastically. "If I'm on the same level as him in terms of popularity, it would be heaven for me! Well, even though he's a bit lame…"

"Don't be like that, Monta-kun," Kurita-san replied. "I'm sure Sakuraba-kun is just depressed that he wasn't in the field that day…"

"But still! It was way too lame!" Raimon-san crossed his arms. "Especially being in front of his fan! That was so uncool of him!"

"Monta-kun…"

"But… well…" he continued, scratching his head. "I guess even a popular guy like has doubts of his own abilities. I'm not sure if he's being humble about it, but it sure feels he knows his own faults." Raimon-san smiled bitterly. "I guess people are just, well, being people, making mistakes or something like that."

"Mon… I mean, Raimon-san," Sena corrected. If Kurita-san keeps calling him Monta-kun I might follow his example. "Raimon-san, you're right. There are people who always makes mistakes and making a big deal about it. Cooler ones are those who knows those mistakes and tries to rise up from it." Sorry, Raimon-san. I know these words are the words you want to hear the most. For the sake for making you joining our club… Once again, she apologized for the small manipulation she just did.

Raimon-san grinned. "You're totally right, Sena! The cooler one does!" Then he started skipping ahead of them, humming an unknown song.

"I'm sorry, Sena-chan…" Kurita-san whispered. "You have to do so that he can…"

She can only sag her shoulders. Sena feels bad but this was an opportunity she can do to recruit him.

"Oh, right!" Raimon-san suddenly exclaimed, and ran back to them, showing them a worn-out baseball glove. "I told about him earlier but I never introduced you to Honjou-san, right?" He raised the glove as it made a shadow to them against the sunset. "Honjou Masaru is an idol of mine! He's the one who inspired me to do baseball! He was cool when he caught the ball during that game in my childhood. When I saw it, I was like 'wow! I wanna be like him too!'"

Sena tried to fight back the guilt that was slowly building within her. No wonder he relates so much to the kid earlier…

"But… I guess the reality doesn't really favor me." Raimon-san held the glove to his chest. "Being put into the third string is just…" he sighed in defeat. "I suck. Damn, I did suck at baseball, aren't I?"

Both her and Kurita-san had no words for that. Sena doesn't know any proper words to comfort him.

"Sena. Kurita-senpai." They both bristled. "I'm only good at catching. I suck at catching, I suck at throwing—are you sure you want to recruit me to your club who is only good at one thing?"

"One thing is good enough, Monta-kun!" Kurita-san assured. "After all, American football is a specialized sport. Being good at catching is not just good enough—it's an excellent position for you!"

Raimon-san looks taken back. "R-really?"

"It is!"

He looked back and forth between them. Sena was about assure him too that she was only good at running, but decided to keep her mouth shut in case she was about to blow her cover, just like she did with Musashi-san.

"…I'll think about it," Raimon-san said eventually. "Let me… no, I'll give you my answer tomorrow morning. Is that okay?"

Trying to keep their excitement, they both nodded. "We will wait for you tomorrow!" Kurita-san said.

"Of course!"

As they all happiness went their way, her phone and Kurita-san's rang, indicating that a message was just received. Sena opened it and paled when she saw the recipient was 'Ya-ha!'. Great job for recruiting that monkey! The message told her.

"Ku…Kurita-san…" She turned to her friend, wondering if he got the same message.

"Yeah…" he confirmed, showing her his phone.

Hiruma-san sure is an opportunist, isn't he… they both thought in defeat.


Sena and Kurita waited early morning the next day, waiting outside the clubroom. She and his friend looked at each in excitement, a wide smile on their faces. When the door opened behind them, they beamed.

Raimon Tarou posed with his new uniform, with the number 80 on his jersey. "How's this?" he said confidently.

"It suits you!" Kurita-san exclaimed.

"It does!" Sena nodded. "It's a bit late but…" She and Kurita gave each other a knowing look.

.

.

.

"Welcome to the American football club!"

.

.

.


Author's Note:

I hope this chapter was good enough! I scrambled some events but I hope it wasn't very confusing. I just hope it was at least enjoyable to read!

I have a bit of concern how I'm handling Raimon/Monta in this fic, just tell me if I did him justice here.

See ya next update! (And I really hope it won't be next year lol)