Author's notes: Finally I'm back! I'm extremely thankful for everyone's support!

RECRUTING: I will make this into a fanmade otome/bl game! I am now looking for people who want to help a lending hand. Especially coloring artists! If interested, please do contact me!

Disclaimer: I do not own es21!

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Sena gasped and panted for air as she leaned against the wall. Good thing the cafe had a backdoor. At least, she was able to escape from the clutches of those girls. She shuddered at the thought; girls could be truly frightening at times.

"Sena-chan?"

"Oh, uh, Juri-nee!" She pushed herself away from the wall. She picked up her bag and slung it over her shoulder. "I think we should get going!"

"Sure, but, in those clothes?" The taller girl pointed to Sena's dress. The young brunette sheepishly smiled and scratched the back of her head. "It's a long story. But, do you know a place where I can change?"

"Yeah, but, it's kind of far. Would that be fine?" She tapped a finger lightly at her chin. Kotarou just grumbled while Akaba adjusted his sunglasses. Sure, going to Sena's house wasn't really part of the plan but, it seemed interesting, so why not?

The four of them walked together to Sena's house. Of course, everything didn't go just smoothly as Sena expected it to be. There were a couple of guys who would try to talk to her and Juri. But most of the time, it was directed towards her. And since Kotarou was there, any random guy who would dare hit on Juri would be glared at by him. Crap. She shouldn't have chosen to escape wearing that embarrassing outfit. Great! And now another guy just gave her a weird grin and a wink!

"Sena, does this happen to you every day?" Juri was concerned. Sure, she knew that Sena was extremely adorable. But being hit on by a big number of men was somewhat surprising. If she was alone at that moment, without them, then what would have happened to her? Probably something not good.

The brunette looked at her before scratching the back of her head." Aha, well, yeah. Kind of, I get stalked too." She replied.

'It's because of the maid outfit.' Sena silently reassured herself.

What? She gets stalked and that's just how she takes it? Way too calm!

"Fuu, saying you get stalked like that, it's as if you're used to it." Akaba adjusted his sunglasses.

"Yeah, I am. I was scared at first, but now I guess I'm used to it. After all, I have very reliable older siblings who always look out for me. And because of them, I'm not being stalked anymore and I'm not afraid of..."Sena trailed off, suddenly remembering something she wished that could have just been buried somewhere deep inside her mind.

'I- I didn't mean too!'

'It's all your fault! You and your stupid personality!'

'But-!'

'Shut up, you don't know what it's like!'

'If that's the case then maybe I can-'

"Getting used to it isn't smart! You should do something about!" Kotarou combed his hair, making Sena snap out of her thoughts. He glared at the guys who were passing by them and who were eyeing either Juri or Sena.

"Then, Juri-nee will protect you too!" She hugged the younger girl. Sympathy. She couldn't help but feel that towards Sena. Being stalked and getting hit on most of the time must be hard.

"Ah-! Juri-nee!" Sena yelped, quite surprised at the sudden contact.

She smiled at this. Even though, years had passed, Juri-neechan was still the same. Still loving and caring. But, that's exactly what she liked about her.

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Akaba couldn't believe that such a small girl like Sena would be used to being eyed like that every day. He pitied her, well; it was pretty much obvious that things would turn out like that. She was delicate, naive, gentle and kind. Did he just say Sena was cute?

Kotarou dramatically pointed his comb towards Sena. If she was Juri's imouto then, she was going to be his imouto as well. After all, Juri was soon going to be his- never mind. But, if it's someone Juri considers as important then he would feel the same way! "If Juri will protect you, then so will I!"

"And from now on, I'll be your niichan too!" This earned him looks of surprise from Sena, Juri and sighed, he was at it again. Akaba just raised an eyebrow, looking at Kotarou from his sunglasses.

Sena just gaped like a fish, before rubbing her temple. Okay, she was happy about how she got along with most of the people she met, but... What was it with people? It was like; every person she met became one of her 'big brothers'...not that she was complaining.

"Wha-Why?"

"Because... it's a smart thing to do." What a smart reason, coming from Kotarou.

Not the answer she was expecting, but at least she got along well with him. "O-Okay then, Ko-Kotarou-niichan..."

She suddenly remembered about her other big brother. Sakuraba. She had injured him, no, broke his collar bone! And she was still laughing and fooling around with people. She visibly deflated, clutching the hem of her skirt. Damn it, her guilt was killing her. First she lied to them and now she harmed someone important to her. She was the worst.

"Are you all right?" Juri lightly shook her shoulder.

Sena snapped her head back up, blinking as she noticed Juri's worried face. She quickly shook her head before slapping her own cheeks with both hands. "Haha, silly me. Sorry, I sort of spaced out."

She should not burden anyone with her own problems.

"Fuu, Sena-kun, if anything's bothering you then you should say it." Akaba adjusted his sunglasses. He was worried for her, only a little though, not that he would ever admit it to anyone, especially to a certain someone named Kotarou Sasaki.

The brunette re-assured them that there was nothing wrong before dashing to the nearest restroom to change her clothes.

Damn it, she really needed to work on her people convincing skills.

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Just as she was about to return to where she left Juri, Akaba and Kotarou, she noticed someone jogging. Now, it wouldn't have been a problem if it was just someone else, but the person, whom she identified as male was very familiar.

Kind of like-

"Shin-aniki?" Sena jogged over to where the man was, smiling when she reached him."Is Haru-nii fine?"

"Although we have not received any formal news from the hospital, everyone has assumed that Sakuraba is not in a life-threatening situation. I think so too, the impact you caused was not enough to make a serious injury. He stated, in his usual tone. The brunette's guilt eased, at least, it wasn't that bad. But, she still couldn't help but feel responsible for her actions.

"Really? Good then."She was relieved.

Wait! Did Shin just say 'you', instead of eyeshield 21? How did he-

"You've figured it out haven't you?"She bit her lip.

"Figured out what?"

"That I'm eyeshield 21," she turned her head away from him. She had lied to them and there was no way they were going to let that slide. "Please, don't tell Ichirou-nii and Haru-nii!"

"Then I will keep it as a secret."He reassured her."But, why is it necessary to conceal your identity?"

"Well, Hiruma-san said that if people knew my real identity, then they would scout me for sure and bother me." She explained."Wait, you're not going to say anything against me playing American football?"

"You have a potential." He replied simply.

"Shin-aniki...I...thank you! I promise to return this favour soon! I really owe you one!" She jumped and hugged him out of joy. She hadn't expected that answer, but still, her secret was safe!

For now.

Shin was startled by the sudden contact. But, he was even more confused at his decision. Sena was very important to him, but at the same time she was his rival. She had the potential to grow into a strong amefuto player. But, at the same time, she was his dear imouto. And being a big brother meant that he should protect her from all sorts of danger right? Amefuto was a very rough sport. A delicate girl like her would be easily crushed in an instant. At the same time, he also had to respect her decisions. So he decided, for the meantime, to keep it as a secret. She would mature into a strong player, he was sure of it.

He would make sure of it.

He hadn't felt like this before. A rival. No one has been able to surpass him like that, and now that someone just did. He would have to beat him or her at all costs.

"Name."

"Eh?" She blinked.

"You call Takami-senpai and Sakuraba by their given name. Yet, when it comes to me, you call me by my family name...why is that so?" Shin gazed at her.

"Oh! Well, um, you see...the first time I met you, I thought you seemed kind of scary and you wouldn't like it if I used your name."She paused, noticing the subtle change in Shin's expression." Eh-! Well! But now, it's different, you see, Shin-aniki, I really respect you! I call you aniki as a form of my respect! I mean, you're so strong and-"

"I...don't think I would mind if it was you calling me by my given name." He said.

"Eh?"

"Seijuro"

"Oh. Um. Sei-aniki?" She shifted uncomfortably. It was kind of nice to know that he was fine with her calling him by his first name but...it was, well, kind of awkward.

Shin nodded before jogging away , leaving a very dumbfounded Sena, the brunette, not noticing the small smile that was tugging at the corner of his lips right before he left.

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"Ara, Ara, its Juri-chan! How long has it been?" Mihae opened the front door, quite surprised to see Juri and Sena along with two unknown boys.

"Mihae-obasan! It's good to see you!" Juri greeted her, motioning to the two beside her." These are my friends; Akaba Hayato and Kotarou Sasaki."

"Ojamashimasu." The two of them bowed their heads to Mihae.

"My, such polite boys." She cooed before ushering all of them inside.

Sena sighed for the umpteenth time that day. Her mother could be so... so... mother-like at times. She quickly slid into her indoor shoes before following them to the kitchen. Juri had actually given her mother a cake, as a small celebratory gift after not being able to visit for a long time. She helped Mihae in cutting the cake and making tea.

"A-Anou, it may not be much, but here." She put a tray on top of the table.

"You know, if you want to ward of perverts, you should specialize in something. Running away would be good too..." Kotarou combed his hair, frowning as he thought of a skill she should practice on. Of course, he was trying to impress Sena so he could impress Juri, smart plan huh?

"For once, Kotarou does make sense." Juri gave him an incredulous look.

"Fuu. I agree."

"Wha-hey!"

Kotarou glared at the two of them mumbling something that sounded like 'don't make me sound like an idiot.'

"Um, I don't think you guys have to that far, I mean, I think I can protect myself. And one of my senpai would probably be able to ward off those kinds of people." She meekly pointed out, seating herself beside Juri. Hiruma wouldn't let anything bad happen to her...right?

"That still doesn't assure anything!" Kotarou furrowed his eyebrows in annoyance.

An imaginary light bulb flicked open above Juri's head. "Hey, I got it!" She beamed at the three of them before clapping her hands together.

"Why didn't I think of this earlier?"She was obviously happy at her new realization.

"Think of what?"

"Fuu. What is it, Juri?"

"Juri-nee, what do you mean?" Sena blinked.

Juri gave her a big grin that eerily reminded her of Hiruma. She paled as she thought that the next events weren't bound to be pretty. "Come on, I'll tell you when we get there!" She yanked the brunette by the wrist, pushing the two boys out of the door with her free hand."Mihae-obaasan! I'll be borrowing Sena-chan for a bit!"

"Sure, sure! Just don't be late okay? Make sure you walk her back home!" Her mother called out from the kitchen.

"Um, where are we going?" The shorter of the two girls gave the taller one an uneasy look.

"We're going to Bando high school!"

Yup. Things were going to be as ugly as hell.

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"Um, why're we here again?" Sena fiddled with the hem of her shirt. She cringed at the thought of Hiruma seeing her wearing another team's uniform. He would probably castrate her then feed her to Cerberus. Oh, but wait, she was their running back, so he would probably just feed her to Cerberus.

Oh great, just damn great.

"Football practice at school? At night?" Kotarou questioned, looking from side to side."I'm not sure how this can help Sena."

"For once, I agree with Kotarou."Akaba said.

"Just believe in me!" Juri turned on the lights, making the field brighter. Being the Bando Spiders team manager could be helpful at times."Sena, you might think ' how the heck would teaching amefuto help me?', but you'll see. Just trust me." She went in the locker room, retrieving a football from it. She motioned for Sena to go near her, to which the brunette complied to.

"Although if I must admit then, I am surprised that you knew the basics of amefuto .To be able to name all of them like that! You're amazing!" Juri gave the shorter girl a hug.

Sena froze midway. Crap. Juri could never know that she was into American football. If she did then, it would make her closer to discovering who she really was. Not good. She needed to pretend to be clueless about it. If Hiruma knew that somebody else besides the three of them was aware of it then-

She didn't want to think of the consequences.

"I- Somebody taught me!" Smooth. Just real smooth Sena.

Juri just let it drop at that.

But it was quite surprising how the three of them were into amefuto. The brunette wouldn't have expected that, not in a million years. And...Why did it seem as if everyone she met was related to amefuto?

But still, if she wanted to protect her secret then she shouldn't show any interest in amefuto. Good thing it seemed out of character of her to be into such a rough sport.

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Akaba and Kotarou positioned themselves at the field.

"But why do I have to block too? I'm a kicker!" Kotarou whined.

"It's just a training anyway. Plus, all you guys have to do is to block Sena or chase her." The manager of Bando rolled her eyes. "Anyways, Sena, come here!"

"Hey-wait, Akaba, why aren't you wearing your usual uniform?"Juri tilted her head to the side, one finger placed in front of her lips. She furrowed her eyebrows in confusion.

"Kotarou over here spilled tea on it. Plus it's not a real match. I doubt that we would even need go that far." He replied.

"So..What do we have to do? I hope it's something smart!"Kotarou combed his hair.

"Try to get the ball from Sena! Pretend to attack her or something like that!"

Juri lightly grabbed Sena's wrist before whispering something into her ear." Sena, they'll be chasing you or will be blocking your path. So before things get ugly... kick them where it doesn't shine."

"Where.. It doesn't shine?" She gave Juri a puzzled look."I'm not sure I get what you mean."

"A critical hit to the nads!" Juri pushed her to the field "Now go!"

"I'm sure that this will be a big help to you! Just try it!"

As Sena was pushed to the field and a football was shoved in her direction, her mind became pre-occupied with various thoughts. What was...a critical hit to the nads?

A football was abruptly shoved into her arms. Juri gave her a big thumbs up." You don't need to know anything about amefuto but...just run around with that ball and try to evade those two, okay?"

Juri went near her and whispered again" Remember kick them here." She pointed to a certain part.

Sena just gave a small nodded before running off to the side of the field. She didn't really know what that meant, but she might as well try it, given how Juri had so much trust on that move. The brunette sprinted for a while, not really wanting to show off her real speed. She sighed as she realized how long her day was. And she still had three home works that she needed to get done by that night.

"Go easy on her Akaba! Kotarou! Aim for the ball and not her!" Juri yelled at them. Damn it. This was why she hated having big fields. You couldn't order them around without having to scream. She should've really brought her megaphone."And Sena! Remember what I taught you, okay?"

The brunette yelled out a 'yes', before turning her head. Crap! Akaba was just a few feet away from her! She slid herself to the right, a few seconds before Akaba could even touch her. She noticed Kotarou on her right side attempting to catch her. She shut her eyes closed and ran forward in hopes of shaking of the two of them. "Sena! Do what I taught you! Trust me!" Juri called out from the sidelines.

The brunette gathered whatever courage and strength she had at that moment and stopped in her tracks, spinning to face the two. Akaba was quite taken aback by this. He didn't expect the short girl to face them head on. But nonetheless, if Juri thinks that this could help her then he probably should at least attempt to take the ball, without hurting her of course! He would never forgive himself if he were to ever hurt a cute animal. The red head blushed a little, earning himself a surprised look from Sena.

Kotarou, on the other hand, was lagging behind. He didn't want to hurt his sworn imouto but Juri told them to go easy and take the ball. But, seriously, what good would this do to her?"Hey! This is not smart! Aren't you practically teaching her how to play amefuto? Not smart!" He yelled at Juri, halting in his running. Damn that kid was fast.

Juri rolled her eyes and threw her clipboard at Kotarou, which landed with a dull 'thunk'. Kotarou could be so whiny at times.

The brunette was scared of Akaba. And it was official. Yes, he was kind and had good manners but... He wasn't holding back! She could feel that he was taking their practice match too seriously. She squeaked when she noticed him coming closer. Fear made itself known in every part of her body, so she did what she thought was the most logical thing to do.

She threw the ball in Akaba's face.

Which landed hard.

And if that wasn't enough, she gave Akaba a critical hit to...a place where the sun didn't shine. She didn't want to disappoint Juri, seeing as how much faith she had in that move.

She cracked one eye open, peeking to see what damage it could've dealt to the taller and stronger red head. With her puny arms and legs it probably didn't even affect him much...right?

That's where she was terribly terribly wrong.

Kotarou was staring at her as if she had grown another head. A few seconds passed and he was already laughing his head off."Smart kid! To think that you could manage to get Akaba off his feet!"

Juri was smiling.

Akaba was still on the floor, grimacing.

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