Got an extra long chappy for you here, don't ask where it came from. All I know is that this baby was flowing like a river. Thanks to all who reviewed, especially green-road and Arashikaze074. Enjoy.

Time: Three hours

Pairing: None, yet

Author: Sinthetic Angel

Disclaimer: No own, no sue *hugs the Ikari plushie*

What on earth is the world coming to?

Chapter 5 - The Interview.

Ikari grit his teeth and looked around at the other student hopefuls gathered by Ojous main gate. With a grunt and a shove he started forwards, elbowing people out of the way as he headed for the registration desk, Sena tagging along behind. What he saw made him grin and it must have been scary because a few people near him suddenly decided they didn't need the scholarship chance and left for home. Taking a quick head count he saw one representative from each sport taught at Ojou, usually the Captain but sometimes the Manager, coupled with their respective coaches. For the Amefuto scholarship it was the Quarter Back and Captain, Takami Ichiro, and the stern and strict Coach Shogun. Catching Takamis eye Ikari moved forward and took a large manila envelope from the tall boy. It had Senas name on it, what was this? Pass the parcel? Regardless Ikari did it anyway and stood silently as the packet was read by his chibi crime partner, Shogun and Takami watching Sena closely as if to see at what point the would break.

"Good job I'm wearing my running shoes. This is more like a sports day than an interview to be honest."

A polite cough made Sena turn his head then look up and a bit further up to the face of Takami Ichiro. Standing at his full height to enforce how important this was he began to explain.

"Each candidate, Kobayakawa-san, has applied for a specific sport and so each club or team have their own methods of choosing the right people for an important responsibility. In the Amefuto club we use the try outs the pros. Use in order to determine position and such."

Sena nodded. He couldn't deny that it was good solid and sports logic and therefore could find no argument. Slipping his chain jacket from his shoulders he passed it over to Ikari, trusting him to look after it, even if he was a little excited…..oh yes that jacket was not going anywhere unless Ikari knew how to use a flaming kick and melt a new set of chains courtesy of the coach that is. Instead he bucked and writhed on the floor.

"Again!?"

"Please behave Ikari, I won't be long, I just have to get padded up and warmed up before I can join the interview."

Around half an hour later it looked like all the other candidates had arrived and Ikari pushed himself to his feet then hopped to the bench as fast as he could. As he sat down and took up his usual past time of chain gnawing he kept one eye on the field, looking for Sena. He soon found him, the smallest on the whole field and yet somehow he looked the coolest with his white and blue jersey, a number Twenty One printed there. He'd even got an Eyeshield, typical Sena. Ikari really did not understand that boy sometimes. He could beat the shit out of kids twice his size yet he shied away from any form of attention and played gofer for the school bullies. When he had confronted Sena about it all he received was a grunt and a quick "It's good training" before he ran off at full speed to do something else.

The chains were hurting his teeth again. Forgetting about them for now he let them drop out of his mouth, where they hit his chest with a dull thud, and focused on the unusual interview. It looked like the first task of the day was weights and Sena did well, benching 65kg, a new record for him. Both Takami and Coach Shogun looked impressed as they kept an eye on Senas progress through the tasks. Basic footwork, catching, strategy, play executions and on and on it went. At some point, Ikari rationalised that he must have fallen asleep because it was dark and something was nudging him, hard, in the ribs, with something pointy. His eyes snapped open and he turned, ready to deal retribution to the brave but foolish person that disturbed his nap. He was beaten to it though.

"Don't snarl at me Ikari. It's the 40 yard dash next and then the last event of the day is a full practice game. Please try and stay awake for it."

"…………Shut up"

"Nice come back"

"Wasn't it though."

Sena walked away laughing to himself and Ikari focused his eyes and ears on the cones set in the middle of the field. He couldn't wait to actually see Senas 40 yard time officially recorded. At a guess Ikari would say it was a 4.3 but judging by Shin-sans reaction it had to be faster, maybe 4.26 or something. Either way he had a while to wait, the other applicants deciding they were going first then were going to be arrogant about their speed. Compared to Senas it was nothing, turtle speed but they were still arrogant, thinking they were fast. One of them even had the nerve to ask why the psycho patients had been let free today when he saw Ikari and would have had his face pummelled if Shogun hadn't got there first and chained Ikari to a tree. Now it was Senas turn to run! As Sena set up Ikari struggled against his bonds, determined and eager to get closer to see it up close. It was only after a few minutes that he realised his struggling was blocking his view and as he relaxed in his bonds he realised he had missed Senas run altogether.

"Ora? Oraa? How could I miss it?!"

Shogun and Takami had seen it though and they were shell shocked. They had the time, their own eyes as evidence and they still couldn't believe it. If Shin was speed of sound then this kid, this kid was speed of light! They couldn't wait to see how he performed in the practice game, it was obvious to anyone who looked at them and as a few members of the Amefuto team jogged past they couldn't believe their eyes at their coaches excitement.

Finally, the team allocations for the practice game where being given out. Ikari felt like falling asleep again after missing Senas run and it was sheer luck he was still awake. It took him a minute to realise something was wrong and when he realised what it was he almost wrenched the tree out of the ground.

"Ora? Coach! What the hell is Sena doing on team B?"

It was left to Takami to wander over and inform Ikari that they were checking Senas ability to work under pressure. According to Takami, if Sena did well in this, even if team B lost, then he would be a definite for the scholarship. He was, in Takamis words "A speed genius perfect for the White Knights offense and it was a good job Ikari had scouted him before Teikoku or Shinryuji could." In the mean time Shogun played referee and Takami made notes on who was doing what, even whilst talking.

Team B to put it bluntly were pathetic. They had no clue about strategy and anything they did gain was thanks to Senas efforts and planning. They couldn't catch, they couldn't pass and they couldn't kick. Who the hell had put these guys up for a scholarship? Sena was tight lipped and his face showed frustration as the ball was snapped to his teams Quarterback. He'd pulled his arm back and let the ball fly only to be fumbled by a receiver and Sena, putting on a quick burst of speed, had managed to catch the ball before it hit the floor, keeping possession and charging in to the end zone, blasting past five scarecrows without sweating.

The game continued in that fashion, Sena the only one to score touchdowns for his team and running around like a blue arsed fly on defense, tackling anyone who had the ball. By the end of the match Ikari honestly thought Sena was about to collapse. He literally drooped, his feet scrapping along the ground like a half dead walking blue and white flower zombie. It wasn't until Sena actually reached the bench that he collapsed in to a sitting position and then collapsed backwards to lay sprawled in the grass. Ikari noted though that Shogun and Takami both looked ecstatic amidst their mutterings about stamina. Now if only they could untie him from the tree he could go and help Sena.

It was a week later that Ikari received an excited phone call from Sena. He'd gotten the scholarship and would be moving in to Ojous dorm the very next week. No matter how much Senas parents did not like Ikari or wanted to separate the pair, not even they could say no to free schooling on a scholarship basis. It was then and there that Ikari Daigo decided Takami Ichiro was a god damned genius. Fuck the Golden Generation. This years Ojou was the best in the schools history.