Oh my god I am soooo tired. My sleep has been hugely lacking even though I have been tired and only Hiruma has kept me sane…..which is saying something to be honest. Anyway, thanks to all who reviewed, any plot suggestions are welcome seen as I'm just letting it flow at the moment. Any requests for specific chapters will be considered and most likely used when appropriate. For now though on with the story.

Time: Pffft no idea

Pairings: Slight Shin/Sena, Sakuraba/Sena

Author: Sinthetic Angel

Disclaimer: Do I really have to say this? I think you all know the drill by now…no own, no sue.

What on earth is the world coming to?

Chapter 7 - Deimon Devil Bats

Ikari was excited and therefore chained up next to Sena on the team bus. He vaguely wondered why he had agreed to the card game on the way to their second match of the season, playing with just your mouth was hard. It must have been his good mood on account of the possibility that he and Sena could get their debuts against the Deimon Devil Bats. Their chances increased from the last match, mainly because Shin had been benched. Apparently the Coach didn't like it when video cameras were broken and winning touchdowns missed because of it. So logically the only thing that could really stop them was either Shin being put on the field due to an unknown variable or Deimon were so abysmal that the second string could have taken them out with a sneeze. They were secret weapons after all but they wouldn't be very good secret weapons, or a very good team, if they were needed against lacklustre teams right?

The bus came to a stop and Ikari gratefully spat the cards out of his mouth, one hitting Sakurabas hair and sticking in point first, as he hopped his way down the aisle to the door and hopped all the stairs at once. He was so excited that his chains were jingling quite noisily. It led to a shuffle of movement as soon as everyone had departed the bus and left him sandwiched in between Ootawara and Sena. Not that he minded of course, Sena was his brother and Ootawara was his respected senpai, but seriously how much damage could he do when he was chained and had to hop to get around? With a hop, walk and a jingle they made their way to the changing room and Ikari only noticed Sena had disappeared just before he entered the small room. Wakana was so damned sneaky sometimes, how had he not noticed Sena had been wisked away by her?

Ikari growled and stalked through the hall. He had finally gotten his chains off and slipped away before the Coach could notice, it was kind of nice being able to actually walk. Where was Sena though? He had to change as well didn't he? He would find him and drag him to the changing rooms to get his sorry ass in gear, unless of course Wakana was trying to dress Sena up as a maid again. The white haired delinquent shuddered at the memories and tried to block out the mental recall of Sakuraba getting the largest nose bleed he had ever seen and Shin blushing like a naïve little school girl. It was one hell of a scary thought but it scared him even more to think about how much control the entity known as Wakana Koharu had over Sena. A bully? No problem. An animal? No problem. A teen girl with big teary puppy dog eyes and pouting lips? Big trouble, especially for Sena. Oh, there he was in Ojous school gym uniform, being shown how to use a video camera.

"Ora? Oraa? Sena hurry up and get changed!"

"Relax Ikari. They don't need me for a team like Deimon apparently so there's no point getting changed."

"You're part of the team though!"

"So is Koharu-neechan and she needed someone to film the game so I volunteered."

"You're still a gofer aren't you?"

"NO! I-I mean no, not when it's for my friends and the Amefuto club. Besides Takami-senpai says that if I pretend to be the club secretary and keep my identity secret then the other clubs will stay away from me and won't try to recruit me."

Ikari couldn't argue with that. Takami was a genius after all and was the one who in a roundabout way, after Senas skill and Ikaris recommendation, got Sena in to the school and on to the team. Eventually Ikari shrugged and started walking out of the tunnel to the bench, Sena following behind and fiddling with the camera, muffled curses occasionally reaching Ikaris ears. As they sat down Sena gave a grunt of satisfaction then went ahead with his test record, zooming in on the Devil Bats bench to get a better look at the players.

Demonic blonde haired quarterback, chestnut headed centre that Ootawara had some venture against, plain looking guy that he nearly missed completely, terrified looking guy, demonic doggie, Mamori-neechan.

"Mamori-neechan is on Deimons team."

"Huh? Really? Got any spare windows handy just in case?"

The camera shook as Sena laughed and he had to put it on the floor whilst he controlled himself. Feeling he was alright again after a few minutes he picked the camera back up and resumed his record by browsing through the opponents players. He stopped and blinked twice as a boy with shocking white hair turned his face towards the demon Hiruma Yoichi.

"Hiiiiii?! Riku-nii?!"

The shout had startled Sakuraba who had just taken a seat next to Sena and almost jumped in to the lap of the boy behind him in fright. The rest of the Ojou team had whipped their heads around to see what all the ruckus was about, Ootawara happily eating Shins remaining bento as he shuffled over without his pants and Shin following stoically behind, subtly reminding the older boy about the breeze around his knees. Their secret running back was staring at the video camera in horror and yet somehow it was a happy horror.

"Ora? Sena what's the deal? Someone you knew before or something?"

"You could say that."

Ikari shrugged and started working on his chains again, when he had gotten chained again exactly he couldn't tell you but he was betting Coach had a hand in it as he was currently twirling the padlock key around his finger. At least Ikari was satisfied with Senas answer though. You never ventured in to a past unwilling to be shared after all and seen as he didn't even know who this Riku boy was he thought he was doing pretty well at hiding his curiosity and urge to ask about fifty questions. The rest of the Knights didn't seem to share that opinion though as Ikari was pushed closer and closer to Sena as a result of the huge huddle currently taking place. All forty other players were trying for prime hearing seats and Ikari couldn't help but smile because they'd pushed him in to the best spot unintentionally.

"What do you mean Sena? I mean…the whole shouting thing kind of makes me think you know him."

"I do….Iie I did Sakuraba-kun. His name is Kaitani Riku and he was the fastest in my grade, fastest in my grade school. He was the one who taught me how to run."

"WHAAAAAAAAAAAT?"

"Ora? That Shrimp?"

"Hai, he did it to stop me being bullied but it didn't work."

"Ahaha….Sena….if he, is he…can he, well….is he…..than….faster than you?"

Ikari watched Sena from the corner of his eye as he thought over the question Sakuraba had asked. This was a tough question to answer, Senas brow was creased in concentration like he had a complex mathematical equation in front of him. He hadn't answered yet and it had been approximately five minutes and as the rest of the Knights began to fidget, taking the silence as a bad sign, Sena sighed. Their attention was immediately snapped back to the petite running back but he still didn't speak. Ikari knew this was neither good nor bad, it just was. Sena was unable to lie, a major flaw in Ikaris opinion, and therefore his answer would just be the most likely outcome.

"Yes, at least he should be if he has been training."

Sakuraba paled, Shin looked thoughtful as far as Ikari could tell with the stoic line backer that is and the rest of the Knights looked worried. All except Ootawara who was picking his nose in his usual disgusting fashion and Ikari who had decided to be in denial and instead chose to believe Sena had found a talent in lying.

"Ora? Oraa? No way! You're lying Sena, not a nice joke to play on your nice senpai!"

"It's not a joke Ikari."

"ORAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA?!!!"

"IKARI PUT A LID ON IT! You're benched."

"NO WAY!!!"

Ikari glared and rattled his chains angrily as the Coach walked over to see what all the noise was about. His face was the same as ever as he waited for an explanation, wrinkled and stern with an edge of constipation.

"Ano…you see coach….I…"

"Kobayakawa Sena believes there may be a boy on Demon's team who is faster than he is."

"Sin-san I've told you before, please call me Sena!"

The Coach turned around and gazed out at the Deimon bench. He was trying to spot the possible threat but he had seen all of those players before and knew their statistics, except one. A small white haired boy, and as the build of the player sank in he went to dismiss it from his mind as a possibility, until he looked behind him again. The Deimon number Twenty Nine was about the same build as Sena so he could be the threat quite easily. He didn't like it one bit and even though he knew in his gut that his offensive star in the making was stronger, better and faster than the white haired kid he couldn't help but worry over Shins words. Faster than Sena, possibly, maybe. Excluding Shin and his punishment there was only one thing left to do.

"Sena, get suited up."

"H-hai!"