Summary: "Give me another chance"; in the aftermath of their loss to Seibu, Mamori and Hiruma discuss the future.
Notes: This is a set of 10 one-shots, each revolving around a different "order".
Disclaimer: I don't own Eyeshield 21. Nor do I own the idea of "10 Orders"; that belongs to the Live Journal community of the same name. I have no affiliation with them, and am simply borrowing some of their prompts.
Give Me Another Chance
They had lost. It wasn't completely a surprise, because they were a rookie team after all, but at the same time they'd come so far only to fall short. It was… discouraging. And then Hiruma had announced that they had one more chance. All they had to do was beat the Bando Spiders, and then they would advance, one step closer to that coveted dream called Christmas Bowl.
Mamori threw herself into preparing strategies for the match against the Spiders. She was no Hiruma, of course, but that didn't mean she was a slouch when it came to coming up with plays. Because she was so thoroughly involved with the planning, she realized exactly how much of a problem they were likely facing with this next game.
No way around it: we need a kicker. If only Musashi-san hadn't quit school… Musashi was the missing person whom they needed, and he was the person who they were least likely to get. They needed a different kicker, but they had no time to train anyone, assuming that Hiruma would consent to allowing someone else to take "Musashi's position".
It was with such thoughts in mind that Mamori left the clubhouse one evening and headed to the field, hoping for some sort of inspiration. She was surprised to find Hiruma practicing his kicks. The quarterback's kicks were… less than impressive, to be kind. To be honest, they were downright horrible. Mamori sighed and made her way over to the field.
"What are we going to do, Hiruma-kun?" she asked.
"What's this you're whining about now, fucking manager?" Hiruma demanded, not even bothering to look at her.
"Don't call me that," Mamori responded on instinct. "And I'm talking about our lack of a kicker. Bando's team is a kick team. Every time they score, they're going to get that seventh point, and they probably only have to get within our 40-line in order to make a field goal."
"You're not saying anything I don't know, fucking manager," Hiruma drawled, popping his gum.
"What are we going to do about not having one?" Mamori demanded.
"We have one," Hiruma shot back. "If the fucking old man would just get off his lazy ass and do some fucking work, we'd have a fucking first-rate kicker!"
"He's not likely to come back before the game, Hiruma-kun," Mamori reminded the quarterback.
"Then we keep on going without," Hiruma replied, face set. "That a problem for you, fucking manager?"
"No," Mamori shook her head. "I just… I don't want to lose tomorrow, you know? I might've only started to look after Sena and make sure you didn't abuse him, but now I, like everyone else on the team, want to go to the Christmas Bowl. I won't accept defeat tomorrow, Hiruma-kun," she warned.
"Good, fucking manager, because I won't either," Hiruma growled back. "So get back to work, and let's fucking do this."
Mamori smiled and left for home. Faintly, though, she heard Hiruma grumble, "Just give it a second chance. This time, we're going all the way."