Summary: "Never give up"; during the game against Teikoku, Hiruma finds time to reassure Mamori.
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.
Author's Note: Sorry this is so late; ff has been having uploading issues for about a week for apparently everybody.
Never Give Up
It wasn't working. Maybe they hadn't actually been ready for this, after all. Mamori knew what Hiruma was waiting for; she knew how he thought by now. It wasn't happening. Sena was still being completely dominated by Yamato, even if Monta-kun was starting to hold his own against Honjo.
Mamori wanted to keep believing, truly she did, but this wasn't going to work. They'd had a good run, and she had tried telling herself that she was happy that they had even made it to the Christmas Bowl, but now that loss was on the horizon, she realized just how much she wanted to win.
It's too bad… we all wanted this so badly. I want to believe we still have a chance, but… I can only cheer everyone on until the end, I suppose.
As the two sides took their positions for another snap, Hiruma's casual-seeming hand gestures caught Mamori's eye. 'Don't wimp out on me now, fucking manager.'
Mamori straightened, annoyed, as Hiruma dropped into position, not even slanting a glance at her to give away the communication. That… that… how did he know? No matter what had clued him in, Hiruma had succeeded in stinging Mamori back to hope. We can win this. We will win this. I will do my part believing that everyone else will, too, and we will win!