Chapter Two: Days Go By

At breakfast the next morning, Sena was relieved when his mother did not mention yesterday. It took a while for him to fall asleep last night. He had yet to decide if he enjoyed playing football even though he chose to stay on the team. He'd only experienced one match after all. Besides, it was due to impulse that caused him to speak out that time. Bringing a bowl of miso soup to his mouth, he watched as his father read the newspaper. His eyes were glued to it like a moth to a flame. Sena admired his father and wanted to work hard like him; thus, he imagined himself to be this sharp secretary working for the football club. That failed miserably.

"Dear, do you want more soup?" his mother asked.

His father rustled the newspaper and declined.

"What am I going to do with the rest?" she said.

Scratching his cheek, Sena got an idea. He had his mom put the remainder of the soup into a thermal. Going to school, he stopped by the playground. It's not that Sena necessarily wanted to see Shizuka; rather, because he had already met her and knew she was living in a tent, it was simply in his nature to care. This time, the dirty yellow tent was the first thing that popped into his sight. In order to conceal it, the tent was covered in leaves and twigs. It was lamely done, but since he hadn't seen it last night, maybe he was the lame one. Knocking against the tent, he received no reply.

"Nishihara-san? Are you there?"

He heard fumbling from inside. Shizuka unzipped the opening from inside and a blast of jasmine hit Sena in the face. It was incredibly overwhelming; he had to back up. Strands of hair dangled over her eyes and she blew them to the side. About to speak, she clapped a hand over her mouth. Checking her breath, she then greeted him.

"Good morning, Kobayakawa-kun! What brings you here?"

"I came to bring you some food in case you were hungry." He handed her the thermal and a small container of white rice. She gratefully accepted it. "I gotta go to school so..." He awkwardly turned around and started to leave. Feeling her eyes on his back, he fastened his pace. About to retrieve back into the tent, she saw Sena running back. He pulled out a packet of nori and gave it to her. "F-For you! If you wanted to season your rice!"

Silence ensued.

So uncool...He wanted to smack himself.

Laughing, Shizuka thanked him. "Will you come to pick everything up?"

"Yeah, but it might take a long time." He blushed. She's laughing at me.

"That's fine," she said. "See you later then."

Rubbing the back of his neck, he stalked off.

Shizuka smiled at his timidness.

Once Sena was gone, she went to brush her teeth. Needless to say, living in a tent wasn't easy, especially when you had to find a bathroom. Fortunately, the neighborhood was friendly so it wasn't too much of a problem. All she had to do was knock on a humble elderly woman's door, which she had been doing for a few days. However, maintaining a satisfied stomach proved more difficult than everything else. After finishing her morning routine, she ate the food Sena brought her. Pouring dried bits of seaweed onto the rice, her cell phone vibrated. Staring at the flashing screen, she disregarded it and stuffed a spoonful of rice into her mouth.

Entering the club room, Sena gawked at the sparkling interior. Mamori had transformed the club room from a heap of trash to...an actual room. Setting his bag aside, Sena went to touch the table. Not a speck of dust rubbed onto his finger. Over by the television, he spotted a small fancy shaped glass bottle. The content inside was a golden-colored liquid. About to reach for it, Mamori snatched it.

"I must have missed this," she said, storing the bottle in one of the lockers.

Did it belong to Mamori-neechan? It didn't look like something Hiruma would own.

"Wow! It's sparkling!" Kurita gaped. "That's amazing!" He carried a bunch of bags on him, including a double layered cake in a single hand. Forget the room. Kurita was amazing! The two helped him unpack the confectionery. There was a variety to choose from, but Mamori aimed for the cream puffs. Sipping a cup of tea, Sena had cake splattered over his face when Hiruma barged in and kicked the table. He replaced all the sweets with a paper model of a football field. As expected, Mamori and him got into another argument. It was becoming a natural occurrence.

At one point, Sena was going to tell Mamori about him being Eyeshield. Hiruma clearly told him 'no' when he shoved a gun against him. What would have happened if Sena had told her yesterday? He didn't want to imagine it any further. He made a mental note to thank Shizuka later.

Despite the bickering from before, Mamori murmured something into Hiruma's ear.

He looked serious for a second and glanced at the lockers.

Kurita did the same.

"Che." Hiruma placed his feet onto the table.

Was it about that bottle? Sena couldn't think of any other reason as to why Hiruma was looking at the lockers. If he was correct, it seemed everyone except him knew what that bottle was. He didn't get the opportunity to ask when Mamori lent him a football guide, which explained the rules of the game.

It was only after practice that Sena was able to see Shizuka. However, she was nowhere to be found. Did I come too late? There was a piece of paper taped onto the tent, the letters written in black marker. It read: "Something came up. I left the things in the tent". As stated, the containers were in the tent and so were a lot of other things. There was a blanket and a pillow, along with a pile of clothes. Coughing when he saw a bra, he took what he needed. Crawling out of the tent, he came face-to-face with a pair of boots. Peering up, he saw Shizuka.

"I came back just in time," she said, panting at the end.

"We nearly missed each other, didn't we?" Sena got onto his feet.

"Sorry, I had to meet a friend. And, the food was delicious. Thank your mother for me."

Funny. Sena never mentioned that his mother was the one who had done the cooking. Not that he intentionally hid it from her, but did he really appear to be the non-cooking type?

"Do you want me to bring you food tomorrow?" he asked.

"You don't have to. I'll manage."

That's such a lie.

This brought up many questions Sena wanted to ask. Such as, where did she actually live or why was she living in a tent? Once again, he felt that he had no right to ask such personal questions. Therefore, he decided to keep bringing her food until he could. For the next two weeks, Sena continued with this routine. He occasionally gave her his lunch since Mamori prepared him an extra one. After practice, he would pick up the containers, but not before chatting with her. Each day he visited Shizuka, she wore cowgirl boots and a floral patterned chiffon dress. They varied in design, but it became clear what her wardrobe consisted of.

Overall, she was friendly and sociable, but whenever he asked her a personal question, she'd distance herself from him. She had a habit of changing the subject; she was very sneaky with that. Despite that, Sena was still content to talk to her. He told her all about being part of the Devil Bats and that his secret identity was Eyeshield. She showed extreme interest in the match against Oujo.

The conversation went as followed:

"Sakuraba Haruto is the ace and he broke–" Sena began.

"Sakuraba is the ace?"

"Well, all his fans insist that he is."

She frowned. "Must be tough on him."

Sena didn't comprehend what Shizuka meant nor did he comprehend why she looked so upset.

He became even more confused when a strange thing happened the eleventh night. He was unable to visit Shizuka since he was with Raimon Tarou, a monkey-like classmate who had the potential to become a receiver for the team. Coincidentally, Raimon got kidnapped by Hiruma and was taken to the park. When Sena found them there, he noticed that the tent was gone. The following morning, the tent was back to where it was. When he asked Shizuka about this, she could not answer him. The subject was dropped and never spoken of again. Each day, the thicker the mystery around her grew and the stronger his curiosity became.

"See ya, Monta!" Sena waved goodbye to his friend. The Puff Party had been a success and all that was left was the entrance trial. Being that it was Hiruma, he probably had some insane idea stored in his head. All the more reason to get a good night's rest.

"Where do you go after practice all the time?" Monta asked. "Your house is the opposite way."

Freezing in his footsteps, Sena's mind boggled for an answer. Monta was his friend and he didn't want to lie. Besides, what harm would telling him do? It's not like his meetings with Shizuka was taboo. After much deliberation with himself, he spilled the beans.

"A girl? You sly dog, you!" Monta forced him into a headlock. "Is she cute? Well, no matter what you say, no one can beat Mamori-san!"

"It's not like that! She's my..." Sena stopped. My what? I've never really considered Shizuka to be cute, but thinking about it now...I guess? He shook himself out of his 'indecent' thoughts.

"You better get going. It's not cool to keep a girl waiting," Monta advised, giving Sena an encouraging smack on the back.

"Wait, it really isn't like that!"

Monta dismissed his words with a wave of his hand. Heaving a sigh, Sena went on his way. It had been a while since he last spoke to Shizuka. He had been busy preparing for the match against the Zokugaku Chameleons scheduled on April 30th. He would have to catch her up on that. At the park, he saw Shizuka playing with a bunch of stray cats. She was feeding them packets of dried fish. Tip-toeing over as to not scare away the cats, he climbed onto the slide. A Scottish Fold nibbled on some fishes in her hands. Only after the cat was done eating did she notice Sena's presence.

"Sena!" She rushed over to him, the cats scurrying about to make way for her.

"It's been a while. Sorry that I've been busy."

"It's fine, it's fine. Hey, do you want to feed the cats?"

She poured some dried fish into his hands. Going down the slide, the cats immediately gathered around him. Crouching, he stuck his hands out. The cats ate directly from his palm, leaving a tickling sensation when they licked his hand. Inwardly chuckling, he soaked in the solitude. Going from extreme training to such a placid environment was like going from hell to heaven. Was this to say that Hiruma was a devil and Shizuka an angel? For Hiruma it was a definite yes, but to heighten Shizuka to an angel was perhaps an exaggeration.

"Where did they all come from?" he asked.

Shizuka placed a hand against her cheek. "I found them in a box by the riverbank. Someone must've abandoned them."

How cruel. Sena patted a dusty black cat behind the ear, making it purr. It had a white face amidst its black coat.

"Life is hard," she whispered. "If you're not strong, you get left behind." She swept a cat into her arms and wiped it clean.

Sena stared at his reflection, mirrored through the cat's orbs. It seems like Shizuka is always hiding something. I don't understand her all that well. She never mentions her family, her friends, or school. I'm not even sure if she goes to school. "What will you do with the cats?"

"I need to find homes for them."

Sena stared at the cat he was petting. He wanted to help Shizuka, but to be able to find seven cats a home was challenging. He certainly didn't have the time. Regardless, he did not want to give up so easily. There must be something he could do. Then an idea struck him.

"Um, why don't I take one home?"

A flicker of hope appeared in her eyes. "Are you sure? It's a lot of responsibility."

Sena gave an assertive nod. "My parents won't mind."

Shizuka's bottom lip quivered. Covering her eyes, she leaned forward slightly as if her abdomen were in pain. She gave a hollow laugh. She knew he didn't really want a pet. He merely wanted to help. There's not a day that goes by where I don't think about how much you have done for me, Sena. Looking up, she returned his nod.

"Then it's settled. What will you name him?"

"Mmn...Pitt?"

Shizuka ruffled his hair. "Then Pitt it is."

Afterward, Sena told Shizuka about the match against Zokugaku. He described how it was Monta's debut match. When he told her how Hiruma impersonated him in order to provoke Habashira Rui, she wore this knowing smile. That smile remained when he told her the number of cream puffs Kurita bought for the team entrance meeting.

"Do you like cream puffs?" Sena asked.

"I do, but they're not my favorite."

"Then what's your favorite food?"

Shizuka giggled. "What's with you?"

He scratched the back of his head. "I was just curious. Maybe I could treat you."

"Treat me? In that case, I like yubari melons."

Yen symbols rung in Sena's eyes. He could never afford such a fruit.

"I was kidding. I guess I don't have any preference," Shizuka said, causing him to slump.

Sena knew her well enough to know that she was lying. He could not see any legitimate reason to not answer, but he did not pester her. Perhaps she didn't want him to spend his money on her. He had already done a lot for her. When Sena went home that night, he received an earful from his mother. She allowed the cat to stay given that he would take care of it. His dad observed the two from the stairwell. He was curious as to why his son had been returning home late every night. More than that, he wondered why Sena kept taking leftovers. Since Sena was a teenager, his father did not bother him about certain things, but that did not mean he didn't care about his son. Paying Sena a visit to his room later that night, he spoke from outside the door.

"Sena, are things all right?"

"Yeah..."

"Is there anything you want to tell me?"

There was a brief pause before Sena told him no.