Chapter Three: A Bud of a Truth

Through a telescope, Sena and Monta scanned the buildings illuminated by the city lights. Headlights of cars racing by appeared as white streaks. Occasionally, flashing red and blue lights would blend in. Debating on which way to turn the telescope, they bumped into each other to see who would let go first. Site seeing was a pleasant way to relax after running six hundred steps of stairs of the Tokyo Tower, along with a bowl of shaved ice. How ironic that the ice they had to carry would be used to help them in the end.

"By the way, how did the meeting go with that girl?" asked Monta.

"Good? I don't know how to describe it..."

"You don't know a lot about her, right? She might be a criminal on the run."

"Of course not—"

"Chance max!" Monta turned the telescope away from Sena so that he had full control of it. Sena called foul play on him, but his friend ignored him. Monta did bring up a valid point though. Nishihara Shizuka could be a convicted criminal or a stalker for all he knew. Sena could not imagine Shizuka to be either one, but looks could be deceiving. A perfect example would be Hiruma: a devil that fooled his prey with sweet lies and snared them with a page of his extortion book. Sneezing, Hiruma cast a glance over at Sena, who turned the other way, laughing nervously.

"What are those fucking shrimps so noisy about?" Hiruma blew a bubble. The sliding doors of the elevator door made him look back.

Mamori stepped into the room.

"Everyone seems to have gone back," she informed.

"End of trial," he declared, getting up from his office chair.

Sena checked the time. It was nearly nine o'clock. "Should I go see her?" He stopped when he sensed Hiruma looking at him again.

"You can definitely make it as long as bring enough ice cubes," said Monta.

Mounting his gun, Hiruma took his eyes off Sena. "That was the only purpose of this trial. You will survive as long as you have determination."

Determination was a key ingredient that made a mediocre player into an all-star. A lack of it won't get someone far unless they have a God-given talent. Needless to say, no one in the Devil Bats had such a gift. Just then, Yukimitsu came falling into the room. He landed on the floor with a splat; all the ice he carried had melted. If there wasn't a single ice cube left, he could not pass the trial. Hiruma watched as everyone gathered around him.

Hiruma placed an ice cube into the bucket.

"Oh! There's still one left! Fucking baldy passed!"

Mamori wanted to celebrate Yukimitsu's achievement; however, the Ha Ha Brothers didn't want to bother with such trifling things and even Sena declined the idea. Therefore, everyone headed back to Deimon Station. Even though there was no party, the team was progressing at an exceptional rate. Hiruma didn't show it, but he was the happiest out of all of them. With this many new members, the Devil Bats could reach the Christmas Bowl. Just because they passed the trial did not necessarily mean they would play though. Surveying the group as they exited the train, Hiruma's head did a three-sixty. Sena and Monta had vanished. He realized that after every practice, Sena was in a hurry to go somewhere. Not that he cared as long as Sena didn't slack off, but this daily routine of Sena's peaked his interest. Maybe he would have one of his slaves find out for him. Tapping his shotgun against his thigh, the gears in his head began to churn.

A slave would not be necessary.

That fucking shrimp. Has he...He slipped a fresh strip of gum into his mouth.

"Where did Sena and Monta go?" Kurita panicked.

"Who cares," said Hiruma as he swung his suitcase over his shoulder. "I'm off."

How did it get like this? I hope she doesn't mind. Sena and Monta were on their way to the park together. Monta had insisted on meeting Shizuka, claiming he had to make sure Sena didn't try anything dirty. Of course, this was an obvious lie. As if Sena had the backbone to do such a thing. Monta just wanted to see the girl. They stopped chattering when, from afar, they saw a dim flame.

"A fire? What if..." Without a second to spare, Sena hurried into the park. "Shizuka! Are you—"

"Sena, I'm glad you could make it! I'm baking sweet potatoes. Want one?" Shizuka held out a stick, the sweet potato stuck through the tip. The fire he'd seen was an aflame pile of leaves used for baking; it was hardly enough to be detrimental to anyone.

Monta came up from behind him.

"Something smells great...You're Nishihara!"

"And you must be Monta, the monkey boy!" she mimicked his tone.

"The one and...Mukyaaa, who's a monkey? And it's Raimon!"

Sena calmed him down and they stayed to eat. It was abnormal to eat sweet potatoes in the spring, but that didn't stop them from digging in. Shizuka explained to Monta how Sena told her all about the football team and that's why she knew his name. He told her that his name wasn't Monta, but she disregarded what he had said and addressed him as monkey boy. Sena watched as Monta spewed fire from his mouth, anger boiling up inside him. Perhaps if he stopped acting like a monkey, people would stop giving him that nickname.

They spent the rest of the time discussing the trial.

"So you have five new members? That's wonderful," said Shizuka, handing Sena another serving.

"Uh huh! With this, it'll be easier to recruit players for games," said Sena. Pealing the skin of a potato, he saw a cat run under the slide. "Did you find homes for the cats yet?"

"One of the neighboring houses took two. Four of them remain."

"I see..." Sena scrambled for something to say. "Don't give up!" He gave her the thumbs up, but received a tepid response from her.

For the remainder of the night, Shizuka was silent. Sena could not understand why. When he tried to strike another conversation with her, she would keep her eyes lowered to her lap. Luckily, Monta was there to lighten the mood. Sena thought maybe she was feeling hopeless about the cats. Yet, he sensed that there was something more to it. Gradually, his curiosity began to consume him. He needed to know more about her.

At City Eikou Stadium, the Tokyo City Finals was getting underway. It was between the Seibu Wild Gunmen and the Oujo White Knights. Most of Deimon were not aware of the skill level of the Seibu team, but one thing was certain: their cheerleaders, "The Wild Fannings", were hardcore dedicated along with gorgeous. They definitely outranked Deimon's nonexistent cheerleaders.

Doesn't Shizuka also wear cowgirl boots? A coincidence? Sena could not fathom the idea of Shizuka being a cheerleader, especially one of Seibu's. Then again, anyone could wear cowgirl boots. He watched as the quarterback, resting in a rocking chair, toss a sports bottle. He had to step back when another member charged past him to catch the bottle. The latter caught it with minimal effort.

"I knew it. Things are going to well," the quarterback, Kid, drawled.

When Sena saw Seibu's coach, it became blatantly obvious whose idea it was to have the cheerleaders dress in western attire.

"Tetsuma! You're our main force! Drink water aggressively!" the coach ordered.

This "steel horse" emitted steam from his nostrils and obeyed word for word, consuming every water bottle available.

The coach went over to Kid.

"Keep playing like this until the second half and victory is ours," coach snickered.

Placing his elbow onto the armrest, Kid rested his face in his hand. "When things go too well, they never end well."

"You always say that, but we win anyway!" Coach then remembered something. "I don't think I've seen her around lately."

Kid appeared to be in thought. Grabbing his hat, he tugged it down to cover his eyes and slumped into his chair.

After the match, Sena paid his daily visit to Shizuka. She was cleaning out her tent; a bunch of objects lay scattered all over the ground. She was back to her cheerful self and she requested for his assistance. The kind boy that he was, he did. When she wasn't busy, he would attempt to ask; however, she would change the subject before he could finish. It wasn't until they finished organizing everything that she was unoccupied.

"I managed to find homes for all the cats! Isn't that great?" She poured him a cup of chamomile tea.

Gingerly taking it to avoid burning his fingers, he agreed. "It is! How did you do it?"

"At the hospital, a patient–" She sealed the cap onto the thermal. "More importantly, how was practice?"

"Why were you at the hospital?"

She shifted uncomfortably.

Has she been distancing herself because...Sena jumped to his feet. "Are you dying?"

What a way to blow things out of proportion, Shizuka held her hands up in defense. "I can assure you that I am perfectly healthy. I was tagging along with a friend and his father happened to be in the hospital."

A wave of relief washed over Sena. He may have overreacted a little. Just a little. Indulging in another serving of tea, he took a sip. That's when he remembered the reason why he came. How easy of him to get distracted. Gulping down every last drop of the tea, he slammed the cup down. She was about to offer him more until he cut her off.

"The tea was delicious, but that's not what I came here for," he said. Swallowing the lump in his throat, he mustered up every ounce of courage he possessed. Everything came flowing out of his mouth. "Shizuka, I don't understand you very well and we've known each other for a while now, but every time we talk, it doesn't seem like anything changes."

"What do you mean? We–"

"Please! Please, let me finish." Sena winced at his own voice. "Why don't you ever talk about yourself? I still don't know what you like or dislike..."

"Those things aren't important," Shizuka said. She went to wash his cup.

Sena was quick to follow her.

"You're doing it again. You're running away."

He should not have said that. The thermal dropped to her feet, spilling all over the concrete. Clutching her head, her steady breaths became exasperated intervals. Running away? I'm not running away. I'm not! Shizuka kept repeating this to herself. Gripping strands of her hair, she opened her mouth and let out a soundless scream. The playground suddenly felt like a cramped sandbox; everything outside of the sandbox stood tall while she stood small as this helpless person.

"Shizuka..." Sena watched with a pained expression, not having meant to have upset her. "F-Forget I asked. It doesn't matter!" His words did not soothe her. Grabbing his bag, he cast her one final glance before leaving.

Not only did Shizuka run away from his question, Sena also ran away from what could have been an answer. Perhaps seeing Shizuka so pitiful scared him from the truth. Some say that the truth is better left unknown. Only weaklings thought that though. The two of them had much to learn.

After the incident, Shizuka wouldn't leave her tent when Sena came to see her. Nevertheless, he left food for her. He wanted to give her space, but this burning desire deep in his heart made it difficult. Deciding to leave her alone, he went to visit Sakuraba in the hospital. He was able to deliver his message, give or take a few trips between the wall and the door. He learned a lot about Sakuraba in that short period: he was a burdened man, a false hero. He was the complete opposite of how the media portrayed him. Now he understood what Shizuka had meant when she said, "must be tough on him". He wondered if the two knew each other. He had asked Sakuraba, but her name didn't ring a bell to him.

Later that night when Sakuraba was eating dinner, he heard meowing. That's when he remembered the cat he had adopted. Checking under his bed, he gestured for the cat to come out. It must have hid under there when all his teammates and fans came stampeding in earlier. He picked up the cat and placed it onto the bed.

"Where did that cat come from?" Chuubou, his roommate, asked.

"A girl came in yesterday. She was trying to get people to take in these stray cats."

"What kind is it?"

"I think she said it was a Calico?" Sakuraba studied its features. That girl...I could have sworn I've seen her somewhere. Maybe at a game? The cat suddenly jerked away from him and scurried under the bed. Before he could wonder why, Nurse Oka, who was shrouded in this dark aura, strolled in. Sakuraba had grown accustomed to her nature and was not, by any means, frightened.

"I sense the presence of an animal in here. Hospital policies say no animals allowed." Nurse Oka directed her eyes under Sakuraba's bed. "If I find a cat there, don't think the Devil will let you get away."

Sakuraba gawked at her. What did the Devil have to do with this? That's when it clicked. That's right! That girl was at a practice game we had with the Devil Bats last year! How come I didn't see her this time? Wasn't she part of the team? Crossing his arms, he shuffled through a bunch of memories. "Nishihara, was it?"