Teenage Rebellion

Disclaimer: I don't own Eyeshield 21 in anyway and no money is being earned off this story.

Summary: At the end of his freshman year, Sena's father gets transferred to USA. If that's not's the worst change in his life, Sena's mother demands that he stop playing American Football. A new life in America means a new start, but is it worth it without his friends, teammates and American Football? Sometimes you have to fight for what you want, and that's a lesson Sena learnt well with the Deimon Devil Bats. SenaxShin

EDITED -2012

Sena followed Chris into the club room. He supposed this is what a normal club house would look like; it looked nothing like Deimon's one. It was neat and somewhat empty. Glancing around, Sena noticed a few people, obviously members, standing around. Many of them were bigger than him, but that was not a difficult feat. Chris walked up to a desk in a corner with two people by it: one sitting and the other standing. Sena followed, albeit reluctantly.

Smiling, Chris greeted his friends, "Hey Max. Hey Alex. I found another person who wants to join!" The two looked up at Chris and then Sena. Then back at Chris, the one had an eyebrow raised. Still grinning, Chris scratched the back of his head before answering the unasked question, "He just transferred from Japan. He played first string there as running back. And he wants to join. There's no harm in letting him join."

Sighing the one sitting by the desk looked at Sena. Sena didn't know whether to feel insulted or not. But it did strike him that they didn't know about him being Eyeshield 21. "I'm Max, captain and quarterback of the Hawks. Just fill this form in," was all the red head said as he handed Sena a form. Sena smiled and took the form, bowing. The other boy, the blond, laughed, "No need to bow. This is USA. I'm Alex by the way. I'm the receiver," said with a smile.

Sena put down his bag and looked for a pen to fill out the form while Chris chatted to his friends. They were a little disbelieving that Sena could play, but if he wanted to join, they couldn't stop him. Sena quickly filled out the form and handed it back to Max. Max just nodded as he quickly read through the form to make sure that everything was filled in correctly. "There is practice today after school. Be there and bring your own workout clothes. It starts at 3 and ends at 5:30. Welcome to the Hawks, Sena" Max said.

Sena smiled again, "Thanks Max-kun. I'll be there." But before he could say anything else, the warning bell for the end of lunch rang and Sena needed to find his next class. Bowing, Sena left the club house. Some habits are hard to break but bowing was the normal in Japan. Sena felt a pang in his heart at the thought before hurrying as a normal pace to his next lesson: English. The rest of the day rushed by in a blur. All Sena could really think of was the practice after school. He needed to run home (he thankfully had a map. He had been planning to jog home anyway.) to get his kit. The Deimon training uniform that is.

As soon as the last bell rang, Sena hurried out the gates of the school. Taking the map out of his bag, he studied it, memorizing the route home. He then placed the map back in the bag and held the bag close to his chest before he took off at half speed. He whizzed past people and shops, and it felt as natural as always. It wasn't long before he reached his house and entered using his key. Sena noticed his mother was not home so he quickly ran upstairs to his room and dropped his school bag. Sena packed up his kit bag and put in the training uniform. Before he exited the room, Sena paused by the shelf. He grabbed his helmet, the gloves Shin gave him and the captaincy armband. He then left the house (after locking up) in a rush to get back to school.

Sena had fifteen minutes to spare as he reached the school gates and he walked to the field, slightly out of breathe. There were players' already on the field and Sena's eyes widened at the sheer numbers. It was like the Naga's, there had to be at least ten strings worth of players. Some were practicing but many were just talking. Sena entered the club house and slipped away from any and all attention. Not that anyone noticed him anyway. Sena changed quietly and quickly before leaving the change rooms.

Looking at the players on the field, Sena cringed. He was easily the smallest player there. Steeling himself, Sena had to reminded himself that size did not matter. Deimon and Team Japan had proved that time and time again. So Sena held his head high, gloved fists clenched as he walked out. The yellow armband hidden underneath his uniform. It just didn't feel right not to play with it on. Sena did not have to wait long when the coach blew the whistle for attention. 'Coaches,' Sena mentally corrected himself. But looking around, Sena could see who was on the first string by the way they stuck together, standing by the head coach.

The crowd fell quiet as they waited for the head coach to address them."Okay! Welcome back. This year the Hawks will be number one not only in the regional's, but in nationals, That is our goal. It's wonderful to see such a large turnout. As you know, the first string was chosen on a summer camp. But if you work hard enough, you may be considered to join the firsts. But remember, there are other strings, and they will be playing as well. Let's make this our best season yet! Now, each string report to your allocated coach. New members, report to me for evaluation."

Sena gulped slightly as everyone moved towards coaches. But none of the strings moved away and Sena guessed it's because they wanted to see if there were any potential new members. There were about ten new players standing by the head coach as Sena walked over to him and joined the group, trying to ignore the curious gazes.

"Line up!" The head coach shouted, and they scrambled into a line. Somehow, Sena ended up in the middle and being towered over. "I am Coach Nickle. I want you to step forward, state your name, team and position. Start!"

The first boy step forward and said in a loud, confident voice, "Andre Kullen, California Sharks, Lineman." And he stepped back. The names were lost to Sena as his turn approached. Gulping, Sena shook slightly. Inwardly, Sena was terrified. He was here alone. There was no one to support him; nothing here was like the Deimon Devil Bats. And it scared him a lot. Finally it was his turn, so he stepped forward with all the confidence he could muster and looked at the coach.

"Sena Kobayakawa. Deimon Devil bats, Japan. Running back." And he stepped back, seeing the disbelief in the coach's eyes. He opened his mouth and Sena prepared for the worst. There was no Hiruma to threaten people; there was no protective Mamori-neechan.

"You are joking right? You are way too small to play. You're a risk and I won't endanger the club by playing a player who, when injured, will place the club under review. Come back in you Senior year, kid." Coach Nickle stated and Sena winced, fists clenched.

"I'm sorry sir," Sena said, his voice shaking slightly. He can't believe he is saying this! "But that is not an option. I need to keep playing. I need to get stronger for when I return to my team in Japan." Silence met Sena's statement. Gathering his courage, Sena thought of all his rivals and friends. He thought of his team and continued, "If you don't see me as a good enough player then don't play me. But please let me train, at the very least, with the club."

Sena's brown eyes bored into Coach Nickle's grey ones, which widened slightly. Sighing, Coach Nickle merely said, "Suit yourself kid." The coach motioned for the next person to introduce himself. Sena let out a breath he didn't know he held. After introductions, they told they had to run ten laps around the field. Lining up, Sena glanced at his gloves. This was nothing compared to what he and Shin jogged. So when the whistle went off, Sena jogged at his normal pace, which was a lot faster than the others.

Chris was watching the newbies with half an eye. Everyone was. But he eyed Sena with an interest. The kid was timid but had enough spunk to stand up to Coach Nickle. Now watching him jog, Chris frowned. The kid was going to get tired too quickly at the speed his was jogging at. As he passed by, Chris shouted out, "Slow down Sena, or you'll get tired!"

Sena merely threw a look at Chris and carried on as usual. It wasn't that he was ignoring the advice but Sena knew his limits. Compared to Hiruma's training this was easy. BY the fifth lap, 3 people had dropped out. Coach Nickle watched the group with a curous gaze. The little kid was still going strong at quite a fast pace. Then again, the kid did say he played running back. Glancing at the statistics on the firsts' roster, the running back Anthony was strong and fast. He did the 40 yard dash in 4.5 seconds and was strong enough to throw opponents off. The little Japanese kid may be quite fast and have endurance, but he lacked power.

By the eighth lap, There were only 4 players still running, and 3 were slowing down. Surprisingly, the shorty was still going strong. Chris had to admit it but the kid probably trained like crazy top get that sort of endurance because after ten laps, the other three were ready to drop dead. Sena was panting, but not very hard. And he was still standing. Chris glanced at Max who was standing next to him. Max was staring at Sena with a frown.

"What's wrong, Max?" Chris asked, watching the newbies as Coach Nickle instructed them in the next test: power.

"Sena," Max murmured, "I can't shake the feeling like I've seen him before."

Chris shook his head, "You probably mixing him up with someone else. He just transferred form Japan. You can't know him." Chris reasoned.

Max nodded but narrowed his eyes at Sena.

Sena looked at the coach in shock as he explained the next 'game'. They had to tackle each other when called. This tested technique and power. Sena swallowed. He knew he lacked power, and in this game, he couldn't make it up with speed. Gulping, Sena joined the circle and prayed. He winced at the tackles in front of him, and shook slightly when he was called.

Sena took position in the circle, eyeing his opponent who was bigger than him. Narrowing his eyes, Sena waited for the whistle. As soon as it went off, Sena charged using the Dynamite Triangle technique. Everyone watched in shock as the bigger player was pushed back and fell to the ground. Sena's arm was still in attack position, before he lowered it and stepped back into his place, eyes on the ground. Even the Coach had to raise an eyebrow. The kid had techniques; dangerous ones. The next couple times, The Kid alternated between harsh tackles, bumps and when he failed he merely picked himself up. No matter how good the technique, the kid was still too small and, well, weak.

After a while, Coach Nickle called for them to stop. He them split them up into their positions and sent each on to train with different teams. Everyone, except Sena. Sena looked at the Coach expectantly while he chewed his lower lip. He was nervous and scared. Sighing, the Coach looked at him.

"Kid," Coach Nickle said, "You're pretty good but you can't play. Any serious injury and the whole club come under review. You are simply not strong enough. You may have a few techniques but you lack the built and strength. I suggest you came back in a few years but if you want to train, you may. But only with the last string. You can also help picking up the balls and storage of equipment. And you have bad luck with your position. The first three strings all have running backs with a 40 yard dash of 4.5 seconds to 4.8 seconds."

Sena looked at the Coach in shock. He didn't make any team! Sena didn't want to sound arrogant but he had gotten offers from almost all the opposition teams to join their schools. They had wanted Eyeshield 21 on their team. But then Sena remembered Panther and his struggle. Sena sighed and nodded. He would prove himself and train harder than all of them. Nodding, Sena gave the Coach a small smile and made his way to the last string who was doing footwork. Sena merely joined the line and went about his exercise. Chris and Max, who were watching, winced slightly. They felt sorry for the kid. He obviously gave it his all and he still couldn't make any team. If he were bigger, he would have made fourth string, at the very least.

Practice ended and Sena darted around quickly, fetching footballs to store away. When he was done, he went to the change rooms to grab his bag. A lot of the players had left already and Sena just sighed. Hiruma was going to kill him if the captain ever heard his Ace didn't make a team. Shouldering the bag, Sena walked to the school gates and then took off jogging on a route he already marked off as a training route. He ignored the incredulous looks sent his way as he jogged down the road and out of sight.

Sena got home around 7 and as he entered he faced his mother. She looked shocked and angry at him. Sena looked at her confused. Sighing she pinned him with her gaze and asked, "Have you been playing that Football again?"

Sena nodded tiredly. The jog was a lot harder after a long practice but it still felt good. "Sena," Mihue finally said, and Sena looked up to meet her gaze, "I want you to quit. It's too dangerous. This is a fresh start. No one knows that you play over here. I don't want you to play."

Sena started at his mother like she had gone mad, and maybe to him she had. Football was all he had left. He loved it too much; it was something he was good at. Sighing, Sena smiled and shook his head, "I can't mum. I love it too much." And he walked to his room to have a shower. Leaving his mother shocked Sena had never said no to her before and it struck her, that maybe, just maybe, her son really did love football enough to NOT give it up.

Before Sena went to bed that night, he sent off an e-mail to the team. He told them about school and the people and the strange differences. He hesitated about telling them about the Football team. Sighing, Sena thought that maybe they could give him some advice so he wrote a lengthy, detailed part about the Hawks and what was happening. Sena smiled slightlty as he sent the e-mail off. It was only after that did he crawl into bed and allow himself to fall asleep.

"He told me he won't quit after I asked him to!" Mihue tried to explain to her husband, who merely smiled. He sighed before replying, "Do you see it now Mihue. I saw it last year. this is the first time Sena has ever been passionate about anything. This is the first time he hasn't backed down from challenges. He is willing to fight for what he wants and it's making him stronger. I don't think you could stop him from playing. The coach already tried. Sena went to practice today and the head coach Nickle told him to come back when he is bigger. Mihue, Sena told him no! Sena asked to be allowed to at least train with them so he can get stronger, even if he doesn't play in matches."

"See! The coach agrees with me!" Mihue stated triumphantly.

Her husband shook his head at her, "That won't stop Sena. I think he has finally found something worth fighting for."

In Japan, Mamori read the e-mail from Sena. She was smiling sadly until she got the end part. The stupid coach didn't make Sena a team member because he was too small! He didn't even give Sena a chance? Unbelievable. Sena asked for advice and Mamori chewed her lip. She didn't have the expertise for this. So she did the next best thing and forwarded it to all of their friends in the football teams. Mamori may not be with Sena but she would do anything in her power to help him. So, she sent him an e-mail in reply and told him to wait for advice from their friends.

Strangely enough, it was Shin who read the e-mail first. Sakuraba was using the computer for Shin as he was a danger to all technology. Sakuraba was showing Shin the e-mails he received about the Bowls that year, when it popped up. Reading it, Shin smiled slightly, causing Sakuraba to have a near heart attack. But by the end of the e-mail, Shin was furious and it showed. It took all of Sakuraba's courage not to run way; far away. To insult Sena like that was an insult to Shin as he was Sena's rival. Even Sakuraba felt sorry for Sena.

"What advice can we give him?" Shin asked once he reigned in his temper. Sakuraba shrugged. He had never been in that position. Suddenly, Sakuraba had an idea, and said, "Let's take it to Takami! He'll know what to do!" Shin nodded. So they printed out the e-mail and took it to the ex-captain of the team.

The next day Sena had a free period at school and wanted to see if Momori-neechan had replied to his e-mail. So he got a computer in the library and accessed his e-mail and his jaw dropped. His inbox was flooded. Clicking on Mamori-neechan's e-mail first, his eyes widened. She had sent it to everyone! Sena spent the better part of the next hour reading all the e-mails with a slight blush at what some people said and how they reacted (and felt) on his behalf.

Shin, Sakuraba and Takami suggested he should show the coach his 40 yard dash and then explain exactly who he is. Yamato's e-mail was a rant at the discrimination and how Sena should show them exactly why he was one of the best players in Japan. Agon, strangely enough e-mailed him too, saying that he should get someone to knock some sense into the coach. Akaba went on about something about vibes and rhythms leaving Sena more confused than before. Kakei was all for telling the coach that he, Sena, was the real Eyeshield 21. It was the one e-mail from Deimon that made Sena smile. They told him everything will be fine and he must just train hard. Or as Hiruma said, "Train your fucking ass off and prove all those fucking Americans wrong again! Prove yourself as Sena before you reveal your Eyeshield 21, fucking Shrimp."

So, after school, Sena went down to the field early and started training. He went to the weights and started with his weakest area: strength. Sena was lifting his small 50 kg, but considering he started with 20 kg a year ago, it was a good improvement. As he worked out, Sena smiled as he thought of all the encouraging words everyone had sent him.

Sena dragged himself home, his body aching and protesting at the movement of the jogging. Inwardly, Sena was questioning how in on Earth Shin did this everyday! And that Shin-kun thought of him as a rival... Shaking his head, Sena showered and collapsed on his bed, grateful that he didn't have any homework due the next day.

Sena sighed and dropped his head to lie on his desk. He was tired and it's only been a month since he started his training regime. And he was up half the night completing the assignment. Sena had taken jogging to school rather than taking the bus. And jogging back home. More than once he had received weird looks when he arrived or left the school jogging. Speaking of home, things have been tense of late and Sena did feel guilty. The anger had dissolved to resolve to make the best of it. And hopefully he could go back to Japan soon. But it seemed that his mother was angry at him for playing Football again.

Sighing, Sena glanced at the gaggle of people that gathered around one of the tables. The guy, Mark (or at least that's what Sena thought was his name) made the fourth string. The novelty of being the 'new kid' had worn rather quickly, and Sena was once again a loner. But that was fine by him, he did know a few people who greeted him. Sighing again, Sena closed his eyes and relaxed. His body ached like he just had a match against Shin-kun. Or Yamato-kun. Or even Agon-kun. But it like a good ache; like the ache after a long, hard day of training.

A shadow fell across his desk and Sena looked up to see Mark standing there. The boy was big, about Shin's height, with blond hair and blue-green eyes. And you could see he had some muscle. Blue-green eyes looked at him, as the boy offered a smile.

"Um..Hi, Sena. I'm not sure if you know me but I'm Mark," he said and Sena smiled back as he nodded.

"Hi," was all Sena said.

"I was wondering if you could help me," Mark said and Sena waited to hear what it was, "Coach Fallow says my weakness is my endurance. I know at the first practice you ran all ten laps and you weren't panting that hard afterwards. I was wondering how you trained to get that endurance."

Most of the class was staring at him now. The new short kid played Football, and apparently had the endurance training for it. Meanwhile, Sena was smiling softly as he thought of the Death March. And how they completed it, here in America. Grinning, that gave him an idea which he jotted down in Japanese on his notebook. It was then he realized Mark was waiting for an answer.

"My team did a Spartan training program called 'The Death march' last year before the Christmas Bowl. I doubt you could do that, but it really helped us. Right now, I jog 5 km in the mornings and 5 again after training. Weekends is 10km. This is what only a fraction of what one of my rivals back home runs," Sena said, ignoring the shocked looks. "I want to be able to match him, so I'm trying to increase the distance. But train every day, and the endurance comes with time."

Mark stared at him, "What about the Spartan training? I need to build up endurance fast if I want to play the first match in three weeks' time." Sena sighed and shook his head.

"We ran 2000 miles to Las Vegas in one month," Sena said as jaws dropped at the thought, "but I doubt you could do it with your time limit." But before Mark cold say another word, the teacher rushed in, apologizing for being late. Class had started.

At training later, Sena could feel Mark's gaze on him but ignored it in favour of training. They were doing tackles again and Sena suppressed a wince. In these contests of power, Sena always walked away with the bruises. At least none of these tackles were on par with Shin's Trident Tackle, or Yamato's Caeser's Charge. That had been like running into a brick wall. Sena did wince that time, shivered slightly.

After practice, Max had to do some paperwork while Chris loitered around, since Chris was Max's ride home. Bored on standing around, Chris left the club house and looked at the field. To his surprise, he saw the little kid, Sena, still there doing footwork. Chris's eyes narrowed as he watched the young boy, before heading inside.

"Max," Chris called quietly, "you have to come see this." Max looked up from his paperwork, exasperated. But seeing the serious look on his friend's face, he got up and joined Chris.

"Look," Chris said pointing at the small figure. Max watched Sena, admiring the Kid's determination as he kept going at the footwork exercise. Narrowing his eyes, Max watched the foot work and his eyes widened. "You see it too, right? The hat speed Sena is doing those exercises, and he doesn't slow down."

"Sena Kobayakawa," Max said to himself as he walked onto the field and towards the running back. When he was a few feet from Sena, Sena looked up shocked. He hadn't known anyone was still here, as a blush filtered across his cheeks.

"Sena, "Max started, "I was wondering what you number is. You know, what you play as."

Sena looked at him, "21. I play the jersey 21. And I'm sorry about using the field. I will leave if you want..." Sena trailed off. Max shook his head and smiled. Chris stood behind him, staring curiously.

"Sena," Max asked seriously, "what is your time for the 40 yard dash?" Sena's head shot up and looked at Max. Max was testing out a theory, and if it was true, Chris had recruited a diamond.

Sena laughed and smiled. Someone had finally asked! "The last time I check it was 4.12 seconds. But that was during the World Cup."

Chris's head snapped up at the words 'World Cup' and he looked at Max who was smiling. "I knew it. I knew I heard your name before. You were Team Japan's running back ace: Eyeshield 21!" Chris's jaw dropped as Sena blushed heavily.

"Yes," Sena finally said, "I'm Eyeshield 21. But, please don't tell anyone! I'm going to prove to Coach Nickle that you don't have to be big to play Football. I need to stronger anyways. I have a lot of people waiting to beat me when I get back to Japan. And even more people who want my title as Eyeshield 21."

The two older boys stared at Sena, eyes wide and jaws dropped. The Hawks has Eyeshield 21: Sena Kobayakawa, and they wouldn't even know it. Max sighed and nodded; he had to respect Sena's wishes.

"Okay, but if we are in a tight spot and losing, and you can help us win, I'm calling you in," Max said, eyes meeting Sena's. Sena nodded. The team was his team now too, after all.

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