Shin POV
"Hiruma alternates between using that 13 as a linebacker and a running back. Very clever." Takami murmured as we watched Deimon versus Amino game.
There was yet another new rumor about Deimon, it was almost like Hiruma caught all of the talent that no one else seemed to notice. This one was 'Demon 13', a player whose speed was said to equal Eyeshield's, stength was equal to any lineman, skill was equal to mine, and raw talent equaled Agon's.
Just from the first play, I couldn't yet make a judgement on which parts of the rumor were true. The only thing that I could establish was that this 'Demon 13' was, quite frankly, violent. This person used more force than necessary to combat his opponents. The one Cyborg who broke line to go after Hiruma was caught from the side by this 'Demon 13', and shoved so hard that he cartwheeled end over end, dislocating his shoulder and breaking an ankle from it. That was some brutality for a simple pre-season game.
Hiruma Youichi, he really was a devilish mastermind. Most would save their best players for the actual tournament, but not Hiruma. By using this new player he was increasing his psychological impact on the other teams, Deimon was aready known for being a relentless attack team, and now they had someone who was this violent, it didn't bode well for the rest of us; at least, I was sure that's how everyone would see it.
Not only the psychological impact, but this 'Demon 13' was also getting game time in. By the time the actual tournament came around, he'd have several games worth of experience in, knowledge of his opponents. I couldn't wait to face him on the field.
"How can someone that small do that much damage?" Sakuraba murmured, a look of pain on his face. Demon 13 had just grabbed the Amino running back, throwing him down hard, and stealing the ball; I would bet on a bruised rib-cage from that. It was amazing, I could only imagine what sort of training that person did; afterall, he was maybe four or five cm taller than Eyeshield 21, and seemed pretty lean.
"What do you think, Shin?" Takami inquired, looking over at me.
"He uses his speed and proper angling to increase the level of damage." I answered, not letting my eyes leave Demon 13.
"Is he really as fast as Eyeshield?" Sakuraba asked softly.
"Probably close." I could only tell for sure once I met him on the field, "I'm more impressed with his technique." He almost seemed to...dance...a chaotic, unpredictable dance, but never-the-less as precision based as a dance.
"Technique?" Sakuraba and Takami repeated. I shook my head, unable to explain my dance metaphor.
They stared at me, waiting for a response, even though I was still trying to put all the puzzle pieces together in my own head. "His unpredictable way of moving makes up for any short-comings of size. And that violence that he displays certainly makes his opponents' hesitate to play against him, all any runner of true speed needs is that small bit of hesitation."
He very well could be strong as linemen, fast as Eyeshield, skilled as myself, and talented as Agon, but he was also as wickedly clever as Hiruma Youichi. He was definitely a perfect player for the DevilBats.
;-;
Author's note: Sorry my chapters are so short, :( I'm going to try to post multiples to make up for that. :)