Disclaimer: Any original characters are property of myself and myself only. Eyeshield 21 is a series created by Riichigo Inagaki and Yusuke Murata. All characters of Eyeshield 21 are property of the original creators, Shonen Jump and Viz Media. Any references to the NFL and its players are copyrighted by the NFL and credited to their respective teams. Any other references belong to their respective creators and I take no credit for them.

Author's Note: Hello everyone. I am back, at least for a little while. I want to thank all of you that continue to read this silly little fanfic for this obscure title that I only post to every now and then. Your reviews and comments really do keep me going with this series. Hopefully you all will continue to read and enjoy the story. You guys and gals rock. Much love - D-Dawg.

Meanwhile while Monta was dealing with the fiery passion burning on his lips, elsewhere another player was making their way back to the lion's den. Kohando found his way back to the luxury apartment tower that housed his teammates' tremendous penthouse and was riding the elevator up to its pinnacle. The suave gymnast was nervous and not particularly looking forward to watching game footage with the intimidating colossus and the overbearing American.

When the elevator doors opened and he stepped into the entryway chamber to the extravagant suite, the former olympic hopeful took a deep breath and approached the door. He stretched out a delicate hand and rang the doorbell, and within a few moments summoned Dante's family butler. The eldery chap opened the chamber door and greeted the young man with a polite bow. "Ah yes, young Master Bates. Welcome, Master Dante has been expecting you."

Kohando was mid bow when the old man addressed him and he faltered before giving the old man a peculiar look. "I'm sorry I must have misheard you sir… what did you call me just now?"

"Master Bates." Replied the old man without missing a beat. His tone was even, non mocking, and seemed jovial and polite. But somewhere deep in the room Kohando heard a familiar albeit muffled laughter. The plastic pretty boy peered around Winstead to find the large antechamber largely empty, but it wasn't difficult to spot the wild shock of red hair hiding behind the kitchen archway.

"Ahh… I see…" Kohando said with a bit of a scowl in that direction. He briefly nodded to the butler and stepped inside asking, "I suppose this has to deal with these nicknames I've heard so much of… although I am surprised to say this is not what I thought it was based on how Dante has been addressing me so far."

Winstead simply closed the door behind the young man and turned before making his way towards the kitchen area, "My apologies Master Bates. Surely I will need to ask the young master if he wishes to adjust how I address you, but until that time I have been informed that I am to call you Master Bates."

At this point the muffled laughter became an uproarious expulsion of gasping coughs and painful wheezing as a loud thud emanated from the kitchen. It was a maniacal giggling that could only have one source. Kohando frowned and followed the old man through the gilded archway and into the magnificent marble kitchen. There at the large central island sat a trio of his teammates. Dante was practically hanging onto the lip of the island for dear life and was pounding his fist onto the surface of the marble, laughing all the while. Across from him sat Suitokku who was shaking his head and holding an embarrassed hand to his forehead to rub at his temples. The third and unexpected guest was Kuzuri who was quietly suppressing a giggle as well. But when the stout little defender saw Kohando's face as he entered, his quiet muffled chuckles exploded out as a guffaw as well, joining in the cacophony of his redheaded teammate.

As Winstead walked by Dante he held up a hand which Dante immediately slapped with a high five. The elderly man simply rolled his eyes and shook his head, absolutely knowing what the game was, and as it would seem, happy to play along with it.

Kohando glared at the raucous redhead and stated, "Really? What are you seven?"

Dante had some trouble containing his laughter and he wheezed and coughed once more before waving his arm up and down towards Kohando before crying, "I'm sorry! I couldn't resist! Ahahaha!" He sucked in a huge gulp of air and held it for a moment before slowly letting it all out in a big long exhale.

Kuzuri managed to bite back his own calamitous laughter and wheezed, "Don't feel bad Kohando-san! He did it to me too when I got here!"

Dante snorted like a hog and pointed towards the scarred former track star adding, "You should have seen his face!" The hairy linebacker then wiped at his leaky eyes with his gnarled fingers and sighed with satisfaction. He turned to Winstead who was now placing another setting at the island for their new guest and explained, "Anyway, I know I didn't do a good job at a proper introduction at the party the other day so here we go. Winstead this is Pretty Boy," he paused once he had gestured between the old man and Kohando before mirroring the motion and saying, "Pretty Boy this is my friend Winstead."

Winstead bowed politely once more and said, "A proper pleasure Master Pretty Boy." The elderly fellow then gestured to the plate and bowl set before him on the table and asked, "We were just about to sit down for a bit of curry, would you like some?"

Kohando sighed and decided to just let it go. He assumed this level of immaturity would be the norm with much of this group of ragtag individuals. The debonair athlete nodded towards the old British butler and replied, "I certainly cannot turn down such hospitality, but may I have just a little. I did eat before coming over." He definitely wasn't expecting to be joining the group for this late dinner for certain. After all, the two had invited him along for a meal on their way back here before he left the team room earlier. Though he wouldn't be surprised if the bottomless pits did that too.

Winstead offered only a slight bow and then moved to retrieve what appeared to be a small serving cart and placed a small ceramic pot on top of it, presumably filled with curry and a bowl of rice. As Kohando took his seat he watched as the butler came about and ladeled a serving of rice followed by a healthy helping of a thick rich brown colored curry. And it would seem the kindly butler more than took into account how much certain players at the table considered a portion. Suitokku's mound of curry easily was triple that of the others, and the other two were sat before a pair of mountainous portions in their own right. Kohando's meager sample size seemed laughable by comparison.

When the group of ravenous athletes finished their meal their ringleader let out a hearty burp and stood up to pat his distended gut. "Ahhhh damn Winstead, that was delicious. Gordan Ramsay can eat his heart out."

The old man chuckled and moved to take his young ward's plate. "But of course, everyone knows that man is just a hack."

Dante gave the butler a quick double take and laughed, "Damn Winstead! Tell us how you really feel!" The furry foreigner then assisted with clearing the plates and other messes from the table before turning to the colossal Okinawan and asking, "Oi Orca, can you go get the room set up?"

The massive mariner nodded and reached out to tap Kuzuri's shoulder with the back of his hand, "C'mon Kuzuri I'll show you round." There was a brief pause before his eyes then settled on Kohando and he uttered, "You too." and then turned to walk out the opposite archway and into the long corridor of doors.

As the monolithic lineman marched off Kuzuri was quick to keep up as Kohando followed behind them. Kohando was already at least partially familiar with the set up here, having stayed the night at the party, but most of these doors were mysteries for him. Their massive usher guided them to the end of the hall past several different doors to one that seemed recently installed. It was a different color than the rest and had a large and hastily painted skull and crossbones on it.

Suitokku grasped the handle and wrenched the door open before stepping inside. Dante's room was still a cluttered cluster fuck of metal band posters, albums, and random midieval weaponry strewn across every surface. A stack of unwatched game discs sat to the left of the massive television screen, and to the right of it was a scattered mess of DVDs of game film they had already watched. Calypso's tank still stood in the corner of the room to the right of the door, and inside the mahogany colored serpent was lazing about on her basking perch. In the forward center of the room before the TV sat Dante's usual beanbag chair and Suitokku's gaming chair he had requested.

Kohando and Kuzuri stepped inside and looked around, taking it all in, while Suitokku went to the lone door for the closet. The gigantic tackle entered the walk in closet and quickly reemerged with a large bean bag chair in each hand. With nary an effort he hucked them across the room to settle next to the others and he said with a grunt, "There. All set up." The maritime monster gestured towards the bean bag chairs and added, "Grab a notepad and have a seat." He then turned and picked up a pile of notepads and held them out to the two other rookies.

Kuzuri was quick to comply, snatching up a notepad and practically skipping over to plop into one of the amorphous blob chairs. "HO-HO!" he exclaimed as it shifted beneath his weight. The stout athlete wiggled left and right to adjust himself in the chair and pulled the pen out of the spiral bound notepad's spine. After having settled he placed the notepad on his lap and sat at the ready.

When Kohando came to receive his notepad from the massive mariner he found the colossal teen did not relinquish his grip initially when he tried taking it. The slick pretty boy gave the gigantic lineman a curious and nervous look, silently questioning why he would do that. After a brief moment of staring tensely at one another the giant finally broke the silence.

"I gotta say I'm a little surprised you accepted Dante's invitation." stated the maritime colossus as he released his grip on the spiral bound notepad.

As he took the notebook Kohando internally breathed a sigh of relief before replying coolly, "Why is that my colossal friend?"

With a shrug Suitokku simply replied, "I think we already know." The massive tackle then gently moved past the lithe gymnast and took a seat in his large desk chair. Before spinning to face the screen he nodded to Kohando and added, "But hey, glad you decided to join in." He nodded once more, but there was something behind that silent communication. Something deeper. Kohando could only imagine the inner machinations of this enormous enigma, but it almost appeared as if he were proud of the gymnast's choice?

Deciding not to dwell on it Kohando blasely replied, "Yes well, if I intend to become a worthy receiver I had better do my homework no?" He gracefully glided across the plush carpeted floor to carefully take a seat in his own shifting bean blob. Unlike Kuzuri who roughly forced himself into a comfortable position within the shape forming chair, Kohando seemed to elegantly slip into it with little effort.

As he got comfortable a sudden query drew his attention towards Kuzuri as the loud linebacker addressed him. "Kohando-san! Are you excited for our first game this weekend?" His voice was grating and the scar tracing from his chin and over the right side of his mouth under his smile line just made him look so fearsome. The defender's short buzz cut and pronounced folds on his forehead made him appear older than he actually was. It truly wouldn't be a stretch to say he had the figure and face of a yakuza thug. In spite of his outward appearance however, he seemed to have an innocent, if not ignorant, attitude towards everything.

That being said, Kohando still leaned away from the stalwart defenseman as he considered the question. Was he even excited for this? He supposed he hadn't really thought about it to be honest. Until recently the only reason he was pursuing this sport was to try and win away Shidao from that simian simpleton. But he was slowly realizing he would not be able to single handedly do this on his own. After a brief moment more of deliberation the plastic primadonna replied, "I honestly hadn't thought about it. I've just been so focused trying to worry about what I can do right now that I hadn't looked ahead."

"Well excited or not you better be ready because it's coming in five days, Casanova." came the shrill reply from the doorway as Dante entered his bedroom. He held a hand out towards Suitokku and caught an incoming notepad that was frisbee tossed his way by the marine leviathan. With his other hand he fetched a pen that had been hiding in that wild mane of his. "Aight Orca, hit it!"

Over the course of the next few hours the four teammates scoured over the gamefilm with a fine toothed comb. Dante was ever vigilant and was quick to point out every variation in their formations that he deemed notable. And as he had proven before with Suitokku, he was a much more endearing teacher when it came to game film than when actually on the field practicing. The American was more than willing to replay a series over and over to make sure everyone got what they needed out of it in extreme detail.

Part way through the session it appeared as though he had locked down the snap count on a few plays and he cackled deviously as he emphatically relayed the information to Suitokku and Kuzuri. "We got em mwahaha!" he would cackle as he fastidiously took notes. But this epiphany was lost on Kohando.

"Sorry, but why are we excited about figuring out the snap count on this play?" He asked out in the open when it appeared they weren't going to elaborate on the reasoning.

Dante clicked his pen triumphantly and jabbed it back into his wild mop of red locks answering, "Because now that I know the timing of their play, I can interrupt it before it happens."

Kuzuri suddenly lurched forward in his chair snapping his fingers emphatically adding, "Like at the Nishi game!"

Dante snapped his fingers in return and replied, "Exactly."

Kohando glanced between his teammates in confusion. He had attended that particular game but his memory was a little distorted. He was tracking number 80 that day and pretty much only that. "I don't follow…" he admitted with a modicum of shame.

Kuzuri was more than happy to elaborate, "Dante timed the snap and flew over the offensive line smacking into the quarterback right as the ball got there and BAM! FUMBLE! SUITOKKU RECOVERS! HYOOOOH!" he howled with exuberance and excitement.

The former gymnast had to lean away and even cover his ears at the sheer volume Kuzuri reached when he finished. He looked at the roommates and found them smirking with pride. It finally registered now how watching game film to such a degree could actually change the outcome on the field. To be able to suss out the timing of a play and disrupt it before it developed must have taken a keen eye and a fundamental mastery of the basics. Kohando nodded with respect, saying, "I see. So that's the kind of thing you keep referring to about why to take gamefilm study so seriously." He leaned forward and adjusted his seat and seemed to have a newfound interest in this previously blase task.

A grinch-like smile creeped across Dante's visage and he cackled, "Now you're getting it Pretty Boy." He snapped his fingers and then continued, "Now then you said you had an inkling that our boy Yamori here had a tell. Do TELL!" He then hopped up and went to point directly at the cornerback in question.

Kohando nodded, suddenly quite serious and he went on, "Right! When we were watching the film earlier Riku told me to focus only on him, so that is what I did. I noticed he backpedals for a while before he turns on deeper routes. It's subtle but on a few of those plays I thought I saw him shift his hips and center of gravity before he turned."

Dante nodded towards Suitokku indicating he should hit play on the remote control to start the film back up. The monolithic lineman obliged and then all four of them proceeded to watch Yamori very closely over the next few plays. Most of the time the routes were short and Yamori was able to stay ahead of the play and didn't need to turn around. But on the first deep passing play in his direction Kohando watched him like a hawk and he pointed exclaiming, "There! There! Did you see it, his hips twist just a little bit and then he turns."

Dante narrowed his eyes at the screen and said to Suitokku, "Play that back Orca."

The big behemoth nodded and rewound the footage a few seconds to play again. And once more Kohando was quick to point out the movement he was seeing. Dante furrowed his brow and rotated his hand in a swirling motion with his index finger extended, indicating he wanted the footage rewound once more. The teammates watched that single play probably another dozen times before even Dante said with a shrug. "I dunno man it just looks like he's turning around to me."

Kohando was vehement in his rebuttal, "No! I am telling you for a brief moment before he turns I can see him adjusting his core to compensate! How can you not see it?" And as the words left his mouth and he watched the trio shrug and shake their heads it clicked. "You guys don't know what to look for because you haven't trained for it."

When the trifecta of players still showed some confusion Kohando elaborated, "As a gymnast a major focus is your core muscles and how they move. To be able to navigate the uneven bars for example takes extreme core control. I know what I'm talking about when I say I see a tell there before he turns around. It's a subtle shift forward before he moves to turn." He then stood up and mimicked the movement himself. He walked backwards slowly and exaggerated the tiny forward shifting lurch before smoothly and gracefully turning to run on.

He turned back towards the others and then said, "Did that help?"

Dante once more narrowed his eyes and moved to grab the remote from Suitokku. This time he ran the play back but in slow motion. He then focused closely on each frame by frame movement of the cornerback and sure enough just as Kohando had shown them, there was a very subtle shift forward followed by a smooth turn.

Dante sat back and crossed his arms. He huffed a breath out from his nostrils and slowly turned towards Kohando, "Well well look at Mr. Eagle Eyes over here." He snorted again and gestured towards the game film, "That's pretty damn impressive Kohando… do you think you could tell us if any of their other corners do this too?"

Kohando felt a strange exhilaration at the compliment from the veteran player. His prideful smirk widened and he said with a nod, "Let's find out."

—-

Elsewhere, another pretty face was finally unwinding after another long shift at Lone Star's. Akiko had a fluffy white towel wrapped around her auburn hair and an equally fuzzy pink robe tied tight about her form. Letting out a tired sigh she stretched out onto her bed and closed her amber eyes. "What a day." she murmured with an air of exhaustion. Being a waitress was taxing and wore her out.

Turning her head to the side she spied a pile of books on her desk and frowned. Despite having worked a full shift on her feet and wanting nothing more than to collapse into her sheets, she still had a few hours of studying to do for her classes. Groaning with annoyance she rolled over and grabbed the top most text, pulling it back to the comfort of her bed. The title of the dense book read, "Anatomy and Physiology: a Comprehensive Study of the Human Body."

With another heavy exhale, the amber eyed beauty grumbled, "I'd rather get more acquainted with some real anatomy and physiology." Her days as a student have been heavily inundated with medical books and waiting tables. She barely had time to make a cup of tea and relax let alone consider her love life recently. And as she glanced at her wall calendar she saw that her next several days were going to be filled with more of the same. Groaning with disdain she let the book slowly sit on her face and splayed her arms out across her comforter.

The woeful waitress mumbled once more and moved the heavy text off her head and tossed it aside. Sitting up she untwisted the towel and roughly gave her brunette locks another rub down before setting it aside. Shaking her hair back and forth she once more looked to her wall calendar to the days past that and pursed her lips in thought. She had the coming Sunday off for the first time in a long time.

A coy smile crawled onto her face and she pushed herself off her bed to fetch her phone. Flicking the screen to life with her thumb she went to her sms app and decided to go for it. The young beauty quickly typed out a text and hit send. "Hey big fella. I happen to have this Sunday off, if you are free how about we go on that date?" Akiko read it over once more and nodded before hitting send with a shrug. It was worth a shot at least.

She knew the colossal footballer had a game the day before but he was a strapping young buck she thought. Surely he'd be up for something the next day right? Just thinking about that slab of muscle got her head in a bit of a tizzy. She never really thought she had a type, but that massive mammoth of a man flicked a switch in her brain for some reason. Akiko had to chuckle thinking that all that beef surrounding her at Lone Stars must have weaseled its way into her preference of men. Biting her lower lip she teased the idea of that Okinowan Adonis limbering up for a heated workout.

—-

Back at Dante's Peak the boys were still trying to wrestle with seeing the hip shifts of the Zokuto University's corners. Kohando was making slow but incremental progress with Dante to see what he was talking about. Suitokku and Kuzuri however were still not seeing it very well. Luckily for them however they wouldn't likely be running routes against any of them so it didn't matter much.

Just as the monolithic guard was about to suggest that he and Kuzuri take a break to go get some more refreshments he felt a vibration emanate from his pocket. With a curious frown he dug a rail spike sized finger in to retrieve it and flipped open the old tracfone to see who it was. His thick black eyebrows rose in surprise when he saw it was from Akiko. She did say she'd text him about a date and time to go out when she figured out her work schedule. "Huh…" he murmured aloud in slight surprise.

Nearby Dante noticed the sudden interest and queried, "Wuzzat Orca?"

Suitokku frowned at his friend and slightly regretted audibly making any noise to garner his attention. Knowing he'd likely get flak from the raucous American regardless of what he said about it, Suitokku decided to just come out with it and said, "Just a text from Akiko asking if I was free Sunday."

"OoooooOOOO!" came the apish hoot from the fiery redhead. His puckered whooping lips transformed into a wide toothy grin and he teased, "Big boy has a hot date!"

Kuzuri was quick to follow his defensive captain's cue and let out his own long and loud, "AWOOOOHOOOOOOUUU! Congrats Suitokku! It's the cater lady from the party right?"

The big lineman rolled his eyes at Dante's expected retort but he was surprised at the acuity of Kuzuri's memory. He nodded to the badger-like athlete and replied, "That's her," with his usual cool stoicism.

Kuzuri's scarred visage peeled into a wide grin and he nodded appreciatively. "She was really pretty!" he paused and gave an exaggerated thumbs up with a big overarching swing of his arm on the delivery. "Very nice!"

While the maritime monster just chuckled and began to text a response back to the wanton waitress, Kohando couldn't help but listen to the reveal and become dumbfounded. That hulking brute scored a date with that attractive young caterer? Narrowing his gaze at the ludicrous scene he felt a tinge of jealous rage building below his cool exterior.

"What a fool I've been! To think I nearly let these nimronic neanderthals pull me in with their tribal bonding!" thought the former gymnast as he let the true reason for this farce occupy his mind. After all, there were still greater prizes to await him if he could impress his emerald empress enough to elope away from her eager orangutan. "No, I will continue to play this game, if not to prove I am not only worthy, but I'm better than these musclebound morons!"

He caught Suitokku's gaze rising to meet his own, and he pasted on that perfect plastic smile to say, "Who knew you had it in you big man? I'm happy for you." He then turned his attention to the gamefilm and once out of the brute's eye line, that perfect visage dissolved into a dour look indeed.

Suitokku only nodded as the receiver looked away. Somehow he doubted the former gymnast's words. He was sadly reminded that he had to remember this guy was a shitbag, and he needed to keep an eye on him, progress or not.

—-

As the sun rose early the next morning and began to peak through the blinds of her bedroom window, Suzuna grumbled in protest. The azure angel rolled over and buried her head beneath the covers, having no interest in getting up. Unfortunately for her, just as soon as she regained the comfort of near slumber, her alarm started ringing on her phone. Bleary bloodshot eyes snapped open with disdain as the sound penetrated her eardrums.

With a melancholy groan Suzuna rolled back over and threw off her fluffy fleece covers and swung her legs out of bed. With an expansive yawn she stretched out her arms and sighed before leaning over to shut off the blaring alarm. Getting to her feet she scratched absently at her side as she made her way to the bathroom to brush her teeth and get ready for the morning.

After a quick shower and a fresh change of clothes consisting of a gray hoodie with clouds and a kawaii unicorn dancing across a rainbow on it, and some comfortable blue jeans; Suzuna moved to her small kitchen to make some breakfast. As the bread was toasting in her toaster, she heard her phone ringing away down the hall.

With another tired yawn she slowly made her way back to her bedroom saying, "Yeah, yeah I'm coming." The tired teen was barely conscious enough to find the phone let alone see who might be calling before muscle memory had her answer it anyway. "Hello?"

"Good morning Suzuna! How are you?" came across a rich and charismatic voice all too familiar to her.

Her eyes popped open, suddenly awake when she registered who it was. "D-dad?"

Yujiki Taki seemed to smile through the phone on the other line. "Of course!"

Suzuna juggled the phone and seemed to be a bit surprised by the sudden call from her father. "Oh um, wow! Hi! How are you?"

On the other line Yujiki seemed to be unaware of her nervous and awkward reply. His mental density seemed to be quite similar to his son's. As the adage goes, 'The apple doesn't fall far from the tree'. "I am doing alright, it is good to hear your voice. I hear you are in college now!"

Suzuna nodded almost out of reflex and answered, "Th-that's right. I'm going to Enma University." she took a moment to think and added, "Are you back in Tokyo right now?"

Her father replied rapidly and with bombastic enthusiasm, "I am! I was hoping to see you and your brother while I am in town for the next week! I want to catch up and hear what you've all been doing!" His voice dropped momentarily and he said in a bit more somber of a tone, "I know things have been… weird since mom and I split up… and I'm sorry I've been… flakey or absent."

Before he could continue, Suzuna cut him off, "Just!" and she quickly bit back her temper and took a deep breath, "Nevermind. It's fine."

Even her father's dense little tapioca brain was able to determine that wasn't true. A muted silence passed between them on the line and after a moment he answered, "Right… anyway I do want to meet up with you and your brother if you want to. I miss you both."

Suzuna's brow twisted with a bit of angry distrust and she wanted to snap at him but managed to keep it in check. "I think that would be nice." she forced herself to say. She had been hurt and felt betrayed when her parents had gotten a divorce, especially when a few months after the split he seemed to just disappear and stopped talking to them for months at a time. So even though she was furious with him about that, she still cared about him and he was still her dad. How could she say no? In spite of everything she just couldn't help but get her hopes up.

A held breath on the other end of the call seemed to be released with relief as Yujiki replied, "Thank you Suzuna. I know I messed up and I'm sorry. I hope I can make it up to you!"

Suzuna bit her lip and winced before answering, "I hope so too…" her voice was quiet and disappointed.

"Anyway I'll call your brother and invite him along too. OH! I nearly forgot. Mom said you have a boyfriend now! I'd love to meet him as well! You should bring him along!"

Suzuna's face erupted with shades of red when her dad asked her to invite Sena along. And before she could rebuke him he quickly followed it with. "I'll send you a message about when and where. Love you! Bye!" and promptly hung up.

The cheer captain was left staring at the screen of her phone dumbfoundedly. It was several moments before her brain could even really begin to process the call. As the conversation played over and over in her mind her face grew more and more red before she screeched, "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!"

She squeezed the phone tightly and began to pace back and forth across her room as the navy haired teen continued to rant. "NO word from you in a year and a half and out of nowhere and you want to come hang out and meet my boyfriend!? OOOOOOO!" The cheer captain growled angrily as the steam pressure continued to build. "What the hell!? Why now all of a sudden?!"

The lithe little lady continued to wear a trail on her bedroom floor as she sputtered and cursed her father's name. His sudden proposition had flustered her something fierce and she was dealing with those frustrations by flailing about angrily and kicking stuffed animals too and fro. As she worked through her frustration and finally calmed herself down she let out a defeated sigh.

"Dammit dad. Why are you this way?" she lamented before tucking away her phone and moving back to rescue the now whistling tea kettle from its burner. Grabbing the kettle up by the handle she moved it off the burner and set it on the stove top. She ran a hand over her exhausted face and mumbled before wrapping her arms around her torso to lean against the counter.

As she continued to make mental gymnastics about the situation her face suddenly grew red. "Oh… oh shit." she murmured before slowly covering her mouth and looking at the string of photos attached to her fridge featuring her and Sena from one of those cheesy photobooths. The heat bubbling up into her cheeks continued to percolate as she realized rather quickly that this would be the first time Sena met her father. And as silly as it seemed, and as old fashioned as it felt, she found herself suddenly very nervous about whether or not her dad would approve of the running back.

She smacked her face and shook her head rapidly side to side. "Stop being stupid Suzuna! Who gives a shit what dad thinks of Sena!" she scolded herself. But despite her best efforts at keeping those nagging thoughts aways, or logically shoving them to the side, they continued to bubble up to the surface. Nervously looking at her phone, she picked it up and opened her texts to pull up Sena. As she went to tell him about it, her fingers froze and her heart began to pound. It would seem those feelings would not be so easily dismissed after all.