Disclaimer:Eyeshield 21 is the property of Inagaki Riichirouand Murata Yuusuke and not mine.

Should she call him?

The grounds of Teikoku were solemnly quite this afternoon. The finish to the Christmas Bowl had been a dramatic and very emotional experience for both schools and all the players involved, but now it was over for another year and the spring season was what was fresh in their minds. However one player was notably distracted the Alexander's star quarterback Koizumi Karin.

The petite quarterback sat in the library overlooking part of the schools entrance. People walked in and out of the school; some were large, some were small, but most notably however were the pairs that she saw. It seemed as though so many of her classmates had a significant other. All her female friends were either seeing someone or were enamored with one of her teammates and her teammates, well most were after someone, she on the other hand was experiencing what some would call a dry-spell. Normally she would have at least two or three boys ask her out each day, but lately they had been less and less "brave" and didn't seem to want to approach her as much. She was so use to turning them down that she hadn't noticed that she was missing what company they could have given her. She was by nature a shy girl who had only been thrust into the school spotlight with the help of her arm and a certain running back, but it had been good for her. It had gotten her out and about and made her just a little less shy and withdrawn.

Despite it being only a few days after the Christmas Bowl Karin had been more and more outgoing at school, even joining the art club and making more female friends, which before she had been sorely lacking, but still something was missing. She tapped her pencil against her drawing pad and looked at the dark charcoal picture she had only recently completed. The picture depicted two towering warriors battling, both identifying themselves as 21. It of course was Karin's sideline interpretation of Yamato and Sena and their battle at the Christmas Bowl. Yamato had spoken very highly of him since and Karin had to admit that he was really just a male version of her. After the game as the Devilbats celebrated he had spoken to her. They were only together for what seemed like a moment but it was enough as Yamato filled in the blacks. He was sweet and kind and had a story that was so similar to hers. They had both been pushed into American football and were scared to death in the beginning, but soon they both grew to love and excel at it. She let out a small sign as she stared at her cell phone on the table next to she sketchpad. They had exchanged information as he had with most of the rest of the team and now she stared at his number in her phone.

Should she call him? Did he think she was anything more then an opponent? These questions and others ran through her head as she contemplated calling him and breaking another of her inhibitions and asking him if he would want to hang out sometime or go to the amusement park, or something else. Her palms sweated as she though about it. He was exactly like her with many of the same talents and mannerisms yet she still couldn't rectify it in her own mind. She hadn't told anyone yet, well not specifically, she had mentioned it to a few girlfriends and used no names. This had caused a stir as they all gossiped about the only boy that could catch her eye. They rattled off names trying to figure out his identity but were not successful, not that she would have responded if they had been. Then there was Yamato, who had told her, in the same stern and convincing yet friendly voice he had used to recruit her to the team in the first place, that she should simply take the chance and call her "mystery" boy before a certain roller blade wearing cheerleader beat her to it. She had flatly denied that she was talking about Sena but Yamato simply replied with "I never said anything about Sena." As he chuckled walking off the school grounds.

Karin had long since packed away her things and grasped at her coat as she began to leave for the day. Her brother was bringing his new girlfriend to dinner that night and she needed to help her mother cook dinner and finish her homework as well as put in her piano practice for the evening. She swallowed her pride and stopped at the corner. She pulled out her phone and hit the dial button for Sena. Her breaths became slightly labored as the rings went on and on until they stopped.

"Hello?..."