Bahaha, finally I decided to make an ongoing HirumaSena-fic! Ya-ha! Just 'cause there aren't enough here. Hardly any, actually… Bah.
This will be different from the original story-line, but it's all necessary. I've got three other plots for an HirumaSena fic in my head after this (-cries- I should really stop making new fics, but I really can't help it T.T), so pah! And if anyone knows any good ongoing Eyeshield fics which has ShinxSakuraba or HirumaxSena in it, would you please let me know? I'd love to read more Eyeshield fics, but has so little of them.
I hope you enjoy the first chapter!
Chapter 1: The Devil's Handbook
"You didn't make the team again?"
"No," he sighed disappointedly. Another week had passed and he had tried out for the football team again. And he hadn't made it, again. "They say I'm just too slow, I can't catch and I'm not strong enough to be a linebacker. They say I'm pretty useless," he continued, explaining. "I should just give up."
"Don't think like that, Sena-kun, maybe football just isn't your thing," Mamori said optimistically from the other side of the phone. He could always count on Mamori to hear him out when he was down and to cheer him up. "Why don't you try other sports? Maybe tennis or something? I remember you were pretty good at that when we were younger."
"Thanks Mamori-neechan, but I'm not really that into tennis anymore," he replied, smiling. "Anyway, I'll be home soon. Can I stop by later? I think I need some… cake or something." Mamori laughed.
"You know you're always welcome here, I'll go get the strawberry cakes then! See you tonight, Sena-kun," she replied. They both said goodbye and hung up, Sena still thinking about his fifth rejection this year. He knew he wasn't a good enough player to make the team, but he tried every time nonetheless; it just was his ambition to make it. It was only too bad he couldn't do anything that amazing to be an amazing player.
While he was lost in thought, he didn't notice it when three tall boys surrounded him. He looked up at them and blinked, recognizing them as three of the football players—they had been bullying him since he started school, so he knew them all too well. With one swift motion, the leader, Juumonji, had grabbed the phone he still had been holding in his hand and held it up triumphantly. The smaller boy knew that they were up to no good and tried to get the small object back.
"Please, give me back my phone!" Sena shouted, jumping up and down as the three bullies held his cell phone up in the sky so he couldn't reach it. One of them pushed him onto the ground, as the other one was looking into his phonebook, grinning when he saw two names written down there.
"Heeeh, you got Kurita's number? That's convenient, we still have a bone to pick with him," he said, his grin spreading further when Sena's eyes widened. Kurita had been one of the few football-players he really liked; he was kind and was always willing to help Sena with practicing so he could try and make the team. When Juumonji and the others had laughed at him, Kurita demonstrated a move on them for Sena, ending with the three of them lying on the ground. "Let's get this other number too, Mamori—she your girlfriend, shorty?" he continued, tossing the phone to another bully.
"Give it back!" Sena yelled, standing up again and charging the one who had his phone. He took him by surprise and wasn't able to keep the phone out of his reach—Sena took it back and quickly dodged the other two as he ran as fast as he could towards the station, clutching the phone of his chest as he did do. Great! All these years of practicing football really came in handy… he thought happily as the bullies seem to fade into the distance. He wasn't the world's fastest runner; he was about average, but he was more speedy than regulars. Too bad he hadn't reached the speed of a football-player yet though; he still had a long way to go when it came to that. Not to mention the fact that he ran out of breath quite quickly.
His eyes widened when one of the three bullies suddenly appeared in front of him, from an alley. He stopped and looked around, wondering which way he should go. He recognised the street he was in and was only a couple of yards away from the station. If I take that alley, I can reach the station, he thought, glancing to the right. Before the bully could get him, Sena hurried to the alley and ran through it as quickly as he could, leaving the boy behind him. He stopped again when the two others appeared at the end—he looked back again and saw the other one guarding the other end of the alley. He was trapped.
"Now shorty, it was a nice chase, but I'm afraid you'll have to give us that phone now. Maybe we won't break anything if you give it to us now." Sena shook his head as he tried to figure out any other ways of getting out of there. His eyes fell on a wooden door to the left of him, above hung a small sign, though Sena couldn't make out what it said; it was old and rotten, but he figured it was a shop. He dashed in there, not expecting the three to follow him in there; after all, the shopkeeper would surely help him, right?
"Stop him!" he heard one of them shouting as he quickly opened the door and closed it behind him again, barely making it on time. When he heard the three cursing outside, he breathed a sigh of relief and clutched the phone to his chest. I won't abandon Mamori-neechan and Kurita-san, he thought, happy that he had lost the three of them just on time.
"Can I help you with anything, sir?" He jumped up when he heard the voice of a man coming from further into the shop and blinked as he saw an elderly standing there, looking at him expectantly. "Or are you just looking?"
"I-I'm just looking, thank you," Sena replied, smiling lightly at him. He didn't want to disappoint the older man; the shop didn't seem like it was attracting so many customers (the windows were dirty, the door was nasty and people would just plainly overlook the whole thing, especially since it was in an alley that hardly anybody used). He walked through the small shop, occasionally stopping when something would catch his eye; there really were many odd things in this shop, though there were also fairly regular things. Antiques, notepads, pens and pencils, clocks—Sena really didn't think a store such as this one hadn't already been closed down, it seemed like these items had been there for at least a decade already.
When he figured it was time just grab a notepad and buy it (it might come in handy in school, he figured), something caught his eye in the back of the store. The thing was covered in spider rags and dust, but still it really somehow appealed to Sena as he walked closer and closer, until he finally stood in front of it. With a frown, he wiped the dust and rags off and he could finally see that it was some sort of book, with a black leather cover and a skull on it. It seemed to be very old; from what Sena could see, the pages had turned yellow and the cover was ragged and seemed to be falling apart. The book attracted him, yet also in the back of his mind a little voice said 'leave now'.
Needless to say, Sena didn't leave at that point. Or else we wouldn't have a story.
As if his hand had a will of it's own, Sena slowly reached out to grab the book from it's place and took it to the counter where the old man was eyeing him intently.
"How much for this book, sir?" he asked him, reaching for his wallet.
"That book is not for sale," the old man said rather gruffly, grabbing the book from Sena and placing it on the counter, away from the boy's reach. "It's much too dangerous for a kid like you; please leave." The politeness in his voice had gone away and Sena wondered what harm a book could possibly do. Normally, he would've listened to the man and would have left, but something about the book kept drawing his attention; he really wanted to have it.
"Why isn't it for sale then?" he questioned. "It was lying in the store." The man shook his head.
"It's called a Devil's Handbook—it's not for sale. They say the devil himself resides in there, I'm not going to sell it to you," he responded, letting his hand go over the black leather as he looked at it. Sena was now more curious (and a little scared) than ever; a Devil's Handbook? He didn't believe in tales such as the Devil, and especially not when it came to the Devil being inside a small book—why would he be in there, anyway? It didn't seem to make any sense, so Sena pressed on.
"But why—" he was interrupted when the phone rang and blinked as the older man hurriedly said 'leave now, sir', before he walked to the back to pick up the phone. Sena wasn't ready to leave yet and instead opted to stay put and ask him more about this Handbook.
However, as he waited, he eyed the book carefully, getting drawn further and further by it as seconds passed. It wasn't until he was ready to grab the book and make a run for it, that his rational side spoke up. You sure it's such a good idea? it said. It's considered stealing, you know.
Not if I leave the old man some money, the side that was completely and utterly drawn to the Handbook retorted. Besides, it was in the shop, therefore it should be for sale. Just leave him some money and take it now! Before he gets back! Sena doubted for another second or so, but when he heard the old man say goodbye to whoever it was he was speaking with, he hurriedly pulled out some bills from his wallet, threw it on the counter and took the book. He ran for it, not paying heed to the old man who yelled at him to come back, practically begging him to do so.
Sena just kept running and running, until he reached the station and until he was safely inside the train. He looked at the book happily, clutching it to his chest as he tried to catch his breath.
When Sena was back in his room that evening, adrenaline was still pumping through his vanes as he thought about what he had just done. He had practically stole something from an older man. Sure, he had left money, but he didn't know if it was enough, nor did he think the man was really okay with it all.
Still, he seemed pretty upset about it, he mused, flopping into his bed with the Devil's Handbook. He hadn't opened it once since he got it and was slightly afraid; what the shopkeeper had said kept on running through his head, even though he hardly believed in ghost-stories, fairytales, and all other things that were made up for the sole purpose of scaring someone. Sure, it scared him too, but that was just because it was… possible for something like that to happen. But a devil coming out of a book? he snorted; even that was pretty farfetched.
Then again, I am sort of reluctant to open it, he thought to himself, fumbling with the leather book. He gasped when he tore a small piece of it, cursing himself. He let out a frustrated growl as he placed the book on his nightstand. "I'd better hurry up to Mamori-neechan's," he muttered, having the feeling that he was muttering it to the book. He shook his head, told himself he should get a grip and ran out of the room.
He didn't notice it when the skull on the Devil's Handbook began to glow.
"Sena-kun!" Mamori said warmly, letting him in. "Mom and dad aren't here tonight, so we have the whole place to ourselves. Now, I've rented some movies, got some cakes, baked some popcorn—let's get this 'Cheer-up-Sena-because-the-football-players-are-losers-anyway'-party started!" Sena laughed happily, letting himself get dragged inside of the house. Truth be told, he hadn't really thought about the disappointment from earlier that day; his mind had rather been flooded with thoughts of the Devil's Handbook, so there hadn't been no room for sadness.
But he didn't have the heart to tell Mamori that; she always went so out of her way to cheer him up, protect him and anything else a regular big sister would do.
"You look cheerful though, Sena-kun," she said, smiling warmly. Sena blinked at her as she plopped onto the couch next to him, a big bowl of popcorn and some soda in her hands. She placed the items on the coffee-table in front of them and turned on the television and dvd-player. "I'm glad—you're usually such a mess when they don't accept you into the football-team. Did you decide to try and join some other club?" Sena shook his head.
"No, not really," he replied. "But… I think I'm getting better at dealing with it. I should be getting used to it, after all," he continued, grinning a little as he rubbed the back of his head. Mamori was about to say something when the movie began playing and instead just turned to concentrate on it, rather than pushing some answers out of her friend. Sena did the same thing and didn't notice it when there was a loud bang against the door, he never noticed that Mamori perked up a bit, nor when she left the couch to open the frontdoor. He also didn't realise it when she came back with a small, leather book with a skull on it.
It wasn't until she said, "Look Sena, this was lying in front of my door," that he looked up and gasped, grabbing the Devil's Handbook away from her.
"This!" he exclaimed. "I left it at home," he mumbled. Mamori raised an eyebrow.
"That ugly thing is yours?" she asked him. He nodded, not taking his eyes off the book.
"Yeah, but I have no idea how it got here, I left it on my nightstand," he explained. Mamori cocked her head and frowned.
"Well… that's kind of weird. You sure you didn't put it in your pocket and you dropped it or something?"
"I-I'm pretty sure I didn't take it with me," Sena replied, eyeing the skull on the Handbook carefully.
That was the night when Sena really started believing in fairytales and ghost stories.