Disclaimer: If I owned Eyeshield 21, my version of 'tackle' would be very different.

Sena rubbed the back of his neck lightly as he watched Shin run by. His body's memory of Shin's brutal tackles were forever lodged into his subconscious, and even if Sena had wanted to keep certain restrictions on his body, this one could never be denied. He pinched the skin tightly and tried to rub the muscles underneath loose, not really understanding how a simple memory was so stressful on his body.

It had hurt more than he'd remembered. Sena had been dragged, shoved and shot at more times than he could count since beginning American football, but he never really remembered just how painful Shin was when he went down for a straight tackle.

Sena's back felt like it'd been beaten with a hammer, a human sized hammer that was still crushing him beneath one and a half times his weight. He was stuck, pinned like a butterfly between the fingers of a giant, and the worst part?

He hadn't even seen it coming.

Shin jogged by calmly, or calmly for his standards. He whipped by yippy dogs and their owners, old couples taking in the fresh breeze, and giggling girls whose skirts flew up dramatically at the rush of wind following after Shin.

Sena smiled as Shin passed on, not hearing the barking, the chatter, or the indignant 'kya~!'s coming from the ladies.

Shin was, as ever, in his own world.

"Shin-san!" Sena called out, waving his arm back and forth. It was ignored. Sena let out a sigh and gripped his bag. He was sore from today's practice, but he'd always found that Shin let off a good vibe, always causing Sena to want to get up and practice again. Besides, they were headed in the same direction, and Sena could use the company, as Monta was already home and Mamori-nee was off shopping for the latest Swiffer model.

Sena took off at a high speed, feeling the rush of the wind go by and the adrenaline course through his veins. His legs tightened and he knew he'd feel the burn tonight, but it was okay, because the ice always felt so good on his legs.

"Shin-san!" a slight cock of Shin's head turned and Sena bounced in his step to catch up. He jogged alongside the other boy, satisfied that Shin appeared to slow down for the smallest second, before immediately returning up to his normal speed.

"Kobayakawa Sena." he stated, announcing his presence. It was so like Shin to say his name like it was a challenge in itself.

"I'll see you at the Finals."

It had always been said, it had always been reached for. Shin was the boy Sena had worked so hard for, the one that he'd nearly killed himself for trying to become better and better, but something had gone wrong.

Why was he still so far ahead? Why was he still unreachable?

It didn't make sense, it should have been equal now. They'd both worked hard, they'd both spent nights dreaming of it, so why couldn't it be so?

Why could Sena just never seem to match up to Shin?

"H-hey! I was on my way home," Sena bounced some more, getting the blood to flow better and for his flexibility to come back. Shin said nothing in reply, and Sena felt his cheeks turn red and his confidence level take an emminent dive. "I-I mean, if you would rather run alone or something I can respect that after all I am kind of intruding on your training schedule in fact think I have somewhere to be right now so I'll just go ahead and take off in this opposite dir--" Sena's reflex reaction was to immediately apologize for any possible inconvenience, and he would have continued into the downward spiral until he wound up on his knees begging to be given mercy if he hadn't been interrupted.

"Kobayakawa Sena."

"Y-yes?" Sena tried to convince himself it was the excess running that made his voice sound so high pitched.

He received no answer. Sena watched the rhythm of the boy beside him, up and down like a powerful horse, driven to a spot that it could not be deterred from. Sena could nearly see the muscles beneath his pullover stretching and accommodating to Shin's activity, and he found himself gulping dry saliva.

Sena gathered up his nearly lost courage. "Sh-Shin-san?" he asked.

Shin looked in his direction quickly and then flickered instantly back to the ground.

Dirt splashed upon his helmet and Sena's eyes grew wide with horror. Could it be possible? He'd thought for maybe a second it was a fluke, it couldn't be, it couldn't be, but it was so. Shin Seijuro had surpassed him, even in the speed of light.

How?

Rain fell down on his eyeshield and the mud rain down slowly, covering his eyes as though he didn't need them anymore. It was a silent grave in the making. The beating rain served as a continuous rhythm not unlike a gravedigger humming through a field of death.

It would be their ruin. It would be their loss.

Sena tried to look through the shield into the sky, but all he saw was dirt.

Sena's legs slowed to a halt, already knowing that the third house in the right was the place called home and was to be their haven.

"Would..." Sena gulped again, seeing Shin stop and gaze at him intensely from the corner of his eye. He stood firmly, chest heaving from the run and breath showing up clearly in the cold. Huge billows of breath made their way to Sena's short rapid ones, and he realized they were standing awfully close, closer than most rivals usually would. He could read every movement of Shin's at this point, and the pin at his neck pricked again, remembering the trident tackle that had taken him down numerous times, that had nearly defeated him.

The look in Shin's eyes had been more than he could bear. He looked down on him, as though he'd once held gold that'd turned to dust.

'Is this it?' he seemed to say.

Sena could hardly breathe.

After all he'd gone through, all of the training, the pushing, the emotions, this was how it would end. The last thing he would ever get from this person, Shin, would be disappointment.

Why did it hurt so bad?

Sena smiled. "Would you like some tea?"

The rain had cleared up and Sena wiped off the grime from his face in between getting kicked in the ass by numerous teammates. His smile couldn't fade, but neither could his firm expression.

He'd won.

He looked out across the field at Shin, who stood there, unmoving. It was only a moment, but something flashed in Shin's eyes. Sena could never explain it, and so never bothered mentioning to anyone, but something was felt there, out on that field, one of incredible losses and one of incredible gains.

It took one look, and Sena remembered why he'd pushed himself so hard.

Shin's breath evened out, and he took a small step to the side, neither forward and neither backward. He hesitated for a moment, and it made Sena hopeful.

"Koba--"

"Sena."

Shin paused. "...Sena." he looked straight into his eyes with no-nonsense business. it almost made Sena want to giggle, as it made him giddy and nervous to be in the presence of someone so held together, but the situation shut him up cleanly. Shin turned a bit more. "I would like to know your exact training methods."

Sena smiled wide and his shoulders shook a bit from his released giggle. All his nervousness and tension ceased, and he was left only feeling happy, and more refreshed than he'd ever be able to explain.

"I'll put out some food then too, it'll take a while to explain Hiruma-san's...methods." Sena giggled again and opened his home gate.

"Do they contain Vitamin b16? In fourteen minutes I need to intake a significant amount of protein as well as some amino acids."

Sena paused, smile falling and a thoughtful expression taking over.

He shrugged. "Idunno?"

Shin followed him to the gate. "Perhaps I can replace them with sucrose, of the minimal kind." he turned. "Just this once."

Sena shrugged again--he didn't know chemistry on any level--and led the way. They walked to the door steadily, and Sena couldn't help but smile.

Their steps were exactly in sync, and the sun had just peaked behind the clouds. Sena didn't know much about signs, but he did know this: Shin and Sena were much more than just rivals.

A/N: Wow, that was incredibly lame.

Geh, so here's the deal. I'm doing a five-themed fic here, each one featuring a different pairing (with Sena, likenoduh). The last chapter, number six, will be the 'real' pairing fic, where you the readers (well, reviewers) get to decide which pairing with Sena you liked the best that I've done here, and the sixth chapter will feature that couple represented. Make sense? :D

But really, if you guys have anything you want to see, let me know. By this I don't mean, "Musashi in a dress!" I mean, "Maybe something with a theme of blah blah," or "I'd like to see Sena's vulnerability/strength come out". Along these lines please.

Also, next pairings I am doing:

SenaxAkaba

SenaxKakei

SenaxHiruma

SenaxYamato

I hope you enjoy them. :)