Chapter 2.

The rest of the week passed smoothly and Ryoma was dreading the week-end for it meant going to the American football match opposing his school and Oujo. He could imagine a dozen of different activities he preferred to spend his free time, eleven of them having to do with tennis, Karupin and sleeping. At noon, Fuji had come to fetch him and they had taken the direction of the football field, Seisen Stadium. They were early and yet the stands were already nearly full. The sheer number of girls was amazing and they could see the television setting up in a corner. They managed to get two seats near the top of the stands.

Soon enough, the Oujo team arrived in a neat fashion. The players were getting on the field in order and silently. The Deimon team was next to take position on their benches. Since the game would not begin until two hours have passed, the players seemed to have a break and eat some before warm-up. The girls were loud and taking photo like crazy of an Oujo's player. Said player was quickly isolated and interviewed by the television.

On the corner of his eyes, Ryoma noticed a group climbing the stairs dressed strangely, in a way that reminded strongly of his father. He was quite puzzled by it and saw Fuji as equally interested in them since you do not really see what looked like high school student wearing monk's robe every day. The group took the seats directly behind them. A journalist and cameraman quickly went up to ask some questions about scouting some playing called Sakuraba. One of them, a boy who had deadlocks answered them positively making some of the others snort or ask who Sakuraba was. The journalist left and they started talking about someone called Shin.

Meanwhile, while Fuji was listening to the conversation taking place behind them, Ryoma was trying to get comfortably enough to nap a bit before the beginning of the match. Trying was the keyword since his companion swiftly nudged him awake, repeatedly. He promptly sent a glare in his direction putting his trademark Fila cap in place.

" Ryoma, did you take a look at Football American's rulebook before coming? It would be best if you could understand how the game was played to enjoy the match better!" Fuji smiled down at him sweetly, his eyes closed hiding whatever intention his words had.

"Senpai, it's American Football. I grew up in America. It's not because I never played nor had any interest in the sport that I don't know the bases." He narrowed suspiciously his eyes at Fuji. He should not have asked especially since he should have been aware of Ryoma's knowing about the rules. Otherwise, he would have organized a "study session" earlier this week for them to come prepared to the match.

"Really?" Fuji opened his eyes and dropped the bomb drawing a book out of his bag. "You wouldn't mind explaining them to me then!"

Ryoma groaned. He should have guessed.

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"Listen up, Bastards!!" Hiruma planted his gun in front of him and spoke to his assembled team. "Today's game has a different feel from the previous one. We're not just going to play Football, this is war!"

The speech did nothing to reassure his teammates. "This means Shin will probably play, right? We should seriously go home." Apparently, the last year's game did make quite the impression on the second years. Sena was surprised and asked Kurita about what happened. Apparently, two of the "helpers" got broken bones during the game. Sena was beginning to be less and less comfortable, especially since Hiruma was still talking.

"Relax, Eyeshield 21 will have the ball, Shin will tackle only him". The players cooled down immediately at the quarterback's word, being glad that the only one who would end up with broken bones will be the running back. However, it spurned said player to make his escape.

As Sena was running away, he couldn't help but hear the conversation that Ishimaru and another teammate were having. The number 45 was saying that it was perfect to take revenge against the Oujou knights and Ishimaru agreed with him, explaining that running away after having made to the second round would be humiliating. Even the other players were expressing their faith towards his persona, Eyeshield 21 the player from Notre Dame. Not able to hear anymore, he started to run, pausing only to send a message to Mamori-neechan, explaining he had gone to buy video tapes.

He had just finished putting on his uniform when he felt Cereberus' jaws closing on his ankle. He was then dragged by the dog back to the bench to face his teammates. He was quickly assaulted by them and their encouragement. "We have been waiting for you. Please show the white knights what we can do!" what was they were saying while asking him to be the sacrifice to Shin's tackles. Kurita ran to him, quietly asking explanations since he had believed him to have run away.

Nervous, Sena brought his hand to his head as if to pass it in his hair. "Well… Everybody became so motivated… It would have been lave for the hero of Notre dame. Even though the true identity of the novice false hero is just an errand boy… I would like to give my best shot." Sena's words obviously touched Kurita and earned him a kick in the back by Hiruma. As the quarterback called for a huddle, Sena was quite surprised to be informed by the center player that no Hiruma wasn't mad at him despite the kick.

And both team huddled before the beginning of the game. Hiruma made the traditional speech. "We didn't come to beat or enemy. We came to slaughtered them. Let's kick …their ass!"

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"The time has come for the kick off. I wonder how many points the Oujou white knights will win by?"

The match was beginning, the player getting on the field. He had spent the last two hours explaining the rules of American Football to his friends or at least had tried to. Fuji had let his hands wandered on his body the entire time and it was a wonder he had yet to steal a kiss. Frankly enough he didn't want to explain how he knew about them. Fuji didn't need to know that when he was younger he had sometimes watched games with his brother and his father.

"Ack, Shin is on the bench! They don't need him since they're playing Deimon but.." One of the boys from the group sitting behind them was filming the game leaning on the staircase ramp exclaimed as if this Shin was an important player. Apparently since it got quite the reaction from the one who had dreadlocks, he expressed that the Shin in question was the only valid reason he had come.

Ryoma turned to look at his companion and saw him looking at the boy who had spoken and another one still sit slightly frowning. He raised an eyebrow at the inquisitive Fuji was sporting and qot a smile in answer.

"It's nothing, just something Seichi told to me last year about some younger boys from the Kanagawa prefecture." Fuji's smile widened at the scowl which appeared on the smaller teen at the mention of Rikkai's tennis captain. Strangely enough, Ryoma had less patience for the other's strange quirks than for his own. Of course, he didn't have Sanada whose jealousy of Yukimura Seichi's lovers was quite famous following his every step which made Ryoma's retaliation easier. The kitten had claw after all.

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Once they got on the field and they saw Oujou's players getting on the fields, Hiruma couldn't but grin. Their chance was here. And so he turned to his latest victim, er-team member. "Eyeshield 21! Everyone in this damn stadium is taking us for fools. They think the white knights will take the win 100-0." He pointed Sena and evilly put another order on the younger boy. "Go knock them of their seats!"

Sena swallowed with difficulty and took his place. As Hiruma was announcing the starting signal, he could feel the spikes on his shoes digging in the soil, gripping the ground. He wanted to try them, to run and the quarterback gave him the opportunity to. He took the ball presented to him and started his course. He was fast but the Oujou's defense players were good and they kept blocking his path. He was quickly intercepted and the ball flew from his hands. A melee ensued and under the pile of players, Kurita had caught the ball before it touched the ground. While the players were getting in place, Hiruma quickly informed Sena of the proper way to hold the ball, hold between fingers and tucked under the armpit.

The team formed a huddle and Hiruma gave his orders to the team, hold the line for half a second to act as shield for the running back. The game resumed and Deimon had possession of the ball. Sena was scared but he had the rest of the team to protect him. He fetched the ball and ran, modifying his course to avoid the opponents and finally got through their defense to mark a touchdown. Scoring elated the team and Sena quickly mentioned to them that it was only because of the team work that he managed this feat. But as Hiruma announced they were going for a try-for-point, he ended up in the corner when his teammates asked him to explain. He franticly searched in his memory for the answer, remembering the name from Mamori-chan's rulebook. He managed to blurt out a half-hearted explanation and since the captain had not corrected him, he must have been right. The quarterback explained his plan as his kicks were horrible and then properly explained to Sena his role in the next play. The faint Hiruma had planned only half worked and Sena had to go out the field to avoid the Oujou player losing the opportunity to score again.

The oujou knights had the ball and so switched between defense and offense. The change in players produced hysteria in the stands as Sakuraba enter the field. After a slight altercation between Kurita and Oujou's Otawara, the Deimon took position in front of the white knights's offence players surprising them with a goal line defense. But the play didn't work in Deimon's favor and Oujou progressively worked their way till only 12 yards remained until the goal line. As their opponents were about to score a touchdown, Hiruma signaled the start of the counter-attack. Sena marked Oujou's receiver and intercepted the ball but it falled from his grip. Thankfully, Hiruma caught it before running in direction of Oujou's goal line. His path was blocked by Oujou but he turned his back on them and threw the ball to Sena who dashed off. As he was getting closer to mark another touchdown he was pushed out of the field. They managed to gain some yards thanks to a faint, forcing the oujou players to believe Sena had the ball while Hiruma ran on the other with it. Their happiness at the turn of events was short-lived when Kurita started to tremble in fright.

Shin, Oujou's linebacker, was entering the field.

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The match had ended with his school's defeat despite them taking the lead in the beginning and he was home, laying on his bed staring at the ceiling. The tide had turned when a new player had entered the field. From the information he had gleaned from the group behind them, this player, Shin, was the White knights' Ace. During all the game, they had unknowingly provided information on American Football, its tactics and the teams to him all game. The analyses provided have been insightful and had left him wondering. Fuji had explained to him his suspicions on the twins who were in the group. He had told him that Yukimura had told him about a supposed genius who was living in his neighborhood and who was half terrorizing it too. The brothers were rumored to attend Shinryuuji a renowned school famous for his American football team, supposedly the best in Kanto. The way he had exposed the faults in the Deimon's plays was an obvious mark of his intelligence and experience of the sport.

Deimon had been utterly dominated by the White knights. From what he knew, the only regular players were the quarterback, the huge defense player and Eyeshield 21 and they were the only with real talent. Even if he was not sure he could call that talent. Still, Eyeshield 21 hd showed promised. On another hand, what he read into Hiruma's hand was much more interesting. The mere deviousness of them was entertaining. Maybe he had found a way to kill his boredom at school.

But before he made his decision he had just needed to know something.

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They had lost, but he had not let that put an end to his plans and things were already in actions. He had the clubhouse renovated with a casino design to help him amass new funds from his "generous" schoolmates. He was in the middle of a new recruitment campaign and had plastered all free space in corridor with the posters the fucking manager had made. The fucking shrimp had found him a new receiver, a fucking monkey name Raimon Tarou. He nearly had to use his blackmail notebook but the monkey had been smitten by the fuckin' manager. He only had to push the boy in the right direction with some words from the "boss" Eyeshield 21.

The fucking fatty, on another hand, was annoying him. He had yet to understand that Musashi was not coming back. But he had to admit he had raised a valid point: they needed a kicker. His own kick had power but no aim and they would always be on disadvantage against other teams.

The TV broadcast of the match against Oujou's White Knight had not had the result expected and they had really attracted new players yet. So he had to take matters in his own hands.

Frankly, he hadn't thought yet to track down the fucking brat and exchange some words with him. But, one evening, he was late leaving, practice long finished and teammates already sent home he found him leaning nonchalantly on the clubhouse next to the door waiting for him. The cat-like golden eyes were fixed on him. Hiruma glared at him, silently prompting him to talk or leave. However, the brat seed completely unaffected and unafraid of him.

Said brat straightened and put himself in front of the older boy. He met his eyes defiantly.

"Why are you playing American Football?"

He had expected a lot but that one, absolutely not. So, to hide his surprise, he smirked evilly and told the truth. "Because it's fun!" The only response his answer got was a tug at the cap and a smirk before the brat turned away and started to walk away, muttering something that sounded like "mada, mada". Hiruma shrugged and went to his occupation. After all, he still had his handbook.

The next day, Echizen Ryoma joined the Deimon Devil Bats' morning practice.

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It was early and Sena had met Monta outside the school's gates and they have walked together to the club house. They talked about what kind of things Hiruma would make them do as training exercises as they changed. When they finally arrived in the field, only Kurita was there working on the dummy. As they didn't want to tempt the devil, they started stretching in fear of what the quarterback would do to them if he were to find them slacking. But they didn't "worry" long since soon said devil arrived with an unknown and surprisingly unrestrained person.

It was a boy, taller than Monta and himself but who had nothing on Hiruma and even less on Kurita. His hair was reaching his shoulders and was so dark that in the morning sun it looked green. His eyes were golden in color and almond-like in shape. He was slouching giving the impression he was too lazy to stand straight, hands stuffed into his pants' pockets and Sena could see that his body, despite its thinness, was well sculpted and muscled. The way he moved showed so much confidence and arrogance that combined with his looks one couldn't help but be reminded of a cat.

Hiruma, on the other hand, was looking particularly gleeful in an horrific way. He was cackling and fingering his riffle, showing his desire to start shooting things, probably his slav- hum teammates. The fact the other was absolutely unfazed by the aura Hiruma was emitting was enough to make them wonder about who he was. Hiruma put a hand on his shoulder and pushed him forward.

"Fucking idiots! This fucking brat is your new teammate!" Hiruma yelled prompting tears to erupt from Kurita. The tall linemen went to hugged him but to their surprised, he was swiftly dodged.

"Echizen-kun!!" Mamori, the club manager, approched him. "I am so glad you decided to join the club! I hope you weren't pressured to!" She glared at Hiruma, ready to accuse him of a numbers of vile acts. The quarterback wasn't fazed at all by her and just blew his chewing-gum and smirk. But if he didn't react to it, the others did.

"You know him Mamori-neechan?" Sena exclaimed, clearly confused.

"Hai!" Mamori answered, smiling. "This is first year, Echizen Ryoma! We met last week, didn't we Echizen-kun?"

Ryoma looked at her with a puzzled face. "Who are you?"

And silence followed, quickly broken by Hiruma's cackles and some shootings.

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A few days later, at a street court, a group of teens from different high schools were meeting.

"Hey what did you say, Fujiko? Ochibi can't come?"

Said Fujiko, mostly known as Fuji Syuusuke, smiled at his former teammate Kikumaru Eiji. "That's right. Ryo-chan joined a school club and thus, have to stay after school. I don't think we'll see him for a while!"

This started a whole chain of exclamations and complaints, the louder coming from Momoshiro Takeshi, Echizen's best friend.

"Ehhh??? I thought his mother forbade him to join the tennis club??"

Fuji, his smiling looking more and more sweet, slowly opened his eyes, sending shivers upon the present tennis players. "That's right! But Ryo-chan didn't join the tennis team but the American Football club!"

"What??"

Yep, Fuji Syuusuke managed once more to raise Hell and Chaos on earth.

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Okay, I am so sorry for the lateness! I had 75% of the chapter done a week after the first one was published. And then I had the ideas but I couldn't put them on paper. After, I had my finals, then had to move back to France (it means a lot of planning, parties and hungover especially after a year abroad). I worked all summer and school started again in September.

I will try to have next chapter up next month or at least before new year but I make no promise.

I warn people, this will be a yaoi story. If I manage to find how, I will put up a vote in my profile for the pairing. But, the final decision is mine.

So, Read and Review please, your comments help!!

Asile