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

With a hole as wide as the Grand Canyon blasted open in front of him from Suitokku and Kurita parting Nishi's defensive line, Sena torpedoed down the field at light speed. Toru was down and Daisuke was still being engulfed by the marshmallow mass of Kurita. Sena's running lane was a freeway and the rapid dasher made easy work of the linebackers fielded by the Koi Fish. A quick cut to the left seemed to make their mid-linebacker's ankles snap into a million pieces as number 21 roared past him and the remaining safety help over the middle. All that was left now was about 60 yards of open field and before the awaiting end zone line.

Over the loud speaker the announcer could be heard hollering, "He's at the 50! The 40! The 30! The 20! The 10! No one's going to stop Eyeshield 21 as he blasts into the endzone for the touchdown!" His enthusiastic volume however, was drowned out by the cheers raining down on the field from the crowd. The turf was practically shaking from the sheer sound of Enma's 12th man.

Back at the line of scrimmage Toru was rolling around on the ground clutching at his hand. "Shit shit shit!" his thoughts screamed. He felt the burning pain from his hand and feared the monstrous man he was competing with had broken it. The younger Hamatsu brother was groaning and looking at his murdered mitt and grimaced when he saw his ring and middle fingers were bending in directions they should not be bending in. "Ahhh shit!" he seethed. Yep, his hand was definitely broken. Rolling onto his back Toru stomped his feet into the ground as his brother came charging over.

Daisuke was livid at first when his brother let the rookie leviathan toss him on his ass but now he was nothing but worried and concerned. "Toru! He shouted as he took off his helmet and knelt down beside his injured sibling. "What happened?" he exclaimed anxiously before noticing the mangled digits of his brother's hand. "Shit!" he cursed as well. He snapped his head back in the direction of Suitokku and growled angrily. That mother fucker broke his younger brother's hand! He would pay dearly for that!

Suitokku stood nearby and held a grim expression as he stared at the scene before him. He hadn't intended to crush Toru's hand, it was entirely an accident. The maritime giant shifted his gaze to the end zone where Sena and the others were celebrating the opening score of the game. His success had literally paved the way for their own team, but it may have shortened another player's career. The stoic teen felt a pit swelling in his stomach and a bile-like bitter taste bubbling in the back of his throat. He had to wonder, was it worth it?

As the medical staff for Nishi quickly made their way over to the ailing lineman Dante approached Suitokku and shoved his shoulder firmly enough to be felt, but not enough to be rough. "Shit happens Orca. It's a dangerous sport… we all risk that happening. Do NOT let it get to you. If you sink, we sink. Don't disappear on us because of an accident. Bones heal. He'll be back… and when he does I guarantee he won't be intimidated by it. In fact I'd be willing to be if he'd have done the same to you he'd be no worse for wear about it." The hairy American watched as they got Toru to his feet and helped him off the field to be treated. He shoved the Okinowan ogre once more and said, "C'mon let's get ready for the p-a-t."

Suitokku's steely gaze lingered on Toru Hamatsu for a moment longer and he nodded silently before turning to follow after the bestial linebacker. "Shit happens…" he muttered under his breath. He'd have to take his friends word at face value for now. After all, how many bones had he and his brothers broken on the boat only to tape it up and keep working or to come back the next week and just tough it out? The blonde behemoth shook his shoulders and dislodged the distaste from his mind before going to join the rest of his teammates to line up for the point after kick.

Kotaro lined up behind the line as Unsui knelt down to receive the ball. Kurita expertly hiked it to the former Naga and Unsui lined it up just the way their slick kicker liked it. The suave haired kicker connected with the pigskin on the tip of his toe and let it fly through the up rights. The score was now a comfortable 7 to 0 in favor of the home team.

On the sidelines Suzuna went from an emotional high at watching Sena score the opening touchdown of the game to an emotional low when she realized an opposing player had gotten hurt. Luckily for her she was nowhere near close enough to see Toru's mangle fingers and could only assume he must not have been hurt that bad as he was able to walk off under his own power. That being said it was never easy to see a player get hurt. She knew full well how much time and effort these guys sacrificed to be able to play at a high level. To get injured and have all that effort both literally and figuratively get sidelined was tragic to say the least. Hopefully he would be able to return. She shifted her azure gaze back to the field now as the Ligers lined up to kick off to the Koi Fish.

Once again the accurate kicker with the slick brown hair worked his magic and sent the oblong pigskin hurdling to the corner hash marker right before the opponent's goal line. Nishi's kick returner struggled to get to the corner in time and muffed the kick. The tumbling football bounced out of bounds but because one of the Koi Fish touched it first there was no penalty to the Ligers. But that still left the poor koi to flounder about at the 2 yard line for their starting field positon. Considering that Hanada had already been sacked twice for their first and only two offensive plays, this didn't spell fair tidings for the quarterback who was now down a talented lineman.

As the Enma defense came to the huddle Dante looked directly at Suitokku and Mizumachi respectively. A demonical grin spread on his bearded face and he chittered, "Time to eat some koi-terback!"

Riku groaned and shook his head. "That pun was so bad it gave me cancer…" he grumbled in response to Dante's awful pun.

Dante quickly snipped, "Shaddup you!" He then looked back to the pair of titanic linemen and continued, "Toru's out for the count so both of you turn on the heat. Melt them to their bones and get after Hanada! If we don't get a safety here then it's your ass in practice!"

Mizumachi made an emphatic salute shouting, "YES CAPTAIN!" and hurried to take his position on the line whilst the rest of Enma's stout defense did the same.

Suitokku settled into the three point stance on the side of Kurita opposite of Mizumachi. The former Poseidon was playing what was known as the left defensive end. As always Kurita blocked up the middle of the defensive line with his bulk along with Chuubou at his side. And on the right end was the orca himself. Dante had said his speed gave him the edge over the other linemen on defense and thus he was positioned where he could most effectively rush the passer.

Hanada was as nervous as a rat at an exterminator convention. Now that Toru was out of the game, Enma's front four looked twice as big, and they were already humongous! Even with Daisuke blocking Kurita, which wasn't a guarantee either, there was still Mizumachi, this Chuubou kid, and that freak of nature that had crippled Toru. His heart was beating so loudly in his chest it was all he could hear at the moment. If the Nishi quarterback didn't quiet it soon, the mountain of men before him would bring down an avalanche to silence it for him.

There was no way in hell they'd be able to run on this front seven at all. Behind this mountainous line there were two terrifying gate keepers in Dante and Kakei. Both of them were all pro linebackers in their own right. Unsui was perhaps the only weak link in that front seven and the corners were either quick footed or had arguably the best catching hands in the game. That left Hanada's options few and far between. Unsui or their fill in at cornerback, it had to be one of them.

If the Nishi's "koi-terback" was thinking this was his only hope, then it was pretty obvious that Enma's defensive captain Dante was already aware of this. He had cautioned his side of the ball of this very reality well in advance and they had game planned for such a scenario. Sure there were times that playing it safe and covering your weaknesses was beneficial. But then there were times when one must attack its prey relentlessly. And with only 2 yards between the line of scrimmage and the Nishi end zone, it was time to be merciless.

Hanada had planned for a short curl pass to the receiver that was on the fill in player for Enma. He hoped he would have the second and a half he needed to do so. When the ball was hiked he immediately looked towards his targeted receiver to his dismay it appeared the rent a corner had him sufficiently covered. The sound of footsteps was getting louder to match his panicky heart. Monta and Sena had their receivers blanketed and Riku was helping over the top in coverage. The tight ends had stayed in to block to try and avoid a safety. Again the footsteps grew louder. He could feel the bodies getting closer. He had to move.

Hanada took off to the right just as Mizumachi leapt to make the tackle. The gangly former Poseidon managed to get a hand on Hanada's jersey but the stout little quarterback managed to tear free of the grip. Mizumachi landed on the turf and was quick to push himself back up to pursue.

More footsteps haunted his hearing. At this point the Nishi quarterback was looking to just get rid of the ball and avoid a safety. But to do so he had to get out of the pocket. He had already managed to get away from one defender to try and achieve his goal but as he continued to dash right the looming shadow of a colossus blocked his view.

Suitokku had tossed the Nishi tackle aside like a rag doll and was barreling in for the sack. His monolithic form devoured any escape routes Hanada had once fleetingly dreamt of. Hanada panicked and quickly moved to toss the ball well out of bounds in the direction of his closest receiver. Cocking back his arm he fired away and over the leviathan's head. At least that was the plan anyway.

The maritime monster watched the puny quarterback ready the throw and subconsciously put his hands upwards in the air out of pure reflex. Just as the ball was about to pass over his head, that massive bear paw caught a piece of it and sent the ball hurdling upwards into the air.

"TIP!" Dante roared across the defense as the ball sailed dangerously through the air towards the secondary. He himself was a bit too far from the ball to react fast enough for the interception. However it seemed the gods were not smiling on the Koi Fish in the slightest that day. The ball had been tipped in the direction of number 80.

In the stands the girl with the mint green hair held her breath as she watched the football tumble timelessly through the air for an eternity. Her luminescent verdant eyes traced the ball's trajectory and her hands, in a likewise fashion drew closer to her mouth as her breath was sucked out of her. "Monta!" she whispered hopefully as her simian Casanova reacted to the shout of the furry foreigner. Shidao watched with bated breath as Monta turned towards the ball and leapt upwards in the air with hands outstretched. A smile erupted on her usually shy face as his powerful hands wretched the ball from the sky and came down with it. That smile grew wider and she even jumped up with an exuberant cheer as the apish athlete carried that very ball into the end zone a few steps later for a pick six. Her excitement over came her withdrawn personality and she celebrated with the rest of the home crowd as Monta displayed his patented touchdown pose.

Nearby in the stands jealous eyes watched Shidao's reaction. Never in a million years had he seen her openly cheer or become that excited about anything he did to try to impress her. Kohando leered down at the puny receiver and seethed. "What's so special about that?" he muttered bitterly. The handsome gymnast glowered down at the apish buffoon and added, "Anyone could have done that… hell I could have done that…"

Kohando continued to simmer in anger while staring daggers at the wide receiver while he celebrated his score with his teammates before Enma's field goal unit lined up for the extra point. What on earth was it that she saw in that simian simpleton that made him more valuable than he? The sleek haired pretty boy let his gaze slip back to Shidao and he narrowed his gaze in jealousy. She was positively over the moon about this simple catch and dive past the goal line. He peered back towards Taro Raimon and muttered, "We'll see who can sway Ms. Shidao's affections you moronic monkey." With that he settled back into his seat to stew in his own thoughts.

Back down on the field Kurita and the other lineman were busy giving Suitokku a hefty slap on the back for his efforts in tipping the ball. The senior lineman of the group bounced up and down with his usual enthusiasm and bubbled, "Suitokku! That was fantastic! You've helped get us two turnovers already today!"

The maritime giant waved it off awkwardly, "Thanks Kurita… I just… reacted I dunno…" He wasn't used to so much praise about anything really. His brothers and father were always hard on them on the boat regardless of who was on the receiving end. But a heavy swat on the back of the head quickly reminded him of that feeling.

Dante guffawed, "Listen to Crème Puff talking you all up like that! HAHAHA! You got a ways to go Orca! A safety is what we wanted dammit! Then we'd have gotten two points and possession afterwards instead of just seven!" It was easy to tell that the American was not joking as his jovial laugh when he started speaking had turned into an animalistic screech towards the end.

Suitokku was quick to snap back, "What's the big deal! Points are points right? No matter how we get them!" He was starting to think Dante would never praise him for anything positive that he did. What did he have to do to get and 'atta boy' from the American?

Dante crossed his arms and replied evenly, "Sure maybe against these scrubs but against a team like Saikyoudai we're going to have to scrape for every little bonus point we can get. Why should we try any different against a team who's weaker." He pointed to Suitokku and then let his finger arc to each and every team member before warning, "ANY GIVEN SUNDAY!"

The team seemed to be have gotten his message initially but the last warning put a beleaguered expression on their collective faces. "What...?" they all asked in unison.

The fiery foreigner face palmed and tugged at his beard in disbelief. "Twinkle Toes." He paused having to shake his head and pinch the bridge of his nose before finishing, "Explain to your confused countrymen what the hell that means." Again he paused before emphasizing, "In a way even an idiot would understand."

Sena flatly replied with a stammer, "Anyone can lose to anyone, any day…" His teammates frowned and then turned their ire on Dante.

Bristling with annoyance the American barked, "Never under estimate an opponent is what I'm trying to say! JEESH! Score the most points you can when you can! FUCK ME! Come on guys!"

Unsui stepped in at that point and flexed his authority as the quarterback stating, "Relax… we're ahead 14 to 0 and it's only been 4 minutes. Let's keep attacking and doing what we do best. Worry about the opponent in front of us and not get greedy…" he focused his stare on Dante at that moment, to which the foreigner huffed and crossed his arms, before continuing, "One play at a time." He put his hand out and waited for the team to follow suit. After all it must have looked pretty bad to the other team to see them arguing after having just taken a solid two possession lead.

Suitokku was the first to place his hand on the pile and he stared doggedly at Dante as he did so. Whether or not he was trying to make a silent statement was lost on the others, but the rowdy redhead grumbled and slammed his hand on top of the Okinowan's. His fiery gaze warned of later punishment but Suitokku returned the steely gaze with one of his own. The rest of the team followed suit placing their hands in the middle and Unsui loudly proclaimed, "We are the ligers!"

The rest of his team turned up the volume and shouted at the top of their lungs, "Fear our roar!" On the Nishi sidelines Hanada and the other Koi Fish did just that.