The Devil's Shadow

Author's Note: Normally, I wouldn't start a new story while I have two others going, but the Super Bowl is next weekend and the best football team ever is playing (Go Green Bay!), so I made an exception. The first chapter is a year before the start of the series, but the other chapters will be during the series, with flashbacks throughout it.

Also, I should mention, regular text is Japanese, underlined is English, and italics is a flashback. Just so there's no confusion.

Disclaimer: I claim no ownership to anything but my original character (which isn't really all that original, because I've used her in all of my stories).

Shadow had been facing the back wall of her office, reading files, when the door behind her burst open. She had just started her new job of Club and Sports Team Administrator for Deimon High School and she had loads of files to go through, students to meet with, and requests for clubs and sports teams to approve or deny.

"Can I help you?" She asked, not turning around. Then, there was a sound that she recognized as a gun being cocked.

"We're starting an American Football team," responded a male voice.

"Isn't that my decision to make?" Shadow retorted. She heard whispers, mumbles, and threats from what she guessed were three people, all boys. "Doesn't matter." She said, and the sounds stopped.

"What?" The question was simultaneous from all three.

"Didn't you hear me? I said it doesn't matter." she reached into a file cabinet and pulled out a piece of paper.

While she was doing so, the three boys waiting behind her could see that she had shoulder-length black hair and she was wearing a black long-sleeved shirt, pants, and gloves (basically, they couldn't see any of her skin).

"Do you have a coach?"

"Do we need one?" Came the first voice, in a-very obviously-threatening tone.

"Yes, you do. No coach, no team. No exceptions."

"That rule can be changed." Shadow rolled her eyes.

"Hey, I don't make the rules. Besides, how hard is it to convince someone to be your coach?"

"Can…anyone be a coach?" This was another of the boys, but it was more hesitant than the first.

"If they're an adult, then yes. It should be a teacher, but they don't have to be."

"What about you?" The first boy again.

"What about me?" When she had said the coach could be anyone, she hadn't really thought about herself. She was much too busy to baby-sit a bunch of idiot football-wannabes.

"You'll be our coach." 'Will,' not 'should' or 'could.' He wasn't asking, he was telling.

"Oh? And what makes you think I'd want to be your coach?"

"Because you're American." He spoke in perfect English. Shadow's eyes widened slightly. How had he known that?

She composed herself and stood, slowly turning to face the three. Two of them gasped, clearly not expecting her pale, very much white, skin. The one that wasn't surprised, she assumed he was the one who had made the comment, was blonde and had a large smirk on his face.

"So what if I am American? How do you know if I even like football?" He pointed to the file cabinet behind her. Laying on top of it was a book titled NFL Record and Fact Book.

"Oh, I forgot that was there…" The blonde's smirk just widened and that irritated her enough to tell him something she hadn't meant to tell anyone whom she didn't need to (her employers and that's about it). "I'm not an adult, I'm only 17." That dropped his annoying smirk, but only a little. She would have been pleased at this, had she not been mentally slapping herself.

"What do you mean you're only 17?"

"I was home schooled. I went to college and graduated earlier than most. I came here for the job, that's it. I don't have time to be your coach." She continued reluctantly.

"You don't have to be our coach." Shadow's face must have shown her confusion, because that annoying smirk of his was back full force. "You just need to sign the paper. I'll take care of whipping these idiots into shape." She was silent for a while, thinking this over. Suddenly, she slammed the paper onto the desk and signed it.

"There, happy now?" Before the blonde could say anything, another of the boys-a very large boy-cried out in joy and grabbed her in a back-breaking hug.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you!" Shadow struggled to get out of his hold before the blonde boy kicked him in the back, causing him to drop her. She landed gracefully on her feet, but she rubbed her back in pain. "I'm sorry! Did I hurt you?"

"No, no. I'm fine. I've had worse." She slid the paper towards them and pointed to an empty line. "Since you three are starting the team, you all need to sign it. You'll also need the principle's approval, but that won't be hard to get. That guy's such a push-over."

They all signed the paper, took it, and went to leave. Just as they reached the door, Shadow stopped them.

"Hey, I need to talk to you for a minute." She requested to the blonde, who she now knew to be Yoichi Hiruma. He stayed behind while the others left. "How did you know I was American? We've never met." He smirked again, clearly enjoying the fact that she didn't know, but he decided to tell her anyway.

"The principal was showing you around. You didn't see me, but I saw you."

Earlier that day:

Hiruma was watching the principal show the new Club and Sports Team Administrator the school grounds. He knew this because he had read the file for the job applications. She was the only girl, but she also had the best résumé. She had graduated from Notre Dame University, majoring in Sports Analysis (like what the manager does, studying videos and other sources to understand the plays of the opposing team, but not just in football).

She was looking at the field that he intended to use as the football field, when she made a comment to the principle.

"There are no goal posts."

"Excuse me?" He clearly didn't know what she was referring to. She pointed in the general direction of where the end zone would be.

"You don't have any goal posts. You know, for football."

"We don't have an American football team at this school."

"WHAT! How could you not have a football team? Just my luck that I would pick a school that doesn't have the best sport ever invented! I should have stayed in America!" Hiruma was very amused. He had thought that getting the new administrator to accept a football team would be more difficult. Clearly this was not the case.

"Ah, I see. That would explain some things. Don't worry, I'll make sure we get some goal posts soon." Shadow turned back to her work, signaling that he could go. He didn't seem to get the hint.

"I can take care of that." She looked at him and raised her eyebrow.

"How are you planning on doing that?" He patted his pocket, but didn't say anything. Shadow looked and saw a black book protruding from said pocket, with the word Threats written across the front. "Okay…well, I'll just let you do it then." She, again, turned back to her work and, again, he didn't leave. "Are you planning on standing there all day?"

"I'm just observing. Why, does it bother you?"

"Maybe it does. What's it to you?"

"Oh, nothing." He replied, his smirk turning to an evil grin.

"Yeah…That's nice. Now, if you wouldn't mind, could you…get out? I'm a little busy." He did leave that time and Shadow found that she couldn't focus on her work. All she could think about was the strange events of the day, and it was only her first day on the job. "This should be fun." She couldn't help but think.

A/N: Eh…I don't know if that was a good chapter or not. Oh well, I'm sure it will get better as I go along. As with any story I write, reviews are welcome, but I'm not pushing for them.