The American team was going to land in Japan in just a few days. There was an interview with their coach, Mr. Apollo, on tv that you and the others watched in the clubroom. From the look on that guy's face, you could tell he was a jackass.
"Look at him petting his cat, smoking a cigar 'n shit!" you pointed. "Dude wants to be a cartoon villain!"
"Ssssh." Mamori shushed.
You groaned and leaned back in your chair.
"What are we looking forward to the most?" he said. "Why sushi, tempura and miso soup! I also hope to climb Mt. Fuji. Who do I think will win? Come on, I'm a formal NFL player!" he laughed. "You can tell these Devil Bats that if by some miraculous fluke we lose, I'll perform 'dogeza' for them!"
You clenched your fists and ground your teeth. Sensing a dark energy emanating from you, those who sat near you quickly but discreetly moved their chairs away. Monta wasn't happy either.
"He's making fools of us!"

"He'd better watch the dogeza talk, or we WILL have him down on his knees." Hiruma smirked.
"We'll have this bond villain motherfucker lick our shoes clean!" you hit the table.
"This guy's a garbage coach. He's using Panther as a ball boy."
"Panther?" you and Sena looked back at him.
He pointed back at the screen. You both turned around and gasped when you saw a tall dude running across the screen so fast the camera couldn't follow him. He was previously picking up footballs and putting them in a basket while the team was practicing. When a ball was too high to catch, he ran from all the way across the field to catch it.
'Touchdown!' you thought.
"That's the BALL BOY?!" you asked.
"He steps so lightly!" Kurita said in awe.
"Panther, the man with zero-gravity legs." Hiruma smiled.
"I've never seen anyone run like that." you heard Sena whisper to himself. "I want to compete with him...on the field."
You could tell seeing Panther has lit a fire in him. But you never understood how that could feel, nor could you picture yourself to feel anything like he was feeling right now.

"If he's a ball boy, the chances of him coming here are low, right?" you asked Hiruma.
"Right." he smirked. "And as long as he doesn't play, we're guaranteed to win."
"Oh. Cool."
For some reason, this didn't feel right to you. After the interview was over, you and the team went out to practice.
"Our 'Alien Autopsy' plan is all about the blitz!" Hiruma announced. "It's an aggressive defense style. The Aliens' strongest weapon is their long bomb. To stop it, we need everyone to abandon their usual positions and rush their quarterback! That's a blitz."
"So it's basically us tackling him before he passes?" Kurita asked.
"Doesn't that leave the back field wide open?" Monta tilted his head.
"We should leave a few behind just in case, right?"
As a response, Hiruma took out a flamethrower and began to fire it in the air, making everyone but you freak out.

"It's all or nothing! Kill or be killed! Kekekeke! Starting today, everyone's doing tackling practice! That goes for you too, Impie!"
"Why?" you raised an eyebrow.
"You're focusing on strength right now, don't you? Get to it!"
There were mannequins in the colors of the Aliens team and the Devil Bats got to training. Everyone was really putting a hundred percent into it. Sena straight up broke one!
"Woah!" you let out.
"Aaah!" he panicked and quickly stood up. "I'm sorry I'm sorry!"
"Don't worry about it." Hiruma said, not even looking at him. "I'll just make the principal buy us new ones!"
While everybody quickly went back to practice, you stood there baffled. The first time you saw Sena, you wouldn't even consider the idea that we played American football. Now he broke a mannequin and was about to play an international game. And it wasn't just his skills that improved. You saw it in his eyes. He was determined and focused.
'He got a whole lot stronger...' you thought.
You looked at the mannequin you've been practicing on, then at yourself. You realized how tired you were and just stood there, panting. You began to check your arms, your legs, the way your clothes fitted your body.

"Huh? (L/n)-chan?" Kurita turned to you.
"What are you doing?" Monta raised an eyebrow.
"I don't look any different." you said.
"Huh?"
"You'd think that after months of hardcore training. It'd pay off."
You didn't show it, but your teammates could tell by your voice. You were bummed out.
"(L/n)-chan..."
"Heads up." you heard Hiruma say.
"Huh- WOAH!" you turned around just to see a dumbbell being thrown at you.
You tried to back away but in the end you had to catch it. It took the air out of your stomach but it was a successful catch.
'So heavy!'

"The fuck is your problem?!" you glared. "I'll shove that thing into your-!"
"Just because you can't see results, doesn't mean they're not there." he pointed at the dumbell.
You looked at it. Your eyes widened. Five kilograms on each side. Ten kilograms overall.
You recalled the first time Hiruma threw a dumbell at you, at the time it felt just as heavy. Surely, back then, if he had thrown ten kilos instead, you wouldn't have been able to even lift it off the ground. You DID make progress. You DID get stronger.
You looked back at him with big glassy eyes and your mouth agape. He smiled with a 'heh'. And for a split second, it looked genuine. He turned around soon after though.
"Now stop slacking off, you'll break momentum."
You sniffed.

"(L-L/n)!" Sena exclaimed. "You're-"
"Shshshsssh!" Monta covered his mouth. "She'll kill us if we tell her!"
They didn't have to. You were fighting for dear life to not let those tears leave your eyes. One of your eyes was even twitching.
"Damn." you said under your breath before wiping away your tears. "A'ight, back to work."
As you passed by the boys, you tossed the dumbbell towards Sena. He failed to catch it and it almost landed on his foot. He was now shaking like a leaf.
"Reflexes dude, come on now." you gave him a disappointed look. "You're supposed to be fast."
You actually felt bad for him, but after letting them see you cry, you figured that was enough open vulnerability, for the rest of the week at least.

When the American team landed in Japan, it was announced that they would play a friendly match against another team. Obviously you and the rest of the Devil Bats had to go check it out.
"I can't believe the Aliens are playing so soon after landing," Mamori said. "and against a college team!"
"They're showoffs." you shook your head.
"There's nothing to freak out about." Hiruma said, leaning back with his hands behind his head. "American or not, they're highschoolers just like us."
On the side of the field was also a whole alley of food stands that were being filled up with food. Kurita and Komosubi were sad to hear this wasn't for the public. You did grow curious though. You watched as the editor-in-chief of American Football Monthly ordered people around, saying that it must be perfect for when the Americans arrive.
"Why don't you just lay down outside of their door while you're at it?" you said under your breath, your arms folded.
Hiruma heard that and snickered.

Soon after, the American team came in, with coach Apollo leading the way.
"You said they were just highschoolers," you glanced back at Hiruma who was sitting behind you. "but these guys are taller than their adult coach!"
"They're so big!" Mamori exclaimed.
"You're sure they're in highschool?" Monta asked.
Your eyes widened and you grabbed Sena by the collar, pulling him closer without even looking at him.
"EEEEK I'M SORRY!" he immediately apologized and protected his head.
"Sena." Yukimitsu whispered to him. "I learned that (L/n) does that when she's excited to show you something."
"Huh?"
He opened his eyes to look at you. Instead of threatening to punch him, you were pointing down at the field. He followed your line of sight and gasped.
"It's Panther!"

"Does that mean he's playing?" you asked no one in particular.
The poor guy was carrying everyone's bags. You felt bad for him.
'Don't they have more than one person to do that?!'
"Panther! Get your head out of the clouds!" the coach glared at him. "Now drop the bags already!"
'What's his problem?' you frowned.
The editor-in-chief came up to Apollo and welcomed him. He raised a hand for him to shake, which he didn't. The editor then led him and the team to the food stands.

"Everyone!" the coach told his team. "Eat your fill before the game!"
The team rejoiced. But the coach then went up to Panther, who soon looked bummed out. While everyone was eating Japanese food like pigs-
"They're acting like a bunch of tourists!" Monta exclaimed, a bit baffled and annoyed.
"Fuckin' tourists." you said under your breath, clicking your tongue.
-Panther was over by the equipment, polishing footballs and preparing everyone's equipment. He wasn't allowed to eat...

You turned towards Hiruma. Your eyes met and a moment passed. He knew what you were about to ask.
"Is that coach racist?"
The rest of the team looked shocked, as if the thought didn't even cross their mind.
"What?!" you shrugged. "Dude's being an asshole to the only guy of color on the team! I gotta ask!"
"We can't be assuming such a thing. There must be a reason..." Mamori said, her eyebrows furrowed. "Although, either way, the way he's being treated is unfair."
"Unfair's an understatement." you huffed.
"Looks like Apollo still doesn't plan to have Panther play." Hiruma smiled.
"Oh THAT'S what you're focusing on!" you looked back at him and couldn't help but laugh. "I should've expected that."
"Kekekeke!"
You then watched as two Aliens players went up to Panther and offered him some food. The three of them sat down and ate together. It warmed your heart to see that the other players weren't jerks to him.

"Hillary!!!" you heard coach Apollo shout.
It would seem that his cat ran off, making him spill miso soup all over his expensive suit.
"Nice." you whispered with a smirk.
Your smile quickly fell when he turned toward Panther, who was just chatting and having fun with his friends, and started yelling at him. His two teammates tried to calm their coach down, but he shut them up. He then took Panther's cool headband from him and started to use it to clean his shoes. You gasped, shocked at the nerve of this man. This must've crossed a line for Panther, for he raised a fist towards Apollo while he wasn't looking.
"Kick his ass Panther!!!" you shouted.
Before he could, his friend with the long hair punched him, making him fall on the ground. You gasped again and grabbed Sena's shirt out of instinct. Thankfully this time, Sena was also too enthralled by what was happening to be scared.

"What the hell?!" you said. "Why did he stop him?!"
"He had to." Sena said. "Panther would've been kicked off the team if he hit the coach."
Your eyes widened in a moment of realization.
'Playing must be very important to him...'
"NO!!!" you both flinched at the coach's voice. "Hillary is gone! Everybody search for her now!"
He was talking to the rest of his team, who looked defeated. The match was going to start anytime soon too. Just then, Panther stepped up to him and made him an offer. If he found Hillary and brought her back safely, he'd be allowed to attend the game against the Devil Bats. The coach begrudgingly agreed and Panther quickly left. Without a word, and probably without thinking, Sena stood up and left.
"Huh? Sena?" Mamori called out to him.
"Sorry, I have to go." he said.
You watched him leave for a moment. You stood up to do the same but then realized that Hiruma had his foot on your skirt, preventing you from standing up all the way.
"Hey!" you glared at him. "Let go!"
"Trust me, Cherry. You're gonna want to stay."

You groaned, blushing harder at the nickname, and sat down with a huff. A little while later came the other team, the Zokugaku Frilled Lizards, led by Tokage Habashira.
"Rui has an older brother?" you blinked twice, surprised. "Let's hope he's better than him."
"Kekekeke!" Hiruma snickered.
"Today's international goodwill game, the NASA Aliens vs. the Zokugaku Frilled Lizards is about to begin." the commentator announced.
"Here we go." Kurita said, leaning forward.
"I can't wait to see this." Yukimitsu smiled. "How will a Japanese college team fare against a top American highschool team?"
"I bet they'll get blown out!" Monta snickered.
"Which one?" you asked.
"That's what I'm thinking." Hiruma said, shocking Monta.
"Woah! Seriously?!"
"Again, which one?!" you frowned.

The game started. The Aliens' quarterback threw a ball with such power and speed that it went aaaall the way to the goal line, and their receiver would successfully catch it every single time, without even looking back.
"What the heck was that?!" Monta exclaimed.
"The Shuttle pass." Hiruma said. "That's why we gotta flatten him before he throws."
"You really think we can do it?" Kurita asked, worried.
"If we can't, we'll never win."
"Surely a big guy like him can't be that fast." you said.
"Sure, but if you can't tackle him, your speed is useless."
You just hummed, thinking back to the time Sena literally broke a mannequin in half.
"I think we'll be fine."

In the end, the score was 73 to a flat 0. You covered your mouth. That was a brutal, crushing defeat. Rui's brother kept kicking the ground and shouting in rage.
"They're the real deal." Monta said, baffled.
"That's nothing compared to what it'd be like with Panther." Hiruma said, getting everyone's attention.
"They'd be even stronger?" Kurita asked.
"We're gonna face the ultimate team, and win!" he smiled.
"Can we really beat them?" the boys gathered around him, clearly worried.
Hiruma clicked his tongue and took out two guns, firing them in the air.
"The game's been scheduled and we WILL win!!!"
'I don't know if I want Panther to play anymore...' you pursed your lips.

"Sena still hasn't come back." Mamori quickly stood up. "I'm going to go look for him."
"He's probably with Panther." you said.
"Huh?"
"Apollo said that if Panther found his cat, he'd let him play."
"Oh! How sweet of him!" she smiled, but got worried again. "But then... They could be anywhere."
"They stopped at Dragon Freight." Hiruma nonchalantly said while on his phone.
"The truck shipping company?" you frowned.
"That's so far away!"
"They've then been directed to the nearby zoo. The cat's there."
He seemed to be reading from a text. You tried to catch a peek on who he got this info from, or if he put a tracker on Sena again. But he quickly turned off his phone and put it in his pocket.

"I'll go!" Mamori started to leave in a hurry.
"We'll go with you!" Kurita, Monta and the others said.
They started to leave, you were going to follow them, but Hiruma stopped you once again.
"Hey!" you glared at him.
'Seriously, he's built like a stick! How come he's strong enough to stop me?!'
"I told you, you're gonna wanna stay."
You groaned and sat back down, next to him this time, and you put your whole weight into it to push him.
"What?" you pressed, looking into his eyes.
He just stares at you for a moment, his face neutral. You gave him a weird look. His neutral face was weird as hell, you thought.
It would seem you didn't realize how close the two of you were.

"What?!" you repeated, louder this time.
"Come on." he stood up, almost making you fall since you were leaning on him. "We got a job to do."
"This better be good." you huffed, following him.
"Aaaaww!" he smirked. "Would you rather join your lil friends? Hold hands and sing songs?"
"Man shut the fuck up!" you glared at him and he snickered.
Before leaving, you both passed by the field. You noticed that the NASA Alien players were ready to leave, yet they kept looking around. It would seem that coach Apollo left without them. Or maybe, they told him to go on without them...
"Hold on." you told Hiruma.
You didn't give him time to ask what you were planning. He watched as you went up to the players.

"Hey!" you called out, catching their attention. "You're looking for Panther, right?"
"Huh?" the one who previously punched the guy blinked twice. "Who are you...?"
"Anyone got a map, somewhere?" you looked at each of them.
"Oh! I do!" the one with the glasses, their receiver, said.
He took out a map of the town and handed it to you. You scanned it for a moment before pointing to a certain location.
"He's right there, at that zoo."
"H-How do you know that?"
"And why are you helping us?" the other dude asked, suspicious.

"We have a common enemy." you said with a grave voice.
"The... The Devil Bats?"
"No! I'M from the Devil Bats!" you pointed at yourself.
"You are?!"
"I'm talking about your asshat of a coach with the shit-eating grin!"
The players looked at each-other and laughed.
"What?" you frowned, ready to verbally beat their ass.
"Panther never considered the coach an enemy." the dude in glasses said.
"If anything, WE get mad for him!" the guy with long hair added.
You blinked twice, confused.

"He actually blames himself for the coach's treatment..."
"What? Why-"
"Impie!!!" Hiruma called out. "Hurry up! You'll make us miss our window!"
"Just a second!!!" you shouted louder before turning back to the Alien players. "Go now. And make sure he brings back this fuckin cat! I want to see that coach swallow his god damn words once Panther plays on the field!"
You started walking away but quickly turned around.
"We WILL win though!" you pointed. "Don't get any ideas now!"
The guys laughed, even Hiruma chuckled in his corner.
"Nice, Impie." he said once you joined him. "Starting the game before it even begins."
"Huh?"
"Guess I won't punish you after all for making us almost late." he started walking away, with you walking beside him.
"About that, what's that with the time window?"
"You'll see."
You rolled your eyes.

Hiruma led you to some sort of mechanical workshop.
"Ah! Hiruma!" the owner smiled when you two walked in.
"You got what I asked for, old man?" Hiruma smiled and went up to the counter.
It was very strange to see someone – ANYONE really – being on good terms with him. While they were talking, you stayed in your corner and kept quiet. You looked around. There were a wide variety of gadgets there. One of them being... A small device with a screen on it...
'That's what he uses with the trackers!!!' you looked around faster. 'Is this where he gets his things?! Do they have guns in the back?!'
The owner noticed you.
"And who might you be, young lady?"
You flinched and faced him, tense.
"Uh... H-Hello." you bowed your head. "I'm uh... Hiruma's classmate."
Hiruma glanced back at you, but didn't say anything.

"Oh! His classmate, huh?" the old man adjusted his glasses. "It's nice to see that he includes a friend in his schemes!"
'Not like I have a choice...' you pursed your lips.
Only once you two left the shop did you speak again.
"What did you commision?"
"This little baby." he proudly showed you a small gift wrapped box.
You looked at it, then at him, then back at it again. You sighed.
"The others are on the other side of town, probably getting into wacky hijinks or whatever." you started walking away. "And you're making me miss this!"
"Calm your tits, Impie." he walked past you. "If I tell you you're gonna love this, then you are. You should know to trust me by this point."
"Trust you? Right." you rolled your eyes.

"Then how 'bout your trust this." he turned around and looked you in the eyes. "I'm always right, and I always win."
"You're not ALWAYS right." you glanced away, avoiding eye contact.
'But...' you looked through your memories for a moment. 'It's true that, in the end, he always wins...'
You looked back at him. He was still staring into your eyes. Your cheeks got redder.
"So who's the gift for?"
"Heh." he smiled and turned around. "In a few days, we'll be playing an international match. Shouldn't we give a gift to our opponent's coach to welcome him?"
He heard you gasp loudly and his smile grew bigger. He glanced back and saw the look on your face. Your mouth agape, stars in your eyes. He quickly turned his back on you again and started walking.
"Why the fuck didn't you say it sooner?!" you rushed ahead. "Let's go already!"
"Kekekeke!"

It was pretty late now, the sun had set and it was dark now. The two of you were now standing outside one of the fanciest hotels in town.
"You're lucky my mom's having a business dinner right now." you told Hiruma. "Or else I would've been dead and it'd be on YOUR ass!"
"Chill. You really think I didn't account for that?" he checked his watch. "He should be in his hotel room by now."
He looked at you. You were clearly excited for this mission.
"Before we go in." he faced you. "You gotta get your game face back on."
"My what?"
"You think he's gonna buy our act if he sees you giggling like a schoolgirl?"
"I AM a schoolgirl, bitch!" you glared, though it did feel like an insult.
"Out here you're not." he pointed a gun at you. "You're Devil Bats' imp! Act like it!"
You kept glaring for a moment before sighing, rolling your eyes.

"I know how to get my game face on." you walked past him. "Been doing it since middle school."
"Good." he smiled. "Let's go, then."
And so, the two of you walked into the hotel lobby. The sight of Hiruma made the receptionist go pale.
"Leonard Apollo. Coach of the NASA Aliens."
She quickly checked and gave him the man's room number without a fuss. While in the elevator, Hiruma told you to follow his lead.
"Ready?" he asked once you two were in front of the room's door.
You nodded. He knocked. After a moment, it opened. There was coach Apollo in a robe.

"Good evening sir." you smiled politely, your voice higher-pitched than usual. "We do hope we're not interrupting anything."
"My name is Hiruma, and this is (Y/n)." Hiruma did the same. "We represent the Deimon Devil Bats. We've brought a small gift for you as a token of goodwill, Coach Apollo." he handed him the gift.
Apollo smirked and took it.
"I look forward to our game three days from now, sir." Hiruma bowed.
"For now, we wish you a good night of rest." you did the same.
With that, you both walked away.
"What a quaint culture." Apollo said to himself.
He undid the little bow. The box then burst open and out came a small model of a chicken with his own terrified-looking head.
"I'm scared of the Devil Bats!" a recorded voice played. "We're gonna lose! Save me!"
Enraged, Apollo looked back and saw the two of you in the elevator as the doors closed. While Hiruma looked very proud of himself, you were flipping this guy off with both hands.
"Ya-ha!"
"Ya-ha indeed, motherfucker!!!"

As soon as the door closed, you both looked away from each-other, cringing. Although you were clearly more affected than he was. Seeing the other acting like the complete opposite of their personality... It took a lot of willpower for the both of you to not break character.
"Will we ever have to do something like this again?" you asked.
"High chances." he sighed. "We better get used to it."
You both looked at each-other for a moment. Now that the cringe had passed, you both burst out cackling.
"Did you see his face?!" you pointed at the door. "He was PISSED!"
"I told you you'd love it!" he smirked.
"Oh that was amazing!!!" you laughed. "I like this kind of mission, putting dumb shits in their place!" your eyes widened. "Did you record those lines?!"
"I did."
You laughed again. Hiruma just looked at you. You looked really happy. He'll have to get a hold of the elevator's security camera footage and destroy it.

"Huh?" you noticed something. "Why are we going up?"
"There was a note in the box. We didn't come here just to prank this fool." he smirked.
You inhaled through your teeth. You flipped the guy off, now you were gonna meet face to face again in like five minutes. Hiruma cackled at the look on your face.
"You couldn't have said it sooner?!" you hit him.
"And miss this?!" he pointed at your face, almost poking your nose. "Not a chance Cherry!"
You slapped his hand away and turned away. You guys finally reached the roof. You could see the whole city from up here.
"Wow..." you walked to the edge and leaned against the rails.
"Meh. I've seen better." he leaned against the rails too, but with his back turned to the view, taking out a stick of gum and tossing it in his mouth.

"I'm sure you have." you nodded with a smirk. "Fuckin' rich kid."
"You're not exactly from a modest background yourself."
"My parents are. I do my best to not benefit from their money."
"Doesn't your dad send you an allowance every month?"
You glanced at him, not even surprised, as he blew a bubble of gum which soon popped. Of course he knew about this.
"I never used it. If I could send it back, trust me I would."
"Why not just take the money?" he asked. "Who cares?"
"Not like he's doing it out of the goodness of his heart." you looked at the street below. "Taking it would be like handing out bullets to both him and my mom." you rested your chin on your arms. "Also, feels like I'd be in their debt if I did. And I refuse to be in that position." you expression got graver. "I'd rather die than let them have any leverage on me."
A moment passed. The wind gently blew. You realized something.

"Wait." you turned to him. "Why the fuck am I telling you all this?!" you pointed at him.
"Don't point that finger at me." he moved it away from him. "You're the one who opened up."
"Opened u- No!"
"Yes you diiiid!" he leaned closer. "You opened up, you let yourself be vulnerable!"
"Raaah shut up!" you covered your ears. "I'll jump off this god damn building!"
"Yeah right! Admit it already!"
"Admit what, fuckface?!"
"Admit you-..." he froze.
"Huh? What's wrong with y-?"
"Elevator's coming up."
You turned around and saw that the numbers on the little screen were indeed going up.
'But...' you frowned. 'He wasn't even looking that way when he stopped talking. So he stopped himself from saying whatever he was gonna say... Good! I don't wanna know!'

The two of you faced the elevator, which soon opened. Apollo walked out, still in his robe. You prayed that the wind wouldn't pick up.
"What do you want, brats?" he asked.
Hiruma smirked.
"You sure are confident your team will win." he tilted his head. "Wanna bet on it?"
Both you and Apollo looked at him with big eyes.
"If we beat you by ten points or more, you're never going back to America."
'Kidnapping!' you thought, thought you kept it cool on the outside. 'Mass kidnapping!'
"You're really cocky, aren't you?" Apollo glared. "How about this, WHEN we win by ten points AND more, you will leave Japan immediately!"
"Kekekeke! You got a deal!"

Apollo left with a huff. Once it was just the two of you again, Hiruma turned to you.
"You sure are calm."
"...Huh."
It truly was strange. On any other day, if anyone told you you might have to leave the country, you would've freaked out like crazy! Because that simply was not a possibility for you.
'Maybe it's because Hiruma is here...'
You frowned, not liking how your brain worded that.
"You said so yourself, you always win." you shrugged. "You want me to not trust you now?"
"Kekekeke."

The two of you went back down to the lobby. At the same time, you saw the Aliens players come in! With Panther holding Apollo's cat in his arms! You gasped.
"Told you they'd find it." Hiruma smirked.
"Mmh?" one of the players noticed you. "Hey! It's that girl!"
The team started to approach you, you walked up to them yourself. Hiruma stayed put.
"You're Impie, right?"
You visibly cringed.
"Don't fuckin' call me that!"
"Gee, sorry."
"It's some stupid nickname this asshole calls me." you pointed at Hiruma. "My name's (Y/n) (L/n)."
The team introduced themselves. You learned that their receiver was named Watt, while the quarterback's name was Homer.
"So you found Hillary." you nodded towards her.
"I did, yes! With the help of everyone!" Panther beamed. "Now I'll get to play!"

"Good." you smirked. "Can't wait to have that shitty coach swallow his words!" you snickered.
"Woah..." the players leaned back, feeling a dark energy emanating from you.
"Wait! It's not coach's fault, but mine!"
'Watt did say he was blaming himself.'
"How is it your fault that he treats you like total shit?"
"Well..."
You noted how they weren't uncomfortable at all when you used swear words. People would normally always be shocked that such words would be spoken in general. You figured that was because they were Americans.
"This one time, during an important game, I wanted to show off to my grandma, so I ignored the coach's orders and tried to run through the defense instead of going out of the way. I ended up getting tackled. Coach said that, if I didn't care for teamwork, I should just stay off the field, and that he would never use me again..." he looked down. "I haven't been in a game ever since that day."
While his teammates cheered him on, since that would change today, you thought for a moment.

"That's...completely bullshit!" you frowned. "The fuck does he think you are?! A machine?! Just press a button and boom you win?! People make mistakes all the time!"
'I still think the reason's racism!'
"No! No no!" Panther shook his head, trying to calm you down. "I did this to myself!"
"If you say this is all your fault, then why did you go through all of this in the first place to play again, huh?!"
"Because I refuse to quit!"
The serious and determined spark in his eyes made you quiet.
"I wanted to earn another chance to play, to become a starter again. And I won't stop until I'm in the NFL!" he raised the cat in the air. "For myself, and grandma!"
"Why your grandma?"
"Panther lives with her." Watt said. "She's the only family he has."
"And once I'll be in the NFL, I'll be rich! And I'll buy her a nice house so she won't have to worry about anything!"
'He's a grandma's boy!!!' you felt your heart squeeze while his teammate cheered for him.

"Hey, girl." Homer said. "I get you're in the Devil Bats, are you like a second manager with that Mamori girl?"
"No. I uh..." you looked away, not wanting to say it. "Well, you'll see during the game." you smirked.
They laughed.
"Ohohooo! Keeping secrets huh?"
"Anyway, you should bring Apollo his cat back. Make sure you lead with the fact that you found her. He's probably eating his satin sheet after the meeting we had with him." you snickered.
"By the way, Panther." Homer turned to him. "You know, nobody will notice if you sleep in one of our rooms."
"But I didn't pay for it. That would be wrong."
"Hold on." you raised a hand. "You don't have a room to sleep in?"

"I do! I do." he nodded. "Just not here. The money grandma gave me mostly went to the plane tickets."
Your eyes widened.
"You're homeless?!"
"No!" he blushed while his teammates laughed. "I found a small inn somewhere in town with the money I have left!"
'It's probably a shitty one though.'
You thought for a moment.
"Stay here."

The Americans watched, confused, as you walked up to Hiruma.
"Gimme your book." you whispered.
"Beg for it."
"I'm not even gonna open it! I only need to have it for a minute!"
"A minute huh...?" his eyes wandered.
"What?"
"Just converting what kind of favor equals a minute of your time with this masterkey."
"Fuck off with your mafia bullshit, just hand it over."
"Mmmmh what should I ask for in exchange...?" he held his chin and looked around like an asshole.
"I don't fuckin' know- I'll do your homework for a week."
"You think I can't do my own homework?" he raised an eyebrow. "Don't insult my intelligence."
"Yeah but that way you won't have to waste your time doing it."

"Mmh, good point." he nodded. "Two weeks."
"One week."
"Three weeks."
"One week."
"Four."
"One week."
"The number will just keep rising, Impie."
"Fine! Two weeks!"
"Pleasure doing business with you." he handed you his little blackmail book.
"Fuck you." you snatched it away from him and walked away in a huff.
"Kekekeke!"

You went up to the receptionist and looked her dead in the eyes. She didn't look impressed.
"Can I help you?" she tilted her head, wondering how you were going to waste her time.
You placed the book on the counter and she immediately tensed up.
"You see that guy over there?" you pointed at Panther. "Give him a room, for as long as he wants, for free. And you better make sure it's really nice." you leaned closer.
"Y-Yes ma'am!"
You came back to Panther with a keycard.
"There. Keys to your room." you handed it to him. "You better get back to that inn and get a refund."
"Wow..." he took it. "Thank you (Y/n)!"
Being called by your first name caught you off guard. You blushed.
"No problem." you said under your breath as they left and you guys waved at each-other.
'Yeah no, he HAS to play on the field!'

"Come on." Hiruma walked past you and flicked your forehead. "It's getting late."
"Wha- You sneaky bastard!!!" you glared, walking beside him, then you gasped. "Shit! What time is it?!" you checked your phone. "Fuck! We gotta hurry! My mom's gonna be home any minute now!"
"Chill. I called a taxi while you were talking to the Americans."
"You did?"
You stepped outside and saw a limousine, with the chauffeur opening the door for you.
"That is NOT a taxi!!!" you pointed.
"Just get in already." he pushed you forward.
You did and the chauffeur closed the door.

"Wait." you opened the window. "You're not coming?"
"I still have some things to do."
"Oh. Okay."
"What?" he leaned closer, almost putting his head in the car. "You want to stay with me and be my little assistant?"
You closed the window, but it was slow as hell so he just got his head out, cackling.
"Text me when you're home."
"What are you, my dad?" you gave him a weird look.
He just smiled. When the car started to leave, you looked back at him. He stood there watching you leave. Once you turned a corner and he was out of sight. You sat back in your seat with a heavy sigh. You messed around with all the fancy functions of the limousine before you just looked out the window.
Replaying all the events that happened today. You were excited for the match against the Americans. Picturing Apollo's dumb stupid face again made you snicker.
Today was a pretty good day. So much so that you didn't realize your smiled hasn't left your face.

You did text Hiruma once you were home. He replied with a Devil Bats sticker and a picture of a bunch of fliers advertising the upcoming match.
'THE WHOLE TOWN'S GONNA KNOW OUR NAME'
"Is his keyboard locked on all caps or somethin'?" you mumbled, laying in your bed. "What a fuckin' douchebag." you smiled without knowing.
He then sent another picture of a pile of textbooks. That was his homework. He seemed to have put a lot of assignments on hold. Some of them were given a month ago and were due for next week.
'WHAT'S WAITING FOR YOU TOMORROW' with a YA-ha sticker.
"Son of a bitch!!!"
Somewhere in town, Hiruma cackled.