Every morning, you would stay in your room long after your alarm rang. Not because you were still sleepy, but because that way, you won't have to eat breakfast with your mom. When you came downstairs, she was still here but she was putting her dishes away.
"Well look who decided to get out of bed and grace us with her presence."
You said nothing and went to grab a piece of toast.
"You're just going to eat that?" you weren't looking at her, but you could easily picture the look on her face. "Well good. Maybe then you'll finally lose some weight."
You kept your gaze down, slowly putting the toast in the toaster to gain some time.
"My gosh, you're lucky this is a weekend!" she rushed out of the kitchen (she was working today).
While waiting for her to leave, you realized that your mom left the tv on. You turned your attention to it as soon as it mentioned American Football. People on the street were interviewed about the upcoming match against the NASA Aliens.

"American football? I don't know the rules." "Eyeshield 21? I'm sorta interested but..."
"Well don't panic!" the footage cut to a man with weird looking hair that rotated like a fan. "Even if you don't understand the rules, you'll still get it! Easily understood commentary from me, the 'Machine Gun' commentator Sanada! The much-awaited, much-talked about match, Devilbats vs Aliens, will be-"
"You're still standing here?!" she rushed past you and turned off the tv. "Why is my daughter so slow?" she complained to herself with a scoff.
As soon as you heard the front door closing, you grabbed some eggs and a pan. You've been looking up how to have a more balanced diet. The thing it though, you couldn't go out and buy anything, your mom will notice for sure. So you had to make do with what you had. Scrambled eggs, an apple and yogurt.
When you were done you quickly cleaned your dishes so that you could put them back in the cupboard. You then went out to meet with Hiruma and Kurita.

"The match is in two days." Hiruma said. "We gotta utilize the home advantage properly!"
"Home advantage?" Kurita tilted his head.
"The Japan vs US showdown will be held here, so all spectators will be on our side."
"Won't they be on the side of the most famous team though?" you raised an eyebrow.
"If the team's American, unlikely."
You contained a laugh.
"Besides, people love an underdog. The more people we have on our side, the better! Now let's go already!"
The three of you started off fairly normal: going to the train station and handing out flyers. Whenever someone would turn you guys down, Hiruma would instead stuck one on their back. It made you snicker how many people didn't realize it, even when the flyers were on other people. Then Hiruma made you call the Zokugaku thugs and give them banners and flags to waved around the city on their bikes. They of course weren't happy about this.

"What are we, the tourist office?!" Rui shouted. "Fuck you guys! We're not-"
"Oh Impiiiie!" Hiruma leaned to the side towards you. "Didn't you say your brother would get out of jail soon because of good behavior?"
The boys tensed up. At this point, you learned not to call out Hiruma's lie in front of others. So you just shut up.
"I wonder how he'll react when he learns how you guys treated his precious little sister." he smirked.
You clenched your fists. The boys quickly agreed and left on their bikes with their banners and flags.
"Don't push it when you talk about my brother." you looked at Hiruma.
"Oooo, so serious." he chuckled. "Didn't know you were still sensitive about that."
"You wouldn't get it." you sighed.
"What's wrong, (L/n)-chan?" Kurita asked, worried.
"Oh." you tensed up and blushed. "N-No, it's fine! It just caught me off guard!"

"Anyway, step three!" Hiruma walked away without waiting for them.
"Hey!!!" you both called out, running after him.
Step three turned out to be: going up the roof of skyscrapers and releasing giant balloons of the Devil Bats mascot, with a banner attached to it announcing the match. The three of you went to different places. While Hiruma had an electric balloon pump, Kurita had to inflate the giant balloon using his lungs alone, and you were given a manual balloon pump. It was an intense arm workout. After sending the balloons flying, you all joined back in the street.
"Oi."
You looked at Hiruma, who tossed something towards you.
"Good job out there." he said as he handed a box of beignet to Kurita, who quickly ate it.
You looked at what he gave you. A cherry soda, your favorite flavor.
'How does he know that? I haven't had one since middle school!'

"...This is to make fun of me, isn't it?!" you glared at him.
"Huh?" he raised an eyebrow.
"Those whole 'Cherry' bullshit!" you pointed at the cherry on the can.
"...Oh yeah. Didn't even notice." he turned and walked away, taking out some gum and started chewing on it.
You kept staring at him, even as you all went to the train station together. He'd stare back at you to see if you'd look away. At some point he sighed.
"You want me to call you Cherry THAT badly?"
"WHAT?!?!?!" this stopped you in your tracks.

"Didn't think you'd end up liking it." he said with a weirded out look. "Maybe I'll never use it again then."
"GOOD!" you pointed at him, tense. "Cause everytime you say it, I swear I'll get five more years on my prison sentense, 'cause I'll fuckin' kill you! And the murder plan gets an extra step everytime you say it!!! You better shut the fuck up now Mr. 'I shaved my teeth to make them pointy'! Child of shark- However the fuck you got them like this!"
Hiruma tried to contain a laugh when you started monologuing, and he eventually burst out laughing.
"Tomato!" he pointed.
You screamed out of rage.
"I HATE YOUR GUTS GO DIE IN A HOLE!!!"
"Yeah you're right," he kept walking, a big smirk on his face. "'Cherry' just rolls off the tongue better."

The match was in the evening. You were blinded by the spotlights of the arena. You and the whole team took a moment to look around in awe. This was a professional match that will be broadcasted on live tv! The roaring applause made your organs shake. You felt the adrenaline in your veins and you weren't even going to play!
"So many people!" Kurita beamed.
"And we're gonna be on TV! I'm really getting psyched up" Monta exclaimed.
"The day has finally come!" the commentator's voice came from the speakers.
"Evevyone's been anticipating this game!" another one said. "Will we see the full power of X High, a premier American football school? Or will the quintessential anti-hero, Eyeshield 21, lead a stunning upset?"
The two teams faced each-other to wish the other good luck. Hiruma and Apollo shook hands.
"The representatives from both teams come out to greet each-other."

Immediately after that, Apollo took out a handkerchief and cleaned his hand. He heard something and looked over. Hiruma had yet another small model chicken with his face on it.
"Help me! I'm going to lose! I'm so scared! Save me!" the small cowardly voice rang out as both you and Hiruma cackled with smug smiles.
You saw a vein pop on Apollo's forehead.
"Still acting like kids I see!" he exclaimed. "I figured you'd be playing in diapers, you're so immature!"
"Oooo careful guys!" you looked back at your team. "Your fourth grade bully is here tonight! And they grew up to look like a middle-aged guy with his best years behind him."
That one really seemed to have struck a cord.
"You fuckin-!"
"I think you're hallucinating." Hiruma smirked, standing in between you and him. "You're going senile, at your age? Maybe YOU outta be wearing adult diapers!"
"Ooooow shit! Got him with the reversal!"
'(L/n) really becomes a team player when she doesn't like the target...' your teammates thought.

"Get over yourself kids!" Apollo glared. "Remember our deal, if you can't beat us by at least ten points-"
"We'll immediately leave Japan!"
"HUH?!" the Devil Bats panicked.
"On the other hand," he pointed a gun at him. "if you guys can't beat us by ten points, forget about going back to America!"
"WHAT?!" the Aliens panicked.
"(L/n), you knew?!" Monta harshly whispered. "When did this happen?!"
"Right before we came here."
"NO WAAAAY!!!" they all shouted.
You cackled. You knew it would be funnier if you lied.

Once the teams were geared up and ready to go, you watched as the Aliens stood in a line and lifted their foot.
"One small step for man," Homer said. "one giant leap for the NASA Aliens!"
Then they set foot on the field. You visibly cringed.
"Fuckin' hell."
You then saw Panther over by the bench. He was doing stretches, even though he wasn't even wearing the Aliens uniform.
'That sucks.' you frowned.
"Alright kids." Hiruma told the team as they huddled. "They're gonna come at us full blast. Tackle their quarterback before he throws, like we practiced!" he smirked. "Blitz him!" he pointed at Eyeshield, even pressing a finger on his visor. "You lead the charge!"
"W-What? Already?!" he panicked.

[DEVIL BATS vs. NASA ALIENS]

The two teams got in position.
"Set...hut hut hut hut!" Homer exclaimed.
Kurita and the others on defense had to create a passage for Sena to tackle the quarterback before he threw the ball. But the Aliens linemen pushed them away. The ball was thrown, and because their receiver was faster than Monta, it was a touchdown within five minutes into game time.
'The blitz is useless if Sena can't even get to the quarterback.' you thought. 'The line really gotta push through.'
You heard Apollo laughing and gave him a nasty look.
"Did you see that?!" he pointed. "A touchdown on the first play! That's the shuttle pass for you!" he gave you a smug look.
"Yeah congratulations!" you yelled back. "Your ONE formation was a success!"
He did this asshole 'exhale through nose with a smug look' thing. You flipped him off.

"The blitz is a gamble where you ignore covering the backfield to charge into the pocket!" the first commentator said.
"If they do manage to throw a long pass, the receivers have an open field." the second one added.
With the bonus kick from the Aliens, the scores were already seven to zero.
"Aw man, we're already losing!" Monta whined.
"Yeah..." Sena nodded. "We need to pay more attention to their long pass-"
"Double up the blitz." Hiruma cut him off, surprising the boys. "We're gonna stick with the blitz! Got it?"
"Yeah!" Jumonji exclaimed before putting his helmet back on and getting back in position.
"What's up with Jumonji?" Monta asked. "He's so riled up."
You pursed your lips, you knew why. And it was kind of your fault...

A week or so after the match against the Sphinx, American Football Monthly published an article about the Deimon Devil Bats. When talking about their defense, it said that while Kurita, Komusubi and Jumonji were decent linemen, both Kuroki and Togano were 'just dropouts'. Of course, as the team anti-cheerleader, you used that to rile them up during practice.
"Jeez, I guess it's true what they said about you guys in the article!" you smirked.
"Huh?" "What article?"
"What? You don't know?" you raised an eyebrow. "That one article about-"
"Shut your trap!!!" Jumonji shouted.
"Woah." you were taken aback by his volume.
He was PISSED. He knew about it for sure.
"What is it bro?" "What's that about an article?"
Jumonji stared into your eyes for a moment, as if telling you to let him explain it. You just folded your arms. He turned to his two best friends.
"It said we're garbage."
"Huh?!" "HUH?!
You narrowed your eyes, but you didn't call him out on his lie. To this day, you didn't know why he did that.

"Deimon's offense ends in just two downs." the commentator said. "Now the Aliens are back on offense! Will another supersonic shuttle pass sail across the sky?"
"Set, hut, hut!"
This time, Sena managed to get to Homer! Except he wa still able to throw the ball, because Sena is so light he literally couldn't tackle him. You hid your face out of second-hand embarrassment. And Watt was standing at the goal line so he just casually caught the ball like a jerk! Touchdown.
And once again, with their bonus kick, the Aliens were leading with fourteen points to zero...
"What a muscular build that can even repel tackles! These are the true muscles of America!" the commentator said as said team flexed their muscles with smug smiles.
Apollo laughed.
"Your plan to stop the shuttle was blitzing?! If that's the best you could come up with, we're on easy street! What a bunch of monkey-brains!"
Your team glared at him.

"What the fuck are you guys doing?!?!?!" they turned to you. "Get a grip! You really wanna let this asshole win?!" you pointed at Apollo.
"Oh my!" the commentator said. "It would seem that even the Devil Bats' cheerleader is turning on her own team!"
"I'm not a cheerleader- Don't zoom in on me!!!" you glared straight into the camera that was broadcasting your face on the giant screen. "Look away bitch before I snap your neck like a twig! You'll be a right angle when I'm done with you! Your kids will use you for their geometry homework and finally you'll have a reason to have them over when your ex wife wants some me-time!"
The camera quickly turned away and you could hear a faint 'I'M SORRY' from the cameraman. Some people in the audience laughed and that SHOCKED you.
"Oooo Cherry's camera shy!" Hiruma pointed at you.
"Fuck off, no I'm not!" you blushed.
"Kekekekeke!"
"She certainly is a firecracker." the second commentator chuckled. "She really belongs in the Devil Bats."
"You have to watch out for her," the first one nodded. "even if you're on the same side."
"Get back to the game already!!!" you held your head before letting out a big sigh. "I wanna die now."

"Now the Devil Bats are on offense. Will they get their revenge?"
The ball was passed to Eyeshield, but he was easily tackled away.
"Hey kids!" Apollo shouted. "Apparently, you guys are the ones leaving your country!" he laughed.
You glared. Then, something clicked.
"You ARE just like the Sphinx!" you pointed at him.
"Huh?" he frowned.
"Man, that's crazy." you said to yourself before looking back at the game.
"Hey! Hold on! What does that mean?!"
You ignored him, which pissed him off more. Another anti-cheerleader strategy has been added to your skill set!

Sena tried a few more times, but he was knocked back every time. At some point, he crashed into Cerberus' cage, releasing him. The dog got pissed and ran towards the first thing he saw: you. You refused to show weakness in front of Apollo, but you were certain you were gonna die. Thankfully, he smelled some pretz sticks Yukimitsu was holding and attacked his arm to get them.
This seemed to have inspired Sena, cause when the game restarted, he went for Homer's arm instead.
"What?! Let go! Let go!" he tried to shake him off.
"F... FUNURABAAAA!" Sena shouted and slapped the ball away from him.
You gasped.
'Kurita's catchphrase!'
"Catch it!!!"
And catch it he did! Eyeshield then ran across the field, past the Aliens' defense and through the goal line. Touchdown!

"Let's go!" you exclaimed while the rest of the team cheered. "That's what I'm talkin' about!"
"Formation #5!" Apollo shouted.
The Aliens immediately got into position, making the Devil Bats rush into place without time to think about their next move.
"A no-huddle offense!"
"Without time to plan, Deimon's organization might collapse!"
Apollo folded his arms with a satisfied smirk.
'I'm sure he thinks this is gonna shake us.' you thought, glancing at Mamori.

On the field, before the game started, Hiruma whispered to Sena and the track team guy, telling them what to do. But Watt heard all of that and notified Homer, using a secret code, that their opponents will do a blitz again with two people.
"Set... Hut!"
Homer prepared himself to deal with the upcoming blitz. But he was caught off guard when four guys came at him instead! He was tackled to the ground.
"Homer gets sacked! The pass is prevented!"
"Yeaaah!" Monta cheered. "All according to plan!"
Indeed, during a strategy meeting at school, Hiruma told them that if they were to go No-Huddle, the boys were to ignore any order he gives and to instead follow the signal. Which was...
"Hey, manajerk!" he told Mamori. "Are you so hungry you needed four of those things?"
"Of course not!" she glared, showing the four pretz sticks she's been holding for a while. "I thought of this strategy through."
"You say that, but you definitely took a bite of one of them." you pointed.
She blushed with a pout as you and Hiruma snickered.

Apollo saw that and figured out the code. Four sticks, four-men blitz.
"OH NOOOO!" he held his head.
You cackled.
"Oooo he mad!!!" you pointed at him with a smug smirk. "Look at how red he is! He looks like he's overdosing on fast food!"
He glared back at you. You just relished in his frustration.
"By the way, (L-L/n)?" Yukimitsu asked, keeping his distance away from you. "You said before that the Aliens were like the Sphinx. What did you mean by that?"
"They both have this one thing that gets them the win every time." you said. "Just like the Pyramid Line, once their Shuttle Pass is stopped, it's over for them." you huffed with a smirk.
"Um... Sure but..." Mamori smiled awkwardly. "The Sphinx had Kamaguruma too."
"Yeah, and the Aliens have Panther." you looked at him. "Could be a game changer if the coach wasn't racist." you mumbled.
Looking at Panther, he looked frustrated. He clearly wanted to be out there on the field...

"But you know," Sena thought out loud. "even if our defense holds for the rest of the game, if we don't start scoring points..."
Hiruma heard that and fired two guns, making the boys scream in panic and cover their ears.
'Makes you wonder how he's not deaf at this point.' you thought.
"Haha bros!" he pointed at them. "Run a sweep!"
"A sweep?" Kuroki and Togano asked.
"You guys and Eyeshield lump together and the three of you sweep away any blockers. No logic, no planning. Force your way through!" he smirked. "Make sure you protect Eyeshield. If this doesn't work, we'll never manage to score." his expression turned more serious. "This is where we sink or swim."
"Sink or swim..." Jumonji mumbled.
He thought for a moment, as everyone left to get to their position.

"Eyeshield...senpai."
Sena tensed up and looked at him. Even your jaw dropped in shock.
"Senpai?! Please..." he smiled awkwardly. "I'm just a freshman."
"You're incredible. You can slip through even the tiniest gap." he said, his back to him. "Compared to you, we all have a long, long way to go. We're not strong enough to take those Americans down. But we..." he clenched his fists and turned to face him. "We want to make people rethink their opinion of us!"
Your eyes widened.
"Please..." he bowed his head. "Kuroki, Togano and I will find some way to block them. So please get through!"
'Who does he want to prove himself to?' you wondered.
Sena was speechless. He just nodded.

The two teams got in position.
"Set, hut, hut!"
Holding the ball, Sena ran across the field, with the three brothers running ahead of him.
'Everyone's got a reason to stay in the fight.' he thought. 'For their pride, to prove something, to protect something, or to gain something... We all have our own reasons. But we all have the same goal: winning!'
Aliens' players stood to block their way. The three brothers prevented them from touching Eyeshield. For a moment, their strengths were matched and nobody moved.
"We...Are NOT trash!!!" Jumonji exclaimed.
Slowly but surely, the haha-brothers created a hole in the defense barrier.
"Now Eyeshield!"
Sena ran through the line, him and Jumonji sharing a knowing glance. He then dashed forward. Sadly though, he was eventually tackled. But it's a down! The Devil Bats have advanced on the field!

The crowd boomed with applause!
"Eyeshield! Eyeshield! Eyeshield!" they cheered.
"What tenacity!"
"Last time, I wrote that number 52 and 53 were worthless. I'll have to apologize to them next time!"
While the haha brothers were satisfied with this, you were not!
'The guy didn't even mention their names!' you frowned.
"These linemen did good too!" you heard people in the crowd say. "51, 52 and 53 yeah!" "Who are these guys anyway?"
With a huff, you grabbed two empty water bottles and stood on the bench. You took a deep breath and began to hit the bottles together.
"Jumonji! Kuroki! Togano!" you shouted to the rhythm, catching the attention of the team. "Jumonji! Kuroki! Togano!" you said their names again and again.
The three brothers looked at you in shock, along with the rest of the team (even Hiruma!). You were...cheering. ACTUALLY cheering!

Soon enough, the rest of the crowd followed you on this and the whole arena was chanting their names.
"Huh?" "Huh?!" "HUH?!"
The three of them looked around and looked back at you. You had stopped now, panting, but the job was done. The crowd kept going. You guy locked eyes for a moment. You nodded and gave them a thumbs up. They gasped.
"Holy crap!" Monta held his head. "(L/n)'s thumb of approval!"
"Woah..." Sena said under his breath.
"All you have to do is win, and they'll all love you for it." Hiruma went up to the brothers. "Quitters are even lower than trash. So win!" he pointed at them. "That's how you get what you want in football."
Hearing this, you nodded.

Suddenly, you heard Sena gasp. Looking over and following his gaze, you looked up at the goal posts.
"Oh what the hell?!"
Panther was sitting on the post, staring at Sena.
'How the fuck did he get up there?!'
"Panther!" Apollo shouted. "Stop messing around and get back here!"
"Ah!" he seemed to snap out of it. "I'm sorry!"
He jumped down and rushed back to the bench. On the way there, he shared one last glance with Eyeshield, who kept looking at him, clearly wanting to play against him too.
"Do you really wanna see Panther run that badly?" Monta went up to him and smacked his helmet. "Remember what Hiruma said? If there's something you want, win! We just have to kick their butts!" he gave him a thumbs up. "If we're in the lead by ten points, they'll HAVE to let Panther play."
Hearing this, you nodded.

The game kept going, Eyeshield would get tackle, but since he kept the ball, the Devil Bats kept advancing on the field. With all the downs going on, you'd sometimes look over at Apollo and giggle at how pissed he was. Eventually, Eyeshield got the team a touchdown!
"Eyeshield's awakened! The Aliens just can't compete against that speed of his!"
"There's a two-point gap now, who knows who will win!"
"Dammit!" you saw Apollo kick over the bench.
"Oh what's wrong, coach?!" you shouted with a smug look. "Are things too hard? Do you need your precious Hilary with you! 'Cause that's the only p-[censored for tv] you'll get in your life!" you cackled.
"Pfiew! Good thing the camera crew finally found the censor button!"
"You little-!"
"Coach."
He looked over to see Panther facing him.
"What?!"

Your eyes went big as Panther got on his knees, placed his hands on the ground and bowed.
"I'm begging you, please let me stop him. Let me stop Eyeshield 21!"
"Panther..." his other teammates looked at him, then at their coach.
"...A ball boy has no right to say that! Everyone, huddle up!"
He walked away, but Panther didn't move, even when Apollo was talking to the rest of the team. Your eyebrows furrowed.
"Number 8!"
With their change of formation, the Aliens scored a touchdown.
"That's more like it." he sat back with a huff.
And with their bonus kick, the score was twenty-one to twelve.

After that, Apollo sent in Little Gonzales, who was working some kind of tag team strategy with his brother Big Gonzales. That latter one tried to have a cool Japanese tattoo, but it read 'shit'. You, Hiruma and the entire stadium laughed.
"I don't even need to say anything to that!" you pointed. "That's humiliating enough!"
But despite being absolute clowns, the two brothers were no joke on the field. The big one would come in and knock over the players, and whoever managed to dodge him would get tackled to the side by the little one. Like it just happened with you guys' sweep. On the following play, Hiruma got sacked pretty brutally.
"Ooo." you winced. "That hurts."
"Hiruma!" Kurita ran over to him. "Are you okay?!"
"Damn." he clicked his tongue, facing the sky. "I guess things won't go our way that easily." he stood up. "A'ight kids, huddle up." he said with a huff and gathered the team to talk strategy.

On the next play, the team used a bait tactic. Eyeshield and the haha brothers ran a sweep once again, and because everyone thought he was holding the ball, all of the Aliens' defense was focused on him. But then he showed them his hands, revealing that he didn't have the ball in the first place. Meanwhile, Hiruma ran up the field with the ball before throwing it to Monta, who caught it right in the end zone!
"Catch MAX!!!" he struck a pose while the audience applauded.
"They did it! Deimon got a touchdown!"
"That certainly was a good strategy."
Monta went up to Sena and they high-fived.
"Let's keep going like this. Then Panther will get to play in no time!" he gave Sena a thumbs up.
'Now that's the kind of trickery I'm used to from the Devil Bats!' you nodded to yourself with a big smile.

"What are you doing, 30?!" you looked over to Apollo. "Switch out!"
The player who failed to stop Monta from catching the ball went to the bench and was replaced.
"Mmh..." your eyes narrowed.
Instead for a bonus kick, the Devil Bats tried for two bonus points instead. Worked like a charm!
"Now there's only a one point gap between them and the Aliens!"
Now the Aliens were on offense. They of course did the shuttle pass again, but this time the receiver wasn't Watt. And even though he caught the ball, it slipped from his grasp. You and the others gasped. Sena took this opportunity and caught it.
"Woohooo it's OUR ball now!" you clapped. "Oh my god that is SO embarrassing for these guy!!!" you glanced at Apollo and cackled.
He was FUMING.
"Pathetic! You're all pathetic! 25! Swap out! Hurry up and get outta the field!"

"They're swapping players again?" Monta frowned.
"But, it really wasn't that big of a mistake..." Sena said.
There was now a weird tension within the Aliens players.
"Kekekeke! This is getting good!" Hiruma smirked. "Oi, Impie!" he looked at you. "You seeing this?!"
"If I were to miss it, then I would be fuckin' blind." you smirked before turning to the Aliens. "Oiiiii tourist guys!" you called out, catching their attention. "Careful out there! With how things are going, you'll get replaced if you start walking on the wrong damn foot! Also, sorry, I forgot your names! Since your coach only calls you by the number on your shirts!" you snickered as a dark energy emanated from you. "Crazy, it's almost as if you guys are just pawns for him to use in his American Football fantasy and he doesn't value you guys as people! Fu-[censured for tv]-in' losers!" you cackled.
'SCARY!!!' everybody thought.
"Kekekekeke!" Hiruma smirked while Mamori and Yukimitsu stepped away from you. "Always count on Devil Bats' own little imp to increase the pressure!"
And it really did the trick, the Aliens were shaken up!

On the next play. The team once again used their bait tactic. The ball was thought to be with Eyeshield, but it was with Hiruma. Hiruma made the Aliens think he tossed the ball to Monta to then pass it at Eyeshield for real this time!
"Wow." you let out, shaking your head in disbelief.
Eyeshield dashed across the field at full speed. Touchdown! Now the score was twenty-one to twenty-six!
"They did it!" "Eyeshield really is great!" Mamori and Yukimitsu cheered.
"I think we have this game in the bag now." you folded your arms with a satisfied look.
You looked over at the opposite side of the field and your smile grew bigger when you saw Apollo still freaking out.
"You guys are all pathetic! I'm swapping all of you out! I don't need players who can't follow my instructions! You little-"
"Coach please!"
Your smile dropped when you remembered that Panther was still there, bowing to him.

"Please give me my first and last chance to hold Eyeshield back!"
"Panther..." you whispered, your eyebrows furrowed.
'He just wants to play dammit!'
From then on, you couldn't quite hear what they were saying from all the way over there. But you could hardly hide your shock when the rest of the Aliens team bowed to the coach, trying to convince him to let Panther play. You felt your heart warming up. Seeing such fellowship and team spirit, it moved you. From where you were, you could see that Apollo wasn't expecting it as well. After a moment, the players cheered and congratulated Panther. You gasped. They did it!
Panther ran to the changing room and you stared at the door until he stepped out in his gear. Without thinking, you grabbed Yukimitsu by the collar and pulled him close. The poor guy was still praising his teammates and now he was terrified.
"Eeeeek I'm sorry! Please have mercy!"
"Yukimitsu, it's okay." Mamori whispered to him, smiling with furrowed eyebrows.
"Huh?"

He looked at you, then he and Mamori followed your gaze. They also gasped. Sena must've felt the change of vibe in the air, for he and the rest of the team looked over to see Panther, walking into the field.
"Well well well," Hiruma smirked. "these guys finally decided to use their trump card!"
The two teams moved to get into position, everyone was surprised when the Aliens got in an arrow formation, with Panther behind it.
"What the heck is that?!" Monta exclaimed.
"The Moonsault formation." Hiruma said, smirking.
'How does he know that?!' Sena glanced at him. 'Scary!'
"They're gonna unlock the cage and release Panther into the wild."

The next play started, Hiruma kicked the ball in the air. Panther managed to catch it and began to run. Because his teammates were all positioned in defense, a path was easily created for him. Both Kurita and Komusubi ran straight towards him. Panther picked up the pace and ran THROUGH them.
"WHAT THE FUCK?!" you shouted while your teammates and the audience gasped in shock.
"W-What was that?!"
"Who is he?! I don't have any records on this guy!"
The haha brothers tried to stop him, he dodged them flawlessly without ever slowing down. It looked like he was floating in air.
"Such light feet!"
"Ah, we've finally received some data. He's known as 'Panther, the man with zero-gravity legs'!"

"Tackle him, Eyeshield 21!" Hiruma pointed. "You're our last line of defense!"
"And there it is! Eyeshield 21's patented explosive speed burst!"
Sena was fast, but Panther was faster. He outran Eyeshield and scored a touchdown. You wanted to get angry, but when Panther almost cried from joy, jumping up and down while his teammates cheered for him, you couldn't help but smile.
"Ah! We've got the replay!" you looked over at the big screen to watch Panther run in slowmo as he ran past Kurita and Komusubi. "Komusubi came in for the tackle first. Panther made a small cut at the last possible moment and slipped by. And then the same thing happened with Kurita. Thus, he originally appeared to simply pass straight through them!"
"His movements are completely different from Eyeshield's sharp cuts! You could even call him the opposite of Eyeshield!"
"Right." you nodded, thinking out loud. "Panther runs in smooth rounded waves, while Eyeshield goes in sharp zigzags."
"Her way of thinking sure is unique." Mamori smiled, her eyebrows furrowed while Yukimitsu gave you a confused look.

"Listen up," Hiruma told his team. "the real problem is the Aliens' offense. They have more than just the shuttle pass now."
"Right" Monta nodded. "The shuttle pass and Panther's run..."
"Um..." Sena awkwardly smiled. "Which should we defend mor-"
"What do you think?!" Hiruma fired two rifles in the air, making the boys panic. "Both!"
But that way to go about things only meant that the players couldn't be everywhere. When they went for the pass, Sena couldn't stop it because he was focusing on Panther. And when Panther had the ball, he was just too swift and fast to be stopped by anyone. The Aliens progressively advanced on the field before Panther scored a touchdown.
The boys managed to stop their bonus kick, still the score was now thirty-three to twenty-six.
Sena was starting to get desperate.
'I was so full of myself...' he thought. 'To think I wanted to face Panther...' he looked over at him. 'His legs are flexible, and his steps are as light as a feather. Can anyone beat him?'

"It does seem like this guy can't be beat..." Yukimitsu said, worried. "He's just naturally faster and stronger."
"It's not just that."
"Huh?" he and Mamori looked at you, who kept looking at Panther.
"That guy traveled to a whole different continent to come here and face Eyeshield 21. And before less than an hour ago, he wasn't even allowed to play. So now he's giving it his all. One hundred percent."
"Really?" Mamori blinked twice. "Wait, how do you know that?"
"(Y/n)!" Panther waved at you. "Remember me?! I'm playing!!!" he pointed at himself with the biggest and brightest smile you've ever seen.
You tilted your head and smiled. How could you even pretend to look tough with this guy? You nodded and gave him a thumbs up. He reciprocated the gesture before turning to Apollo.
"Coach!" he called out for him. "I'm stopping Eyeshield, just like you told me to! Anything I need to change?! What's the plan?!"
Apollo looked speechless for a moment.
"K... Keep it up." he nodded.
"Yes sir!"

Seeing this made you smile even more. Meanwhile, Mamori and Yukimitsu looked at you like you had three eyes. Seeing you with a genuine smile on your face was so weird, they were scared to say anything about it. Suddenly, Hiruma fired a bullet that went past you, too close for comfort!
"Aaah! Watch it asshole!!!" you glared at him. "I know you're using these to compensate for something but you better know how to fuckin' use 'em!!!"
'Oh, she's back to normal!' Mamori and Yukimitsu thought.
"Oops." Hiruma placed his sniper on his shoulder and tilted his head.
"'Oops' my ass!" you flipped him off. "The fuck's your problem?! Worry about your team losing instead!"
"Maybe things would go better if you stopped cheering for the enemy!"
"Fuck off! I'm not talking shit about Panther!"
'A Panther fan?!?!?!' everybody thought, while Panther has a spark in his eyes, flustered at the notion.
"Then you best just shut the fuck up." Hiruma pointed his sniper at you. "At least ACT like you're doing your job!"
"You son of a bitch!"

While the two of you kept bickering, Sena realized something while looking at Panther.
'His arm. He always gets through by using his arm. That's how he makes those small cuts without losing speed!' he looked down. 'How am I supposed to beat him...?'
"Your running's pretty cool." Panther's words snapped him out of his thoughts. "But you're not using your full speed." he began to stretch. "I want to be the greatest running back in history, so I have to hit guys like Seijuro Shin and Eyeshield 21 with all I got!" he smiled. "So, are you sure you're trying your hardest against me?"
Sena's eyes went big.
"I... I want to beat Shin too." he said. "I may not be able to run like you, Panther..." he looked at him with a determined look. "But I still want to win, with my own style!"
"Now you're talking!" he smirked.

With only one minute left, you felt a knot in your stomach. This next play will determine it all.
The Devil Bats had the ball. Hiruma threw it to Monta but Panther caught it instead.
"He intercepted it!" Mamori exclaimed.
"Panther rushes towards another touchdown!"
And at this point in the game, after trying to catch him for so long but to no avail, the boys couldn't keep up anymore.
"They're all exhausted!" her eyes grew teary.
Sena of course was the exception and he dashed across the field to get to him. While everyone looked at him, you noticed Hiruma, who was still running towards Panther as well.
'Why are you running?' you thought. 'You know you can't catch up to him, and Eyeshield's already on it.' you felt your heart twist. 'Going full speed too, just because you still can...'
It was then that you realized something... Hiruma was cool.

So, going back to Sena vs Panther. Sena reached for the ball but Panther pushed him away. Sena fell but managed to land on his feet and kept running. Then, he once again realized something.
'I get it! He leaves himself vulnerable during that brief moment he pushes his opponent, because he has to take one hand off the ball!'
Knowing that now, he caught up to Panther once again and got close to him, waiting for an opening. Panther raised a hand to push him and Sena literally jumped on the opportunity. In a split second, he swatted the ball out of his grasp. The ball went flying. Sena caught it and he took off! Panther wasted no time chasing after him but just as he reached for him, Sena went full speed, which meant faster than light itself! He became a blur and reappeared on the other side of the field, passed the goal line!
The entire arena boomed with applause and cheers. You screamed. No words in particular, you just screamed. During this duel of runners, you were holding your breath and now you let it all out.
But you quickly stopped when Eyeshield fell on the ground.
"Oh shit!" you exclaimed.
"Eyeshield!" "He fainted!" Yukimitsu and Mamori added, just as shocked.

Medics ran towards him and brought him to you guys on a stretcher. You were reassured by them that it wasn't anything too serious and that he'll wake up eventually.
"Running at such a speed..." Hiruma said. "His body can't take it for long." he looked at the scoreboard. "We'll have to try for two bonus point without him."
"HUH?!" everyone panicked.
"But everytime, we managed to win those points thanks to him!" Kurita exclaimed. "There's no way we-"
"Stop being cowards!" he fired two rifles in the air. "Just because Eyeshield's out of commission, you're gonna piss your pants and cry to your mom?!"
"Are you saying we got a chance?" you tilted your head, knowing the answer.
You looked at each-other for a moment. You both knew the answer.
"Without Eyeshield," he looked away." we're cooked."

Monta clenched his fists.
"But... Does that mean we're gonna give up when we're so close to winning?!" he exclaimed. "That's not how the Devil Bats do things here! Eyeshield's out of the picture? It's MY time to shine then!" he struck a pose.
Hiruma smirked.
"To the last second, we're gonna give 'em hell! Ya-ha!!!"
"YA-AH!!!" the team shouted.
The boys put their all into this last play, giving the Aliens a hard time. But Hiruma was right, without Eyeshield, they couldn't do it. The clock ran out, a loud beep was heard.

[Final score: 33 - 32]

The alarm woke Sena up. He quickly sat up in a panic.
"Wha-What's the final score?!" he looked at Mamori.
She looked down and shook her head with tears in her eyes. He looked at the scoreboard and his heart dropped. Kurita was crying, Monta was shouting in frustration, Hiruma wasn't smiling.
"Deimon failed their two-point conversion on their final play. We can only wonder why they didn't try to tie it with a kick."
'Because winning's the goal. Always.' you thought.
"Could it be because Deimon doesn't have a kicker?"
"Way to rub it in dude." you frowned before looking at Sena. "Can you stand?"
"Uh, yes?"
"Then go join the others. Don't just sit there."
"Y-Yes ma'am!" he quickly stood up.

The two teams faced each-other, to thank the other for this match.
"Eyeshield 21." Panther raised a hand towards him. "You beat me in the end."
"Panther..." Sena smiled.
"Coming in at the last moment gave me too much of an advantage. Next time, we'll start on even ground, and I won't lose the ball again!"
"Yeah, I can't wait!" he nodded.
As they shook hands, Apollo walked past them.
"Coach?"
"...Nice game." he said before leaving.
Panther gasped. You smiled.

The two teams congratulated each-other, you guys even waited for each-other at the exit of the stadium to chat some more.
"I hate to break such a tender moment." Hiruma smirked. "But you gotta keep your end of the bargain!"
"Wait, what?" you looked at him.
Hiruma took out a shredder with his demonic face on it and threw some papers in there, cackling.
"Our passports!!!" the Alien boys shouted.
"And what about you?!" Apollo pointed at him. "You all have to leave Japan, remember?!"
"Ah yes. I guess you don't need your plane tickets home anymore, right?"
"D-Don't tell me...?!" the whole Devil Bats team said.
"Yaaaa-ha! We're getting special training in America!!!"

"Special training in America?!?!?!"
While your team was panicking and the other went to extend their hotel stay in Japan. You clung on to your shirt.
'We both lost the bet, why couldn't we just cancel it?! Everything would've been fine!'
"Man this is the worst! America?!" Monta huffed. "But, it's kinda exciting too. Right (L- Ah. (L/n)?"
Sena looked over and was taken aback. You were paler than normal. Your eyes staring into nothing, your breath shallow.
"I... I can't go." you looked at Hiruma.
"You're part of the team. You're going." he said.
"You scared of planes or somethin'?" Jumonji raised an eyebrow.
"Imagine that." Kuroki puffed a chuckle, glancing at his friend.
You ignored them, which they found unusual. You'd always give at least a quick 'fuck off'. But you kept staring into nothing.
"How am I supposed to explain this?" you said under your breath.
"To who?" Sena asked.
"(Y/n)!!!" a loud voice made everyone flinch.

You all looked over to see a middle aged woman, wearing a fancy business suit which was slightly creased. She was breathing deeply, but she kept an upright posture, like she didn't want people to know she ran here. She looked pissed.
Your mind went bonkers. How the fuck did she find out your were here?! It might be some stupid fuckin' coworkers of hers watching the game and she happened to catch a glimpse of you, swearing into the camera!
'Dammit! God fuckin' dammit! Fuck! Fuck! FUCK!!!'
"I had my suspicions that you were doing something behind my back." she said. "I never would've thought I'd ever find you in THIS place." she gestured to the stadium. "I hope you didn't give your real name out there, you've embarrassed me enough."
"I-Is that...?" Monta whispered to his friends.
"She must be her mom." Mamori said before stepping forward. "It's nice to meet you Mrs. (L/n)." she bowed with a polite smile. "My name is Mamori-"
"I don't care for your name." she waved a hand in a dismissive manner. "I'm just here to pick up my daughter. And you." she glared at Hiruma. "Don't think I don't recognize you, punk! Don't ever come near my daughter! Don't even think about talking to her! I already lost my son to people like you, I'm not letting it happen again!"

"I-it's not like that at all!" Sena shook his head.
"(Y/n), hurry up and get in the car." your mom gestured you to join her. "We have a LOT to talk about. Better say goodbye to whatever clownery you've been doing."
The team looked at you, their eyes went big at the look on your face. There was nothing, no expressions, blank, just staring at your mom. There was a moment of silence.
"(L/n)..." Sena whispered, worried.
"Impie."
You looked up at Hiruma, who was patiently waiting for you to say something.
"Your move." he said.
You pursed your lips and slowly inhaled.
"...I quit."
"WHAT?!?!?!" the team shouted, except Hiruma.
"Have fun in America." you said as you walked towards your mom.

"I swear," she started walking to the parking lot, not even waiting for you to get to her all the way. "you gave me a heart attack, you know that? And I had to leave work early! These little outings of yours stop today!"
The team watched you leave with your head down.
"H-Hiruma! Is this really okay?!" Kurita asked. "(Y/n)'s leaving!"
"I see that. I'm not blind."
"We're not going to America without her, are we?" Sena asked.
Hiruma kept staring at your back. He clicked his tongue.