TITLE: "Thief"

TIMELINE/SPOILERS: after the events of the series and a bit of the epilogue; super companion piece to "Thank You"

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Eyeshield21 and I'm not making any profits with this fanfic. Eyeshield21 belongs to Riichiro Inagaki and Yusuke Murata.

A/N: A... ahaha... ahahahahaha...

(Not sure if I can update in the next two weeks. I'm going off somewhere for vacation and research and the internet connection is a little... That aside, it's finally summer vacation yaay)

07 - Thief

Mamori peered inside her classroom. Most of her classmates were already inside, but she couldn't see a certain bleached blonde anywhere. Normally his presence didn't bother her as horribly as it did other students of Deimon High, but now it ate at her that he was nowhere to be found.

"Kekekeke hello? Is this the police station? There's a stalker in broad daylight lurking around in Deimon!"

Flinching, Mamori jumped inside the classroom. Hiruma walked past her with a cackle, settling on his seat which was just next to hers. She watched him with apprehension, waiting for any sign he'd say something that would embarrass her to no end, but Hiruma kept himself busy with his laptop. Still cautious, Mamori inched her way to her seat.

Kissing Hiruma on the lips had been purely an accident— a surprisingly pleasant accident that initially she didn't really regret. But the message the guy sent shortly afterwards reminded her how she just easily handed him a very effective blackmail material. She barely had any sleep that night, and when morning came she considered calling in sick. Only her pride as a good and upright student stopped her.

"You've better not have forgotten your own signs," Hiruma's voice alerted her.

"Y-Yeah…" Mamori answered, eyes shifting to glance over at the guy. His usual scheming leer was on his face, and Mamori took comfort that it could be because of the profiles of first year students he's currently perusing on his laptop.

She refused to let her guard down, though, and her ears were honed in on the guy sitting to her right. She couldn't remember anything that the teachers have said, and though she moved her pen on her notebook all she wrote down was gibberish.

She was already exhausted by morning break, and she happily accepted going to the cafeteria to grab some snacks with her best friends. On the corner of her eyes she saw Hiruma's smirk widen a tad, and she paled and dragged Ako and Sara out of the room.

When asked what was wrong, Mamori only shook her head and said she was fine.

'I'm doomed…' she held on to her head. 'A hundred percent doomed…'

Regret weighing her shoulders down, Mamori trudged on her way back to the classroom where Hiruma was still in his seat. He didn't pay any attention to her, and Mamori completely sympathized with the other students of Deimon High who were in the same 'walking-on-a-minefield' situation as her.

This time she made an effort to concentrate on her lessons in addition to looking out for what Hiruma would do. It proved to be even more tiring, and by lunch time all Mamori wanted to do was go home and rest.

"You're not eating, Mamo-kaa-san?"

Mamori stared at her lunch pack. She didn't like wasting food, but every cell in her body seemed to reject even the thought of bringing a single grain of rice in her mouth.

"I-I think I'll eat later," Mamori covered her food.

"Mamori."

Her heart felt like it exploded, and more cold sweat dotted her face. Across her desk, Sara and Ako stared at someone to her right with unbelieving expressions. They glanced at Mamori, who refused to face Hiruma. She knew all she'd see was a knowing sneer, and perhaps a brief 'sign' warning how she wasn't going to survive the day.

"W-What is it, Hiruma-kun?" She asked.

"If you're not eating you better get to working," Hiruma placed his laptop over her lunch pack. "These are the first year students who'll most likely try to get into the team later. Study them well."

His footsteps trailed outside of the room, and Mamori took gulps of breath as soon as the door was kicked open.

"Mamo-chan," Ako looked at her with a sly smile. "When were you planning to tell us that you and 'Hiruma-kun' are already that close?"

"H-He's not my— He's planning something!" Mamori countered.

Face pale, Mamori racked her brain on what to do to save herself. Apologizing was the most obvious choice, but she doubted Hiruma would accept it, or even bother to listen. No, she should come up with another way.

If only he didn't move, then she wouldn't be in such a predicament. If he didn't move, Mamori wouldn't have any problems concentrating on her classes. If he didn't move, she wouldn't be constantly switching from wariness of what Hiruma would do in retaliation to how soft and 'just right' his lips had felt.

"What!"

Her two friends stared at her in her outburst, and Mamori quickly apologized as she pulled the laptop before her closer.

"S-Sorry," she muttered. "I have to read these up. You two go ahead and eat."

One step at a time— that's the best thing she could do. If Hiruma found out she didn't concentrate and read up on the first years he's researched on, he'd be even more livid. Or murderous. Or sadistic…

"Why did I hand out my death warrant like that?" Mamori groaned.

Her friends gave her a look, but just to avoid more questions Mamori fixed her eyes on the profiles in Hiruma's laptop.

The guy was back just as their math teacher walked in, and Mamori returned his laptop with a defeated sigh. Three more classes, and they'd be at the American football club house for the new member application. The idea of skipping out appealed to her, especially as she wasn't a manager anymore, but she was sure a certain demon wouldn't let her leave. And even if she successfully pulled it off, she just knew she'd have to face an even worse consequence.

How do you make a deal with the devil?

"Mamo-nee," Suzuna looked at her in concern later on when she arrived at the club house area. "You look like you need to go to the infirmary."

"I'm okay, Suzuna-chan," Mamori greeted with a wry smile. "Have they finished preparing?"

Suzuna informed her that the new manager was leading in distributing drinks and cream puffs to everyone with the help of the other members of the amefuto club. After checking on Mamori once more, Suzuna returned to helping out the applicants. There were significantly more than those who came last year, and Mamori wondered once more if it was because of Hiruma being out of the team helped.

If they only knew how great he was on the field, and how much trust he placed on his team members…

Out of the corner of her eyes, Mamori noticed a series of hand gestures made by slender fingers.

'Cream puff maniac,' Hiruma signed from the back of the meeting room. 'Get your ass here.'

Mamori greeted Kurita, Musashi, and Sena on her way. Doburoku-sensei, Jumonji, Monta, and the new team manager Maki walked inside so they could start with the interview.

"You sure I don't need to wear my suit?" Monta asked the new manager. "I swear it's awesome MAX!"

"No," the new manager adjusted her glasses with a frown. "And if you do a rolling stunt later you will be kicked out of the room."

She then turned to Sena.

"Are you ready, Captain Sena?" She asked.

"Y-Yes…" Sena sighed. "You don't really have to call me 'captain', though…"

"I'll be sending the first one in, then."

The new manager glanced at Mamori, and when the older girl smiled in approval, the first year bowed several times in thanks before walking over to the door to call in the first applicant.

Mamori leaned back on the counter where Hiruma was settled on with his laptop. Kurita sat at the corner on the other side of the room, while Musashi leaned on the doorway to the back storage area.

"I'm so happy to see even more people turn up this year," Kurita said with a smile. "Hopefully the team won't resort to kidnapping anymore."

The seniors save from Hiruma looked at Sena, Monta, and Jumonji with pitiful expressions.

The new manager closed the door after a first year stepped inside. He was tall, but he might have to put a bit more weight to help him be more resistant to being tackled backwards for a great distance.

He sat rigidly on the chair, and Mamori was sure everyone remembered Hiruma's guide to judging whether a person was good for offense or defense. She could already imagine large exclamation points appearing above their heads as soon as the applicant was settled.

'What sports team was he on in middle school?' Hiruma's hand caught Mamori's attention.

'You have your laptop there,' Mamori signed back. Why was he asking her?

'Fucking cream puff maniac, this is a test,' Hiruma's hand moved fast. 'You're so distracted today I knew you wouldn't do your job properly.'

Mamori glared at Hiruma. 'We don't have time for tests!' She signed back furiously.

'That kiss distracted you that much, you thief?'

Hiruma sneered. Mamori's blood rushed to her head.

'That was an accident!' Her fingers snapped as she signed back quickly. 'If you didn't turn your head—'

'What's next, you're gonna strip me down naked and tie me on the table?'

Mamori pushed off the counter. She could feel the heat radiating from her face, but she was too incensed to care.

'It's not like that!' She signed with two hands for emphasis. 'I was just going to thank you for making me feel better about my retirement from the team!'

'Kekekeke you sure have a bold way of showing your 'thanks'.'

"Um, Mamori-nee-chan?"

Mamori's neck creaked as she sent Sena a glare. She winced at the sharp pain, and eased the sore muscle with her hand.

"I'm sorry, Sena-kun," she sighed. "What is it?"

"We're trying to interview the applicants," Sena smiled at her in worry. "But… you're…"

Mamori glanced up at the applicant, who was staring at her in confusion. Even the other members of the devilbats and Kurita and Musashi were looking at her in bewilderment.

"S-Sorry!" Mamori apologized, head going cold in her mortification. "I-I was just—"

She didn't know how to properly explain herself, and Hiruma's low cackle wasn't helping. After mumbling another apology, Mamori returned to leaning on the counter.

'What a rude sempai,' Hiruma signed at her with a sneer.

'Shut up,' Mamori frowned as she signed back. 'Remember that I'm not required to help you, and I can stop anytime.'

Letting out a huff, Mamori concentrated on taking notes based on her observation of the applicants. Hiruma didn't speak or sign for the remainder of the interview process, though he laughed and cackled every time an applicant looked at him in apprehension and asked if he really was going to be joining them during practice.

They were done a little more than two hours later, and after sharing some opinions, the members of the devilbats closed down for the day. The test would be held the next day starting at seven, and on Hiruma's suggestion they would be reprising the 'Tower of Hell' test.

"Cream puff maniac," Hiruma called out to Mamori.

"What?" She turned to him. She was still angry, but as her head had cooled off earlier she could keep her temper in check.

"We have work to do," Hiruma waved a piece of paper.

'I have the schedule for the spring games,' he signed. 'College level and the Pearl Bowl.'

Mamori walked back to where Hiruma was. He hadn't asked her and she never promised him anything, but somehow they had an unspoken agreement that she would continue helping him even if they weren't active in the amefuto club anymore. She knew she just reminded him that she could stop helping him, but Mamori would never abandon her work just because she lost her head for a moment.

Musashi and Kurita looked at them curiously, and Hiruma sneered at them.

"Wanna spy on us?" Hiruma said.

"No, thanks," Musashi replied. "I'd rather not take a look in your private life."

Mamori shot up from her seat. "It's not like that!" She said, her cheeks flaming up. "It's college amefuto—"

"Fucking cream puff maniac!" Hiruma took out an M16. "Shut your mouth!"

"Aah, that," Musashi said. "I already have a copy of the spring schedule."

"Me too," Kurita smiled. "Let's all watch together!"

"Fucking fatass, go research on your own!" Hiruma barked.

"You're dragging Anezaki with you," Musashi pointed out.

"Kekekeke it's nice to have a manager, isn't it?" Hiruma stuck a pinky in his ear as he tilted his head sideways. Mamori wondered how his neck could bend so far. "Maybe you can recruit the fucking shrimp. He applied to be one in the first place."

"Anezaki," Musashi turned to her. "You don't have to do as Hiruma says."

"What, trying to get her over to your side, fucking old man?" Hiruma laughed.

"It's okay, Musashi-kun," Mamori smiled at him. "I'm going to Saikyoudai, too, anyway, so I thought—"

"You're attending the same university as Hiruma?" Kurita asked curiously.

"Y-Yeah—"

Musashi regarded Hiruma with suspicion.

"You can say 'no' to him, Anezaki," Musashi walked over to the club room's door. "Don't forget that."

Kurita closed the door behind him after bidding them goodbye, and Hiruma stopped laughing.

"Keh," he said. "Fucking old man can talk too much."

Mamori took her usual seat near the head of the table and opened her research notebook.

"We don't have to watch each and every game," Hiruma marked several teams' names on a copy of the spring tournament schedules. "There are three teams in the college and two in the X-league that we have to look out for at the moment, and so far we have four games to watch because two of the ones in the college tournament are fighting off during the first games."

Mamori wrote down the team names and their game schedules. Hiruma slid over several sheets of player profiles and statistics for the teams he's interested in.

"Study these profiles properly this time," Hiruma continued. "I've marked off their aces and key players."

"Okay," Mamori muttered, checking over who were the ones Hiruma had marked. "Do you have videos of them?"

"Here," Hiruma placed a flash disk on Mamori's notebook. "They're highlights with their best plays during the Koshien Bowl and Japan X Bowl last season."

"Got it," Mamori said, moving the flash disk to continue writing. She brushed aside strands of Hiruma's hair that tickled her cheek. "Anything else, Hiruma-kun—"

Her whole body stiffened. Hiruma's hair continued to tickle her face, but that was the least of her worries. She tried to move away, but she only managed for a moment before Hiruma's fingers tangled with her hair and pulled her back in. Alarms were blaring in her mind, telling her to resist or face further humiliation. But Hiruma's lips were soft, and they left warm imprints on hers. He gave her short, teasing licks, and when he started nibbling on her lower lip she unconsciously let out a shaky breath.

She hadn't kissed anyone before Hiruma, and she briefly wondered why she hadn't imagined how good it could feel.

The guy gave her lips one last lick before leaning back on his chair with a satisfied smirk. Mamori missed the warmth, and her whole body compensated ten times more as she recovered from her daze.

"If you're giving me a kiss as thanks, do it properly next time," Hiruma sneered. "Cream puff maniac, you've been slacking off all day. If you don't shape up I'm telling everyone that you're a pervert."

"Wha— I'm not a pervert!" Mamori's cheeks flared up even brighter. "It should have been only on the cheek—"

"Be at the top of Tokyo Tower by seven," Hiruma got up from his seat. "If you're even one second late—"

"I'll be there!" Mamori gathered the papers, her notebook, and the flash disk. She stuffed them in her bag and followed Hiruma out of the club room. "I've never been late, just so you know!"

She locked the club room and headed for the nearest exit to go home. If Hiruma was going to embarrass her if she slacked off, she better start reading up on the players and teams that the guy was interested in.

"Where the hell are you going?" Hiruma stopped in his walk.

"Home, where else?" Mamori replied. It should be fairly obvious as there was no other reason to stay in school. "I need time to read up and watch the videos."

"My car's this way, cream puff maniac."

Mamori joined Hiruma on his way to the faculty parking lot. She didn't think the guy would be one to give rides to anyone, but she didn't want to comment on it as the guy would surely crack a joke or an insult headed her way. She got inside the front passenger seat and pulled on the seatbelt. Hiruma let out a short laugh, but didn't say anything.

'You don't have to do as Hiruma says.'

Mamori leaned over to the window. Musashi had a point. If Hiruma's goal was to have her as Saikyoudai's manager, there was little chance that she would make it. They didn't know what year the current manager was in, and even then the coach might not see her fit, or they may be others who were far more experienced or over-all better than her.

'You can say no to him, Anezaki. Don't forget that.'

She had always been the one who told Hiruma to stop whenever he would bully Sena. She was also the one who frequently opposed his radical ideas, and she had even ripped an instruction he had written down once, though she did patch it up later on.

She hadn't noticed it before until Musashi's reminder— she went against Hiruma less and less nowadays.

Mamori held on to her seatbelt. Hiruma was smart, and he knew American football inside out. Before she became the manager, he had been the one doing the responsibilities of one apart from being Deimon Devilbats' 'control tower.' And even when Mamori had joined them, he did all the arrangements and scouting on other teams. He's long used to working alone. He really didn't need any assistance.

She frowned at her own reflection.

Even devils got tired, too. She had seen it several times, even when Hiruma gave the pretense that he still had a lot more to give. If she wasn't with him, who else would help the guy despite his stubbornness? Who else would notice any pain or discomfort he could be suffering from? Kurita and Musashi were going to other universities. They couldn't always look out after Hiruma when she wasn't there.

Mamori paused. She let out a heavy sigh as realization hit her. She'd heard often that she worried about other people too much. Sena had been in her absolute care, but now that he's learned to stand up on his own feet and press on forward, she might be pushing her 'mothering' instincts to another person.

She should have sensed it when Musashi was getting concerned for her.

"I'm sorry, Hiruma-kun," she said, her voice small.

"Just don't forget to do what I tell you to do," Hiruma replied.

Mamori bit the inside of her cheek.

"I didn't realize it, myself," she said. "But… I'm going to be okay."

Hiruma didn't give a reply, and Mamori returned her gaze to the window on her side.

"You, Musashi-kun, and Kurita-kun…" she continued. "Thanks for thinking about me. But I'm going to be fine. You don't need to worry about me."

She smiled at Hiruma.

"So you can stop trying to get me involved, Hiruma-kun. I'm sorry for bothering you."

Hiruma parked the car near a bus stop.

"You done now?" He turned to her.

Mamori looked away. Her face and hands turned cold, and her eyes stung as the cold air conditioner infront of her dried them.

"Why are you going to Saikyoudai?" Hiruma asked.

Mamori tightened her mouth. "It… seemed more interesting than Toudai…"

"Tch."

Tch?

"You're going to Saikyoudai because I made you go there," Hiruma prodded her forehead. "Use your fucking brain."

He set the stick to gear one and returned the car to the road.

"Wait," Mamori grabbed Hiruma's jacket. "That's my bus—"

"I'm dropping you off straight to your house," Hiruma said. "Your head's so useless today you'll end up in Hokkaido without realizing it."

"I already apologized for that!"

"You think I'm doing you a favor by making you my manager? Stop fucking kidding me! And who the hell's worried about you? Get off your fucking high horse, cream puff maniac!"

"What are you getting angry for?!"

"Hah! Angry? I'm having the fucking time of my life!"

As if to prove his point, Hiruma started laughing, changing gears so fast that the speed gauge arced at an alarming rate. Mamori paled and backed into her seat.

"Hiruma-kun you're going to kill us!" She screamed.

Hiruma cackled in sadistic delight. "A near-death experience should stimulate that idiot brain of yours back to life!"

Mamori grabbed on to Hiruma's arm and shouted at him to slow down. The last thing she wanted right now was to be taken to a police station for violating numerous traffic safety rules.

Her heart continued to pound in her chest as the car came to a slow stop infront of her house.

"Want me to pick you up tomorrow?" Hiruma's sneer just couldn't be trusted.

"N-No, thanks," Mamori unbuckled her seatbelt with shaky fingers. "I don't have an early death wish."

"Your head better be clear tomorrow," Hiruma's smirk promised pain and torture. "Or I'm throwing you off the fucking Tower."

"Yes, yes," Mamori grumbled.

She picked up her bag from the floor and opened the car door. Despite another harrowing experience, the guy did take her all the way home even if he lived in another part of the city.

"Thanks for the lift, Hiruma-kun," she turned back to the guy.

Hiruma leaned an elbow on the steering and flashed a pointy grin. "What did I tell you about properly thanking me?"

Mamori slammed the car door shut and marched to her house.

Yet as much as she didn't like being teased about it, at the very far reaches of her mind, she allowed herself to admit she really didn't regret accidentally kissing Hiruma.

'Oh God,' she covered her burning face with her hands. 'What's wrong with me?'