Sena has nearly tripped at a fallen rotting trunk and smacked his face at the low-hanging branch, before he wondered if it was worth trecking through the woods just for some herbs that was not actually needed for their cooking session.

"Tell me why we need the curry leaves, again?" Sena asked Tomiya who was walking in front of him, steps steady and sure as if she knows every fallen branches, rocks, shrubberies or mounds of soil that would otherwise hamper her movements.
"We already have curry powder from the kitchen."

"Harada insists. She said it'll taste more authentic," Tomiya told him, stopping for a while to let Sena catch up to her long strides.

"Ah! So bothersome," moaned Sena, tripping against the uneven ground.

"Would you like to stop for a while?" Tomiya offered, looking down at the boy was picking himself up from the ground.

"No, I'm fine," Sena told her, giving her a reassuring smile. He was not tired. He was just feeling clumsy, not used to trecking through dense undergrowth that covers hidden obstacles that he might have been able to avoid easily even on a bad day.

Suddenly, there came a rustling from a nearby shrub and the two stood still, staring at the plantation until the leaves stopped shaking from the movement. Then there came a snort and out came a boar, bigger, dirtier and wilder than any animal Sena has ever met face-to-face with. Even Kerberos looked saner. Then again, being Hiruma's pet, it wouldn't come to as any surprise if the dog discussed chasing and biting tactics with Hiruma when no one was looking.

The boar snorted again, bringing Sena's mind back to the danger at hand. The boy sensed Tomiya about to shift and quickly whispered to her, "Stop, Tomiya-san. We'll move at the same time and run away. But we need to split up and when I give you the signal, you run back to the camp and I'll lead the boar the other way."

Tomiya hissed. "No! That's-"

"I can over-run it. You've already seen how fast I can go," Sena reminded her the time when they played flag-football at the camp. Sena grinned. "Don't tell anyone but I can run faster than that. If flag-football was like the real football, I would've gone pro."

The brunette shook her head, about to protest when Sena insisted, "Please, Tomiya-san. You said you'd trust me. We're friends, right?"

Tomiya stared at Sena before giving an amused 'hmph'. If Sena didn't know any better, he would've thought he saw the girl blush. "My friends call me Yuri."

Sena smiled at her warmly, given the situation they were in. "Yuri-san, it is."

They grinned at each other for a moment before they turned their attention back to the boar who has already inched closer, its hooves stomping the ground restlessly. Sena and Tomiya's form tensed, like arrows ready to be released when suddenly, Sena cried out, "NOW!"

The two ran to the left, away from the boar and as expected, the wild animal gave chase and Sena could hear the thunder of its hooves among the crashing and rustling of the growth and the snapping of fallen twigs as the boar thundered through the forest for its prey.

Thinking that it was already far enough from the camp as they could make it, Sena yelled, "SPLIT UP NOW!"

At the signal, Tomiya swerved sharply to the right and Sena slowed down his run, looking behind to see that the boar seemed to be wanting to chase after the girl instead of him.
"Follow me, you stupid ugly boar! Over here!" Sena yelled, making as much noise as possible to direct the boar's attention to him. To his relief, the boar grunted in accepted challenge before giving chase to the running-back.

If it was a flat field or a train-station full of people he would've be able to out-run the boar by a mile but in the forest, his steps were slowed down by the brambles and branches on the ground and overhead.

"Argh!!" Sena panicked as he felt the agile boar getting closer to his heels. His face and bare legs were probably already full of scratches and cuts but he could barely feel them as pure panic began settling into his brain. Suddenly he saw a shadow to his left behind the trees and when he risked a look, he recognised a face which triggered an instinctual feeling of safety in his subconcious that was akin to what he felt with the linemen in his team. "SHIN!! HELP!!"

Sena changed his direction and he could see Shin's eyes widen when the line-backer recognised him and also at the boar not far behind. Barelling forward, Sena remembered at the last minute to stop but unable to take cover behind Shin in time, the line-backer grabbed him by the waist and slung him over his shoulder before the boar could skewer him with its tusks. With his other hand, Shin held tight to one of the tusks and with a twist to his wrist, sent the boar crashing intothe nearby bush by the momentum.

Sena could do nothing as he lay draped over Shin's shoulder, fisting at Shin's shirt at the back for support even when the line-backer already has a firm hold on him by the back of his knees. A few seconds later, the boar emerged from the bush, grunting and stomping at the dirt before charging at the two again. Sena felt Shin grip him tighter and when the boar was close, the Oujo Knight player grabbed at one of the tusks again and roared, throwing the boar mightily that it flew against the hard trunk of a nearby tree, the sound of the impact resounding sharply against the other trees.

Face nearly pressed against Shin's broad back, all Sena could hear was the wind in the trees and feeling his saviour's chest quickly rising and falling before it steadied under his thighs.

"I-Is it safe?" Sena asked, trying to climb up to take a peek over Shin's shoulder.

Shin walked over to the boar and nudged the still animal with his foot. "I think it's dead."

Sena breathed a sigh of relief but suddenly blushed when he realised the awkwardness of his position, made more concious by the firm hands which has unconciously crept down his knees to the toned part of his calves.
"Ummm... Shin, I think you should put me down now," Sena said meekly.

Shin's body stilled in surprise at his unattentiveness. "Oh... yes, of course."
Carefully, he set Sena down, his hands helping the descent, which much to the Deimon player's embarassment, made Shin's palms to slide up past his thighs and just below the curve of his buttocks before Sena's foot was able to touch the ground. It wouldn't be as embarassing as it should be if Shin's hands haven't slipped under his short pants which Suzuna said made his legs look more... leggy. Whatever that means.

So it was the warmth of Shin's skin that he was feeling on the back of his thighs which made him blush harder and put a stammer in his words. "Sh-Shin... Y-You can let me go n-now...."

"Ah," Shin exclaimed quietly, "Sorry..."

"Th-That's ok," the brown-haired boy told him, nearly tripping as he backed away from Shin hastily, surprised as to how unstable his knees felt even when he hasn't done any running that warranted the weakness in his legs.

"W-What are you doing here?" Sena asked, looking up at Shin who was looking at him oddly.

"Training," Shina told him before asking him back, "You too?"

"Ah, no. I'm just here for... camp..." Sena said, scratching at his head sheepishly when at that moment, his fingers got caught on one of the ribboned clips in his hair. K'so...

"Eyeshield. Your clothes..."

Sena gulped and looked down at his clothes in trepidation. Other than the plastic hair clips in his hair and short cargo pants that barely covered his thighs, he was also wearing a form fitting t-shirt which showed curves that a young boy should not have.

"What is this?"

Sena yelped when Shin started prodding at his bra padded full of tissues. "St-Stop it!"

Shin blinked at him in surprise. "Do it hurt?"

"N-No!" Sena sputtered, "but you shouldn't go touching something that you shouldn't!"

The tall linebacker straightened up and said gravely, "I'm sorry."

"I-It's ok," Sena told him, shifting his bra in case it looked crooked from his ordeal with the boar and Shin's curiosity, "I-It's a ... a disguise!"

Shin arched an eyebrow. "A disguise?"

"Yes!" Sena said, brain desperately wracking an excuse for his look, "It's a secret experiment to study about american football!"

"It is?" Even with his stoic expression, Shin looked confused.

The running-back nodded vigorously in response. "Un!"

Shin thought for a moment before he seemed to accept the situation. If it was for the glory of the sport, he should not complain, even if he could not comprehend how looking like a girl would help Sena be a better sportsman. By Takami's report, the Deimon Bat's captain was a brilliant strategy analyst and executioner that even the spectacled quarterback finds him formidable so Shin figured it must be by Hiruma's genius planning that had their running-back dressed like the way he was at the moment.

"Well... I should go now..." Sena finally said, after some nervous fidgeting, "Thanks for the help."

"Aa." Shin nodded and allowed the other to leave, moving to pick up his bag only after Sena was gone from sight. Before he began to think to start on his run again, the linebacker was lost in thought as to how different it felt to have Sena in his arms. It was the instinct in him to save a person in need, like when Sakuraba was chased by his fans when the receiver was more famous for his looks than his catches. But unlike with his friend, Shin felt more protective of the small Deimon Bat player and less eager to have the boy out of his embrace.

Shin brought up his hand which held Sena, to his scrutiny. He could not see anything visibly different about it but he could still feel the warmth from Sena's skin transferred to his. When he remembered how firm and supple the brown-haired boy's legs felt under his palm he was suddenly assaulted by a strong and unfamiliar feeling in his chest. It hurt and he couldn't do anything to stop it, not knowing why it was happening to him.

"What's... this...?"

~TBC~