Songs for Daddy- Chapter 47: Play the Game Tonight (Part 3 [players enter])
Part 2
Rice Bowl, three minutes before player introductions
Emiko was not happy.
She was wearing some headphones, which made things better, but she still didn’t like it (they pinched her ears). Her patience and endurance for all these people and waiting was wearing thin awfully quickly. Papa and Mom didn’t say there was going to be a lot of waiting, Emiko didn’t like waiting. She rocked in her seat uncomfortably, trying to calm herself and be good.
If she was bad, Papa might get in trouble and then he couldn’t play anymore and that would be bad and sad and nasty and Papa might not forgive Emiko and that would be even worse!
So Emiko was going to be good, even if it was going to be really, really hard to be good.
“Now presenting the Takekura Babies!” The infamous Japanese announcer, Machinegun Sanada, announced. Football games just weren’t football games without him.
Emiko fell silent and her gaze turned excitedly towards the entry way.
“From the depths of Hell this man has risen up to once again to haunt the fields of football, give it up for the devilish commander from Hell, Quarterback Hiruma Youichi!” Sanada wound up the crowd just right to make it explode. Emiko couldn’t help it, she was sucked up in the emotion and screaming along with everyone else.
Out of the dry ice ran Hiruma, helmet under arm and gun over his shoulder. The crowd was wild and pleased to see him back. His perpetual smirk dawned his face as he ran further onto the field to await the next introduction. Subtly though, Hiruma’s eyes scanned the crowd briefly, trying to find Emiko in the mass. He’d almost forgotten where Takekura had told him her seat was at. Ah there they were, her brown eyes and that smile….
Papa saw her and winked! Most awesome thing ever!
Anezaki was no fool; she saw that Hiruma found his daughter and it made her smile. The rest of the Babies came out with the same introductions they had been using all season. Most of the team seemed to be weary of Hiruma and his gun. That’s right- this was their first game with him on the field. He hadn’t been completely off the wall bat shit crazy at practice, Kurita and Takekura had told her this. Instead he’d been unnervingly polite and parental. They knew he was going back to his old tricks with the opponents they were facing but….
Would his new bonds with his teammates be strong enough?
“And here are the Saikyodai Wizards!!” Sanada announced, sending the other half of the crowd into furry. Emiko let out her own excited squeal. Papa had showed her all of their games this season while he was analyzing them. She knew lots about them!
“Ah, their coach, Yamato Takeru is the first one on the field today. He said he wanted to have a look at the enemy first so he could start using his ‘one hundred percent predictions’ on them right away. Looks like he’s got his eyes set on the prize!” Sanada used his words to further rally the crowd.
“Not one hundred percent.” Emiko frowned at the words. “Papa and Sena broke it during the Christmas Bowl.”
“Your Papa plans to break it again.” Yuuya commented loud enough to be heard over the crowd and the headphones Emiko was wearing. She nodded.
Yamato was staring at the smirking Hiruma. A light nervous sweat broke out across his entire form. Those green eyes were seeing right through him, like they always had. The expression on Hiruma’s face told Yamato that he was more than ready to kick his ass and knock his team down a few pegs today and that he’d also seen through Yamato’s tactics.
“Still unnerving, huh?” Yamato smiled brightly. This was going to be a challenge and there was nothing better than a blood-stirring challenge.
“Coach,” Ishimaru Shinichi, the quarterback, began, “what’s with Jersey One?” Frankly the man looked like he was trying to imitate a punk and was being remarkably successful for an older person. Something about that gun and confident smirk was unnerving.
“Hiruma Youichi, age 36, offensive captain and starting quarterback for the Babies’ line up.” Yamato answered. “More commonly known as the ‘Commander from Hell’, because he makes hell for anyone whom he fights and often his teammates in the process. He’s a master of trick plays and comeback victories.”
“I know that, but what’s with the gun and the hair?” Ishimaru pressed.
“Part of the ‘from Hell’ part. He’s trying to mess with our heads by coming off as demonic.” Yamato explained.
“He doesn’t look like much.” Ishimaru remarked, flipping open a clipboard full of data. “I mean his dash time and bench press, its weak.”
“Physically he’s not much of a threat,” Yamato admitted, “but tactically he’s arguably the best in the world.”
“The best football tactician in the world is Clifford D. Lewis, seconded by yourself.” Ishimaru spoke as if this was fact.
“Shinichi,” Yamato looked his trainee in the eye, “Hiruma is the only person Clifford ever acknowledged as his rival for a reason.”
Ishimaru’s eyes went wide.
“He-he’s that Hiruma Youichi?” Ishimaru had been forced to watch footage from all of Hiruma’s previous games along with footage from Lewis’ games to get a feel for trickster quarterbacks. Yamato hadn’t been sure that Hiruma was going to play, but he decided to not take the foolish risk of assuming he wasn’t. He did have anti-Hiruma tactics prepared, hopefully it would be enough.
“Yes, he is that Hiruma Youichi. He will be the most impressive quarterback you will ever see up close. Shinichi,” Yamato paused for dramatic effect, “win or lose today, watch him closely. You’ll learn a great deal.”
“The pointy eared guy is coming this way!” Nakashima Kureno, kicker, exclaimed as Hiruma started walking over. Introductions had finished and for some reason that no one understood yet, Hiruma was crossing the field. A few referees appeared at Hiruma’s sides. Technically Hiruma hadn’t done anything wrong but they wanted to make sure he didn’t.
Crunching the white grass beneath his feet, Hiruma stopped on the sideline just before the bench. Now that he was close, Ishimaru could see the little crow’s feet and forehead wrinkles on Hiruma’s face. He was not a boy, he was a man, a veteran of this game.
Everyone amongst the Wizards felt intimidated by this amazing presence before them.
“Two things.” Hiruma announced, holding up two long fingers to prove his point. “First thing, I don’t give a shit about fucking alma matters. Just because you also went to Saikyodai doesn’t mean I’m going to be fucking sympatric to your plight.”
“You went to Saikyodai?” Ishimaru muttered, then he recalled the Saikyodai games Yamato had wanted him to watch and he hadn’t, dismissing them as going over his team’s mistakes as opposed to Hiruma’s games.
“Fuck yeah.” Hiruma gave the young quarterback a bemused look. Then he turned to Yamato. “Didn’t know you got so forgetful, fucking shiny.”
Then Hiruma’s expression turned thoughtful for a moment.
“Or are you trying to set them up for the biggest fucking defeat they will experience in their college careers?” Hiruma mused.
“Hey old man! We’re better than you!” One of the linemen roared, clearly having lost his temper.
“Oh?” Hiruma raised an eyebrow, looking at the kid, still bemused. He then shut his eyes.
“Kojima Taiki, number 73, linemen. Started playing his senior year of high school after being kicked off the sumo team for fighting with his teammates. Went from center to defensive tackle because of his lack of respect for a quarterback’s orders. Average sacks per game, 4.03. Has a nasty habit of breaking the bones in opposing teams’ quarterbacks when sacking.” Hiruma listed the statics in a soft voice. The sort of soft voice he used to calm a confused and upset Emiko.
“Taiki-chan,” Hiruma opened his eyes, “I’ll be fucking frank, you’re not nearly as nasty as Gaou Rikiya.”
“His sacking average is less than mine.” Kojima pointed out. “Why should I be afraid?”
“Gaou’s sacking average is less than yours because it takes him less time to fuck up the quarterback, kid.” Hiruma pointed out dryly.
The rest of the team could only stare, pale.
“But remarking about how fucking inferior you are to Gaou isn’t one of the reasons why I’m here.” Hiruma went on, only serving to provoke Kojima further. Almost all of the linemen were holding him back.
“Then why did you come?” Yamato demanded. His team had been somewhat demoralized by Hiruma’s psychological attack, this was not a good start. But it was promising, Hiruma was taking this seriously and he was using every trick he had. Perhaps he felt intimidated by Yamato’s line up after all.
“To remind you that your fucking wife wants to eat dinner with you sometime this week.” Hiruma told Yamato with a pleasant, sweet smile. “I do hope you take her somewhere nice, she’s been putting up with a remarkable amount of your shit recently and all.”
Yamato could only stare. How did Hiruma know about that-!? Wait this was Hiruma, Hiruma knew shit about people.
Hiruma just turned around with a ‘see ya’ kind of wave, his smirk even wider. He did just demoralize the opposing team and freak out Yamato. Those kids hadn’t had any real challenges this season and Hiruma was going to present them with the biggest challenge they ever had.
“I’m going to kill that bastard!” Kojima announced with a growl.
“Taiki-kun!” Yamato snapped, angry for once.
The Wizards were quiet as they looked from the player to coach. They’d never seen Yamato this mad before.
“Taiki-kun you have fallen into Hiruma-shi’s trap.” Yamato told the boy with a menacing look. “By getting mad you’ve allowed yourself to be controlled by him.”
Taiki went still and silent, his eyes wide. Yamato was right and he knew it.
“Hiruma-shi came here to intimidate us, to rile us,” Yamato began, “and in fact he did just that but- it has made me realize something.”
The team learned forward, hanging on their coaches every word.
“He’s afraid of us.” Yamato announced. “He’s afraid of losing so he’s seeking to use more covert means for victory. I want you to show him, make him feel, just how afraid he should be.”
The Wizards let out an enthusiastic roar and Yamato hid a smirk. Oh yes, this was going to work out very nicely.
Across the field Hiruma had read the man’s lips and could only chuckle.
“Something funny?” Takekura asked his old friend.
“Fucking shiny thinks I’m scared of his team.” Hiruma answered.
“I don’t think they are scary.” Kurita remarked thoughtfully.
“They aren’t fucking scary. They’re a bunch of overly strong idiots with no respect for the fucking rules or technique.” Hiruma elaborated. “Their fucking quarterback isn’t half bad, but he has no control over his fucking teammates.”
“I suppose we’ll just have to cut them down a few notches.” Juumonji remarked, looking slightly bored with this.
“And crush their spirits.” Kuroki added.
“And give them a dose of realism with defeat.” Toganou added.
“This will make for an interesting Rice Bowl.” Gaou remarked from behind the three friends with a grin.
American Announcer Booth
“-make for an interesting Rice Bowl.” Hendrickson finished. They had just been discussing what Hiruma was doing talking to the opposing team. Lewis’ main idea had been to sow some seeds of intimidation and fear. He’d also commented that those college boys hadn’t had a real challenge yet this season so they had gotten cocky. Lewis thought that perhaps Hiruma wanted to put a little reality into them before they faced off.
“All the more reason to have come to see it in person.” Lewis added with a smug smile.
“Ah- it looks like they are going over for the coin toss now.” Hendrickson announced. “The Babies are being led by Youichi Hiruma, while Takeru Yamato is leading his quarterback, Shinichi Ishimaru. Clifford is it just me, or does that boy look defeated to you?”
“I don’t think ‘defeated’ is the right word,” Lewis explained, “he definitely looks like he’s encountered something much bigger and fearsome than he imagined. Youichi definitely stuck some harsh reality on this kid.”
“Why would Youichi do such a thing? Do you think he’s afraid of the other team?” Hendrickson asked.
“No, he’s not afraid of them. He’s actually being respectful.” Lewis explained, got a blank look, and found himself having to elaborate again. “He’s fighting his opponent at top strength. This isn’t to secure a victory as much as it is to make the game more satisfying for those playing it. No one likes a hollow victory.”
“Well, you would know best Clifford.” Hendrickson was clearly taking the other man’s word for it.
“Of course I would, I’m a player.” Lewis smiled. “Youichi is going to pull out everything he’s got and spare his opponent nothing. That’ll be entertaining at the very least.”
“Ah, here they are.” Hendrickson nodded in approval when he was handed a piece of paper from off screen. Lewis only gave the man a curious look. “The casino bet statistics.”
“Oh?” Lewis raised an eyebrow and waited for Hendrickson to elaborate.
“1 to 333, in favor of Saikyodai.” Hendrickson announced. He jumped in his chair when Lewis let out a barking belly laugh.
“Looks like the Babies’ victory has been sealed.” Lewis smirked almost predatorily. “After all, Youichi plays best when the odds are stacked against him.”
Part 4
Rice Bowl, three minutes before player introductions
Emiko was not happy.
She was wearing some headphones, which made things better, but she still didn’t like it (they pinched her ears). Her patience and endurance for all these people and waiting was wearing thin awfully quickly. Papa and Mom didn’t say there was going to be a lot of waiting, Emiko didn’t like waiting. She rocked in her seat uncomfortably, trying to calm herself and be good.
If she was bad, Papa might get in trouble and then he couldn’t play anymore and that would be bad and sad and nasty and Papa might not forgive Emiko and that would be even worse!
So Emiko was going to be good, even if it was going to be really, really hard to be good.
“Now presenting the Takekura Babies!” The infamous Japanese announcer, Machinegun Sanada, announced. Football games just weren’t football games without him.
Emiko fell silent and her gaze turned excitedly towards the entry way.
“From the depths of Hell this man has risen up to once again to haunt the fields of football, give it up for the devilish commander from Hell, Quarterback Hiruma Youichi!” Sanada wound up the crowd just right to make it explode. Emiko couldn’t help it, she was sucked up in the emotion and screaming along with everyone else.
Out of the dry ice ran Hiruma, helmet under arm and gun over his shoulder. The crowd was wild and pleased to see him back. His perpetual smirk dawned his face as he ran further onto the field to await the next introduction. Subtly though, Hiruma’s eyes scanned the crowd briefly, trying to find Emiko in the mass. He’d almost forgotten where Takekura had told him her seat was at. Ah there they were, her brown eyes and that smile….
Papa saw her and winked! Most awesome thing ever!
Anezaki was no fool; she saw that Hiruma found his daughter and it made her smile. The rest of the Babies came out with the same introductions they had been using all season. Most of the team seemed to be weary of Hiruma and his gun. That’s right- this was their first game with him on the field. He hadn’t been completely off the wall bat shit crazy at practice, Kurita and Takekura had told her this. Instead he’d been unnervingly polite and parental. They knew he was going back to his old tricks with the opponents they were facing but….
Would his new bonds with his teammates be strong enough?
“And here are the Saikyodai Wizards!!” Sanada announced, sending the other half of the crowd into furry. Emiko let out her own excited squeal. Papa had showed her all of their games this season while he was analyzing them. She knew lots about them!
“Ah, their coach, Yamato Takeru is the first one on the field today. He said he wanted to have a look at the enemy first so he could start using his ‘one hundred percent predictions’ on them right away. Looks like he’s got his eyes set on the prize!” Sanada used his words to further rally the crowd.
“Not one hundred percent.” Emiko frowned at the words. “Papa and Sena broke it during the Christmas Bowl.”
“Your Papa plans to break it again.” Yuuya commented loud enough to be heard over the crowd and the headphones Emiko was wearing. She nodded.
Yamato was staring at the smirking Hiruma. A light nervous sweat broke out across his entire form. Those green eyes were seeing right through him, like they always had. The expression on Hiruma’s face told Yamato that he was more than ready to kick his ass and knock his team down a few pegs today and that he’d also seen through Yamato’s tactics.
“Still unnerving, huh?” Yamato smiled brightly. This was going to be a challenge and there was nothing better than a blood-stirring challenge.
“Coach,” Ishimaru Shinichi, the quarterback, began, “what’s with Jersey One?” Frankly the man looked like he was trying to imitate a punk and was being remarkably successful for an older person. Something about that gun and confident smirk was unnerving.
“Hiruma Youichi, age 36, offensive captain and starting quarterback for the Babies’ line up.” Yamato answered. “More commonly known as the ‘Commander from Hell’, because he makes hell for anyone whom he fights and often his teammates in the process. He’s a master of trick plays and comeback victories.”
“I know that, but what’s with the gun and the hair?” Ishimaru pressed.
“Part of the ‘from Hell’ part. He’s trying to mess with our heads by coming off as demonic.” Yamato explained.
“He doesn’t look like much.” Ishimaru remarked, flipping open a clipboard full of data. “I mean his dash time and bench press, its weak.”
“Physically he’s not much of a threat,” Yamato admitted, “but tactically he’s arguably the best in the world.”
“The best football tactician in the world is Clifford D. Lewis, seconded by yourself.” Ishimaru spoke as if this was fact.
“Shinichi,” Yamato looked his trainee in the eye, “Hiruma is the only person Clifford ever acknowledged as his rival for a reason.”
Ishimaru’s eyes went wide.
“He-he’s that Hiruma Youichi?” Ishimaru had been forced to watch footage from all of Hiruma’s previous games along with footage from Lewis’ games to get a feel for trickster quarterbacks. Yamato hadn’t been sure that Hiruma was going to play, but he decided to not take the foolish risk of assuming he wasn’t. He did have anti-Hiruma tactics prepared, hopefully it would be enough.
“Yes, he is that Hiruma Youichi. He will be the most impressive quarterback you will ever see up close. Shinichi,” Yamato paused for dramatic effect, “win or lose today, watch him closely. You’ll learn a great deal.”
“The pointy eared guy is coming this way!” Nakashima Kureno, kicker, exclaimed as Hiruma started walking over. Introductions had finished and for some reason that no one understood yet, Hiruma was crossing the field. A few referees appeared at Hiruma’s sides. Technically Hiruma hadn’t done anything wrong but they wanted to make sure he didn’t.
Crunching the white grass beneath his feet, Hiruma stopped on the sideline just before the bench. Now that he was close, Ishimaru could see the little crow’s feet and forehead wrinkles on Hiruma’s face. He was not a boy, he was a man, a veteran of this game.
Everyone amongst the Wizards felt intimidated by this amazing presence before them.
“Two things.” Hiruma announced, holding up two long fingers to prove his point. “First thing, I don’t give a shit about fucking alma matters. Just because you also went to Saikyodai doesn’t mean I’m going to be fucking sympatric to your plight.”
“You went to Saikyodai?” Ishimaru muttered, then he recalled the Saikyodai games Yamato had wanted him to watch and he hadn’t, dismissing them as going over his team’s mistakes as opposed to Hiruma’s games.
“Fuck yeah.” Hiruma gave the young quarterback a bemused look. Then he turned to Yamato. “Didn’t know you got so forgetful, fucking shiny.”
Then Hiruma’s expression turned thoughtful for a moment.
“Or are you trying to set them up for the biggest fucking defeat they will experience in their college careers?” Hiruma mused.
“Hey old man! We’re better than you!” One of the linemen roared, clearly having lost his temper.
“Oh?” Hiruma raised an eyebrow, looking at the kid, still bemused. He then shut his eyes.
“Kojima Taiki, number 73, linemen. Started playing his senior year of high school after being kicked off the sumo team for fighting with his teammates. Went from center to defensive tackle because of his lack of respect for a quarterback’s orders. Average sacks per game, 4.03. Has a nasty habit of breaking the bones in opposing teams’ quarterbacks when sacking.” Hiruma listed the statics in a soft voice. The sort of soft voice he used to calm a confused and upset Emiko.
“Taiki-chan,” Hiruma opened his eyes, “I’ll be fucking frank, you’re not nearly as nasty as Gaou Rikiya.”
“His sacking average is less than mine.” Kojima pointed out. “Why should I be afraid?”
“Gaou’s sacking average is less than yours because it takes him less time to fuck up the quarterback, kid.” Hiruma pointed out dryly.
The rest of the team could only stare, pale.
“But remarking about how fucking inferior you are to Gaou isn’t one of the reasons why I’m here.” Hiruma went on, only serving to provoke Kojima further. Almost all of the linemen were holding him back.
“Then why did you come?” Yamato demanded. His team had been somewhat demoralized by Hiruma’s psychological attack, this was not a good start. But it was promising, Hiruma was taking this seriously and he was using every trick he had. Perhaps he felt intimidated by Yamato’s line up after all.
“To remind you that your fucking wife wants to eat dinner with you sometime this week.” Hiruma told Yamato with a pleasant, sweet smile. “I do hope you take her somewhere nice, she’s been putting up with a remarkable amount of your shit recently and all.”
Yamato could only stare. How did Hiruma know about that-!? Wait this was Hiruma, Hiruma knew shit about people.
Hiruma just turned around with a ‘see ya’ kind of wave, his smirk even wider. He did just demoralize the opposing team and freak out Yamato. Those kids hadn’t had any real challenges this season and Hiruma was going to present them with the biggest challenge they ever had.
“I’m going to kill that bastard!” Kojima announced with a growl.
“Taiki-kun!” Yamato snapped, angry for once.
The Wizards were quiet as they looked from the player to coach. They’d never seen Yamato this mad before.
“Taiki-kun you have fallen into Hiruma-shi’s trap.” Yamato told the boy with a menacing look. “By getting mad you’ve allowed yourself to be controlled by him.”
Taiki went still and silent, his eyes wide. Yamato was right and he knew it.
“Hiruma-shi came here to intimidate us, to rile us,” Yamato began, “and in fact he did just that but- it has made me realize something.”
The team learned forward, hanging on their coaches every word.
“He’s afraid of us.” Yamato announced. “He’s afraid of losing so he’s seeking to use more covert means for victory. I want you to show him, make him feel, just how afraid he should be.”
The Wizards let out an enthusiastic roar and Yamato hid a smirk. Oh yes, this was going to work out very nicely.
Across the field Hiruma had read the man’s lips and could only chuckle.
“Something funny?” Takekura asked his old friend.
“Fucking shiny thinks I’m scared of his team.” Hiruma answered.
“I don’t think they are scary.” Kurita remarked thoughtfully.
“They aren’t fucking scary. They’re a bunch of overly strong idiots with no respect for the fucking rules or technique.” Hiruma elaborated. “Their fucking quarterback isn’t half bad, but he has no control over his fucking teammates.”
“I suppose we’ll just have to cut them down a few notches.” Juumonji remarked, looking slightly bored with this.
“And crush their spirits.” Kuroki added.
“And give them a dose of realism with defeat.” Toganou added.
“This will make for an interesting Rice Bowl.” Gaou remarked from behind the three friends with a grin.
American Announcer Booth
“-make for an interesting Rice Bowl.” Hendrickson finished. They had just been discussing what Hiruma was doing talking to the opposing team. Lewis’ main idea had been to sow some seeds of intimidation and fear. He’d also commented that those college boys hadn’t had a real challenge yet this season so they had gotten cocky. Lewis thought that perhaps Hiruma wanted to put a little reality into them before they faced off.
“All the more reason to have come to see it in person.” Lewis added with a smug smile.
“Ah- it looks like they are going over for the coin toss now.” Hendrickson announced. “The Babies are being led by Youichi Hiruma, while Takeru Yamato is leading his quarterback, Shinichi Ishimaru. Clifford is it just me, or does that boy look defeated to you?”
“I don’t think ‘defeated’ is the right word,” Lewis explained, “he definitely looks like he’s encountered something much bigger and fearsome than he imagined. Youichi definitely stuck some harsh reality on this kid.”
“Why would Youichi do such a thing? Do you think he’s afraid of the other team?” Hendrickson asked.
“No, he’s not afraid of them. He’s actually being respectful.” Lewis explained, got a blank look, and found himself having to elaborate again. “He’s fighting his opponent at top strength. This isn’t to secure a victory as much as it is to make the game more satisfying for those playing it. No one likes a hollow victory.”
“Well, you would know best Clifford.” Hendrickson was clearly taking the other man’s word for it.
“Of course I would, I’m a player.” Lewis smiled. “Youichi is going to pull out everything he’s got and spare his opponent nothing. That’ll be entertaining at the very least.”
“Ah, here they are.” Hendrickson nodded in approval when he was handed a piece of paper from off screen. Lewis only gave the man a curious look. “The casino bet statistics.”
“Oh?” Lewis raised an eyebrow and waited for Hendrickson to elaborate.
“1 to 333, in favor of Saikyodai.” Hendrickson announced. He jumped in his chair when Lewis let out a barking belly laugh.
“Looks like the Babies’ victory has been sealed.” Lewis smirked almost predatorily. “After all, Youichi plays best when the odds are stacked against him.”
Part 4