[One Shot] No More Strangers
Title: No More Strangers
Rating: K+
Word Count: 1,250
Disclaimers: I do not own any of the characters used here. They belong to their respective owners, namely the creators of Eyeshield 21.
Summary: Despite her own doubts and fears, Mamori realizes that Hiruma understands her more than she gives him credit for.
Notes: It's funny how my first initial idea for this drabble ended up like this. XD. I was greatly inspired when I listened to hellosugah's fanmix called Love You Madly. The very first song she chose called "Strangers" by Elisa and this gave me the rough basics of what I aimed to convey in this drabble, and everything else just filled up on its own. Whether it detracts from the original meaning of the song is beyond me, but while you can read the drabble on its own, I recommend checking out hellosugah's fanmix (highly recommended!), or you can hear the individual song on YouTube here just cause it's pretty. <3
Also, I don't know if I wanna consider this as a drabble as it's over 1000 words but well... it's definitely a one shot worth sharing (I think? LOL!). I'll be working on this month's prompt for hiruma_x_mamori soon, and I've been listening to a number of songs that remind me of HiruMamo, but I really have no time to make another fanmix, so I'm turning them into my own personal prompts. If you have any songs you'd like to recommend as a prompt for HiruMamo, please feel free to share!
Until then, enjoy this silly offering! ^^
~*~
It was still dark when Mamori woke up from a very strange dream. She tried to recall the dream, searching her memory hard for its last elusive strands, but the more she tried to hold on to the images, the faster they seemed to slip away. All she could remember was a warm, comforting feeling and the smell of gunpowder, mint and coffee…
In fact, she could still smell it right now, which she found quite odd. She blinked to take a better look at her surroundings, but saw nothing but darkness. This definitely wasn’t her room, she was sure of that. So she shifted her body to the other side and saw what was before her, only then did everything came back to her.
She had fought with Hiruma.
It was another one of those petty fights that blew out of proportion. Not long after finding out Sena was Eyeshield 21, she did her best to support her childhood friend on the field, but there were still moments that terrified her. Sure, she had seen Eyeshield 21’s amazing ability to overcome whatever obstacle came before him, but now all she could see was Sena’s face as he ran down the field, and the idea of him being beaten down scared her despite her efforts to hide it and support him from the sides.
So as she went through the strategies and saw that Hiruma planned to use Sena as the main offense in the next game, she couldn’t keep it in anymore and began to scold Hiruma. At first, for making Sena bear most of the brunt in the next game, then for tricking Sena into becoming Eyeshield 21 in the first place, and then it went out of control as she started attacking him personally over how horrible he was, and how she would never understand him.
And yet, here she was lying on the couch in the football club room, watching him as he sat in front of his laptop, the only source of faint light illuminating his face… and his jacket on top of her. This fact alone surprised Mamori.
She watched him for a few minutes, analyzing his face. There’s that steely determined face he makes as he works on team strategies. His lips were sealed grimly together as his eyes darted over the laptop. His eyes…
They look worn. She had never seen Hiruma this tired before. And suddenly she felt guilty for throwing all her fears on him. What kind of manager was she? He already had so much to bear, she shouldn’t be adding to his burden even more.
So she got up, which instantly alerted Hiruma of her presence. “You slept like a fucking baby,” he stated.
“I don’t remember falling asleep,” she said. As she blinked a couple of times, she realized her eyes were slightly swollen. Had she been crying?
He didn’t reply, but Mamori remembered everything now. After their fight, she went back to the desk to rearrange the data she had been working on, and she had planned to go home straight after that. But she ended up resting her head on her arms crossed on the table, as she began to cry… That was when she fell asleep.
So how did she end up on the couch? She got up from the couch and walked towards him, clutching his jacket tightly. She had to apologize. “Hiruma-kun, I…”
“I worked on the strategy a bit more. Go through it with the data you collected,” he merely stated as he pointed at a few pieces of paper near his laptop.
Mamori looked at him for a moment, her apology still hanging on her lips. But she then turned to the new strategy and looked through it for a moment. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw that Sena was still the main offensive, but it was more obvious that the team was behind him all the way… and that she would play a big role as well. It struck her that he was assuring her of both Sena’s role and hers as well. “Hiruma-kun, you…”
“You should get going, it’s already quite late,” he cut her off again as he got up and shut his laptop. “Get that done by tomorrow afternoon.”
She stood there, stunned for a moment as Hiruma headed towards the door. “Wait, Hiruma-kun!” she cried. He stopped as he stood in front of the door, back towards her. “Hear me out, please,” she said quickly, hoping that he would not interject again. “I didn’t mean to say all those things to you. I know Sena is capable of handling himself, but I’ve been so worried that I not only completely forgot to have faith in Sena and the others, but most especially in you.”
Hiruma still stood with his back towards her. Uncertain, she continued, “You were the one who brought out the best in Sena and everyone in the team. And you’ve brought us this far for a reason. I shouldn’t have doubted you, so this strategy that involves me? It’s not necessary… We’ll go with the earlier plan and I’ll trust you and Sena more.”
“Fucking Manager,” Hiruma finally spoke aloud, as he turned towards her with a grin. “Just because you feel and act like a Fucking Mother Hen, it doesn’t downplay your fucking role in this team. Why do you think your name was called before the game against that fucking Bando Spiders?”
Memories of the day flooded Mamori’s mind, but as she remembered how she cried all alone doubting herself, her name boomed aloud in that giant stadium. She recalled how she remembered her role in the Devil Bats, and due to her focusing on doing what she can for the team, only now did she fully understand why Hiruma had set to have her name announced.
“You knew…” she whispered, looking away as she felt her face heating up.
“Well, of course,” added Hiruma. “After all, I wanted everyone to know that no one can beat you at creampuff snacking,” he cackled as he proceeded to leave the clubroom.
“Hiruma-kun!” she cried before she could stop herself. But now she was grinning as she grabbed her bag and walked beside him, jacket in hand.
“Are you gonna give me my jacket back yet?” he asked her with a grin.
“I was just about to,” she said as she held out the jacket. He reached out for it, and his hand lightly brushed hers before he finally took the jacket from her. She smiled as they walked out of Deimon.
For the first time ever, Mamori felt a strange sensation grow within her chest, something that felt strangely familiar. It was warm, and it made her happy. It all made sense to her now, and she knew this feeling would grow stronger in time. “Ne, Hiruma-kun…” she suddenly said.
“What?” he asked seemingly disinterested.
“Thank you…” she said as she looked at him. She opened her mouth to say some more, but somehow that felt more than enough, and he did not press her on. Instead, a quiet understanding lingered between them.
She still could not remember that dream she had, but she was certain now that Hiruma was in it. She had never expected this, looking back at what little history they shared. Yet in his own way, he had fought off her demons. And that was when she decided she would do the same for him.
Rating: K+
Word Count: 1,250
Disclaimers: I do not own any of the characters used here. They belong to their respective owners, namely the creators of Eyeshield 21.
Summary: Despite her own doubts and fears, Mamori realizes that Hiruma understands her more than she gives him credit for.
Notes: It's funny how my first initial idea for this drabble ended up like this. XD. I was greatly inspired when I listened to hellosugah's fanmix called Love You Madly. The very first song she chose called "Strangers" by Elisa and this gave me the rough basics of what I aimed to convey in this drabble, and everything else just filled up on its own. Whether it detracts from the original meaning of the song is beyond me, but while you can read the drabble on its own, I recommend checking out hellosugah's fanmix (highly recommended!), or you can hear the individual song on YouTube here just cause it's pretty. <3
Also, I don't know if I wanna consider this as a drabble as it's over 1000 words but well... it's definitely a one shot worth sharing (I think? LOL!). I'll be working on this month's prompt for hiruma_x_mamori soon, and I've been listening to a number of songs that remind me of HiruMamo, but I really have no time to make another fanmix, so I'm turning them into my own personal prompts. If you have any songs you'd like to recommend as a prompt for HiruMamo, please feel free to share!
Until then, enjoy this silly offering! ^^
~*~
It was still dark when Mamori woke up from a very strange dream. She tried to recall the dream, searching her memory hard for its last elusive strands, but the more she tried to hold on to the images, the faster they seemed to slip away. All she could remember was a warm, comforting feeling and the smell of gunpowder, mint and coffee…
In fact, she could still smell it right now, which she found quite odd. She blinked to take a better look at her surroundings, but saw nothing but darkness. This definitely wasn’t her room, she was sure of that. So she shifted her body to the other side and saw what was before her, only then did everything came back to her.
She had fought with Hiruma.
It was another one of those petty fights that blew out of proportion. Not long after finding out Sena was Eyeshield 21, she did her best to support her childhood friend on the field, but there were still moments that terrified her. Sure, she had seen Eyeshield 21’s amazing ability to overcome whatever obstacle came before him, but now all she could see was Sena’s face as he ran down the field, and the idea of him being beaten down scared her despite her efforts to hide it and support him from the sides.
So as she went through the strategies and saw that Hiruma planned to use Sena as the main offense in the next game, she couldn’t keep it in anymore and began to scold Hiruma. At first, for making Sena bear most of the brunt in the next game, then for tricking Sena into becoming Eyeshield 21 in the first place, and then it went out of control as she started attacking him personally over how horrible he was, and how she would never understand him.
And yet, here she was lying on the couch in the football club room, watching him as he sat in front of his laptop, the only source of faint light illuminating his face… and his jacket on top of her. This fact alone surprised Mamori.
She watched him for a few minutes, analyzing his face. There’s that steely determined face he makes as he works on team strategies. His lips were sealed grimly together as his eyes darted over the laptop. His eyes…
They look worn. She had never seen Hiruma this tired before. And suddenly she felt guilty for throwing all her fears on him. What kind of manager was she? He already had so much to bear, she shouldn’t be adding to his burden even more.
So she got up, which instantly alerted Hiruma of her presence. “You slept like a fucking baby,” he stated.
“I don’t remember falling asleep,” she said. As she blinked a couple of times, she realized her eyes were slightly swollen. Had she been crying?
He didn’t reply, but Mamori remembered everything now. After their fight, she went back to the desk to rearrange the data she had been working on, and she had planned to go home straight after that. But she ended up resting her head on her arms crossed on the table, as she began to cry… That was when she fell asleep.
So how did she end up on the couch? She got up from the couch and walked towards him, clutching his jacket tightly. She had to apologize. “Hiruma-kun, I…”
“I worked on the strategy a bit more. Go through it with the data you collected,” he merely stated as he pointed at a few pieces of paper near his laptop.
Mamori looked at him for a moment, her apology still hanging on her lips. But she then turned to the new strategy and looked through it for a moment. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw that Sena was still the main offensive, but it was more obvious that the team was behind him all the way… and that she would play a big role as well. It struck her that he was assuring her of both Sena’s role and hers as well. “Hiruma-kun, you…”
“You should get going, it’s already quite late,” he cut her off again as he got up and shut his laptop. “Get that done by tomorrow afternoon.”
She stood there, stunned for a moment as Hiruma headed towards the door. “Wait, Hiruma-kun!” she cried. He stopped as he stood in front of the door, back towards her. “Hear me out, please,” she said quickly, hoping that he would not interject again. “I didn’t mean to say all those things to you. I know Sena is capable of handling himself, but I’ve been so worried that I not only completely forgot to have faith in Sena and the others, but most especially in you.”
Hiruma still stood with his back towards her. Uncertain, she continued, “You were the one who brought out the best in Sena and everyone in the team. And you’ve brought us this far for a reason. I shouldn’t have doubted you, so this strategy that involves me? It’s not necessary… We’ll go with the earlier plan and I’ll trust you and Sena more.”
“Fucking Manager,” Hiruma finally spoke aloud, as he turned towards her with a grin. “Just because you feel and act like a Fucking Mother Hen, it doesn’t downplay your fucking role in this team. Why do you think your name was called before the game against that fucking Bando Spiders?”
Memories of the day flooded Mamori’s mind, but as she remembered how she cried all alone doubting herself, her name boomed aloud in that giant stadium. She recalled how she remembered her role in the Devil Bats, and due to her focusing on doing what she can for the team, only now did she fully understand why Hiruma had set to have her name announced.
“You knew…” she whispered, looking away as she felt her face heating up.
“Well, of course,” added Hiruma. “After all, I wanted everyone to know that no one can beat you at creampuff snacking,” he cackled as he proceeded to leave the clubroom.
“Hiruma-kun!” she cried before she could stop herself. But now she was grinning as she grabbed her bag and walked beside him, jacket in hand.
“Are you gonna give me my jacket back yet?” he asked her with a grin.
“I was just about to,” she said as she held out the jacket. He reached out for it, and his hand lightly brushed hers before he finally took the jacket from her. She smiled as they walked out of Deimon.
For the first time ever, Mamori felt a strange sensation grow within her chest, something that felt strangely familiar. It was warm, and it made her happy. It all made sense to her now, and she knew this feeling would grow stronger in time. “Ne, Hiruma-kun…” she suddenly said.
“What?” he asked seemingly disinterested.
“Thank you…” she said as she looked at him. She opened her mouth to say some more, but somehow that felt more than enough, and he did not press her on. Instead, a quiet understanding lingered between them.
She still could not remember that dream she had, but she was certain now that Hiruma was in it. She had never expected this, looking back at what little history they shared. Yet in his own way, he had fought off her demons. And that was when she decided she would do the same for him.