Introduction

Sena Kobayakawa is a short, wimpy teenager who has just started his first year at Deimon High School. For him, it's a much-needed fresh start after spending most of his childhood playing gofer for school bullies.

Sena's doting childhood friend, Mamori Anezaki, has always tried to protect him from harm. But now that he's older, he doesn't want to keep relying on her.

Shortly after class, three delinquent classmates corner Sena and start bossing him around. When he fails to meet their demands, they drag him into a messy rundown shed to beat him up. But they're soon interrupted when a fat, burly second-year named Ryoukan Kurita walks in on them.

Kurita mistakenly thinks that Sena's tormentors are there to try out for the American football club. He excitedly demonstrates a lineman's throw on the trio, which promptly scares them off. Sena quickly learns that even though Kurita's size and strength are massive, he's very kindhearted and hospitable, and that this shed is the clubhouse of his struggling team, the Deimon Devil Bats.

Kurita serves Sena cake and tea while introducing him to American football. The Devil Bats only have two players: him as the center lineman, along with his captain as the team's quarterback. But despite their best recruitment efforts, they still depend on fill-ins from other sports clubs and never win any games.

Still, Kurita holds out hope that the Devil Bats will someday compete in the Christmas Bowl, Japan's national championship for high school teams. Although Sena is too afraid to play such a violent contact sport, Kurita's passion moves him and piques his curiosity. So Sena asks to join as the Devil Bats' team manager, much to Kurita's joy, and the two become friends.

On his way home, Sena gets jumped by the delinquent trio from earlier and they interrogate him over Kurita's whereabouts. As payback for throwing them, they plan to pick a fight with Kurita and frame him for assault, which would get him banned from playing school sports. In the heat of the moment, Sena angrily stands up to them, breaks free, and escapes.

He's chased through the town by the trio, but soon finds himself in front of a dense crowd with nowhere else to run. Once the delinquents close in, Sena unleashes a skill developed from his many years as a bullies' gofer: superhuman speed. He takes off in a flash and nimbly zips his way through, leaving them gaping in the dust.

This incredible spectacle is witnessed by none other than Youichi Hiruma, Deimon High's diabolical shadow tyrant...and captain of the Deimon Devil Bats. Hiruma eagerly follows Sena and his persuers and watches from afar, all while imagining a speedy running back making Sena's agile moves down a gridiron field and scoring a touchdown.

Sena successfully escapes by diving into a subway car. This in turn sends the delinquent trio tumbling down onto the subway's empty platform and right into Hiruma's clutches.

The next day, a terrified Sena finds himself tied up inside the Devil Bats' clubhouse and dodging Hiruma's gunfire. He's forced to suit up into full player's gear, including a number 21 jersey and a helmet equipped with a tinted visor. Hiruma then tells him that he is the Devil Bats' new running back. But in order to prevent other teams from scouting him, they must keep Sena's true identity a secret.