Stealing First

Chapter 17

Kuramochi shuffled through his kit bag, pushing aside a collection of unwashed undershirts and various good luck charms, finally pulling out his favourite bat for the morning's practice session. He yawned, raising the bat above his head and stretching out his weary shoulders as he strolled towards the practice cages. He had woken early this morning, anxious and excited about today's semi-final match, and had decided to burn off the nervous energy by sneaking in a few practice swings before the team session began. As he rounded the corner, he tilted his head in surprise at hearing the familiar whir of the pitching machine already in action. Who else would be up this early? he wondered.

'Morning sleepyhead,' chimed Miyuki, swinging effortlessly at a fastball aimed right down the middle. 'About time you showed up.'

The shortstop scowled at his cocky teammate. 'Shut up, Miyuki.'

'Is that any way to speak to your captain?'

Kuramochi tightened the grip on his bat in an effort to quell the urge to whack that smug grin into next week. Suddenly, a thought came to him that made his lips curl into a smug grin of their own.

'Since you mention people speaking to the captain, what were you and Charlie talking about yesterday? Seemed pretty tense in there...' The olive-haired second year turned his back on his companion, facing the pitching machine with a distinct air of self-satisfaction. He heard the next ball hit the back net beside him, and he let out a hyena-like laugh. He turned to find Miyuki had stepped away from the practice plate, standing quite still and wearing an unreadable expression. Kuramochi's smile fell, and he felt a small twinge of regret for baiting his friend on such a touchy subject.

Just as he opened his mouth to apologise, Miyuki replied, 'I've been worried that I'm not the right person to captain our team, and Charlie was giving me some advice.' Kuramochi was surprised by the honesty of the answer.

'Really? I didn't realise you felt that way, Miyuki. You always seem so confident...'

'That's what Charlie said too. She helped me to realise that sometimes it's best not to over analyse things, to just believe and go with your gut. To tackle things head on.'

'Wow,' replied Kuramochi, 'she sounds just like her Dad.'

Miyuki chuckled softly, reminded of the night they went out for burgers. The night they first held hands. The night he realised he could no longer ignore his feelings for the short but fierce Australian girl. 'Actually, like her mother, apparently.'

Kuramochi took notice of the change in his friend's features as he spoke about Charlie: the softened creases at the corners of his eyes, the genuine smile, the slight blush colouring his cheeks. 'Ç'mon cap, admit it. You like her. It's obvious. Well, to the rest of us, at least.'

At this, Miyiki's head shot up and he stared, open-mouthed, at his friend. 'What? How did you...' he trailed off, then took a deep breath and his gaze became more resolute.

'You're right,' he replied, again taking his companion by surprise. 'Another thing I have learned from Charlie is that I shouldn't run from things that seem complicated or challenging. And that includes my feelings for her.' He glanced up briefly at his friend but quickly continued before his nerve deserted him. 'At breakfast yesterday I realised I am stronger with her in my corner, and that for my own sake and the team's, I need to face that and tell her.' The lanky brunette rolled his shoulders and turned to face the mechanical pitcher once again.

'Okayyyy. So,' followed Kuramochi, 'does this mean you are going to confess to Charlie? Like, today?' He grinned inwardly, knowing from his previous conversations with Charlie that she would be thrilled to find out that Miyuki shared her feelings.