Devilish (Diamond no Ace)

One Outs and 4 Million Yen Later

In a small baseball field in Okinawa, raucous shouts and cheers came from outside the fence as the resounding thunk of a baseball hitting the backboard was clearly heard.

"George you doing alright?"

"You're swinging your bat too far from the baseball!"

The rambunctious crowd yelled at the male gripping a baseball bat tightly, who at the moment, was the center of attention. A large, tanned woman entered the field closely followed by two males who looked equally lost.

"This game is called One Outs. It's popular with the American foreigners from this area." The women explained.

"One Outs?"

"It's to see whether the pitcher can get the batter out. If the batter gets three strikes or the ball lands in the infield, the pitcher wins. Otherwise, the pitcher loses."

Sharp maroon eyes followed the entrance of the newcomers as the batter finally hit the ball into the outfield. Cheers and disappointed groans soon erupted from the crowd as money was passed around. The black-haired male that had followed the lady looked shocked as he realized that the crowd had been gambling on the baseball showdown.

"The atmosphere here is pretty dangerous." His brown-haired companion whispered to him to which the glasses-wearing male could only nod in affirmation.

"Hey, look at that." The tanned-women pointed with her cigarette to a lanky blonde male who had taken up the last pitcher's spot. "The next pitcher is Japanese."

The two males watched the intimidating Japanese pitcher whose amber eyes seemed to burn like the flames of his cigarette in the darkness of the evening.

"Oh, Big Mama there you are."

A young girl made her way towards the trio as a gentle smile played on her lips.

"Hana-chan you're here too?" Big Mama smirked while taking a drag of her cigarette.

Hana giggled while intertwining her hands behind her back. "Onii-chan is here so of course I'll be here too."

"Not worried about entrance exams?"

"Should I be?"

The woman let out a boisterous laugh as she shook her head at the girl whose wavy blonde-hair fell to the side as she tilted her head in confusion.

"You brought guests? That's rare." Hana's eyes trailed towards the two males as she blinked innocently at them.

"Yeah, said they were looking for a pitcher."

"Hmm. Then would you two onii-sans like to make a bet?" The girl pulled out a stack of money she had hidden behind her back, her winnings from the previous game.

'A bet? With a girl this young? Should she even be here right now?!' The black-haired male look conflicted as he sought the right words to turn the girl down.

"What should we do?" The brown-haired male whispered to his companion. "I don't feel right gambling with a kid, especially one as naive-looking as her."

Hana turned towards Big Mama and softly said "I really hope they accept since this is the only way I can pay for high school since onii-chan doesn't have a job." The statement being just loud enough to reach the ears of the two males.

"But it's also not good to leave right now so just bet 1,000 yen and let's leave afterward." The shorter of the two whispered back.

"I'll bet with you, kiddo. 1,000 sound alright?" The brown-haired male crouched slightly and stuck out his hand. "I'll even let you choose."