Forbidden Protege

Ch. 9: Changes (Part 4)

"Thanks, Jun-san," Alexia said in the quiet after the storm.

Jun huffed and grumbled, "Whatever. Just keep that damn bastard from dragging anymore of his fangirls here."

Alexia chuckled. "I tried. Believe me, I tried."

"Not hard enough," Ryosuke piped up. Alexia turned to look at him before sticking her tongue out. "Childish, just like I said." She rolled her eyes. "In any case, I've got a shovel." He offered no more explanation as Alexia silently watched him eat another bite of rice.

"Well, that was eventful," Kawakami said nervously and Alexia felt bad for the quiet pitcher, being drug into the middle of all the loud drama.

"You can say that again," Alexia mumbled turning back to her own food.

"I thought it was entertaining," Miyuki stated, his smirk still evident.

"Of course you did," Kuramochi snorted.

"What was that girl talking about, Alex-san?" Eijun asked from a table over. "You're not really on the team for-."

"God no!" Alexia shouted. She set her hands in her face a grumbled. "They just don't like the fact that I'm surrounded by guys all the time."

"That's stupid! You're on a baseball team! Of course you're going to be surrounded by guys!" Eijun yelled passionately. Alexia's lips quirked upwards. Well, he's got the spirit at least.

"They really said that," Kuramochi said through gritted teeth, almost trying to convince himself he had heard correctly. "Those bitches actually said that."

Miyuki's mouth was in a thin line. He knew that the girls had it out for Alexia, but he hadn't planned on them accusing her like that in front of the entire team. Guilt pooled in his stomach as he realized that he was the one responsible for that. He looked over at Alexia to see how she was reacting. Seeing as how she had shrunk in on herself earlier, he was not expecting to find her looking at him with mild amusement.

Alexia felt almost nauseous with nerves. She cast a careful glance around the room to see how everyone was reacting. Most players just looked upset or irritated by the disturbance. Some shot her glares or whispered. Jun looked ready to explode with anger and Ryosuke looked like he was plotting murder. Tetsu was outwardly calm, but Alexia could see the storm lurking behind his eyes. Kuramochi was seething, Nori offered her a small, understanding smile, and the first year group was trying to calm Eijun down. When she saw Miyuki she was taken off guard.

He, for the most part, appeared calm. However, his shoulders were tense and his hand flexed slightly, more of twitching than anything. His eyes were cloudy with concern his lips were pressed firmly together. What caught her the most off guard was how he looked guilty. Logically, Alexia knew it was because he invited them here that the team heard Hanomi say those things, but she didn't blame him. He obviously hadn't planned for that and she knew better than to think he had wanted or didn't care that it happened. When he turned to meet her gaze, she saw his eyes clearly. Warm and soft caramel overshadowed by guilt and concern. Worry laced his eyes which was quickly replaced with surprise.

Alexia shook her head. "It's not your fault. Luckily, I don't think most of the team took her seriously," she said quietly, trying to console him.

He nodded. Then asked, "And are you going to be okay?" Surprise danced across the girl's face and Miyuki himself was taken aback. Yes, he wanted to ask her if she was, but he wasn't the type to do it so explicitly. He didn't regret it however when, instead of the expected smartass remark on the situation, she gave him a small smile and nod.

Both of them turned back to their food and finished eating quickly. Kuramochi was still glaring at his food so Alexia quickly reached and grabbed a tomato off his tray. His eyes snapped to her and she smirked as she popped it in her mouth. "If you're not going to eat the good food, I will."

"Get your hands off my food," he grumbled, resuming eating. Alexia just smirked to herself as she continued eating and soon enough the three of them had all finished their dinner.

Alexia stood up with her tray. "Go shower before we start studying, I don't want you two stinking up my room."

Miyuki narrowed his eyes at her. "I never said I needed tutoring, just that idiot did."

"Hey!" Kuramochi shouted, regaining his usual energy. "Shut up! You're no better at English than I am."

"Considering your terrible pronunciation while talking to Fable, I'd say you could definitely use it," Alexia quipped, dropping her tray off. Miyuki and Kuramochi followed her out the door.

"Wait, you spoke to Alexia's old catcher?" Kuramochi asked, raising an eyebrow. "Wasn't that weird?"

"Why would it be?" Miyuki asked.

"You know," he drawled, a sly smile spreading on the shortstop's face. "Isn't that like the current boyfriend talking to the old one?" His voice was light with teasing and Alexia covered her mouth to keep her laughter in. Much to both their delight, Miyuki turned his face to cover a tinge of pink as he 'humphed'.

"He and I aren't a battery yet," Alexia said, still smiling. "I haven't quite made first string."

"'Quite made'? Aren't you cocky?" Miyuki asked, turning to smirk at the girl who just shrugged exaggeratedly.

"My point from before still stands, though. You sounded like you were just reading lines. Only person I've heard with worse pronunciation is Ryosuke-san," she stated.

"Kyahahaha! Don't let him hear you say that," Kuramochi said with a grin.

Alexia grimaced. "Yeah, I know." At that, Kuramochi turned to head to his room, promising to shower before heading over. Alexia and Miyuki fell in step as they walked to their respective rooms.

"You know it's okay to say you need tutoring," Alexia said, smirking at the boy who rolled his eyes. He didn't reply but Alexia didn't need verbal confirmation. The slight upturn in his lips and released tension from his shoulders told her all she needed.

"You make sure to shower, too. You don't exactly smell the best either," Miyuki retorted instead. Alexia shot him a glare which he received with a smirk. He watched as her gaze melted back into its usual relaxed state. At first, he wasn't sure if he should mention the scene from earlier, but her shift back to normal made him decide against it. Her shoulders were slightly tense and her hand found its way back to her hair. He watched wordlessly as she took it out of its bun and fluffed it around her shoulders. It was pitch black, darker than any of their classmates', and it had a healthy shine. It fell in gentle waves down her back, almost to her waist. Despite the layer of dirt and sweat, Miyuki was fairly certain if her were to touch it, it would be soft.

Alexia caught his gaze and quirked an eyebrow, asking him a silent question He shrugged, looking back in front of him. "You're not going to put it back up?"

"Nah. It's going to be down when I shower anyway. Not worth the effort," she said casually.

"You always wear it up," he said, more of a statement than a question. It was true: in the little time he had know her, seen her in the dorms, classroom, eating, or practicing, her hair was always either in a ponytail, braid, or occasionally a bun. This was the first time he could actually say he saw her with her hair down.

She hummed in agreement. "It's more comfortable up. Actually, my hair used to be board straight, but I guess because I braid it so often it took on a natural wave."

"Seriously?" Miyuki chuckled. For some reason, the idea of Alexia changing her hair type by being so stubborn and always wearing it the same way didn't seem out of character. She nodded, giving him a small smile. He shook his head as they ascended the stairs.

"See you later," Alexia said, giving him a wave without looking back at him as she walked the extra distance to her door. Miyuki entered his room, still smiling lightly. If he were to tell his past self he would be having a casual conversation about a teammate's hair as they walked back to their dorm rooms, he wouldn't have believed himself.