Devilish (Diamond no Ace)

Beginning of Hell

After they left, Hana hopped off the desk and patted down her uniform skirt to remove any dust or wrinkles that had accumulated. Clasping her hands behind her back, she casually turned back around to return to chatting with her upperclassmen.

"What?" she tilted her head at Jun and Masuko's astonished faces (Well, it was really all four upperclassmen's astonished faces—some just hid it better than others).

"You scare me on so many different levels," Jun gulped at the devil that stood before him.

"Good. I should," Hana laughed. "Plus it's better than having someone on the baseball team get cited for violence right? We can't afford to be missing a single person with the tournament right around the corner," she shrugged and waved to them as she left the classroom.

The captain crossed his arms as they watched the girl leave. His golden eyes filled with fury as his fighting aura burned bright, "I don't like the fact that there are people willing to attack a member of our team."

Ryosuke's smirk darkened, "Well, we'll only get in trouble if we get caught and dead men tell no tales."

Since then, if one of those idiots is caught in the eyes of Yuki, Jun, or Masuko, they freeze—minds racing with the memories of what happened during a certain delinquent hunt event. But more importantly, if there is even a flash of pink that the idiots catch in their vision, they scurry away as fast the wind can carry them just like the rats they are because pink is the color of hell.

"So your shoulder wasn't fully healed yet, huh?" Tanba kept his hands in his pockets as he leaned against the hallway wall next to Chris

The catcher held his right shoulder with a smile on his face, "Yeah, I think it'll take some time until it is. But I don't regret anything. I'm grateful to the coach that used me as a player and to Tokuchi who trusted in my calls on the field."

Tanba held his tongue as there was nothing he could really say to his friend at this point. Chris simply smiled at him and walked away, leaving only one last piece of encouragement for the pitcher, "Now, it's your turn. It's up to you to make our summer long. I'll support the team from behind the scenes."

The tall third-year grit his teeth in frustration. Jealousy at the first-year pitcher who got the chance that he didn't coursed through his veins. With a click of his tongue, Tanba turned to walk the opposite way from the brown-haired catcher only to find Hana directly in front of him.

He jumped, clearly startled at the girl's appearance from seemingly out of nowhere.

"Yo! Have I got a deal for you senpai," she grinned at him.

Tanba blinked in confusion, "What?"

"I have a recording of Zombie-senpai's whole three innings from the last scrimmage. You can own a copy of it too for the low price of 500 yen," Hana advertised like a professional soliciting businesswoman.

"You recorded Chris' game?"

"Up close and personal and from multiple angles. You can see your beloved catcher's final official game as many times as you want on a professional quality recording."

"Deal," Tanba immediately handed her 500 yen which she put in the envelope she had been carrying around.

In exchange, Hana handed him a DVD that was tucked safely away in a protective case. Tanba carefully put the precious cargo in his bag. When he looked up to thank the girl, she was already gone.

In class 2-B, Miyuki sat at his desk (which clearly showed that he was the main protagonist of an anime since he got the one at the back by the window) and completely focused on the book in front of him.