"Aoki-san, this is my last word!" Takashima said sternly and crossed her arms over her chest.
Sora sighed in defeat. She had come to the female scout's office to receive a lecture once again for being too reckless with her fever and for having a secret part-time job and breaking the curfew in consequence, but also for final instructions coach Kataoka had given before the winter break and also the training camp would start.
She had somehow tried to avoid their attempts to test her as a pitcher, requesting that she could remain as an infielder, no matter which position. It wouldn't have to be the shortstop. The blue haired girl would even agree to switching to the outfield, but the brown haired teacher didn't want to hear anything about that. She had scouted Sora as a pitcher intentionally in the first place after all and also the head coach had already given his orders that he wanted to see her pitch as well. And apparently also Miyuki had made his move in advance, requesting to volunteer as a testing catcher for the young girl.
Ugh, she wanted to kill that arrogant prick! He and his goddamn genius catcher pretty boy ego! Gross!
"After everything that I've told you..." Sora gave back weakly. "I really don't understand... Why did we have that conversation then...?"
Takashima showed her a reassuring, affectionate smile.
"To prove you wrong and to give you back some confidence. You're honestly in need for it! And now, out of my office! I have work to do"
The blue haired girl left the scout alone and went back to her classroom where Furuya and Sawamura were waiting for her to return. It was lunch break and Miyuki, Kuramochi and Kawakami were out to get some food. She greeted her friends and plopped down on her seat, rummaging in her bag to search for her glass nail file.
"Fingers!" she ordered the two pitchers and they obediently stretched out their hands to her.
When her three classmates finally returned to the classroom after eating, they stared at Sora and the other two boys in utter disbelief and in Miyuki's case also in amusement. The blue haired girl was filing the fingernails of Furuya and Sawamura and they were chit-chatting lightheartedly with each other.
"Oi Sora, whatcha doin'? Became a beauty salon now?" Kuramochi scoffed and Kawakami sweat dropped a bit.
"Well, his family does run a wellness center..."
"Huh?! So that stuff is also part of it?"
"I mean, we do have other personnel for the beauty and wellness stuff than for the medical and therapy stuff, but yeah... It is", Sora explained patiently. "But in this case, it's pitcher's care"
"Pitcher's... care?!" Kawakami repeated with a puzzled expression and Furuya nodded his head in agreement.
"Nori, come sit!" the blue haired girl demanded and the brown haired boy blinked at her questioningly, really not understanding what was going on. "You're a pitcher too, right? Gotta take good care of your nails and fingertips. Hurting yourself because of cracked fingernails and having to leave the mound because you're bleeding sucks great deal"
"Ah, I see. This has happened to Furuya once. So that's why..." Miyuki smirked.
The young ace nodded again, his expression remaining neutral as always.
"I wanted to buy a glass nail file too, but Sora is good at this..."
"Yeah, you two just suck!"
"Oi! Rude!" Sawamura complained.
"Hyaha!"
"U-Uhm... T-Thank you, Sora. I really appreciate it, but I-I uhm... think I'm good. Something like that never happened to me before, so... I'm doing fine on my own... I guess?" Kawakami stuttered a little shyly and fidgeted on his spot.
"Aw, Nori... And there I was desperately searching for a reason to hold your hand. You break my heart!"
"Eh...?!"
Kawakami's face flushed dark red while Sawamura, Miyuki and Kuramochi broke out in laughter. The submarine pitcher was being extremely flustered and Sora felt almost sorry for him. Furuya was just being his usual uninterested self.
"I'm sorry for teasing you, Nori. I'm joking, ya know!"
"A-Ah. N-No! I mean, yes. I-I know that. I know..."
The cute brunette exhaled quietly and slumped down on his seat.
"Sora... Could it actually be that your personality is in fact even worse than Cap's?!" Sawamura tried to tease, but Sora only raised her eyebrows at the southpaw.
"Now you notice?"
Meanwhile Kanemaru, Toujou and Kominato entered the classroom, glaring at their two fellow first years.
"There you are, you two lazy-ass bastards!" Kanemaru shouted angrily and pointed with his finger at Furuya and Sawamura, much to everybody's amusement.
"Gah! Kanemaru!" Sawamura pressed through his teeth.
"Whatcha mean, gah?! You ungrateful moron!"
"Lemme guess... Escaped tutoring again?" Sora deadpanned, causing the two pitchers sitting in front of her to sweat drop.
"B-But we're using our time wisely, right?!" Sawamura argued instantly, gesturing towards Sora's glass nail file. "It is baseball related after all!"
The pink haired Kominato sighed in exasperation.
"Eijun-kun, Furuya-kun, we were trying to make up for the tutoring sessions we lost because of Sora-kun's fever and instead you are bothering him again. Not to mention, you literally ran away from us the first available moment we weren't constantly watching you..."
The blue haired girl rolled her eyes and groaned. She gave the two a pointed look.
"Really now?!"
"As to be expected from guys who aren't even able to take care of their personal hygiene. They need someone to do their nails after all..." Miyuki scoffed, making Kuramochi beside the young captain splutter with laughter again.
"Oh, Sora! You have a glass nail file too. I've been using one for a while now. It truly helps to prevent cracked nails", Toujou remarked, having noticed Sora's tool during the conversation.
"Thank the Gods for at least one responsible first year pitcher!" the young girl clapped her hands together in gratitude. "I knew you could take care of things on your own, Toujou. Thanks for helping with the tutoring as well. I bet you're being a great help for Haru. He needs at least one other teammate who can keep a level head"
"Amen", Kominato agreed curtly and Toujou blushed happily.
"Eijun, Furuya, you two go with Haru. Right now! And don't you dare to cause trouble again. Those three are trying really hard to help you guys, so show a little respect and gratitude. Besides you were the ones who asked for help, right? How does it make sense to run away then?!" Sora scolded.
Both boys complied instantly. Begrudgingly, but they followed Kanemaru, Toujou and Kominato out of the classroom of the second years. Miyuki and Kuramochi exchanged a glance with each other.
"Wanna give him the title of the captain?" the green haired shortstop half-joked with a gesture towards Sora.
"Gladly. It's a pain in the ass anyway", the young captain deadpanned.
"So not gonna get your work done for you, Kaz. Go, search for another substitute", Sora clearly refused, not noticing that she had used Miyuki's new nickname quite casually in front of other people for the first time, making the brown haired catcher blink at her with wide caramel eyes while Kuramochi and Kawakami gaped equally surprised with slightly opened mouths.
The shared moment of stunned silence was interrupted by the ringing bell and Sora, still oblivious about her effect on the boys, yawned and searched for her textbook for the next lesson in her bag.
After school and after baseball practice with the first string, the blue haired girl was preparing to leave for work when she spotted Miyuki at the vending machine. Since she had to wait for Sawamura anyway, the young girl decided to stroll over to him.
"More coffee?" she asked and he turned around with his usual grin on his face, shaking his cold drink.
"Yeah, wanna get some work done before winter camp starts"
"Borrowed some score books from Takashima-sensei again?"
The young captain nodded.
"And videos from Nabe"
"You guys are workin' hard..."
"Doin' my best, I guess" Miyuki shrugged. "And you?"
"Waiting for Eijun"
"Late shift?"
"Yeah"
The brown haired captain slumped against the wall, leaning on it with one foot and opened his black coffee.
"I swear if someone's occupying my room again, I'm gonna commit seppuku this time!"
"Whoa, that's dark, captain. Want me to behead you to save you from suffering pain?" Sora chuckled and Miyuki's grin widened a bit.
From afar she could see Sawamura who came running from the direction of the showers. He had guarded for her again and taken a bath right after that, so the young girl had decided to wait for him around the corner. As always, the energetic brunette waved at her.
"Think that's my cue", she said.
The young catcher raised one hand to say goodbye while sipping his coffee. As she started walking towards her southpaw friend, a sudden idea came to Sora's mind and she searched for the key to her dorm room in the pockets of her jacket. She turned around once again.
"Hey, Kaz!"
His caramel eyes locked with hers and she threw her keys. Of course, Miyuki caught them with ease, tilting his head a bit in confusion as he looked at what he just had caught.
"I don't have any roommates, remember? So, just in case you'll need some privacy..." Sora grinned. "Just be sure to let me in after work, please. Don't wanna sleep outside"
Miyuki stared at the key in astonishment, then he looked up to the blue head who already turned to start walking again and waved at him over the shoulder. The young captain waved back, but completely forgot to say thanks at least.
"Tch!" He clicked his tongue in annoyance. "Damn, that guy seriously isn't making this just a little bit easier for me!"
So, the blue head would let him sit in his dorm room all alone to read score books, but pitching to him was a problem because of trust issues?!
Where the hell did that make any sense? The brunette catcher sighed and ruffled his hair. Occupied room or not, he would definitely use his chance to spend some quiet time in Sora's room. And not only for the score books and Nabe's videos. He needed to get some serious thinking done too. They really needed to talk!
Later that night when Sawamura and Sora finally arrived back at Seidou and parted ways to go to sleep, Miyuki was already waiting outside for the young girl, leaning against the wall next to the door to her room. He gave her the keys back and smirked.
"Welcome back, hard worker. And thanks for saving me from having to kill myself"
"I'm home, honey. How was your day?" Sora joked in a sweet voice and the catcher snorted.
"I missed you every single second"
"Aw, that's so damn cute. I'm gonna go inside and puke..."
Miyuki started laughing and shook his head about the blue head's attitude.
"Talking about inside, why are you standing here out in the cold? You'll get sick"
Sora went to open her door, but her captain stopped her halfway.
"When are we going to talk about our little pitcher-catcher-problem?"
She scowled.
"Didn't you and your big ego take care of that already?! I talked to Takashima-sensei today..."
Her voice was low and serious and the usually so gently sparkling cerulean eyes were icy cold when they met his gaze. Miyuki froze on his spot.
"You'll get what you wanted, captain. Isn't that very nice?!"
"Mh, I always get what I want, you should keep that in mind next time", he shot back equally sarcastic. "Look, we honestly need to discuss a few things..."
"Now? I just came home from work, ya know"
"Yeah, now"
"Gee, fine! But come inside. I'm not gonna freeze to death because you want to have a chit-chat outside at the beginning of winter!"
Miyuki scratched his head and followed after Sora who unlocked her door and went inside her dorm room. He plopped down on the desk chair, swaying on it for a bit after taking off his shoes and his jacket at the entrance. The blue haired girl sat down on her bed and raised an eyebrow at the young catcher. He was the one wanting to talk, so he should start saying what he wanted to say. Miyuki sighed.
"I'm not gonna apologize for volunteering as your catcher", he clarified and Sora narrowed her crystal blue eyes at him. "Whoa, talk about a killing glance... I'm gonna drop dead later, so listen to what I've got to say first. Rei-chan has scouted you as a pitcher because she has seen great potential in you. She and coach want to team us up because they have faith in my abilities and me being able to draw out your full potential as much as I'm sure that I'll be able to do that too, even after everything that you've told us. Rei-chan is right when she says you need to regain your trust and your confidence. Not only in catchers or teammates, but also in yourself. That you can be a very valuable part of our team. That you are able to be a Seidou pitcher with a proper battery partner. And that no one will judge you if something goes wrong. At least gimme a chance, that won't hurt you, right? If it doesn't work out in the end, then we've at least tried. You can go back to being a field player. But first I wanna try to figure things out with you. Together!"
"Are you sure this isn't just your catcher pride telling you that you want to catch the pitch that Eijun of all people was able to receive even though he sucks at catching while you are Seidou's celebrated prodigy?" Sora gave back calmly, searching for an answer in Miyuki's facial expression.
"Ah... Well, I'd be lying if I said I'm not excited about catching your best pitches. I've always liked a good challenge, but more than that I want our team to grow stronger. We need a line-up that'll be able to perform at national level, so we need everybody to give their best and beyond. And if your best is your pitching ability, we just can't let you prioritize your fielding only because you don't want to leave your comfort zone. No offense, Sora, but it's literally do or die now, so suck it up, overcome your past and get your ass moving! We need you here! We're fighting for nationals! You can go sulk in a corner later! I know you've been hurt, but that's even more the reason to show your old teammates what you can do. Just imagine their faces when they'd be able to see you in TV. We'll be able to shut them up for good together. No one will dare to call you a useless pitcher ever again as long as you're with m-... us!"
"Heh, nice pep talk, captain..." Sora replied meekly. "Ya know, it was never my goal to go for nationals, to be a regular or to be on first string. I was just satisfied with being able to play baseball again because I really like it. It's you guys who keep pushing me, so don't complain whenever I'm not being obedient like a little puppy wagging its tail for its owner. I can go back to second string anytime you want if you're telling me I'm not good enough for your precious tournaments"
"Bullshit!" Miyuki reprimanded immediately and rolled his caramel eyes at her. "Didn't you tell us yourself that you reflected on your own behavior and that you might've been too ambitious for your own good and for your teammates who just wanted to have fun? And now you want to tell me you'd suddenly be okay with holding back?! When you finally got a chance that you don't have to? Get a grip for God's sake! I simply won't let you run away anymore. Period!"
"Just learned my lesson is all..."
"No. Not gonna have this!"
"And you think that's for you to decide, huh?" Sora asked coldly.
"Nope. In fact, that's for coach to decide", her captain gave back nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders and grinning at her.
She thought for a moment and suddenly a very good idea struck her. If Miyuki would fall for that one, maybe she could make use of it to wiggle herself out of that complicated situation after all.
"So... If we ask coach Kataoka for instructions and I pitch accordingly to what he tells me... Maybe we could do this?"
"Huh?"
The brown haired catcher blinked in confusion.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean that we haven't worked together as a battery before and since you're still recovering, we won't have any time to practice together before coach wants to test me. Hence, I'm suggesting that the coach or Takashima-sensei will be the ones telling me which balls I should pitch to you. They tell me I should throw a curve or a slider or whatever, you go into position, I strike. That way we don't need any signs or additional practice, you don't need to know what I can or can't do in advance and we'll save a lot of time and effort"
"Mh, I see... You do have a point..."
Miyuki placed his hand on his chin thoughtfully and hummed to himself.
"And you'd be willing to go with that method and trust me and the coach to make calls?"
Sora suppressed a giant triumphant grin, trying to keep her calm composure and nodded her head.
"Yeah, I think I could actually be comfortable that way..."
Because if they asked for normal balls like curve balls, sliders, sinkers or something like that, no one would expect such an extreme version Sora would be able to throw. Miyuki would get into a normal catching position without any weird angles or tricks included and Sora would be able to pinpoint perfectly with her partner able to catch without fail. Problem solved! Genius! They wouldn't be able to see her killer pitches, like Sawamura called them, but since they wouldn't ask especially for them, no problem, right? Right! Perfect!
The young captain heaved a heavy sigh.
"Alright...", he breathed. "That was... easier than I thought it would be, but I certainly won't complain about that. I'm glad we could sort things out between us without you biting my head off!"
"This isn't so easy-peasy for me, ya know"
"Yeah, figures..."
"You really need to work on your social competence, captain", Sora deadpanned, making him laugh out loud.
"Well, I think I deserved that one"
"Sure do!"
"Still, I'm not sorry, so..."
"Yeah, no shit Sherlock!"
"At least I'm being honest"
"Uh-huh, congrats, captain"
"Thank you"
"You're welcome"
"It's still refreshing to hear that from you"
"Always glad to be of any service..."
The two friends stared at each other and started laughing together. He really was an arrogant prick and a pain in the ass, but Sora was still glad to have Miyuki by her side. She smiled genuinely at him.
"Kaz, I'm sorry, I really don't want to be rude, but I'm half-dead, so either you crash here or you go sleep in your own room, 'cause I'm about to conk out"
Miyuki raised his eyebrows at the blue haired girl and smirked.
"You'd let me sleep here...?!"
"Yeah, why not? I mean, Mochi literally already did, so..."
"Heh... That's news to me... Interesting"
The brown haired catcher got up from his seat and stretched his body carefully.
"I'm gonna pass this time, but maybe I'll come back to you later and remind you of that offer. Never know when those little pests are gonna block my room again"
Sora snickered amused at Miyuki's annoyance.
"If that happens again, you know where you can take refuge now. You're always welcome. Ah, but remember to ask for the key before I go to work, I usually lock my door"
The young captain shot her a weird glance, but recovered quickly before showing the blue head his usual grin.
"Roger that"
Sora stood, accompanying her friend the few steps to the door and seeing him off.
When the door behind Miyuki finally clicked shut, he ran his fingers through his medium length brown hair before putting his hands into his pockets and shook his head in astonishment.
Always welcome, huh?