|6| First Time Travelling
The school day finished not as quickly as Hoshiko wanted.
She was still annoyed over the interaction this morning.
After finishing class, she packed up all her things and quickly made her way out of the classroom.
Some students stayed behind in class to chat with friends or make new ones. Some students crowded the halls as well.
Hoshiko paid no mind to them and moved her way around students. She kept her head down until she was out of the school building.
Once she was in the fresh air outside, Hoshiko stopped in her tracks and took a deep breath of fresh air. The air relaxed the girl and made her feel less annoyed.
Once she released the breath of air, a small smile etched on her face. She was feeling better now, it seemed that that single breath of fresh air washed away the events that happened this morning.
Now that she was better, she made her way back to her dorm to get ready for the game later today.
After reaching her dorm, she took a quick shower before changing into her training gear. She didn't bring any of her gloves or bats as she knew she didn't need them.
She left her dorm and made her way to the field. All the first-string players were already there while some of the second-stringers lingered around.
Since Hoshiko only knew her brother and his roommate – who just happened to also be the captain – she didn't really know anyone else. So, she kind of just stood there and kept to herself.
Hiroshi saw his sister just standing by herself, he was about to head over to her but was stopped by a grip on his arm. Hiroshi looked back and saw Tetsuya was the one stopping him.
He simply shook his head to the confused blonde.
"What are you doing Tetsuya?" he asked.
"If you go over there now, you'll scare off everyone else and she won't be able to make any friends." Tetsuya advised him.
"What are you talking about Tetsuya?" he still looked confused.
"She needs to make friends on her own. If you keep hanging around her; one it will make you look like a creep and secondly once you graduate, she won't have anyone to hang around once you've graduated." Tetsuya explained.
The blonde boy thought for a moment and mulled over the wisdom his captain bestowed upon him.
He let out a sigh and nodded, agreeing with his captain's advice.
Hoshiko remained in her spot and was fiddling her fingers.
Most players were talking with each other while Hoshiko remained on her own.
But it wasn't for long. A tall boy with jet black and hair and grey eyes approached the silent girl.
"Excuse me?" an emotionless voice ran out.
Hoshiko looked up and recognised the boy from her class.
"Yes?" She replied.
"You may remember me from this morning, but I never got the chance to introduce myself." The boy straightened his posture before giving the girl a slight bow.
"Hello, my name is Furuya Satoru." He introduced himself.
"Oh, well it's nice to meet you Satoru. Oh, you don't mind me using your first name, do you? I lived in America for ten years and that's the norm."
The boy shrugged his shoulders.
"I don't really mind." He said with an emotionless voice.
"Oh great, I'm Kataoka Hoshiko. But I guess you already know that." The girl said with a laugh. "Hoshiko or Hoshi is fine. I go by either."
"So, are you from around here or are you from a rural area?" Hoshiko asked.
"I'm from Hokkaido." The boy responded with the same emotionless voice. The girl nodded at the response.
The two continued talking for a bit before all the players began to board the bus to head to the game.
After boarding the bus, Hoshiko sat down next to the window. She didn't expect anyone to sit down next to her as she still didn't know many people.
As she predicted, no one sat next to her so she put on her headphones and played 'You Can't Hold My Heart' by MONSTA X.
The sounds of the bass guitar flooded into her ears as the song started. Once I.M's voice begun, Hoshiko couldn't stop herself from humming along.
As she hummed along to the song, she watched the surroundings fly past her as they travel along and threw the streets towards their destination.
It wasn't until sometime later that someone sat down next to Hoshiko. Since she was listening to music, she hadn't realised that someone had sat down next to her. It was only till that person gently nudged her shoulder to gain her attention.
The girl jolted in surprise at the sudden touch.
"The fuck?!" the girl exclaimed in English.
A boy with longish brown hair and black-framed glasses over brown/amber eyes gave an apologetic smile to the startled girl.
Hoshiko pulled out her headphones.
"I'm sorry I startled you. I didn't mean to, all I wanted was to get your attention." He said apologetically.
"No, no it's alright." The girl replied with a smile.
'Wow, her voice is amazing.' The boy thought to himself.
"I was just hoping to ask you a question." He asked.
"Yeah sure." She said.
"Is it true that your Hiroshi's little sister?" he asked. The girl smiled and looked down before looking back up and into the boy's eyes.
"Yes, yes he is my older brother." She said with a laugh.
"Wow, you really are related to that weird idiot." He said in almost disbelief.
"I know, I can't believe it sometimes as well." She laughed a little at the thought.
"Oh, by the way, my name is Miyuki Kazuya, the second-year catcher." He said and stuck out his hand. The girl looked at his hand before she took it.
"Kataoka Hoshiko, first-year utility, but I'm sure you know that already."
"Utility? That's odd, I thought you would have been like your brother a catcher or the least a pitcher." The boy said.
"Well, I do pitch, but I wouldn't say it was my main position. I really only pitch when needed." The girl replied with a shrug of her shoulders.
"Huh, is there a reason for that?" he asked.
"Well, I'm not that fast. The fastest I pitch is 120k/hm max. I mostly focus on the spin of my pitches rather than blowing the batters away with speed." She explained.
The boy nodded along.
"Interesting. Is that what the coach will potentially use you as if you make first-string?" he asked.
The girl shook her head in reply.
"I don't think I will make the first-string. But if I miraculously do, I will probably be used as an outfielder since Coach has been making me train there for most of the week." She replied.
"Well, the first-string don't currently have a permanent right fielder." The boy told her.
The girl nodded at the information given to her by the boy.
"So, you're the one that my brother has to fight to be top dog." The girl said out loud as she looked at the boy.
Hoshiko gave a once over of Kazuya.
'Damn, he's cute, kind of in a geeky way. But he does look a little cocky.'
Hoshiko thought to herself. The one thing that put her off was the way he wore his hat sideways.
Hoshiko always thought that it was disrespectful to wear your teams uniform the wrong way.
'I wonder how he'd look in gear?'
Hoshiko asked herself. It was only then she realised what she was actually thinking.
"My god Hoshiko, get yourself together." The girl whispered to herself in English.
"What was that you said?" the boy asked.
"Oh, nothing. Don't worry about it." She said with a smile.
The two chatted the rest of the way to the stadium.
Once they arrived, everyone filed off the bus and all the first years peered at the large stadium before them.
"Wow, it's huge!"
"Imagine playing here!"
"I wonder what the atmosphere will be like?"
They all asked amongst themselves.
While the first-string players were busy unpacking all their gear, Miyuki was suddenly pulled away by a bright blonde-haired boy.
"Hiroshi what the hell?" the brown-haired boy yelled in confusion.
After walking a bit of a distance, the blonde boy stopped dragging Miyuki and looked at him in the eyes.
"What were you talking to my sister about?" He questioned.
"Calm down, I was only chatting with her!" Miyuki defended himself.
"What were you chatting about!"
"Leave the boy alone Kataoka." Tetsuya's voice rang out. The two boys looked over at their captain.
Hiroshi let go of the boy. When he did, Tetsuya grabbed Hiroshi by his ear.
"OW!" The blonde boy cried out.
"Hiroshi, you're acting like an overprotective parent than an older brother. You need to let her experience things on her own and not have you breathing down her neck every so often." Tetsuya lectured the boy.
After giving him advice, he let go of the boy's ear. Hiroshi began to rub his throbbing ear.
Back near the bus, Hoshiko began to follow the crowd to go and sit in the stand with the rest of the first years.
Before she split off from the team, Coach stopped her.
"Hoshiko, I want you to sit on the bench today." He said. The girl looked up at her Uncle and gave a nod. Following him instead of everyone else.
Once she entered the dugout, everyone stared at her. Hoshiko became flustered at the newfound attention. She dropped her head to try and avoid all the stares. She quickly made her way down the dugout stairs and sat down on the bench. Her head still down.
"Alright, we have an hour and a half till game time." The Coach spoke. He then looked to the team's Captain. "Tetsuya, get warm-up started."
The boy nodded his head.
"Alright team. Cleat up and out on the field." The tall boy ordered.
"Yes sir!" everyone responded.
While everyone began to cleat up and get ready, Hoshiko stayed seated down and tried to avoid everyone.
"Coach." The assistant coach spoke. The Coach nodded his head, signalling that the man could continue.
"Sir, I mean no disrespect in saying this, but why did you invite her here?" He asked.
"First off, she has a name and it is Hoshiko and you will refer her by that name." The man spoke with a slightly angry tone.
"She may not be the best player there is. Even if she doesn't make the team-"
"But sir, a girl can't play on this team she's a gi-"
Coach glared at the man. It was a glare that sent the soul of a person flying out of their body. The man immediately shut his mouth.
"Even if she doesn't make the team, there is something else she will be used on the team for. This game, I will show you why." The Coach explained. After finishing talking, Coach made his way over to Hoshiko.
"Hoshiko." The girl looked up after her name was called.
"Yes sir?" she asked.
"I want you at the dugout entrance today. I would like you to watch the game closely." The Coach said with a slight smile.
"Are you sure sir?" She asked. The man simply gave a nod. The girl stood up and made her way to the dugout entrance.
She still felt uneasy with all the eyes on her.
Never the less, she made sure she kept an eye on the game.