"So... basically, you've had two teams you practiced with, school classes, homework and self-study, your part-time job and besides that you also trained track and field with your brother and did individual baseball practice to become a pitcher. And you still had time to hang out with your not-friends. Sorry, not gonna give 'em more respect than that. In fact, that's still way too much, so don't look at me like that!"

"So not sorry!"

"Hyaha! True!"

It was Sunday and Sora was feeling much better. She had recovered from her fever the last days and her teammates had been very caring and considerate, especially after she had told them her little story. Most of them had shown their faces at least once a day and someone always had thought about bringing her the meals. Miyuki and to her big surprise also Furuya had spent time in her room silently, the captain mostly reading his score books and the young ace had at least tried to do some studying, but had often ended up falling asleep instead. Sawamura too had become a solid constant in her life and the young girl just couldn't imagine her everyday life without him anymore. Not to mention, he had been the one starting video calls with Ten only to hand his phone over to her right after, pretending it wasn't happening on purpose or because her brother was worried.

What was still most astonishing though, was the fact how clingy Kuramochi could be. After he had left the room in a rush the other day and Maezono, the second vice-captain of the team, had gone after him, the green haired shortstop had spent what seemed like every spare minute of his free time in Sora's dorm room. He had even brought along his own game console to connect it to her TV and various of his DVDs and magazines were also scattered on her floor and on her desk by now. It looked like he wanted to move in any time soon and she sure as hell wouldn't allow him to have a set of his clothes in her room! No need to give him any weirder ideas! The green head had already spent over a night, but only because of his videogame obsession. Kuramochi had wanted to clear a last boss and Sora had been watching him out of her bed and both friends had forgotten the time. Since it had been in the middle of the night, he had asked for permission to crash right in her room and lacking a reason to decline, Sora had agreed. Really no necessity to repeat that though! Not that she had a problem with him, but her secret identity was more important.

"Well, I told you, I've always been pretty busy. That's not a problem for me, Mochi. I still don't think that I got that fever because I was stressing out..."

Kuramochi was lolling on the floor, lying on his stomach and was half-heartedly trying to solve some math problems. Sora was sitting right in front of him, cross legged and was giving him instructions.

"And I still can't believe that the coach of all people has agreed to let you keep that job. He's strictly against overworking his players and this is clearly adding unnecessary strain on your body"

What Sora didn't know, the reason why the green haired boy had almost lost his temper that day he had stormed out of her room, had been her tears. The shortstop just hadn't been able to bear seeing her cry any longer. Of course, he also had been pissed, he still was pissed, but seeing Sora so weak and sick and hurt... No! Definitely not! Kuramochi's heart wouldn't be able to take that again. It had felt like ripping him apart inside, so he was very glad that the blue head had recovered and was wearing the usual either gentle or mischievous little smile. And he honestly needed help with math!

"If it really was unnecessary, I wouldn't be doing it!" Sora deadpanned. "And you got your fifth result wrong. Try taking number two as example, you solved that one right"

"Gah!"

The blue haired girl watched her friend with amusement as he furrowed his brows deeply and concentrated to correct his homework.

"There you go. You can do it if you only try!" she praised his efforts.

"So why is it so important for you to have that job that you even go to the trouble of keeping it a secret and breaking the curfew?" the green head asked looking up from his textbook. "Can't relax without being busy as a bee?"

"Well, that's also a reason to be fairly honest..."

"Also? Meaning there's another one?"

"Thirteen, not fourteen"

"Huh?!"

Kuramochi gave her a puzzled glance and she sighed, tapping his answer with her pencil.

"It's thirteen", the young girl repeated. "Here"

"Ah! You're right. Dammit!"

"Concentrate, idiot!"

"Sorry, sorry" the shortstop grumbled displeased. "What's your other reason then?"

"Mochi!"

"What?"

"Math. Now!"

Kuramochi glared at Sora, closing his textbook and dropping his pencil stubbornly.

"Oh, no! Not again! You're trying to avoid things again, won't have that! No secrets anymore, I can't handle... Spill it!"

"Good grief... Who are you? My dad?!" the blue haired girl complained. "Will you start reading my diary and try explaining me about the birds and the bees?!"

"Hyaha! For you that ain't necessary. You know more than enough!"

"Do I now?!"

"Sure as hell you do! Now stop beating around the bush!"

"Ugh, fine!" Sora stretched her legs to sit more comfortably and Kuramochi pushed away his school material. "Don't tell anyone though"

The green haired boy's eyebrows shot up.

"I mean it, Mochi. I won't tell you anything ever again if you throw me under the bus!"

"Alright, but no promises for Miyuki. Just in case"

"It's not a captain's matter!"

"That's for me to decide here"

"Seriously, why do I trust a guy like you...?" she sighed in desperation.

"'Cause ya know I won't stab you in the back. I'd only tell Miyuki if it was a really serious matter and you know that, so don't be such a pussy!"

"I pay for food and lodging myself"

"..."

"Yeah, you heard me"

"Say what?!"

"Unlike the sports scholarship the academical scholarship only covers the school fee because usually the normal students wouldn't live in the dorms, right? And since my parents just opened their family business and my brother is also going to college and our family moved into a new house, I thought that all of that was expensive enough and my family doesn't need any more financial burden, so I work and pay for food and lodging at Seidou myself. And if you tell anyone, you're more than dead! You've been warned! Now satisfied?!"

Kuramochi stared at her with wide and disbelieving eyes.

"Hell, Sora! Why don't you talk to coach?!"

The girl snorted about the obviousness and gave her friend a look.

"Because he would talk about it with my parents since I'm underage and my parents would tell him that they wouldn't have a problem paying for me which I don't want", she explained matter-of-factly. "Besides, I like my job at the cosplay café. Just the right place for an anime and videogame otaku like me. Gotta try out many nice costumes"

"Yeah and you can practice your prince charming attitude with the ladies", Kuramochi teased with a suggestive grin.

"Right"

"Hyaha! You just admit it, you sassy lil' bastard"

They both started snickering together and Kuramochi turned to lie on his back, arms crossed under his head.

"But ya know... You need to stop trying to shoulder everything on your own. I'm afraid you're gonna break..."

The blue haired girl also lay back, plopping down right next to her friend in the exact same position. She just turned her head a little bit to the side to face him.

"Worried much, Mochi?"

"Kinda..."

"Mh, thanks. But I'm not that weak, ya know"

"I know! That's why it's dangerous. Strong people with such a ridiculously kind heart always try to protect all the others, but they forget about themselves, so someone else has to watch out for them too" the shortstop mumbled, also turning his head and meeting Sora's gentle blue glance.

Kuramochi's heart skipped a beat. They were close! So damn close! Closer than he had thought... All he could see was cerulean blue with a bright sparkle in it. And then Sora smiled. One of these rare and precious little things that looked all innocent and genuine and...

"So, you wanna be my someone else then?"

He had to hold his breath. Or otherwise, his vital organ would've sure as death simply jumped out of his chest! It raced and pounded painfully and in his own ears it sounded like drums. The green haired boy stared into Sora's eyes, then he tried to break the intoxicating eye contact, but his attention shifted a little deeper to smiling lips which wasn't any better. And licking his own ones during the process didn't help either! Suddenly he could smell cinnamon and Kuramochi knew he was screwed. His body already started to heat up, oh fucking hell!

"Yeah", he answered hoarsely and exhaled quietly. "I mean, me and Miyuki and even that Bakamura. The whole team cares for you. You should've noticed by now"

The blue head chuckled.

"Sure did"

Sora's smile grew emotional and it looked so heartwarming, so endearing that the young green haired boy just had to look away. He turned his head and stared at the ceiling instead which was very convenient in this kind of situation right now. The shortstop sure was skating on thin ice... He was so completely confused and just couldn't process what was going on. What exactly was wrong with him lately? He felt hot in a way he shouldn't right now with Sora being so close to him, but at the same time he didn't even mind it much because it was so good, so captivating and it just felt so right, but also so wrong at the same time.

Could it be that he was turning gay? But he still liked girls or rather he fancied their bodies for all that he knew and his physical desires were working just fine in that direction. Oh hell, was he bi?! Or was Sora an exception? Up until now he had never reacted to another guy like he did when he was being close to the blue head! Was it that alluring scent maybe? Like catnip? Was it even that important what exactly it was that made him feel so excited? Actually not... right? Didn't matter much.

Would he mind being gay in the end? Or bi? Or rather... Having a thing for Sora? Would he be opposed to that? Kuramochi furrowed his brows as the answer came quite naturally to him. Of course not. Why would anyone be against something that felt so nice? That'd just be weird. Because if something felt good it was best to just enjoy it, right? And the shortstop wasn't the one giving shit about the opinion of other people too. So, the dangerous thing was that there was literally nothing holding him back if he really decided and wanted to try out things... Except for the blue head's consent, obviously. Ugh, what a pain! Didn't help with teenage puberty confusion.

The green head sat up on the carpet, causing Sora to throw him a puzzled glance. He grinned viciously. Kuramochi honestly needed some distraction. His train of thought was nerve-racking. The shortstop had come to Seidou for baseball, not for his own personal drama after all.

"Uah, Mochi! What's with that look all of a sudden? You're creepin' me out, ya know!" the blue haired girl teased and got up from her lying position as well.

"Oh, nothin' much... Just remembered something", Kuramochi replied. "Since that Bakamura isn't here to team up with you, I can have my revenge for your pillow attack!"

"Wha-?!" Sora frowned. "Wait a sec... Just how much time do you think has passed already since that happened?!"

"Do I look like I care?"

The young girl scooted away from her friend, already suspecting the worst.

"Mochi... I'm warning you!"

"Hyaha!"

The green haired shortstop jumped to his feet and with a war cry he pounced on the poor girl without further ado, wrestling her down to the floor. Sora yelped and struggled in his tight grip, but didn't have enough strength to fight back seriously.

"C'mere you lil' punk!" Kuramochi scoffed and tried to place Sora in a chokehold.

Luckily for the blue head, she was short, thin and very flexible, so she managed to wiggle her way out of it and quickly slipped away to bring a safe distance between herself and the energetic shortstop. However, he wasn't willing to back down so easily.

A wild chase through the whole dorm room began and Sora ran for her life around in circles and even over the beds standing in her way. She started throwing pillows at her merciless hunter and used her desk chair as a barrier to hold Kuramochi back. The blue haired girl felt like she had never before been so creative in her life.

When the shortstop almost got a grab of her shirt again, Sora turned around and smacked a pillow right into his face before making the mistake of trying to escape on the upper bunk bed. The green head was fast to recover and snatched her foot to pull her back. They fought for the upper hand, the blue haired girl always only searching for a possibility to flee, but apparently Kuramochi was also pretty fast and much stronger than her.

Once he had placed one of his muscular arms around Sora's waist, he pressed her back against his chest to get a firmer hold of the crafty little lightweight. The blue haired girl gasped when her shirt got a little bit out of place and her green haired teammate literally hugged her bare skin. Hell, his body right behind her felt like a brick wall! Why was he so damn strong? Mean! As she got lifted off the ground, she kicked her feet in protest. That was way too close! Her cheeks began burning and Sora huffed in annoyance.

"Gotcha now!"

Kuramochi cackled cockily. He had known that it would be easy to pick the blue head up since he had already done that when Sora had passed out from the fever. What he hadn't been able to know was how soft and smooth his teammate's skin would feel under the touch of his hand. Oh, c'mon concentration! He was trying to wrestle here! Revenge it was, revenge!

The short carelessness from the green haired shortstop was enough for the young girl to push her feet against the dresser, making them both trip and topple over. The two friends landed on the floor once again, but Kuramochi still didn't let go of his victim.

Sora spotted her small water bottle that she had brought with her to her room lying on the floor because it had fallen from the desk during their childish play of tag earlier. She reached out quickly, grabbed the bottle and while Kuramochi recovered from the fall and tried to adjust his grip around her once again, the blue haired girl opened it and spilled the whole content over his head.

Completely taken aback, the green head let go and tried to process what just had happened. Using his moment of confusion, the young girl stumbled to her feet and moved away from the shortstop again and Kuramochi took the short sleeve of his shirt to wipe away the water running down his face. Sora equipped anew with a pillow.

"Oh Sora, you haven't done that just right now, have ya?!"

"Serves you right! I've warned you in advance, so don't complain now!"

"Hyaha!"

Complain? Nothing like that! Kuramochi laughed and showed Sora a grin with too many teeth. He was rather thrilled. That small blue head was putting up a proper fight even without Sawamura as a backup. However, his lucky streak would end now! But first things first. The green haired shortstop took off his shirt and made a face. All wet, gross!

Sora had to suppress a very girlish squeal. Not that she had never seen a guy undress before, she was rather used to it because of the massages and all that, but the young girl hadn't been prepared for this! Not to mention, Kuramochi was very, very well built. Really nice to look at, she had to admit against her will.

"A strip now?!"

The green head blushed.

"Very funny. Who drenched my shirt again?"

"How should I know...?" Sora grinned mischievously.

"Just you wait, I'm gonna pay you back properly!"

"Try me, Mochi. I dare you!"

Maybe a not so intelligent thing to say only with a pillow as a weapon and with that damn dorm room being so tiny and providing no real shelter. Sora learned that lesson only seconds later when she was robbed of her only defense and Kuramochi was punishing her with his typical wrestling chokehold he always used on Sawamura.

"Argh, Mochi! C'mon, I can't breathe... How long are you gonna keep this up?!"

"Until you say uncle!"

Hell, how old was that guy? Eight?!

"Okay, okay! Uncle! Now, let go of me already!"

He let her go and Sora coughed before breathing heavily.

"Whew! I'm beat! That was nice, man. You fought well!" Kuramochi complimented.

They were both sitting on the floor, the shortstop with a wide grin in his face and Sora's bright blue eyes flashed for only a split second, but it was enough to make her friend wary of her again. She smirked.

"Mhh, thank you, Mochi..." the blue haired girl said in a honey sweet voice and he sweat dropped. "But you know, I'm a sore loser..."

And with that said, Sora jumped on her friend to tackle him down like she had done during the pillow fight, squeezed her legs tightly around his hips and started tickling him. She sure as hell would never win a fight, but the blue head was the unrivaled queen when it came down to teasing people like that. She had an older brother from whom she had to protect herself after all. Ten also was stronger, taller and faster than Sora, but he was still very cautious whenever he wanted to pick a fight with her.

Kuramochi soon enough began laughing uncontrollably and somehow tried to defend himself by reaching for Sora's wrists, but her small and slender hands were all over his body, finding exactly the places where it tickled the most. The shortstop squirmed beneath her and tears were already flowing down his face from the heavy laughter.

"S-Sora... Sora, stop... p-please! I-I can't... I give, I give!"

The blue haired girl stopped her torture and let her panting teammate catch his breath and wipe his eyes dry.

"You little devil!"

Kuramochi pushed himself up on his elbows, but just then he realized that Sora was literally sitting on his lap! Like a girl would, legs pushing against his waist on each side and the little hands still resting on his very naked chest... His eyes widened and the shortstop was wide awake instantly. What kind of situation was that again?! AGAIN! Miyuki's words from the similar scene the other day crossed his mind and the green head had to suppress another deep blush of his face. Porn plot huh?! Oh, hell! Screw you, damn Miyuki!

"Uhm, Sora...", he carked, voice almost breaking.

"Hm?"

The blue haired girl still had a smug smirk on her face, celebrating her little victory inwardly when Kuramochi's voice snapped her out of it.

"Ah, sorry!"

She released him, stood up and extended one hand to help him back on his feet as well. He hesitated for a moment, avoiding her gaze, but finally took her offer.

"Ah, sorry Mochi... Are you cold? Take a blanket" Sora offered him the one from the unoccupied bed. "I'd give you one of my shirts, but I'm afraid they're way too small... I didn't even think about that"

Kuramochi took the blanket, casually flipping it around his shoulders. He wasn't particularly cold or embarrassed or anything, but it was kinda cold outside and he didn't want to catch a cold or get a stiff neck. Coach would definitely kill him. Meanwhile Sora snatched the shortstop's wet shirt from the floor and hung it over the back of her desk chair.

The two friends resumed to their former math tutoring and to his big surprise, Kuramochi could actually concentrate enough to get his homework done at least. And the blue head was a great help even though his presence and this sweet scent were still distracting enough. However, when the green haired boy had something else to look and to focus at, it was much easier to remain calm and collected. Not to mention, even though Sora had really put up a nice fight and he had to admit that, Kuramochi was somehow sulking that he had lost his pride in front of the smaller lightweight.

"You don't have work today, right?"

Sora sighed.

"Nope, they won't let me. School, practice and work were all postponed until next week and with next week Takashima-sensei made very clear that she meant tomorrow and not a single second earlier even if I felt better already. And of course, they're gonna have me follow the curfew properly from now on. Coach threatened to talk to my manager personally and he instructed Eijun to make sure he picks me up right on time, so I have to explain that to Tomo-chan. Not looking forward to it..." the blue haired girl explained and started cleaning up the room a bit because after their little riot it looked like a hurricane had gone wild.

"Wanna watch some movies together then?"

"Eh? Don't wanna play the next level of our game we started? I could call Haru over as well..."

"Nah... Not now..." The green head scratched the back of his head, still avoiding to lock eyes with Sora or to stare at the blue head any longer than necessary. "Sorry, Sora... Ya mind?"

"Uhm, no. Of course not... A movie night is also fine. We've done that before as well"

Kuramochi took this as his cue to turn on the TV and to pick a good movie they could watch. The blue haired girl threw all the pillows and blankets from the three beds in the room down on her carpet and built a little nest they could sprawl on. Simply sitting on the floor the whole time was just uncomfy.

The green haired shortstop honestly needed something to chill out. Playing videogames with Sora would only make him get worked up again and sure as hell he didn't want anyone else in that room right now, so calling Kominato or Miyuki over was completely out of the question. He let himself sink into their improvisational camp on the floor and sighed. Yeah, that was nice! The blue head lay down beside him, but he was focused on the movie, so that was just fine.

Sora on the other hand wondered a little bit why Kuramochi was being so quiet suddenly. For the green head that was unusual even when watching TV or playing videogames. And he wasn't even looking at her anymore. Normally they would joke around and give their comments on the movie, the plot and the characters and the young shortstop would insist on one of them going out and getting some snacks and something to drink from the vending machine. Was something off?

"Mochi..." the young girl mumbled and received his attention immediately. "Don't tell me... Are you pouting?!"

"Huh?!"

"C'mon, I know I said I'm a sore loser, but are you still upset I tickled you crazy?"

"The fuck? No!" Kuramochi scratched his head. "Er-... I mean, yeah... A bit. Like... it sucks, but you beat me fair and square, so I won't complain... Why are you asking me that anyway?!"

The shortstop was confused and the blue haired girl sighed, clearly misinterpreting the situation they both were stuck in.

"Gee, fine. I'm gonna make it up to you then"

"Wha-...?!"

Make it up to him?! What? How? Kuramochi's heart raced, his mind running on full speed. He remembered Sora telling him he should get his pervy mind under control, but in a situation like that the blue head honestly was not being a big help to achieve that goal!

When Sora scrambled a bit over a pillow to move behind him, the green head almost jolted. He clearly began to panic. And then the blue head took the blanket away from his shoulders and he completely tensed up. What the hell was going on?!

"S-Sora?! Tha-... That's absolutely not necessary ya know... You don't... You really don't need to make anything up to me!" he stuttered helplessly.

"Chill, Mochi! I promised you anyway"

"Eh? Promised?! What?"

Kuramochi got his answer when he felt small, but warm hands gliding down his shoulder blades and then up to his neck again.

"Oh!"

He shivered and suddenly remembered how he had complained to Sora about Miyuki getting a massage and stuff...

"Ohhhh..." he breathed out speechlessly.

"Hell, Mochi, you're tense! Loosen up a bit, will you?! Relax! I'm not gonna bite you!"

Even if, he wouldn't mind at all.

"Fuck, this is awesome! Feels damn good. You really are good at this shit! Hell, Sora... kill me!"

He could hear Sora chuckle behind him and additionally to those wonderful magic hands, the blue head's warm breath grazed his bare skin.

"You curse a lot when your mind's shutting down, huh?"

The green haired shortstop wanted to shoot back a snarky answer, but he just let out a pleased groan as Sora went on massaging his shoulders. How did Miyuki survive this every single day? And without literally jumping the blue head. Or did he? Unlikely for the captain actually.

"Wanna lie down?"

"Mhhh" the young vice-captain only hummed obediently and lay down on his stomach, a soft pillow under his head and closed his eyes while Sora went on with the treatment.

"You want some oil?" the blue haired girl asked in between. "I think I got lemon, pine wood, sandalwood and I should have mint and lavender somewhere as well"

"Nah, I'm good..." Kuramochi drawled hoarsely.

He didn't want to ruin the sugar cinnamon scent that filled the room. His body shuddered again and he let out a long sigh of relief. The shortstop's muscles relaxed noticeably, but his mind was still on red alert. Not that he was able to move only an inch right now, which was being convenient. He knew he would regret this later...

After the massage and two movies later, which Kuramochi somehow completely had missed because his mind was kinda blank, he stumbled out of Sora's room in a daze and ran right into Miyuki who smirked at him as he sipped his black coffee.

"Just got laid?"

"What the fuck?! No! Hell, Miyuki...!"

"Heh... So, no luck tonight? What's with that face then if it's no after climax delirium? Creeps me out! Looks like you're on cloud nine"

"Hmpf, I wish...!"

"...?!"

Oh fuck, did he just say that out loud? In front of the nosy captain? Why couldn't he just die in peace?

"Wanna talk about it?" Miyuki offered with an amused grin. "I mean, I'm still your captain. You can rant and I'm gonna listen"

Kuramochi sighed and scratched the back of his head.

"Nah, I'm not sure..." he actually answered genuinely. "Just trying to sort things out for myself, ya know"

"If it's only physical or more? Like, emotions involved?"

"Yeah, that!"

The brown haired captain's grin widened and Kuramochi gasped.

"Wait a sec... How do you-...?!"

"How do I know, huh?" the catcher interrupted, a weird glint in his caramel eyes. "Guess that's just the phase of life we're currently in. Puberty. Teenage hormones... Don't sweat it too much or you're gonna go insane. It'll work out one way or the other sooner or later. Just enjoy what you've got as long as it lasts. There's nothing much you can do about it anyway"

"The phase of life we're currently in? What kind of fortune cookie bullshit is tha-... Oh shit, don't tell me you just exactly know what I'm talkin' about because you've got the same damn problem?!"

"Wouldn't put it that way"

Miyuki took another sip of his black coffee and Kuramochi snorted.

"And why is that?"

"Hm? 'Cause I already know what I want. Just have to figure out how to get it..."

"Yeah, right. Because it's that easy when it comes to stuff like that. Sometimes you just can't get what you want no matter what you say or do", the green haired shortstop shot back in annoyance.

"Oh please!" the young captain scoffed and showed his teammate his Cheshire Cat grin. "I always get what I want!"

And with that being said, Miyuki patted Kuramochi's shoulder before turning on his heel and leaving the utterly confused shortstop alone in the corridor.