"No fucking way!" Sora protested, crossing her arms over her chest and staring down at Sawamura sprawling on one of the unoccupied beds in her dorm room.

"Hell yes, I do!" the brown haired southpaw shot back equally determined.

"Eijun, I didn't tell you that to drag you into this with me. I'll be violating Seidou's rules. Do you actually know what that means?!"

"Of course, I'm not stupid"

"I beg to differ"

"Oi! Rude!"

"I don't want you to get into trouble with the coach because of me!" the blue haired girl argued and plopped down on the same bed next to the young pitcher.

"And I won't let you wander around in Tokyo when it's already dark outside as a girl and you're not used to living in a big city!" her friend kept insisting. "Besides you already told me it would be very close to curfew, right? I don't think they'd make such a big deal of it if it's really only half an hour or somethin'. And we just have to make sure not to get caught anyway..."

"But if two people tried to sneak back on campus that'd be even more noticeable. And do I have to remind you that you're a bigger country pumpkin than me? You're not used to big cities as well!"

"You can talk until you're blue in the face! I will walk you to work and I will come and pick you up. Every single time. Period!" Sawamura clarified, leaning back and closing his hazel eyes. "I'm your guardian and I gotta do my job properly. I promised you and the boss. Plus, I'd be a really crappy friend if I didn't try to protect you"

"Ugh, fine! You're a royal pain in my ass!" Sora cursed and threw a pillow down on his face.

"Oh, just you wait, you're gonna pay for this, Sora!"

The young southpaw let out a war cry, snatched the pillow away and literally jumped on the poor girl. That guy honestly had no reservations at all because of her gender which she usually appreciated. Just not at times like this.

Actually she had attempted to inform her energetic teammate about the fact that she had searched for a new part-time job and gotten one in one of the many cosplay cafés in Tokyo which in fact wasn't even so far away from the Seidou compounds. Since she could walk there which was very convenient, the blue haired girl hadn't thought much of it that she was working the late shifts and sometimes also on weekends because of her school and baseball training schedule. Well, big mistake that she hadn't considered the Sawamura-factor of combined stupidity and protective issues.

Of course the brown haired pitcher wouldn't let her walk to work and back on her own and after hearing that she most likely would have to violate the school's curfew because her working hours were so close to it that she wouldn't make it back in time, he had been even more convinced that he had to accompany her. Partners in crime they were... Or they would soon be.

Well, not that Sora could help it much. She hadn't told her parents that her scholarship only covered the school fees and not so much lodging and food for which she planned to pay herself. She would definitely not bother her indebted parents who tried to build up an own family business in a city like Tokyo with having to pay a damn rich-kids-school's charge.

For the time being she only had to worry about Sawamura trying to lam her with a feather pillow. Escaping from his revenge, the blue haired girl kit up with another pillow herself and the two baseball teammates engaged in combat against each other.

"Oi Sora, it's almost time for prac- ... The fuck?! Bakamura?!"

Kuramochi stared at his two team members slamming pillows in each other's faces like Grade School kids. They both blinked at him in confusion since he just came through the door of Sora's room. Suddenly Sora's bright blue eyes lit up with ulterior motive and she exchanged a glance with the brown haired boy right next to her.

"Alliance?" she asked.

"Alliance!" Sawamura agreed with a nod.

"Oh, Fuck!" Kuramochi stated as the two of them came running at him with combined forces.

The pillow fight soon turned out to be a wrestling match with the olive green haired shortstop in the middle who tried to overpower Sawamura to steal his pillow because he wanted to use it as his own weapon against Sora who still tried to rescue her partner.

When the blue haired girl wanted to jump on Kuramochi's back to make him release the young pitcher from his typical chokehold, Sawamura somehow managed to free himself and slipped away. However, Sora couldn't stop her momentum anymore and crashed right into the shortstop, tackling him to the ground and landing on top of him.

"Ow! Sorry, Kuramochi!"

"Hyaha! Nice move!"

The green head simply meant to compliment his friend, but when he opened his eyes, he noticed how close they actually were. Sora was literally lying on his chest, her face only a few centimeters away from his and her large sky blue eyes locking directly with Kuramochi's. The shortstop gasped and his mind went blank for a split second. Shit, weren't those eyes really beautiful? They sparkled like girl's eyes or was that just his imagination?! And then a very sweet scent flooded his senses. Like sugar and cinnamon, alluring and quite intoxicating. That couldn't possibly be the blue head, right? Right?! Hell, that was good!

"Sora, you okay?" Sawamura worried and destroyed the moment for Kuramochi who felt like he hadn't breathed for a long time.

"Peachy", the blue haired girl gave back sarcastically and tried to lift herself from her still dumbfounded classmate.

"Why does it look like some very cheap porn plot in here?!" Miyuki deadpanned, walking into the room with his hands in his pockets.

He raised his eyebrows at his three teammates with his mischievous smirk on his face, observing Sora who struggled to get off of a deeply blushing Kuramochi and a completely innocent and clueless Sawamura who only crouched beside the two to help the blue head. The feathers that were floating around in the room and the two pillows lying on the floor honestly didn't help in that kind of situation at all.

"Kinky much, captain? Didn't think you'd have such a dirty mind", the young girl gave back lightheartedly. "Exactly how many cheap porn plots have you seen already to classify this as one?"

Miyuki's caramel eyes flashed with utter amusement and he started chuckling.

"Ouh, touché"

"Wait, porns have plot?!" Sawamura wondered with a seriously curious expression, causing his battery partner and Sora to break out in laughter.

Kuramochi on the other hand still tried to process what just had happened to him in this short moment with Sora and took deep breaths to calm his racing heart, Miyuki's comment not making it any easier. A furious blush wasn't exactly what he needed on top of everything else right now!

The shortstop still recalled his blue haired friend lying on top of him. Hadn't that felt kinda too light and soft? He knew Sora was rather short and not very well built for a guy, but Kuramochi had blamed that on the fact that the blue head was more of a track and field runner. They weren't exactly bulky, but thin and still athletic. That's why the blue head could run so fast and was very flexible. But apparently his body was also much softer than the green head would've expected. And then those eyes... And the scent! Had that really been Sora?! Could a guy smell like sugar and cinnamon? Shouldn't be allowed, should it? Yeah, forbidden by law at best... at least if it caused so much confusion in his head!

"Say Sora, do you use cologne or somethin'?"

The question escaped his mouth before Kuramochi was able to contain himself.

"Huh? Uhm no, I don't. Wouldn't make sense anyway right before practice"

Ah, right... Practice... The shortstop knew he had forgotten something quite important.

"Yeah guys", Miyuki affirmed with a pointed look. "Practice. Now!"

"Yes, captain", the three of them answered and obediently followed the brown haired catcher out of Sora's room.

"It's so nice that you don't have any roommates!" Sawamura remarked with envy and shot Sora a quick glance as the group walked off to the baseball practice fields.

"Not when at least one of you guys barges in on me like every single day..." she sighed as an answer, ignoring the glares she received from the boys.

"Yeah, maybe he'll have to deal with two new first years as the only one of us when spring comes since he's got some space left", Kuramochi teased and grinned at his own thought.

Miyuki snickered to himself and followed after the blue haired girl when she had to part ways with the others in order to head to the second string. Kuramochi and Sawamura waved the two off.

"What are you doing?" Sora questioned and raised her eyebrows at her captain.

"Gracing you with my presence. Feel honored"

"Dork!"

"Thank you"

"You're very welcome"

Miyuki laughed.

"Well, that's a new one. Usually people tell me that it's not a compliment"

The blue haired girl rolled her eyes and let out a disbelieving snort.

"Pointing out the obvious is dead boring, captain..."

"Truer words have never been spoken"

"So, don't you have to go watch the first string or somethin'?" the young girl asked sarcastically because she knew the brown haired catcher had to sit out while recovering from his injury.

"What's up with you? Wanna get rid of me?!" the captain gave back with fake hurt in his voice.

"Really want me to answer that?"

"Oi, oi..."

That sassy little bastard! Miyuki grinned. He genuinely enjoyed his banters with the newbie rascal of his team, but at the same time he still remembered the conversation he and Kuramochi had overheard in front of the washhouse. The shortstop had agreed not to do anything about it just yet and to see how things would turn out in time, but Miyuki knew his green haired teammate had a short temper, so he wouldn't be able to hold him back forever. In fact, he was quite impatient himself and he hated to be left in the dark about so many uncertain details. All he could clearly tell was that Sora and Sawamura shared some kind of secret, but at the same time it didn't seem to be something that would harm the team because the coach was involved in the whole matter. That was the only reason why Miyuki had decided to keep still. Well... that and also the fact that he trusted Sora to at least some kind of extent. And he truly hated to admit that! To trust someone. To consider someone a friend. That wasn't like him at all. He wasn't playing baseball to make friends and he didn't join the Seidou team only so that he could be all buddy-buddy with the other players. Or at least that was what he acted like...

Since the brown haired catcher already knew that he would get his chance to team up with Sora as a pitcher from his eavesdropping, he had decided to watch the blue head practice to get a grasp of what kind of pitcher his new partner would be. He already had seen Sora's fielding, but with a focus on his speed, agility and reaction time. So, this time he stayed to pay attention to the throwing of his balls.

They weren't exactly strong or fast, but that had been to be expected. Sora was athletic and flexible, but rather short and thin, not very muscular. But there was something about the blue head's plays that made Miyuki curious while watching him practice with the second-string members. There was something special about every movement, every single reaction and the young catcher was looking at his teammates with his utmost concentration to figure out what it could be.

And then it happened. A ball came flying and Sora reacted instantly. Honestly those sprints were not to be sneezed at. The blue haired jumped and caught, but the next available infield member wasn't making eye contact which cost valuable seconds that weren't to be wasted in baseball. In a split second, Sora chose to turn in midair and Miyuki recognized the focus in those bright blue eyes. One of the second-string teammates was standing just in the right position for an out, but wasn't paying attention to Sora either since there still would be other options. But the blue head had already decided to take the fastest way that would be closest to success, so Sora didn't aim at the guy. No, Sora aimed at his mitt.

The brown haired captain was speechless as he watched the reckless newbie turn around in the middle of a jump after having caught a difficult ball and literally pinpointing a throw right into the mitt of a teammate who wasn't even expecting it. They hadn't looked at each other, but the ball hit the glove and the utterly confused guy reacted just in time to throw the runner out. Sora had not only noticed that his closest partner hadn't been paying attention, the blue head had also recognized that none of the other options would've worked out smoothly enough to guarantee success, so he had made an own decision in just a blink of an eye and had pitched a ball to a teammate who hadn't even looked his way. And because of that last minute decision, they had made it and the runner was out. Intelligence, courage and precision.

Didn't trust his catchers enough to lead with their strategies, huh?! Acting like a little playmaker himself and didn't like to obey given orders, it had been? Miyukis caramel eyes flashed with exhilaration. Now it was official, he might as well turn gay. He didn't care for all that mattered anymore, he was definitely turned on and that was rare enough.

The second string was celebrating their blue haired as a hero, much to the young girl's embarrassment.

"Whoa, Sora that was awesome! I didn't even see your ball coming!"

"Yeah, good job, man!"

"Your balls always feel like they just fly into my mitt. It's almost like I don't even have to catch them because they'll come to me on their own"

"I know what you mean! Even when throwing back home it seems like it would never miss, right?!"

"Yeah, yeah right! That's it!"

"That's so weird. The throws aren't even that strong or fast, but they're still so precise that they always make it in time. Almost like you never make any unnecessary movements and never waste a second"

"Ah, I know, that's track and field power!"

"Ehhh?! You sure 'bout that? I don't think that this has anything to do with it though..."

The team kept arguing and Sora sweat dropped a bit since they made it sound like some kind of superpower. But Miyuki listened intently and nodded his head in affirmation. Yeah, that was exactly it. What had made him so curious and what was so special about the blue head. The precision of his throws, but also his focus, the concentration and the ability to recognize a situation and to react to it in the most efficient way possible in the shortest amount of time. That wasn't only precision, it was efficiency. Sora could analyze something, make an own decision according to the problem and also put that decision into action without hesitating. And all that while playing under time pressure...

Actually, this was kind of sad. Usually, the pitcher trusted his catcher to call the leads and to do the strategical thinking and the catcher on the other hand trusted his pitcher to throw exactly the ball he was asked for. It was a team effort. That was the whole sense behind forming a battery. But Sora did all the work and the effort alone because there never had been anyone to rely on or to trust. And still...

"Catchers aren't human targets!"

Miyuki clearly remembered the blue head's words. No trust, but still enough of respect to not want to use a catcher in a cruel kind of way that would hurt anyone's pride. The young captain clenched his fists. Sawamura had been right, Sora was too kindhearted for his own good.

When Sora finally came back, her captain was waiting for her with a bottle of a sports drink.

"Great job!"

She raised her eyebrows at him and smirked.

"Who are you?!"

"Hey, I genuinely praised you here!" he protested.

"Yeah... So, what did you do to Miyuki? The real one, I mean"

The blue haired girl took the bottle anyway and showed the brown haired catcher an honest smile.

"Thanks, captain"

Oh, no way in hell he would actually blush now! A Miyuki Kazuya did never blush. He was the one making others blush, goddammit! Really, just what was wrong with him recently? Whenever he was around Sora, he felt strange. Either he wanted to tease the blue head to have another of their banters or he thought about creepy stuff like how hot he was and the newest reaction from just some minutes ago, he wanted to catch for him more than anything else. Great... Just... Great! Curse teenage hormones!

"Captain?"

Not to mention this hilarious situation Miyuki had walked into right before practice which he had associated with a yaoi porn plot of all things. And he really had lost it so much that he had said it out loud...

"Hey, Cap?"

Luckily no one had noticed that this had been so out of character that it had almost physically hurt. The young captain had cringed inwardly very hard, but fortunately the other boys had just accepted it as his usual mischief.

"Miyuki, are you listening to me?!"

Maybe he was sexually confused. He was still in the middle of puberty after all. Maybe that was this phase of finding himself or however scientists would call it.

"Hello, mission control to Miyuki! Anyone home?"

Should he have sex with a girl once again only to make sure it still worked out as it should? And what if not?! The last time had been quite a while ago already after all. The game with the fangirls had palled pretty fast. Miyuki had never been the one all too interested in stuff like that in the first place. It was good enough to get rid of excess energy, tend to his physical needs and keep him entertained for a short amount of time, but nothing more than that.

"Kazuya!"

"Fuck!" Miyuki jolted.

Wait a sec... Had that just been his first name? Heh... Not bad...

"Gee, have you gone deaf?!"

Despite the annoyed tone, the brown haired catcher clearly noticed the worried glance the blue head shot him, causing him to smirk cockily.

"Maybe I only wanted you to call me by my given name already and just look how damn long it took you to realize..."

"Are you kidding me?!"

"No, I'm hurt!"

Sora sighed in exasperation.

"Stop fucking with me already!"

"I don't do guys"

"Thank the Gods, I was getting worried..."

"Huh?!" Miyuki blinked confused and opened his own black coffee to take a sip while the two of them were walking back to the school complex. "About what?"

"Your dirty yaoi porn fantasies of course and including myself in them", the blue haired girl gave back dryly. "I mean, seriously? Me, Kuramochi and Eijun...? How the hell could you possibly get off on that?!"

The baseball captain almost choked on his coffee. He wasn't even sure if he was laughing or coughing too hard to breathe. And just in that second a sharp pain shot in his side, reminding him of his still not so well recovered injury. Miyuki winced and cursed under his breath, holding his side with one hand.

"Shit, I'm sorry!" Sora apologized immediately and put an arm around her captain to stabilize him. "Didn't think about that anymore at all..."

The blue haired girl helped the catcher sit down on a bench beside a vending machine.

"Naw, Sora... Are you worried about me by any chance? How cute"

But very unusually, Sora just ignored the cynical remark and stared at the brown haired boy with furrowed brows.

"Has it gotten worse again?" she asked in a serious voice.

He sighed and shook his head.

"No. No need to be so alarmed"

"Didn't the doctor say it would be all good for winter camp or somethin'? Coach mentioned it the other day"

"Well, yeah... That's what we're aiming for. It has been quite promising up until now, but it's kinda stalling. Nothing to make a fuss over though, so get that look out of your face!"

"I could help with that if you'd let me, ya know"

Sora closed her eyes and took a deep breath. As much as she didn't want to form a battery with Miyuki during winter camp, she also didn't want him to be in pain any longer than necessary.

"It's gonna hurt like a bitch though, so it's your own choice"

"Eh?!"

The young catcher just gave her a puzzled look, but she shrugged it off and turned to go and find Eijun so that he could guard the shower for her.

"Meet me at the infirmary after dinner. We're gonna do something about your healing process"