When Miyuki and Kuramochi finally left her room, Sawamura informed Sora that Takashima and the coach had taken care of things and called a doctor. During the treatment no one had been allowed inside her room and after the doc had left, the female scout of Seidou had been the one to stay with the blue haired girl, washing her body off the cold sweat, making new bandages for her chest and putting her in some new fresh clothes. She was also still wearing her wig, so everything was safe.

The doctor had diagnosed a simple fever, nothing serious, but of course the blue haired girl had pushed herself too hard with it and she was banned from practice and school classes the rest of the week to be able to recover properly and get back some energy. Taking paracetamol to bring down the temperature was okay though.

Soon enough Sora couldn't keep her eyes open anymore and also the brown haired southpaw excused himself after putting a cold towel on her forehead and assured her he would call Ten and her parents before going to bed.

The next day Sawamura brought her breakfast together with Kominato and as soon as classes were over, Miyuki dropped by with lunch and made himself at home in her room, reading his score books and taking some notes in concentrated silence.

"Don't you have to go to practice?" the young girl asked after waking up from her feverish delirium.

How long was the captain sitting by her side already?

"No"

She sighed, sitting up in her bed. Was he still angry?

"Kaz...?"

The brown haired catcher shot her a quick glance with his caramel eyes and grinned while scribbling down in his notebook. His nickname now, huh?

"Gotta make sure you don't do anything stupid again. Coach approved, so you're stuck with me. Live with it"

"Seems like you're my cage then..."

"Goddamn right!" His smirk grew wide and evil as always. "And exactly who is being the kinky one now?"

"Excuse you, captain! I'm just playing along... Not that you mind, right?"

"Oh, certainly not"

"Besides, I'm feverish and helpless right now, so don't blame it on me!"

"Heh... Careful, Sora. Someone might use this kind of situation..."

"Well, then I'm glad you're here to protect me", the blue haired girl responded, lying back down and pulling her blanket up to her chin.

As she closed her sky blue eyes and nuzzled into her pillow, Miyuki's gaze lingered on her for a while longer before he blinked and shifted his attention back to his score book.

Protect, huh? If he'd only let me...

In the evening, Kuramochi was the first one to barge in, without knocking first, of course and he immediately sprawled over the other unoccupied bed standing in the corner of the dorm room. He talked about practice and gave Miyuki some information until the other second years followed one by one.

Kawakami brought Sora the notes from the lessons, while Watanabe and Shirasu came in with dinner and tea and Maezono had organized some water bottles for the night and in case Sora had to take the medicine once again. The blue haired girl was speechless receiving so much care and kindness from her teammates.

The first years dropped by a little later, first Kominato and Furuya and then also Sawamura, dragging along Kanemaru and even Toujou with a basket full of fruits. The brown haired pitcher put a towel full of crushed ice on Sora's forehead and flashed her a gentle smile. Furuya sat himself down at the foot of her bed, seemingly indifferent, but refused to move his position when he was asked to join the others on the floor or on the other bed on the opposite side of the room.

"I'm good here", the dark haired ace simply stated, looking at Sora who had straightened up her pillow to be able to sit up in her bed, still covered with her blanket.

"Guys... Thank you so much! Honestly, I-I... I don't have any words..." the blue head snuffled, suppressing a sob. "And I'm so sorry! I'm causing so much trouble for everyone. I feel ashamed for making you worry about me..."

"Stop being stupid, that's what a team is for!" Sawamura remarked crossing his arms over his chest and making a face. "Although, those bloody bastards calling themselves your former teammates might not have been able to make that impression...!"

"Eijun!" Sora scolded, throwing him a pointed look to shut up, but the brown haired boy raged again.

"What?! If you won't let me murder them like they'd deserve it, I can at least curse 'em! I bet Kuramochi-senpai would very much like to team up with me to give those assholes a proper beating..."

"Eijun-kun, your language!" now also Kominato warned his friend.

"Hyaha! Dunno what the hell you're talkin' about, but if ya need me to teach someone a lil' lesson, I'm in!"

"Yeah and put your baseball careers on the line only for the sake of being violent like the big oafs you are!" Sora scoffed and shook her head in exasperation. "Unbelievable!"

"For the sake of protecting a teammate! Our Seidou team!" the brown haired pitcher protested, giving special emphasis on the team parts.

"Violence is strictly prohibited! You could get expelled! How many times do I have to explain that?!"

"Just have to be careful not to get caught is all", the southpaw retorted with a smug grin on his face. "Right, Kuramochi-senpai?"

"Still got no clue what it is all about..." Kuramochi deadpanned.

"Oh, for God's sake, you're givin' me a headache!" the blue haired girl complained. "Captain, be the voice of reason once in your lifetime, please. Your baseball idiots getting violent is a no-no!"

"Yeah, what he said", Miyuki agreed with a shrug of his shoulders.

However, his caramel eyes glinted maliciously and Sora groaned expecting the worst from the young catcher.

"If you really wanna get one over on someone, you gotta be clever about it without putting yourself in an unprofitable situation..."

"Ooooh! The Cap's evil personality's showing again, that's our leader-in-training for ya!"

"Oi!"

"Hyaha!"

"..." The young girl sweat dropped. "I'm going to sleep!"

The other team members present in the room watched the exchange with enlarged eyes, mouths agape and shifted their attention from Miyuki to Kuramochi to Sawamura and to Sora as they went on with their friendly banter.

"I-It's nice to see that they're getting along so well..." Kawakami commented with an insecure smile on his face.

"Are they... getting along?" Toujou questioned in the same tone of voice and shot the bickering foursome a doubtful glance.

"Well... At least they're not really fighting... I guess..." Maezono tried to answer and scratched his head sheepishly.

"I'm amazed at how Sawamura seems to fit in so well with the second years. It's kinda awesome", Kanemaru stated and Furuya from his place on Sora's bed and also Kominato nodded along in agreement.

"I think it's rather awesome how Sora is coping with those other three very special characters without going insane", Watanabe debated seriously.

"Mh, you got a point", Shirasu affirmed. "And despite being the one who joined our team last as a transfer student"

They all nodded their heads in unison like actually having a proper discussion.

"Guys, we can hear you..." Sora deadpanned making her other teammates laugh about her don't-gimme-that-shit face.

"Uhm" Furuya raised his hand a little bit like in classes and stared at Sawamura who cringed a bit under the ace's intense gaze. "Why are you angry at Sora's former team?"

"Ah!"

The room fell silent and the blue haired girl facepalmed. She had known it! That stupid idiot! Well, she hadn't really told him that this was a secret too, but... C'mon... Common sense?! But Sawamura didn't seem to get Sora's hidden message.

"Right, you guys don't know. Sorry, didn't think about that"

"Eijun-kun... I don't think that this is your story to tell though"

Sora bowed inwardly deeply to Kominato's feet with hands, knees and even her forehead on the imaginary floor. That guy was such a saint! Precious little pink haired angel! Thank the Gods for his existence!

"Yeah, I think Sora's gotta tell us himself"

The young girl glared. Read the mood, bro! Seriously! If Kominato was the angel, Miyuki was the devil in human shape.

"Captain..." Sora purred sweetly and fluttered her eyelashes exaggeratedly.

"Hm?"

"Why don't you leave my room? Like, right now?"

"Huh?!"

"Or better, Kuramochi could kick you out!"

"Hyaha! Might consider it if you ask me nicely"

"Oi! Why though?" Miyuki protested.

"Oh, you know exactly why!" Sora shot back angrily. "You should learn a lesson from Haru! That guy's got more dignity and tact in his pinky than you're ever gonna have in your whole life!"

Kuramochi and Sawamura burst out in laughter while their other team members gaped speechlessly and Kominato's face flushed with a furious blush.

"S-Sora-kun..." he stammered embarrassedly.

"Wow, I didn't know they were being that close. I mean this also happens in class or sometimes in lunch break, but this is actually pretty interesting right now", Kawakami remarked, causing also the others to chuckle about him talking so casually about it.

"You also have it tough, huh Nori", Shirasu said and patted the pitcher's shoulder.

"Oh no, not at all"

"This guy's got some guts for telling off the captain that way though..." Kanemaru marveled at the blue head, but Toujou deadpanned.

"Is that really something you should be impressed at?"

"Sora, I think the fever made you an even greater savage than before", Sawamura still snickered as he wiped away his tears of laughter.

"No, that's just character development", she gave back matter-of-factly.

"Are we gonna ignore the fact that you're trying to change the subject?"

Miyuki swayed in Sora's desk chair and smirked. He looked much like a mischievous cat.

"Yeah, we are", the young girl simply replied. "I mean, why not?!"

"Nope, not gonna have this!"

"Hell, you little shit! Why are you being so persistent today?"

"Curiosity"

"My ass!"

"Yeah, you have a nice ass"

"I know, right"

"Pffft!" Sawamura spluttered again.

"Sora, we're here to care for you, ya know", Kuramochi suddenly chimed in unusually serious. "Not only for your fever. For you. So, uhm... You could make it a lil' easier for us, no? I mean, we've already noticed that there's something goin' on with you"

"That's rich coming from you of all people, Kuramochi!" Sora snorted sarcastically, but immediately shut her mouth when she saw the shortstop's eyes widen in disbelieving shock. "Sorry, I've crossed a line..."

"Mh, pretty much did the same thing to you, I guess, so we're even now"

"So, we're cool?"

"Yeah, we're cool"

The blue haired girl took a deep breath. It was no use anyway, her captain wouldn't be so generous as to let her get away with it and sooner or later she would have to tell anyone, so it could as well be now.

"Alright, you lot. I think I may as well trust you enough to share this with you then, so listen up..."

Sora explained her new team her past and the situation with her two former teams, her so called childhood friends and also her family, although she had to adjust her story a little bit to her current act as a boy, so she switched the positions of her being a regular player in the boy's baseball team and a practice player and a manager in the girl's softball team instead. For the final result of her fallouts with them it didn't matter anyway. She also added her first meeting with Sawamura and Takashima and how she had been scouted and ended with the first conversation with all four staff members she had attended at Seidou.

Meanwhile Miyuki and Kominato had to keep the brown haired pitcher from throwing a fit once again because he wanted to gather the whole Seidou team to gang up on Sora's ex friends. Kuramochi was being awfully calm and collected the whole time, almost not reacting to anything the young girl said. Only his knuckles were turning white because he clenched his fists so tightly it began to hurt.

After the blue haired girl had finished, a heavy silence filled her dorm room and she could see anger burning in the eyes of her team members. Even the calmer, nicer and mostly rational boys in the group looked very displeased. Shirasu's brows were furrowed, Kawakami narrowed his usually gentle dark eyes and even Kominato clicked his tongue as a sign of his disapproval of such actions. Also Maezono had a heavy frown on his face, but being the vice-captain of this team he had to keep a level head, he had learned that much after his former fight with Miyuki. Getting angry at people who weren't even present at the moment wouldn't help anyone now.

Kanemaru was taking out his anger on Sawamura and vice versa, since the southpaw was being highly annoying for everyone in the room with his antics and his blonde classmate was equally upset with the situation, but still wanted to shut the raging boy up. They had a feverish, suffering teammate in the room after all, so at least Kanemaru wanted to be considerate about that.

The captain, Furuya, Watanabe and Toujou were mostly able to keep their outer composure, not showing any signs of subliminal bloodlust, which Sora was actually grateful for. She hadn't told them her life story only so that her new friends could have a reason for attempted murder.

"How do you feel about what happened now?" Furuya was the one to break the silence, much to everyone's astonishment.

The always so seemingly indifferent ace looked at the blue haired girl with his dark and deep eyes which were shining with something that Sora couldn't quite process. Maybe there was much more to that guy than met the eye. Would fit into the Seidou team.

"Mh", she nodded her head in understanding and Furuya's intense gaze was nearly piercing through her. "I reflected a lot on myself. I mean, of course I was deeply hurt and shocked and also very angry, but after talking things over with my parents and after we had to stop Ten-nii from storming into my school and running amok, much like our Eijun here... I thought maybe there was something I had actually done wrong. Maybe it was also partly my fault. I could have hurt someone with my actions as well, even though I hadn't done anything on purpose..."

Furuya didn't break eye contact. It almost seemed like he was asking the young girl to elaborate, so she did.

"We were a big group of childhood friends. Some of us had been together since before Grade School, some joined during Grade School and only a few also during Junior High. A reckless little gang of country rascals growing up together and only nonsense in our heads. We stole field crops from the farmers, had to run from watchdogs and angry neighbors, we climbed trees together and also fell down together, when we started practicing baseball we broke our first window together and tried to hide it from our parents, which of course didn't work out, in summer we were bathing in a river, doing picknicks and eating watermelon, we learned to ride our bicycles together, later on it were skateboards or rollerblades, we had movie nights, sleepovers, we played videogames and went to the arcades and to karaoke... There wasn't a single day in our lives one of us had to be alone if we didn't want to and my brother treated my friends like his own younger siblings... It was exactly that kind of a group of people I would've called a family and I had been sure to claim that they would never do anything so cruel to anyone and especially not to me, of course..."

Tears were welling up in her sky blue eyes by now, but Sora didn't bother to hide it anymore. She snuffled openly in front of her team and Kominato was nice enough to hand her a tissue before the young girl could go on.

"Our school had never been a powerhouse in any sports nor was it particularly popular because of its academics either. The softball and baseball teams were doing their best and practicing hard, but only because they liked doing it, not because they were actually winning or aiming at anything like nationals or something like that. We were merely having fun, enjoying our time together and playing together as a team and as friends who shared a hobby and the same passion for a sport. We were also watching the official matches together in front of the TV, joking that we could practice all we wanted, but would never be able to be as good as those lucky little bastards..."

The blue haired girl finally lowered her head, looking at her fingernails.

"So, I asked myself if I had been just selfish, like they had accused me. I've never seen it that way, but... maybe... I had been a little too ambitious, too obsessed with victory, expecting too much of my teammates and putting pressure on them instead of pulling them along with my enthusiasm. If I had continued to play as a shortstop for them, abandoning the thought of becoming a pitcher at all costs, then maybe we could've stayed a team. I might've not lost my family and everything I cared for if I had been a little bit more considerate of other people's feelings. Maybe they would've needed me... to protect their backs and not to stand on the mound, only causing trouble for my own battery partners. Maybe I hurt them too, more than I'm actually aware of... And maybe they just would've wanted to continue playing together with me for fun and for the love of baseball and our friendship instead of purchasing a dream to become a better player. We had never aimed for big tournaments, but in my head that idea had always been present and I feel like that has been my biggest mistake. To push something on my teams they wouldn't have wanted"

Sora cried. For the first time since she had talked about her fallouts with her family at home, hot and salty tears were flowing down her feverish red cheeks. It felt like something had shattered inside of her and she tried to control her sobs to not look like she would be losing it completely at any second. She wiped her tears and her nose with the tissue Kominato had given her.

"But I can't know that! I wouldn't have been able to know it back then either. Because no one of our group has made any effort to explain things properly to me. Up until now I don't know exactly why they had thrown me out except for them calling me a creepy freak because of my developing abilities. I don't know if that's the only reason or if they just used it to throw me out, I don't know if there's been a deeper meaning behind all that, I don't know shit! Because no one fucking talked to me! And that hurts! After years of close friendship, I would've thought that if they wanted to break with me, they would at least have the guts to tell me why the hell, but no..."

The young girl clenched her fists around the fabric of her blanket.

"They just started being mean, whispering behind my back, spreading weird rumors in our school, avoiding me, throwing me away like trash, abandoning me and leaving me alone and making me feel so... wrong! I've never been so lonely in my life and it felt so... so damn wrong, so empty inside. I've been so sad and desperate and angry... And my brother has been so furious... Suddenly all I could do is to sit at home in a dark room all alone with no one by my side. No laughing baseball idiots, no videogame buddies and no shared mischief anymore. Instead it only hurt. It hurt so much I cried for days, until I couldn't cry anymore and then I just stopped caring because at that time we wanted to move away to Tokyo anyway, so it didn't matter anymore. I wouldn't see them again and I could leave it all behind, but I was still... alone. I relied a lot on Ten-nii, but it wasn't the same. And then I got scouted into Seidou..."

"And you still feel alone", Furuya concluded.

Sora sobbed heavily and nodded her head squinting her eyes shut.

"Yeah"

She felt sorry to admit that in front of everyone now, but it was true. Sawamura suddenly appeared at her side, placing one arm around her shoulders and sitting down on the edge of her bed. The other boys in the room were surprised about such a considerate gesture from the brown haired loudmouth who had been rampaging around just a moment ago.

"I've never been away from home, from my parents or from my brother for a longer time and before the break with my friends there always had been someone around me, so when I got scouted I actually thought that moving into a dorm system would be a good thing for me. I wouldn't have to sit at home all alone anymore and I would be surrounded by my new teammates, but when I finally arrived here at Seidou, the feeling of loneliness never completely disappeared. I thought being able to play baseball again would make up for everything that had happened up until now, but it seems like I was wrong. Something's still missing, but I can't really grasp what it is yet. I might be just homesick. I do miss my parents and especially Ten-nii, but they aren't so far away I couldn't visit them. In fact, I've already made plans to visit home on the weekend... Or could it be that playing baseball reminds me too much of old times? Honestly speaking, I don't know. I'm just a bit lost, I guess"

Suddenly Kuramochi shot up from his seat on the other bed across the room and the others jumped in surprise.

"Sorry, I need to cool my head"

And with that said, he stomped out of Sora's room and slammed the door shut behind him. The blue haired girl stared after him in utter confusion. Sawamura squeezed her shoulder.

"Thank you for explaining. I feel like I understand", the dark haired ace said flatly.

"Oh, really?" Sora half-joked. "Because I don't"

"Sora-kun..." Kominato intervened, receiving her attention. "All injuries need time to heal. From some you can recover faster than from others and the ones you suffer from the most are certainly emotional shocks. They need a lot of time and care and sometimes they leave behind scars that never fully disappear. The memory will remain, there's nothing you can do about it, so it's only natural that it still causes you pain"

"Oh, Harucchi. Aptly put! That was deep!" Sawamura praised and the pink haired boy blushed again.

Kawakami nodded in agreement and gave the blue haired girl a reassuring smile.

"That's true. Even if you've decided to move on for yourself, it will still take time for you to get over your past. That's nothing to be underestimated. You can't leave behind everything in a few weeks"

"But you can count on us as your team to be by your side to support you. We'll be here whenever you need us", Shirasu added and the others nodded.

"And even if you don't need us", Sawamura chimed in with his typical wide grin. "I'm just gonna go on your nerves like always, so you won't have enough time to be gloomy"

"That sounds like a threat..." Miyuki deadpanned, causing the team to laugh.

"A promise", the young southpaw gave back lightheartedly.

"Also, you really shouldn't be too hard on yourself. It is admirable that you don't try to blame everything on your former team members and that you are willing to admit you could partly be at fault as well. You're right with your reflection and to consider other people's emotions, but honestly speaking you shouldn't linger on those thoughts and feelings, because in this case they won't do you any good", Watanabe advised seriously.

"If I may give you my personal opinion, if they had been proper friends, they should have supported you with your desire to become a pitcher, even if they had noticed they weren't able to keep up with your abilities. A true friend should never expect you to give something up for them that they know you love. And Miyuki, correct me if I'm wrong, but as your catcher, your battery partner should've discussed things with you to find a solution for your problem. Both of your whole teams should've talked to you about what upset them and even if you hadn't been able to solve it and to protect your friendship from too big differences, they should never, under no circumstances have started bullying you. That's just low level, no offense Sora, but that's beyond my understanding. Especially after years of a very good relationship with each other"

"You heard him", the young captain just approved curtly.

"Whoa, Nabe-senpai suddenly did an accurate psychological profile..." Kanemaru stated impressed. "That's our master scout for ya"

"I think you shouldn't give up on being a pitcher if that's what you really wanna do", Toujou said and determination shone in his own eyes. "'Cause I didn't give up on it either. I'm not always gonna be a field player, so you better consider me a proper rival, Sora"

"Me too", Furuya agreed. "I'm not gonna lose!"

"The one to steal away the ace number will be me though!" Sawamura shouted and started laughing out loud, much to Miyuki's annoyance.

"Hey, don't underestimate your senpai. I'm still here too!" Kawakami protested, but it sounded rather friendly than threatening.

Sora sweat dropped, but a small smile started to form on her lips.

"Guys, thanks, really, but it wasn't decided that I'd be a pitcher for Seidou just yet... I mean... coach wants to test me in winter camp, but I'll have to talk to him about that again, so..."

"Oh, yeah? I'd love to be present during this discussion. Might as well volunteer to catch..." Miyuki smirked and ignored Sora's glare.

"Go ahead and humiliate yourself. Serves you right!" she pouted and sunk a little deeper into her blanket.

"You're not challenging me in front of our team now, are you Sora?!"

"Can't be called a challenge when I'm already sure you won't be able to catch for me. Just stating facts"

"Heh... Now you've done it... Interesting!"

Miyuki's caramel eyes lit up and their teammates present in Sora's room gasped audibly. Even in a feverish state of mind the blue head sure got some guts. Or maybe it was because of the fever...

"I'm gonna check on Kuramochi, guys. He's takin' a lot of time outside", Maezono informed his friends before getting up from the floor and leaving the room much more mannerly than the shortstop earlier.

"I'll be very sure to earn your trust then... As the captain. And your catcher", the brown haired catcher promised Sora who widened her bright blue eyes at him.

"You wish..." Sora closed her eyes with a relieved smile on her face and still leaning against Sawamura, she didn't even notice that she dozed off.