Forbidden Protege

Ch. 2: Class and Field (Part 8)

As they got to the dorms, Kuramochi broke off and headed to his room while Miyuki and Alexia continued walking towards their own. They didn't talk as they walked, but it was a comfortable silence. They climbed the stairs, with Alexia in front of Miyuki, and went to each of their doors. Alexia turned the handle and pulled her door open.

"You didn't lock your door?" Miyuki asked. Alexia turned and saw him putting a key into his doorknob. Initially, she was confused as she hadn't seen him lock it earlier, but soon enough she put the pieces together. Kimura was his roommate and had left the room after him. He also was likely the one who locked the door.

She shrugged. "I mean, compared to the chances in America, I'm not too worried about people messing with my shit. And if they do, I'll just get them back." Miyuki held his hand on the handle and hesitated slightly, unsure whether or not to ask his question. "What is it?" Alexia asked.

Miyuki decided to ask, concluding that she at least wouldn't be too insulted. "You seem to be completely relaxed being in the guys dorm. Aren't you... uneasy at all?"

Alexia smirked and turned to face him. "Why? Should I be, Neighbor?"

Miyuki felt a blush creep up his neck as his eyes went wide. "N-no. I mean, it's just that you weren't bothered by me and Kuramochi being in your room when we first met, and you aren't concerned about guys being able to get into your room, so I'm curious."

Alexia sighed and shook her head. "First of all, we're all here for baseball and if I'm going to be on the team then I'm going to have to be comfortable around you guys. Second, I played baseball for five years in America. Granted, even over there I was told that I was too relaxed, but that's just how I am. I don't give a shit if someone is a girl or guy and I'd rather give everyone the benefit of the doubt until they prove otherwise. And third, I hung out with my American teammates all the time. Whether it was late training, prepping for a game, going over scorebooks, or studying for an exam, I was over at their houses late all the time. We all had sleepovers all the time and honestly, I probably spent more nights at one of my teammates houses rather than my own the last year I was there."

Miyuki hummed to himself. Everything she said made sense. While he would never admit it, Kuramochi was right; she was so relaxed because of her living in America. "Well alright then. See you at dinner." With that, he opened his door and walked into his room.

Alexia followed suite and entered her own room. She kicked off her cleats by the door and pulled her shirt over her head. Just because the team didn't shower until after dinner didn't mean they showed up covered in dirt. She stripped off her pants and sliding shorts before pulling a white shirt with blue sleeves and black track pants out of her closet. She then went to her desk and grabbed her earrings, securing each of them in the correct spot. After she tugged on a pair of black sneakers, she left her room, deciding again to leave it unlocked, and made her way to the cafeteria.

As she approached the building she heard her name being called and turned to find Kawakami there. She greeted him, "Hey Nori-san. How was practice?"

He nodded. "It was good. I was impressed with your batting and fielding."

"Thanks!" Alexia beamed. "You were pretty good too, just..." She trailed off, unsure whether or not to say what was on her mind.

"What is it?" Kawakami asked. He saw her bite her lip nervously and gave her a small smile. "I know I messed up today, I was nervous."

Alexia chuckled uneasily. "That's what I was going to say. You seemed like you were really nervous and were getting ahead of yourself. Just slow down and take a breath sometimes. You're a good player. I mean, what other proof do you need than the fact that you're on the first-string team?" Alexia laughed lightly and Kawakami did the same. "If the coach put you on the damn team, then obviously you have the capability to play well."

"I haven't thought of it that way," Kawakami said. "It is comforting. Thanks."

"No problem," Alexia said, giving him a big smile as she opened the door to the cafeteria and held it for him. Kawakami hesitated slightly until Alexia motioned him through. He went and Alexia followed in behind him. Both of them got in line for their dinner and Alexia noted that while it wasn't dead silent, there were still several sets of eyes following her.

"Oh hello, Dear," a lunch lady greeted Alexia. She recognized the woman as the same one who had broken the awkward silence from yesterday. "We're having fish today, but Rei-san told us about your allergy, so we prepared a separate meal for you. We made plenty and you're welcome to take the leftover with you to lunch or as a snack."

Alexia internally thanked deities for this lady. "Thank you, Ma'am. I really appreciate it."

"Oh, think nothing of it, Dear," the lady said as she handed Alexia her tray of food. "The rest is already packaged in the refrigerator back here. It's labeled so help yourself." Alexia thanked the lady again before following Kawakami to the same table she had sat at yesterday.

Kawakami set his tray down and Alexia sat next to him. "You're allergic to fish?" he asked, looking worriedly at his own tray of food.

Alexia chuckled slightly. "Yeah I am, but it's fine. As long as I don't eat any, I won't have any trouble." She looked across from her to Kuramochi who was also looking at her worriedly. "I'm serious, I'm fine."

"Alright then," Kuramochi said, relaxing. "So are we going to have another eating contest today?" Alexia rolled her eyes at him and he laughed loudly. Miyuki arrived at the table next and took a seat to Alexia's right.

"So why are you getting special treatment?" Miyuki asked, cocking an eyebrow at her tray. Alexia sighed. 'Why is it that they always show up right after the damn explanation?' she asked herself. Just as she was about to explain, the rowdy pitcher decided to make himself heard.

"Oi! Furuya! That's not fair!" Eijun yelled as he glared at Furuya who had swiftly made the seat across from Miyuki his own. "I want to sit by Miyuki!" Furuya simply started eating his own food, paying no attention to the loud-mouth.

"Oi! Sawamura, shut up and eat!" Kuramochi scolded as he grabbed Eijun's tray out of his hand and set it in the spot next to him. Eijun 'humphed' and sat in the seat heavily and Haruichi sat next to him. Eijun looked at Alexia and then noticed her tray.

"Hey! Why do you get special treatment?!"

'At least I only need to explain it once,' Alexia thought to herself. "I'm allergic to fish so the ladies made me a separate meal." Alexia noticed that all of the newcomers had looks of concern on their faces. "As long as I don't eat the fish, I'll be fine, so don't look so worried," Alexia said quickly. She hid her amusement at the look she saw in Miyuki's eyes. He seemed especially alert at her statement whereas she had thought he'd be the most relaxed.

"Well, that's good," he said, keeping his voice level and hiding his concern as well. Miyuki put some of his rice into his mouth and chewed deliberately, thinking. A lot of the popular food in Japan was fish-based. He wondered how careful she had to be when eating out. He stopped midchew. Since when was he so interested in her?

"Oi, Furuya-kun," Alexia said, drawing his attention to her. "After we finish eating, can we go to the bullpen? I'm excited to catch your pitch."

"Sure," Furuya said simply, taking another bite of his fish.

Miyuki turned to Alexia. "Are you sure you can catch his pitch? It's really fast and heavy."

"I'm sure. I did play catcher on a high school team before this and one of our pitchers could throw almost as fast," Alexia said, waving him off. "Furuya-kun already tried to warn me so don't waste your breath. I know what I'm capable of."

"Alright then," Miyuki said, nodding. "I look forward to you getting knocked on your ass."