Forbidden Protege

Ch. 3: Pitchers (Part 1)

"Let's play catch for a bit to make sure your shoulder is fine," Alexia called to Furuya as they stood in the indoor practice area. She pounded her fist into her catcher mitt that she had dropped by her room to grab. Furuya nodded and silently threw the ball to her. It was a solid throw to her left shoulder and Alexia caught it easily.

Miyuki leaned against the wall a few paces to the side of them. He watched as the two of them threw back and forth a handful of times. He knew that Furuya had a solid throw, even when he wasn't pitching, and that he lacked some control. What surprised him was how Alexia made catching him look easy. She had a soft touch with her catches, making it seem like the ball settled into the mitt gently. Her throw was also solid, but in a different way than Furuya's. His throw was powerful; Alexia's throw was softer but sharper and quicker. It was refined.

"I think that's enough for his shoulder," Miyuki called out and Alexia nodded to him in response. He knew Furuya better than her and knew how he performed better. "Put on a chest protector and a mask at least if you're going to have him pitch," Miyuki added as he saw Alexia start to squat down.

She halted and stood back up, scrunching her brows at him. "I'm not going to have him throw breaking balls or shit like that. Does he even know any?"

"No, but he can throw fast and heavy. If you're going to have him pitch seriously, you need to have some protection," Miyuki stated as he grabbed his own gear that he had set to the side. Furuya had already approached him about catching for him and so he had brought his gear. "You can borrow mine."

Alexia cocked her eyebrow and chuckled. "So I can borrow your protection, huh?" Miyuki felt his face go scarlet as he turned away from her. Furuya also began to blush fiercely and Eijun choked on his own saliva. Kuramochi began laughing hysterically and Alexia joined him. "Sorry, sorry. You walked right into that one so I couldn't help myself."

"Careful, Alex-chan," Kuramochi got out between his laughs. "Keep that up and you'll confuse the team."

Alexia scoffed. "I doubt anyone would actually believe I could be into him." She looked through the indoor area and saw several stares and looks. Some looked horrified, some concerned, and some confused. "And I mean, this would be far from the first time that someone thought I was dating a teammate. I stopped caring a long time ago what people think."

"Do you have any shame?" Miyuki laughed as he carried his gear over to Alexia. He fought his blush and was impressed at how even his own voice was.

"Don't think so," Alexia replied, smiling.

"I highly doubt it," Kuramochi piped up.

"Do you always talk like that, Alex-san?" Eijun asked curiously, still with a light blush.

Alexia shrugged. "It's fun to mess with people."

Furuya mumbled to himself, "There's two of them."

"Here," Miyuki said, handing Alexia the chest protector. "I'll help you adjust it."

Alexia shook her head. "Don't bother. I'm not planning on catching many so as long as it's not falling off it'll be fine. It'll just have to be readjusted for you anyway."

"If you're going to catch for Furuya, you're wearing the gear correctly."

"Well aren't you damn stubborn," Alexia mused to herself as she slipped Miyuki's chest protector on.

"Thank you!" Miyuki said as he smirked. He grabbed the connector in the back and clicked it into place. He then tugged at the adjusters and tightened it around her chest and waist.

"Pull the waist a little tighter, and the chest, too," Alexia requested as she stood still, letting Miyuki work.

He slipped the band on her waist tighter and then glanced at her chest. "Are you sure you want it tighter? It looks like it's already fairly tight."

Alexia chuckled. "I may have more up top, but they squish." Miyuki felt himself blush again. 'Why does she keep wording it like that?' "I'll tell you when it's good so just trust me." Miyuki tightened the chest strap again, pointedly avoiding looking at her chest until Alexia told him it was good.

Kuramochi was watching silently from behind the pitching net. He had already realized that Alexia had little shame and was more comfortable being physical with guys than most, but seriously? He didn't know what to think of her complete disregard for personal space or the fact that she didn't seem to care at all that Miyuki had directly looked at her chest. Kuramochi sighed and shook his head as Alexia pulled on Miyuki's mask and Miyuki joined him behind the net. "She's certainly comfortable," Kuramochi said quietly to Miyuki.

"Apparently." Miyuki didn't bother to look at Kuramochi. He was too focused on Furuya who was standing on the pitcher's plate, waiting for Alexia's signal to pitch. He quietly cleared his throat, trying to push what Alexia had said out of his mind. To say he had been caught off guard would be an understatement.

Alexia took at quick glance behind her at Kuramochi and Miyuki, noting that both of them were shifting their weight. 'Shit, I think I took it too far,' she thought to herself. She made a mental note to back off a little with the suggestive teasing. She took a deep breath as she squatted down behind the plate.

"Let's start with a simple fastball down the middle. Don't go all out but make it good," she said to Furuya as she held her mitt out in front of her. He took his stance on the plate and gripped the ball in his mitt. He pulled his arm back as he stepped forward and Alexia watched intently as he flung his arm forward, releasing the ball from the tips of his fingers. She couldn't blink as the ball came hurtling towards her. It flew straight and precise, and then it shifted. A split second difference and Alexia was jumping to her feet as the ball rocketed upwards. She went to grab it and flinched in pain as the ball smacked into her mitt roughly. She stumbled back a couple steps and let out a breath she hadn't realized she was holding.

Then she started laughing. It started quietly and then progressively got louder as she realized that she had underestimate the younger pitcher. Kuramochi watched with his mouth slightly open and Eijun's jaw was on the ground. Furuya's eyes were wide as he spoke. "Sorry, I threw that harder than you asked."

"That's fine," Alexia said. "You were right, though. Your pitch certainly is hard to catch." She threw the ball back and shook out her hand, trying to dull the pain. She knew it wasn't a serious injury, but she had caught the pitch incorrectly.

Miyuki was speechless. His mind was racing to process what he had just witnessed. The first time he had caught for Furuya, the pitch not only was slightly slower, but it hadn't risen at all. Despite him acting nonchalant and asking Furuya why he looked surprised, Miyuki had had a hard time catching for him originally. Yet Alexia had never seen Furuya pitch before and not only did the pitch rise, but Alexia had been in a bad position to quickly jump up. And she caught it well, albeit a bit roughly. The ball had hit the palm of the mitt more than the webbing and Miyuki was doubtless than her hand was buzzing with pain, but nonetheless she had caught it. He was running calculations in his mind, trying to rationalize how Alexia had reacted so fast to the pitch and everything boiled down to her having insane reflexes.

He felt a smirk grow on his face as he recalled her introduction to the team. Catcher was her secondary position.