Forbidden Protege

Ch. 3: Pitchers (Part 3)

"Oi! Alex-san! I'm done with the practice! C'mon, catch for me!" Eijun yelled loudly as he stood over Alexia who sat with her back against the wall.

"Give me a sec, I'm finishing this up," Alexia replied, not bothering to look at him. She held her phone in her hands and was typing something up. Eijun noticed that she had the newest model of smartphone. But right now what was most important is that she should be catching his pitches.

"Why are you on your phone right now, huh? You should be practicing if you're staying in here!" he said, upset that the new kid seemed to be slacking off.

Alexia didn't reply immediately, instead clicking a few more buttons and then powering off her phone. She stood up without a word and drew herself to her full height as she faced the pitcher, glaring. Eijun gulped. They were the same height and her eyes bore into his, making him uncomfortable.

"First of all," Alexia said, speaking slowly and deliberately, "I volunteered to help you. Otherwise, I wouldn't be here seeing as how I might have bruised my hand. Second, while I don't give a flying shit about age-related respect, I do care about general respect." By now the entire training area was silently listening to the confrontation. Eijun felt nervous sweat pooling on his hands. "Third, what I was doing, while it is my own fucking business, was baseball-related. My old team was asking for some advice for an upcoming game. Fourth, I already did my workouts for the day, and I can guarantee that I have not been slacking off. Don't go assuming that people aren't practicing just because you don't see it. Alright?"

Eijun nodded his head vigorously. "I-I'm sorry, Alex-san. I won't accuse you like that again. I won't blame you for leaving now," Eijun said, diverting his gaze at the last part. He wasn't stupid enough to not notice that he had insulted her, even if he didn't quite understand why she had reacted so strongly.

Alexia took a deep breath. She overreacted to his yelling. She knew that, his disrespect aside, he had a point. That didn't stop his accusation of being lazy from grating on her nerves, though. She stepped back and rubbed her temples. "Sorry, just... You hit a nerve with that. C'mon, let's go see what you're capable of." Alexia stooped down and grabbed her mitt.

"Are you sure?" Eijun asked hesitantly. Her sudden shift from angry to apologizing shocked him.

"Of course," Alexia said, smiling to try and relieve the tension. "I've got to see what kind of competition I have for the ace position."

Eijun's eye went wide. "I'm gonna be the ace! Get ready, because I'm going to go all out for all ten of these pitches! It'll be even more impressive than Furuya's!"

Alexia rolled her eyes. "I doubt that but go ahead and give it your best shot." She smirked at him as she walked to the plate.

"Just you watch! Wait, aren't you going to wear the gear?"

"Can you throw as fast as Furuya?"

"..."

"Just don't rat me out to Miyuki-san, alright?" Alexia smirked again and Eijun smiled in return as he went to the pitching plate. "What sort of pitches do you throw?" Alexia inquired, remembering what Kuramochi had told her.

"I throw fastballs for life!" Eijun declared stubbornly. Alexia furrowed her eyebrows. What Kuramochi had described was a moving fastball, which ironically seemed to fit this pitcher's personality. While it was technically a fastball, most people distinguished it from the standard kind. 'Knowing him, he might not realize it moves,' Alexia thought to herself. She'd just have to find out.

"Alright, the first one is going to be right down the middle," Alexia said as she set herself up. Learning from her mistake with Furuya, she chose a position that would easily allow her to move and adjust to catch the pitch. Eijun yelled his confirmation and took his stance on the pitching plate. Alexia studied his form carefully. He lifted his right leg higher than normal, yet seemed perfectly comfortable. He stepped forward deliberately and twisted his waist around before flinging his left arm down, straight towards the plate. The ball flew out swiftly, moving more to the left than Alexia had asked for. She shifted her weight, ready to catch the ball, but still on high alert. Then it happened, the ball shifted and seemed to curve even more to the left. Alexia held her breath as the ball settled into her mitt.

"How was that?" Eijun asked excitedly. Alexia looked from her mitt to the boy. Kuramochi had lied. His pitch wasn't interesting, it was amazing. She had played against numerous pitchers with different styles. If Japan was the place with the quickest growing baseball culture, America had the most established. Yet she had never met a pitcher that she could compare this kid to. She prided herself on her ability to analyze anything and everything related to baseball, but this kid left her speechless. "Well?"

Alexia laughed loudly, shaking her head. "That was a ball, by far." Eijun flinched and then began yelling that he would throw the best pitch of his life next. Alexia had no idea what to think. Sawamura Eijun was a hot-headed, loud-mouthed, stupid brat. He also had a pitch that Alexia knew would be a lethal weapon. Not now, not by far. But she knew. His form made her want to gag and his control was horrible, but she could see that he had a lot of potential. She smiled inwardly, already looking forward to how he would grow. "Come on, you've got nine more pitches to throw."

Eijun complied and continued to pitch to Alexia. After he threw his allotted ten pitches he tried to beg and bribe Alexia into catching more for him, who turned him down without any room for compromise. He gave up and then ran out of the room, declaring that he was going to take a nice bath.

"No one needs to know that!" a blond yelled at him as he ran out. He then turned towards Alexia. "I'm impressed you put up with him for that long."

Alexia chuckled. "Believe it or not, one of my teammates from America was worse."

"Seriously?" The guy's eyes widened and Alexia couldn't blame him for being skeptical.

"On the flip side, he was one of the best players. Excellent first baseman and a hell of a hitter," Alexia said, nodding to herself. "His ability more than made up for the headaches he caused."

"Well, that's good," the blond replied. "By the way, my name is Kanemaru. I heard you don't like being called by your surname, so what would you like to go by?" He rubbed the back of his neck subconsciously and blushed ever so slightly.

"I'm not picky," Alexia said, shrugging. She was getting tired of explaining it to people. "Alex, Miya, Naru. I don't give a shit. Not about honorifics either."

"A-alright then, Miya-san," Kanemaru said, still a bit uncertain.

Alexia smiled at him. "I'm gonna call it a day. See you later, Kanemaru-kun," she said before turning and walking out of the arena. Kanemaru replied and she raised her hand, showing she had heard him.