Forbidden Protege

Ch. 4: Friend and Foe (Part 1)

An alarm was blaring. His alarm. Miyuki groaned as the realization hit him. He flipped over onto his stomach and reached his hand up blindly to his dresser, trying to feel for the small annoying device. His hand hit plastic and the sound ceased. His head flopped back into his pillow.

"Miyuki-san. It's time to get ready," Kimura called to him, hoping the boy wouldn't fall back asleep. He was met with a grunt. "I'm going on ahead. Don't be late." Miyuki heard the door click shut and silence fell over him. He debated whether or not being late was worth an extra five minutes of sleep.

Nope. It was not.

He sighed into his pillow and sat up, pulling off his eye mask in the process. He folded it nicely and relied on muscle memory to find his way to his desk and glasses case. His eyesight was poor as is and the bleary sleepiness certainly did not help. He slid on the black frames and took a moment to stretch his back, feeling his muscles pop and align. Still half asleep, he grabbed his shower bag from under his bed and withdrew his toothbrush and paste. Since he had the time now, he wouldn't put off brushing his teeth until right before school. He slid on his slippers and opened the door into the pale morning light.

He blinked a couple times before he realized there was someone standing in front of him. He raised his gaze from their feet to their face and for a moment he couldn't figure out why there was a girl in front of him. Oh right. Alexia.

She chuckled as she noticed his eyebrows knit together in confusion. Based on his half asleep state, she could guess what had him confused. "Good morning," she chuckled. "I take it you aren't a morning person?"

Miyuki opened his mouth to give a sarcastic comment but all that came out was a yawn. Alexia smirked and Miyuki rubbed the back of his neck. "No, not really," he admitted. He took in Alexia's appearance. Her hair was in a loose braid and she wore a black t-shirt and red basketball shorts. She stood with one of her black tennis shoes braced against her other ankle and was using a towel to wipe her forehead. Miyuki realized that she was already sweating.

"Were you already up and running?" Miyuki asked, not quite believing it. He was well aware that Eijun often ran before practice but he hadn't expected there to be another one like him.

"Not everyone likes to sleep until noon," Alexia teased. "I usually get up early and run a few miles and do light weights before I start my day. I was just getting back from that." Miyuki shook his head. He couldn't understand people like that. "By the way, what time is it?"

Miyuki leaned his head back into room and looked at the small clock on Kimura's desk. 5:49 am. Practice started at 6. He turned back to Alexia with wide eyes, now fully awake. "Practice is in ten minutes."

It was her turn to widen her eyes. "Shit," Alexia said before turning quickly and running the few steps to her room. Miyuki swung back into his room and threw his stuff on his bed before yanking his shirt over his head and stripping off his pants. He hastily pulled on his compression shirt and sliding shorts before yanking up his pants. He buttoned his shirt on as he gathered his stuff. He pulled on his shoes before picking up his sport bag and bolting out the door, praying that Alexia was right about not needing to lock it. He ran down the stairs as fast as he dared and then turned, breaking into a full sprint for the diamond.

Alexia cursed herself as she pulled out her earrings, not bothering to put the backings on them. She'd figure that out later. She had already stripped to her underwear and was tugging up her sliding shorts as she pulled the last earring out and set it on her desk. Her compression shirt was next, then her pants and shirt which she didn't bother buttoning yet. She slipped on a headband, not wanting to take the time to rebraid her hair, and stuffed her feet into her cleats. She slung her bag over her shoulder, thankful she had already double checked everything earlier in the morning, and flew out her door. She took large strides to the railing and set her palm against it, swinging her legs over.