Ch. 5: Kidnapped Day Off (Part 2)

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The bus rolled to a stop and the group got off. Alexia was last and she smiled and thanked the driver as she left. He didn't so much as acknowledge her and Alexia inwardly sighed. She turned to the group. "So where to?"

"There's a sporting goods store just a couple blocks away. Most of what we all need to grab is there," Kuramochi said. Alexia nodded. "After that, we were planning on going to buy a couple new clothes."

"You guys are going clothing shopping?" Alexia said, her voice teasing. Kuramochi startled and then glared at her. "Relax, I actually need to get some clothes myself. Let's go get everything you guys need first, though."

Kuramochi relaxed and their group headed towards the store. As they were walking, Alexia's phone chimed. She turned the screen on and smiled as she saw who it was from. She glanced at the time. 8:43. Haruichi looked over at Alexia when she pulled her phone out and he stared as he saw her mind churning. Kuramochi noticed as well.

"Oi, Alex-chan. What is it? You're staring at your phone."

"Is it your boyfriend?" Ryosuke asked, his voice dripping with sickly sweetness.

Alexia's head snapped up. "Oh god no. I was just trying to figure out what time it would be in America right now. 7:43 of last night, I believe."

"How come? Miyuki asked as he shoved his hands into his pockets.

"One of my teammates in America just texted me," Alexia replied as she opened the message. Another chime sounded.

"That's nice you're still talking," Haruichi said.

Alexia smiled at that. "Yeah it is."

"So it was a boy?" Ryosuke inquired, giving Alexia a nasty smirk.

She rolled her eyes. "It's Fable. He was my catcher and was damn good at it. He just sent a video of Severus, the centerfielder and now pitcher, and asked me to critique his pitching." Alexia typed back that she would as soon as she could and stuffed her phone away.

"They're asking you for help still?" Kuramochi asked, his voice betraying the fact that he was impressed.

Alexia nodded. "Yeah. I was the primary pitcher and Severus was my main relief. I helped out all of the pitchers a lot."

"Isn't Severus the name of a character from Harry Potter?" Haruichi wondered aloud.

"Ha ha. Yeah. Severus and Fable are twins and we teased them a lot that their parents suck at naming," Alexia laughed.

"I want to see that video, if you don't mind," Miyuki piped up. Alexia cocked an eyebrow at him and he smirked. "I want to see how good your old team was."

Alexia chuckled. "More like you want to see and make sure that I didn't downgrade catchers," she teased, her voice light.

Miyuki scoffed. "As if I have to worry about that. I'm Tokyo's genius catcher, you know." He had a cocky and arrogant aura about him and Kuramochi groaned in disgust.

"Arrogant as always," Ryosuke said simply.

"There's no such thing as a genius player," Alexia said coldly, catching everyone of guard. "The ones who are called that are the farthest from being their best." The rest slowed their pace, but Alexia kept walking with her eyes ahead. "And for the record, Fable and Severus are the same age as me and they already have several pro offers. I haven't met a better catcher than Fable."

"Pro offers..." Haruichi said, his voice trailing off as the weight of it hit him. Kuramochi was silent and even Ryosuke didn't have anything to say. The way she had spoken, he could tell she wasn't bluffing.

Miyuki's smirk turned to shock and then to joy. An honest and competitive smile formed on his face and caught Alexia's attention, who turned back to face him. "In that case, I guess I'll just have to change your mind."

Alexia found herself smiling along with him, eager to take him up on the challenge in his tone. "I look forward to your attempt." She stopped walking, falling back behind Ryosuke. "And you better lead because I have no idea where we're going," she laughed.

Ryosuke chuckled. "We wouldn't want you to get lost, now would we?"

Alexia rolled her eyes. "I wouldn't get lost. I know the area somewhat, I just don't know where this store is."

"Sure, sure," he said, brushing her off. Alexia huffed but didn't retort.

"So, Miya-san, you said that you just moved here from America, right?" Haruichi started. Alexia nodded and he continued. "So did your parents move to Tokyo then?" Alexia tensed. It was a valid question and she already knew she had lucked out of not having to answer it so far.

She cleared her throat and ran a hand over her braid. Miyuki watched her hand as if felt over the different parts and Kuramochi noticed how her shoulders stiffened. "Yeah, my dad moved to Tokyo. He got a job offer here."

"And your mom?" Ryosuke asked over his shoulder. His tone was light and Alexia guessed that he didn't realize that she had left her out on purpose.

She took a deep breath. "Out of the picture." Awkward silence. "Has been since I was born." She cast a glance at each of the guys. Haruichi was fidgeting and mumbled an apology. Kuramochi adverted his gaze and was rubbing the back of his neck. In front of her, Ryosuke's shoulders went stiff. It was obvious that he hadn't expected an answer like that.

When she turned her head to the right to look at Miyuki, she was surprised. He was looking at her with his head tilted slightly towards her. His features were stiff and his mouth was set in a line, but his eyes were soft. Concern swam in his warm caramel eyes; concern, not pity. And behind that, Alexia swore she saw a painful understanding lingering. His hands were shoved in his pockets and his elbows were drawn into his sides. Alexia's breath hitched. He looked pained, vulnerable, and understanding.

She offered him a small smile which caused him to jerk slightly, surprised that she had seen him like that. Swiftly, his features shifted back to normal and his eyes changed back to relaxed. Alexia cleared her throat again, deciding to ignore the sudden coolness that returned to his figure, and spoke. "This was supposed to be a fun day out. You guys didn't know, so don't dwell on it. How far's the store?"

Kuramochi seemed to shake off the awkwardness first and looked in front of them. "It's that one right there, with the red awning." Alexia followed his gaze and found a store with several different sports gear in the windows. Golf clubs, soccer balls, volleyball knee guards, and gymnastic uniforms were displayed in the windows. However, most of the display space was occupied with baseball bats, mitts, and cleats.

Alexia let out a low whistle. "Damn, I guess the fact that there are several powerhouse schools around helps baseball's popularity."

Ryosuke turned to look at her as they approached the door. "Isn't baseball known as America's sport?" He asked, his usual smirk slipping off his face in favor of a questioning look.

She nodded. "Yeah it is, and it is fairly popular, but not like it is here. Football – American football – is actually the most popular." Miyuki hummed next to her, intrigued by the new information. She walked forward and pulled the door open, gesturing for the others to enter.

Ryosuke hesitated slightly before entering. Alexia could barely hear Ryosuke as he spoke, his voice a whisper. "Sorry about bringing your mother up." Alexia gave him a small smile and nodded. The others filed in after him and Alexia slid inside last.

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