Forbidden Protege

Ch. 8: Reality (Part 2)

"I don't think I'll ever get used to how fast you eat." Kuramochi stated as he watched Alexia down her rice. She simply chuckled in response and shoveled more into her mouth. Miyuki didn't so much as glance in her direction which she found weird since he usually had a smartass remark to make about her eating habits. "I heard the second-string game went well today."

Eijun blushed and began rubbing the back of his neck while wearing a lopsided creepy smile. "Well, I did think that I was doing-"

"I wasn't talking about you, Bakamura," Kuramochi cut him off, earning a glare and a shout from the boy. "That was your first time pitching at Seido, wasn't it?"

Alexia nodded. "Except that it was an unofficial practice game so it hardly counts. I also screwed up several times so I wouldn't say it was a good first impression."

"Not like you've ever been good at those," Kuramochi jabbed at her.

Alexia rolled her eyes with a small smile. She then pointed her chopsticks towards Haruichi. "He had a good showing though. Several good hits and good plays. I'm sure he's one of the players that the coach has his eye on."

Haruichi startled at the sudden praise and his cheeks were dusted with pink to match his hair. "Thanks, but there's still a lot I need to work on, too."

"Yeah there is, but it's still important to recognize what you're doing well," Alexia pointed out to the younger boy who nodded at her words. "And by the way, sorry for surprising you on the mound."

"Oh, no that's okay," Haruichi said quickly. "I just wasn't expecting it, really."

"What happened on the mound?" Kawakami asked curiously from beside Alexia.

"Alex-san hugged Harucchi suddenly! When they were walking back to the dugout, too," Eijun offered up, much louder than necessary.

Alexia groaned internally as she saw the several surprised looks sent their way. Haruichi blushed and went to stutter out an explanation. Kawakami went red and Kuramochi and Miyuki both looked at her with raised eyebrows. "I put my arm around his shoulders. I didn't hug him like you're thinking," she said, waving her hand dismissively. She let her gaze wander up and over a few tables to where some third years were sitting. "I know you're eavesdropping, Ryosuke-san, so don't say anything later."

Almost everyone turned to look at the guy who lifted his head and smirked mischievously at Alexia. "My, my, aren't you getting friendly with Haruichi?"

Alexia snorted. "You're the one who was pulling my shirt up." Shocked silence overtook the cafeteria as Alexia smirked, locking eyes with Ryosuke and daring him to say something. The awkward silence only seemed to encourage him.

"At least I wasn't the one with my arm over your chest pinning you to me." Kuramochi flushed vibrant red at Ryosuke's remark and Alexia laughed loudly.

"Aren't you ashamed that the youngest one was the most gentlemanly?" Alexia taunted the boy. By now there wasn't a person in the room who wasn't listening in, although Alexia didn't mind; she and Ryosuke were having the conversation halfway across the room. Any player who would jump to conclusions and call her a slut would also have to admit Ryosuke and a very obviously guilty Kuramochi were involved as well, and she doubted there were many players willing to indirectly accuse the two of them. Most would probably just remain utterly confused for a while before eventually forgetting the conversation ever happened. Not that Alexia really cared, she was used to rumors.

Ryosuke hummed but didn't shoot back with a response. Instead he went back to eating his rice, acting as if the exchange hadn't happened. Alexia smiled broadly. "I win."

"How childish."

Alexia laughed again as she picked up her tray. Turning to the others at her table she said, "I'm going now. See you later."

"Hold on," Kawakami said nervously. "What exactly happened?"

"Ask Haruichi-san. He was the only one not being a pain in the ass," she replied before turning and leaving. She set her tray on the counter and exited the cafeteria while catching the beginning of Haruichi's explanation. Based on how quiet the room still was, she guessed that most of the players were listening in on his retelling of the events she and Ryosuke had mentioned.

She chuckled to herself as she made her way back to her room. She only stepped inside briefly to grab her bat and batting gloves before making her way to the indoor arena. A few first-string players were already there as well as some reserve members, but for the most part the large room was unoccupied. Alexia set up in the corner and began her swings, paying full attention to her movements as she went. How her balance shifted, how her shoulder rolled and moved as she brought her hips around. Every inch her body was mapped out in her mind along with how it felt, what she needed to change, how her muscles constricted and relaxed, and how the bat felt as she brought it around. The world around her faded from consciousness as she gave her full attention over to her practice.

Eventually she finished her three hundred swings and she wiped the sweat from her brow as she realized that she was now the only one in the indoor arena. She glanced at her phone, ignoring the few missed calls and text messages, and was surprised to find it was 7:47 pm. She had been practicing longer than she thought. Since the coach had amped up the practices for the reserved players and the first and second-string players had games, Alexia had supposed that's why the arena was empty.

Shrugging it off, she pulled out a crate of baseballs and set up a batting tee in front of a net. She set a ball on top and took her stance. Swiftly and decisively, she sent it into the center of the net. She repeated the action again and again until she reached one hundred. Next, she took a nearby block and set it up under her right foot, causing her balance to shift. She hit from the awkward position fifty times before swapping the block to under her left foot and hitting another fifty balls. It was an odd practice, but she had found that it helped keep her from losing her balance and hitting bad balls during games.

Alexia paused and drew in a deep breath, gathering her thoughts and feeling her muscles scolding her. She had played in a game today, albeit only three innings, so she should be resting. However, whether it was her pride or her guilt, something was driving her to work her ass off. She would have the next two days off so she figured that she would drive herself into the ground now and recuperate later. She couldn't stand just sitting around after her poor showing.

She lifted her tank to wipe the sweat from her brow before repositioning the batting tee so that it was at the inside corner of the strike zone near her chest. Through the years, she had discovered that pitchers liked to try and intimidate her by throwing a high inside pitch, the exact pitch that she had hit a double off of earlier today. It was almost comical how every new pitcher thought to throw the same damn pitch.

Setting a ball atop the tee, Alexia took her batting stance. She stepped back with her left foot and brought her arms around, using her torso to amplify her power and drive the ball forward and to the right. She grabbed another ball and ran this drill time and again, never noticing the figure leaning against the door frame, watching her intently. Equal parts impressed, anger, and concern danced across his face as he took in her single-minded practice and serious demeanor. His eyes watched hers, almost as if entranced by their intense purple hue.