Forbidden Protege

Ch. 10: Charged Emotions (Part 1)

"Another training menu! Can you believe that?!" Eijun cried as he threw his arms out dramatically. Alexia's didn't bother to respond as the boy continued his lament. "I mean, is that all he's going to have me do until I graduate?!"

"He'll graduate before you," Alexia pointed out, smirking. As expected, that only served to cause Eijun to lament more at the better chance that would in fact happen. As they rounded the fence and made their way back towards the field, Alexia noticed that several of the first-string team had gathered. She sighed and turned to the boy who was still grumbling. "Look, I'd bet anything that Chris-san gave you another menu to build muscle to prevent injury. I know it's annoying, but maybe you should just do it and think about why he's having you do it."

Eijun fell silent as he pouted, but Alexia could still see complaints brewing behind his eyes. She decided to leave while she had the chance and put on an extra burst of speed as she made her way to the small group.

"Hey, Ryosuke-san, Tetsu-san, Jun-san, Koichiro-san," Alexia greeted each of the boys who turned to look at her. Tanba's face colored slightly at the use of his given name but he didn't speak up, much to Alexia's pleasure. Having lived in America for the better part of her life, she preferred to use the players given names if they didn't seem opposed to it.

"Well aren't you peppy this morning," Ryosuke quipped, rocking back on his heels. All of the boys were dressed in their usual practice clothes for morning practice before the game.

Alexia gave a short laugh. "Anything is better than hearing Eijun-san complain, even putting up with you," she shot back. The corner of his lips twitched up ever so slightly.

Jun sighed dramatically. "What's the loud-mouth on about this time?"

She grimaced slightly. "Same thing he's been on for a while now. He keeps complaining about Chris-san giving him training menus instead of letting him pitch." The way all four of the boys stiffened at the mention of their classmate didn't go unnoticed by Alexia. She carefully measured her voice as she continued, "I keep telling him that they're meant to build up specific muscles so that he doesn't injure himself, but he won't listen. All he cares about is pitching."

The boys were silent for a second. Ryosuke's face was carefully neutral, even more so than normal, and Jun looked like he sat on a cactus but refused to admit it. Tanba looked downcast and upset, which clued Alexia in more than she bargained for. Memories of the time she had tripped over the bench reconciled with their current reactions and she made a realization that made her stomach flip.

The injured teammate that they had mentioned before was likely Chris. He was a fellow third year and a catcher. Alexia knew that Tanba didn't particularly like working with Miyuki, so that would explain his current reaction. He wanted to form a battery with Chris, but based on what they said before it didn't look like a possible option. Ever since Eijun had first complained and Alexia found out who had made his training menu, she had watched the older boy. He left practice early almost every day and looked constantly depressed. She had brushed it off initially, but now she saw how wrong she was. He had somehow gotten injured and was trying to make sure that the same thing didn't happen to Eijun.

Alexia opened her mouth to say something but Tetsu beat her to it. "I know this isn't your job, but you should keep an eye on Sawamura." Alexia raised an eyebrow at him quizzically. "He seems to take what you say more seriously than the rest of us."

Alexia hummed. "I guess? I wouldn't exactly say that though. More like-."

"First string, line up!" Kataoka yelled as he made his way onto the field. Tetsu nodded at her and she nodded back before he and the rest of the group hurried off to the coach. Alexia shouted good luck to the group before turning back to the dorms. Just as she was about to exit the gate, Miyuki and Kuramochi came running through. She stifled a laugh as they both shot her glares. For some reason, Alexia found the thought of those two being late to practice before a game fitting.

Alexia turned back to the field to find Eijun hesitating to leave. She mentally sighed. She knew he was an idiot, but was he seriously considering taking up space on the field to practice right now? Her eyes met his and a steely glare seemed to get her message across when he hurried to her side. "I know you want to practice, but the first-string needs the field. You also need to rest. If you want to practice more, do it after the game." Eijun grumbled beside her but still followed her back towards the dorms. Alexia mentally finished the sentence she was saying to Tetsu. 'More like because I try to explain from his perspective and communicate rather than telling him to shut up, he responds to me.'

The walk was silent but as they entered the dorms, Alexia shot Eijun a smirk. "Make sure to wash up properly before we go to watch the game. Everyone is already annoyed with you; if you stink they might throw you out of the stands."

"Why you-! You're worse than Miyuki!" he cried out, causing Alexia to snicker and for him to become more upset. After sputtering out some incoherent insults, Eijun stomped away. Alexia watched him go, if he was reacting like that, then maybe he'd stop moping around. Her face fell as she remembered her theory she had pieced together. She wanted to ask people about it, but while she had been accepted by a lot of the starters, she knew her position on the team was still unstable. She didn't want to risk pissing anyone off and it was clearly a sore subject. She sighed, deciding it was better to let them tell her themselves one day.

As she made it back to her room, she grabbed her shower stuff, deciding to take her own advice as well. Thoughts about how to breach the subject with the player in question, Chris, raced through her mind, but none stuck. She didn't know the older catcher well enough and if he was injured, she didn't want to ask him to catch for her. That being said, she felt like she needed to do something. A familiar nauseated feeling grew in her stomach as unpleasant memories bubbled to the surface. She was a few steps from the baths. She took a deep breath and practically sprinted the rest of the way until she was able to lock herself inside.

She inhaled deeply and let out a slow breath, leaning against the door. Focusing her mind on other things, she fought against herself. Deep breath after deep breath. Slowly, carefully, she took measured breaths of air. Baseball, how it felt to be on the mound, how it felt when she was in her room reading, how it felt to be able to throw freely with Miyuki, she focused her mind on happy thoughts. She drew her knees up to her chest.

When had she sat? She didn't know, but she stayed there for a few moments longer, pulling her mind from the abyss she had become too familiar with. She took a few more deep breaths before opening her eyes and scanning the room. She was in the bathhouse to shower after her morning's practice. A practice that was crashed by the hyperactive Eijun. A practice before she went to watch Seido's game against Yokohama Academy. She stood and began to peel off her clothes, determined to wash the last traces of nausea from her body.