On The Side Of The Pitch With You

Prologue - How They Met

Every weekend, she'd accompany that man to Inazuma Town. Most times it's to his cousin's house, other times it's for some other business. This was the former.

They arrived at the train station. Living in another town, closer to the big city, the train was their only means of transportation. At least it is until he earns his driver's license, but that won't happen until next year.

"How are you doing?" He asked kindly.

She had only been a part of this family for a couple of months, but they never tried to force her to get used to things. They let her experience their routines at her own pace. As usual, after their visits, he would ask to make sure she was comfortable. Though she still felt out of place, she was slowly beginning to enjoy her time. Especially when they were kicking the ball together.

"I'm alright, Masato-sa... I mean, Masato-nii." She replied, correcting herself when he gave her 'the look'. She still didn't know how she felt about calling him her brother, but he always looks so happy when she does.

"Glad to hear."

He bought them a ticket and they hopped on the first train that came. The car they were in was empty, and they chose to sit near the doors. She watched as the sun slowly disappeared behind a large hill.

"I want you to memorize this town." He suddenly said. "This place has a lot of meaning to our family."

She nodded. "Because of that junior high school, right? Where Shuuya-san went."

"Because that's the town where we found you." He patted her head, making her a little flustered. "But yes, also because of Raimon. It's dangerous to put you in a school right now, but I'm hoping we can enroll you there when you turn 13."

Dangerous... Because she didn't know what else she could do?

It happened about a week after she was taken in. She and his parents were watching as Masato played around in the backyard. That was when he missed a shot. The ball bounced off the goal post and went flying straight towards her face. But it never hit. She had her arms stretched out in front of her, hoping to catch the ball, only to find it floating in front of her when she opened her eyes. He also told her that her eyes were glowing when it happened.

It scared them, but it frightened her even more. When they saw this, they discussed the situation and decided to limit her interactions to just family. Who knows what strangers would do to her if they found out?

"Yuuka said she'll teach you while we're in town. Between Shuuya, her, and me, she's the closest to you in age so it's the best option. Though Shuuya and I will pitch in once in a while too." He scratched the back of his neck, his expression uncertain. "Though, I wonder if you'll be alright...? Learning fifth grade's material when you're only five years old..."

"Yuuka-san is good at telling stories. If she teaches that way too, then I'll be fine. And I like reading, so if there's something I don't understand, I can visit the library."

Seeing her try to reassure him brought a smile to his face. "You're a really good kid, you know that? I'm really glad I adopted you."

She felt the heat on her cheeks again. "Please stop saying that..."

~~~~~

The next week, her lessons started. Yuuka had told her beforehand about what topic she'll be teaching so she could read ahead, and she did. Thank goodness for that, otherwise, she wouldn't be able to figure out half the stuff she did.

Masato had some errands to run, so they agreed that if he didn't come to pick her up in time, she'd go meet him at a nearby park. Currently, she had just arrived at said park, and since there was no sign of him yet, she took a seat on a bench far away from the people around.