Diamond no Ace: Laugh, Love and Live

How They Met

Megumi went back to the dugout. She approached her uncle who had a serious look on his face–like always–with his arms crossed over his chest. She stood a few feet away from him and beside him is Rei, who was silently watching the something–or rather, someone–in the bullpen.

"Coach, you called?" He just simply nodded in response, glancing her way. This piqued the girl's interest further, so she silently waited for what he was about to say to her. Her eyes glinted in excitement, assuming that it was probably a good news–hopefully.

"I just wanted to inform you that there will be a game this weekend." Megumi nodded, a small smile spreading across her lips. Somehow, she felt suddenly pumped up more than ever. It was time for her to prove her skills in many ways.

"Alright. I'll prepare myself then. Well, I'll be continuing with my job now, coach." The girl bowed at him, turned around and walked away. She started skipping a little bit when she was a bit farther from prying eyes.

'What a great way to officially start managerial duties~'

A sudden vibration in the back pocket of her pants cut her train of thoughts. She forgot that she put her phone there, when it was forbidden to bring it during training. Megumi looked around before she got her phone out and flipped it open, staring at the screen. Her phone was still vibrating, signaling that there was someone calling.

On the screen, it read: Dad

'Uh-oh. I forgot to contact them because of my excitement.'

The brunette shut her eyes, silently praying that her dad won't scold her for going against them. Megumi took a deep breath before answering the call. Now, this is going to be a long talk.

"Megumi," Her dad called out from the other line, his voice void of emotions but she could trace the hint of anger in it. Megumi cringed inwardly, knowing that she is in deep shit.

"Y-Yes, dad?" She managed to squeak out after a few seconds of silence. The girl could hear soft breathing and she could tell that her dad is preparing himself to give her a nice scolding.

"What on earth are you thinking, going to Tokyo all by yourself without even telling us?! If you're going to play baseball, why not do it here in Nagoya?! Why do you have to go so far all the way to the capital just for that?! Do you know how worried we were?! You didn't even call us even after writing in the letter that you left, that you'd be calling after you've arrived! Fujimoto Megumi, why are you not answering?! Are you--" Her dad's barrage of words made flinch and she cut him off before it continued any further.

"Dad, let me explain, okay?!" Megumi looked around the noisy field and headed towards a secluded, unnoticeable corner in the area. She didn't want to be scolded for not following the rules. But this was just by chance. Something like this would not happen again next time.

"First things first, I came to Tokyo since uncle Tesshin is here. You know how much I've longed for the day to be able to help out uncle." The girl sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. She could feel a migraine coming afterwards their talk.

"Lastly, I'm not that interested in the teams at Nagoya than the teams here in Tokyo." Her voice sounded strained. She was currently treading on dangerous waters while talking to her dad. She didn't want to offend him in any sort of way and make the situation worse for herself. She will end up going home earlier than she would have liked, if that happened.

Takehiro was silent on the other line, barely registering his daughter's words. He felt guilty for hindering his only child's dream to be able to play the sport. He was even sorrier for her, since her gender limits her chances to actually officially join.