I Am A Shadow (DnA Fanfic)

4. School Begins! Practice Harder!

Esumi woke up the following morning at 5. She quickly got ready for practice and pulled her hair into a braid again. Esumi exited her room silently, making her way to the indoor field. She pulled out a bat and began to swing a bit. Her breath was rigid, as she muttered the swing counts quietly to herself. "86......87.....88....89.." She panted.

A few more minutes were taken for her to reach 100 swings. She caught her breath and glanced at her wrist watch. 5:30. She peek her head out her door just in time to see her brother. "Ei-nii!" She called, stepping outside. Eijun turned around and saw Esumi. He grinned, trudging over.

"Morning!" He smiled. Esumi smiled back.

"Yeah, morning." She whispered happily. "Ei-nii, are you out to jog?" Esumi wondered. Eijun smirked, nodding his head. He made a small motion for Esumi to join.

"Come and join me." Eijun grinned. Esumi couldn't deny and nodded her head. She put the bat away and lightly ran over to where her twin awaited. He already awaited by the field, stretching his legs out.

'Amazing Ei-nii...I wish I had your confidence..' Esumi thought. The twins took off in a race around the field.

When practice was beginning, Esumi bid farewell to her brother and lined up. From the corner of her eyes, she saw her brother continuing to run. It was as if he was chasing a materialized version of his own goal. She heard a gate open and turned to see Coach Kataoka, Takashima, and Ochidai walking in. Other members greeted their coaches.

"Today's the semester opening ceremony, so we'll have a light practice." Coach stated. His eyes surveyed the crowd, meeting with big doe eyes. Esumi nodded her head in a quiet and discreet greeting. "Dismissed." Kataoka called out.

The members fanned out, beginning to work on whatever they needed to. Esumi halted, seeing Takashima and Kataoka speaking to each other. They both glanced over to the still running Eijun. Esumi smiled and went to practice batting. She asked a fellow first year to help her with the machine so she could bat. They happily agreed. Esumi geared up and took a bat. She prepared herself and nodded at the other first year member to place a ball into the machine.

The ball came flying at Esumi quickly. Her eyes widened, hearing the freshman freak out. "Ah! I accidently set it to 150 kg!" He yelled. Everyone turned to Esumi, yelling at her to dodge.

'No. I don't run from the ball...' Esumi thought. Her muscles tightened. Her weight shifted onto her back right foot. Her right shoulder dropped, swinging the bat. The ball flew downward to the ground, coming in contact with the bat. 'I TAKE IT HEAD ON!!' She grunted, hitting the ball far. The ball flew up high and hit the back fence. Esumi panted slightly, wiping the sweat from her face. "Please be sure to have it on the correct setting.." Esumi muttered.

Everyone around the girl was at a loss for words. Someone so small hit a home run! None of the freshmen students realized it, but Kataoka and Takashima had saw the hit. So did the regulars. Esumi frowned, wondering why everyone stopped practicing. "HOW'D YOU DO THAT ESUMI-CHAN!?" The freshmen suddenly broke out yelling and screaming.

"Ah.." Esumi didn't know what to say, when the males suddenly began to crowd her. She got a bit flustered, her eyes snapping back and forth.

"Hey freshmen! Don't crowd the poor girl!" A loud voice growled out. It was Isashiki Jun, the center fielder. The person that Esumi was competing against, for the same desired position. Esumi watched carefully as he made his way over and as the freshmen backed away from her. "Nice hit." Jun smirked with eyes that gleamed in interest. Esumi was taken by surprise, but grinned.

"Thank you Isashiki-senpai!" She smiled happily at the praise. Esumi squeezed her eyes shut when she saw his hand reach out toward her. She felt him ruffle her hair and opened her eyes.