Disclaimer: I wish I owned it.
oOoOo
The day was warm and dry. High above clouds flitted across the sky, occasionally sending shadows to the world below. In a field currently shadowed by one such cloud, a young woman pushed her baseball cap up to wipe at her forehead before pulling it back down and concentrating on the game before her.
It was baseball, and she was shortstop. She focused on the pitcher, a young man with shaggy black hair, and watched him wind up. The batter hit the pitch, sending it towards her. It was a low hit, but she managed to catch it before it hit the ground and tag the boy heading back to second. A split second later she sent it flying toward first and the baseman caught it, tagging his own runner out.
"That's three outs!" the umpire yelled. Pulling off her glove the woman headed back toward her dugout, followed closely by the third baseman, a young girl, skipping beside her.
"That was so awesome, Aeron!" the girl squeed, big blue green eyes shining with delight. "The way you caught that ball and tagged MacKenzie! Of course, Leslie wasn't that bad either, but you definitely take the cake."
Aeron laughed and ruffled the girl's pigtailed black hair. "Complement me all you want, Rachel," she said. "What about your brother? His pitching was great."
"But he let the batter hit the ball!" Rachel pouted.
They reached the dugout and Rachel ran off to bug her brother as Aeron sat down next to the first baseman. Leslie half turned to glare at her. "Geez, took you two long enough," he complained. "Even my darling cousin made it in from the outfield before you."
Said outfielder in question, another young woman with her shoulder length brown hair pulled into a ponytail cuffed him in the head, sunlight glinting off her glasses as her dark eyes narrowed in anger. "How many times have I told you about that?!" she growled. "It's Cherri. C-H-E-R-R-I!!!" She continued to whap him with each word. Finally she stopped and sighed. "How can it be that both you and Aeron are my cousins?"
"Fate of the world, Eri," Aeron grinned. "Fate of the world."
"Riiiiight," Cherri said, staring at her cousin.
The coach stuck his head in. "Aeron, you're up," he said. She picked up a helmet and headed out but he stopped her. "Watch out for MacKenzie," he warned. "He was glaring at you something awful when you got him."
"Thanks for the advice, Coach," Aeron said, stepping out of the dugout.
As she stepped up to the plate she realized why Coach had warned her. MacKenzie's the pitcher! she thought with a grimace. MacKenzie saw her grimace and smirked in reply, sending chills down her spine. Forcing a frown onto her face Aeron lifted the bat and tightened her grip as he threw the ball.
It went to low and the umpire called 'ball'. The next was higher. Strike. Two more balls and a strike followed in quick succession. He's toying with me! She didn't notice MacKenzie's stance change slightly as he loosed the deciding ball.
Aeron's eyes widened a bit as she realized that it was a fast ball, and aimed straight at her head. Unable to dodge it completely, she did manage to turn her head slightly so that it glanced against her helmet instead of her face, but the damage was done.
As her vision went abruptly black and knees went weak, Aeron heard the crowd roar in outrage and MacKenzie's voice saying, "I'm sorry! My hand slipped!" Bastard, Aeron thought as she hit the ground. The jolt caused her to lose complete consciousness.
oOoOo
Aeron woke suddenly, dark brown eyes springing open only to be flooded with bright, blinding light. Squeezing her eyes closed just as soon as they had opened, Aeron winced at the sudden movement coupled with the light. Her head was pounding, but why? Lifting her head, she lightly touched he head, feeling a coarse bandage wrapped there.
She sat up gingerly, careful not to jar her head, and thought. What happened? she wondered. I was playing baseball, and it was our turn to bat, then, then…
A door squeaking as it opened made Aeron shift her attention to it, head flaring up in pain again as she moved too fast. With a cry she crumpled up on the bed clutching her head as the intruder rushed to her side.
It was a kindly woman dressed in a nun's habit. She gently grasped Aeron's shoulders and laid her back on the bed, placing a hand against the younger woman's chest as she tried to move. "You shouldn't move," the woman cautioned. "You have a bad bump on your head."
"Who are you?" Aeron asked, giving in to the woman. "And where am I?"
"My name is Mother Laura Vitez. This is the church of St. Matthias in Istavan."
"Istavan?"
"You haven't heard of it?" Mother Laura asked. "But we found you just outside the town. You're lucky no vampires got to you."
"Vampires? But they're not real," said Aeron, brow creased in thought.
Mother Laura looked down at the dubious woman. "Not real? I assure you, they are very much real," she said. "How is it that you don't know that?"
"I'm from America," Aeron said. "We don't have vampires there."
"That's not possible," Mother Laura said. "The Americas were destroyed almost 1000 years ago.
Aeron shot back up, ignoring the fresh pain in her head. "You have to be kidding me!"
Mother Laura studied this strange young woman. "You really don't know, do you?" Aeron shook her head. "Perhaps I should have Sister Esther explain. I believe she's closer to you age Miss…?"
"Aeron. Aeron Hite. I'm 17." The good mother smiled.
"Then I shall have Esther talk with you tomorrow, after you've rested some more." Mother Laura again pushed Aeron back down on the bed and pulled the covers up over her.
She stood and left, leaving Aeron to realize that she was indeed tired. Shifting slightly in the bed she got comfortable and managed to ignore her throbbing head as she fell into a deep sleep.
oOoOo
The moon hung low in the sky, illuminating the world with its silver glow. The wind tugged at her long locks, pulling it into her face. Using one hand the little girl pushed it back but it didn't do much.
Standing in front of her was another girl, facing her. She was saying something, but the girl couldn't hear anything. She blinked, and suddenly the other girl was standing right in front of her, resting a hand against her cheek.
oOoOo
Next Chapter:
Meetings of Confusion
Avert not thine eyes.
oOoOo
Schizo: This was fun. I wrote it all today too. First TB story. For the first few chapters it'll probably follow the manga more, as I have Mother Laura alive. Updates might be sporadic.