Disclaimer: I don't own Oofuri. But if I did, fufufu
Ren may be OOC, still adjusting to his personality.
1 - Hair
Bottom of the fifth.
And there was their pitcher, lying in the dug out surrounded by his teammates. The older catcher wandered in slowly, removing his helmet with a sigh. He continued to run through strategies in his head, and only broke from this focused trance when he heard a feminine voice say; "Here's the ice you asked for!"
Shinooka appeared next to the faculty supervisor, who was kneeled down next to the ruffled haired pitcher. The boy had a moist towel on his forehead and over his eyes.
Abe cringed, dropping the helmet in his hand. The team coach appeared next to him, her arms crossed over her chest-but a pretty neutral smile still adorned on her face.
"What happened?"
"Mihashi's got a nose bleed. The blood must have rushed to his head. Couldn't have come at a better time though!" She grinned, pointing her thumb at the field that was being maintained by the staff.
Abe scoffed, scratching the back of his neck. He heard Izumi talking with Tajima and Mihashi.
"You alright, Mihashi?"
"Ah, I...ah..."
"Dude, he needs to save his strength."
The orange haired teen moaned and raised a hand to his covered forehead. Abe growled, and clenched a fist. "Damn it, Mihashi!"
Momoe grinned again, and at the presence of a new person she patted Abe on the shoulder. "Relax, I've got someone on the job."
The team members in the dug out glanced over at the new comer in the doorway. The first thing they noticed was legs-beautiful, powerful legs. Abe was pretty sure Tajima was going to "explode" right there. There stood a teenaged girl in the doorway, dressed in a short sleeved baseball shirt and a pair of practice shorts. Over her shoulder, a softball uniform shirt hung, unbuttoned and folded. On the other shoulder, her green bag sat, covered by the long magnificent brunette ponytail.
With friendly, sapphire eyes, she peered at all of the boys and offered a friendly smile.
"Hey guys. Great work so far, though I'm not surprised." She laughed, placing her bag on the ground next to the bench. Momoe waved her over. The teen stumbled through the bunch of boys, nodding nervously when Tajima blurted, "Wow, you're gorgeous!", at her.
Their coach held a hand up to address the new female. "Abe, guys, this is Akiko Shura. Captain of the softball team-clean up, first aid attendant and "relaxing" consultant."
The brunette nodded at the boys who glanced her way. They nodded and bowed politely back.
"Shura, this is Takaya Abe, pro-catcher for our team."
The raven haired boy nodded at the softball captain, out stretching a welcoming hand to her. She took it politely.
"Hey."
"Hey, great work out there."
Momoe clapped her hands together and beamed at them. "Now that you've been acquainted, I believe we have someone for you to see." She glanced at Akiko, a pleading look in her eye. The teen girl laughed softly, but nodded when she was addressed.
The brunette knelt down beside Mihashi's exhausted form once Tajima scooted over for her. She slid the towel down slightly, pressing the back of her hand against his forehead. Her eyebrows furrowed, as she gently turned her hand and brushed his forehead with her fingertips. She slid her hand against him again, slipping her fingers into his hair and gently running through the orange locks.
Mihashi stirred while she did so, his expression softening-also confused.
"How are you feeling, my little pitcher?"
The pitcher stirred again, and reached up to move the towel from his one eye. He glanced at the girl with a confused brown eye.
"I-is that you, Aki-chan?"
The boys shifted expressions at the sound of his casual reference to the girl.
But Akiko smiled and brushed through his hair again. "Of course. Feeling any better?"
He hesitated, as Abe pulled Tajima and Izumi away from the girl at work. Their coach pulled them aside to discuss strategy, with Tajima's eyes glancing over at Akiko hungrily every so often.
It took a few minutes, but Mihashi swallowed thickly and responded to her.
"A little." He placed the towel back over his eyes. There was a deep blush tint across his face.
"Huh. Well by the looks of it, you should be good for the next inning." Akiko sat back on her legs, removing her hands from his hair. Mihashi immediately began to sputter, earning Akiko's questioning glance.
"What's wrong, Ren-kun?"
"It's just..." He fidgeted again, voice groggy but filled with nerves.
"You can tell me, it's okay." She reassured with a smile.
Mihashi turned to the side, blushing deeper.
"It's just...I don't want you to stop. I-I...I like when you play with my hair...it makes me feel better..."
She blinked down at the boy, who couldn't see her expression but instead began to shrink into himself. In response, she chuckled and slipped her fingers back into his beautiful locks.
A sound of surprise later, he sat up slowly with her fingers gently running through his hair, calming him down with soothing words.