Training camp was, for lack of a better word, purgatory. The team was coming along. After the first few days the whole awkward meeting feeling dissipated among most of the team allowing for real bonds to form. Most of the team was gelling together nicely, with an obvious exception.
Izumi spent most of his free time watching the others interact with each other. He would establish his place in due time. Right now he wanted to judge his teammates and get a sense of their personalities. Mihashi's abilities surprised Izumi almost as much as the pitcher's temperament. If Mihashi surprised Izumi then how Abe handled the temperamental pitcher was nothing short of saintly patients.
The speed demon spent a great deal of time watching Abe. He found the catcher both very good looking and very interesting. How he managed to put up with the dirty blond haired pitcher was beyond Izumi. The more he watched the more Izumi saw the stress the started to overcome the catcher. Nobody else on the team saw it, at least not that Izumi was aware of, but it was there. Dark circles were starting to form under the catcher's eyes and his already short temper flared with little warning.
It was the fifth day of the training camp and natural groups had started to form. The duo of Mizutani and Sakaeguchi, Tajima and Hania formed their rivalry; there was the pitcher-catcher battery, and lastly the trio of Oki, Suyama, and Nishihiro. Izumi was the only one not grouped and he was fine with that. He was fine watching and remembering.
Practice for the day was intense. All ten teammates were exhausted by the time their lunch break rolled around. They had two hours during the heat of the day to eat, rest, and recover before their afternoon practice started. The team all ate together and lounged in the dining room; with the exception of Abe. Izumi watched as the cliques reformed but with a copious amount of cross-group conversation. Abe caught the speed demons eye when he, with no prompting at all, excused himself and left to go outside. The tall catcher kept his face in a stony and expressionless mask that the rest of the team bought without a second glance. The only people who bothered to look long enough to see the frustration and anger in his eyes were Mihashi, who was almost as inept as Tajima when reading social situations, and Izumi who with his previous observations could see the minute changes in the stoic catcher.
Since he was talking to nobody Izumi did not have to excuse himself to follow after Abe. The catcher moved quickly. Izumi waited to leave the dining room just long enough so that the rest of Nishiura didn't think he was following Abe and did just that. By the time he exited the building the catcher was gone.
But Izumi wasn't known as the speed demon for nothing. He bolted around the back of the building just in time to see a shape disappear into the woods behind the cabin. Izumi kept a good distance between him and Abe as he followed into the thicket of trees.
Five minutes of silent hiking rewarded Izumi with a sight that astounded him. Abe was lying on the ground in a sunny break in the trees with his hands over his eyes. For the briefest moment Izumi thought the taller teen was crying. It was only when the shorter teen stilled himself and his breathing did he clearly hear Abe. The catcher was muttering to himself. Izumi crept closer so he could better hear what Abe was saying.
"No progress what so ever. Why do I even bother?"
It was not something Izumi was expecting. What was Abe not making progress at? Izumi had a few guesses but did not want to jump to conclusions.
Abe's breathing was starting to become labored. Izumi connected the dots and began to put a picture together. Since the beginning of the camp Abe had been charged with creating a battery, which meant taking care of Mihashi. From the moment Izumi laid eyes on Abe the speed demon could tell that Abe was a no-nonsense kind of guy. And then to pair him up with a guy like Mihashi was downright ludicrous. Izumi was sure that if he asked anyone on the team if Abe and Mihashi had a chance of getting along they would all say 'hell no'.
As Izumi was creeping forward, feeling like a complete stalker, he stepped on the cliché twig. Figures; just when this is getting interesting I blow my cover on a twig of all things.
Abe snapped up and started to look around. There was no place for Izumi to hide and the catcher quickly spotted the smaller teen. "I-Izumi," the catcher's voice still shook with the remnants of rage but Izumi was confident in his speed. "What the he –" but Abe cut himself off. The catcher took a deep breath and restarted. "What are you doing here? Why aren't you back with the others eating?"
"You looked upset so I followed you out," Izumi said flatly.
"I'm fine so you can go back inside." Abe's words snipped at the smaller teen. Was the catcher seriously trying to lie so plainly to Izumi? Did he really thing Izumi would fall for it?
Izumi cautiously but confidently strode next to the larger black haired teen and knelt next to him fixing his intense eyes on the catcher's furious ones. He paused for a moment to read the situation before speaking. "It's Mihashi, isn't it?"
He had struck a nerve. Abe was silent but his silence said it all. The taller teen spoke after the silence became uncomfortable. "How could you tell?"
Izumi cocked his mouth into a half smile. "Everyone can tell that your personality and Mihashi's don't fit. I've been watching you. You hide it well but I can tell; you don't get along with Mihashi."
"I get along with him fine!" Abe exclaimed, sitting up and staring intently into the chaotic eyes of Izumi.
The smaller teen had to proceed with caution. Izumi was confident in his speed, but now the larger teen was on the same level as he was. There was something curious in Abe's eyes. Izumi knew that he was supposed to say something, but instead he let the strained silence continue while he tried to identify that certain quirk that differentiated Abe's moody appearance with the mood of his eyes.
Once he identified why he was captivated by Abe's eyes Izumi finally spoke up. He didn't exactly have a destination in mind but there was a bit of a script he felt he had to play out. He was after all trying to help build a team. "Do you really? How many times have you made him cry?" The words hurt coming out of Izumi's mouth and he saw the affect they had on Abe. Nevertheless he had to continue; the team depended on it. "Now you've even made yourself cry."
It was not exactly a lie but one could hardly call the mist in corners of Abe's 'tears'. Abe took little notice in the substance of Izumi's claim, focusing instead on the more valid point the speed demon made about Mihashi. "I…you see…it's just that he's, well –"
"Hard to handle?" Izumi finished.
Abe nodded his head. "I can't seem to even talk to him."
"Have you tried connecting with him?"
Abe's face responded before his voice. The catcher's brows furrowed and his eyes narrowed at the corners. "How?"
This puzzled Izumi. Now he was out of script and had to ad lib. But still the question remained. How would one connect with someone as meek and timid as Mihashi? Izumi racked his brain for images relating to the pitcher. As much as he hoped for more information the only scraps Izumi could come up with was outlandish and preposterous. The one trigger factor that Izumi could definitely apply to the mishaps of the pitcher was, of all things, the catcher. Whenever the stoic teen was around Mihashi the pitcher was always more self conscious, more timid, and definitely more annoyingly pessimistic.
The center fielder curled his lips into a full smile that beamed with the comical realization that went though his mind. The best and only idea that Izumi could come up with was one that he wasn't sure Abe would go for.
"What? What's so funny Izumi?" The shorter teen could hear the desperation in Abe's voice. That helped.
"Abe, how badly do you want to connect with Mihashi?"
"I'll do what ever it takes!"
Izumi nodded his head once like he was expecting the answer. Truth be told he was ecstatic to hear that level of commitment from the catcher. But he had to be sure if this was to work. Izumi's instincts told him that Mihashi would like it; but the whole team could be shot if Abe tried and failed. "Are you sure?" he prompted.
"Definitely. What do I have to do?"
"I'll show you," Izumi answered in a soft voice. Once again he tried to read Abe's face. Izumi wanted to make absolutely sure that Abe wouldn't react badly. Izumi was taking a bit of a gamble but his intuition told him that the first experiment would pay off, and if it paid off with Abe then it would definitely work with Mihashi. "Close your eyes," Izumi whispered.
"How can I see if my eyes are closed?" Abe had lowered the volume of his voice to match that of Izumi's.
"Trust me," the center fielder couldn't quite keep his voice from purring the words.
Abe hesitated a moment unsure of what was going to happen. The catcher spoke volumes he decided to trust the smaller teen and closed his eyes.
Now it was Izumi's turn to act. He inhaled deeply and tried in vain to quiet his heart. For a brief moment he worried that Abe would hear the intense jack hammering of the organ and instantly know something was up. To his relief Abe sat still as stone with his eyes closed unaware of what Izumi was planning.
It wasn't that everything slowed down around the center fielder, but simply that all of his movements seemed to speed up. Izumi leaned in close to Abe. When he was just inches away from the catcher's face he involuntarily took a silent huff of the bigger teen's scent. The scent of the teen's sweat hanging about him in a musky aura kick started the center fielder's sex drive. He was in a position that was more than perfect.
Izumi closed the gap. His lips were just about to touch the catcher's. As an added safety measure Izumi cupped the taller teen's cheeks in his calloused hands before making contact. Abe's lips were rough and jagged against Izumi's supple waves of skin. While the texture of catcher's skin caught Izumi off guard, he quickly caught himself and pressed in for a more daring maneuver. Infinitesimally he parted his lips and slid his tong along Abe's lips trying to gently pry them open. The taste of Abe's lips was like nothing the center fielder had ever known. It was more savory and delectable than anything he had ever tasted. He found himself yearning to probe deeper into Abe's mouth in search of a more potent dose.
In the second between when Izumi first caressed Abe's cheek and his attempt at parting the red sea the catcher was completely comatose and slack in the moment. Once that second had passed however Abe sprang to life. Izumi watched as Abe's eyes opened wider than Mihashi's. Abe pulled himself away from his teammate, the sheer shock chiseled into his stoic face. "Wha…wha…what the hell?" He asked.
The center fielder paused for a second to collect his thoughts. Kissing Abe had sent his brain into scramble mode. He used all the time he dared in order to formulate his answer. "That Abe," Izumi gasped still a little light headed after his fantastic ordeal, "is what you need to do to Mihashi."
Abe's face blanked. "I, I, I, what?"
Izumi locked his eyes, more chaotic than ever after his encounter, on Abe's. He relished the memory of the event and found himself aching for another hit of his addiction. As he gazed into his teammate's eyes he became curious. That curious something was not only still there but had intensified until it was positively glowing. Izumi smiled, finally realizing what that certain something was.
"That is all you have to do with Mihashi.'
"You mean kiss him?" Abe was surprised.
Izumi tried to interpret the origins of Abe's surprise but gave up on the mystery unsure of whether or not he wanted to know. "That's right."
"What?" Apparently Abe still didn't have control over his brain.
The corners of Izumi's mouth twitched into a smile. "Mihashi likes you. A lot. He acts like lovesick teenage girl when he's around you. That mixed with his natural personality makes him particularly difficult when he's around you. Showing him some affection will be the best way to get through to him."
Abe started to nod his head. "I, I think I understand. But Izumi, I've never kissed anyone before. I don't know what to do."
Even if he wanted to Izumi would not have been able to hide his grin. This would be too easy. "Yes you have. I just kissed you."
The catcher deliberated for a moment in his head. "I guess; but I've never kissed anyone. I wouldn't know where or how to start."
"Would you like to practice?" The jubilance in Izumi's voice was more than apparent.
The catcher bobbed his head with more vigor. "You would help?"
"It would be my pleasure."