2 - Praise

Mrs. Mihashi fanned her face, blushing at the compliments she was receiving from the other mothers of the team members. They all giggled, fawning over their sons and laughing together through the rain.

It was no surprise when Mrs. Mihashi's niece came into the stadium and was fawned over as well. Immediately, all of the mothers twisted their innocent smiles into sly grins.

"Girlfriend?" A handful of them asked. Mrs Mihashi and her niece both blushed, and shook their heads with laughter.

Once she caught her breath, Mrs. Mihashi spoke up again.

"Actually," she brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear shyly. "My little Ren's girlfriend is over there. She's a wonderful girl."

The other mothers peered surprisingly over to where the orange haired woman's glance fell.

Akiko sat between a softball team member and one of the musicians for the cheer squad. Her sapphire eyes kept on both Mihashi and Abe carefully, lighting up when the pitches lead to strike outs.

"Alright, way to go Mihashi!" She cheered, standing up from her seat and cupping her hands around her mouth. The other softball player said something to her, nudging the girl and glancing back at the mothers. The four of them quickly raised their hands and waved frantically at her.

Her mouth made an 'o' in surprise, but it was quickly replaced with a friendly smile as she stood up and approached them.

"Hello." She bowed politely, her majestic ponytail flying about. "You must be the boys' parents. It's nice to meet you all. Your sons are amazing."

Mrs. Hanai immediately beamed, patting Mrs. Mihashi on the shoulder. "Wow, what a polite young woman! Not to mention that she's absolutely gorgeous as well. Your Ren did a great job! Hey, if things fall out between you and Mihashi's boy, my little boy is always looking for a-"

"No no, my son is..."

"H-Hey now! Akiko isn't a piece of meat! Besides, who says she'll had a fallout with my son?"

The brunette teen flushed furiously, sweat dropping as the mothers all argued for her companionship to their sons. Mrs. Mihashi sighed, but reached into her bag and pull out a poncho. She offered the fabric to Akiko and patted the seat next to Ren's cousin.

"I'm sorry about them, Akiko."

"Oh, don't worry about it, Mrs. Mihashi!" Akiko pulled the poncho hood over her head, watching her boyfriend and his team rotate to the dug out. His gaze was frantic, looking around at anything and everything even as he ran towards the dugout.

"You know, Ren really appreciates all your help. Even if it's just words." Mrs. Mihashi spoke quietly to Akiko as the mothers all chatted happily with her niece. Akiko's blinked at the familiar parent and titled her head in confusion.

"Huh?"

Her boyfriend's mother sighed happily, crossing one leg over he other and gazing at her son on the dugout. She watched him fiddle with his equipment and cringe at the catcher's harsh glare.

"He talks about you all the time. And how lucky he is to have you around to help him. I wanted to thank you, for taking good care of my boy."
The teen was unsure of how to react. But she followed Mrs Mihashi's gaze as well and peered at Ren with a small, affectionate smile.

"Anything for Ren, miss."