Chapter 2

It's the second and final day of tryouts and Akko finally gets to see what her competition/teammates can really do. After days of waiting, at last the long-awaited question of who gets cut and who makes the team is answered.

Who's on First

"Akko! This is horrible!" Lotte gasps, touching the white line before switching back for her third sprint down the field.

"I know!" Akko puffs. "They weren't joking when they decided to call them suicides!"

"Let's go ladies! Less chatter! Save that breath for breathing!" Coach Meridies, decked in her team windbreaker, calls out as she walks along the line of running girls.

Once the last runner finishes, the coaches give the girls a few minutes to get some water before moving forward. When they are ready, Coach Nelson collects them all on the pitching mound where she and Coach Callistis had been deep in discussion.

"Alright girls." The varsity coach stands with notepad in hand, "All upperclassmen will be coming with me today, we will be starting in the infield. All underclassmen and first timers, you'll be working with Coach Meridies and Coach Callistis starting in the outfield. Be nice, and try not to hurt anybody. Any questions?"

Kicking some dirt, Amanda raises her hand.

"O'Neill, I don't care how well you pitch. Behave."

The orange and pink haired girl lowers her hand with a shrug.

"Alright! Get going!"

The girls break off into their groups. Coaches Meridies and Callistis lead their girls to right field and Nelson has her girls spread across the infield. With a far smaller group than the day before, Coach Meridies has the girls stand in a single file line.

"Alright girls, so we're going to do a little team building ice breaker!" Coach Callistis says with a clap of her hands. "First, say your name. Second, a fun fact about yourself. And third, the position you're hoping to play. Ready?"

Much to her dismay, she is met with blank faces not unlike the ones she sees after assigning a class project . Before things become too awkward, Coach Meridies clears her throat.

"My name is Croix Meridies." She starts, "I have two cats, their names are Roomba and Ramen, and I hope to be the best damn JV coach some of you will ever have."

A few muffled giggles are heard among the lineup. Croix turns to Ursula with a subtle wink to which she returns with a smile and an elbow to the arm.

"Amanda O'Neil." Amanda steps forward. "I once got my friend out of a speeding ticket with a Monopoly 'get out of jail free' card, and my place is on the pitching mound."

"I'm Atsuko Kagari, but everybody calls me Akko! I can fit an entire can of Pringles in my mouth…" The rest of the team (minus Jasminka, who had witnessed the event), as well as both coaches look at her with a mix of concern, confusion, and horror.

"The small can." She clarifies, not making much of a difference.

She clears her throat, "And I want to play shortstop!" She states proudly. She hears giggling from down the line and whips her heard around to see Hannah and Barbara trying to mask their faces.

"I- I'm Lotte Yanson. I have read every book in the Nightfall series twice, and I've only ever played outfield."

"I'm Jasminka Antonenko. I can lift three times my body weight-"

"Wait wha-?!" Akko yelps out.

"It's true." Amanda says matter of factly.

"And I would like to play first base."

"Sucy Manbavaran. I own three nearly extinct species of mushrooms, and I guess outfield is fine."

"A-aright." Croix leans over to Ursula and whispers, "I think we've got a bunch of weirdos-gnnnn!" Her foot is met with the heel of Ursula's cleat.

"Who's next?" Ursula asks sweetly.

Constance silently steps forward.

"This is Constanze Amalie von Braunschbank Albrechtsberger." Amanda speaks up. "She's been working on making a Transformer Robot out of her Mom's minivan." Constanze looks over to her with a raised eyebrow and then slowly nods her head. "And she says she's almost done. So if anybody has any spare nuclear reactor canisters lying around, she's your girl." The short girl grunts with a smile and a thumbs up. "And she's the only catcher that can handle yours truly." Constanze holds her arm out fist bumping Amanda.

"See? Croix quietly says over her shoulder to Ursula, who at this point can't really contest.

"I'm Mary Robinson." A dark haired girl with dark blue eyes steps forward. "I can quote the entirety of the The Godfather, and uh, I'd like to play second or center field."

"I'm Avery Buckland," says a girl with purple hair held back by clips. "I sang the National Anthem on television for a hockey game last year, and I would like to play third."

"I'm Hannah England. I like dancing, and I would also like to play third."

"I am Diana Cavendish. I volunteer as a lifeguard over the summer, and I would like to play shortstop."

Akko whips her head around to look towards the competition.

Alright, squat girl. Bring it on! It looks like you've got yourself some competition!

The blonde, feeling eyes boring into her, turns toward the staring brunette and quickly averts her gaze to look towards her friend who had just begun speaking.

"I'm Barbara Parker. I have a cockatoo named Eric Singer, and I would like to play second."

"I'm Sarah Bernhardt. And I have a great fear of spiders. So if you see one, please kill it and don't let me know about it." She says straight faced. "And uh, I'd like to play right field or first."

"I'm Blair Strega," A green eyed girl with blonde pigtails speaks up. "My most prized possession is a signed soccer ball from the goalie of the Blytonbury Titans, and I'd like to play outfield or second.

Croix then looks over to Ursula with a raised brow and gestures her hands towards her.

"O-oh right. Yes." She gathers herself. "I am Ursula Callistis. My second favorite sport is archery, and I will be the JV assistant coach to help in any way I can."

"All right!" Croix claps her hands. "Now that that's over, let's get down to business." Croix says picking up a ball bag. "Let's see how far you girls can throw."

The girls stood lined up against the foul line as they took turns throwing as far as they could towards center field.

"Try not to throw out your arm. This exercise is meant to familiarize yourself with gauging your limits. If you're going to make a long toss, you want to be confident in your ability to get it where you want it."

Amanda steps up to the line first and throws. The ball lands just past the center fielder's position before bouncing and rolling further.

Constanze threw next, followed by Jasminka, the former's ball landing a few feet short of Amanda's and the latter's about twenty feet further.

Akko comes up to the line, pulls her arm back, aims, and releases the throw in a high arc. Her ball lands about a foot further than Amanda's, much to the redhead's disappointment.

Lotte steps up next, her throw coming up a foot or two short of Constanze's.

Sucy makes her way to the line, ball in hand. She rolls it around until she positions her fingers on the laces and then cranks her arm back. When the ball leaves her hand it takes off like a rocket.

"Yay Sucy!" Lotte cries out.

The rest of the girls watch in awe as the ball seemingly climbs higher, never losing altitude.

At last, the ball slows its ascent and drops, hitting the ground with a thud landing far beyond Jasminka's throw.

"WHAT A CANNON!" Croix cheers. "Good arm Manbavaran!" She turns and excitedly whispers to Ursula. "Looks like we have our center fielder!"

With no one ready to step up to the line, the rest of the team continues to stand weak-jawed and in silence. Several moments pass before Akko has the wherewithal to break it.

"Holy FUCK Sucy! What was that?!"

The rest of the team look towards the brunette's outburst with a modicum of shock more than they had previously expressed.

"Kagari! Language!"

The rest of the girls make their throws, averaging around Akko and Amanda's distance. Akko's confidence spiked when Barbara and Hannah's throws fell short of her own, but her competitive fire burned hotter after seeing Diana's throw surpass her by a few feet.

Once everyone has thrown they make their ways to center field to collect their balls and to prepare for their next exercise: fielding.

"Alright, everybody spread out!" Croix calls out as she takes a practice swing with her newly acquired bat. "First pop flies, then grounders, then it's a surprise. Once you catch it, throw it to Coach Callistis." Ursula waves her gloved hand at the girls before lightly tossing a softball to Croix.

"Be sure to call for the ball! I want to be able to hear you guys making it a habit! It's as much you saying that you've got it as it is a warning for others to give you space." Croix tosses the ball up a few times before taking a swing sending it flying into the field.

"I've got it!" Diana calls out, running in to meet the ball. She catches it effortlessly and in a swift movement her right hand takes it from her glove and throws it back to Ursula.

"Good!"

Ting

"I've got it!"

Ting

"Mine!"

Ting

"Back up hoes!"

"Amanda!"

Ting

The ball flies high as Akko runs further into the field watching its trajectory over her shoulder.

Come on... come on.

The ball catches up to her in its falland Akko lifts her glove.

"Got it!" She screams as she jumps. The ball is snatched from the air, wrapped in the net of the glove as Akko touches back down to the ground. However, upon her landing, the momentum from her run forces her to fight to keep her legs beneath her. Once she regains her balance she runs back to the rest and makes the throw to Ursula.

"Sorry Kagari, that was a bit long. But good job keeping up with it!" Croix calls out before hitting the next ball continuing the exercise.

Aside from the ground ball that went through her legs and the one that hit a bump in the grass and quickly and suddenly redirected itself towards Lotte's face, the rest of the exercise went by without issue.

The rest of the day was spent in the infield practicing tags, tosses, base running speed (Akko's favorite), and basic 'out at first' plays.

The practice ends with a final lap around the field for both upper and lowerclassmen before rejoining on the pitching mound.

"I am impressed with how hard you ladies worked today." Coach Nelson says with her hands on her hips. "You showed promise and heart, and-" she looks pointedly over at Amanda, "-more than enough backside from inappropriate sliding than any of my past years coaching." A few giggles break out amongst the group as Amanda rolls her eyes, rubbing her slide burned rear. When the giggles subside, Nelson continues.

"Over the next few days, Coach Meridies, Callistis, and I will be discussing our notes, so you should expect to see the team posting in the auditorium on Friday."

"I hope you all enjoy the rest of your week. For those of you who make the list, we will see you for your first real practice on Monday. If you have any questions, we will be in the Coaches Office until 6pm tonight and tomorrow. You are dismissed."

After returning the gear to the equipment closet, the girls head into the locker room to begin changing. Before Diana begins removing her shoes, Coach Meridies calls her out into the hallway.

"Cavendish? A moment?"

The girl in question looks to her friends as they shrug their shoulders before making her way to the door. As she is about to pass the threshold, the brunette with crimson eyes rounds the corner trying to touch her pink haired friend's arm.

"Seriously Sucy, let me feel!"

"No. Stop touching me."

"Come on! How did you throw that?"

"I WILL poison you and I WON'T feel bad about it."

"No fai- oof!" She grunts as her shoulder makes contact with the person coming out of the locker room. She is is knocked off balance before a hand reaches out to help steady her. Akko momentarily looks over to the hand cupping her shoulder and can't help but notice how warm it is. She looks up to its owner and sees familiar blue eyes swimming in concern.

"S-sorry." Akko says more out of habit than anything else.

"It was my mistake. Are you alright?" The blonde asks removing her hand, the warmth disappearing from Akko's shoulder.

Man, she's super pretty up close. Her eyes are like-SHOOT! She's talking to you. Say something!

"No, I'm Akko."

NO!

"Gah! I mean yes. I'm fine!"

Keep your cool! She's the competition!

"Hey! Wait a second!" With a tone of fake haughtiness as she attempts to regain her composure. "Weren't you the one saying that I needed to be more aware of my surroundings?"

Diana's eyes look over the girl and her friends halted in the doorway. She feels a half smile tug at her lips, her expression changing from concern to one of amusement.

"I believe I did say that." She looks towards the brunette thoughtfully as she resumes her movement towards the hall. "It appears as though we both have room to improve."

Once she rounds the threshold into the hallway and moves out of their sight, Lotte starts giggling.

"What?"

Sucy snorts, covering her grin with a hand. "You dunce."

"Shut up!"

The three make their way to their belongings and begin changing. Akko kicks off her cleats, taking a moment to let her socked feet soak up the coolness of the floor before removing her shorts and replacing them with a pair of skinny jeans.

"Hey Akko," clad in a neon green sports bra and jean shorts stuffed with an ice pack, Amanda bounds over to her, Lotte, and Sucy. "Good job today, I remember you sucking way more in rec league."

"Thanks a bunch Amanda." she says dripping with sarcasm, "Nice slide, by the way. How bad's the ass burn?"

"Hah! See for yourself!" Amanda turns away from her, a mere button away from mooning the brunette.

Will you please grow up O'Neill." Hannah says while tying the belt of her dress around her waist.

"Haven't you embarrassed yourself enough today?" Barbara chimes in, adjusting the sleeves of her blouse.

Amanda shifts her attention to the two and tilts her head. "Embarrassed? I'm afraid I'm not familiar with the term. Would you mind explaining it to me? It's obvious you have plenty of experience."

The two girls roll their eyes.

"Whatever, do what you want. Just try not to ruin anyone's reputation but your own." Hannah says as she slides her boots on.

"Stuff it, England. So where'd your smarter, nicer, better at everything third go?"

Perfectly in sync, as if rehearsed, Hannah and Barbara flip her the bird. "The coaches asked to talk with her. We don't know why."

"Oooh, is Cavvy in trouble? Didn't see that coming! What'll you do if your master's not here to tell you what to do?"

"We are more than capable of independence, you-"

Akko waves her arms around and steps between the three. "Okay! Okay guys! That's good. Enough. Please!"

The crowd of girls that had been watching the exchange quickly turn away and try to busy themselves.

"Tch!" Hannah and Barbara turn away from the redhead.

"Hey it was this bi-mph!" From behind her, Jasminka shoves a fist full of sunflower seeds into her mouth and then proceeds to carry her back to her locker on the other side of the room.

Akko turns to continue listening to Lotte gush about the chapter in Nightfall where Edgar and his family play a baseball game with Belle for the first time. It had been a major factor convincing her to try out with Akko. At the end of their conversation Akko and Lotte notice Hannah and Barbara standing close by.

"You know Akko, you were better than we expected." Barbara says to her.

Akko turns her head and looks at them confusedly, "Um, thanks? I guess."

"You might actually be able to play, you know… off the bench." Hannah responds.

"You know, you're pretty bad at giving compliments." Sucy says from behind Lotte.

"Anyway," Barbara says, "you might actually stand a chance if Diana gets put onto varsity."

"What makes you so sure she's gonna make it to varsity and not me!?" Akko says defiantly.

A mass snort is heard throughout the locker room, but when Akko looks around everyone is frozen facing their lockers.

"Gnnn…." She pouts.

"Anyway. See ya later." The two girls head over to the other side of the locker room to meet up with Avery and Mary.

"I don't get why they're such jerks." Akko mumbles to Lotte. Akko wasn't new to the concept of bullies; from a young age she had tendencies to act and learn a little differently than a lot of the other kids. But now that she is starting her sophomore year of high school in a new school district, she expected a little bit for being the new student, but didn't think it would persist so far into the year. Hannah and Barbara had actually gotten better since the beginning of the year, but it is still a mystery to Akko as to why they choose to put so much energy into being mean to her.

Diana seems nice though. Maybe a little snooty. But not like, mean, I don't think. Man! Why can't my rival be mean?! If she was mean it would make me even more driven to beat her!

Just then, the subject of Akko's contemplation appears in the locker room doorway.

"It is your decision Diana." Croix says to her.

"I understand, I will think on it. Thank you." The blonde responds before making her way to her belongings to resume changing.

Hannah and Barbara appear back at her side from across the room as she removes her t-shirt and replaces it with a button up.

"What was that about, Diana?" Barbara asks her.

"It's nothing. The coaches just wanted to ask me about a personal matter." she responds, fastening the final button at her chest before slipping her skirt over her shorts and grabbing her bag. "Are you two ready?"

Hannah and Barbara nod before falling in step with Diana towards the hallway.

"Hey!" Akko calls out through the nozzle of her water bottle. Their heads turn, confusion etched on their faces.

"Yes?" Diana asks.

Akko takes a moment to swallow her water before putting her bottle down. "Good luck you guys."

Diana looks at her for a moment.

"Though I don't believe luck is of any use at this point… the sentiment is appreciated." She pauses. "But I wish the same to you." With that, she turns away and takes another step towards the door.

"One more thing," she says as she turns her head, "impressive throw Miss Manbavaran."

The next few days were, Akko feels, the longest she had ever endured. It was finally Friday and the suspense of seeing the team roster posting was killing her.

Akko clicks her pen at each passing second as she watches the clock drag towards the end of the period.

One class and fifteen minutes left .

"MISS KAGARI"

She jumps to attention, eyes shooting towards her teacher as the rest of the biology class turn to look at her.

"S-sorry?"

Professor Finnelan looks at her and sighs, exhausted. "I'm going to send you to the principal's office if you don't stop clicking your pen, Miss Kagari. You are distracting the rest of the class and testing my very last nerve."

"W-won't happen again, Professor!" Akko drops her pen on her desk and covers it with her notebook.

The rest of the class rights their attention back to the front of the room as their professor turns to the blackboard to continue her lecture on cell structure. "For some reason I doubt that." The older woman says under her breath.

To her surprise, not a single pen click was heard for the rest of the period, although, she didn't hear the girl taking notes either. Once the bell rang, Akko leaps from her seat and runs to her next period English class with Professor Callistis.

A brunette blur shoots through the classroom towards the front of the room. She unintentionally slams her hands on Ursula's desk, startling her into breaking her chalk against the blackboard.

"Professor! I can't wait any longer! Can I please skip class today and go to the auditorium?" Akko pouts to the panic recovering woman.

"Akko, I know it's hard, but you have to be patient. It'll be there at the end of class." Ursula takes a moment to think, "I actually don't know if Nelson's posted it yet."

Akko groans and slumps away from the desk.

"Try not to worry so much…" Ursula says it calmly, but Akko turns to face her with breakneck speed. "I-uh, think we're going to have a good team this year."

Akko's eyes light up with a renewed energy. "Do you mean…?"

"I don't know!" Ursula raises her hands. "Though I do know the bell is about to ring and that you should get to your seat."

Akko looks at her, still a little frazzled by what she thinks that information could mean, before spinning around and excitedly moving to her desk.

"Okay Professor!"

One agonizingly long period of analyzing The Odyssey later, the bell finally rings. Akko races through the halls, weaving through the mass of students leaving at the end of the day.

"Miss Kagari! No running in the-" Finnelan attempts as said girl shoots past her and rounds the corner. "Oh, forget it." She turns to go back into her classroom.

Akko finally reaches the doors of the auditorium and allows herself a breath.

This is i~t!

She opens the doors and makes her way to the rest of the group huddled around the bulletin board. After finding purchase on her tiptoes looking over Mary's shoulder, at last her eyes find the list for the softball team.

"YES!" Akko erupts, startling a few girls.

Lotte and Sucy make their way over to the group and stand next to the bouncing brunette.

"We made it!" Akko says pulling the both of them into a group hug.

"It's only JV, relax." Sucy grunts through the unexpected force of the hug.

A few moments later, Hannah, Barbara, and Diana arrive in the auditorium. As they make their way down to the bulletin board, the three notice Sucy pushing herself away from Akko, who still has a firm hold on a gasping Lotte.

Barbara nudged Hannah, gesturing over to the other three girls.

"You know what that means..."

"At least the losses will be entertaining." The other girl responds.

Diana walks up to the board and looks down the list finding her name.

This is the right decision.

Authors note:

The last names for Avery, Mary, and Blair are not random! Avery's last name is based from her voice actress (Kira Buckland), Mary's is based off her (half) namesake, Mary Blair's maiden name (Robinson), and Blair's is literally 'witch' in Italian (Strega)... get it... Blair Witch? heh heh

Also, Barbara's pet cockatoo's name (Eric Singer) is the name of the member of the band KISS whose face makeup was used on Barbara in episode 12.