Chapter two
Millie Miller opened her eyes groggily, a dull throb in her temple. She felt her head and remembered… ah, yes… the shoe. She slid out of bed and onto the floor, standing up with her spastic hair sticking out in all directions and her pajamas creased in many places. She scratched her leg absentmindedly and made her way to the window, where gray sunlight peeked through.
She saw a three very distant towers, which she realized were goal hoops. Oh yes, her captain, Sato, was trying out for a new seeker. She really did feel bad about his loss, but, with a yawn, felt even more sorry for the fact that he had to waist perfectly good sleeping time to tryout a bunch of wannabe seekers who had no chance.
Millie really didn't want to return to seeking, preferring beating for the wonders it had, involving swinging bats into other's faces. And, of course, knocking out other people's brains with bludgers. She wondered how the tryouts were going….
XXX Miyu's POV XXX
Miyu clutched her broom tighter, wishing desperately that she was somewhere else. She had arrived early, intended on telling Sato she couldn't do it, but the blue haired chaser never gave her a chance, and shoved a broom into her hands.
Miyu didn't even have the comfort of using her old Nimbus 2000. She had managed to win every match since she gotten the broom, and could use it easily. She had even thrown it down in frustration, causing a bit of it to break off, making it perfect for the tiny girl's size. Sato had ensured her that her chances would increase if she used a Firebolt and, unwilling to decline, accepted.
She watched as the other seekers pursued the snitch, each of them making desperate attempts to snatch at it, only to have the golden ball avoid their fingers every time. Each time, Sato frowned with distaste and told them they did great, then dismissed them, but of course the most stayed and watched the competition.
Finally the last seeker landed. She had a confident look painted all over her face, and Miyu didn't blame her. So far, she'd managed to get the best time, and only little Miyu was left. Sato raised an eyebrow, impressed, but didn't give any other indication that he would chose her as his seeker.
Finally, it was Miyu's turn. She gulped, mounted her broom, and, when Sato gave the signal, launched herself into the air. The broom was faster and longer than her Nimbus, and Miyu found it difficult to maneuver. Still, she did her best, and thought it was okay.
Now came the hard part. Finding the snitch.
Her sharp eyes darted around the huge, empty field, searching for the gold among the green. Finally, she saw a flitter of movement, but it was only a mouse, scrabbling for some seeds.
At last she caught a glimpse of it, fluttering by one of the towering stands. She sped towards it, once again surprised by the speed in the Firebolt. With this speed, however, it made catching the snitch ten times easier. She sped towards it, making it by the snitch in less than three seconds. The snitch sharply turned, but Miyu was ready, and she shot out a hand, whacking the snitch by mistake and amending her mistake by grabbing the snitch before it darted away.
"Nice one, Miyu." Sato cried proudly. Miyu felt her heart leap at the praise and a small, nervous smile played at her lips.
"Now… let's see how you deal with this." Oh no, was the first thoughts that came to Miyu's mind. Sato turned, and called out in exasperation, "Millie, that was the signal."
"Oh!" came a small, excited voice, and a tall girl with a brown bun and a Firebolt in hand ran onto the field. A few gasps of admiration came from the crowd, and Miyu was sure everybody would recognize the American/Japanese Millie Miller. With a gulp, Miyu saw Millie's Quidditch robes hit around muscles in the arms.
"You are still SO lucky to have caught me on my way to breakfast, Sato." Millie grumbled loudly. She sized Miyu up with sharp blue eyes. "Well, let's see how you do, kid."
"Um, I'm almost eighteen." Miyu corrected the tall girl.
"She calls everybody a kid," Sato explained quietly. He held out his hand, and Miyu stared at him in confusion. "The snitch, Miyu."
"Oh, right." She dropped the snitch into his hands.
"Now," Sato instructed. "I'm going to work on Mitsune, you go work with Millie. After we're both satisfied, you and Mitsune will race to get the snitch."
Miyu felt pride bubbling in her chest. Sato thought she could be their next seeker! Woah! With a start, she realized that Millie was tapping her foot impatiently, and she sped to the Quidditch player.
"Honestly, you'll have time to ogle our captain once you make the team." Millie snapped.
"You really think I have a chance?" Miyu asked, ignoring the comment on Sato.
"Sure, whatevs. Hey, listen, I always have been asking this question." Millie turned to look Miyu in the eye with her piercing blue stare. "What is you-know-who's real name?"
"Excuse me?" Miyu gasped. This was the last question she would have expected Millie to ask. Judging by the blank expression on Millie's face, she had to guess that it was a serious question. "It's, uh, well, Vol-"
"Millie!" came a scream. "Stop yakking and start training!" Millie turned and saluted Sato.
"Okay, kid." Millie continued in a more professional tone. "I'm going to play both seeker and beater as, if you make the team, I will be beater and back up seeker. So are you ready?"
"What?" Miyu yelped. "Do you mean we just play?"
"No dip, Sherlock." Millie snapped. "Don't you speak Japanese?!" Miyu narrowed her eyes in annoyance.
"Fine, you're on!" she growled. And they were off, shooting up as two balls (bludger and snitch) were released.
Miyu had barely gotten anywhere when a bludger rocketed toward her from Millie. She ducked to avoid it and paused, eyes darting around in the pause it would take for the bludger to hurtle back, searching for a flit of gold. There! As they were only using half of the field, it was simple to catch the snitch.
Unfortunately, Millie was rocketing towards the gold ball as well, face creased with determination. Miyu dived to the ball, her newer Firebolt catching up with Millie's less new one.
Suddenly they were shoulder to shoulder, Miyu stretched out her hand and- thwack!
And the world was spinning crazily. A bludger had hit Miyu's broom and sent her twirling around in random circles. STOP! She mentally screamed at her broom, trying to keep it still. And suddenly the world righted its self, and Miyu's first glimpse of anything was gold.
She shot forward, shaking her head of the dizziness and put on a new burst of speed. "Yes!" she yelled and landed, just realizing that she was only two feet from the grass.
She looked up triumphantly to see Millie standing with her head downcast, her body shaking. "Er, what's wrong…?"
"I can't believe I just lost to a kid." Sniffled Millie, which enraged Miyu to the point of screaming.
"Millie, is she ready?" Sato called from the other half of the stadium. Miyu half expected bad sportsmanship from Millie, and have the Professional Quidditch Player to say 'no way', but Millie was still silent…
"Yeah, sure." Millie said good-naturedly, looking up at Miyu proudly.
Miyu's eyes brightened and she dashed over to where Sato and Mitsune stood.
"I think you're the first person who's ever beaten Millie not to walk away with several bruises." Sato murmured, stunned.
"You mean from the bludgers?" Miyu asked innocently.
"Actually, I meant from her fists." Sato laughed, running a hand through his vivid blue hair. "Okay, ladies. It's very simple: whoever catches the snitch without being beaten to death by Millie wins."
Miyu and Mitsune exchanged glances.
"on your mark, get set…. GO!"
Mitsune wasted no time. She rocketed up into the air and took off downfield, making wide circles around the stadium. Miyu followed, but more slowly. She swept the field with her eyes, again searching for gold. Moments passed and she spotted it. The snitch flew low to the ground, keeping as inconspicuous as possible, but that didn't work out well for the ball. Mitsune had already spotted it.
The blond haired girl was now mere inches from it, and Miyu's broom kicked into hyper speed, but didn't move fast enough.
TWACK!
"Haha!" Millie cried triumphantly. "I got 'er!" Miyu blinked, and looked down in horror at the motionless body of Mitsune, now lying on the ground.
"You killed her!" Miyu gasped at Millie, gaping at the smirk on the other girl's face.
"That's a Quidditch game for ya." Millie said loudly. "If you're too chicken to kill another player, you might as well leave!"
Miyu shook her head disapprovingly, but saw Mitsune's body twitch and slowly she pushed herself up, reaching for her broom.
"NO!" Millie cried out, agonized while Miyu breathed a sigh of relief. Then her mind returned to the game.
Snitch
She zoomed off, eyes scanning the field for a glint of gold. She found it easily, too. The tiny ball was floating near a stand. Miyu shot towards it, and, as if the Snitch was suddenly aware of her presence, it took off as well.
Mitsune was still climbing on her broom, and Millie was too distracted by her failure to notice Miyu's discovery. Just a little closer… She thought, reaching out. A few more inches and I'll have it…
"Got it!" she yelled, the snitch's wings flapped in distress for a moment before folding closed. A storm of cheering erupted and Miyu jumped, looking up in shock. She had completely forgotten about the hundreds of people watching the tryouts.
"NO!" came a scream from below. Miyu looked down to see Sato and Mitsune rowing down below.
"Listen to sense! Miyu got the snitch first, Miyu's seeker!" Sato reasoned, his voice getting harsh from impatience.
"Do you know who I am? My father runs the factory down town that makes your broom- you can't shun me!" Mitsune screamed.
"Please, calm down-" Sato began.
"Hey, Mitsune!" Millie was on the ground now, too, and Sato groaned. "If you don't leave my Sato alone, I'll give you an uglier bump!" she raised her bat threateningly.
"oh, you defending your boyfriend now?" silence met Mitsune's words, and Miyu could tell this was way beyond the normal insult.
"Hiyah!" Millie and Sato chorused, their fists ramming into Mitsune's face together. Mitsune flew back, hit the stands, let out a whimper of pain, and ran out of the tryouts.
"Nice one!" Miyu said cheerfully, landing on the ground beside them. Neither Sato nor Millie answered; their eyes were cold and sad. Suddenly Sato stalked off, leaving misery in every blade of grass he flattened beneath his feet.
"Natsumi, our old seeker who died…" Millie said sadly. "Sato and her were crazy for each other. I swear, I thought Sato would never leave his room after…. She was an awesome person, and we all loved her. Her death was like…" she shook her head.
"I can't imagine…" Miyu murmured, her heart breaking for Sato's loss. She stared out at his bedraggled form and wished she knew a way to help him out of his misery. But as far as she knew, there was no amount of victory or a spell that could mend his broken heart.
XXX Miyu's POV- 3 days later XXX
"Don't worry- the team will love you." Sato assured Miyu as they walked down to the National Stadium where Miyu's first practice with the team would be held.
"Well, after seeing Millie, I'm not…" she trailed off.
"Millie's, eh, very confident in herself. She's only been on the team for about four years and Quidditch is her life already- despite the fact she's trying to get into college." Sato explained wearily.
Miyu had a sudden mental image of Millie professionally wrestling. "And, eh, what kind of career is she, er, aiming for?" Miyu asked, wondering if she should be afraid.
"Photographer." Sato turned around. "Hey, what are you doing down there?" Miyu had fallen over in shock.
"Let's stop talking about Millie, okay?" Miyu spluttered. Somehow she couldn't quite image the hyper brunette holding a camera for more then three seconds before destroying it completely.
When the two of them reached the crest of the hill, where the entrance of the stadium sat, Miyu halted.
"What is it?" Sato asked, puzzled.
"Don't… uh… Are you sure…?"
"They are probably the most friendly, yet most ferocious team out there." He assured her in an unreassuringly way.
After dragging Miyu onto the stadium, Sato announced to the five eagerly awaiting team members,
"You're new seeker, Miyu Katono!"
Silence….
More silence….
What have I gotten myself into? Miyu wondered nervously, turning red.
Still the silence pressed in…