In Small Packages – Chapter 3 – Game Time
Fleshing a few things out and doing a few edits.
DISCLAIMER: Other than Nezumi, I own nothing! Not even the base plot! Almost all of this story belongs to Akira Toriyama, Toei Animation, and Funimation.
WARNING: There are smidgeons of bad words.
It was time for Gym class. Sharpner wore a lavender tee-shirt, a blue baseball cap with a yellow bill and an Orange Star symbol on the front, a pair of dark blue sweat pants, and a pair of tennis shoes. Erasa wore a bright green tee-shirt, a pair of white shorts, and white sneakers. Videl was dressed in her outfit from before, which also happened to be her training outfit, and Gohan was dressed in a dark blue long sleeve shirt, a pair of grey sweat pants, and a pair of blue and white trainers. Nezumi wore a blue-grey tee shirt with the symbol for "mountain" written in black on the back, a pair of tan skater's shorts that barely reached past her knees, and a pair of white and brown athletic trainers on her feet.
"Alright boys and girls, today we'll be battling it out in the great sport of baseball." The gym teacher, Mr. Ferston, said to the crowd of boys and girls in their gym clothes. Nezumi notably slumped forward and groaned loudly.
"Of all things, why baseball?" she moaned.
"Hm? Why do you say that, Nezumi?" Gohan asked curiously.
"I hate baseball. It takes forever to play…besides that, I can't pitch or catch a ball or swing a bat for beans. No matter what team I'm on, my team's gonna lose if I play. It's bound to happen, I just know it." Nezumi said dismally, "To top it all off, the sun's killing me."
"Aw, don't worry! Just relax and I'm sure you'll do fine, Nezumi." Gohan said, giving Nezumi an enthusiastic pat on the back that sent her sprawling on the ground with a loud "oomph".
"Thanks, Gohan." Nezumi said into the dirt. She leaned back onto her heels and started brushing herself off, Gohan apologizing repeatedly.
"Hey brains, you know what baseball is?" Sharpner asked, gaining Gohan's attention.
"Uh, yeah. Well…I've read a couple books about it…" Gohan answered. Nezumi got up and resumed dusting until most of the dirt and sand had come off.
"Oh, have you? Heheheh…Well, then I'm sure you'll be the next all star on your team. Hey Mouse!" Nezumi jumped as Sharpner called her name and clapped a hand on her shoulder, "You're on my team." Nezumi sighed and her shoulders slumped, knowing she wouldn't be able to back out of the game. She mumbled several profanities and kicked at the dirt beneath her when Sharpner removed his hand. "Hey Videl, you can have him. My team just filled up." Sharpner said, indicating Gohan.
"Oh yeah, thanks." Videl said, none too pleased to have Gohan on her team.
"Come on! Give him a break! I bet he could think up a bunch of great strategies, since he's such a smarty!" Erasa said in Gohan's defense.
"Best of luck Gohan. With Sharpner against you, you'll need it." Nezumi said, emphasizing her point by poking Gohan in the arm.
"Oh, I'm sure I'll be fine. It's not like he'd purposely hit me with the ball or anything, right?" Gohan asked Nezumi as she looked up at him with deadpan look on her face.
'He's doomed…' Nezumi thought, shaking her head and walking towards her team's "dugout" benches, 'But it is adorable how naïve Gohan is. No wonder though, he had been home-schooled up until now.' She wondered as she took her seat and watched the first of her teammates go out to the batter's box, a silver bat in hand. Gohan quickly donned a hat and a right-hander's glove and sped out to right field where, Nezumi assumed, Videl had assigned him for the game.
"Two innings and the score is even. Too bad I'm up next to bat…" Nezumi groaned as she placed her elbows on her knees and cradled her chin in her hands. She really didn't want to bat as memories of her softball years kept playing back to her.
"You think you can actually hit the ball this time?" Her teammate Douggie asked in hid New-Yorkish accent. He'd been on Nezumi's team before and realized the girl's losing streak right away.
"Hardly. With one out already, I'm doomed to put the other team up to bat in seconds." Nezumi said with a sigh. She watched as Sharpner, the team's all-star batter and pitcher, picked up another silver bat and swung it experimentally in the batter's practice ring. The girl up to bat swung and the ball went sailing far enough so she could reach third; she was one of the better baseball players in the class. Sharpner strode confidently towards home plate, the bat resting casually on his shoulder. When he reached the box, he easily held the bat with one hand as he covered his mouth with the other, clearing his throat, and then set himself in the batter's pose.
"Hope you're ready for a strike." Videl called out. Sharpner chuckled and set his stance firmer, preparing to get another home run for his already extensive collection. Videl pitched and Sharpner swung, sending a loud, metallic crack through the air as the ball went flying.
"It's a high one!" One of the students shouted excitedly.
"Gotta be a home run!" Another student shouted.
"Hey, Nez, even if you don't hit the ball, we'll at least get a point with Sharpner!" Douggie said as Nezumi took up her spot in the batter's ring, dragging the tip of a red and black bat in the dirt behind her.
"Gee, thanks for the vote of con…fi…dence…" Nezumi replied as she watched the high flying ball land in Gohan's glove. The catch wasn't what really surprised her, though: it was the combination of one of Sharpner's hits actually being caught and the fact that Gohan had jumped nearly thirty feet in the air to catch it. 'Whoa! Is that…is that Gohan? How in the world did he get up there?' Nezumi marveled, her jaw long forgotten and very nearly laying in the dirt at her feet.
"Did you see that?" One of students asked. Nezumi and everyone else on the field watched as Gohan seemed to hover in his spot in the air before pitching the ball at high speed towards third base. The third baseman barely held on the smoking ball as the force of the pitch threw him backward, his heel barely resting on the edge of the base.
"Whoa! That ball was on fire!" Douggie shouted. Nezumi nodded numbly, having watched the ball, and turned her attention to the smoothly descending Gohan.
"Like, certain out." The student watching third base said, raising his hand into the air. (A/N: Still have no clue what he says.) When Gohan landed, he was smiling and set himself in a catching pose, but his smile vanished when he noticed everyone was looking at him in shock and surprise. Gohan put on a nervous face and moved quickly back to his team's space, trying to hide behind his cap.
"That move was beautiful, Gohan! You must've jumped twenty-five feet inta de air! Way to go, son!" The coach said proudly. Gohan regarded him with a nervous laugh and continued moving towards his team's space.
"Aww it was beginner's luck, I-I-I-I just got some new shoes! Yeah! With the air cusions, you know? They sure, make a difference, huh?" Gohan said nervously, approaching one of the benches.
"Right. It's gotta be the shoes." The coach said skeptically. He didn't push the issue and the game resumed. Nezumi grabbed a cap and her glove before making a quick run over to Gohan to marvel at his antics.
"Gohan!" Nezumi called out, gaining the boy's attention, "Gohan, that was amazing! How did you do that?" Nezumi gushed in amazement, it wasn't often she would see someone jump into the air thirty feet and come back down with ease.
"I-it's just new shoes Nezumi! N-nothing much. Heheh…eh…" Gohan said nervously as he waved his hands in front of him, his catching glove seated next to him on the bench.
"Well, whatever shoes those are, I wish I had a pair!" Nezumi said with a chuckle, gaining a laugh from Gohan as well. Sharpner shouted at her to get to her position and she quickly dismissed herself from Gohan's company. "Anyway, I'm off to left field. See ya." Gohan waved a goodbye and the student sitting on his right tapped his shoulder.
"Hey man, I think it's your turn up to bat, isn't it?" The student asked.
"Oh yeah! I'm up!" Gohan said as he stood and grabbed one of the silver bats lying near the batter's box, "Hold on guys, here I come!" He said, jogging to the batter's box like an excited little kid, holding the bat awkwardly all the while.
'Gohan, you dweeb! You make a world-record jump and now you're running like a pansy? What's with you?' Nezumi thought as she took her place on the field and prepared to stand there for the rest of the inning. Nobody ever hit balls towards left field unless they were left-handed, which, fortunately for Nezumi, hardly anybody was. With that in mind, Nezumi felt confident that she'd just be standing there until she was up to bat in the next inning. Then she saw Gohan take the left-hander's stance and started worrying. 'He pitched right, didn't he? Why's he atanding left-handed? Is he ambidextrous or something?' Nezumi thought, readjusting her stance to actually catch Gohan's hit and shaking her head to still the thoughts, 'Why am I so curious? Focus, Nezzie. Just hope he doesn't hit as hard as he throws…' She faintly heard Sharpner say something to Gohan and then he started his signature "Concussion Pitch", a throw that was aimed at the batter to get them to duck out of cowardice or suffer, as the name implies, a serious concussion. "Oh shit! Look out, Gohan!" Nezumi shouted. Several of the other students watched worriedly, especially as Sharpner unwound the pitch and let the ball fly.
"Watch out!" Videl shouted. It was too late, Gohan was hit and he recoiled as the ball made contact. Nezumi and several other students were terrified for his wellbeing.
"That's gotta hurt…" Nezumi said as she winced and turned away from the batter's box, covering her eyes and gnawing on her lip worriedly. When she turned back, Gohan seemed perfectly fine without even a red mark to show he was hit. "Smacked with Sharpner's classic "Concussion Pitch" …and…he's running to first. The hell is Gohan made of?" Nezumi marveled as Gohan cheerily jogged to first base. She determined there was much more to Gohan than everyone thought.
"School's out at last. I never thought that game would go on as long as it did." Nezumi sighed as she tiredly pulled her books out of her locker and stuffed them into her messenger bag. She then hauled a duffel bag out of her locker and waited as Gohan, her locker neighbor, gathered his things.
"Hey, at least you got a hit off of that ball. You even made it to second." Gohan said as he beamed down at Nezumi. She blushed and turned to stare at a small dent in her forest-green-colored locker.
"Barely…but…you're right. I did make it." Nezumi admitted, turning to Gohan and playfully punching him in the arm, "Maybe you're a walking good luck charm."
"Naw, I wouldn't say that, Nez." Gohan answered, recalling several events where he didn't feel quite so lucky.
"What're you talking about? You took Sharpner's pitch without so much as a bruise! What was that if not good luck?" Nezumi said, smacking Gohan on the arm. Just then, Sharpner was walking along the hallway and paused when he spotted Gohan.
"Gohan. What clubs have ya joined?" He asked. Nezumi and Gohan turned to regard the muscled blond.
"I haven't joined any." Gohan answered sheepishly.
"Good, you can join the boxing club." Sharpner said with a smirk, "With a little practice, you just might become a good fighter." Gohan laughed slightly and Nezumi rolled her eyes. Sharpner was always looking for a new punching bag and one that could withstand his Concussion Pitch was more than worthy of joining the Boxing Team.
"Thanks. But I don't think I can join any clubs, 'cuz, uh-" Gohan started as Erasa came along and interrupted.
"'Cuz he's got an extra, extra long drive home and doesn't have any time to spend on clubs, right Gohan?" The blonde female asked. It made sense: Gohan would probably be doing his homework on the way home, he'd eat, sleep, wake up, eat, snooze or do more homework in the car ride to school, and then do it over again. Five hours make for a really long trip.
"Yeah, that's it." Gohan said, smiling and nodding at Erasa's conclusion. Nezumi shouldered her book bag over her head and carried her duffel in her left hand, waiting for her turn to speak.
"Now, Gohan. What say you give me a ride home on your way out?" Erasa said, dropping hint bombs again. Nezumi smiled and shook her head; Erasa would never change, not as long as there were cute boys in the world.
"Oh, well, uh…I'm afraid my ride is just a one-seater." Gohan said with a small shrug.
"I've got room in my car, Erasa." Sharpner said, slightly miffed at being forgotten in the conversation.
"Sounds like a plan to me." Gohan said with a smile, "You two have fun. Bye." Gohan waved a farewell to Erasa and Sharpner while Nezumi hurried to catch up to her new friend.
"Say Gohan, can I ask you something?" Nezumi started, tilting her head at an angle where she could look at him without hurting her neck.
"Uh, sure. What is it Nez?" Gohan asked curiously.
"You live up in the 439 area, so what's the view like? I'm working on an art project and we're supposed to pick a spot we wouldn't normally go to or places we haven't gone to before the project." Nezumi answered, referring to the only class she and Gohan didn't share.
"Well, it's a great place. Mostly forest, but a great view all around from the mountaintops. There are a few dinosaurs and saber tooth cats to watch for, but it's a really safe place." Gohan answered pleasantly. It wasn't often Gohan got to talk about the area where he, his dad, and his little brother grew up.
"Really? Wow! Maybe if I have time to go up there this weekend I'll drop by and say hello or something." Nezumi said, smiling and faintly blushing up at Gohan. 'Then again, that means I'll have to borrow daddy's car. Hmm…'
"That'd be nice! I hadn't had any friends over in a while! Well, except for Picollo, Krillin, Puar and Yamcha." Gohan said, referring to the friends he'd had for most of his young life.
"Alright!" Nezumi said with a nod, "Anyway, I'll see you tomorrow Gohan!" Nezumi said as she spotted her father's car parked out in front of the school. She had to hurry, her extracurricular classes would be starting soon.
"Bye, Nezumi!" Gohan called out, waving a goodbye to his new friend. She waved back as she put her stuff in the backseat of her father's car and hopped into the passenger seat. Nezumi and her father sped off moments later.
"So, who was that, Nezzie?" Nezumi's father asked suspiciously.
"His name is Gohan. He's the new kid in school and showed up today." Nezumi answered, "Gohan's really nice, smart, friendly, and quite the athlete." She said as she grabbed one of the water bottles her dad always had in the front of his car and cracked open the top. She then proceeded to take grateful gulps of the life-giving liquid inside. Her father watched the road and occasionally glanced at his daughter suspiciously, it wasn't often she would be this cheery after a day of school.
I'm still surprised it took 3 chapters to illustrate one episode.
