Chapter 4 (how HIkaru got into the team and how she met Kogure-sempai)

"Swing it hard Hikaru-chan!"

"Go for it!"

Hikaru eyed the pitcher as she studied the ball. Will this be a ball, or a strike? The pitcher swung her arms and gave a fastball. The ball swirled towards Hikaru as it looked to defy the laws of physics. Hikaru was no superstar for nothing. She swung the bat hard and the ball flew as far as it could, giving time for her to run three bases. Not yet a homerun, but it left her future teammates' jaws open. She got the approval of her sempai and made it to the team easily. Despite being the youngest in the team, Hikaru was the tallest and considered as one of the best in just a short span of time. Nanami Mori, team captain, was delighted with her new lineup. Their goal was to be number one this year and win the nationals.

Because they were new, Hikaru and some freshmen members of the team helped out in the locker room. On her way to the locker room, Hikaru was carrying a box full of equipment. She was too preoccupied in her happy thoughts to even bother to look at where she was going. She was not aware that it was the wrong door she was opening.

"Heeey! Gomen for being laa-" before she could finish, Hikaru walked straight into a slippery floor and next thing she knew, her but was on the hard floor, with the equipment rolling all over. The box had also fallen into her head. "ow"

The people in the room were shocked to see the girl on the floor. A girl inside the basketball men's locker room?

Being the nice gentleman that he was, he ran to the girl and pulled the box away. "A-are you all right?" he asked.

It was from that moment on that Hikaru's views towards men changed (with the exception of Kaede). I guess there are really nice guys too, she thought to herself as her face turned pink. His glasses make him even cuter…

"Kogure-sempai, is she all right?" asked one of the players, (Hikaru would later know him as 'Yasu')

K-Kogure? What a beautiful name… Hikaru was not recovering from her blush.

"You really fell hard. Are you okay?" Kogure smiled, pulling her up. He was surprised at how tall she was (same as his height)

"Y-yeah, it was nothing. I've fallen harder before" she replied awkwardly. Nice going….

"You're the baseball team's manager?"

Oh gosh he's really cute…

"I-I play for the team"

Kogure let go of her hand and picked up the baseball bats that fell. "I see. You must still be a freshman seeing as you got lost on your way to the locker room. This is the basketball team's" He smiled again, putting the bats inside the box.

"Please, you don't have to do that sempai" Hikaru rushed to pick up the gloves and balls and placed them inside the box.

Kogure only smiled at her, his eyes twinkling from behind those round frames of his glasses. He picked up the box and turned to Yasu and the others. "I'll accompany her to her locker room first"

Hikaru now turned red. She tried getting the box from Kogure but he insisted on helping her out instead. He's too perfect… she thought. He then escorted her out of the locker room and they walked through the hallway. While Kogure carried the box, Hikaru held a couple of bats to lighten the load. She was red the whole time.

"So how long have you been playing baseball?"

"Ah? S-since I was eleven. It's only been four years" Hikaru couldn't speak straight when answering him. This was the first time she stammered and felt shy talking to a guy.

"Sorry for being rude but I should have introduced myself. It's not good to talk to strangers" He smiled. "I'm Kiminobu Kogure as you might have heard Yasu call me earlier" He would have offered to shake her hand but he was carrying the box.

Kogure was the first guy Hikaru had ever had a crush on, before she realized who truly was for her…

"Hi-Hikaru I-zu-mi" she replied. Can't even answer him straight?

"Izumi? You don't happen to know Ayako, do you?"

He knows Ayako? Of course he does! Oneechan's the manager of the basketball team. Do'aho…

"Y-yeah. She's actually, uhm, she's my si-sister"

"Hah?!" Kogure stopped in his tracks. He wasn't the first to be shocked upon hearing that Ayako and Hikaru were sisters.

Of course, most of the people's first impression would never have been that they were sisters. They looked different in many ways. Ayako had long, curly hair while Hikaru and smooth, short hair. Ayako was just about the average height of a Japanese woman while Hikaru was taller than most. Ayako was also, er, 'fuller' in figure than Hikaru, who was proud with her smaller chest. Although both were tomboyish, Ayako was more capable of being lady-like than Hikaru. If she didn't wear Shohoku's girls uniform, and faced the back, Hikaru might have been mistaken as a young boy with slender build.

"I know, most people are surprised when they find out that we're sisters"

Before Kogure could reply, they had arrived in front of the girls' locker room. The door was opened by one of Hikaru's teammates. "Hikaru, where've you been? Kogure-kun?" the senior was surprised to see the basketball player in front of their locker room.

"Hai, gomen Sakura-san. I got lost"

"She accidentally walked inside our changing room and slipped on our wet floor. Our apologies"

Despite the unpleasant heat between the baseball team and basketball team (the captain for the men's team had always openly mocked Akagi and the basketball team for being in the bottom half of Kanagawa), Kogure was friendly towards everyone. Hikaru had yet much to learn about the two teams' history.

Kogure didn't need to enter the changing room to put the equipment down. Hikaru and Sakura were very able to do it themselves. After bidding them goodbye, Kogure left. Sakura noticed the freshman's blushing face and started teasing her.

she has a crush on our beloved Megane-kun! hahaha xD