Author's Notes: I suck at naming OC's so here's another name change. It's now Sakai Risa, final.

CH 4: Team Interviews - Hanai

Coach Momoe was in quite a bad mood after her interview, made apparent by her yelling out, "Hanai, you're up!" and jerking her head at the girl in the stands; her long black braids whipped angrily about her.

A few of the players expressed disappointment, especially Tajima, that they were not called next, but on second thought, it made perfect sense since Hanai was the team captain. The team had unanimously elected him because of his intelligence, dependability and dedication. Someone like Abe was sure to piss off reporters, and none of the others were terribly bright or articulate enough under pressure.

"Right!" said Hanai in acknowledgement of his coach's order. He, too, felt a bit nervous about his first interview, especially in light of Momoe's sudden change in mood, but he also felt quite honored and was determined to do his best to represent himself and the team in a good light.

"Hanai Azusa, captain, number nine," he said, bowing before the girl who looked much smaller and younger than he did. The girl stared up at him; her brown eyes narrowed and squinted. For some reason, Hanai felt like saluting and giving out his student ID number.

"I know who you are," she finally said. "Take a seat." She nodded at the space next to her. "First, I'd just like to confirm some information I collected through my research. I have here that you were also the captain of your middle school team."

"Yes." Hanai nodded. "It's a great honor to be selected as captain by my current teammates."

"Oh? You mean the coach didn't select you? You were elected by your teammates? Well, that says a lot about how your coach runs things. I'm assuming it wasn't just a popularity contest."

"I…er…it was unanimous…I think," Hanai replied modestly, not sure what the reporter was implying.

"You have any siblings?" It was an abrupt change of topic.

"Yeah, uh, I have two younger sisters, twins."

"You take care of them? Help your parents out?"

"Yes, of course."

"Twins are a handful aren't they?"

Hanai nodded vigorously in agreement, recalling all the times he had to separate them from fighting and all the times they teamed up against him. "You wouldn't believe all the things I've had to put up with. Those two…" The term demon spawn was on the tip of his tongue, but Hanai was afraid if that made it into the papers and his parents found out…

"So that's the kind of experience that makes you a responsible captain," the reporter concluded, jotting down various notes.

"I've never thought of it that way, but yeah, I guess that's right." It was true, mediating between the twins, just like he had to do with his team members when they had disagreements. Being patient and helping them with homework, just like keeping his cool with Mihashi and helping some of the guys pass English. He was a big brother to nine kids!

"All right, so you guys beat Tosei. Did you really think you could do it going in?"

"We trained really hard with that intention. You can't win if you think you're going to lose."

The reporter nodded in approval at his standard type answer. "For a new team of first year students to beat last season's first place team is pretty amazing. You guys are stars in the making."

Hanai blushed slightly at the unexpected compliment and rubbed the back of his neck in embarrassment. "Ah, well, we were pretty lucky. Can't say we're stars until we win a few more times."

"You bat fifth. Was that your usual lineup position?"

"No, I used to back fourth."

"The cleanup position? Hmm, does it bother you that you were demoted?"

"It wasn't a demotion!" Hanai said defensively. "We got to pick our positions."

"Really? The coach allowed you to choose your lineup positions? Base on what?"

"Well, uh, I scored second in the field of vision test. Tajima chose to bat fourth, so I ended up batting fifth."

"So, Tajima is better than you."

"No! Yes…I mean... I'm not sure how to answer that." Was this how all reporters worked? Tripping you up so you'd say something controversial? But she was just from the high school paper. Hanai could feel the heat in his face and ears. He didn't want anyone to know how he fell about Tajima, how inferior he felt. Was it so obvious that a stranger to the team could pick up his feelings so easily? He looked down at his clenched hands. Unlike Momoe, he did not have the confidence to just walk away.

'Hah, gotcha. Your Achilles' heel. Pride comes before a fall,' Risa thought in satisfaction. But then she saw that the tall boy in front of her did not exhibit the self-assuredness she had come to expect from a jock. He was not angry at her questions, but rather embarrassed at his own weakness. She retracted her claws.

The girl's officious tone suddenly turned soft. "Actually, no answer is best. You should say, 'It doesn't matter. It's all for the good of the team.' Pat answers like that are best in difficult situations." She smiled at him.

"I…I understand." He nodded at her and straightened his posture. It seemed she meant to test their interview skills, good preparation for the future. He would handle it with aplomb.

"Okay, as captain, can you give me your impression of the players?"

Hanai carefully and diplomatically described the players, leaving out their idiosyncrasies and annoying habits. It was pretty much as Momoe had described so the reporter did not bother to write much down.

"So you're all one big happy family." It was a rhetorical question. Risa could tell from Hanai's hesitation that they were not. 'Gotcha!' She just had to dig deeper and push the right buttons to find something interesting. "Please send in your Ace pitcher next," she ordered.

Author's Notes: I've seen the anime and read all scanlations and know only a little beyond that. If anyone can fill me in or would like to discuss Oofuti, please contact me!