Ohaiyou! I'm back again! I hope this chapter is long enough. x) Oh, just to inform you: the foreign six, or the special six, or simply the six refers to the six players from Tousei, Musashino Daichi and Mihoshi that Nishiura asked help from.

Keep tabs on them. Watch them closely. Observe their actions.

Those were their sole tasks here, and not any other. Momoe's instructions rang through their minds as the few regulars of Tousei, Musashino Daichi and Mihoshi made their way towards her house - to which address had been given at the 'briefing' a week ago. It really was surprising though. They practically lived their lives for baseball, yet are asked to take on such a sudden and wild job. Of course, it wasn't something they could resist - the idea of scouring for the truth was simply scrumptious. And so, here they were, on the way to Momoe's home, where she had invited all players of the four teams for an early Christmas party.

All players.

And only so few of them knew about it.

Haruna walked out of the train, only to bump straight into Kyouhei. "Yo," he greeted. His reserve catcher simply nodded. They walked together, joining up with friends from other teams. After about a half hour, they found themselves ringing the doorbell of Momoe's home. "Ah, so you boys're here!" she greeted cheerfully, jabbing a button on the gate controller. It slid open, allowing them entrance. She opened the door wider and closed it silently after they had all entered. "Presents are over there," she said, gesturing a to pile of brightly-coloured boxes wrapped in different styles and some adorned with a ribbon or two.

After leaving their presents with the bunch, they made their way to an empty room. Nakazawa's jaw dropped - it was huge. Enough to accommodate the Nishiura Nine and a heck of a lot more. A table lined with a variety of food and drinks sat in a corner, while music entertained the rather bored players. The special six's eyes flitted over to Izumi and Mizutani, chatting vividly with each other. Oh, yes. This was going to be one afternoon to remember. "So, up for lunch?" Momoe asked everyone. "Then after that, we'll engage in snowball war!"

"Snowball war?" Kanou asked.

"Yeah."

"Shouldn't it be snowball fight?" Kazuki enquired.

"No. Since there are so many people here today, it's war!"

"Ah, whatever! Can we just eat? I'm starving!" Tajima complained.

Without hesitation, they helped themselves to food. And throughout lunch, they found themselves listening to some of the most peculiar conversations ever among their own cliques. And now, the Nishiura Nine and their hired six were focusing on their main tasks here today.

"Soooooo..." Haruna trailed off.

"Ah, yeah! Izumi-san, Mizutani-san," Kanou picked up.

"Yes?" they replied in unison.

"How're things going?" Junta asked innocently.

"I'm not sure I know what you're talking about," Izumi said, confused.

"I mean... Between you two," Tousei's pitcher teased.

The two's teammates were trying extremely hard not to laugh or pester them with more questions. Izumi and Mizutani blinked at each other; the left fielder said: "There's absolutely nothing between us, except being teammates. We're not in any association together or anything, and we're in different classes."

Their sheer density made the six want to slap themselves.

"Right, now just pick a present which you think looks pretty or what not. All of them have no names on them, so it's sorta like Secret Santa. If you spot your present being opened by somebody, don't you go around telling that it's yours. Keep it to yourself, until all presents have been opened," Momoe explained.

Author's Note: Full present statistics at the end of this chapter! 3

Izumi bit his lip really hard as he saw Mizutani picking up a box wrapped in midnight blue, adorned with translucent silver ribbon. That's mine! he thought, in somewhat alarm. He shrugged it off with considerable effort, instead opening his own choice of box. It was wrapped in a pearly white with forest green ribbon.

After all presents had been opened and wrapping paper literally concealed the floor, each took turns to point out his or her box in that mess of boxes. When it was young Mizutani's turn, the six and the rest of Nishiura tuned in. "That's mine," he said in a voice of feigned calm, finger pointed directly at the box in Izumi's hands. Inside, he wanted to hit himself. Why the heck are you so nervous? It's just Izumi! He's been my teammate for close to a year, so what? What the hell is wrong with you, Mizutani Fumiki?

"And you, Izumi?" Momoe asked.

"Mizutani's having it," the center fielder replied.

The 'foreign' six whistled.

"What?" the duo asked, cluelessly.

"SNOWBALL WAR!" Momoe shrieked, as she hurled a snowball at young Shin'oka. In return, she was pelted by a laughing Haruna. The fight went on, for the good part of two hours. Pitchers had the advantage, leaving catchers to rely on their instinct and familiarity with their counterparts upon being targeted. Basemen and most others had been trained to run, and they zigzagged with relative ease to avoid a comsiderable number of snowballs.

Izumi was running, fast. There was no way he was going to let Tajima hit him again. He had been hit not once, not twice, not thrice but seven times. That was it.

And with that, he slipped.

A hand grabbed his own and jerked him backwards.

Moments later, Izumi Kosuke found himself on top of Mizutani Fumiki.

Their faces just inches apart. Their eyes just inches apart. Their lips just inches apart.

Cliffhanger! xD

I promised a list of who got who's presents halfway through the story, right? Here ya go! Recipients on the left, givers on the right. Not meant to promote any pairings. -cough-Mizutani and Izumi-cough- x3

Abe: Kazuki
Mihashi: Oda
Hanai: Nakazawa
Izumi: Mizutani
Mizutani: Izumi
Oki: Shimazaki
Nishihiro: Kyouhei
Momoe: Kanou
Shin'oka: Sakaeguchi
Tajima: Abe
Sakaeguchi: Kaguyama
Suyama: Shino'oka
Kanou: Mihashi
Oda: Hanai
Hatake: Oki
Kyouhei: Momoe
Haruna: Tajima
Kaguyama: Hatake
Kazuki: Suyama
Junta: Haruna
Nakazawa: Junta
Shimazaki: Nishihiro