I'm sorry, Work and school crept up on me again. forgive me _"
Hope this cheese puff of a chapter makes up for it.
Thanks for reading and remember to leave a review!
Anime4us
Chapter 25:
You were toying with the cuffs of your long-sleeved shirt as both you and Seido's captain took the bus towards the city. Miyuki had stated that the food in the inner city was more expensive but that they'd have more variety to choose from. Your eyes snapped up when Miyuki reached over you to press the 'please stop' button on the railing.
"Nervous?" The captain asked while raising a brow.
You turned away, feeling the blush creeping up your neck.
"No, you just startled me." You grumbled half-heartedly.
"What are you thinking about?" The captain mused as the bus came to a stop.
You stood before shuffling down the aisle in the middle to get out of the bus. What were you thinking of? You had definitely been zoning out, but you knew for a fact that Miyuki hadn't been very conversational either. What did one do on dates? This was your first! Of course, you weren't going to be telling Satan that, he'd blow that out of proportion just for something to laugh about.
"Aki." Miyuki called before you realized how fast you were walking down the sidewalk. "Are you ok?" The captain asked with a slight frown.
"Yea! I'm fine!" You said a little too energetically.
The captain rose his brow but didn't say a word. You pressed your lips together before turning your gaze away from the captain.
"This… Is very new to me…" You murmured, embarrassment pooling in your stomach along with anxiety.
0_0_0_0
Miyuki was staring outside the window as the bus pulled away from Seido. He glanced at Seido's right fielder before turning his attention back towards the scenery that past them by. Why wasn't she talking to him? Had he done something wrong without realizing it? He blinked, watching as the buildings become more and more condensed as the bus brought him closer and closer to the inner city. This aspect of a date was all new to Miyuki. Hell, baseball had always been his number one priority and now here he was bringing Aki, Seido's right fielder, but also a girl acting as a guy, on a restaurant date… What a mouthful. If you'd asked him what he thought of this situation a couple months ago, he would have laughed at you. How had things come to this? Seido's captain shook his head before reaching over Aki and pressing the 'please stop' button on the bus railing. His attention was grabbed when she gasped, eyes darting towards his hand.
"Nervous?" He asked while raising a brow. He watched as she turned away from him, feeling slightly miffed by the action. His attention fell back on her when she spoke up.
"No… You just startled me." She murmured.
Miyuki cocked his head somewhat. She'd zoned out to the point that he'd startled her by trying to press the button to get off the bus?
"What are you thinking about?" the captain asked, curiosity getting the better of him.
Again, she chose to ignore him, favoring focus towards getting off the bus. Miyuki stood up after her, following as she got off the bus. He looked up to see her practically power walking down the street.
What is this idiot doing?
"Aki." Miyuki called, seeing the surprise in her eyes as she turned towards him. Was he wrong in asking her out? Had he just killed what little relationship they had? Nerves clawed at the captain's stomach as her spoke again. "Are you ok?"
"Yea! I'm fine!" Aki practically yelled, causing Miyuki to cock his head once more, a brow raising as if to ask 'really?'. The captain watched as Aki's energy melted away before she looked away from him, and there was that anxiety again, gnawing at his insides. "This… Is very new to me…"
Miyuki's eyes lifted towards Aki's face, registering the blush that covered the right fielder's cheeks. His eyes widened before a laugh escaped his lips.
0_0_0_0
You jumped when you heard the laugh that left the captain's mouth. You clenched your fingers into fists as the captain continued to laugh at you, garnering attention from passerby. Your cheeks continued to darken as he continued. You turned away from him, your lips pressed in an angry scowl.
"If you just wanted to laugh at me, you didn't have to bother taking me out of the dorms." You grumbled before starting to walk away. Your heart jumped when Miyuki grabbed your wrist to stop you in your tracks. He wiped at the tears that had accumulated alongside his laughter, causing your agitation to grow. "Miyuki!" You hissed, anger being fueled by your embarrassment.
"Hold up Slugger, a date takes at least two people." The captain said before smiling. You stared at the captain with complete shock on your face.
"If you think that any girl will go on a date with you after you laughed at them, you're nuts. Looks aren't everything Miyuki." You stated with a sharp glare.
"Aw, you think I'm pretty." Miyuki stated with a small smile.
"I wanna punch you." You stated, anger growing. Your continued to squeeze your fingers, your fists almost shaking with rage. You flinched when the captain reached towards you. He sighed before taking a deep breath and reaching towards you once more. This time, you didn't yank your fists away from him. "What's your game, Miyuki?" You hissed. The captain ignored you in favor of bringing you clenched fist up to chest height. His touch was gentle as he pried your fingers open before focusing his burning gaze on you.
"I wasn't laughing at you." He stated before sighing.
"Are you kiddin-" You started off angrily, only to stop at Miyuki shaking his head.
"To be honest, I was laughing at the situation. The both of us are seriously nervous for this when we should just relax." The captain said before chuckling bemusedly.
Your gaze widened before the realization hit you. You pressed your lips together before looking away, embarrassment claiming your features yet again. Realizing how childish you'd been acting, you almost preferred hiding in your room rather than be out in public right now.
"You're nervous too?" You murmured, almost to yourself more than anything.
"I know it's hard to believe that even I could be affiliated with such mundane feelings, but even Satan gets nervous every now and then." The captain stated before smiling.
"Oh, big words." You stated, a slight smirk tugging at your lips. "I'm so glad that you're acknowledging how satanic you are." You added, letting the smirk take over.
"Ah, there she is." The captain mused as he shoved his hands into his pockets.
"Hm?" You asked while raising a brow.
"Nothing, there's this girl I asked on a date a while ago, but she got lost. I'm just glad she found her way, I was starting to worry."
0_0_0_0
Eventually, the two of you were finally able to decide on somewhere to eat. You happily agreed to eating at a burger joint, your mouth salivating as soon as the smell of the restaurant hit you.
"Guess it's on me, since I owe you eight dollars and all." Miyuki mused as the two of you waited in line to be served.
"I won't say no to free food." You said with a smile.
The two of you were greeted by the cashier before placing your order. Miyuki said he'd wait for the food while you went to grab the sodas. You grabbed the two cups with a smile before making your way towards the soda dispenser. You filled both cups with Coke before capping them and grabbing straws. Miyuki glanced towards you as he grabbed the tray of food. You nodded towards a booth in the back, away from most of the families or groups of teenagers that were hanging out. Miyuki nodded before following you and eventually setting the tray down on the table. You set the drinks down before sliding into one of the seats.
"Fooooood." You stated as you grabbed one of the fries and popped it into your mouth.
"Thanks for grabbing my drink." The captain stated before taking a sip.
"Ah! That's mine!" You called, watching as surprise took over Miyuki features. He'd sat back so quickly, you couldn't help but laugh at the comical display. "I'm kidding, they're both the same." You stated while laughing.
"And you call me satanic." Miyuki murmured while looking away in embarrassment.
"I had to get you back." You decided with a slight shrug. "Thanks for the food." You practically sang before taking a bite of your burger. You were so happy to have food; you hadn't eaten a very big lunch and hadn't eaten in between the meals either. You munched happily as Miyuki sipped on his drink, his attention elsewhere. "I could be wrong," You said, effectively startling him from his daze. "But, I'm pretty sure that you're supposed to converse at least a little bit when on a dinner date."
"How do you know? This is your first date as well." Miyuki grumbled before grabbing a fry.
"That's why I said I could be wrong." You stated with a sage nod.
Miyuki unwrapped his burger before bringing it to his lips.
"So, why haven't you been sleeping lately?" You asked casually before bringing your soda to your lips.
Miyuki's eyes flickered to yours as he chewed before they found something off in the distance that seemed rather enticing.
"Really?" You asked while huffing. "Well, I guess you don't have to tell me, but could you at least talk to somebody. Kuramochi would probably listen to you." You stated before plopping a fry in your mouth.
"What are you so concerned about?" Miyuki asked with a growing smirk.
"That your natural eyeshadow is darker than most girls that walk the streets." You stated with a sigh.
"Natural beauty." Miyuki stated flippantly.
"It's called sleep deprivation." You said while rolling your eyes. "And if you keep it up, you're going to pass out, and that'll suck, especially if it's mid game." You added with a huff.
"You're so huffy." Miyuki stated with a smirk.
"And you're sleep deprived, hard to talk to and super stubborn. I guess we all have our faults. Some more than others." You said pointedly.
"I'm not good with stress." Miyuki said before looking away, a small smile still on his lips.
"I don't anyone is 'good' with stress." You stated while raising a brow.
"Yea, but I mean, I shut down when it's too much. I don't really know how to explain it. When Yuki gave me the captain title, I was pretty sure I was gonna pass out. Now, I'm starting to get a grip on it, but it still gets hard. Everyone looks towards the captain when they need answers, and it's hard, because sometimes I don't have them."
You watched as Miyuki's ears darkened with what you assumed to be embarrassment. You stayed silent until he turned towards you. You nodded as if to encourage him to keep talking.
"I bet you weren't expecting that." Miyuki stated bemusedly.
"Nah, it was pretty much what I was expecting actually." You said before taking a sip of your soda. Miyuki's brows raised in unison before he spoke.
"How so?" Seido's captain asked.
"It's pretty obvious." You stated, chuckling lightly at the slight panic that went through Miyuki's eyes. "To people like me, and Kuramochi, because we actually spend time outside of baseball with you." You added to subdue the growing anxiety that danced in your captain's stomach.
Miyuki brought his burger to his lips again, opting to stay silent.
"You're right, when the team is in need of help, they'll look up to you, but what you seem to be forgetting is that your team is there for you to lean on as well. You also have your vice-captain, Zono and Kuramochi to lean on. Not to mention I'm always around. Nori too if you ask. You don't have to feel like you're drowning. We're here for you just as much as you are for us." You stated with a nod. "Ok, I'm done lecturing you." You then added before sticking your tongue out at the captain. "We should eat before the food gets cold."
You smiled as you brought your burger to your lips, not missing the blush that crept its way up to Miyuki's cheeks.
"You're amazing... You know that?" The captain murmured after finishing his bite.
You smiled before taking a sip of your soda.
"You can be sometimes, too." You stated after finishing the drink.