The sky was shining in hues of bright orange, and the wind was warm. It was the middle of summer, and the unbearable heat started to fade along with the sun. Waiting in front of the baseball clubroom was standing a little girl. Her jet black hair formed messy curls and was tickling her face in the wind. She was waiting there for her brother to finish practice so they could go home together. Leaned against the railing, her mind was wandering up in the clouds. She was enjoying the quietness of the surroundings.
But then the peaceful silence was interrupted. Loud screams echoed from behind the building.

"Who the hell do you think you are, saying things like that to your upperclassmen?!"

She put her bag on the ground and slowly made her way toward the source of the disturbance.

"I'm just telling the truth. If you continue like this, it will only drag the team down!"
Another voice echoed.

As she was slowly approaching the corner of the building, her heart started pounding. She wasn't scared it was excitement and curiosity making her feel that way. The black-haired girl just wanted to know what was going on out of her sight. She finally peeped around the old wall.

"It's time to teach this little brat some manners!"
A group of older boys from the baseball team was surrounding someone.

"On the field, we're all equal. It doesn't matter whether I'm younger or not."

From up close, she finally recognized the voice.

"What the hell are you saying, shorty?!"

Were they hitting him? She couldn't let them do that.
She took a deep breath, gathered all her resolve, and stepped out of her hiding.

"What's going on here?"
The girl asked. Her voice was shaking.

"Who the hell... Kai-chan?"
One of the boys turned to the girl.
"What are you doing here?"

"I heard screams, so I was a bit worried."
She gathered all the innocence there can be in a 9-year-old's face.

"It's nothing to be worried about. We were just... um... we were talking about yesterday's game."
The boy said in a way that made his lie obvious, even for a child as young as Kai was.

"Anyway, have you guys seen big brother Shujin or Kazuya around? It's getting late, and we are supposed to go home together."
The girl asked, glancing towards the group of boys. She couldn't see either of the two.

"Thinking of it, the captain had some things to go through with the coach. So he said, you shouldn't wait for him."
One of the other guys spoke.
"We should be heading back now too."
The group suddenly started moving, and each of the boys passed Kai without any further conversation.

She was used to that. The boys saw her as more of a nuisance than anything else. Honestly, she liked to stick her nose into everyone else's business. But as the captain's little sister, she was practically untouchable.

"Kazuya! Are you okay?"

As all the older boys left, only one child stayed behind. She kneeled down next to the boy, who was dusting his clothes.

"It's nothing. I just tripped."

The girl sent him an unbelieving look, but she didn't question his statement.

"Oh gosh, your face is bleeding."
Her eyes glowed with worry.

"Come on, Kaai! It's just a scratch."
The boy rubbed his cheek with his hand. He sighed as he looked down at the blood on his palm.

"Let me at least clean it for you, so it won' leave a scar."
The girl leaped from the ground, not waiting for his response.

The boy stood up, sweeping the residue of mud and grass from his outfit. He hissed every time his hands discovered a fresh bruise on his body.

"Ouch, that stings."
The boy flinched when she applied the antiseptics.

"Don't move, Kazu. I'm almost done."
She firmly put a Band-Aid over the scratch on his face.

"Now it's all done. Let's get going. It's getting dark."
The girl packed her first aid kit back into her sports bag, and they left the school grounds together.