Fa-zaah and good day to you all! This chapter will shock you (I hope). That's all I'm saying; I don't want to spoil anything. Well, all I have left to say is: Tamagotchies rock, and, drink more water!

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You may read now.

Yours truly, Ai-W.R does a monkey dance

Strike 4- Foul Play

When Shina woke up that morning, Lil Slugger was gone. She really didn't feel like going to school, but had to. After all, she did promise to help Minoru in the computer room.

-Flashback-

(Last week)

Minoru, Shina, and Yumi were walking to class when Minoru said, "Hey, did you know that we're getting new computers next week?"

Yumi's eyes widened, "For real? Wow, finally! The ones we have now are too slow."

"Yeah, and Rikuno-sensai (the computer teacher) said that she'll need help unpacking them. Would you guys like to help too? I think we'll get extra credit for it."

"Sure, I'll help! When is it?" asked Shina.

"Next Monday; come early too, like at 7:20."

"Count me out, then" Yumi interjected, "You guys know that I'm never on time for anything."

Shina smiled, "Heh, you're right…Well, I'll go. I promise!"

"Thanks" Minoru replied.

-End flashback-

Shina groaned; she didn't feel like going to school today, but didn't want to disappoint Minoru. She finished getting dressed, skipped breakfast and waited at the bus stop. "I hope Keitaro can get a car soon" she thought. She decided to listen to some music to kill time. A couple of minutes passed and the bus arrived. Shina was going to sit next to Minoru like she always did, but he wasn't there. Shrugging and thinking, "Oh well", she sat in an empty seat. Shina yawned and leaned her head against the window. The bus had hit a sudden bump that made Shina's head knock hard against the glass. "Owch!" she exclaimed, rubbing the side of her forehead. At that point, she figured it'd be best if she just sat up straight. She looked over at her reflection. She had her hair hanging today; it was short and brown, stopping at the top of her shoulders. There were bangs that covered her forehead which were parted down the middle. Her hair used to be really long. It would stop just above her buttocks; however, she had cut it all off when her older sister, Mina, was murdered. It wasn't Lil Slugger's doing, but her own husband. He was an alcoholic and Mina would always fuss at him about it. One evening, when they got into an argument, he stabbed her to death. The husband was arrested of course…Shina's sister had long hair as well. The constant, "You look just like Mina" bothered her for some time, so she cut off her hair because she didn't want to be reminded of her sister's death…Shina was still staring at her reflection while thinking of the past…"You have your father's eyes. Those beautiful brown eyes" she could hear her mother's voice echo in her head. Shina glared at her mirror image then looked away. She stared at her hands resting in her lap. She felt herself choking up; her eyes getting a bit watery. Thinking of her dead family members made her depressed. Her thoughts shifted to

Mr.Todai, Nariko, and Asahi…and how they were killed…by Lil Slugger. She despised all three of them, and yet, she felt the pain of their families. The must feel the agony of losing a loved one as well. Shina wondered why she didn't feel this way before…It was probably because she was glad that those people wouldn't bother her anymore…

The bus stopped in front of Hyomura High School and Shina got off. As she watched the bus drive away, she imagined her worries float away as well. She sniffed, and forced a smile onto her face as she wiped a tear from her eye. She was going to be cheerful today; she had to, for her friends' sake. But as Shina neared the double doors, she noticed four police cars in the parking lot. Once she walked inside, she saw a police officer standing by the main staircase. Feeling a bit nervous, she approached him.

"Excuse me, officer; but could you tell me what's going on?"

The bearded man said in a thick voice, "Your principal has asked us to come and patrol the school, since Little Slugger has appeared here. Each floor in this building has three officers standing in the hallways to keep an eye on things. So there's nothing to worry about…He's not getting away this time."

"Ahh…!" Shina said astounded, "They really beefed up security…Well, thanks for the assistance!"

"You're quite welcome."

Shina smiled then went on her way up to the third floor. She turned right and walked down the hallway, when she noticed that there were no police here; just some brown-haired guy in a grayish-blue suit…Who seemed to be lost.

"Excuse me, sir. Are you looking for the office?" she asked.

"Um, no. Actually I'm just checking things out" he replied.

"Oh, alright then…Bye!" Shina ran off to room 301, the computer room.

"She's fast" the man muttered as he watched her figure grow smaller.

Shina entered the room smiling, but frowned when she didn't see Minoru, or the teacher. All she saw was the big computer boxes clustered in a corner of the room. "Where is he?...That boy! Tells me to come early and he's not even here yet! Baka…" Shina sat in a desk and waited. She heard footsteps coming her way, but didn't pay any mind. She checked the clock on her tamagotchi; it was 7:27 A.M. Someone knocked on the opened door and said, "Ah, young lady?" it was a male's voice. Shina stretched her neck out and saw the same guy in the suit standing there. He looked a bit concerned, "You shouldn't be up here by yourself. It's dangerous you know."

"I'm not too worried…Although there aren't any police up here…"

"Hm? But, I'm a detective."

"Oh? Oh my, I'm sorry, I didn't know!" Shina covered her mouth in surprise.

The young man chuckled, "That's okay" he walked over, and held up his badge. "I'm Detective Mitsuhiro Maniwa" he held out his hand.

Shina stood up and shook his hand, "I'm Shina Yamamoto; pleased to meet you!"

"My partner and I came along to check the premises with the police. We've been tracking Little Slugger since he first appeared."

"I see, it must be a tough job."

"Yes, it is. But we stick with it…But in any case; even though the police are around, it'd be better if you had a friend accompany you. It's safer that way."

"Well, I was supposed to meet one of my friends now, but he's not here yet. Did you see him by any chance? He has black hair with a short pony-tail and green eyes."

"No, sorry."

"Hm, we were going to meet right here. Guess he got caught up in something."

"I'll wait with you, if you like."

"Oh, but I don't want to be any trouble-"

"It's no trouble" said Maniwa as he took his seat.

Shina blushed a bit, a little embarrassed and nervous. She sat down and thanked him.

"I was wondering…" Shina began, facing Maniwa, "If you guys capture Lil Slugger, what will happen to him?"

Maniwa blinked as if he thought that was a stupid question, "Well, he will be put in jail."

"Oh, I thought he might be executed or something…Then again, I doubt he's even a living person."

"Hm, that's true. Have you come in contact with him?"

Shina didn't answer; she was blankly staring at Detective Maniwa's shoes.

"Yamamoto-san?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm sorry!" she looked up.

"Is something on your mind?"

"Ah-no, no it's just…You're shoes are the same ones my dad used to wear…"

"Oh…"

"Now, what were you saying?"

"Uh, did you ever come in contact with Little Slugger?"

"Um, w-well…Yes, but he's never attacked me."

"So how often have you seen him?"

"Not sure; he just appears sometimes. B-but it's not anything real important; I've just seen him around" she lied.

Maniwa eyed her for a moment, then smiled. "Okay then, well I'll be right back. I have to check something."

"Okay."

Maniwa went down the left hallway and met up with Detective Ikari. "Hey, I was talking with one of the students just now, and I think she knows something about Little Slugger." Ikari faced him, "Yeah? What makes you think so?"

"She seemed to be hiding some information while I was asking her a few questions. She didn't make eye contact and she twiddled her fingers a bit."

"Hmm, yeah, sounds a bit suspicious. Let's interrogate her." He pulled out a pack of cigarettes.

"You know you're not allowed to smoke inside of the school, right?"

Ikari glanced at the pack and then stuffed it back in his pants pocket. "Oh, right."

Back in the computer room, Shina was still wondering were Minoru was. "I hope he's not sick" she thought. "Hey" came a boy's voice. Shina jumped out of her seat. "Lil Slugger!" she said in a hushed voice. He glided over to her. "How'd you get past the police?"

"I have my ways. But right now, you need to come with me," he grabbed her by the wrist.

"But, the police!..."

"Just trust me."

Shina blinked, "Okay, let's go." She held onto his hand as he led her across the hall. They went around a corner and Lil Slugger turned to her, "Those damn detectives were coming to ask you about me, look." He pointed to the room they had just left. Maniwa and Ikari were taken aback when they found that Shina was gone. "Now, meet me in the courtyard." "Okay" Shina took a few steps, stopped and glanced over her shoulder. He was gone. "How does he do that?" she asked herself. She went down the side staircase all the way to the first floor. As she turned a corner to go through the back door, she bumped into Minoru.

"Shina-chan! What's the hurry?"

"Ah-there you are! Look, I've got to be somewhere right now. So, I'll meet you in the computer room later, okay? I'll try not to be too long, so we can get our job done before class starts. Ja!"

"Umm…okay…" said Minoru as he watched her push open the door and walk through. Shina arrived in the courtyard, looking for any sign of the ominous Bat Boy. She spotted him sitting on a bench, staring downward. As she sat next to him, she asked, "Don't you ever take that cap off?" Shina suddenly realized what a dumb question that was, but she didn't know what else to say. But Lil Slugger responded none the less.

"If I did, then my brains would spill out" he joked, smiling at her.

Shina smiled back with a raised eyebrow. "So, why'd you want to meet here?"

"Just so we could be alone."

"Oh…" she felt herself blushing. "Ah-about last night; did you really mean what you said?"

"Yes. I love you" he answered quite quickly, but was serious.

"Well, I feel the same way about you but…I have to know; what do you like about me?"

"I find you attractive, in many ways. You're beautiful for one thing. And your pain, guilt, hopelessness, suffering…it beckons me to save you…your soul. It's so tempting. But I've decided that instead of removing your memories, I could just remove the people who are causing your pain." Lil Slugger spoke without any expression. Or perhaps he was, it's just that his eyes were in shadows, so it was hard to tell.

"But, some of my memories aren't caused by people. Sometimes bad things just happen. Like my dad for example; he died in a car accident, not by the hands of a human."

"So what are you saying? Do you want me to hit you? So you'll forget everything? Forget me?"

"Umm…"

"WELL!" Lil Slugger shouted. He rose to his feet, "Did you ever stop to think about how I'd feel about it! I'm getting sick of your bullshit! You should be grateful instead of correcting me! I know what I'm doing, this is my job! You have to do your part and learn to move on!" His body started to grow large and muscular. His eyes were wide and the pupils were dilated; while his teeth grew sharp and long. Shina backed away in fright. "What's wrong? Are you afraid of me now!" he asked in a deep, evil voice. "Please, don't hurt me! I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" Shina cried. She found herself backed into a brick wall. Lil Slugger whacked his bat hard on the wall, inches away from the girl's head. There was a dent left in the wall from the impact. He turned back to normal and lowered his bat. "You foolish girl…" he muttered. He moved his face so close to Shina's that their noses almost touched. "Just trust me. I know what I'm doing…You don't want to end up like the others, do you?" Shina could hardly speak after what she just saw. Lil Slugger gently caressed her cheek, smiling. "Want me to kiss you?" Shina's heart leaped into her throat as he moved closer. She could feel his body pressing against hers…Their lips barely touched, then someone shouted, "HEY! WHAT'RE YOU DOING!" Lil Slugger spun around; Shina peeked out from behind him. "Minoru-kun!" Minoru ran over and shoved Lil Slugger away from his friend. "Stay away from her!" he yelled.

"What're you doing here?" Shina questioned.

"You were acting weird earlier, so I followed you."

Lil Slugger made a, "Hmph" and swung his baseball bat at Minoru; he dodged it. He continued to swing violently, laughing as he did so. Minoru still managed to evade the blows. "Stop it! Lil, Slugger, stop!" Shina screamed. Minoru broke off into a run, Lil Slugger chased after him. Shina followed as well. The sound of footsteps and rollerblades striking the pavement echoed throughout the courtyard. "Shina-chan, inform the police!" said Minoru. He stopped running and turned to fight. Lil Slugger swung at him, but Minoru ducked and clipped him. Lil Slugger quickly rose to his feet and kept swinging. Minoru backed away, eventually bumping into a pole. Just as the Bat Boy was about to clobber him, Minoru sidestepped and the pole was smashed. Minoru tackled Lil Slugger to the ground and grabbed hold of the bat. He punched Lil Slugger in the face, but when he tried it a second time, Lil Slugger had bit his hand. Shina ran over to try and break up the fight, she wrapped her arms around Minoru's body to try and pull him off. "Stop this, both of you!" she begged. Minoru pushed her off and she fell on her butt. Lil Slugger shoved Minoru off of him and raised the bat. Before Minoru could react, he had swung the bat and… "Oooooh! And he hits it out of the park!" said a sports announcer on the police officer's handheld television. He sat on the main staircase inside the school, watching a baseball game…Everything seemed to slow down…Minoru's body fell on top of Shina. He had a gash in his head; blood started to seep out of it. Shina trembled as her friend lay there motionless in her lap…

End of Strike 4

Eeek! I hope you all won't hate me for this; but the next chapter will be the last. quickly runs away and hides on Prince Zuko's ship before an angry mob breaks out

Please review! Thanks!