Fastball
A/N: OK. I would put this big explanation of how the timeline works, but I'll just let you all figure it out yourselves. Self-explanatory, anyways.
Disclaimer: There is a reason why I quit the legal field two years ago.
Chapter One: First Base
Nghi
Moving was a hard thing for a child, especially when you're such a popular one, too. It would take a serious miracle and then some to persuade your parents to breach a contract, file a lawsuit against the people who had bought the house, file another lawsuit against the people who had sold the house, accept the loss of thousands of money invested in the U-Haul moving company, face a serious opposition towards the superior in the division of office your parents worked in, and face a legal action where you would be forced off the land.
But it was 1991, and she was eleven years old; she believed she was grown-up to make her own decisions on important matters (Peanut butter or jelly?), and she believed she had a voice in the actions decided around the house. "Dear Mother," she began primly, "I do not think this is a wise thing to do."
"And why is that, dear?" the older woman asked, bemused. "What is not a wise thing to do?"
Kagome would have erupted into a massive hissy fit, had it not been for her rigorous lessons with Grandpa Higurashi on filial piety; instead, she opted for sighing loudly. "We've been over this at least five hundred times, Mother." She drummed her finger impatiently against the side of the car. "Let me tell you the reasons again."
"All right, dear." She was smart enough to recognize when Mother Higurashi was humoring her daughter for a giggle fit. It was unfunny and uncool, and she half-heartedly wished she was a spoiled little brat living in a mansion, like her American friend Chelsea. But this family wasn't so overabundant with the income, so she hoped that drilling the reasons into her mother's head one more time would do the trick, and maybe Mother would have enough common sense to turn the car around and hitch it back to Tokyo. Ah, Tokyo… Kagome was beginning to miss the busy streetlights and neon signs and the stale smell of gasoline burns in the air already….
"Reason number one- I am away from my friends. And I don't want to make new ones, either; I'm perfectly happy with my old friends, and although I am capable of finding people to hang out with at recess, it's just not the same as my Tokyo friends." She saw Mother Higurashi nod sagely in the mirror, and this was new. Finally- aggressive repetition, not aggressive response, was finally getting somewhere!
"Reason number two- our dogs. Remember Sailor Moon and Tuxedo Mask? They were the most adorable dogs ever, and we could not take them with us to the new house. We had to give them away because we were moving! I miss the feel of Sailor Moon's paws on my cheeks, and Tuxedo Mask's slobber all over my hands. How could we give them away to our neighbors?" It was injustice, and Kagome remembered the way those two pairs of eyes stared sadly at her as Mrs. Aso shooed them into her apartment. She had vowed then and there to argue on their behalf and- someday- rescue them from Mrs. Aso's evil, stale cat food.
Mother tipped her head, as if she was deciding whether to turn around; there was a mocking gleam in her eyes, and Kagome felt she still had a chance to dissuade her parent from committing the biggest mistake in her life. "And the last reason why we should turn this car around is because of Osaka's craptastic little league team."
"Kagome!" Mother Higurashi scolded for the dirty language, and she slouched in her seat, quietly sulking. Whatever little doubt in the back of her mother's head about the move was gone because she just had to let her mouth slip a little bit.
Grandpa Higurashi chuckled at his granddaughter, thoroughly amused until his daughter-in-law whipped her head to the side. "Father, I don't think it's funny," she retorted, and he stopped. "Of course, of course," he agreed. "It was hilarious."
"Father!" Mother was distressed at his lax behavior, and Kagome would have played along; but as the present situation stood, he was on the track of totaling their only chance of returning to sweet and safe Tokyo. "Don't encourage her mouth. Honestly, I don't know where she gets these vile words from…."
"But you must admit, Ayumi, that Kagome has a point," Grandpa said helpfully. "Osaka's team is horrible- how will she ever bud her career if she works with minimum potential? Tokyo would have been a better place for her to develop her skills."
"And I don't want that to happen at all," Ayumi replied sourly- she gave a small stomp with her heels to emphasize the power behind the meaning. The conversation was growing way out of Kagome's depth, and she wisely chose to stay quiet. "She's only eleven years old; better now than ever, right?"
Grandpa sighed and rubbed his hands slowly. "But the girl can't stay in the quiet suburban life forever; once she's had a taste of foreign, she's going to want to come back for more. In the end, she will come back to Tokyo. It is inevitable."
Mother gripped the edge of the steering wheel. "Well, I don't want her to stray too far from her culture and heritage; with today, things are spinning way out of control. She needs stability in her life, and living in Tokyo was anything but. Kagome was also learning some new, unnecessary words in the households." She sent a pointed look his way.
"But look at her potential for athleticism. She's a fast runner, she's active for her age, and she can wield a bat like her grandpa."
"Don't be so proud, Father. That's why I don't want to be there; Kagome is a girl, not a boy. This is just a minor phase the girl is going through. She got her stubbornness from your son, I'm sure."
Grandpa made a strangled noise, and Mother interrupted before he could start. "When Souta gets older, you can teach him; we've a boy in the family, too. So why not teach him your greatest skills and leave Kagome be?"
"I might not be alive," he muttered, but the defiant mumble was overrode by Kagome's shrill voice. "What do you mean by Grandpa leaving me alone?"
Ayumi looked in the rearview mirror for the umpteenth time today, exhausted from everything. "This is an adult conversation, and you must remember filial piety-"
"Forget filial piety!" she ignored the prompt, repulsive gasp. "Why can't Grandpa teach me his tricks? Why do you have to make decisions for me every time he talks to me?"
"Young lady, you watch your mouth-"
But Kagome was too excited to notice a fair warning. "Why are you always against me and baseball? If this is only a 'phase', then why have I been so into it for the past five years? Why have I been collecting baseball cards? Why have I been practicing everyday, even long after Dad died and you bid off all his collections? Why-"
"Kagome Higurashi, you shut your fresh, little mouth or I will stop the car, pull you out, and give you the hardest smack in your life!" Ayumi roared from the front seat, and her daughter realized she had gone too far. But she had made her point across, and her mother did not answer the question for the rest of the ride.
Slouching against the seat, Kagome avoided looking at her mother; Mrs. Ayumi 'Mother' Higurashi was the most infuriating person she had ever met, and she softly practiced meditation breathing to calm her nerves. Grandpa was silent now; he didn't dare start any conversation with either Higurashi women. This was the problem with the family; whether married or blood-related, all Higurashi females require a temper or stubbornness restraints. He resisted the urge to say what he was thinking out loud.
"Anyways, it's too late to turn back for Tokyo; we're here at the new house, and that's that," Mother said finally but resolutely before turning into a black driveway.
Kagome didn't speak; sometimes being an eleven year old was hard. You can't make your own decisions (I said I didn't want peanut butter or jelly.), and no one pays attention to what you have to say. I hate her, I hate her, I hate her, she thought vehemently, and when Mother took the car keys out of the engine, Kagome grabbed her purple duffel bag and bolted out of the door. "Kagome! Kagome! Where are you going? Kagome!"
She ignored her mother's frantic shouts and continued running; she was far too fast for the old woman, and her tangled mess of a hair whipped behind her as she ran blindly anywhere. There was no time to explore or marvel at her first house; if she stayed around her mother for one more moment, she would explode and do something drastic, like 'accidentally' hit a ball into a window pane.
I can't believe Mom would go against what I wanted, she thought before her foot hit a rock jutted up from beneath the soil. Kagome swayed for a few moments, caught between tripping and regaining balance, and then screamed as she began to topple down the sloping hill. Why wasn't I watching where I was going?
Luckily, the hard, dirt floor was there to catch her, and she unceremoniously landed on her head at the base of the hill. "Ow…." Great, now Mother would have a field day about her ruined blouse and smudged face.
Wait… when was normal grass dirt mahogany-colored? And when were there white lines going from one square to another…?
"Stupid, get out of the way," a rough voice ordered, and she quickly righted herself up to see where she had arrived.
Just a few minutes away from her home… was a baseball field.
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