So to some, it may appear that I am a feminist... and know what I am doing. I am definitively not the former and well as for the latter, let's just say that this is how I practice and polish my writing technique. Also, Gourry shall appear in due time. I miss him too. Yayness! My story actually starts to pick up! -dances- You have been warned: there are many OC names that are going to crazily pop up out of nowhere in this chapter that will eventually have some actual role in the story. Please pay attention. I do not own Slayers, Major League Baseball, Portland, Jones Soda, the Detroit Tigers, or most other things I write about because I am a simply fanfiction junkie.
Shi
What's His Problem? Baseball's Hidden Wizard!
Zelgadis walked into the empty skybox suite that just a month previous was the place where Lina Inverse and Kurt Fuchs signed their contracts. It was April 3rd and the christening home game of the virgin ballfield was upon the Slayers. Jones Soda Stadium was just hours away from its first Major League baseball game and the scene was one of pure pandemonium. Spectators already were filing into the ballfield. The grilles tactfully scattered throughout the premises had sizeable lines of customers wanting to buy hotdogs and soda pop. Merchandise stands displayed their wares: jerseys and memorabilia from the fledgling Portland Slayers. The big stars of the day was not to be any of the visiting Detroit Tigers, but two rookies from somewhere in the state of Oregon, Kurt Fuchs and Liam Inverse. Zelgadis did not know that Liam was the alias of a woman, but he really could have cared less. The whole thought of his grandfather owning a professional baseball team made his stomach churn. The man was not in the best of health and as Zelgadis walked across the dark room and over to the window, he knew that the man was wandering around the stadium, actually more like wheeling himself around the stadium, making what Zelgadis figured to be an absolute fool out of the Graywords name. Rezzo had not kept his promise to rest up and get better and at night now, Zelgadis could hear violent coughing fits come from his grandfather's bedroom. With his health being compromised, Zelgadis wondered if Rezzo would even make it to the All-Star Game in July.
Why am I even here? Zelgadis asked himself as he stared out of the window and onto the field below him. He rested his arm on the glass and then his brow on his forearm so that he had a stable view of the multitude of new followers the Slayers had. Grandfather is the one who is crazy about baseball, not me. I should be back at the book-binding shop or at the office. I should be anywhere except here.
"There you are. I have been looking all over the place for you Zelgadis dear," a female voice sweetly called out. Slowly, Zelgadis turned around to see exactly the woman he expected. It was his girlfriend Frances Schwartz. She had on a very professional white blouse with a pair of pinstripe slacks and high-heeled shoes that clicked with the tile flooring as she walked. Her medium length auburn hair was brought up in a tight knot at the back of her skull, only a few elegant strands of hair able to escape and fall into her face and rest on her sleek, blue-framed eyeglasses. The oversized handbag slung over her left shoulder was filled to the brim with important papers regarding the baseball team and bookbinding business that Zelgadis almost ran nowadays. She gave the impression of a secretary and a wife at the same time. Without a sound, Zelgadis looked back out the large picture window, keeping his back to his girlfriend.
"Why were you looking for me here?" Zelgadis moaned as he heard Frances's heels click across the floor as she came closer to him. "Isn't the ballpark the last place you would ever look?"
"Of course, because the last place I look is always where I find you," she said with a laugh. "I have some paperwork here from the office. I thought you might get bored at the ball game today."
"Who ever said that I was staying?" Zelgadis replied with such a serious monotone, Frances was almost certain that this was his way of cursing his last living relative to hell. She gently put her hand on his shoulder and smiled.
"Don't be so sour," she said comfortingly. Zelgadis turned his head slightly to look at her with bland eyes. "You should be happy about this. The team is bound to make money and help along the business. Besides, it makes your grandfather happy."
"I want him to be happy, but healthy as well," Zelgadis sighed, moving over to the long executive table and sitting in one of the large swivel chairs placed by it. He casually put up his feet on the tabletop and leaned back comfortably. "The old man went off to Spring Training without my consent, or his doctor's consent for that matter, and he still has a bad cough from something that was down there. His enthusiasm with this team is going to kill him."
"You worry too much," Frances scolded lightly.
"You don't worry enough."
"Excuse me for being the optimistic one here."
Zelgadis just gave a grunting "humph" as a reply as he leaned back in the chair and turned away from Frances's scowl.
Ever since his grandfather volunteered to take this team on, Zelgadis has been really grouchy, Frances thought. All he cares about is keeping his grandfather and the family business from dying. It really sucks, but everything else is second-place in his mind. Even me. She put her bag down on the table and tried to look into Zelgadis's eyes. Any time she even got close, the chimera went and faced the other direction until finally she decided to sit down right in his lap, taking his moment of surprise to land a quick kiss on his lips.
"What did I say about my personal space when we're in public?" Zelgadis muttered, looking straight up at the ceiling with blush rushing to his face.
"You cannot perceive what personal space is when we're alone," Frances slyly interjected. "Aren't we alone at this very moment?"
"No," he said, looking her right in the eye.
"There is no one else in the room."
"That's different than when we're just lounging around home. Someone could walk in on us."
"Your grandfather could always walk in on us at your place..." Frances began to gently remove the hair that was in Zelgadis's eyes and tried to put it behind his ear. Zelgadis just brushed her hand away and allowed the wiry hair to fall back in place.
"We can hear him coming from miles away. I'm talking about what if someone else walks in on us."
"What? It's not like we are doing anything... well... private..." Her eyes began to wander from Zelgadis's face, down lower to the buttons on his shirt that she wanted to undo badly.
"Just get off me."
"Fine, have it your way then," Frances snipped. She stood up hastily, grabbed her large bag and briskly walked towards the door. "I'll see you tomorrow at work."
"I thought we had a date tonight," Zelgadis said casually.
"Something came up," Frances answered in a cold tone as she exited the room. Raising an eyebrow, Zelgadis looked at the empty doorway in partial amusement.
I give her twenty minutes, then she'll come crying back to me, he thought as he took the pen that Frances dropped out of her bag and put it in his jacket pocket. She always does. It's as if I'm some sort of addictive...
Zelgadis looked out of the window once more to view the panoramic scenery of the ballfield. Sighing with discontent, he could tell that it was going to be a very long day.
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"Miss Lina! Won't you come out of there already?" Amelia whispered loudly through the tiny crack in the door. "You have to be in the locker room in twenty minutes!"
"Hold on, will ya?" Lina barked, struggling with her girdle in the dark confines of the broom cupboard. The said clothing article was supposed to be necessary in order to prevent other players from knowing she was a girl by flattening out what little chest she already had. At least, that is what Xellos said it would do. Mostly, it just made it difficult for Lina to breathe, therefore forcing her to learn to adjust to her lack of air while doing things like... playing baseball for instance.
Oh, I hate this damn thing, she thought angrily. When I get my chance, that purple-haired freak is going right through the backstop. Once Lina finally finished with the daunting task of putting on the girdle, she easily slipped on the rest of her uniform.
"Liam Inverse has arrived!" Lina announced as she burst out of the broom cupboard, making Amelia jump.
"Oh! Miss Lina!" the raven-haired young woman exclaimed once she calmed down. "Please don't do that! You scared me!" She looked over at her best friend, who was grinning devilishly. Lina's flaming red hair was cut off, leaving what was left just long enough to curl slightly and tickle her ears and brow. Her outfit was mainly a soft, creamy color that had an emerald trim and on the back of the shirt, there was her last name and the number 79 in the same brilliant green as the outline of her uniform. A green-and-cream hat adorned her head, clashing horribly with the remainder of her hair. She had her gym bag slung over her shoulder and tossed it into Amelia's arms for safe keeping.
"Well Amelia, how do you like it?" Lina laughed as she spun around in place. "Does it suit me?"
"Of course I like it Miss Lina. It suits you perfectly," Amelia sighed enviously. Then she went a smidgeon to Lina and whispered. "Should I call you 'Mr. Liam' while we're here or does the staff know about...?"
"Hardly anyone knows I'm a girl," Lina whispered back. "Only Old Man Graywords, that creep Metallium and Kurt know besides the two of us."
"So you went throughout every bit of Spring Training without anyone figuring... it out?"
"That's right!" Lina smirked, winking slyly. "Not a single one of them realized that I am a female. It was so awesome! I absolutely love it! Men can be such flaming idiots sometimes."
"Mr. Liam!" Amelia snarled.
"What?"
"You have ten minutes."
"Jeezum crowe!" Lina exclaimed, rushing off in the direction of the locker room. "Thanks Amelia! See you after the game! Please watch my stuff for me!"
"Sure thing! Good luck Mis... er... Mr. Liam!" Amelia called down the hall. Lina gave her a quick smile as she turned the corner, making Amelia feel much better about Lina's Major League debut.
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"You're late Inverse," someone snickered as Lina ran into the locker room. Luckily, her teammates had all changed into their own uniforms and Lina did not have to go through the embarrassment of seeing any of them change.
"Ah, why don't you can it Polous," Lina snapped back at her verbal assailant. The man Lina yelled at, the starting second baseman Gary Polous, just laughed it off with a short chuckle. He shook his head with an entertained look on his face, for he liked the fact that he got to tease the young rookie every single day.
"Let it go, simply let it go," Kurt reminded Lina as she sat down next to him as he put tar on the handle of his favorite wooden bat. Lina looked over into his laughing hazel eyes and scoffed.
"You try being the smallest member of the team for a few days and see how they'll treat you!" Lina replied, a blush of anger smearing across her face.
Kurt knew what Lina really meant. She wanted to say: "You try being the only female for a while and see what happens!" He knew Lina better. They were virtually inseparable during Spring Training, the rest of the team having cast them off as the "Sandlot Pair". This made them the misfits of the team, even though they were no younger than the majority of the team. Both players had proven their worth and were named the shortstop and center fielder of the starting lineup, yet they still were treated like small children that needed nothing but excessive teasing.
"Hey Liam," the young blond relief pitcher named Daniel White said with a grin, clearly bored and in severe need of entertainment. "Didn't I see you and some girl in the hallway earlier?"
"Huh?" Lina wasn't even listening.
"Did I see you in the hall with a girl earlier? You two were over by a closet if I'm not mistaken."
"Oh, you mean Amelia?" Lina asked.
"Her name's Amelia then..." Daniel said with a smirk. "So how serious are you and this Amelia?"
"Like it's any of your business," Lina huffed. She tried to act as masculine as possible, but Daniel just laughed at her stiff reply.
"You sound just like my older sister!" he laughed. Lina hopped up and stood on the wooden bench, grabbing Daniel by the collar.
"Did I ever tell you how I had to brawl my way into this damned ball club?" she snarled. "Funny story actually. It went something like this..." She drew back her clenched fist and aimed right for the bridge of Daniel's nose.
"Don't do it!" Kurt yelled as he dropped his bat and held back Lina's arm, forcing it right into the locker that bared her false name. Lina released her grip on Daniel's uniform and sneered at him as he straightened out the area she had crumpled in her fist.
"I suggest that you calm yourself Mr. Inverse," a familiarly bemused voice said. The team looked over to the entrance to see their manager, Xellos Metallium, dressed in his own cream-and-emerald uniform. He stepped into the main of the room and opened one purple eye to look at Lina. "We don't want you suspended on the first day of the season for misconduct, do we now?"
"No sir," Lina muttered in spite as she relaxed her arm and gave up prospect of injuring Daniel.
"That's good then," Xellos replied with glee. "Now, I have to admit to you guys, every one of you here, needs to be on your toes. We know that our opponents have somewhat of an... unreliable record of sorts. This means that we cannot let our guard down."
"...but they're only the Tigers," noted Aaron Reeds, the absent-minded professor that played first base. "Detroit isn't all that scary."
"That's what you think," Xellos said. "One second everything will be going swimmingly, then someone slips up on accident, or they make a really good play; then what? Nerves get shaken and edges lost... it can happen with any team, even the Tigers."
Oh boy, Lina thought as Xellos rambled on. She rested her elbow on her knee so that she could prop up her forehead in a frustrated fashion. I hope he shuts up before the National Anthem at least...
Things To Know
Why Veer Off Into Zelga-Land?: I am eventually going to have to follow about -counts on fingers- three story lines at the least. Just setting the stage for Zel and his whole spiel.
Who In The Nine Hells Is Frances?: My spiffily-there OC of utter shipment-doomage that had about three names before this one. Those who have read Olympians At Heart know of my tendency to pair up our favorite ickle chimera with a childhood friend.
Sandlot Pair: This means that the rest of Lina and Kurt's teammates think of them as children. (Children play on sandlot and gravel diamonds a lot of the time.) Of course, this pisses Lina off, but she can't do anything too drastic or she'll blow her cover and the team will find out she's female... which would be bad.
Reader's... OC Senses... Tingling...: Yes, many, many OCs in this fiction, which is expected with the huge epic-sized proportion of the story. Be sure to pay attention to them, please! I don't want anyone confused when I throw out a name randomly.
This Thing Is Jumping Over Time A Whole Lot... What's Up?: Yes. I know that I really should have included the Spring Training, but since I would get frustrated beyond belief (besides the fact that I know virtually nothing about the damn thing), I just decided to throw the idea against a wall and let it die. The idea was amazingly submissive, it was scary.