Ah, so the creature called high school is nearly behind me until September once more. On Thursday, I can begin to concentrate on things like finding a job, writing fanfiction and non-fanfiction, watching more anime and baseball, reading as much manga as possible, doodling fandoodles and trying to swim my way out of the abyss that is the One Piece fandom. Right now I'm trying to get find how to get away from the Zoro/Sanji whirlpool. Male slashing can be so... I don't know... compellingly strange. Strange in a way that I still go and read the stuff however. Nehszriah is not homophobic by any means. It just makes me laugh. I think they're OOC. I do not own Slayers, Major League Baseball, Portland, the New York Yankees (nor do I want to own those guys) or time warps.

Ni-juu-yon

The Annoying Time Warping Plot Device! You Beat Them Stankees!

Zelgadis leaned back in his chair, looking at the clock ticking ominously on the wall. The day had gone by so slowly, he could barely stand it. It felt like the mid-afternoon, though it was only reaching nine-thirty. He wanted to just go home, but he couldn't just pick up and leave.

Damn it, he growled to himself. I never should have made the hours so early. I'm going to wear everyone out. He stared at the ceiling in frustration. Grandfather, what do I do? You're such a bastard for just leaving me with all this… leaving me with… Suddenly, Amelia sneezed in the next room, interrupting Zelgadis's thoughts for the better. That's it… A sly grin crept across his face. Today's the day of the Yankees game! How could I have forgotten! He bolted up from his chair and out the door.

"Amelia, I'll be back as soon as I can," he said as he rushed out into the hall. He did not see the look on her perplexed face as he disappeared from sight or the casual shrug she gave when she gained no further information.

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Tick... tick... tick, went the clock on the wall, seemingly becoming louder with every passing second. Amelia looked over at it sleepily and gave out a large yawn. Having not slept well the previous night, she was exhausted even though it was only ten in the morning. Lina and Kurt had kept her up all night, simply because today they were going to face off against the New York Yankees and if all went well, the Slayers would set the record for being the fastest expansion team to go to the World Series, smashing the Arizona Diamondback's breakneck pace of four years. The black-haired woman rested her head on her desk in order to get some more rest. There were no immediate tasks that she had to do since she was waiting for Zelgadis to return. Now was the time for sleep. Good old-fashioned sleep...

"Amelia!" Zelgadis shouted. Amelia jolted up to see that she had been sleeping for an hour and that her boss was standing right in front of her desk.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Mr. Zelgadis," she yawned. "What is it you would like me to do?"

"Wake up for one," he answered, "then come with me. I've decided to close up the office for the day."

"At eleven in the morning?"

"You got it. I sent everyone else home already."

"Already?"

"Yeah, now come on or we're going to be late," Zelgadis ordered. Amelia grabbed her purse and jacket and followed Zelgadis out of the office silently.

Going to be late? she thought. What could we possibly be late to?

It was then when Amelia noticed that Zelgadis was not dressed in the business suit he usually donned while at the office, but in a regular-seeming beige t-shirt and a pair of blue jeans.

Wait a second...! Since when was he able to change? He was dressed up when I saw him earlier this morning. Oh well. He is most likely going to just take me to eat at that diner again and then let me go home.

"Did you want me to drop you off at your apartment so that you can change?" Zelgadis asked, turning his head so that he could see Amelia's face.

"Ummm... why?" she asked, her face quickly becoming warm with blood.

"I thought work clothes were a bit uncomfortable for just wandering around in, don't you think?"

This is getting strange. Since when does he take me out and not at least attempt to justify it as 'business'? Maybe he isn't feeling all to well…

"Sure Mr. Zelgadis," she said politely.

So Zelgadis drove Amelia over to her apartment and within ten minutes later, Amelia was back in the vehicle wearing blue jeans and an emerald sweater. Once she hopped back in the car, Zelgadis began to drive away in complete silence.

"Where are we going?" Amelia asked, trying to break the stoic air. "It would be a little less nerve-wracking if I knew where we were headed off to."

"You'll see when we get there," Zelgadis said sarcastically. Amelia sighed and rested her head against the window. She had a feeling that she was not going to get a straight answer out of him unless she pried it out with a crowbar.

"Hey Amelia, you like baseball, right?"

What kind of a question is that? Doesn't he remember that I'm friends with Miss Lina and Mr. Kurt? What about the fact that I have my office calendar marked with all the games and have a little green-and-white cat plushie on my computer monitor that I bought on Opening Day?

"Sure I do Mr. Zelgadis. Why do you ask?"

"I was just double-checking."

"Double checking what?"

"Making sure that this afternoon is not going to be a waste. After all, it is not every day that we get to see our team face off against the Yankees in the playoffs."

"What? We're going to the Jones Soda Stadium?"

"Yeah, where else would the game be played? In a sandlot? The alley behind our office building?"

"I thought you didn't like baseball…"

"So…?"

"You're making no sense. I think you made more sense when I first began training for when you left for the Australian business trip and I barely thought you made sense then," Amelia sighed.

"Ah, I knew you were just faking it," Zelgadis laughed. Zelgadis laughed. He actually said something with a laugh that was not his ironically flat usual. On top of that, he said he was taking her to a baseball game. Taking her out to a sporting event that he absolutely loathed? Something was up. She could feel it.

"What's up with you Mr. Zelgadis? You aren't acting like yourself," Amelia said.

"I think I've had a change of heart, or at least want to try to see things from a different perspective for a change."

"That's not like you."

"I know. That's why it's so unexpected, right?"

"Do you need to lie down?"

"No. I feel fine. Now please stop criticizing me or this might become a kidnapping situation."

"What!" Amelia gasped. Zelgadis laughed at his own horrible joke. Amelia sweatdropped at the very fact he was laughing.

Greeeat… she moaned. He's lost it.

The car ride stayed silent until Zelgadis pulled up alongside the stadium. He hung the season parking voucher in the window and got out. He noticed that Amelia did not get out of the vehicle, instead staring off at the dashboard in deep thought.

"Amelia, snap out of it," Zelgadis said, opening up his door and looking in. "Our tickets are going to be sold if we don't hurry up. They're only going to hold them for about ten more minutes."

"Uhhh… okay," Amelia said, taking off her seatbelt and getting out of the car to follow Zelgadis.

"Now come on," he said, closing his car door and walking away towards the stadium entrance.

"What made you change your mind about going to a baseball game Mr. Zelgadis? I thought you hated the sport," Amelia asked, unable to contain herself any longer.

"Like I said, I had a change of heart. Besides, what kind of owner would I be if I did not attend a single game since acquiring the team?"

"That makes sense for you, but what about me? Why am I here?"

"Well, from what I remember, a baseball game is no fun to go to unless there is someone to enjoy it with, right? Now stay here for a second." Zelgadis left Amelia over by the gate as he went to the ticket booth to retrive their tickets.

Wow. Mr. Zelgadis sure seems happier than when we first met, Amelia thought, leaning up against the wall. I wonder why he needs to get tickets. I always thought owners got a skybox to themselves. Then again, I really shouldn't complain; he is taking me to a playoff game. Against the Yankees on top of that! What luck I'm having.

"Here Amelia," Zelgadis said, holding out a ticket. Amelia snapped out of her thoughtful daze and took the piece of thin cardboard.

Centerfield? she thought as she looked at where the seats were. Not where I expected…

"Is something wrong Amelia?" Zelgadis asked. The raven-haired woman looked up and realized that she did not exactly look happy.

"Oh, no, everything's fine," she said. "I just never expected that you would really buy some seats in the stands."

"I don't feel like sitting in that stupid box," Zelgadis said, looking up at the precipitous stadium walls. "It makes me think of my grandfather."

"Oh," Amelia said softly.

"Besides, don't you want to be able to see your friends closer up as they play?" he added. "Any seat in the stands beats the view from the skybox no matter what game it is."

"That would be fun!" Amelia said as she followed Zelgadis up to the ticket-scanner at the gate. There, they were able to get in and wander around for a while before locating their seats. Once said seats were located, however, Amelia and Zelgadis opted to wander around the ballpark some more, not wanting to sit down with an hour before the game.

"Wow, I'm surprised that there isn't more people here," Zelgadis wondered out loud as he and Amelia leaned up against a rail that overlooked right field. There was a thin speckling of people wandering around the park, which usually is the normal amount of people that show up an hour before a baseball game.

"Ah, it's not that uncommon," Amelia giggled. "I've been to my fair share of games and there are times where I've gotten here three hours before. The real crowd comes about fifteen minutes before the game."

"How many games have you been to?"

"I can't remember. At least a couple of series, here and away… maybe about close to thirty-six. I know it's more than thirty though."

"That's crazy," Zelgadis said with a light-hearted laugh. "I would have never been able to sit through them all."

"Well, Miss Lina and Mr. Kurt have been able to keep me company for a good portion of the time I have been in ballparks this summer," Amelia smiled.

"You really like their company, don't you?"

"Yeah. Miss Lina will always be my friend. I remember when we were little and I had found a copy of some fantasy book; I wanted to be a warrior of justice and she wanted to be a powerful sorceress of black magic. We would have "magic duels" and chase around my old dog Warren until my sister came around and smacked us out of it. Lina can never stop being my friend, whether she likes it or not."

"What about Kurt?" he asked, hoping he did not sound nosy.

"Oh, he's fun too," Amelia laughed. "Mr. Kurt is a very silly guy. He's a really good friend too. He swore to be like a brother to Miss Lina. That reminds me, I have to apologize to him for kicking him out of my apartment."

"Was that when I was over a while ago?"

"Yes. I have no clue what came over me," she blushed. "I don't think I've been that mean since… well, I was mad at Miss Lina towards the beginning of the summer. We had a very loud fight then, but we got over it quickly."

"Then I'll remind you later," Zelgadis said, looking down at the grounds crew as they began to take the protective covering off the dusty diamond and prepare it for the encroaching game.

It's a shame I really don't have anyone like that, he mused. Amelia has two people who she can always count on, no matter what. I lost mine. Damn it all… He looked over at Amelia to see that she too was watching the grounds crew. A faint smile had made its way across her lips as she gazed at the people milling about from far away. The smile made Zelgadis produce one of his own, though his grin was more thin and stoic.

I wonder, Zelgadis thought, looking away from Amelia for a moment. Warily, he shift just a little closer to Amelia. It was not that much, but enough for his shoulder to gently brush up against her's. I wonder...

Then, suddenly, a rather unexpected thing happened. Amelia quickly grabbed first his hand, then his arm, bringing their bodies close.

"Look Mr. Zelgadis!" she giggled, pointing up at the sky. There were some old military airplanes from an air show that decided to fly overhead and the roar of their engines rattled everything nearby. "Wow! Isn't that nice of them to do that?"

Zelgadis just nodded his head and agreed, looking up at the sky. He watched as the airplanes flew off into the distance, leaving their pure white jet stream as a reminder in the clear blue sky.

"Amelia," he said after a while. The girl still clinging to him looked up. "Let's go sit down."

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"Isn't this fun Mr. Zelgadis?" Amelia asked. Zelgadis paused in eating his hot dog and glanced over at her casually.

"Huhmf?" he muttered, showing that he had not been paying any attention. He could barely say any more though, for his mouth was full of hot dog.

"Isn't this fun?"

"Yeah," Zelgadis replied after swallowing his food. "This is definitely and interesting game." It was the bottom of the eighth inning; two outs and Sam Vilsis was on base, first base to be exact. Kurt was up to bat, being the winning run if he made it all the way over to home plate.

Pitch. Ball.

"Wow, that was really high," Zelgadis observed out loud.

"Inside too. Did you see him dodge it?" Amelia added.

"Yeah. It was really close to him. I'm surprised that he wasn't hit." Zelgadis watched in silence as the pitcher threw another high, inside ball.

I can't believe how much Amelia gets into a ball game. She's amazingly analytical. Then again, she is good friends with Lina Inverse and Kurt Fuchs. Something had to of rubbed off on her.

It was then that the crowd suddenly erupted into a ferocious rage. The Yankees pitcher had beamed Kurt in the head with the ball. Sunny the Umpire was preparing herself to throw out the pitcher when the manager came out and began to argue with her, only receiving a stone-faced reply from her and hateful shouts from the people in the stands.

"Come on! Throw those bastards out!" Amelia screamed, jumping up to her feet and joining in the round of jeers. "That was low and unjust of you dirty rotten assholes!"

"Amelia?" Zelgadis half-gasped. "What's the matter with you?" He was shocked to hear Amelia use such harsh language.

"What'd you say!" Amelia growled, shooting Zelgadis a fiery glare. Zelgadis shrunk back, embarrassed for invoking her wrath. "Throw out those horrible bastards and their unjust ways!"

Now that sounds a little more like the Amelia I know.

The crowd, as well as Amelia, kept up the awful insults and taunting until Sunny pointed calmly at the pitcher, then the manager, then over her shoulder to signal their ejection. Cheers resounded throughout the stadium as both men were forced to retire for the afternoon. An even bigger roar was heard when none other than Lina came up to bat.

"Yeah Mr. Liam! Hit it out of the park!" Amelia screamed. "You teach those damn Stankees a lesson!"

"Amelia, please stop that," Zelgadis pleaded.

"I cannot do that Mr. Zelgadis!" Amelia said, staring out towards the batter's box. "This has turned into an all-out war against those unjust men! I cannot just sit by and not let Mr. Liam know that I support him all the way!"

Psychopath, how can Lina hear her from all the way over there? Zelgadis thought. It's just ludicrous.

Ludicrous or not, on the first pitch thrown, Lina smacked the ball all the way over the right field wall, ushering in three more runs. She jumped up and down as she paraded around the bases, the fans in the stands bursting in celebration.

Then the third out came, quickly and unnoticed. The Yankees attempted to rally in the ninth, but were shot down by a strikeout, a grounder to first and a pop fly to… Kurt in center field.

Things To Know

OOC Zelgadis: I sort of wrote this while "learning" about half-lives. I figured this bout of his is character development. At least I feel that he's OOC. Don't know it that's right or not.

The Fly-Over: See, there is an air base about ten or so miles from my house and there are airplanes flying all over the place on some days. Small children and the easily amused like to watch these things.

Stankees: Yes, this is the term my family and I use for the New York Yankees. I'm not very fond of the team. Then again, I bet there aren't many out there truly fond of the Detroit Tigers, right?