Seraphic Charm

Summary: She's was an elite that seems to attract a lot of strangers. First danger then Seido's assistant coach, lots and lots of players, her school's rival team's ace but what about Koshien? Fem!Sawamura.

Pairing: Undecided.

Warnings: Alternate universe, OOC, canon similarities, unbelievable pitches, Fem!Sawamura and lots of cliché scenes.

A/N: I managed to update in two weeks! Gah, I'm so proud of myself. Anyway, were all getting there! I'm not taking a couple of months like before. If this goes on then I might be even updating every two weeks or one a month, still not a lot, I know but if I wanted to update faster, I'd have to cut off the chapter. I usually write very long chapters so that you guys will be satisfied but uhh… I want to also update more. Let's just see what I'll be able to do.

Blue Moon - "Btw thanks for explaining. Almost forgot, sorry T_T Did Inashiro know that Eirin's pitching left handed? Or only Mei did? Since he saw her scar? Waiting for your update."

Hmmm… well that's something I'm not supposed to reveal until the next chapter. It's kind of connected as to why Chris wants to see Eirin though. Does Inashiro know that Eirin's left handed? Maybe. Does Mei know since he saw her scar? Maybe. Well one thing's for sure though, he doesn't know that it's caused by baseball. As to the Inashiro question, it'll be revealed on the next chapter. I don't want to spoil anything because it'll ruin the fun.

Guest - 1- "Are you basing this story mostly on the manga or the anime? I'm just curious about the timeline and if you are doing it from the beginning to the end. 2- Are you going to include only major matches (e.g Inashiro or Yakushi) or all of the matches (e.g Ichidai or Akikawa)? 3- Will Fem!Sawamura go through the same serious stuff that the Canon!Sawamura did? Anyway, sorry for rambling lol but I was just a little bit confused about how you are planning the story. I truly enjoyed reading this so thank you for writing awesome stories and I hope you continue to do so."

Am I basing the story on the manga or anime? I'm basing it on the manga since it's easier to follow. I tend to skip a lot of scenes though and add my own. I only follow the main story line like the matches or their training for example so that I don't stray away from the purpose. As for the matches, of course I'm going to include most of them. It's not going to be that descriptive though. Will Fem!Sawamura go through the serious stuff? Of course! Since I want her to be as canon as possible, I'll try to. I'm going to add some of my own though.

Clear Oni-chan - "is eirin having problems with her purpose? cause that seems to be the case."

Good question. She does have problems with her purpose. Notice something? Well I guess I can say this much. Did she mention that she wanted to be the ace of Seido?

Thanks for all the reviews guys~! If you have ideas for uhh… scenes for example please just let me know. I'm sorry if there isn't much MiyuSawa action, I'm still finding a way to make it happen. As to those waiting for the next chapter, please bear with me! I'll try to be as quick as possible. Bye~!

Disclaimer: I do not own Diamond No Ace or any of its characters. This story is purely fan made and no profit has been made.

Chapter Five: Little Red Riding Hood

"Oi! Sawamura, wake up already!" a rather pissed off Kuramochi shouted, shaking the shoulders of Eirin who was still buried in the warmth of her bed. It was already six thirty and school started at seven twenty. With the cafeteria crowded, she wouldn't make it in time for the entrance ceremony if she didn't move now. "You only have fifty minutes left you dumbass!" a rather tired Masuko stood behind him with droopy eyes. He couldn't help it really. They don't know why it was so easy to wake up for baseball practice and so difficult when it came to school. Was there even an explanation for that? —Kataoka's face flashed in front of the third year's eyes before a chill ran down his spine.

Masuko and Kuramochi were already dressed in their uniforms and all that was left was breakfast. Eirin on the other hand, "Nghh… give me another hour to sleep, senpai." Was being so comfortable, curling up to the sheets which by the way isn't hers and is Kuramochi's since she haven't washed hers in weeks. And an hour!? Not even five minutes but an hour!? Masuko could see a tick mark appear on the short stop's forehead before he cracked his knuckles.

"You brat," as if automatically, he held Eirin in his infamous 'Sleeper Hold', a move he copied from the wrestling shows that were displayed so much on television. "Don't be so confident!" he had both of his arms around her neck, cutting off her air supply. The pitcher's eyes shot up, obviously awake as she extended her hands before patting him in surrender. Seriously though, the short stop had so much strength. If she wasn't flexible, how would she have fared against him?

"I'm up! Mochi-senpai, I'm up!" Eirin doesn't really complain when he manhandles her, she's glad to know that he's comfortable enough to be around her. "You could've given me a better morning call," Kuramochi twitched and Masuko was using all his strength to hold him back because, morning call? They were trying to wake her up for ten minutes already!

"Anyway, just hurry up and get ready. I bet the cafeteria is crowded by now,"

Groaning, Eirin immediately got up on her legs, opened her share of the cabinet to get her school uniform while the two headed out for breakfast. She moved like a slug, very slow as she walked towards the girl's bath to wash up and brush her teeth. It wasn't crowded like the guys' considering the fact that girls rarely stayed at the dorm. Heck, is there even another girl in the dorm? The managers' homes were near so it wasn't really necessary for them to dorm so… now that you mention it. Eirin's eyes widened at the sudden realization that she hadn't realized in the three weeks she stayed in Seido.

Putting on her uniform, it felt a bit weird wearing it for the first time. Since kindergarten she was enrolled in Ojou and had worn the school's crest for years so wearing another felt a bit strange. It wasn't a bad feeling though, she was excited to see what was about to come. Seido's female uniform was a caliber for private schools— from the white blouse and blue ribbon with yellow accents to the plaid dark blue skirt with gold streaks. Eirin wore the standard cream cardigan since it was required for the spring.

Walking back to their room to put away her clothes, she gasped when she saw the students exiting out of the cafeteria. Hurriedly, she sprinted towards their room, went back to the canteen and grabbed a tray because Kuramochi-senpai is going to scold her if she's late for the first day of school. Worse, he'll report it to her beloved Chris-senpai and she won't be able to live that down. Well, getting scolded by Chris-senpai than the coach was always a better option but— anyway.

When she arrived at the gymnasium, everyone was already finding seats and making friends. There wasn't a particular seat plan and all that mattered was that you sit with your fellow grade level students. Haruichi, Furuya and Eirin were together since among the other freshmen they only know each other. Well there were also those first years in the team but they're not really close to them.

"Ei-chan, you're wearing the uniform," the younger Kominato pointed out, blushing a bit because Eirin had never looked this prepped before. Usually, her hair was a mess and everything was out of place. It was kind of nice to see her look proper for once. "I-It looks good on you," it was a shy honest compliment but Eirin's eyes were already sparkling. Furuya would have told her to keep quiet if he wasn't dozing off.

"You look cute too as always, Harucchi," and there it was, the infamous nickname she had for him and the bright blinding smile she always had. Some male first years found themselves whispering when she turned to look at her friend and accidentally showed them the side of her face. "Unlike Satoru who's always sleepy," she elbowed the pitcher on his side and his eyes snapped open, glaring at her who stuck her tongue at him childishly.

When the ceremony began and they started to introduce the teachers, Eirin was silently doing fight-o's on her seat when Kataoka and Rei were introduced. The assistant coach must have noticed because of the slight smile she had on her face while Kataoka turned his eyes towards her for a second. Haruichi held on unto Eirin's arm, trying to calm her down because she was active… too active…heck, she was freaking hyper.

"And now for the first year representative speech," the one who gave the speech was usually the one who scored the highest during the entrance exam. Of course, all of the first years have taken it including Haruichi, Furuya and Eirin because Seido's not just for baseball —it also focuses on academic excellence. Being there right now meant that they passed. Last year, they heard that it was Miyuki and Kuramochi's classmate who gave the speech.

"Who do you think it would be, Ei-chan? That person must be pretty amazing," Haruichi sighed because he had always wanted to be an honor student for once. Sure, his grades were good but they were not exceptional. It was just above the average score an athlete who was busy with sports would get. Furuya didn't really look that interested while she seemed to sparkle the very moment he spoke.

"Un, yeah, definitely admirable," everyone in the team knew that she was weak towards compliments. Her focus would be destroyed in an instant if you somehow gave her praise in the middle of a match so most of them avoided doing it. Well for time to time Chris-senpai would tell her that she did well and by then, Eirin was just ready to melt.

"Getting a score of 487 points out of 500—"

Mostly everyone gasped at the number while Kuramochi who was sitting next to Miyuki with the other second years visibly flinched. Both of them got average scores during tests but they were never the studious types. It amazed them how an individual can get such a high score. "Uwaa, that person must be such a nerd—" because there was no way you'd get that kind of score without being very dedicated to your studies and spending all of your time just reading books. Unfortunately, the short stop was cut off and was proved wrong.

"—Sawamura Eirin,"

"What the fuck," the third years glanced at Jun whose face obviously paled in shock.

Everyone clapped their hands while those who actually knew her looked baffled. Haruichi and Furuya looked at her weirdly when she stood up from her seat and walked towards the stage. Did she just become the first year representative without telling them? From afar, Kuramochi's breath hung on air while Miyuki choked on nothing, Kawakami who was also with them looked at the girl in awe. Their classmates threw them concerned but mostly disturbed glances, they all knew that the baseball club members were weird.

The third years gasped when they saw Chris raise his brow at the announcement because that does not just happen. Chris. Does. Not. Show. Emotion. Nor moves his face unless he talks. Well they also didn't know about the fact that he had somehow recovered from his depression this break due to a much unexpected pitcher. Isashiki was shaking on his seat with his hands on the side because kami, he tried so hard not to stand up and question everything. The older Kominato was chuckling under his breath while their captain, Tetsu kept his eyes on the stage.

"W-What the fuck," Isashiki was usually the one who scolded the first years whenever they cursed but currently, he was too out of it himself. And that was the second time of the day already. Chris' prodigy is up on the stage, about to give her speech and they didn't know anything about it. "That… that… Bakamura is—" honestly he was kind of torn at the nickname because 'Bakamura'? Isashiki gulped. 487 points is not a baka's score, dammit.

What.

"Sawamura Eirin? What is she doing up there, Kuramochi?" Miyuki asked the short stop who was also unaware of what was happening. Kuramochi gave him a look for a second because 'Sawamura Eirin'? Since when did Miyuki call her by her full name? "Haha, I just wanted to get her back. I see why she likes calling me by my full name so much," he threw him a peace sign which did not seem so innocent especially if it came from someone like the catcher.

"Other than that, 487 points!?" the girl's roommate looked at the stare warily. "Sawamura who's too focused on baseball got that high of a grade— kyaha, that sneaky little brat!" he grinned under his breath, not minding all the stares they were receiving because Eirin. Sawamura Eirin. Top one baseball addict has gotten the first year representative position.

Kami, what is happening?

"Furuya-kun, did you know about this?" Haruichi asked with a somehow serious voice but the pitcher just shook his head. He knew about her injured arm and her previous lifestyle but… uhh… he wasn't really aware about this. "E-Ei-chan just got the first year representative award," Haruichi smiled while Furuya's eyes were still on the stage, mouth slightly parted.

Eirin stood in front of the podium, glancing at her friends before starting her speech.

Kore ya kono
Yuku mo kaeru mo
Wakarete wa

Shiru mo shiranu mo
Osaka no seki

The speech was usually started with a quote or a poem.

"Ladies and gentlemen, on behalf of all the freshmen, I give you my thanks and greetings—"

All the baseball club members just stared in awe by then.

Eirin sat on her seat which was two desks away from the blackboard. At first she would have fussed about sitting next to the window since that's so shojou manga-ish and she adored that kind of stuff but she's too sad that she's not in the same class as Haruichi and Furuya. Both of her friends were in class B while she's at C because the teachers decided to do so— for who knows what reason. Well there was Haruno, one of the many baseball club managers but her desk was too far away so all she could do for now was cry on her desk.

"H-Harucchi," she called out, exaggerated tears flowing down from her desk to the floor and everyone sweat dropped. It wasn't that she's too shy to socialize or make friends. She's just too worried that no one would be able to relate to the stuff she's often talking about which as usual is about baseball. "Must be fun for Satoru," she imagined the two of them in the same class, talking and comfortable with others already. If only she was also there… Eirin sniffled a bit.

Crang. Bang.

The door was slid opened by their homeroom teacher and everyone stood up and greeted him in uniform order. By the time they were already seated, he had introduced himself and asked the students to also do so. No one really bothered to complain since at their school it was also a habit to introduce themselves at the start of the school year. Eirin slightly slumped back on her seat when the first guy started to introduce himself. It was just simple really. You say your name, previous school and perhaps some interesting things like your birthday or hobbies.

"Hirano Aoi…"

"Aizawa Kurumi,"

"Uetake Kyou,"

"…"

A couple of turns later, it was already her turn. Cheerfully grinning, she stood up her seat and made an energetic salute which made Haruno on the other side of the room giggle, "Sawamura Eirin, yoroshiku!" Everyone clapped just like they did to the others while some of the boys dared to whistle low—left unheard by the oblivious pitcher. "I'm looking forward to being with you guys for the rest of the year," when she smiled the guy in front of her almost hyperventilated, the manager smiled.

"Do you have any questions for Sawamura-san?"

One of the boys raised his hand and asked, "Are you single?" When the female pitcher unconsciously nodded most of the guys cheered. A couple of the girls looked like they admired Eirin since she got the first year representative award and was popular already. Who wouldn't want to be friends with her?

"Do you have any hobbies?"

Now if this was Ojou, she was supposed to say flower arrangement and baking pastries because if she doesn't… extra classes for female etiquette would occur. She remembered the last time she did force herself from saying those things as her hobbies —her friends were trying so hard to hold their laugh during class. "I like baseball and uhh… catching beetles and fishing, its super fun!" well that was an unexpected answer. "I was raised in the countryside so there's really nothing else to do," even if you're rich, if you came from the countryside, you're always from the countryside. And her friends were really outgoing. Yamato was the only spoiled kid she helped recover and actually be human.

One of the girls, gasped before she turned her head to the side and looked out of the window. Eirin blinked… has she seen her before? Before she was allowed to wonder, more questions were already raised.

"Baseball club!?"

"What position do you play? Are you a regular!?"

"Uhh… I play pitcher," she gave a peace sign to the girl who looked very interested. "And I'm not a regular, I'm still in the second string," when she sighed dejectedly, some of her classmates awed before they gave her pats on the back and words of encouragement. "I'm training under Chris-senpai though so I bet that I'd be improving in no time!" her eyes immediately beamed at the name.

"Everyone in the baseball team is full of energy, ne?" the teacher commented and the students giggled. Even Eirin laughed, it was obviously a compliment. "I heard that Sawamura-san is a prodigy at almost everything. I'd have to try my best too," the teacher joked, most of them laughing. It was true anyway. She did get the first year representative award so no one was jealous, she deserved it because she was smart. But prodigy? Were the teachers talking to each other?

"You guys are so troublesome to handle," the students laughed when he shook his head.

A guy with blonde hair, the one sitting in front of her sighed. If she recalled properly, Kanemaru Shinji was his name.

"Don't lump us in with someone like her, sensei. Not everyone's that carefree in the team. Even for a prodigy, she won't make it in the regular position with that attitude," Kanemaru was obviously looking down at her. Eirin turned to look at him, her eyes narrowing at the foul words he was throwing at her. "Why is she even here in Seido anyway? I bet she just joined the baseball club to kill time," her hands clenched, their classmates looking uncomfortable in every second that passed.

"What's with you?" she completely had no idea what was up with this guy. What did she do to him anyway? "Do I know you?" Eirin crossed her arms and raised a brow, something she used when dealing with someone as twisted as Miyuki Kazuya. Well, she thinks that she could handle this well because no one could have a more messed up personality than that catcher tanuki.

"Of course you don't. You're only with the regulars," when their classmates gasped and some of the girls laughed, Eirin could feel her nails digging unto the palm of her hand. Most of them were already starting assumptions and. "And you're always trying to impress," Haruno threw her friend worried glances before the teacher walked between the two and started to scold Kanemaru.

Eirin stared, her eyes unconsciously slitting.

"Wait, isn't she from Ojou? He's right, what is she doing here?"

After school practice had already ended and Kataoka was doing laps around the school, something that he does every now and then. Usually, he would start to run after the curfew in order to make sure that he doesn't interrupt the members' extra practice which most of the regulars do after dinner. It was already late and most of them were probably asleep by now. From school work to extensive hard practice, they were sure to be tired.

"The summer camp starts in July and it's just April, two more months to go and we'll be able to start training," Kataoka muttered under his breath as he inched near the baseball field, the mound covered in fence. "Were just three weeks into competition, I can't let the players be at ease," he was determined to make the regime stricter if he had to. He had also been discussing methods with the assistant coaches for these past few weeks. Ever since they've heard from Eirin how strong Inashiro was, they've been thinking about strategies non-stop.

Bam!

The coach turned his head towards the training grounds. Who would be up till this late?

"Don't lump us in with someone like her, sensei. Not everyone's that carefree in the team. Even for a prodigy, she won't make it in the regular position with that attitude," Kanemaru was obviously looking down at her. Eirin turned to look at him, her eyes narrowing at the foul words he was throwing at her. "Why is she even here in Seido anyway? I bet she just joined the baseball club to kill time," her hands clenched, their classmates looking uncomfortable in every second that passed.

Bam!

Eirin gritted her teeth as she threw a pitch towards the wall. The ball rolled towards the ground as she picked up another from the growing pile beneath her feet. "Acting as if he knew everything!" well her form might not be the best for now since she was only pitching to release her anger. "Obviously he doesn't!" Kataoka didn't react to her words and only watched her struggle with her wind up.

Bam!

The female pitcher huffed and scraped her shoes on the ground.

"Your form is completely erratic and when you try to pitch a fastball, your movements become too wide," she turned around to see the coach with his usual stern expression on. Eirin flinched on her place a bit nervous because one— it's past curfew and no one is allowed to loiter past curfew and two—he definitely heard her complaining out loud. Kami, she's going to get scolded isn't she? "What time do you think it is you idiot? Reckless training can cause your body to break down!" when the coach started to cross his arms and raise his voice, Eirin slightly lowered her head.

"B-Boss! Ahh… no… you've been working hard, coach," she bowed a formal bow and Kataoka sighed. She wasn't listening was she? "I was just uhh… doing some image training," her words contradicted with the balls on the ground so that excuse wasn't really useful at all. The coach started to wonder how she even got out of the room wearing that bright baby blue sweater without Kuramochi or Masuko noticing. She totally stood out in the dark with that color contrasting with her bright cat eyes.

"Y-Yeah, image training," when she scratched the back of her neck and averted her gaze, he immediately caught a glimpse of her taped fingers. Her hands were full of scratches and the ends of her nails were cracked from too much practice. How long has she been doing this for? "Please don't scold me coach! I won't sneak out again! This would be the last time!" she closed her eyes, bowing in front of him. The coach simply stared, looking unaffected by her words so she somehow sweat dropped.

"Last time?" so she had snuck out before?

"When I went to Inashiro and played against the second years… the batter scored a homerun against my pitch," he could see how she somehow clenched her fists. Usually, Eirin wouldn't be the type to be discouraged by this kind of thing. "I managed to somehow get over that but it made me realize that I still have a lot of things to learn," for once she sounded mature, still having that determined look on her face.

"Well that was the reason I started practicing in private but then he happened, damn it! Kanemaru Shinji, just you wait and see!"

Kataoka sighed, removing the towel that hung on his shoulder, "Honestly, what a surprising girl. It looks like she completely forgot that baseball is played by a team." Eirin looked at her in a daze when he started speaking, "In any case, stop pitching recklessly. From now onwards, any voluntary practice will be done with a towel to perform shadow practice. Do you understand? No matter how forceful your throw is, you won't be able to increase the speed of your ball." Her eyes lit up when she finally realized that the coach was teaching her something that he doesn't usually say to members, a personal lesson.

"The crucial factor is the hand that's in the mitt," Kataoka extended his hand as if surveying the air. "To be able to transfer all the force into your fingertips, a soft paw like yourself should perform a wall with your left arm," when he started his wind up, Eirin tried to observe everything that he was doing very carefully. When she started to play baseball, no one taught her how to do so and it was just something she honed throughout matches. Having a teacher show you how it's done was so different and it made her hands clench in excitement.

"Move your weight, your left leg supporting your body. In that way without letting the power escape, gather it first with the wall of your left arm," her gold eyes were sharp, irises slitting like a cat's. "Arch it down like a drawn bow and when the tension is at its limit, turn your body into a vacuum. From the lower half of your body, transfer that energy and—"

Whoosh!

Eirin slightly took a step backwards when she felt the pressure of the wind. Slightly taken aback, she could only gap when Kataoka threw the towel at her as if encouraging her to follow what he just did. She knew that without her left arm, in the high school baseball field she would stand no chance against others. By then she should polish her right handed pitch, hone it to its finest as much as possible.

"Form a wall with my right hand," her thoughts sounded reliable but her body didn't seem so. "Let it fly!" she wasn't really sure where she got that from but when the towel slapped the coach's face, she was sure that she had done something bad. Automatically, she fell on her knees kneeling for forgiveness even before he started scolding her. She's been in this situation dozens of times before. Seeing the expression on the coach's face just screamed terror.

"Let is fly, my sanity," she mentally scolded herself before apologizing in a mantra, "Please forgive me boss. I swear I won't do it again. Please don't ban me from joining practice! I'll do whatever you want! Uhh… I was just… uhh… I'm going to perfect what you taught me!" Kataoka had his arms crossed when he looked at the girl who was worshiping him like he was a yakuza leader. The coach sighed, not really sure what he should do with the girl. He had never encountered a player with that kind of attitude before. Too cheerful, too determined, too clumsy, too dense, too unpredictable— heck, sure Miyuki had a twisted personality but he was uhh… less enthusiastic.

"Sawamura,"

"Hai! Yes! Yes! Yes, what is it, boss?"

"Kuramochi told me that you were close to Sanada, Yakushi High's ace," Eirin tensed at his words before hesitantly nodding, reminding herself to uhh… tell Kuramochi something when he wakes up later. Seriously, kami! Why did he have to tell coach out of all the people in the world!? Does that mean that the others also know? Kami, does that mean Chris-senpai—cue Eirin's puppy-like whimper because she doesn't want her senpai to hate her. "I want you to spy on their team," his voice sounded so serious that it snapped her out of her delusions.

"W-What—Boss, what did you say?"

Seriously… this girl.

"You're going to scout the Yakushi team,"

Eirin found herself standing in front of Yakushi's gate with bated breath. It was Saturday so she wasn't even sure if the baseball team had practice, she was just taking her chance since the boss told her to do so. Also after classes they had to train so she was only free during weekends. Weekends where she was supposed to rest and enjoy her freedom… but coach's orders were absolute so, yeah. Clenching her fists, she gathered all of her self-confidence and entered the school. It was just as wide as Seido, if not, just a little bit bigger in the field area. It would be understandable since they were aiming for Koshien.

"Ehh!? Scout!? Sensei, I'm too obvious!" she pointed unto her face as if indicating herself. Kataoka raised a brow, completely knowing that. Yes, she was too obvious. But she's the most useful one in the bunch when she's in full focus. And she needs time to heal those hands of hers, this was the perfect opportunity. "They'll figure out that I'm spying on them and I'll get in trouble coach, deep trouble. Just send Furuya or something. I wanna practice pitching," she won't risk her education and get kicked out again. Her grandfather would give her an earful if that happened.

"Sawamura, I'm sending you and that's final," he stared at her and their eyes met giving her shivers. Kami, the coach's stare was so intimidating. "I believe that you'd be able to give me all the data we need. You've been a very big help when it came to gathering information about Ojou and Inashiro," her eyes automatically lit up at the compliment and she couldn't help but nod. Well, I guess if the coach trusts her then she shouldn't let him down, right? Right?

Pulling her cap lower to hide the shadow of her eyes, she glanced from the field and towards the mound where the regulars were practicing. The scene looked similar to Seido— the third and second string members were running laps in groups and the regulars were on the mound doing drills. Their coach, Todokori Raizou was on the dug-out, staring at the members who were doing their regimen. It looked like a battlefield, really, with their captain, Yamauchi Yutaka scolding those who slacked off.

Eirin blinked when she saw who were at the nets. They had four pitchers?

"Mishima Yuta, first year, forkball and sinker. Mino Yuuto, third year, curve ball and forkball. Tadokoro Raichi, first year, fast ball, 140 km/h," she made sure to write down every single thing they did along with their personalities since that might help the batter in guessing their pitches. "Sanada Shunpei, second year, inside pitch 140+ km/h, cutter and two seam fastball," Eirin whistled low, amazed that her friend had so much skills. And she's been chatting with him for almost a month already.

"Tadokoro Raichi is an alternate pitcher, position, third baseman," of course they just had to have multi-talented players like Miyuki.

Clang!

The female pitcher gulped, inching away for a bit when the ball hit the fence, "And most of the Yakushi players are good in batting." Well that was a bit unexpected especially from Raichi and Sanada who. "Damn it, how come they're so good at it," her hands clenched the fence as she gritted her teeth out of jealousy. She was never the batting type, she was more of a… bunt… nah, forget about it. Almost all of the balls they hit reached the fence if not near it. Frustrated and envious, she just continued to write on her memo pad. Was this a hidden motive of the coach!? Fire up her determination so she can practice more because she can't bat to save her life!? Because if that's the case it's working, it's working very well.

"Sanada has good ball control," Eirin's eyebrows furrowed when she saw him pitch at the catcher, Watanabe Tetsuya, a third year. "It would be difficult to hit that with his series of pitches," it wasn't like she didn't have faith on her team. It was just that they had four pitchers who were good at both areas. "Let's say that their pitches do not go through us. But when it's our turn to pitch, even if it's Satoru…" the female pitcher flinched a bit when Raichi swung his wooden bat. The wind was cut in half and it was as if she was looking at coach Kataoka.

Swallowing her worries, she gripped on her left shoulder, "Damn it, damn it. First Inashiro then Yakushi, what's up with Tokyo?" Back in junior high she did not have anything to worry about. Now, seeing all of this made her a bit nervous. Can they even do it? Most of the players here looked like they were about to go professional. "It's alright, we still have Tanba-san," no matter how much she tried to adjust her eyes at the scene, she was still baffled at how well they batted. And are they even serious?

"And Yuki-san is better at them when it comes to batting," she added on.

"Eirin nee-chan!" her eyes widened because when she turned around, she was met by a set of very familiar brown eyes that were sparkling. "A-Are you here because you're visiting nii-san? So I was right! You two are dating!" when she jumped, her dress and pigtails also bounced along in bliss. Kami, Eirin forgot that she always tagged along during his practice. Now she's busted. And worse, people would misunderstand.

"Y-Yuka-chan!?" at first she was shocked at how fast her identity was discovered, not that a baseball cap hid much in the first place. She didn't want to act cold but needed to conceal her identity. "W-Who are you, I don't know you," she averted her gaze to avoid suspicion but the young girl just grinned, not entirely convinced since she already saw her face. Damn it! Was this also how her parents felt when she was sometimes being annoyingly right back then?

"Nee-chan, it's alright. No need to get shy. Nii-san would be so happy to see you," she slightly elbowed her on the arm and Eirin could feel her cheeks heat up. "I'm so glad that you two are finally dating, ne?," and let me remind everybody that this child here is in kindergarten, three years old, fluently speaking about love. And why doesn't she stutter!? Most three year olds were supposed to be slow-spoken! What's up with her endless vocabulary!? Seriously, Sanada should buy proper bedtime story books instead of being lazy and replacing them with cheaper shojou manga.

"Yuka-chan, shhhhh!" Eirin bended down in order to meet her at eye level and the younger girl immediately covered her lips, smiling a bit. "And were not dating," she bluntly followed making the girl's expression sink and suddenly turn pale. Big innocent eyes suddenly circled in tears, hands clenched on the hem of her white summer dress and—"Okay, okay, please stop crying," Yuka walked towards her for a hug and she stood up trying to comfort her, not knowing that it would show her identity to the whole world.

Kami, she was such an idiot that she could already hear the faint screams of Kuramochi-senpai going 'Bakamura!' as he covered his face with his hands.

"E-Ei-chan?" from those late night calls and conversations they had over the phone, she knew that the voice belonged to Sanada. He seemed shocked to see her at his school much more with his cousin, though it was not that unexpected since Yuka has this habit of roaming around a lot. "Ehh?" his hands which were once clenched relaxed and a blush covered his cheeks. Eirin also lit up, staring at him with the same redness while Yuka turned back and forth from the two, smiling ear to ear. Kami, she should have expected this to happen. Now she does not have an escape route.

"Uhh," when she placed Yuka back on the ground, she started to walk backwards, one step at a time with carnation still dusted on her cheeks. "Well… uhh… bye," closing her eyes, she braced herself and ran away from the scene with everything she had. For a girl, she ran pretty fast in converse, almost as fast as Kuramochi during that moment. Yuka only cheered when her cousin started to pick up his pace and ran for chase.

"No way, no way, no way," she chanted inside her head, not really sure where she wanted to go. All she knew was that she took random turns and continued to run on unfamiliar streets. "Why in the world did I run away in the first place!?" if she was looking at her own face, she would have noticed how she ran with her face covered in the prettiest shade of pink one would ever see. The bystanders took notice and their heads turned at the girl who seemed like a character who came to life from an anime.

Why was she so embarrassed!?

Why did she run!?

Why does this seem so much like a scene out of a shojou manga, dammit!

Pausing on her tracks, Eirin tried to catch her breath and when she turned around to see that there was no one, good. "Damn it," she mentally cursed followed by other invalid strings of words which would have earned a good one hour lecture from Isashiki-senpai. "I was supposed to spy on them," when she flipped through her notebook, it was filled with information worth of ten to fifteen pages. Sure it was a lot but she really, really, wanted more. Sighing, she looked up only to find the sign of a batting center flashing before her eyes.

Was this fate?

"Batting?" Kami, remind her because it was one of the things she sucked at and needed to improve more. Well it was just nine and it wouldn't hurt right? She can just come back for more information later. Even if she didn't, she already had a lot anyway. Stepping in, she equipped herself with a bat and put coins in the slot. It was then she realized that she was way worse than she thought she was.

Bam!

Okay she did not hit but its fine, it's just the first pitch anyway.

Bam!

She can just try again, right?

Bam!

"…."

Bam!

She was missing a 70 km/h inside pitch. A 70 km/h inside pitch— Kami, don't even talk about it. Her swing was so slow and late it would embarrass the fourth graders batting at the cage next to hers. "What?" her eyebrows knitted with each other, not exactly sure what was wrong with her. The light flashed and the ball showed, she missed by a mile. "What is wrong with me!?" everything that Kanemaru said flashed back and she dramatically gripped her hair, the fourth graders giggling at her.

"Nee-san, you're holding the bat wrong. Too much pressure, relax, relax," one of the kids who was watching her from outside the cage said, pointing at her fingers.

"Ehh?"

"Like I said, Raichi, with the way you're thinking you're not going to do well in matches," his father, Tadokoro Raizou harshly said making his son grit his teeth at him. It's always like this, the father-son combo fighting each other. It happened almost every single day. The members of the team sighed, exasperated. "I'm not going to put you in the starting line-up if you keep that up. Go cool your head first, go run or something and don't come back until you've finally had some sense, you idiot," the regulars gasped. Sure they fought but they never went this far before.

"Where's Sanada when we need him!?"

"I didn't see the face but he ran after a girl… it was a girl… I think,"

"His girlfriend?"

"I think so? Sanada never runs,"

Raichi's eyes dangerously narrowed before he dropped his bat and turned his back at the team, walking away, "Fine then, I'll go run or something! I might as well go to the river and swim so that I'd cool my head faster!" When he got out of the fence, the members looked at each other, slightly torn between two choices— do they stop him? Do they not stop him? They choose not to intervene when the coach gave them glares as if telling them to go back to practice instead. Some of them hesitantly obliged and some scared for their life. The last thing they wanted was the coach multiplying their training by quadruple. Trust me, when that happens, you just want to run for your life but the sad thing is you can't… and you never will.

Walking out of Yakushi with his uniform still on, he went to the place which calms him the most — the batting center in front of the elementary school. They were always open, almost 24 hours since there were a lot of teams in the neighborhood and it was near the main street. "Raichi! You're here, you don't have practice?" the owner greeted him when he went to grab a bat. He was a regular at this place so of course, most of the staff knew him. He's been coming here since he was young.

"The old man scolded me again, told me to cool my head off," he told the owner who was about in his fifties. The guy laughed, seemingly like he was used to it before giving Raichi a light tap on the shoulder as a form of encouragement. "You have any cages left?" the owner nodded, perhaps there was one more left. The others were probably occupied since it was Saturday and the kids from the elementary school liked hanging out here. Walking towards the slots, he was shocked to see a bunch of kids blocking the way, cheering for the girl at the other side of the fence.

"Like I said, nee-san, you're holding the bat wrong! Like this, hold it like this!"

"Nee-san, gambatte!"

"Ahh, the ball's coming! Position! Position!"

Bam!

The kids groaned in defeat when she missed. At least she improved a bit, last time she wasn't able to bat 70 km/hr pitches but now she was at 80, still missing some. But hey, there's improvement. It's good right? Right? "No, it's not good. Wipe that hopeful look on your face nee-san! The batting average for a high school student is supposed to be 110 km/hr!" one of the kids exclaimed pointing at the meter that flashed 80.

"You don't know what I've been through!" Eirin declared, her eyes moving back and forth from the children and machine. "Since junior high, I wasn't able to bat to save my life! I'd be long dead if batting was necessary for living! Damn it, I want to hit a homerun!" she swung her bat when the ball passed and hit the board behind her. The kids looked deflated when she missed again. Raichi blinked, what were they doing?

Bam!

"Nee-san, don't just randomly hold the bat! Keep it light!"

"It's alright! Don't mind! You can do it, nee-san!"

Bam!

"Why does this make me so frustrated?" missing by a ton, the kids looked dejected. She's been at it for almost an hour already and in the six plays she had, she missed more that she actually hit. "Damn it!" she muttered under her breath, getting unto position when she saw the light flash. Of course she also missed that one. Was baseball always this hard? She's been playing the game for years already! Why is this so difficult? For some reason, she suddenly had great respect to all of her upperclassmen.

Beep! Beep!

"Nee-san, it's alright! You'll still make the team!" one of the kids with bald hair tried to comfort her with assuring words but it only made her heart wrench more. With her newly discovered bad talent, she wasn't even sure if she was still going to make it. I mean, would it be understandable that she was bad at it since she was a pitcher? She could just say that she was focusing more on improving her pitches but that would be a very bad excuse. "We'll help you!" the other kids nodded, supporting their friend with strings of encouraging words.

"You won't be able to hit it like that," a voice from the bench called, pointing at her fingers on the bat.

"Raichi-nii!"

He stood up from his seat and walked towards the fence, "Your non-dominant hand is on the handle, your dominant one is on top." Eirin blinked before looking at the bat she was holding, non-dominant hand on the handle? Wait, has she always been right handed— Ohh. "And try to keep the bat from the palm of your hand. Your knuckles should be aligned," the children let out awe in amazement when he explained in full detail.

The female pitcher looked at him for a second before realization came, "Todoroki Raichi!?"

Eirin's eyes narrowed but still followed his instructions, "Why are you teaching me?" Well, of course she wanted to improve but getting taught how to bat by an opponent was one thing different from the other. She glanced at the kids who were protesting, saying that she shouldn't be a 'tsundere' if she wanted to get the regular position. They did have a point but… Oi, he's from Yakushi and she was spying on them earlier.

"Geez, nee-san, just follow what Raichi-nii says! He's a baseball regular you know!"

"I know that!" the female pitcher mentally shouted ignoring the protests of the small people. "But… is it really fine?" she muttered under her breath and sweat dropped. Seriously, Isashiki-senpai would bury her alive if he learns about this. She doesn't even know what Kataoka would say. Well, if it improves her batting then its fine— No! He's the enemy! She'd rather crawl on the field and beg for Furuya to teach her than use the skill she learned from the foe on the team.

"If you don't want to then I'll just go," Raichi like they say is different on and off the mound. Outside the field, he's more of a shy person who rarely speaks unless you're very close and familiar to him. "You can just let those guys teach you," he was obviously referring to the fourth graders who were about eight to nine years old. About to walk towards the other slots to bat, the fence suddenly shook and a voice called out to him.

"Wait!" when he turned around, he saw Eirin with her cheeks covered in pink, hands tightly gripping on the door. The elementary students gapped along with their female friends, has she always been this pretty? "Uhh… well…" she was fiddling the ends of her shirt, eyes averted, looking at everywhere except Raichi. The other first year stared, face also a bit red. Kami, if Kuramochi-senpai was here he would have scolded her already for being such an idiot. For once… she would swallow her pride to improve. And it's better to learn right? Right!? "Can you…uhh… teach me," she clenched her eyes closed, waiting for the rejection which she expected to come.

Raichi's bat dropped to the ground.

Beep. Beep.

"Nee-san! The machine started!" Eirin's eyes immediately widened and she turned her head in front of her. The light lit up green and she swung, missing again. "Swing slowly, that's too fast!" one of the boys advised and she nodded, trying not to look at Raichi who was staring at her dumbfounded. While Eirin was struggling with her bat, the smaller girls decided to crowd around the first year male and give him teasing looks making him blush.

Bam!

"It's alright! We have a lot of coins!" the children took out coins out of their pockets and showed it to her. Kami, even elementary students wanted to help her out that much. Was she that bad? The former ultimate ace of the Ojou White Knights, reigning kings of Koshien. What in the world was happening to her? "Just keep going! Bat and bat and bat and bat!" one of them made fierce batting gestures in the air and she gritted her teeth. She didn't need lessons from children, dammit! But hey, she admits that they helped her improve.

"Ahh wait, Raichi-nii what are you doing, help us!" of course they were familiar with him since he always went there. Dragging the player towards their group, he tried to assess what she was lacking. His eyes went to her hands covered in tapes and he wondered if she also practiced batting outside. He saw how she missed—by basically a mile before another pitch was finally thrown from the machine.

Clang!

"Uwaa! First hit! Nee-san, good job!" a girl jumped up and down, excited that she finally made contact with something. Eirin scowled, wanting to hit more since obviously that one just now was a lucky hit. "But were still at 80 km/h, let's aim for 110!" she put her hands in a 'you can do it' fighting position and the boys behind her let out protests saying that since she wanted to be a player she should aim for 200 which was impossible.

Sighing, Raichi opened the door and pressed the button to halt. The children looked at him confusedly along with Eirin before he grabbed her hand and arranged her fingers on the bat, "Keep your grip relaxed as you hold the bat. Your grip will automatically tighten through the swing motion. Are you left handed?" the female pitcher shook her head, slightly dazed. "Right handed?" he looked disturbed when she shook her head again.

"Uhh… ambidextrous,"

His eyes widened in shock before grinning, "Kahaha, no wonder you suck at this."

"So Sawamura you're from Seido?" Raichi asked grinning at her. He also had someone he admired in that school— their captain, Yuki Tetsuya who was on par if not better than him when it came to hitting. It was about mid-day when they finally finished their lessons at the batting center and she could finally hit properly—he found out that she does not keep her focus on the ball and just swings randomly. "Do you think that you'd get the regular position?" he was kind of hoping that she would, actually.

Eirin tilted her head to the side, in deep thought, "Actually yes, I kind of want to. That's why I'm going to break a leg when it comes to practice!" her unique choice of words made him flinch a bit, terrified if she meant that literally or not. "I still have to polish my pitches though. By then, I'd be under the guidance of Chris-senpai," when she saw her eyes glitter in delight and how she sighed dreamily, Raichi raised a brow. Chris-senpai? Her upperclassmen must be so fond of her—from afar Kuramochi sneezed while Miyuki shivered.

"Kahahaha, let's meet on the field then. Yakushi and Seido might meet each other during a match," during their practice, they had told everything to the other person including the fact that they were from opposite teams—Raichi didn't seem to mind, he looked like he was pretty excited. "And were not going to lose so prepare yourself," he gave her a broad smile, his eyes smiling along with him.

Eirin smirked, eyes maliciously lidding along with her, "Haha, as if we'd lose to a black marlin."

"What did you say—" Raichi was about to protest when they arrived at Yakushi's gate and his teammates caught a glimpse of him. It was only nearly twelve and they already changed out of their uniforms, dressed in their casual clothes —must be the fact that they only practice half of the day during weekends. "Ahh, it's you guys," he casually said, not really interested when his teammates ran towards him and pulled him away from the girl for interrogation.

"Who is she, Raichi!?"

"You know her!?"

"Wait, isn't she—"

"Nee-chan!" a hyper energetic three year old ran towards the girl, squealing as she was picked up by the female pitcher. The rest of the Yakushi team stared—long silky brown hair, cat-like eyes and flawless-beige skin. What was their Raichi doing with a girl like her? "Nii-san was looking for you earlier. Why did you suddenly run away?" she pouted at her and crossed her arms while the female pitcher turned to look at Sanada who stood in front of her with an awkward smile.

"You left this," the pitcher walked towards her showing the cap she accidentally left. Well originally it was a part of her disguise but I guess she didn't notice that she dropped it while running away. "Why'd you run away?" Sanada questioned her as he placed the cap on her head backwards, ignoring her protests of 'put it on properly!' Both of her hands were occupied with Yuka so she couldn't really fix it herself.

The ace then gave her a smile that somehow reminded her of the older Kominato brother—Eirin shivered, "Just tell me why you ran away." His hands were on her shoulders, dark brown eyes fixated on her. Yuka looked back and forth from the two, mesmerized at the scene while Raichi and the others looked baffled.

"They're flirting right?"

"Well I think they're dating so—"

"Nada-senpai," Raichi who was with the group called out, looking a bit serious. Sanada turned to look at his direction and seeing the expression on the first year, he forced a smile on his face. "You know Sawamura?" his eyes were scanning the hands Sanada had on Eirin's shoulders. The female pitcher blinked, not really knowing what was happening along with the Yakushi team. There was silence for a second before Yuka giggled and laughed.

"Hehe, nee-chan and nii-san are dating,"

Sanada and Raichi's teammates whistled, some cheering for them while Sanada grabbed Yuka from Eirin and held her by the wrist with his free hand, "Let's go?" Eirin looked shocked for a moment, not exactly sure what to do so she just let him drag her. Where was he taking her anyway?

"Ahh wait, Raichi!" looking back, she tried to find his figure as they were walking away.

"Thank you for earlier!" Eirin wasn't sure why, but Raichi looked a bit mad when she went.

Sanada had his head on the coffee table, completely exhausted from carrying Yuka all the way from his school to his house. Eirin blinked from the couch with Yuka behind her, dolling up her hair. Now this was something. Was he just like Furuya? An expert when it came to pitching but didn't actually last long? "Sanada, don't tell me you don't have a lot of stamina?" she expected him to deny it but he actually nodded pretty easily as he grinned at her.

"Yeah, I'm pretty bad at running,"

Eirin owlishly blinked. Well that was quite a weakness for an ace like him. She'd have to remind herself to write that down later. "You didn't really have to chase after me," she said and he frowned at her, it was just a joke since he laughed later on though. Yuka insisted that she should stay with them since it was already lunch time and Eirin had no practice anyway. Now they're stuck in the Sanada household and they just finished eating.

"Ei-chan, Ei-chan, make your lips like this," Yuka patted her on the shoulder, moving in front of her with her right hand holding a small pale pink tube looking as if it contained lipstick. Eirin followed and slightly opened her mouth while the young girl started to apply the strawberry flavored lip balm on her lips. Sanada stared at the two, amazed at the fact that they never run out of topics and how Yuka was so close to Eirin, even going as far as touching her lips. Was this what girls also do? He doesn't know.

The brunette smiled when Yuka finally finished and closed the lid.

"Nii-san," she got off Eirin and went to her cousin who looked confused as so why she was approaching him. Nevertheless, Sanada just hummed as if asking what she needed. "Present," before he knew it, Yuka already placed the lip balm on the table and ran away giggling and squealing, going to his mother who was in the kitchen. The ace's face turned red while Eirin raised a brow, not entirely sure what just happened.

"Sanada, what's up with him?" when she saw him bury his face on the coffee table for no reason, she was a bit curious. And his ears were red, was he… ohh… "Sanada?" Eirin got off the couch and sat next to her friend on the carpet, touching him on his neck and arm. "Did you catch a cold?" when he opened an eye to look at her, all it took was a glimpse unto those golden orbs that flashed with worry and his heart started to skip a beat.

The ace groaned before sitting up properly, facing her in the eye. For a moment they were having a staring contest before he huffed and placed his head on her shoulder. "Seriously," he whispered, loud enough for only the two of them to hear. "You need to stop doing that," her cheeks started to heat up and she tried to separate herself from him only to be stopped by his arm on her waist. S-Should she kick him? No! Bad, Eirin! He's a friend!

"S-Sanada, you're too close," she tried to convince him to move away but he didn't move an inch. The blush on Eirin's cheeks deepened two times darker. "Move… move back a bit," she placed her hands between them, trying to push him back. The ace placed his hands on her wrists, trying to restrain her a bit because even for a girl Eirin had such force. She only paused pushing him away when she saw the look on his eyes. Sanada, when did he look so serious? The female pitcher gulped.

"Why did you run away earlier?" he asked with his eyes on Eirin, not letting her separate her gaze from him. Her eyes wandered everywhere but he followed until they were finally on him. She blushed but he remained humorless, "Ei-chan look at me." His hands were now on her face making her look at him. For a second, her heart skipped a bit and she wondered how Sanada could easily keep his calm when she was a wreck. She… she's never been in this kind of situation before.

"I… didn't want you to see me spying on your team,"

"You already told me that," he replied and her face darkened. Earlier, she revealed the she was sent by the coach to scout the team. Sanada promised not to tell anyone but he didn't seem convinced that that was the only reason. "You ran away. You never run away," they knew each other for more than a month already, of course he knew that she's too determined and stubborn. She's too straightforward for those kind of things, running is never an option for Sawamura Eirin.

"Uhh… I wanted to hide my identity?" she could attempt to play smart for a second but Sanada just raised a brow, not entirely convinced. It was by then her phone decided to ring. Kami, of all people, why did it have to be him? Internally, Eirin was already screaming.

Miyuki Kazuya.

Eirin sighed in relief when Sanada let go of her wrists so she could answer the call, "Miyuki Kazuya, what do you need?" it was the weekend so she had no idea what he wanted to do with her. I mean, there were other people at the dorm. "I bet he's just doing this because he's bored," she doesn't know if that was the case but he seemed like the type to do so. It didn't matter to her anyway. Sanada just observed her in his peripheral vision, noticing the way she smiled despite looking a bit angry.

"Hey, have some respect for your senpai, Sawamura-chan," a tick mark appeared on her forehead. Yep, she was definitely pissed. Why did Miyuki have to constantly tease her about things!? "I was just wondering where you were since Chris-senpai was looking for you earlier. It was something urgent, or so he said," she could hear shuffling in the background along with a couple of shouts. They were looking for her? "But if you don't have the time then you don't have to," she could practically see him grinning at the other side of the line.

"Huh? Tell Chris-senpai that I'll be back this evening—"

"Where are you anyway?" Eirin blushed at the question before glancing at Sanada who was laughing. "You're with someone…" he sounded a bit dangerous really. Perhaps, he heard…

"Wha— You don't need to know who I'm with Miyuki," the female pitcher defended herself, her tone rising a bit and she could clearly hear him become silent on the other side of the line. "A-Anyway, I'll be back later. You guys don't have to look for me," she immediately added when the catcher still didn't reply. Eirin groaned when a few seconds later he was still silent, "Geez, say something Miyuki Kazuya! I'm hanging up—"

"Wait," her hand paused on the button when he spoke. He seemed hesitant for a second before she could finally hear him openly sigh, "Just… come back later. You know what happens to Kuramochi when you just disappear without a trace." Eirin gulped, she received a lecture from him the last time that happened. The female pitcher groaned before nodding. Miyuki gave her his goodbye before she also proceeded to do so and hang up.

"You're close to Miyuki?" Eirin owlishly blinked when he said the catcher's name. Did he know him? Eirin just rapidly shook her head before protesting loudly. Miyuki was just a member on the same team! They were friends but they were not that close… right? Sanada just stared and then frowned. Why did she have to be so popular? And why did everyone have to be wolves— from afar Mei and Miyuki coughed.

Hi guys, sorry for the lack of MiyuSawa scenes, I dunno what to do with them, please give me recommendations because I'm stuck. Like really, really stuck. A lot of things would happen in the next chapter though. And please don't hate Kanemaru for what he did. He's like that in the manga and anime right? Pretty mean to Sawamura at first then turns out to be a big snuggly panda-bear. And yes, in this story, it's still April, the first week of April so they still have a lot of things to go through before they reach the summer camp. I'm planning to make things faster though so that we can progress more.

Kore ya kono
Yuku mo kaeru mo

Wakarete wa

Shiru mo shiranu mo
Osaka no seki

Which means…

Truly, this is where
Travelers who go or come

Over parting ways—

Friends or strangers-all must meet:
The gate of "Meeting Hill."

So this poem was mentioned in Eirin's speech. I did my research and in Japan, they usually start their speeches with quotes or poems. The poem is from the infamous Ogura Hyakunin Isshu, those who watch Chihayafuru might understand. It's the tenth poem, Semimaru. Goodbye~! Have a good day guys~! Ciao~!