When Ruri is twelve, Ren-ren moves in with her family to attend Mihoshi. Ruri is elated. There is someone to play catch with her, and Ruri knows Ren-ren is a really talented pitcher, despite his peculiar style of pitching.
Ruri has been looking forward to spending time with her cousin, so when she hears Ren-ren jabber on about "Shuu-chan", her eyes narrow, and her mood darkens. Ren-ren, as if sensing her simmering displeasure, starts to fidget more than usual and looks as though he wants to run away from her. Ruri shakes away the irrational thoughts and reasons with her mind. Ren-ren loves pitching and the love for baseball runs in the family. It is obvious he would join the baseball club, where Kanou Shugo, whom he had always played with whenever he comes over to Gunma, would definitely be.
She knows she shouldn't be thinking ill of Kanou, since he has done nothing to offend her, and has been nothing worse than a good friend. They've stopped hanging out, however, after stepping down from the elementary school baseball club. At the back of her mind, she just can't sit well with the reality that he is the one in a baseball club instead of her, and might have a shot to go to Koushien while she will never be able to. It isn't fair that she loves the sport more than him, but will never have a chance to take part at the middle or high school level.
A fortnight later, the boys are inseparable. Or rather, it is Ren-ren who becomes too attached to Kanou. Her cousin idolizes Kanou in the same way, maybe more than the way her brother does. Ruri is all too aware of the jealousy that is welling up within her. Kanou has taken away her dream, her aspirations, and the affections and adorations of both her cousin and younger brother, all because he is a great pitcher and a good player. And Ruri can't help but think bitterly that he could be all of those because he is born a boy.
She takes pride in the fact that Kanou has never hit a homerun though; not within a game, at the batting centre, or even during practices. Ruri is the one who has the talent for homeruns, and the softball club will benefit from that, but it's not the same as baseball. Softball will never be the same as baseball at any level.
To clear her mind, Ruri goes to the batting centre with her bat, imagines each rushing ball with Kanou's face on it and hits homerun after homerun. The owner of the batting centre should be grateful that she never bothers to collect any rewards from those homeruns, and he knows to be grateful by giving her extra credits.
As she swings her bat continuously, she thinks she hates Kanou Shugo.
A/N: I know Ruri's starting to act like a brat now. I figured this is the time when the puberty hormones start kicking in, and the line between rationality and irrationality blurs, and usually, more than half the time, there is hatred for everything and everyone, and quite a bit of self-centeredness. Hopefully, there's no more bratty Ruri after this chapter.
Cheers! Reviews would be nice!
