Let it be known I hate winter! I hate the cold period! Messes me up every which way. Especially with allergies. I was lucky I was able to finish this chapter when I did. Thankfully I'm starting to get over that crap so maybe the next one won't take as long.

~*How Does it Work?*~

Miyuki was practically skipping when he walked into class that morning. Another week had flown by and Nathaniel had deemed it appropriate to let him attend one practice as a trial run. He'd been making good progress at therapy and Nathaniel wanted to see where the catcher now stood. Needing to see just what he could do, what he was still struggling with, and alter his therapy as needed. Miyuki was as giddy as a school girl who'd just gotten good news about her crush. Grinning from ear to ear as he took his seat. Thinking nothing could ruin his good mood. Today he'd be standing back on the field with his team. Even if it was only for a short afternoon.

"Captain!" Miyuki was pulled from his pleasant thoughts by an all too familiar wail. Knowing exactly who it belonged to as he turned towards the door of his classroom.

Sure enough, Sawamura and Furuya came barging in. The two wearing looks of despair on their faces. Sawamura had tears streaming down his face as Furuya just stood there. Twitching nervously as Miyuki wondered what the hell the two wanted now. Right behind the two idiots? Haruichi, Kawakami, and Kuramochi.

"Please say it isn't so!" Sawamura wailed. Furuya furiously nodding to second his fellow pitcher's outburst.

"Eijun-kun! Sorry Miyuki-senpai." Haruichi apologized as people in the class began to stare.

"Kuramochi, I told you that they would over react if you said something like that." Kawakami sighed. Trailing in as the short stop held his sides.

"Hyahaha! It's not my fault those two dumbasses believed me!" Kuramochi hollered. Earning a glare from Eijun. And a less obvious one from Miyuki.

"Nori?" Miyuki looked to the final pitcher who sighed and handed over the object that had started this all. A sports magazine.

"Kuramochi told these two that you were trading them in for that girl you've been staying with. The one known as the Wolf of Kitigawa." Kawakami explained.

Miyuki looked down to see a whole article dedicated to Tonya. And the picture they'd used for it was a shot from the game he'd gone to go watch her play in. It was a still of her right after she'd caught the hard shot back up the middle. Her glove raised, just half of her face showing. Capturing that intense wolf like gaze of hers. Kawakami leaned over to stare at the picture as well. The other three still chattering away in the background.

"Huh. I didn't know she had a nickname like that. When did this come out?" Miyuki asked. Looking away from the picture and briefly scanning the article beside it.

"It came out yesterday. It's a pretty big article dedicated just to her. Is it true she's already back and playing after she tore up her knee?" Kawakami asked as Miyuki nodded. Flipping the page to see a collage of shots with Tonya and her team.

"Yeah. She still has some troubles, but this article is pretty dead on. She's an amazing player." Miyuki muttered. Flipping back to the first picture. "This shot right here was a hard line drive back at her face. Freaked all of us in the stands out because it happened so quickly. Her glove snapped up and she easily caught it. Didn't even seemed phased as she turned and finished off the play."

"Sounds like you really admire this girl." Kawakami noted. Surprised to hear that the girl had already earned Miyuki's respect in such a short time.

"If you saw what she had to go through on a daily basis, you would too." Miyuki whispered to himself. Staring at the picture as he got lost in thought.

Every morning Tonya woke early to stretch and work her legs out. Going for a short run around the block before coming back and stretching once again. Running through her exercises before making breakfast and heading out for school. Going through a hard practice and coming home. Stretching out yet again and working on strengthening them this time before icing her swollen knees down. Always wearing a smile on her face as she went about her routine. Miyuki knew that Tonya had to be tired from everything she did. She was always on guard with her legs. Knowing that if she had one misstep that all her hard work to get her knee back in shape could go downhill. Possibly injuring the other one in the process.

Thinking about it now, he didn't know if Tonya had heard his good news. On top of her already hectic schedule, she'd been helping him at home at night. Staying on him about his stretches and exercises. Playing a bit of catch and lightly working with him in the back yard. Pulling study sessions in the living room together to make sure they didn't neglect their studies. With the occasional fight sneaking in. Usually in their downtime. But it did provide a nice distraction for Miyuki. Tonya helped to keep things interesting for him while he was away from Seido. While he could live without her throwing things at him, he was glad that an unexpected bond had bloomed between the two.

'Did you hear? I get to attend practice tonight.' Miyuki quickly sent out a txt to Tonya. A small smile working its way on to his face as the bell for class rang.

'Aren't you glad I stayed on your ass about your exercises now?' He could practically hear her smugness through the txt.

'If you liked my ass all you had to do was say so.'

'Fine. I like your face.' Damn smartass. He chuckled to himself. Miyuki knew she'd give herself props for that one.

'Too bad you can't be here tonight to watch my ass during practice.'

'Just don't push it and you'll be fine. My dad will be there to tape you up beforehand just in case.'

'You mean you're not gonna be feeling me up this time? Damn. And here I was getting all excited.'

'Aw, miss me already?'

'Maybe…'

'Uh huh. Five bucks says the minute you get on that field you forget me completely.'

'Ouch. So little faith.'

'No. I just know because when I was allowed back on the field that's all I could think about.'

Miyuki felt his face fall a bit as the teacher began the lecture. Tuning her out as he turned to look out the window. He'd only been sitting out for a couple of weeks. He could only imagine what Tonya had gone through. Or even worse—Chris. His injury was relatively minor compared to theirs. Chris had torn up his shoulder pretty badly and Tonya was on the same track with her knees. He couldn't help but wonder if he hadn't been stopped when he had, which path would he have taken? Would he have hurt himself so badly that he would have lost his light like Chris had? Or would he have pushed on through the pain and rushed rehab in order to play again like Tonya? Thankfully he wouldn't have to find out. For the first time, Miyuki was grateful that Tonya had caught him hiding his injury.

'Damn I owe that little shit a lot don't I?' Miyuki thought to himself

As the school day slowly wound down, Miyuki could feel his excitement coming back. When the last bell rang he popped out of his chair with a little too much energy. Kuramochi teased him as they made their way down the stairs and towards the entrance. But instead of leaving through the gates, Miyuki turned to head back to the dorms where he'd dropped his practice gear off earlier that day. It felt good to be walking back to the dorms once again. Like things were finally falling into place. Miyuki ducked into his room to change into the practice uniform he'd missed so much. He quickly stripped and dressed in the familiar clothing. His world finally feeling right again as he stepped back outside. Hat turned to the side, sports glasses on, glove shoved firmly on his hand where it belonged.

"Feels good to be back." Miyuki breathed. Slinging his gear bag over his shoulder as he headed down to the field.

"Miyuki!" Nathaniel waved over to the boy from where he stood beside the dugout. Holding up the two rolls of tape in his hands. "Ready for today?"

"Very." Miyuki grinned. Quickly pulling off his practice top and the spandex top. Fighting back the chills as Nathaniel quickly taped him up.

Once he was taped and ready to go, Miyuki reached back down for his blue top in his bag to put it back on. Spotting a bit of black underneath. He dropped the one top and picked the other up. He knew he hadn't thrown that in his bag this morning. Only one person would've thrown the shirt in his bag. Which meant she had known how important today was for him. Seemed someone was still looking out for him even though she wasn't there. Miyuki laughed to himself as he slid the black top on. Feeling the compression shirt form to his body as he buttoned his practice top back up. Tucking them both back into his pants.

"I want you to practice as normally as possible without overdoing it. Diving for balls is forbidden, but everything else I'll leave up to you. If your pain level gets above a five on anything let me know and ease up on whatever it is you're doing. I'm going to let you go all practice but you have to be vocal whenever you feel like your pain is getting to be too much ok?" Nathaniel asked. Narrowing his eyes at the boy who nodded.

"Don't worry. I'm sure Tonya will be poking and prodding tonight to make sure I didn't overdo anything." Miyuki waved over his shoulder as he jogged out to the field to join his waiting team.

While Miyuki wished that a certain smartass brunette could be there to see him doing better, he knew she had her own practice to focus on. Finals for the fall softball tournament were right around the corner. But at least in a way she was with him. He suddenly became hyper aware of the shirt clinging to his body that set him apart from his team. That same small smile appearing on his face that only one person seemed to be able to pull out of him. It disappeared as quickly as it had appeared as he fell back into the role of Captain. Taking charge of his team and leading them through their warmups. Miyuki's world was finally beginning to return to normal again.

_._._

"Here." Shirasu handed a tired Miyuki a water as they made the trek back up to the dorms.

"Thanks." Miyuki drank from it gratefully, wiping the sweat off his head as a cold chill blew through the air.

While his side ached, he felt really good after the trial run today. Not pushing himself too hard and making sure to not try and hide when something hurt. It'd felt amazing to get back out there and practice with his team again. Falling back into the swing of things like it was nothing. Just going a bit slower than normal since he had to be that much more aware of his body. Miyuki couldn't describe the high he was on right now. Even though the cool air was doing its best to ruin it at the moment. He could feel his side growing stiff the more it cooled down. Now he understood why Tonya had so much trouble moving around once she allowed her body to cool off.

As the brunette crossed his mind, he couldn't help but look around. Expecting her to pop out of nowhere like she had a habit of doing. Waiting for her to scare the shit out of him. Another part of him knew that she wouldn't show though. She'd just be getting done with her own practice. The girl was just as dedicated player as he was. She wouldn't skip just to come see him. Even though he knew this, he couldn't help but feel a little down that she wasn't there. After all, she'd only helped to get him back into working order. She should get to see how well he was doing.

'Am I actually missing her?' Miyuki asked himself. Stopping in his tracks as he realized what he'd just been thinking. Shaking his head as he decided not to think too much on the subject.

"Aw, what's a matter Zuzu?" The boy froze up upon hearing that annoying nickname that usually only came out during spats with a certain someone. Miyuki turned to see Tonya leaning against the wall of the indoor practice gym. Dressed in sweats and a light jacket. Speak of the devil.

"What are you doing here? You should just be getting out of practice." Miyuki muttered. During his time off he'd been banned from going to Seido practices without supervision. But that hadn't stopped him from sitting in on Tonya's. So naturally he knew the approximate time she'd be done.

"We had a short one today. Spent most of it reviewing video on the team we have to play next." She shrugged. Pushing herself off the wall. "How are you feeling?"

"A little stiff actually." Miyuki muttered. Turning to stretch out his side. "Is this how you always feel?"

"Try like five times worse." Tonya laughed lightly. Watching him twist about to alleviate the achiness in his side. "We got some time before we gotta head home. Dad wants to visit with Uncle Shin for a bit. Let's go to your room. I feel like being generous tonight." She grinned. Picking up her bags near her feet.

Miyuki led the way back up to his dorm room. Hearing Tonya gripe momentarily about how she hated stairs. Miyuki pushed the door open and was glad to find his room empty for once. He knew he'd never hear the end of it if the guys caught him bringing a girl up to his room. Miyuki stepped aside and let Tonya in. Closing the door behind him before moving to his bed. Wondering what she had in mind for him this time as he pulled his shirts off. Stripping in front of her came naturally now. He wasn't too sure if that was a good thing or not. Deciding to just ignore that wandering thought for now.

"On your side." Tonya commanded as she pulled out a small container.

Doing as he'd been told, he rolled on to his side. Moving his arm out of the way as Tonya reached down and pulled the tape off. Tapping him on his back, her signal for him to scoot over. Funny how he was getting used to her hands on his bare skin. Again, not sure if that was a good thing or not. He felt the bed sink down as Tonya took a seat beside him. A medicinal smell reaching his nose before feeling something warm on his skin. He wondered what kind of rub she was using this time as her hands slowly rubbed the ointment in. Working over his sore and stiff muscles. His eyes closing as a content look worked its way on to his face.

"What are you so happy about?" She asked, spying the grin on his face as Miyuki chuckled.

"Recalling the first time you gave me a massage and how much I freaked out. I swear I thought you were just trying to torture me." Miyuki admitted. Thinking back on that time.

Tonya had caught him whining and complaining about how sore and stiff his side had been after his first few therapy sessions. She'd tried to be nice and help work out his muscles, but Miyuki swore she was just trying to cause him more pain when she'd barely touched him. The swelling and pain had been pretty bad back then. Even the slightest pressure could cause the boy to double over in pain. Which is exactly what happened. The two had argued, then a glaring match had started, and eventually a wrestling match had broken out on the floor with Tonya appearing the victor. To this day he swore that she'd secretly enjoyed causing him pain.

"I can still remember how hard you shoved my face into the ground." He opened his eyes to look up at Tonya as she slowly worked over his side before pulling on him. Getting Miyuki to roll over on to his back so she could take care of the front now.

"Now you know not to fight me huh?" Tonya smirked. Digging the palm of her hand into his skin to loosen up the tight muscles.

It still amazed Miyuki as to how easily he got along with the girl. Most people couldn't stand him. Which didn't bother Miyuki one bit. Friends were something he'd never really needed. The closest thing he had to friends were his teammates. And even then he kept them at arm's length. Never really truly letting them in. Yet, for some reason Tonya had managed to sneak past his defensives. Even if it was just a little bit. He'd like to think she only declared him a friend because they had to spend the next few months together. So it would only be natural for them to at least try and get along. If Miyuki was perfectly honest, the small girl annoyed the shit out of him. Constantly firing off smartass comments, unafraid to pick a fight with him, able to give him a run for his money when many others would've given up long ago.

Maybe that was why he found himself growing fond of the girl. She was never anything but herself. She wasn't afraid to speak her mind around him and had no problem chewing him out whenever he needed it. She didn't try to force herself on him. Always giving Miyuki space when he needed it. Acting as a comforting presence whenever he began to have doubts. Never saying anything, just being with him. Letting Miyuki speak when he wanted to. Her actions silently telling him that he wasn't alone and that should he need someone she was there.

"I don't get this whole friendship thing." Miyuki finally spoke up. Voicing his thoughts as he felt Tonya's hands leave him.

"Elaborate." She said. Putting the rub away as Miyuki lied there.

"You do all this stuff for me when I haven't even done anything for you. If we were on the same team I could understand. It would just be one teammate looking out for the other. But we're not even that. What do you get out of all this?" He asked. Truly curious as he sat up. Locking gazes with Tonya as he looped an arm around his drawn up knee.

"Do I need a reason to be nice?" Tonya asked. Tilting her head as her hair fell over her shoulder. Giving Miyuki a warm smile. Those had been showing up more and more frequently lately. "I understand you can be socially challenged Miyuki—"

"Really?" Miyuki arched a brow. Tonya just giggled. Never resisting the chance to get a shot in.

"I call it like I see it. Anyways, that's just what friends do. At least the good ones. They look out for each other. The only thing they ask for in return is that when the time comes, they have someone there for them as they were for you." She explained. Miyuki struggled to wrap his mind around what she'd just told him. How anyone could blindly put their faith in another like that was beyond him.

"How do you know that I'm not just using you?" Miyuki challenged. Leaning forward as Tonya stared into his eyes.

"Despite what you and everyone else may think, you're not a bad person." She grinned. Flicking him lightly in the head.

"What makes you so sure?" Miyuki griped. Rubbing the throbbing spot as Tonya sat back.

"Call it women's intuition." Tonya winked.

"Women's intuition? All I see is a little girl in front of me." Miyuki smirked. Motioning directly at her barely B chest with his eyes.

Now he was treading dangerous waters. Tonya's eyebrow began to tick in irritation. She briefly wondered if she should ignore the jibe or punish him. His widening smirk helped to make her decision all the much easier. Before Miyuki knew it, he'd been knocked off his bed and on to the floor hard.

"Miyuki, Tonya, you two in there?" Nathaniel called out through the door as a crashing sound reached his ears.

He opened the door to find Miyuki flat on the ground with his face shoved into it. Tonya was sitting on his back calmly, waiting for Miyuki to surrender before she let up. Nathaniel wished his daughter would act more ladylike sometimes as he remained silent. Wondering what Miyuki had said to set her off this time. The boy finally conceded defeat as he tapped out. Tonya let go of his hair, still sitting on his back. Miyuki didn't have to look up to know that she was wearing a smug grin on her face. Rubbing his poor throbbing head as he lied there.

"Nathaniel I…...what exactly is going on?" Kataoka asked as he motioned to the two in the room.

"Jackass didn't think before he spoke is all." Tonya answered. "Don't worry, the only thing I hurt was his pride."

Kataoka sighed as he looked down at the boy pinned beneath Tonya. Expecting to see annoyance coating his face. Instead, there was a playfulness in his eyes as Miyuki looked up and over his shoulder to Tonya who had a similar look in her eyes. The two struggling not to be the first to smile at the situation as Kataoka let out a chuckle of his own. Maybe this would do more good for Miyuki than he had originally intended.

And the walls begin to crumble. I wanted to show how the two are gradually going from hating each other (well Miyuki hating Tonya) to actually gaining mutual respect for each other. I couldn't help but want to make Miyuki miss having Tonya there to watch him. I figured he'd be like a little kid wanting to show off how good they'd gotten when he was allowed to get back on the field.

I'm having so much fun writing these two. It's one of those things that kinda flows nicely and you barely have to think about it. Anyways I need to get back to sorely neglected homework so this is all for now! Hope you all like it!