AUTHOR'S NOTE: If you are reading this story please review. I've only gotten one review and it makes me feel bad. I know I sound desperate but I should have posted the other chapter to my other story but I was typing this one and I only get one review. I must thank you to my only reviewer, Hana Kaitani! Thank you a lot. This is the second chapter. It's longer and I hope you like it. I think I made Maseru Honjou, Taka's father, a little OC but then we really don't know his character. I will start drawing pictures for each of my story and posting it on Deviant. I'll put links on my long profile! Here is chapter two and please review.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Eyeshield 21 because I would have made another four sequals to it by now. Eyeshield 21 would live forever so I don't own it. I only own Hitomi but I don't own her last name!

Previously in Chapter One:

She stared to walk over to home base when her left shoulder and my right shoulder accidentally bumped into each other and our eyes met. Her determination only seemed to grow more and a pink blush formed on her deadly pale skin. She then quickly walked away to home base ready to run back to home base. I knew she was a good runner so I was expecting a good time. This time the interest slightly showed on my face as I turned around to stare at Hitomi on home base waiting patiently for my father to give her the signal to start.

SPORT'S THAT MADE TAKA CHANGE

By: Soraea

Chapter Two: After Tryouts: Emotions

Tryouts for the baseball team had finally ended. Mostly everyone was tired and sweaty; some even in heaps on the ground, except for does who had talent, including me. I knew that tonight my father would stay up until he decided who would be chosen for the team. Three-hundred and forty-one boys had tried out and only one 'girl' had tried out. We only could have twenty-one players on the first team, forty-two players on the second team, and only eight-four players for the third team. The second and third team members would only act as back-ups but would be required to come to practice everyday and work as hard as the first team everyday.

"Sakuraba-chan! Could you wait just a moment? I need to talk to talk to you", my father said to the retreating form of small, meek, petite Hitomi. She slowly turned around.

"Hai H-Honjou-senshu", she quietly stuttered out. She lowered her head and stared at the dusty ground as she made her way to my father and me. She stopped a pretty good distance from us. A distance that was farther than arms length.

As soon as she looked up my father's cell phone wrung. He looked at the caller ID and said, "Sorry I have to take this call. Um Sakuraba-chan you would not mind staying here with my son, Taka. This call should not even take a minute." He had a hint of pride when he said my name, like I was the most important thing in the world.

Hitomi took a second or two pondering on whether she wanted to be in the same presence as me, alone, which was interesting considering the fact that we have not only been going to the same school but have had ALL of our classes together ever since the second year of Kindergarten, sometimes sitting next to each other. When she finally shook her head no to my father, he had already gone to the benches to talk while he left Hitomi and I alone in the outer outfield.

She finally looked up and her face, what little of it she revealed, was covered in a blood red blush. I felt my face flush, if that is even possible and then heat up somewhat, which was scarier than flushing in my opinion.

Hitomi turned her head to where my father was, at the benches talking to probably my always-worried mother. "Hmmmm, I-it must be n-nice to h-have a f-f-father who t-thinks you're h-his whole w-world", Hitomi quietly whispered to herself I presume. Even if it was not directed at me I could still hear her soft words, as soft and quiet as water as they were drowned out by the furious winds. Her present blush was not on her face anymore. Her eyes and head, for once, were tilted back to look at the sky blue cloud-fill sky. I wonder why she of all people would say that.

Then I seemed to remember the fourth-grade conversation we had to have. Our fourth-grade teacher, in whom Hitomi probably did not like, had told us to tell a little about ourselves to our designated partner who sat across from us. Hitomi and I were partners and everything seemed uncomfortable, like her presence bothered, me and my presence bothered her, a lot. Well, that was the day I learned that Hitomi was always sick and was used to the word death around her. The hospital, doctors, and nurse knew her by name and she them. That her aunt, the one she was living with, was a pediatrician who was always helping sick kids, in Tokyo. She also lived with her father's mother and father's father, who owned a funeral home in Osaka, Nagasaki, and Hiroshima. Her other, distant, relatives from her father side were in charge of the other two funeral homes in Nagasaki and Hiroshima while they took care of the one in Osaka.

She had told me all of this in less than three minutes and very softly so it was hard to hear her. I then asked her about her father, mother, siblings, cousins, aunts, and uncles she may have. She had looked depressed and had said, quieter than the last time, that she had an older brother, by a year, and her father was not here anymore. She refused to talk about her mother or her mother's side of the family or anything that involved family or friends, which by the look of it did not have any.

"Is it because your father is not here anymore?" I finally asked her. She looked; again, I always have to presume, at me as her popular blush appeared once again on her face. She looked downward after a good minute and started to shuffle her feet. Her left hand covered her right hand as she pressed them against her knees.

"I-I-I-I……………… g-g-guess", she finally managed to stutter out. She always seemed to be stutter more around me and less when she was nervous, which meant I usually made her nervous. She finally looked up to only look down again in a quick motion.

"You know you have to get used to me some day, right? We have gone to the same school and had the same classes since the second year of Kindergarten. We just started the seventh grade and you are still nervous around me despite the fact that we have been going to the same school for now nine years. And we will probably spend more time because we will both probably make the first team so I don't see why you're still nervous around me", I said quite coolly, collected, and bored even though I've never said this much to someone I did not know well.

She finally looked up while her blush faded to a light rose pink that was only present on her nose. "I k-k-know. T-T-T-Taka-san j-j-just s-seems t-t-to m-m-make me n-n-n-nervous, a l-lot", Hitomi quietly stuttered as she locked her gaze with mine, I felt it.

Then we just stood there and stared at each other. Her blush still in tact on her small pointy nose. The harsh wind knocked her baseball cap off as her un-neatly braided pigtails came out of her funny shape bun. With her braided down pigtails down you could see that her hair was actually neatly done, by probably her aunt or grandmother, and had two ribbons on each pigtail.

The hair that covered her deadly pale face that was blushing moved with the wind in unison but never showed her cheeks or eyes.

I felt the wind move my bangs over my eyes and back.

In addition, we just kept staring, I presume again, at each other with the wind moving our dirty clothes and hair until my father asked, with an amused voice I should say, "Ahhhh. I didn't disturb anything between you two now did I because if I did I will leave you two to your privacy."

We both stopped gazing at each other when I said, "No we were not father."

Hitomi nodded her head in agreement as her braided down pigtails jumped up and down on her shoulders. Her face turned a more violent shade of red as she started to tie her pigtails into a messy bun rather quickly. She then picked up her blue and black baseball cap from the dusty ground and smacked it to get the dust out. When all the dust, or all the dust she could see, was out she put her baseball cap back over her messy braided down pigtail bun.

"Okay Sakuraba-chan. I hope you do not mind my son hearing this. You're not in trouble but rather I have to ask you some questions and a favor of you", my father said after a while at silently musing at Hitomi and me. I honestly did not see what was so funny in this type of situation.

Again Hitomi took a second or two to answer my father's question as if she was actually thinking about the consequences of what she was about to allow me to hear, unlike most people. She finally nodded her head faintly with no regrets.

"Okay. I realized that you are really underweight for your age, even for a girl. You're not anorexic, are you?" My father asked with obvious discomfort.

I did not know that Hitomi was underweight. That is when I finally decided to actually look at her body. Her clothes were obviously too big on her and yet when you looked at them they seemed even small. What size does this girl wear? Other than that, you could see her bony wrists and hands coming out of her larger T-Shirt. Her ankles and below did not look as bony though but were extremely fleshless. How did she survive all these years this bony looking? How much did she weigh, anyways? Because with the way she looked I am sure that not only was she super underweight but she was probably too skinny even to be anorexic. I have seen dead people that have more flesh on them than she has on her.

The only places in which her body had flesh were her face; I think her cheeks were chubby because they always seemed to stick out even with her hair covering them. I also think her torso was not as skinny but her tummy never elevated from its flat level.

"No. I do not have anorexia nervosa. I have an illness that does not allow me to gain fat", she said in a strong, clear, rare voice. She seemed to be annoyed by my father's little assumption.

"Okay. Next question. Can you see well with all that hair in your face?"

"Yes I can. I'm j-just a l-little clumsy", she answered in a meek quiet voice. Her voice this time didn't even seem remotely the same as her last voice.

"Hehehe. I can see by the way you fell when you were walking on your own two feet", my father laughed out amused at Hitomi's little acts of clumsiness. Hitomi's nose turned a tint pink as she stared at her feet.

"Sorry about laughing but it reminded me of when little Taka kept falling when I was teaching him how to play baseball", my father laughed out again. He was now bringing me into this unneeded conversation when I honestly didn't need to be in it.

Hitomi looked up and stared at me as my father said "little Taka". She looked curiously at me and seemed to just remember I was here.

"Oh", she quietly said.

After another thirty seconds of laughter my father said, "Last question. You're a really good player but I need to know if you'll be affected by being surrounded by boys? Or you're not just trying out so you can tell your girly friends about all the guys on the team?"

Hitomi seemed to have a shocked expression on her face when my father finished. She quietly, well more quiet for her voice that it sounded like nothing, replied, "No, I wouldn't get distracted because I've been closer to males my whole life and I've never felt any attraction to them. And I'm not doing this to tell my friends because I have none. I just want to play baseball because I just really want to try and do something right and do something fun and worth wild."

My father looked at her and said, "Could you please repeat that? I didn't hear your soft voice."

Hitomi took a second to ponder on if she really wanted to repeat something most people don't want to ever say in their lifetime before she nodded her head.

She was about to open her mouth when I said to my father, while still looking at Hitomi, "She said that no she won't get distracted by males, she's not physical attracted to them, she won't tell her 'friends' because she doesn't have friends, and she does want to play baseball for the fun of it and to do something right."

I could feel my father's gaze on me as Hitomi stared at me, her blush gone. My father than started to stare between us. His gaze finally landed on Hitomi, silently asking if what I just repeated was true.

Hitomi finally snapped out of it and looked down as she nodded, agreeing with me. My father just nodded, a look of pity on his face for Hitomi.

His genuine wild smile spread across his face as he said, "I bet you and Taka would get along well. He may even be your best friend before the season is over. I mean you two are alike in a lot of ways and the upside is you both like each other."

I was mortified that he thought I liked meek little Hitomi. Sure when I was younger I had maybe a slight little really little crush on her, for a week and it was more like I was interested in her more than anything, but now I really didn't well care about her.

Hitomi didn't take this better than I did. Actually she took it worse. Her face and neck turned blood red. Her eyes, if you could see them, were bugging out. She weakly stuttered, "W-W-W-W-What? I d-d-don't l-l-like T-T-T-T-T-T-Taka-san!

"Same here! I-I don't like H-H-Hitomi-san!" I uncharacteristically stuttered out.

My father was about as amused as amused got. His smile just got bigger and he was laughing slightly. "Sure", he said suspiciously.

"No really we don't like each other!" Hitomi and I screamed at the same time. We looked at each other and then quickly looked away after sharing eye contact for three seconds. I felt my face heat up slightly again.

My father only looked more amused as I believed that I would be scarred for life.

"Your faces are priceless!" My father managed to say after two minutes of fretful laughter.

I felt my face heat up even more. I took a quick peek at Hitomi to see that she was also looking at me. Her hair wasn't covering her left eye and I could see her pupil staring at me out of the corner.

When she noticed my stare she swiftly turned her head the other way, blushing even harder.

My father went back to laughing again noticing our new encounter.

I felt stupid standing here as my father laughed his head off at Hitomi and me, claiming we 'liked' each other.

A muffled, "Nandomo tsumaduite wa, Ashiato furikaeru, Okubyou na kono kimochi, BANE ni shite, Habatakou", could be heard from Hitomi's sports bag. Her head immediately snapped up as soon as she heard the first word.

"E-Excuse me for a moment", she quietly said. She then quickly ran to her sports bag. She reached into the side pocket and pulled out her blue and white cellphone, her blush off her face. She then picked up her cellphone quickly but seemed to have already missed the call.

She seemed frighten as she kept looking at her cellphone before she ran up to my now quiet father and me. Her sports bag was on her left shoulder as her right hand held her cellphone for her dear life. She looked absolutely scared as she quickly said, "M-May I please l-leave. My a-aunt would g-get worried. I-I'm suppose to be h-home before e-eight or I'll be in trouble! N-Now it's e-eight t-thirty!"

"Oh. Sorry for keeping you out late Sakuraba-chan", my father said truly sorry. I let a sigh of relief slip accidentally. I didn't want to deal with any more 'Hitomi' for now but I thought too soon.

My father looked at me and then got a sly grin on his face, the one my mother said that meant trouble. He then smiled at Hitomi who was bowing about to say 'Thank You, Honjou-senshu', probably when my father said, "Taka here can walk you home. Seeing we only live two kilometers away from each other."

I looked at my father as if he had just grew nine heads which was similar to making me walk Hitomi home. Hitomi was slightly blushing but was staring at my father also.

"E-E-Excuse m-me. I d-d-don't want t-to bother T-T-T-Taka-san with m-making h-him walk me h-h-home", she stuttered out while looking at my father and then me.

"Taka would be happy to", my father said while staring at me. I knew he was going to win so I slumped my shoulders and made a mental note to tell mother when I got home tonight.

My father smiled, while Hitomi looked surprised as I got my sports bag and walked back to her pulling her by her small, bony, pale left hand as I felt my face heat up. "Come on. If we have to get there by nine we should go", I muttered in a not so excited voice.

It took her a minute to realize what was happening before she bowed to my father muttering, "G-Goodbye H-Honjou-senshu!" Her face was covered in a dark blush as I dragged her out of the baseball field and into the parking lot in where I dropped her hand.

"BE CAREFUL YOU TWO! DON'T TALK TO STRANGERS AND CALL IF YOU NEED ANYTHING TAKA!" My father screamed from at least ten kilometers behind us.

"I KNOW, I KNOW DAD! WE'LL BE CAREFUL!" I screamed back; hurting my vocal cords in the process of screaming.

"ALSO YOU TWO DON"T KISS YET! I BET YOUR MOTHER WOULD ACTUALLY WANT TO TAKE A PICTURE OF YOUR FIRST KISS, TAKA!" My father screamed back as an after thought.

I was 100% sure that I would tell mother this and make father in trouble.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hope you liked it. Please review and until I get four more reviews or story alerts than I'm not posting the next chapter. Also chibi shadow readers are allowed. Also go to my profile and vote for my poll. Please and thank you. I like this story a lot. The next chapter includes Taka's and Hitomi's walk to her house. I think it will be a short and simple chapter where we see into Hitomi's and maybe Taka's thought's and learn about our shy, mysterious, sports loving girl! ^_^ Review please and vote please with Taka, Shin, and Hiruma shirtless on top. If that doesn't get you to do it then nothing will!

^_^