Thank you Ochineko for the ideas used in this chapter! ;)

/

The next morning, all the regulars were dead tired as they lined up before their coach. "Baseball relies heavily on teamwork and trusting your teammates," He said, ignoring the fact that some of the regulars were sleeping where they stood. "So today we'll be focusing on teambuilding and trust exercises."

He allowed Chris to step forward. "You will all begin by pairing up. Find someone about your height." The Kominato brothers were the first to pair up. Miyuki yawned and slung an arm around Eijun, who was too tired to care. Furuya paired with Jun. Tetsu and Kuramochi formed a team and Masuko and Tanba were the last.

They all stood in a line, facing their partners. "To get to know your partners better," Chris started, "We're going to have you hold your partners hands and stare each other in the eyes. This will go on for about a minute before we have you switch to a new partner and everyone has paired up once."

He went down the line and smacked those who had fallen asleep or weren't looking into their partners eyes. When he got to the Kominato brothers' he sighed. Haruichi's eyes were covered by his hair, and Ryousuke's eyes were closed as they normally were.

"What are you doing?" He asked, getting their attention.

"Holding each other and looking into each other's eyes," Ryousuke said, not missing a beat.

Chris put a hand on his forehead and sighed. "You can't possibly see each other's eyes like this," He said.

Ryousuke grinned and pulled Haruichi close, twirling him so his back was pressed against his chest. "We don't need to," He said, resting his chin on his brothers' shoulder. "We already know everything about each other. Right, Haru-chan?"

By now, all the other regulars had broken eye contact and let go of each other's hands in favor of watching the unfolding drama.

Haruichi flushed and looked down, but Ryousuke spun him so they were facing and used a finger to tilt his chin up, leaning in close and whispering, "No need to be shy about it." He stood back up and smiled, proud of himself, when the rest of the regulars were frozen to their spots, staring in shock at the two. A few of the more sensitive ones fainted and Furuya was torn between feeling murderous that Ryousuke was 'taking advantage' of his brother or sad that Haruichi was already seeing someone.

Chris rubbed his temples. "Was that truly necessary?" He asked. Ryousuke simply smiled.

Haruichi crossed his arms and frowned (pouted) at his brother. "That was mean."

"I'm a mean person," Ryousuke said, ruffling his brothers' hair.

When everyone was awake and capable of moment again, Chris had them switch partners. Tetsu and Jun paired up, along with Miyuki and Kuramochi. Masuko and Eijun paired up, along with Tanba and Haruichi. Finally, Furuya and Ryousuke paired up.

Haruichi shook slightly and flushed red as Tanba seemed to glare at him, though in truth he was simply attempting to see past the first years' bangs. Miyuki, influenced by Ryousuke's earlier performance, leaned in close to Kuramochi and batted his eyelashes.

"You can't take your eyes off me," He said.

Kuramochi snorted. "Don't flatter yourself. Besides, you don't want Sawamura to get the wrong idea, do you?"

Miyuki grinned. "He'll come around," Miyuki assured his friend, "I have plans for him." The dark chuckling and ominous aura surrounding the two caused the others to back away.

Jun frowned and shifted uneasily as he was faced with Tetsu's unrelenting, serious stare. He couldn't tell what the captain was thinking, and it was making him uneasy.

Eijun winched as Masuko's grip tightened. He could see from the third years stare that it was punishment for eating his pudding, but seriously! It was months ago! He can't still be mad!

Furuya stared blankly at the senior before him. Ryousuke's eyes were still closed and the ever present smile was still on his face. Contrary to his expression, a dark aura was surrounding him, directed straight at Furuya. The pitcher could practically feel himself suffocating. When a minute was almost over, the pinked haired first year said, "Try anything, and I will kill you." He then went to partner with Jun, leaving the first year frozen where he stood.

Chris sighed as he watched his teammates. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. Haruichi was almost permanently red, while Eijun's hands were bruised. Furuya was still frozen from whatever Ryousuke had done to him, and most of the others were now uncomfortable with facing their teammates.

"Next," Chris said, ignoring all the groans that were made, "We're going to do a trust fall activity. Get with your original partners." He waited until everyone was paired up again. "Now choose one person who will go first." Tanba, Kuramochi, Haruichi, Furuya and Eijun were chosen to go first. They were each led up to a small platform about three feet off the ground, their backs facing their partners and given blindfolds to put on. "Each of you will fall backwards and your partner will have to catch you. Anyone who does not participate will be punished."

Tanba took a deep breath and fell back, Masuko catching him and setting him back on his feet quickly. Furuya fell and nearly hit Jun, who grumbled as he set the pitcher on his feet. Kuramochi fell onto Tetsu, whose mind had wandered and sent them both to the ground. Haruichi sighed and fell back, already knowing his brother would catch him.

Ryousuke did catch Haruichi, though he didn't put him down right away. Haruichi squirmed and covered his mouth, attempting to stop the giggles. His brother had caught him bridal style, and one of his hands glided against Haruichi's side, tickling him.

Eijun gulped, not entirely trusting the catcher, and hesitantly fell back. He waved his arms wildly as he fell and squeezed his eyes shut behind the blindfold. He was surprised when Miyuki caught him, reflexively grabbing onto the catchers' shirt.

He stayed like that for a few seconds before he frowned and removed his blindfold. Miyuki was grinning down at him. "I caught you," He said.

Eijun flushed and started squirming, much like Haruichi had earlier (Ryousuke had finally put him down) and yelled, "Put me down!" Miyuki snickered and did as he was told, dropping the pitcher to the ground.

Chris was about ready to bang his head on a wall. This was not what he had hoped for in doing these exercises. And it wasn't even time for lunch!

/

Let me know what you thought! And let me know any ideas you have for the rest of the day(s)!

~Akirafanatic