AN: Season 2!
XOXOXO
Today was such a beautiful day. The sun was shining brightly, the sky was a clear blue, there was a soft breeze in the air, and the birds were singing lovely. And just what was the SOS Brigade doing? Staying indoors, basically procrastinating. In addition to that, we members of this oh-so amazing club were waiting for our chief, wherever he had ran off to.
This was kind of sad. If this was last year, you'd find me soaking up the sun's warmth, taking a nice nap on a bench. But, instead, I was playing a board game with Law, who was no doubt cheating every time, while listening to Chopper preparing tea. I don't even need to see or hear Basil flipping the pages of his book, reading.
Before I got my chance of accusing Law for cheating, the door slammed open. Ace leapt onto the table and announced in a very loud voice, "Good news, everyone! I entered us into a baseball tournament!"
It was a day in June, and it had been two weeks since my "nightmare". Since then, my mind has been completely put off from my studies, and now my test results were becoming a real life nightmare. And, despite how it didn't seem as though he was paying attention in class, Ace's results made it to the top ten.
So, by irony's account, I'm in hell due to my grades and now I find Ace, the guy who happened to have an intellect of Einstein, dumping barmy news about us entering a tournament. What the heck?
Chopper seemed puzzled by what our chief suddenly spouted out. Law was inspecting his nails. Basil was reading.
"…"
I sighed and slung my arm around the head of my chair. "What'd you say you entered us in?" I asked since no one else was going to say anything. It seemed that I always had to make a response on behalf of the club members. Chopper was either too scared or bewildered to say anything. Law was here just to gratify Ace with his mysteriousness. Basil would just…read.
Was there anything else that boy found fascinating other than reading?
Ace grinned and shoved a piece of paper in my face. "This."
I took the paper from his hand and read it aloud, "The Ninth City Amateur Baseball Tournament." It was probably a tournament to decide which baseball team was best in the city. I heard about it before since it was held every year. "So…you're saying that you entered us in this tournament?"
His smile was almost blinding. "Yup!"
"And by us, you mean me, Chopper-kun, Basil-sempai, and Law-sempai?"
"Who else?"
"Don't you think that it'd be appropriate to ask for our consent first?"
"We'll need to find four more people."
Of course, our beloved chief would only hear things he wanted to hear. Figures.
I set the paper down on the table. "Ace, do you even know the rules to baseball?"
"Eh, more or less," he said, shrugging. "It just involves pitching, base running, sliding, and stuff. I joined the baseball team for a bit, so I know the basics."
"A bit? How long did you join them for?"
"Just under an hour. It was dead boring, so I left."
I frowned. "If baseball was so boring, then why join a baseball tournament?"
He scoffed. "This is a great chance to leave our mark on the world, stupid! If the SOS Brigade wins this tournament, we could become famous overnight! It's the perfect opportunity!"
Yeah, the idea was certainly overwhelming. In fact, it made me want to crawl in bed and die if the name of this club were to ever spread throughout the community. But would anything really happen if the SOS Brigade were to become famous overnight? How will that change anything? And what did he mean by perfect opportunity?
Chopper blinked owlishly at the idea. "Um…"
Like a cat prowling an unsuspecting mouse, Ace pounced on Chopper, slinging an arm around his thin shoulders. "Listen up, Chopper! In this brigade, the orders of the chief are absolute. Insubordination is a serious offense, punishable by hanging! All opinions will be handled during the meetings!"
In reality, he'll just ignore your opinions and carry out his own.
While Chopper struggled against Ace's tight grip, Ace continued talking. "Doesn't baseball sound pretty fun? Just so you know, our goal is to win this thing! Not a single defeat will be accepted! Not one! Because. I. Hate. Losing."
"Eeek!" Chopper squealed when Ace brought his knuckle down for a noogie.
"Any objections?" Ace piped, looking up. As if he'll listen to us, anyway.
"I don't see why not," Law said.
"Excellent! Then I'll go acquire equipment from the baseball team!" Ace bolted out the clubroom with the force of a small tornado. Chopper, finally free of his binds, fell to the floor, sighing out of relief.
"Ah, great," I exhaled, leaning back in my seat. "Here it comes again—Ace dragging us to do his bidding."
"Look at it this way: at least he's not making us hunt for aliens and the like, right?" Law said, smiling.
"I guess," I said. "You do have a point."
Law seriously did have a point. Ever since the SOS Brigade became an official club, Ace had been simply raring to go about searching for anything paranormal. It was endless disaster! I was sure that Chopper would die from another of Ace's alien suit schemes. And me? It was dead awkward for me to change into my suit in cluster of boys; heck, I even screamed at the top of my lungs just to get them to turn around!
Anyway, at any rate, even if there wasn't a baseball tournament, anything that could attract attention would do for Ace. No, in fact, Ace himself was the attention. He's always going around, displaying his antics openly. I'd bet a million dollars that the whole school even knew who that loony freshman was, and that was Portgas D. Ace.
But it's not as though there would be much acknowledgement about this club. It doesn't even seem to be a real club, for that matter. And another thing, the name's incredibly lame. So what if we got an eccentric guy who can do just about anything? And so what if we have a really cute boy, the infamous reclusive bookworm, and the utterly mysterious (weird) transfer student? The SOS Brigade will never go that far.
And let's face it; Ace wasn't really doing this for acknowledgement.
He was just bored.
"Even though we aren't hunting for aliens, I've got a feeling that this is going to be troublesome," I groaned, burying my head in my arms.
"Way to stick with optimism, underclassmen."
"Shut up, Law-sempai. I don't want to hear that from someone like you."
The door opened again, and standing there was Ace empty-handed.
"What happened to the equipment?" I asked.
Ace chuckled awkwardly. "Well, let's not talk about that now… The match is coming up, so we better practice!"
Don't we need equipment to practice?
"And when is the match?"
"This Sunday."
My eyebrows shot up. "Ace, that's the day after tomorrow! Are you crazy? Isn't that way too soon?"
"Eh, I already registered," he said, waving dismissively. "But don't worry! I already thought of our team name—'The SOS Brigade'! Original, huh?"
This idiot… "Then…where are you going to find other team members?"
"We'll just grab anyone who looks like they have free time."
And no doubt that anyone Ace chooses will be out of this world, huh?
"I can ask my friends, Nojiko and Kuina," I offered. I felt kind of uncomfortable by the idea that it was either playing on a team full of strange people or a team full of boys. After that little experience I had a couple days ago, I can't say that I've recovered from my edge, to be brutally honest. I really needed my female friends with me, especially now that I'm being dragged to some baseball game.
"Those guys will do," Ace said. "Better than none."
Now we need are two more players…
"Um, I can bring a friend of mine from class," Chopper said, raising a hand. "He's rather efficient when it comes to—"
"Bring him," Ace responded immediately.
"In that case, should I bring a friend too?" Law spoke. "I know someone who might be—"
I didn't know Law all too well, but I had a feeling that it might be someone from the agency or the observatory, and that was the last thing I wanted to happen. Sure, it couldn't be helped that two aliens and a time-traveler were participating in the game, but at least I could do was try to make the ratio normal to weird.
"No, no, I got it," I cut in quickly. "I have someone in mind, actually."
Ace grinned. "Awesome! We've got our nine players then, so let's start our training!"
"Ace, we don't even have equipment," I pointed out in exasperation. "Just how do you expect us to play when we've got nothing?"
"Jeez, don't worry so much, Kyonko! I've got a plan."
"And that would be…?"
Instead of answering, he pointed out the window, and that was when I felt a wave of fatigue overcome me.
XOXOXO
Ace had his eye on what was going on below the window, so he had us drag our feet to the track field, now facing the softball team, who looked stunned by our unexpected arrival, especially when one of us was dressed as a butler. Yes, it's Chopper.
Not to mention one boy who strutted up to them and started yelling out, "And that's the story! Let us use your equipment and field, now!"
"Um…" One of the softball players, the captain, raised her hand. "You didn't tell us any 'story'. You just walked over here and said that…"
"Exactly!" exclaimed Ace, who had a voice so loud that it could rouse the dead. "Therefore, I propose a trade!" He grabbed Chopper and shoved him in front of the team. "One high-quality butler for your softball equipment, please! Sure, he still needs a bit of house-training, but soon he'll be accustomed to all your needs, whatever they may be!"
The team just stared at us in sheer disbelief. As I bore their pitiful gazes, I recognized one as a former classmate of mine. Fantastic…my reputation had flipped on its backside and died over…
I walked up to Ace and touched his arm.
"Hmm? What is it? Can't you see I'm trying to conduct a business transaction here?"
I averted my gaze. "Just… Just stop, alright? I'll handle this."
"Well… I guess if you think you have something better to offer," he muttered, sounding a bit nonplussed, "then go ahead."
I stifled to urge to sigh in relief as I walked up to my old classmate and asked her, "Can I talk to you alone about this?"
And, so, we huddled up behind the storage shed.
"What's up, Kyonko-chan?" she asked.
Ugh. She, for one, didn't happen to forget my nickname.
"I mean, I knew you were a bit weird, but never did I think I'd see you hanging around Portgas D. Ace…"
"Look," I said, rubbing my temple, "please let us use your equipment and field! Ace signed us for a tournament the day after tomorrow and we're totally unprepared… That idiot won't even listen to me, and there's nothing we can do to stop him! So please, please, please, please, please let us practice!"
Who knows what Ace will come up with if he doesn't get what he wanted…
My old classmate looked thoughtful. "I don't know… It's not that big of a deal, but we do have a game next week, so we have to get ready, and I don't even know if the captain would listen to me."
And then I unleashed my secret weapon.
"If you let us practice, I can promise you that Ace will never come close to the softball team ever again."
Two minutes later, we came out from the shed. Ace ran up to me, giving me an expectant look.
"Got us what you wanted," I said.
"Wow! That was fast! Wonder what kind of methods you had to use…"
I kicked him in the shin.
And, so, our rigorous training for the baseball tournament we never wanted to enter began. The softball team left the field, but while doing so they shot us last strange looks that I don't know if I'll ever recover from. Ace was making a fool of himself as always, Chopper threw nervous looks around himself, Law was experimenting the use of wearing a glove, and Basil…just stood there.
I wonder if Basil was just a robot created by the aliens.
"Let's start with a thousand hits!" Ace exclaimed, waving around the bat. He then proceeded to toss up a pile of softballs and smack each one at the rest of the SOS Brigade, who had been forced to stand in line at the pitcher mound like a quadruple of prisoners executed by the firing squad.
"Gaaah!" Chopper cried out when a ball whizzed by past him, and he dropped to the ground on his buckling knees, covering his head with his glove. I could perfectly understand why Chopper was struck by fear; each of those balls seemed to contain a homicidal intent along with killer speed. It would be like a matter of a life-or-death to try to catch those balls.
No matter what, Ace just had to go all out, doesn't he?
"I actually fear for my life," Law deadpanned when he easily evaded one ball that was aimed for his face.
Basil was standing very, very still, like the last time I saw him. He ignored the balls that flew in his direction, not even moving when the balls would graze past his ear by a few centimeters. Occasionally, he would slowly move his gloved hand, like a remote-controlled robot, and catch the balls aimed directly at him, then slowly put his hand down again.
I figured that I should stop placing my attention on those around me when a ball skipped past my glove and under my legs. Oh, forget it! One ball just hit Chopper on the knee!
"Ow!" Chopper whimpered. "That hurts…!"
Maternal senses or whatever, I sprung on my heels and rushed to his side while calling out to Basil and Law, "I'm counting on you two!" I helped Chopper on his feet and brought him out of the line.
Ace's complaints sailed across the field. "Oi! Where are you guys going? Kyonko! Chopper! Get back here!"
"He needs help!" I shouted.
"The hell? Those are softballs! How do you expect him to turn into a manly man if you're always babying him?"
He does have a point, but Chopper does seem to be in real pain. I raised my hand in farewell and ignored the rest of Ace's protests.
"Hey, I'm not done yet! Bring him back here! It's all part of the secret formula to winning! Ten percent is luck, twenty percent is skill, fifteen percent is concentrated power of will, five percent is fun, and fifty percent is pain! Do you hear me? FIFTY PERCENT IS PAIN!"
Walking inside the school building to the nurse's office, I helped him along the way. He seemed to finally notice that he had been leaning on me the whole time because his eyes went wide as he gasped, "N-no! Kyonko-san, you can't stay so close to me! Otherwise, it—it'll happen again!"
Did he mean the time where Ace tried to make a new world. Why, yes he did.
"Chopper-kun, don't worry about that," I assured. "You should go home now; I'll tell Ace that the injury on your knee will take a couple days to heal."
He ducked his head. "I don't think he would believe that…"
"Well, maybe. But there's no way he can protest to you going home."
His eyes raised and he nodded shyly. "Th-thank you, Kyonko-san."
…
He's so cute!
XOXOXO
When I returned, batting practice was still in progress. What was surprising was that it had appeared that Ace had called the softball team back, who were all out in the field. Law and Basil were out on the side, watching how things were going.
"What's Ace up to now?" I asked.
"As you can see, Portgas-ya was feeling rather restless with our performance. He's been like that since you left," Law explained, gesturing before us.
Ace smacked the ball the pitcher had thrown, making it glide in the air far. The other players scrambled to get the ball before he hollered at the pitcher for another throw. Standing there for a bit, I was pretty much awestruck at how easily he could maneuver his hits to whichever direction he wanted. For someone who played baseball under an hour, he was quite competent.
"He's really amazing. He actually managed to get a thousand hits."
"What's really amazing is that you actually bothered to count," I said dryly.
"When you're bored, you do amazing things," he drawled absently.
"…Can't say that I can argue with that." I looked up at Basil, who was staring at the practice with an impassive expression. "Hey, Basil-sempai, since you were able to get people to believe that Kuro had a job transfer, do you think you can postpone the game or send in a huge storm on Sunday? You know, to force the game to cancel?"
"It is not impossible," Basil answered plainly, "but it is not recommended."
"Why's that?"
"Partial data alteration of the environment would result in derivatives in the planet's ecosystem."
"What? For how long?"
"A few centuries to ten thousand years."
I sighed. "Then it's better not to do it, right?"
"Indeed."
"Too bad, eh?"
"Too bad."
I turned back to Law and asked, "Can you distort the data of the environment too?"
He shook his head. "Only observers have the capabilities to do that."
"Oh. Too bad, eh?"
He sent me a smirk. "Not quite."