It was the first day of Toa's new job, and he could not dread it more. He would be given his assignments, and introduced to the team. Whom he had to bring together again. After tearing them apart. At least he had had fun doing it.

He pulled into the stadium employee parking lot, and made his way inside; ignoring the looks he got from some of the stadium staff. One glare from some intern would not faze him. He had gone through worse.

Two hours later, he was trying to think of a situation that was worse. He had met with the coaching staff, and it would appear he was not the most popular person on the team. He didn't really expect to be popular, but when he received his duties, it became apparent that he had a long way to go before he could make any progress. Forget ignoring the interns- he might as well be one. His duties included sorting recruiting documents, running files to and from the marketing agency four miles away, getting coffee, making photocopies, and doing whatever else the coaching staff told him to do. All of these duties in addition to bringing the team together, and refocusing them. Toa was less than ecstatic.

He began his day by running the newest recruiting rosters between Coach Imawano and his boss, Assistant Coach Takahashi. They were favoring recruits from the Toudai by far this year. After filing away the rosters, he ran out to the maintenance shed to take inventory for the maintenance staff. They were dangerously low on dirt and chalk, so he made sure to make note of that in his to do list. He would have to discuss the ordering process with the head of maintenance. After making his rounds of the stadium and collecting inventory from the first, second, and third base coaches, he made his way back to the supply closet that served as his office. He still had to make a coffee run, introduce himself to the new interns, and put together a team building schedule for Coach Imawano. He felt about ten years older. He still had to wade through all of these monotonous tasks before he could even get started on what he was here to do, and even then, he was slowed down by bureaucratic bullshit. After arriving, he was informed that "things work differently here" and the methods that he used with the Lycaons "would not be acceptable". They loved making his job as miserable as they could.

After what seemed like an eternity, Toa had finally finished all of his duties for that day. He had gone out for coffee, gotten back only to have the coaching staff change their orders and send him back not once, but twice. His meeting with the interns was awkward at best. None of them knew how to interact with him, and that was true the other way around. They were about the same age, and that was where what they had in common ended. He may have to work on that later. He had finally put together a schedule that Coach Imawano had finally approved of, but it was filled with useless drivel like trust falls. No way was he going to get anywhere with weak garbage like that. Work completed, he took an opportunity to glance at the clock, only to realize that it was eight o'clock. He had taken an entire day to do a short list of glorified chores. He hadn't even had time to take his lunch. Just then, he heard a knock on his door.

"Anybody in there?" Itsuki asked, wondering if Tokuchi hadn't already started to head home. Since it was the offseason, most of the coaching staff liked to head home a bit earlier than usual. Right as he was about to turn around and head home himself, the door opened, and Tokuchi emerged, looking a bit worse for wear.

"What do you want?" Toa asked warily. He hadn't seen much of Takami since their ill-fated match. He had no idea what he was doing here now.

"I was thinking we could go out for a drink or something. You look like you've had a hell of a day" Takami said.

Toa had to suppress a shudder. "Better not. Remember what happened last time?" he said, trying not to think about what another drunken night might bring about.

"Ah, you've got a point" Itsuki murmured. "How about coffee, then? I know a pretty good place near here".

Toa seriously considered turning him down, he really did. But after the day he had, he needed some caffeine, later hour be damned. Thinking back to his new apartment and the empty refrigerator, a scone didn't sound bad either, considering the one meal he had managed to fit in that day. "Sure" he said as casually as he could.

They made their way outside, and Takami stopped by a light blue sedan. "Hop in" he said nonchalantly. "It's a bit far to walk, so I can drop you off by your car afterwards". Toa gave him an incredulous look before getting in. It was a mid-priced sensible car. Why he had it when he could afford better was beyond Toa. No matter, he was off to get his fix. After a few minutes, they pulled into the parking lot of a short building with large windows. Once they entered, Toa looked around. It was a small local looking place. Lots of comfortable chairs and desks,none of which matched. Takami walked up to the counter and ordered a chai latte. After reading the menu, Toa ordered a house blend coffee with room for cream and a scone. Takami led them to a couple of chairs by the window to wait for their drinks. There was a drawn out silence that quickly turned from comfortable to awkward. At least Takami was polite enough to not comment on how fast he had finished his scone.

"How was your day?" Itsuki asked, genuinely curious. He wondered how Tokuchi was handling all his new responsibilities.

"Busy" Tokuchi said, not making eye contact.

"Did you not have time to eat?" Itsuki asked, feeling a bit smug. Tokuchi had contributed to the mess they were in. He might as well suffer a bit while he fixes it.

"I had other things to do". Tokuchi looked as if he was going to say more, but the barista called them to come get their drinks.

They sat in comfortable silence for a few minutes as they enjoyed their drinks. "You've had a day, haven't you?" Takami asked, peering over at Tokuchi.

Toa felt it was safe to respond. "They kept me busy. My patience is being tested".

Takami seemed to find that funny. "They tested your stamina too, didn't they"? he asked, giving Toa a wry smile. "Maybe this is what you really needed to get ahead on the field".

Toa glanced over at the other man, and raised an eyebrow. "I needed your help to win like a fish needs a bicycle".

Takami did his best to look scandalized. "I facilitated this amazing experience for you, and this is how you thank me?" here up0 said, doing his best to keep a straight face.

Toa was less than impressed. He tipped his mug towards Takami, threatening to spill the scalding liquid on his lap. "I'll show you my thanks in due time" he said ominously.

The rest of the evening passed quietly. After they finished their drinks, Itsuki dropped Tokuchi off by his car and headed home. As he passed the stairwell without a glance, he pressed the "up" button on the elevator. As he watched the numbers tick down to the ground floor, he heard familiar voices. Mitsuko and Takeo. As soon as he heard the chime of the elevator opening, he rushed in, and repeatedly pressed the "close door" button. He was not ready for that confrontation. After getting off on his floor, he scooted into his apartment, yanked off his shoes, and flopped down on the couch. As he relaxed, he couldn't help but think back on the past few days and wonder if he did the right thing. Whatever the outcome, at least he got to put Tokuchi in his place a little bit after last season's defeat. That would make it all worth it.