Chapter 7: Helping the Baseball Idiot recover

"Why are we in the infirmary?!" Miyuki asked skeptically.

"'Cause they've got equipment I need", Sora explained gesturing towards the stretcher. "We could've done it in my room, but the bunk beds are just inconvenient. Don't provide enough space to work"

"Eh… To work?!"

"Yeah. Work"

The blue haired girl turned around, rolling up her sleeves and starting to wash her hands in the small sink in the school's infirmary. Miyuki just stared and watched her with an expression that combined confusion and curiosity.

"You'll have to get out of your clothes, captain"

…

"Huh?!"

Sora snickered, shaking her head in amusement.

"You really gotta do somethin' about that lewd mind of yours ya know"

"Can you blame me now?! You literally asked me to strip…" the brown haired catcher argued.

"Yeah, 'cause I can't massage you with so much fabric covering you up"

"M-Massage me…?"

And then it clicked somewhere in Miyuki's mind. The wellness center the family wanted to open in Tokyo and the jobs of Sora's parents and the blue head having learned a lot from both of them and also having practiced it on his own elder brother… The captain exhaled in relief. Or was it already disappointment to some extent? Oh, not that again!

The young catcher started to undress and Sora turned to the stretcher, covering it up with paper towels to give him some privacy. And to control herself. Because he really was sexy! She just had to admit that. But she wanted to remain professional and she truly wanted to help him, so the blue haired girl suppressed her blush and the upcoming nervousness and approached Miyuki who was now standing in front of her in his boxers.

"Alright, let me check this…" she said and took his arm to lift it and to do some very careful exercises and stretches with him. "Tell me when it hurts"

Every time Miyuki winced, Sora stopped in her movements and let him do something else right away.

"Okay, sit", she ordered and her captain complied, sitting himself down on the stretcher. "Now, turn to the side… A little more.. Yeah, like this… 'kay stop"

They continued on like that for a little while longer, then Sora let out a desperate sigh.

"I'm not gonna lie to you, captain… This won't be very pleasant if you decide to let me go on any further. Neither for you, nor for me. Torturing people isn't really my hobby. Usually I would send you to my parents for that, but since we don't have this option right now…"

Miyuki nodded seriously and scratched the back of his head.

"Will it help me recover faster?"

"Most likely. That's what physiotherapy and also massage therapy are for. But it's certainly no wellness experience"

"So basically, it's gonna hurt"

Sora nodded.

"Like a bitch"

"Well, thanks for your honesty", Miyuki half-joked and showed her his usual grin. "Fine, we're doing this. Take good care of your captain"

The blue haired girl let out a heavy breath.

"Alright", she agreed. "Want something to bite on?"

"Nah, I'm good. I'll handle"

"Tell me whenever you want me to stop, we can take breaks that won't be a problem"

Her captain nodded again and Sora ordered him to take a deep breath and to relax before proceeding with her treatment. During the procedure, Miyuki was really tough, not showing his pain very openly. He hissed and winced a few times, but he didn't scream or jump or make her stop just once, which truly impressed her. His face and the sweat he broke out in sufficiently showed her how much the catcher was struggling though.

Additionally Sora taught her captain some exercises he could do on his own, somewhere in his room or during practice time when he still had to sit out and wait while his teammates had to endure baseball training.

When she finally had tormented Miyuki enough, Sora made him lie down comfortably on the stretcher. Somehow she felt like she had to make it up for him after he had put up such a good fight. The blue haired girl felt sorry about the pain she had caused, although the treatment hadn't been possible in another way.

"Breathe, captain", she tried to calm him down and took out a small bottle with some essential oil she sometimes used for her massages. "It's okay now, we're done"

The blue head put some of the oil in the palms of her hands and slowly the whole infirmary started to smell like refreshing lemons. When she placed her hands on Miyuki's back and shoulders again, much more gently and carefully this time, a shiver ran through his whole body and she could hear him suck in a sharp breath.

"There, there… Now we are talking", she mumbled quietly as Sora could feel his tension melt away and his muscles relax.

"Oh, for God's sake, Sora… Do you actually know what you're doing to me?!"

"Hmm… Pretty much. Be careful not to doze off"

Nope, that was certainly not Miyuki's problem right now. Not at all! In fact, the young baseball captain thought it would be quite impossible for him to peacefully go to sleep in that kind of situation. He asked himself which was the greater torture, the therapy treatment or the massage he was getting right now. It felt like heaven! First it had been hell, now it was paradise. Those tiny slender hands of the blue head sure could do some insane kind of magic to him. He had to hold back a moan.

His body shuddered again and Miyuki closed his eyes, which wasn't the best of his ideas, because all he could sense were Sora's tempting touches and the fresh scent of lemons, sometimes faintly mixed with something that he would classify as cinnamon, but he wasn't so sure if that was rational. Lemon and cinnamon weren't a common mixture of fragrances someone would use for a wellness massage, right? Not that he cared much… The brown haired catcher was busy keeping his mindset under control since it tended to drift into very dangerous territory once again. He was kinda proud that he managed to stay calm, until his blue haired teammate reached a weak point very close to his neck and he tensed.

"Hell, do that again!"

Miyuki could hear Sora's soft chuckle.

"Like that?"

He felt the same sensation again and hissed.

"You have to relax, captain", the blue haired girl scolded lightly.

"How?!"

Sora laughed. Actually, a very nice sound…

"What has happened to my first name, by the way?" Miyuki asked to distract himself.

"Oh, c'mon!" Sora protested and this time, it was the young captain who laughed.

"Do you actually have a problem with calling me Kazuya? You're calling Nori and Kominato by nickname, right? And you're calling Sawamura by his given name from the beginning"

"Yeah… I mean… Eijun and Haru are same age as me and Nori kinda offered because we did the history project together and everybody else calls him that anyway, so… Dunno. Not that I have a real problem, but… You're older and you're the captain and all… I mean I do still call Kuramochi and all the other second years and even some of the first years by last name. Just… Force of habit since I'm always the youngest in my class, I guess. I was used to calling my own classmates senpai…"

"Heh…"

"Besides, I thought you were making a joke!"

"Nope, not this time"

"Ugh…"

"Maybe you could give me a nickname too", Miyuki offered. "Nobody did up until now"

"Eijun calls you Cap"

"That's related to the title of the captain, so it doesn't count"

Sora thought for a moment, glad that the catcher couldn't see her blush.

"Kaz", she muttered as she finished her massage, so she couldn't feel how Miyuki stiffened and she moved to the sink to wash the oil off her hands.

The brown haired catcher sat up, his head was spinning a bit, but in a good way. He felt slightly dizzy and he couldn't really decide if he was being relaxed to a maximum or if it was him being so excited that he was running on pure adrenalin. Miyuki's heart was pounding noticeably strong and fast, but at the same time he got the feeling that his knees would wobble and give out if he tried standing now. Could humans get drunk or high on lemon-cinnamon scent?! Or tiny little magic hands?

"You can put your clothes back on", Sora said, still scrubbing her fingers because of the strong lemon fragrance.

Yeah, but I don't want to…!

Okay, no! No! Danger! Emergency!

"Mh", he only hummed in affirmation because he certainly didn't trust his voice right now.

The baseball captain used the stretcher to be able to collect his clothes and to get dressed properly once again. He had been right, his standing was slightly unstable.

"You could get some sore muscles by tomorrow morning, but that's normal, nothing to worry about", the blue haired girl informed her captain, turning off the water and drying her hands. "Hey, you okay?"

"Yeah…" he drawled in a daze, still leaning against the stretcher.

"You look like you're gonna sleep like a log tonight"

Sleep, huh? The words sleep and tonight combined from Sora's lips sounded strangely nice in Miyuki's ears. He shook his head. Damn, he honestly had to get rid of some sexual tension here.

The two teammates left the infirmary and the school building together, Miyuki putting his hands into his pockets and shooting the blue head next to him thoughtful glances.

"Hey Sora…"

"Hm?"

"Uhm… Thanks"

Her sky blue eyes widened as she looked up to her captain and he locked his caramel gaze with hers. And then she beamed. A beautiful, genuine smile that made Miyuki's heart skip a beat. He froze.

"Sure. Don't mention it"

Miyuki wanted to respond, but got interrupted from the blue head looking at her phone.

"Uah, that late already!" she panicked slightly. "Sorry, I've gotta go find Eijun! Take it easy tonight, okay. See ya!"

Sora started running and the brown haired catcher stared after her, blinking in confusion. Find Sawamura? What for? Did they make promises for additional practice again? Miyuki exhaled. Somehow he felt more stressed out than usual. Maybe he really should go to bed.

The young girl on the other hand rushed to find her energetic southpaw friend so that she could go to her first late shift in the café with him. Luckily for the two rule breakers, everything went well and they weren't caught, even when Sawamura went to pick her up later on and when they sneaked back on the Seidou compounds right after.

The next morning at breakfast Sora plopped down on a seat right next to Watanabe and groaned displeased. She still wasn't a morning person, no matter how much she tried. With them on the same table sat Shirasu and Maezono and exchanged amused glances.

"Nabe…!" the blue haired girl whined and her head fell down on his shoulder dramatically.

Shirasu chuckled and sipped his tea.

"Still not a proper human being without coffee in the morning?"

Sora only grumbled as an answer.

"Do we meet up for homework today?" Watanabe questioned his fellow students, receiving another unidentified noise from Sora and a nod of his head from Shirasu.

"Uhm… Could I join for the study session? Needa do somethin' 'bout my literature grade", Maezono asked, surprising the others.

The young girl gulped down the whole cup of coffee in one go and held a thumb up.

"Sure thing, Zono. Agreed to tutor the first years anyway. The more, the merrier, right?"

"Heh… So, those guys finally realized that their school grades are also important? About time I'd say", Watanabe said, but Sora waved her hand.

"They just want to avoid make-up exams to not miss any practice or matches"

"Figures", Shirasu deadpanned and Maezono grunted in affirmation.

"You guys help me with 'em, please? Haru and I can't take care of everything alone"

"I'm in", Shirasu agreed.

"Yeah, me too", Watanabe followed suit.

"I won't be able to help in every subject like you guys, but I'll do what I can", Maezono promised and Sora clapped her hands together in gratitude.

"Thanks a bunch, I really appreciate it!"

The other three boys nodded and hurried to finish their breakfast.

"Then we'll do something about your literature knowledge, Zono", the blue haired girl offered and emptied her rice bowl. "Ah, by the way… Wanna hear something funny?"

Her three teammates looked at her expectantly while Watanabe collected their trays to stack them together.

"Nori, Kuramochi and the captain are gonna grace us with their presences as well"

"You don't say!" Watanabe exclaimed disbelievingly and their jaws dropped.

"I mean, I can understand Nori, but…" Maezono added and the other started to laugh.

"Yeah, I know what you mean. Kuramochi and Miyuki are a surprise", also Shirasu agreed. "Which kind of magical trick did you try, Sora?"

"Helped them with an unannounced chemistry test"

"That's… unexpectedly normal…"

"Well, sorry to disappoint you, Shira"

The team members began laughing together again and got up to carry away their trays and dishes. After leaving the cafeteria, they made their way to the school building and to the second year level. Since the three boys had to go to another classroom than Sora, they parted ways and made a promise to meet up later.

Only seconds later, someone threw his arm around her shoulders from behind and the young girl almost fell over.

"Yo, Sora!"

"Ossu, Kuramochi"

"And where have you been yesterday, huh?! Ignoring me already?"

"Aw, did you miss me?"

"Hyaha! Like crazy!"

Sora laughed.

"Oh, really? Did you?"

"Could've needed some help against that evil Kominato guy…"

"Ah, Haru pummeled you again. Which game this time?"

"Oi! Whatcha mean again?! He doesn't beat me that often!" Kuramochi protested and Sora laughed even harder.

"That ain't funny! You little shit!"

"Thank you"

"That's not a compli-… Argh, that's so gross, you start sounding like Miyuki already! Creeps me out!"

The green haired shortstop ruffled his punky hair and frowned.

"Where did you suddenly run off to with that guy yesterday after dinner? Some kind of brainwashing involved?"

"Pffft", Sora spluttered, but shook her head in amusement. "Nah, just checked upon his injury"

Kuramochi stopped walking, turning all serious all of a sudden.

"He let you do that?"

The blue haired girl nodded and the shortstop whistled impressed.

"That's unheard of! Did it get worse or somethin'?"

"I asked him the same thing, but no, thankfully not", the young girl explained, leaning against the wall in the hallway. "I still offered some help to speed up his recovery with a little massage therapy. Honestly speaking I was surprised myself that he agreed, but he did"

"Ha! Makes sense if you told him he would heal faster that way. That lil' bastard only wants to go back into his beloved bullpen… Wait a sec… Did ya just say you gave that guy a massage?!"

"Really Kuramochi? That's you point right now?" Sora deadpanned, but only got glared at as a response.

"No, no, no you don't know how much we had to suffer as first years when our senpais forced us to serve them like that. Massaging them, running errands, getting their drinks and all that stuff! It was living hell! I just can't believe Miyuki was lucky enough to get treated like that voluntarily and by you of all people. I mean you're not even a kouhai, you're a classmate… and yeah, I know you're technically younger, but still… that doesn't count! Of course I'd be jealous!" Kuramochi started ranting until the blue haired girl raised a hand to interrupt him.

"Gee, fine… I understand, okay! You can have one too. Drama queen! You just could've asked, ya know. It's not like I would refuse"

"Eh?! You mean it?!"

The shortstop looked lost for a moment. Sora sighed.

"Forgot the jobs of my parents already, huh? The wellness center… Does sound familiar, no?!"

"Ah!"

"Idiot!"

"Oi!"

Their banter was cut off when Miyuki suddenly showed up, hands in his pockets and yawning. He still seemed half asleep.

"Mornin' captain. Showing up fashionably late", Kuramochi greeted him.

"Wow, someone got up on the wrong side of the bed today", Sora commented lightheartedly.

"Hyaha! True!"

"Hilarious", the young catcher gave back dryly. "And exactly whose fault is this? Sore muscles, my ass! I feel like I haven't slept for like a century. What the hell did you do to me, Sora?!"

"Heh… Didn't think stress relief would work wonders on you. Must've piled up a lot recently, so now your body got released, you're feeling the consequences", the blue head explained matter-of-factly. "If we're gonna do it regularly for your recovery the effect will weaken though, so no worries. Actually, it's pretty healthy. Stress is not good for you, captain"

"Oi, oi Sora… That all sounds… wrong. Really wrong out of your mouth, ya know", the green haired shortstop sweat dropped, but the young girl only gave him a puzzled glance.

"What?" She raised an eyebrow at her friend.

"… Stress… relief? Piled up…?! His body got… released? I mean… C'mon, I don't really have to explain to you what that sounds like, do I?"

"Enlighten me, Kuramochi"

"…"

"Guys, you two honestly need to do something about your perverted fantasies… Both of you! I mean it! Is yaoi something quite in fashion in baseball teams nowadays? Sad to say I didn't receive that memo"

And as always, Miyuki started laughing. So hard his stomach hurt again and he had to hold it with one hand. The shortstop on the other hand first paled and then blushed, which was an awesome display of fast color changes in someone's face.

"Maybe we should change your nickname from cheetah to chameleon…"

"Ow, ow! Sora, stop… please!" the captain still snickered, catching his breath and trying to stand up straight.

"Tch!" Kuramochi pouted and crossed his arms over his chest as the three of them began walking again since their lesson was going to start soon. "I'm not a perv. Stupid Sora!"

"Ah, by the way, before I forget it again. Today is our first study session after we did our regular homework, so you're free to join whenever. Shira, Nabe, Nori and Zono are in, so are Haru, Eijun and Furuya. I don't know about Kanemaru and Toujou yet, Haru hasn't told me if he managed to convince them", Sora informed her friends generously.

"Oh, thanks Sora-sensei! I'm counting on ya then!" Kuramochi grinned, his mood obviously lightened up again.

"For captain it might be better to rest, though…" Sora threw him a worried glance and the brown haired smirked.

"Nah, I'm good. But I appreciate your concern, really… Besides, Sora… You're not gonna use it?" Miyuki mumbled quietly while leaning in very closely to his blue haired teammate who only looked at him questioningly.

"My nickname", he clarified and winked playfully before entering their classroom.

Sora's cheeks grew beautifully pink.