Chapter Text
Shiro Emika didn’t believe in second chances. Not in sports, not in life, and definitely not in the eyes of teenage boys with too much testosterone and too little subtlety.
“Mika-chan? Mika-chan!”
Emika snapped out of her trance. She looked away from the view of budding cherry blossoms on nearby trees and turned to her pink-haired friend. “Hmm? What is it, Haruichi?”
He sighed, clearly not pleased at how she didn’t even deny that she wasn’t paying attention. “I was just talking about our first morning practice a few days ago.”
“Did something happen?”
“Well, there was this guy from the other class that tried to sneak in while the coach had everyone introduce themselves. A senpai snitched on him though. It was pretty chaotic,” he chuckled, causing her to smile. “Then, the coach gave him a challenge to redeem himself so he had to throw 90 meters but he didn’t make it since he actually threw a breaking ball.”
“At least you had an interesting spring break. Grandma Miko and Grandpa Shin kept nagging at me yesterday to make sure I have all the school supplies possible.” She rested her chin on her palm as she set her elbow on her desk.
“So, are you now sure that you’re joining the baseball club as manager?”
“Yeah, I guess so. I was up ‘til late for the past week just thinking about all the possible scenarios that could happen if I join or not. Then, I just flipped a coin last night. I didn’t really mind the outcome, so I guess things’ll be fine,” she shrugged.
“You say that but you still had a pretty high score on the entrance exam,” he laughed and shook his head.
Suddenly, the school bell chimed, signalling the end of their classes for the day.
“Let’s go, Haruichi.” The young Kominato accompanied Emika to the school faculty room to submit her club application form to Director Ota, the club adviser.
After bowing to the present teachers in the room, Haruichi led her to a plump teacher with sideburns. He was talking to another teacher whom she recognized as Takashima Rei, their English teacher they met earlier in the day.
“Good afternoon, sensei. Emika here didn’t get to submit her application earlier when it was being collected so we’re here to submit it directly to you before afternoon practice starts.” Haruichi bowed and handed the form to Rei, who studied the document immediately.
“I see.” Emika heard her heart beat faster as she saw the teacher smile and adjust her glasses at the bridge of her nose, causing it to glare at her for a moment. “Well, you already know me as your teacher. However, I’m also the assistant coach as well as the scout for Seidou’s Baseball Team. Welcome to the club, Shiro Emika-kun.”
“That fast?” The first year’s eyes widened. “I-I mean...thank you,” she bowed.
“I’ll have you properly start tomorrow but do you mind coming down to the field today?”
Emika looked at Haruichi first, who was smiling brightly at her, and shook her head at the scout. “I’d love to check it out.”
The three headed to the grounds with Emika trembling in excitement and Haruichi doing his best to calm her down while walking behind Rei.
When they were near something that looked like a warehouse, Haruichi bid farewell, claiming he had to change for afternoon training. “You’ll do great, Mika-chan. See you later.”
Emika watched as he rushed to the dorms, instantly feeling more nervous as she and Rei reached the indoor training facility. When they entered, she recognized the head coach, with his aviator sunglasses, talking to six other players.
“Coach Kataoka, I brought someone.” Rei spoke up, causing everyone inside to turn around and watch them enter.
“Hey, it’s Mika-chan~ I guess Rei-san accepted you right away, shouldn’t be surprising given your esteemed credentials.”
“Ryo-niichan, stop exaggerating,” Emika playfully glared at him as she tried to shrug off her nerves.
“Oho? Ryousuke-san’s saying that much about this first year?” The player who was wearing his cap sideways smirked.
“Mika-chan!”
“Oi wait a minute, Ryo-san has a younger sister?!” The olive-haired one faced Ryousuke. “And Jun-san knows her?”
“Yeah, you could say that.” The second baseman just smiled and shrugged.
“You look like you’re taller than Ryousuke now.”
“Tetsu-san, too?! Masuko-san, don’t tell me you know her too?”
Emika stayed near the entrance, too intimidated to approach the bickering seniors, while Rei went to Coach Kataoka to hand the first year’s application form.
After a quick scan of the form, he dismissed the players. “We’ll finish this later. I’d like to talk to them privately first.”
“Shiro-kun, come here please.”
As she walked past the exiting upperclassmen, Ryousuke, Jun, and Tetsuya gave her a smile and a thumbs-up, making her smile back.
At least seeing them helped me calm down a little bit, she thought.
“Shiro Emika? Granddaughter of Shiro Shinsuke and Kimiko, correct? How are you related to Kominato?”
“We’re neighbors back in Yokohama so I grew up with him, Sir.” Emika swallowed a lump in her throat. The coach seemed much more intense up close.
“Your present address is Denenchofu?” She saw Rei raise her eyebrows as Coach Kataoka finished his question. “Does that mean you commute?”
“I live with my paternal grandparents and have someone to drive me to and from the school…Sir.”
“Why did you decide to join the baseball club as manager when you had history as a player in your junior high school’s volleyball team?” Coach Kataoka glared down at her.
“W-Well, I only stayed on the team because I wanted to bring my coach to nationals and win him as many titles as I could before he left the country, Sir,” Emika stated. “I also wanted to be by the boys’ team’s side for as long as I could. The girls’ team didn’t really have a concrete goal and just wanted to play as much as possible. After retiring, I realized wanted to be with more passionate players and to be in a place where I can still be useful. I had all that in mind when I finally chose to go to this school, Sir.” Emika internally sighed in relief when she finished, glad that she didn’t mix her words up as much as she had expected.
“Very well.” A hint of a smile showed at the edge of the coach’s lips.
“While having your own grandiose goals are great, you should be reminded that, at the end of the day, your official position will be student manager at our baseball club. You’ll be expected to attend more meetings than the regular managers, but you won’t always be expected to provide input. You’re free to join the other managers for the usual managerial tasks as well. This is important to set a realistic viewpoint for your time with us here at Seidou.”
“For now, familiarize yourself well with the members of the first and second string as well as the way they handle their training. Let’s head to the grounds.”
Emika followed the two out. As they approached the fields, the all-too-familiar shouts of determined players became more prominent. They entered Ground A just as the fielding coach called for the team to have their water break. Upon noticing, Coach Kataoka called the players to line up outside the dugout.
As soon as they arrived in front of the players, Rei turned to Emika and gave her another smile. “Shiro-kun, how about a little introduction?”
“Me? O-Oh, umm...” Emika felt the upper half of her body go numb from the sudden request. Her eyes wandered to avoid the stares of the seniors in front of her. When she finally found her words, she saw that Ryosuke was just right in front of her, smiling, and immediately read it as his attempt on cheering her on. “M-My name is Shiro Emika. I don't have a lot of experience in baseball yet, but I joined this club as manager because I wanted to help passionate and dedicated people achieve their goals. I look forward to working with you all!"
As the brief applause died down, Coach Kataoka turned to Emika and Rei. “I’ll leave her to you then, Rei.” He nodded at them and the team before proceeding to Ground B. Emika bowed slightly to him before turning to Rei, who spoke up once again.
“Although her title is manager, she’ll be working with you a lot like a physical trainer. Make sure you won’t scare her and make her feel uncomfortable.” Rei looked pointedly at some of the players who were already eyeing Emika. “I guess you’re already acquainted with our captain and vice-captain, Yuuki and Isashiki-kun?”
“Ah, yes, ma’am. I’ve met them last year at a few of my games in the Kanto Tournament and Summer Nationals.”
“It’s nice to see you again, Emika.” Tetsuya stepped forward and held his hand out.
“You, too, Tetsu-san,” Emika smiled back at him and briefly shook his hand.
“Rei-san, is it okay if I say something?” The scout merely raised her brows while most of the team were shocked by the actions of a certain pink-haired second baseman.
“Sure, go ahead.”
Ryouske stepped forward to stand next to Emika, sending her a wink before he turned to face his teammates.
“If any, and I mean any of you, tries to do something suspicious to her, you’ll barely have time to regret it before I shove my foot down your throat.” His words caught almost everyone off-guard. “Okay?” He finished with his usual smirk.
“Ryo-niichan! How am I supposed to fit in if you tell everyone that?” Emika playfully scoffed.
Ryousuke laughed, “My bad, Ojou-sama,” and went back to his place in line.
Confusion spread on the faces of the ones that heard their banter. Emika opened her mouth to retort but Rei beat her to it.
“Let’s not get carried away here, shall we?” She saw the scout suppress a smile. “You’re all dismissed. Except for Miyuki-kun, can you stay behind for a bit?”
The players bowed and returned to the field.
“What is it, Rei-chan?”
It took Emika a few moments to realize that it was him who made the comment about Ryousuke’s statement in the indoor training facility. His brown hair that was covered earlier by a white baseball cap is now covered by a dark blue helmet, his thick-framed rectangular glasses replaced by a pair of sports glasses.
“This is Miyuki Kazuya, a second year and our current main catcher.” Emika bowed to him while inwardly cursing him as he was already sporting an irritating grin. “Do you know how to read a baseball scorebook by any chance, Shiro-kun?”
“Not yet, Ma’am, I planned on learning to do that in the next few days.”
“Great! Miyuki-kun here will teach you, along with the basics behind his game-calling. Is that alright with you?” Emika opened her mouth to answer Rei but managed to stop herself as it turns out she had asked Miyuki.
“Fine by me, though I’ll say this in advance that I don’t have enough patience to teach slow learners, okay?” Miyuki placed his hands on his hips and smiled smugly at her.
“It’ll be my pleasure to learn a lot from you, Miyuki-senpai.” Emika didn’t bother bowing anymore and just returned his condescending smile.
“Good, you can resume practice now, Miyuki-kun. Thank you.” Rei dismissed the second year and turned to the glaring first year. “He may have a cheeky attitude but his skills as a catcher are definitely among the best in the nation. He’s already acknowledged by some of the highly acclaimed coaches around. That isn’t something you’d see every day in a player as young as him, though our main catcher before him was a tad bit better.” The scout finished with a pleased smile. “Follow me to the cafeteria, these people will be the last you’ll have to meet for today.”
In the cafeteria, three girls sat chatting. Unlike Emika who was still in her school uniform, they were dressed in the school’s jacket and P.E. shorts.
“Good afternoon, Rei-chan-sensei,” the one in pigtails greeted as they approached.
“Good afternoon, girls. This is Shiro Emika,” Rei gestured to the bowing first year. “She’s going to be more of a trainer than a manager, but that doesn’t mean she can’t help you out with managerial responsibilities.”
“I’m excited to be working with you this summer. I’m Fujiwara Takako, a third-year.” The manager whose hair is in a half-up bun softly smiled.
“My name is Natsukawa Yui. This is Umemoto Sachiko. We’re second-years.”
“Call me ‘Sacchin-senpai’.” Sachiko placed her hands on her hips and grinned.
“Nice to meet you.” Emika bowed once again.
Rei turned to the new first-year manager, “You’re free to go home as soon as practice is over. Welcome to the club.”
“Thank you!”
“Come on, Shiro-san, let’s drop off your stuff at our room before we prepare for afternoon snacks.” Takako stood up and Emika, along with Yui and Sachiko followed her into out the cafeteria.
“Please, you can call me Emika. And managers get a room in the dorms?”
“It’s more of our private locker room with our own bath that we can sleep in for when it’s too late to go home or during our training camps,” Yui offered.
Well, that’s pretty convenient.
The senior managers left Emika to settle into her stuff and change into her practice clothes, consisting of her school PE shirt, sweatpants, and her trusty running shoes.
As she finished changing, she looked around. The managers’ room was better than expected, given that this was still part of the school dormitory. It was a bit cluttered, lived-in, and strangely cozy.
She exited the room to find Miyuki Kazuya seemingly waiting for her, his hands stuffed in his pockets and leaning against the wall.
“Better hope they like you.” He gave her a sharp grin, like he already knew the ending to a joke she hadn’t heard yet. “This team chews newbies alive.”
“Don’t worry,” Emika said, lifting her chin. “I bite back.”