𝐣𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 [𝐟𝐮𝐫𝐮𝐲𝐚 𝐬.]

𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐲-𝐨𝐧𝐞.

"sumi!" kazuya smiled at katsumi as she approached the bullpen. "woah, nice haircut!" he grinned, ruffling her newly short hair; the tips just barely grazed her shoulders. she squeaked, pushing his hand away. "ready to pitch?"

katsumi nodded excitedly, "i can't wait!"

"let's warm up with some catch first." kazuya called, tossing katsumi a ball. she nodded, catching it and rolling her shoulders. she hadn't thrown a ball since the sensen game, so she knew it would take a few throws for her to get back to where she was. "if your knee starts hurting, just let me know!"

"o- okay!" she gripped the ball loosely, fingers tingling. she winded her arm back, bringing it down and releasing it. the ball flew a few inches above kazuya's mitt and she frowned.

"aim for the mitt, sumi." kazuya teased.

"i was." she pouted. kazuya let out a chuckle and threw the ball back. it took a few throws before she finally managed to hit kazuya's mitt without him having to move his hand.

"okay, okay! now you're getting back into it! a little bit more, then we can start pitching!" he smiled. it'd been about five minutes when kazuya got into the catching position, usual smirk on his face. "pitch how you like it!"

katsumi grinned, winding her arm back and letting her leg fall down. her pitch wasn't anywhere near what it was during the sensen game, especially with her injured knee, but at least it went straight to kazuya's mitt. she laughed quietly, looking down at her fingers.

"okay, nice pitch." he smiled, throwing the bell back. "let's keep going, yeah?" katsumi nodded, and the duo went on for a while more until the painkillers katsumi took that morning wore off and her knee began throbbing.

"o- oh, aniki?" she called out softly. "i think th- that might be enough for t- today.."

"hm? your knee alright?" he stood, pulling his mask off.

"yeah.. painki- killers wore off." she replied, putting more weight on her right leg.

"alright, well, you should go get breakfast." kazuya said, starting to take his gear off. "i'll see you, okay?"

"okay.." katsumi left the bullpen, taking slow steps to the dining hall.

"katsu! katsumi!" she perked up, smiling and turning to face furuya. as she turned, his eyes widened and his cheeks tinted a soft pink. "you.. your hair."

she smirked, "like it?"

"i love it.." he nodded, stepping closer. her smirk softened to a smile and she blushed, looking down. "hey, i didn't see you yesterday." he frowned softly. "are you doing alright?"

"yeah, i'm do- doing alright. are you?" furuya nodded, wrapping an arm around her to help her walk.

"just missed you yesterday." he mumbled.

katsumi giggled, stopping and wrapping her arms around his waist. he grunted softly, blushing and hugging her back. "then why don't we- we spend today together?" she hummed, looking up at him.

"uh- uh- yeah.. yeah, we can do that." he nodded furiously, letting go of her and leading her to the dining hall. "i'll get your food?" katsumi smiled at furuya, nodding and going to sit down with haruichi and eijun.

"good morning, katsumi-chan." haruichi greeted.

"morning, katsumi!" eijun yelled, not looking up from his tray as he stuffed his mouth full of rice.

"morning, boys." she smiled.

"i like your haircut." haruichi smiled. katsumi returned his smile, giggling as eijun gaped at her, finally taking notice of her hair. furuya came to the table not soon after, putting two trays down on the table. katsumi smiled, thanking the boy and picking up her chopsticks.