Baseball and the Azure Blue Sky

Chapter 18: Sleepover with the Baseball Idiot's Captain

"Hell, Kaz! Will you stop being a dick already?!" Sora cursed as she unlocked the door to her dorm room and got pushed inside by her captain who still refused to remove his arm around her shoulders. "You really are an annoying pain right now! I just promised you I would go to sleep, right? Can't you trust me with this for once? Not that I'm planning to run away"

"Ehh... But you also promised me that I could sleep over, Sora... Don't retract now", Miyuki pouted playfully.

"Wha-...?!" Sora pinched the bridge of her nose in aggravation. "Why today?! Nobody's occupying your room at the moment, right? That offer was to help you out when you need it, not to annoy the hell outa me for fun!"

However, the brown haired catcher wasn't gonna have any of Sora's arguments and plopped down on her bunk once he had taken off his shoes and his jacket at the entrance. His smirk was more than triumphant and the young girl truly had to fight back the urge to punch him.

"Mhh... I've got some things on my mind I thought about asking you. Or discussing with you. And I just assumed that would be easier and comfier for you if we did it in private and as relaxed as possible. You seem to be more talkative and cooperative when you feel at ease and I want to use that for my advantage"

"Wow, Kaz... That really makes me feel comfy with you now..." Sora shot back sarcastically, but sat herself down on her bed beside her captain.

Miyuki chuckled amused and climbed back a bit so that he could lean his back against the wall, making himself at home. The blue haired girl sighed and pulled her knees up to her chest. The young catcher furrowed his brows, noticing that this was more of a gesture to shield the blue head from him instead of coming closer. Sora was still reluctant and being defensive and Miyuki didn't understand why he was the only one his blue haired teammate wouldn't warm up to in a way she did with the others. And no, he still didn't want to classify this as jealousy!

"So, what is it?" Sora asked, waiting for a reaction from her captain.

He suppressed an unnerved sigh. Why was that so hard?! How the hell did Sawamura or Kuramochi and even guys like Shirasu, Watanabe and Kawakami handle the blue head so that Sora would turn to be all tame and gentle and even affectionate?!

For a while the brown haired captain started talking about baseball related things that he would need to know for improving their battery performance. They were mostly discussing different throws, strategies, signs and how Miyuki called his leads and how and if Sora would actually respond to them. Over the time, the blue haired girl relaxed a little bit and also sat back to lean against the wall and to stretch out her legs. Later on, the two of them also talked about the other pitchers and about the way Takigawa had worked with Sawamura to make him grow so fast.

When he finally got tired of beating around the bush and when a longer moment of silence occurred between the two teammates, Miyuki heaved a sigh.

"Sora...", he started seriously, but not so sure how he should put it correctly.

"Not another lecture please, I'm already tired enough..." she wailed, interrupting her catcher before he could say anything.

"...?!"

"Kaz, seriously... I love you guys. I truly and honestly do, but I feel like I can't take like three steps alone without you or Mochi observing my every move like a hawk or somethin'. That's creepy as hell, I swear!"

Miyuki blinked, completely flabbergasted. His mind was still focusing on the three little magic words I love you, although he was very well aware that they had a different meaning in this case and that they hadn't been directed at him alone. But he couldn't care less about the small details. The young catcher repressed a heavy blush and instead cleared his throat to appear calm and composed.