VIII. Training Camp and A Ball

Nanairō

I woke up a little while later and everyone was asleep, huddled up somewhere on the floor. I sighed at the somewhat hilarious situation. Ryosuke and Haruichi were both asleep infront of the TV with Kuramochi. They all three had permanent marker covering their faces. Then there was Furuya, Sawamura and Yuuki. Yuuki had a shogi piece taped to his forehead, while Sawamura both had their fingers in a cup of water. Everyone else had creme and feathers all over their faces. Except for Miyuki, who had nothing on his face and was sleeping on the other end of my bed. I gently got up and walked over. To my door and turned off the lights and TV. I slipped on my shoes and left for a walk.

I wandered near the training center. I walked to the vending machine I regularly visited and sat on the bench beside it. I pulled a slip of paper out from my inner pocket and sighed at the required trip we all had to go on to the mountains. What am I going to do about this trip? I sighed and grumbled as I went in the practice room and rubbed my arm. I started to think about how me and Horn-kun would practice here daily as I walked through the building. He left only a few days before I rejoined the team. I stopped and looked around for a while.

After two minutes I felt a heavy weight press against my back. "Do I look like a chair to you, Snake?" I heard a snicker. "Yes you do actually. You even came with legs." I sighed. "I think I like you better when you're asleep, at least you're quiet then." He laughed. "Oh? So you think about me sleeping?" I pulled my foot back and nudged his calf. "I enjoy the rare silence." I could see the crap-eating-grin even though his back was to me. "So you're going to the mascarade dance after the weekend trip into the mountains right? I heard Yakushi and Inashiro will both be there. Kinda like a mixer before a war." I snorted.

"Coach said only the starters were required to go, so good luck with that. I'm a bench warmer so I'm not required." Miyuki snickered. "You'll be the only one from the team not going~" I shrugged against his back as he leaned into me more, causing me to have to use more strength to hold myself and him up. "Not into that stuff. Not my cup of tea." Truth was I was into that stuff. I can't tell him about what both Ji Yūko and Shunpeī asked me to do. I don't get why I have to go as a girl though. "You sure? I heard Prime Minister Nakatomi and his family will be there. You share the same last name, you could definitely get a few pranks out of that." Oh Shunpeī, that was a brilliant idea. Now they can't expose me. "I'd rather not go still. I have something going on with my family that prevents it. Plus everyone knows that the Prime Minister only has two daughters, one being a step daughter." Miyuki grinned. "We could always dress you as a girl and put a wig on your head. You're such a trap that it would work." I coughed awkwardly. "Yeah real funny, laugh it up." Miyuki was laughing loud enough the whole team could probably hear it from my room.

We eventually separated and I went back to my room, which was at that point empty, and packed my stuff for the trip tomorrow. I packed less than everyone else because I would be leaving 8 hours before them and coming back for the ball as Shunpeī's plus one. I opened my phone and flopped on my bed. As soon as I hit the bed my phone started buzzing, signalling that I had a phone call. I answered, not recognizing the number.

"Hello?"

"So Nanairō, your mother and I are coming to your mascarade thing that you will be at. I assume you will be there dressed PROPERLY with your sister, understand?"

"Yeah whatever. I'll go dressed the way you want. I already told them I'm not going, so don't start giving me crap, Mister 'Prime Mister.' "

"You should stop holding your mother's death against me. I'm married to your step mother who loves you."

"Loves me? Ha, that's a good one. There's no way that abusive witch will ever be my mother. You and I both know mom's death wasn't the least bit painful to you."

"You best stop talking about your step mother like that! She treats you well!"

"Yeah whatever, Prime Minister. I'm surprised you haven't disowned me yet. That woman is disdainful and you know it. Her daughter is even worse. Why you married her I don't know, but I'll never consider her to be my mother."

"She makes me happy! Why can't you just let me be happy!"

"Because that woman is just after your fortune and her daughter blamed me for everything. You're married to a woman who valued paper over you and you know it! She looks at your only biological daughter in contempt. Can't you see that?"

"I'm done talking about this. You will show up in the outfit I sent you."

My father hung up after that and I threw something at the wall. "Why must he always pick a fight! He knows I hate that woman..." I sighed and picked up what I threw and then flopped on my bed. I fell asleep after a few minutes, not bothering to wonder why both Ji Yūko and Shunpeī were the ones who had asked me to go as my actual gender.

• • • • •

I woke up at the same time I usally did. I changed quickly into the comfortable mountain climbing clothes I would wear to the trip and looked at my hair in the mirror. It was starting to look like a girl's hair so I cut it back down to the appropriate length and flung my fingers through it to make it as messy as it usually was. After I was ready, I left for breakfast.

I walked in the cafeteria and got a shaving creme pie to the face. I stood there shocked at the sudden prank attack. "Got him!" I wiped the shaving creme away from my eyes before opening them to see someone taking my picture and Miyuki snickering with a crap-eating-grin from his usual seat at the table. I smirked internally. "Shouldn't have pranked us while we were sleeping! Kyahaha!" I played my innocent card. "But I've been framed! It was the Megane I swear!" They all turned and looked at Miyuki, who was grinning from ear to ear. "MIYUKI KAZUYA!" And thus they all started chasing the instigator around the cafeteria while I just watched in patience. Once all of the chasing stopped and Miyuki surrendered, I walked over and grabbed his shirt and wiped my face off on it. "Revenge accomplished." I grinned and we all went to get our food and eat. This is sure to be an eventful day...

We all left the cafeteria in a big pack of craziness. It was only then that I realized I was shorter than everyone else other than Spitz. I had to look up to most of my teammates, sad isn't it? "Hey Isashiki, you're the same height as Nakatomi-kun, right?" Oh boy. I pretty much hid behind Tanba while they all took notice of my shared height with Jun. "Yeah you're right, I just noticed!" I shrunk down more behind Tanba while we were all walking. "THERE'S NO WAY IM THAT SHORT!" Miyuki and Kuramochi both were cackling at Jun's outburst. "Where is that shorty anyways?" I continued to hide behind Tanba, who wordlessly cooperated. "Where did he go? He was here a few minutes ago." They all started looking around the group until someone walked up behind me and busted me out. "Found him! Tanba was hiding him! Kyahaha! He's so short no one could see him!" My eye twitched at Kuramochi. You and I both know why I'm so short... " I looked at Kuramochi with puppy dog eyes, which were extremely demeaning, and pouted slightly. He started to turn red and I grinned, returning to my spot wedged between Miyuki and Tanba. "KURAMOCHI-SENPAI WHY ARE YOU SO RED? ARE YOU OVERHEATING." I choked down laughter. "Pfffft..." Serves you right, Mon Ami.

• • • • •

I grabbed my backpack and fled the bus before Kuramochi and Miyuki could catch me. I was being chased for two reasons, one for each person. Kuramochi was chasing me because I embarrassed him with the pout and puppy dog eyes. Miyuki was pissed because I stole his phone and called every female contact and told them he was madly in love with them while he was busy doing something stupid I have no cares about. "Stop running you freaking cheetah!" I gave them both a cheeky grin and kept running for my life. "Never!" I circled around the building and back, just in time for the tallest one of us to come off the bus, so I jumped up on his shoulders and sat on them, looking down at Miyuki and Kuramochi. This wasn't the first time the third year had carried me, so he was used to it.

"How do you jump to freaking high? What are you? A frog?" I grinned at Miyuki's question as he and Kuramochi stood breathing heavily after running five laps around the building trying to catch up. "Think about it positively Miyuki, now all the girls from our school that attend the dance will be falling over you." I grinned as he and Kuramochi grabbed my leg in an attempt to dismount me of my protective senpai, I tumbles down in a flash. I let out a girly yelp as I landed on something warm and comfortable. I held my eyes closed for a moment before opening and realizing my situation.

Right below me was the four-eyed idiot who pulled me off of Tanba. We were face to face in a very awkward position. Miyuki had his left hand on my chest and his right on the ground. My right hand was under his shoulder and my left was pressed against his chest. Right beside us was Kuramochi, who was underneath Tanba. Woah, chill out heart. It's just stupid Miyuki! I c-can't like him r-right? Miyuki and I were staring at each other wide eyed for a while before Sawamura ran over loudly.

"BAKAZUYA DON'T HURT MY SECOND FAVORITE SENPAI!" I snapped out of my trance and jumped away, semi-hiding behind Ryosuke, Tanba and Kuramochi, visibly embarrassed. I cleared my throat slightly. I know why my heart was going... But why was his? Did me falling scare him that much? Miyuki seemed to have snapped out if his own trance when I cleared my throat. I stared at the ground. "That was idiotic. Why did you pull me off of his shoulders? Any of us could have been hurt." Jun snorted. "I can't tell who's the victim here." I peaked out of the corner of my eye and looked at Miyuki, who was embarrassed and rubbing his neck while staring at the ground. Ah I should save him the embarrassment. "Woah, is Mi-" "I'm hungry." I interrupted Kuramochi sharply. I gave him a look to keep it to himself. "Let's go eat then. We've been on a bus all day so we're all pretty hungry too." I grinned and nodded before jumping back up on Tanba's shoulders. He started walking with everyone else, not bothering with me.

Kazuya

That was probably the stupidest and most embarrassing thing I had ever done. I my face was hot and I rubbed my neck. I stared at the ground in pure embarrassment. And then Kuramochi decided to open his trap. "Woah, is Mi-" he was cut off sharply by Satōshi. "I'm hungry." Nori added on to Satō's interruption. "Let's go eat then. We've all been on a bus all day so we're all pretty hungry too." I looked up as they all tracked forward and Satōshi hopped onto Tanba's shoulders. I stared at his back as he happily socialized with the others. Did he interrupt Kuramochi to keep him from making me feel more embarrassed...?

I followed the others as we arrived in a gigantic cafeteria, where two sets of tables were filled with the two other teams. Our set of tables quickly went from vacant to full as we all got our food. Satō and I were the last ones and there was only one seat left. Ah... That's messed up. "Um could you all scoot over so both of us can sit?" Masuko grunted and Jun responded. "Sorry, there isn't anymore room to be made. Just sit in his lap, it's fine." I swallowed hard. Jun, when we get back I will prank you so hard I swear you'll regret this...

Nanairō

I looked at Miyuki and my breath hitched. He sat down slowly and let me sit on his lap, which quickly became awkward. Very. Awkward. I ended up having to put my food on one side of the tray and he put his on the other. We both ate, conversing with Kuramochi and Kawakami about who has to share a bed with who. Yes. Not only were there not enough seats, there weren't enough beds. We were told before hand that we would be sleeping 2 to a bed, which only started bugging me now. I was fine with it until the whole Miyuki incident. God please don't let what I think will come out of Kuramochi's mouth come out. "So me and Kawakami will share and you and Miyuki will share, easy." I felt like choking him to death.

I continued to eat my food as neither me nor Miyuki made a comment. "It's settled then." I suddenly started choking on my food, causing Miyuki to smack my back to help. It did, but I was literally 5 seconds away from getting up and dragging Kuramochi out. The rest of dinner was silence as the sun set outside.

We all walked to our assigned cabins, two per cabin, while two cabins were attached by a bathroom. Miyuki and I were in cabin 35 while Kuramochi and Kawakami were in cabin 34. The cabin next to us was empty, so the door leading into it from the bathroom was deadlocked shut. The door on the outside was as well. I walked in behind Miyuki and set my stuff on the opposite side of the room. "I'm changing." I walked into the bathroom and changed into an oversized white shirt and baggy black shorts. I kept my chest wrapped and walked back out, sitting as far away from Miyuki as I could as he changed. I read Sherlock Holmes while he answered numerous phone calls (of my doing) from numerous different girls from our school.

Everything finally settled down at around 10:30PM, 3 hours and 30 minutes after the first call. I closed the book and set it on the bag with my stuff. I stood up and stretched, causing him to look at me. I built a pillow wall in the middle of the mattress, taking the smaller side for myself and wordlessly crawling under my side and turning out the lights. Miyuki took a bit longer to get in bed and turned his light off with a conflicted look. After that, I was fast asleep.

• • • • •

I woke up somewhere around 2 in the morning and I was greeted by a sweet spice scent and warmth enveloping me comfortably. The pillow wall had been demolished by both of us, as I was curled into Miyuki's chest and he had his arm around my waist. I looked at his peaceful face and smiled slightly. He's likeable when he's sleeping... I attempted to pull away from him but eventually just gave in. I blinked slowly and tiredly before going back to sleep. Maybe I'm starting to like him...

Kazuya

I woke up early to something curled into me. My arm was wrapped around it and holding it closely. I realized it wasn't a pillow when I realized it had a flowery scent close to that of an orchid. I opened my eyes and saw a blurry image of what looked like a girl in my arms. After a moment I realized it was Satōshi. He looks... More like girl when he's asleep. But he has to be a guy right? He has to be. I looked at my watch to see it was only five minutes until time to get up. I nudged Satō with my arm. I sighed when he only grunted at me. I was still tired, but it was bothering me that I could sleep so comfortably with a dude in my arms. I pulled away from Satōshi gently, careful not to wake him up, and got changed into my white training uniform. I flicked Satō across the forehead to wake him up. I almost forgot to put my glasses on completely. Satōshi rolled out of bed and stood up groggily before changing into a practice uniform like he didn't even notice me. I was practically blind, so it was kind of like no one being there. "Um where are my glasses?"

Nanairō

"Um where are my glasses?" I literally jumped of of my skin and let out a girly yelp of surprise. Thank God he is blind... I noticed his glasses on the nightstand, so I picked them up and opened them carefully. I pushed them on the face of the dork I shared a room with. "There. Now the blind shall see." I grinned and played off my totally forgetting his presence and my girly scream by grabbing my baseball bag. We were dealing with a round robin today, and I was ready to play.

Miyuki, Kuramochi, Kawakami and I all three arrived in the cafeteria, which had the same seating arrangements as before, meaning I was sitting in Miyuki's lap, which wasn't as awkward as before. "Sorry about my bad sleeping habits." I muttered in a whisper so I didn't interrupt Kuramochi and Kawakami's conversation with Miyuki. He either didn't hear me or ignored me, so I played it off and ate my food while listening to the three. "So Miyuki, when do we get to meet your girlfriend?" I coughed and choked down a smile and a laugh. Kawakami if only you knew... Kuramochi showed no effort of holding in his laughter. "Kyahaha! It's more like girlfriends." That was the limit of my self control, as laughter came spewing out of my mouth. "Very funny. I don't have a girlfriend at all, but Satōshi here decided to call every female contact on my phone and tell them I was madly in love with them, his sister included." Kawakami looked like he was fighting off a laugh. "Serves you right for pestering everyone else."

"When have I ever pestered anyone?"

"You pester alot of people, Kazuya."

"Name one person."

"Me."

"How have I pestered you?"

"How about when you used me as a chair?"

"In my defense, you do look alot like a chair."

"How?"

"Well, you have legs."

"Of course I do, Baka."

"How was I to know they were for walking and not to hold me up?"

"Oh you're right, my bad for assuming you were smart enough to understand that on your own."

Everyone seemed intrigued by our bickering, but my last comment was the icing on the cake. Kuramochi started cackling at my final words, despite them not being that funny. "Kyaha! You two bicker like a divorced couple." My eye twitched at Kuramochi. Kawakami at his food quietly to escape the situation, so I left all of my food on Miyuki's tray and got up, leaving Kuramochi and Miyuki. I swear they both have twisted personalities.

I walked next to Nori as we walked to the twin dirt training fields that seemed out of place in the mountains. But then again, the massive amount of buildings in the area weren't normal either. "FASTBALL-SENPAI! PLEASE CATCH FOR ME! MIYUKI KAZUYA REFUSED BECAUSE HE HAS TO CATCH FOR FURUYA." I looked at the loudest first year of them all. He and a select few Second string members were asked to come due to how we were splitting the teams. "Sure, just be careful that you don't do anything stupid. These may be scrimmages, but you need to take them seriously. Coach split the Varsity team into two, since two games are going on at once. It looks like it'll be you and me and Kazuya and Furuya. Tanba and the other third years most likely will play with Miyuki, while we'll get the majority of the second year varsity players." Sawamura nodded briskly and grinned with excitement before running off.

"Where does he get all of that enthusiasm from? He does realize I'm pretty much second rate compared to Kazuya right?" Nori shrugged. "I have no idea-" An arm draped over both of our shoulders suddenly, interrupting Nori. "Ah, don't degrade yourself Satō, you're no second rate Catcher." I was already irritated before he even opened his mouth. "Get off, I need to go help Sawamura warm up." Miyuki grabbed my shoulder. "Don't you know who's team you're on? Let Miyauchi catch for him-" I cut him off with a sharp look. "Did you forget who your Pitcher is? I'm catching for Sawamura because you're a mean wife and told him no." He grinned. "Oh? I'm the mean wife? You're the mean husband, refusing to pitch to me." I snorted. "Who's fault is it really? Sawamura told me you picked Furuya over him. Tsk tsk." Furuya walked up. "Miyuki-senpai, can I warm up now?" I laughed at Miyuki, who was excited from someone finally giving him respect as Furuya dragged him off.

I walked on to the second field with Nori, where I was tackled by an over-excited Sawamura. "FASTBALL-SENPAI I'M READY TO WARM UP!" I nodded slowly and grabbed my glove before walking to the giant bullpen that was intended for both fields. There were about fifteen spots total, and only four were open, so naturally I took the spot closest to Miyuki's while Miyauchi and Kawakami took the one beside me. Miyuki smirked at me as I put on my gear. "I wouldn't get too comfortable in that gear, coach put Miyauchi and you on the same team for a reason." I looked at him for a second. "Don't Tell me..." He nodded with a crap eating grin. "Yep, he put you on both rosters." I groaned in exasperation. "So I have to play each team twice and run between fields? That's what you're telling me?" Miyuki's grin widened. "Yup. Don't worry, you'll get a break when Inashiro plays Yakushi." I sighed with a grimace and got in my crouch. "I'm soooo going to get you back later."

Sawamura warmed up in the most embarrassing way he could by being extra loud and enthusiastic, while Miyuki had to warm up two pitchers, Furuya and Tanba. Kawakami and Miyauchi finished well before us, as did most of the other batteries besides one of Yakushi's. Once Sawamura had his fill, he walked out the opposite door as Tanba. I stripped down out of the gear and grabbed my lefty glove I used for pitching from my bag. Miyuki was already waiting for me at his spot. Before I could get to my position, Shunpeī walked up and started a conversation.

"Hey, Satōshi! You're gonna pitch against my team today right?" I nodded with a grin to match his. "Shunpeī, in all the years I've known you, you've never been so happy about baseball, what changed?" His face brightened. "I met someone who made me realize how much fun baseball is along with what it can do for my college career." I genuinely smiled at his new-found enthusiasm. "I hope you know I'll fight hard against you in the game, no matter how close of friends we are!" I laughed. "You better be ready to loose twice, Shunpeī!" He waved me closer and whispered in my ear. "Have fun with pretty boy tonight, okay? He's already jealous that we're so close but you'll get your chance tonight as a girl." My ears turned red as he walked away with a laugh and a wave.

I took in a deep breath and calmed myself down. How did he know!? "Um, you ready to warm up?" I almost jumped out of my skin. Almost. I cleared my throat and nodded. "What shocked you so much your face went red?" I coughed slightly as he threw me the ball and crouched. "You don't wanna know." He had a slight frown on his face. "You two seemed close." I bit back a grin. "Old friend." He looked slightly relieved. "You're awfully curious." I threw the first pitch straight to his glove. "I-" He closed his mouth quickly and I grinned. He threw the ball back. I kept pitching through the warm-up process until I was good. "Go kick some Inashiro butt!" I waved him off as I went out the other door. He seemed to have gained his confidence back as he did the same. He's such a dork.

Time skip to the 5th inning of game one

Clink! "What is that, Homerun 3 for Satōshi? Eh just call the game, they're beating us 7 to 2 in the Fifth inning." My ear twitched as I heard the other team's catcher complaining. "He's just the temporary leader for this half of Seidō's starting 21. They usually only have 20, but I heard he only just rejoined recently. How is he not the Cleanup? He literally killed every pitch of Sanada's. Maybe if the other half of our team was here we'd be destroying this one man pillar." Sure enough, the game was called then due to our obvious victory. But right before I stepped on home plate, Tanba was standing at the entrance to the bullpen that connected to the other field as well as ours. "Satō-san, Miyuki-kun sent me to come get you, there's trouble." My foot hit home plate and I bolted into the dugout, grabbed my crap and ran out with my helmet still on my head, following Tanba.

We came out on the other field and I was tired and sweaty. Seidō's players were all gathered around the home plate I set my crap down in the dugout and ran over. What I saw was Furuya on the ground, out cold with a helmet on. Needless to say, he had a seam-print on his cheek. "What happened?!" Tanba began to explain that he popped a foul up and it hit him in the face when he looked up to find it. I sighed. I gently picked him up, since everyone else was busy gawking at the boy as he was out cold. I gracefully carried him into the crappy dugout and laid him out on the bench with an icepack on his face. I walked back out with my bat in hand and my helmet, that I never took off, on. "I'll bat in his place." They all blinked in surprise but walked back to the dugout.

Inashiro seemed to have realized that I was no where near my teammates in height or weight. "Huh? This is that kids replacement? He looks like a first year junior high kid! Hey kid! This is a highschool game, you should call your Mommy and ask her to take you home!" They weren't irritating me. You must have balls of steel talking like that to someone that is a wildcard to your team. Their pitcher wound up as I stood in the left side of the box. The bases were, fortunately (seeing as we were 3 points behind), loaded. The pitch came fast, but I could tell where it was trekking. "Strike!" Borderline. Now then, it's time to tear this pitcher down.

He wound up and delivered in the same spot as before, but I was waiting on it. Clank! The ball flew, and it was gone. "What!? That little munchkin can hit like that!?" I grinned as each of the runners tapped home until it was my turn. I walked in the dugout and just got gawked and stared at. "What? Those were the runs we needed right? That makes the score 4 - 5 right?" Kuramochi and Miyuki both collaborated on screwing up my hair and wiping their sweat all over me. "And to think we all struggled to get loaded bases, and here you come swinging like it's nothing! Kyahaha!" I grinned and ran my fingers through my sweat soaked hair. The next batter proved what Kuramochi was jokingly saying was true, as he struck out. "He's fast, but not impossible."

I grabbed my glove, just as Furuya was awake and grabbing his glove like he was going out. Tanba put his hand on his shoulder and sat him back down. "Ah, sorry, but you can't go back out there. They already substituted you." Furuya seemed to have a melancholic cloud over him after hearing this. He obediently sat back down as I walked back out and on the mound. Kazuya threw me the ball as Inashiro wasted no time in supplying a batter. "Oh boy, now the little kid who can hit Narumiya's ball out of the field is a pitcher? Give me a break, he's probably just some relief pitcher." What a cocky first basemen... They make Miyuki look like the friendliest man alive... Miyuki called for a straight fastball to the chest. I delivered just what he asked for, straight to the glove with the most power I could put into it. The batter cowered away from the ball. I looked at the first baseman of Inashiro with a smirk, and caught the ball Miyuki threw back. "Now meet our real ace." Tanba muttered. I looked at him and he nodded, so I continued.

The game finally finished after we all held the score 4 - 5. I knew we had accomplished something by pushing ourselves against a difficult team with only 11 (well, really and truly 10 in the end) players. Inashiro seemed shocked that I wasn't a pushover.

"Who is that Pitcher?"

"I think I saw him in a magazine last week."

"Me too! He was being compared with Miyuki right?"

"I heard from the other half of our numbers that were watching while waiting on their game to start that he played catcher and clean-up of that half. They said that he scored 3 home runs, one being a triple, for 5 total out of 7."

"Right! He must be Nakatomi Satōshi then right?"

"I read that he's been the top rated player in his league since Junior High."

"I remember seeing that too."

"Huh! But I thought he was from the Kansai prefecture though."

"He is, he probably came via recruitment."

"How come he wasn't recruited his first year though?"

"No idea."

Can they just shut up... I sighed as I packed up my stuff. The other two games were rough but nothing of note happened in them. After running between four games, I felt like I was ready to keel over."Hey coach, I have to leave for my prior engagement, I'll meet you all back at school." He nodded and I bowed while rushing off to go get my stuff from my room. Shunpeī waited behind the cabin and led me to the one my family was staying in just a few cabins down after being sure I wasn't being followed.

I walked in and my father and "mother" stood up. "You're running late. Hurry up and get rid of your terrible stench." I rolled my eyes and walked into the bathroom and took a long hot shower before changing into my clothes that my father left for me in the bathroom. My clothes consisted of a violet dress with gold and black trimmings, violet heels and a black necklace with a violet jewel at its center. I also picked up realistic hair extensions and attached them to my hair, making adjustments until it looked and felt natural. The last component was a violet mask to cover my face. I did quick and light makeup on my face and strapped the mask on my face to cover my facial features. Then the final touch was a light layer of lipstick. I looked feminine enough, but I knew I couldn't very well show my face and expect not to be discovered.

I walked out of the bathroom and out into the open area, where my family was waiting impatiently. "Well, you dressed up well enough, now just hide your second identity for the whole night and we won't have any issues with the press anymore. I'm warning you now, stay away from any and all of the baseball boys unless they are chosen to dance with you. Don't give any emotional contact with any of them unless I say you can. Understand?" I ignored my father's demands and walked out, while my three "relatives" followed me to the large convention center, which was poshly decorated.

I walked in to find that the "ball" had already begun. All of the boys there were so finely dressed it almost made me forget they all played baseball. Father, witch, and mini witch all pushed infront of me, causing me to stumble and trip in the heels due to my inexperience. I got back up with a sour smile and stumbled behind them to catch up, my feet slipping every few steps, which I played off by ignoring the pains shooting up my calves. How do those witches walk in these stupid things so easily... My family drew alot of attention as we crossed through the middle of the room. I sent a small smile to everyone who would stare at me as my father stepped onto the stage, signalling me and Mini Witch over.

"Ladies and gentlemen, we thank you for coming to our invitation only ball. We sent one to all three top school of our prefecture, to give all a chance to dance with one of my beautiful daughters. One young man from each school will get a chance to dance with one of whom he chooses. These three young men are: Miyuki Kazuya, Sanada Shunpeī, and Narumiya Mei. Congratulations, you may all three come up and chose the daughter you'd like to dance with." Oh no, that's evil. Each of the three made their way up on stage. Sanada winked at me and walked over to me, as if making his choice. Narumiya turned to Mini Witch and stood beside her. Miyuki looked between the two of us before taking a few steps towards me and stoping infront of me. "I think one more set of three is necessary, so the following three may come: Sawamura Eijun, Carlos, and Todoroki Raichi. All three walked up, Eijun grinning and Todoroki eating a banana. Why? Who knows. Surprisingly, all three went to mini witch, leaving me with Miyuki and Shunpeī. "And there we have it, let's enjoy the night ladies and gentlemen." There was a round of applause before a fast waltz started. I took Shunpeī by the hand first and took him onto the dancing designated area.

As I struggled to waltz in heels, he grinned down at me. "Struggling with your shoes, Nanai?" I nodded. "I've never worn heels before. To think, I can handle a round of cleanups better than I can handle a pair of shoes." He laughed slightly. "Your Dad chose me and Miyuki, you're going to keep a cool head right? You're beautiful and wearing a mask, he won't recognize you so easily." I nodded slowly. "But he knows my physique well, except for my bust, which has been tightly bound the whole time." Shunpeī winked as our dance was over. He led me by the hand to Miyuki, who was patiently waiting. My heart is going 100 miles per hour and he doesn't even know the half of it.

Miyuki gently took my hand and led me to the floor while a now slow paced waltz was played. I was stumbling the whole way until he stopped me and took off my heels, making me feel more comfortable. "Better?" I nodded with a genuine smile as we started dancing. "So it is true that the Prime Minister has two daughters." I looked him in the face. "Yes, that's right." He seemed curious. "You seem very familiar, have we met before?" I shook my head in denial. "Ah, I've been out of country." He made a slight noise of understanding. "When did you come back?" Well isn't he just overly nosy? "Today."

"How many siblings?"

"One, a step sister."

"Name?"

"Nahī Nakatomi."

"Are you sure it's only one?"

"Of course."

"Then you wouldn't happen to know Satōshi Nakatomi would you?"

I choked on my next words, but I was interrupted by someone shoving me into Miyuki from behind. "Oops."

Kazuya

That same smell... Orchids... Could she be...? There were too many inconsistencies in her story, but her response to my latest question was cut off when she was shoved from behind. "Oops." I looked up and saw Nahī looking smug as she had just shoved her sister, most likely on purpose. "Excuse me, Nahī-san. Please do not act so cruelly towards Nanai-san. She is your Onē-chan." When I heard the voice I turned my head towards the source. It was the same guy Satōshi was having an overly friendly conversation with. That has to be it... But is he a boy or a girl then...? I looked down at the smaller girl that was standing near me. Same height... And those don't look fake...

"Whatever Shunpeī. I'll do whatever I want! Like this!" Nahī walked up to the other Nakatomi and pulled the mask off of her face. Same facial features!? Something is not right... What happened next no one expected. Nahī slapped the crap out of Nanairō. Nanairō sat in shock on the ground while holding her cheek. "Ha! I even left a five-star!" I gently grabbed Nanairō by the elbows and helped her up, while looking at her cheek. "Nahī that's enough." I looked up at the Prime Minister and his wife, who both looked satisfied and content with their youngest's disrespectful demeanor to her sister. "Does it hurt too badly?" I asked her while thumbing the slightly swollen slap mark, causing her to flinch away. I looked at Shunpeī and he nodded, signalling he would take care of the rest. He's pretty reliable, even though I don't know him. I led Nanairō out.

"I'm fine, you should go back and I'll catch up once everything cools down." I continued to lead "her" to my cabin quietly. As I led her to the cabin she froze when she realized our destination. "What is it? I'm leading you back to the cabin you stayed in last night aren't I?" She shook her head. "No, I just arrived here hours ago." I frowned. At least you're keeping a consistent story. But why do I get the feeling you're lying...? "Oh, I forgot, sorry." I grinned and rubbed my neck. "Ah, I think I'll probably head back to my cabin and change into comfortable clothes." I stared at Nanairō. "Yeah, alright." She waved as she walked away. Maybe I'm just over thinking it.

I walked back to the hall and made my way inside. Everything had somewhat settled down and Sanada was waiting on me. When I walked in, he walked over. "How is she? She isn't seriously hurt is she?" I stared at him. "She's good." He made a face of relief. "Good! Good!" I rubbed my neck. "Can I ask you something?" Sanada perked up curiously. "What is it?" I took in a deep breath. "Is Nanairō a boy?" His face hardened. "Of course not." I frowned slightly and then covered it with a grin. "I was just messing with you!" I laughed slightly. He nodded with a reciprocated grin. "Oh! Haha-" Someone called out to him. "Shun-kun! It's time to go!" He looked back before looking back at me and grinning with a wave before leaving me standing there.

Our school packed up and left shortly after and there wasn't another appearance of Nanairō or Satōshi until the next day, when Satōshi showed up for class but was excused from morning practice. It was odd, but everything went back to normal.