This is my first chaptered Daiya no Ace fic that is tied to the one-shot I've posted a long time ago. Some (more like most) of the dialogues are taken from the anime. During the match scenes, I would suggest watching the anime episode while reading, because my description-making skills are nonexistent. I started this fic just to indulge myself, and it wasn't even supposed to see the light of day, but because my friends wanted to read it, I decided to just post it and hope for the best.

This whole fic is done, and if nothing goes wrong, I will post a chapter every Saturday and Sunday.

Word of caution: I tend to make my OCs Mary-Sue, so if you don't like that, you can stop reading now and I won't hold it against you : )

And for the people who are waiting for the sequel of my Naruto fic, Secrets, I am so sorry to say that I haven't gotten down to continue writing it. I've got a couple of chapters ready, but I'm not ready to post it yet. I hope you guys will be patient and wait until I'm ready. Again, I'm so sorry.

Hope you guys enjoy it!

"Yukari-chan."

Ichikawa Yukari looks up from her notebook as she takes her earphones out of her ears. Usually, when she wears them, people know that she is not to be disturbed. But there are people who are exempted from that rule, such as Kataoka Tesshin – the Seidou baseball team's head coach –, Takashima Rei – the Seidou baseball team's scout –, Oota Kazuyoshi – the Seidou baseball team's advisor –, and her parents.

This time, because Rei is the one who called her, Yukari doesn't think twice when she pulls her earphones out – not like she was listening to anything, it's just effective to ward off troublesome people. She pockets her notebook and pen as Rei approaches her with a brunette boy wearing a yellow hoodie in tow.

"Is this the one you caught from Nagano, Rei-san?" Yukari asks. She can see that her choice of words has confused the boy.

"Not quite yet. He's just here for a visit so that he can make up his mind. This is Sawamura Eijun from Akagi Junior High," Rei says, "Sawamura-kun, this is Ichikawa Yukari, Seidou baseball team's trainer and manager. Sometimes she comes with me to scout too."

"N-Nice to meet you! I'm Sawamura Eijun from Akagi Junior High in Nagano!" Sawamura says with a loud voice as he bows at Yukari. She winces at the volume.

"Ichikawa Yukari. First year. Nice to meet you too," Yukari says with a small bow, "And I'm not a trainer yet."

"First year?!"

"What position do you play?" Yukari asks, ignoring Sawamura's reaction after he hears her grade.

"I-I'm a pitcher!" Sawamura says. Before Yukari can open her mouth to say another word, a loud voice comes from the field.

"Hey, Kawakami!" Yukari sighs at the familiar voice of Azuma Kiyokuni, a third year player who gets on her nerves all the time because of his loudness, "You throw like a girl! How about you pitch with some feeling?! You're tired already?! This is why you can't make the team!"

"I'm sorry…" Kawakami Norifumi, a pitcher from Yukari's year, says from behind the pitching screen.

"If you don't wanna get better, then go back home to your mommy! We've got plenty of pitchers to replace you!" Azuma shouts. Yukari feels a slight movement come from Sawamura, and she eyes him from the corner of her eyes.

"I want to get better!" Kawakami says.

"Then give me your best shot!" Azuma taunts.

"You should take a good look at his batting," Rei says to Sawamura, who turns to look at Rei.

"That's true. Despite his troublesome personality, Azuma Kiyokuni-san is a formidable batter," Yukari says.

"He's a monster batter with 42 home runs in his high school career. He's one of the players who'll be drafted this year," Rei explains. Kawakami then pitches a ball which is hit with immense power by Azuma that it flies over the fence.

Azuma scoffs, "It's like I'm swinging through air! You're gonna make my skills rust like that! Kawakami! You're done! Get off the mound!" Kawakami looks like he doesn't want to, but he doesn't – more like can't – say anything towards Azuma, "Someone carry him out! Put him in a cardboard box and send him home!" Azuma says before laughing.

Yukari presses the bridge of her nose as she feels a headache building out of annoyance. What a nuisance. He's got nothing but his batting skills, yet he's so damn arrogant, Yukari thinks.

"…what's his problem?"

Yukari turns when she hears those words come out of Sawamura's mouth.

"He's gonna play pro ball with a body like that?! Impossible!" Yukari's eyes widen when Sawamura shouts those words towards Azuma, "Look at his belly! He looks like an old man!"

"Wait, Sawamura-kun!" Rei reprimands him. But Sawamura doesn't stop right there.

"I bet he's at least 40 years old! There's no way he's in high school!"

Yukari smirks at Sawamura's antics. He's got guts. Interesting…

"Who in the world… is making fun of my cute belly?" Azuma growls.

"Cute belly?! I think you mean your fat belly!" Sawamura shouts as he points at Azuma and laughs.

"Who is that brat?!"

"Does he want to die?!"

"Azuma-san's been trying to lose that weight for a while, too…"

Yukari can see from her spot that Azuma is ready to attack Sawamura as some of the players try to hold him back, but failing.

"Get out of my way!"

"Wa– Azuma-kun!" Rei scolds, "Apologize right now, Sawamura-kun!"

"A 'baseball abroad' program? Maybe everyone here has determination and aspiration, but just being better doesn't give you the right to talk trash about other people. He made fun of his pitches, and then told him to go back to his mommy? Even if everyone else is fine with it, I'm definitely not gonna let it slide," Sawamura says before lifting his face to look at Azuma, "You can't play baseball by yourself!"

Azuma growls and pushes Sawamura back by his belly. Even Yukari has to admit that his bigger stature intimidates her a little, but she has to applaud Sawamura for being able to glare straight into the monster's eyes.

"Did this prestigious school not teach you that this is a team sport?!"

So he cherishes his connection with his friends… that's good, Yukari thinks with a small smirk. Suddenly Rei approaches Azuma.

"Sorry, Azuma-kun. He just came out of the countryside, so he's completely clueless about the real world," Rei explains to Azuma. Yukari scoffs out a small laugh at Rei's words and Sawamura's annoyance.

"You're a pitcher, right?" Yukari then asks Sawamura, who nods, "You're both respectable baseball players; why don't you shut him up with your skills?" she says towards both boys.

"…sure… I don't mind at all," Azuma says, "However, I won't let him get off the mound until he begs for mercy," he says as he glares at Sawamura.

"Wait a minute! I never asked to have a match with some jerk like him!" Sawamura protests.

"Sawamura-kun," Rei says with authority, "This is a baseball field. Like Yukari-chan said, if you have something to say, you're going to have to say it through baseball," Sawamura looks annoyed, but doesn't say anything further, "Now, go get changed."

"Hehe…"

Yukari turns to look behind Azuma and Rei at the sound of laughter.

"It sounds like a lot of fun," a boy says as he sits on the ground, spinning a baseball with the tip of his finger. He then lightly throws the ball in the air and catches it in his hand, "Rei-chan, Yuka-chan…" the boy with brown hair and sports visor say with a grin, "Can I catch his pitch?" he asks as he smirks widely at Sawamura and Azuma.

"Who's that?" Sawamura asks.

"Miyuki Kazuya," Yukari answers, "He's a catcher from my year."

"Miyuki! You're a first year! Don't get cocky!" Azuma scolds.

Miyuki laughs, "Well, excuse me. But Azuma-san, you've been kinda on a high horse lately, so I just think it'll do you good to play with us kids to go back to basics," Miyuki says as he keeps playing with the ball in his hand.

Azuma clicks his tongue, "Who's on a high horse?!"

"Kazuya, watch what you say!"

"He's gonna jump you!"

Miyuki ignores his teammates as he stands up and pats his behind to clean it from dirt. He then sends a smirk Azuma's way. Rei then shows Sawamura where he can get changed into a uniform, while Yukari walks towards the dugout to get Miyuki's catcher gear. When she turns around to walk towards Miyuki, she finds him already behind her. She frowns when he only grins at her.

"…what?" Yukari finally asks.

Miyuki pouts, "You're no fun, Yuka-chan. I can never catch you off guard."

"Were you even trying to catch me off guard?" Yukari asks with an incredulous look on her face, "Hurry up and get in gear," she says as she gives Miyuki his chest gear. He's wearing his shin guards when Rei approaches them.

"Miyuki-kun, I'm glad you volunteered," Rei says, "His pitches are a bit peculiar," she then smiles at Yukari, "He's really interesting, Yukari-chan. He himself doesn't even know what he has," she then smirks at Miyuki, "Think you can draw out his potential?"

Miyuki looks taken aback for a while, before he smirks, "Heeh, what was that? You must have high hopes for this kid."

After both Miyuki and Sawamura are done setting up, they go to the bullpen while Yukari follows Rei towards the side of the field.

"…no hard feelings even if I happen to hit you!" Yukari turns her focus towards Sawamura, who suddenly shouts those words at Azuma. She can tell that Azuma wasn't expecting that out of the junior high school student.

Miyuki falls over laughing, "Just as I thought, this guy's interesting!"

"Miyuki! Nothing's funny here! You wanna get hurt?!" Azuma threatens.

Miyuki takes a breath and says, "Oh, I'm sorry," without sounding like he means it.

Not long after, Miyuki, Sawamura, and Azuma move from the bullpen towards the field. Sawamura walks towards the mound, Miyuki walks towards the batter box while Azuma waits beside the batter box for the two of them to finish warming up. After putting his mask on, Miyuki smirks and spreads his arms wide, then punches the mitt on his left hand with his right fist.

When Sawamura takes his stance and throws his first pitch, Yukari's eyes widen and her whole body stiffens. She wasn't paying attention when they were warming up in the bullpen, so the sight of Sawamura's peculiar form shocks her to the core. Without her knowing, she makes her way towards Miyuki and finds herself standing behind him.

"Yuka-chan?" Miyuki asks. Yukari snaps out of her daydream at Miyuki's call.

"Sorry… I just want to see his pitch from here," Yukari says.

Miyuki smirks, "A catcher's curiosity?"

Yukari shrugs, "You can say that."

Miyuki then throws the ball back at Sawamura and the pitcher pitches once again. Yukari bites her lower lip and flinches when the ball hits Miyuki's mitt. She then walks away from Miyuki.

"Eh? Yuka-chan? Don't you wanna see more?" Miyuki asks.

"That's enough. Excuse me," Yukari says curtly as she practically runs away from the field. She can feel people eyeing her weirdly. She knows that she's making a scene, but she doesn't care. She has to get out of the field right now. She looks up to see Rei's worried eyes looking at her.

"Yukari-chan…" Rei calls out. Yukari knows that Rei might be feeling guilty about this, but Yukari can't handle this right now.

"Excuse me, Rei-san," Yukari says shortly as she makes her way towards the spirit dorm. She makes her way to the second floor and stomps towards the closest door to the coach's room; her dorm room. She unlocks the door and slams it shut after walking in. She pants in exertion as she leans her body against the closed door. She slides down to the floor and puts her arms on her knees, hiding her face with her arms as she takes shaky breaths.

"…Kaori-nee…"

xXx

After managing to pull herself together, Yukari leaves her room. She knows that by leaving practice early and in that manner, she has attracted a lot of unwanted attention. She has never left practice early with no reason and without the consent of the head coach. She makes her way back to the field.

In the field, she sees everyone already lining up with the head coach and the advisor in front of them. She sighs in resignation as she continues to walk towards the field. Damn it. I thought I could return to the field before Kantoku arrives… oh well…

Yukari can feel the players' eyes on her as she nonchalantly walks towards where the coach and director stand. She nods wordlessly when the coach eyes her. She knows he was going to ask her where she was. She watches as the coach closes the practice, silently wondering if Rei had already gone and sent Sawamura home. She also wonders if Sawamura would actually consider entering Seidou.

After the players are dismissed, Yukari follows the head coach and the advisor to the viewer's room in the field. She prepares herself for a bit of scolding.

"Ichikawa," Kataoka calls out.

"Yes, Kantoku."

"I heard that you left in the middle of practice today. Why is that?" Kataoka asks. Yukari hesitates to answer. She knows that if she lies, the head coach will know immediately. But if she tells the truth, she doesn't know if he'll accept it.

"That kid from Nagano… Sawamura," Yukari starts, "He just reminds me of something I'd rather not remember," she then bows deeply, "It was immature of me to run away like that. I'm sorry, Kantoku."

Kataoka eyes the red-haired trainer and says, "Just make sure this doesn't happen again. If it does, there will be consequences. Understood?"

Yukari lifts her head and nods, "I understand."

"You're dismissed, Ichikawa."

"Yes, sir. You've worked hard," Yukari says with a slight bow before leaving the room. Outside the door, she sighs and decides to take a bath. After she's done, she walks towards the cafeteria for dinner. She should've been helping the cafeteria auntie serve the food, but because she has to meet with the head coach first, she couldn't. She decides to apologize later.

"Yuka-chan," Yukari hears when she reaches the bottom of the staircase. She turns and sees Miyuki leaning against a vending machine.

"Great work today," Yukari says simply.

"Are you okay?" Miyuki asks, straight to the point.

Yukari shrugs, "I'm fine. By the way, how was Sawamura?"

Miyuki then grins, "He was certainly interesting. His fastballs aren't all that fast, but what makes him interesting is that the more he throws, the less the pitches decelerate."

Yukari hums as she nods, "…interesting."

"Right?! Not to mention his form is also interesting!" Yukari flinches minutely at the mention of Sawamura's form, but she doesn't think Miyuki notices it, "His whole body is flexible so it makes his pitch moves at the plate. I'm pretty sure he doesn't know it."

"…moving fastball, huh?" Yukari wonders. That is actually something she noticed from watching Sawamura, "I feel sorry for his catcher back home. It must be a pain for a normal catcher to catch them."

"Heeh? I could catch them, though~" Miyuki sings with a bright grin on his face.

"You're not exactly a normal catcher," Yukari says with a straight face. She ignores Miyuki's pout and takes Miyuki's beanie off his head and puts it on hers, "I'm going to eat."

"You might wanna get a move on before Masuko-san eats everything," Miyuki teases.

"Damn it, you're right…" Yukari curses under her breath as she turns to run to the cafeteria.

"Yuka-chan," Yukari turns back to look at Miyuki.

"…what?"

"…I won't pry, but I know it when you're lying," Miyuki says. Yukari sighs.

"…later," Yukari finally says before she makes her way to the cafeteria.

xXx

Thankfully, when she arrives at the cafeteria, the cafeteria auntie saved her some food before Masuko manages to devour it all. She thanks her for her consideration and apologizes for not being able to help out. When she eats, the second year players start to crowd her as per usual.

"Did the coach tear you a new one, Ichikawa?!" Isashiki Jun asks with a grin.

"Crude as always, Jun-san," Yukari says simply as she continues to eat.

"Are you okay, Ichikawa?" Tanba Kouichiro asks.

"What happened earlier?" Yuuki Tetsuya asks.

"It's not like you to leave in the middle of practice and return after the coach closes it," Kominato Ryousuke says, then he smirks, "Have you finally reached your rebellious period?"

"UGA!" Masuko Tooru says.

"It's personal," Yukari says, "I do have a right to have secrets."

"Huh? What the hell is that? Were you PMS-ing or something?" Jun asks.

Yukari sighs, "No wonder you don't have a girlfriend, Jun-san."

"WHAT DID YOU SAY?!"

"Hahaha! Nice one, Yuka-chan!" Miyuki laughs as he walks towards where the second years are crowding Yukari.

"Hyahaha! Ichikawa has a point!" says Kuramochi Youichi, a shortstop in Yukari's year and Ryousuke's partner-in-crime, as he follows behind Miyuki.

"MIYUKI, KURAMOCHI, SHUT UP!"

"But you're okay, right?" Ryousuke asks in a display of his brand of concern.

Yukari nods, "I'm okay now, Ryou-nii," she says. Out of all her upperclassmen, Yukari has to admit that her favorite is Kominato Ryousuke. He's honest to a fault, and he's an amazing player. Even though he doesn't have the biggest stature in the team, he could keep up with players twice his size.

Yukari has a special relationship with the Seidou High School baseball team players. Not just the ones who are still around, but also the ones who have already graduated. She has been helping Rei scout and the managers of the team strategize with them since she was in her first year of junior high. After getting over a short time of hatred towards baseball, with the help of a special someone, Yukari regained her love for baseball and agreed to help Seidou scout their players. After she graduated junior high, it was a no-brainer that she entered Seidou.

Even though she is younger than the players on the team, Yukari isn't afraid to use her sharp tongue on the players when it's necessary. When they slack off or when she thinks they can do better, she will openly express her opinion. Needless to say, not a lot of players particularly liked Yukari when they first met her. But eventually, they got used to her cold words and started listening to her. Some of them, like the current second year members; grew to care for her like a younger sister.

They are like Yukari's extended family. She may not show it or say it, but she doesn't mind it when she is bothered when she's eating like now. Mealtimes in her house are usually pretty quiet. But eating in the dorm cafeteria makes her happier, as it's multiple times louder – as much as she hates noise – than eating at home.

"…I heard your younger brother is coming here, Ryou-san?" Yukari hears Kuramochi ask when she comes out of her daydream.

"Heeh, a mini Ryousuke-san, huh? Is he good?" Miyuki asks.

"Why don't you see for yourself later?" Ryousuke smiles.

"Thank you for the food," Yukari says as she gets up from her seat, "You guys should get some rest. You still have practice tomorrow," she says as she takes her tray and puts it on the counter. She smiles at the cafeteria auntie and leaves the room.

"Good night, Yuka-chan! I want my beanie back tomorrow!" Miyuki says.

"Good night," Yukari says as she gives him a wave from over her shoulder without looking back. She returns to her dorm room and finally gets some rest.