“Come on, Gojo - we don't have all day here!” Shoko’s usually unenthusiastic voice huffed from across the field, now irritated at the lanky blonde standing too-calmly on the pitcher's mound.
“You know you can't rush perfection, dear Shoko!” Satoru replied, the corner of his tongue sticking out in concentration as he took his sweet time eyeing exactly the right angle to throw the small white ball resting in his hand.
“Like it'll help much anyways,” came Suguru’s surly retort, impatiently swinging the bat from where he waited behind home plate wearing a self assured smirk.
“Now, now, Sugu,” the pitcher tutted, briefly flashing a toothy smile of his own. “We both know you and the new girl wouldn't be winning right now if I wasn't allowing it.”
“Allowing it? Why don't you go ahead and throw the ball, hmm Satoru? Then we can see exactly what you’ll allow,” the dark-haired teen countered menacingly in return.
You rolled your eyes at their little testosterone-fueled ribbing, smiling in spite of yourself as you readied to run on second base. You’d already stolen three bases from under the opposing duo’s noses, but you knew the more you did it, the closer Gojo would be watching you.
He looked over his shoulder then, shockingly blue eyes meeting yours at the base behind him as though he knew exactly what you were thinking. You pursed your lips to keep yourself from smirking, only cracking slightly once he turned back around on the mound.
When you had exited the girls’ locker room with Shoko, you were hesitant to say the least; following behind her to the open baseball field where the two boys and a burly teacher stood waiting. Yaga, who you’d been briefly introduced to the day before, announced then that your practical instruction would include a fair amount of team training and cooperative exercises in order to prepare all of you for working together in the field.
You never had been one for sports - not that you weren’t athletic or had any issues with coordination. It had everything to do with your inability to come in physical contact with others, a glaring set-back that your cursed technique provided and one that pretty severely hindered your participation in most team sports.
So your instructor’s words had given you visible pause - a panicked expression crossing your face as you quickly looked from him to Shoko. Your fears were soon quelled, though, when the man tersely forbade any use of physical touch; including, but not limited to, tagging other players in the baseline. This had prompted a nearly child-like tantrum from Satoru while you breathed a quiet sigh of relief at the change unknowingly made just for you.
The two boys were at a stand-off now; the fact that you and Suguru were leading by two runs obviously leaving Satoru on the brink of an all-out conniption. You glanced at home base where Suguru stood, stance ready to hit the ball hard enough to get both of you around the diamond and solidify your win. His dark eyes were already watching you when yours met his, his grip tightening on the bat as the corner of his mouth curled up at your attention.
The pitch caught you off guard, Satoru’s form sending the ball perfectly over home plate faster than you could register it. But somehow Suguru knew right when to swing despite being distracted by you. The sound of the bat cracking against the ball forced your feet into motion, your body hurdling itself toward third base as fast as they could carry you.
You heard Satoru call out to Shoko, your attention split between the base line before you and the pitcher himself while he maneuvered to cover the infield and your teammate quickly rounded first base. You glanced over your shoulder as you rounded third, just long enough to catch a glimpse of your cousin’s arm releasing the ball toward home base. Your head snapped forward to your destination, your stomach lurching once you realized that Gojo was already there - practically straddling the marker and waiting to catch the incoming projectile.
You only had two choices: run faster than you ever had before in hopes of beating the airborne ball or take the chance and slide into the plate. Right between Gojo’s long, outstretched legs.
The wide, toothy grin on his face was proof enough that he knew precisely the scant options he’d left you with; but luckily, you’d never been the type to shy away from getting a little dirty. Your pace suddenly sped up a bit and once you were within less than fifteen feet of your target, you leapt with as much force as you could muster toward the small opening.
Gojo’s jaw dropped, his obvious shock at your decision causing him to momentarily lose track of where the ball was - the ball that ricocheted off the side of his head just as you landed on the base between his feet.
He scrambled at the unexpected contact, abruptly turning his head to look down at you in astonishment. You smiled coyly, wiggling your fingers in an unapologetic wave as Shoko began to yell at him from across the field, snapping his attention back to where Suguru was now rounding third base. Satoru animatedly glanced around for the ball, running to grab it as you quickly got out of the way of their imminent skirmish.
In the end, it was close. Gojo may have gotten Suguru out on that play, but it still wasn't enough to overcome your previous lead over them.
“I gotta hand it to ya, Ieiri,” Suguru voiced from beside you on the walk back to the gymnasium. “That was quite an impressive game out there.”
“Like you’re one to talk,” you retorted after taking a quick sip from your water bottle, the ghost of a smile playing at the edges of your mouth at the compliment. “I’m just glad I could keep up. You guys can get a little intense.”
“You think that was intense, wait until you see them on the basketball court,” Shoko advised with an eye roll.
“Nah,” Satoru disagreed from behind you, the cockiness returned to his tone now that his fit over losing had abated. “Suguru may not admit it, but even he knows I’ll dominate on the b-ball court every time. Even against a dirty player like you, new girl.”
By the last part of his sentence, he had come up behind you - too close - the side of his face nearly touching yours as he lowered his voice and spoke directly into your ear.
You moved shockingly fast, stepping out of his reach and wheeling around to glare at him as a quick pulse of your cursed energy caused the entire group to come to an abrupt stop.
“Don’t touch me,” you seethed through gritted teeth, the warning in your voice unmistakable and your entire body rigidly on high alert at his unexpected proximity.
“Woah. Easy there,” he responded, his hands raised in mock surrender as he looked back at you.
“Reina, you're alright. Everything’s okay,” Shoko placated while quickly angling to position herself between you and Gojo, her normally sleepy eyes wary as they watched you.
A beat of tense silence passed while you glared at the ignorant blonde, his cerulean eyes flashing with dangerous intrigue as what remained of your cursed energy dissipated around you.
“Yeah, Rei, everything's a-okay,” Satoru parroted mockingly, his long arms crossing over his chest and his usual smug grin returning to his face.
“Give it a rest, would you, Satoru?” Suguru spoke up then, his tone saturated with exasperation at his friend’s continued antics. The blonde’s lip pushed out into a surly pout, objection stopping almost immediately on his tongue once he saw the stern look the other boy was giving him. “You know if we take too long getting to the gym, we’ll never hear the end of it from Yaga.”
“Not my fault she’s so sensitive,” Satoru dissented with an exaggerated huff, prompting a swift and clearly forceful nudge from Suguru’s elbow as Shoko rolled her eyes at his childish response. “Alright, alright! Message received - me no touchy the new girl.”
You scoffed in disbelief before turning on your heel and stomping off in the opposite direction of your previous destination, needing a moment alone to calm yourself back down and knowing that Shoko would cover for your unexplained disappearance yet again. A task she’d taken upon herself since you were both kids learning to navigate your confusing new abilities.
A task that you knew never should have been hers to begin with…
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