It was finally the fourth day of the training that came from hell. The week long training camp was nearly at its end. Today, under the hot sun, the focus went to a certainly scary side arm pitcher. He was 'quiet-for-the-most-part' kind of guy. This side armed pitcher was a second year with dark brown hair and eyes. Not to mention, he was one of the four potential pitchers in Seidou. On the current varsity team that is. This second year was given the name, Kawakami Norifumi.

At the moment, Kawakam was inside the bullpen with another varsity member catching fro him. And what better person to do so than the arrogant second year, Miyuki Kazuya. Kawakami went through the motions of his crazy side arm pitch. His left leg stomped forward in a lunge. But instead of throwing his right arm down, he threw it out to the side. His right arm came around in a catapult like motion, swing toward where Miyuki was crouched. Kawakami released the ball, hearing the loud smack of it making contact with a brown leather mitt.

"Ok! Nice pitch." Miyuki smirked at the pitcher. He, too, was pleased by the loud impact the ball had made.

From the smaller mound, Kawakami grinned at the catcher. "Even though I've just been praised by you, it feels weird." He laughed with a smirk making itself noticeable on Kawakami's features. "You must be plotting something." He accused afterward.

Miyuki stood up, getting ready to throw the small white ball back. "Not really....The ball you pitched just now, it would be hard for the batter to swing at it." Miyuki responded to Kawakami's accusation. "Since you're a pitcher with a sidearm delivery, we need to make use of the ball placement." The catcher spoke, giving back his feed. "With such good control, you should have more confidence in your pitching." Miyuki smirked. Kawakami never responded, only going to pitch some more.

Beside the pair was another. This other pair consisted of Miyauchi and the still recovering Tanba. Tanba inhaled deeply and lifted his left leg. His hands floated above his head. Tanba's leg came down, and his upper body twisting after it. His right arms slammed down with extreme power. Tanba exhaled, watching the ball fly from his hands and curve into Miyauchi's mitt. The catcher didn't even flinch from the potential ace's power.

Miyuki smirked, not even glancing toward the other catcher to his right. Miyauchi didn't look back either. "His pitching is also quite good today." Miyuki spoke, receiving another pitch from Kawakami. That's when Miyauchi glanced Miyuki's way. He stood up to return the ball to Tanba.

"Hmph..." He breathed out. "He's already tired...so the ball just now was probably so-so." Miyauchi took a pause, just as the ball flew back into the future ace's mitt. "However...I can feel the spirit behind each ball he pitches. We have no more alternatives. In fact, I'll be pulling you down from your starting position soon." Miyauchi challenged with heated determination.

"Yeah. I'm looking forward to your brilliant performance.." Miyuki could only reply with an amused smirk.

On the other hand, the two first year pitchers were doing nothing related to their desired positions. Instead, they were practicing fielding again. Time and time again, the two stubborn pitchers ran through fielding drills.

Currently, Eijun and Furuya were standing around on the field. Both tried to get what little air they could, into their bodies. One of the second string batters called out to the two first years. "Hey! Don't glance around! Concentrate!" He yelled, hitting another baseball to them. Eijun clenched his jaws together, and ran for the white ball.

"Quick! Pass to second! You can still make it." Another catcher ordered Eijun. The ball landed in the leather mitt. With a loud grunt, Eijun jerked the ball to second base. The runner slid, in a last minute to race the ball to base. But the ball had won and was caught by the second baseman, who tagged their designated base. The players that were around all had expressions of shock, as they stared at the older Sawamura twin.

"What!?"

"Wow..."

"Nice defense! If you're serious, you can do it!" The catcher called from behind home plate.

"The movement just now were perfect!" The batter complimented as well. Suddenly, stars floated around Eijun. You could practically feel his proud aura radiating.

"Yeah. When the ball was passed into the mitt, it was still spinning." The second baseman replied with a blank face. "It's so hard to catch.." He muttered.

Furuya stood quietly, watching the small amount of praise Eijun was getting. A fire lit within the raven haired pitcher. His aura changed from exhausted to determined. Another ball was hit, this time toward Furuya. He ran forward to catch it with the utmost concentration. But like most times, the ball tapped his mitt and ricocheted off of it.

~__!__~

Later on, practice has ended once again with vigorous running and counting. The third and second years panted. And like always, three first years were on the floor, too tired to stand. They'd have to be carried back.

But in the shadows of their team, was the only female player. She's been quiet all day, and no ones really noticed her. Esumi let a small sigh escape past her lips. Today she was panting harshly, which was unusual for the speed demon. Her head pounded, she felt nauseous, her stomach hurt. Yep, it was that time. She is only a girl afterall. She closed her eyes, trying to settle down her aching stomach.

"You sure are quiet today." A voice said, just as a light smack was delivered to Esumi's head. The small brunette haired girl looked up at the tall third year. It was, of course, Jun. Esumi blinked. Jun looked down at the girl. He was slowly growing irritated by the black look on the girl's face. "Oi. Are you okay?" He questioned. Esumi turned away, and whispered.

"Senpai wouldn't understand." She walked off after the team was dismissed for the night. Jun watched after her. He felt incredibly irked at the moment.

"Idiot." He muttered, turning to head back to the guy's dorms.

~__!__~

Esumi had finished bathing herself. She quietly entered her dorm room, eager to sleep early. Inside, Haruno was working on homework at her desk. The other brunette haired girl stopped to look up. "Ah, Esumi-chan." Haruno noticed. "You're finished in the baths?" She questioned the short amount of time Esumi was gone. Esumi nodded and fell tiredly upon her bed.

"Yes.." Esumi began. Her voice was so soft that Haruno nearly had to sit next to the girl to hear her. "I didn't feel like taking my time today.."

"Um, is something wrong Esumi-chan?" Haruno asked. She placed her pencil down on her desk. Haruno gave the baseball player her full attention. Esumi glanced toward her friend, then reverted her gaze back onto the ceiling.

"You know." Esumi shrugged, then made eye contact with Haruno. "Mother nature hates me." She spoke. Haruno was confused at first, but then got the hit. She blink thrice. Haruno frowned.

"Oh. I'm sorry." Haruno didn't really know how to respond. "Maybe you should go visit the nurse tomorrow." She suggested with a worried frown. Haruno knew about the player's practice games this weekend. And now that she knew what was wrong with Esumi, Haruno felt really bad. Esumi shook her head, waving off the idea.

"The nurse can't do anything." Esumi stated with a knowing response. Haruno's frown deepened.

"Will you be able to continue camp like this?" Haruno asked unsurely. "Maybe you should let coach know. Maybe he'll understand." Haruno suggested again, but like the first time, the idea was rejected.

"I could risk being pulled of varsity." Esumi countered. The girl sighed. Pain was evident in her eyes. Haruno didn't like the sight of Esumi like this.

"Then what'll happen?" Haruno questioned.

"I'll get tired faster. My speed won't be anything close to what it normally is. And I can only hope that I'm not punished for suddenly becoming a slow player." Esumi sighed at the thoughts. "But I'll push through..somehow."

"Just be careful Esumi-chan." Haruno warned. "Last thing we need is you fainting on the field." Haruno told the girl. Esumi lazily gave a thumbs up back.

The room went silent. Esumi was trying to fall asleep, but her pains kept her up. And Haruno moved back to her homework. But the silence was broken by the ringing of a phone. Haruno checked her device, to find that it wasn't the one ringing. So it had to be Esumi's. "Hello?" The aforementioned girl spoke quietly into the phone. "Senpai?" Esumi questioned. The girl paused, listening to the voice of the other end. "Eh? Do I have to?" She asked into the phones speaker. The voice on the other line replied. Haruno saw the expression of dread cross her friend's face. "Yes. I'll be right there then.." She muttered with an annoyed sigh.

Esumi hung up the phone. She took one of her pillows and screamed into it. Haruno was shocked at the act. She's never seen Esumi like this. Not even in the months prior to now. Esumi pulled the pillow away from her, and threw it onto her bed. "Esumi-chan?" Haruno asked. She saw Esumi get up and tug on some sweats.

"Masuko-senpai called from Ei-nii's phone. They want me to hang out with them." Esumi sighed again, tying the laces on her sweats. She was now wearing black sweats over black spandex and a red tank top.

"Do you have to go?" Haruno wondered, seeing that her roommate was ready to leave.

"Yes." Esumi replied shortly, and headed out.

Esumi slowly walked toward the boys dorm. Her head was still pounding, and her stomach wasn't doing any better. It literally felt like someone had her stomach in their hand and was ruthlessly squeezing it. Or made it felt worse? Like a knife slowly being driven into her gut a thousand times over. Then it'd start again. Esumi didn't know how to describe the pain

The female saw her destination ahead of her. With a lot more strength than needed, Esumi sped up. She walked up the closest flight of stairs and made her way to Miyuki's dorm. She knocked lightly. There was no reply from the other side. Esumi grasped the door knob, turned it, and lightly pushed the wood door open. "Excuse me." She spoke in a whisper. Her eyes traveled amongst the dorm.

Inside were a few third years, a couple second years, her brother, and Furuya. Kuramochi was playing video games with a teammate known as Nakada. Masuko had fallen asleep in Miyuki's bed. Yuki and her twin were playing shogi. And lastly, Furuya was giving Jun a massage. Then there was Miyuki himself, who was nowhere to be seen. Esumi entered the room awkwardly. "Senpai?" She spoke. Everyone turned to the very tiny baseball girl.

"Esu!" Eijun grinned, greeting his sister. Esumi smiled ever so slightly. Jun look at the girl. He noticed how she still looked ill. The outfielder turned and met eyes with Yuki. They exchanged a silent conversation, before they nodded.

"Hi Ei-nii." She whispered, sitting slowing beside her twin. "What's everyone doing?" She questioned. Eijun went on ranting about how Miyuki abandoned him and Furuya here to take care of the third years. "Oh. I see." Esumi replied, moving one of the shogi pieces for her twin. Yuki stared hard at the board now.

"Why are you here?" Eijun asked, turning the attention to Esumi. Esumi shrugged, tilting her head toward Masuko.

"Masuko-senpai called me from your phone. He said to come and hang out." Esumi explained briefly. "He said I had to. Then I come and he's asleep.." Esumi whined and leaned her head on Eijun's shoulder. Eijun blinked, now noticing how quiet his sister's voice is. The boy felt a sore, aching pain in his lower stomach. At that precise moment, he knew what was wrong.

"Maybe you should go back to your dorm and rest Esumi." Eijun told her seriously, also using the female's full name. Esumi looked at Eijun. Gold met gold. Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing, besides Masuko since he was asleep. They had froze because it was extremely rare for Eijun to call Esumi by her actual name, and not by her nickname. The same went vise versa, except Esumi called her brother 'Ei-nii.'

"But that's too much effort.." She whispered, turning her gave to the shogi board. Esumi replaced her head against her brother's shoulder. Eijun blinked, thinking of how to get his sister to go rest. He sighed.

"Come on Esumi." He tugged at the girl's sleeve. Esumi let out a small whine, which surprised the upperclassmen and Furuya. "Esumi." Eijun demanded, already standing. With a puff of her cheeks, the girl slowly stood up. Eijun grabbed her hand and pulled her out.

"What was that all about?" Kuramochi asked after the twins had disappeared. "I've never seen Sawamura so serious." He continued with a thoughtful expression. Again, Yuki and Jun exchanged worried glances.

Outside, Eijun had forcefully pulled Esumi onto his back. Though, she didn't really fight back. Eijun walked slowly toward the girl's dorm. He felt Esumi's head buried in his neck. Her breathing was slow, meaning that the girl had fallen asleep. Eijun sighed, stopping to adjust Esumi's weight. 'She's always trying to face things herself.' Eijun thought with an annoyed, yet worried scowl. 'She thinks I don't know about her over working her legs. I'm not that stupid..' He huffed, knocking on Haruno's door.

The door opened, revealing Haruno dressed for bed. Eijun's thoughts immediately vanished and a blush surfaced to his cheeks. Haruno tilted her head at Eijun, then noticed Esumi on his back. Haruno gasped. "Esumi-chan?!" She exclaimed. Haruno stepped aside to let Eijun in. "What happened?! Is she okay?!"

"She's fine. She fell asleep on the way here." Eijun calmed the first year manager down. Haruno sighed in instant relief. She was glad that he hadn't found Esumi passed out near the boys dorms while she was heading there. "It's her month right?" Eijun asked awkwardly, setting his twin on her bed. The pink hue on his cheeks darkened into a visible red. Haruno blushed as well. She was not having this conversation with a boy! More or less Eijun!

"Ahhhh....umm.." Haruno struggled for words. She didn't even know where to begin. Her embarrassment keeping her from spitting out any tangible words. "Welll....."

"I always get this sore ache in my stomach when she get....um..it?" Eijun finished with a question, not knowing what to call their subject matter. His gold eyes avoided the brown ones of Haruno. Not like she tried to make eye contact with him either.

"Oh...I...see...." Haruno replied with a tiny squeak. Silence dawned over the two for a moment. Eijun couldn't handle it, and quickly bid farewell. Haruno locked the door behind Eijun's leaving figure. She let out another sigh of relief. "That was super awkward..." Haruno placed her hand over her chest and breathes slowly. She wanted to be rid of this crazy pounding in her chest.

~__!__~

The following morning was the baseball player's fifth day in their hellish training camp. Eijun and Furuya were finally able to pitch in the bullpen. But their catcher was Miyauchi. Then there were the fielders running through their fielding drills. "What's wrong!? Give me a few more balls! I'm not tired at all!" Jun yelled with his normally loud voice.

"One more!" Yuki yelled out too.

"Come!" Masuko urged in a fired up manner.

"Haruichi..If you rest there, you'll obstruct everyone." Ryosuke smirked, looking down at his tured younger brother. Slightly behind him was Haruichi, who was crouching down on his knees. The younger pinkette was gasping and struggling to bring air into his system.

Esumi was near Jun. Her chest was heaving up and down. Her breath was lost quickly and the knot in her lower stomach tightened. Her head pounded, mostly near her temples. Her ears rung and buzzed. Her body was stiff and her vision was blurred together through pained, unshed tears. She inhaled deeply, not wanting the third years to have all the fun. "ONE MORE!" She yelled as loud as she could.

"Substitution." A deep voice interrupted. The third years tensed. "I'll do the hitting." Kataoka stepped up with a bat resting on his shoulders. "First year Kominato...Go aside and take a break. The rest of you, are you resolved?"

Ryosuke smirked, looking back at his slowly standing brother. "It's probably to prevent you from getting injured." He told the younger Kominato. Haruichi didn't react much, but inside he felt crushed. He couldn't even stand on the same field as his older brother yet.

Kataoka turned toward the unusually tired Sawamura girl. Her gold eyes met his brown ones through his sunglasses. "Sawamura Esumi. Are you ready?" He asked. Kataoka was another person that noticed the strange well being of the girl. He wanted to see if she could push through whatever she was internally dealing with. He saw her take a breath.

"Yes!" She replied back loudly. Kataoka nodded.

The coach of the Seidou baseball team pointed all the way to the back fence with his bat. "I'll be hitting a lot over!" Kataoka yelled. He set to hit.

~__!__~

About an hour passed on this harsh field training. The third years were now missing balls and getting hit. Esumi looked about ready to collapse as well. Kataoka hit a ball. It bounced and Masuko raced to catch it. But the ball completely missed his mitt. Instead in flew past and hit Masuko in his gut. Another ball was hit. Kuramochi jumped for it, but it went past him. The same thing happened when a low ball soared toward Ryosuke.

Kataoka looked toward Esumi. Esumi's eyes were closed and her breathing was close to regulating. She looked calm, yet in pain. Kataoka felt that he's been neglecting her, so he hit a long ball toward Esumi. She didn't move as the ball flew closer toward her position. Jun's eyes widened, thinking that Esumi wasn't going to react. He tried to speed toward her. Esumi's eyes snapped open, though. The next thing, she was gone. The ball disappeared from the sky. Taking it's place was Esumi. She twisted her body, rocketing it back toward the infield. It landed perfectly in Yuki's mitt, who didn't even have to move an inch to catch the ball. It just landed there. Esumi landed, bending her right knee with the landing so it absorbed the shock.

The field fell quiet. The third years were staring. Esumi's knee buckled, but she kept herself standing somehow. She blinked her gold eyes rapidly, in hopes to clear the blurriness. She took another deep breath, and straightened herself.

"WHAT'S WRONG! WHERE HAVE ALL YOUR VOICES GONE!? ARE YOU GOING TO LET A FIRST YEAR SHOW YOU GUYS UP!?" Kataoka yelled at the players on the field. He turned to one of the students beside him. "Hey...go ahead and turn on the lights.. This practice will continue." He demanded. The lights were switched on. From the far outfield, Jun called for another ball. "I can't hear you from here Isashiki! What happened to your usual prowess!?" Kataoka hit a ball to Jun anyway. The ran for it. His right hand reached out, but he stumbled. Jun ended up tumbling and catching the ball hard to the stomach. "I've never taught you to catch like that!!" Kataoka yelled in frustration. "Kominato! What happened to the usual smile!?" He yelled again when Ryosuke missed another ball.

"So scary....how long will this practice continue..?"

"Even if they're the senpai....They're probably tired already.."

"Just Coach's batting alone is enough to handle everyone's fielding practice....Is Coach a monster....?"

Maybe another hour passed. The third years were all kneeling on the floor. Their breathing, of course, was rigid and uneven. Their uniforms were covered in dirt. The fire in their eyes were dim. They felt like there was nothing else they could do. The other members around the field were shocked at the sight of their upperclassmen looking like this. "What's wrong? Are you finished...Yuki?" Kataoka asked the Seidou captain.

Yuki was silent for a moment. He looked as if he was internally debating something. But now it looked as he made up his mind. Yuki forced himself up, placing his right fist on his chest. "The ball...Please hit another over...Coach." Yuki demanded with a new found spark in his eyes.

"M-me too...." Ryosuke forced out with a struggled pant. He was up and on his feet, though he was still lean over with his hands on his knees.

"Come...." Masuko huffed, standing up along with Yuki.

"AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!" Jun yelled, throwing his head back.

"Let's go!" Esumi nodded her head, ushering Kataoka to send another ball.

From the sidelines, Haruichi was amazed. He was amazed by Yuki's will. He was shocked that one by one the third years stood up. He was intrigued how Esumi was keeping up somehow. He felt envious...jealous...? No, not at all. What Haruichi felt wasn't anything like jealously. He felt admiration. The admiration for his older brother grew. His respect for the upperclassmen swelled. He wanted nothing more than to be out there fighting with them.

"Okay! Last ball! Keep yourselves focused till the end!" Kataoka ordered.

"Yes!" The fielders responded with more energy now.

~__!__~

That night, the field was void of any life. Except for a figure that sat where they was placed during fielding practice. This person sat there, unable to stand. They couldn't. There was too much pain.  They let out a breath. "They're gonna kill me." They muttered. Once more the person tried to stand, but like the other end results, they just fell back down. They looked down to their right knee, staring at it. "What's wrong with you?" They asked. "I've never seriously injured my knee, so why..? Why is it hurting this much...?"

"Esu?" A voice called behind the figure sitting on the dirt field. The person's head whipped around. Their long brown hair flying with the movement. Behind them was Sawamura Eijun, their twin. "What's wrong?" He asked, sitting beside the girl. The figure, now revealed to be Sawamura Esumi, shrugged.

"I don't know." She played the clueless card. Eijun rolled his eyes, seeing right through it.

"Don't lie Esumi." He spoke with more seriousness. Esumi smiled a bit, lightly bumping her brother's shoulder with hers.

"Hey, aren't I supposed to be the mature twin?" She questioned, but Eijun didn't crack a smile. No. His face was expressionless, but his eyes proved how worried he was. Esumi sighed at the sight.

"I dunno. I mean my cramps are bad...but with my knee..I can't really say." Esumi stated with the nonchalant shrug of her shoulders. Eijun frowned at the information.

"Why didn't you tell me sooner?" He asked another question. Esumi shrugged again, avoiding her twin's eyes.

"Cuz I knew you'd worry and get distracted from training." She muttered. Eijun wasn't shocked by his sister's answer. He shook his head though.

"You always try to face things by yourself." Eijun responded, glancing at Esumi. "That's a pretty bad trait you know." He continued to mention. Eijun noticed Esumi roll her eyes.

"I guess." Was all Esumi whispered out. Eijun went to say something else, but Esumi cut him off. "And no, you are not pulling me from the practice matches." She answered with a stern looked. Eijun held his hands up in mock surrender. She grinned, making Eijun grin back.

"Then come on. Let's get you back to your dorm." Eijun said, crouching in front of his sister. Esumi raised an eyebrow.

"Free piggyback rides, two nights in a row? Who are you?" Esumi joked, moving slowly so she could get on her brother's back. Once she was on, Eijun nearly dropped her. Esumi squealed, wrapping her arms tighter around her brother. Eijun laughed in return.

"Careful Esu. I can drop you anytime now." Eijun warned with a playful smirk. Esumi smirked back.

"The I'll be sure to drag you down too." She challenged, trying to hold back her giggles. Eijun scoffed, letting go of Esumi's legs. She almost fell, if not for her brother catching her. Esumi glared at the smug expression on his face.

"You were saying?" Eijun teased. Esumi glared, smacking her brother's head. "Oww!" He whined.

"Don't do that idiot! That was scary!" Esumi pouted, burying her head into Eijun's neck. Eijun began to laugh. He noticed that they were now near the girl's dorm.

"Oi. Can you walk from here?" Eijun asked, reaching the corner of the girl's dorm. Esumi lifted her head from her brother's neck. She looked around, getting a sense for where she was. Esumi noticed that a couple doors down was her room. She gave a hesitant nod. Slowly, Eijun let her down from his back. Esumi slowly let go of her brother's support, she nearly fell. Eijun reached out to help her.

"I-I'm fine Ei-nii." Esumi nodded. She let go of her brother again. This time she managed to stay on her feet. She her shaking knees, Esumi slowly made her way to her room.