Author's Note: Sorry for the long hiatus. Had part of this written a year ago. Fixed it up best I could.

Tajima's Date

The next day was another rest day for Abe. He was already bored and feeling restless, especially after spending all night in the same chair, trying to sleep with his leg propped up, and getting up only to use the bathroom. Before leaving with his brother, his mother had left him plenty of snacks and drinks within reach, but strangely he had no appetite. He stared blankly at the television screen.

The tournament game between Bijou Dai Sayama and Ranzan, who had beaten Ichinodaifuzoku the day before, was to be televised that afternoon, but he did not feel like just sitting around to watch another game on the TV. The game he was watching now depressed him enough. He wanted to be there at the stadium, or at training with his teammates, or anywhere else, but he couldn't, because of his stupid injured knee. Abe thought about asking his parents to take him, but he knew they'd insist that he rest. 'A cab… no that's too expensive...'

"Ugh!" Abe shouted in frustration at no one in particular, banging his fist on the chair's armrest, making a sizable dent.

"Hey, what's the matter?" a voice called from the front door.

Abe looked up to see Hanai and Izumi entering the room. "Nothing," growled Abe. "Nothing but a damned knee and no baseball and no moving around. Nothing!"

Izumii cocked his head at his bad tempered teammate. "We have something to cheer you up."

Abe just glared at them disinterestedly. He very much doubted they could do anything in that regard and neither one held anything in his hands. 'It would have been nice if they had brought some food,' Abe thought.

Hanai approached the television and turned it off. "You know we had that team meeting and we decided to aim for Koushien. All the way!"

Abe nodded mutely. 'Naïve idiots,' he thought, but he said, "Yeah. We'll get there next year."

"Coach gave us the afternoon off, but we're going to the Bijou-Ranzan game. My mom's giving a couple of us a lift. You want to come?" asked his team captain.

Abe almost leaped out of his chair. "Of course!" he said in his overly loud voice. "I'm going stir crazy here. Just hand me those crutches."

As Izumi helped Abe to the car, the always conscientious Hanai hastened to scribble a note to let Abe's parents know their son had left with them to see the game, officiously signing it with his full name and title (Hanai Azusa, Captain of the Nishiura baseball Club).

Abe sat in the back with his crutches and Izumi, while Hanai sat in front with his mother. Hanai-san complained about the rough Bijou team during the entire drive over to the stadium. "Those kids have no sense of fair play!" she said for the hundredth time.

Abe really, really wanted to tell her shut up, but she looked like the type to even beat up kids not her own, so he had the sense to say nothing. Instead, he tried to think of something to say to Izumi. Something about baseball, and Tajima, but not about that reporter, but still something to find out…

It was Izumi who turned to him and said, "You know Tajima's on a date with that reporter. We should try to sit nearby and… spy on them, or blow spitballs." He grinned at Abe mischievously.

Abe shook his head. "Who cares what they do. We're there for scouting purposes. Anything non-related to baseball is a waste of out time," he said dismissively. Abe looked out the car window, hoping Izumi wouldn't see his flushed face.

Izumi shrugged and went back to thinking what a jerk Abe was and maybe having a bum knee would be good for him. Maybe he'd learn some patience and not take things, or people, for granted, like Mihashi.

They were early and the morning game had just ended. A crowd was leaving the stadium as another jostled to enter. The boys spied Tajima with Risa, sitting in the front row by the first baseline near the batter's box. There were no seats near them so the boys settled on seats a few rows behind them. The stadium filled up quickly but they could still see their teammate up front.

It turned out that Tajima's idea of a disguise was simply a generic baseball cap, sunglasses, and a white T-shirt with Ranzan written on it with a black marker. Anyone could have recognized him by his freckled nose. Risa donned the same disguise, her hair tucked under her cap, but she added large dangly earrings, and very red lipstick with matching fingernail polish. Abe would not have recognized her except for the loud, cold, criticizing voice.

"Go Ranzan! Crush those Bijou bastards! They're nothing but a bunch of lying, cheating, roughnecks, not fit to dig the dirt from your shoes!" she yelled.

"Yeah!" Tajima shouted, jumping up and waving a banner for Ranzan.

The game soon started, but instead of watching the action on the field, Abe and his two friends watched Tajima with envy. Hanai and Izumi not so much because he was with Risa, but because he was with a girl. The baseball club had kept them all so busy, there was no time for any kind of social life outside of hanging out with the team members. A moment of doubt crossed their minds. Trading their social life for torturous training - was it worth? Was reaching for Koshien worth the cost? But when they saw the players run onto the field, they found their feelings of envy increase tenfold. Yes, they wanted to be on that field more than any girl. It was a sacrifice they were willing to make. There would be time for dating later on. And playing baseball was so much simpler than being played by a girl. Still, it would be even better to have an understanding baseball fan by your side. But one that was not so judgmental. They listed in consternation as Risa continued to hurl insults throughout the game.

You throw like my great grandmother, and she's dead!

That bat too heavy for you? Even with the cork?

My two year old sister can hit the ball harder than that. You need your diapers changed?

Hey ugly! Break any mirrors lately?

Hey butterfingers, got some bread?

The girls' softball team's hiring!

You qualify for a seeing eye dog!

Eighth batter! You know you're the worst!

Your dealer called, he's out of meth!

Want a sandwich to go with your steroids?

Goat's go blaah!

One hit wonder!

Four-eyes and you still can't see!

You need a smaller cup size!

Heard your parents are getting divorced! Guess what? It IS your fault!

Heard your girlfriend dumped you! Guess her taste improved!

I hear you've been lingering in the shower a bit tooooo long!

Risa had done her research on the Bijou players. She had sat with the Bijou parents and classmates in other games and her brother had a wealth of gossip. The Bijou players managed to ignore most of her taunts, but a few hit too close to home. A number of the players became visibly rattled and even glared in her direction. Every time a player glared at her, Risa high fived Tajima with both hands. As the game progressed, the heckling content got even worse.

Abe, Hanai, and Izumi watched and listened to the girl with a mix of shock and awe.

"I'm glad she's on our side... sort of on our side," said Izumi, still smarting over the time Risa questioned his sexual preference.

"Yeah, she got some good ones, but who comes up with that stuff? Sitting around, thinking of insults - that girl's seriously weird." But Abe was secretly impressed. He wished he could be the one next to her, heckling the Bijou team into a loss against Ranzan. As talented and smart as Tajima was about baseball, he had no talent for heckling. Abe was sure he'd be better at it than Tajima.

"Insulting people does seem to be her hobby," Hanai observed. "Oh oh, look, the umpire's giving her a warning…Ah! She can get kicked out for that." Risa had just given the umpire the finger behind his back. Luckily for her, he didn't see it.

At that moment Abe had a revelation: 'That's the girl for me.'

Author's Notes: Most of the insults I came up with myself, but a few I found on the internet with a search on baseball insults. IMHO mine are better. Next up, training camp.