"Hey, there rookie," Sora said with a sly smile on his face, as he looked at Rei.
"Sora."
"Oh, you know me?" Sora gave a cheeky smile.
"No."
"..."
"..."
"Hello."
Suddenly the two who were staring at each other in awkward silence were interrupted by a deep soothing voice.
The two turned their eyes to see someone standing a few feet away from them.
"Minho! You're here." Sora sighed in relief seeing Minho, as he was saved from an awkward silence with Rei.
Minho simply nodded.
"..."
"..."
"..."
'I hate both of you.' Sora inwardly cried.
"Minho Park?" suddenly it was Rei who broke the silence this time, as he looked at Minho.
Minho was a tall and lean young man with striking features. His most notable feature was his sharp, angular jawline which gave him a chiseled appearance. He had short, black hair that was styled in a messy, tousled manner, contrasting with his apparent calm, and straightforward personality his carefree and laid-back personality. His eyes were a piercing shade of green, standing out against his slightly tanned skin, as his build was muscular, but not overly so, giving him a fit and athletic appearance.
'He looks like his sister, Ji-Yeon Park.' Rei thought eyeing Minho.
"Correct, do we know each other?" Minho spoke calmly as he shifted his gaze to Rei.
Rei shook his head, "Personally, no, but I just met your sister, Ji-Yeon."
'Idiot' Sora haughtily laughed in his mind, as he knew Minho's personality shifted whenever she was brought up, just like an overprotective brother would.
Suddenly Rei saw Minho's whole demeanor change as his once tranquil aura was replaced by a fiery spirit oozing out of him.
"Explain to me, with great detail and absolute honesty, how you have become acquainted with my sister," Minho demanded through an explanation, leaving no room for vagueness or half-truths, his tone assertive and fiery.
Rei but silently surprised to see the sudden change in Minho which directly contradicted his previous calm personality.
Rei didn't show no reaction showing his surprise, "I was with my girlfriend when her best friend, who happens to be Ji-Yeon approached us."
Minho's eyes narrowed before returning to their calm look, as his personality shifted back to its tranquil, straightforward state.
Sora didn't know whether to laugh or cry seeing this, as he was also slightly baffled.
"You must be Rei Kitsune then."
"Well, well, well...so you're the infamous Rei Kitsune, the one-in-a-lifetime prodigy and son of Ryuu Kitsune, and brother of the number two softball player in the nation. So, I heard you're eyeing my spot." a new person joined the fray.
'Oh thank god.' Sora cried silently in relief.
Rei turned to see the two new people, one was a tall, lean, and athletic young male with short, fluffy black hair and sharp, piercing eyes. He had a serious and stubborn expression on his face, which didn't suit his delinquent aura that exuded an air of rebellion and defiance.
While the other had a lean and muscular build, with broad shoulders and a toned physique. His hair was a bright shade of orange similar to Rei's and styled in a messy, curtain haircut that framed his face. His eyes were a piercing black color that gave him a sharp and focused look, with high cheekbones and a strong jawline.
"Dawson, Leo, " Minho spoke calmly.
Leo nodded in acknowledgment and stood off by the side.
"I'm not as quiet as Leo. I heard you think you're faster than me. Let's settle it with a race," Dawson chuckled with a hint of mischief in his voice.
"No, not before practice." Minho rejected the idea instantly.
Dawson clicked his tongue but didn't say anything else.
This time two new people arrived on the field, both about the same height. One had fluffy dark blue hair, sharp yet lazy eyes, and a lazy aura radiated from him.
And the other had textured black hair that stood out, with a few locks falling over his forehead. His eyes were large and wide, with a bright brown color that mirrors his energetic aura, he also had a lean and athletic build, with broad shoulders and defined muscles that were the results of his intense training.
'The idiots are here.' Sora sighed.
"Hey guys, what's up?" his lazy expression not betraying his excitement.
"Yo, what's up, losers?" the other one shouted loudly, drawing everyone's attention.
"Yue, what did I say about calling people losers?" Minho spoke as he looked at the two.
"I forgot..." Yue laughed loudly, as he spotted Rei.
"Hey there, freshman," Yue said, grinning widely. "What's your name?"
"That's Rei Kitsune, you damn airhead," this time it was Dawson who answered as he playfully kicked Yue in the ass with his shin.
Yue was soon forced to run away, while Dawson chased after him laughing, while the one with the lazy expression was talking to the others.
Rei simply stood there, watching his new team.
'They're rather... lively, and not what I expected from a top D1 school, especially considering they might have NIL deals.' Rei thought as he watched the two idiots running around, while Minho talked to the lazy guy, Leo stood to the side playing with his phone, and Sora stood there like Rei, laughing at Yue.
NIL deals, which were something players, and people fought for eight years ago in 2016, for college students to get financial compensation for their image and likeness, so like professionals, they can appear in ads, endorsements, and stuff. Which was approved in 2019, a year later NIL deals became eligible for high schoolers who were juniors and seniors by the NHSAA; with the condition of juniors and seniors who were mandated to attend financial classes.
Sora stopped watching his entertainment, as he turned to Rei, "I'm Sora Nakamura, I'm a sophomore, also 1st catcher," he then pointed at Minho, "You'll be with him a lot when you're not with the pitchers, as you know his name is Minho Park, the second baseman and captain of the team also a senior," then pointed at Yue who was still running away, "That's Yang Yue a junior, as you can see he's a bit obnoxious and doesn't really think much but he's a good guy, and he's also a pitcher like you, the guy chasing him is Dawson Hart also a junior, although seems like a delinquent he really isn't, as he's pretty reliable and easy to get along with, and he's shortstop which is why he singled you out, as it might be your position when you not pitching due to how fast you are, and how well you hit, and he was the fastest on the team before you came."
Sora then pointed at the lazy guy, "Despite his lazy expression, he has a very bubbly personality, a bit of an airhead too unless he's on the mound them he becomes pretty arrogant and narcissistic when he pitches but he deserves it as he's our best pitcher, Xu Kai a senior and like I mentioned pitcher."
Then he finally pointed at Leo who was on his phone, "That's Leo our senior first baseman, he already committed to Vanderbilt, so he's not playing this season unless he needs to but he will still be practicing with us, so you might get shortstop while the other two shift to the right so Dawson will be second and Minho will be a first baseman."
Both Rei and Sora saw a large group of people enter the field, "Those are the rest of the team somewhat, the one in the middle is our center fielder on his right is the left fielder and the right fielder is on the left, the one in the back is our backup catcher, and first baseman who will play when your on the mound, the people he's with our back up for both left and right outfield, as for the others there just extras, they also participate in practice for their respective level but usually don't have what it takes to make it on the team. Each roster on both softball, and baseball hold 15 official players for each level, but in total both teams hold 94 players each, hence why we have such big fancy dorms."
By the time Sora finished explaining everything to Rei, everyone including Yue and Dawson were chatting together with other players, still being loud.
"When does practice start?" Rei suddenly asked.
"Well since we have so many extras, they usually clean and maintain the field, so we always wait for co-"
"Everyone line up by the right field baseline, Rei go with them and stand in front of everyone facing them." Suddenly, a booming voice resounded throughout the field, causing everyone to stop in their tracks, as the voice carried over the players.