Kaito jumps out of bed, and races to get ready. as he runs through the house nearly falling over himself Moon catches him. "Where are you off to in such a rush?" She asks him.
"I gotta hurry up and see Amire before dad gets us for training today." Kaito asks.
Amire is their cousin just a year younger then Kaito.
Moon laughs. "Of course, but be careful Kaito the babies are still sleeping. Kaito nods and he goes over to his newborn twin sisters. "Sorry Kaley, sorry Kailey." He apologizes.
Kaito rushes to leave, but his mother stops him. She asks if he's forgotten something, and holds her arms out. Kaito laughs and leaps into her arms, hugging her tightly. Moon giggles and suggests that she'll show him some more cooking after he finishes his training that day. Kaito is delighted, and his brother Kaid walks by laughing and teases him about cooking with the girls. Kaito happily agrees, oblivious to his brother's teasing.
They go outside and see that Kate and Amire are already there. Kaito is delighted to see his cousin, and they all head off to their favorite spot to play.
The sun beamed down on the freshly-mowed backyard, where a cracked baseball rested on the dusty ground and two mismatched bases—a squashed pillow and an old box—marked the field of battle. Four kids stood ready, eyes shining with the thrill of an epic showdown.
Kaito squinted toward the "pitcher's mound," which was really just the old tree stump by the fence.
"Okay, okay," he muttered, gripping the bat like it might explode. "I practiced with a stick and a mango yesterday. I'm ready."
"You threw the mango into a birdbath," Kaid called back, his hands already glowing faintly with orange light.
"That was strategy," Kaito insisted.
Kaid snorted. The eleven-year-old fire conjurer rolled his shoulders, a little wisp of flame curling around his wrist like a bracelet. "Alright, get ready to really miss this one."
Amire, the youngest, sat cross-legged behind what was generously considered home plate, holding a pan as a catcher's mitt. She had no idea what was going on, but she was thrilled to be there.
"GO, KAITO!" she yelled suddenly, startling a squirrel out of a nearby bush.
Kaid grinned and threw the ball—correction: a flaming baseball.
Kaito screamed.
The bat flew out of his hands in a perfectly executed spinning arc and landed in a bush. The ball whizzed past him, hit the old box base, and left a faint scorch mark on the grass.
Silence.
Then, Kate adjusted her glasses from second base. "Well, technically that's a strike, and an illegal flamethrower pitch."
She snapped her fingers.
A roar shook the air.
A golden-striped magical tiger the size of a small car leapt into view from her portal, stretched, and yawned like it had just been pulled from a nap. It padded toward the bush, retrieved the bat in its mouth, and gently dropped it at Kaito's feet.
"Thanks, Mr. Snowball," Kate said calmly.
Kaito stared at the tiger. "That thing's got better aim than I do…"
"Everyone does," Kaid said.
"HEY!" Kaito protested, puffing out his cheeks.
"Okay, okay!" shouted Amire, who had now stood up and was spinning in circles with the pan on her head like a helmet. "Can it be my turn now?"
"Only if you don't summon something on fire," Kate warned Kaid, still petting snowball like this was all very normal.
"I barely scorched the lawn," Kaid muttered.
"It's still on fire."
Everyone turned. A tiny patch of grass behind the pizza box base was indeed smoldering.
Amire giggled, pointed dramatically at the ball still resting in Kaid's hand, and shouted, "PITCH IT, FLAME BOY!"
And so the game continued: flaming fastballs, tiger-assisted base running, magical misfires, and Kaito managing to finally hit the ball—into a tree. Which, incidentally, caught fire. Again.
By the end, nobody really remembered the score. The old box was toast, the pillow had been used as a sled during a very questionable "slide into home," and Snowball had claimed second base as a nap zone.
But the kids agreed—it was the best magical baseball game ever.
Even if Kaito never managed to throw in the right direction.
"You guys wanna race?" Kaid asks them all. Kate laughs "Sure as long as you're ready to lose." She teases.
"No magic!" Kaito yells. Unlike his siblings Kaito can't yet use magic. Kaid isn't even supposed to be able to use it yet. Typically magic is awaken when you're aged 9 or older. Kaid could use magic since he was 5.
Tips: From the moment you are born, you are destined to have a certain affinity for magic. This affinity determines what kinds of magic you can use and how many. Most people can only use one magic, but some are special and can use multiple.
Kaid rolls his eyes. "Fine, no magic." He says. They all gear up to race but are stopped by Sun. "Come now, it's time." Sun says. The kids agree and Amire goes to leave. "Actually Amire since you're already here, why don't you join us." Sun suggests. She gets excited. "I get to kick Kaito's butt?!" She says.