2nd Inning: Mihashi, Nishihiro Fanfiction - BEISUBARU? - by RueLi
Title: BEISUBARU?
Author: RueLi
Word Count: 692
Characters: Mihashi, Nishihiro
Rating/Warnings: G / none
Summary: That dreaded “L” sound…every Japanese student’s nightmare! And Mihashi is no exception.
Notes: I don’t have a clue on how English classes are run in Japan. It’s kind of hard to research, so I took an educated shot at it…
The dreaded “L” sound. A feat that every Japanese student inevitably stumbles, or rather mumbles, their way through when attempting to get through their English classes.
“AI…R-RAIKU TUU PUuu…PUREI BEI…beiii…err…”
“Baseball.”
“B…BEISU…B-BARU!”
“Ball.”
“B…BARU!”
And Nishihiro knew that Mihashi was no exception…
“Okay Mihashi, you’re slowly getting there. Now let’s try not to depend so much on the furigana over the words this time. See if it helps for you to sound it out when looking at just the letters.”
This time, the pitcher studied the sentence a bit; tilting his head left, and then right, as if the slight motion would somehow help him better perceive the foreign inscriptions printed on the textbook. Finally, he opened his bird-like mouth, and proceeded to try to sound out the sentence again.
“A…AI RA…ra…RAIK-TU PURrrEI…BEiiiSUBARU…ru?”
Nishihiro scratched his head a bit, attempting to mentally rule out the reasons why Mihashi couldn’t quite grasp the concept. He knew it wasn’t impossible. In reality, ‘R’s,’ when spoken in Japanese are more than sometimes pronounced as the English ‘L’ sound anyway. So it’s not as if Mihashi were unfamiliar to the sound. (Nishihiro could make a confident bet that Mihashi has said it thousands of times). It may just be that he has a problem identifying it, and therefore, cannot actually input it when asked directly to do so. It would kind of be similar to asking the pitcher to explain how his arm moves when throwing a curveball.
Wait. Scratch that. Nishihiro was pretty sure that would be easier for Mihashi to execute.
So the reserve tried a difference and direct approach. “See, notice when you use an ‘R’ sound, you tend to purse your lips a bit to do so while pressing your tongue firmly against your teeth. But when you relax your lips and tongue, it comes out a bit softer, resulting in an ‘L’ sound. Try this: say ‘RA’ without tensing your mouth.”
“Um…r…RA?”
“Err, not quite what I was looking for.”
With those words, Mihashi bowed his head in shame, knowing that he must be frustrating his good friend. “I’m sorry Nishihiro, you’re trying so hard and I’m still not getting it.”
“It’s quite alright, Mihashi. Really. This is a really hard concept to get. Almost every student has a hard time telling the difference between the two.”
But the pitcher didn’t look convinced. He just leaned his forehead again the desk he was occupying, ready to give up.
“I’d have to be lucky to pass the test next week.”
“Ah!” Nishihiro gasped suddenly, pointing at Mihashi. “See?! There it was!”
“Eh?!”
“Just right now, when you said ‘Lucky’ you almost made a perfect ‘L’ sound!” Nishihiro could hardly contain his excitement at the breakthrough. “Try saying ‘lucky’ again.”
Again, Mihashi tilted his head, kind of perplexed at the other’s sudden amusement. “Um…Laa-Ki?
Nishihiro pointed at Mihashi again. “There you go! That’s the sound you need to remember as ‘L.’ Every time you see that letter, remember the work ‘Lucky,’ and use that same sound.”
With sudden realization, the blonde hurrily snatched his textbook yet again, acting as if he were going to forget how to say it if he waited any longer. He looked at the letters again, and took a deep breath.
“AI--AI LAIKU TU PUU…LEI BEISUBAR----no, BEISUBALU!”
Nishihiro was taken aback, physically and mentally, by how loudly and quickly Mihashi spilled over the words without once stuttering over the ‘L’s’. “That was great, Mihashi!” Sure, it wasn’t perfect English, but it was more than acceptable. And Mihashi could only get better at it.
Mihashi’s eyes sparkled with an innocence that is usually becoming of a younger child. He could almost swear that he could see stars beaming in the other’s eyes. Nishihiro had to suppress a small chuckle, but his lips betrayed him and he clung to his stomach in a fit of laughter.
The rest of the day was spent with Mihashihi excitedly pronouncing every possible word containing the no-longer-dreaded ‘L.’
-- # --
A week later, Mihashi had managed to pass his oral English exam for the first time without a remake, much to his teacher’s, and classmates’, surprise.
Author: RueLi
Word Count: 692
Characters: Mihashi, Nishihiro
Rating/Warnings: G / none
Summary: That dreaded “L” sound…every Japanese student’s nightmare! And Mihashi is no exception.
Notes: I don’t have a clue on how English classes are run in Japan. It’s kind of hard to research, so I took an educated shot at it…
The dreaded “L” sound. A feat that every Japanese student inevitably stumbles, or rather mumbles, their way through when attempting to get through their English classes.
“AI…R-RAIKU TUU PUuu…PUREI BEI…beiii…err…”
“Baseball.”
“B…BEISU…B-BARU!”
“Ball.”
“B…BARU!”
And Nishihiro knew that Mihashi was no exception…
“Okay Mihashi, you’re slowly getting there. Now let’s try not to depend so much on the furigana over the words this time. See if it helps for you to sound it out when looking at just the letters.”
This time, the pitcher studied the sentence a bit; tilting his head left, and then right, as if the slight motion would somehow help him better perceive the foreign inscriptions printed on the textbook. Finally, he opened his bird-like mouth, and proceeded to try to sound out the sentence again.
“A…AI RA…ra…RAIK-TU PURrrEI…BEiiiSUBARU…ru?”
Nishihiro scratched his head a bit, attempting to mentally rule out the reasons why Mihashi couldn’t quite grasp the concept. He knew it wasn’t impossible. In reality, ‘R’s,’ when spoken in Japanese are more than sometimes pronounced as the English ‘L’ sound anyway. So it’s not as if Mihashi were unfamiliar to the sound. (Nishihiro could make a confident bet that Mihashi has said it thousands of times). It may just be that he has a problem identifying it, and therefore, cannot actually input it when asked directly to do so. It would kind of be similar to asking the pitcher to explain how his arm moves when throwing a curveball.
Wait. Scratch that. Nishihiro was pretty sure that would be easier for Mihashi to execute.
So the reserve tried a difference and direct approach. “See, notice when you use an ‘R’ sound, you tend to purse your lips a bit to do so while pressing your tongue firmly against your teeth. But when you relax your lips and tongue, it comes out a bit softer, resulting in an ‘L’ sound. Try this: say ‘RA’ without tensing your mouth.”
“Um…r…RA?”
“Err, not quite what I was looking for.”
With those words, Mihashi bowed his head in shame, knowing that he must be frustrating his good friend. “I’m sorry Nishihiro, you’re trying so hard and I’m still not getting it.”
“It’s quite alright, Mihashi. Really. This is a really hard concept to get. Almost every student has a hard time telling the difference between the two.”
But the pitcher didn’t look convinced. He just leaned his forehead again the desk he was occupying, ready to give up.
“I’d have to be lucky to pass the test next week.”
“Ah!” Nishihiro gasped suddenly, pointing at Mihashi. “See?! There it was!”
“Eh?!”
“Just right now, when you said ‘Lucky’ you almost made a perfect ‘L’ sound!” Nishihiro could hardly contain his excitement at the breakthrough. “Try saying ‘lucky’ again.”
Again, Mihashi tilted his head, kind of perplexed at the other’s sudden amusement. “Um…Laa-Ki?
Nishihiro pointed at Mihashi again. “There you go! That’s the sound you need to remember as ‘L.’ Every time you see that letter, remember the work ‘Lucky,’ and use that same sound.”
With sudden realization, the blonde hurrily snatched his textbook yet again, acting as if he were going to forget how to say it if he waited any longer. He looked at the letters again, and took a deep breath.
“AI--AI LAIKU TU PUU…LEI BEISUBAR----no, BEISUBALU!”
Nishihiro was taken aback, physically and mentally, by how loudly and quickly Mihashi spilled over the words without once stuttering over the ‘L’s’. “That was great, Mihashi!” Sure, it wasn’t perfect English, but it was more than acceptable. And Mihashi could only get better at it.
Mihashi’s eyes sparkled with an innocence that is usually becoming of a younger child. He could almost swear that he could see stars beaming in the other’s eyes. Nishihiro had to suppress a small chuckle, but his lips betrayed him and he clung to his stomach in a fit of laughter.
The rest of the day was spent with Mihashihi excitedly pronouncing every possible word containing the no-longer-dreaded ‘L.’
-- # --
A week later, Mihashi had managed to pass his oral English exam for the first time without a remake, much to his teacher’s, and classmates’, surprise.