Chapter Text
Some would say that the 14th of February is the most exciting day that high school boys look forward to. After all, it’s the day where most of these teenage boys anticipate girls to give them chocolates, honmei choco or not. But for one Miyuki Kazuya, this day is not exciting at all. While it’s true that he receives a lot of chocolates from different girls mostly he doesn’t personally know ever since he reached high school, he doesn’t really find it something to be happy about. Why? First of all, he’s not interested in being in a romantic relationship right now, all he cares about is baseball. Second, he doesn’t like sweets, so he finds it futile to be receiving these chocolates which he always gives to his teammates who were willing to receive ‘secondhand’ chocolate. Third, he doesn’t like receiving the stares of his envious teammates and guy classmates every time a girl would attempt to give him chocolate in public. And let’s not forget about the multiple love letters requesting him to go to specific hidden places in Seidou grounds which will surely end up in a bitter rejection.
He just wanted to play baseball. He wanted to play with powerful opponents. That was all the thrill he was looking for when he decided to accept Takashima’s offer to study at Seidou. He never thought that performing well in a school famous for its baseball team would somehow affect his popularity as well. And now that he’s not only the main catcher but the captain as well, he’s receiving more unwanted attention from girls.
Fall Tournament was already over. The third-year baseball members were now busy more than ever in preparation for their entrance exams for college. Miyuki’s mostly adjusted to his captain duties thanks to the help of their previous captain, Yuuki Tetsuya. Needless to say, he had to indulge their former captain’s request to play shogi from time to time.
It’s now off-season, his injury was now fully healed. He was even able to attend the winter camp even though he missed the Jingu Tournament. With all honesty, he was secretly looking forward to the off-season even though they will not be playing in official matches. That’s because he’s somewhat relieved off of his captain and main catcher duties.
Ever since Sawamura learned an off-speed pitch, Miyuki was dying to practice with him to explore other grips that might be polished as an effective pitch and be added to his arsenal. As the main catcher, he was paired to Furuya most of the time who was the ace of the team. He knew it would be bad if he would spend more time with the southpaw pitcher in honing his pitches. As the captain, he shouldn’t let his personal choices get in the way of the team. So he decided he’ll wait for the off-season and help Sawamura come up with a system for his idiosyncratic pitches – the Numbers. Not to mention, he wanted to help the young pitcher to grow as well. He was able to help him somehow when the younger boy was suffering from the yips but it was only indirectly and he thought that he somehow failed him as his partner. This time around, especially that Chris-senpai will now be graduating, he wanted Sawamura to grow as a pitcher too. He wanted to be the one crouching in front of him as their obnoxious loud pitcher throws the most thrilling pitches right into his mitt.
It was in mid-January when he was able to come up with the concept of associating numbers for Sawamura’s different breaking balls. Most of those are unusable as of the moment but he knew that with enough practice, guidance, and experimentations, Sawamura will be able to use those pitches to some degree. All he needed was patience.
It was late night when he decided to speak to Sawamura about his plan to implement a pitching system for him. They’re the only ones practicing in the bullpen so he thought it might be the best time to talk to the boy about it.
“Sawamura,” Miyuki started. “Since it’s off-season, d’you want me to help you in practicing your breaking balls?”
Miyuki explained as he threw the ball back to the pitcher. Sawamura, who was taken aback by what his captain had said, ended up fumbling the ball, his mouth parted slightly, somehow unsure of what to say. Knowing how cunning the catcher is, he might just be saying it as a joke to rile the boy up.
There was silence as soon as the ball fall to the ground. Miyuki was waiting for his response which made the pitcher more guarded and careful on what to reply. Honestly, he was waiting for Miyuki’s snide remarks and tell him that he was just kidding, but that did not happen.
“Eh?” was all the untrusting younger boy could say.
“So? What do you say?”
“Eh?? Wait a minute, Cap! You volunteering to catch even ten pitches for me is already a miracle on its own! And now you’re saying you want to help me with practicing my breaking balls?? Is this some kind of a joke??” Sawamura shouted, his cat-eyes already appearing. “If it’s a joke, please tell me now so the damage would be minimal.”
The boy furrowed his brows as he waited patiently for Miyuki’s response. His hands panicking as he placed them both on his already messy brown hair.
“Oi,” Miyuki replied, somewhat irritated. “I was honestly offering my help here, you know.”
The boy was shocked once more after hearing his captain’s confirmation. Upon noticing that Sawamura was still speechless, he decided to express his plans.
“I know I wasn’t able to spend some time being your battery partner,” Miyuki started explaining as he scratched the back of his neck. “But it’s already our off-season, I can finally dedicate some time to honing your pitches. I thought creating a numbering system for your pitches might help us identify which of those would be useful on actual matches. You’ve already proven yourself to be a reliable pitcher back in the Fall Tournament. We wouldn’t have made it without you so I believe helping you improve your pitches will be a great addition to our team’s strength.”
“O-Ohh,” Sawamura whispered, slightly blushing at the captain’s comment. It’s not all the time that he gets to hear praises coming from the pitcher after all.
Seeing that the pitcher has somehow let his guard down, Miyuki smirked as soon as he finished speaking.
“Although, that last performance you did during Kōshien was a bit -,” Miyuki paused as soon as he remembered Sawamura tumbling on the mound. “We also need to make sure you won’t be repeating that same stupid mistake. As your catcher, I was embarrassed too, you know.”
“You!! Really? Do you have to go and mention that moment right now?? You really are impossible!!”
“Thanks!”
“It’s not a compliment!!”
Miyuki was looking forward to it. Although he wouldn’t readily admit it to the pitcher, he was excited. There’s nothing more he found thrilling than catching pitches that are hard to catch.
It is now the month of February. He’s been spending some time practicing with Sawamura for almost a month and they had reached number 11. Although not all the numbers were already completed, there were some that Miyuki thought might be usable on the next tournament. After telling Sawamura what other things he needed to improve on, the pitcher started right away with his training. His control was already improving and his speed was already increasing. It wouldn’t be surprising if the southpaw pitcher will reach 135 km/h by the start of the Spring Tournament.
He was looking forward to this month. He was looking forward to the growth the younger boy can achieve during this off-season. He knew the boy could go further. He knew the boy could perform even better than what he showed during Fall Tournament and Kōshien.
He was indeed looking forward to this month. Little did he know, his past, which he thought he had buried deep in his mind, would come back haunting him.
Kazuya’s childhood, to say the least, was something he wouldn’t like talking about. His mother passed away at a very young age. His father, in order to cope up with the loss, ended up spending most of his time at work which somehow led to Kazuya fending for his own. Luckily, his mother had taught him how to cook when she was still healthy. Upon discovering his son’s interest in cooking, she taught the boy basic cooking skills.
As soon as his mother passed away, he took it upon himself to cook meals for him and his father. They would eat at different times as his father was always busy with work. But that didn’t stop him from cooking dinner for the both of them. For as long as his father eats the meals he was preparing, it was good enough for him. Whenever he was eating alone, he would busy himself studying scorebooks and coming up with pitching sequences that might help the team.
He came to love baseball at a very young age. And as it turned out, he was suited on being a catcher too. He joined the team of his school and was promoted as the main catcher of the team. That time, Kazuya learned just how cruel the world could be.
He loves baseball with all his heart. He believes that playing the sport has nothing to do with age or any social status for that matter. But his teammates, especially his seniors, believe otherwise. They despise him for being cocky. They despise him for having such talent at a very young age.
Back in middle school, Kazuya was still a bit small for his age. He learned that being a smart mouth would get him into trouble. He learned that when someone inflicted pain on his body, the color of his skin would change from tan to red to blue or purple depending on the strength of that person. He learned how to use the first aid kit. He learned that his body would ache later at night after receiving such harsh treatment.
But Kazuya never cried. He didn’t stop playing baseball. He never stopped changing his ways and attitude towards the sport. There’s nothing that can stop him from loving baseball for as long as he can keep on playing.
Kazuya’s catching strategies caught Takashima’s attention. He was invited to go to Seidou. Kazuya agreed, hoping that their baseball team would somehow be different than the team he has now.
He knew it was selfish to go to such a prestigious school so he could play baseball. He was offered a sports scholarship and has to live in Seidou’s dorm for three years. He was hesitant to leave his father behind. Takashima talked to him with his father. Surprisingly, without any hesitation, his father agreed. He wanted to be with his father but he wanted to play baseball too. And so he was able to arrive at his one big goal. He would aim to be a professional baseball player as soon as he graduated high school – so he could help his father who has allowed him to play baseball for his entire high school.
The team was indeed different. Although there were some negative comments about him coming from the upperclassmen, he no longer experience the same treatment he did back then. Some were hostile towards him, but most of them have the decency to accept him as a capable catcher. He became the main catcher during his first year. He would’ve wanted to compete with Chris for the position but he later found out that the senpai he looks up to is suffering from an injury.
Staying in Seidou was indeed a blessing. It was in that same school that he met his best friend, although he wouldn’t admit it so readily towards the boy. He learned to put on a mask but this friend of his somehow always manages to see through his lies. He always acts cheeky and he always gets reprimanded for it, but he would always stick up with him no matter how moody he can be.
Seidou's baseball team was the best team he could hope for. It’s the kind of team where he can be himself and still be acknowledged for what he’s capable of. He was indeed lucky to be part of the team. He’s thankful he turned down Mei’s invitation to join him at Inashiro.
And now, he gets to work with different pitchers with different pitching styles. He’s very lucky he was given the chance to catch not just for Kawakami and Tanba, but for Furuya and Sawamura as well.
Kazuya thought he already escaped the loneliness he felt when he was young. He never knew that it would one day return and affect him like a plague.
It was cold and dark. Miyuki’s standing in a corridor. He’d seen this before. He knew where he was. He could hear the faint beeping of sound emanating from the room at the end of the corridor. He also knew what he was about to see if he continued moving forward. He would witness his beloved mother wither away as days go by. He was young at that time, but he was older enough to understand what the scene entailed. He heard from the doctors that his mother didn’t have enough time. He thought that upon hearing it, he would be ready. When his mother died, he realized that knowing beforehand didn’t help at all.
The scene changed from the corridor to his mother’s room as she smiled weakly, calling his name. And then it changed once more to his mother’s funeral. He didn’t shed a tear, because it didn’t matter. No matter how much he cried, his mother will not come back. No matter how much he prayed to the gods, there’ll be no one to embrace him at night. The scene changed once more. He was looking at himself. His old tiny self, all cooped up in his room, his head against his knees as he hugged himself desperately. The tears which didn’t fall at the funeral began to fall that night – like a river flowing on his soft cheeks. He wanted to shout. He wanted to say how much it hurts. But his voice wouldn’t come out. At a very young age, the bespectacled boy learned how to hide his feelings.
He wanted to comfort the boy in front of him. But there was nothing he could do. He knew this was a dream – a dream about his past he wanted to be kept in the depths of his heart. Upon witnessing once more what he went through when he was young, he couldn’t help but wonder –
If someone out there heard me crying so quietly, will they reach out to me and comfort me? If I shouted and asked for help, would someone reach out their hand and offer their arms to comfort me? If they offered their arms, would I take it?
Miyuki’s thoughts were interrupted as soon as he woke up from the dream. He was sweating profusely as he sit-up on his bed. It took him a few seconds to realize that he was crying as he felt tears roll down his pale face. He wiped it as fast as he could as he stabilized his breathing. Luckily, his dorm mate was having a sleepover in some other’s room. Now that the third-years already moved on different rooms, there are vacant beds for every dorm if ever they wanted to have guests.
It wasn’t a nightmare, but it wasn’t exactly a good dream either. It was a sad dream. Seeing himself in that state reminded him once more that there’s a pain in his heart that will never go away. No matter how long ago it was, the ache in his heart will remain. Seeing the dream made him realize that the pain never went away, it just became a piece of baggage in his heart. He got used to carrying it he almost didn’t notice the weight.
He knew it would be a waste of time to try to go back to sleep. So he decided to step outside his room to breathe some fresh air. But before he left his room, he changed his clothes and make sure that the tears were no longer visible. It wouldn’t be good if he ever met someone walking on the grounds. It would be a pain in the ass to explain how much of a wreck he was.
As soon as he set foot outside his room, he went straight towards the vending machine and bought a can of coffee he usually drinks. He was about to get the coffee when he heard someone spoke behind his back.
“Cap? What’re you doing here so early in the morning?”
Miyuki was surprised for a second but managed to hide it as soon as he faced the boy talking to him.
“Yo, Bakamura. Just finished your morning run, I assume?” Miyuki replied with a question as he started drinking his coffee. He immediately put up his typical smile as soon as he started conversing with the pitcher.
“Yeah. I thought I’d buy some strawberry milk while I was at it but I forgot my wallet,” Sawamura responded with an awkward smile as he scratched the back of his neck.
Miyuki sniggered upon hearing the boy’s statement. “Still as stupid as always, I see.”
“Who are you calling stupid, you stupid tanuki!?”
“Oi, I’m still your senpai and your captain, you know.”
“Then act like one! Geez!”
Sawamura frowned at the catcher as he turned his back, already walking away from the vending machine.
“Hey! Where are you going?”
“I’m getting my wallet! And maybe wait five more minutes to make sure you’re no longer around because apparently, the only time you don’t harass me is when you’re not near me!” the southpaw pitcher shouted as he replied to his captain.
Miyuki just smiled. He knew how easily he can rile the boy up. And somehow, his interaction with the boy managed to calm his heart.
“Come back here! I still have a few coins left in my pocket. Enough to cover your strawberry milk, I think,” Miyuki shouted so the boy can still hear him.
Sawamura returned his gaze in Miyuki’s direction. He paused for a while to think about his captain’s offer and decided to get on with it. By the time he arrived back in front of the vending machine, Miyuki was already buying his strawberry milk. He took the drink and gave it to Sawamura.
The pitcher was somehow eyeing him warily as he hesitated to take the milk.
“What? Even if I wanted to poison you Sawamura, I wouldn’t have the time for that, would I?”
“Still as evil as always,” Sawamura replied as he reached for the drink. “Even though you’re a captain.”
Miyuki just laughed as he leaned himself on the vending machine while continuing to drink his coffee.
“Thanks, I’ll pay you back later,” Sawamura spoke quietly as he poke the milk with the straw while pouting.
“Nah, it’s okay, you can have it for free,” Miyuki replied.
Sawamura was shocked once more. Usually, Miyuki would be the one to remind him to pay him back but now, he’s even offering to have the drink for free.
“Miyuki-senpai.”
“Hmm?” Miyuki asked hesitantly, slightly taken aback at the boy’s sudden politeness.
“Is something the matter?”
“Eh? Why do you ask?”
“Because you’re acting nice, it’s so creepy,” Sawamura replied, not looking at his captain.
Miyuki stayed silent for a few seconds before bursting into laughter.
“Hey! I’m serious here, you know!”
“You look so serious I thought you were gonna say something sensible for once. Turns out you’re still the same old Sawamura,” Miyuki spoke, his arms on his stomach as he laughed some more.
“Whatever! I see you’re still as mean as ever,” Sawamura said, his face slightly red from embarrassment. “Thanks for the drinks! Though it’s probably the last treat I’d get from you! You stingy tanuki bastard!”
Sawamura shouted as he ran away from Miyuki to avoid any hurtful comments from the catcher.
Miyuki let out a deep sigh as soon as Sawamura was no longer in the vicinity.
I really need to keep it together.
Miyuki thought the dream wouldn’t affect him too much. He was wrong. He was having a hard time sleeping since then, afraid that he might have the same dream once he fall back to sleep. It’s been three days already. He kept on tossing and turning on his bed that Kimura even asked if he’s having trouble sleeping.
Three days turned to five and then to a week. Kuramochi noticed the dark circles forming under his eyes.
“What’s the matter, Miyuki? Unable to sleep because you’re being plagued with guilt having to turn down a lot of girls these past few days?” his best friend asked while playing around with a soccer ball.
“Shut up, Kuramochi. It’s not like I asked for it. They’re the ones confessing to me, what can I do about it?” Miyuki replied, entertaining the false assumption the shortstop has made. It’s way easier than his best friend seeing through his façade.
“You cocky bastard! If only they knew how messed up your personality is, maybe they’d all back out!” Kuramochi retorted.
Miyuki and Kuramochi were having their PE class, they’re playing soccer and they knew they both suck at it so they wanted to stay on the sideline as much as possible. Sawamura and his class were also having their PE class on the other field. The next thing they knew, Miyuki and Kuramochi’s attention was fixed on their southpaw pitcher as he smoothly made a goal.
“Heh. So that idiot’s good in other sports too,” Miyuki commented.
“Yeah. He’s so good it’s quite annoying,” Kuramochi replied.
Their conversation was interrupted when they were called by their teacher to participate in the game. In all honesty, Miyuki was feeling a little bit under the weather. He’s not getting enough sleep these past few days. Not to mention, he’s being dragged around by girls confessing to him to go all over the campus just to listen to what they have to say now that Valentine’s Day is right around the corner. And now that today is the 14th, there’d be more girls who would be giving him chocolates and confession letters. Frankly speaking, he wanted this day over and done.
They’ve only been playing for less than ten minutes but Miyuki was already sweating a lot, his breathing uneven and his vision was more blurry than usual. He was about to stand up straight to gain his composure when he heard Kuramochi called his name in panic. The next thing he knew, a soccer ball hit him straight in the face and made him fall backward.
“Miyuki!” Kuramochi shouted his name again as soon as he saw his captain fall to the ground, unmoving.
He ran as fast as he could he arrived faster than anyone to where Miyuki was lying.
“Oi, Miyuki! Are you alright?” Kuramochi asked as he slightly shook the catcher.
Around that time, Sawamura and his team were done with their game as he heard Kuramochi’s voice calling their captain. He noticed that majority of their class were gathered around someone who was lying on the ground.
Without a second’s hesitation, Sawamura ran towards the other field where Miyuki’s class was. By the time he arrived, Kuramochi and their teacher were checking up on Miyuki. The catcher, on the other hand, appears to be unconscious.
“Miyuki-kun? Can you hear me? Miyuki-kun?” the teacher kept on calling repeatedly.
Sawamura slightly panicked at the sight but reminded himself that it’s not the time for that.
“Sensei, I’m Sawamura Eijun from class 1-C, one of the members of Seidou baseball team,” Sawamura introduced politely as he intervened in the chaos. “I’d like to volunteer myself to assist our captain in bringing him to the clinic if that’s okay with you.”
Some of Miyuki’s classmates were quite perplexed by the boy’s attitude. Fortunately, the teacher did not pay mind to Sawamura’s odd way of speaking and accepted the boy’s request right away.
“Thank you, Sawamura-kun. Please be careful, we’re not sure if he suffered from a concussion or not,” the teacher replied. “Kuramochi-kun, can you inform your coach regarding this incident? I’ll assist Sawamura-kun in carrying Miyuki.”
Kuramochi nodded and walked towards Sawamura.
“I’ll leave our captain to you, Sawamura,” Kuramochi said in a calm tone as he patted the younger boy’s shoulder. Sawamura only nodded in response.
Kuramochi went straight towards the coach’s office. Sawamura, on the other hand, positioned himself properly as their teacher and some of Miyuki’s classmates assisted in placing him on his back. He then proceeded on carrying the captain on his back, his face painted with worry.
When they reached the school clinic, the school nurse was already around, expecting Miyuki as their teacher had called beforehand.
They lay Miyuki on one of the beds. The school nurse took a look at the catcher and then informed the teacher that there seems to be no problem.
“There seems to be no concussion, but to be on the safe side, I suggest Miyuki-kun go to the hospital for a checkup. He’s a bit pale. I think it’s due to lack of sleep and other stress. He has a slight fever too,” the school nurse explained.
Sawamura could only frown at the nurse’s statement. No matter how much of an idiot he was, he knew there was something wrong with the catcher. He tried a lot of times to ask what seems to be the problem during their late-night practice but Miyuki would always find a way to avoid the topic or brush him off.
He fixed the blanket over Miyuki’s body as he buried his thoughts of what might be bothering their captain right now. He wanted to be of help, but he can’t do it if the person in question is refusing to seek help from others. He was a bit frustrated, at himself and at his captain, who was being stubborn in accepting help from others.
Sawamura sat quietly beside Miyuki. He could see the dark circles under his eyes, a clear sign that the catcher wasn’t getting enough sleep. He seemed to be in pain too as he noticed the deep frown painted across Miyuki’s face. It’s as if he was having a bad dream.
He was about to check Miyuki more closely when Kuramochi and Coach Kataoka arrived at the clinic. Kuramochi already brought a change of clothes for their captain. As soon as he realized his presence was no longer needed in the room, Sawamura stood hesitantly but he was interrupted when he felt a hand grabbed his left arm.
At first, he thought Miyuki was already awake so he tried calling his name.
“Miyuki-senpai?” Sawamura confirmed.
The rest of the people inside the clinic focused their attention on Miyuki when they heard Sawamura spoke. They also didn’t fail to notice how tight the boy’s grasp is on Sawamura’s arm. Most probably, judging from Miyuki’s expression, he might be having a bad dream.
Upon seeing the scene, Kuramochi thought to himself that Miyuki is showing his vulnerable side right now unknowingly. And if he was in his position, he wouldn’t want it to be exposed to people he’s not even familiar with. Being the sensitive person that he was, he did what he felt was the right thing to do.
“I think it would be best if we leave the two of them alone,” Kuramochi whispered upon clearing his throat so that the attention of the others would be focused on him.
Sawamura, who was surprised with what Kuramochi suggested, went to sit back on the chair beside Miyuki’s bed. He can still feel the warm hands of his captain on his arm.
The school nurse, their teacher, and Coach Kataoka nodded in response. They pulled out the curtain so Miyuki would have some privacy. The coach talked to the school nurse for a while and advised they’ll take Miyuki to the hospital for a further checkup once he’s awake.
Sawamura was silently listening to the conversation as he observe the catcher. His expression seems better now that his hand found something, or someone to be more precise, to latch on to.
Before Kuramochi left, he advised Sawamura to stay for a while to which the younger boy agreed. Kuramochi promised he’d bring one of his manga so he won’t be bored.
Miyuki stayed asleep the entire day. It took two hours before he had let go of Sawamura’s arms. But even then, Sawamura stayed by his side as he read silently the manga that was brought by his roommate. And while he was asleep, a lot of students had visited him. Most were girls giving chocolates to Miyuki and wishing him well. Some were members of the baseball team.
There were around twenty girls who had given Miyuki chocolates that Sawamura ended up making a list asking them for their name and class that he almost looked like his manager. Some even thought he was Miyuki’s boyfriend. Sawamura was blushing like a tomato as he denied their hasty assumptions.
At around 3 PM, Takashima dropped by as soon as she finished all her classes. He advised Sawamura that he can now go back to his class to which the boy agreed.
“I’ll leave our captain in your hands, Takashima-san,” Sawamura spoke politely as he bowed towards her.
Before exiting the room, he glanced one final look at his captain. His pain seemed all gone now as he slept peacefully on the bed.
After the class, Sawamura went to his dorm room to change clothes for practice. According to Kuramochi, Takashima already accompanied him to the hospital for a checkup as soon as he woke up and that they’ll be back by now since there seems to be no issue.
Sawamura sighed a deep breath, grateful that their captain was unharmed. He just had an injury and another injury would be too much.
Practice went on as usual as Kuramochi and Zono took over while Miyuki was not around. He was advised to take it easy and take a rest for the remaining time of the day.
Sawamura went to the cafeteria to look for some icing when he noticed that the managers had gathered inside the kitchen staff. There were some ingredients on the table and they were all wearing pink aprons.
“Ohh. What might you be doing at this time?” Sawamura asked as he walked in on them.
“Geh. Sawamura,” Umemoto reacted upon seeing the southpaw pitcher.
“Oh, Sawamura-kun! What are you doing here?” Yoshikawa asked as she panicked slightly.
“I’ve come to get some ice,” Sawamura responded matter-of-factly.
“Well, I guess it’s fine since Sawamura has a girlfriend,” Umemoto interrupted. “It wouldn’t make him happy receiving a bunch of giri choco cupcakes from the baseball managers.”
Sawamura blushed at the comment.
“Ugh! Even you as well, Umemoto-senpai! I keep on telling you, she’s not my girlfriend! We’re just friends!” Sawamura defended himself.
“Okay. Okay. I got it. No need to be so defensive. Since you’re here already, how about you help us so we can finish this on time?” Umemoto requested.
“That’s fine with me, but you’ll have to give me one too! I love chocolate-flavored cupcakes,” Sawamura beamed in response.
“Eh? Didn’t you receive a lot of chocolates from your fans?” Umemoto asked teasingly. “So? How many are giri? Did someone give you honmei?”
“Giri? Honmei? What’re those?” Sawamura asked while some of the managers laughed at him, Yoshikawa on the other hand was slightly disappointed as she didn’t get to know how many rivals she has in their school.
“Geez! Sawamura-kun! Don’t you know what giri and honmei chocolates mean?” Umemoto asked, slightly annoyed now.
“Hmm. Now that I think about it, Nishino might have mentioned that what she gave me was giri choco and that I shouldn’t be getting the wrong idea,” Sawamura whispered as he tried to remember the details of their interaction.
“Hey, now! I thought you’re a shoujo manga expert! How come you didn’t know these things?”
“O-oh!! I remember it now! So that’s why the heroines were saying that the chocolate is honmei! Because they have romantic feelings for the guys!” Sawamura shouted as he finally understood the details of the manga that he was reading.
For some reason, Sawamura was wearing a pink apron too and it doesn’t seem to bother him which the other managers found to be adorable as they secretly took a picture of him assisting with the baking.
“Oi, Haruno,” Umemoto whispered towards the red-haired manager, careful not to be heard by Sawamura. “Did you give Sawamura honmei choco?”
“Eh!? Senpai!! What’re you talking about! It’s not like that at all!” Yoshikawa responded, her face blushing.
Umemoto just rolled her eyes at the other manager’s denial.
“Okay. If you say so,” she replied as she decided to let the red-haired girl go, for now. “But recently, Sawamura’s been getting some attention too. If you don’t act now, you’ll be late.”
Yoshikawa suddenly turned quiet as she pondered what Umemoto’s words entailed. The older manager sighed upon seeing Yoshikawa’s reaction. She gently tapped her shoulders as she decided to continue with what she’s doing.
“So, Umemoto-senpai,” Sawamura spoke as he busied himself with mixing the ingredients.
“Hmm?”
“Are all the baseball players going to receive this chocolate cupcake? Or is it just those currently not in a relationship?”
“Sawamura-kun, you should be thankful none of them were around. Had they heard you, they would have smacked you in the head,” Umemoto replied.
“Eh? Did I say something wrong?”
“Anyways, all the members will receive chocolate cupcakes from us,” Umemoto responded while ignoring Sawamura’s slightly offensive question. “Regardless if they’re in a relationship or not, we’ll still give them chocolate cupcakes. So keep your hands moving! We don’t have much time!”
“Umemoto-senpai, you’re quite the slave-driver aren’t you?” Sawamura commented as he commenced mixing, smiling awkwardly at his scary manager.
Umemoto only replied with a smug look on her face.
“So? Why did you even ask the question?”
“Oh, I just thought that Miyuki-senpai is not too fond of sweets so he might not end up eating the cupcake.”
“Well, not my problem,” Umemoto replied nonchalantly. “He’ll be receiving a lot of chocolates for today anyway.”
“Umemoto-senpai? Is it just me or do you seem to be having some grudge with our captain?”
“What’re you saying, Sawamura-kun? That’s not true at all,” Umemoto responded with great emphasis.
“O-okay. If you say so, senpai.”
Yoshikawa giggled slightly. Apparently, Umemoto was still bitter about Miyuki criticizing her scorebook.
“Um, senpai, if you wouldn’t mind, maybe we could bake something for Miyuki-senpai instead? How about a coffee-flavored cupcake?”
“Since you’re so adamant about it, how about you make it on your own?” Umemoto challenged.
“Of course! This Sawamura Eijun will not back down from baking a new flavor I haven’t done previously! Challenge accepted!” Sawamura responded with excitement as he laughed loudly.
“Sawamura-kun, you’re so noisy!”
The managers together with Sawamura managed to finish baking the cupcakes and wrapping them individually for the remaining baseball players. The southpaw pitcher was given cupcakes too which he took with sincere gratitude.
It was almost time for dinner when they finished so they decided to give the cupcakes before eating their meal. They realized some of them might be happy receiving at least something from the managers. Kanemaru was even blushing when it was Yoshikawa who had given him the cupcake.
Miyuki was allowed not to go to dinner as was advised to rest for now. The entire team was, fortunately, happy that they received something for the 14th of February. Somehow, it feels like their hard work for the day was rewarded.
Umemoto, upon hearing from Kuramochi, that Miyuki was resting in his room decided to bring him some dinner and the cupcakes too. She knocked for half a minute before Miyuki answered and opened the door to his room.
“Umemoto?” Miyuki asked, quite surprised that the manager was still at school. “What’re you doing here?”
“I heard our captain got injured again so I decided to bring you dinner,” Umemoto replied.
“I’m not injured, just wasn’t feeling well is all,” Miyuki responded as he motioned for the manager to enter the room.
Miyuki was sleeping before Umemoto arrived.
“Make sure to eat your dinner. Your boys were quite worried about you, you know,” Umemoto spoke once more as soon as she’s done placing the food on Miyuki’s desk.
“They’re making a big deal out of this. I’m fine, really,” the captain replied as he sat on his chair to check what his dinner will be.
“Okay. Okay. I’ll tell them to pipe down. Is that good enough?”
“Yes, please. And thanks for the dinner.”
Umemoto was about to exit the room when she remembered she had brought Miyuki’s cupcakes as well.
“Oh, by the way. I almost forgot,” Umemoto started as she went back towards Miyuki’s desk. “We baked cupcakes for the whole team, this one’s for you.”
“Uh, I might’ve not told you that I’m not that good at sweets? As you can see, I’m having a problem as to where I’ll be putting this stuff,” Miyuki replied as he pointed towards the direction of chocolates piled up on the other end of his desk.
“I’m glad to hear you’re still the old Captain Miyuki that we all love,” Umemoto replied with sarcasm.
“Why, thank you. I try my best,” Miyuki retorted as he smirked as well.
Umemoto rolled out her eyes in response.
“Anyways, you have to take this because it’s not your typical cupcake. These cupcakes were specially baked with you in mind by our resident idiot southpaw pitcher so you have no choice but to take it,” Umemoto said proudly, it’s almost as if she was Sawamura’s mom.
“Sawamura?” Miyuki asked as he reached out for the cupcakes.
“Yeah. What did he say again -?” Umemoto mentioned, trying to remember something.
Miyuki noticed that the cupcake was darker than a typical chocolate cupcake. Darker, but definitely not burned.
“Oh, yeah! I remembered it now! ‘Super dark coffee cupcake for your super dark personality’ !” Umemoto exclaimed. “That’s what he said.”
Miyuki laughed at the phrase. He could almost imagine Sawamura saying it to his face.
“What does that even mean?” Miyuki commented as he laughed some more.
“I guess you’re well enough to laugh so I won’t be disturbing your rest any further,” Umemoto smiled as soon as he saw Miyuki’s relaxed expression.
“Thanks, I’ll try to eat these super dark coffee cupcakes . Wish me good luck that I’ll still be alive by tomorrow.”
“Oh, you better! Sawamura-kun almost burned his hands making those.”
Miyuki’s face turned serious as soon as he heard the manager’s last statement.
“It’s nothing serious. Yoshikawa almost dropped the tray of the cupcakes but Sawamura caught it with his bare hands so he ended up burning his hands a little bit. We already applied a cold compress to his hands so it wouldn’t get worse. I also provided him some ointment he can apply,” Umemoto explained.
The catcher was not saying anything so she decided to speak once more.
“Try to check up on him if you still have the strength, okay? Just to make sure if he’s doing properly what I instructed him,” Umemoto added.
Once the manager has left, Miyuki sighed heavily as he finished his dinner as fast as he could. After eating dinner, he unwrapped the coffee cupcakes given to him. He put a piece of cupcake inside his mouth hesitantly. After all, he’s not aware of Sawamura’s baking prowess.
He swallowed after chewing the pastry. And then he smiled.
Bitter. Just like my favorite coffee.
Miyuki stood and stretched and then went outside his room.
Well then, I guess it’s time to go search for an idiot.
Meanwhile, in room 105, Sawamura was already panicking. He’s not quite sure right now if he’s doing it properly.
“Ugh! What should I do? I think I might have applied too much ointment?? Maybe I should’ve asked Higashio-senpai or Kudou-senpai to assist me!” Sawamura was thinking out loud as he looked desperately at his messy hands.
He was so busy with his thoughts that he didn’t notice someone coming in.
“Hmm. What a messy hand you got there, Sawamura,” Miyuki commented in a serious tone.
Sawamura was taken aback as soon as he heard the captain’s voice, he ended up standing too fast and toppling his chair.
“M-M-M-Miyuki-senpai!? Why’re you here??” Sawamura shouted as he tried to hide his hands.
“I was knocking at the door but you were not responding, but then I heard your loud voice so I decided to enter the room,” Miyuki replied, his arms crossed across his chest.
“O-Oh, I see. Sorry, I didn’t notice. A-anyway, I’m glad to know you’re doing fine now, Miyuki-senpai,” Sawamura said awkwardly, his hands still at his back.
“Want to tell me the reason why you have some ointment on your hands?”
“That’s… You see… Uh…”
Miyuki just sighed upon noticing that the younger boy was still intent to hide the burn on his hands.
“Give me your hands,” Miyuki spoke as he motioned Sawamura to stop hiding his hands on his back.
“Eh? I-I don’t know what you mean.”
“Stop with the pretense already. Umemoto already told me what happened so give me your hands now or I will report this to the coach and tell him to ban you from pitching for a week.”
“Yes, sir.”
That seemed to do the trick as Sawamura offered his hands to the catcher. Miyuki asked Sawamura to take a sit as he positioned himself on Kuramochi’s bed. The poor pitcher was already sniffling when Miyuki was fixing the ointment on his hands.
“Geez. Just how stupid can you be? Catching a tray of cupcakes straight out of an oven,” Miyuki complained as he started bandaging Sawamura’s hands.
Sawamura didn’t respond. He just kept on crying as Miyuki wrapped the bandages around his hands.
“It hurts, Cap. Will this affect my pitching?” Sawamura asked, still slightly sobbing.
Miyuki, unable to help himself, just flicked the younger boy’s forehead.
“Ouch! What was that for!?”
“That’s for you being stupid! You’re lucky it wasn’t anything serious. It’ll heal in two days. Just make sure to apply the ointment once you started feeling the pain again.”
Then all of a sudden, the pitcher stopped sobbing.
“Really? This will heal in two days?”
“Yes. But if left alone, it might heal slower than usual so you have to keep doing what Umemoto instructed you. Do you understand?”
“Yes, Cap. I understand.”
“You’re forbidden in the kitchen for now except when you’re getting ice. You’re not allowed to do any type of cooking whatsoever.”
“Eh?”
“Don’t ‘eh’ me! You’re lucky it’s off-season! But what’re you going to do if you injure yourself in the middle of the match? If you hide something like this from me again, I’ll make sure you’ll receive an appropriate punishment you wouldn’t be dreaming about.”
“That’s…”
“Sawamura, you need to be careful with your hands. Don’t use it carelessly if you could avoid it. What you did was reckless. It’s just cupcakes, you could’ve just let it fall. No one’s going to blame you.”
“It’s not just cupcakes!” Sawamura blurted out as he stood upright from his seat.
“Sawamura?”
“And what about you, senpai?”
“What about me?”
“You’re being unfair you know,” Sawamura whispered.
Miyuki’s head was now aching. He didn’t want to fight with him right now. He realized he might’ve gone overboard with the scolding.
“How so?”
“Unlike mine, you’re injury back in the Fall Tournament was even worse. But you still decided to hide it away from us. Even from me, even though I was standing right in front of you back then. Do you know how helpless I felt when I learned I was the one who realized last that you were injured?”
The captain turned quiet. He did not know. He did not know that Sawamura was holding back his frustration towards him and now that it’s out in the open, he did not know how to deal with it.
“And even today. Something was bothering you, but you kept on insisting that you were fine. Do you know how worried we were when we saw you lying unconscious on the ground?” Sawamura continued. “If you think hiding your injury was so we wouldn’t worry, don’t you think that’s the same with mine? You have enough problems as it is so I wouldn’t want to add further to your troubles! Because you’re stubborn and wouldn’t accept any help from us, this is the best I could do!”
“Sawamura… Listen…”
“Why, Miyuki-senpai?”
“Huh?”
“Why is it so hard for you to open up to others? Why is it so hard for you to accept other people’s help? I told you before, didn’t I? Just because you’re the captain, you shouldn’t be shouldering the whole team by yourself. You need to reach out to people if you need help. That doesn’t make you a weak or a lesser person. It doesn’t have to be me. It can be Kuramochi-senpai or Zono-senpai. But please, just reach out to anyone. If you keep this up, you’ll end up breaking down one day, you know.”
Miyuki was dumbfounded. It was not his intention at all for this conversation to go down as it is when he decided to go looking for the pitcher.
“I’m sorry,” Miyuki spoke after a few seconds of silence.
“You’d better be,” Sawamura replied as he wipe the tears on his face. “And I’m sorry too. I promise I won’t hide any injuries I might be getting, but you have to promise me too. Aren’t we a battery?”
“Okay. I promise. I wouldn’t do it again too,” Miyuki responded with great sincerity.
Sawamura leveled down so he’s face to face with Miyuki. He was now showing his typical cocky smile.
“That’s a promise then!” Sawamura beamed in response as he grabbed Miyuki’s left hand and tied his pinky finger on his captain’s. “Don’t go backing down on your own words now, Cap!”
Miyuki just smiled awkwardly as Sawamura continued grinning like an idiot.
“Eh? Why do I feel like I just got scammed into subscribing to a useless service?”
“Wha - !! Cap!! That’s so rude!”
The captain couldn’t help but just laugh in his response. Riling up the boy would always be one of his hobbies.
“You really are the best, Sawamura! Don’t ever change!” Miyuki exclaimed as he laughed some more.
“Shut up! You tanuki bastard!!”
“Thanks!”
“And I keep on telling you, it’s not a compliment!!”
Little did they know, Kuramochi was silently listening outside the room.
Well, at least both of them are fine now.
That night, Miyuki had the best sleep he’s ever had since he dreamt about his mom. His dream this time was that of his mother, smiling in the middle of sunflowers.
It’s okay. You’ll be okay now, Kazuya.
Yes, mom. I’ll be okay now.
OMAKE:
The next day, Miyuki was already doing fine. He was allowed to practice with the rest of his teammates. Sawamura, on the other hand, was not. The boy was pouting as he ran around the field. He was not allowed to pitch until his hand healed fully.
“He’s angry,” Miyuki commented as soon as Kuramochi arrived as they observe their southpaw pitcher.
“Uh-huh. He absolutely is,” Kuramochi agreed nonchalantly. “Thanks to someone refusing to have the bondage on his hands removed for a while, the coach found it his hands were slightly burned.”
“What can I do? It’s better to be on the safe side,” Miyuki defended himself.
“So? What’re you going to give Sawamura on the 14th of March?”
“Eh? Does that even count?”
“You’re so stupid, you know that. You still owe the kid. He was banned for days for pitching because he wanted to comfort his battery partner who’s so stubborn he refuses help from others. He was the one who volunteered to carry you to the clinic, by the way. He’s the one who stayed by your side because you shamelessly grabbed his arm and you wouldn’t just let go he practically had to seat beside you. Now, isn’t that a good partner you got there? And you’re an asshole. So yeah, that does count. So do something about it, you failure of a captain!”
“Okay. Okay. I got it! Too much information, by the way,” Miyuki replied as he heard what happened after he lost consciousness that day.
His face was blushing upon hearing the inconveniences he had caused the southpaw pitcher. Thankfully, the younger boy didn’t mention anything himself when they had that talk that night.
So on the 14th of March, Miyuki invited Sawamura to watch a pro baseball game. The boy was very happy as they discussed game calling and some of the pitches Sawamura might consider adding to his arsenal. Kuramochi, being the big brother that he was, waited for the two to arrive. It was quite late by the time they arrived but Miyuki had anticipated it and asked permission from the coach. When Kuramochi opened the door, he found Miyuki standing at the entrance, slightly crouched as he was carrying their sleeping southpaw pitcher.
“I guess going outside in Tokyo for an entire day wore the kid down, huh?” Kuramochi commented as he assisted his captain in putting the younger boy to his bed. “You had to carry him back to the dorm. Do you really hate being indebted to the kid?”
“Well, debt is a debt. It has to be paid,” Miyuki shrugged as he looked one last time at the two. “Good night Kuramochi-kun! Take care of our idiotic pitcher, will you?”
“You don’t have to tell me.” Kuramochi could only whisper with a smile.
He turned off the lights and went back to his bed. Now that Sawamura’s back safely in their room, he can sleep peacefully now.