pitch, bat, catch
a realization of love in three parts
Warnings: This piece of fiction is based on the live drama H2: Kimi to Itahibi, not the manga. There's also spoilers for the last episode of the drama.
Disclaimer: I don't own the H2 manga or the live drama.
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pitch
Ever since he met her, Koga Haruka was always surprising him. Fastballs, curve balls and fork balls, Kunimi Hiro felt, were nothing next to the unexpected moves she kept throwing at him.
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bat
Now she has taken him aback once again, with her request to see his famous skills—that is, up close in the batter's box. Her child-like joy and amazement at his impressive pitch is infectious. At last, he acknowledges the quick, queer flip-flop inside him. He knows, finally.
On the way home, she says he is great. He counters, "So are you," and means it. Hikari has always played catch with him, but only Haruka has faced down his fast ball with such aplomb.
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catch
She expresses concern for his happiness in roundabout words, unaware that he knew that she knew about the travesty of a bet Hideo had put him up to. She says it doesn't concern her.
The closest thing he could liken to his feelings right there and then as she walked away, he thinks, is the great chasm of emotions he always feels in the seconds after the ball leaves his hand, in the agonizing wait for its contact with the opposing player's bat—or the impact within the catcher's mitt.
That night, he reflects. The next day, he resolves unfinished things. And in the afternoon, he tells her that he is well and truly caught.