XP: Hey there. I'm pretty new to this fandom, but I'm totally in love with Miyuki! I think he really deserves some love. But uh, perhaps I'm giving him a bit too much. Haha!

Mostly Kuramiyu, Furumiyu, Chrismiyu, some Sawamiyu and Chrisawa.

***Chapter 1***

It seemed like any other normal day of practice. At the bullpen, Miyuki was catching Furuya's deadly fastballs, and he winced a little at an extra fast one. He tried not to let it show, but Furuya noticed anyway. Furuya had been watching him a bit too closely and intensely for his taste for the past few days.

"Sorry, Miyuki-senpai," Furuya said softly.

"Nah, don't worry. It was a good pitch. Just continue putting your feelings in it," Miyuki reassured. As long as it didn't hit him anywhere outside of the mitt, the faster the better.

"My feelings..." Furuya mumbled. He stared at the baseball in his hand, before getting into position, throwing an even faster ball. It made a loud sound that was heard across the whole practice area. Miyuki's mitt was smoking from the sheer speed and friction of it.

Ow...

"Wow, that sure was a lot of passion," Miyuki joked, shaking his hand to loosen out the stinging sensation.

"I'm glad you felt it... I put in my feelings for you."

Miyuki startled. He was glad Sawamura and Chris weren't here right now because Sawamura was made to practice fielding. Miyuki's mind blanked out for the first time in his life. He stared at the first year pitcher in disbelief, hoping he heard wrongly. Furuya was staring at him anxiously, cheeks aflame with embarrassment. Miyuki realised Furuya was waiting for a response. But shit, what could he say to that?

"...Miyuki senpai?" Furuya stepped forward. Miyuki stumbled backwards from his squatting position as a catcher, hitting the ground softly. Concern flashed in Furuya's eyes.

"Oiiii! It's time for dinner!" Kuramochi announced, poking his head in. "Hahaha, what are you doing Miyuki? You look stupid on the ground like that."

Relief flooded Miyuki, and he stood up, not looking at Furuya. "Shut up, bakamoto. At least I don't look stupid on a regular basis."

Maybe it was the atmosphere, maybe it was how desperate Miyuki seemed to want to leave, or how intense Furuya looked, but Kuramochi noticed something amiss. Deciding to help his friend, he threw his arm around Miyuki in a headlock, dragging him away like one of their regular fights, but actually acting as a body shield as Furuya tagged behind them quietly.

" You wanna try saying that again?" Kuramochi threatened, and Miyuki gave a strained laugh. Yup, something was obviously up. Kuramochi sighed, but still he ensured that Miyuki got a corner seat with him sitting beside and Masuko seating across him, so he wouldn't have to face Furuya that night at least. The things he did for Miyuki Kazuya. Miyuki didn't seem to realise, deep in thought as he chewed and poked around at his food. Even when all the members finished eating and left, and Kuramochi waved goodbye to his roommates, Miyuki was only halfway through his food. Most baseballers understood something was up, and left Kuramochi to settle it. He was kind of the unnamed best friend of Miyuki after all.

"Ready to tell me what's up?" Kuramochi poked Miyuki in the side, before reaching over go steal some chicken. Not like Miyuki was going to eat it anyway, judging from the lack of his appetite.

"Kuramochi, I'm screwed."

Well, of all things, Kuramochi wasn't expecting that.

"Waddya mean?"

"What should I do? Um, if er, someone confesses to you, and um."

Shucks. Kuramochi knew it gotta be relationships. Miyuki was extremely fucked up in that sense. He couldn't understand why someone like Miyuki, who was so intelligent, composed and cool on the field, became such a stumbling idiot at personal relationships. Heck, the little idiot actually asked "Are we friends?" one day...

**The past**

It was something that happened in their first year. They had already established a relationship of insults, headlocks, teasing and generally hanging around. Kuramochi was gaming in his room when Miyuki opened the door and didn't say anything for a few minutes. And since Kuramochi was in a boss fight, he didnt really care. If Miyuki didn't talk, great. He needed to concentrate.

"Kuramochi."

"Yeah?"

"Are we..." Miyuki hesitated, shuffling his feet. His hand was still on the doorknob. "Are we friends...?"

"What."

Kuramochi stopped playing immediately, turning to stare at Miyuki blankly.

Miyuki flushed. "Sorry for disturbing you." He rushed to close the door, but Kuramochi stood up hurriedly, jamming the door with his hand. It fucking hurt.

"The fuck are you going on about? Of course we are. Isn't it obvious?" Kuramochi scowled, looking back at his game. He saw the screen flash with the words "Game over" and groaned. He turned to snap at Miyuki, but bit back his words when he saw Miyuki tearing up. He pulled Miyuki in instantly, locking the door.

"Did I do something?" Kuramochi asked in a fluster.

"The art teacher told us to draw a friend," Miyuki said softly, but that wasn't a fucking answer. Kuramochi decided to wait.

"I had that assignment too. I was thinking of asking you tomorrow after practice."

"I wasn't sure if we were..." Miyuki trailed off, staring at his feet. Kuramochi sat Miyuki down on the bed, and settled beside him, waiting patiently. "I never had one before. Not in middle school, anyways."

He was obsessed with baseball. None of his classmates understood him and distanced themselves from the 'genius' kid. It was just a problem of connection- none of their hobbies were similar. Those kids watched cartoons and read manga. He read mystery novels and watched sports matches. He hadn't minded since he had his club. Other than his issue with his senpai of him being too frank.

He had fun being a catcher. But slowly, his friends in his grade started distancing themselves from him. He was too passionate. He wanted to practice even after club activities, even during holidays and breaks. They were tired of him. Miyuki was a little hurt by their excuses and them leaving him, but he practiced alone regardless. The straw that broke the camel's back however, was a conversation he overheard one day he decided to leave early because he wasn't feeling well. They just won a baseball match.

"Let's go celebrate!"

"Wait, what about Miyuki-kun? Should I go call him?"

"Can we not? He's such a downer. He'll probably just talk about baseball and techniques we have to do better."

"I'm tired of him boasting. I know he's much better than us, dammit. He doesn't have to rub it in our face telling us what to improve. It's just a club."

"Come on... We... We shouldn't talk about friends like that..."

"Friends? I know we need to him on our team to win, but I've never considered him a friend. As though he'd come anyways, he's busy practicing. All he needs in his life is baseball."

"... I guess you're right."

Miyuki didn't go into the changing room, and went back to jogging. He already had a slight fever, and he felt downright miserable and lightheaded. He fell, and didn't get up, starting to bawl. He cried for a long long time. He stayed in bed terribly sick for the next few days with a high fever, and went back to practice with a grin, dishing out advice bluntly regardless of age, burying anything he felt from the incident deep within.

This was the first time Miyuki ever talked about the incident. He gave a half hearted smile, turning to Kuramochi. "I'm so lame, huh?"

To his surprise, Kuramochi was crying just as hard as he did that night. He was sobbing and shaking and Miyuki wasn't quite sure what to do.

"Kura-"

"I don't care what those fuckers said. It ain't true," Kuramochi sniffled. "Give me their names, if I ever meet them, I'll punch their teeth out!"

"You're a brilliant catcher, you're passionate and dedicated to baseball. You're a key player in our team and you're always helping us improve. More than that, you're a great friend, Miyuki. Those idiots are blind, but you'll always, always be my friend," Kuramochi rambled through the tears, lifting his shirt to wipe at the tears and snot.

Then Miyuki started the waterworks as well, tackling Kuramochi down onto the bed, crying his heart out as he gripped onto the fabric of Kuramochi's shirt for dear life, finally getting some release. They continued to cry, and they looked like such a mess they managed to laugh at each other's faces when it was all over.

***End of Chapter 1***

XP: Hope you liked the first chapter! :D I really wanted to go into the history of Kuramochi and Miyuki. More to come next chapter!