It had been hot.
Too hot.
The weather forecast had predicted 41 degrees today and it was going to keep getting hotter throughout the week.
Too damn hot.
Despite this, Maeda-senpai insisted we avoid any break in training as the Summer Koshien was approaching. To have gotten in was an honor in itself, but to win would be fantastic. Though, we'll certainly have a hard time winning after dying in this heat. Maybe a team of zombies is his long term strategy. A bold move, Maeda-senpai; we'll see how it works out.
The poppy tunes of an amateur idol group filled the otherwise room air as Hinata lay sprawled out on the couch. His body dripped with sweat as he rest, dead to the world outside of the room for the moment. The other members of the team were quick to tease him for watching these shows, and he himself could not fully explain what drew him to them. None of the faces of the week appealed to him that much and the music itself did very little for him. Something about the sugary melodies and innocent ambition of the singers had a comforting effect on him, especially after a hell practice like today's.
The act finished to the usual waves of applause which carried the same feeling of obligation as a post game handshake. The girls had certainly earned it, however, performing not only in front of a crowd but an unseen television audience as well. All too often Hinata had felt the pressure of a crowd during a game. It was sure to be taken up to eleven come the Summer Koshien, as well.
His full focus towards the television a moment as the momentary silence in music focused his thoughts towards the screen. A comedian was giving a small monologue as the next performers set up, the shuffling of the equipment backstage covered by the audience's polite laughter.
"Well! Our next act today is a bit different than the others," the man said with an exaggerated made-for-TV voice that seemed to be the default setting for such hosts. "This band could be considered more rock than anything else, but we felt they could still fit in well with all the other talent you have seen so far. The singer is an ambitious singer, songwriter, and guitarist our producer discovered street performing in Yokohama. Please welcome 'Fight Against Heaven!'"
The song started with a quick and fast roll on the drums before the rest of the band broke into the intro. Hinata slid up to sit more properly and leaned forward. He had heard this somewhere before. A memory sat just out of reach of his consciousness, refusing to come any closer no matter how much the boy focused. Deja vu? Of course he had felt deja vu before, but never this strong. The melody stirred something deep within him just like that girl…
Before he could reach whatever memory that was teasing him, the song was over. Hinata was left gaping at the screen, the sensation the song had caused slowly sinking back into the silence. He frowned, slumping back in his seat once more. The show was wrapping up so chances of feeling it again and figuring it out was unlikely. Maybe he could find the song on the net or something later.
Giving up? I thought you were supposed to be some cool, strong sports boy.
"Shut up."
"Yeah! Kick their asses! Rip out their teeth!"
"Yui, calm down… you're making people stare again."
The two girls were sitting in a family restaurant, their food long since finished. By luck, be it good or bad, the store had a TV set to the Summer Koshien which immediately drew Yui in. She had come to blow off some steam with her underclassman Risa who was now captive audience to the game as well. As the annoyed gazes of the other customers started to fade, Risa let out a sigh.
"You really do like baseball, don't you?" She muttered, slowly stirring the leftover ice in her glass.
"There's lots that I like, but baseball just has that atmosphere, you know? Everyone's so loud and bwaaah all the time! There's something about baseball that's just… awesome!"
"Whatever happened to pro wrestling? Soccer too..."
"What do you mean? Soccer is soccer and wrestling is wrestling. They're cool too, but don't have the same excitement of watching someone walk up and slam out a homerun! Ka-king!"
"This is just high school baseball, though…"
It was no use. She was deep within the flow of the game once again and Risa knew from experience that the girl was lost to the world at least until the next commercial. Between this and the idols she followed, Yui was close to being the physical manifestation of the term 'fan.' It kept their normal school lives interesting, at the very least. The spark in her eyes could invigorate Risa as well. It was similar to a kid getting swept up in the world of Super Sentai or Ultraman.
"Hey, hey! Risa!" Yui said, all at once spinning to face her friend. "Koshien isn't really that far, you know? We should try to go to a game!"
"Eh? It'll be really crowded though… plus I still haven't finished all of my homework…" Risa replied. Her eyes fell to the floor as the energetic Yui bounced in her seat eagerly.
"Don't be stupid! It'll be fun! I've actually never seen a game live before! Not as the audience, at least."
"Eh? You play? I didn't think you were in the softball club."
"I'm not I just-"
The girl trailed off, something clicking in her brain and bringing her flow crashing to a halt. Strange, she could definitely remember having played, but she couldn't quite place when it happened or who else was there. Perhaps it was a dream?
"Anyway," Yui said, shaking her head to dispel the momentary confusion. "It'd be fun, yeah? We can eat Koshien Curry and go wild with the crowd!"
"Eeeeh… Why don't you go ahead, and if you really like it I'll go with you next time?" Risa offered.
Yui frowned a moment, pushing it away with another determined look as she faced the screen once more. "Alright, then I'll just have to cheer enough for two people!" She balled her fists tightly, a pair of dry pops erupting from the girl's thumbs. Both of them looked to the source of the noise, silence passing between them before Yui shook her hands with a yelp.
"Be careful!" Risa said as Yui continued to shake her hands in pain.
"It hurts!"
The darkness of the bench was a passing comfort as the teams battled in the Kansai summer. The dugout reeked of sweat and soil, and there were still several innings left to fight through to get the pit smelling like something truly out of this world. It was the stench of the blood and sweat they had shed making it to this point; a smell that could only be beaten by making it all worth something. By winning. Hinata sat waiting his turn up at bat. It was hard to tell which was worse; sitting in this rank oven or standing out there in the summer sun.
The stadium roared with activity as Maeda got a hit, the crowd rejoicing at every victory of either side. Kansai people were notoriously rowdy at baseball games, and today didn't seem to be any exception. While lacking the coordinated chants or trumpets that the Tigers endured in their games, the chorus of cheering kept the air moving and alive. While the energy was a bit infamous, it was rather invigorating and made standing up against the pounding heat that much more bearable.
Hinata watched from his place in the dugout as another pop fly went soaring off to left field. The single runner on base didn't travel far, the ball easily caught by the opposition. "OUT!" That was number two. The game was close, but they were still trailing here at the bottom of the seventh. Gaining a bit of ground now would do wonders, as the opposition had to be just as exhausted as he was. The young man stood and took his place on deck as the batter before him moved on to the box. Hinata took the practice bat and began warming up, the sticky heat and roaring crowd starting to fade back in his mind as his heart fluttered at the pressure. Unless Tanaka cracked out a home run or struck out, he had a lot riding on his hit. Tanaka was reliable though; not the strongest hitter but rather consistent so chances were good that Hinata had something to worry about.
Is the big tough man letting a game get to him? Show your strength!
She was back, though he should have expected it. Whether lost memory or annoying spirit, some bratty girl's voice would jump to the front of his mind whenever he had a moment of calm or quiet. Probably of some childhood friend he had long forgotten about, or even just a voice he had heard on TV some time. She was brash, rude, and hardly anything like what a girl should be, and yet the little punk had grown on him and he had no desire to lose her, whatever she may be.
The fluttering in his chest started to slow and the tension in his muscles began to relax. Hinata grinned, throwing more of himself into each practice swing. Show his strength? Sure thing.
"Ye-ah! Come on! Whoop their ass!"
The young girl shouted as she slammed two plastic bats together. The team at bat had just scored a rather impressive line drive which had gotten two home before the runner was tagged out. Live games were so much more exciting than TV! The annoyance and surprise she was used to getting for her cheers instead was a sea of matched excitement that everyone there was pouring onto the field. Yui felt like she was on cloud nine. The teams were changing as the eighth inning started and she slumped back down into her seat once more.
Yui grumbled a bit and dug into her bag for her phone. The fun and excitement hadn't been enough to make her forget that no one else had come with her. Everything was great and all, but these things were so much better when you had someone to share it with. The loneliness had a strange familiarity to it which just dug at her nerves all the more.
Would have just ended up needing to babysit a kid like you.
Yui flipped through her contacts idly, mentally cursing each that passed for staying home. There's that teasing voice again, as well. For some reason she had a laughing voice in her mind, teasing her when she was up and soothing her when she was particularly down. Well, soothing when it wasn't being such a twerp like now. If she was honest with herself, it was probably something she should talk to a doctor about, but at that end with it vanishing. While probably healthier, the thought made her heart race as if she were losing some important treasure.
Everyone on the field was set again and Yui stood once more to get a better view.
"Alright! Let's strike them out, boys!"
Outside of her home prefecture's team she didn't care too much about who won or lost, however she had become drawn to one of the teams right from the beginning. Having someone to root for made the whole affair more exciting anyway, so she went with her gut and yelled her heart out for the strangers.
The eighth inning had been a tight struggle, the other team still hanging on to whatever stamina they had left. Hinata watched from the bench, propping himself up from his thighs as he panted. Sweat was now dripping from his face freely. Despite the shared exhaustion, they couldn't let up now. They were only a single point ahead, so slowing down would only get them a ride home. Hinata turned to look down the line of players that helped him fill the dark dugout. It was easy to see that they were just as fatigued as he was at this point. So far one runner had made it on base and the next two weren't even that lucky. There was no way he was getting out of the pit this inning, but if no one scored they wouldn't be able to let the other team score a single run if they wanted to win.
"STRIKE! OUT!"
The umpire shouted out the last strike and the team stood once more. This was it. Make it through this last time fielding and they would win. One run means overtime which Hinata wasn't sure anyone would make it through at this point. The players trudged back out to their positions to ready their final defense.
"Uwaaaaa! So close!" Yui squealed as the players changed positions for the bottom of the ninth.
Typically, by now the fair weather fans would have started to drift from the stadium to try and beat the crazy traffic back home. Tonight, however, clear rows of heads could still be seen making up the sea of fans, a roaring escaping them as the inning continued. The atmosphere was on fire with tension and the young girl could feel her heart jumping in her chest.
"Knock 'em dead!" She shouted out, the energy too much to contain. "Strike, strike, strike 'em out!"
Even though the stands were oozing with excited energy, the players didn't look nearly as powered. Their postures had slumped from ones of strength to those of worn exhaustion. Players were crouching in their positions in an attempt to squeeze in a moment's rest before the first pitch was thrown. The sweat that drenched their uniforms could be seen even from her position in the stands.
Yui's heart skipped, her own voice falling to silence and the sound of the crowd quickly dying as well. The second baseman had removed his hat wipe his brow. She was anything but close to the field and couldn't get a clear view of his face, but somehow… she -knew- him. His figure, the way he carried himself, and now his far off face… she knew it all.
"What?" She muttered, straining her eyes to try and see him better. His team played for a school in a completely different prefecture than hers, so it'd be weird for them to have met by chance. She had never heard of the school before either, so it couldn't be some old friend or classmate. How did she knew him, damn it? It could easily be a coincidence, but her instincts were all assuring her that this wasn't the case. What the hell!
You're getting closer!
The voice was teasing her as the knowledge fluttered on the tip of her tongue. The sounds of the crowd started to fill her attention again and the first pitch was met with a foul. No, wait just a second! She just needs a moment to think!
"STRIKE THREE! BATTER OUT!"
That was out two. One runner had gotten on base, but they hadn't managed to pick up any runs yet. They were still in the clear. Hinata felt cold as the icy pressure settled all over him. Just one more... If they were lucky, Maeda could strike this last guy as well and that would be it.
Something else nagged at him though, though. Despite the chaos of the stands, the pressure of the game, and the exhaustion throughout his body, his mind kept tugging him toward the crowd.
Maeda wound up and pitched, a curveball arcing to the plate. Swing and a miss.
"STRIKE!"
It wasn't like him to be distracted in a game. His stomach churned and his mouth went dry. He felt as if he were forgetting something. Something important. Like waking up to remember it was an exam day. Focus. Just one more out, damn it! Don't lose it now. Focus!
Maeda threw again, a slider that ran just outside of the batter's box. The batter tensed at the throw, but kept his stance.
"BALL ONE"
Each call of the umpire caused his heart to jump, it inching closer and closer to his throat. It wouldn't be long before he spat the damn thing out onto the green. His eyes flit again to the stands. What was he forgetting? What was missing?
Don't screw up now! Get ready!
The crowd was going nuts. The game had reached its final showdown. This batter would the one that would make or break the game for either side. The poor batter was visibly struggling under the pressure of both the game and progression through the Summer Koshien. Despite this, he stood tall in the box and held his gaze forward. The pitcher reeled back and threw again, leading to another ball.
"COME OOOOOON!" Yui shouted in a vain attempt to add to the chaos. Her eyes were still set upon the second baseman, but the excitement of the game had started to take her again. He was acting strangely as well, looking up to the stands between he know she was here?
"Come on. Don't screw up now… Get ready!" She muttered before leaning forward to belt out her energy again. "YOU CAN DO IT!"
The pitcher wound up again, staring the batter down. The baseman glanced up to the stands again, the only face aside from Yui's that wasn't locked upon the batter. She could feel his name start to form on her lips but was interrupted by a sharp wooden crack.
Hinata snapped his attention forward again, cursing under his breath as he searched for the ball. Luckily it wasn't too difficult to spot the white sphere sailing in the evening sky. It was a pop fly headed straight for him. He stared up at the ball as it hung in the air, blinking as he brought up his glove.
What was this? Deja Vu? Last hit of the game, second base pop fly. Deja Vu? Had he dreamed something like this once before? It was all too-
"HINATA!"
The harsh sound of his own name rang in his ears and brought him back into the game once more. He raised his glove up to meet the ball, it landing with a thud. The tension of the game exploded out all at once from crowd, them started shouting in either in celebration or defeat. Hinata was still in a daze, the reality around him taking time to register. The game was over They had won.
He awoke from his confusion again, this time by the shortstop tackling him with an embrace.
"Hinata, you glorious bastard, you did it!"
"A-ah…"
The crowd had drained from the stadium and was now funneling its way into the station outside. Spirits were still high among the spectators as they recounted the various plays and highlights of today's games.
Yui was struggling to push through the waves of people and stay close to the stadium, however She was determined to find out just who this mystery boy was and just how they knew each other. She had gotten so far as to say a name before the game pulled her back into ignorance and hadn't been able to remember it again. He had ended up making the winning catch, too. What was this? Fate? Coincidence? Was she an ESPer now? Something was wrong!
Staying close to the stadium was trickier than she had thought, however, as the security staff was already doing their best to usher people out and away from the grounds. The players would still be inside, but if she hung around she might be able to see them exit. This whole thing was making her feel like a stalker.
"Excuse me, miss, are you lost?"
Despite the polite language, the guard's tone was anything but friendly. The tired man approached Yui and crossed his arms. The girl looked up at his hulking figure that the street light only made more intimidating.
"A-ah… no. I'm okay…" She stuttered, turning to dart into the crowd again. "Just going home! Yeap! Heading home right away!" She scurried off towards the station, not wanting to deal much more with these giants. If she was lucky she'd find a way past or at least see the players leave.
Hinata sat next to his locker after changing. His teammates continued to laugh amongst each other as they showered and changed, still stuck in the high of victory. Something was off. Everyone was happy and celebrating but the world seemed to be in contradiction. He could just as clearly remember himself missing the catch as he could having succeeded. The shame and self hatred associated with it; it felt realer than any amount of imagination. Maybe it was just a side effect of the stress of the game, but-
"What's wrong, Hinata? Should be partying with everyone!"
Captain Maeda had wandered over and pat Hinata on the shoulder
"Instead you're sitting here looking like you're lost on a test. Something up?"
"Yeah, just tired I guess." Hinata replied, putting on a smile for the captain. This seemed to please him, the senior nodding and starting back towards the others.
"Good work today. If everyone keeps this up we might win the whole thing."
As everyone started to file out Hinata stood as well. Sitting here confused wasn't going to change anything or make anything clearer, so he might as well go cool down with a walk before heading back to the hotel.
Yui grumbled as she paced along the shopping chances of finding that player were getting smaller and smaller and now there was no way that she could approach the stadium without really getting in trouble with security. She was tempted to rush it, but those guys looked big and mean. She could feel a scowl twisting her face the more she thought about it, venting some of her frustration by kicking a discarded can down the empty street. The buzz remaining of the game's energy wasn't even enough to lift her back up.
"Whatever.."
The girl turned, giving up on fate helping and started heading back towards the station. This was going to bug her for awhile but she couldn't wander around Nishinomiya all night. Mama would worry if she didn't come home. Oh! She'd probably want to know that the game was over and what happened!
Yui pulled her phone out and began swiping out a message for her mother as she walked to the station. The crowd should be a bit easier to deal with by now, at least.
The night was warm and sticky. The rainy season was hanging on stubbornly this year. It didn't mix well with the sweat and heat covering him, but his body was happy enough to have gotten some actual rest at this point so it wasn't much of a bother.
The crowds were dying down and the station had already fallen back to what should be normal traffic. It was amazing how quickly a place could change from a madhouse back to normal. The streets stretched out sleepily quiet as they were bathed in yellow lamp light. Hinata approached a crossing as he walked off the emotions of the game, it deserted except for a single girl hiding behind her phone across the street. The street light kept her hidden in shadow, so he didn't pay her much mind.
The rumble of an engine caught Hinata's attention, an older car coming around the corner a few crossings down and running through the first red light it approached. Damn drunks. The boy took a few steps back and kept himself focused on the approaching car to make sure he could dash away if needed. It ran through a second light and drifted over the centerline as it continued. It wasn't until the crosswalk signal started to beep that Hinata remembered the girl on the opposite side of the street. Still distracted by her phone and oblivious to the approaching car, the girl started to step out into the street. Hinata cursed, gathering what energy he had left to dash forward.
"Watch out!"
WATCH OUT!
It all happened so quickly. Her vision had started to fill with light and there was a shout before something pushed into her and knocked her backwards. The girl tumbled before falling back to the sidewalk, twisting under the force of whatever had hit her to land on her side. The car whizzed by and continued rolling down the street.
Yui groaned and started lifting herself back up, trying to move out from under whomever had pushed her. Wincing as her leg and side complained with pain about the fall, she eventually got up to a sit. Definitely would be sore, but nothing felt broken and she hadn't hit her head. Good. She looked around the street to try and collect herself. Her phone had fallen when she fell, the pavement now littered with shining bits of broken glass. More than that, however, the boy who had saved her was still down, having rolled to the side.
"U- uwah! Are you okay?!"
Yui quickly turned toward the boy, freezing as she got a better look at him. He was in different clothes and looked much different in lights that couldn't come close to competing with Koshien's bright flood lamps, it was the second baseman who had taken her focus during the game. What the hell was going on?
"Yeah, I'm fine… how about you?" He said with a groan. Yui nodded softly in response, still trying to process what had just happened.
The dim light flashed red as the walk signal began cycling back to stop. "W-we should get away the street…" Yui said, raising up and collecting what she could of her broken phone. Her body was sore and would likely only get worse as the shock wore off, but nothing seemed broken, at least.
Yui looked down at the boy again, he having managed to work his way back up to his feet. He crouched low and brushed his legs off, blood staining through the ripped cloth of his slacks. Yui opened her mouth to apologise but was interrupted by the boy's scolding.
"You should pay more attention! Hasn't anyone told you not to walk while using your cell phone?"
Yui pursed her lips. "It's not like it was my fault!" She snapped back, the worry fading for a moment at his lecture. The boy froze as she spoke, looking at her with curiosity. Yui had her hands on her hips and getting ready to vent more of her frustration at her savior when it hit her as well. His voice. It was her voice. The voice in her head at least. What was going on? Her heart started jumping in her chest as she bit her lip to keep herself grounded. Did she hit her head when she fell, after all?
"Who are you?" The boy asked, breaking the stunned silence between them. "Do I… What's your name?"
"Yui." She responded, stunned still by this stranger. "What's yours?"
"Hideki Hinata," he responded. Frowning, he took a step forward "Hey, are you sure you're okay?" Hideki asked, frowning down at her.
"Huh? Yeah, why?"
"You're crying."
Raising a hand up to her face, Yui could feel tears streaming freely down her cheeks. What was this? What was going on?
"I don't know," she confessed, "there's something weird going on. Did you do something to me? Do I know you?"
Hinata continued to stare down at the girl, his face not reflecting any answers. "I don't know. Maybe?" he replied. His gaze snapped away, something clicking behind his eyes. "Anyway! Just pay more attention to where you're going, alright!"
"Ah," Yui responded, looking down, "yeah. Thanks."
She didn't want to leave just yet. There was something important here and she had to remember what it was. He didn't seem to want to leave either. Say something Yui! You can't just stand here!
"U-um…" Yui started, desperate to break the silence. "I watched you play. You guys really kicked ass."
Hinata snickered, his demeanor cracking at comment before he started laughing full out. Balking a moment at the sudden outburst, Yui bared her teeth. She roared "What's that supposed to be?! I'm giving you a compliment!"
"It's just, that sounded very..." Hinata started as he regained control. "Hey, you alright to walk?."
"E-eh?" Yui started, looking her scraped up self over once again. It hurt, but she had definitely felt worse. "Yeah, I think so. Why?"
"Come walk with me a bit. This will sound weird but… there's something about you. Like I know you somehow..."
Yui stared at the boy a moment, how strange and sketchy this whole thing seemed starting to creep over the strange familiarity and draw he let off. "You want me to just stroll out with some stranger?" she snapped out at him, "Are you trying to pick me up just because you helped me, you weirdo?" This was all just too weird. Of course she wanted to figure this all out more and -had- been trying to find him, but still...
"If I do anything I'll get thrown right off the team," Hinata said before smirking, "besides, you're a bit small, don't you think?" he teased before moving along the street. "There'll be a family restaurant still open around here, I think."
Yui frowned a moment but followed regardless. There was little chance of making it all the way back before last train by now, anyway. Seeing the shards of her phone's screen, though, brought her back to what she had been doing. "Can I use your phone, at least? I need to tell my mom what happened.."
"Sure, sure." HInata replied as he held out his device. "Just keep your eyes up, alright?"
They continued on, paths that had long since separated now together again.