Mizutani
Why me? Why today? Why him?
I'm wondering how awful this day will turn out now that he knows. Probably awful. Gas-awful. I can't even explain how angry my parents would be when I get home! How Coach would probably hit me with a gassing baseball bat for missing my math examinations!
Oh, I can just see everyone laughing at the big bruise on my face. Seriously. Especially Tajima. I don't know why, but I can see his hardy-har-har face just grinning at me!
Ngggh! Why, why, WHY?!
Stick around for this episode, folks! See exactly if the rest of the day would end up just as horrible for our unhappy camper, Mizutani! Also find out who this teammate is and what exactly he does to Mizutani—oh, what's this? He might tell the others? Well, stick around, I say! To find out for sure!
Nghhhh! DARNIT.
Izumi
I would have never thought that Mizutani would be here. Of all places. In this bathroom.
I expected him to be in the exam room, reviewing by himself. Or he'd be at a cafeteria, munching on his recess… At the very least, not in an isolated place. I never anticipated him to be in a bathroom—in the third, farthest cubicle on the right.
And I definitely never expected him to be crying.
Mizutani
Well, I didn't really mean "three effective ways to die"—I wouldn't die because of a peek-a-boo while hiding… (Oops. I mean 'checking out the cubicle'.)
But, gas, when I see Izumi there, in front of me-- I swear I could've just DIED right then and there.
Kousuke Izumi, Nishiura's center-fielder and resident 'Cool-guy', is standing in front of his crying teammate, Nishiura's left-fielder and resident 'Trickster', Fumiki Mizutani while holding bento and some textbooks. He has quite a surprised look on his face, folks! I wonder what's going to happen next! Oh the anxiety! What is Izumi thinking about? What will he say? Would he dare tell the others about all this?!
Stay tuned to find out! Also, find out how our unlucky hero, Mizutani, tries to convince Izumi that he's NOT crying and that he's DEFINITELY a man!
Not being sarcastic here.
Izumi
I'm being truthful when say that Mizutani and I hardly talk. We joke around after practice, we wave to each other in the halls, we bike home together all the time. And most of our chats are usually 'That was a good practice!' or 'Izumi-kun, can you help me with Grammar?' and on many occasions, 'Dude, what're you doing to Hamada?", and a few random "Izumi, I'm tiiiired!" while we're on the diamond. We do talk, but never about anything so personal as… as… say, what's happening right now.
And when we do talk, it's a short talk. I could say that my conversations with Mihashiare longer than any of the ones with Mizutani. (And we all know how well Mihashi can converse.)
I'm also being truthful when I say I don't know what to say. Mizutani and I really haven't talked that much, at all. I guess when it really boils down to it, Mizutani and I are friends. Just friends.
As a concerned person, I take a step closer to him. He looks awful. I see a black bruise running up his left cheek to his eye. It looks like a straight line. Has he been bullied, I wonder. I'm a little angry. Who the heck would beat up a freshman?! I think of Mihashi, and then imagine Mizutani stammering all over the place, and blaming himself ALL the time...
As a friend, I take one more step. I hear a ventilation fan whizzing away, but Mizutani's hiccupping deafen my ears. Hiccup, shudder, sniff-- The worst things anyone could possibly hear coming from a friend.
As… his concerned friend, I leap one final leap and step an inch away from his shoes. I find myself towering over him. He hangs his head when he sees me so close. Hands reach for his cheeks to brush away the tears… but they're not my hands—obviously not.
The sudden thought makes my cheeks warm. I shrug it off.
Then there's something bubbling up in my throat, I feel the words ready to erupt; 'What's wrong, Mizutani?' These are the words I'm supposed to say. I open my mouth…
But he beats me to it. Sitting on a toilet cover, taking a shuddering breath, Mizutani starts, "Hey, Izumi… W-what'cha doin' here?" His head is still down, but he's not mad. He doesn't sound mad—at least, not at me. On the contrary, he's trying to sound happy.
I'm mad, though. At him.
Because he doesn't get it that I'm his friend. His very concerned friend.
Even if we don't talk that much.
Mizutani
He stares at me—angrily, for some reason. Not my fault, Izumi! Really! I just don't want you to know, so I'm not gonna' tell you what just happened this morning. I see it in your stare; you want to know why.
WELL, to start it off, it's just baaad reliving this morning. I don't want to go through the same head-hurting pang I felt when I told the teachers that I was late, and I wanted to take my math test, very badly please… But no, they just had to say that they're sorry, they can't allow me to take it anymore because I overslept—that I'll just have to try harder for the upcoming exams.
And, gas, Izumi, I don't want you to think that I'm just a slacker. I try hard, Izumi, really! I don't want the others to think about it, either… I'm not a slacker!
Besides, it's a known thing that if you tell your problems to someone, they'll try to comfort you, and you end up crying some more—
"Wondering what you're doing here." I can hear those words, loud and clear.
My train of thought derails and another train comes into view: He wants to know. Very badly please.
Gas, I think of what I should say next. Anything to get away from my current hell-ride, and into, well, basically, anything.
"I'm sitting on a toilet seat." Good one, Mizutani. Good one.
"And you're crying." Fine. Be that way, Izumi.
"No I'm not!" I say it loud—I snap my head up at him, too. I am a man, Izumi. Get that into your head!
"Then," He leans over and his thumb wipes wet away from my cheek. "This is…?" And as if I was a kid, and he was a teacher, he showed me the tear. It's whole and round. He flashes a quick, boyish grin.
"N-not something I got from crying!" I duck my head back into my lap. Gas, Izumi's… so weird! My cheeks flare up; I can feel my head getting a little dizzy.
It's warm in this bathroom, did I forget to mention? I'm not blushing. Really!
(To heck with winter and its cold-- It's WARM in here, I say!)
"Hey." His voice gets a little serious. "Are you okay, Mizutani?" Is he worried? Really?
It's getting warmer in this bathroom. I'm not blushing!
My lungs feel light, without air. Ventilation fans must be broken! Bad Nishiura! As I said, bad plumbing, bad ventilation—
"Mizutani?" I look up, a little freaked out by how close his voice is. And, yeah, very much freaked out when I find him, bending down, squatting right in front of me, with his big blue orbs lookin' right at mine.
The heat must've turned up—all the waaay up. I CAN'T be BLUSHING. He's not even that near, Mizutani! What do you mean he's so close? He's inches away, Mizutani! Okay, maybe he's not inches away. Maybe a couple of centimeters—WHAT?! Shut up, Mizutani! SHUT YAR MOUTH—
Oh, how the room spins.
"Mizutani, are you okay?" (How many times have I heard this question?)
Okay, I gotta' say, when he grabs my shoulders like that… the room stopped spinning. But gas, did the room get HOT.
"M-mizutani?"
Gas, he can see it! He can see me blushing—err… being affected by the heat.
"Are you okay?" No. Obviously NOT. Not when you can see me so… affected!
I don't know why I'm panicking right now. Thing is, I just am.
And I don't know why I have the sudden urge to hide—and I do, actually, at least just from his view…
I bury my face in his arm. In Izumi's arm. JUST TO HIDE.
Then, Izumi got red in the face. And I mean red. He looked like a tomato. The heat must've gotten to him, too! OBVIOUSLY, Nishiura just has some bad bathrooms.
"I-I… uh… You o-okay?"
Nishiura's bathrooms can explain the reason why we're both RED.
But…
They sure don't explain stammering, though.
And why I suddenly feel like... like jelly again.
Well take look at that, folks! Looks like our considerably-lucky hero, Mizutani, doesn't exactly hate feeling like jelly!
Hee. XD This was fun. I cut it a little short, though, because it was getting a little too long. Oh, and sorry for taking so long to upload. We finally have Winter Break! 8D Oh, and if you're all wondering, the parentheses that are squeezed in are part of the dialogue. I am not saying it, the characters are. Just wanted to clarify, that's all.
Eenyhoo, I wanted Mizutani to sound a little panicky this chapter. 8D I mean, having such a morning and going to school, finding out that he can't take his exam anymore… And having the most unlikely guy try and 'comfort' him… XD You know…
Oh, and sorry for dragging out this already-posted chapter twice. XD I had some mistakes.
XD Thank you, readers~! Especially TimeBender, CountDoom and Insane Logic~! Happy holidays! :D
