"Hey Suyama." Sakaeguchi got the shortstop's attention before class began.

"Oh, morning." He said. "What's up?"

"Did you see Abe earlier?" Sakaeguchi asked. Suyama shook his head and asked why. "It's nothing. He just looked weird that's all."

"Weird how?"

"He looked a cross between happy and terrified." Sakaeguchi tried to describe it. Suyama raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, it looked that weird."

"That definitely doesn't sound like him." Suyama said. "I wonder what's up with him."

"Well, neither of us sees him during the day, so we'll have to wait until practice tonight to ask him." Sakaeguchi said. Suyama agreed. With that, the morning bell tolled and everyone took their seats. And everyone who saw Abe that morning and throughout the rest of that day were all curious as to why he looked like he did: both excited and scared at the same time.

The reasons for his strange facial expression were obvious once you knew what happened. The catcher was ultimately ecstatic that their ace pitcher had been found and was going to be alright, but the dizzying questions of what had happened and if Mihashi had changed at all were enough to make him exceedingly nervous. Especially one question that distracted him each time it passed through his head. Would Mihashi still be able to pitch once he was healed? Abe damn well hoped so.

The day passed quickly, and it wasn't long until the Nishiura baseball team all gathered at the diamond for practice. Shiga-sensei had gotten them into the routine of praying for Mihashi's safe return, so Abe was going to use that moment to spring the news to the others. However, thanks to his uncommon expression, the others were already well curious as to what was going on with him. Tajima was ultimately the first person to bring it up.

"Hey Abe, what's with your face?" he asked bluntly.

"What do you mean?" Abe asked in return, not previously realizing just how goofy he looked.

"I mean," Tajima tried to choke back a laugh but ultimately failed, "heh, y-your face." Tajima couldn't hold back, he was immediately on the ground, howling with laughter. "Your face!"

"Just what is with my face?!" Abe exclaimed, his normal scowl returning to his face.

"You lo-lo-looked like M-Mihash-shi!" Tajima gasped for breath. However, once he realized what he had said, he noticed the air become gloomy. "Oh shit. Sorry, guys."

"It's fine Tajima, you were only being honest." Sakaeguchi said.

"But on the topic of Mihashi," Abe spoke up, "I have some news." Everyone's eyes were on him, waiting for whatever news he had about their missing pitcher. Abe stood strong and clenched his fists.

"They found him." He said. "He's in the hospital, but they say everything is going to be okay."

Instantaneously, the entire team broke out in tears and cheers of joy. Those four months had been grueling for them, their minds heavy with thoughts of bad outcomes, mainly the death of their pitcher. But knowing he was back, and going to be okay, tears were inevitable.

"So can we go visit him now?!" Tajima jumped up from the ground. "We should visit him!"

"By what his mom told me, he's still unconscious." Abe said. "But she said that if there were any changes, the hospital would call her."

"Actually, I think paying a visit to Mihashi is a good idea." Coach Momoe spoke up.

"What good would that do?" Abe asked. "He's still asleep."

"Well then here's an update." Coach Momoe held up her phone, showing a recent text. "Mihashi's been awake for a good two hours. And he's asked for us several times already." Abe said nothing, both fighting the urge to shout in excitement and wondering why the hell he wasn't told about this sooner! "Now, anyone up for a field trip?"

"Yeah!" the team exclaimed.

Ren was okay. Ren was okay!

Lively with excitement to have their pitcher back, the team practically raced to the hospital. They crowded the reception desk and all asked for Mihashi.

"Mihashi Ren is in Room 307." The receptionist replied. "But we can't have all of you go in at one time. Since his mother is already present in his room and there are twelve of you total, just divide yourselves into groups of three and go in one group at a time. Alright?"

"Okay!" the team agreed and headed up to the third floor. When they reached Mihashi's door, Tajima took charge of assigning groups.

"Coach, Shino'oka-chan and Shiga-sensei will go in first!" he said. "Then Nishihiro, Oki and Suyama, then Mizutani, Izumi and Sakaeguchi, and then finally me, Hanai and Abe! Sound like a plan?"

"Sounds good to me." Coach Momoe agreed. "You guys behave out here while we're inside. Don't cause trouble for the nurses and other patients, you hear?"

"Yes Coach!" the team agreed, and stayed close to the adjoining wall while they waited.

Inside the hospital room, the first group found Ren lying at an angle on his bed, propped up by a few pillows. He looked extremely tired, his skin pale and his eyes dull. However, he smiled when they entered. He was still alive and kicking.

"Hi Coach…" he mumbled. "Shino'oka-chan, Shiga-sensei…"

"Glad to see you're okay, Mihashi." Coach Momoe smiled. "You've worried everyone with your disappearance, you know."

"Yeah… but," Mihashi adjusted his position so he could sit up a bit, "but I'm okay. And… and though… and though it was hard, I… I managed to practice. I managed to practice my pitching!"

"Really? That's fantastic!" Coach Momoe's smile only got wider with her excitement. That was great to hear! Mihashi nodded, albeit weakly.

"It was… a lot of work…" he said. "But… But if I can get better quick, I know… I know I can pitch!"

"Just follow whatever instructions the doctors give you and I'm sure you'll be back on the mound in no time!" Shiga-sensei gave a thumbs-up in encouragement.

"Oh, if only we had known you were awake sooner, we would've gone and brought some flowers for you." Shino'oka looked around the plain looking room.

"There's still time." Coach Momoe said. "We can always hand them to one of the others and they can leave them in here."

"I-Is that alright?" Shino'oka looked to Mihashi, who nodded in recognition. A smile spread across her face and she nodded in agreement. Flowers it was!

"So just make sure you don't overwork yourself while you're healing," Coach Momoe said, "and I'm sure you'll be back on the mound before you know it!"

"R-Right!" Mihashi agreed, and cracked a smile as the three left, the next group quickly coming in. Nishihiro, Oki and Suyama filed in quietly, and bowed to Mihashi's mother before speaking.

"You doing okay, man?" Oki asked. "You've been gone a long time."

"Yeah, I-I'm okay." Mihashi said, knowing very well how much he had worried them. "And I don't intend on going anywhere anytime soon so… I'll be sure to get better and pitch again!"

"That's good to hear." Oki was really glad to hear that. He and Hanai had been altering as pitcher for all the games they had since Mihashi's disappearance, and he was glad that once he was back on the mound, he could have a break from pitching.

"How long do you think it'll be before you're back in games?" Suyama asked. Mihashi shrugged a bit.

"I need to ask the doctor when he comes by..." He said. "It'll probably be a few weeks since I didn't have any really major problems… maybe a month at most."

"Well just be sure to rest up." Nishihiro smiled. "We hope you get better real soon."

"Thanks guys…" Mihashi smiled in return. "I really appreciate it."

As the groups alternated again, Mihashi absentmindedly rubbed the inside of his right wrist. He had to be careful to keep it facing down…

"It's great to see you again, Mihashi!" Sakaeguchi grinned. "We were really worried!"

"I think he knows that by now." Izumi said bluntly. Mihashi nodded slightly, but smiled just the same. He was just glad none of the guys were mad at him for being gone for so long…

"So just how hurt are you?" Mizutani asked. Mihashi shrugged.

"The doctor says I'm not hurt that badly," he answered, "and I don't really feel much pain to be honest… But we'll have to wait for my next check-up later today to determine how long I'll be here and how hurt I am."

"Well you look pretty good, asides from the fact you look white as a sheet." Izumi said. "Don't get sick on us, alright?"

"I'll try my best…" Mihashi said.

"It would probably be best if he just stays home for at least a couple of days after he's let out of the hospital," Mihashi's mother spoke up, "just to make sure he's alright and to give him a chance to catch up on his schoolwork."

"Oh, I can get his work." Izumi said. "Since we're in the same class."

"Would you?" Mihashi's mother smiled thankfully. "That'd be very much appreciated Izumi-kun."

"It's no problem." Izumi said.

"For the time being, Mihashi should just focus on getting better." Sakaeguchi smiled. "And we'll be sure to help him at school and on the field once he's back!"

"Thanks guys…" Mihashi smiled.

"No need to thank us." Mizutani said. "We're your team, and we're all glad that our ace pitcher is back."

Mihashi felt extremely happy as the group alternated one last time. He was glad no one was mad at him… and they were all willing to help him with the work that he missed… Hopefully he hadn't fallen too far behind…

"For you." A large bouquet of pink carnations was shoved into Mihashi's face by none other than Tajima, the cleanup with a giant grin on his face. "We hope you're feeling better, Mihashi."

"Yeah, I'm okay." Mihashi said, taking the bouquet. "I wasn't too badly hurt when they found me… just some scratches and bruises. And… A-And Abe?"

"What?" Abe raised an eyebrow.

"I… I managed to practice my-my pitching!" Mihashi said. "I-I can still pitch when I get out!"

"While that is a good thing that you're confident that you're in a good enough condition to be pitching, that's not what we have to focus on," Abe said. "We need to make sure you're regular in weight and strength-wise. They haven't weighed you yet, have they?" Mihashi gulped. He knew he had lost a pretty large amount of weight over the past four months… Food wasn't exactly the most abundant there… He shook his head in response to Abe's question, and the catcher nodded.

"We'll have to go about figuring out a plan to help you get back to regular weight." He said. "And then we'll ease you back onto the pitcher's mound, alright?" Mihashi nodded and Tajima started jumping up and down excitedly, waving his arms.

"Guess what?" he asked. Mihashi barely said the word 'what' before Tajima rushed to him.

"We've had a few games while you were gone, but we won most of them!" he said. "And we all dedicated our wins to you until you got back! And you know what's cool? We won seven games and then you came back! Isn't that so cool?! Talk about lucky!" Tajima's infectious smile spread to Mihashi, and the pitcher held the flowers tightly in hand.

"C'mon you three, it's time to head back to practice!" Coach Momoe called from the hall. "You didn't expect us to be staying here all day, did you?" Groans could be heard from the other players; Tajima laughed.

"Alright, we're comin'." He grinned, waving goodbye to Mihashi as he shoved Hanai and Abe out the door. "Bye Mihashi!"

"Bye guys!" Mihashi beamed, waving with his right hand, some color returning to his face. The three froze, staring at Mihashi. Mihashi paused before realizing that his wrist was exposed, and smacked it down onto the blanket before looking away from them. They saw it…

Was that a tattoo?


Aaaaaah, sorry for not updating as fast as I had hoped
My computer got a virus and wiped most of my files, so I had to rewrite this part.

Next part will be just as mild, but after awhile the rating will definitely have to go up.

Reviews are well-appreciated!