"If I had to ask you, do you think you're suited to be the captain?"

The two fellow catchers were at the vending machines in the dorms. A fresh, clean sticking-plaster was resting on Miyuki's forehead and he was also pressing an ice bag to it, to stop the swelling and it was a huge relief to his never-ending headache. Miyuki was resting against the wall, thinking about Chris-senpai just asked him, and he couldn't help to let out a chuckle.

"I know that I have the leading abilities required but for the rest... Yeah! I'm not suited for it I think!" he laughed bitterly, taking a sip of his coffee can.

Chris was looking at him from the bench he was sitting on, and smiled. Well... he wasn't surprised bu this kind of answer. When most of the other baseball players would be honored and would think that they deserved it, Miyuki saw it as just a burden to balance with the others he had on his shoulders, and he didn't fully understand why he was chose to fill the position.

"If I had to be honest, I thought it would be Kuramochi or Shirasu. They're way more suited than I am and they can interact easily with all the members of the team."

"Because you can't do it?"

"Well, I hardly talk with anyone except with my pitchers and Yoi..." Miyuki stopped himself when he was about to say the first name of his best friend, blushing a little.

"It's because you don't want to, not because you're not able to."

Miyuki scratched the back of his head, not able to answered that one, and sighed tiredly, feeling more and more uncomfortable of the attention his mentor was giving him.

"In the end, what is it that you wanted to talk to me about, senpai?"

Trying to talk his way out by changing subjects. As expected, his kouhai wasn't disappointing him. He decided to play his game for now.

"I just wanted to know why you were a little different during practice. I judged it important because it was Sawamura and Furuya of all people who told me that you were acting a little bit strange..."

Miyuki stopped drinking, stopping his can centimeters from his lips. Those two... they didn't say a thing during practice and they weren't the type to hold back what they wanted to say (more like they will shout right in front of his face). And now Chris was telling him that they noticed he was a little strange? For him, he was acting like usual.

"Well it isn't like the had solid proof of that. Sawamura just said that you were quieter and nicer than usual, and that it was "weird", and Furuya just nodded, adding that he didn't had the same feelings as usual when he was pitching to you."

Miyuki giggled at that. Those two were really reacting to their instincts, weren't they? He gulped down the rest of his coffee and shot it to the trash bin.

"Maybe I'm a little stressed out about being captain and all, and they unconsciously felt it through their pitching? It's not that big of a deal, you know." he smiled, emptily.

"I don't think they felt it just through their pitching."

"What do you mean?"

Chris sighed deeply, and ruefully. He stood up from his bench and faced Miyuki to flick him on the forehead, lightly.

"Your face. It's your face that I'm talking about. Honestly, even if they didn't told me anything, I would have noticed just by taking a quick look a your face."

"Ouch. I'm hurt, senpai. I ain't looking that bad, ain't I?" he pretended to be hurt , by clutching his shirt dramatically even though he well damn knew how he looked like right now, but Chris just shot him back a serious look.

"I'm fine, really. It's true that I have a lot on my mind these times and that it keeps me awake at night, but it has just been a week since I'm the new captain, so I think it's normal."

"So you think it's normal to build up stress and close yourself from the others? You're going back to your bad habits as I can see."

Miyuki silently balled up his fist, and averted his gaze. He didn't want to think back at the events that occurred during his first year. Chris' injury. And because of that, the position of starting catcher fell upon him. Even though he was wishing for it, he didn't want to have it this way. He wanted to fight for it, fair and square, and testing himself against Chris.

The emotions that he had experienced at that time were the worst of his baseball life. He didn't care about the others senpai holding a grudge against him at that time, but he felt like he didn't deserved it, to crouch in the catcher box instead of his mentor... and it just spoiled all the fun.

And it was quite right that what he was feeling right now was painfully similar to what happened last year. Now that he was captain, he had the feeling that he has been stripped of all the fun and joy that he used to felt while playing. He had to shoulder more responsibilities, and he wasn't able to feel the joy of seeing his pitchers improve anymore. He was already thinking of something else, not letting his mind rest. Maybe that is why the two pitchers found him different...

He quickly put those troublesome thoughts, and put himself together.

"Well, what can I do, senpai? I'm not the type of guy to talk easily to the others, nor am I the type to show my weaknesses..."

"You don't know how to rely on people, that's why you can't talk to them. Being the captain doesn't mean that you have to shoulder everything alone. What you need now, is to figure it out with everyone else."

Figure it out with everybody? Easier said than done. He was more the action type that the word type.

"But right now, you need to figure out, what's wrong what's wrong with you. I'm not blaming you for being confused, it's perfectly normal. But, don't lock yourself up in your shell like you're use to, it will bring you no good."

Chris was genuinely concerned about him. Such a quiet and unresponsive Miyuki was unusual and it would mean that he was (again) overthinking about something.

"Or something else is on your mind? Like what you might have done wrong during the final last week?"

The way Miyuki's eyes twitched and his lips tightened just confirmed it for Chris. Guilt, huh? For Miyuki, it might be the worse feeling of all.

"Telling you that it wasn't your fault won't do anything, knowing you it would just add salt to your wounds. Try to stop to overthinking everything."

"Pff, why everyone thinks that I'm overthinking everything?"

"Because you do." Chris smiled, softly.

Miyuki pushed his glasses nervously and thanked Chris-senpai silently for not asking what was exactly on his mind. His shell? Did he really looked like the type to shut himself off everyone? He was a loner, no doubt about it, but he did the minimal effort to communicate with everyone, and he would lie if he said he hadn't some precious bonds with the team.

He hid himself under the shadows of his glasses, and was processing everything Chris-senpai told him. Before figuring everything out with everyone, he had to figure out what was wrong with him... Rely on people...not burden everything on his shoulders...

How was he supposed to do that when all his life he took care of everything? Nobody to rely on and having nobody but himself to help him. That was expecting from him the sharp opposite of what he had done until now. When normal people will find it normal to help and to be helped, Miyuki find it more difficult to share his burden with anyone. He trusted his teammates, but only on the field. But trust the his feelings was... he would rather not. His stomach twisted at all these thoughts and he felt a bit of nausea coursed across his body.

God, he was overthinking again.

"Miyuki? You're alright? Your face just suddenly white."

"Ah it's okay, I'm fine! It's like you said Chris-senpai, I'm just overthinking!" Miyuki said quickly, waving his hands to dismiss his senpai's concern. "And I need to take the new pitcher menu to the coach's office so that he can approve it, so I'm going to go. Thank you very much for taking the time to see us!"

Chris still had some things to say, but saying them right now wouldn't be helpful. So he just ruffled Miyuki's hair and said good night, making a mental note of coming back soon with the other third-years to check again on the team's condition.

He couldn't help himself to turn around to see Miyuki's silhouette slowly fading away; something was really off about him, and he couldn't get rid of that bad feeling.

…...

His thoughts still in a mess, Miyuki dashed to his room to take the new pitcher menu (finished two days ago, in the middle of the night :')) and dashed again to the coach's office because he took more than he thought talking with Chris-senpai. He arrived in front of the office and stopped. He fixed back his bangs, making sure that they were correctly hiding his sticking-plaster, but when he was about to open the door, he suddenly heard Ota-buchou's loud voice erupting from the inside.

"You gave a letter of resignation to the principal?! Are you serious coach?"

A cold sweat spread through Miyuki's body at the speed of light. Resignation? Kataoka kantoku? Why? His hand was trembling over the door knob as he kept on listening silently.

"I'm going to take the lead of the team until the fall tournament, and then the school will hire a new coach. I wasn't able to take them to Koushien and with the departure of the third-years, the team needs a new way of training."

"Are you saying that it was your fault that the team lost? It's not..."

The rest of the conversation didn't reach Miyuki's ears as he was just too flabbergasted. His brain was in shock but it was also thinking, too fast, as what could have triggered such a decision from the coach. As expected, it could only be their fault. They were at one out from Koushien... the thin line was simply and only their inefficiency. His inefficiency as the key player of the team.

He bit his lip hard enough to draw blood and let out a forced laugh.

The coach was going to leave them.

Leave them...

Kazuya... How do I put this? The doctors did what they could but your mom isn't with us anymore...

He slapped himself hard as soon as the bad memories rose to the surface and waited for the adults to finish their conversation.

He had to do something for the trembling of his hands before knocking on the door. He waited 10 good minutes to reach an acceptable condition, took a deep breath, put back his usual mask on place and knocked.

"It's Miyuki. I came to deliver the picther menu." he announced himself.

As expected, Rei-chan and Ota-buchou got a little bit startled but didn't show it longer.

"Oh Miyuki-kun, it's you... Thank you and good work. Sorry for making you do it." Rei thanked him, taking the papers and handed them to the coach.

"It's fine, it was fun to make it for a change. Sawamura and Furuya are so predictable and I know Nori since my first year, so it was kind of easy to prepare."

"As always, you pay a lot of attention to them, don't you? Even though you rarely express your feelings to them... You'll be able to understand them even more if you speak to them wholeheartedly, you know." Rei told him in her sweet voice.

"Ahaha! There you go again with that Rei-chan! If I do that they'll get ahead of themselves! Especially Sawamura." he added, sneering. "Well, I have yet to take my bath, so I'll be taking my leave." he said, bowing to his professors

"Miyuki."

As he was about to turn around, the coach called him.

"Yes?"

"It's a good job, as expected of you."

"Thank you very much."

He bowed a second time, and left the room still with the look of his coach burned in the back of his mind. That glare that could mean anything and could rattle even a stone to the depths of their beings. And to tell that that amazing person was going to stop being their coach...

...As if he could forgive that.

He stopped midway in is way back to his room, and breathed out. If they won the fall tournament, they would guarantee themselves a place to Koushien. And if they did that, the coach couldn't possibly let them down. And they would also get their revenge against Inashiro so that their senpai could graduate without remorse...

"I'll do it, got no choice anyway! I got no choice... It's going to be harsh but honestly I don't care. Catcher. Fourth batter. Captain. Key player. All of them. Even if I don't enjoy myself this year, or even if my body takes a blow, I'll do it. Tetsu-san told me to be strong for the team. Chris-senpai told me to find what is wrong with me. I'm just too hesitant, that is all."

He just needed to stop thinking about himself? Just thinking about the team's interest and well-being and everything will be alright.

A strange, relaxed smile settled on his lips as he headed towards the common bath.

…...

The second-years were coming out of the bath, clouds of steam escaping through the open door. Miyuki, who was with Kuramochi and the others, caught his half-naked reflection in one of the many mirrors of the bath. Did he loose a little bit of muscle or was it his imagination? He didn't had the time to dwell on it because Kuramochi call out to him:

"Hey, Miyuki! Did you do your English homework?"

"Not yet, why?"

"Don't you mind if we do it together? I suck at english and Rei-chan would kill me if I fuck it up." Kura said, with a terrified expression.

"She's pretty hard on that, that's for sure, and we don't want you to get killed." Miyuki giggled.

"Yeah sure, gonna fetch up my things and I will come. Can you send Sawamura to another room, please? Don't wanna have him around me during work time."

"Already told him to go annoy Zono and Haruichi, yaha!"

"Scary..."

…..

"Oh, come on 'Mochi! That one's easy!" the brunette complained.

"Raaah, it's just in one ear, out the other. The other one was good enough, so can we stop there? My game console is calling me~" Kuramochi whined like a kid.

"Who was it that call for my help in the first place? Geez... you're such a kid sometimes."

"And you're a kid everytime." the other replied back, already turning on his console and taking a joystick.

In fact, Kuramochi had no intention of doing his homework; he just needed a good excuse to make sure that Miyuki was with him tonight, got assured that he gets a good night rest and if something was bothering him at night, he should be able to do something about it. The idiot would rather die than to admit it, but when the third-years and everyone else came crushing into his room for the night, he was sleeping with that calm and comforted smile that nobody saw yet, apart him. Sleeping with someone else should be of a help to help him relax then.

Kuramochi looked at him settling beside him and handed him a joystick. It had been a long time since they played Street Fighter together.

"Do I have a say in this?"

"Nope. You cheated last time and I still have to beat the shit out of you for that, yahaa!"

"How the hell can I cheat at Street Fighter?! You're just pissed because you got beat, that's all!"

After a few rounds where they kept yelling at each other, Miyuki began to yawned tiredly and whined to Kuramochi:

"I'm tired, can you craddle me to sleep Mom?" Miyuki joked childishly, throwing himself like a sheet on Kuramochi's back.

"What did I do to God to deserve a captain like you?" Kuramochi complained. "Get down!"

"No, don't wanna, I'm tired and your back's warm." the other said, half-asleep, cheek pressed on Kuramochi's shoulder.

"Aye, aye."

Kuramochi stood up, still with the catcher on his back and dumped him unceremoniously on his bed.

"Ouch! What a horrible mother you are!"

"Shuddup. I'm too tired for all this bullshit so give me some space." Kuramochi sighed, slipping himself under the sheets, ignoring the fact that his heart wanted to rip out of his chest.

The bed was one for one person, but the two managed to settle comfortably, and probably forget the fact that they were other beds in the room.

Kuramcochi took a glance at Miyuki. He was indeed fast asleep when someone was with him, and relaxed. Being himself a light sleeper he will know immediately if Miyuki's awake.

So, after making sure that he was asleep, Kuramochi scooted closer and kissed the cheek of the boy he loved deeply and whispers.

"Good night Kazuya."