Eijun threw himself into training. More pitches, more running, more batting. Fielding practice. Whatever he was asked to do, he did it. And then, when he was done with practice, he'd eat dinner and practice more. He was determined to fix himself, become better and more reliable. He wanted to be the ace.
"Catch my pitches, Miyuki Kazuya!" rang across the practice field on a daily basis. "My tire is my one true love!" he sang as he ran laps in the dusk. He was exhausting to watch, but he was also a source of motivation for the team, a bright light they could both laugh at and be inspired by. However, he was also overworking himself and that would have to stop. There was only one person tasked with putting the end to the overtraining, and that was the current team captain.
Kazuya walked out to the practice field, hoping that the pitcher was close to this side of the field, he did not want to have to chase him down—he was tired and just wanted to take a bath and go to bed. "Oi, Sawamura!" he shouted, seeing the pitcher rounding a corner. Well, at least he's not dragging that stupid tire this time…
Eijun stopped and waited for Kazuya to catch up to him. "What do you want? I'm trying to run!"
"Is that any way to talk to your captain and senpai? Show some respect!" Kazuya barked. "I'm out here precisely because you are running, idiot. You're overworking, you need to stop. You won't be any good if you're exhausted or if you hurt yourself."
"I'm fine, I'm fine…I was just working off some extra energy!" Eijun replied, bending over with his hands on his knees to catch his breath. "And I don't need to show respect, you're a crappy senpai! But you are the captain so I'll do what you say, even if you're a tanuki."
They started walking back towards the dorms, the silence between them comfortable.
"Seriously, Sawamura, you're overtraining. I understand what you're doing but it has to stop, you're going to get hurt. If that happens, you're no good to the team." Shots fired, Kazuya thought, straight across the bow…now let's sink this little bit of foolishness, shall we? He looked at Eijun, who had seemed to be deep in thought.
"If you keep this up, I'll tell Chris-senpai. He's warned you about training too much, hasn't he?" A bit heavy-handed, but that idiot doesn't get subtlety. Explosion happening in 3…2…1…
"Miyuki Kazuya, you sneaky jerk!" Eijun sputtered, "I get it, I get it. I'll be careful."
"Don't be careful, be safe. Stop with at least some of the extra training, ok? Take a break every now and then. If you want to work on something, work on your ball control, it's really been sucking lately. "
"I know! Why do you think I've been working so hard? I have to get better!"
"Work smarter, idiot, if that's possible for you, not just harder." Kazuya smirked at the pitcher. I know what's coming next, he's so predictable. 'Catch my pitches right now!'
Eijun grinned, and looked at Kazuya. "I don't have to think about working smarter, that's your job. I just have to do what you tell me to."
Kazuya started, and looked at his friend. Well, that was unexpected… Sometimes you still surprise me, Eijun, I hope that doesn't stop.
"Ok, then I'm telling you to quit for the night and go get some rest. Do your homework if you can, just don't hurt yourself thinking too hard."
"Aye, aye captain!" Eijun saluted, performed a perfectly executed bow, and spun in place, walking off to his room.
"Idiot…" muttered Kazuya, a fond grin on his face.
From: Me(catch4me .jp)
To: BastardKazuya(miyukik )
Kazuya-
I hope you've gotten some sleep, you look really tired.
I'll do what you say and slow down, but I know that I'm not where I should be, and it's frustrating. I just think if I do a little more, push a little harder, things will fall into place.
Ah, well, we shall see, huh?
I'm looking forward to the scrimmages later this week, and really excited to play Yakushi again. We might have some problems with them, Rachi is an incredible hitter, and Sanada is a great pitcher. I hope I get a chance to talk to him, he's sure to have some tips for me.
Something you don't know about me:
I'm actually not nearly as bad in school as you think. When I pay attention in class, I do get good grades.
I got a 96 on my last Japanese Literature test. The problem is that I have a hard time focusing sometimes. But recently, it's been easier to do so, and my grades are better. That's good, right?
I guess I should go do my homework, I'll see you tomorrow.
-Eijun
Kazuya walked out of his dorm room, headed to the drink machine. He needed some coffee, his homework was piling up and he needed to deal with it. They'd played a couple of scrimmages, and he was getting a clearer picture of where the team was at. The loss of the senpai was most felt on offense, there wasn't the power in the batting lineup that they'd had previously.
Putting the correct change into the machine, he pressed the button and bent over to pick up the can. And then there was Eijun…
"Miyuki-senpai!" Kazuya heard his name being called in a soft voice. He turned around and saw Haruichi standing behind him. "Do you have a minute?" The first year asked.
"Of course, do you want a drink?" he offered.
Haruichi smiled and held up his own can of coffee. "I'm fine, thanks. I think we both had the same idea. Zono and I are going to be practicing batting in a bit, I needed some energy."
They walked over to a discarded weight training bench against the wall and sat down. "Now, how can I help?" the captain inquired.
Haruichi fidgeted, clearly uncomfortable. "Have you noticed anything unusual going on with Eijun?"
"What do you mean—can you explain what you're seeing?" Kazuya leaned forward, clearly interested.
"I'm not sure if you've noticed, but I don't think he's doing as well as he'd like everyone to think. He's putting up a front but I know him, I know how he looks when he's ok. He's clearly not ok." Kazuya looked closely at Haruichi. I thought I was the only one who'd noticed that his smiles were off, his laugh a little too forced; Eijun, you've found yourself a good friend. I'm glad.
"Thank you, Haruichi. I'll keep my eye on the idiot. Please let me know if you notice anything else." Kazuya got up from his seat, and waited for the first year to join him.
"I will. Thank you for listening to me, Miyuki-senpai. Enjoy your evening." Haruichi walked off in the direction of the practice building.
Kazuya walked back to his dorm room, drinking his coffee. As he got closer, he saw someone leaning against the wall, waiting for him. Approaching the door, he realized that it was Kuramochi. I wonder what he wants? I hope he's not looking for another round of Mario Kart.
"Oi, Miyuki. I need to talk to you." Kuramochi said, standing up from his leaning position.
"Look, I'm too tired to deal with your crying, so no Mario Kart tonight, OK?" Kazuya smirked.
"Asshole. That's not what I wanted—I really need to talk to you about something. In private."
"Alright, come on in." Kazuya unlocked his door, and invited the other boy in. This is interesting, I wonder what's going on. Could be bad.
Kuramochi stepped in and removed his shoes. Walking over to the desk, he sat down. "Have you noticed anything strange about Sawamura?"
"I think he pretty much is the definition of strange—is there something specific you'd like to discuss?" Kazuya asked. Second one today—Eijun, you're a wonder. Do you have any idea how many people care about you?
Kuramochi frowned. "I'm not sure what's going on, but he's not his normal idiot self. You've got him to stop running like he's prepping for a marathon, which is good. However he's still not acting like himself. He doesn't fight back when I wrestle with him and he's even reading. On purpose. Real books, not baseball magazines. I caught him reading Crime and Punishment this afternoon. Fucking Dostoevsky, Miyuki. His side of the room is clean. His homework is done. He's clearly broken. Fix this."
"And just what do you think I can do?" snarked Kazuya, genuinely curious. "Wouldn't those changes be considered good things?" This is worse than I thought.
Kuramochi snarled. "Fuck, Miyuki, you bastard." He ran his hands through his hair. "in anyone else, yes, I'd say this was a good thing. But not with Bakamura. Something's not right, he's not recovered as much as he'd like us to think."
"I'm really not sure what I can do to help." The catcher commented.
"I don't know either, idiot, but you're the captain so take some responsibility, dammit. Fix him." Kuramochi slipped out the door, closing it firmly behind him.
Kazuya threw himself back on his bed, staring at the ceiling. I have no clue how to fix this—let's get started on this homework. Maybe something will come to me.
An hour later he'd managed to get through his math assignment, but he had a sneaking suspicion that half of the answers were wrong. Putting his books away, he sighed, taking off his glasses. He rubbed the bridge of his nose and tried to think of something he could do to help Eijun. I still have absolutely no idea, other than the obvious. What's the use of having a brain if you can't help someone who needs it? There's got to be some way I can help him.
From: Me(miyukik )
To: Ei-chan(catch4me .jp)
Eijun-
Hey, idiot, what am I going to do with you?
You know, people are really worried about you. I know that you've only been pretending to be ok, I can see it clearly. I thought it was only me that saw it because I've known you for so long, but that's not true. I've been approached(cornered, in one case) by two different people tonight telling me that they were concerned about you.
I don't know how to help you. I can't fix this for you. I can't carry this burden for you, as much as I would like to do so.
All I can tell you is that you're not alone. There are people who care. There are people who will help you, will be glad to help you. All you have to do is ask.
I know you don't want to be a bother. I know you think you have to do it alone. Neither one of those things are true, though. You're not a bother. You're not alone.
That's all I can say. If you want to talk about this, I'm here.
Something you don't know about me:
When I was a first year in middle school, I was a little shit. That part is not a surprise.
I was pissed at the world, and didn't know how to keep my mouth shut. I was also the best player on my team, already a good catcher, and had no patience for idiots or lazy players(again, no surprise). I ran my mouth off once too many times to some upperclassmen who were not happy that this scrawny four-eyed first year dared tell them that they weren't perfect. I got the biggest beating of my life from them. Bruised eyes, busted lips, kicks in the stomach. All I remember clearly is pain and blood. I think that was the first time I was really scared for myself. I got home and cleaned myself up. I was 12. My father didn't notice. The next day, I was back at practice. I didn't stop playing, I didn't stop running my mouth, but those boys never bothered me again. I've never told anyone that story.
What I learned from that? It wasn't a lesson as much as a reaffirmation of something I already knew. I was alone. My father was never going to be there for me.
Anyway, I am not my father. I see you, and I'm here for you if you need me in whatever capacity you'd like me to be.
Get some rest, tomorrow is the Yakushi game, and Raichi is a beast.
-Kazuya
