Recap: Sawamura finds out that Miyuki needs a liver transplant or he'd die in a matter of days. The pitcher decides to donate a portion of his liver, or so he wishes...
Chapter 10: The Red String of Love
"Eijun, no. You heard what the doctor said. You'll be taking medication for the rest of your life." Sawamura's mother sternly said.
"But mom, my liver would grow back, I'm saving someone's life by doing this! He's my friend..." Sawamura urged in desperation.
"I said no. Now hurry up, you're getting discharged today." she said without looking at her son. She was slowly packing his items into a bag.
It was the following day after Sawamura had suggested donating a portion of his liver. The doctor gave both the pitcher and his mother a test to see whether they could be candidates for donating their liver, but only Sawamura's liver was healthy enough to do so. However, since he was underage, he needed the consent of his parents.
Mother and son had been squabbling over this topic the whole morning. Sawamura was adamant on donating, but his mother was equally against it as there were risks when it came to donating.
"But mom!" Sawamura whined.
"No and that's the end of it."
Sawamura had a dejected look as he moved his gaze from his mother to his hands which laid atop his lap.
"I rather die..." a slight whisper rang though the room as it echoed out of the teen's lips.
*Slap* suddenly pain shot through Sawamura's cheeks. He looked up, in shock, to find a crying mother. Sawamura's mother then quickly clasped her arms around her son in a tight embrace.
His heart immediately sank as he understood the weight of his words. He too started to tear up, not from being punished, but from how much he had hurt his mother.
"I'm sorry...I'm sorry mom..." the pitcher whispered as he sat on the bed full with guilt. Both parent and child were crying as they embraced each other.
"Eijun...please let it go..the doctor even said that he may not survive after the transplant..."
"Mom...I...I can't...I...I love him..."
Sawamura's mother moved away from her son so that she can look him in the eye.
"What do you mean you love him?"
And that was when he realised what he said. He immediately became flustered as he sought for an explanation.
"I...I...he...when I went to Seidou...he was the one who gave me the confidence in pitching..." Sawamura reminisced the first pitch he made to Miyuki and the sound that echoed through the air. "...he was the one who made me the pitcher I am...without him...I'd be no one...I'd be just some other person on the street..." the teen paused as tears started to form, every word coming out of his mouth had an emotional weight on it and it could be felt by his mother. He took a gulp before continuing. "...he's like a...an older brother to me...I...I can't live without him... " Sawamura clenched his hand against his heart. His words were mixed with his true feelings, but to his mother, she saw that he cherished Miyuki as a family member.
"Please mom...*sniff*...please..." his whispers were mixed with quiet sobs as he dug his head into his mother's shoulders and silently cried. It broke her heart to see her son like this and as reluctant as she was, she consented.
That night, Sawamura snuck into Miyuki's room. He knelt by the frail catcher's bedside, grasped onto his hands and whispered comforting words of reassurance. "Everything's going to be ok...Kami-sama, please let Miyuki get past this...I won't ask for more, I don't need anything else...as long as he survives..." Sawamura said before he fell asleep next to the catcher.
- Five weeks later -
Five weeks had passed since the surgery. Sawamura had been back in school for a few weeks already, his post-surgery follow up went well and the doctor cleared him for returning to baseball activities. He had never been so antsy into getting back on the mound. Everyone on the team was left in the dark as his excuse of not being able to play was due to his original injury. Of course Sawamura never visited Miyuki, as the catcher never told of him of the situation, but he did get updates from the doctor. Lastly, a certain blonde hair teen was feeling distressed at Sawamura's hiatus from pitching, as he did cause the injury inadvertently, which prompted said teen to lurk around Seidou quite frequently.
"Damn he's annoying. If he wants to see how Sawamura's doing, he should just come in and ask..." Kuramochi muttered as he saw Narumiya walking by the outskirts of the school again. "He's not here BAKA!" Kuramochi yelled, causing the blonde third year to jump and run away.
As soon as Kuramochi scared the Inashiro pitcher off, Sawamura turned the corner with a baseball in hand.
"What's wrong Kuramochi-senpai?" Sawamura asked with a blank face.
"Don't worry, I just scared some creep away...anyways, you ready for the practice game with Inashiro in a few days?" the third year asked with a smirk. "Gonna get your revenge?"
"Of course!" Sawamura was more lively. He had felt a lot better knowing Miyuki had gotten better after the transplant. Of course, a glimmer of hope dwelled within him as he hoped he and Miyuki could get back together.
- The following day -
Miyuki had been discharged from the hospital a few days ago. The doctor cleared him good enough to carry on normal life, less anything active. The catcher had called the school and talked to the coach to resume his attendance, which they were all relieved that the teen had overcome the hurdle. So it began again, Miyuki's attendance back at school.
As he made his way through the gates, a few people greeted him in joy. Miyuki just nodded and reciprocated, but he was just doing it subconsciously.
"Hey! Did you hear? Miyuki's back." One of Sawamura's classmates stated in the classroom.
"Really? I hope he steers the baseball team back on track..."
Sawamura's ears perked up as he heard the name.
"Did you say Miyuki's back?!" Sawamura jumped out of his seat with eyes filled with hope.
"Yeah, he should be walking to his classroom as we speak."
And with that, Sawamura quickly ran out the door, making his way towards Miyuki. His heart was beating fast, his throat was drying in fear of what to say, but his eyes glimmered in hope that Miyuki and he could be back together. He was sure Miyuki did what he did because of death being at his doorsteps just a mere one month ago.
As Sawamura turned the corner, he was immediately met with the catcher. They were a few metres apart. Miyuki's eyes were staring half towards the ground and half towards what was in front of him. He was walking steadily towards Sawamura.
"Ka..." Sawamura paused as Miyuki came within steps of the pitcher. Sawamura hesitated in fear for calling Miyuki by his name, in case the breakup was real. "Miyuki..." Sawamura almost whispered as he recompose himself to call the catcher.
But all that met him was Miyuki's figure walking by him, and as he did, the catcher's shoulder hit the pitcher's. Sawamura stood there staring in front of him trying to comprehend what happened. He was in shock. His heart skipped a beat before it fell into the pits of his stomach. He could feel his knees shaking as he quickly turned around to look at the catcher's back.
"Miyuki..." Sawamura shouted slightly louder as he reached his hand towards Miyuki's back, but all he saw was the catcher walking further and further away without looking back at him. A tear crept out of his eyes as he dropped his hand down. Without second thought, he quickly ran off around the corner and out of sight.
'It's over...it was real...he hates me...whhyy...' Sawamura thought as he started to burst out into tears whilst his hand grasped his aching heart.
Sawamura ran and hid in the most secluded corner of the school where he wept in agony. The pain he felt was as if his heart was slit multiple times. His breathing was laboured and his eyes grew red. 'Eijun...he's alive...all you wanted was for him to be alive! Stop expecting to much...' he tried to reason as the red string that connected him and the catcher went down to the last thread.
'He's alive! Give it up!' his mind yelled at him as he hit the ground in anger multiple times. Suddenly he came into a realisation. 'It's over...' it was suffocating, he couldn't stay at school, he had to quickly leave. It felt as if there were walls closing in on him. The young pitcher got up, quickly went to the office to notify that he didn't feel well and left immediately without even bringing his stuff with him. From there onwards, he walked aimlessly, through the town, not knowing what to do.
"Hey kid, aren't you suppose to be in school?" Someone asked the pitcher.
"Oh yeah...I'm heading there right now...sorry..."
"Hurry up, you're probably late already..." the man said as he walked away.
Sawamura looked down at his uniform before he ripped it off and threw it away. He was now only wearing a white unmarked t-shirt.
- Elsewhere in town a couple hours later -
"Shit...why did I decide to go home yesterday...now i'm late for school." a blonde hair teen grumbled as he ran through the streets while looking at his watch. Narumiya had overslept after returning home the previous night and now he was dreading the moment where Harada would go on and on about the importance of being on time. 'Dammit...getting there at lunch time wouldn't be that bad...'
Suddenly, a loud thunder was heard and shortly rain came pouring down.
"Awww crap." Narumiya complained as he quickly found shelter. Luckily for him, it was a cafe with plenty of seats. 'Might as well wait out the storm here...Harada can't complain...either I get wet on my way to school and get sick, or I stay here.' the Inashiro pitcher smirked as he ordered a drink and nonchalantly sat on a table while watching the rain turn into a storm. As the pitcher took a sip of the coffee, his eyes fell onto a teen walking in the empty streets under the heavy rain.
*COUGH* Narumiya choked on the sip he was taking. He quickly placed his cup down and was about to run out before realising how heavy the rain was. He looked around and saw an umbrella that belonged to the store.
"Can I buy this umbrella from you?" Mei ran up to the counter and asked, in which he got a nod. He quickly paid and ran out the door with the umbrella towards Sawamrua.
"Sawamura! BAKA! What are you doing walking in the rain like this?" Narumiya was obviously angry.
Sawamura just kept walking, ignoring the blonde teen.
"Hey Sawamura!" Narumiya shouted again as he reached his hand out to grab the younger pitcher's arm. In doing so, he turned the Seidou pitcher to face him. Narumiya started at the pitcher and immediately noticed how the white shirt drenched in water was clinging onto Sawamura's body like saran wrap. A blush crept up on Narumiya's face as he could see the semi-defined body that laid under the shirt. He shook his head and snapped himself out of his muse after inwardly chastising his inappropriate actions.
'He's so cold...' Narumiya noted as the warmth from his hand was being siphoned away by Sawamura's cold body.
"How long have you been under the rain?! Don't tell me since it started?" Narumiya cursed as he quickly pulled the pitcher under the umbrella. "Are you crazy? Do you want to die?" he chastised the Seidou pitcher.
"Hey! Are you listening?" He turned Sawamura to face him after not receiving any reaction from the teen, but what met his eyes caused his heart to sink.
Sawamura's eyes were red and Narumiya could see tears cascading down the pitcher's face.
"Maybe it would be better if I was dead..." Sawamura whispered, which Narumiya caught.
"What are you saying?! Don't say that shit and come with me." Narumiya dragged the younger teen along the streets. He had to get Sawamura indoors and into dry clothes. Luckily, his apartment, which only he lived in, was nearby. Before long, they were at the front door of his unit. He could feel Sawamura's lifeless body shaking in coldness.
Narumiya opened the door and brought Sawamura in. "Hurry up, undress and take a warm bath."
Sawamura nodded and did as he was told. He washed himself down before going into the tub of warm water.
"Oi, I'm coming in ok?" Narumiya knocked the door. He heard no response. "I'll take that as a yes." he said as he opened the door and saw the pitcher soaking in the tub.
"Here's a clean set of clothes you can wear. I'm going to wash your wet clothes." Narumiya picked up the pitcher's clothes from the floor and headed out of the bathroom.
Sawamura eventually finished bathing and stepped out of the bath. A towel was wrapped around his neck as he clad in Narumiya's clothes.
Narumiya was in the kitchen making something for lunch, as he finished, he caught a glimpse of Sawamura. At first sight, Narumiya had a flashback of the wet shirt clinging onto Sawamura's body. Shaking his head and quickly averting his gaze, the blushing teen quickly plated the food. He brought two plates over to the table and placed them down.
"You must be hungry. It's nothing much, but dig in."
Both pitchers sat on the table. It was silent. Sawamura stared at his plate, while the older teen dug in immediately. Eventually, Sawamura grabbed the toast and started to nibble on the corner. He was in no mood to eat. Even though he stopped crying, his face was plastered with depression.
Narumiya looked upwards towards the younger pitcher and gave a sigh.
"Sawamura...what's wrong?" the older pitcher asked. Sawamura just shook his head as he continued nibbling at the toast.
"There's something wrong, no one walks in a storm like that if there's nothing wrong...you got your heart broken?" Narumiya randomly said, he was just stabbing at the dark, obviously unaware of the relationship Sawamura had with Miyuki, or for that matter, what happened between the two.
Without warning, as if triggered by the older teen's words, Sawamura started to tear up. He dropped the toast as his hands quickly went up to wipe his tears away. "Mmm...*sniff*...bwaaa..." the pitcher hollered as his attempts in calming himself failed. His clasped his hand in front of his mount in attempt to stifle the cries, but it was futile. He broke and it was hard.
"Wah...did I say something wrong?!" Narumiya jumped out of his seat and carefully approached the bawling pitcher as if he were afraid the slightest vibration would break Sawamura.
"I'm sorry...what's wrong?" Narumiya calmly said as he knelt next to the pitcher. He placed his hands on Sawamura's shoulder in attempt to comfort the younger pitcher.
"It's ok...shhhh...it's ok..." Narumiya said awkwardly as he was stunned on what he should do.
Without notice, Sawamura jumped into Narumiya's arms, hugging the blonde tightly as he dug his face into the crook of Narumiya's neck. There Sawamura cried his heart out, the tears slowly soaking into Narumiya's shirt. This was the first time he had let everything out in front of someone he knew, the first time he sought for comfort in another's hand. To Sawamura, Narumiya was just at the right place at the right time for him to let everything out.
Narumiya was stunned at the sudden actions, his face full of shock. His hands were afloat behind Sawamura's back, not knowing what to do. Slowly, he lowered his hands onto the younger pitcher's back and started caress the younger pitcher's back in a calming manner. The older pitcher's eyes soften as he leaned his head towards Sawamura's so that he can reassure the crying teen that someone was there.
The two stayed like that for the next fifteen minutes. Sawamura just kept sobbing away while Narumiya just whispered away words of comfort.
Eventually, Sawamura recollected himself and pulled away. He furiously wiped his eyes with his sleeves. "Sorry Narumiya-senpai..." he whispered.
"Sawamura...what's wrong? You can tell me...I won't say a word..." Narumiya responded.
Sawamura felt that he could tell Narumiya everything. Something inside of him reassured that it was ok and so he did.
Sawamura began his story from the beginning, at the time when Miyuki and himself started dating.
As Sawamura told his story, thoughts floated around the Inashiro pitcher's mind. He had a lot of questions, but decided not to interrupt Sawamura.
'Miyuki and SAWAMURA floats that way?...that bastard...how could he do that to Sawamura...wait...he had cancer...shit...at least he's back and healthy now...wait, if he's well, why is Sawamura in this state...'
Sawamura was nearing the end of his story as his sobs began to erupt again. "So when I saw him today...he just walked past me, bumping me in the shoulders...*sniff sniff* so that means...that means...he...he...he really does hate me...h-he didn't even glance at me...it hurts...make it end..." again tears poured out his eyes uncontrollably as he embraced Narumiya again.
The older pitcher was just stunned, he couldn't believe what Miyuki did. He was getting pissed.
He pushed Sawamura away from him and looked at the younger pitcher with soft eyes.
"Sawamura, forget about him, you're too good for him!" Narumiya said.
"It...it hurts..." Sawamura said amongst multiple sniffs. The younger teen placed his hand against his heart and squeezed it into a fist as if attempting to subdue the pain. He looked like a beaten dog, crying for help with none given.
Narumiya watched the broken pitcher sobbing, his eyes were red and puffy. his composure was broken and his body was trembling. He could feel Sawamura's strength leaving. Tears started to form in Narumiya's eyes as he bit his lips in frustration. His heart was also being crushed by the sight of the pained pitcher in front of him.
Suddenly, without notice, Narumiya leaned in for a kiss. Sawamura found himself frozen from the unexpected action.
'W-w-what's happening...' Sawamura thought as he was baffled, but after some time, he closed his eyes and embraced the warmth of the older teen's lips. He leaned in on the kiss, which surprised Narumiya, but he too welcomed it fully.
A/N: Sorry for the delay. No promises on the next chapter, but it'll be out in a few weeks.
Thanks to the reviews, favourites and of course to everyone reading!