Yukari notices the change in atmosphere during morning practice the next day. After what happened the previous day, the players, especially the third years, are more shaken up than she imagined. Not to mention the drawings for the summer regional tournament is that afternoon. Yukari is hoping that the third year players will change gears soon enough, for the sake of their ace.
During the after school practice, everyone gathers in the indoor practice building and receives a copy of the summer regional tournament brackets. While they won't meet Inajitsu until the final, they will meet Ichidaisan in the quarter final, if everything goes to plan.
"Are the upperclassmen going to be okay?" Youichi wonders. Yukari looks up from the bracket and sees the third years gathering in one spot together, "They've been looking completely defeated since yesterday."
Yukari sighs and looks back down to the brackets, "They're gonna have to. They don't have a choice."
"Oi, oi, Ichikawa…"
"If they don't change gears soon, they'll just be an embarrassment to Tanba-san," Yukari says straight out without looking up. Because she's been focusing on the bracket, she misses Youichi's troubled look.
The coach then gets everyone's attention, "I'm sure you've all heard, but Tanba's chin was cracked by yesterday's dead ball. Luckily, it's not a complete fracture, and his brain wasn't affected either," Kataoka says, "With that said, he still might not make it to the preliminaries."
The players look conflicted; both by the news of Tanba's condition and the fact that he won't be joining them from the start.
"To be honest, I still feel unsettled. He was finally starting to recognize his position as the ace, so I'm sure he's feeling upset about it as well. This is my sincere opinion as the coach of this team, and the decision was not influenced by my personal emotions," he raises his voice, "I am giving the ace number to Tanba. Until he comes back, we will fight battles as one team!"
The third year players, who had their heads down, look up at the coach.
"With that in mind, Kawakami is a must, but… Furuya and Sawamura. You two first years will be playing more frequently as well. When that happens, I want the third years to take the reins and help support these two."
From the corner of her eyes, Yukari can see the third years nodding.
"Let's do this."
"Yes, sir!"
"Miyuki," Chris suddenly calls. Kazuya, Youichi, and Yukari turn to look at him, "I think you understand, but we don't have time. We have to focus on training their fielding and ball control."
"Indeed," Kazuya says with a smirk.
"Ichikawa. I'm gonna have to ask for your help too. I might ask you to put your mitt on sometimes, so have them ready," Chris says.
Yukari smirks, "Understood."
"Let's get them ready by summer," Chris says.
xXx
That night, during dinner time, the heavy atmosphere has yet to lift from the air. Yukari honestly doesn't like this, but she has complete faith in the third years that they will change their gears even without a pep talk.
Not long after Tanba was done getting treatment, he gained consciousness and told Yukari to tell everyone not to worry about him. Yukari had told him that she doesn't need to tell them that, because she knows that they will realize it by themselves. Especially now, after they know that Tanba has been guaranteed the ace number. She expects them to set the stage for their fallen ace.
"Ichikawa, can't you do something about the upperclassmen?" Youichi asks as he eats his dinner. The second years are sitting on one table, with Youichi, Kenjirou, and Nori on one side, Yukari, Kazuya, and Zono on the other.
"Like what?" Yukari asks without looking up from her meal.
"Talk to them or something… the atmosphere's making everything awkward…" Youichi complains.
"I don't wanna go to practice tomorrow…" Nori groans.
"Oi, Nori! Don't say that!" Zono says.
"Do you really wanna go practice with this dark aura in the air, Zono?!" Nori asks.
"And say what?" Yukari asks again.
"I don't know! Anything!" Youichi says in exasperation.
"Why me?"
"Well, you know them better than anyone here, Ichikawa," Kenjirou says from beside Nori.
"Exactly," Yukari says as she looks up at her fellow second years, "I know them better than anyone. And I know for a fact that they don't need a pep talk," At least not from me, she thinks.She shrugs, "Besides, I'm not their mother. They're older than us; they should be able to take care of themselves. Just leave them be," she then claps her hands in thanks, "Thank you for the meal."
Yukari ignores the worried looks from her fellow second years and leaves them to return her tray. She then wordlessly leaves the cafeteria to go to the vending machines. She inserts her money and presses the button for the strawberry milk, and rolls her eyes when it doesn't come out.
"Stupid old machine…" Yukari growls under her breath as she hits the machine a couple of times, but her drink doesn't come out of it. Suddenly another hand hits the machine harder than she did, and her milk carton falls out of it. She turns her head to look at her savior and sees her boyfriend, "Thanks, Kazuya."
She then leans down and takes her drink from the machine and stands back up. She turns around to leave, but before she can, Kazuya puts his other arm against the machine, trapping her. When she tries to escape from below his arms, he leans his forehead against her, making her blush.
"K-Kazuya…"
"You okay?"
Kazuya's sudden question shocks her into silence. She curses him for knowing her too well. To be truly honest, she's not okay. She feels a special connection with the upperclassmen one year above her, and seeing Tanba getting injured brings back horrible memories about when Chris first got injured. She thinks that it was a miracle that she was so calm when she gave first aid to Tanba. She wasn't that calm when Chris got injured; in fact, she was a wreck. It was the first time she has ever cried in front of the team.
Yukari bites her lower lip as she avoids looking at Kazuya's eyes, but he moves faster. He puts his right hand against her left cheek softly, not once pulling his forehead away from hers, "Look at me in the eyes and tell me the truth. I'll know when you're lying, Yukari."
When Kazuya calls her with her name and not 'Yuka-chan', Yukari knows that he's being extremely serious. No matter how much she tries, she can't run away from him. She knows that from the start, but you can't blame her for trying. Yukari sighs and looks straight into Kazuya's honey colored eyes, "…no. I'm not okay."
Yukari takes a deep breath and exhales it through her nose as a tear runs down her cheek. This is not her first time crying in front of him, but that doesn't mean she likes it. She doesn't like looking and feeling vulnerable in front of an audience, even when it's someone she trusts like Kazuya. And he knows it, so he wipes her tear with his thumb and continues to rub her cheekbone with it.
"I was so worried… I mean, the ball hit him on his face. His helmet couldn't even protect him," Yukari says, "I'm just… so glad that it's nothing too serious…" she says as she closes her eyes and lets out a big sigh of relief. Kazuya then leans forward and pecks her lips. When he pulls away, she unconsciously follows his lips. When she realizes what she's done, she pulls back a little and blushes.
"There's a reason why you're Seidou's trainer. You reacted faster than anyone; even Kantoku. You were amazing," Kazuya says with a genuine smile, "I'm not just saying this because you're my girlfriend, but I know that everyone, now including the first years, can count on you; because you really care about all of us. Good job, Yukari."
"I'm not a trainer yet," Yukari automatically says.
Kazuya chuckles, "Yes, yes, I get it," he says as he pulls Yukari into his arms and pets her hair.
Yukari takes a deep breath and lets Kazuya's scent envelop her like a warm blanket as she wraps her arms around him. She values her personal space, but Kazuya is a special exception. After she's calmed down, she pushes on his chest and he immediately lets her go completely.
This is also something that Yukari loves and appreciates from Kazuya. He knows how much she takes her personal space seriously and he knows that he has a special privilege, but he doesn't abuse it. He just naturally knows when he can invade her personal space and when to pull away. Yukari doesn't even have to say anything.
"I'm going to bed," Yukari then says as she walks towards the stairs.
"Good night, Yuka-chan," Kazuya says as he looks up at her walking up the stairs. Yukari stops in her tracks to look at Kazuya and smiles.
"Good night, Kazuya."
xXx
Yukari is worried that she has given the third years too much credit. Practice the next day is considerably quieter than any other day, and it's worrying. But Yukari stands by her belief. She believes that they don't need a pep talk; at least not from her. Should she and Kataoka give them the exact same words, Kataoka's words will definitely give more impact than hers ever will.
"Tetsu-san, Jun-san," Yukari calls out, stopping the captain and vice-captain in their fielding practice, "Kantoku would like to see you."
Not only Tetsu and Jun, but the players in the vicinity stop playing out of curiosity. After Tetsu and Jun walk towards the dugout where the head coach is, Yukari turns back to look at the other players, "Why are you guys stopping?"
The players flinch and return to their respective practices. She might be imagining it, but they seem to be working harder than before. Yukari watches as Kataoka talks to Tetsu and Jun from afar. It's a bit disappointing that, being captain and vice-captain, they aren't the ones who are raising their voices first. Not to mention they are respected top players within the team; she knows for a fact that everyone will follow whatever they do.
But to be completely honest, Yukari doesn't expect for Jun to come to her after practice ends and ask for her to catch his pitches. When he did, she raises a questioning eyebrow, but doesn't complain. Instead she follows him to the indoor practice building with her own catching glove and mitt – she's been carrying it around since Chris told her to have them ready.
When she arrives at the indoor practice building, Yukari finally understands. She sees Tetsu pitching to Kazuya. She scoffs. Kataoka-kantoku… you really are an exceptional person, she thinks with a smirk. After she's done gearing up, she approaches Kazuya. He smirks at her, which she responds in kind. She and Jun play catch beside Tetsu and Kazuya until she feels that both their shoulders are warmed up.
"Okay, I'm sitting down, Jun-san," Yukari says as she crouches beside Kazuya. She punches her mitt and then puts it forward and Jun pitches. His pitches go way off course, but Yukari calmly catches them.
"How's that, Ichikawa, my bazooka ball?!" Jun asks loudly after a couple of pitches.
Yukari sighs in exasperation, "There's a reason why you're not a pitcher, Jun-san."
"None of them are strikes, sir!" Kazuya tells Jun from beside her, "I don't envy you, Yuka-chan."
"I wasn't asking you, Miyuki-teme!"
"He's right, though," Yukari says as she throws the ball back to Jun.
"What?!"
"It's ironic that you throw strikes from the outfield," Tetsu comments, "Watch, Jun. This is how you throw a strike."
"Tch. You throw like a fielder, too," Jun comments. Yukari smirks. Jun-san's looking better. I expect nothing less from Kantoku.
Jun suddenly glares at Nori, who is standing on Tetsu's other side, pitching to Miyauchi, "What's wrong, Kawakami?! You're not gonna throw?!"
"I-I will! Miyauchi-senpai, I'm going!" Nori says.
"Just hurry up and throw!" Miyauchi says.
Yukari smirks. Being a pitcher himself, I'm sure Kataoka-kantoku knows just how naturally competitive pitchers are. Having Tetsu-san and Jun-san, who are not pitchers, practice pitching, will light up a fire under the actual pitchers. She extends her right arm again and says, "Jun-san, I'm waiting. My arms are dying over here."
Jun scoffs, "You're slacking off, Ichikawa!"
"No, my stamina has always been low," Yukari says under her breath as Jun winds up. From the corner of her eyes, she can see Chris walking past the indoor practice building door with Furuya and Sawamura looking enviously at the sight of Tetsu and Jun. She can see the fire within the third year manager's eyes, and she smirks. See? There's nothing to worry about, Tanba-san. They'll be waiting for you.
xXx
Final exams are coming up, and Yukari can see some of the players staying in the cafeteria after dinner to study together. Looking at their nervous faces, she honestly can't understand why they can't just treat the finals like a normal test; they're basically the same thing. But she knows better than saying that to their faces.
One night, she sees Sawamura being tutored by his classmate, Kanemaru Shinji, and Haruichi tutoring Furuya. She doesn't know what came over her, but she approaches the first years and peeks over their tutors' shoulders.
"You got number 2 wrong, Sawamura," Yukari simply says. Sawamura is currently being tutored in math by Kanemaru. She then peeks at Furuya's workbook. He and Haruichi are working on Japanese literature, "There's a better proverb for question number 4, Furuya."
"Eh?! Seriously?!"
Not only Sawamura and Furuya, but their tutors also look confused. Yukari sighs and takes a seat across from them.
"I'm going to explain this once, and only once. I don't wanna hear you whining to me asking to tell you again, understand?" Yukari asks. Sawamura and Furuya nods. She first explains to Sawamura the normal way to finish the problem in number 2 and the simpler way, and then she moves on to telling various sayings with similar meanings to Furuya and have him decide on his own which one fits question number 4 the most.
"Do you get that?" she asks when she's done.
"Yes… thank you, Ichikawa-senpai," Furuya says.
"That was so easy to understand! Thank you, Yukihime-senpai!" Sawamura says. Yukari raises an eyebrow at the use of her nickname, but doesn't say anything.
"…Yukihime?" Haruichi wonders
"You don't know, Harucchi?! Yukihime-senpai is famous! She's Seidou no Yukihime!" Sawamura explains.
"Well, you only just found out from Harada-san earlier yourself," Yukari says. Sawamura slumps.
"I didn't know there's a simpler way to do that problem…" Kanemaru says, still eyeing Sawamura's workbook in awe.
"Well, you just need to tweak it. But that doesn't mean you can ignore the basic formula. Only use the shortcut when you don't have to write down the basic formula to quickly get an answer," Yukari says.
"Ichikawa-senpai, you're amazing…" Haruichi says.
"Hmm? What did you say, Haru-kun?" Yukari asks playfully.
"Eh, um… Aneki… I can't believe you remember so many proverbs…" Haruichi says, "I just think it's amazing."
"Right? As expected from my girlfriend the genius!"
"I'm not a genius," Yukari simply says as Kazuya wraps an arm around her shoulder, which she playfully slaps away. He then puts his arm around her shoulders again nonchalantly, but this time she lets him, at the price of his beanie, "I just study effectively."
"Says the number one student in the whole school," Kazuya brags.
"Why do you always have to mention that?" Yukari asks with a roll of her eyes.
"NUMBER ONE?!"
"Oi, Ichikawa! Mind checking my English homework?" Youichi asks.
"Ah, mine too, Ichikawa!" Nori says.
"Sure," Yukari says as she accepts Youichi and Nori's homework. She reads through their work and tells them which ones they got wrong, and asks them to correct them.
"Yukihime-senpai! Please tutor me!" Sawamura requests, bowing his head low.
"Geh! Teme! What's that supposed to mean?!" Kanemaru asks in offense.
"No way," Yukari says. Sawamura flinches and slumps on the table, "I'm open for questions, but I don't do tutoring. It's too much work for me," she then stands up from her seat, pulling herself away from Kazuya, "Youichi-kun, Nori, do you have any problems?"
"Nope! Thanks, Ichikawa!" Youichi says with a grin.
"I'm fine, Ichikawa. Thanks," Nori says with a smile.
"Okay," Yukari says and then she turns back to look at the first years, "Do you guys have any more questions? I'm not taking any once I'm out of here," the first years shake their heads and she turns her attention to Kazuya. She properly puts his beanie back onto his head, her left hand lingering on his right cheek as she says, "I'm returning to my room."
"Okay. Good night, Yuka-chan," Kazuya says with a soft smile.
"Yeah. Good night," Yukari answers as she leaves the room.
"Miyuki, you lucky bastard… I want a girlfriend too…"
"They're so sickening, hyahaha!"
"I've never seen Miyuki-senpai smile like that…"
"I know, usually he always has a nasty smirk…"
"E-Eijun-kun…"
"It makes him look like a nice guy…"
"Oi, I can hear you guys."
xXx
On the next practice, Jun and Tetsu seem to have rediscovered their spirits. Yukari watches in half-awe, half-amusement as Tetsu stands in front of a fence with his bat for ten minutes with his eyes closed. She walks around the field to watch the other players, and when she returns to where Tetsu is, he's still in the same position. He then swings his bat and Yukari has to wince at the sudden wind from the sheer power of his swing.
"Alright. That was a good practice," Yukari hears Tetsu say. She scoffs. I still can't understand his practice method.
Yukari continues her patrol and sees the head coach with Masuko who is practicing batting. She also sees Haruichi doing the same, making contact after contact. As I thought, he's just as good as Ryou-nii in terms of making contact with the ball. This will definitely motivate other players, especially since he's still a first year.
She continues her rounds towards the bullpen and sees Furuya and Sawamura with Chris and Kazuya. She winces when Furuya throws a high ball, "That was a homer, Furuya. Don't you learn anything?" Yukari says. Furuya turns to look at her with a discouraged pout.
"Wanna stop now?" Kazuya threatens, much to Furuya's dismay, "Did you forget the game against Kiryu already? You're not gonna throw well if you're too tense," he says as he throws the ball back to Furuya. He then crouches down again, "Just throw low and carefully. What you need right now is control and pacing."
Furuya nods and winds up. He throws, and the ball arrives smoothly in Kazuya's mitt. At Furuya's shocked look, Yukari smirks.
"Nice ball," Kazuya says, "Don't forget that feeling," he says as he throws the ball back.
"Good job, Furuya," Chris says, "Until Tanba comes back, you and Kawakami will be really busy. You want to avoid needlessly getting tired."
Furuya nods. Yukari then hears Sawamura yelling from outside the bullpen. Apparently Chris is having him throw to a net instead of a catcher. Chris gives him his feedback without even looking at the southpaw. Yukari approves of this training. Unlike Furuya, Sawamura's form is still unstable. Without a stable form, it will be hard for him to gain control of the ball.
"Anyway, Chris-senpai, I want you to take a look at this," Yukari says as she hands over two sheets of paper containing Sawamura's training menu and Furuya's respectively, "I've incorporated your feedback into it, so I think it's better now."
Chris reads through the training menu and nods, "This is good, Ichikawa. Thank you."
"Well, I'm gonna leave you now. Don't overwork yourselves and make more work for me," Yukari says as she walks away. When Rei notices her, she waves her over and brings her to the viewer's room. She's very pleasantly surprised with the person greeting her, she can't help but smile.
"Tanba-san…!"
Tanba turns to look at the door when she and Rei walk into the room, and he smiles back at Yukari, "Hey, Ichikawa."
"Nice hair," Yukari smirks at his lack of hair.
"Shut up," Tanba says with a blush.
"How's the injury doing?" Kataoka asks.
"Yes. The pain has decreased significantly," Tanba answers, "Starting tomorrow, please let me join practice."
"W-What are you saying, Tanba? It may not be swollen, but it's still cracked! I know how you feel, but don't push yourself!" Oota says.
"I don't want to hinder the team any more than I already have," Tanba says.
Tanba-san…
"Ichikawa."
"Yes, Kantoku?"
"What do you think?"
Yukari sighs and approaches Tanba, "May I see?"
"Yeah, sure," Tanba says. Yukari checks on his injury and asks him some questions regarding it, and then she bites her lower lip.
"How is it?" Kataoka asks.
Yukari sighs and says, "It does look better than it did a couple of days ago… but I wouldn't recommend going into practice immediately. It still needs some time to heal better."
Tanba looks crestfallen as Kataoka says, "Okay," the head coach then looks at Tanba and says, "The quarter final. Come back by the quarter final where we'll most likely face Ichidaisan High. In your best condition," he then looks straight at Tanba, "Everyone is fighting, believing you'll be back. That's why you need to trust them too."
xXx
The next week, the final exam results are being announced. As usual, Yukari's name sits on the very top of the list that is posted on the bulletin board that she always ignores. She'll never admit it if she's asked, but she is honestly quite worried about Sawamura and Furuya's test results. So the first thing she does is to approach the two of them before the practice starts.
"Sawamura. Furuya," Yukari calls out. The two first year pitchers turn around at her voice, and Furuya visibly flinches. She narrows her eyes at them, "How's your test results?"
Furuya avoids her eyes, while Sawamura grins at her, "Hehe… look at this, Yukihime-senpai! I aced them!" he says as he hands over his test results. She takes them from him and rolls her eyes when she sees his results.
"Your highest score is 40. You just barely passed them," Yukari says coldly. When she sees Sawamura slumping, she sighs, "But you did pass them. So good job. I expect better scores next time, though."
Sawamura beams and salutes her, "Yes, ma'am!"
"What about you, Furuya?" she asks as she turns to look at the dark haired boy who keeps avoiding her eyes. When he ignores her, she turns to his classmate, "Haru-kun?"
"Ah…" Haruichi says, "It wasn't good."
"He didn't pass them?" Yukari narrows her eyes at Furuya, "How are you gonna focus on the tournament if you have to do make-up tests before them?" she sighs, "Ask Kazuya for his first year notes later. Study them properly so you can pass the make-up tests, Furuya."
"Eh? Why Miyuki-senpai's?"
"Are you saying you're confident that you can read my handwriting, Sawamura?" Yukari asks with a challenging smirk, to which Sawamura shudders at, "He always copies my notes, and then all the second years copy his. So if he doesn't have his notes, you can ask any other second years. But if you don't do well on the make-up, I'll tell them to stop showing you their notes, got it?" she asks Furuya.
"Yes," Furuya nods, "Thank you, Ichikawa-senpai."
"Okay, go ahead guys. Kantoku is waiting for you," Yukari says as she waves off the first years.
The practice starts with the passing off of the uniform numbers. As promised, Tanba receives the ace number. She knows he's disappointed in her and Kantoku's decision of having him rest for a little bit more, but she hopes that he'll see that their decision is for his own good. She watches in amusement as his fellow first string players make fun of his shaved head.
The passing out of the numbers continue. Furuya moves up from number 18 to number 11, and Yukari smirks in amusement when Kataoka tells him to do his make-up tests well. Haruichi gets number 19 and Sawamura gets number 20 – not before making a scene first. Seeing him holding his number close to his chest, Yukari smirks at the first year southpaw.
"For scorekeeper… Chris, can you do it?" Kataoka asks.
"Yes, sir," Chris says with a nod.
"On-site trainer…" Kataoka says. Yukari's eyes widen slightly. This is the first time an on-site trainer has ever been mentioned, because usually her presence in the dugout is always treated as a given. She is taken aback when she sees what's in his hand; a uniform number with a red cross on it instead of a number. Usually, she wears an armband with a red cross on her right arm as identification, but it broke a couple of days ago. The head coach smirks and says, "Ichikawa. We're counting on you."
Yukari sighs and smiles softly, "Yes, sir," she says as she receives her 'number'. She can't help but feel giddy just by looking at it. Ever since receiving her Seidou uniform on her second year with the team, it never has a number adorning its back. It may not be a number, but at least her game uniform won't be so plain now. She understands how Sawamura feels.
The first string players can't help but smile when they see Yukari looking at her own 'number' so fondly. They have never really seen that look on her face before, which could only mean that she must be sincerely happy to have received that number. It was actually their idea to give her the number since they noticed that she stopped wearing her armband, and suggested giving her a red cross as her uniform number to Rei. The scout willingly agreed and made arrangements for it.
"And the managers," Kataoka calls out, "You've all been a great help. Ichikawa."
"Yes, sir," Yukari says with a smirk. She takes a pile of Seidou uniform and he takes one of them and shows it to the managers.
"Game uniforms?"
"You'll cheer on the team from the bleachers as part of the team, won't you?" Kataoka asks.
Seeing the look on the manager's faces, Yukari can't help but smile. She knows how they feel; she's sure she's feeling the same thing right now. She has always felt like a team player, but getting a uniform number or a game uniform just solidifies that fact. She gives the managers their uniforms and laughs when she sees Takako tearing up.
"Takako-san, get a hold of yourself," Yukari says in amusement.
"Ah, Takako-senpai, you're crying!" Yui says.
"I'm not crying!" Takako denies.
"I get it. I understand how you feel!" Haruno says.
"Shut up!" Takako says.
"Let's work hard together," Yukari says with a smile.
"Yeah!" the managers say, nodding.
Yukari returns to her post beside Rei behind the coach with her poker face back on. Kataoka steps forward, "I'm sure you all understand, but there's no second chance in high school baseball. Our hard work and the sweat and tears we've shed have all been for this summer!"
Yukari flinches and glares coldly at one corner of the dugout where she sees the principal and vice principal peeking. When they notice her glaring at them, they jump and run away.
"Alright. Do the usual," Kataoka says. Yukari smirks as she watches them. This really doesn't get old. The twenty first string players gather round and shout the Seidou chant with their hands over their hearts.