Naoki tossed and turned in her bed, restless as the night deepened. She couldn't sleep. Her mind is still too full of words coming from Chris.

"Circumstances, huh?" she muttered in the darkness, her arms above her head while she stared into nothingness. Naoki yawned but still, she couldn't sleep. Her eyes are completely awake, not drooping a bit or giving a sign of tiredness. She turned to her side and saw a whitish patch not far from her bed. Naoki reached for it and lightly caressed the soft fur in her fingertips.

"Yes, yes, I have. I wanted to play baseball..but I can't"

Naoki closed her eyes.

"Circumstances forced me not to play. I need to heal and I need to strengthen my body, that's why I can't play as I wished. What about you, Fujioka-san?"

"Ah, that's a hard one"

"It is easy to admit when you are at peace with the answer."

Naoki opened her eyes.

"At peace, huh?"

"I stopped playing baseball because my brother died." Naoki thought with a melancholic smile. "That reason pales in comparison to yours, Chris-san"

"No one stopped you from playing. It was you that build the barrier" her mind whispered as she stares in the darkness, her thoughts, her only unwelcome companion. Naoki sat, giving up her intention to sleep. With the way her thoughts are currently turning to, she doubts she'll get any sleep. She raised her knees and hugged it to her chest, leaning her back on the cold wall and closing her eyes.

Naoko's death crippled her in more ways than one. Physically, she was well, but emotionally, she was not. She gave up playing baseball the days after she received the news and attended his funeral. When she thought of playing baseball again, she'd cry, feel a hurt so deep it had robbed her strength to live the next day. It's funny how she had tried to run away, yet here she is, desperately finding a way back to play.

"Have you ever wanted to do something, but you can't?"

"Yes" she softly whispers in the dark, her eyes opening. Naoki hears a rustle from the floor but she didn't look. Her head tilted to the side but she didn't take notice. Her eyes continue to stare into nothingness.

Baseball became a connection she shared exclusively with her twin, her other half, the other person at the end of the rope she holds tightly in her hands. But it was severed when he died, and Naoki suddenly found no one holding on the other side. She tried to forget she ever held that rope, slowly suffocating the her that existed as Naoko's twin. Slowly giving up the only connection that truly became their own. By coming to Seido, she'd been forced to face that connection in the field. Saw him, waiting in the other side, beckoning with his smile and seemingly pleading with his laughter, his joy, his love.

"Please, don't forget me"

"Have you ever wanted to do something, but you can't?"

"Yes" her words, this time, was uttered hoarsely, a lump in her throat forming as her chest constricts and her eyes burn.

Naoki wanted to find herself. Her love for baseball rekindling amidst the burning fire of Seido's players. Meeting Kazuya, Eijun and the others reminded Naoki the innocent delight of just merely throwing the ball, of being peeved as she stands on the mound, of seeing her ball fly into air after the batter hit it with his bat. The urge to play prompted her to desire the thrill in the baseball field. Now that everything is turning to give her the spotlight, Naoki finally realized the answer to that question.

"Have you ever wanted to do something, but you can't?"

She thought playing baseball was the answer but she's wrong. Playing baseball is something she wants to do, and she can do it. She only has to stop running and to face herself because officially or not, she can still play baseball. No one is stopping her and no one is forcing her to play. Her prisoner was her own mind, and now, she's free.

Free to do something she wants.

"Have you ever wanted to do something, but you can't?"

Yet, the answer to that question is still "Yes", Naoki brokenly whispered in a sob. Because now, now she realized.

"It is easy to admit when you are at peace with the answer."

That the real reason why such a question formed in her mind was because playing baseball forced her to face the sorrow in her heart, to hear the voice of longing deep in her soul and to find it crying for a presence she can never fill, for it is like the rope cut by fate and left to rot, it will never experience the same light again. Naoki cannot bring back something that is already lost. Or someone that is far from her reach.

"Have you ever wanted to do something, but you can't?"

Naoki's eyes closed and tears flowed. Her hands twitched atop her knees as droplets fell and trailed, but her lips remained sealed, still, a sob escapes, and her shoulders shook with the effort of holding it in. Naoki felt the mattress dip, heard Mamoru's soft whine. She opened her eyes and saw him staring at her with his brown eyes. He nuzzled her knees and used his nose to burrow on her lap. She unfurled her knees without complaint, letting him settle and give her comfort.

"Naoko…" she whispers as she raises her hand and ran her fingers on her pet's fur. She slowly petted him while silent tears ran from her cheeks. Her body slowly relaxed, finding the comfort it needs. Naoki then found herself falling to her side, in an awkward angle she'd surely feel in the morning but too tired to even bother correcting. Her eyes, heavy with fatigue, closed.

Naoko's hand is high up in the air while the other is holding a bat. He was waving, donning his baseball uniform and a wide smile as he stands from the home plate. They are scheduled to go to Tokyo today for the Spring Nationals.

"Goodbye, Naoki" he shouts. "Let's play again after we win in the Koshien!" Then, he turned his back.

"Goodbye, Naoko." She whispers, half-asleep.

"I promise we'll play together….someday. Just..just don't be impatient, okay?" her last thought, saying her farewell to the longing that couldn't be fulfilled in this life. With that, darkness descended and pulled her to sleep.

"Ne, why is Fujioka-chan absent?"

Kazuya looked up from the score booklet he's reading and into two female faces. He blinks in confusion. The two were asking for Naoki. Wait, why are they asking him? "I mean, I don't even know why she's absent today" he thought, squashing the sudden concern that fluttered in his system. Naoki looked fine yesterday, at least the last time he saw her. But maybe something bad happened? Kazuya's mouth settled in a fine line as he thought of Naoki. Seeing his expression, the girl on his right frowned at him while the other whispered in her ear, the two mistaking his expression as one of annoyance. The girl's face cleared in understanding after hearing what her friend said and she nodded.

"Sorry, Miyuki-kun. We shouldn't have asked. I guess it's hard to think about her when the two of you just broke up" the girl said sympathetically. Her other friend nodded in response. Kazuya blankly stared, shocked and a bit confused with their words. The two turned and started walking away when Kazuya snapped from his musings.

"Where did you hear that?" he asks as he stood. The two exchange glances. One of them nibbled her lips while the other tilted her head.

"Kuramochi-kun told us"

"Is that so" Kazuya scratched the back of his head as he stares at the floor. Of all the things Youichi could spread, why does it have to be that?

"Um..is it not true?" One of them asks worriedly.

"We are not in that kind of relationship" he said softly.

"Oh, ah. Sorry"

Kazuya watched them depart. He returned to his seat, the scorebook open and ready to be analyzed, yet he couldn't find himself to return to his previous activity, his mind occupied with something else, someone else.

Naoki.

In this current situation, Kazuya's mind should have been more taken with the knowledge that Youichi is spreading rumors, or if not, giving false information to others about Kazuya and Naoki's relationship but in this case, Kazuya couldn't care less. As much as he tries not to think about her, Naoki's well-being continues to plague him. He had noticed she was not present during morning practice; he also hadn't seen her during breakfast, both situations Kazuya shrugged off, albeit forcefully, because he reasoned with himself that he's not her keeper nor a close friend therefore, he doesn't have to worry about her. But worry about her, he did.

It was when the first period of class in the morning started and he didn't saw her enter, or heard her being scolded for her tardiness, that Kazuya felt restless, unbalanced, and really awkward. Suddenly, his back felt unguarded. This feeling is akin to that of leaning on a wall and then finding the next that it was gone. When the period ended with no Naoki in sight, Kazuya pulled the scorebook and read everything in it. It was the only thing he can do to stave off the desire to go out of the room, find her, and see what's wrong with her. Because Kazuya knows something happened, Naoki wouldn't be absent otherwise. It just that he didn't know what, that is bothering him.

Naoki stared at her clock for the umpteenth time. She glances at Mamoru who was walking in circles in front of her. He stops and sat at the door, then turned his head with his tongue lolling to the side as he sent Naoki an expectant eye. Naoki returned her eyes back to the clock. The longer she stares at it the deeper the panic sets it.

She overslept.

Naoki winced and rubs her somewhat still sore and puffy eyes. She heard Mamoru yip at her at the door. She sighs, finally accepting that she missed school for sleeping almost the whole day. She scratches her arms and swallowed a saliva. Naoki inadvertently groans after feeling an ache when she swallowed and she pouted. Mamoru tilted his head, still not budging on his spot.

"…ai, h..ai" Naoki almost laughed at her voice. She sounds like a grandma the way she croaks the words. "This always happens when I sleep after crying" she thought, clearing her throat as her hand grasps the knob. Mamoru's tail wags faster as she twisted the knob and he pushed his nose to the edge of the door after he saw a small light coming from it, looks like he's very excited to go out after being cooped for almost a day in her room.

"Jeez, so impatient" she said to herself, giving Mamoru one last petting before he bounded outside after she fully opens the door. Naoki shielded her eyes as the glare of the noon sun shines brightly. She strained her eyes and found Mamoru sparkling on the other side. "His fur is so blinding" she observes before shutting the door. Ensconced in the familiar darkness of her room, Naoki sighs, leaning her forehead to the door. Well, she missed school. There's no way she can go now being overly late as she is. Anyhow, she guesses she'll have to make use of her time by practicing.

"But first, shower….and then this throat" she thought, rubbing her throat while on her way to the bathroom.

"Yo!" Youichi greets, walking up to Kazuya's seat. He was still reading the scorebook when Youichi stood in front of his desk. Youichi raised an eyebrow. Is it just him or is Kazuya really looks troubled? Then Youichi smirks. "Oho, I think I know why" he thought with his signature laugh. Kazuya glances at him before returning his gaze back to the book. Honestly, the numbers hadn't been registering in his mind long before Youichi arrived. Oddly enough, he seems to focus more now that Youichi is standing in front of him. Having more than one distraction appears to be the formula for taking Naoki off his mind. Oh, which reminds him. Kazuya put his book down.

"Oi, are you a woman or something?" he asks casually, propping his cheek with his left hand as he stared at Youichi lazily.

"Huh? What are you yapping about, Miyuki?" Youichi growled, his mouth turning up in a sneer.

"Heh, I didn't know you swing in that direction Kuramochi" he smirks, "though I guess that's something where you're good at, aside from running of course. Among other else, you suck, that includes batting by the way" he ends with a cheeky laugh which further pissed Youichi off. He grabs Kazuya's collar, veins popping in his head as he glares at Kazuya.

"What's your problem, huh?" he uttered through gritted teeth, eyes flaring ominously. Kazuya gave a shrug, not the least bit intimidated and sent Youichi a grin. Youichi's brow twitched, losing his temperance in the face of Kazuya's shit-eating grin. His hold tightened and he started shaking Kazuya, much to the annoyance of their classmates.

"Ugh, they are at it again"

"Really, those two..tsk, tsk, tsk"

"I didn't do anything" Youichi growled while continuing to shake Kazuya. Kazuya's eyes flashed and suddenly, his visage turned serious.

"You didn't but your mouth sure can run miles" he said quietly and without vehemence. Youichi blinks and he pause from shaking Kazuya. The latter took Youichi's hand away from his collar and straightened it, then he turned his attention back to the book, reading quietly and losing his previous grin. He bit the inside of his cheek, trying to regain his composure and he clenches his hands. Ah, he really doesn't like losing his temper. Meanwhile, Youichi stares dumbfounded at Kazuya. He doesn't understand the latter's words and he sure as hell doesn't get why he looks so mad right now. Unless…Youichi smirks as it finally dawned to him the source of Kazuya's sudden change of mood.

"Oho" Youichi grins, moving his face near Kazuya and while grinning, whispers, "It's about Naoki-chan, isn't it?" Kazuya sent him a dark look which prompted Youichi to grin even wider. Kazuya's mouth tilted upwards though Youichi can see in his eyes the flare of annoyance when he heard Youichi call Naoki by her first name.

"Hehe, you can't hide anything from me, Miyuki" he thought, snickering. Before Kazuya can say his reply, Youichi muttered, "well, it's true, isn't it? That the two of you broke up." Kazuya laughed at him.

"Where did you get that? Is there something wrong with your brain? With the way you concluded Fujioka-chan and my relationship, I'm ashamed to conclude that you're no better than Sawamura" Kazuya said with a sigh which irritated Youichi to no end. Then, Kazuya laughed again, rubbing the back of his head.

"At least you can run fast so you're not totally useless" Kazuya ends with another laugh. But instead of it irritating Youichi further, a thought came to him.

"Miyuki, by any chance are you bothered I told them the two of you broke up?" Youichi asks seriously. Kazuya blinked.

"Huh?" Kazuya laughed again. "Of course not, it's just, it would be horrible if Fujioka hears about this especially when they are not true" he reasoned, chuckling in spite of Youichi's searing stare. Youichi is not convinced, not even the slightest but if that's the way Kazuya is going then he'll let it go. Youichi smirks.

"Eh, really? Well, my bad. I guess I misunderstood the situation. I mean, the two of you looked like you broke up with the way you guys are avoiding each other after being so chummy," Youichi said laughing as he remembers the times he had witnessed them switching to different routes so as not to bump into each other. Kazuya didn't laugh alongside him and instead, bowed his head. It would have been better if they hadn't been friends from the start. He wouldn't be feeling this way at all.

"Um, do you still have leftover food?" Naoki asks, peeking from the door of the dormitory's cafeteria. The middle-aged couple providing the food for the players turn from the sink. The man is holding a cabbage while the woman is grasping a spatula. They shared a look then beamed at her.

"Fujioka-san, we were worried since you didn't come this morning. It seems you overslept, eh?" the woman said, laughing as she put the spoon down and wiped her hand from a towel she hides inside the pocket of her apron. She walks to her and grasps her hand. Her husband gave Naoki a smile as he continues with his work. His wife tugged her hand and pulled her to a small table in the corner.

"Well, just sit there and we'll see what we can make up for you" she said with a motherly smile. Naoki smiled, relaxing in her seat. She thought she'd be scolded for going inside and asking for food but she wasn't, instead, she was greeted warmly and was shown to a seat. "How nice" she thought, observing them as they work. She saw their deft hands roam around the counter and within a minute they scrapped a nice meal for her.

"Thank you and I apologize for the bother" she said, scratching her cheek shyly. The woman smiled in return and patted her head.

"It's not a problem. Making food no matter what the hour is our pleasure" she assured as she and her husband once again shared a glance.

"Um, this is embarrassing but I'm sorry, I don't know your name ma'am" Naoki said, a bit pink in the ears.

"Oh dear," the woman laughed "that's okay, we haven't been fully introduced, although we know you of course" she said, taking the seat beside Naoki and sat.

"I'm Choshi Hana, and over there is my husband, Choshi Saki" Hana introduced softly, pointing out her husband who gave Naoki a small smile and a nod before turning his back and returning to his work. Naoki stood and bowed to each of them from her spot.

"Nice to meet you, Choshi-san" she said and smiled.

"Thank you for the food" she added before returning to her seat and starting her meal. Hana stood and gave Naoki a smile. She patted Naoki's shoulder and quietly returned to the counter.

While eating, Naoki watched them as they work. The two looks like they are dancing the way they flitted here and there in the small room. Not only that, when they pass utensils around, they don't ask or utter a word, it's like the two are in sync with each other and knows what the other is thinking without saying a word, merely a fleeting look that says it all. As Naoki sees it, this small space that they made their domain sparkles with happiness and love, giving a feeling of warmth to any who enters. They looked so happy together. Contented.

"Hmm, it would be nice to have such a relationship with someone" she thought and Kazuya's face came unbidden at the forefront of her mind. Naoki froze and then she blushed. She stared at her food, trying to calm down her rapidly beating heart. It took her minutes to cool herself down and when she finally sighed in relief, Naoki saw the side door of the kitchen is open. She looked around and found that she's all alone. Where did they go?

Naoki then hears laughter outside. Curious, she stood from her seat and peeks from the door.

"Oh!" she gasps and Hana twisted her head to look at her from her crouch position, a smile plastered on her face while her husband continues to pet Mamoru's white fur. Seeming to sense that his master is around, Mamoru raised his head from the bowl of food that the couple gave to him and barks at her happily.

"He's been coming here to eat lately" Hana explained, standing and coming up to her. "I apologize, we don't mean to harm him or anything, it's just that Saki is very fond of dogs."

"Ah, it's not a problem. I was surprised, that's all. Mamo, you see, rarely interacts with people he hadn't seen me with so it's really quite a shock to see him allowing someone to pet him and feeding him at the same time" Naoki said with a laugh.

"Maybe that's why he is getting fatter?" Naoki joked which earned her a laugh from Hana.

"Oh my, I hope not"

Naoki gazes at Mamoru. Looks like he found new friends here. She turned to Hana and bowed.

"Thank you for taking good care of him" Naoki said, smiling softly as she straightens and returned her stare back to the dog.

"Yosha!" Eijun shouted after changing to his baseball attire. He took a deep breath and then started running, leaving Haruichi behind who sighs, watching the dust Eijun left in his wake. Haruichi shook his head and took his wooden bat. Really, Eijun never slows down when it comes to practice.

"First, I'll practice the four-seam, and then I'll ask Chris-senpai to catch for me. But I don't think he'll accept though" Eijun thought in the middle of running to his practice spot. He shook his head "No, no, no. I've been doing well, I think, so I might get a chance of pitching later on and then I'll show that Furuya my new and powerful pitch" he laughed loudly which earned him weird glances from the people he passes by.

"You watch out, Furuya" he grins and boosts his run even further. Although it's quite boring to pitch against a net.

"Grryaaah!" Eijun shouted as he runs.

He must persevere. He must persevere. He must—

"Eh?" Eijun halted mid-run, his knee still up in the air and his arms frozen from their swinging. He had arrived at his spot but there's an unusual sight before him. Instead of the usual one net, there are two and the other is beside his. Now, that wouldn't really entitle a shocked response but in Eijun's case what made him speechless was the site of Naoki.

"Oh, Sawamura-kun, you're here. I hope you don't mind sharing this spot with me" Naoki greeted with a smile, her hand holding a ball and spinning it on the said hand.

"Fu-fujioka-senpai, why are you here?" Eijun asks, mechanically nearing Naoki.

"Starting from this day, Fujioka will be training alongside you, Sawamura" Chris said as he enters with Rei following closely behind him.

"Eh? Really? I thought only the first year pitchers are training under Chris-senpai," Eijun muttered then he lightened up. "Could this be a training for aces? That would explain Fujioka-senpai's appearance but that also means I'm training too? Wait, there's still Furuya. Grr.." Throughout it all and unbeknownst to Eijun, his facial expressions change with his thoughts and, witnessing it, Naoki quietly chuckles at the play of emotions, shaking her head at Eijun's openness.

"I wish I can be that open" she quietly mused, then her eyes lowered, wearing a nostalgic look. It took a lot of time but she finally admitted to herself the reason for her longing and in doing so, she cried. As the dam of tears descended last night. Naoki finally felt at peace, it's as if she's stepping in this new path of her life without any guilt, without any shackles to hold her back.

It was a final goodbye.

"Fujioka-senpai, are you okay?"

Naoki snaps from her thoughts with Eijun's inquiry. Her eyes landed on Eijun's worried gaze, held it for a second, then turned her head to stare up the sky. So blue and wide. It was refreshing to see small clouds passing by and the harsh rays of the sun far from her line of sight.

It was beautiful.

Naoki closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She exhaled and with a smile, turned to Eijun.

"Never been better"