Chapter Twenty-eight
~ The very first part of this chapter is a continuation from chapter 16. Everything afterward is in the present. ~
Stepping out of Harajuku station, Kazuya squinted up at the sky, and then looked down at his watch. It was just barely past five – the sun wouldn't be setting for at least another hour.
Which also meant that the Seidō baseball team was probably right in the middle of their afternoon practice.
He had been in such a rush to come here, that such details had somehow managed to slip his mind. Before he knew it, he'd found himself sitting on a seat in the Shinkansen headed to Tokyo, still dressed in the clothes he'd attended lectures in earlier that morning, and tightly holding an umbrella that was dripping rainwater from its tip onto his shoes. And now, two and a half hours later and about 7,000 yen poorer, Kazuya was stranded in front of a station with nothing to do for at least another two hours.
Taking out his smartphone, Kazuya quickly sent a short text message, before putting it back in his pocket. Then, hefting his backpack up his shoulder, he began walking. The streets were crowded with the mute colors of passing cars and people streaming across the crosswalk.
Despite having been gone from the city for only a few weeks, it felt a little strange being back. Had the cars always sped by this quickly? Had there always been this many people?
As he walked further on, veering away from the main roads, the cars and the people disappeared. Eventually, his feet came to a step and Kazuya found himself staring up at a huge torii gate.
The path from there was long and lined with thickening trees. There were a few other people there, but it was nowhere near as crowded as it had been when he had last visited on New Years. It was quiet, almost unnaturally so. And yet there was so much green everywhere, that it felt as though something was missing – and soon enough, Kazuya realized that what was missing was the crying sound of cicadas. It was too early in the year for them to come out, but it was startling to realize the meaning of the silence. The cicadas had always come and gone without his notice every summer.
Kazuya felt relieved when he finally saw the shrine in the distance.
Slowly climbing up the stairs, he drew past the wooden columns and stepped into the shade of the shrine building. The offering boxes came into view. When he'd last been there, there had been so many people that the offering boxes had been taken out from the shrine. Thousands of people had lined up to pray – but now, he was the only one standing there. And while he hadn't had anything to ask for the last time, now...
Digging his hand into his pocket, he pulled out a 50 yen coin and tossed it into the offering box. Bowing, he clapped his hands, and then bowed again. He closed his eyes.
By the time Kazuya left, the sky had darkened into rich shades of red and orange.
He walked down the long winding path, and soon, the trees thinned out into buildings and streets. There were even more people than there had been before walking all around him, and the air was thick with the sound of the crowd's chatter. And yet somehow, he felt as alone as he had back at the near-empty shrine.
Suddenly, something in his jacket pocket vibrated.
Shifting his backpack to the other shoulder, Kazuya moved to the side of the street and pulled out his phone. The LED screen had lit up: You have 1 new message.
Unlocking his phone, Kazuya opened the message. After a few seconds, he smiled.
With the front two seats taken by the driver and Coach Kataoka, there were three seats left available in the car that was headed to the hospital.
"Kuramochi, Masuko," called out the coach, his brow furrowed. "You're Sawamura's roommates."
"Yes, sir," Yōichi and Masuko immediately answered. Stepping forward to stand behind the coach, Yōichi turned around to face the rest of their teammates.
The mood had considerably lightened from the elation of their recent victory. However, while it was nowhere near as tense as it had been back in the dugout, a pervasive grim silence still hung over them.
"There's one more seat," said the coach. "Is there anyone else who would like to go?"
Uncertainly, the boys shifted in their positions and shot glances at each other. As the seconds passed, it was apparent that an increasing number of these glances were aimed in the direction of a certain member standing in the front row – but he didn't move.
Finally, Chris stepped forward, his jaw taut with quiet worry. Yōichi's hands curled into fists by his sides.
Coach Kataoka turned to talk to the driver, and the rest of the team began to file onto the bus that would take them back to their school grounds.
Yōichi took a deep breath. "Yo, Miyuki."
Miyuki came to a slow stop. "What?"
"C'mere for a sec."
With a glance back at the bus doors, Miyuki wordlessly followed Yōichi to the other side of the vehicle. For several seconds, Yōichi stared at the catcher – but with his face angled slightly to the side and the sunlight reflecting straight down at them, he couldn't make out his expression.
"Why aren't you going to see Sawamura?" he finally asked in a low voice.
Miyuki shoved his hands into his pockets. "I thought Chris-senpai should go."
"Bullshit," Yōichi snapped. "That's complete bullshit."
"Why do you care?"
Yōichi felt a muscle in his forehead twitch, as for a second, he seriously considered slamming the other boy to the ground. It was clear Miyuki was worried about Sawamura – so why couldn't he just admit it and go to the damn hospital with them?
Holding himself back, he grounded out, "This is Sawamura we're talking about, you realize? He's our team's pitcher. Your pitcher. You're the one Sawamura's always hanging out with. You should visit him."
"Visit and do what?" Miyuki said drily. "Peel apples?"
Yōichi scowled. "No! I don't know. Just - just sit by his bedside. Or…maybe he's awake, and you could talk to him."
"Sitting by someone's bedside won't save them," said Miyuki with a hard look. "No matter how long you stay there."
Yōichi opened his mouth – and then closed it. What do you say to that?
Before he could think of a reply, he heard his name being called. Shooting Miyuki an exasperated glare, Yōichi headed back around and saw Masuko standing outside the car, the others already waiting inside. Picking up his pace, with an apology, he climbed in the car.
The door slammed shut, and the car began to back out. From the window, Yōichi saw Miyuki stepping up the stairs to the bus.
"What happened?" Masuko muttered from the side of his mouth. On Yōichi's other side, he saw Chris level a concerned look at them.
"It's nothing," he muttered back, shaking his head. Under his breath, he added, "Miyuki just being an idiot as usual."
"…Game set! Inashiro Vocational School advances to the semifinals! What a magnificent shutout as the ace, Narumiya, passed on the baton to Iguchi. Now, all four stadiums have finished their games and we have our four semifinalists. From Block A, Seidō High School, with a relay of four pitchers. From Block B, Sakurazawa High School, a public school with top-notch education. From Block C, Inashiro Vocational, the winners of last year's tournament. And from Block D, Sensen Academy, the veteran quarterfinalist of the west. Which school will win a ticket to the dream stage? The first game will start at 10:00 AM in two days – "
The TV screen blinked off, and Chris lowered the remote control. "That's it. With Inashiro's win, we have all four semifinalists."
"So we're up against…Sakurazawa?" Isashiki growled. "Can't say I expected that."
Pulling out a notebook, Chris flipped to a page. "A famous academic high school, and the only public school in the prefecture's semifinals. They've lost in the first round for the past twenty years. However this year, they've got an ace with a knuckleball, and have managed to keep all the games they've played in this summer so far, low scoring."
Murmurs filled the meeting room.
"A knuckleball?"
"I didn't even know Sakurazawa had a baseball team."
"The dark horse of this tournament, then?"
"I know you all must be wondering about Sawamura," said Coach Kataoka from the front of the room, and immediately, the noise level dropped to silence.
Though they all had seen the car drive into the driveway, the coach had gathered them right away for the game meeting, and nobody had gotten the chance to talk to the members who'd gone to the hospital.
The coach motioned at the assistant director, who stepped forward, and everyone straightened in their seats.
Pushing up her glasses, Rei looked around at them. "Sawamura-kun has been drifting in and out of consciousness, but he's not in critical condition. The doctor says it's a side effect of his concussion, and once his condition stabilizes, he should be able to return to campus."
In a sigh of collective relief, feeling as though a heavy burden had been taken of their shoulders, the members relaxed into their chairs, some even smiling.
"On that note, however, Sawamura will not be able to pitch for the semifinal game in two days," said the coach. With that in mind, about our starting pitcher…I'm thinking about going with Tanba. Can you do it?"
Tanba nodded. "Yes, sir!"
While the other third-years smiled at their friend, the coach continued on. "Kawakami, I know it's a tough job, but be ready to go as usual."
"I…yes. Yes, sir." Kawakami said, squeezing his hands together.
Coach Kataoka looked toward the very back row, where the underclassmen were seated. "And Furuya. It'll be hard with your stamina, but I'll need you to start warming up midgame as well." Furuya, who had been slumping in his seat, visibly brightened. "Tanba, Kawakami, Furuya. I've been asking a lot of you pitchers, but with Sawamura injured, I'll need you all to pick up the reigns for the semifinals. You can do it, right?" The three pitchers nodded. "That's it for the regular players then. Finish up early and get a lot of rest."
"Yes sir!"
Throwing himself back on the mattress of his bed, Kazuya looked up at the wooden slats of the above bunk bed.
It had been a long day. His muscles were sore, and while he usually reveled in the feeling, he just felt tired at that moment. But at the same time, he didn't want to go to sleep – not yet.
Lying down on his stomach, Kazuya turned his head to face the wall.
They would be facing Sakurazawa in two days, then. And their ace pitcher threw a knuckleball… That was rare. The knuckleball was different from other pitches – thrown so as to minimize its spin in flight, its trajectory was erratic. Every pitch was different, meaning that not only was it a difficult pitch to hit, it was a difficult pitch to throw and catch. Mastering the knuckleball could take years. Had their ace pitcher spent his entire high school baseball life learning to throw that one ball? And had their catcher spent his entire high school baseball life learning how to catch it?
Kazuya felt his mouth draw back in a wry smile. They must've been practically married to one another.
As for how they would prepare to hit a knuckleball…it was hard to say. It wasn't as though they could really practice hitting an unpredictable ball. In the end, it would all come down to how consistent their ace was at throwing it and placing it in the strike zone.
Kazuya turned his head again. Listlessly, his gaze wandered around his room, before coming to a rest on his desk and chair. His books were neatly stacked on the side – but they were all textbooks and sports magazines, and for once, he didn't feel like looking through them.
He raised his head, as for a split second, he wondered if he should go and borrow a different sort of magazine from Kuramochi – and then almost immediately, recalled that no, he didn't particularly want to. He let his head drop.
The room was still. The lighting felt bright and overly warm. From the open window, he could hear the sound of crying cicadas.
Minminminmin.
His gaze drifted – and suddenly came to an uneasy stop on a box by his lamp. It was white and brown, with the words 'Every Burger' emblazoned in cheery block lettering across the top.
Kazuya pushed himself up. Getting up, he paced the room several times. He stopped. He raised a hand and rubbed the back of his neck.
He sighed.
Maybe I'll get a drink from the vending machine.
First patting his pockets down to check if there were any coins—there were none—he walked across the room to his basket of clothes. He knew he had a few couple of 100 yen coins left in his school uniform pants. Rummaging through the basket, Kazuya tossed aside a pair of sweats, some old boxers, a sweater –
His stomach twisting, he stopped just short of letting go of the arm of the sweater.
The summer was too hot now to wear such a thick top. The last time he'd worn it had been in its early months, when the nights were still chilly. In fact, the last person to wear it had been…
"I'll wash it for you."
"And risk my sweater smelling like you? Just give it back to me in the morning."
Sitting heavily down on the floor, Kazuya dropped the sweater back into the basket. He leaned back, until he was lying on his back, looking up at the blank ceiling.
…Damn.
Feeling refreshed, Wakana stepped out of the bathroom, letting out a content sigh as the cooler air met her face. Tipping her hair to the side to dry it with her towel, she called out, "Mom! I'm done with the bath."
She turned to head to her bedroom – but when her mother didn't respond, she hesitated. Still drying her hair, she began to pad her way to the living room. "Mom?" Her mother was standing by the counter talking in low tones into the phone, and just as Wakana stepped into the room, she put down the handset. Slowly she turned around, a troubled expression on her face, and Wakana felt her heartbeat begin to slightly pick up. "Mom?"
"Oh, Wakana," said her mother, looking faintly surprised to see her. "You're done with your bath?"
"What's the matter? Is something wrong?"
Her mother raised a worried hand to the side of her mouth. "I just got a call from Sawamura-san. Apparently, Eijun-kun got in an accident at his game today."
Stiffening, Wakana dropped her towel. "Ei-chan?! Is he okay?!"
"His parents and grandpa are already in Tokyo, at his hospital – "
"He's in the hospital?!"
"Sawamura-san sounded terrified, the poor woman. She said the doctors said it's only a concussion, but for some reason, he hasn't woken up yet…Wakana, where are you going?!"
Feeling sick, her heart pounding, Wakana raced back to her room and immediately began rifling through her closet for her clothes. She had to tell Nobu and the others…and if at all possible, they would be on the train to Tokyo first thing in the morning, to see their friend.
Her cellphone raised to her ear, Rei walked along the path separating the two fields. "…Yes, of course. I hope your stay at the hotel was accommodating? …I'm glad. No, it is no problem at all. We are all worried for Sawamura-kun as well. …Yes, I understand. I'll be there by..." She glanced down at her watch. "Nine, then. Yes, thank you, goodbye."
Ending the call, Rei lowered the phone.
The day before, she had contacted Sawamura's family as soon as she'd found the opportunity, and they had arrived in Tokyo around evening time. They had been understandably quite worried, but if she could take the mother's tone of voice as an indicator, they seemed to have relatively calmed down since then.
Raising a hand to her glasses and adjusting them, Rei looked down at her watch again, and began to head to her car.
It was terrible that Sawamura had met with such an unfortunate accident during the game. She would have felt the same had it been any of the Seidō boys – but having been the one to personally scout him, she admittedly felt a certain attachment to Sawamura.
As she passed by the fields, Rei noticed that they were empty. The boys had been jogging earlier that morning, but they were probably eating breakfast now.
Just as her Honda Civic came into view, Rei stopped. "Miyuki-kun? What're you doing here?"
Dressed in casual clothes and with his hands in his pockets, Miyuki was standing by her car.
"Rei-chan," he said, shifting. "Coach Kataoka told me to wait for you here."
"Coach Kataoka?" Rei reached into her handbag for her keys. "Why?"
"To go with you to the hospital."
She paused. The hospital?
That was…surprising. She knew Miyuki didn't like hospitals. Rei hadn't been surprised to not count him among Sawamura's visitors the day before. After all, when Chris had gotten injured the year before and been temporarily hospitalized, Miyuki had refused to go visit – even when she knew how much he'd admired Chris.
So for Miyuki to go to the hospital of his own volition…
Rei hid a smile. "Alright then. Get in."
Pushing past glass doors, Kazuya was met with the all-too familiar sight of the reception room. People were seated and flipping through magazines, or pacing back and forth in small circles. The doors pushed open, and a group of nurses bustled out, clipboards held in their arms.
Worried faces, anxious faces, bored faces, excited faces – it was the same sight, as always. And while the smell of antiseptic wasn't quite as potent, as he followed Rei from the counter to the elevator, he could already begin to catch whiffs of it.
Others joined them on the elevator, but most of them got off on the third floor, and then it was just him, Rei, and a tired-looking doctor. They were quiet, letting the faint elevator music filter around them.
They hadn't talked much in the car, for which Kazuya was grateful. If it had been anyone else, he probably wouldn't have bothered asking – but Rei was the kind of person who, while keen-eyed, knew when to mind her own business.
The elevator doors opened, and they stepped out, leaving the weary doctor to continue his ascent alone. Kazuya trailed after Rei. Her heels clicked loudly on the floor, masking the sound of his own footsteps.
Finally, she came to a stop in front of a door. She raised her hand and rapped firmly with her knuckles. After a few seconds, the door opened, to reveal a middle-aged woman with short brown hair.
Kazuya froze, and took an automatic step back.
"Takashima-san!" Sounding welcome, the woman drew the door back even further to reveal two men—one of whom he recognized as Sawamura's grandfather—sitting by a hospital bed.
"Sawamura-san, it's good to see you again," Rei said warmly. She turned to Kazuya with a smile, and grabbed his arm in a pincer-like hold. "Come on in, Miyuki-kun."
Feeling himself sweat, Kazuya followed her in.
"Miyuki-kun, was it?" The woman, who could only be Sawamura's mother, said.
"Ah…yes," Kazuya said, bowing his head. "I'm Miyuki Kazuya, a member of Seidō's baseball team."
"You're their catcher, aren't you?" said the grandfather. "I remember you from the game!"
Kazuya quickly turned and bowed again in their direction.
"I'm Eijun's dad," said the man sporting a pompadour. "So if you're the catcher…you must be Eijun's catcher?"
"My son must always be giving you so much trouble," said Sawamura's mother, looking embarrassed.
"It's no trouble at all," he said politely.
"That idiot grandson of mine has been making trouble since the day he was born early," the grandfather snorted. Then, turning back around to the bed, his face softened. "But he's grown since he went to Seidō."
"Please, Takashima-san, Miyuki-kun, take a seat," said the mother, gesturing to the chairs by the other side.
"Thank you," said Rei, and they sat down.
"Would you like some apples?" The mother raised a tray of sliced apples to them.
Kazuya opened his mouth to decline – but suddenly feeling embarrassed, he instead quietly accepted a slice.
"Have there been any updates on his condition?" Rei asked.
Sawamura's mother's face fell.
"The doctor seems perplexed as to why Eijun isn't stabilizing," the father explained. "They're suggesting that if he doesn't completely gain consciousness by evening, they'll retake his brain scans."
"He'll be fine, he's tough," the grandfather said gruffly, though he looked as though he was trying to convince himself at the same time. "I raised Eijun, remember, and I've never held back from smacking him when he deserved it. A ball to the head is nothing."
"Maybe it was bound to happen," the mother began to sniffle. "Baseball is a dangerous sport, after all…"
"The doctor said Eijun got lucky," said the father. "If the line drive had hit Eijun directly on the head, the injury could have been a lot more serious. But it bounced off his glove before hitting him, so he got away with just a concussion." He turned to look down at his son, a faintly proud look on his face. "He'll be alright."
"He's worked so hard," the mother said softly. "He has to." Wiping a tear from her eye, she laughed embarrassedly. "I'm sorry, I've been quite emotional all morning."
"No, it's quite understandable," said Rei. She checked her wristwatch. "You've been here for several hours already, haven't you? Have you had breakfast?"
"Well…we ate our ekiben leftovers at the hotel," said the father.
"And Hanako's been peeling apples this whole time," added the grandfather.
"You must be hungry," said Rei, getting up. "Please, it's not much, but allow me to treat you to breakfast in the cafeteria."
"Oh no, we couldn't," the mother said hastily. "You've already paid for our train and hotel expenses…"
"It's the least I could do when Sawamura-kun was injured while in our care," said Rei firmly. "Please, I insist."
"I would," said the mother, wringing her hands, "But I don't want Eijun to wake up with nobody in the room…Dear, how about you take grandpa and get breakfast with Takashima-san?"
"But what about you?" the father frowned.
Kazuya cleared his throat. "If you don't mind – I can stay."
The others in the room all turned to stare at Kazuya.
"Are you sure?" asked the grandfather. "You haven't had breakfast either, have you?"
"I had cereal before coming here," he said.
"Well…" Sawamura's family looked at each other uncertainly. "If you're sure…"
After a short pause, and murmured thanks, they got up and left the room with Rei. The door closed, muting the sound of their conversation, and then it was quiet.
Now, it was just Kazuya in the room.
Relaxing against the back of his chair, he exhaled.
He had not expected Sawamura's family to be there. He supposed he should have. It was only natural, he supposed, that parents would come running if their son was in the hospital. But somehow, the possibility of it had completely slipped his mind.
Kazuya leaned forward, resting his elbows on the bedside.
…
To be truthful, Sawamura just looked like he was sleeping. There were bandages running around his head, but besides that, he looked the same as he always had on the bus, his head lolling against the bus window.
Leaning back again, Kazuya looked up at the ceiling, beginning to feel increasingly stupid.
After all, it wasn't as though his being there was doing any good. Sawamura was still unconscious, and he could've been spending this time in the batting cage or catching for one of the other pitchers. Kawakami in particular hadn't looked good. The semifinals was tomorrow. What was he doing? It wasn't like Sawamura was going to wake up just because Kazuya was sitting there.
He'd even gone and made things awkward with Kuramochi by not going to the hospital with them. But how could he have, when the others had all been staring at him like that?
Crossing his arms, Kazuya looked down at the other boy's sleeping form. "Oi, Sawamura…Wake up already, so we can go home."
Half-heartedly, he waited – but of course, Sawamura didn't move.
A nurse came by soon afterward to change Sawamura's IV line, and not wanting to get in the way, Kazuya headed to the lounge. It was a quiet space, with a few armchairs and a couple of vending machines in the corner.
Slipping in a coin, he pressed the button for black coffee, and a second later, the black can came rolling out in the dispenser. Picking it up, he was about to head back – when he paused.
Turning around, Kazuya looked around at the available drink selection. Mango tea, orange juice, honey milk latte, black coffee, cocoa latte, pocari sweat, green tea, barley tea, nata de coco, asa no yoo…
What did Sawamura like?
Kazuya tried to remember – but though they'd gone to the vending machines on their campus multiple times together, he couldn't remember Sawamura ever showing any real preference for a particular drink.
Something twinged in his chest. Sawamura had somehow always known what he'd liked, showing up at his door with his favorite drinks and snacks. Kazuya had to admit, the younger boy was a lot more attentive than he looked. Either that, or he was psychic.
Finally, Kazuya pressed a button, and another drink dropped to the dispenser. Scooping that up as well, he began to walk back to the room.
Without Rei in her heels walking in front of him, his footsteps resounded just slightly through the hallway.
There were more people around than there had been just a few minutes ago. The hospital was coming to life, with more people pouring out of the elevators. Phones from the reception desks were ringing and doctors and nurses were walking with more urgency from ward to ward. And yet somehow, he felt as alone as he had in his room the night before.
Turning the corner, Kazuya opened the door to the room – and came to a stop as for a brief instant, he forgot how to breathe.
Sawamura, who had been sitting upright and holding his arm out for the nurse to take his blood pressure, blinked back at him.
Kazuya swallowed thickly, and felt his hand, still wrapped over the doorknob, tighten. "Finally decided to wake up, Sawamura?" His eyes wide, like a blind man that had just seen the world for the first time, Sawamura mutely continued to stare. Struck by a sudden possibility, Kazuya's throat suddenly turned dry. His stomach churning, he turned to the nurse. "Is something wrong with…?"
But at that, Sawamura shook his head, and then wincing, stopped.
"I'm fine, senpai," he said, his face splitting into a wide smile. But even as he smiled, fat tears began to leak from his eyes and drip down his face. "I'm just happy to see you."
A/N: *Trumpets fanfare* Our hero has returned!
Thanks for your supportive reviews/kudos/comments.
(I have no idea what Sawamura's mother's name is so I just gave her my grandma's name.)
