Author Notes: Here it is! The long-awaited backstory part. Hope it doesn't disappoint those who have been looking forward to it.
This is set during Act I. Act I events (mainly the games) will happen in the background, and everything else that happened will stay the same.
This is part four of my Summer Sky series, but you don't need to read the other parts to read this part.
I hope y'all enjoy it!
Last Year's Summer Sky
Chapter 1: Chance Meeting
Eijun wasn't lost.
He just… didn't know where he was.
It wasn't his fault.
He didn't know this part of town, but Kuramochi-senpai still insisted on sending him out on an errand, claiming that even an idiot like him couldn't get lost.
… It looked like he proved his senpai wrong.
Unfortunately, given the situation he found himself in, he couldn't find it in himself to feel smug.
He groaned loudly, turning the hand drawn map around in his hand.
Maybe if he looked at it from a different angle?
Seriously, how was he supposed to find anything with this map? Did his senpai forget that he didn't know Tokyo?
He walked around, glancing at the map every now and then to make sure he was going the right way. Several minutes later, he groaned loudly, noticing the music store from earlier.
"Didn't I just pass through here?" He looked down at the map, eyes widening as he belatedly realized something. He let out a distressed yell, holding the sides of his head with both hands. "This is bad! It can't be… I'm lost? Again?"
His teammates (especially Miyuki Kazuya) would never let him live this down if they found out.
"What should I do?"
"Oi, you. What are you doing?"
Eijun perked up at the voice, eyes lighting up.
That's right! He could just ask someone for help! Why didn't he think of that earlier?
He turned in the direction he heard the voice coming from, looking relieved. "I was wondering if I could ask for some directions—" He cut himself off, narrowing his eyes as he recognized the boy in front of him and pointing at him. "Aah! You're that spy from Inajitsu! Here to spy on us again?"
"It was you who kept talking." Mei frowned, eyebrows furrowing at the sight of the Seidou player by himself. "Did your team abandon you here or something?"
"Hah? What makes you think they abandoned me?" Eijun glared at him, placing his hands on his hips. "I'll have you know that I'm the guy who will become Seidou's future ace!" He puffed his chest out proudly.
Mei's lips twitched. "If someone like you becomes Seidou's ace, we won't have to worry about Seidou anymore."
Eijun blinked a few times. Was that a compliment?
But how could it be a compliment, coming from the enemy?
He narrowed his eyes, pointing at him again. "You'll see! I'll become Seidou's ace, and we'll beat Inajitsu! Then we'll go to Koushien!"
"Beat us? You?" Mei laughed, giving him a condescending smirk. "That will never happen." He felt amused as the first year gave him a glare, hands forming fists at his sides.
Eijun huffed, turning around and walking away.
He couldn't believe the nerve of that guy. And to think that he (somewhat) looked up to him.
As a fellow southpaw pitcher, of course. Nothing more.
Well, unfortunately for him, he didn't have time for this. All he wanted was to finish this errand and go back to practicing his pitching.
He stopped in his tracks after a few steps, realizing belatedly that he… still didn't know where he was going.
And that he would have to ask for directions.
Mei watched, amused but also a little confused as the first year stopped walking after a few steps.
Was this guy an idiot?
He clearly didn't know where he was going, and fortunately for him, he was the only one he could ask for directions.
Thankfully, it seemed he realized this, turning around a few moments later.
He almost laughed at his expression.
The kid wasn't even trying to hide the obvious displeasure on his face. And while normally he would feel offended (because didn't this kid realize who he was), he couldn't help but feel amused at how… easily this guy wore his heart on his sleeve.
He couldn't help but snort, shaking his head.
And to think that this guy was a pitcher.
"What are you laughing at? You think this is funny?" Eijun glared at him. If he wasn't going to help him, he would go ask someone else.
Maybe someone in the music store knew the streets of Tokyo?
Mei laughed, waving his hand offhandedly. "Relax. I wasn't laughing at you." He almost laughed again at the suspicious look. "Weren't you going to ask me for directions?" he reminded, smirking at his surprised look.
Eijun pursed his lips, looking around them a few times to confirm that there wasn't anyone else he could ask. Unfortunately for him, there wasn't.
And unless he wanted to go inside the music store and ask one of their employees (which would only waste more time), he had to ask the boy in front of him.
He gritted his teeth, reluctantly holding out the hand drawn map. "… And you know the streets of Tokyo?"
"Oi! What do you mean by that? I've lived here my whole life!" Mei snatched the piece of paper roughly, giving him an annoyed look at the skeptical expression.
How dare this kid doubt him?
Who did he think he was?
Eijun's eyes widened, strangely feeling hopeful. If it was true that he lived here his whole life, then he should be able to help him.
He stepped closer, pointing at the two clearly marked spots on the map. "I'm looking for a bookstore and the closest convenience store. My senpai said they weren't too far away from each other."
And as for getting back to Seidou…
… Well, he'll deal with that when that time came. No use thinking about it now.
Mei briefly looked up from the map, noticing that he stepped closer to him. From up close, he looked even more handsome. Especially in his casual clothes.
The kid wore a white t-shirt with gray pants and black sneakers. He also wore a blue hooded jacket that could be buttoned up. A white drawstring bag was over his shoulder.
He shook his head, looking back down at the map, missing the kid's confused look.
(… Now probably wasn't the best time to be checking him out. And while he should probably care more that he was checking out the enemy, he couldn't find it in himself to care.)
"Ah, I know where those are," he said, humming as he studied the map.
If the kid had this map, how the hell did he get lost?
Eijun couldn't help himself. He stepped closer, eyes lighting up. "Really? Can you help me?"
Mei looked up to answer, almost needing to look away at the bright smile on his face. After handing back the map, he pointed in the right direction. "Just keep going straight. Soon, you'll reach an ice cream shop. The bookstore should be on the left, and the convenience store will be a little further down on the corner of the next street."
Eijun beamed, causing Mei's breath to catch in his throat. "Thank you very much!" He bowed quickly before turning around, almost skipping as he made his way down the street.
Only to yelp as the boy grabbed his hood and yanked him back to his side.
"Were you even looking when I pointed out the right direction?" Mei glared at him, clicking his tongue when the boy only gave him a sheepish grin. "… I suppose it can't be helped. I'll personally lead you there. You better be grateful."
Eijun's jaw dropped.
He was joking, right?
"You don't need to do that! I'll be alright on my own!" He huffed at the skeptical look. "I was… just a little disoriented. That" -he waved a hand to indicate what just happened- "won't happen again."
Mei walked in the right direction, pulling (almost dragging) him with him, causing him to squawk. "You're right. It won't happen again. Because I'll be with you."
Eijun spluttered, unable to stop himself from flushing.
Seriously, what was wrong with this guy? One moment, he was being mean and laughing at him. And then the next moment, he was offering his help and actually… being kind to him.
He was so confusing!
"But what about you? Weren't you going somewhere?"
Mei looked back at him before shrugging. "Not really. I just wanted to enjoy my day off from practice."
"Let go! I'll be alright on my own!"
Mei stopped, letting go (much to his relief) and turning around fully to face him. Eijun turned around to face him, narrowing his eyes at his skeptical expression.
"What?" he barked.
"How can I believe that you'll be alright when you can't even read a map?"
Eijun hated that he blushed, crumpling the piece of paper in one hand as he formed fists at his sides. "That isn't my fault! I'm not from Tokyo!" he yelled.
And before he could respond, he marched past him, grumbling under his breath about city people.
Unfortunately, it didn't take long for the other boy to catch up, giving him an incredulous look. "If you're not from Tokyo, why are you out here by yourself? Maybe your team really did abandon you," he teased, grinning cheekily.
Eijun knocked his right shoulder into the other boy's left one, causing him to let out an offended noise. "I'm running an errand for my senpai, you jerk. My team wouldn't abandon me on purpose," he grumbled, stubbornly ignoring the pain that came from saying those words.
Even if everyone preferred Furuya over him, it didn't mean they didn't care about him.
They would help him and give him their support if he really needed it. They were his teammates after all.
Mei rubbed his left shoulder, giving the boy beside him a glare. "Careful! This is my pitching arm!"
Eijun was unable to help it. He snorted, giving him an amused look. "Relax, you baby. I barely touched it. I know how important your pitching arm is to you. I wouldn't dare injure it."
Mei blinked a few times before smirking knowingly. "Is that so?"
Eijun's eyes widened, belatedly realizing how that could be interpreted. "I didn't mean anything by that!" He pointed at him, unable to stop the blush. "I just meant as a fellow baseball player. It wouldn't be any fun to defeat Inajitsu when they're not at their best." He gave him an appraising look. "And apparently, Inajitsu needs you. Seeing as you're the ace and all."
Mei laughed. Eijun couldn't help but notice that this one was different from the laugh earlier. This one sounded more… happy. It didn't sound mean or mocking.
"Thank you! You're right! They do need me!" He would've continued, but he belatedly remembered something. "Wait." Eijun gave him a confused look. "You remembered me?"
Eijun coughed, hastily looking away to hide his red cheeks. "Of course! My senpai told me about what happened during the semifinal game last year and how we need to defeat you to go to Koushien."
He had to stop walking as the other boy quickly blocked his path. "Oi, what are you doing? You're blocking the way!"
Eijun almost jumped at the scrutinizing look he received. Something about being on the receiving end of those blue eyes made him want to squirm.
"If you remembered me, why do you keep being disrespectful?" Eijun blinked as a cheeky grin came onto his face, wondering if he imagined that look from before. "I'm your senpai, you know!"
"Because you're a jerk," he said automatically, stepping around him to continue walking. This guy resembled Miyuki Kazuya a little.
And he didn't like that.
Miyuki Kazuya was always insulting him and messing with him. He never wanted to catch for him and was always a jerk to him. It didn't help that he was his senpai and kept trying to get him to show him proper respect.
Mei quickly caught up with him, rolling his eyes. "So? What about it?"
"You don't care that you're a jerk?" Eijun gave him an incredulous look.
Mei shrugged, giving him another grin. "I'm used to it. Besides, I don't care what people think of me."
Eijun, who was about to argue, found he couldn't speak.
This guy was the ace of his team. He was a jerk who reminded him a little too much of Miyuki Kazuya, but he was… being himself.
… Or at least, that's what it felt like.
Mei furrowed his eyebrows. "Is there something on my face?" His eyes lit up, smirking at him mischievously and causing him to feel wary. "Or did you fall in love with me?"
Eijun spluttered, almost choking. He hated the way he blushed, shooting him a dirty look. "O-Of course not!" he denied. "Who would like a jerk like you?"
It wasn't until the words left his mouth that he realized how that could be taken.
But it seemed he didn't have to worry as the other boy snickered, bumping his left shoulder with his right one. "You, apparently."
"I do not!"
Mei snickered at his cute embarrassed and angry face. "Relax. I'm just teasing you. You don't need to be so defensive."
"I'm not defensive!"
Mei gave him an amused look. "Did you hear me when I said I was only teasing you?"
Eijun's mouth opened then closed a few moments later. "… Oh."
"Yeah. 'Oh,'" he teased, enjoying the first year's many different expressions.
This guy couldn't be a very good pitcher, especially if he hadn't heard of him. Not only that, but he also wore his heart on his sleeve. This kid probably didn't make first string.
… Which he was surprised to find that it… disappointed him. Only a little, of course. Because why would he want to play against a bad pitcher? For that matter, why would Seidou put such a bad pitcher on their first string?
(Well, after what happened during Seidou's last practice game, he guessed he could (somewhat) understand why. From what he heard, Seidou didn't exactly have that many good pitchers.)
But this guy? There was no way he made first string.
And it disappointed him a little. Not because he wanted to play against him or anything. But because he wanted to see him again.
He didn't like him. He barely knew this kid.
But the part of him that had checked him out earlier couldn't help but want to get to know him better.
… He wanted to become friends with one of Seidou's pitchers?
That was weird. Even for him.
But he couldn't deny that there was something about this kid that drew him in. No one else had ever caught his attention like this. And this stupid kid didn't even realize it!
(Not that he wanted him to, of course. But he would feel better if the kid were doing it on purpose. At least then he could get angry. Because who did this kid think he was, catching his attention like this?)
Eijun watched him curiously out of the corner of his eye.
He still couldn't believe that Inajitsu's ace was helping him.
As much as he hated to admit it, he knew that he… probably would've gotten lost (again) if he didn't come with him. He really appreciated his kindness.
Maybe he judged him too quickly.
"So," Mei said, causing him to look at him. "Why aren't you practicing right now? You need all the practice you can get."
… Never mind. He's still a jerk.
"Didn't you hear me earlier?" Eijun huffed at the insult, gesturing to the street with one hand. "I'm running an errand for my senpai."
"Of course I heard you. That's not what I'm asking, you idiot." Mei rolled his eyes.
Eijun glared, tempted to point at him. "Then what are you asking? And don't call me idiot!"
"I'm asking if Seidou had practice today." He watched, amused as the first year's mouth formed an O before quickly shaking his head. "Why did you agree to go out on an errand when you could be practicing?"
Eijun growled. "It's not like I wanted to do this! But my senpai asked me, so I had to!" He scowled, kicking a rock on the street. "I know they're looking out for me, but I need to practice," he said in a softer voice.
Mei furrowed his eyebrows. "What do you mean?"
Eijun felt his cheeks heat up, realizing belatedly what he just said.
What was wrong with him? He didn't mean to say that out loud.
It wasn't like he was telling him information about his team. But he felt a little embarrassed, telling him about why his senpai practically forced him to go out on an errand instead of letting him practice his pitching.
"… I have a bad habit of… overworking myself," he said softly, looking away to hide his red cheeks.
Mei hummed, studying him curiously.
This kid might be a bad pitcher, and while it wasn't good to overwork, he seemed determined to improve.
(… Well, he would need to improve a lot if he hoped to become Seidou's ace.)
He could understand that feeling of wanting to improve his pitching all too well. And like the boy beside him, his senpai had scolded him before about overworking himself.
"It's not good to overwork yourself," he said, causing him to wince, as if he was scolding him. "But I can understand your impatience. Your need to practice and get better."
Eijun's eyes widened, immediately looking back at him. "You do?"
He narrowed his eyes. "Why are you so surprised?"
Did this kid seriously think he became the ace without hard work?
Eijun gave him a scrutinizing look, furrowing his eyebrows. "I never thought you'd try to understand my feelings. I thought you were just a jerk."
"Shut it, you. Even I know how to empathize with people."
This time, Eijun was the one who stepped in front of him, causing him to stop walking. "Then why don't you do it more often?"
Mei shrugged, tossing his head back haughtily and stepping around him to continue walking. "Because I don't like wasting my time on people I don't care about." Once the other boy fell into step beside him, he gave him a cheeky grin. "And as you eloquently put it, I'm a jerk."
Eijun scowled, tempted to yell at him.
This guy was so frustrating!
Again. He's just like Miyuki Kazuya.
"Quit doing that," he blurted, unable to take it anymore.
Mei blinked a few times, confused. "Quit doing what?"
"You're too similar to Miyuki Kazuya!" he glared, ignoring the way his eyes narrowed at the familiar name. "And I don't like it!"
Mei scoffed, looking disgusted. "I'm nothing like him."
How dare this kid compare him to Kazuya?
Couldn't he see that he was nothing like that arrogant catcher?
"But you act like him!"
Mei pursed his lips, not wanting to bring up his relationship with Seidou's main catcher. It was too soon. "… Fine. We might have a couple of personality traits in common—"
"A couple?"
"But other than that, I'm nothing like him," he said, frowning at the interruption.
Eijun wanted to ask about his relationship with Miyuki Kazuya, but he had a feeling Narumiya wouldn't tell him anything.
And he wouldn't blame him. It wasn't like they were teammates or friends.
"… Alright. I understand. It's not like I know you well enough to say that you're exactly like him," he said reluctantly.
Mei smirked a smug smirk. "You finally understand, don't you?" When the other boy only shot him a dirty look, he snickered. "What would you like to know?"
"Eh?"
He almost snickered again at his confused look. "You said you don't know me well enough. So go ahead. Ask me some questions."
Eijun's jaw dropped.
Was he serious?
Narumiya Mei was allowing him to get to know him better?
This felt like some sort of dream.
But not one to look a gift horse in the mouth, he eagerly pounced on the opportunity, wanting to know more about his fellow southpaw rival.
As they continued to walk through the city, they got to know each other better. A few times, Eijun was distracted by something he saw, walking over to get a closer look. But Narumiya would always yank him back to his side by his hood, asking him mockingly if he wanted to get lost again.
Narumiya had looked amused (almost smug) when he asked him several questions at once. And although he had scolded him lightly, telling him to slow down, he answered all of them.
But before he could ask more, Narumiya stopped him, claiming that it was unfair if he was the only one who got to ask questions.
… Which had made him happy, unable to stop beaming.
(It didn't escape his notice that Narumiya had looked smug at his reaction, and while he felt a little annoyed, he mainly felt happiness and excitement.)
His fellow southpaw rival wanted to get to know him better!
He had eagerly answered all his questions, causing Narumiya to look even more smug (if that was possible).
Eijun spotted something out of the corner of his eye, turning his head to get a better look.
It was a souvenir shop, obviously targeting tourists.
Since this was his first time in Tokyo, he couldn't help but walk in the shop's direction, trying to get a better look at some of what looked like magnets (or maybe they were stickers?) in the shop's window.
But he made it only a few steps before a hand on his hood yanked him back, causing him to yelp.
He turned his head to glare at Narumiya, unsurprised to see the annoyed look on his face. "Stop grabbing me like that! I wanted to get a closer look!"
Narumiya only scoffed, and after making sure he wouldn't move away if he let go, he finally let go, giving him a skeptical look. "If you did that, you'll just get lost again. You should be thanking me."
"I would not! I would just go over there for a quick look!" Eijun protested.
"Like I believe that."
Eijun gave him a dirty look, knocking his right shoulder into Narumiya's left one, lips twitching at the offended noise that escaped his mouth. "Then what's your solution? I doubt you're going to want to continue doing that the whole time."
Mei shot him a glare at the rough treatment of his pitching shoulder before tapping his chin, looking thoughtful. "Well, I would prefer if youquit moving around like an excited kid on a field trip." He ignored his outraged squawk, effortlessly dodging the attempt to knock his shoulder again. "But since that apparently won't happen, I'll have to make do with the next best solution."
Eijun furrowed his eyebrows, about to ask, but the only thing that escaped his mouth was a surprised gasp at feeling a hand touch his own.
His eyes immediately looked down at their hands, eyes wide at seeing Narumiya's hand holding his own.
He could've sworn his heart skipped a beat as Narumiya's hand gently squeezed his own. He looked at Narumiya, mouth agape.
Mei snickered, feeling amused at seeing his red cheeks. "This is what you do with children, right? You hold their hand so that they won't leave your side."
Eijun scowled, tempted to tighten his grip. "I'm not a child! Let go!"
(A part of him that he wasn't ready to confront yet berated him for that response, liking the contact and wanting to continue holding Narumiya's hand.)
But instead of letting go, Narumiya only tightened his grip, giving him a challenging smirk. "And if I say no?"
Eijun narrowed his eyes, wanting to hate the way that smirk made him more attractive than he already was. "Do I have a choice?"
Mei pretended to think for a few moments before shaking his head. "Not really." He snickered again as he tried to tug his hand away to no avail. "What are you going to do about it?"
Eijun was starting to have a feeling that he was messing with him on purpose. And with each reaction he gave, Narumiya seemed… delighted.
(… Which was weird. They barely knew each other. How could he tell that Narumiya looked delighted? Sure, he had already spent a lot of their time together staring at him (when he wasn't looking, of course), but that didn't mean he knew him well or anything.)
And if he were honest, these feelings of frustration and anger reminded him of whenever Miyuki Kazuya messed with him. Much to his annoyance, he always responded whenever he messed with him, hating the way words escaped his mouth without his permission.
It always made him feel as if he lost. Which was ridiculous because it wasn't like they were competing or anything.
But in a way, this was even worse, knowing he kept losing to his rival.
Eijun impulsively tugged him closer with his hand, delighting in the way Narumiya let out a surprised noise.
Now, they were walking side by side with almost no space between them.
He couldn't stop the devilish grin from forming as Narumiya looked at him. Instead of responding verbally, though, he only raised his eyebrows challengingly.
Your turn.
Mei had to admit that he was surprised Sawamura actually responded to his challenge, certain that it would only make him huff and look away with red cheeks. His smirk returned to his face, unable to stop the excitement.
If he wanted a fight, he would get one.
(He refused to admit (even to himself) that he was happy with his reaction. Sawamura was attractive and very interesting, but that was it. He didn't like him or have a crush on him or anything. Some part of him he felt determined to ignore vehemently protested, wanting Sawamura to look at him the way he looked at him.)
Eijun huffed at the smirk on his face, feeling disappointed that besides the visible surprise Narumiya expressed, he didn't really react to what he did.
He studied him out of the corner of his eye, furrowing his eyebrows.
Maybe Narumiya was used to things like this?
Narumiya walked beside him confidently, that annoyingly attractive smirk still on his face. He wore a plain white t-shirt under a dark red hoodie, dark gray snug pants, and black tennis shoes.
As much as he hated to admit it, Narumiya was quite good-looking. He wouldn't be surprised to find out that he had dated someone before.
If that were the case, then it made sense that Narumiya looked strangely at ease with things like this.
(That part of him from earlier moaned at the thought of Narumiya dating other people, causing him to push that thought away.)
As if feeling his gaze, Narumiya looked at him, causing him to immediately look away. He cursed, feeling his face heat up.
What am I doing, checking him out like that? He's the enemy!
… And yet, he found himself not caring all that much. This was different than baseball after all.
Mei openly watched him, almost snickering at his reaction. While he already knew he was attractive, it was nice to know Sawamura thought so, too. When Sawamura looked back at him a few moments later, he smirked a smug smirk. "See something you like?"
"You're not that great!" Sawamura shot back, cheeks turning red. Mei grinned, feeling pleased at his reaction and almost snickering at his poor attempt at a lie. "Seidou has a lot of attractive people, you know!"
Mei frowned, unwilling to admit how much that bothered him. Maybe it was because he was beside him?
… That made sense.
How dare he think about those so-called attractive people when he was there?
He huffed, unconsciously tightening his grip on his hand. "What, you have a crush on someone?"
It wasn't as if he liked him or anything. But just the thought of Sawamura reacting this way around someone else made him feel an uncomfortable and very angry feeling in his stomach.
Eijun almost winced at how tight he was holding his hand, giving him a disapproving frown. "That's none of your business!" Narumiya narrowed his eyes, but before he could argue, he reached out with his left hand, touching Narumiya's left hand gently. "Now quit tightening your grip. That's your pitching hand."
He wanted to hate the way that he almost blurted out his feelings for the other pitcher.
… Not that he had a crush on him or anything. He just looked up to him and wanted to become good friends with him.
"Aww, you're worried about my pitching hand. I'm touched, Sawamura," Mei teased, hoping he didn't notice the way he relaxed his grip at the touch to his hand. That uncomfortable and very angry feeling in his stomach died down (much to his relief).
Eijun almost breathed a sigh of relief as the pressure on his hand lessened, unable to stop himself from gently squeezing his hand to wordlessly thank him. "Shut up. Someone has to look after that hand of yours."
"Are you implying I don't take care of it enough?" Mei frowned, feeling a little insulted. If it wasn't for the fact that Sawamura was concerned for his pitching hand, he would've yelled at him.
Eijun shrugged, an almost devilish grin forming on his face. "I would like to believe that you do, seeing as you're the ace. But so far, you've been proving me wrong."
"Stop being so impertinent! I look after my hands!" Mei narrowed his eyes, hating the way his cheeks flushed. "I'm your senpai, remember?"
Eijun rolled his eyes, looking away from him. "How can I forget when you keep reminding me?" he muttered.
(He felt like grinning triumphantly at causing his cheeks to flush. He finally gave him a good reaction. He refused to mull over the thought that he looked cute like that.)
"What was that?"
Eijun shook his head, looking over and giving him an innocent smile. "It's nothing."
"I don't believe you," Mei said, giving him a dubious look.
Eijun was about to argue, but upon spotting an ice cream shop out of the corner of his eye, his eyes lit up, promptly forgetting what he was going to say and looking over at it. "Narumiya, is that the ice cream shop you mentioned earlier?"
"Narumiya-san," Mei said, narrowing his eyes at him. "Don't forget the honorific, you rude brat."
"… Fine. Is that the ice cream shop you mentioned earlier, Narumiya… san?" Eijun said reluctantly.
"Oi, don't add it like it's an afterthought!"
Eijun huffed, getting impatient. He jerked his head in the direction of the ice cream shop. "Will you hurry up and look? Is that it?"
Mei let out a huff of his own at the disrespect, nodding his head without even looking. "Yeah, that's it."
"You didn't even look!"
Mei raised his eyebrows challengingly. "In case you forgot, I happen to know where we're going." His lips twitched as the other pitcher only gave him a dirty look. "You don't believe me? Fine. Look to the left of the ice cream shop."
He watched, smug as Sawamura reluctantly did as he was told. He smirked as his eyes widened, no doubt spotting the bookstore next to the ice cream shop.
"Believe me now?" he taunted.
Sawamura scowled, shooting him a glare. "How did you do that? You weren't even looking!"
"Did you forget the part when I said I lived in Tokyo my whole life?" he said mockingly.
"That doesn't mean you know the streets around Seidou!"
Mei rolled his eyes. "Fortunately for you, I do."
He winced as Sawamura yelled at him, rubbing his ears with his free hand and giving him a glare. But just as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared, leaving a smirk in its place.
They didn't take long in the bookstore, as it was relatively small for its location. It had a variety of books to choose from, though, surprising Eijun.
He found the book Kuramochi-senpai wanted almost immediately, as it was a recent bestseller. The book had a huge display near the front of the store, multiple copies already missing from the pile of books on the table.
He looked through a few sections, ignoring Narumiya's teasing about his reading preferences. He made sure to grab the last copy of a popular shoujo manga magazine, beaming once he noticed the price.
Narumiya complained about him taking too long as he paused to peruse the selection of shoujo manga, causing him to shoot an amused look at him. He tried explaining the appeal of shoujo manga, but Narumiya didn't seem to get it, only tugging him in the direction of another section.
He was amazed to find out that they actually did have some reading preferences in common, Narumiya only raising his eyebrows at his dumb look.
They spent a little too much time eagerly discussing certain books before Eijun grabbed two more books off the shelves, adding them to his pile. When Narumiya added two books of his own to his pile, he only grinned cheekily, eyes gleaming mischievously.
And while he had huffed, he didn't object, causing Narumiya to blink at him. After paying for the books, he handed Narumiya his books, grinning at his surprised look.
Instead of thanking him (like a normal person), Narumiya tugged him in the direction of the ice cream shop, claiming that he'll let him treat him as thanks.
Eijun looked at him incredulously. "Shouldn't that be the other way around?"
Narumiya only gave him a cheeky grin, as if knowing he would give in anyway.
He complained loudly about the unfairness of it, but much to his annoyance, he found himself paying for their ice cream, tempted to throw his ice cream cone at the other pitcher's smug smirk.
He snorted, licking his ice cream.
His face would be priceless, but that would just be a waste of ice cream.
"What are you laughing at?"
He looked up from his ice cream to meet blue puzzled eyes openly watching him, causing his mouth to dry up. Coughing lightly, he licked his ice cream, gesturing to it. "This is delicious," he said, resisting the urge to look away.
Mei wasn't stupid. He knew he was trying to change the subject for some reason. He eyed him suspiciously, watching him lick his ice cream.
It had to be something involving him. Something disrespectful.
And while he felt tempted to press him for answers, he decided to drop it. Sawamura did pay for his books and ice cream, putting him in a good mood.
He'll drop it just this once.
"Right? This is the best ice cream shop in Tokyo!" he bragged, happy Sawamura understood. "I've come here many times in the past!"
Eijun laughed softly, finding his enthusiasm strangely… endearing. "Then I'm glad we came in here." Narumiya only continued grinning, licking his ice cream. "Although I have to ask… Do you always get the same ice cream flavor?"
Narumiya narrowed his eyes. "Oi, what do you mean by that? Rum raisin is a delicious flavor!"
Eijun stuck his tongue out childishly, gesturing to his own ice cream. "Nothing beats cookies and cream." He made a face. "Least of all… rum raisin."
"Have you ever tried rum raisin before?"
Eijun hummed, trying to remember. "I can't say I have."
"Then how can you insult it like that?" And before he could argue, Narumiya held out his ice cream cone, giving him a challenging smirk. "Go on. Try it."
Eijun huffed, narrowing his eyes at the sight of the smirk. "Don't tell me what to do!"
"Are you afraid you'll start liking it?" he taunted, enjoying his reaction.
Eijun gritted his teeth, letting out a frustrated breath out of his nose. "… Fine! I just have to try it, right?"
He leaned in, tongue sticking out to lick the ice cream presented to him.
Mei refused to admit how affected he felt by the sight of Sawamura licking his ice cream. He had a cute frown on his face, eyebrows scrunching up as he tried to determine if he liked the taste.
Seriously, this kid was so interesting.
"So? What do you think?" he pressed after a few moments.
Sawamura licked his lips, causing him to look at them curiously. He belatedly realized what he was doing, quickly looking back up into his eyes and hoping Sawamura didn't notice.
What was wrong with him? Just because he found him cute and interesting didn't mean he liked him… or wanted to kiss him for that matter.
(Although he couldn't deny that he liked the idea of his lips tasting like his favorite ice cream flavor.)
"It's pretty good," Sawamura said, looking pleasantly surprised, as if expecting something different. A moment later, he grinned devilishly, gesturing to his own ice cream. "I still like cookies and cream more, though."
Mei huffed at his stubbornness, a smug smirk coming onto his face a few moments later. "I'm glad I changed your mind about rum raisin."
"Don't get cocky! You weren't the one who changed my mind!" Sawamura pointed at him with his free hand.
Mei felt tempted to reach out and hold that hand, but he resisted the urge, knowing he probably needed it more at this moment. "I'm the one who got you to try it."
Sawamura narrowed his eyes, waving his free hand. "That was just a coincidence!" He made a face. "I can eat almost anything, so I'm not surprised I like it."
"Is that so? What can't you eat?" he asked, curious.
Sawamura made another face, licking his ice cream. "Natto."
"But natto is pretty good." He felt surprised the other pitcher couldn't stomach natto. A lot of his teammates enjoyed the flavor of natto, too.
Sawamura stuck his tongue out, looking disgusted. "Not to me." He tilted his head, frowning. "Isn't there something you don't like? There is, right?"
"Of course there is," he said easily, almost smirking as an idea came to him.
Sawamura blinked a few times, as if caught off guard by his immediate answer. "What is it?"
"Bad pitchers," he said, giving him a pointed look.
Sawamura frowned, as if not understanding what he said at first. His eyes widened a few moments later, shooting him a glare, causing him to snicker. "I'm not a bad pitcher!"
"Relax. I'm just teasing you. I haven't even seen you pitch yet."
Would he ever get a chance to see him pitch? He hoped so.
He wanted to see what another southpaw was capable of (even though he knew he wouldn't be anything like him. He was the best southpaw in Tokyo after all).
Eijun wanted to hate the way he felt pain at the thought of Narumiya disliking him. He almost opened his mouth to tell him (read: brag) about his pitching during the summer training camp. But he managed to stop himself at the last moment, remembering that his senpai told him not to tell the enemy information about his team.
"Quit teasing me and answer the question, you jerk!"
But Narumiya only pointed to his ice cream, causing him to glare.
"Stop trying to change the subject!"
Narumiya grinned, licking his own. "I thought you'd like to know that your ice cream is melting." He snickered as he let out a squawk, immediately licking as much as he could.
Eijun cursed, reluctantly accepting the napkin the other boy held out to him. He wiped the table clean of any ice cream. Thankfully, his ice cream was only starting to melt. So he only had to wipe a few drops off the table. Instead of throwing away the napkin he used, he spread it out beneath his ice cream cone, hoping it would catch any stray drops.
He huffed, shooting an amused Narumiya another glare. "You could've warned me earlier!"
"But we were in the middle of a conversation," Narumiya said, pouting.
Eijun reddened, looking away to lick his ice cream and missing the other's smirk. He didn't even know why he felt embarrassed.
But something about the way Narumiya said that almost made it seem as if he… enjoyed talking to him.
(He still would've preferred Narumiya speaking up and warning him about his ice cream earlier, though.)
"You know," Mei said, causing Sawamura to look at him. "You got to taste my ice cream. But I never got a chance to taste yours." He laughed as Sawamura spluttered something he couldn't make out. "What's the big deal? I thought you would be happy I'm willing to try your favorite flavor."
"… I am happy," Sawamura muttered. Unfortunately for him, he spoke in a loud enough voice Mei could hear him. "But…"
"But what?" he pressed, starting to become impatient.
Sawamura only shook his head, holding out his ice cream cone.
While he felt curious and wanted to demand Sawamura tell him what he was going to say, he decided to ignore it in favor of tasting Sawamura's ice cream.
Mei reached out with his free hand, grabbing his wrist and pulling his arm closer.
Sawamura frowned, looking as if he were about to protest. Or yell.
So before he could, he licked the ice cream, keeping his eyes on him as he did so.
Sawamura didn't disappoint. He reddened, mouth opening slightly as he stared at him.
Mei grinned at his reaction, licking one more time before reluctantly letting go of his wrist. He licked his lips to get the rest of the ice cream, his grin widening as he watched the other boy's eyes dart down to look at them.
Sawamura looked between him and his ice cream for a few moments, as if not comprehending what just happened. But then his eyes widened as he gaped at his ice cream before looking back at him.
"It's pretty good," he said, licking his lips one more time and almost smirking as Sawamura followed his action. "Thanks for sharing, Sawa-mura." He winked, feeling amused and smug as Sawamura squirmed, looking embarrassed before nodding.
Eijun wasn't sure why he reacted like that. It wasn't like Narumiya used his given name. And his senpai had said his name like that before, so technically, he shouldn't react like that just because Narumiya Mei said his name like that.
… No, that wasn't right. Maybe he only reacted like that because Narumiya was the one who said it.
Narumiya was special to him.
Sure, he hadn't exactly known him for that long. But he looked up to him as a fellow southpaw pitcher. For the first time since coming to Seidou, he found an… ace.
An ace he wanted to know more about. An ace he wanted to befriend.
And an ace he… wanted in his life. Always.
Eijun groaned, head dropping to hit the table, missing Narumiya's strange look.
No. It couldn't be…
There was no way he liked that guy. He wanted him in his life because he treasured his friends. His friends were special to him.
He looked up from the table, eyeing Narumiya contemplatively. That had to be it.
… Right?
Mei gave him another strange look, finding it strange how he stopped talking. At first, he thought it was because of him, which only boosted his huge ego. But then he hit the table with his head, causing him to feel confused.
Just as he was about to ask, he snorted, noticing something on his cheek that wasn't there before. When Sawamura only gave him a confused look, he gestured to his cheek with his free hand. "You missed a spot."
Sawamura grabbed another napkin, wiping a spot on his cheek before looking at him expectantly.
Mei chuckled, shaking his head. "Other side." He watched, amused as Sawamura flushed, grumbling under his breath. He pretended not to hear him, licking his own neglected ice cream cone.
Sawamura wiped a spot on his other cheek, looking at him expectantly.
"A little further up."
He wiped a spot a few centimeters above the one from before.
Mei sighed, starting to feel irritated. "You barely moved. I said a little further up."
But instead of listening to him, Sawamura frowned. "If it's so easy for you to see, why don't you do it?"
Sawamura's eyes widened, as if belatedly realizing what he said.
"I guess I have to since you're so hopeless." Mei huffed, ignoring his protests as he reached out and brought him closer. One part of his mind not focused on the task couldn't help but admire his facial features from up close, liking the proximity with him. He grabbed the napkin from Sawamura's loose grip, eyebrows furrowing as he wiped the ice cream off his cheek.
He let go once he finished, handing him the napkin and grinning cheekily. "There. That wasn't too hard, now was it?"
"Shut up! It wasn't my fault! You weren't specific enough!"
Mei narrowed his eyes. "You're blaming me? I'm the one who helped you!"
Sawamura huffed, licking his ice cream unhappily. "I could've did it by myself," he muttered.
"Yeah, you had the situation totally under control," Mei said mockingly. He let out a yelp as a foot kicked his shin under the table. "You just kicked me!"
Sawamura tried to look innocent, but the act was ruined by his small smile. "It was an accident." He let out a yelp of his own as Mei kicked his shin. "What do you think you're doing? That hurt!"
"Good. Maybe that will teach you to show some respect to your senpai," Mei said coolly.
But Sawamura only shot him a suspicious look. "Are you sure you're my senpai? You're shorter than me!"
"… By a centimeter. By. A. Centimeter," Mei stressed.
Sawamura gave him a triumphant grin, causing him to glare, wanting to kick his shin again. "But I'm still taller than you. Which means I win!"
"You little…!" Mei reached out, tousling his hair roughly, causing him to squawk.
But it seemed Sawamura was just as stubborn as him, not even hesitating to reciprocate, causing him to let out a squawk of his own.
To any onlooker, it appeared as if they were having one of the pettiest fights of all time.
They kept trying to tousle each other's hair, but the other would always grab their hand in time. They would get their hand released somehow, and it would start back up. Their feet moved under the table, trying to kick shins and stomp on each other's toes.
While all this was going on, they held their respective ice cream cones in one hand.
Eijun's squawk interrupted the fight, noticing with dismay that his ice cream was melting. He quickly licked up much as he could, lips twitching as he heard the other pitcher let out a curse, no doubt noticing that his ice cream was doing the same.
After (finally) finishing their ice cream and cleaning up their mess, they walked around the city some more, Narumiya claiming that he couldn't leave him alone because he would get lost again.
And while Eijun protested hotly, he never told him to go away, even allowing him to hold his hand again.
(… Something that he was (unfortunately) getting used to. He hated that the longer he held his hand, the longer he was starting to like it.)
Narumiya pointed out a few places he liked to frequent, even going so far as to tell anecdotes about something that happened before.
Eijun listened to each one, occasionally asking a question or voicing his thoughts to let him know he was listening. He even teased him a few times, smiling at the dirty look he received.
Once he finished, Eijun returned the favor by telling some anecdotes about his teammates.
Almost immediately, Narumiya asked about Furuya and his pitching, causing him to scowl.
He gave him a short answer that had nothing to do with his pitching, switching the subject to talk about his middle school teammates and friends back home.
Narumiya's eyebrows had scrunched, staring at him scrutinizingly and almost causing him to squirm. But in the next moment, he gave him an amused grin.
"What's that grin for?" he had yelled.
"Someone's a little jealous." Narumiya had snickered.
His only response was to stick his tongue at him, amusing him even further.
Narumiya had (thankfully) stopped asking about Furuya, instead asking about life in Nagano.
It was the middle of the afternoon when Narumiya tugged him over to a crepe shop, complaining that he was hungry.
"It's way past lunchtime, you know," Eijun pointed out.
Narumiya waved his free hand. "We can still get a snack. This shop makes some of the best crepes in this part of the city."
"… Fine. Let's try these crepes of yours," Eijun said, deciding not to argue. He was a little hungry, so a snack would help him survive until dinnertime.
No one was in line when they entered the shop, allowing them to take their time as they decided what to pick.
Narumiya was no help, shooting so many different flavors and suggestions all at once that he almost felt overwhelmed.
Eijun almost chose a crepe with strawberry cheesecake, but he finally decided on a crepe that had fresh strawberries, yogurt, and whipped cream.
Narumiya chose a crepe like his, but instead of having strawberries, it had fresh blueberries.
They walked over to a nearby park, sitting down on a bench to eat their crepes.
Eijun took a bite of his, eyes lighting up at the taste. "This is delicious!"
"Of course it is! It's the best crepe shop in Tokyo!" Narumiya bragged.
"You've eaten some of their crepes before?" Eijun asked, curious.
Narumiya nodded, taking a bite of his. "Many times. All their crepes are so good that I keep coming back for more."
"Well, we'll have to come back again sometime. I want to try that strawberry cheesecake flavor," Eijun said impulsively. His eyes widened, belatedly realizing what he said. He looked over, noticing Narumiya's wide eyes. "I-I mean… That's not… You don't…" He cursed, feeling his cheeks heat up as Narumiya grinned at him.
(He didn't usually have this much trouble speaking. Stupid Narumiya. It was his fault.)
"Already planning our next date, I see~" Mei teased, delighting in the way the other's blush darkened.
"N-Next…! What are you talking about?"
Mei pouted, leaning in closer to give him the full effect of it. "I thought we had a connection."
"Like I said before, what are you talking about? This isn't a date!" Eijun said, flustered. He hated the way he briefly looked away before looking back at him.
Mei raised an eyebrow. "So you do this with everyone you know." He nodded smugly as the other boy pursed his lips, giving him a glare. "I thought so."
"T-That doesn't mean this is a date! I misspoke, and you know that!"
Mei snickered, taking another bite. "Is that so? Then maybe it's something you were thinking of before."
Eijun cursed at the pointed look, looking away and taking another bite to stall for time.
Could Narumiya read his mind somehow? It was a little scary how he easily knew what he was thinking.
"… Fine. I was thinking about going back to that crepe shop. With you," he admitted, looking back at him.
Only to feel his mouth dry up at the bright grin on Narumiya's face.
"You want us to hang out like this again?" Mei reached out with his free hand, touching the other pitcher's free hand, his grin widening as he looked down at their hands.
"It's frustrating to admit, but yeah. I want us to do something like this again," Eijun admitted, looking up at him.
Mei swore his heart skipped a beat at his serious look, humming to distract himself from feeling his cheeks heat up. "What a coincidence. I was thinking of the exact same thing." He barely stopped himself from smirking as Sawamura's eyes widened, looking at him with wonder.
"Eh? Really?" Eijun beamed, leaning in closer eagerly.
Mei nodded, breath catching in his throat.
How did Kazuya and the rest of Seidou even function with a human sun beaming at them all the time?
This guy was too close. Only a few centimeters separated them. He should look silly with cream on the tip of his nose and around his mouth, but for some reason, it just made him look cuter.
He could easily lean in and kiss him if he wanted. Or even lick that tempting cream off his nose.
He quickly shoved a napkin in his face, lips twitching at the squawk he received.
"You've got cream on the tip of your nose. And around your mouth," he said, grinning. He almost let out a relieved breath as Sawamura immediately pulled away, wiping at the spots with a noticeable frown on his face.
What the hell? Where did that thought even come from?
It wasn't as if he liked this kid or anything.
… And yet, a part of him couldn't help but wonder what it would be like to kiss him.
Eijun almost pouted as he looked away, taking a bite of his crepe.
Did he really have to go and do that? He wouldn't admit it out loud, but he had been enjoying the proximity with the other pitcher.
Sure, his heart kept racing the whole time. And yeah, maybe he was thinking about doing something that someone normally wouldn't do to their friends.
… Oh.
He coughed, shaking his head as he took another bite, missing Narumiya's confused look.
Bad thought. Bad thought.
He didn't like this guy. He only looked up to him. He wanted to become his friend.
And nothing more.
The sun was setting by the time they finished, Narumiya helping him backtrack to the ice cream shop they visited earlier.
After a quick stop at the convenience store (where he picked out a few of Masuko-senpai's favorite pudding flavor), he opened his mouth, knowing he needed to thank him.
And hopefully, they could make plans to do something like this again sometime soon.
But only a surprised noise escaped his mouth as Narumiya tugged him in another direction.
"What are you doing?"
"What does it look like I'm doing? I'm helping you get back to Seidou." Mei raised his eyebrows challengingly, daring him to try and lie. "You would just get lost if I let you go by yourself."
Eijun huffed at the pointed look, wishing he could prove him wrong. "You've done enough for me, though! Just give me the directions!"
Mei scoffed. "So you can blame me when you get lost? No way."
"I wouldn't blame you!" Eijun protested.
Mei thought for a few moments before nodding. "Maybe not intentionally. But when your senpai ask how you got lost, you'll open your mouth without thinking and blame me."
Eijun gritted his teeth, wanting to hate the way Narumiya saw straight though him.
Mei felt amused as the other pitcher grumbled about being treated like a child. He waited for him to stop, but when he kept grumbling, he gave him an irritated look. "Aren't you going to at least try to remember the way back?" He almost sighed as Sawamura's eyes widened, no doubt having forgotten about it.
"… Sorry."
Mei's eyes widened, mouth opening a little. "Eh?"
Did he just… apologize?
Eijun looked down at the street, gently squeezing his hand. "I said I'm sorry." He made a face. "You helped me when I was lost. And you even stuck around, pointing out familiar places so that I wouldn't get lost again."
Mei's eyebrows raised.
He was surprised he caught on to that. Maybe he wasn't as stupid as he first thought.
"Sorry you had to spend your whole day with an idiot like me." He looked at him, giving him a determined look. "I promise I'll pay attention on the way back."
Mei huffed, looking away from him to give the impression that he was still irritated. "Finally. I won't always be around to help you, you know."
(He refused to admit that he liked his determined look. And that he wouldn't mind helping him if he ever got lost again.)
"I know. I'll do my best." Eijun couldn't stop the frown at the thought of Narumiya not being there to help.
Then again, maybe it was for the best. It wouldn't be good if he continued to rely solely on his rival after all.
(But who would he go to when he needed help navigating Tokyo? One of his teammates? While the thought of relying on his rival made him want to scowl, the thought of not seeing him again made him feel even worse.)
Mei waited until they were almost to Seidou before squeezing his hand gently to get his attention, looking over at him and almost smiling as Sawamura immediately looked at him. "I didn't mind, you know."
Eijun blinked a few times. "Eh?"
"I didn't mind showing you around Tokyo. You made it sound as if you forced me to do it. But I chose to do it of my own free will." He grinned as he gazed at him with wonder. "Besides, it's not like we won't see each other again." He gave him a suggestive look.
"You're right. We'll meet again when we play baseball."
Mei groaned. This guy didn't get it at all. "That's not what I meant." When he only gave him a baffled look, he rolled his eyes. "We made plans to visit that crepe shop again."
Eijun furrowed his eyebrows. "We did?"
Mei stopped under a tree just outside the Seidou dormitory, causing Eijun to stop and look at him, confused.
He reluctantly let go of his hand, shrugging as he turned to face him. "We were talking about it earlier," he reminded. "That is if you're still up to it."
Eijun bit back his protest as he let go of his hand, hating that he hadn't wanted to let go. He belatedly registered what he said, mouth opening a little. "Ah… That's right. Well, since we're talking about it…"
Mei furrowed his eyebrows as he dug through his drawstring bag. He handed his books to him, causing him to thank him with a nod. But it turned out he wasn't done with his bag yet, ripping a small piece of paper from a notebook and offering it to him.
He glanced down, unable to stop his mouth from opening as he noticed an almost illegible scrawl. "What's this?" he asked, despite already knowing the answer.
Eijun narrowed his eyes. "What… It's my email address. Can't you tell by looking at it?"
Mei made a great show of squinting at it, amused by his reaction. "I can barely read this," he complained. "Your handwriting is terrible."
"Shut up! You can still read it!"
"Barely," Mei said, snorting.
Eijun clicked his tongue, but instead of arguing, he gestured to the slip of paper. "I thought maybe we could make plans via our phones next time."
Mei gave him a scrutinizing look before huffing. "What's with that? If you're going to do something, do it properly!"
And before Eijun could ask him what he meant by that, he took out his phone and handed it to him.
When the other pitcher only gave him a confused look, Mei rolled his eyes. "Put your number in."
Eijun blinked. Then blinked again.
What did he just…?
His eyes widened, jaw dropping as he finally registered what he said. "You mean it?" He thought asking for his number was being too forward, which was why he only gave him his email address.
(He didn't want to think about how he was glad Narumiya proved him wrong.)
"Hurry up and do it."
Eijun couldn't believe the Narumiya Mei wanted his number. Before he could change his mind, he inputted his number, giving it back after double checking he got it right.
Mei glanced at the number on his screen before nodding. "I'll talk to you later. We can make plans for our next date." He gave him a suggestive look, snickering as his cheeks turned red. "Or we can do it now?"
"What do you mean by 'next'? This… Today wasn't a date!"
Mei stepped closer, watching as he noticeably gulped. "So you don't want to go out with me."
"I never said that!" Eijun responded without thinking, causing him to grin at him. He cursed, wanting to cover his mouth so that he didn't bury himself further. His hands formed fists at his sides as he let out a frustrated huff at the expectant look.
Damn it. Maybe I am an idiot.
"T-Tomorrow night," he started, causing him to tilt his head. "We can go out after practice."
His mouth dried up at the bright grin on Narumiya's face.
"A bit presumptuous, don't you think? I could be busy," Mei said, smirking as he narrowed his eyes. "Relax. I'm just teasing you. I'm not busy."
Eijun let out a relieved breath. "Then…"
"Since you're asking me out, you're paying," Mei declared.
Eijun nodded, albeit reluctantly.
He had a feeling he would say that. Not that he minded that much.
"Now that I think about it, we should probably go somewhere else. We're going to miss dinner after all," Mei said thoughtfully.
"Ah… You're right." Eijun felt like hitting himself. He had forgotten about that. "What do you recommend?" He couldn't help but notice that while Narumiya could've called off their date, he didn't. He wasn't sure why, but his chest felt warm.
Mei hummed for a few moments, considering his options. "I can take you to this café I know. They have some good dinner options. Or you could try their cake. They're the best in Tokyo."
"That sounds good," Eijun agreed, trying to remember if he had pointed one out to him earlier.
Did Narumiya know all the best spots in the city? It seemed like every time he pointed out a location, he called it the best in Tokyo. Or was that just a quirk of his?
Narumiya grinned that bright grin of his, causing his breath to catch in his throat. "Then I'll see you tomorrow. For our date."
He reached out one last time, grabbing his hand and squeezing gently.
"Yeah, tomorrow," Eijun said, his voice strangely hoarse. He swore his heart skipped a beat at the contact, squeezing Narumiya's hand back.
Mei felt his heart race as Sawamura reciprocated. He gave him one last cheeky grin before letting go and walking away.
"Narumiya!"
He stopped in his tracks, turning to look at him questioningly.
"I… I just…" Eijun cursed, taking a deep breath to compose himself. "I wanted to say thank you." At his confused look, he waved a hand in the general direction of the city. "For today. I… had fun. I probably wouldn't have enjoyed myself as much or gotten to see as much of the city as I did if I were alone."
"And you probably would've gotten lost. Again," Mei teased, causing him to scowl.
"I was thanking you! Don't make me regret it, you jerk!" Eijun huffed, turning around and storming off.
Mei waited several moments before calling out to him. "You're going the wrong way!" He laughed as Sawamura let out a loud curse before turning around and storming off (this time in the right direction). "I had fun, too," he called, amused as Sawamura jumped at the sound of his voice.
Eijun smiled a goofy smile, happy Narumiya enjoyed himself. He wasn't sure why Narumiya agreed to go out on a date with him, but he didn't care. For some reason, he found himself looking forward to it.
"By the way…"
He furrowed his eyebrows.
Narumiya hadn't left yet? Maybe he remembered something he forgot?
"I think you're handsome."
Eijun almost tripped, his face red. Narumiya's laughter caused him to scowl, tempted to turn around and yell at him.
When he got back to his dorm room, Kuramochi-senpai and Masuko-senpai welcomed him back, thanking him for going out on the errand before giving him a weird look.
Eijun managed to come up with a feeble excuse, but he could tell they didn't believe it, their eyebrows raising at the smile on his face.
Especially when he hid his face in his pillow, trying not to give away that he was going out on a date with their enemy.
This was all Narumiya's fault.
ZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Author Notes: I hope y'all enjoyed the first chapter.
Reviews/favorites are appreciated.
After almost two months, I'm finally ready to start posting this. It definitely took way too long for a couple of reasons.
One reason is that it ended up being a lot longer than I thought it would be. I wanted the backstory part to be a one shot ending around 20k or maybe a little after that. But by the time I reached 20k and even once I went past it, I realized I still had… a lot of scenes I wanted to show. So y'all get a multi chapter fic instead! This is my first time writing one, so I'm hoping it will come out well.
Another reason is that I had a lot of difficulties trying to write. One was that some of my laptop letter keys stopped working. I put off buying a new laptop because I didn't want to spend a lot of money, but my laptop was really old. So I ended up buying a new one. My new laptop is really nice, though. I like it a lot. Another one was my closest aunt had to be admitted to the hospital. It was so stressful being around my family, especially when they were all panicking that she might die. I was trying not to let my worry show and not be affected by the stress, but it didn't work too well. My aunt just recently left the hospital, and she's doing really well. Which is really great.
By the way, this story is titled Last Year's Summer Sky, but it will end a little bit after the fall tournament finals.
We'll get some more Eijun and Mei interactions next chapter as well as some interactions with the Inashiro first string members, so look forward to that.
I'm planning on posting new chapters every Saturday. I can't promise it will always be at the same time, though.
See y'all next Saturday!