Chapter 3
KURAMOCHI'S DREAM
The young man couldn't stop staring at Sawamura's face, his eyes, his lips. He touched Sawamura's picture again and again, tracing the outline of his face. He spent another hour in the room filled with Sawamura's pictures, not really understanding why but he couldn't stop staring at them. He was a person who needed to see the young pitcher every day. What had made Sawamura Eijun so damned special that he could get someone's attention easily like this crazy man?
As far as the man could see, the ace pitcher is just a toy and prey. He will not rest until he know Sawamura's whereabouts. He was determined to claim the young pitcher. He wanted Sawamura by his side as his toy. These thoughts sent shivers through the spine of the man, picturing Sawamura in the empty room or in the basement. Envisioning his brown hair, his beautiful amber eyes and the smile he always wore when he struck out every batter that brought a playful smirk across the man's face.
The first time the young man had met Sawamura's debut at the Spring Koshien, there had been a pull toward him. It was more than obsession. He studied the young boy's face and it haunted him like a terrifying nightmare. The man had come up with a plan, he would get back tomorrow at the baseball field, he would set a trap for Sawamura for trying to be his number 1 fan.
His only concern was Sawamura's teammates who are always surrounding him during practice like the annoying brat he met earlier. He would have to be rough to abduct the young pitcher, but he decided he would be very careful about how he touched and treated the boy, just in case Sawamura got caught.
Then, he could take Sawamura and just put him in the trunk and drive him somewhere deep in some woods, torturing first and bring him into his house. He could keep Sawamura blindfolded all days, months perhaps and kill him after that.
"But what if he got away?" the words slice through him.
The man teeth clenched, his mind was restless, crazy and completely tired. He couldn't remember when was the last time he had a good night's sleep since he met Sawamura. He got up from his chair and went to the window. Rain had started to fall again, as if a dam had burst high in the mountains, a rage of water against his window-pane. He watched it pour down in streams as if it would never stop again.
The man frowned a moment to the window. In the reflection, he could see in the middle of him the reflection of another person behind him.
"Hey, Takashi! How did you find yourself in this place? You know it's not for the dead right? Fuck off!" the man smirked and laughed hysterically.
The rain continued on through the night, but the lightning and thunder had ceased and now the baseball field beginning to turn to mud.
"Why would he stalk him? He's totally an idiot. He's not even that cute. That man didn't need to stalk Sawamura." Miyuki said.
"But what if he was the stalker? What if he's the one who sent a gift and a note?" Okumura protested.
"Nah! I think he's just an ordinary guy like the other men who were always watching our games and practices. Most people around this place knew everyone of us here." Miyuki said.
"But Miyuki-senpai, he's obviously someone suspicious, believe m—" Okumura started to explain but was cut off.
"Koushuu, enough." Seto stopped.
"Taku? You don't believe me, do you?" Okumura glared.
"No, Koushuu, it's not that I don't believe you. Just...relax..." Seto said.
"...fine!" Okumura said.
"Sorry to leave you here again, but I better get going. You are spending way too much time worrying about nothing. I don't think you should be too worried first years," Miyuki said as he stood up. "and it's getting dark already." he added.
"It's still early for us Miyuki-senpai, and the night is so long. No one can think of sleep yet." Yui said.
"Yeah, you're right." Miyuki nodded and then felt a vibration on his pants, then the familiar ring tone of his cellphone. He flipped the phone open and answered it. As he listens, color drains from his face, he breaks out in the cold sweat of dread. The first year squad are wondering what Miyuki and the other guy in the phone were talking about. It took Miyuki a while to flip his phone closed and when he did, he looked at the first years.
"Is that Oota-sensei, right? What's wrong?" Yui said suddenly concerned.
Miyuki nodded and said, "Sawamura has taken a turn for the worse, they are rushing him to ICU. He stopped breathing."
"Oh my he is dead...?" Mogami said.
"Oh, no. This can't be happening!" Asada disbelief.
"Calm down, guys. We have to be strong for Sawamura-senpai." Seto patted Asada.
"Boys, help me spread the news to others who do not yet know. Come on." Miyuki said and left the dinning hall and headed toward the dorm.
Kataoka and Rei are not allowed in to see Sawamura right now and sit in the waiting room for the doctor or someone to tell them what is going on. Both are filled with dread and apprehension, fearing the worst. It's already middle of the night and they are the only ones in the ICU waiting room. Sawamura's doctor walked in at last and said,"His lungs filled up fast and he was unable to breathe in enough air to sustain him and his heart stopped."
Kataoka and Rei gasped in horror but the doctor patted their shoulders, "Since Sawamura-kun was under close observation, we were able to act quickly and save him. We had to sedate him and insert a tube into his throat to help him breathe. He's on a respirator now."
"Sedated?" Kataoka frowned.
"We will need to keep him sedated for now because he is actually able to breathe on his own and would gag on the tube if he were awake." the doctor said.
"Poor boy." Rei said with sad look in her eyes.
"Yes, I... I want to keep Sawamura-kun on the respirator to force enough air into his lungs until the pneumonia is sufficiently cleared up and he can breathe enough air in to survive. I have called in my fellow doctor to follow Sawamura-kun's pulmonary condition." the doctor added.
Rei was ashen and sits in a nearby chair, imagining the look of Sawamura's family if they heard this news. She's more scared that she has ever been in her life since she's responsible for recruiting Sawamura to play baseball at Tokyo for Seidou High School.
"Is Sawamura going to be all right, doctor?" Kataoka asked.
The doctor adjusted his glasses and stared at Kataoka, "Sawamura-kun is young and otherwise healthy. He is strong willed. His chances are good but it will be touch and go for a day or two. You can stay here in the waiting room through the night if you wish but you would do well to go home and rest."
"Rei-san, you should go home now. I will stay until Sawamura's parenst get here. I'm not leaving him." Kataoka said.
"No, it's okay, coach. I will wait too." Rei smiled, then Kataoka nodded.
At around 11 PM, Sawamura's parents arrive at the hospital. They are very concerned and asked how is he feeling. After Kataoka and Rei left, Sawamura's parents called in by the nurse and went in the small room. The nurse said Sawamura's doctor will be in in a few minutes. Then, the doctor arrive and introduced himself and explained everything about Sawamura's condition.
"Can wee see him?" Sawamura's mom said.
"Okay. I will allow you to go in for ten minutes then you must leave him bedside so the nurses can do their job." the doctor said.
Sawamura's family led to a room filled with monitors and beeping machines and saw him looking pale with a nasty looking tube in his throat and IV solutions running into each arm. Sawamura's mom gasps and swoons. Sawamura's dad and grandfather catches her and carries her to the nurse's station where and she is sent to the emergency room to make sure she is fine. When she has sufficiently recovered, Sawamura's dad takes her to a small hotel nearby while Sawamura's grandpa will stay with him tonight in the hospital.
At 7 AM, Kataoka called Sawamura's parents to check on his condition and was told that Sawamura is stable and improving slightly. With a sigh of relief, Kataoka decided to tell the boys about the current situation of Sawamura in the middle of their breakfast.
"Sawamura is a little better this morning. He seems to have turned the corner and is beginning to improve slowly, but he's still very seriously ill." Kataoka said to them.
The boys look relieved and encouraged but still very worried. They had been worried that they hadn't eat properly their breakfast like they had no appetite. But they need to eat to keep their strength up and to stay strong for their ace. Furuya nibbles at his food as Haruichi encourages him to eat something.
"I hope he's all right." Furuya said.
"Me too." Haruichi said.
"If Sawamura couldn't play, there were a lot of other pitchers right here to take his place, right?" Asou said.
"Like Kawakami?"
"or Toujou..."
"It should be the former ace-sama."
Furuya heard murmuring voices behind him but ignored them and continued to eat.
Slowly Kuramochi turned to Asou and said, "Please quiet guys. He almost died!"
Asou paused and stared at Kuramochi too, "I know I've never talked to you before Youichi, but don't blame yourself although you teased him and made fun of him all the time."
Turning back to his table, Kuramochi smirked, "Hehe! Last night I dreamed of Sawamura."
Everyone looked in his direction.
"I quietly entered our dorm room, I found Sawamura asleep in the bunk bed. I walked closer to see his face. He's sick and pale. Then, he opened his eyes. He looked at me and say 'Hi, Kuramochi-senpai!'" Kuramochi laughed.
Everyone started laughing while eating their breakfast, and Kuramochi continued, "I asked, what's the matter? Then I saw his eyes filled with tears. He said, he's afraid. Then, I asked, afraid of what? I saw his tears began to trickled down his cheeks and said he don't want to go to heaven and leave us. I started to laugh and said, baka! how come you're worried about going to heaven! Nobody is sick or idiot in heaven and nothing dies neither! Everything is pretty up there!"
"Then, what happened next?" Maezono asked, curious.
"Someone broke into our room. He shot me and took Sawamura away and it seemed so real." Kuramochi said.
No one said a word. Kuramochi knew what he said must have sounded insane.
"Like Sawamura-senpai's dream?" Asada said and Kuramochi nodded.
Asada remember he saw Kuramochi already up when he woke at exactly six. He thought maybe Kuramochi hadn't slept at all. Maybe Sawamura's condition bothered him more.
"Dreams can't be real according to the laws of physics." Toujou said.
"But most of them are real." Shirasu said.
"Hey are you okay?" Miyuki suddenly asked, worried.
Kuramochi looked up at him and nodded and replied, "Perfectly fine."
Before the class began, most students asked every baseball players and managers a lot of questions about Sawamura. They mainly wanted to know when Sawamura would be coming back to school. They still remember the sound of a siren echo through the entire campus and saw an ambulance arrived and parked in the front of the building, putting Sawamura Eijun inside and take him to the hospital.
"He's got pneumonia. He's in the hospital." Kuramochi answered his classmates.
"Oh no. I'm sorry. What do the doctors say? He's going to be okay, right?" someone asked.
"Don't worry. He's going to be fine and he's a very strong idiot basically! Kyahaha!" Kuramochi laughed.
"I suppose Sawamura knew about the things Kuramochi was saying about him before he went into hospital." someone whispered to Miyuki.
"Hehe, you're right." Miyuki grinned.
That day, the news spread around Seidou High School very fast about Sawamura's health. Many students visited Sawamura's classroom just to put some flowers, or get well soon card or either put Natto to his table, and during breaktime, the school offer a prayer for Sawamura's recovery.
"So that's why I didn't see him around." the man murmured, watching outside the school.
NOTE:
I thought I'm gonna miss updating this fanfic today. Phew~! I want to continue writing as long as I'm motivated.
