Chapter 5

ALONE IN THE DORM

Seven days have passed and there's still no sign of Seidou ace player around. Without Sawamura, the silence seemed strange as some boys wandered around. He is, without question, the most important and annoying loudmouth of all time for them, and even though they didn't appreciate him so much when Sawamura and the other boys lived together at the spirit dorm, since he's still not coming back yet, they feel they had truly come to understand their current ace, and as they attachment for Sawamura had grown. The dorm is too quiet without Sawamura's voice, the field seemed almost eerily quiet without Sawamura running around.

Every day and every night, the boys expected to see Sawamura around, but each day passed as the day before. Sometimes they'd go and stand outside the field during night and imagining the sounds of tires dragging on the ground. They'd go in slowly with their eyes closed, then open them quickly, hoping to catch Sawamura running there, but it didn't.

"Has your ace come home yet?" a man called to Haruichi outside the fence.

Haruichi shook his head. His close friend had not returned yet but with each passing day, their hope didn't faded a little.

"Okay, thank you little boy." the young man said before heading to his home.

Haruichi just watch the man where he went and took a deep breath as he left the field too. Walking slowly up the stairs, he headed towards his dorm. Once inside the room, he found Mogami sleeping peacefully on his bed, now quiet and still, Haruichi pulled out a chair and sat down in front of the study table, flipping through some pages in his notebook. The dorm was strangely quiet that night except for the lonely sound of the wind blowing against the dorm room window. He looked over his left shoulder as he heard the door open. His eyes smiled as they followed Maezono's movements as he came in through the door and then closed it again quietly.

"Hey, Sawamura's health is good now and he will be released from the hospital tomorrow." Maezono smiled.

"R-really?" Haruichi astonished as his eyes turned in a bright.

That night, they all found out later that Sawamura would be released from the hospital tomorrow.


The next day, Rei left after school class to pick up Sawamura at the hospital. She drove along with the radio playing. Rei of course was concentrating on the road and watching the small traffic as she got closer to town more and more cars were around. She arrived at the hospital and greeted by Sawamura's mother. She found Sawamura sitting on a window seat staring out the window and he looked so much better now.

"Rei-san! I'm glad you have come here to pick my son. Thank you for taking care of him." Sawamura's mother bowed.

Rei smiled and bowed as well, "You're welcome, Mrs. Sawamura. I'm glad that he is getting better. You and your husband are doing a good job of looking after him. He's really brave and strong boy."

"Yeah, he is. Obviously it's you and coach Kataoka who deserves thanks for saving my son's life." Sawamura's mother bowed again.

Rei smiled and say, "Sawamura saved himself. He didn't want to give up."

The two women chatted for a minutes then Sawamura's mother turned to open the closet and get his son things. She picked up Eijun's clothes or what was left of his son's clothes in it and put them inside the hospital bag.

"How are you feeling, Sawamura-kun?" Rei asked.

Sawamura looked up at her, "I'm getting better, but it will be a long time before I am able to do much. I... I will have to do special exercises when I get back so that I can get back on playing baseball." Sawamura said with a timid smile.

"Yeah, you cannot move around like you use to be able to. I'm glad you didn't give up. We're here to help you." Rei smiled.

Sawamura had a half smile on his face and Rei figured she knew what Sawamura was thinking.

"Speaking of team, they're going to be so happy to see you. They're been so worried." Rei smiled.

Rei noticed Sawamura was finally starting to look like himself again. He was gaining color in his face and Rei knows that Kataoka would be relieved to see the difference.

After being released from the hospital, Sawamura, Rei and his mother went to the train station.

Sawamura's mother say goodbye, "Get better soon, Ei-chan. Me and your father will come back to pick you up when you're not feeling well and ready to come home."

"Thanks, okaasan." Sawamura said as he hugged his mother.

She then walked and headed to the train so she could go home now. Sawamura was very uneasy leaving his family again after taking care of him but he felt he had no other choice, he have to finish his studies and also to play his favorite baseball sport.

Rei open the car door and let the young boy in, Sawamura leant back in the cab, inhaling the smell of the black leather seats with a sigh. He also caught his reflection in the cab's window. Sawamura starts thinking like he had been in the hospital for years when it didn't because for him, he looked kinda different, like kinda pale. He noticed for the first time how his lips were dry and those dark circles under his eyes but he stay very still and quiet until Rei starts the engine of the car.

While Rei's busy driving, she glanced at the front mirror and noticed Sawamura who's busy watching the sunset through the window. It's so beautiful, the sky was watery blue, the sun with a rich amber gold melting into the horizon like liquid honey.

"Are you okay, Sawamura-kun?" Rei broke the silence even though she knows that Sawamura doesn't feel okay but the young boy just nodded on her question.

It's already dark when they finally reached the dorm, Rei carefully parked the car by the side of the indoor training center without Sawamura notice because he just suddenly started feeling anxious and nervous about returning to the spirit dorm while glancing through the window.

"What's wrong?" Rei asked.

"I don't know. I just started feeling anxious." Sawamura replied.

"How do you feel now?" Rei asked again.

"It's like I'm calming down some." Sawamura said.

"Are you sure?" Rei frowned.

"Uhmm, Rei-san, is it silly if I'm afraid to go back?" Sawamura asked her in a timid voice.

"No, it's not silly at all, Sawamura." Rei told him.

The next thing Sawamura knew that the car was parked already. How idiot he is.

"Oh..." Sawamura said.

"Well, try to relax. I know you're excited to see them." Rei smiled.

"Yeah." Sawamura smiled.

"Come on, let's go." Rei smiled as she opened her door.

When Sawamura got up and went outside the car, he starts feeling dizzy. He didn't get enough sleep in the hospital before Rei pick him up.

Rei looked at Sawamura, "Are you really alright?" she asked.

"I-I'm just tired after the drive." Sawamura hold his head.

"You look like you didn't get much sleep." Rei said, worriedly.

Sawamura remember last night that he woke up with a cold sweat because of the nightmare.

"Yeah, I am going to my room now and sit down for a little while. I'll get myself something a little later on." Sawamura murmured.

"Alright, Sawamura. I'll try to have some rest too. I'm not sure when the others will be back. It could still be a couple of hours or so since they're still practicing with the head coach." Rei said and Sawamura nodded.

While heading to the dorm, alone, the moon was not quite full. It was bright enough that Sawamura could see the path but suddenly, he starts getting goose bumps

that someone was following him. He kept looking over his shoulder but nothing was there. Sawamura was sure that someone's walking when he walked and stopping when he stopped. He tried taking a few fast steps despite of his current condition, then stopping suddenly.

As he stopped in the front of the dinning hall, he heard a familiar voice. It was kind of murmuring, like something he'd heard in his dream, coming from his back. Sawamura realized he should have keep walking but curiosity was drawing him closer like a magnet. As he continued forward, he felt coldness coming on and he smelled something that made him gag, the smell of beer and cigarette.

Sawamura just sighed and tried to remind himself that he liked walking alone. By the time he'd reached his dorm room, he's out of breath. He was about to close the door when he got an eerie feeling that someone was still watching him but he knows he could handle anything.

"You're just imagining things..." Sawamura said to himself.

He scanned outside the door and carefully closed the door. He then went to the window, peering a slit in the curtain, waiting to see if someone was lurking outside. When he'd seen nothing suspicious, he made his way to his bed.

He lies on his back on his bed and watches the white ceiling. He holds his hand then his fingers splayed above his eyes and moves it back and forth. The pattern of light and shadow makes him calm because when Sawamura is looking at the pattern, nothing else can get in and he is alone, even when there are boys around, busy practicing outside.

He was about to sleep when the eerie feeling returned but he just slapped his face and talking to himself that he's overreacting. He begin to hum so that he can't hear anything outside, hoping it would calm his nerves. Suddenly, Sawamura felt his phone vibrate and pulled out of his pocket.

"Hello?" Sawamura said.

"Hello, I'm looking for Sawamura Eijun." a man said loudly.

"T-this is him." Sawamura frowned.

"Oh, finally! Good evening, Sawamura-kun. I am your fan, can I meet you outside, even for just a moment?"

"How did you get my number? Who is this?"

"My name is..."

Sawamura jumped to the loud knocking on the front door.

"Was Kuramochi-senpai and Asada at the door? But it's not locked." Sawamura said to himself.

The time on his phone said it's 6:30 pm and the boys would have left the field by now and start heading back to the dorm but there's no any sign of them until now.

"I'll get it!" Sawamura cried.

Sawamura was afraid when he stumbled into the the door and through the curtain, he saw a tall and thin figure wearing a baseball cap. He was a total stranger he had never seen before.

"Yes? Can I help you, sir?" Sawamura asked politely.

"I'm your fan, Sawamura Eijun. I'm fan of Seidou!" the man shouted back.

"What do you want, sir?" Sawamura frowned.

"I'm here to see you." the man smiled evilly.

Sawamura suddenly remember when he was 7 years old, his grandfather had told him at least a dozen times not to open the door to strangers. When he was about to run, the young man suddenly pulled a handkerchief out of his jacket pocket and placed it over Sawamura's mouth causing the young pitcher to be in an unconscious state.

Before Sawamura reaches the floor, the stranger catches the young boy's falling body. His face turned toward Sawamura, and he watched until he saw the slow rise and fall of the young boy's chest. The man smiled and kissed Sawamura's forehead and embraced the small body very tightly. While staring again at Sawamura's sleeping face for so long, he decided it was time to abduct this ace player before he began to wake up.

He duct taped Sawamura's hands and feet, carried him out of the dorm and opened the trunk of the car and pulled the young boy's unconscious body from the trunk, threw Sawamura over the stranger's shoulder and as the young pitcher's body was being placed into the trunk, Sawamura's eyes opened wide from the burning sensation because of the heat of the car. He tried to scream but that only lasted a few seconds as the man hit Sawamura's stomach so hard and slipped into unconsciousness again.

The man just laughed then closed the trunk and got into the car starting it up. He reached the picture of Sawamura on the dashboard and kissed it. Rolling down the window he tossed out the picture.

"I'll leave it! Find me if you can!" the man laughed.

Then, the next morning, the news about the disappearance of Sawamura was broadcasted on every channels and also published in newspapers.


NOTE: Sorry for the long update! I actually had forgotten it! Thank you for giving me a review and I'm so happy to read them! ^w^