Hisashi sat in front of his old laptop, surrounded by the darkness of night with the soft breathing of his roommates filtering through the silence. He had turned the brightness down as much as he could so the light wouldn't disturb his slumbering teammates, but not enough that he couldn't see what was being displayed. It had become a nightly routine for him after the disappearance of some of his teammates. After school and practice, he'll crack open his laptop and scour through the web for any information or leads that had been released. And when he ran out of official news, he began to delve into the not-so-credible posts from people claiming they had seen traces of their whereabouts. Hisashi was hoping to find consistent speculations from multiple sources, thinking, maybe one of those would actually be onto something. Unfortunately, almost all of them were false, either by mistaken identity, or simply lies for a small bit of internet fame.

It was frustrating, to say the least.

It has been a little over a month now since they were taken, and there was very little to go off of. Of course, Hisashi isn't a detective, but he can't just sit around doing nothing. Going about his daily life as if some of his friends weren't in serious trouble was impossible. Which is a sentiment shared by the rest of the team. Solidified by the results of their last practice game; they lost by a landslide. It could be argued that the loss was because they were missing some of their most crucial players; however, everyone knew it was majorly that Seido was just unable to focus on the game properly. The other team hadn't gloated or even seemed happy with their win. Coach Takako wasn't able to reprimand the team to his usual strict level of post-game meeting. He merely offered them a quick rundown on things that needed to be worked on before telling them all to get some rest. Hisashi doesn't think any of them have had a decent night's sleep since it all began.

Hisashi listlessly scrolled through yet another farfetched post. Once he got to the comments where people were encouraging the original poster to contact the police with the information, he immediately backed out from the page with a sigh of annoyance. Not for the first time, he considered searching the dark web. A couple of weeks ago, Hisashi had even researched how to access the special browser required, however, after reading a bunch of warnings and horror stories of what other people have encountered, he chickened out. Every now and again, the thought would resurface, and he'll have to remind himself that he doesn't have the necessary measures in place to assist in navigating the dark web in any capacity of "safe". Not to mention, he has read that it is impossible to search for anything on the browser, and can only go to specific pages via direct link. So even if he does venture into the unknown, there's no guarantee he'll even find anything remotely helpful without risking his own safety and being mentally scarred. That's even if whoever took them posts anything to the dark web. Hisashi really hoped this wasn't a case of human trafficking, because by this time, who knows where they could even be.

With another sigh, Hisashi gently closed the lid of his laptop, suppressing the urge to slam it shut, and plunged himself into complete darkness. He remained seated, staring blankly at his laptop. Hisashi was tired, both physically and emotionally. His eyelids felt heavy, and on a normal day, he would immediately pass out as soon as his head hit the pillow, but now he knows better. Because now, once he lays down and gets comfortable, he'll suddenly feel wide awake, brain too active to wind down and sleep. Eventually, he will fall asleep in the early hours, only to wake up feeling like he didn't get any rest at all.

He lifted his arms up in a stretch, feeling the stiffness in his shoulders and spine as he moved from the slouched position he maintained for too many hours. The chair squeaked with the shift of his weight; the sound was explosive in the quiet of the room, and for a solid second, Hisashi thought it woke one of his roommates. With the rustling of sheets, whoever it was resettled, allowing the room to fall silent again.

Blindly, Hisashi felt around for his journal splayed out on the desk next to his laptop. He had been jotting down notes with their sources onto the lined pages, keeping track of any and all articles or blog posts he has sifted through. Thankfully, he thought ahead and started his notes in a new journal, as it was currently almost full. At the rate he was filling it out, he'll need to buy a new one to continue in.

Despite all the notes he has taken down, it still feels fruitless as he has found nothing formidable. Hisashi constantly has to remind himself that he's not really expecting to find anything at all, but it's impossible to not get his hopes up, even by just a fraction.

Hisashi flipped the cover of the journal closed, setting it on top of his laptop, before moving both into the second drawer of the desk. His roommates have gotten used to his routine of late-night internet searches, but they have not made any comments after the first inquiries they had about it. He knows it's probably not good for his mental health to be continuously searching the web for any sightings - that probably don't even exist- every night. The times he does manage to go straight to bed, end with him laying there, imagining all the possibilities that his teammates could be experiencing. Those nights he tends to wake up hours before his alarm in a cold sweat, and the residual nightmare immediately fading at his wakefulness.

Hisashi reached out to pat around the desk for his phone, and upon locating it, he brought the screen to life, causing him to squint at its harsh brightness. It was a quarter to midnight, though Hisashi knew he wouldn't be able to lay down to rest right after a session. Late night walks around the dorm and fields were effective in winding his brain down enough for him to fall asleep when he did crawl into bed. Hisashi pushed himself up from the desk, depositing his phone into a pocket of his sweatpants before creeping across the room to the door. The latch clicked loudly when he turned the doorknob, but otherwise, he managed to slip silently out of the room, making sure to close the door just as quietly behind him.

The night air was cool and refreshing, a stark contrast from the pelting sun during the day. Hisashi took a deep breath in through his nose, holding the air in his lungs for several seconds before letting it slowly flow past his lips. With that, he made his way through the stillness of the dorms, with only the sound of his sandals and cicadas for company. The purpose of the walk was mainly to clear the darker thoughts that surfaced from his search to something more mundane, and tonight, he replayed the earlier practice game, taking mental notes on the mistakes that were made on Seido's part while also remembering the major plays the other team achieved.

Hisashi was just rounding the corner to the back of the dorms when he heard the familiar swish of a bat cutting through the air, occasionally followed by a grunt. He slowed his pace, unsure if he should turn around and go a different direction or continue passing. However, his curiosity wanted to find out who was up this late practicing their swings. There were several individuals who he could think of off the top of his head that often stay up late, or wake up even earlier to get a little extra practice in. Besides, Hisashi wasn't one to judge for still being awake at this hour.

As he peered around the wall, Hisashi could see a silhouetted back, barely within the luminescence of the exterior lighting. And despite not being able to see them clearly, Hisashi immediately knew who it was.

Maezono had a rough game. He hadn't managed to land a single solid hit on a pitch, and while he was improving in his consistency in batting, he has recently seen a large decline in his abilities. Hisashi can only attribute it to their missing teammates. Recently, Maezono's swings at the plate appeared to be forced and rushed. He would swing early most of the time, either resulting in a miss or barely clipping the ball for an easy catch by the infield. Maezono had taken the fourth batter spot in replacement of Miyuki, and Hisashi is positive the reminder of Miyuki and the pressure associated with it did no favors for his soft heart.

Hisashi watched Maezono in silence. He was unsure whether he should say something to him. But what could he say? He wasn't great at comforting others. Sure, he can sometimes fumble advice out, but hell, he couldn't even manage his own worries and stress in a healthy manner right now. He remained rooted in place, debating with himself on speaking up or walking away.

Suddenly, Maezono lowered the bat, hands fisted tightly at his sides. For a while, he simply stood there, frozen in the shadows. Hisashi knew this would be a good moment to speak, to address the metaphorical elephant in the room. Their missing teammates had become an unspoken taboo of discussion after the first few days. And maybe that's what they needed. Maybe they would both benefit from opening up about their concerns. Hisashi opened his mouth, and just as he was about to call out, Maezono's hunched shoulders began to shake and the bat fell from his grip, clattering to the ground. It started with the occasional sniffle before it escalated to full-on sobs. Hisashi could do nothing but stare in astonishment.

However, the longer he watched, the tighter his throat got, and the stronger the stinging behind his eyes burned. When the first tear spilled over, Hisashi spun around, speed walking back to his room before his own gasping breaths gave him away. He was resigned to the fact that he was not going to get any sleep tonight.