I will preface this by saying: Don't take this story seriously
I started writing this and the words just flowed out but they aren't all that coherent. The plot is barely there...maybe... i don't really know what this story is, but I wanted to get it out of my system.
It's very wordy, lots of run on sentences, I'm sure i switch a lot between past and present tense.
I mildly edited this once and I may go through it again in the future, but probably not.
If you end up reading this, much thanks! - I really appreciate you muddling through this little story of mine. Kudos and comments always appreciated.
Takes place around Season 03 (Act II), Episode 10 when Okumura catches for Sawamura for the first time. A Time Skip to after the match with Ichidaisan (episode 16) also occurs.
(Also, I do like Miyuki a lot - he's one of my favorite characters...to torment) :D
Work Text:
Okumura Koushuu knew he had picked Seidou for a reason. He had scouted out a few schools he was interested in, but that game with Teito at the Fall Tournament where he saw that intense game-calling and a pitcher who could deliver - there was just no way he wasn't going to that team. He would show the catcher who was better and take that pitcher as his own partner.
Taku liked to make fun of him for it - how he only joined Seidou because he wanted to pick a fight with the starting catcher and steal his battery partner, but Koushuu couldn't exactly refute those claims - and besides, he wasn't keen on joining any team that had his former teammates on it. Taku was the only one he trusted to have his back.
So they joined Seidou and since the first day it seemed to have been a roller coaster. There were so many ups and downs that Koushuu couldn't believe that all this drama existed on a baseball team. Or maybe he was just looking too deeply into it.
The 'down' part started when he realized his self-proclaimed rival, Captain Miyuki Kazuya, was his roommate. The next 'down' that happened was that the pitcher he had admired on the mound was so noisy and didn't take baseball seriously at all. The final 'down' was that he pretty much yelled at the pitcher that had inspired him to join Seidou, thus souring their future interactions. (Getting a lecture from Miyuki-senpai hadn't helped his mood either.)
Koushuu wasn't sure what to make of his senpai at first, despite first impressions. Sawamura-senpai was loud, annoying, unprofessional, and Koushuu disliked him instantly - found his voice grating, his 'friendly' gestures demeaning, and all it did was make Koushuu regret coming to Seidou.
Taku had tried to get him to 'loosen up' but by now Taku knew him well enough to know that wasn't going to happen.
Then Miyuki-senpai flat out rejected Sawamura-senpai to catch for Furuya instead.
Koushuu didn't know why but he suddenly felt his stomach tie into knots as he looked at Sawamura-senpai's pained face. It was like all that cheerfulness and liveliness had been sucked out of the older teen, leaving him dejected and frustrated. There really wasn't a better description for it.
Koushuu wasn't sure what his true motivations were and he didn't want to analyze his feelings too closely.
I'll catch for you
Four simple words that he had probably uttered at pitchers a hundred times over, and yet due to the circumstances they came to mean so much more at that moment.
The 'up' part of the roller coaster happened. He was going to catch for Sawamura-senpai, Seidou's southpaw pitcher. In a way that one thing outweighed all the bad stuff that had happened before.
It was this evening that became a turning point in his thoughts and feelings regarding Sawamura-senpai.
Miyuki never questioned his standing on the team and with the pitchers. Due to his hard work and talent he became an integral part of both the offensive and defensive plays. He was also the main catcher and mainly in charge of Furuya and Sawamura. He hadn't realized just how much work was left to do when the third years had graduated. Chris-senpai had been a huge help taking care of the bullpen and helping out Sawamura improve his pitching, but both Sawamura and Furuya were improving at an alarming rate that he could hardly keep up.
Sawamura and Furuya vying for his attention helped give Miyuki the confidence that seemed to waver after being assigned the Captain - his leadership skills left a lot to be desired and he still had a tough time being open with any of the players.
That's where Sawamura and Furuya came in. They constantly needed his praise and his attention. It helped bolster his ego as a catcher whenever he took 'hits' as a captain. He had fostered a balanced way of keeping both pitchers for himself. Now that the team had a new batch of first years and Yui already made it on the first string, Miyuki could feel the other catchers slowly clawing their way up to him. He admitted that he was protective of his pitchers to the point of being possessive - but that was mainly because he never wanted to give such a fun position on the field to anyone else. Yui wasn't the only competition. His own roommate was also a catcher and it seemed the boy was fixated on Sawamura. It always left a sour feeling whenever he saw the southpaw and younger catcher interacting. In a way it made him act out childishly. He would ignore Sawamura and focus on Furuya. He would use nicknames like ace-sama to make Sawamura grumble and glower and only focus on him.
Furuya was easier to handle. All the boy wanted to do was pitch, so as long as Miyuki agreed to catch for him Furuya was pleased. It also helped that despite Yui being Furuya's roommate, along with Ono, Furuya still only trusted Miyuki to actually catch for him. That wasn't to say that the other two catchers were incapable, they just hadn't earned Furuya's trust.
Sawamura on the other hand was prickly and emotional. Something that would work on him one day would have the complete opposite effect the next. Miyuki loved it. He loved being surprised, loved puzzling out what he could do or say to make Sawamura react. It was no secret that he enjoyed messing with the southpaw. Whenever Sawamura got annoyed or mad his eyes would blaze a searing gold, whenever the southpaw was embarrassed he would gain a pretty pink flush on his cheeks, whenever the pitcher was happy his mouth would split into the widest smile imaginable that Miyuki would find himself smiling right along with him. He treasured all the moments he shared with Sawamura, but that didn't mean he didn't enjoy teasing the other boy. Kuramochi was right when he said that Miyuki had an awful personality.
After catching for Sawamura for the first time Koushuu could feel something in his chest pound furiously. Was it his heart? What was happening?
They were just playing catch, but when Sawamura-senpai sent the ball over to his mitt the ball landed perfectly, making the most wonderful sound. It was inspiring .
Catching for a pitcher that had this level of control, speed, and strength was exhilarating. This is what he came to Seidou for - chasing this exact feeling. Ever since he saw Miyuki-senpai laughing to himself as he ran back to home plate from the mound Koushuu wondered and wondered what placed that expression on his face. Yet now he felt he could begin to understand.
It was this. It was catching for this pitcher that brought forth those feelings. He could tell that something new was beginning. He didn't want to give this up, give Sawamura-senpai up to anyone.
When Miyuki had him crouch down in order to receive an actual pitch Koushuu was elated. Just how much more would this make him feel? Ball after ball smacked into his mitt, resonating deep within him. And then Miyuki senpai called out for number seven . He explained the mechanics of the pitch, how it had a nasty break at the plate, the ball moving more for depth than for height. Koushuu concentrated as hard as he could, determined to become worthy of being Sawamura-senpai's catcher.
He missed
He couldn't believe he missed. There was nothing wrong with Miyuki's explanation or tutelage though he wished he could blame it on that. He had simply missed . The ball sailed past his mitt. The sound he had gotten so used to, the sound that made his heart beat wildly, was gone.
"Sorry, that was a wild one!" called out Sawamura-senpai after the ball hit the net behind him. That wasn't what he wanted to hear - that wasn't the sound he wanted to experience.
Koushuu could feel his heart beat even wilder as if in response to Sawamura's words. What was that pitch? An improved cutter? All he knew was that he wanted to keep catching for his senpai - he wanted to catch all the numbers.
But he wasn't good enough yet, wasn't even on the second string. He needed to get better, to improve and work his way up, only then could he call himself Sawamura-senpai's catcher.
"Alright, let's switch," intervened Miyuki with a light chuckle. Koushuu looked up at the captain and was positive he could sense a purple, demonic aura coming from the other catcher, as if teasing and belittling his catching ability.
He felt a sudden spike of anger and growled. He would normally have protested in his own way, but as he was now he wasn't worthy of Sawamura-senpai and so with great reluctance he switched with Miyuki-senpai. He moved aside, but wasn't about to leave the two alone. He could feel Taku hovering around him as well as the others but he only had eyes for Sawamura and his pitches.
He waited up until the end of Miyuki and Sawamuras' practice, hovering on the outskirts of the practice gym after removing his catchers' gear. They seemed to be talking softly to one another. He didn't like how that looked at all. The pressure on his chest became heavier - he realized that he didn't even like seeing the two of them together, regardless of what they were doing. Finally they separated after Miyuki said something to the pitcher causing Sawamura to fluster around making a lot of noise. The captain just laughed as he walked his way out of the gym followed by Furuya and Yui. He felt Taku's hand on his shoulder, no doubt to drag him to the bath before heading to bed, but he wasn't ready to leave just yet. "I'll catch up," he mumbled for Taku's ears. His friend knew him well enough that he dragged Asada and Kukki with him as well as he exited the gym.
Sawamura-senpai was still standing at the practice mound with a ball in hand, twirling it around as he focused on the seams and the feel of the ball. He approached the other teen confidently.
"Tell me more about this work of art you mentioned. Tell me more about you and your pitches," demanded Koushuu.
Few days later
They had lost against Ichidaisan, but Sawamura had won. His pitches had won and Koushuu was more determined than ever to be his sole catcher. He could admit that Furuya was interesting and some of Kawakami's pitches were as well, but there was just something about Sawamura-senpai that drew him in like no other pitcher had.
He remembered the conversation he had with Sawamura after their indoor practice. The other teen had struggled to explain what he meant by a work of art . The pitcher kept trying to explain it with a series of sounds, waving arms, and just saying the word 'feeling' over and over again as if the repetition would light an epiphany. Koushuu wasn't sure what he meant, but he expressed that he wanted to learn with Sawamura.
When he had said that, when he admitted that he wanted to learn how to make that work of art with Sawamura-senpai the pitcher's face had gotten so red. It was …. endearing. Koushuu wanted to see that expression more and more. They briefly touched on the numbers but it was getting late and Sawamura said they could continue their conversation later, the older teen's face still sporting a fetching pink on his cheeks.
Now that the Spring Tournament was over for them they had even more and more time to practice and increased opportunities to show that they belonged on the first string. He wanted to be there, to be worthy of catching for Sawamura-senpai, but he also wanted to be close to the pitcher, closer than anyone else on the team.
Miyuki didn't like what he saw. He had plenty of work on his plate since it was his last year on the Seidou team. He wanted to take his team to Koushien and win, wanted to complete Sawamura's numbers, train the first year catchers and help Furuya realize his full potential. He had so much work to do that sometimes he felt like he was drowning in it. A few times a sense of melancholy would hit him when he thought about just how little time was left with this team and with these people that had grown so dear to him, though he was loathe to admit it.
Now as he focused more on his batting and training the pitchers and catchers on game calling he found he had less and less time to spend with just Sawamura. Last year he had mostly focused on helping Furuya since he was his assigned battery partner and Sawamura was partnered with Chris-senpai so the time spent apart there was normal. Now he was used to having Sawamura's attention. They had worked remarkably well together during the Fall Tournament that thinking about some of those pitches had him getting goosebumps. Sawamura and Furuya would fight over his time, would demand he catch for them and train with him, and Miyuki reveled in it. He wanted to be their center of attention, wanted them to demand his time more and more. That didn't mean he'd give his time over so easily, but it was nice to be wanted.
Furuya was still acting as normal. The boy had his head full of surpassing his potential, of trying to reach and exceed his pitching from last Fall's Koushien. The power pitcher would seek him out constantly as per the course. What was different was Sawamura's behavior. He was used to Sawamura accosting him in the dining hall, outside the bath house, after practice, and even in the early mornings to practice with him. Miyuki was used to the exuberant energy and attention and suddenly it wasn't there any more. As the days progressed he could feel himself being drawn away from Sawamura more and more and he hated it. He didn't like the feeling that he didn't know where the other teen was, didn't know what he was doing, that Sawamura wasn't pitching to him.
Since he no longer had Sawamura vying for his attention Miyuki found himself seeking out the southpaw himself instead. Once he laid his eyes on him he felt like he could breathe again, the tightness in his chest loosening.
Now however, that tightness had returned. Sawamura wasn't pitching to him any more, wasn't seeking him out. Wasn't laughing with him, yelling at him, wasn't smiling at him.
An ugly feeling settled in his stomach.
No, Sawamura wasn't doing anything like that with him. He was doing all of those things with Okumura Koushuu .
Was this how Sawamura felt whenever he ignored him for Furuya?
He hated this feeling. Hated seeing them together, Sawamura smiling brightly at Okumura, praising the younger catcher, hated the feelings it evoked. He wanted to bother them, to break them up, tease them - but when he looked at them, he just couldn't. They had some kind of aura around them that made people look but not interfere.
He didn't belong there any more.
Every day after practice Koushuu and Sawamura would get together. Sawamura was finally able to find the words to describe a work of art and how that pertained to pitching and catching. They also learned about one another. At first Koushuu was hesitant to reveal much about himself, unable to express himself, open up all those raw feelings inside, but the more he heard about Sawamura-senpai's own struggles the more he felt safe and comfortable to be able to share.
He told him about his old coach, how he felt manipulated and abandoned, how his coach had made him hate baseball at times, hated how his lessons deepened into his psyche and still affected how he played - how he wished he could wash it all away and how he missed playing baseball for the fun of it.
Their talks always left him feeling exposed and vulnerable, but then Sawamura would share things about himself and that helped balance out the scales. The pitcher told him how he was almost not even a member of the team, how he insulted the one person that was actually trying to help him become a better pitcher, how this Chris-senpai helped him become the pitcher he is today. He told him about the hit-by-pitch against Inashiro that ended the last summer tournament, how the pitch left him with the yips, unable to pitch to the inside and essentially disabling him as a pitcher. Koushuu couldn't believe it, couldn't believe that this extraordinary pitcher who could paint the corners, who could pitch to the outside and inside so flawlessly had had the yips.
Sawamura's presence and ability as a pitcher rose within Koushuu's mind. There was no way he was ever going to give him up now.
It was inevitable, really. The time they spent together became precious memories. They had ended up sharing such private moments, thoughts and feelings that they became closer than ever before.
Some of the things they talked about they had never shared with another person. Sawamura was able to make Koushuu feel happiness. It was such a novel concept to him. He always had passion and a thirst to win, always took baseball seriously and detested those who looked like they were making a mockery of the sport. Yet Sawamura was different. He took baseball as seriously as he did, but he still had fun. He yelled and cheered, gave his teammates ridiculous nicknames and genuinely enjoyed every day he played. At first Koushuu had resented him for it, but now he loved it. Loved the energy the southpaw brought to the field, looked forward to whatever weird thing he was going to call his teammates, waited until that infectious grin shined toward him.
Sawamura seemed to blossom from Koushuu's attention and praise. The southpaw had definitely earned all the positive words that left Koushuu's mouth with his pitching. The praise made Sawamura happy, which in turn increased his energy from the mound, thus making Koushuu enjoy baseball more and more. It was an endless, positive cycle that he never wanted to break out of.
It was one night after an inter-team scrimmage that made Koushuu finally realize what all the feelings he had toward Sawamura were. He had always felt strong emotions when it came to the southpaw, whether positive or negative, but they had always been there, been powerful.
The sun was setting and the sky was painted in oranges and pinks. They were winding down from an early practice by running with tires. It seemed it was the pitcher's favorite cool down exercise. Koushuu didn't get it at first, but when he saw just how fast and easily the pitcher was able to pull along the tire as he ran around the field he saw the value in it and joined. It was another thing they now shared together.
He was running with the tire but then he tripped on the rope. He felt himself fall to the hard ground, the impact and suddenness startling a sound out of him. Sawamura immediately doubled back to him and helped him sit up and untangle him from the rope. There was no mocking tease in those eyes as he expected, if anything the older teen looked worried. His eyes flared gold as he leaned in to make sure he was okay. Koushuu knelt on the dirt ground right next to Sawamura then leaned right back in and kissed him.
It wasn't planned. He didn't even realize he had done it until Sawamura-senpai touched his lips with his fingertips and his eyes widened in surprise.
He wanted to do it again.
He leaned in again giving Sawamura plenty of time to avoid him or push him away, but when the southpaw did neither of those things he kissed him once more.
It was different and pleasant and wonderful.
He wondered if this was what he had always sought from the pitcher. Ever since he first saw him on the mound he knew he wanted him. He just didn't known that he would want him in this capacity. Now that he had him he couldn't remember how it was to have him any other way.
Sawamura Eijun was finally his.