To kirsi: Thanks for the review! I'm not gonna stop anytime soon, don't worry. :D
It's the third time, Eijun assumes, that he's gone for an evening stroll around the campus only to end up on the field, watching Furuya make laps around the diamond when all the other players have long retreated to their rooms. He's starting to think he does this for the sole purpose of seeing the guy. That can't be right.
"Pride," Miyuki had told Eijun once, "it's a matter of pride. You and Furuya are the same—heck, I think all baseball players are the same. We're all egoists who don't want to give up our throne. But Furuya lacks stamina, and until he shows the coach that he can stay on that mound from start to finish, he's going to have to swallow his pride and let another pitcher take over."
"So is that why you're making him run even after practice?"
"I didn't make him do it. Our Monster Rookie decided that all on his own. Well, that just means I have no obligation to carry his ass back to his room if he passes out from exhaustion."
"You're a twisted guy, you know that?"
"Heh, thanks. I get that all the time."
From where Eijun's standing, Furuya looks like he's running after the moon, and he has to laugh at himself because it's not like him to get all poetic. It does describe the guy perfectly, though—cool on the outside but hot on the inside, would sooner chase an impossible goal than admit defeat. Eijun fights back the urge to run alongside him, remembering his promise to Chris of not overworking himself today. But if he closes his eyes, Eijun can almost see that fierce expression on his fellow pitcher's face, and he mentally kicks himself for thinking Furuya actually looks cool when fired up.
It's only after an hour of running that fatigue finally gets the better of Furuya and he crumples to the ground. He turns so that he's lying on his back, gazing up at the sky, the full moon looking down on him like a baseball wanting to be thrown. He really just wants to play a game—he's been doing nothing but strength and endurance training for the past few days and his patience is wearing thin.
Furuya stretches out his arm, clutching his hand as if grabbing the moon, and he recalls the feeling of standing atop the mound, blood boiling and muscles tensing as he winds up for a pitch. He doesn't notice that he's been smiling until Eijun points it out.
"Nice face you got there," Eijun chides.
"Shut up," he says, quickly retracting his arm and pulling his cap over his face to hide his embarrassment.
"Here." A bottle of water lands on top of his stomach. "Thought you could use it."
Eijun lies down beside him and makes a stray comment about how the moon looks like a baseball. Funny, he was just thinking the same thing.
Furuya doesn't know how long they stay like this or how much time passes in silence but what he does know is he's grateful for the other boy's company. He'll never say this out loud, of course. Eijun hands him a small plastic container with two onigiri inside, mumbling something about how they're leftovers from the lunch Haruno made him and how Furuya should eat something before he loses consciousness.
"Lose consciousness? Have you been talking to Miyuki-senpai?" Furuya asks. "He's been telling me to 'pass out and never wake up' lately."
"I think he's just trying to piss you off so you work harder. Still, that guy's pretty annoying sometimes."
"I won't pass out. I'm not that weak."
"I know."
"Besides, I can't lose. Not to you, not to anybody."
Furuya half-expects a loud retort involving lots of cussing and a detailed essay of why he's better, but Eijun merely chuckles. "Yeah, I know that, too. I ain't gonna lose, either."
"You're acting weird tonight."
"Says the guy smiling at the moon like a dork just a few minutes ago."
This sparks another one of their usual arguments and Furuya wouldn't have it any other way.