Gloves
Monta held the catchers mitt of his baseball hero, Honjou, carefully and gently oiling the ageing leather surface. The glove of a catching god, it was his prized possession, his greatest treasure, and he did everything possible to keep it in good shape. He used it as an idol, to pray to the Catching Gods; for strength, and victory in the face of so many near-insurmountable odds.
But the monkey-like boy wondered; one day, would a future fan of his treat his own American football gloves with all the pride and care that he treated Honjou's baseball mitt?