My shoes scraped against the rough white base that was caked with dried dirt. The oposing team looked average, but I learned from experience not to judge the strength of a team by their appearance. The bat in my hands felt slippery with sweat. I knew my nerves showed, so I tried to act all cool but I think it just made me look worse. Taking a few practice swings, I realized this was the first time I knew someone who was watching me in the crowd.

My mother was always away, so she didn't have time to come and watch me play. My dad worked most of the week, and even when he did have time he wasn't interested. Sports weren't his thing, and most of the time I didn't care anyway. But there were times when I wished he would just show up to one game. Just one. Then he would see why I have such a big love for the sport.

First pitch. The ball flew past me and smacked into the catchers glove.

"Strike one!"

The pitcher was tall and skinny, so I could tell he was a fast thrower. Tall pitchers usually had that quality. If the pitcher was bigger, it usually meant that the basball was more strongly thrown, but slower. At least that's what I obseved anyway.

My fingers gripped the bat, turning my knuckles white. Determined to hit the damn ball, I focused all my attention on the pitchers glove which contained it. He took his stance, and the ball left his hand.

The next thing I heard was the smack of the baseball impacting against my bat. I had hit it.

I dropped my bat to the grass and ran to first base. As I looked in the distance, I had only hit the ball to center field. For two seconds in my mind, I debated weather or not I would be able to make it to second base in time, but I figured I didn't have much to lose. So I went for it.

I sprinted to the base, running as fast as my legs allowed. It felt as though the base was getting father away as I got closer; like it was taking forever to reach it. The center fielder threw the ball, and I knew I had seconds before it would reach second base. I slid across the dirt, outstretching my leg, inches away.

From what I could see, my foot touched the base right as the second baseman caught the ball. I turned my head to look at the umpire, and he declared I was safe.

My teammates cheered and the crowd applauded. I looked at Yui behind the wire fence, and she was smiling. I could tell she wanted to clap along with everyone else, but her smile told me she was cheering me on im her mind.

Akitaka stepped up to the plate, looking as strong and buff as ever. His cold eyes made the pitcher tense up, fidgeting with the ball in is glove. He took a massive and effortless pactice swing.

"Come on Akitaka put some numbers on the board!" Okito shouted from the sideline.

Akitaka gave him a hard glance which make Okito shut up. I couldn't blame him. Akitaka was very intimidating.

The pitcher nervously threw the ball, and on the first pitch he hit it. I didn't pay attention to where the ball was going; I just needed to run. I made my way to third base before taking a look at how far it went, and I realized it had gone over the fence.

A home run. The score was now 2 to 0.

The crowd cheered loudly for Akitaka, and I gave everyone a high five. Okito walked over to me a few seconds later.

"At this rate we'll make it," he whispered. "Thank God this team doesn't have a strong pitcher otherwise I'd be a little worried. We got this!"

I shrugged. "You never know in baseball. We've only been playing a few minutes. Don't get too over confident."

"Being overconfident is better than being underconfident," he said with a smirk. "Looks like Sakuya is up next!"

I trailed my eyes over to the small boy. Sure he was shy and reserved, but he looked fearless standing there at home plate. I envied him.

"Come on Sakuya!" I yelled, hoping to give him some encouragement. "You got this, man!"

I wasn't sure if it actually happened, but I swear I saw a tiny smile form on his lips. It could've just been my eyes, but I really hoped it wasn't.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.

The next three innings had no action. The score remained 2 to 0, thanks to Kyoya, our pitcher. He was absolutely amazing; not letting anyone even hit the ball once.

Half the time I was sitting on the bleacher, I watched Yui. She seemed to be really into it; smiling and cheering whenever someone made a good play. A few times I wanted to run over to her and ask if she needed anything, but my coach always told me to stay put.

At the fourth inning, it was finially my turn to bat again. I gave Yui a smile and she returned it.

I took my stance, taking a big practice swing. If we wanted to be sure to win, we had to take a big lead. We didn't necisarily need a home run, but we needed some people on base.

The ball flew towards me.

"Strike one!"

I assured myself it was alright as I re-adjusted my glove. I had two more tries at the least. My breathing became slow and steady; relaxed. I could do this.

The second pitch was thrown. I swung, feeling nothing but air rush past it.

"Strike two!"

I cursed under my breath. My team was counting on me to get some players on base. If I couldn't do that, we couldn't take a lead. That kind of pressure usually made me nervous, but this time it was almost like motivation.

The pitcher got ready to throw. This is it.

I closed my eyes tight and swung with all my willpower. The next sound I heard was the crack of the ball against the wooden bat.

I ran.

It was a far one. Not quite over the fence, but very close. It bounced off the wall towards right field. This gave me time to get to second base at the least.

As my feet hit second, I thought I would have time to get to third since the right fielder was fumbling with the ball. So being as dumb as I am, I ran to third.

I had to slide to make it in time.

"Safe!"

I wiped the sweat from my forehead. I somehow managed to smile through my heavy breathing. People in the stands were clapping and everyones eyes were on me. My stomach lurched at the thought of everyone watching my every move. I guess I didn't think about it that much.

Akitaka was up next, and I gave him a thumbs up that he didn't return. I trusted him most of all the team members because he had a hugh batting average, which meant he hit the ball more times than anyone else. It didn't mean he could miss sometimes, but usually he hit something. I was about half and half.

I got myself ready to run to home plate if I needed to. My breath steadied once again, and I took one glance at Yui.

My heart sunk.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Yui?" I spoke so quietly I almost didn't hear myself. She was coughing and huntched over, her body shaking.

"Yui!" I shouted, running off of the base towards her. Several people were yelling my name, but I didn't care.

I kneeled down in front of her. "Yui, what's wrong? What's the matter?" The panic in my voice showed.

She looked like she was going to be sick. She was hacking and dry heaving so much she couldn't speak, and her eyes were wide with fear. She appaeared like she couldn't breathe. My heart knotted up in my chest, my head spinning a million miles an hour.

"Hinata-" she choked.

"Someone call an ambulence!" I yelled. A crowd started forming around me. "Call a doctor!"

"Oh my god..."

"Is she going to be okay?"

"She looks like she needs to go to the emergency room..."

The voices of the people around me started to give me a headache. I felt Yui's forehead to find it was burning hot. I took her hand while someone someone dialed the hospital.

"Are you okay?" I asked, my voice cracking. "You're gonna be okay Yui... We're getting you a doctor..."

She gripped my hand tight. I knew in that moment that something was horribly wrong. The comotion around us didn't help me calm down. I tried to get her to speak, but she was coughing too much to say anything. Her face started to turn pale and her hand felt as hot as her forehead.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"I'm sorry Hinata."

I sat in the cold plastic hospital chair. Yui's mother sat next to me, her tired and weary eyes setting on me. The cheap flickering hospital lights over my head started to irritate me. I don't remember ever feeling as hopeless and frustrated as I did then.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for."

She sighed. "Yes I do. I should have told you sooner."

I felt bad for Miyoshi. She had to go through so much in her life, more than I could even imagine. Her husband left her after she gave birth to a paralyzed child that she had probably hoped to be perfect. I bet she had pictured her first daughter as being healthy and smiling, growing up to be a beautiful intelligent girl. I couldn't even picture how heartbroken she must have been.

"It was my fault. I shouldn't have taken her to the baseball game. It was stupid of me."

"Not at all Hinata," she placed a hand on my arm. I wished she didn't act so kind to me all the time, which I thought was a strange thing to want. "Yui was excited to see you play. She didn't tell me that she felt feverish or I probably wouldn't have let her go."

I had called Miyoshi a few minutes after the ambulence had come. She told me that Yui was very prone to high fevers in the fall and winter times and wasn't supposed to be outisde if she felt the slightest trace of being sick. Her paralysis made it worse since her body didn't function properly, so her fevers usually lasted for long periods of time and were more violent than normal ones. I imediately felt horrible that I didn't notice she was sick. She was such a good actor I didn't even suspect a thing.

"Will she be okay?"

Miyoshi stared at the wall. "I don't know. Last year she had a bad fever but it lasted for almost two months. She hated being in the doctors office for so long."

I put my head in my hands. "I'm so sorry."

"Don't blame yourself. I'm mostly upset at her for not telling me. She knew she wasn't well enough to be outside but went anyway," Miyoshi said, not sounding very angry at all. "I'm sorry but the doctors need me to fill out some more medical work. If you need something don't be afraid to ask."

She gave me one last look before walking away to leave me alone in my chair. Honestly I felt like breaking down, but my throat felt too tight. How could I have been so dumb?

I stared down at the white tiles on the floor. It must have been 1 in the morning, or at least it felt like it. My eyes were heavy and my muscles ached. I had no idea what happened to the baseball game; if they continued playing after I left, or decided to postpone it, or if we won or lost. It seemed like one of my last priorities at the moment, but I knew Okito and the rest of the team would be devistated if we lost.

I stood up and took my phone out of my pocket. I scrolled through my contacts and hesitatntly dialed my dad's number. I couldn't even remember the last time I had called my father.

The phone rang buzzed in my ear several times until his voicemail answered, which I half expected anyway.

"Hey dad... It's me. I'm gonna be late home tonight because one of my friends got really sick so I'm at the hospital with her. I'm not sure how long I'll be here... But if you need me just call me back. I hope you don't mind. See you soon."

Then I waited. In the chair I sat, waiting for what seemed like an eternity. For what, I wasn't sure. All I knew was that nothing mattered in that moment but her. She had to be okay. She would be okay. I wouldn't take no for an answer.

Thanks for reading! I'm glad so many of you like it :) The next update might be a little late because I'm actually on vacation but I'll try my best. Once again, thanks for all the reviews and favorites and follows. It means a lot!