Author's Note: Sorry for the wait for the update…things have been a little hectic. My exams are starting up and this chapter turned out to be a bit longer than I expected it to be. It'll probably be a little while until the next update but it will come; I've currently got a few projects I'm working on including trying to find more inspiration for a novel. Thank you for all the reviews, please keep them up!!
Chapter 8
Just as his mother had predicted the ground was covered in snow. Takaya looked out his bedroom window only to discover a few centimeters' buildup of snow on the windowsill.
With bleary eyes Takaya got ready to go to his aunt and uncle's house. He was almost out the door when his mobile rang.
Mihashi was on the other side. "Hello, a-Abe-kun?"
"Hey Mihashi, what's up?" Abe asked; glad to hear his friend's voice.
A long line of stutters followed Abe's question. He could tell that the pitcher was having a hard time asking something. Finally the pitcher managed an intelligible question: "A-a-Abe-kun, do y-you w-want to ha-hang out t-today?"
Despite being on the phone Abe could see Mihashi blushing. 'Why is it such a big deal that he wants to hang out? Friends do it all the time, don't they?' Abe thought to himself. "Sure," Abe responded. "I have to go to my aunt and uncle's house and shovel their driveway 'cuz they're not home. If you want to join me it'll only take me a few minutes and we can hang out there afterwards."
"Mmm," Mihashi grunted in agreement.
"I'll meet you at the CD store in a few minutes. See ya."
The day's prospect had Abe's stomach fluttering. He tried to make the day seem like a normal one yet no matter how hard he tried Abe's brain kept reverting back to one simple truth: he had just made a date with Mihashi. The dark haired teen almost hyperventilated when he first thought this. It took him a few long moments to calm down enough to be able to think. Before taking off Abe ran back up to his room and quickly threw a second change of clothes into the bag he was bringing with him.
Mihashi was leaning up against the wall of the CD shop when Abe arrived. Abe took in the appearance of his friend before he announced his presence. Mihashi jumped at the catcher's voice. "Oh, a-Abe-kun," the timid pitcher remarked.
"Yo. You ready to go?" Abe asked.
Mihashi simply nodded his head.
"Right. Let's take off then. Thanks for agreeing to come." Mihashi turned to walk toward the train station but Abe put his arm on his shoulder and stopped him. "Mihashi, thank you for the mitt. It means a lot to me."
The two teens matched each other in the depths of their blushes.
"Er, yeah. Let's go," Abe said again.
Both teens were silent on the twenty minute ride to the station on the other side of town. The silence between them was starting to irritate Abe. He wanted desperately to hear Mihashi say something or give some sort of sign that he was comfortable around the taller boy. Instead Abe spent the entire time watching his friend fidget and squirm as if acting out some sort of rambunctious inner dialogue. The moods of the dirty blond shifted so often that after a while Abe stopped reacting to swings and instead gave a loud sigh ever so often.
When their stop came up Abe snagged Mihashi by the wrist. He dragged the startled blond boy through the immensely crowded station and down to the street. "Sorry," Abe said after seeing a now teary eyed pitcher looking up at him. "I, I didn't want to lose you in the crowd. You're not hurt are you?"
"Mmm," Mihashi gave an affirming grunt.
"Alright then, let's go. It's not too far away Mihashi."
Abe slowed his pace enough to let the pitcher catch up with him. The pair walked for a few more silent minutes on the snowy sidewalk until they were well out of the shopping district and into the residential district.
The house was distinguishable before Abe pointed it out to his companion; Takaya's uncle's house was the only one on the street that did not have a cleared driveway or walkway. The blissfully unblemished blanket of white was a distinct sign of uninhabitants when compared to the other yards, scattered and marred with footprints in the snow. Thankfully for Abe the snow was only a few centimeters deep and could be cleared off in less than an hour.
The taller teen showed the elder into the house. "Make yourself at home Mihashi. I should be done in less than an hour."
Abe turned to head back out into the yard when a voice stopped him. "Um, a-Abe-kun…I'll…help." Mihashi sounded unsure of himself. "If you want," he added at the end.
Abe wanted to do many things to Mihashi. The smaller teen looked cute in his unsure state making Abe want to ensnare him in a tight embrace. The pitcher also made Abe want to smack some self esteem into him. Mihashi's lips were slightly parted and were so very inviting to Abe, beckoning the catcher in have a taste. Instead Abe used his foresight and put a whole hearted smile, making sure it lit up his whole face. "Sure, I'd love if you helped me. That would cut the time down in half. I'll show you to the garage." The dark haired teen had to mentally stop himself from skipping to the garage as to not both scare off Mihashi as well as look like a fool in front of said cute teen.
It surprised Abe at how hard his friend worked. Abe was no slack off but Mihashi had finished the walkway and had started on the top of the driveway by the time Abe was even a third of the way through his section. As much as it surprised Abe it did make sense to him. Mihashi had always worked hard in practice and in everything else he did, spare his studies. It also didn't help Abe's case that ever few minutes he would sneak glances at his friend and watch him, taking in the smaller boy's features as he worked.
In just over a half hour's time the two boys met their shovels in the middle of the driveway. It pleased Abe to see a smile dominate the other emotions of Mihashi's face. After a brief stint into the garage to hang the shovels back up Abe had an idea; it was risky but if it worked it would make the pitcher open up and relax a bit more. He bent down and formed a handful of snow into an oblong ball. "Hey Mihashi!" Abe called before sending the snowball through the air to Mihashi's chest.
Mihashi turned around just in time for the ball of snow to score a direct hit. The pitcher's eyes widened what Abe hoped was simply shock.
'I hope when the others picked on him they didn't pelt him with snowballs,' Abe thought about after the fact. 'Come on, come one, come on, form one and throw it back!' "You gonna throw one back or not?" Abe taunted a little more, hoping the invite would spur the smaller teen into action.
A few seconds of inaction on the blonde's part gave Abe his answer. He bowed his head in shame, silently cursing himself for failed attempt.
Wham! A cold ball the size of a baseball smacked the catcher in left shoulder. Abe shot his head up to see Mihashi at the tail end of his windup. "Now it's on!" Abe yelled as he bent down to form another ball, ditching his gloves in his pockets so he could better form the balls.
Despite being a catcher it is never good to have a snowball fight with a pitcher. This was a little fact that hadn't occurred to Abe until after the epic snowball fight when a soaking wet Abe realized that Mihashi hadn't missed with his snowballs, just like his baseballs. The two ran around the yard pelting each other with the spheres of white occasionally hiding behind the tree in the yard or a particularly large snow bank in the street or any other object that might shield them from the projectiles. Abe spent more time watching Mihashi laugh and smile as the deadly sniper of a pitcher never missed his mark.
Abe probably could have put up more of a fight against his smaller friend but he was too scared of hurting the boy or worse yet doing something that would make Mihashi hate him.
After an hour of running and throwing the two were dead tired, wet, and cold. "Alright Mihashi," Abe called poking his head up from behind the snow bank he was using as a shield. Just as his head cleared the bank another snowball collided with Abe's nose and exploded into millions of tiny shards of ice crystals.
The black haired teen wiped the snow and water out of his eyes and hair before he continued. "I'm dead. I think we should go back inside before we both catch a cold."
Mihashi leaned out from behind the tree he was hiding behind, snowball at the ready. "A-alright, a-Abe-kun," he replied.
The two boys met at the door. Abe could see that the pitcher too was gloveless, hatless, and drenched with cold water. It was a good thing that he brought an extra change of clothes for Mihashi.
"Mihashi," Abe called from the living room to the blond who was still sliding out of his boots in the doorway. "You can go ahead and take a shower first. I'll make us something for lunch. Is there anything special you want?"
"Um, Abe-kun, I d-don't have any…clothes," Mihashi trailed off as he said the last word.
"Oh! That's right. Um, let's see…" Abe rummaged through his bag that was sitting on the table. "Here you go," he said pulling out the clothes he had packed for his friend. They were some of his older and dressier clothes that were too small for him yet still a little too big for Shun. Abe liked the way Mihashi looked in a white button down shirt like the ones they had to wear for school. He himself had packed much of the same clothes he had set aside for Mihashi, hoping the smaller teen wouldn't noticed their 'accidentally' matching. "These should work."
Abe turned and handed the folded clothes to his wide-eyed friend. "Wow, Abe-kun thinks of e-everything," Mihashi exclaimed in a voice that, much to Abe's dismay, was sincerely amazed.
"Well I figured something like this could happen," Abe said matter-of-factly. So what do you want for lunch?"
"A-anything should work," Mihashi responded through chattering teeth. "B-b-by the way, a-Abe-kun, wh-where's the b-b-bathroom?"
"Up the stairs, to the right, first door on the left," Abe called to his friend while he started on a simple stir fry; it would hopefully be warm and welcoming to the timid teen. Abe was not expert chef but he was proud of his cooking skills. It was an important thing to learn.
After watching Mihashi disappear up the stairs Abe got all of the ingredients together. He was amused to find that apparently his relatives stocked up in particular on snacks while they were away; almost like they expected something like this to happen. They were gone for the week and yet almost all of the ingredients Abe found were still fresh. A little bit of snooping on the catcher's part resulted in the jackpot of some been "conveniently" hidden in the back of the fridge. There wasn't much there, maybe enough for a hungry teen, but Abe decided to add it to the mishmash of cooking vegetables, oil, and soy sauce.
Mihashi was still presumably in the bathroom when Abe finished cooking the meal. In a flash of hospitality Abe divided the stir fry into two large bowls making sure to give his dirty blond friend almost all of the beef, keeping just enough on top to stop the smaller boy from pointing out the uneven distribution of protein.
Abe had a few minutes before Mihashi came down from the bathroom. On the table was a small light blue envelope. It was unmistakably a birthday card from his aunt and uncle that just-so-happened to be nonchalantly sitting on the kitchen table in plain sight. He knew it would only be a matter of time before he found the little gift they left; he could always count on his extended family for a gift on his birthday, even if he didn't necessarily want it. It wasn't that he didn't care for the birthday gifts, the money he normally got was nothing large but every little bit helps when you don't have a job. Far from it he was appreciative of the gifts but didn't see their necessity, after all he was never big on birthdays.
Today however the card gave Abe an idea. He still felt bad about having Mihashi chip in for the mitt, despite the pitcher's feelings on the subject, and this would give him an opportunity to do something for his friend. The only thing was that now he had to think of some reason for them to go out without making things feel like a date.
Soon enough Mihashi descended the stairs taking Abe's breath away. Abe was right to choose the white button down shirt for Mihashi. It contrasted nicely with the dark jeans the pitcher wore and the brightness of the shirt helped accent the twinkle in his eyes.
Mihashi's face was flushed with a blush as he obsessive-compulsively straightened the shirt. Abe could tell that his friend was nervous wearing the clothing but he looked generally happy.
"Mihashi, here you go. I hope you like stir fry," Abe called the teen's attention to the bowl laden with vegetables and meat.
A splendid sparkle lit up Mihashi's blue eyes leaving Abe's knees once again weak and weary. "Ah…Abe-kun; th-thanks!" Mihashi exclaimed.
"Don't…mention it," Abe replied, oddly taken off guard by Mihashi. "Er, I'm going to go clean up. I'll be back soon if you need anything. Go ahead and make yourself at home."
Abe turned and walked upstairs, taking the bag of clothes with him. he had to leave before the bubbling giddiness in his stomach turned into something else making it difficult for him to be around Mihashi. If they were ever going to be able to hang out alone together then Abe would have to learn to control himself. The smaller and older teen had shown no signs of being homophobic in the least. In fact there was a chance that Mihashi would even be alright with the fact that Abe was gay. The problem was Mihashi's temperament. He was so emotionally fickle and unmanageable that there was no way to judge how he would react to Abe's confession. It could break the teen or it could completely make his day. Two reactions on the extreme yet both were just as likely as any other culminating in a risk that Abe wasn't ready to take.
All of this passed through Abe's head as he took his shower. Normally he would have opted for a bath so he could think but this was not something he wanted to draw out. Abe didn't want to take too long and make Mihashi uncomfortable waiting forever for Abe to get out. He also didn't want to spend too much time away from Mihashi. It was a reaction well documented by Abe; he was actually happier when he was around the dirty blond. Thirdly, and the least paramount in his bathing decision, was Abe's stomach. This set of organs, typically the second leading motivational factor for teens his age, was angry at him for leaving the warm bowl of stir fry behind.
The warm water felt good on Abe's skin. He needed to relax and think. He was in a date-like situation with Mihashi. It was not a date, there was no way the dirty blond would go for that and even if he did he would be so nervous it would only piss Abe off. Instead Abe needed a way he could fool himself into thinking he was on a date with Mihashi while not making things too obvious to the quirky pitcher. Abe had to find something that two guys did normally while hanging out, but also something a couple did; all while making it a no-pressure situation.
'Screw it,' he thought to himself. 'Too complicated. Plan B: wing the situation, no date.'
Mihashi was sitting down at the table in the kitchen when Abe came down stairs, his bowl empty and unless Abe was imagining it scraped clean. "How did you like it?" Abe asked while putting his bowl in the oven to reheat it.
"Mmmm," Mihashi groaned in ecstasy after his feeding frenzy. "Abe-kun's…a good cook!"
Said catcher went red. "Well, um, it was only a s-stir fry."
Mihashi was silent as he stared in awed remembrance at his empty bowl.
"Are you still hungry?" Abe asked taking his friend, though it was more of a statement than a question. Without waiting for a reply Abe removed his now warmed bowl from the oven and set it before the pitcher. "Here you go Mihashi."
"Ah, um, but, ah," Mihashi stuttered, trying to voice his protest. "Now…now a-Abe-kun doesn't have a-anything to eat."
"Don't worry about it, Mihashi. I'll grab something else. You should eat up, your still growing."
The timid pitcher twitched and fidgeted as he tried to overcome the sounds being emitted from the pit of his stomach. It was obvious Mihashi's stomach was winning over his better judgment. It was a quick battle and eventually Mihashi gratuitously thanked Abe before attacking the bowl of stir fry with a ferocity the catcher had never seen from the pitcher.
As Abe watched the pitcher devour the bowl, being surprised when Mihashi actually left the bowl in one piece, he tried to think of something he could do for his friend. The ferocity of which Mihashi ate reminded Abe that he too was a teenager and like every teen food was in his top three. He was thankful that his stomach didn't give him a verbal warning and placated the organ system by raiding the fridge and cupboards, pillaging them of anything that looked appetizing. Finally the catcher was refueled with a mixture of junk food and odds and ends of somewhat healthy foodstuffs.
"So, um, Mihashi," the catcher started out. He wasn't sure how to ask his question.
Instead Mihashi told him, although unknowingly. "Um, a-Abe-kun, do y-you think tha-that we could g-go to the sh-shopping di-district today?"
"Sure. What do you need to pick up?"
Scarlet blush bloomed across Mihashi's face making Abe wish he hadn't asked. "I, I sp-spilled juice on m-my school shirt and no-now it's st-stained."
Abe gave Mihashi a crooked smile, hoping it would tell the smaller teen that everything was alright. "We just have to get you a new one then don't we?"
The dirty blond pitcher diverted his eyes. "Mmm" he grunted. Abe was disappointed in this reaction but didn't press the issue. He didn't want his friend to feel any more embarrassment than he already had.
The clock had made a good start into the afternoon hours. Torrents of sleepiness washed over Abe making him long to curl up on the sofa with his dirty blond friend and pass the time watching a movie, or perhaps other things. He thought about trying to convince Mihashi to stay in and that they could go out some other time. But then it occurred to analytical teen: he was doing things a bit out of order. It would be better if he slowed things down and kept everything on a friendly level at the moment. There would be plenty of snowy days to come where the two could lounge around the house together. Better not scare Mihashi off by moving too fast.
The pair left for shopping district. They bypassed the train station, the air was chilly but it would be faster for them to walk to the shopping district than try to navigate the trains throughout town.
As Abe expected, the shopping district was fairly crowded. People from every age group could be seen fluttering in and out of the different shops and arcades trying to have some fun on a weekend without any school or work to curb their moods. Abe shared the general mood of the crowd; a congenial atmosphere made obvious and prevalent by the mouths of the people upturned at the corners into smiles racked with contentment.
Abe paid these smiles little attention. Mihashi was frowning, obviously nervous. The dark haired teen tried to comprehend how his friend could get nervous while doing a mundane activity such as buying a new shirt. Things like this happened all the time, so why was he so nervous? These thoughts bounced around in Abe's head as he analyzed the situation and what he could do to make Mihashi feel better.
"Hey Mihashi, how about we take a stop off at the arcade after we pick up your shirt?" It was simple enough, wholesome enough for two friends to go to the arcade together on a Saturday; no big deal. But it was also a place that some guys, granted mostly very tacky guys, brought girls for dates. The only difference was that Mihashi clearly was not a girl and hopefully he would have some fun and relax a little.
"So Mihashi what do you want to do first? We could pick up your shirt first or we could have a little fun at the arcade. What do you want to do?"
Mihashi's cheeks burned scarlet. As much as Abe wanted to cure Mihashi of his bashfulness the catcher couldn't help but marvel at the pitcher's cuteness. "Um…maybe…a-Abe-kun could…decide…" the pitcher murmured.
Abe was half way into a facepalm when he stopped himself. This was not the kind of behavior he wanted to show in front of Mihashi. Any sign of angered frustration would only harm the pitcher's weak resolve and self esteem and ruin everything Abe wanted to do. Instead he went the diplomatic rout. "Sorry Mihashi, it's up to you."
"Ah, um, but a-Abe-kun –" Mihashi protested.
"Nope. Sorry Mihashi. You're choosing." If only Abe could pull the smaller boy out of his shell. If only.
Abe could practically see the tears that were just behind the smaller teen's eyes. "B-but what if a-Abe-kun doesn't like wh-what I choose?"
'Silly Mihashi,' Abe thought, 'no matter what you pick as long as I'm with you I'll be happy.' "It doesn't matter what you choose Mihashi. I'm up for anything."
Mihashi was shifting his weight back and forth as if using his entire body to point at the invisible options he was weighing in his head. Abe only let this last for a few seconds. There were other people around after all. "Mihashi," the black haired teen said while resting his hand on his friend's shoulder. "Just make a choice. No pressure."
The smaller teen locked his frightful gaze with Abe's eyes. The catcher could feel himself being pulled in. Would Abe ever be able to fight the power? Would he ever want to?
At the very least he had to now. Later he would let the fanciful orbs suck him in; later he told himself.
"So what'll it be?"
"Ah, eh, um…how about…we get…the shirt."
Ah the beautiful dirty blond might never learn. "The shirt it is! Come on Mihashi, let's go." Abe used the arm on Mihashi's shoulder to get the pitcher walking toward the high end boutique that supplied the necessary clothes for the area's school uniforms.
The duo navigated through the store bypassing first female manikins dressed in a myriad of clothes in a multi-faceted array of colors. As they plunged deeper into the bowels of the store they reached the men's section. Abe mused to himself the reasoning why the guys sections were always in the back of shops like this; rationalizing that guys typically were narrow minded buyers who came in for an item and left with said item, while women tended to shop and impulse buy. All in all it was a good strategy.
The back corner of the store had the staunch white button ups that the couple was looking for. Mihashi made a bee-line for the rack and in a way only he could made the random task of picking out a shirt that fit into a spectacle to behold. Abe sat back and watched as the pitcher chose one, looked at it, put it back, moved to the other side of the rack, chose another one, look at it, put it back, and then move back to side he was just on and pick out another one. This went on for a few minutes while Abe quickly lost interest. He wanted to watch the pitcher; taking his eyes off his friend made him oddly apprehensive and he worried that something might happen to Mihashi.
Instead he started looking over the different styles and colors of clothes. Nishiura only allowed guys to wear white button ups, but the second Abe saw the different shades of dull pastel colors he instantly started to think who on the baseball team fit each color. Hanai was definitely the astonishing scarlet, the bold one and first place the eyes went. Tajima was definitely the charcoal black, a standout in a league of its own. Sakaeguchi was the baby blue, the calm and peaceful one that unified the team. Izumi the speed demon had to be the orange, a little standoffish and Abe wasn't quite sure what to make of it. If all of this was true then Abe rationalized that Mihashi would have to be the white, there was no other way around it. Mihashi was pure, innocent, kind, still living in the kingdom of childhood. Definitely white.
The pair was in the store for less than twenty minutes; it was shorter than Abe expected but he never thought that they would spend the whole time trying to pick out one shirt. Abe wanted to hurry Mihashi along. How much time did it really take to find a white button up shirt that fit? But that would make Mihashi uncomfortable and today, among other things, was all about making Mihashi feel welcomed and relaxed around Abe. Or at the very least deepen the friendship the two already shared.
When they walked out of the warm shop and back on the snowy street the air of having their one chore for the day washed over Abe. Now the two could just hang out and have fun like every other pair of high school first year friends.
"So Mihashi where to?"
Mihashi stopped dead and stared at Abe. "Huh? What? You mean I have to chose?"
Abe stopped and faced his friend. "Yep. We got your shirt and now what do you wanna do? We could go to the arcade or continue shopping or what ever you want to do."
"I wanna do…what ever Abe wants to do!"
Mihashi's eyes sparkled as they shown at his friend. Curse him and his cuteness. "Sorry Mihashi. It doesn't work that way. It's your choice, there's no way around it."
The dirty blond pitcher started to stutter again. Abe was quite use to this by now, although that had nothing to do with the fact that Abe had no idea how to calm the pitcher down and make him think and speak clearly. A hundred different scenarios ran though Abe's head in the seconds Mihashi was spluttering random gibberish. A small percentage of these random scenarios seemed rather plausible and pleasurable in their combination of preserving their friendship as well as giving Abe some sort of satisfaction, whether it be pleasurable or emotional. In the blink of an eye Abe weighted the risks and benefits of what he was about to do and applied his future action with what he had seen other guys do at school and when they hung out. In a simple, seeming-to-mean-nothing gesture Abe casually slung his arm around Mihashi's shoulders. "Come on Mihashi, it's your choice. I won't get mad no matter what you choose."
Abe was so excited and scared at what he had just done he was amazed that Mihashi couldn't feel him shaking or even hear the unease mixed with exhilaration thick in Abe's voice. The gesture was innocent enough; at least looking at it from the outside. If only Mihashi knew how much this little contact was making Abe's heart flutter and his body tremble.
Mihashi didn't exactly shirk away from Abe's arm, a little tidbit that the catcher stored away in the back of his head. "Um, I, ah…" the pitcher started to stutter.
"Come on Mihashi, just make a decision."
"Um, how about…the…arcade…" Mihashi bowed his head.
Abe pulled the pitcher into a one armed guy hug. "The arcade it is. Let's go."
The catcher quickly released Mihashi and the two walked to quick few blocks to the arcade in awkward silence. The place was packed with throngs of students. Abe looked around a smirked as he categorized just about everyone he saw. Most were student age teens and kids simply there with friends or by themselves to have a good time. There were the occasional couple there on a rather lame date, a fact that was apparent just about in every case by the look on the girl's face as they watched their 'boyfriend' play game after game with feigned interest. Then there was the extremely rare case where both sides of the couple were actually having fun. The dark haired teen hoped that he and Mihashi would be one of those, although he was still unsure of whether their little outing could be considered an official 'date' or just two friends hanging out.
Finding two open games next to each other was more than less nil. By the time the two had got the necessary pockets full of coins most machines had either a line waiting or a crowd surrounding a gamer in some impossibly hard secret level. Now that the two were in the unfortunately unfamiliar arcade, Abe had no idea where to go first. He had never seen Mihashi play any video games and didn't know what kind he liked. It crossed his mind that the blond might be a fan of sports games given his obsession with pitching. Fighting games were almost definitely out of the question. Granted Abe wasn't a fan of them either, spare the Mortal Kombat series that for some reason had a special place in the catcher's heart; but Abe was fairly certain that Mihashi didn't have the same soft spot. Maybe racing? RPG?
Abe might as well ask. "So Mihashi, what first? What kind of games do you like? And don't even bother asking me. You're picking."
"Ah, um, how about…that one." Mihashi pointed to an open machine in the back corner of the video arcade that had a racecar flanked by two crossed checkered flags on each side and the words 'San Francisco Rush' in bold yellow lettering.
"So you like racing games Mihashi?" Abe questioned.
"Um…yeah."
Abe took the pitcher's words at face value and left it at that. "Well it's open; that's good. Come on let's go. You're first."
Mihashi climbed into small plastic molded racecar while Abe watched. The lights on the video display flickered to life and in no time Mihashi was racing…poorly. Abe was silent as he watched the bright red sports car his friend was steering drive mercilessly into wall after wall resulting in numerous crashes. At first Abe thought that Mihashi had only chosen this game at random, unsure of how the catcher would react to the pitcher's choice in games. It would be something that the pitcher would do; he had pulled that stunt before. But the more the dark haired teen thought about it and the more he watched it became apparent that Mihashi did somewhat like racing games, he just stunk at them. By this time Mihashi was already being lapped by the cars in first through fourth place. It crossed Abe's mind that, given Mihashi's past, he never really went to the arcade because he didn't have anyone to go with; instead he spent all of his spare time learning the godlike control the pitcher possessed.
All four heats in the race ended with Mihashi in last place. However, in consolation to the rather depressed pitcher Abe pointed out that by the last race Mihashi hadn't been lapped once and almost didn't finish last.
Mihashi climbed out of the seat, signaling that he was done with the game. "A-Abe-kun's turn," he simply stated.
Abe pressed his lips into a frown. Sure it was only fair that it was his turn to play a game, but he had had more fun simply watching Mihashi. It greatly amused the catcher to see his friend not only try to steer the car around the turns on the display, but Abe found great amusement in watching Mihashi himself lean his body in the direction he wanted to turn the car, as if hoping that the extra effort would somehow transfer to the red machine on the screen giving it the extra oomph it needed to make the turn.
A little further down the wall was a free Mortal Kombat III game. Instantly Abe felt the arcade cry out to be played. Who was he to deny the machine? He was simply a mortal, itching for a taste of kombat…III.
"Mihashi I'm going to this one," the catcher motioned with a jerk of his head towards the now empty game.
"A-Abe-kun like's fighting games?" The smaller teen asked.
Abe cocked the right side of his mouth into a grin spewing out copious amounts of the private joke he found so amusing. "Not really; but this series holds a special place in my heart."
"Abe-kun goes to the arcade a lot?"
Abe wasn't sure if that was a question or a statement. For the sake of getting Mihashi talking and avoiding, well who was he kidding reducing the number, of awkward moments between them today. "I use to when I was little. Now I don't really have time but I use to come here and think a lot when I was little."
"Isn't this far from Abe-kun's house?" Mihashi prompted.
The taller teen gave a breathless chuckle. "Right now it is, but when I was little I use to live in my Aunt and Uncle's house and they lived where I do now."
"What happened?" Mihashi asked.
Judging by the way the smaller teen asked without pausing or holding back he spoke naturally, without being conscious of being rejected. Victory for Abe. "My Uncle got a job on this side of town; and since Shun, my little brother, was born a little while before my Aunt and Uncle and my parents decided to trade houses. My Aunt and Uncle got a house closer to their work and my parents got a house that would better accommodate our growing family."
"That makes sense."
Abe liked this Mihashi; he couldn't exactly call the pitcher confident but at the very least he had let go of some of his self-consciousness and was, fingers crossed, starting to feel at least a little more confident around Abe. Always a step in the right direction.
By now the duo was standing in front of the arcade with the nostalgic image of a shirtless Lu Kang in his red headband painted onto the plastic on the side of the consol. Abe's fingers flew across the controls driven by a pattern he had long since memorized. 1 player, kombat mode, character select: Sektor the red cyborg, difficulty…it had been a while since Abe had played so he chose novice. Lists of moves and combos recalled themselves from deep in storage in Abe's memory, brought forth by the familiar flashing lights. His first opponent was Kung Lau, easy enough to beat if you avoided his hat. Luckily for Abe all he needed to pretty much beat anyone on novice was one good cheep move. The instant the blood red words 'FIGHT' flashed on the screen the catcher was ready. His left hand jerked the joystick to the left moving the red cyborg back a step. Abe repeated the motion once again the moment the joystick had returned to resting position and at the same time he mashed the low kick button. Sektor disappeared down past the bottom of the screen and came flying up fist brandished into a skyrocketing uppercut sending Kung Lau soaring to the other side of the screen. Before Sektor touched his feet to the ground Abe repeated the combo sending his character down off screen and then back up with another uppercut. It was an easy fight for Abe to win, especially with such simply tactics.
After a round of kombat ending with the words 'FLAWLESS VICTORY' Abe started the second round and in just seconds heard the familiar ding signaling that someone had low health. The whole time Mihashi had been standing next to Abe wide-eyed and gasping with every relentless combo the red cyborg pulled off. It was clear to the taller teen that Mihashi had little exposure to the game, validating his earlier hypothesis that Mihashi didn't frequent the video arcade often or else he would no doubtedly have come across such a popular game. So Abe decided to flaunt his nerdy side and pull off a memorized spectacle.
Only one more tap was needed from Sektor to finish off Kung Lau, a tap provided by one more of the cheap uppercuts. In the same bloody writing that signaled the start of the fight the words 'FINISH HIM' flashed across the screen, echoed by a menacing voice. Abe's fingers flashed off the complicated combination of forwards, backs, low kicks, hi punches, and other moves. His feat was rewarded by the familiar "den, don, dun," and blackening of the screen that signaled the combo was input correctly and in time. The red cyborg took a step back and out of his chest compartment came a large vice grip that was obviously too large to fit into the compartment. It extended out towards Kung Lau, who was swaying on his feet, until it stopped with one prong above and one prong below the computer's character. In a brief, computerized oversimulation the two prongs crunched down crushing the computer player spraying out blood, bones, and body parts across the screen. The words "FATALITY" appeared above the leftover body parts that were obviously randomly generated as shown by the multiple sets of arm and leg bones strewn in with the gore.
Mihashi's eyes were wide with shock. It was clear to Abe that the older teen had not seen anything of the sort before. The catcher paused for a brief second to make sure that his friend was still breathing, which he was, before Abe continued to the picture of Cyrax and quickly defeated the inhuman character clad in yellow. He cursed the computer character when it shot out his web from its chest cavity, ruining Abe's flawless victory streak. Soon enough Abe had won the match and was working his way up the ladder, occasionally pulling out a Fatality or Babality here and there. Abe let out a broad smile when the good grace of the game put him at The Pit and The Subway, allowing him to demonstrate his abilities by performing the specialized fatalities each stage possessed. The dark haired teen breezed past Montaro, a beast that earned an audible gasp from his smaller friend, and with little difficulty finished off Shao Kahn before stepping away from the consol.
"Here you go Mihashi; you take a try."
If it were possible Mihashi's eyes would have enlargened. "Y-you mean me?" He asked.
"Yep."
"But I'll lose," the pitcher complained.
"So?" Abe asked. "I didn't win my first time either. Just take a try."
"You'll laugh!" Mihashi protested.
"Ugh!" Abe groaned. "Just play Mihashi. I wont laugh or make fun of you in any way."
The timid teen stayed motionless. Abe shook his head and grabbed Mihashi's shoulders. "Here!" Abe exclaimed as he moved the smaller teen into place at the front of the machine. "This button is your high punch, this one's your low punch," he explained, gesturing to a set of blue buttons. "Low kick," he motioned to the red button set lower down, "and high kick. This is the joystick, and that white button's block."
Abe made a point to stay quiet. He didn't want to offer Mihashi any help because he wanted to pitcher to play for himself. He watched as Mihashi selected Sub Zero, the ice ninja.
When Mihashi's first match started against Night Wolf the pitcher let out a little cry of exasperation. "What do I do?" He gasped. The computer character was already next to Mihashi's character beating the ice nin into a pulp.
"Button mash, Mihashi," Abe replied. Sooner or later the pitcher would get luck and either pull off a hit combo or figure out one of the rather cool ice moves his character could perform. In a move of pure desperation Mihashi rubbed his hand over the two punch buttons and two kick buttons, literally mashing the buttons down with his palms. It was fast, it was funny, and it was pure n00b style, but with a little luck Mihashi beat back the computer and won the round and then the fight in general.
"Good job Mihashi!" Abe ejaculated as he patted his friend on the back.
Mihashi's smile spread wide across his face, exclamation the joy and excitement that burned in his eyes. The pitcher's breathing came to him in the short ragged gasps that came with the adrenalin of the fight and exhilaration of victory.
The tall dark haired teen stood back and watched as Mihashi used the same strategy against the next opponents, fighting closer and closer matchers. The winning streak extended all the way until he came up against Shiva, one away from the miniboss Montaro. At the end of two rounds it was a 1-1 split, Sheva having won the first round and Mihashi in a spectacular combination of button mashing and frantic joystick jerking pulling off multiple well-times ice clones and ice showers until he scraped out a victory. Unfortunately that's where the smaller teen's luck ran out. It was a close round but the four armed woman won out in the end.
"Th-th-that was am-amazing!" Mihashi yelped. "Thanks, a-Abe-kun."
Abe smiled a broad smile and congratulated his friend. For a first timer, Mihashi did spectacular.
"Wow you even suck at video games almost as much as baseball." The voice was hostile, deep, and full of contempt.
Mihashi spun around to look at the source, as did Abe. However, the boy who appeared to be the same age as the duo was completely unknown to Abe. But not to Mihashi.
"Ta-ta-ta..."Mihashi trailed off. "Tadashi-kun; wh-what are y-you doing he-he-here?"
'Not good,' Abe thought. 'Who the hell is this guy that has Mihashi so scared?' Abe sized up the unknown teen and Mihashi's reaction. Definitely not a good situation for the pitcher to be in. "Yo," was all Abe said verbally, choosing instead to clamp his hand on Mihashi's shoulder and draw him in close. Just by looking at this 'Tadashi' Abe could tell that he was not someone who was otherwise a pleasant person. He radiated hate and loathing like it was his job.
"So it's true," Tadashi scoffed. "You didn't return to Mihoshi. Kano and Hatake must be happy. Too bad I didn't stick around there; we could have actually been good now that you left. I hope to God that you're not still pitching."
It took Abe a moment to realize that his hand was shaking not because he was enraged; he was too stunned at this boy's hatred for that. Instead Mihashi was utterly quaking with fear at what appeared to be a former teammate from his middle school years.
"Can we help you with something?" Abe asked, his gruff voice doing little justice to the annoyance that was quickly mutating into implied threats.
The black haired Tadashi shifted his mouth into a cocky grin. "What," he said trying to act innocent, "can't a old friend say hello?"
Abe was glad that looks couldn't kill or else he would have a dead body on his hands. He did wish however that his looks could physically maim. This kid needed nothing more than a good dose of pain; something he was likely to get if he kept talking to Mihashi like this. "I think you hardly count as a friend."
"And what are you?" Tadashi shot back.
"His friend and teammate," Abe shot back while pulling Mihashi even closer.
Tadashi let out a hearty laugh. "Oh God, you guys must be horrible with a pitcher like Mihashi. I'm telling ya you'd be better off transferring to a different school if you wanna play baseball."
Abe glared at this new foe. For a brief second he imagined himself teleporting below the ground and coming back up in a powerful uppercut just like Sektor before quickly changing his idea to the vice grip fatality. If only.
Tadashi took Abe's silence as an invitation to continue ridiculing his former teammate. "Get ready to lose game after game if this guy ever starts."
"He's our starting pitcher," Abe shot back.
This earned another round of laughter from Tadashi. "HIM!" he nearly choked on the word.
Abe wished he had.
"Man you guys must really SUCK! What inning did they mercy you in?" Tadashi continued to rock with laughter as Abe felt himself shaking with rage. "Man, I bet he lost you the game like he did every one of ours in at Mihoshi."
That's all that Mihashi needed to hear. He was turned away from Abe during the unpleasant exchange but after hearing Tadashi implicate him as the result of the team's losses the pitcher lost it. Abe saw as Mihashi turned and ran out the door the tears that were openly flowing down the pitcher's face.
Once Mihashi removed himself from between the enraged Abe and his former teammate Tadashi Abe had clear path. While Tadashi was still enjoying the effects his ridicule had on his ex-teammate Abe closed the gap. With a right hook that would make Hanai proud he caught the still laughing Tadashi off guard and sent him into the Mortal Kombat III consol, noting with satisfaction the sound Tadashi made as he collided off Abe's old friend.
Mihashi had just left the video arcade by the time Abe started his chase. The only clue he had as to finding Mihashi was watching the pitcher take a right as he ran out the door.
Author's Note: Sorry for the lengthy description of Mortak Kombat III…it has to be one of my favorite video games of all time and probably my third favorite video game series and once the duo went into the arcade I had to put it in. I hope someone else is as big of a nerd as I am and knows even a little of what I'm talking about.