A/N: I hope the chapter's not too confusing (and in general the story).
Recap: Sawamura anonymously donated a portion of his liver to Miyuki (Miyuki and everyone else in general does not know Sawamura donated). When Miyuki finally returns back to school, he bumps into Sawamura in the hallway and completely ignores the pitcher. Hurt and confused from Miyuki not acknowledging him, which to Sawamura confirmed that the break up was Miyuki's real intention, Sawamura immediately leaves the school, wanders in the rain and eventually bumps into Narumiya, who brought the distressed younger pitcher to his apartment.
Chapter 11: Something New
Narumiya realised what he was doing and immediately pulled away. He was blushing furiously, as was Sawamura. He could still feel the lingering warmth of Sawamura's lips as he quickly got up and headed towards the garbage can with both plates of their half eaten meal. The kitchen, eating area and living room was all in one room, so there were no walls to block the view of either pitcher.
"S-s-sorry Sawamura..." Narumiya stuttered as he quickly started cleaning the plates. His mind was obviously elsewhere, considering that he was disposing of their barely touched meal.
"I'm sorry..." Sawamura responded in a meek voice that portrayed his befuddled state of mind.
"N-no...I'm sorry..." the older teen spoke apologising again. "Do you want something to drink? Tea?" Narumiya asked in attempt to change the topic of conversation. Narumiya avoided turning around, scared to make eye contact with Sawamura, as he was afraid that the other pitcher would be angry, or worse, hate him for pulling that stunt.
*Silence*
'Crap...he's not responding...'
"Sawamura? I'll make you a cup of tea then..." he continued as he plugged in the electric water heater to boil water. All the while, he had his back facing Sawamura. After he finished washing, he finally summoned the courage to turn around again, but as he did, his heart sank.
"SAWAMURA!" Narumiya shouted as he quickly ran over to Sawamura, who had been sprawled on the ground breathing heavily and seemingly semi-conscious.
"What's wrong?" the older teen asked, but he got no answer. Sawamura was sweating, his breathing was heavy and his face was flushed red.
"D-d-did this happen from the kiss? I'M SORRY!" Narumiya quickly shuffled the younger pitcher into his arms as he half dragged, half carried him to the bedroom.
'Crap...he's burning up...' Narumiya noticed has his upper arm made contact with Sawamura's forehead. Being drenched in the rain had caused the younger pitcher to fall with a fever.
Narumiya quickly tucked Sawamura into his bed and ran off to grab some medicine and a cool cloth. Thereafter, the older teen sat bed side, watching and tendering to the sick pitcher. From there, he spent the whole day tending to the younger suffering pitcher. But, as the hours went by, Narumiya grew hungry.
"Hey Sawamura...I'll be back, just going over to the kitchen to make something to eat." Narumiya whispered before he gave a quick kiss on the sleeping pitcher's forehead. Realising what he had done, he quickly pulled back and clasped his hands against his mouth. He blushed deeply before quickly running out of the room.
Narumiya quickly made himself a bowl of ramen, but on the side, he was cooking some porridge for the sick teen. His attention was intently placed onto the porridge so much that his ramen became soggy, but he didn't care. After quickly chugging the ramen down, he prepped a bowl of porridge and brought it into the room.
"Sawamura, wake up, it's dinner time." Narumiya whispered as he nudged the pitcher.
Sawamura's eyes opened slowly. He looked frail and weak. "Thanks..." the younger pitcher whispered.
Narumiya helped Sawamura up into a sitting position. He scooped a spoonful of porridge, blew it to make sure the temperature was good and scooped it into the younger pitcher's mouth. Within minutes, the bowl was cleaned.
"Do you want more?" Narumiya asked as he tilted a cup of warm water so that Sawamura could drink.
"No thank you." Sawamura whispered.
"Ok, you should go back to sleep." the older teen said as he helped Sawamura back into bed.
"Well I'm going to clean up, then take a shower, k?" the older Narumiya said he tucked the sick one in.
Sawamura nodded his head and as Narumiya made his way out of the room, Sawamura whispered, "Thanks, it was delicious."
Narumiya stopped momentarily, his heart was beating faster and faster. A blush grew on his face again, and he felt as if he were in heaven. 'He complemented my cooking!' Narumiya thought as he happily made his way out of the room without a single reply.
From washing the dishes, to bathing, Narumiya couldn't think of anything other than the simple phrase of approval that Sawamura gave him. He was so entrenched into his thoughts, that much time had passed by as he sat in the tub. As he stepped out of the bath, he had a big grin on his face while trekking back to the room. But, upon walking in, he saw the sick pitcher sweating profusely.
"Sawamura! Are you ok?" Narumiya shouted in a slightly elevated voice as he quickly ran next to the sleeping pitcher.
Sawamura's breathing was heavy again and sweat was pouring down his face. Narumiya quickly got cool water and started wiping the pitcher's face. After doing so, he pulled the blanket away to reveal a soaked tshirt.
'Crap...lets quickly get you out of the wet clothes...' the older teen thought as he carefully pushed the sleeping pitcher into a sitting position. He then carefully pulled off the shirt, had Sawamura lean against him while he wiped the younger pitcher's back before laying Sawamura back down on the bed shirtless. He adverted his gaze as much as he could, as he knew if he looked at the pitcher's topless body, he wouldn't be able to pry his eyes off.
He reached for the cloth in the bucket of water and wringed the excess water out. As he was about to start wiping Sawamura's body, his eyes fell on the pitcher's abdomen. There laid a scar. It had pretty much healed, but at such a close view, the scar was obvious. Narumiya subconsciously moved his hands along the scar.
'...wait...Sawamura...you didn't...did you donate a portion of your liver...to Kazuya...' Narumiya was taken back at what he saw. He didn't know what to think.
Sawamura had made no mention that he donated to Miyuki when he told the story to Narumiya earlier that day, so the scar was a surprise to the older teen.
The blonde pitcher was confused. His eyes started to tear up as the pieces of the puzzle came together. He started to understand what cause the younger pitcher to become so broken. 'Kazuya broke up with Sawamura because of liver failure so he wanted to end it there right?...but Kazuya lived...and he continued to ignored Sawamura after...so was the break up really real?... and Sawamura's scar...' Narumiya thought as he carefully grazed his hand along the scar. 'Sawamura...did you donate your liver to save Kazuya?... ' His mind thought of the endless possibilities of what the scar could mean in relation to why the pitcher was so hurt. Narumiya bit the bottom of his lips, causing a sliver of blood to flood out, as he tried to subdue his anger towards Miyuki, while a few droplets of tears made its way down his face. '...so Kazuya never really loved Sawamura...even though Sawamura would do anything to save Kazuya...'
Narumiya continued to wipe the pitcher down and dress him again. After that, Narumiya snuck onto the bed, laying next to Sawamura and embracing the younger pitcher in a protective manner, in attempt to make Sawamura feel safe and to ease the pain.
- Back to earlier that day when Miyuki was on his way to school -
'Crap...what do I do, he's bound to hate me...maybe I should just let him go, but I can't...I love him...' Miyuki was pondering as he made his way to school. He was prepared to die and did not expect a second chance in life. He was really grateful to his anonymous donor, whom the doctor did not mention anything about, but now he faced another issue. He had broken up with Sawamura and it was a harsh break up. He could still see the devastated face that Sawamura had and hear the sobs he made that kept echoing through his mind. His heart ached every time he recalled the moment.
The catcher kept walking, ignoring everything surrounding him. He would on occasion hear people greet him, but they were just like the wind. His mind only focused on one thing and one thing alone, it was how he could make up with Sawamura, if he could make up.
*THUMP* Miyuki felt something hit him, but he continued walking. 'Kazuya...you just bumped into someone!' His mind was slow to register what had happened as his conscious chastised him for not apologising.
"Sorry..." Miyuki turned around to apologise, but there was no one there. He looked around, shrugged, then continued walking. 'Whatever...worry more about Eijun instead...' Miyuki thought as his mind continued running rampant with thoughts.
He went to class and sat there. People welcomed him back, some wondered why he decided to come back, but Miyuki just plastered a fake smile, greeted everyone and told them he felt that he should finish in the high school he started in and help the baseball team win the Koshien. But through all this, he just wanted to meet up with Sawamura again and beg him for forgiveness.
It was lunch time and Miyuki was the first one out the door. He immediately ran over to Sawamura's class and peeked in.
'Where's Eijun...?' Miyuki pondered as he caught sight of Haruichi.
"Miyuki-senpai!" Haruichi said as he ran over to the third year.
"Did you see Eijun by any chance?" Miyuki asked.
"He said he didn't feel well and went home."
"..." Miyuki's heart sank. 'Why would he go home if he's sick...can he even make it home...could he have seen me walking in...and...and...wants to avoid me?!...' Miyuki's mind took off on a tangent, but his conjectures were spot on.
"Thanks..." Miyuki meekly mumbled as he trekked off.
"Good to see you back Miyuki-senpai! Eijun-kun was really sad when you left." Haruichi said before he returned back into his class.
Miyuki felt defeated.
- Back to Sawamura and Narumiya - the next day -
It was in the early mornings. The sun crept up as it flooded the streets with its morning radiance. Sawamura slowly cracked his eyes open. He had slept for who knows how long. His body felt weak and his head was throbbing. Rubbing his eyes with a hand, he slowly regained consciousness.
'Where am I...' he thought as he saw an unfamiliar setting. Suddenly he noticed warm air pressing against the nape of his neck. He slowly turned his head only to find someone sleeping next to him.
"Whhhaaa Narumiya!" Sawamura shouted as he backed away from the teen sleeping next to him. "W-w-what are you doing?"
Narumiya shuffled in his sleep. He was laying next to Sawamura on the bed with one arm draped over the younger pitcher's body.
"Sawamura...you're awake..." Narumiya mumbled as he rubbed his eyes to clear his vision. "How are you feeling?"
"I-I-I...what are you doing?!" a flustered Sawamura said again.
"Whaaaa" Narumiya looked around and realised the position he was in. He quickly backed off and fell off the mattress with a thump. He had obviously forgotten that he himself got into the bed yesterday night.
"I-I-I'm sorry..." the older pitcher apologised as he slowly backed away. "Y-you must be hungry, let me go make something." Narumiya quickly ran out of the room, ensuring that he shut the door behind him. Once out of the room, Narumiya leaned against a wall.
'Baka! Baka baka baka...what were you thinking...how did I get on the bed?! Wait...I crawled into it...baka! And that kiss yesterday...arrggh...' the older pitcher chastised himself for everything he did. Sawamura was at a vulnerable state and he took advantage of it. Sure he had feelings for the other teen, but he didn't know if Sawamura felt the same way and he didn't want those feelings reciprocated out of a moment's vulnerability. 'Ha..haha..who am I to lie?...I liked it...' Narumiya reminisced the moment Sawamura leaned in to embrace the kiss from the day before.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the door, Sawamura's heart was thumping at a thousand miles an hour. He was flustered trying to comprehend what had happened. He looked around the room in attempt to recollect his composure. That's when he spotted a bucket of water with a towel draped on the rim. He subconsciously reached his hand to feel his forehead, which felt a lot better and that's when he remembered he had a fever.
'Narumiya...' Sawamura thought as he realised that the older pitcher had probably stayed up the whole night tending to him. His hand then went over his lips causing an instant flashback of the kiss from the previous day. Sawamura turned red again from the thought, but he felt warm at the same time.
"S-Sawamura! Breakfast is ready..." Narumiya said from behind the door. He couldn't bring himself to open the door.
Sawamura slowly got up and stumbled out of the room, making his way slowly towards the table. He took a seat across from Narumiya in front of the plate plate the older teen had placed down. Both pitchers started eating quietly, until one broke the silence.
"Thank you Narumiya-senpai..." Sawamura whispered meekly, but loud enough for the other pitcher to hear. The younger pitcher had added the suffix senpai, which Narumiya took note as it was too formal for Sawamura to say.
"Huh...oh...ummm no problem...I hope you're feeling better..." Narumiya shyly answered, which was also out of character.
They both continued eating in silence, until, one of them broke the silence, again.
"Ummm by the way...you can call me Mei..." Narumiya spoke in hopes Sawamura would do so. 'What the hell are you thinking? He's obviously uncomfortable from this morning! And now you're telling him to call you on first name basis?!' the older teen chastised himself.
"Oh...ok...Mei-senpai..." Sawamura spoke with uncertainty.
Narumiya was caught off guard by the younger teen's compliancy. "Oh...just Mei is fine." the older teen smiled as he corrected the other.
"Thanks Mei, you can call me Eijun." Sawamura felt obligated to reciprocate, but at the same time, somewhere deep down, he wanted to hear Narumiya call him on first name basis as well.
"Really? Thanks Eijun!" Narumiya was ecstatic as he quickly ran over and threw an arm around the younger pitcher's neck.
Sawamura just sat there frozen with a deep blush.
"Say Eijun...the scar on your abdomen..." Narumiya started, but instantly he felt the younger pitcher jump. There was silence coming from the younger pitcher, but Narumiya continued. He had to find out.
"Did you donate a portion of your liver to Kazuya?" the older teen asked uneasily but very bluntly. He was straight to the point.
Sawamura just kept quiet, but deep within, he was finding it hard to breathe, his heart was aching and it was all from Miyuki ignoring him. He didn't regret donating, but he had hoped that Miyuki had broken up with him due to the illness and not because the catcher was disinterested in him. Eventually, Sawamura nodded in reply.
"That ungrateful..." Narumiya started, but was immediately intercepted by Sawamura.
"No! He doesn't know, I didn't tell him. I wanted to help him and the doctor's told me he's really grateful to his donor! I'm just happy he's a live...he doesn't know I donated, don't hate him...please..." Sawamura said while defending Miyuki, a tear escaped his eyes while his voice started to diminish.
Narumiya's heart sank from seeing how much the other pitcher was trying to defend Miyuki. He felt bad for badmouthing the catcher. But the most hurtful feeling came from seeing that Sawamura still clung to his love for the catcher. 'Dammit...why did I get so close...' Narumiya cursed himself as he couldn't overcome Sawamura's unrequited love for Miyuki.
As Sawamura's defense for Miyuki came to a stop, the younger pitcher turned his face away. He felt that he couldn't look Narumiya in the face after defending the catcher, but he didn't know why. During the moment that he diverted his gaze, images of the kiss and sleeping with Narumiya flashed in his mind. The thought of being with Narumiya and not being with Miyuki caused turmoil and confusion within his mind. His heart felt as if a rock was crushing it, his chest was heaving from his deep breathes and his face cringed with the influx of emotions that coursed through his body. The younger pitcher squeezed his hands into fists as he wished for some relief.
Without notice, Narumiya suddenly hugged the younger teen. Narumiya could see Sawamura struggling through his thoughts and he didn't care whether he was taking advantage of a weak and vulnerable Sawamura. He just wanted Sawamura to know that he was there for the younger teen.
Upon feeling the warmth of Narumiya's body embracing his, Sawamura leaned in. He rested his head on Narumiya's shoulders and from there, he crumbled. Muffled cries rang through the room.
Narumiya just sat there holding the other pitcher in his arms and whispering more soothing words of comfort.
After a couple hours, Sawamura recollected himself. He felt much better and he was much more comfortable with Narumiya.
"Thanks Mei...sorry for causing you problems..." Sawamura whispered.
"No worries, I'll always be here for you..." Narumiya said in a cheesy manner. "...I love you Eijun...please go out with me..." Narumiya continued subconsciously in an earnest tone.
Then, there was a long moment of silence, both pitchers not moving or speaking. 'W-w-what did I just say?! Dammit Mei, he's vulnerable right now..what are you thinking...look he's not talking now...' Narumiya chastised himself for confessing.
Sawamura sat there leaning against Narumiya's embrace. He could feel the older pitcher's heart beating, the warmth that the older teen radiated and the sincerity, care and love in the confession he just heard. This was it, the relief that Sawamura was seeking. The younger pitcher's hands grasped Narumiya's shirt from the back as he slowly nodded.
Narumiya was stunned, he couldn't believe that Sawamura would accept him just like that. "Really?!" the older pitcher asked to confirm.
"Yeah..." came a soft whisper as Sawamura responded.
The rest of the day, the two laid on the tatami mat talking about random things, both enjoying the comfort of the other's presence. Their hands were entwined as laughter echoed through the room.
- The next day - day of the practice match - Seidou vs Inashiro -
Miyuki was pacing back and forth on the baseball diamond. He was antsy. He was waiting for Sawamura to come back to school.
"Where is he?" the catcher asked Haruichi.
"Eijun-kun said he'd be back for the practice match. He should be back any moment now." Haruichi said as he stood up and looked around. "There he is!" he pointed towards Sawamura walking from across the baseball diamond.
Miyuki looked over and saw Narumiya walking with the Seidou pitcher. 'Ok Miyuki...apologise to Sawamura and beg him for forgiveness...' he thought as the two pitcher came closer to the Seidou dugout.
Miyuki was getting nervous. He was in the dugout waiting for Sawamura to take a seat, but what happened next made his heart sink.
"Eijun!" Narumiya called as the two parted ways.
"What's..." Sawamura said as he turned around, but to his surprise, he was met with Narumiya giving him a short lip to lip kiss.
Everyone in the Seidou and Inashiro dugout was watching with jaws dropped, Miyuki included.
Sawamura immediately blushed. "Meeeeeeei!" he whined, disapproving of what he did in front of everyone.
"Let's have a good game!" Narumiya shouted while waving back at the stunned Seidou team.
Sawamura turned around to meet every Seidou baseball player's gaze. He tried to advert his gaze as he made his way to the benchs.
"Sleeping with the enemy Eiiiijuuun?" someone shouted teasingly.
"W-w-what?! I-I-I ummm..." Sawamura tried to respond.
"Haha, You're too honest Bakamura!" came another comment.
As Sawamura made his way through to an empty seat, he made eye contact with Miyuki.
"Ka..." he started, but Miyuki immediately adverted his gaze and walked to the opposite end of the dugout without a word.
"..zuya..." Sawamura finished in a quiet whisper.
A/N: Thanks a lot for the reviews, favourites and for reading!
Next chapter will be out in a few weeks - hopefully.