Heeeeeeeeey~ 0w0/

I'm back from the dead and with an all new chapter~ ^_^

Thank you guys so much for ten reviews, favorites, and the follows~ They mean a lot to me~ :')

I've gotten the first three chapters edited and revised~ :D Now onto editing and revising that long ass chapter 4. 8|

Enjoy the chapter~

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Chapter 9: Relax

"Miyuki, are you listening?" Kazuya sighed as he shifted his gaze from the drinks in his hands back up to Ochiai's face. Kazuya wasn't intentionally trying to be rude by shifting eye contact or engaging in conversation with Ochiai, there was just a part of him that didn't like the man at all.

Kazuya had just been in the dorm with Eijun, ready to watch a movie when Eijun asked him to go get him a drink, claiming he was thirsty from eating just a small bag of potato chips. Kazuya had refused at first, but when Eijun started to pout and stare at him, ready to turn on the waterworks at any given second, Kazuya found it difficult to say no anymore.

How did a simple trip to get drinks from the vending machine lead to a run in with Ochiai of all people? Kazuya seriously regretted not making Eijun go out and get his own drink. Eijun was Ochiai's least favorite person after all, so maybe Ochiai wouldn't have spared him a second glance if Eijun was the one who had gone instead?

"I'm sorry, sir. What did you say again?" Ochiai begun his discussion about the baseball team and all the other things Kazuya had heard about more than once, but when Ochiai mentioned Eijun, Kazuya tuned back in.

"Sawamura is rather...odd. Don't you think? He's basically a shadow that chases after Furuya at full speed." Kazuya had a bit of difficulty understanding what Ochiai was trying to say to him, but he knew it involved Eijun and Furuya.

"I don't exactly see it that way, sir. Eijun is odd, yes. But his oddness is what makes him Eijun after all. As for the shadow part, I see it as more of a rivalry. They want what the other has; Eijun wants Furuya's position as the ace, and Furuya wants Eijun's endurance to the heat." Kazuya could feel a headache start to form as he stood in the cold, freezing his ass off as he talked to Ochiai about the two pitchers. Maybe Eijun would come out of the dorm to look for him? It would certainly give Kazuya an opportunity to end the conversation with Ochiai. Kazuya knew that it was hopeless; Eijun wasn't going to unwrap himself from the thick layers of blankets he'd cocooned himself up in and leave the warm dorm into the cold just to go see why he hadn't returned with the drinks.

"Miyuki, what you must understand is that as long as Furuya is on this team, Sawamura will never be the ace. Even if he works hard and learns to control his pitch, he will never surpass Furuya's level. I would never grant someone the ace title that they don't deserve if there is someone else on the team who is much more skilled than them." Ochiai stated simply. While Kazuya fought off any emotion on his face, he could feel his blood start to boil underneath his skin.

Kazuya wasn't brave enough to tell Ochiai that he was being biased and favoring one pitcher over another. He wasn't Eijun; Eijun was never one to stay quiet if he felt someone was being unfair, he stood up for Kawakami when Azuma shouted insult after insult at him, never caring what would happen to him in the process.

Kazuya took out his phone from the pocket of his gray hoodie and texted Eijun. 'Coach Ochiai has me cornered near the vending machines and I can't get away. You still want that drink, right?' Kazuya sent the text, hoping Eijun would actually read it, unlike the texts from Eijun's old friends - mostly from Wakana - in Nagano that piled up endlessly in his phone.

As Ochiai awaited an answer from Kazuya, Eijun turned the corner wearing the red hoodie Kazuya had loaned to him several times. Eijun cleared his throat to announce his presence, tapping his foot impatiently. Kazuya cautiously stepped around Ochiai, forcing an apologetic smile onto his face. "Sorry, sir. I forgot that I was supposed to be helping Eijun study for a test."

Before Eijun could question him or raise a brow, Kazuya had grabbed him by the arm and pulled him all the way back to the dorm. "What's the big deal?" Eijun cried out, rubbing his sore arm in the process. While Eijun was a bit oblivious to the fact that Ochiai didn't like him all too much, but Kazuya was another story. Ochiai always said "outstanding talent makes the cut", he believed that Kazuya was far more than just an outstanding catcher.

"He's a biased old man, Eijun. I don't like him." Kazuya murmured low enough so only Eijun could hear. Eijun frowned, but decided not to push the subject; he was cold, grouchy, tired, and thirsty and Kazuya was not making his night any better.

"Let's just go inside, Miyuki. I'm getting cold standing around out here." Eijun grumbled as he uncooked the door and stepped inside. Kazuya followed him in, walking over towards the blankets on the ground in front of the TV and settling down. Kazuya patted the spot next to him for Eijun to sit down. Eijun had been extremely grouchy since he woke up, and Kazuya never ceased with the teasing...until Eijun had gotten fed up and kicked him out of the room.

Eijun sat down besides the catcher, scooting closer towards him and resting his head on Kazuya's shoulder. Kazuya grabbed one of the thick blankets in front of them and wrapped it around their shoulders, providing them a bit of warmth as they snuggled up next to one another on the floor in front of the mini TV.

Wrapping an arm around Eijun's shoulders like he'd done many times before, Kazuya slightly pulled the pitchers smaller body towards his own. Eijun glanced up at him for a couple of seconds before restoring his full attention back towards the movie, too tired to care about what the catcher did.

"Have you told your parents about us?" Eijun turned towards Kazuya, turning down the volume on the TV to reply. "I was thinking that I should tell them in person. They seem to really like you." Kazuya chuckled to himself as he remembered the "family welcoming" Eijun's father had given him.

If only his father could be like that...

As Eijun pulled on his shirt for bed, he couldn't help but think of why Kazuya brought up the topic of his parents. His parents and grandfather had taken a great liking to Kazuya, often spamming up his phone asking about how they were doing.

Kazuya never talked about his father, besides the usual, vague "he's an asshole" answer. Eijun was curious just how big of an asshole Kazuya's father was. Maybe Kazuya was just exaggerating? Maybe his father wasn't so bad. "Miyuki?" Eijun asked, settling down next to the catcher on the bed, giving off his cutest face that would make Kazuya agree to listen.

"What's up?" Eijun was giving him "that" look; golden eyes wide, big smile, and an innocent expression etched out onto his face. Eijun only gave him that look if he wanted something.

"We've been to my place before and you've met my family and friends, but I've been so curious about your father." Kazuya's eyes widened in shock as he heard what had just come out of Eijun's mouth.

It was almost as if Eijun had admitted to cheating on him behind his back; it was just incomprehensible.

"No. I'm sorry, Eijun, but...no."

Eijun had woken up far too early; it was only four in the morning and practice didn't start until eight. Eijun tried to fall back asleep; he'd tossed and turned, counted out baseballs in his mind, burying his face into Kazuya's chest; even going as far as making the catcher switch sides with him so he could face the wall, but nothing helped.

Eijun knew that his curiosity was never a good thing, especially when it came to the catcher, but Kazuya was so vague when he talked about his home life. What was he trying to hide? Eijun sat up, shaking Kazuya a bit to make the catcher wake up. "Ugh...Eijun? What time is it?" Kazuya groggily asked, tightening his grip around Eijun's waist as he buried his face into the pitchers stomach.

"Can you let me out?" Eijun tried not to sound too suspicious; it was four in the morning and he was wide awake. Kazuya groaned, letting go of the pitchers waist as he sat up, folding his legs up towards his chest to make room for Eijun to climb out of the bunk.

"Where are you going?" Kazuya yawned, stretching his legs outwards as he flopped back down onto the bunk, rolling over onto his side to face the wall. Eijun had woken him up for the fourth time that morning and Kazuya wasn't all too happy about it.

"Bathroom." Eijun whispered hastily as he carefully moved towards the desk, taking the catchers phone from off of it and storing it in his back pocket. Kazuya didn't question him as he left the room. If Eijun hadn't woken him up too many times, he would've followed the pitcher, but he was too tired to even think straight.

Eijun shivered against the harsh wind that blew that morning, regretting not bringing a hoodie or a jacket with him. The boys bathroom wasn't far from his dorm, but the cold made it feel even farther. Nobody was up, making the campus feel eerie and deserted due to the darkness that surrounded the campus. The only source of light came from the moon and the nearby street lights near the campus.

Eijun pushed the bathroom door open, stepping inside and turning on the lights. Pulling out the phone from his back pocket, Eijun darted into one of the stalls, locking it behind him as he opened the phone.

Eijun decided to start with Kazuya's photos first, deeming them safe enough to look through. There were mostly just pictures of him and Kazuya together on it. Eijun exited out of the photos, unable to find anything of interest in them. Eijun pressed the voicemail button, gulping a bit as he lowered the volume and pressed play on the first one entitled: "home".

"Kazuya, have you been keeping your distance away from the fags of Seido? I sure as hell hope so, because to haven't been picking up your phone lately. Is there something that I, your father, should know about? Don't tell me that your so called "friends" queerness has been rubbing off on you? They're disgusting, Kazuya. You shouldn't hang around with fags; they may influence you negatively. I will be coming down shortly to see one of your games soon, so I expect to see some good results."

Voicemail after voicemail, the hateful words piled up. The tears poured out of Eijuns eyes ad he clamped a hand over his mouth to keep himself from letting a sob out; what did Kazuya do to be treated this way by his own father?

It just wasn't fair...

Kazuya had awoken to find that Eijun hadn't returned back. It worried him endlessly as he thought of all the negative things that could have happened to Eijun. Kazuya knew Eijun hated being fussed over, but Kazuya just couldn't help it. Eijun was too naïve for his own good that if Kazuya wasn't around him, Eijun would easily go off with someone dangerous.

"Youichi, did Eijun come back here?" Kazuya asked, pulling a hoodie over his shirt as he tried to think of just where Eijun had gone off too. Kuramochi had been busy fussing with his hair when Kazuya had asked the question. Scowling as he accidentally poured far too much hair gel into his hands, he whipped his head around and glared at the catcher.

"He was here when I woke up and left shortly before you woke up." Kazuya groaned, flopping back onto the bed as he mentally kicked himself for not going with Eijun. How could he have missed Eijun? Eijun was the second loudest person at Seido - Jun being the first.

"He mumbled something about you and the bullpen and just left after he changed his clothes." Kuramochi stated as he gelled up his hair carefully, trying to avoid having a mishap with the gel. Kazuya couldn't ever recall anything about Eijun and the bullpen - other than practice and their confessions - whatever it was, Kazuya guessed that he'd find out soon enough.

Eijun had been pitching to the net for at least ten minutes as he tried to take his mind off of Kazuya and the events of that morning. Kazuya had promised to catch for him for an entire week and Eijun was impatiently awaiting the catchers arrival. Kazuya never had a good sense of time, though Eijun was no better; his timing was always off on certain things.

Eijun shuddered at the memories of accidentally walking in on Furuya and Haruichi in the storage shed having one of their nasty lovers quarrels and having to stand there watching them yell at each other until Haruichi started crying and Eijun had to find a way to fix it, fearing Ryousuke's "older brother instincts" would kick in.

Eijun hadn't noticed the extra shadow being cast along with his on the ground, until-

"EEEEEKKK!"

Kazuya's hands had grabbed ahold of his waist, causing him to let out an extremely high pitched scream. There wasn't a player on campus - retired or not - who hadn't heard Eijun's scream.

Eijun glared over at Kazuya who was laughing so hard that he had to use the fence of the bullpen to support himself. It was embarrassing enough to have Kazuya sneak up and grab him out of nowhere, but did he really have to do that now...of all days? What was worse, was the fact that he screamed like a little girl on a roller coaster as it accelerated down the hill at full speed.

As Kazuya managed to stop his hysterical laughing, Eijun's pout couldn't have been anything but good. "Sorry, sorry! But you're just too cute not to tease." Kazuya stated as he patted Eijun's head.

"Miyuki, there's have something I need to ask you." Eijun's tone was serious; his whole demeanor was serious to the point where Kazuya had to hold back the urge to crack a joke about it.

'Oh shit...he's breaking up with me, isn't he!?' Kazuya's mind was stuck on replaying the same words, almost as if it had no doubts that was the reason why Eijun was being serious with him. How long had it been!? A few weeks? Surely Eijun couldn't be ending it now; they haven't even kissed each other on the lips yet!

"So...we've been together for a couple of weeks and...I just wanted to make it up to you for that one time at the movies, so..." Eijun paused in his sentence, digging around in his back pocket and pulling out two movie tickets. Eijun held one out for the catcher to take, cheeks bright red, yet determined to keep his eyes on the catcher.

"Eijun...that's really...wow, I'm at a loss for words." Kazuya was speechless; usually it was him who made most of the plans, even before they were dating. Eijun was maturing a bit too fast for his liking. Taking the movie ticket from the pitcher, Kazuya stared down at it, reading the title. He'd seen the movie already, but Eijun didn't need to know that.

"We have to use them by tonight, so...if you're not busy...will you go on a date with me?" Eijun's tone was surprisingly soft for someone who could be so loud; Eijun's golden eyes shined with hope as he stared into the catchers light brown ones.

Taking Eijun's hand in his own, Kazuya pulled it up towards his cheek, letting it rest there as he leaned in closer to Eijun's face. They were so close that their noses nearly touched. What was Kazuya going to do?

Kazuya kissed Eijun's cheek, his husky voice answering with,"Of course."

Eijun stood in front of the mirror, buttoning up his white dress shirt. He knew that it didn't matter what he wore - they were just going to the movies - but he still wanted to look his best. White dress shirt, dark blue jeans, and a pair of black sneakers was the outfit Eijun had picked out, but he still felt like it was lacking something.

Shuffling through his belongings, Eijun noticed his white hat - the one all of his friends in Nagano had written on the inside - amongst the clothes. He knew that it was silly, but it was sort of like a good luck charm to him. Placing it on his head, Eijun turned it sideways; the way that Kazuya always wore his hats.

Taking one last look in the mirror, Eijun sucked in his breath as he walked out of the dorm. Kazuya was waiting for him outside the room, nearly losing his breath as he looked Eijun over. Whipping out his phone from the pocket of his faded jeans, Kazuya snapped yet another photo of Eijun. Eijun still had no idea why Kazuya always took pictures of him, but he guessed that it was important to the catcher.

"You look great, Eijun."

Kazuya had insisted on paying for their popcorn and drinks, handing over the money before Eijun could protest. As the two sat in the movie theater - Kazuya's hand resting upon Eijun's on the arm rest - Eijun leaned his head on Kazuya's head as the movie played out on the screen. They'd found themselves sitting in the far back of the theater, away from everyone else, but the view of the screen was still nice.

As the movie progressed, Eijun sat up in his seat and tapped Kazuya's shoulder. The catcher had been zoning out, unable to pay full attention to the movie playing. All Kazuya could think about was how they were on a date; their first official date. Turning his head, Kazuya smiled at Eijun warmly. "What's up?" Eijun leaned towards his ear, whispering something Kazuya had dreaded the most.

"I need to use the restroom." Kazuya dreaded those words as much as he dreaded his father. The last time he'd let Eijun leave his sight, he'd nearly gotten hurt when a group of guys approached him. There was no way in hell he was ever going to let that happen to Eijun again.

Kazuya stood up, pulling Eijun up from his seat, walking out of the theater and into the empty halls. The restrooms were down the hall near the snack stands; not a single person was to be seen standing around, but Kazuya wasn't going to take any chances.

"You didn't have to follow me..." Eijun grumbled, while he knew that Kazuya was just trying to protect him, the catcher was being far too overly protective of him for his liking. "Eijun, if something bad happened to you without me being around, I'd never be able to live with myself."

Not waiting for an answer from the pitcher, Kazuya gave Eijun a light push inside. He decided to just stand outside the restroom and wait for the pitcher to be done, knowing how shy Eijun was around him.

Kazuya had been so busy changing the background on his phone to a picture he and Eijun had taken a few days ago that he hadn't noticed he had company.

"Kazuya~ Long time no see, eh?" Kazuya cringed at the sound of the oh-so-familiar high pitched voice. Narumiya Mei was standing in front of him a grin sprouting on his face; big, blue eyes full of curiosity. Kazuya cursed his timing; leave it to Mei to be here at the same exact time as him and Eijun.

"So...what are you doing standing around here?" Mei questioned, his grin widening to the point where Kazuya thought it'd rip his entire face off. Damn the blond and his curiosity.

"I'm on a date." Kazuya replied, hoping Eijun would hurry up so they could get back to the movie. As much as Kazuya liked Mei, they were rivals, and seeing someone you lost too a couple of months ago wasn't exactly pleasant.

"What a coincidence~ I am too!" Mei's eyes were full of excitement as he told Kazuya that he as well was here on a date. Kazuya could only wonder who in their right mind would go on a date with Mei of all people.

"Oh, really? With who?" Kazuya asked mischievously, a smirk growing on his face. Maybe Mei was just lying about being on a date just because he was on one. Kazuya's smirk widened as he decided to mess with the ace of Inashiro's head.

"Mei, describe your date for me."

Mei blinked in confusion, tilting his head to the side as he carefully mused over what Kazuya had said. Did Kazuya think he was lying? Well, two could play at that game. "My date is a guy, obviously. He's my adorable kouhai. He has dark brown hair and eyes, and he's also my catcher since Masa-san retired."

Kazuya couldn't really think of anyone on Inashiro's team - none that he knew of at the least - that matched the description Mei had given him. As he was about to ask Mei for a name, the blond was smiling away like an idiot, looking away from him towards the doorway of the bathroom.

"Ah~ It's Sawamura!" Mei exclaimed cheerfully, waving at the other pitcher enthusiastically. Kazuya spun around to be greeted by the sight of Eijun standing beside him. Eijun looked up at Kazuya with a look of confusion, unsure of if he should say anything back to Mei.

"Wait- Sawamura, is Kazuya your date!?" Eijun felt his cheeks heat up as he turned his attention towards the ground to stare at his feet, nodding slowly to affirm the other pitchers assumption. Kazuya slinked an arm protectively around Eijun's waist, pulling him closer towards his side. "Yup~ Eijun and I are a couple. We've been together for a few weeks."

Mei opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by his name being called out by a brunet running towards them with a big bucket of popcorn in his arms. "Mei-san! Sorry it took so long...the line was- hmph..." Mei grabbed the brunet by his tie and pulled him down towards him, pressing their lips together firmly as if providing proof for Kazuya that he wasn't lying.

Mei pulled back, smirking at Kazuya, leaving the brunet he'd just kissed extremely flustered up and mortified about what Mei had just done. "Kazuya, this is Itsuki-chan~" If Kazuya recalled correctly, Mei had texted him awhile back about something dealing with relationships. Could this have been what Mei had meant?

Kazuya checked the messages he'd received from Mei and sure enough, there was one unread message.

"Kazuya! Guess who's in a relationship!? Me~ We just got together today, but Itsu-chan is just so adorable~ We seriously need to meet up sometime!"

The text was a month old...how Mei managed to get someone to date him who had seen his true colors was impossible for Kazuya to understand. But then again, Mei could probably say the same about him and Eijun.

As the two couples departed from the movie theater, Mei asked one of Kazuya's most feared questions. "Kazuya...does your dad know about...this?" Mei had seen firsthand just how terrifying Kazuya's father became when it came to the subject of Kazuya's sexuality.

"Not yet." Kazuya replied hesitantly as he pulling Eijun away from the other couple. Kazuya just couldn't face his father in fear of what would happen to him...if not him, then Eijun. It wasn't Eijun's fault that Kazuya was gay; it was nobody's fault. He had never been into girls the way most of his guy other friends were; never feeling attracted towards the girls at his school or even sparing a second glance at the dirty magazines that the guys had snuck in from God knows where.

All he really cared about was being with Eijun and making him happy in a way that he couldn't be.

"Do you want dinner or anything?" Kazuya asked as he fished around for his wallet. Eijun rubbed his eyes in an attempt to stay awake. While it wasn't that dark outside, it was still pretty close to the time where Eijun would usually be in bed. "No...I just want to go back. I'm tired..." Eijun yawned, hardly able to keep his eyes open as he walked alongside Kazuya.

The catcher stopped, nearly causing Eijun to run into him. "Eijun, do you want me to carry you?" Eijun was about to protest that he was fine and didn't need to be carried, but when Kazuya hoisted him up onto his back, Eijun found it much harder to stay awake.

Kazuya walked along the Tokyo streets slowly, allowing Eijun to fall asleep on his back. Eijun was the sun that brightened up his life with every little thing he did when all the clouds had darkened it.

Seido's campus wasn't quite empty; a few of the baseball team members were still around, either putting away equipment or walking back to their homes in the nearby area. Noting that their captain had just returned, they greeted him and wished him a good night before restoring back to their original activities.

Eijun had long since fallen asleep; light snores coming from his nose, drool dripping out from the corner of his mouth onto the front of Kazuya's shirt. While it was disgusting, Kazuya wasn't going to force Eijun to wake up and walk back to the dorm. Eijun had been the one to ask him on the date, so it only seemed natural to carry him back when he'd fallen asleep.

Knocking on the door to the dorm that Eijun shared with Kuramochi, Kazuya tapped his foot in annoyance when it didn't open. It could only mean one thing... Kuramochi was probably out with Ryousuke somewhere.

Eijun probably hadn't brought the key to his dorm with him - probably expecting Kuramochi to be there when he returned - and Kazuya really didn't feel like searching the pitcher to see if he had brought it along. Kazuya wasn't going to risk Eijun waking up, only to find himself being thoroughly searched.

Kazuya still had his dorm room key, just in case of any real emergency. Kazuya cautiously walked up the stairs towards his dorm, careful not to wake or, worst case scenario, drop Eijun in the process.

Taking the key out of the pocket of his jeans, Kazuya unlocked the door, stepping inside of his vacant room. It had been awhile since he'd last been in here; everything looked the same as when he'd last been in here. Since Kazuya hardly stayed in his room anymore, everyone had taken to hanging out in Kuramochi's room, much to the shortstops displeasure.

Setting Eijun down on the bed, Kazuya smiled as he brushed a bit of Eijun's hair out of his face. Taking off the white hat Eijun had on, Kazuya had almost missed the writing on the inside. Reading the little sayings on the inside of the hat as he shut the door, Kazuya couldn't help but smile to himself; Eijun had some truly amazing friends.

As he set the hat down on the desk, the sound of muffled buzzing caught his attention. Eijun's phone was ringing. Kazuya paused, pondering over if he should answer the call; for one, it was Eijun's phone, not his, but...it could also be an important phone call from Eijun's family or friends.

Taking the phone from Eijun's pocket carefully, Kazuya answered it without hesitation. "Hello, Kazuya speaking, how may I help you?" Kazuya tried to sound as professional as he could, hoping whoever was on the other end of the line wouldn't question why he was answering.

"Ah Miyuki-kun, it's nice to hear from you again." The voice on the other end belonged to Eijun's mother, she sounded a bit uneasy. Something must have come up for her to call this late at night. Kazuya gulped, honestly wishing he'd never picked up the phone. "Same goes for you, Sawamura-san. Eijun's already asleep, but I can wake him up for you if you'd like."

There were loud voices in the background - mostly shouts about who was on the phone - but Kazuya swore he'd heard his name being yelled out. "You don't have to wake him, dear. Can you just tell Eijun that the middle school that he went to is going to be demolished in just a few days?"

Kazuya had little idea what that meant; Eijun often talked about his time at middle school with pride, but he'd never heard Eijun say anything about it getting demolished. "Sure thing, Sawamura-san."

Switching the phone off, Kazuya placed it down next to Eijun's hat on the desk. Eijun was still asleep, having heard nothing of the phone call that had just happened. The bed creaked a little under Kazuya's weight as he sat down next to Eijun, stroking the pitchers cheek lightly with his fingers, noting how soft Eijun's skin was.

Too tired to change into his sleep wear, Kazuya pulled off his jeans, tossing them aside as he curled up next to Eijun, wrapping his arms around the pitchers waist tightly. Eijun was Kazuya's favorite thing to hold onto at night; the nightmares and the memories were blocked out by the pitchers snoring; Kazuya often found himself dreaming of things relating to Eijun.

"Miyuki! Help me with my batting, please?" Kazuya thought that he was immune to Eijun's puppy dog eyes, but yet he slowly found himself falling for them once again. With a defeated sigh, Kazuya walked over towards the pitcher who was holding his bat in his left hand, a grin forming on his face.

"Alright, let's start with your stance." Eijun took up his batting position, allowing Kazuya to correct his stance when needed. "Alright, move your leg right here." Kazuya explained, moving Eijun's leg a bit further out. Eijun may be a great bunter, but his batting was still rather poor.

"Stop touching my ass..." Eijun hissed, noticing where the catchers hands had gone up too. Kazuya smirked at him, retracting his hands before Eijun could make use out of the metal bat in his hands.

"Why are you getting so work up? You know that I'm not going to hurt you, right?" Kazuya asked Eijun as he corrected the pitchers hold on the bat. It's not like they haven't had physical contact with own another in public, but Eijun was extremely aggressive about being touched anywhere besides his upper body.

"I know that..." Eijun mumbled, gripping the bat tighter in his hands as he tried to ignore the catcher. It wasn't like he hated being near Kazuya; on the contrary, he was always looking forward to spending quality time with the catcher, it was just the amount of physical contact between the two of them - whether it was alone in the privacy of their own room or out in publics eyes - left an uncanny feeling in the deepest pits of his stomach.

"Hahaha, I'm not like Miyauchi-san, Eijun. I'm not gonna grab your balls. But, I'm not like Chris-senpai either; I like to tease you when your all tense, because that's how I know you'll slowly start to relax."

With a quick pat to Eijun's behind once more, Kazuya shifted the pitchers body a bit more to the left, correcting Eijun's stance and hold on the bat once more. Pulling an empty baseball crate up, taking a seat on it, twirling the baseball on his index finger as he got ready to throw it. "Alright, eyes on the ball." Kazuya prompted him, tossing the ball towards the pitcher who eyed it carefully as it flew towards him.

Taking a step forward, gripping the bat tightly, Eijun slowly allowed his body to move along with the bat as he swung to hit the ball coming towards him. It was a miss, but Eijun wasn't going to get discouraged over it. Kazuya had once told him that it'd take a bit of time for him to be able to actually hit it properly.

Eijun grinned at Kazuya, a sign that it was alright to keep continuing.

Practice makes permanent to them.

"Miyuki! Come on, we have to take a bath now or we'll stink up the room!" Eijun whined as he pulled hard on the catchers arm. Practice had been grueling; there wasn't a single player who wasn't sweating through their clothes. It didn't have to be summer for them to sweat, all it took was hours of batting, fielding, and individual practice for them to start reeking.

Kazuya wasn't up for the idea of joining the others for a bath. The moment they'd lay eyes on his scars, the questions would pile up endlessly. Eijun - as far as he knew - was the only person who knew about his problem. While the ridges urges had subsided for now, the results still lingered on his skin.

"We'll bathe later." Kazuya interjected, trying to pull his arm out of the pitchers hold. Eijun's nails were digging into his skin, a little too close to the scars, making the catcher hiss slightly in pain. Eijun heard the noise, instinctively letting go of the catchers arm and mumbling a quick apology.

"Why won't you take a bath with the others?" Eijun's voice dropped down to a whisper as he sat down on the bench in the dugout. Kazuya was one of the most respected members of the team, surely no one would care that he was joining them for a bath.

"Because...I'm ashamed of these." Kazuya rolled up the sleeves of his blue compression shirt, showing off the healed scars on his wrists. Eijun took Kazuya's hand into his own, his thumb tracing over the raised scars on the catchers wrists up and down slowly.

"Don't be..."

With all the nagging Eijun had done, Kazuya finally gave in to the pitchers request. There were a few of the first years changing out of their sweat drenched clothing, each glancing at one another unsure of what to say to the captain and Eijun as they walked in chatting up a storm with one another.

While they had no problems with either of them - or their relationship - they found it to be a bit peculiar that they were here together. Usually, the two would bathe later on, after everyone was done using the bath. As far as they knew, Eijun never ventured alone into the bath without the catcher trailing along beside him.

They were a bit too curious for their own goods. "Sawamura...have you and Miyuki-senpai...ya know...?" Eijun was oblivious to their inquiry, though Kazuya caught on. The catcher chuckled to himself as he helped Eijun change out of his jersey. "Of course. Why wouldn't we?" Kazuya laughed, removing his glasses from his face, setting them down on the spare clothes he'd brought along.

Eijun had little idea what they were even talking about, deciding to just let Kazuya handle it. "Miyuki..." Eijun murmured, a blush forming on his face as he looked at the still clothed catcher. "Hmm? Oh..." Kazuya smirked, covering his eyes with his hands as Eijun pulled off his pants and boxers in one hasty movement, throwing them into the clothes basket, wrapping a towel tightly around his waist and tapping the catcher on the back, permitting Kazuya to uncover his eyes.

"Now, it's your turn~" Kazuya stated simply, lifting his arms up above his head, clueing Eijun to help him remove his jersey. Eijun scowled, but slowly unbuttoned Kazuya's jersey, removing it in one swift movement. Watching as Kazuya pulled off the blue compression shirt, Eijun unconsciously licked his dry, chapped lips a bit.

Leave it to him to be granted such a smart, handsome, and talented boyfriend such as Kazuya. While he was some loudmouthed, country kid, Kazuya was the exact opposite; a malicious city boy who, when opportunity presents itself, never ceases to aggravate others with his words. But that's what Eijun liked about him; the fact that he never held back on anything.

"Stop spacing out, Eijun." Kazuya called out, waving a hand in front of his face, snapping Eijun out of his delirious state of mind. The catcher was fully undressed, towel hanging loosely off his hips. Eijun knew that he couldn't come up with any excuses as to why he had been staring at the catchers body.

"Like what you see, huh?" Kazuya teased, his hurly voice soft as he poked the pitchers cheek. Eijun knew he had no reason to get flustered up over being caught staring at Kazuya's well toned, muscular figure; Kazuya was his boyfriend.

"Come on, we'd better go join everyone before they become suspicious and think that we're up to no good in here." With a wink, Kazuya grasped the pitchers hand in his own, dragging him towards the bath.

The stares from the first years in the bath caused Kazuya to feel extremely self conscious about himself; did they see? Do they know? Did Eijun tell them?

"Miyuki-senpai, it's a surprise to see you and Sawamura here. Usually, you two bathe last."

With a relieved sigh, Kazuya flashed them his normal grin, pulling Eijun towards the tub.

Maybe this wouldn't be so bad.

And that concludes chapter 9~

Next chapter may be going into some rather "touchy" areas: Blood, depression, injuries, feels, tears, fighting, manga spoilers...I'm a bit undecided.

So...I guess you'd better enjoy the fluffy Miyusawa action while it lasts. ^^'