Hinata was recovering well enough to attend school the next Tuesday. After his game on Wednesday afternoon, he was planning on moving their things back to the apartment. He was sitting in Biology class with Otonashi and Yui. He noticed the same girl that had approached him last week, talking to someone else in the room, laughing slightly. She hadn't approached him or even looked at him.
"Your face still looks ugly," Otonashi proclaimed to him as he examined him closely in Bio. Hideki didn't have the chance to sit with Otonashi during their earlier calculus class because he had arrived late. Iszuki woke up late, and therefore, Hideki had barely got him to school on time before heading to his classes at the university.
Otonashi continued to speak, "But I saw Okita yesterday, and he had those nasty stitches though, so it does like you got the best of him."
"Yeah, but his ribs weren't bruised, and he didn't get his shoulder injured though."
"Come on, man. I've heard the rumors, how many guys did you have on you, Hinata-kun?"
"I don't know. Probably two or three."
"Cowards," Yui growled slightly, "It was five, actually, you know."
Hideki's eyes snapped up to Yui's face. "How do you know that?"
"I have my sources," she informed him with a mysterious wink.
Otonashi shared a surprised look with Hinata, who only shrugged.
"Yui's decided that I'm not too bad, I guess," he said with a laugh.
"You're flattering yourself, Hinata-kun," Yui grumbled at him. Yui rolled her eyes at both of the boys and continued to doodle in her notebook.
Hideki laughed slightly and then reached for his ribs with a wince on his face.
"You doing okay?" Otonashi asked, clearly worried over his friend.
"Yeah, still some tenderness, but they're healing up fine. I happened to have a pretty good doctor though. Why didn't you tell me that your dad was the team doctor? And that you helped him out? It was good seeing you right after, though. Sorry if I didn't say much."
"Don't worry about it man," Otonashi replied. "I don't know, guess I didn't think telling you about it earlier. Most of the athletes treat us like shit, so it doesn't matter."
Hinata felt a grumbling in his stomach. He'd eaten breakfast earlier, but it seemed as though he needed to eat more. Maybe his body was recovering well since it kept demanding food.
"Are you hungry?" Yui asked, peering at him. She'd heard his stomach growling.
"A little bit. I can wait until lunch though," he said to her with a big smile on his face.
She pursed her lips in annoyance at him and said, "Well, as long as you don't disturb me during the lecture."
"I wouldn't dream of disturbing you. I know how invigorating this class is," he informed her sarcastically.
Yui rolled her eyes. The teacher came in at that moment and turned off the lights before starting her presentation. Yui found her eyes closing as she tried to keep them awake. Her manager had promised her time and a half if she stayed on and did the shift until closing the night before. She'd had to lock up, and Hinata had been waiting outside for her when she got out of the restaurant.
She smiled to herself slightly as she thought of last night. He'd even brought her a different pair of shoes, a much more comfortable pair of shoes that she could wear while he walked her back to her home. That had been nice, and very thoughtful. He had even offered her a piggyback ride if she needed it. She had only laughed and told him that she didn't want to bruise his ribs anymore.
She closed her eyes further during the lecture.
Her mind drifted off, and she saw Hideki Hinata in her mind's eye.
He was wearing a school uniform-a high school uniform. He wore no tie on his shirt, but you could see a red t-shirt peeking out beneath his collar. His hair was a little bit longer in that back, and he didn't seem as tall as he was now. He had a serious look on his face.
He was holding a gun, and firing it. He was yelling something at someone, but she couldn't hear him or understand him.
Then she saw him again, this time without the tan blazer on. He was crouching in front of her, watching as she sang her guts out. He looked at her in interest, like she was a specimen, almost.
Then, there was another scene–a memory bursting through her mind. This time, he was holding out a meal ticket to her, telling her, "Good show, Yui." She took it from him and as she did so, shivers ran through her body.
She dreamed some more, and then she saw him as he was attacked, along with so many others. He was fighting them off, these other people in school uniforms, one by one. She recognized Yuri and many others. She was watching from somewhere hidden, somewhere inside, looking out of a window. There was a battle going on the grounds outside the school, down below
She felt hopeless, like a coward. She watched as a gunshot hit his stomach, and then his shoulder, and he collapsed.
She screamed in her mind, her hands pounding on the glass wall of the school building.
A kid in a hat stepped forward, and kicked Hideki right in the chest, turning him over.
He was covered in blood and beaten. There was a trail of blood from his temple to his chin. She watched the blood drop from his chin onto the ground and then...
Yui's eyes opened in shock, tears filling her eyes. Her breathing was heavy. She tried to not sob.
What the hell was all of that?
"Are you alright?" Hideki asked solemnly, looking her over. He had a panicked look on his face. Yui took a deep, shuddering breath of relief.
He was alive.
He was right in front of her, she didn't need to worry about him.
But, why wasn't this panic leaving her?
"Sorry," she said, "I-I…" she looked at him in shock, and then, to his surprise, she got up out of her seat without a word to the teacher, and rushed out of the classroom.
The two guys shared a glance as she left the classroom behind.
"I hope she's alright. That's not like Yui at all," Otonashi whispered quietly after a moment passed.
Hideki agreed with his friend. He watched the door Yui had left out of carefully, wondering if she try and find her. He hadn't known Yui for very long, but he was worried about her.
What had happened?
It looked as though she was drifting off to sleep, and then, when she looked at him, she had tears in her eyes and had rushed off
He attempted to pay attention to the lesson as the teacher droned on, but his thoughts kept wandering back to Yui. It took about 15 minutes for Yui to quietly come back to class. She looked as put together as she usually was. Although he noticed her eyes looked red.
She sat back down in her seat between Hideki and Otonashi, without looking at either one. Otonashi looked over her head to stare at Hinata in confusion.
Hideki didn't know what to say—it was obvious that she didn't want to talk about it, so he continued taking his notes without speaking to her. The class went by even slower than usual, and Hideki felt a slight headache coming on—something that had more to do with the class itself than his injury from a week earlier.
After all, he had already been cleared to play in the game tomorrow afternoon by Doctor Otonashi.
The lights turned on suddenly in the room, and Hideki looked at Yui. He watched as she gathered her things, and without saying anything to either Hideki or Yuzuru, she walked to the lab next door.
He followed her and Otonashi-kun to the lab next door, and she sat down at their lab table.
Hideki glanced at her as he sat down, and then said, "Yui, are you alright?"
"Yeah, I just—had a bad daydream, at least I think it was..."
She still wasn't looking at him.
"What do you mean?
"I kind of fell asleep there, and I was having a bad dream, that's all," she said to him quietly.
Then she cleared her throat, and said, "Now leave me alone, moron!"
She reached out to smack him in the head, like she did so often but he caught her hand in his. He leaned his face forward. She could still see the faint bruising on his cheek, just below his eye. His eyes were bright and clear, and it felt as if he was gazing into her soul like he could see through her.
"Yui," he said softly, "Are you sure you're okay? Is there anything I can do?"
She felt her heart speed up, pounding so hard in her chest.
She remembered what Yuri and Kanade had said, about her previous life, and afterlife…
"I—I had a dream—it was-"
The teacher came in and said, "Settle down." Hideki reluctantly dropped her hand and she turned towards her paperwork.
She almost told him about her dreams.
The dreams where he was in a different uniform, with a different haircut. The same dreams where he had been fighting, shooting things; the same dreams where she'd seen him bloodied and barely alive.
Sudden, intense pain in her chest made her gasp.
It felt like her chest was being torn in two.
Then, to her surprise, she felt his hand. She looked down where her hand was currently clenched on the top of her thigh. His hand was on top of hers, and it was warm. He wasn't gripping it tightly, just giving her contact to know that he was there.
But he squeezed her smaller hand and she immediately felt hope fill her.
He was alive—he was alive and well and right next to her, comforting her with his touch.
Oh, God.
This wasn't supposed to happen.
She wasn't supposed to meet someone who could make her feel like this.
She breathed in and out deeply, and then gave his fingers a small tap and he released his hand. She looked up and watched the teacher as she walked them through the instructions for the lab.
"Are you eating lunch with us today, Hinata-kun?" Yuri asked, walking up to them with Otonashi. Otonashi smiled at Yui, who replied the same way but was quickly putting her books in her bag.
"I don't think I will today," Hinata said quietly. "I was actually thinking of going off campus somewhere to eat."
"Ah, I have class in an hour. I can't go off campus. Well, I'll see you later, Hinata-kun! Bye, Yui!" Otonashi said with a wave to Hideki and Yui. Then he walked out of the lab with Yuri.
Hideki turned towards Yui, who was beginning to leave. "Wait, Yui."
She stopped at the sound of his voice and turned to look at him. "What is it?"
"Can I treat you to lunch?" His words slipped quickly out of his mouth, and he felt a slight blush on his cheeks.
"Oh," she said softly. "Really? I mean, okay..." She tucked a stray piece of her hair behind her ear. Her cheeks looked flushed as well.
He smiled at her and grabbed his bag. He slung it over his shoulders and said, "Well come on. You have to help me choose a place around here or we'll end up at Uncle Sam's"
She made a face with her tongue pushed out in disgust. "Oh God, no thank you. I can't stand the smell in there most days."
He grinned at her, and the two of them set off walking, and he ventured, "So, where do you think we should have lunch?"
"What about curry?" She asked softly.
He perked up. "I like curry. I haven't had a lot of it either since we moved down here. Do you know of a good place?"
She smiled at him and nodded. "It's casual—you order outside with the machine, and then you find your own place to sit. Do you mind that? It's quickest that way."
"No, that's fine," he said to her softly.
The two of them walked towards a small curry rice shop. It was located about a 1/4 mile off of campus. The roads were full of people who were on their lunch breaks-students, teachers, and other professionals it appeared. They spoke mostly of their biology lab, which was once again too easy and quite boring.
They arrived at the restaurant and Hideki took a look at their menu on the vending machine outside and asked Yui what she wanted. She gave him her order and he paid for the two of them. They brought their tokens inside to the counter, to the worker who took them, and they sat down as the waiter brought them some water to drink.
"So, what's really on your mind?" Hideki ventured.
She sighed, and then asked, "It's—just this crazy dream that I started having." She wasn't going to tell him the one that involved him, no way! So she would tell him one of the other dreams that she'd had in the past.
"I'm paralyzed, from the neck down," she said to him softly. "I—when I drifted off to sleep, I kind of had a sense of deja vu come over me. It's partly my fault that my mom is paralyzed, and she said that's probably why I dream of it—because I feel guilty."
"I'm sure it wasn't your fault," he told her, hoping that she knew how ridiculous she sounded.
"It was," she insisted.
She sighed, and then said, "I was such a brat in middle school. There was an incident—with one of my teachers. When I went to the principal's office and saw my mom there, I just freaked and ran off. My mom ran after me outside, and she caught up with me. I was running across the street, and she caught up to me. She pushed me out of the way suddenly—and she was hit by the truck instead."
"It should have been me," she admitted to him softly. "I should have been hit by that truck instead."
"No," Hideki said to her firmly. "Parents, most parents at least, would do anything for their children. I know that my own mother would have done the same thing for me as well."
Yui sighed and pushed the back tears that were forming in her eyes. "Well, anyways, the dream I had—it involved that and a strong sense of deja vu; like something similar had happened to me before."
They stopped talking as a waiter brought out their food. He placed their plates in front of each of them and then walked off quietly.
"I get feelings and dreams like that sometimes," Hideki told her as they began to eat their curry (beef for him, chicken for her), "They're definitely unnerving."
"Yeah," she said softly. "There's another dream I've had of you in it too."
She blushed immediately as soon as she said it. She hadn't meant to let that information slip up. She took a quick bite of her curry to cover her mistake.
"Oh?" he asked, looking up from his beef curry to stare at her. She felt her heart skip a beat or two. He was so damn handsome it was unfair.
Even with that ugly bruise.
"Yeah, we're at a school together, and..." she trailed off, trying to remember a dream that wasn't the baseball diamond dream that she could tell him.
"And we sometimes ate like this, together. That's all," she finished quickly, shoveling more chicken curry into her mouth.
He looked at her and then grinned.
"Well, cool. It's nice to know that I've already made it into your dreams. Anything else you want to tell me, Yui?"
His grin was so smug she longed to pull his face down and rub it into his curry and rice.
She glared slightly, and then said, "Ugh, I knew you would get cocky if I told you. It was more like a nightmare I'll have you know."
He smiled at her still, and said placatingly, "Are you sure about that? It sounds like you are holding back on me, Yui. There aren't any other dreams are there?"
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"I don't know. You seem a little embarrassed. Are you sure there's nothing else? Nothing in the least inappropriate?"
She flushed slightly and he gave her another triumphant grin. "I will smack that grin off your face, Hideki."
He smiled at her and said, "I'm sure you will-" He broke off suddenly, looking over her shoulder in concern.
"What is it?" She asked softly.
Her question was answered only a few seconds later when Okita came up to the two of them. He had a nasty-looking gash going down the middle of his forehead that marred his otherwise handsome face. The dark stitches were obvious under his short dark hair.
Ishida was with Okita as well. He nodded at Hinata but kept his eye warily on Okita. It seemed like Ishida knew that Okita was always up to some nonsense.
"Well, nice to see you here, Nayande-kun," he said, ignoring Hideki completely.
She looked at him, and then back at Hideki.
"How did you injure your head Okita-senpai?" She asked him softly, feigning concern.
Hideki took a drink of water and sat back watching the two of them interact, looking highly entertained.
"Do you mind if I join you?" He asked, ignoring Hideki, and just staring at Yui.
"But, this is only a table for two," Yui replied.
Then, to Okita's surprise, she said, "So shoo." She even made a shooing motion at him with her hands.
She then looked at Hideki and said, "You were right, Hinata-kun. He does look worse off than you."
Okita flushed slightly, before grinning at her. He had an ugly look on his face.
"It's too bad your pretty mouth is loud. I could keep it busy with other things."
Hideki glared at Okita, and went to stand up. Yui, however, kicked his leg under the table.
Hideki stared at Yui, and she shot him a warning look.
Then, to his surprise, Yui just smiled at Okita even more brightly.
"Oh really?" She asked, her voice quiet and soft, and almost submissive.
Hideki looked at her in concern… that was not a voice that he usually heard coming out of the loud-mouthed and bossy girl.
She crooked her finger at him and said, "Come here, and I can tell you exactly what I can do with my mouth."
Okita gave a smug half-grin to Hideki, who watched in interest as Okita leaned forward. Ishida was still watching the interaction between Yui and Okita carefully as well.
Yui beckoned him closer before she reared her hands up to his head. He had over a foot on her in height, but she managed to take him by surprise as she slammed his face into the remains of her chicken curry.
Okita reared up and spluttered, but Yui wasn't done. She then proceeded to kick the man, right in the balls.
Hideki winced at her movement.
He did feel a smidgen of sympathy for Okita as he dropped to the ground, holding onto his groin, moaning, "You bitch! What did you do to me?"
"Obviously, I nailed you. Isn't that what you wanted to do to me?" She fluttered her eyelashes at him.
Ishida was laughing silently against one of the tables.
Then, while Okita was on the ground, she proceeded to kick him once again in the balls.
Then she said, "Say something like that about me again, and the only nailing that I'll be doing, is using a nailgun to attach your balls to a mailbox. Asshole."
He groaned louder.
The proprietor of the shop started yelling at them.
Yui then said to the shop owner, with her hands up placatingly, "Okay, okay. I'm leaving."
Then she looked at Okita on the ground, covered in her chicken curry, holding onto his precious package. She then poured the rest of her glass of ice water all over him.
"And that's for calling me a groupie. I'd rather drown in a pool than give you a blow job, asshole."
She then looked over at Hinata. "Thanks for lunch. Are you coming?"
"Sure," Hideki stopped as he stood, and left a large tip on the table, hopefully enough to cover the mess that Yui had made. He looked up at Ishida, who was now laughing so hard, that he was sitting on a chair.
Hideki squatted down next to Okita.
"You, okay man?"
"No." Okita spat out in pain, groaning loudly while simultaneously holding onto his junk.
"Okay. Well, that's too bad. See you at training later," and then, he walked off to join Yui.
Itszuki and Kaoru were at the baseball stadium the next day, watching the players warm up. They had some of the best seats in the stands because of Iszuki's relationship with Hideki. Professor Nayande also showed up to the game, pushing his wife in her wheelchair. She'd insisted on watching Hinata-kun play-she had only heard how good he was, she hadn't seen him play firsthand.
And with them, was Yui, of course.
Yui placed a light throw over her mother's legs, and her mother shooed her away, saying, "It's the summer league, Yui. No need to fuss." Yui sighed at her mother.
They arrived early, and the stands were once again filling with people. Two people of interest came into the same section where Iszuki and the others were sitting. They were both tall men, wearing jeans and t-shirts, and surprisingly, baseball caps on their heads. One of the men was white, with curly light brown hair. The curls peeked out under his baseball cap. The other man had straighter, dark hair under his baseball cap and he wore sunglasses. He was also slightly darker in skin tone than the white man.
They both carried clipboards and pens and were talking to each other in low voices. The white man looked up and watched as the seats filled in. His eyes settled on Iszuki, and to Yui's surprise, he smiled at the young boy. The man then said something to the other man, who shrugged and sat down. Then the white man walked over to Iszuki.
Iszuki looked up from his seat and smiled faintly at the older, white man.
"Good to see you, Hinata-chan," he said in faltering Japanese. He smiled at the young man, who took his hand and shook it.
"Hi, Johnson-san," Iszuki said, with a broad smile at the man.
Yui watched the interaction carefully. Since Iszuki had come into her life, along with his annoying older brother, she'd become quite protective of him.
"Who are these people with you?" Johnson-san said, looking around the people surrounding Iszuki.
"This is my friend Kaoru, and his parents and sister."
The recruiter smiled at them in a friendly manner.
"And how's school going? Are you enjoying Tokyo?"
"It's a lot more busy here than Engaru," he replied warmly. "Sometimes we get lost, but we're figuring it out."
"It is a lot busier, yes. And I can understand why you might get lost sometimes," the man replied with a warm grin. "How's your Hideki-nii? Is he doing well?"
Iszuki shrugged and said, "I think so."
"Well, that's good, I suppose," he looked at Professor Nayande, and said, once again in Japanese, "I'm Chance Johnson, one of the scouts from Major League Baseball."
Professor Nayande reached out, and said, "An honor to meet you. I'm Ichiro Nayande. I'm one of the English professors here if you're more comfortable with using English."
"I can do both," Chance said in Japanese. "It's good to see that Iszuki-chan has made some friends here already."
"What's a scout?" Kaoru asked Iszuki in a quiet voice.
Before anyone else could answer, Iszuki said, in what he thought was a whisper, but a high enough volume that everyone could hear, "Hideki-nii says they're the most stubborn people on the planet who don't understand the word no. But they're really polite to you, so you can't tell them exactly how you feel about them."
Chance laughed good-naturedly. Yui looked at the scout warmly. He had a nice laugh and a friendly smile.
"Ah, yes. Hinata-san is right in more ways than one, unfortunately. He's dealt with enough of us scouts and recruiters to know."
He looked at Kaoru and added to Iszuki's answer, "We like to watch baseball games in order to try and find very talented baseball players. Then invite them to a professional try-out. After the try-out, if teams express interest, they're drafted into a baseball team in Major League Baseball."
"Are you here for Hinata-kun then?" Kaoru asked, with his eyes wide open.
"No, not this time." Chance said with a soft reply. "Hinata-kun doesn't need to be scouted; at least not anymore. He just needs to say the word that he's ready to move to America, and we'll be ready for him. I'm here to watch a couple of other players, on both the teams and to hopefully invite them to a try-out in the winter."
He then turned towards them.
"I'm assuming the two of you don't go to school together, since you appear to have different uniforms. How did you meet?"
"Hinata-kun hit a ball through my sister's bedroom window," Kaoru answered him quickly. "It shattered the glass and everything!"
Chance gave a loud laugh. "According to their neighbors in Engaru, his parents started a savings fund in his name—not for college, but for replacing windows. Eventually, his neighbors figured out how good he was, and they started to contribute to the fund as well."
Ichiro Nayande looked over at the man in interest at what he said. Chance Johnson then introduced the man sitting next to him, a man from Puerto Rico named Mateo. He was specifically watching the pitchers and catchers.
"Ah, here we go," Chance the scout said, taking a seat. He murmured something to his companion in English. The game was about to begin. The starting lineups were announced, and Yui watched on the large kiosk as the names and numbers of the players flashed across the screen. She never noticed how handsome Hideki looked in his official roster photo. He wore his baseball hat and uniform. The number 4 flashed across the screen with his bright smile showing. Several loud cheers came up from the audience. She noticed Yuri and several other of her friends a bit higher up in the stands, cheering loudly, especially for Hideki.
Her heart fluttered slightly as she caught sight of him on the field. He had his glove in his back pocket and was adjusting his baseball hat. Then he slipped his hand into his glove and took up his position as the game began.
It was fascinating watching scouts watch the game from Yui's perspective. She took turns watching the game (or really, Hideki) and the scouts.
She watched as they zoned in on the players that they were watching. And although Chance claimed that he wasn't watching Hideki, he was certainly paying enough attention to him when he popped up in the game.
At one point, during the sixth inning, there was a line drive hit by a player on the other university's team, between first and second base. And somehow, out of nowhere, Hideki caught it, diving quickly to the side. The batter swore angrily and then threw down his bat and helmet in response.
Chance said, "His reflexes have gotten even quicker, it appears."
"Incredible," Mateo said, shaking his head in fascination, standing up still in response to Hideki's defensive play. The home crowd was going wild, cheering for their second baseman.
"Did he land on his shoulder weirdly?" Chance asked in concern, as Hideki seemed to be rotating his left shoulder.
"No—there was a fight in the weight room a week ago. He got his left shoulder tweaked," Professor Nayande replied quickly.
Chance looked at him, and said, "Ah, that explains the bruise also. I noticed that he had some swelling and color around one of his eyes."
"That's right. He had to take a few days off of playing to watch out for a concussion. Had a couple of tender ribs too."
"Shit," Chase swore, fully looking at Ichiro seriously. "That's pretty bad. Who was the fight with? Okita? I saw that he has some stitches."
Ichiro replied, "Yes, with Okita. I think he came off the worst for it though; the stitches are from when Hinata-kun headbutted him in defense."
Chance stared at him and said, "I always thought that Hinata-kun was pretty easy-going. I never heard of anything like this before with him."
Nayande sighed, and then said quietly, looking over at Iszuki. He made sure that he wasn't listening.
"There was more than one guy on him. Some resentment was building up, I believe. I think they were planning on hazing him."
Mateo snorted at his words, and then said, "Bunch of morons." Yui looked at the Puerto Rican and snorted to herself. That was usually her line.
"That's how Coach Matsura responded as well. He explained the situation with Iszuki-chan, and why Hinata-kun couldn't live with them all on campus. He's a bit more serious than the rest of the team, and I don't think they quite realized why."
They watched as the 7th and 8th hitters got on base with singles in the bottom of the seventh inning. Then, the designated hitter, Koboyashi, struck out. The 1st hitter in the lineup, Okita, got on first. And then it was Hideki up to bat. Yui told herself that she wasn't paying that much attention, but she gripped the book that she was reading tightly in her hands. She wasn't paying attention.
Nope, not at all.
"Watch closely, Nayande-san," Chance said softly. Ichiro and Kazumi both watched as Hideki let the first pitch go through with a strike. They watched as he stepped back from home plate, shifted his hands on his bat, and then, moved his foot slightly to widen his stance. He let the second pitch go through as a ball. Then, he once again adjusted and shifted his hands, feet, and legs.
On the third pitch, he took a swing and smacked the ball with a loud crack. It was going, going, and then, it was gone.
Not only a home run but a grand slam. The players on their team whooped. The crowd went wild once again with cheering. She heard one section in particular start chanting Hinata's name. Yui laughed slightly, seeing Kanade Tachibana on top of Yuzuru's shoulders, screaming and getting everyone else pumped up. She had no idea that Kanade was such a big fan.
Yui watched as Okita, who stepped on home plate right before Hideki, turned to wait for him. As Hideki slowly jogged home, Okita waited for him. He gave him a high five with both his hands, then said something to him quickly. He then clapped him on the shoulder, and they walked back to the dugout together. She watched as Hideki took off his batting gloves and helmet in the dugout. Several players were clapping him on the back.
"Do you see what he did there?" Chance asked quietly. Mateo was looking at Chance, as were Ichiro, Kazumi, and Yui. Both Iszuki and Kaoru were still cheering loudly.
"Ishida is a fantastic pitcher—he'll end up in the majors soon. He may never be a starter, but he has enough skill to be a closer or a relief pitcher. And I wouldn't be surprised if Okita heads to the majors as well. His batting is phenomenally good, and his fielding is improving. But Hideki Hinata has the potential to become a generational talent. He's not only superb with his quick feet and reflexes, but he's also incredibly smart. He can watch the way a pitcher moves, and he adjusts. He watches the way a pitcher pitches to the batter, and when he's playing the field, he will make these tiny movements that you can barely see, to anticipate where the ball is going before it's even been hit. Not just anyone can do that."
Yui pondered the scout's words as she continued to watch the rest of the game.
The game was soon over and Hideki slowly approached his brother and Kaoru. He noticed a familiar face, and he took off his baseball hat, exposing his sweaty hair.
"Mr. Johnson, Mr. Hernandez," he said to them both in English and gave them respectful bows.
"Excellent game, Hinata-kun," Chance informed him in Japanese. "I hope you're settling into Tokyo just fine."
"Yeah," Hideki said quietly. "We are."
"Are your classes going alright?"
"Yeah they're great," he said, looking at them in expectation, wondering why they were at the game. He had already spoken to them three months earlier after his Dad had passed away.
"We're not here for you, alone, Hinata," Hernandez grumbled, "Although, we'll probably still extend the invitation to you, even when we know the answer."
"Three years," Hideki said with a grin. "I have to get my education out of the way first."
"Yeah, yeah. A lot can happen in three years," Hernandez said, waving at him in dismissal, before walking off.
Hideki looked over at Chance.
Chance asked, "What happened to your face Hinata-kun? I heard there was a bit of a dustup in the weight room."
"It doesn't matter now. It's over and done with." He said, shrugging his shoulders at the scout.
Chance laughed slightly and said, "I have to go speak with some players. Tell me about Okita—should we invite him to tryouts?"
"He's really skilled," Hideki answered honestly. "He's the best shortstop I've ever played with. Really solid on his feet, he has a strong arm, and a great bat."
"How is he as a teammate?"
Hideki shrugged, and said, "He's getting better. He doesn't know what to do with someone that's better than him. He'll learn with better teammates though."
Chance smiled and said, "Oh my, is that some cockiness coming from you, Hinata-kun? You'll teach him what it's like to have a better teammate, huh?"
Hideki grinned, and then shrugged, "Is it cockiness if it's the truth?"
Chance heard a scoffing laugh behind him. He turned to look at the pretty pink-haired girl who'd hardly said a thing during the game.
"Moron," she said under her breath, turning a page in her book quickly.
Chance looked at the girl, and then back at Hideki in surprise.
Hideki just shrugged his shoulders and smiled at Chance. Then he turned to Kaoru and Iszuki.
"Alright, you two, the field's cleared out. Want to play?"
"Yeah!" Iszuki and Kaoru both answered. Hideki helped them climb over the fence. The woman sitting in the wheelchair watched them with a fond smile as her daughter sat beside her. Nayande had left to bring a sweater for his wife.
Chance Johnson said his goodbyes to the Nayande family and shook Ichiro's hand once more before heading off himself.
Hideki turned towards Yui as the recruiter left, "Want to try and play?"
Yui shook her head no. "And be seen with you? No way."
"Yui!"
Hinata only grinned, shaking his head, and then ran after the younger boys, quickly overtaking them.
Her mother rolled her eyes at her daughter's words as she watched the boys play baseball together.
They were already showered, Hinata included, when the Coach said, "Ishida, Okita, I've got a scout here in my office who wants to speak to you."
"Stay here, Hinata. He wants to talk to you as well after they're done. Great game, by the way." He clapped Hideki on the right shoulder and left, following Ishida and Okita out the door.
Hideki Hinata only sighed and sat, reading one of his textbooks, his hair slightly damp from his shower still. He sighed and stretched out his arms, thinking of Yui.
Yesterday he took her out to lunch in order to talk to her. And he was wondering if that was considered a date. And if it was a date, it had ended great with her rejection and thorough stomping of Okita.
He wanted to ask her out again, but he wasn't sure if he should. As beautiful and lovely as she was, would she want to go out with him? What if he couldn't give her what she wanted? He always wanted to play baseball professionally. He loved it so much, but he needed to take care of Iszuki. Was it fair to Iszuki for him to date and potentially marry a girl?
Marry a girl?
Hideki ran a hand through his hair. Why was he already jumping to marriage? He was only 19 years old—he would be 20 in October. But still…
When he thought of Yui, a part of him, deep within, already thought of her as his wife. He felt a shiver down his spine. This was so confusing. He'd only known the girl for two weeks, and half the time she acted as if she wanted nothing to do with him.
Which he found he kind of liked.
In the past two weeks since the semester had started, a lot of girls had suddenly started talking to him. It hadn't happened a lot in Engaru—many of the girls he went to school with there were like his sisters, and they knew all the dirty details about how stupid he was as a kid growing up. And they weren't interested.
The feeling was mutual.
But here, all of a sudden, many female students seemed to like talking to him and befriending him. Some of them were normal, but a lot of them talked to him so weirdly, like he was an idol.
He didn't like that feeling. He was only himself—Only Hideki Hinata of Engaru, Hokkaido. Big brother to Iszuki, who was so much better at this friend thing than he seemed to be.
He sighed to himself and looked at his phone. There was a picture of Kaoru, Iszuki, and Hideki all playing together.
"Thank you," was the text—from Yui. He smiled at her text.
He wasn't sure how to reply when Matsura called for him to come into the office.
Chance and Mateo were both waiting for him. Matsura was sitting behind his desk, watching the interaction between Hideki and the scouts with mild interest.
Chance opened his mouth and said, "We'd like to formally invite you to the MLB try-out in Los Angeles, California in December of this year. We will pay all expenses for you to attend. Your coach here has signed off on you going. You have a week to reply-"
"I'm honored," Hinata interrupted, "But I can't go."
"We can ensure that there is a ticket for Iszuki-chan as well, Hinata," Chance said kindly.
Hideki shook his head. "We're just getting settled here. I can't uproot him. And I—I made a promise."
Chance's eyes softened in understanding. Mateo sputtered in annoyance, but Chance knew what Hideki was referring to.
"It's alright, Hinata-kun. Try and fast-track that degree, alright?" Chance turned to Matsura.
"Take care of him coach, no more fights in the weight room, Hinata, okay?"
Then Chance left the room, with Mateo following close behind.
Matsura looked at Hinata and said, "A lot can happen in 2-3 years, Hinata. Are you sure about this?"
Inexplicably, a vision of Yui came into his mind. "Absolutely," he replied softly.
Hideki walked slowly up to the Nayande's house. He would be taking his and Iszuki's things back to their apartment tonight. He felt a little sad at that thought.
In the last week, he'd grown very fond of spending time not only with Yui but with Kaoru and their parents. They were very kind and welcoming, and it was a nice change not to be on his own with just Iszuki for the company. Not that it was bad having only his brother for company. But he liked talking to other adults, and he liked that Kaoru and Iszuki had grown so close as friends already.
He sighed to himself as Yui opened the door as soon as he stepped up to the door.
"You took your time," she said sourly. She was wearing an apron over her outfit, and her hair was pulled up into a high ponytail.
"Sorry, I had to speak with the coach and a few others after I was able to shower," he replied, taking his shoes off.
"The scouts?"
He gazed at her and then sighed, "Yeah. The scouts. I've known Chance for a few years now, and he's always been pretty cool. Hernandez, on the other hand…" Hinata shook his head.
He then looked at her.
"Is it alright if I help with dinner?"
"I'm ordering out tonight, actually," Yui said. "Mom and Dad went out to dinner for a date. They won't be back until a bit later, so we're on our own for food. Dad gave me some money though, so I thought about ordering some pizza for us."
"What's with your apron then?" Hideki asked curiously.
"I'm baking, moron-some cookies. I thought you had cookies the first time that you came here?"
"I did–some matcha cookies. They were really good," he said, walking with her towards the kitchen.
"Well, I made those last time. Now I'm making sesame cookies." She quickly turned around and stuffed one in his mouth. It was still warm but he chewed it as well as he could and swallowed.
"It's good," he said. "Although, I'd prefer you not force cookies into my mouth."
She grinned at him again. "Kaoru, Iszuki! Come in here please."
He winced at the volume of her voice. Damn, she could be loud sometimes. She saw his wince and whacked him on the head with her spatula. He laughed loudly at her choice of weapon.
The two boys ran into the kitchen. She handed them the plate and both boys grabbed one and began to race off.
"Iszuki!" Iszuki turned around and looked at Hideki. Hideki nodded his head towards Yui, giving him a hint of something to say.
"Oh yeah!" Iszuki said suddenly. He turned around and ran up to Yui. "Thank you, Yui-san. You make the best cookies."
Yui blushed slightly as the small boy gave her a hug around her middle. She patted him on the head with her free hand, holding her spatula up to the sky with the other.
"Oh…well, you're welcome."
"Come on, Iszuki!"
"Bye!" He yelled with a small wave.
"Do you need any help with your cookies?" Hideki asked her curiously. He grabbed another cookie from the plate and began chewing it slowly.
"No, not really," Yui said softly.
She looked him over, with her eyes lingering on the bruise near his eye and cheekbone. "Those are healing up."
"Yeah," he said, his voice suddenly deeper. She blushed slightly. It had been a long time since a member of the opposite sex had looked at her like Hideki Hinata was currently staring at her.
And this time, it was definitely welcome.
She cleared her throat before she kissed him, or something.
"So, I was thinking," she began to say.
"I don't know if that's good for you. You should probably just stay quiet and look pretty."
He took an innocent bite out of the cookie, and she glared at him.
"Hahaha…whatever…Anyways…"
"Do you sometimes feel like you've met people before you met them?" He asked her, staring at her straight in the face and interrupting her train of thought once again. "As if…I don't know…maybe I knew them in another life?"
She swallowed, her face flushing. Did he know about her dreams as well? Especially that dream, on the baseball diamond.
"Sometimes, I feel that way," Hideki said. "As if, I should know all these people…and yet, I can't place them. I swear…"
He shook his head, and grumbled to himself, "Maybe I'm just imagining things..."
But then she said, "No, I feel that way sometimes as well."
His eyes flickered back to her.
Hideki stared at her boldly as he said, "I feel like that with you. We've met before, haven't we? I just don't know where."
Yui sighed and cleared her throat. Hideki backed up. He realized that he had walked right up to her before he had said that.
"Sorry," he murmured, his face flushing in embarrassment. He hadn't realized that he was so close to her.
"Well, no, it's okay. It's just–" She didn't know how to answer that question, because she felt the same way. Instead, she chose to change the subject.
She coughed and then said, "When you start traveling for your games, in the summer and spring, what will you do with Iszuki-chan?"
Hideki sighed and said, "I don't know. I don't like being away from him for too long. And we'll be having some away games back to back in a few weeks."
"I can watch him if you'd like," Yui said softly. "My parents and Kaoru…they really adore him. I can even take him back to your apartment at night if that's easier, so he can sleep better…I'd stay with him."
Hideki felt horrified as his eyes began to hurt. He felt overwhelmed by her kindness.
"Thank you," he said as he cleared his throat. "That might be the best solution. I'll have to speak with your parents too…"
"Yes, of course," Yui said softly. She turned back to her cookie dough, rolling the dough into the sesame seeds. "Just let me know, will you?"
"Truly," he said to her, "Yui, you are a real gem, you know that?"
She felt her cheeks tinge pink, bright enough to match her hair. He was looking at her with such intensity, she didn't know how she could stand it. She felt a pull towards him, in her chest, and in her gut. That was the best way to describe the feeling.
A pull, a tug...
The doorbell rang, and she looked at him. His eyes had closed off. His own face was pink as well.
"That will be the pizza," she said softly. "You and Iszuki will eat pizza, right?"
"Yeah, of course," Hideki replied with a smile.
She smiled back at him, and then turned around, leaving him behind in the kitchen as she went to answer the front door.
He reluctantly watched her go, wondering if he was coming on too strong. But, he didn't want to lose a chance with someone so kind and beautiful, even with all her loud craziness.
Author's Note: This is a little late coming up. I try and post at least once a week. Next chapter is when stuff hits the fan. It's a bit cray-cray.