Hello there! I hope you're having a nice holiday season so far. I can't believe that 2020 is finally coming to an end.
I also hope that you enjoyed the last chapter. The first part of the chapter was hard for me to write because the final game is so sad. The second part was easier and I enjoyed writing it. When is Miyuki going to realize that he has feelings for Azusa is the million-dollar question.
I'm so thankful for the support that I've received for this fic throughout this year. It's so overwhelming (in a great way) when I get all the notifications. I'm so grateful! So thank you thank you thank you! It was the highlight of 2020 for me.
I apologize for any grammar mistakes beforehand.
Disclaimer: I don't own Daiya No Ace, Yuji Terajima does. I only own my OC.
Enjoy, stay safe, and Happy New Year! I sincerely hope that 2021 is a better year for all of us.
Chapter 13: Moving Forward
"Moshi Moshi," a male voice answered his phone.
"About time you answered your phone, Mei," Azusa replied on the other line annoyed.
"Hey! You can't blame me for not answering my phone quickly," Mei quipped. "I'm a superstar now and stars tend to be very busy."
The manager snorted. "A superstar?"
"Yes, haven't you seen the news? I'm everywhere! Also, every night girls stay late at night outside of the hotel to greet me," the pitcher boasted.
Azusa rolled her eyes. "I'm so not worried about you and letting all of this attention get to your head," she said sarcastically. "That wouldn't happen to you at all. You would stay grounded no matter what."
"I'm not letting anything get to my head," Mei replied a little too quickly. "I was just stating facts, that's all."
"Sure, sure, Mr. Superstar," Azusa mocked him.
"Is this why you called me?" Mei asked in irritation. "To mock me? Me? Your darling older brother who loves you more than anything in this world," he continued, his voice getting more high pitched with every single word.
The manager rolled her eyes. "Calm down drama queen," she said curtly. "I didn't call you to mock you. I called you to say that I've been following your games as closely as I can and wanted to congratulate you," Azusa said sincerely. "It's amazing how well you're doing at Koshien. You haven't conceded a run yet."
Mei didn't say anything for a few moments and Azusa knew that he was puffing out his chest in pride with that silly conceited smile he shows whenever someone compliments him. "Well, well, what do we have here? Since when is my little sister so nice? Thank you very much. That means a lot to me, Azu-chan!"
"I'm always nice," Azusa shot back, sticking her tongue out even though there was no way he could see her.
"You're not but I let it slide," Mei retorted. "It's all the coach's fault. If he just allowed me to play more, then you would be more proud of me and be nicer to me," he whined.
Azusa narrowed her blue eyes at him through the phone. "Don't be a brat, Mei," she chastised. "Your coach knows what he's doing and besides everyone deserves a chance to play."
"How am I being a brat for wanting to play more so my little sister could see more of me?" he pointed out.
"I already see plenty of you," Azusa deadpanned.
"He is getting in the way of me becoming your hero," Mei continued, not paying attention to Azusa.
"Hero?" Azusa repeated in an incredulous tone.
"Yes, your hero," Mei confirmed. "I'm your older brother so naturally I should be your hero."
What the hell is he talking about?
"Yeah… I think this conversation is over," Azusa said awkwardly. "Good luck in the rest of your games, Mei."
"Wait!" Mei pleaded. "What do you mean is over? Is it because I said that I wanted to be your hero?"
"Precisely," the manager confirmed. "So goodbye."
"No! Don't hang up! Don't tell me that you already have a hero," he continued frantically.
"Mei-"
"D-don't tell me it's Kazuya," he said in horror, cutting her off. "Don't tell me that he already took my place."
"Goodbye, Mei," she said one last time before hanging up.
Seriously, what was wrong with him?
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
Thankfully things were not as weird in Seido as that last conversation Azusa had with Mei. However, that didn't mean that everything was going as well as it could. Because that was not the case at all. Seido was going through a transition period to form the new team but they were still working out some kinks as to be expected. But that didn't mean that it wasn't a little bit worrying. The team was nowhere ready for the fall tournament. They needed all the time that they could get. With the third-years gone, they didn't have the explosive batting line-up anymore. As of this moment they did not have the scoring power. No one could bat decisively even though there was a chance for everyone to make the roster with the third-years gone. Honestly, the team seemed…
Lost.
And Azusa hoped that they would find their way sooner rather than later.
Another development that occurred was that Miyuki had been named captain which surprised everyone. Probably including himself. Unlike the third- years, this time around there was not a decisive person that could be chosen as the sole captain. In Miyuki's grade, there were other people that could be candidates for being captains such as Kuramochi and Zono, which is why the coach most likely picked them to be the vice-captains of the team.
However, Azusa had faith in Miyuki. She knew that he was going to do a good job as a captain. He was not Tetsu-san, but he didn't need to be. He was Miyuki and that was enough. He was the right man for the job. Miyuki had a vast knowledge of baseball, had a great presence on the field, and had a positive outlook needed to move forward. He was the first one to accept and move on from the devastating loss after learning from his mistakes.
Azusa couldn't be more proud.
But it seemed that Miyuki was also feeling lost. She had noticed a change in his demeanor. He was not the same Miyuki that he usually was. It was as if he was trying hard to censor himself and he didn't know how to act. He also seemed a bit stressed out and distracted.
Something that Azusa could not allow.
He was the captain and the captain needed to be strong so the team could follow his example. She might not be able to fix all the team's problems, but she can try to fix Miyuki. After all, she had known him for a longer period of time than anyone at Seido.
"Miyuki-senpai," she called out sweetly over her shoulder. She was carrying a basket of baseballs, to take them to the shed. "Can you please help me with this?"
Miyuki turned around and shot her a smirk. "Do you want me to do your job for you now?" he quipped while making his way over to her.
"I thought you were supposed to be a gentleman," Azusa retorted. "But it seems like it's not true. I knew it was too good to be true when you mentioned it," she added, with a dramatic sigh.
"Don't do that," the newly appointed captain said with a disapproving tone. "You sound too much like Mei when you sigh like that," he added. He wiped the sweat off his forehead with his arm before taking the basket from her hands.
They walked together towards the shed while Azusa grumbled.
"There is no way that I sound like Mei," she protested. "He is such a whiny brat."
Miyuki scoffed. "And you're not?"
"Of course I'm not!"
"Denial it's not just a river in Egypt," the catcher teased.
Azusa stuck her tongue out at him.
"You're just proving my point."
The manager pouted. "Whatever," she lamely said, averting her gaze from him.
Once they reached the shed, she took out the key from her pocket and opened the door.
"Where do I put it?" Miyuki asked.
"Over there," Azusa replied, pointing towards the far left corner of the dim-lit shed.
Miyuki just nodded before he went inside and placed the basket where he was instructed.
Then an evil grin spread across Azusa's lips. "Wouldn't it be funny if I lock you inside here?" she asked.
Miyuki widened his eyes in shock and then narrowed his eyes at her. "You wouldn't dare," he said in a low tone.
Azusa just burst out laughing while he quickly made his way out of the shed. "Of course not," she said with a dismissive wave. "Why on Earth would I do that to our precious new captain? We sort of need you," she teased.
The catcher stiffened at her joke before rolling his eyes. "Don't remind me," he grumbled with a pout.
"What? You don't like being captain?" Azusa asked, in a sudden rather serious tone.
Miyuki stammered. Obviously not expecting a straightforward question from the manager.
"It's not that," he replied, rubbing the back of his head while he glanced away from her. "It's just still a little weird for me."
"Yes, that's understandable. It's the first time that you're in a leadership position," Azusa noted. "It will take time but you're going to get there. In the meanwhile, don't try to keep all the burden to yourself. Remember that you can talk to me. I can be pretty reliable and mature when I want to, y'know?" she added with a wink while pointing at herself.
The catcher just stared at her without saying anything before letting out a small laugh. "I can't believe you just said that Azu-chan," he said, wiping a tear from his eye. "But thank you I appreciate it. I must look really bad if you're offering your help so I won't deny it."
Azusa grimaced. Partly because he laughed at her. But she decided to ignore him. Instead, she decided to focus on the task at hand. "You don't look bad," she replied, garnering a glare from Miyuki. "Well… Not that bad," she said awkwardly. "You just don't look like yourself. You look as if you're unsure of yourself."
Miyuki sighed, crossing his arms across his chest while he leaned on the door of the shed. "I'm lost and feel unsure of myself," he admitted, glancing away from her. "The truth is that I don't know what the hell I'm doing. I'm trying my best to act as a captain should but I don't know how."
"The best thing that you can do is to act like yourself," Azusa said.
The catcher scoffed. "Like me? What part of me is captain-like?" he asked with disdain. "Apparently I'm doing everything wrong. Nori is still struggling over the loss at the tournament and I was planning to just let him figure it out on his own," Miyuki explained. "But I've been told that as the captain is my job to help him get back on his feet."
Azusa studied Miyuki's crestfallen expression before saying anything. She was feeling bad for him. He was definitely not expecting this when he was going over the process of forming the new team. "As the captain, you should help your fellow teammates and try to guide them in the right direction when they need help," the manager conceded. "However, Nori-senpai is a pitcher and you're the catcher. Before being the captain, you're a catcher. Seido's main catcher. That's the role that you're most comfortable with and therefore you shouldn't let others dictate how you should be a catcher. You can come up with a solution to help Nori-senpai as a catcher."
Miyuki cracked a smile at Azusa's suggestion. "You're right," he said. "That's my comfort zone and I shouldn't doubt my skills as a catcher since that's what I know. They're nothing like my captain skills."
Azusa softened her gaze. "Don't be too hard on yourself," she said. "Just give it time. Your captain skills will be just as good as your catcher skills in no time. You'll see! I have faith in you!"
"I wish I could have the same faith that you have in me," the catcher replied.
Azusa pouted. She hated his self-deprecating tone.
"You just need to be yourself but with a little bit more tact," Azusa continued. "You can't treat the rest of the team like you do with the pitchers. If you do what I tell you, you'll be fine. I promise."
"Do what you tell me? I thought you were the kouhai here," Miyuki said, teasing her with a grin.
"Don't tease me when I'm trying to help you," the manager berated him in anger. "Jerk!"
"Fine, fine. It was just a joke but I'll stop," he said with an awkward chuckle.
Azusa growled in anger while she crossed her arms across her chest. "This is what I get for trying to be nice."
"I appreciate it," Miyuki said in a rather sincere tone. "Really. I mean it. Thank you."
Azusa spared him a glance out of her peripheral vision to see if he was being honest. He met her eyes with a sincere small smile. A smile that warmed up her insides. "Really?"
"Yes," he nodded. "I'm just in a self-deprecating mood right now but I'll get over it and try to move forward. I promise."
"I'll hold you to that," she said with a light teasing grin.
"I wouldn't expect anything less from you," he quipped.
"In the meanwhile… Do you want to hear something funny that might make you feel better?" the manager offered.
Miyuki shot her a smirk. "I'm always up for that regardless of my mood."
Azusa giggled. "I don't know who I'm kidding, this is you after all," she joked. "Anyway. So I called Mei recently to be a good sister and congratulate him on his victories at Koshien so far."
"And he obviously boasted about his abilities as a star pitcher," Miyuki predicted.
"Naturally," she said in a matter-of-fact tone. "He went on and on about being a superstar and that since he was a star now, then he couldn't pick up my calls as frequently as he would like."
"Obviously. Stars don't have the time for that, " Miyuki joined in the sarcasm.
"I know. Silly me for thinking otherwise," she said in a faux apologetic tone. "As if his superstar speech wasn't enough, he went on and on about being a hero."
Miyuki crinkled his eyebrows in confusion. "Hero?"
Azusa nodded. "Yes, a hero," she reiterated. "Apparently he wants to be my hero."
The catcher snorted. "You gotta be kidding me," he said, stifling his laughter. "He wants to be a hero? How? He is the most self-absorbed person I know."
Azusa burst out laughing. "I know which is why I thought it was hilarious," she said, doubling down over, laughing. "I think I deserve a medal for not laughing as soon as he said that."
"You didn't laugh?" he asked in between laughs. "Maybe you are becoming more mature and reliable," he joked. "You're better than me because I don't think I could've kept a straight face."
"And that's not the best part," she continued.
"It's not?"
Azusa shook her head. "Before I hung up he was frantically asking me if I already had a hero who replaced him and whether that hero was you."
"Me? Who knew that Mei held me in such high regard."
"He most likely will see you as competition outside of baseball so don't say that I didn't warn you," the manager told him.
"Thanks, but I don't think I need a warning," Miyuki said. "I don't fear him. What's Mei going to do? He is like a puppy, all bark, and no bite."
Azusa snorted. "I was thinking of a small dog too."
"Exactly! They bark bark bark but at the end, they're just tiny annoying little things that annoy you to no end."
"Wanna test out that theory?" the manager asked with a smirk.
"If by that you mean to call him right now and tease him to no end then yes, I want to test out that theory," the catcher said, matching her smirk.
Azusa giggled. "He's so going to hate us," she said while looking for her cellphone in her pocket.
"So we have to make it worth it," Miyuki said. "How about we call him by that ridiculous nickname that the media is using now?"
"Mei-chan?" she asked, unable to suppress a smile.
"Yes, he is going to be so mad when we call him that."
"He is going to be furious and is going to start whining," she agreed with an evil smile, looking up her brother in her contact information list to then dial the number.
"Hopefully the superstar picks the phone."
"Mochi Mochi," Mei answered the call after a few rings which made both Azusa and Miyuki snicker.
"Hi, Mei-chan!" They both greeted into Azusa's cellphone
"Oi Azusa! Are you calling me again just to tease me?" Mei replied angrily. "And who is that with you? Wait, don't tell me it's Kazuya."
"How are you doing, Mei-chan?" Miyuki asked in a teasing tone.
Azusa snickered.
"Kazuya, you bastard!"
"What?" the catcher asked, feigning innocence. "I thought that you would be happy to get a phone call from us, your biggest and dearest fans."
"Is that a way to talk to your fans, Mei-chan?" Azusa joined in the teasing, using a sing-song tone when she said his name.
"Don't you two have better stuff to do than to bother me?" Mei barked through the phone.
"That's not the way to treat your fans, Mei-chan," the manager playfully chastised him.
"If you were true fans then you wouldn't be bothering me the evening before my final game," the southpaw pointed out angrily.
"But we're not bothering you, we called you to wish you good luck," Azusa replied, in a half-teasing and half- sincere tone.
"We would never ever want to throw you off your game," Miyuki joined in.
Mei just stayed quiet which mildly unnerved both the catcher and the manager. "I still don't know whether you guys are being sincere or not," he finally admitted.
Miyuki and Azusa exchanged a look and then burst out laughing.
"Oi! What are you two laughing about now?"
Azusa tried to stifle her laughter while wiping off a tear from her eye. Trying to regain her composure but failing miserably.
Miyuki chuckled for quite a bit more and then managed to regain his composure, unlike the manager.
"We meant that, Mei," Miyuki clarified, in a sincere tone. "Good luck tomorrow."
Azusa glanced at Miyuki and beamed when she noticed his expression. There were no traces of mockery in his tone, his teasing grin was gone, and instead, there was a sincere one gracing his features. He didn't notice her staring at him since his eyes were on her cellphone.
"W-well, then you could've just said that from the get-go, you idiot!" Mei complained.
The manager didn't say anything about his embarrassed tone. She knew that he was touched by Miyuki's words and he was just trying to play it off.
Even though she was not at Koshien with the team she couldn't help but feel a little bit of happiness at this exact moment. It felt just like the old days when they were kids and would joke around before the games.
It was nice even if it was just for a little while until reality hit again.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
After her little pep talk, Miyuki started somewhat acting like his old self. He was acting with a bit more confidence. It was not 100% of what Azusa was looking for. But she understood that it wouldn't be that easy and quick for Miyuki to gain confidence in his new role. This was something completely new for him. Before this, Miyuki never had any type of experience in wide-scale leadership roles. So, she had to cut him some slack. Hopefully, he would take her word for it if things got too overbearing for him and he would confide in her.
Miyuki was not the only person in particular who was worrying her. Sawamura was starting to worry her too. So much that she was having difficulties concentrating on the final match between Inashiro and Komadai Fujimaki from South Hokkaido. Unlike the rest of the team who were engrossed with the match. Even the coach didn't take his eyes off the TV screen from the meeting room. She felt bad because her brother was playing one of the most important matches of his baseball career. And she knew that she had to give him her full undivided attention. However, this final match of Koshien made her realize that regardless of the outcome, the end meant finally moving forward from summer for good. After today, the next challenge is the fall tournament which was another chance for Seido to go to Koshien. After all, that was their end goal and she couldn't let herself get distracted.
Even though Sawamura was already his old self with his loud obnoxious tone and sunny disposition, Azusa had a feeling that he was not 100% back to normal. His performance during the scrimmages was a bit concerning for her. Although he had always had an issue with his control, his pitches were a little too wide for her liking. For now, it was working since they have not had games against any higher level team. But if he didn't change that then his pitching wouldn't work against a match of the likes of Ichidai, Inashiro, or Yakushi.
Azusa hoped that she was overthinking this matter and that it wasn't a bigger problem than she thought she was. It could probably just be that he is still readjusting and working out some kinks throughout the summer. Which was totally normal, and she hoped that it was the case for his sake.
'And for the team's sake too,' she thought.
Sawamura was an integral part of the team, and the overall performance of the team would decline if something were to happen to him. Especially now that the team was going through a transition period to establish the new team since the third years retired. They would need to become stronger if they had any hopes of winning the fall tournament.
Because of that, she decided to bring up her concerns to Miyuki. If she had that unsettling feeling then there was no doubt that he had been thinking the same thing. It was better to address it now than farther down the line close to the next tournament.
'After the game ends, I'll have to speak to him,' the manager thought. 'Now, I have to pay more attention,' she then told herself.
To her defense, the match between Inashiro and Komadai has gone on longer than she anticipated. They went into extra innings since neither of the teams was backing down. Mei was pitching spectacularly, but Komadai was a tough team with a diverse group of pitchers. Just like Seido they had a four pitcher relay who was holding down Inashiro to two runs. The Inashiro batting line-up has not been able to get used to surpass the different rhythms of the pitchers.
Right now Inashiro was up to bat and they had one more chance to turn the game around if they scored a run. She was a bit nervous for them but deep down she felt confident. There was no way that they were going to lose. That Mei was going to lose. They defeated Seido so they had to win all the way to the top.
There was no way they were going to lose. No Way-
'Wait what?' Azusa blinked in confusion as she watched the Komadai pitcher, Hongou, she thought his name was, strike out the last batter from Inashiro. The narrator was declaring Komadai the winner as the Hokkaido team cheered in excitement. So that means that…
Inashiro lost? Mei lost? She blinked a couple more times. She couldn't believe it. Literally, just a second ago she was so confident that they were going to pull it off and win against Komadai. The team couldn't believe it either judging from the surprised gasps and murmuring that she was hearing.
Azusa took a deep breath, leaning against the door behind her. Trying to calm herself down. She felt a pang in her heart as she watched the camera pan towards Mei. Her older brother had tears streaming down his face that he was trying to hide with his cap. Harada was walking behind him with his hand on his back and a comforting smile gracing his features.
The manager could not imagine how he must be feeling right now.
'Probably heartbroken,' she mused. 'Just like we felt when we lost.'
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
After recovering from the initial shock of watching Inashiro lose Koshien, Azusa did her best to switch gears and move forward just like she has intended since the beginning. For the most part, she accomplished her goal and didn't have any issues with concentrating on her duties. But it would be a lie to say that she was one hundred percent focused. Mei was always in the back of her head since she hasn't heard from him at all since the match ended.
Azusa texted Mei hours later after the game. To give him some time to cool off. She did not expect him to text her right back. But she did at least hope that he would contact her the day after or the day after that. But he has not replied to her at all and she doesn't know anything about his well-being. Not even her mother knew since she asked Azusa if she had spoken to Mei.
She just hoped that he was doing well.
Meanwhile, Seido was being revitalized. After feeling aimless and not being able to bat decisively, the team was fired up since the coach announced that Yakushi asked them to have a practice match. Needless to say, everyone was excited about the upcoming practice game. This was the perfect chance to test their abilities and see where they stand. Haruno was worried about the practice game since most likely they were going to play against Yakushi in the fall tournament. However, the game was more important than the outcome in this case so, it didn't matter.
The team also got a new assistant coach which was interesting, to say the least. Especially since he wasn't part of the alumni. Azusa had an unsettling feeling about him due to his strange demeanor but she could tell that he was capable. He also did not see any issues in playing against Yakushi.
Miyuki also seemed to be in better spirits. He was being a bit more confident with the rest of the team. She even noticed that he took her advice when it came to Nori. He proposed to the sidearm pitcher to help out in practice since he had great control and was more experienced in that area than both Sawamura and Furuya. It was a great catcher-like idea to get Nori back on his feet.
'It wouldn't hurt him to follow my advice more often,' Azusa thought in amusement.
"Ne, Azu-chan?" she heard Miyuki call out her name.
The manager turned to him with a slightly panicked expression. They were walking together to the bus stop like they usually did in the evenings. Usually, she spaces out and he calls her out just like he did right now.
'Did he read my mind?'
"Yes?" Azusa asked instead.
"Have you spoken to Mei?" the catcher asked in curiosity, sparing a glance towards her.
Azusa widened her eyes in surprise and then averted her gaze from him. Not quite expecting that question from him.
"No, I have not," she replied, her cerulean eyes still glued to the ground. "I texted him that same evening but he did not respond. He has yet to respond and is almost going to be three days," she added with concern laced in her tone.
There was a pregnant pause before Miyuki spoke. "I'm sure he is fine," Miyuki said in a reassuring tone. "He is going to reply to your text once he feels ready. Mei is not weak. This is not going to break him."
Azusa looked up to meet his honey brown eyes and gave him a small smile. "You're right," she conceded.
Miyuki grinned. "He is going to come back stronger than ever so you don't have to worry and mope around."
The manager's smile was quickly replaced by a scowl. "Who said that I was moping around?"
"Me," he replied teasingly. "It was obvious. You kept looking at your phone and you have not been as loud as you usually are which was concerning."
Azusa grumbled in annoyance but it quickly dissipated when she realized that Miyuki's teasing meant that he was actually worried about her. And if he was worried about her then that meant that he has been observing her for all of this time.
The manager grinned as warmth spread across her chest.
Perhaps, she was making progress with the cheeky catcher after all.
"You're right again," she conceded again. "He is going to come back stronger than ever," she repeated his own words.
"Exactly," Miyuki nodded. "So we need to be prepared."
"We're still not there yet," she pointed out.
"Definitely not," the catcher said in agreement. "The team still worries me."
"It worries me too," she confessed. "And… I'm also worried about Sawamura," the manager added. "He is not pitching like before. His pitches are too wide."
"Trust me. I know," Miyuki said, looking away while he scratched his head in exasperation. "He needs to work on that because that pitching won't work with the higher level teams."
Azusa nodded, hearing Miyuki voice the same concerns that she had. "I think a match against Yakushi will be helpful, but when it comes to him… Do you think that he will be okay?"
Miyuki stayed silent for a moment as he crossed his arms across his chest. "I don't know," he finally said and then turned to her. "But what I do know is that this game will show us where we stand. It might be scary but without it, we won't know. And if we don't know then there is no way of fixing it and moving forward."
The manager nodded once again. She knew that he was right but it didn't mean that it was any less nerve-wracking.
She just hoped that everything turned out to be alright.