Chapter Text
Miyuki Kazuya stood still on the mound, eyes fixed on Sawamura Eijun.
“…Hey.”
“Hm?”
Miyuki stepped closer, gaze dropping—not to his face—
But to his wrist.
“That mark on your wrist… can I see it?”
“…Huh?”
Eijun followed his line of sight.
“Oh, this?”
He raised his arm casually, the faint crescent moon with scattered stars catching the light.
“Yeah, sure—”
“Sawamura-kun.”
Rei’s voice cut cleanly through the moment.
“We need to leave. If you want to catch the last train to Nagano.”
Eijun froze.
“…Eh?”
He glanced up at the sky.
The sun was already dipping low, shadows stretching long across the field.
“…WAIT, WHAT?!”
Now he was panicking.
“I’M GONNA MISS IT—?!”
Without another thought, he spun around and bolted.
“Oi—wait,” Miyuki called, stepping forward slightly with his hand about to chase Eijun.
But Eijun was already halfway across the field.
“SEE YOU—MAYBE SOMEDAY—PROBABLY—!”
“Your clothes—!”
“AH—!”
He skidded, grabbed it, nearly tripped, then sprinted again.
Rei sighed softly, already following.
Within minutes—
He was gone.
Miyuki remained still for a second longer. Then clicked his tongue lightly. He rubbed his right wrist lightly.
“…Didn’t even had the chance get to check."
Behind him—
“Miyuki, you bastard.”
He turned.
There stood Azuma Kiyokuni, completely forgotten. He had his arms crossed, expression dark. He looked like the epitome of every freshman's worse nightmare.
“…You gonna explain that circus?”
Miyuki’s attention shifted. And before everyone knew it, he'd already dashed far away from the senior.
He'll have plenty of time later to think about that kid. For now, he needs to run for his life!
...
The bus rattled slightly as it carried them away from Seidō.
Eijun sat by the window, breathing still uneven.
“…That was close…”
Rei glanced at him briefly.
“You cut it rather fine.”
“YOU THINK?!”
But even as he complained—
His gaze drifted. Back. To the field, the mound, the sound—
POP
His fingers curled slightly.
"Rei-san, I—"
By the time Eijun arrived at his house, the sky had already darkened.
He slid the door open.
“Tadaima…”
His family looked up immediately.
“You’re back!” His mother beamed. “How was it?”
His father leaned forward slightly. “Well?”
Eijun sighs as he sets his shoes down and slips on his slippers.
“…I’ll think about it.”
Was all he said. But it was enough.
His parents exchanged a glance. Something had changed.
Dinner passed more quietly than usual. Even his grandfather didn’t push.
Not yet at least.
But they were really curious.
...
Afterward, Eijun slipped into his room and shut the door behind him.
He dropped onto his bed face-first.
“…Ugh.”
He rolled onto his back, groaning as his stiff muscles pop. He stared at the ceiling.
The field replayed in his mind.
That pitch.
That moment.
That sound—
POP.
His left hand lifted slowly. Clenched like he was gripping the ball again.
“…That felt good.”
No—
More than that.
It felt right.
His chest tightened slightly at the memory.
'A pitcher, huh? I've always thought I'll be stuck being a fielder for the rest of my life.
'Should I try again?'
Right then, he felt choked. It was as if several hands were squeezing his neck. An unwelcomed memory gushed through his mind. He couldn't breathe.
ຮศཡศฅມཞศ! ƴ๑ມ ໒ມཞຮཛอ ໒ཏརʆอ!!
'No!'
Eijun didn't think twice before slapping himself hard.
Panting from his episode, he reached out for comfort and his fingers accidentally brushed against something beside him. As he looked to the side—
A magazine.
He picked it up absentmindedly.
It was about a sports issue—one his father had probably left there.
“…What’s this…”
He flipped through lazily.
Page after page—
Teams.
Players.
Headlines.
Then—
He stopped, eyes widening slightly.
“…Ah.”
There—
On the page—
Was the catcher from earlier.
Miyuki Kazuya
One photo showed him standing, arm drawn back mid-throw.
The other was him crouched low, mitt steady on the plate.
In between was a line text that said: Genius Catcher of Seidō
Eijun just stared.
Then that same strange feeling bubbled up again.
“…What is this…”
He pressed the magazine lightly against his chest, frowning.
“…Weird.”
But he didn’t put it away.
Not immediately.
Eventually, he exhaled.
“…I’ll think about it tomorrow.”
He closed the magazine. Turned off the light. And let sleep take him.
Even as the echo of that pitch lingered.
Seidō Dormitory
The lights in the halls were dim. Most rooms had already gone quiet.
Inside one, in room 203—
Miyuki lay on his bed, staring at the ceiling.
Silently thinking.
Slowly—
He lifted his right arm. His sleeve slid back slightly. There, a crescent moon surrounded by stars, was inked.
His gaze lingered on it. His brain kept repeating the same scene as earlier. Though, he wasn't sure if it really was the same crescent moon and stars that was inked to his body.
“…That kid…”
Sawamura Eijun.
The loud one.
The reckless one.
The one who threw that pitch.
His eyes narrowed slightly, remembering what Rei had told him earlier that day.
"Miyuki-kun, I wanted to ask this of you because you're the only one who I believe, can do this. You see, Sawamura-kun plays as a left fielder and believes that as his role. But my eyes saw different. Please, I ask you to draw out his potential to be a pitcher."
"A fielder, huh? Didn't really feel like it."
Then he softened.
“…Rei-san’s got a good eye.”
He let his arm drop. But the thought didn’t leave.
That pitch.
That feeling.
That mark—wait, it's not confirmed yet!
“…Tch.”
He turned onto his side.
“You arouse my interest, Sawamura Eijun.”
And for once—
Sleep didn’t come immediately. And when it did, it came with a soft, mop, brown hair and golden eyes that seemed to have pierced him on the spot he wished would never be touched.