Chapter Text
Sawamura had been acting rather strange the whole day.
Kazuya had bumped into him on his way to the cafeteria that morning, and the pitcher – instead of presenting him with the usual loud greetings – had looked oddly pensive. Before Kazuya could comment on it, Sawamura had slinked away into the crowd of players who’d finished their meals and were heading to the field. Bemused, Kazuya shook off the boy’s behaviour and headed inside to where the last few players sat and ate breakfast.
-
It wasn’t just the morning though.
During practice, Sawamura was quieter than usual – prompting even Okumura to ask, “Senpai, are you feeling alright?”
Sawamura looked up from where he was fiddling with his glove. “Yeah, wolf boy. Why wouldn’t I be?”
To his credit, he did seem confused by the question. Kazuya glanced at Furuya and raised an eyebrow, wondering if he knew what was going on with Sawamura. Furuya simply shrugged and said balefully, “Miyuki-senpai, can I throw the next pitch please?”
Snorting, Kazuya shifted back into position. It was probably nothing; he’d figure out what was up with Sawamura after practice.
-
“Hey, where’s that idiot run off to?”
Kazuya grinned as Kuramochi pulled a face at the catcher’s interruption of his cool-down. “Dunno. Think he got a call or something,” said Kuramochi, standing up straight and looking suddenly in thought. “Actually, he left pretty quickly once the call came. Seems like he didn’t want anybody to overhear anything.” Kazuya winced inwardly at the gleam in Kuramochi’s eye.
“Sawamura got a phone call at this hour?” He wondered out loud, falling into step with Kuramochi as they began to make their way off the field. “Could it have been Wakana?”
“Wouldn’t have run off like that,” Kuramochi pointed out. “Or even picked up for that matter. Sawamura’s not the type to end practice early to be mushy with his girlfriend.”
Kazuya smirked at that, patting Kuramochi’s shoulder in faux sympathy. “You know very well that Wakana isn’t Sawamura’s girlfriend, Kuramochi-kun. No need to be jealous!” He laughed as Kuramochi grumbled and shoved his hand off, speeding ahead as he threw back a grouchy threat at Kazuya. “Screw you, bastard.”
Kazuya let out another laugh, shaking his head at the other’s antics. Now then, where could Sawamura have gone, he mused.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted a flash of a yellow sweatshirt – worn by someone standing next to a row of vending machines. Quietening his footsteps, he slowly walked up to where the person was, their back to the approaching captain. He recognised the hair almost immediately; it was Sawamura, who seemed to be having a murmured conversation with someone on the phone. Straining his ears, he caught the last few words spoken, and his eyes widened in surprise.
“-ouldn’t have been so mad, sorry. Yeah, a date this weekend sounds good.” Sawamura said, sounding almost breathless in his joy. “Alright, I’ll see you then. Bye-bye.” He said cutely, ending the call after the person on the other end of the line responded.
Kazuya stood there stunned, unsure of how to react to what he had seen. He cleared his throat, and forced an awkward smirk as Sawamura jumped in shock and turned around to face the older boy.
Kazuya took a step forward, noting that the pitcher took a step back at that, seemingly unconscious. “That was quite the phone call, Sawamura,” he said, hoping he didn’t sound as off-kilter as he felt. “Wouldn’t be hiding something from the team, would you?”
Sawamura squinted at him, almost as if he were trying to decipher what Kazuya meant by his words, before sighing loudly.
“I’m not hiding anything, Cap.”
Kazuya blinked as a strange flush began to creep up Sawamura’s face.
“A friend just asked me out, that’s all.” Sawamura admitted, straightening up and tucking his phone into his pocket.
“A friend?” Kazuya prodded, hoping to get a definitive answer out of Sawamura. He wondered why he had begun to feel somewhat discomfited, shifting awkwardly where he stood.
Sawamura ran a hand through his hair, ducking his head down shyly. “From another school – it’s not really a big deal.” He explained, in perhaps the vaguest words possible, before taking another step back.
“Right! So…I’m going to head back to my room now, Cap,” he said, offering Kazuya a small smile. “See you tomorrow?”
Kazuya nodded, watching quietly as Sawamura walked away. He turned towards the nearest vending machine and fed a coin in, distractedly choosing a drink and collecting it from the bin at the bottom.
For some reason, he couldn’t stop thinking about Sawamura going on a date.