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The boy’s luscious, glistening lips catch his eyes, and he can’t help but ponder if he should walk towards him just to steal a kiss. Bright, golden orbs look back at him, the sun’s rays reflected on them, and he clenches his fist discretely. “I shouldn’t catch for him today or I’ll die too early,” he mutters to himself, steeling his resolve. This day couldn’t get –
“…any fucking worse,” grits Youichi, exiting the delirious site that’s about to give him his daily dose of nightmares and send him to an early grave. He glares at the screen, contemplating if it’s worth it to chuck that phone outside the window in exchange for saving years about to be taken off from his life.
There’s a limit to Youichi’s patience, particularly in matters related to the two idiots. One of them is his roommate which sends him on a high blood pressure spike, and to make matters worse, the other one is his supposedly friend, the word dripping with venom from his mouth on the first time he admitted that scary fact. Damn, if he won’t be a saint for admitting that, then what is heaven even up to?
But Youichi is not a believer of religion, not when all he can see right now are demons pestering his sight without a shame. And by demons, he means an hourly dose of will I catch, fine I won’t even if I’m fucking in love with him dialogue floating above Miyuki’s head as he refuses Sawamura’s demands to catch for him for the hundredth time this week. Nothing can beat the monstrosity he had just read from his phone screen a moment ago though.
“Anyone could’ve written that,” points out Maezono, grunting as he shoves the spoon to his mouth, crumbs of rice flying out towards Youichi, prompting him to look at his eating seatmate in disgust. “It’s not like you can just ram their heads on doors or whatever. Besides, if it’s a girl, we all know you’ll turn into pudding any day.”
“That day can be today, and you will be the one becoming a pudding, mark my words,” threatens Youichi as he grudgingly finishes his meal. “And who the fuck would know everything that happens between those two dunderheads if not a baseball team member?”
“Or a manager,” supplies Shirasu, shrugging. “They’re more likely to write those kinds of things.”
“Don’t tell me the baseball managers watch us inside the bathroom.” Youichi groans, shaking his head. “Stuff that only baseball team members could see are being written there. And curse my brain for even remembering that those written things actually did happen. Well, not all since some are exaggerated as hell, but you get my point.”
Nori coughs, grabbing the glass of water next of him. “This is the first time I’ve seen you rant like this.”
Youichi sighs miserably. “Hell if I know why. If only I could unread what I’ve read. And honestly, I’m surprised none of the students in our school are even suspicious about the baseball team’s integrity.”
Maezono snorts. “Integrity and gay have nothing to do with each other.”
“It’s the two idiots. Two. Idiots. Not them being gay. Their actions concern me. Because they’re in-denial and all that shit that doesn’t go out and cause them to be emotionally constipated as fuck, alright?” Youichi smacks the back of Maezono’s head lightly. “That’s integrity being insulted right there. I hate them.”
Nori snorts. “And yet, you still help them. You care a lot for someone who hates them.”
“I care for my mental health, thank you very much.”
“Excuses, excuses.”
“I hate you, Nori.”
Nori smiles triumphantly. “Tell that to the walls. Maybe they’ll hear you.”
***
First of all, that sneaky fanfiction writer has the wildest imagination Youichi had ever seen in his whole life. The writer describes Sawamura as the sunlight that ruins people with his smile forever and ends their lives, and yet at the same time, manages to be both intelligently eloquent and vivaciously stupid and Miyuki as the spawn of the devil that rose from the ashes and torments his path, and yet at the same time, manages to be both cunningly threatening and disgustingly whipped. Hell, reading it has Youichi thinking if he was actually the one who wrote those descriptions. “Took the words right off my mouth, they did,” he says with conviction as he scrolls down the latest episode.
Of course, Youichi hadn’t been suspicious of the story at first. A classmate of his posted the link of the story on their group chat, and Youichi, having been bored with nobody to hang out with, decided to click the link that he didn’t know would change his life. The Diamond Crown of the Ace tells the story of two clowns who play baseball as a battery, with nobody able to be a normal human being, incapable of actually just being together when they should be. And who else would Youichi think about after having read such a distasteful plot? Why, who else but the two idiots.
“Maybe I should start threatening everyone in the lower strings,” considers Youichi.
Haruichi squints his eyes. “For the story you just read?” He positions himself and swings the bat ferociously. “You-san, how can you presume that the writer is not from the first string? Besides, who knows if Miyuki-senpai and Eijun-kun have stalkers.”
Youichi rolls his eyes. “They’d have been found out by now. And who else can stalk them inside the dorm rooms and the bathroom? Coach would have a field day if he’d found out there was a stalker lurking.”
“Good point.” Haruichi stretches his arms and yawns. “I have some suspicions on who it could be, but I doubt it’s them.”
“Who? Asou?” says Youichi sarcastically.
“He could be one.”
“How?”
“Well, he’s the first one to ask if Miyuki-senpai and Eijun-kun were together. That raises some suspicions.”
Youichi starts to think about what Haruichi said. He does have a point–Youichi’ll give him that. Asou was the first one to be suspicious of the two idiots’ relationship, and Youichi was the one who immediately denied any allegations, lamenting about his concerns on the two’s futures. But something doesn’t feel quite right just yet. Asou never had anything against Miyuki and Sawamura to describe them so exactly just how Youichi would describe them. In fact, Youichi remembers Asou praising Sawamura for his pitching and his bright demeanor, and as far as he knows, Asou is civil with Miyuki, distant even.
The real deals are the people who have connection with both Miyuki and Sawamura. Had Chris been there, Youichi would have suspected him immediately. The only people he knows that has access to both Miyuki and Sawamura are Sawamura’s group of friends, Miyuki’s sorry excuse for a friendship group which Youichi is regrettably a part of, the first string, the pitchers, and the catchers. But maybe he is not far off. Maybe it could be Chris, and he had a spy of some sort. Or it could even be Jun, with him being obsessed with anything shoujo. As much as Youichi hates it, Miyuki and Sawamura’s relationship is straight out from a shoujo manga. Who else would even obsess themselves with Miyuki and Sawamura’s relationship?
But the most puzzling thing is just moments after Youichi is considering the third years who already graduated, a new chapter has arrived, a resounding ping! notifying him on his phone.
“Oh, fuck it,” he mutters, clicking the newest chapter impatiently.
He looked at the gloomy kid with glaring eyes, frosty and cold, as if warning him to back off. “What a moron,” whispers someone in the background.
“Wait, is this that kid that hangs around with that first-year catcher? The fast guy?” Youichi squints his eyes in suspicion. “What the hell?! So, it’s him!”
“Who is him?” asks Haruichi curiously.
“Seto Takuma is his name, I think.” Youichi is already counting off the fingers he’ll break as he slings his bat above his shoulder menacingly. “I’m about to beat up a first-year, thanks to his antics.”
Haruichi chokes a laugh. “You-san, I really think you should rethink your decision.”
“You knew who it was right from the start, didn’t you?”
“Maybe.” Haruichi shrugs and sends him a knowing smile. “Good luck, You-san.”
***
“What the actual fuck?!”
Youichi stares at the phone screen in disbelief.
Okumura stares right back at him, unimpressed as he continues to type fast on his phone. “What’s your problem with me, senpai?”
Seto starts to chortle. “Koushuu, just stop, will you?”
Okumura’s frown widens. “I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“You–” Youichi chucks a pencil case at Okumura’s direction, but he moves away just in time, sending Youichi a challenging glare. “You imbecile! You didn’t have to write a nasty fanfiction on the two people you hate and ruin my life.”
Okumura snorts, surprising Youichi as this is the first time he heard the gloomy kid snort, not that that was an accomplishment considering he wants to kill said kid right now. “An overreaction,” he says dismissively. “They had it coming.”
“Fuck you.” Youichi flashes the middle finger at him. “Hope you rot in hell, bastard. And tone it down with the imagination, will you?! I did not wake up every morning just to deal with your rotten plots, you piece of shit!”
“Self-projection.” Okumura wrinkles his nose in distaste. “Maybe you should resolve your own issues, senpai, before you start solving other people’s problems.”
“Don’t make me kill you right now,” threatens Youichi.
Seto starts to howl with laughter. “Oh god, this is too priceless.”
“You shut up too! You two were on this, weren’t you?”
Seto raises his hands in surrender. “I’ve never done anything bad in my life to you, senpai.”
“He was my beta reader,” replies Okumura flatly, typing without a care in the world as Seto evades a bat flying in his direction, slamming the door shut before Youichi could even catch him. Youichi flashes a middle finger at Okumura’s direction again before opening the door, running as fast as he can to kill Seto.
***
Okumura rereads what he wrote before pressing the post button, scowling when he receives two notifications.
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1 new message from Miyuki Kazuya : Sent you fifteen coins. Now help me court the idiot.
Okumura sighs resignedly. He can’t believe that he’s surrounded by a bunch of idiots. Oh well, as long as he earns money, he has no complaints. Better rich than dense after all.