Chapter Text
"I want to adopt."
Tesshin was taken aback by what his wife said, causing him to frown. They are currently occupied with tasks at their teacher's desk.
Tesshin teaches modern Japanese while his wife Rei teaches English. Both of them are also in charge of the baseball club, with Rei being an assistant coach who recruits players and Tesshin being the head coach.
However, Rei suddenly bring that up to him? Why and for what reason?
Tesshin took a moment to clear his throat and then adjusted his sunglasses before speaking, "Are you talking about adopting either a dog or a cat?"
With a surprise expression on her face, Rei sighed as she looked at Tesshin. Her husband's response made her feel dissatisfied.
"Honey, that's not what I was trying to convey."
"Sorry, but can you explain what you mean that you want to adopt?"
Rei's eyes were filled with sadness as she slowly glanced at Tesshin's face. As Tesshin observed it, he came to realize what his wife wanted to say. He's aware that his wife has been eager to have a child for some time.
No matter what they do, they won't receive blessing to have a baby. For almost five years they have been together as a couple,Tesshin believes that Rei wants to have a little life in their home by having a child. Their parents have been hoping for a grandchild, but unfortunately there is still none.
While having a conversation with her husband, Rei suddenly started to shed tears. Her desire to adopt a child caused them both to stop their work at that moment.
"I'm not sure if I'm responsible for the reason why we can't have a child."
Tesshin hugged Rei tightly to soothe her emotions.
"Why did you come up with the idea of adopting suddenly? Is it because of your friends?"
Tesshin is not sure if his wife is under pressure because of her friends who already have children but he only knows one thing, Rei loves children.
"It's not like that. We're getting older and I want to experience being a parent."
Once again, Tesshin hugged Rei very tightly. His wife was right, they were both getting old. How long will they endure and wait? Until one of them is gone?
"Alright, next week let's go to the orphanage and look for our future child."
Rei let go of the hug and looked at Tesshin, seemingly surprised by her husband's words. When he saw Tesshin's smile, Rei smiled too.
"Thank you so much my love. Thank you!"
On Sunday, they finally made it to the orphanage to adopt a child. While waiting in the hallway, Tesshin asked Rei if she wanted a daughter or a son.
"Of course I wanted a daughter for the usual reason. I would like to brush her long hair and dress her in pretty fluffy dresses. What about you, my love?"
Tesshin paused for a moment before responding.
"I will like her just as much as you do. Our focus should be on providing our future child with a bright future."
Rei gave a nod to her husband's response. The thought of choosing their future child is exciting for her.
While waiting, an office door was opened by a teenage boy and a lady who appeared to be strict.
"Eijun, if you commit another stupid act, I will punish you!"
The boy didn't answer, he just frowned and continued walking away from the office.
"Don't come back here until I tell you. Do you understand?!"
"Yes, madaam." Eijun responded finally, but did not stare back at her.
Despite being pale and malnourished, his eyes are just as beautiful as a golden sun.
Rei and Tesshin caught the boy's attention so he immediately bowed to welcome them.
"Good morning to you, ma'am and sir."
Rei offered a smile and nodded to the boy but Tesshin didn't react, he was simply gazing at him. Even though the boy wears dirty clothes and his hair is kind of messy, he's so polite.
They just watched him leave the building until he was out of sight.
"Sorry for waiting Mr.and Mrs.Kataoka. Are you ready to take a tour today and decide who you want to adopt?" The lady asked them who was actually a headmistress.
Both Rei and Tesshin stood up from their seats to greet the headmistress.
"Yes, we're both prepared and excited to meet our future child."
"Okay, let's go now and I'll give you a tour."
They were unaware that Eijun was secretly watching them from the outside window. While watching them, he experienced a sudden feeling of loneliness and sadness.
"The child they got to choose is extremely lucky. It seems like they have a nice personality."
Eijun turned his back from the window and walked away, heading towards the rear of the building to play catch ball alone. The ball he plays with is his most valuable possession in the world. His parents gave him this as a gift when they were alive. Eijun can't imagine what would happen if he lost it. If that happens, he will no longer be able to live.
"What are you doing here alone, Eijun?"
A girl who is the same age as him approached him. Eijun stopped playing and turned around to see the person who had just spoken.
"What are you doing here too, Wakana?"
Wakana sat down on the wooden chair in the corner and paused for a moment to take a deep breath.
"I went outside to get some fresh air since it was difficult to breathe in our room with those crappy girls." Wakana replied with a disgruntled expression which made Eijun giggled so he spoke a language that Wakana was unable to comprehend.
"I don't understand what you're saying, so please stop using that language, Eijun." she added.
The language he was speaking was unknown to Eijun as well. He was taught this by his father when he was young. According to his father, it was only those in their family had the privilege to use it.
"Sorry, wanna play catch ball?"
"I'm not in the mood to play, Eijun."
"Okay."
Since Wakana was five years old, she has been in the orphanage for a long time. She is the only person who is closest to Eijun in the orphanage. There were times when the other children joined them in playing baseball and Wakana is the only girl there. Due to her closeness to the boys, Wakana is hated by the other girls.
"Aren't you curious about seeing our guests? It's possible that they will choose you and you will be able to escape this place."
"You know me Eijun. I'm not interested. I want to be independent and free like those birds flying in the sky." Wakana answered as she looked at the sky.
Eijun pondered the word 'free' and asked himself when will they receive their freedom? When he becomes free, his goal is to become a professional baseball player in Japan.
It was almost afternoon when Rei and Tesshin finished touring the orphanage but despite their efforts, they were unable to find a single one. It's not because the kids who live here are savages or any other reason. The love from their hearts cannot be felt every time they converse with them.
"Would you be interested in adopting a baby?" The headmistress made a suggestion but Rei shook her head, indicating she wasn't interested.
"My apologies, but my husband and I are both occupied with work. Taking care of the baby is not something we can properly focus on."
"Yeah my wife is right. We are the only ones in the house and there is no other person to watch the baby just in case."
"Is that so? What type of child do you have in mind? A teenager who has already grown up and no longer requires care?"
Rei nodded at the headmistress' statement, "That's right, a bit older like a high schooler so we can attend school with our daughter because my husband and I both teach."
"A daughter? Alright, I will try to find a girl who I can recommend to you."
"Yes, a daughter."
"I'll send that girl to your house temporarily so we can determine if you'll be fond of her or not."
"Thank you so much, we will be patiently waiting for her."
Rei and Tesshin made a bow to show appreciation to the headmistress.
It has been a week since Rei and Tesshin went to the orphanage and they finally got a text message from the headmistress who assisted them. The girl she picked is about to go to their home for a temporary stay for five days.
They couldn't wait to meet their future daughter who would be living with them when they received the text message. The spare room was set up for her, it's just simple room with a white wallpapers. In addition, they also have plans to go outside, watch a movie then eat at a restaurant.
Rei cooked a delicious meal for their daughter who would be coming to their house today and her heart is full of joy.
After a while, they heard the doorbell ring. It was a sign that the girl from the orphanage had arrived. Rei was so eager to meet her that she rushed into the hallway, leaving her husband in the kitchen alone.
"My future daughter is here!"
However, when Rei opened the door, she was taken aback by what she saw because there was not a girl at the front door but a boy, wearing a worn-out jacket and carrying a backpack.
"Good day, madam!"
The boy greeted but Rei didn't pay attention to him. Rei stepped out of the door and looked around as if she was searching for someone but all she could see was a boy standing in front of her. Looking back at the boy, Rei said something.
"Hello, what is your name and what are looking for?"
Rei caught a glimpse of the figure of her husband from the door. He also appeared to be surprised by what was happening.
"My name is Eijun Sawamura. I am the person who was sent to your house to live temporary."
As Eijun bowed, Rei and Tesshin remembered the person in front of them. The boy that greeted them in the orphanage hallway was him.
Rei and Tesshin stared at each other, unsure of what to do. They received a different person from the headmistress, that boy was not what they were expecting.
"What did you mean by saying you were sent here?" Rei asked Eijun but he was uncertain and did not respond to her question.
It came to Rei and Tesshin's attention that the boy's eyes and lips became sad. Seeing his emotions change caused them to feel pain in their hearts.
"Okay, sorry..." Rei just invited the boy to their house for a meal and Eijun thanked them.
While Eijun's eating alone in the kitchen, the couple was secretly talking in the bedroom. Rei was unable to stop biting her finger in worry that she keeps walking back and forth inside the room to contemplate.
"Why did the headmistress send a boy here? Isn't the girl I want to adopt not him?" Rei told her husband.
"I have no idea either. Is it okay if we call the headmistress?"
Rei agreed with what Tesshin said.
Tesshin grabbed his phone and began to contact the headmistress of the orphanage. It was not long before someone responded immediately on the other line.
"Hello?"
"Good morning, this Kataoka residence."
"Hello, Mr. Tesshin. Did that girl I sent to your place arrived safely?"
As Rei listened, Tesshin let out a sigh.
"Actually, it seems like you sent a wrong person here. My wife was hoping for a girl, but a boy came to our home instead."
Tesshin's statement caused the headmistress to be surprised and asked about the boy who went to their house.
Tesshin recalled the name of the boy, "The person who came here is Eijun Sawamura. That's his name." Tesshin repled.
"What?! What is Eijun doing there? That boy is truly a troublemaker!" The headmistress said angrily on the phone.
Her words were unexpected to them. She speak like that just because of the boy?
"The boy is well behaved so there's no need to worry. We are currently feeding him."
"Thank you, I am sorry for any inconvenience this may have caused you. I'm going to your house right now to retrieve Eijun."
"It's nothing. We will wait for you. Thank you."
Tesshin said and hung up the phone finally. After talking to the headmistress, they went downstairs and entered the kitchen to check on the teenager named Eijun. It came to their attention that he had finished eating his food. He just stared blankly at the window while sitting on the chair but Eijun spotted them quickly and stood up and bowed to thank them for feeding him.
Rei walked up to Eijun and gently caressed his face.
"Eat more so that you gain more weight. You look very pale and skinny. Did you enjoy the food I cooked?"
Eijun was delighted when Rei caressed him, as it gave him the sensation of having a mother again for the first time.
"Your food was so delicious, and I loved it. Thank you for feeding me, Ms. Takashima." Eijun unexpectedly surprised them.
"Takashima? Do you have any idea who I am?"
"Yes, I am familiar with both you and... your boyfriend."
Tesshin frowned when Eijun mentioned the word boyfriend, so he approached the boy in order to confront him.
"Have you ever met me? How do you know about me and my wife?" Tesshin asked with a sense of anger in his voice and Eijun was taken aback to learn that Rei and Tesshin had already been married.
It appears that he was wrong from the moment he met them, because he believed that they were only in a romantic relationship and not yet married.
Before responding to Tesshin's question, Eijun swallowed.
"Uhmm, to be honest, I used to see both of you on TV and in the newspaper, so I am familiar with both of you." Eijun was nervous as he answered.
"TV and the newspaper?"
Tesshin repeated Eijun's words.
"You are Kataoka Tesshin the head coach of Seidou Baseball Club and Rei Takashima is the person who responsible for recruiting players."
"Is that so..." Tesshin said then nodded his head.
"I had no idea that my husband and I would become famous through the media."
Rei appeared to be laughing as she spoke so Eijun giggled upon seeing her smile.
She asked Eijun to sit down to continue their conversation. Tesshin prepared three teas, he gave one to his wife who was sitting next to Eijun then he put another tea on the table and handed over the last one to the boy.
"Eijun, it appears that you have a fondness for baseball."
Tesshin questioned him.
"Yes, baseball is my favorite sport. My father loves it, so I enjoyed it too. When I was a kid, we used to watch some of Seidou's gameplay."
Hearing the baseball, Eijun's face suddenly brightened which made Tesshin smile so he asked him something.
"Do you play baseball, Eijun?"
"Yes, during my junior high years."
"What position do you play?"
"I'm a southpaw pitcher." Eijun answered again, and he appears to be very happy while Tesshin was captivated by what he heard.
"A Southpaw pitcher?"
Rei and Tesshin become curious as to what kind of pitcher Eijun is. If you look at his appearance, it seems like he is not athelic because he is malnourished. But the boy seems to be hiding something that other people are not aware of.
"Really? By the way Eijun I'm just curious. Do you know where your parents are?"
Suddenly, Rei asked a question and change their topic. Her question caused Eijun's smile to disappear. It didn't bother him to hear about his parents. It's just the trauma of the past that still on his mind, making it difficult for him to speak.
Eijun's sudden silence caught the couple's attention. Rei felt that she had no right to ask him about that. As she was about to make an apology, Eijun suddenly spoke.
"My parents have passed away. An incident caused both of them to die but as far as I can remember, my father told me that my grandfather is still alive. He didn't mention where my grandfather is currently located. My parents eloped when they were very young, leaving their homes for a life in Nagano. My grandfather's whereabouts is unknown to my parents because the last news they received was that my grandfather had relocated."
"Oh, I'm so sorry to hear about the loss of your parents, Eijun."
Rei grabbed the boy's hand that was on the table, which was unexpected to Eijun. She softly massaged his rough hand. Although she wanted to speak to him in a way that wouldn't hurt him, she needed to convey the truth. She took a deep breath to calm herself and gazed into Eijun's eyes.
"A-Actually, you are not the person we were expecting to arrive here. In fact, we are interested in adopting a girl."
Eijun was aware that he was not exactly what they had hoped for so he simply smiled and replied by nodding his head.
"Do you want us to help you in finding your grandfather?" Rei's smiles which appeared to be filled with love and concern, were something Eijun noticed when looking at her.
Eijun smiled brightly like a sunshine and nodded to them.
It took almost half an hour for the headmistress to arrive at the Kataoka residence. Their attention was suddenly drawn to the sound of the car's horn outside, so they left the kitchen right away and headed out the door to meet her.
Eijun wasn't surprised by the headmistress' arrival because he already knew that he wasn't the one who was adopted by Rei and Tesshin. It's actually Wakana, his friend.
The headmistress bowed her head and expressed a deep apology to the couple. Tesshin stated that it was really fine and after that Rei questioned about the girl they were supposed to adopt.
The headmistress immediately stared angrily at Eijun, she pulled his arm violently, which made the boy scream in pain.
"Ouch! Please let me go!" Eijun is begging her to let go of his arm but the headmistress ignored him and asked with a furious look.
"I'll let you go once you answer my question! Where's Wakana?!"
Rei and Tesshin's mouth opened onto shocked silence by the headmistress sudden action and they didn't know what to do. Until they saw a tear formed from Eijun's eyes which rolled down his face, causing it to stain, which meant he was in pain.
"I don't know where Wakana is." Eijun cried in pain as he answered.
"If you don't tell me the truth, I'll give you both a serious punishment!"
The headmistress' voice intensified as she appeared to be extremely angry.
"Instead of punishing her, just punish me. Wakana wanted to be free, so please leave her alone. "
The headmistress became even more furious at Eijun's response, leading her to pull the boy's hair and drag him to the car.
Eijun was unable to contain his tears as he cried out of pain. The couple was feeling pity and upset as they watched Eijun dragging violently out of their property. Tesshin was so irritated that he grabbed the headmistress arms to stop her.
"Do you not see that he's crying in pain by what you are doing?" Tesshin said, despite wearing sunglasses, his angry eyes were visible. The headmistress immediately let go the boy because she suddenly became afraid of Tesshin.
Rei reached out to Eijun and calmed him down from crying.
"Don't feel bad for that boy. Did you not know that he has a bad attitude and consistently causes trouble for us? He's only pretending to look like he's in pain but he's actually not."
"Seriously? Do you think he would cry this way if he were pretending? It's clear that he's suffering from real pain. You're treating him in an abusive manner." Rei stated with an angry expression and voice which caused the headmistress left speechless and suddenly felt embarrassed in front of them.
"Don't worry, I'm fine. Thank you Ms. Takashima." Eijun suddenly spoke and released himself from Rei's embrace, then massaged his arm to relieve the pain.
The headmistress bit her lips and tried to regain her composure.
"Tell me where Wakana is and why you came here instead of her?"
The headmistress asked while Eijun used his worn-out jacket to wipe his tears.
"W-Wakana told me that I had been chosen to be adopted, so she went with me to this place. The last thing she mentioned to me was that she finally found a place where she can live freely somewhere. I was convinced by her words, but I was mistaken." Eijun explained and his tears came back again.
"Gosh! You two are always causing me trouble and to the orphanage!"
The headmistress apologized to Rei and Tesshin for what happened. She asked them if they were still interested in adopting, but they declined. Her attitude caused them to feel extremely disappointed.
Eijun grabbed his bag pack and turned to Rei and Tesshin. He bowed respectfully and expressed his gratitude once more for the delicious food and good treatment he received. Somehow Eijun felt happy because he was able to experience having family again even if it was only for a short time.
"Ms. Takashima and Coach Kataoka, thank you so much for everything. I hope we can meet again one day." Eijun said his final words to them before saying goodbye.
Suddenly, Rei felt sad and hugged him very tightly. She had no idea why she treated the boy that way. It appears that her heart has gotten closer to him. Tesshin shares the same sentiment towards Eijun. Even though he didn't express his concern, the boy left a huge part from his heart too.
While Eijun was inside the car with the headmistress. Rei and Tesshin looked through the car window to catch a glimpse of him. They wanted to see his face one more time. Eijun caught sight of them, he smiled and waved slightly. Until the car started the engine and left from the property. The silence surrounding them is the only sound they could hear. It's so deafening that it's causing them sadness.
Inside the car, Eijun was just looking out the window, watching the scenery they were passing by. His heart became unhappy because of the sad music playing on the car radio.
"Mr. Shiroaki visited the orphanage this morning. He is interested in adopting a teenager again to work for him and I'm going to assign you there. I'm confident that you'll be the last one." The headmistress said and Eijun was taken aback by what he heard.
Mr. Shiroaki is a drunkard man. All of his adoptees ran away and never came back because of his abusive behavior. He forced the children he adopted to work until midnight from his death factory and did not even provide them with food.
Eijun has heard this from other adoptees who have escaped from the cruel man. Mr. Shiroaki's generous donation makes it impossible for the orphanage to refuse him. It's similar to shutting your mouth and being blind to what's happening because the orphanage prioritizes money over the children.
"Madam, I am begging you. Even if you ask me to clean up the entire orphanage building for a year, I am willing to accept it! Please, I do not want to go to him!" Eijun approached the driver's seat, begging to the headmistress.
"It's impossible for me refuse because we're heading to his place right now. You must leave the orphanage. You're causing so much trouble to me so your presence there is unnecessary anyway." The headmistress stated and just continued to drive, ignoring the boy from the back seat of the car who was shaking from fear at the moment.
Eijun kept pleading but the headmistress refused to glance at him.
"Please, madam..! "
Eijun thought he could escape the hellish life but it appears that it won't happen. He has come to the realization that he will be miserable for the rest of his life and that is truly his fate.
At the same time, somewhere from Tokyo. An old man was sipping tea alone on the balcony of a traditional old house. He appears to have a deep thought and is quietly gazing at the blue sky. Until a sliding door was opened, a man in a black suit bowed down and greeted him. Upon seeing him, the old man put down the tea he was holding and placed it on the table.
"Is there any news regarding to my son?"
"Your son has not been found yet. However, there is new information that his girlfriend became pregnant and they have a son."
The old man was startled by what he heard.
"W-What do you mean by saying they have a son? Does that mean I have another grandchild besides Mei?"
"That's right, Your Majesty."
The old man took a small sip of the tea and placed it back on the table. He took a deep breath and regained his composure after hearing the shocking news.
"This was unexpected to me. It's hard to believe that I have a second grandson?"
The old man quickly stood up from his seat and walked to the balcony. With a smile on his face, the old man turned around and looked at the man in the suit.
"It would be great if you could find him so I can determine if he's capable of being the heir of the royal family."
"Yes, immediately, Your Majesty."