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Fiery orange and reds flickered and blazed, towering higher than Satoru thought possible. The contrast of the flames against the night sky from this angle was beautiful, something he’d never seen before. He’d gone camping and fishing with his grandpa back in Hokkaido, but campfires were so much smaller, it was nothing like this. And it wasn’t just the fire, but the people, the music, the atmosphere—it was all a brand experience for him. It was almost a breathless feeling.
“Hey, Furuya,” Eijun nudged him in the side with his elbow. “You’ve never been to a bonfire until now?”
“No,” Satoru confirmed. “It’s…”
He couldn’t find the words. Everything about Seidou was a new experience for him, really. The first baseball team, the first place outside his family that he’d belonged. His first rivals, friends. His first time participating in a culture festival. Satoru’s class had only done a café, but it was still fun to participate and give customers what they’d wanted, even if it was also mentally and physically draining. And now… this celebration. The school and surrounding community had allowed the controlled bonfire to happen, in celebration of the end of the school’s culture festival and of the Seido Sports teams’ successes. That of course included the baseball team, who’d very recently won their region’s fall tournament.
“It’s nice, right?” Eijun said excitedly.
“Yeah,” Satoru agreed. Though nice wasn’t the word he’d use—if he were to choose a more fitting word, maybe it’d be something more like magical.
Perhaps standing here, side by side with Eijun made it even more so. He glanced over at him to see that Eijun was watching the bonfire, his eyes wide and lit up with awe. The reflection of the fire in Eijun’s eyes was just as mesmerizing as the fire itself. Eijun was some kind of embodiment of fire, himself, after all.
“What about you?” Satoru asked.
Eijun met his eyes. “Yeah, I’ve been to a few! It never stops being awesome, though.”
He could understand that. “Is there usually music and dancing?”
Around the bonfire, outside in this open area, other students were standing and chatting or dancing in pairs or groups, enjoying themselves.
“Yeah! It’s kinda a festival-like atmosphere, don’t you think?”
“I guess so.” Furuya had gone to a couple of festivals when he was younger with his family, but he didn’t have that much experience with them.
“Do you want to go dance?” Eijun asked, seemingly earnest, but there was a hint of challenge there too.
Satoru looked away. He shook his head. He had no idea how to dance, how he’d go about it at all. Even if he had a hard time stepping away from challenges, this was one he couldn’t take. He didn’t want to look ridiculous in front of Eijun, or any of the other students.
Eijun laughed. “Alright! We don’t need to compete over that, anyway. I can beat you at anything regarding pitching.”
“No,” Satoru said, narrowing his eyes. “I’ll win. I’ll keep the ace number.”
“It’s too early to be that confident, Furuya!” Eijun argued, a smirk in his tone.
Just like that, a recent scene flashed through his memory. A scene from right after the fall tournament.
Furuya. You said before that you’re glad you came to this school. Right now, from the bottom of my heart, I feel the same. Because I will absolutely take that ace number from you!
Eijun had said that with such conviction, and the words had caused warmth to bloom through Satoru’s whole body. At that time, he couldn’t help but smile. It wasn’t just the flame of challenge, of knowing that Eijun’s presence made him better, it was a direct confirmation that Eijun felt the same way about their rivalry.
“I won’t lose,” Satoru said again.
Eijun bumped his shoulder against Satoru’s, and a new warmth spread through him. Something had shifted, recently. He and Eijun still bickered and competed over so much, but it felt different somehow. It was nice. It had always been fun, having someone like Eijun to challenge him. But now it felt like they were more like friends as well as rivals. It was… unbelievable, almost. The way Eijun made him feel so many things at once that he didn’t know how to put into words.
They’d gotten closer, that was a good way to put it. Even now, Eijun, who was extroverted, friendly, could be out talking to anyone and everyone, but he stayed here with Satoru. It was impossible not to notice that.
And upon noticing that, a hitch grew in Satoru’s breathing, a deep chasm in his chest that ached and yet felt good at the same time, which didn’t make any sense to him.
He turned back to look over at Eijun.
Eijun was beautiful. His entire presence was large. Just like the one of the bonfire. He was sure that Eijun’s brightness eclipsed the bonfire, though. Eijun’s brightness was more akin to the sun. At first, it’d burned him, but he couldn’t look away despite himself.
The flames danced in Eijun’s eyes, just like other students danced around the fire.
Satoru, without thinking about it, reached over and grabbed Eijun’s hand.
Eijun’s head swivelled around, and Satoru felt himself smiling as they locked eyes. Eijun’s face flushed, noticeable with the light of the fire, and a choking sound came out of his mouth. He quickly looked away and let out a loud and shaky exhalation, but he didn’t pull his hand away.
The bonfire might as well be a candle to the fire in Satoru’s heart right now.
Magic.