Chapter Text
“Now, Eijun, is it true that there is a world tour in the works to go along with your new album, Out of Left Field?”
“Well, I guess it’s not a secret anymore! Dates and locations will be announced soon. Be sure to keep a lookout!”
“Very exciting! I’m sure this will be one of the most anticipated tours of the summer.”
“You should expect nothing less! This Sawamura Eijun will do his best to give all his fans the best show he can!”
☆
Kazuya smoothed the folds of his dress shirt as he approached the doors of the establishment. A look of annoyance played on his amber eyes. His mind flashed back to Colleen’s face as she dropped this commitment rather unceremoniously on him the previous day.
‘One of these days, I am actually gonna kill that woman’ he thought as he stepped through the entryway of the restaurant.
His eyes scanned the room for his blasted manager and locked on the ginger woman. She met his eye and rushed over to him, shoving a champagne flute into his hands.
“Miyuki, thank god you made it. I was starting to wonder if you weren’t going to show” she said hastily.
“I was considering it” he muttered, lifting the flute to his lips. He’s gonna need a lot of champagne to make it through this function.
“Lighten up,” she snarked at him, playfully slapping the back of her hand across his chest. “There are plenty of important people here to talk with. Think of the opportunities! We could get you on the cover of Sports Illustrated or even in a fashion magazine before the start of the season. You definitely have the qual-
“Colleen, please. You know that stuff is not a priority. My play is,” Kazuya groaned, turning his head around to face her.
Colleen huffed, “Fine. Find me when you’re ready to be proactive about your career.” She stormed off before darting off to talk to some model and her manager.
Kazuya sighed and finished his drink. He made his way around the groups of people, glancing around and recognizing a few other players and major celebrities. His mind wandered to Kuramochi who conveniently had dinner with one of his sponsors.
“Kuramochi you lucky bastard,” Kazuya muttered, picking up another glass of champagne from the roaming waiters.
He began to sip on the drink before setting his eyes on a very interesting scene and promptly spit out his drink.
What he saw was a man he knew very well having a very heated exchange with a clearly tipsy singer, or maybe a model? He certainly was pretty enough to be a top model. What he didn’t understand was why this man was picking a fight with Azuma Kiyokuni, designated hitter for the Los Angeles Dodgers and the reigning NL player of the year. While the mystery man was not small by any means, he was nothing compared to the size of a large pro baseball player with the power to send balls 450 feet. Next to them was a panicked woman trying to separate the two and make sure they didn't cause too big a scene.
Kazuya navigated towards them, a sly grin emerging on his face. He couldn’t resist the temptation to mess with Azuma.
“You shoulda treat pitchers with more respect! They let you play the game, idiot,” the man yells out towards Azuma, sticking a manicured finger into his chest.
“HAH?? Who do you think you are talking to me like that, you punk?!” Azuma snarled at the man, slapping his hand away from him.
“Please excuse Sawamura, Azuma. He’s had a little too much to drink." The woman steps in, sliding her arm around Sawamura‘s(?) chest to pull him away from the baseball player.
Kazuya chucked as he approached the group, placing his arm on Azuma’s shoulder, “Come on, Azuma. Can’t take a little heat?”
“Miyuki! When the hell did you get here?” Azuma snapped, shoving Kazuya off him.
“Doesn’t matter. Someone’s got to get rid of that big head of yours,” Kazuya chides.
“Yeah!” Sawamura calls back, sticking his tongue out at Azuma. His presumed manager then proceeds to give him a fierce glare which shuts him up.
“We’ll see who has a big head. I’m gonna smash your calls this year, you brat! As for you,” Azuma continues, turning to Sawamura. “Don’t speak on shit you don’t understand.”
He pivots on his back foot and walks away.
Sawamura’s eyes narrow and Miyuki thinks for a second that that comment may have sobered him up. He hears Sawamura mutter under his breath, “Oh I know far more than you think…” That piqued Kazuya’s interest.
His manager finally let go of the man and he sees her chastising him for causing such a scene.
“I know Rei. He just infuriates me,” Sawamura mutters, his eyes flitting back to Azuma’s retreating figure.
Kazuya then approaches Sawamura, wrapping his arm around his shoulders and his smirk morphs into a cheeky grin. “So what made you provoke him like that? You’ve got some balls yelling at Azuma of all people.”
Sawamura, surprised by the sudden contact, stiffens under the embrace. He turns his head towards Kazuya, who then gets a good look at the other man’s face. His eyes shone like liquid gold under the dim lighting of the restaurant, surrounded by a constellation of freckles stretching across his checks. His eyes dropped to his lips, round and pink and glossed? He felt his own cheeks heat and quickly looked back up to his eyes.
He sees Sawamura’s gorgeous eyes lowered and his expression turns sour.
“I watched his game last night and the way he treated their pitchers was horrible. It was disgusting, they do so much for the team just for that asshole to treat them like that,” he bites.
Kazuya’s eyes widened. “You like baseball?”
Sawamura’s eyes light up, “Yeah! I used to play when I was younger and now I follow the MLB as much as I can. The Dodgers are my favorite team.”
Kazuya smirked and removed his arm from around Sawamura to extend it for a handshake. “Miyuki Kazuya, I play for the San Fr-”
“You’re the Giants’ catcher!” Sawamura exclaims and then laughs, “We beat you so bad last year!” He takes his hand and enthusiastically shakes it. “Sawamura Eijun”.
Kazuya chuckled, “Confident are you. We’ll see about this year, huh?”
Sawamura flashed a blinding smile, “Make sure you don’t miss. Our starter’s slider is nasty though I’m sure you’ve become very fami-”
“Eijun, it’s time to leave. We need to call the record label before tomorrow’s drop,” his manager interjects, nodding politely to Kazuya before ushering him towards the exit.
“Don’t suck, Miyuki Kazuya!” Sawamura shouted as he walked away.
Kazuya waved back at the man, not knowing the fond smile stretching across his face. It didn’t take long until he snapped out of the trance when a familiar figure crossed in front of his view.
“So, you met Sawamura Eijun? That’s good, Miyuki. He’s becoming quite popular. Connections like that are everything in this industry,” Colleen blabbled as she placed her hand on her hip, staring down Kazuya.
“Are you ready to do your job now, Miyuki?” she continued, tapping her foot on the wood floor of the restaurant.
Kazuya grimaced but decided to let his manager have her way. After all, he doubted that he could think about anything else after the intriguing encounter he just had.
☆
“HARUCCHI!” Eijun yelled as he entered the penthouse, rapidly kicking off his shoes before sliding across to the couch where Haruichi sat on the couch, glasses perched on his nose and papers scattered around him.
“Eijun, you know I’m here. There is no need for that volume this late,” Haruichi states, pinching the bridge of his nose.
Eijun completely ignores his friend’s request and sits on the floor opposite his friend. His mind had not stopped back running the moments with Miyuki from the mixer. He needed to talk about it and the only one available at this time would be Haruichi.
“Harucchi, I met Miyuki Kazuya at the event Rei made me go to. Oh he plays for the Giants and he was annoying and pretty and his eyes were like honey! I kinda picked a fight with Azuma from the Dodgers and he talked to me about baseball and he was so hot like I felt like I couldn’t function-”
Haruichi, who hasn’t looked up from his sketches, said, “Seems like you had a good time.”
Eijun grinned, “It was! He was just so fascinating but I don’t know when I’d get to see him again.”
Haruichi glanced up momentarily and gave him a quizzical look, “You didn’t get his number?”
Eijun’s heart dropped. Shit, he hadn’t got his number. “Dammit! Rei rushed me outta there so fast I forgot.” Eijun slumped over onto the table, his eyes downcast.
“Well, it might be for the best. You had to approve dates for your tour tonight, right?” Haruichi comments, giving a hopeful smile before returning to his work, his pen drifting across the paper at a speed that Eijun couldn’t comprehend.
“Mhm” Eijun offhandedly says, his eyes scanning the discarded sketches littering the table.
“You’re going to be so busy with rehearsal, shows and then resting that you might not have time for a relationship,” Haruichi notes.
Eijun goes bright red, “H-HARUCCHI, WE ARE NOT IN A RELATIONSHIP!”
“Eijun, volume,” Haruichi says with a pointed smile. “Point being, you need to give the tour your full attention. It’s your first tour, you're going to need all of it.”
“Yeah, you’re right,” Eijun says, straightening up. No matter how much he wanted to talk to Miyuki again, it would have to wait until after he was done figuring out the tour and comfortable with every aspect of it.
Haruichi then flipped his sketchbook around to show a beautiful golden vest with matching trousers, “What do you think of this for when you perform Morning Glow?”
Eijun’s eyes met the sketch and he smiled, “It looks great as always, Haruichi.”
☆
“We’ve heard you have some exciting news for your fans that you’d like to share, Eijun!”
“I do. I am going on a world tour starting this spring with stops across the globe. The dates and location are up on my website where you can buy tickets. I look forward to seeing everyone there!”
☆
Kazuya groans as he collapses on the couch, his limbs aching from a long game. The game was tied through the 9th inning and had to go into extra innings. Those innings were not kind to his knees.
He heard the door close and the team shortstop shuffled in before similarly laying across the floor, “Man, that game was rough. 12 innings after yesterday’s doubleheader? I want to chop my legs off.”
Kazuya didn’t even have the energy to respond. He’s just grateful he can sleep off these games for the next 24 hours. Wait. There usually was practice after games during the season, even if it was a light practice to prioritize their health.
Kazuya turned to Kuramochi, “Coach mentioned no practice tomorrow. Why’s that?”
Kuramochi thought for a second and then responded, “Oh, I think some singer’s having a concert in the park. Supposed to be super popular. I heard the guy’s Japanese too. I wanna say Bennett mentioned taking his daughter to it.”
Kazuya’s eyes narrowed, “Do you know who the singer is..?”
“I think his name is Sawamura, why?”
Kazuya quickly stood up off the couch and ran for his laptop. He opened the door to his room and slid into his chair where his laptop sat. He pulled it up and typed in Sawamura’s name. ‘I wonder if there are still tickets..’ he thought as he scanned the rows for availability.
He heard footsteps follow him into the room and Kuramochi appear over his left shoulder, a smug grin adorning his face.
“Well, well. You a fan, Kaz?” Kuramochi mocked.
Kazuya, not missing a beat, pushed his face away, “Down, kitty. If we want to talk fans, why don’t we talk about your pin-up of that idol Waka-”
“HEY!” Kuramochi snapped back at him, blush dusting his cheeks.
Kazuya gave him a cheeky grin before turning back to his laptop.
“You bastard…” Kuramochi muttered, roughly ruffling Kazuya’s chestnut hair.
Kazuya continues searching for a ticket before Kuramochi pipes up again.
“Seriously man, what’s the deal with this concert? I didn’t know you liked that kind of music,” Kuramochi commented.
“I didn’t know he was touring,” Kazuya states, his eyes not leaving the computer.
“This is why you need a real phone! You never know any of these things,” Kuramochi snapped, pulling out his own phone for good measure.
“I am perfectly happy with my flip phone,” Kazuya added.
“Dumbass.”
“Thank you!”
“Not a compliment, asshole!”
Kazuya continues searching while Kuramochi watches with a questioning look before breaking the silence.
“You know what, it’s your off-day. You do what you want with it. I’m gonna shower,” Kuramochi scoffs before leaving the room.
As Kuramochi shuts the door, Kazuya finally finds a seat relatively close to the stage. Pictures of the seat include pictures from other dates of the concert. Pictures of smiling people, mostly teenagers Kazuya notes, with lots of bracelets covering their arms. That’s unusual, Kazuya thinks. It’s a common practice amongst almost all the pictures. Intrigued, Kazuya does a short search and finds that Sawamura’s fans make and trade bracelets for the concert. Sometimes, fans are able to give them to Sawamura himself.
A plan begins to formulate in his head.
He purchases the ticket and returns to the living room where a shelf of all types of games, crafts and other time killers reside. Kazuya thanks Chris and his precious daughter Aya for visiting so much that there happens to be a friendship bracelet kit sitting amongst other board games. He grabs it and returns to his room.
He fumbles with the start of the bracelet, dropping a few colorful beads in the carpet. Once he starts it with the right colors, he adds two key initials, M and K. Tying those off, he looks at the numbered beads in the case. Once he collected the correct number and lined them up into the correct order, he began feeding the string through them. He tied it off at the end and placed it on his own wrist.
‘This could work’ he thought as his eyes rested on the bracelet.
☆
Kazuya’s not an idiot.
He knows if he’s found at this concert, it would be all over the media.
That’s why he’s currently wearing his hair far in front of his face with a cap, not his team’s of course, sweats and a medical mask across his face for good measure. He would’ve opted for the classic dark glasses look as well, but the concert started at 8:00 pm so he didn’t feel the need.
The opener had just finished her set and the anticipation for Sawamura to start was growing. Kazuya wanted to see what he was like in his element, how bright a star like him could shine. The lights began to dim even more and the screams from the crowd grew louder.
Soon, a bright light shone where the ground gave way to a rising platform with Sawamura himself, starting the opening notes of his first song. Despite being many feet away from Kazuya, he couldn’t take his eyes off of him.
His presence was captivating as lights flashed across the stage and sounds resonated around the stadium. His passion for his job was evident from the very first second of the concert. His smiles pierced Kazuya’s heart.
Ah shit, he’s in deep.
Soon, the first song was done and he began some fan interaction, walking around the stage, waving and thanking the crowd for coming. Fans had bracelets in their hands reaching out to Sawamura who took a few of them and placed them on his own wrists.
He starts the next set up with a live band that were revealed behind a moving part of the stage. The energy in the stadium was electric. The people all around Kazuya were screaming alongside Sawamura and Kazuya couldn’t help but smile beneath the mask.
Songs continued to be performed and Sawamura kept his energy up the entire duration of the concert. During one of the songs, he roamed over towards the side of the stage closest to the stage. He kept singing but waving and smiling at all the fans in that section. This was his opportunity. He raised his hand and waved his bracelet, but it seemed that Kazuya wasn’t the only one who had this idea. Sawamura started collecting a few bracelets but stopped before he got to Kazuya’s before bidding the section goodbye with a final wave.
“Dammit,” he muttered under his breath as Sawamura walked towards the center of the stage. His eyes lingered on Kazuya’s section and for a split section, it felt as if Sawamura locked eyes with him. Kazuya felt his cheeks flush as Sawamura continued his set. While his plan was not successful, he still enjoyed being able to witness Sawamura’s heartfelt performance.
As he watched the rest of the show, he didn’t notice the quick flashes aimed at his direction.
☆
On Monday night following the riveting conclusion of the Giants home series versus the Saint Louis Cardinals, starting catcher Miyuki Kazuya was spotted attending rising Japanese pop-star Sawamura Eijun’s concert in Oracle Park. Photos show the catcher alone in regular admission seating for the concert, enjoying the show with a fond look on the part of his face that is visible. The photos are courtesy of an anonymous submission.
Neither Miyuki’s team or Sawamura’s team have mentioned these photos and their implications.
What could this mean for these two? Could they have a mutual friendship or something deeper?
☆
Eijun read the article over again. His eyes bore into the alleged photo of Miyuki at his concert. He vaguely remembers seeing that person in the leftmost section of the crowd last night.
Could it really have been Miyuki Kazuya?
Eijun’s face heats at the mere thought of Miyuki coming to his concert. He ditches his tablet in favor of his pillow and squeezes it to his chest, bringing the duvet over his head to hide the stupid smile he’s sure he’s making.
He screams into his pillow and kicks his feet.
Soon a muffled voice from outside calls into his room, “Eijun, please no screaming this early”.
☆
Kazuya slammed his hand down on his flip phone to fiddle with it to put it on silent. He pulls up his eye mask and he realizes who is calling him. He grumbles and resolves himself to be as civil as possible.
“What?”
“Miyuki, I need you to come in early to see me, as soon as possible! We need to discuss the situation you’ve incurred,” Colleen’s voice chirps at him. Kazuya’s brows knit. For one, her tone of voice doesn’t match the words she spoke. She sounded more excited rather than upset. Odd. Secondly, he had no idea what he did to warrant this meeting.
“Good morning to you too,” Kazuya yawned, sitting up in his bed, stretching his heavy limbs. “Now, would you kindly fill me in on why you’re calling me this early in the morning?”
“Of course you don’t know. How typical. Just get here so we can talk about it!” she says before promptly hanging up.
Kazuya glared at his phone and glanced at his clock. He had to leave in 10 minutes if he was to be on time for this stupid meeting.
☆
“Finally! Geez, we really need to work on your time management skills,” Colleen remarks as Kazuya enters her office and sits down in the chair across from her desk.
“So, you were spotted at Sawamura Eijun’s concert. Want to explain to me why you went?” Colleen said as she sat down at her desk, resting her head on her folded hands.
Kazuya stiffened in the chair. Great, the one thing he didn’t want getting out got out even with his extra measures. Does Sawamura know? Shit. Now he has to finesse his way out of this situation. What would be a reasonable answer, think Kazuya!
“Actually, I don’t care! I won’t ask because I don’t need to know. Miyuki, this is a great opportunity for us. People are talking about you in a way unrelated to sports. This could push you into more mainstream celebrity,” Colleen exclaims, already typing on her computer.
Kazuya’s mouth drops, “Wha-”
“Shh, we’re going to have to have you engage with this publicly. Something to keep the media intrigued and begging for more. Oh, I’m so excited for where this could take us! Maybe the Met Gala-”
“Colleen!” Kazuya interjects.
“Sorry, that’s all. I just wanted to talk with you about future decisions. You can go to practice. Go do well,” she says as she finishes writing something up.
Kazuya wanted to snap back at her but held his tongue. This is not the time, she is just doing her job. He grabs his duffel before reaching for the doorknob.
“Oh Miyuki before I forget, I scheduled you for an interview today after practice about the pictures. Do try to make the most of it. If you want to talk it through with me beforehand, feel free to stop by,” Colleen slides in just as Kazuya closes the door, sending him a knowing smile.
Kazuya feels a vein pop out of his forehead, biting the inner half of his mouth. He makes a beeline for the hitting cages. He needed to take some swings.
☆
“Miyuki, you have been very private about your life outside of baseball. Why is that?”
“I want people to focus on the part of me that’s most important, my play.”
“That being said you haven’t been seen out much and yet you were spotted this weekend. Why were you at Sawamura Eijun’s concert at Oracle Park? Do you know each other?”
“We’re acquaintances. I’ve always had respect for performers as they have to deliver on a similar stage that we do as athletes. It’s important to support each other through it.”
“What did you think of his performance?”
“It was quite the show. The entire park was filled with people and he gave everything he had for them. I had a good time.”
“Any final words regarding the subject or to Sawamura?”
“Well, I’ve seen you rock the stage at Oracle so you might have to come see me rock the stage at Oracle.”
☆
Eijun twirled the pencil in his hand again, biting his lip as he stared down at his notepad. The current song he was drafting up just didn’t seem to be lining up.
He groans, dropping his head onto the table. This catches the attention of Haruichi, sitting across from him, scrolling on his phone. He smiles softly and ruffles his hair lovingly.
Eijun leans into the touch, the frustration and exhaustion from the tour catching up to him. He turns to face the window, his reflection barely visible. He pokes the underbags of his eyes with his finger and takes a long sigh. The tour is a lot more tiring than he would’ve thought.
Haruichi, who had returned to his phone, turns it around and places it in front of Eijun’s line of vision.
Eijun looks up at his friend, “Harucchi, why are you showing me this?”
Haruichi gives a knowing smile, “Read it. I’m sure you’ll find it intriguing.”
Eijun obliges, sitting up and taking the phone from the pink haired man. His eyes scanned the article before widening in interest and furiously scrolling through the article. Miyuki Kazuya addresses pictures at pop star Sawamura Eijun’s concert in San Francisco… he really was there! Eijun felt a smile grow on his face as he continued reading the article. He stops at the last line of the interview, reading over it a few times.
He looks up at Haruichi, “Is he inviting me to go see a game???”
Haruichi nods, “I think so! You definitely need to go.”
Eijun abruptly stands from his seat, “I want to go tomorrow. Is there a game tomorrow? Who do they play? I need to fin-”
“Eijun, we are on a moving bus, please sit down,” Haruichi says, reaching across the table to push Eijun back into his seat before sitting back down himself. “We are literally on the way to Las Vegas for your tour. You cannot physically make it back to San Francisco for the game.”
Eijun sighs before whipping his own phone out to cross check his schedule with the Giants’ home schedule. A resolute look grows in his golden eyes.