Chapter Text
The sky was bright blue, and thin clouds were stretched over it like cotton. It was the type of day you would read about in manga, where the characters would bask in teenagehood with smiling faces. Experience life. Experience young love.
Tatsuya was on the roof, overlooking the baseball field. The players were looking rough; grass stains lined the sides of their pants. Sweat glistening in the hot sun. Except for one player. A cap shadowed his face, leaving only his lips and chin visible to Tatsuya. His uniform was remarkably clean compared to other players, and his stance was filled with determination. A calm, silent determination.
He walked up to the plate, tapping the bat on the ground ever so often. He bent his knees and held the bat up behind his head. His stance was filled with potential energy, like a spring ready to shoot up. The pitcher held the ball in hand, nodded to the catcher, and prepared to throw the ball.
Despite Tatsuya never being on the field, he somehow knew those movements by heart. The torque when moving one's weight to the other foot, the kinetic movement and force behind swinging the bat. Somehow.
The pitcher lifted his front leg up, placed it down, spun his back arm, and shot the ball. The batter swung. A loud cling echoed in the field. He hits a homerun.
The batters face finally lifted up, and Tatsuya saw his own face. A smile stretched from one ear to the other on it. The only person sitting on the bench, a girl, jumped up and cheered. She jumped down and ran onto the field, hugging the batter with force that pushed him back a couple of steps.
Most days it didn’t hurt to watch. But today it hurt a bit to watch his twin brother, Kazuya, look lovingly at the girl of his dreams, Minami. Tatsuya looked down, in a sort of way to avoid looking if Minami looked just as lovingly back.
Tatsuya went to the stairs. He wanted to take his mind off whatever he was feeling. Maybe pester his friends for a magazine.