Chapter Text
One thing that Miyuki really enjoys about the car ride on the west coast, is that the majority of the time, the highway is right along the ocean.
He doesn't really get to see open water at where he lives - so he begins to understand why Sawamura and Kuramochi likes to hang out at the beach during their time together. The water is welcoming and forgiving. Especially on a sunny day like today, the reflection of the sunshine makes the surface sparkle, he can't help but to feel delighted inside.
"Miyuki!"
Miyuki turned his head at Kuramochi's sudden remark, "I'm right here Mochi, stop yelling."
Kuramochi gave him a quick glance, and returned his eyes on the road, "I said, am I your chauffeur?"
Catching a glimpse of a bead of sweat on Kuramochi's forehead, Miyuki turned down the heat slightly, and placed his hands in his jacket pocket to keep them warm, "Now, by definition, you're only a chauffeur if I had a destination in mind. But since I don't, and you pratically kidnapped me from my hotel, I don't know what that would make you, Mochi."
"You always have the option to stay with Bakamura for the rest of your stay you know. I'm sure he wants to know all about the ins and outs of your pro life."
Still recovering from the cold, Miyuki leaned back slightly on the seat to relieve his headache slightly - not sure if it was from the cold, or from remembering the conversation at breakfast they had together with Sawamura earlier today.
[Miyuki Kazuya! You said you were going to stay for 2 weeks! I thought we would have time to play catchball and I can ask you about the plays I saw on TV!]
Sawamura went on to list out all the different throws he had instructed his pitcher in the last season - throws sometimes he himself have forgotten already, Sawamura however was able to recall on top of his head by pure memory.
"He looks up to you a lot."
"......"
"Miyuki."
Miyuki turned away from Kuramochi to face the window, and rested his chin on his hand, and mumbled, "Can you stop?"
"I thought you flew here this time, is to finally stop running away." Kuramochi paused, and looked over as he slowed down to a stop during traffic, "Am I wrong?"
Miyuki knows.
He's always known how much Sawamura looked up to him. And he sure might've taken advantage of that a few times during their Seido times - he could always joke with Sawamura in a way that he would never with other pitchers, though perhaps a few times, it had gone a little too far (so Kuramochi told him anyways).
At Seido, each pitcher grows differently, and each pitcher requires a different way of communication. Miyuki enjoys the process of figuring each one of them out, and finding the exact way that could calm them, or motivate them to uncover their full potential in a very intriguing game.
For Sawamura, he didn't really seem to need to put in a lot effort for this. Sawamura has always been the vocal one - he's never shy of complaining to him about how annoying he was, or how un-captain like he was.
Miyuki thought he read through Sawamura like a book.
"Miyuki, stop thinking already."
"Do you think, if ---"
"Miyuki, stop. Do you see Saramura quitting baseball?"
"...."
"Do you see him treating you any differently than he did before?"
"...."
Kuramochi gripped the wheel with one hand, the rubbed his temples with the other. He sighed, "Maybe one day, Miyuki Kazuya, you'll learn how to actually confront your feelings directly, and stop using me as the messenger."
Kuramochi tossed over his phone, "Those plays he wanted to ask you about. He was the first one to notice."
Miyuki scrolled through the screen recordings of his games, and looked up at Kuramochi, "Noticed what exactly?"
"Miyuki, maybe you didn't even notice yourself, since Sawamura left pro, you signalled in-high a lot less."
".....!"
"Sawamura watched every game for the past 5 seasons since he left. Miyuki, out of anyone, he would know your leading the best. He's played against all these teams with you. You have changed."