Archive of Our Own

Frankly Miyuki thought they'd all have to drop dead before the coach would call this off. It would've felt a little better if he could blame the coach, but he couldn't. The fault laid with them. They had to fill the gap the third years left after their retirement and it was a lot harder than any of them thought. No one was working like a team, there was no coherence and fluidity even with the remaining members of the first string.

As much as he hated running, he'd never been punished to run like this for so long before, he knew they deserved it - himself more than anyone else. He wasn't made for being a captain and though Yuki barely spoke any words, he was a sadist to have recommended him for this. Captain, catcher and cleanup. That was too much, he thought. He wasn't like Yuki or Chris, they watched out for others and knew what to say at the right time. Miyuki wasn't like that. Leaders had to baby their followers, nurse them like growing delicate flowers. Miyuki didn't do babying or delicate. People had to figure their own shit out, that was his opinion, but well, he had to figure out everyone's shit now. Fucking perfect.

They arrived back at the dugout, his throat hoarse from yelling and his legs numb and heavy. They came to a full stop at the sight of the managers. It was sunset and they weren't in camp, none of the managers were required to stay this long especially since this wasn't training or practice. This was punishment.

"Coach said you can stop now," one of them said, though Miyuki didn't care to remember her name. He knew she was a second year though, loud and impulsive, boyish and rough. But right then, she wasn't loud nor did she wear her usual enthusiasm. Her voice was laced with pity and Miyuki hated pity.

He snorted, never one to be grateful in the face of pity or being looked down on. Usually he had a snarky and scathing retort but he didn't have the energy or mind to be so tactful now. And even if he did, it would've been drowned by the tired cheers of the team. Several of them collapsing on their arms and knees, others sprawled in an undignified heap of limbs and sweat on the ground. It was a luxury that as team captain, Miyuki couldn't indulge in. He had to keep standing, especially when the rest of the team could not. This he could do, at least.

"You all suck!" A voice, rough and slightly boyish for a girl's, exclaimed obnoxiously. "You can't even score properly, it's only fair the boss made you run! You might even reach first base from all this leg training!"

"Eiko!" The other managers gasped collectively as they tried to quickly shush the first year manager who never had a filter. She said what she wanted and threw a bold pitch in the bullpen (when the coach wasn't looking and she managed to sneak in). She was obnoxiously loud and an idiot, never a good combination, but Miyuki liked her - everyone in the team did.

"Oi, Sawamura!" Kuramochi snapped at her heatedly, "just 'cause you're screwing the captain doesn't mean you get to lord over everyone -"

As expected, she turned an alarming shade of red and began sputtering. She squared her shoulders and pointed at Kuramochi with a fierce glare in her eyes.

"This and that have nothing to do with each other! Miyuki's doing a pisspoor job of everything, anyway!" She screamed even when the managers tried pulling her away to stop her. After half a year didn't they realize Sawamura was a force of her own? Miyuki learned that early on and even encouraged it. "And Furuya, you're the worst ace in this team! Four walks? I can pitch better than you and I'm not even half your size! Monster first year? More like a walking monstrosity!"

"I'm surprised she knows that word," Kanemaru hissed loudly to Tojo, who had the grace to hide his amusement behind his hand. 

"Ei-Eiko-chan, you're going to kill Furuya! See!" Kominato exclaimed in panic, drawing everyone's attention to their ace. Furuya looked like all the wind was knocked out of him and his soul was making a hasty exit from his body. As if pulled by magic, everyone was suddenly lighted with emotion as they clambered for Furuya's soul to shove it back inside his body.

It was stupid. Souls were transparent or something, you couldn't even touch a soul - at least that's the general consensus of things. May be they were all going delusional, may be they've finally lost it - they lost their baseball and majority of them were all baseball idiots so it wasn't a far off conclusion. But there was a spark there that they didn't have five minutes ago, not before Sawamura opened her mouth and verbally slapped them.

Miyuki laughed, his stomach hurting from all the running and now, he was laughing hard. He was in pain but he didn't care and just laughed.

"Go on, Furuya, leave. We don't need you as an ace, we have Sawamura!" He claimed in his usual amused tone. And yet, it was enough to bring back Furuya's soul into his body with a jerk.

"Mi-Miyuki-senpai," he stuttered, voice hollow and everyone laughed. 

Kuramochi gave him a hard slap on the back, cackling with laughter before saying, "no one would even know she's a girl!"

"Kominato looks more like a girl than Sawamura," Kanemaru laughed, an enraged shriek immediately came from Sawamura as Kominato turned as bright as his hair.

Miyuki laughed, sharp and true, as he placed an arm over his girlfriend's shoulders when the managers couldn't restrain her any longer. She turned to him, gritted teeth as she snarled and glared at him. He could kiss her but he wouldn't, not in front of everyone. The expression on her face, soft and open, when he did was meant only for him to see. Anyone else who would see would have to die.

Instead, he settled with a praise he was sure she would misinterpret.

"You're the best!"

She may not believe him but he meant it.

Once everyone had their laugh, spirits renewed, the managers took out the onigiri they made. There weren't a lot, they apologized, as they weren't able to prepare any earlier to make more. None of the boys minded, they were just grateful for the care and food but it surprised Miyuki when he found out from Yoshikawa that it was all Sawamura's idea.

"She thought you guys needed something to lift your spirits up," the first year admitted shyly and Miyuki realized this was probably their first conversation ever since she joined the team even though she and Sawamura seemed to be really good friends.

One by one, as soon as the food had been consumed, the boys retreated back to the dorms. Miyuki was of the last few to leave, thanking the managers once more before they said their goodbyes. Though he pulled away Sawamura before she could leave with everyone else.

"Can you wait? I'll take a shower and I'll walk you home."

She sighed heavily, arms on her hips self-righteously. "Very well, I shall wait for you, Miyuki Kazuya."

He chuckled at her rare show of dramatic respect. She only ever gave that attitude to the teachers and both Yuki and Chris. Even though Miyuki was her senior and now the captain, she never showed him any proper respect. Though Miyuki found that endearing more than anything, he wouldn't ever admit it and feed on her ego.

They walked back to the dorms and Miyuki left her to wait for him in his room. After his quick shower, he found her in one of the indoor gyms yelling at her fellow first years. Furuya and Tojo were trying to sneak in and pitch to the net, but Sawamura had caught them. Even Kanemaru looked like he was on Sawamura's side. Pitchers were always stubborn and egotistical, Miyuki knew he had to step in and save his girlfriend but just when he was about to make his presence known, the pitchers bowed their heads in defeat.

"Now go and eat dinner!" Sawamura said, pointing towards the door. "And rest immediately! It's an ace's job to look over the team, not the other way around! Don't be such babies!"

To Miyuki's great surprise, Furuya and Tojo walked out of the gym without a word against Sawamura. Kanemaru followed after the chastised pitchers, greeting him politely as he passed by. Now alone, Miyuki turned to Sawamura who had her arms crossed and was frowning.

"Oi, Miyuki, if you were standing there the whole time, you could've said something!"

Ah, his girlfriend was a force of nature able to have the pitchers duck their heads and tails between their legs.

"Watching you yell at people is entertaining," he laughed, not directly admitting how smitten he was. He lazily shrugged his shoulder, "come on, I'll walk you home."

"You're not eating dinner?" Sawamura asked as she came beside him, a worried frown on her face.

"I'll walk you home first," he told her even though all he could think about was how uncool he was for making her worry like that. Was he really that hopeless that even Sawamura was mothering him?

He reached over to run his hand over her short hair, messing it up more than it already was and grinned, "isn't it cute that you're worrying about me?"

Rather than the expected heated retort, Sawamura clicked her tongue and shook her head at him.

"Idiot, I'm your girlfriend. It's my job to make sure you don't screw up baseball," she took his hand and pulled him out of the gym, pulled him out of his surprise at her bluntness.

Honestly, how did he ever find himself roped into this? So utterly taken in by her that he didn't feel like putting up a fight against her and just letting her care for him, letting her smooth out whatever mess he was in. And how was it that she was suddenly so competent? She was -

Miyuki blinked, looking at her face illuminated by the moonlight and nearly forgot to breathe. Sawamura Eiko was never incompetent. She was loud, brash and did poorly in her academics but she was the one leading Yoshikawa around and the one Rei and Takako put all their faith into. She took full charge and went beyond what normal managers did. She brought the team up and her cheers were always the loudest even during their final game with Inashiro. She was always competent and Miyuki never even realized it. How couldn't he have seen that before?

He stopped, they were just outside the school area when he pulled her into his arms and tightly kept her there. He could smell the sweat on her hair, the dirt from the field on her skin and that uniqueness that was just Sawamura Eiko all over her. He wanted to be surrounded by her, enveloped by her warmth and her scent. He was a goner, so completely screwed and defeated by this fiery eyed first year who didn't even realize how much damage she could do to him with just a few words or a singular look.

"You're amazing," he whispered to her, pulling her as close he could and he didn't even worry about crushing her. He just wanted her close, wanted her heat, her scent, her care - he wanted all of her like an unquenchable thirst.

"What the -"

"You're just - amazing, beautiful. Fucking amazing." He was always good with his words, twisting them and using them. But right now, he didn't have any. There were no words, nothing could ever express how much she meant, how much she was. She was sun and fire, passion and flames. She was wind, wild and brazen. She was earth, strong and true. She was his blessing and his demise.

"Of-of course I am! It's about time you figured that out, Miyuki Kazu - ah!" She stared at him, eyes wide and bright like polished amber, as he held her face in his rough hands and stared at her, memorizing the flush on her sunkissed cheeks and the little tremor of her lips when he wouldn't look away.

"You're fucking amazing," he whispered through a coarse tone, like he was dying and she was salvation. He kissed her and felt overwhelmed at the simple action. He'd kissed her many times before but this was different, this was like sealing his fate into her hands and he gave it willingly, craved to give everything to her.

She kissed him back, tilted her head up and lifting herself on her toes to press back. He breathed in the warmth of her breath and closed the gap once more to explore her heat, to have more of what she was willing to give him. It was like running without stop but he wanted to run, he would chase after her until his legs gave away and he was crippled with nothing.

She was still pressing her moist lips over his lips and jaw when he pulled away, peppering his skin with kisses even though they were both breathless and panting for air. His hands had come around her waist, loose enough for her to move away but possessive enough for her to know that he didn't want her to leave anytime soon and her arms were around his shoulders, choosing to stay rather than break away.

"You're an idiot," he could feel her breath on his lips and watched as she looked at him, warmth and softness in her eyes that he wouldn't yet realize meant love. "You're amazing, too."

She kissed him and he held her in his arms. When she pulled away a moment too soon later and smiled up at him like he was the everything and the stars in the sky (to her, he was but he had yet to realize how much he meant to her), Miyuki didn't feel so vulnerable or afraid to let his mask drop and show her just how lost and messed up he was.

"What...what do I do?" His voice shook with the question that had been ringing like a sick echo in his mind for weeks. "I don't...the team, it's...I don't know how to be a captain for them. I don't care, I care for the team to win, but I don't care about them. I want to win, I don't care if it's with them."

"Oh, you poor baby," she sighed, her breath gentle on his skin and she placed her hands on his face, rough fingers stroking him softly. "You're the biggest idiot, Kazuya. If you didn't care for any of them, you wouldn't be like this."

"But I'm..."

"...an idiot, yes." She grinned and she could've said he was anything and he would believe her. "Have dinner at home and we'll sort this out."

"How?"

"We'll think of something and we can always call Wakana, but I wasn't a captain during middle school for nothing."

It was embarrassing to be so outdone by her but all Miyuki could feel was the warmth spreading in his chest. There were so many things to take care of that it felt insanely endless but under Sawamura's burning smile, hope blossomed and he just knew everything was going to work out.