5

Noon came and went, and the afterglow of graduation slowly began to fade away. Most of the graduates had finally made their way home, and the gymnasium echoed with the scraping sound of chairs being stacked and put away.

But Eita was still at school. He sat on the stairs leading down to the sports fields, his smartphone in hand.

He’d received a LINE message just prior. From Natsume Mio…

He hadn’t marked it as read in the app, but he could see the text on his notification preview.

If you see this, come to the hill behind the middle school. I want to talk to you about something.

Eita had something he wanted to talk about with her, too.

There was something she deserved to know.

But there was just one thing left for him to do while he was at school.

Footsteps approached from behind him. Heels scraped along the ground in a familiar rhythm.

“I heard Natsume’s looking for you.”

Eita turned around to see Haruto at the top of the stairs.

“Morikawa said so.”

“I know.”

It wasn’t just a one-day affair. Ever since exam results had been announced, Eita had been avoiding Mio like the plague. Anyone would have noticed how intentional it was.

She’d messaged him on LINE a few times before, but he put her off, saying vague things like Not right now  or I have plans tomorrow.

“Then you shouldn’t run away.” Haruto started down the stairs.

“But I haven’t won yet.” Eita stood up, turning to face Haruto. Haruto looked confused, clearly not having understood. So Eita cleared it up. “I still haven’t beaten you.”

Haruto’s first response was surprise. He watched Eita intently, trying to get a read on him. Eita wasn’t sure if he’d gotten his feelings across, but eventually, Haruto smiled, looking excited. “Sounds like you need a competition.”

Haruto bolted towards the baseball diamond, getting fired up.

Eita followed behind. He walked to the warehouse beside the field where the Baseball Club kept their equipment. He snagged a few balls, a glove, and a bat.

Eita hauled out the basket of balls, preparing to head to the mound. But Haruto interrupted, “Eita.”

Eita turned to see Haruto holding out the bat, his expression serious. “You use this today.”

“Why?”

“Do it. Hit a home run.” Haruto’s eyes intensely watched Eita’s. Provocation laced his tone.

“…”

Eita put down the basket of balls, stepping towards Haruto and thumping the glove into the other boy’s chest. He took the bat in return, gripping it firmly as he walked towards the batter’s box.

The home plate and batter’s box had been scraped into the dirt by hand. It was a bit tacky, but Eita couldn’t complain. He and Haruto had done that countless times back in middle school. Eita would even be the batter sometimes back then.

He adjusted his grip on the bat, taking a few strong swings. One, two, three.

When he was prepared, he stepped into the batter’s box, stomping his shoes to firm up the surface. Once he was sure the loose gravel wouldn’t slip after a few times, he took a deep breath and pulled up his bat.

Haruto, waiting on the pitcher’s mound, entered his vision.

“…”

“…”

They didn’t speak a word. They both knew they were ready, even without a signal. So Haruto swung his arm back, pitching with all his might.

Eita watched the ball’s trajectory and launched a full-power swing.

“Hng!”

A swing and a miss. He whiffed the ball entirely. He looked back at the ball as it rolled behind him. Then he steadied his breathing with a deep breath, adjusted his hold on the bat, and readied himself again.

Haruto threw another fastball with the exact same form. It flew dead center towards home plate.

Eita took aim and swung his bat. He felt a vibration as the bat caught the ball, psyching him up. But his swing was off. The ball cut along the first base line low to the ground. A foul ball.

Two strikes. He was backed in a corner. But strangely enough, he didn’t feel a hint of anxiety. All that was on his mind was the next ball.

As he concentrated, his pragmatic side started laughing at him for even attempting something like this.

When he learned he’d be moving back from Fukuoka, he’d never have imagined himself in the current situation.

Nothing was supposed to happen. He was just gonna use the town as a place to graduate high school. He’d stay out of trouble and under the radar as the weird out-of-season transfer student.

He figured his new life was waiting for him at university in the spring, and high school would pass right by. But instead, he’d spent an exhilarating two months leading up to where he was.

He reunited with Souma Haruto, a guy he never thought he’d see again.

He reunited with Natsume Mio, an old flame that he also thought he’d never see again.

He thought nothing would happen, but instead he’d been faced with wave after wave of brand-new feelings. Enough that even though he already had a college recommendation, he studied hard for entrance exams, paid for his own exam fees, and made a fool out of himself by failing.

Losing to Haruto in a one-inning competition was so intensely frustrating that he ran every day and started forcing his body back into shape. He reignited his passion for baseball, a sport he’d long since abandoned. He wanted nothing more than to beat Haruto.

He knew he was a weirdo. He knew he was acting pathetic. He knew that he was overcomplicating everything. But he didn’t regret a single moment. He’d even started to like the person he was becoming. Someone who could actually live with everything he had. Because right then, he could devote his entire being to swinging that bat.

There had been days where he couldn’t do anything. Days when he didn’t say what mattered. Days when he didn’t even try. When he didn’t even open his mouth. But now, he’d become a person who could try everything.

He could honestly confront his feelings in his own roundabout little way.

He wanted to win against Haruto.

He wanted to tell Mio how he felt.

So Eita couldn’t have been more glad that his family had moved back into that little town.

Haruto’s foot stepped down on the pitcher’s mound, and his arm swung high. Then it came down, lobbing a fastball with all of his strength.

So Eita only had one response. To swing with all of his strength. He gripped the bat handle tightly with both hands, centered his gravity on his pivot foot, and swung the bat with everything he had.

In the next moment, the sound of a single impact filled up his entire world.

Eita hit the ball right in the sweet spot, and it soared high into the sky.

Far, far away.

It kept going and going as if it would become one with the blue sky. A huge fly ball with no end in sight. A spectacular out-of-the-park home run.

Eita couldn’t even see where the ball landed.

As he stood in a daze, he noticed Haruto yelling at him. He was pointing at the school gate, yelling, “GO!”

Go where?

Go to whom?

Before he could even think about it, Eita dropped the bat and ran as fast as he could.

To the place where she was waiting.