The Story Of Us (Todobaku)

Play Ball!

~SECOND GRADE~

Shouto adjusted his uniform as he and his teammates ran into the dugout. High fives were thrown all around after a well played inning, for a group of seven year olds at least. There was an open spot on the bench next to Izuku, which Shouto accepted eagerly.

His friend smiled at him. "That was a nice catch, Shouto!"

Shouto smiled back. "Thanks." He gazed out at the scoreboard in the outfield. It was turned off as their community baseball league started counting score for third graders and older. "I wonder if we're winning."

"It doesn't matter," Izuku said. "It's just a game."

Shouto nodded. It was true, it wasn't a competitive league. Enji tried to get Shouto enrolled in travel baseball, but Shouto missed the age cutoff by a few months, so here he was in the recreational league with all the neighborhood kids. Shouto was easily the best player on his team, though that wasn't saying much. He could tell that several of his teammates had never picked up a baseball before their first practice. But regardless of skill level, everyone on his team got along and enjoyed playing together.

"Hey buddy," Touya said, walking over to him. He handed Shouto his helmet and batting gloves. "You're up after Neito. Get ready before Dad catches you slacking off."

Shouto quickly threw his gear on. While he was happy to finally play on a team with other kids instead of being confined to his backyard, he would've preferred to have someone other than his dad as the coach. Enji, being Enji, paid off Shouto's original coach to take the job from him. He wasn't really a coach as much as he was Shouto's mentor. Enji couldn't care less about improving the skills of the other kids. None of them appeared to notice or mind, but Shouto did.

But hey, at least Touya and Keigo were the assistant coaches, so it wasn't all bad.

Shouto grabbed his bat and practiced a couple swings in the on deck circle. Luckily, his father was too focused on pitching to Neito Monoma to harass him over his stance. After giving a few more swings, he heard cheers from the bleachers behind him.

"Good luck, baby!"

He turned around with a huge smile and waved at his family. Fuyumi waved back while Natsuo shot a big thumbs up. Rei, sitting between them, clapped three times.

"You can do it, Shouto!" she said before blowing a kiss.

Shouto blew a kiss back, not caring if anyone thought it was lame of him to do so. Rei had finished her stint at inpatient therapy a few months ago and after going so long without having her around every day, Shouto wanted her around as much as possible. Sure, he went to see her every weekend, and their meetings solidified that his insecurities regarding his mother's disdain for him were nothing more than paranoia. Rei always greeted him with a big hug and kiss and offered all the words of affirmation Shouto needed to boost his confidence.

Still, it didn't compare to her home cooked dinners. The gourmet chefs Enji hired to live with them in the meantime prepared wonderful dishes, but it wasn't the same. And he really missed his mom tucking him into bed at night.

When Shouto first joined his baseball team, Rei promised she'd be at every game to support him. And while this was the third Saturday in April, therefore opening day, he knew she'd keep her word.

Neito hit a ground ball right to Katsuki Bakugou, who stood at the pitcher's mound a few feet behind Enji. Katsuki scooped the ball up and threw it to Tetsutetsu Tetsutetsu at first base, and Neito was called out.

"Good try, Neito," Shouto said as he passed the boy on his way to home plate.

Neito exchanged a quick high five with Shouto. "Stupid Katsuki thinks he's so cool. He's not that great, I just hit it right at him. Our team is still way better."