Akira Momoshiro - It wasn't planned like this (english)

Chapter 1

>>Come on! << I jumped and stretched. As soon as I felt a light weight in my glove, I got ready to roll on the ground. During my roll, I threw the ball towards Isashiki-Senpai, who immediately sent it on to Kominato-Senpai. The pink-haired one ran over second base, allowing us to get the third out, which decided the game for us. "Good job!" my bearded senpai said, helping me up. We ran to the spot where we had to line up and were welcomed there by the rest of our team. "Aki, you did a great job!" - "Not bad!" came from Miyuki and Kuramochi, giving me a big smile on my lips. The others also gave me a high five or nodded in satisfaction. After thanking the other team for the game and saying goodbye, we all went to the tribune.

The only exceptions were Miyuki and me. As soon as we left the dugout, he took me by the arm and now dragged me to the doctor's room so I could be bandaged up. "Hey, I'm fine! We can watch the game with the others." He stopped abruptly and looked at me with a bewildered expression. He kept his eyes fixed on my knee, where a hole had formed in my pants during the game and the fabric had already turned a slightly reddish color. My colleague folded his arms. I knew what he was thinking, which is why I scratched the back of my head in catch. "Okay, okay, you win! Let's make this quick though, I still want to see our next opponent play." With that, we headed back to the doctor's office. We entered the room through the already open door and explained to the two doctors why we were here. They were kind enough to give us the necessary bandages. I sat down on a chair and carefully rolled up my pants leg while Miyuki soaked a piece of absorbent cotton in alcohol. He began to clean the wound. As the wet cotton touched the wound it began to burn, causing me to wince slightly and draw in the air a little more sharply. He gave a soft sigh. "That's what you get for playing like that." - "You do that on purpose!" - "Maybe I do," it came back from him. Astonished, I looked at him. >> Normally he would have started smiling and given me a tease in response, but now he was serious. <<

"You know, your playing scares me," he said as he continued to tend to the injury. "What do you mean?", I asked, tilting my head. He pointed at my bruise-covered legs. "You're training way too hard. After our daily workout, you'll go jogging for another hour and swing the bat. Your body won't take that in the long run." He put the bandage on and then looked me in the eye with a spark of concern. A slight smile crept onto my lips. "Oh, come on! My body is strong, it can take it...", I said while tensing my biceps. "...Besides...", I continued a bit sadly, "...besides, I want to win. We owe it to our senpais and also to Coach Kataoka..." Silence spread through the room. It wasn't until minutes later that a "You're right" came from the brown-haired catcher. He got up from his crouch and we rejoined the rest of our team.

For the next two hours we watched the game. As soon as that was over, we headed home with the knowledge of having Sensen as our next opponent. My seat, as always, was the one next to Miyuki. I looked outside the whole way and sank deep into my thoughts. Only a restless environment made me come back to reality. "Hey Aki, if you don't want to take the bus any further, I'd advise you to get off," came a laugh from my seatmate. A bit tired I left the bus, took my training bag and went to my room. There I threw my stuff on an unused bed and lowered the blinds. Then I put on a comfortable pair of jogging pants and a wide T-shirt and went to the dining room. When I entered, I realized that I was probably one of the last. I grabbed a bowl of rice and joined my colleagues of the same age.

We talked about our game today and how I had gotten the last out. Thanks to all the praise, a slight blush rose in my cheeks. As soon as I finished my 3 bowls of rice per meal, I stood up. "So guys, I will leave you now." My comrades, who were sitting at the same table, looked at me in wonder. "Are you going jogging again now?", Kuramochi wanted to know. "Of course!" - "We just had a tough game. You should get some rest!" came from Yuki-senpai. "Not you too!" exclaimed I. The look on his face let me know he was serious. "Ugh, I'll take it easy today...", I promised and left the room before anyone else could say anything and started walking my usual lap.

An hour later, I found myself back at the boarding school campus. I quickly ran towards the bathroom and looked around. >> Good, there's no one else here. << I hurried to get in the shower and wash up quickly. About ten minutes later I was done and had already dried off and dressed. Unlike usual, I went straight to my room and sat on my bed. For a while I sat there and focused my gaze on my hands. Then I began to untie the bandage on my knee. Once that was done, I lifted my
T-shirt and began to remove the bandages I had tied around my chest as well. Tired, but a little freer, I now lay down in my bed. >> How long am I going to hide this from them? << I turned into the side position and began to review the day in my mind. I thought about my nervousness before the game, my concentration, my last catch when Miyuki praised me and also how he was worried about me in the doctor's office. As soon as Miyuki came to my mind, I could feel my heart beating faster and getting warmer. I sighed, pulled back my covers a little and turned to the other side. Of course, my plan to fall asleep quickly was now screwed. I only managed to switch to dreamland an eternity later.