Birthday Special! [Kuroo Tetsurou, Makoto Tachibana & Miyuki Kazuya]

Miyuki Kazuya -We Can Take Small Steps-

"Hi."

There are times where he somehow hate himself more than usual. And now, him standing a few feet away from a hospital bed with a very confused teammate sitting on it is one of those moments.

Miyuki takes his eyes off the person as he inches closer, placing the plastic bags filled with comics from a very loud underclassmen and chips that are usually stashed for the so-called 'bonding nights' where in fact, it is only another reason for seniors to hundled up together playing games while they bark order to the juniors, on a table beside the bed. Looking from the corner of his eyes, Miyuki can already see a flower vase and a water bottle.

"I-- How are you feeling?" He asks, scratching the back of his neck, confidence seeping out of him, "sorry I dropped by unannounced."

"It's fine," the person says, looking up, Miyuki is suddenly face to face with a pair of olive eyes, "kinda nice having someone around. Since I'm basically stuck here."

Miyuki lets out a soft smile. He grabs a nearby chair, tension seeping out of his shoulders as he sits. "Do you know who I am?"

Stupid question, he thinks a second later because instead of a verbal answer, he is faced with a confused and apologetic look.

"Sorry," Kuramochi Youichi says, "I don't know who you are."

* * * * *

The girls in his class aren't very sublte about what they are talking about. They might sit together in a circle, body lean forward and speak in a hushed tones as if what they are talking about are government confidentals, not their classmates.

Once, when he is too tired to go out on lunch break, Miyuki folds his arms on his table, buried his face there when the girls form their circle once again. And despite his best on catching a few minutes of sleep, the girls topic still catch his attention.

They say Miyuki is a sun, and he is one second away from laughing out. They say, even when he is a jerk and annoying and awkward, Miyuki's presence in the baseball team can change the frown upside down. They say, even when Miyuki rarely talks about stuff other than baseball, his presence bring spirit to the team.

Miyuki knows better than anyone that it's wrong. He's not a sun. Sun is a term described for someone whose smile bright up the whole day and turn it upside down on their absensce. Sun is something people should describe Sawamura or Kuramochi. Because even on Miyuki's absence, the reason why the team could function properly is because Kuramochi is still there, barking orders with Maezono. It is also because Sawamura is still there, annoy the hell out of everyone and motivate them at the same time.

Miyuki soon hit by that realization three weeks after that. When a day off and a trip to the nearest mall turn into a nightmare for all of them.

Kuramochi is taken to the hospital after a truck lose control and hit the sidewalk. The impact is too big to ignore and Miyuki see the exact moment Kuramochi step in and push him out of the way.

There is no practice two days after that, and even as they line up to start practice again on the third day, everyone is looking down, face gloomy and Miyuki bit the inside of his cheeks before he barks order.

"Stop with the gloomy face!" He shouts, "do you think Kuramochi would want to see you like this now?"

Miyuki is not the sun, Kuramochi is. He is just borrowing his light for a moment.

* * * * *

"My name is Miyuki Kazuya," he says, "I'm, uh-- I'm your captain in the baseball team, also the catcher."