signed, s. eijun

32 . 5

it had been a while since Nozomi had visited Eijun outside of school.

she had been busy with studying, two projects and the task of finding a job. but now that the test was behind her and the projects were finished, she finally had time to go see Eijun practice.

he had excitedly told her that day that since Miyuki was leaving for three days, Okumura and Seto had been moved up to the first string. and what's more, is that Okumura had finally agreed to catch for Eijun. this was something she had to see, you see. plus, she had never met Okumura nor Seto before, and she had promised herself she would talk to everyone on the team at one point. everyone deserved to feel like someone was in their corner, cheering them on.

so after dinner, Nozomi leisurely made her way to the inside practice room where Eijun had said he regularly practices his pitching after dinner.

she peeked her head in and saw a blonde boy getting geared up in catchers gear. she saw Eijun standing to the side, and a small cluster of other boys behind a square shaped net. she recognized Asada's lanky shape in the cluster of boys.

when she started walking in, Eijun looked over to where she was and broke out into a grin.

"Nozomi! you came to watch me practice?" he exclaimed. all eyes were on her now, which she didn't particularly like, but she was sorta indifferent to it.

"yes i did, Eijun. i decided to drop by because you just couldn't stop talking about it all day," she teased.

"w-well, i was excited about it!" his face flushed a light pink and Nozomi chuckled. "oh, i know! i'll introduce you to everyone!"

"that sounds like a good idea," Nozomi agreed, clamping her hands together behind her back. "although i already know Asada." she gave the him a polite smile and a small wave, which he returned.

"well yeah! but, theres a lot who you haven't met yet!" he tapped her shoulder and pointed to the boy who had just finished getting geared up. "that's Okumura! he's the one who finally agreed to catch for me today!"

Nozomi smiled warmly to Okumura. "it's nice to finally meet you. Eijun can't shut up about you some days." all she was given in return was a skeptical look.

"next to him is Yui! he's also a catcher." he lowered his voice before whispering, "he's also a lot nicer than Okumura."

she nodded her head. "ah. hello, Yui."

"hello," he said back, smiling.

"okay, okay. next to Asada is Seto and Kuki! Seto has the red in his hair and Kuki is the other one!" Eijun was probably having too much fun with these introductions.

"it's a pleasure to meet you two. congratulations on making it to the first string, Seto." she smiled and turned back to Okumura. "you too, Okumura. congrats."

"thank you!" Seto said. Nozomi nodded to him, before turning back to Eijun.

"do you have a specific pitch you're going to work on today?" she asked him.

"not really. i'm just gonna throw what Okumura calls for. i think he needs to get accustomed to my pitches still," Eijun told her.

"ah, yes. i do," Okumura agreed. "are you ready now, Sawamura-senpai?"

"i'm ready when you are!" he exclaimed. Okumura nodded and crouched down in front of the net. Sawamura walked away from him and stopped at the white line in the dirt.

"Nozomi-san, you need to stand behind the net. for safety purposes," Okumura said.

"oh! of course. sorry." she bowed her head slightly to him before moving behind the net.

"lets get started, Sawamura-senpai. we'll start with a plain fastball straight down the middle," Okumura said.

Nozomi buckled in and prepared for a long practice session. but she had a smile on her face as she watched Eijun pitch.

he was always so bright and happy and excited. a good person.

it was a shame that some people don't treat him that way sometimes.

***

Okumura's POV

he knew one thing for sure. Sawamura had fallen head over heels for Nozomi. it was obvious. every day, Okumura had heard him mention her at least once. and now that she was here, watching him practice, he seemed more focused. like he was going to show off to her.

and by god did he show off.

maybe Nozomi didn't really notice it because she doesn't seem all that into baseball, but Okumura knew straight away.

after they had called it a night, Sawamura had insisted he walk Nozomi back to her dorm. Okumura watched as they left, and he could tell Nozomi was genuinely interested in what Sawamura was saying. and although she might not have completely understood everything he said, she kept up with the conversation.

Okumura had some distaste for the way the team, even though they were all his upperclassmen, dismissed Sawamura. the game against Ichidai was a perfect example.

and while he perhaps didn't know Nozomi at all, he could just tell that she probably feels the same. just the way she looks at Sawamura confirms that she is just as head over heels for him as he is for her.

perhaps he could get to know her. she seems nice, and if she's friends with Sawamura he might be seeing her around a lot.

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i am terribly sorry i didnt publish yesterday. it was wack and i didnt really have motivation to write. but here it is!!

the end is sorta the prologue to upcoming conflict, so stay tuned for that!!

i might drop down to posting every other day, just because i have to think carefully about the upcoming chapters more. there is probably going to be a lot more chapters like these and a decrease of letter ones as well, which take more time to write. but for now i'll continue every day!

see you soon! :D