The Furuya Twins

26. The Next Step

On his way to the train station Narumiya couldn't help but feel sad and disappointed. He had known Satomi liked Miyuki, but he had hoped that she could come to like him too...

He was walking slowly, kicking a rock he found on the sidewalk, when suddenly he walked into something with an "Oomf". The momentum of the bump caused him to fall on his butt. He gave whoever bumped into him a scowl and said, "Yah! Watch where you're going!"

When he stood up he saw some vaguely familiar faces standing in front of him; one was short like him with a scar in his face and a banana in his mouth, the other stood with his arms folded, a smirk on this face.

"Ooh, Sanada-senpai! It's Narumiya Mei! That pitcher from Inashiro." Raichi said to Sanada, tugging on his sleave. "Ooh, that one that likes Satomi-Chan? The one they say is the best pitcher in Tokyo..."

Narumiya could feel his face from a scowl. "The best in Tokyo? I'm the best in the whole country! We're on our way to Nationals, and after that you'll see we're the best in the country. And don't you dare mention Satomi-chan!" The last part was said with venom, and Narumiya could almost feel the steam coming from his ears. The glare also added some pizaz to the whole 'outraged' look.

Raichi's face fell when he heard Narumiya say that." B-but, Satomi-chan is so nice... She even gave me this banana." Raichi looked so sad, because Satomi was the nicest friend he's ever had. She always gave him a snack... So who was this Narumiya to talk about his Satomi-chan anyway?

Raichi's face suddenly became hard. " You just leave Satomi-chan alone! We'll see how good you are the next time we play against each other!" As Raichi was storming away he took the banana peel that was leftover and shoved it into Narumiya's chest.

Narumiya was shocked into silence. Raichi was walking away in an angry cloud, but Sanada was still there, trying to hide his chuckles, laughing at Narumiya. Sanada cleared his throat "Uhm, don't take it the wrong way... But Raichi really likes Satomi. She's one of the people he can be comfortable around... And we ran into her today, and she looked sad, so..."

*a while earlier*

Satomi was walking sullenly in the direction of the train station. Why did I do this to myself? *sigh*

As Satomi was walking she heard someone call her name. With her heart beating in anticipation, she hoped it was Miyuki...
As she stopped and turned around slowly... She felt a pinch of disappointment when she saw it was Raichi and Sanada. Her face formed a weak smile when they came closer.

Raichi was actually sprinting to Satomi, a crazy look on his face, and his laugh trailing behind him. At this Satomi had to laugh. As he came closer to her he gave a jump and landed like a cat, gracefully. He looked so exited to see her, his eyes sparkled and his smile was HUGE.

As Raichi was doing this Sanada had calmly walked over. He saw instantly that Satomi wasn't her usual self, although she was trying hard to be cheerful for an exited Raichi. Raichi was complaining about being hungry when Satomi reached into her bag to pull out a banana. Raichi's eyes sparkled even more, and he couldn't hold himself back anymore and hugged Satomi.

Raichi's hug made her feel better, and a real smile appeard in her face. They walked with Satomi for a while and then parted ways. They hadn't asked what had made her sad, but they did try to cheer her up a bit.

*back to the present*

"So whatever happened with Satomi just watch what you say." Sanada was saying to Narumiya. Narumiya gave a scowl. "Don't think that you guys are the only ones that like Satomi. Get in line..." He said this with a small pout.

Sanada gave a laugh. "Some like her as a friend, and others as something more. It's those ones that are having a difficult time I suppose. Because everyone knows that Satomi and Miyuki like each other. So you're setting yourself up for pain... And by your face I can guess that's what happened today."

Narumiya was still pouting. "What's so great about Miyuki anyway? His team didn't even make it to Nationals..." Sanada gave another laugh and clapped Narumiya on the arm. "Just focus on that. You'll find the girl meant for you when it's your time man."

Narumiya brushed him off with a, "Sure, sure", and off he went. The whole reason he made that bet with Satomi was because he thought she's amazing. She likes baseball, she's funny and cute and.. Ugh, please get out of my mind...

As Narumiya was walking he passed by the batting cages. His feet came to a stop naturally. Why not? He thought to himself, and went in. He paid and went into one of the cages. He started at 80mph and worked up from that, hitting each and every ball that came his way. With each ball that he hit it felt like there was a fire starting inside his heart.

He didn't miss a single hit. Sweat was running down his face and making his grip on the bat slippery, but it never left his hands. When he was done hours later, soaked with his effort, his eyes looked like they were on fire.

Nationals won't know what hit them, Narumiya thought to himself. His mind has shifted to the next stage. Girls would have to wait untill I'm a national champion... Just wait ladies. A determined Narumiya is coming your way, and his soul is on fire (after he wins nationals though).

As Narumiya got into the train to go back to the dorms his phone pinged with a message. Mei, get your ass back here! Stop messing around with girls! - Harada. Narumiya sweat dropped. How does he always know?