katsumi stood in between eijun and furuya, her head held up high. it was the first day of the new team, the first day of kazuya being captain.
"those who went back to their parents' homes and those left in the dorms. although a lot has happened, all 59 members of the first and second years gathered. but there is no generation that can match the growth of the retired third years." kataoka spoke. "even during practice, all of them kept their spirits high and focused on baseball. that is how they became so strong. it is my fault as the coach for not letting them reap the rewards. you too should not forget the regrets of that loss."
"yes, sir!"
"now, some words from the new captain." takashima smiled. everyone turned to face kazuya as he walked in front of the team. he bit his lip nervously, turning to face oota.
"um, what should i say?" he whispered, rubbing the back of his neck.
"greet them! just keep it short and simple." oota whisper yelled.
"booo! do it properly, acting leader!" eijun yelled. haruichi chuckled nervously and katsumi kicked the pither's calf. "agh- katsumi!" the girl ignored him, clapping softly for kazuya.
"erm, then... to be honest, i'm still bewildered but anyway... a word." kazuya said.
"can't hear you!" katsumi pulled eijun's head into a headlock, slapping a hand over his mouth.
"most likely... i won't be able to forget that game for the rest of my life." kazuya spoke loudly. he glanced towards katsumi, quickly looking away. "i know our inexperience. i also know that our opponent's strong. more than anything else, this is the first time i feel baseball's frightening."
katsumi tensed up, eyes wide. "although i feel sorry for the retired third years... we still have another year to get our revenge..." he looked back to katsumi, eyes constricting. "i want us to be ravenous for victory until the very end."
katsumi smirked, 'we're the only ones who can avenge our senpai...'
"now.. i intend to say everything i want to." kazuya deadpanned. katsumi giggled and everyone else gaped at him. "then let's start with the warmup."
"huh?! can't hear you captain~!! with that voice!!" maezono smirked at kazuya.
"first, the warm up!!" kazuya yelled, cheeks dusted a rosy pink. katsumi grinned and the team started jogging around the field. katsumi passed her teammates, running in between kuramochi and maezono.
"think it'd be- be bad for me to p- pass up the captain?" katsumi smirked up at her senpai. kuramochi cackled and maezono smirked.
"nah, give him somethin' to work for. just don't push yourself." maezono smirked. katsumi giggled, speeding up to catch up with kazuya.
"still pretty slow for a captain." she murmured. kazuya jumped, scowling down at katsumi. she cackled, a sound that made kuramochi and maezono slow down a bit in shock.
"woah- did katsumi just... cackle?" maezono muttered.
"she sounds just like miyuki.." kuramochi deadpanned.
"good grief.." the two muttered, dread overcoming them at the thought of a second kazuya.
˚* ੈ✩‧₊
katsumi frowned at the aching in her knee. she was in the batting cages with some of her teammates, the sound of metal bats hitting baseballs filled her ears. she swung forward, only using a small fraction of her power as to not agitate her injury.
"katsumi, you're not using your full power!" kataoka yelled at the girl.
"sorry coach. d- don't wanna hurt my knee more." she mumbled. kataoka didn't reply, but nodded to acknowledge her words. next to her, haruichi was watching her swings.
"katsumi-chan, maybe you should take a break." he said. she looked over, frowning softly. "come on, you've been practicing for a bit now. i don't think it'd be the end of the world if you stopped early." he said as he swung forward.
"no..." she muttered, signaling for the boy sitting in front of her to throw another ball from the basket. "if i can't pu- push through this... i could be kicked fr- from first string."
haruichi grunted softly, turning back to the boy helping him. he could understand katsumi's determination to maintain her position in the regulars, but was worried about her health—both physical and mental.
"just... don't overwork yourself, okay?" he murmured as the girl swung forward. "your batting is still great, so just make sure to stop before it gets to be too much."
"katsumi-chan." the girl perked up, looking over to kawakami. "can you run with me? i... i think i need to warm up."
katsumi nodded, propping her bat up against the basket of baseballs and walking towards the boy. she could sense the boy's upset attitude as they walked towards the field to jog the outside.
"is.. everything okay?" she asked quietly.
"yeah." he muttered. she frowned, turning her gaze forward. "just... not pitching as well."
"well.. that's o- okay." katsumi mumbled. "but you kn- know that if you don't move on soon, there'll be noth- thing that the catchers can do for you." kawakami's jaw clenched and he nodded. "it's not eas- sy. believe me, i- i know. but we can do it... together." kawakami looked down at her, smiling faintly. she only smiled in return, keeping her gaze forward.
˚* ੈ✩‧₊
katsumi panted softly, wiping the sweat from her forehead and bending down to rub her knee. the team was practicing fielding drills and katsumi was finally in center field—albeit, only for the current drill, then she was supposed to go back to stretching.
"how do you think she's doing?" ryosuke asked, watching from outside of the field.
"katsumi!" kataoka yelled to the girl. "be ready!"
"hmph.." jun frowned at the girl's small figure. "i hope she's doing alright." kataoka hit the ball to katsumi, who took a deep breath before moving her legs.
"she's still running slow, but at least she's running." yuki said with a faint smile. she stuck her arm out, just managing to snag the ball in the tip of her glove.
"good hustle, katsumi-chan!" haruichi smiled from second base.
"katsumi," kataoka called out. "your knee still okay?"
"y- yes! more please!" she yelled back. the boys all turned to face her, eyes wide.
"heh.. since when is she a yeller?" ryosuke smirked wider.
"could be... you think that's her way of replacing jun?" yuki smiled. "a support in the back of the field... a wall." jun smiled slightly and ryosuke chuckled.
"i wouldn't expect any less of our katsumi-chan." ryosuke hummed. yuki smiled wider, watching katsumi vigilantly.
˚* ੈ✩‧₊
it was that evening that a knock sounded at katsumi's door, like what happened most days. "co- coming." she called out softly. she swung the door open, expecting to see kazuya or furuya, or haruno and akina. her eyes widened slightly and her heart stopped at the boys standing in front of her.
"katsumi." yuki smiled down at her. "can we come in?"
"yes, of course.." she stepped aside. yuki walked in, jun and ryosuke behind him. katsumi leaned against her desk, staring down at her carpet.
"you been doing alright?" jun asked the girl, arms crossed. his rough tone held a twinge of worry, his eyes boring into the girl. ryosuke walked over to her bedside table, picking the pill bottle up and inspecting it.
'the date is recent... good job, katsumi-chan.' he smiled softly, putting the bottle back down.
"y- yeah... i've been okay." she whispered, still not meeting their gazes.
"katsumi," yuki frowned slightly. "what's wrong?" ryosuke walked over, standing next to yuki and staring at her expectantly.
"nothin.. just..." she sighed. "wish i- i could've played. m- maybe i could've change- changed something. i wish i did more." she mumbled.
"katsumi..." jun muttered. "you did the best you could."
"katsumi, you're the reason that we got to the finals." yuki stated seriously. "we would've never gotten that far without your help.. i'm glad to be leaving, knowing that you're here."
"you've got the fielding abilities." jun smirked.
"and the agility and smarts." ryosuke smiled.
"and the batting power." yuki finished.
katsumi smiled sadly, "ah, but who am i without my senpai?" she shut her eyes to try and prevent tears from building up, still smiling.
"katsumi..." yuki trailed off. suddenly, he was bowing to the girl. katsumi's eyes widened greatly at this; even jun and ryosuke seemed shocked at his action. "thank you."
"wh- wha-" katsumi gaped at the boy. soon, ryosuke and jun copied yuki, bowing to the girl.
"thank you, katsumi." jun muttered.
"thanks, katsumi-chan." ryosuke smirked.
"wha- what-" her voice cracked and the tears she'd been fighting to held back began falling. "no- no... no, thank- thank you." she sniffled, throwing herself against yuki's chest. she reached out, grabbing the other two boys' shirts and pulling them close. "thank you." she sobbed softly.
the boys all wrapped their arms around the small girl, smiling fondly yet sadly.
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thank you guys so much for 10k!! i never really thought i would get so many views :") thank you all so much
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