RUN BOY RUN
chapter one
with wide eyes, miwa ren stared at the woman in front of him. he glanced at the pamphlet but didn't let his eyes rest on it for too long. shodoshima is small and one of the only entertainment they have are their baseball games, but for a scout from tokyo to think about it long enough to get on a seven-hour train ride and then a ferry to boot was simply unheard of.
and now ren had to reject the offer. he felt bad after she'd travelled so far, sure, but that wasn't enough for him to go back to baseball much less somewhere in tokyo! he had family and friends he'd like to keep, thank you very much.
"i'm a second year in junior high, ma'am." he said, the eyes of his older brother burning holes into his back.
the woman who'd introduced herself as takashima rei, giggled softly, covering her mouth with her hand, "yes, i'm aware."
"i thank you for your offer but i still have a year before i can even think about going to high school." he smiled sweetly with his eyes closed, hoping takashima could figure out what he was trying to say and leave his humble little home.
and if she did, she pretended she didn't. "but after seeing your skills, i would regret if someone came to scout you before me. so i wish you think about this offer and come play with us in a years time."
what the fuck. "i quit." he states, keeping his composure by a hair.
"i'm sorry?"
"i apologize to have taken up your time and i appreciate the time taken to come here but that game you saw was my last as a baseball player." if his brother wasn't there, miwa ren was convinced he would already have blown a fuse.
"and may i ask you why?"
there it was. the question ren had been dreading hearing because how would he explain that he'd simply played baseball because he was good at it to a scout for one of the best teams in the country? there was no way they took playing as lightly as he did. and there was no way they would forgive him for taking it so lightly.
he took a moment to think of a right sounding response, not wanting to sound as cocky as he felt in that moment. "i don't fancy the sport much," and then he added, "anymore." just in time so it would sound like he'd enjoyed it at least a bit before.
"i see." takashima nodded, sounding disinterested in the excuses.
miwa akinori, ren's older brother left the room for a short while that moment and the moment he was gone, far away from hearing distance, the persona miwa ren had carefully built for his family crumbled in mere seconds.
he raised his feet up to lean on the relatively small wooden table and leaned back in his seat. he combed through his messy hair with his fingers and then he groaned. even takashima rei showed her surprise for a moment at the sudden change.
"do you not understand what no means, you fuckin' old hag?" he asked, glaring at the woman sitting opposite him. "i would rather be cut into tiny pieces and be slowly fed to a school of piranhas rather than say yes. so now if you could kindly show yourself out and never show your face here again, that would be lovely."
takashima rei kept a smile plastered on her lips as she handed the boy a business card, "please contact me if you change your mind."
miwa akinori walked back inside the room. "done already?" he asked.
ren pulled his feet to himself and looked down, dejected looking, "i'm really sorry and i appreciate the offer, i really do."
takashima, now unsurprised at the attitude change simply smiled. "of course, reach out if you'd like to know more."
and then she was gone and ren threw the business card in the trash. that was all behind him now.
or so he'd thought until the next day when he found the same woman standing outside of his school. takashima rei did not let miwa ren have a peaceful last year of junior high the way he'd hoped with no worry over baseball.
takashima rei would find herself back on the shodoshima island numeral times that year and unlike the first time, she was there for a singular reason; to get miwa ren to Seidō.
how she found the time to travel so far so often? ren wasn't sure he'd like to find out. though at some point, the woman likely after being pitied by ren's family, successfully got a hold of his phone number. so now she didn't need to go see him so often only to see if he'd yet changed his mind, which the answer was always the same; no.
the year went by and soon it was time for miwa ren to graduate. he had a school picked out and everything but what made him doubt his decision was the appearance of takashima rei at his graduation.
"hey," he muttered, standing in the shadows of the cherry blossoms. "you came."
"you invited me." takashima rei smiled. over the course of the past year her professional attitude had softened as she'd grown a genuine bond with the boy.
miwa ren looked away, the heat of embarrassment creeping up his neck. they hadn't seen each other for around three months, most likely because takashima rei was busy with the last of the season's games and preparing for the next year.
"i mean yeah, but i didn't think you'd come."
"what gave you that idea?"
"oh, i don't know maybe—" he stopped himself before he continued the sarcastic remark.
takashima rei, knowing what he was going to say even without him saying anything simply turned around, "should we take a picture?" she asked, eyeing the many flashing lights from the cameras as friends and families took memorable photos.
"takashima rei?" it was now or never ren had decided, now or never. The woman hummed in response, turning back to the much younger boy. "you wouldn't make me play in games or have me do something stupid, right?"
knowing immediately what was talked about takashima rei did not spend a second too long without responding, "can i take it as a yes if i agree to those terms?"
"whatever." ren said before he could stop himself as takashima rei grinned with satisfaction.
a week later miwa ren would be to his surprise a part of the Seidō High School baseball club in tokyo, far from the place where he'd promised himself to not associate himself with anything baseball.
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