Capítulo 24: Eijun's Vibe Check

One Hour Later - 8:30 AM - Seido

"He's on his phone again."

"Right?"

"How many pickups is that, Shirasu?"

"I've counted a total of forty-two, Jun-san."

"What an absolute tool. Look at him go, texting at that speed. Twitter fingers. Absolutely amazing. It's like he can't hear us or something."

"Eijun-kun," Haruichi whispers, "I think they want you to pay attention to them."

"Who are you talking about—OH, CRAP!"

Eijun is startled upon looking up from his phone, which is now airborne, and finding the first string hovering around him, their eyes demon-red and radiating with murderous intent.

Jun is crouching, his arms folded on the front edge of his desk, his chin resting on top.

Eijun's phone falls neatly into the palm of Jun's hand. He had faced it upward in case the device came flying in his direction, which it did, and that it would grant him the grounds to beat Eijun's ass, which it did.

Poetry.

"Wh-What are you guys doing here?!" Eijun asks, "Since when were you here?!"

"We've been standing here for quite a while," Tetsu says, "You were simply too busy texting to notice. We are all very offended—no, we are extremely offended. Masuko's already finished three cups of pudding."

Masuko grunts in agreement.

"Fuck the pudding!" Jun shouts, "There are more important things that need to be addressed, such as why you thought it was a good idea to leave us in the dark yesterday! You were missing in action for a whole night and then you come back all…all…all giggly and shit.

"You went to bed before any of us could corner and bully you into telling us what happened! This is completely unacceptable, so unacceptable that I should confiscate your phone and look through your messages, but I am a very respectful person, and breaching an underclassman's privacy is against my moral c-code…"

Jun begins to sob loudly and Tetsu consoles him by patting him on the back.

"He's just upset," he explains. "To translate his anger into sensible words, he was worried about you. Your slump was so severe that your sudden recovery was a bit of a shock to his system. He wants to know the backstory more than anyone else."

Eijun laughs as he finds an opening to retrieve his phone and does so. He reads the two messages he's received and blushes.

"Well," he says, clasping his hands together, "I can't promise anything official yet, but let's say that I'm on the brink of a new relationship."

Contrary to the excited uproar and thrashing about he expected to elicit, everyone's jaw drops in surprise.

'Th-That fast?' they think in unison.

"Who's the lucky man?" Haruichi asks.

Eijun's blush deepens, "Oh, ya know, no one too crazy. Just a fellow pitcher, ya know. Sanada Shunpei."

"Oh, hell nah!" Jun shouts mid-sob.

"Fellow? He's the enemy!" Kanemaru exclaims.

"He's crossed enemy territory, now we'll be under attack," Kawakami mutters nervously, "This isn't good. This isn't good at all."

"We've had one practice game with Yakushi," Tanba says, holding up his index finger for emphasis, "one game and you couldn't help yourself. And they're the enemy."

"One game!" Maezono repeats, "That ain't nearly enough time for you two to become that close! You guys barely even talked durin' that time…and they're the enemy! I know I'm not the brightest, but the math ain't mathin' here! Elaborate!"

Eijun refrains from salivating as he recollects the raunchy evening he spent with Sanada, but his effort is proven futile as drool trickles down the side of his mouth.

The team knows and they groan in disapproval.

"After the game on Tuesday," Eijun starts as he wipes the drool away, "I went to see Sanada-senpai, we had a nice chat, expressed our very mutual feelings for each other in more ways than one, which he is very good at, might I add, so I am a very happy camper right now. Sorry if I keep using the word 'very.' My limited vocabulary really shows when I'm very flustered and excited."

No one says anything for a while. They instead give each other questioning looks and scratch their heads in confusion.

Everything made sense now, yet it didn't. Indeed, a wave of comfort washed over them, knowing that their beloved pitcher has rebounded from his depressive episode, but they weren't certain if jumping into a new relationship was the ideal solution. Maybe they were being judgmental and overprotective, but one thing was for sure, and it just had to be voiced.

They all came to the same conclusion.

Tetsu breaks the silence, "So, in essence, to translate what you said into sensible words…"

"…you've been fucked into a relationship," Jun finishes.

Kuramochi rolls his eyes.

"I guess you can say that," Eijun says proudly, "Pretty much."

The team groans in disapproval once again, comically disgusted at how blatantly their pitcher responded to their provocative joke, although, in hindsight, they should have predicted that Eijun wouldn't have processed it as a joke.

"It's alright, Sawamura," Chris says warmly, "It's fresh for us, but we respect your decision and it would be unfair and selfish of us to judge your love life. If Sanada is the one that's captured your heart, then, by all means, go for it.

"The same conditions apply just like when you were seeing Miyuki—avoid getting distracted, don't let love blind you, and here's a new one…because he's the enemy, don't even think about taking it easy if we ever face him. Understood?"

"Yes, sir!" Eijun answers.

A few more minutes of conversation transpire until the team leaves the classroom, leaving Eijun and Haruichi to themselves.

Peeking through his bangs, Haruichi watches Eijun's fingers tap away with amazing speed. He is reminded of how his brother and Kuramochi interacted when they began dating, both in person and through text. It was pleasant to see Ryosuke find someone he loved—although he refused to label his feelings for Kuramochi as love at the time—and he couldn't say anything less for his best friend.

"It's heartening to know that the team is more concerned about you dating the enemy than how quickly this relationship's blossomed," he says. "Everyone moves at their own pace. As long as you're happy, I'm happy."

"Are you sure?"

Haruichi cocks his head. To think that Eijun would question his sincerity comes as a surprise.

Has he been lying to himself? Surrounded by couples everywhere he trekked, he would sometimes feel outcasted, but it was a passing feeling as he only cared about school and baseball.

Or so he believed and now he wasn't too sure of himself.

Was he happy without a partner or was he subconsciously compensating for his evident loneliness by cheering on the other couples?

Eijun, who didn't intend for his question to sound as icy and thought-provoking as it did, frantically tells Haruichi that it's alright.

He originally meant that he was rooting for him in his romantic endeavors, whenever they began. Haruichi was holding up just fine single, but he did notice times where he would disappear in situations where all the couples were present in one room, probably from awkwardness and embarrassment.

Haruichi laughs it off.

"Eijun-kun, as long as you're happy, I'm happy," he reiterates with a tight smile.