Chương 33: Sawamura Eijun and the Case of the Scandalous Screenshots
The Same Day - Saturday - Concurrently, 10:45 PM - Seido
"You cheated on Miyuki first, didn't you?"
"WHAT?!"
It's mere speculation that Kuramochi's just spouted without much thought. However, the keyword is much. Even someone with one functioning brain cell could discern that something was fishy about how quickly Eijun and Sanada began dating.
He reminisces back to when Eijun returned to practice after sleeping with Sanada, rejuvenated and teeming with energy.
--Flashback--"Sanada-senpai isn't some random dude," Eijun responds, gritting his teeth. He twists his body and slips out of Kuramochi's hold.
He stands up and places a hand on his chest, "Please don't talk about Sanada-senpai like that, Mochi-senpai! He's always been there for me, but I ignored him because I was with Kazuya. Now, I want to cope with him. Different people cope in different ways and if being with Sanada-senpai floats my boat, then I'm gonna row it."
Taken aback, Kuramochi can only sit and watch as Eijun changes into his uniform, catching glimpses of hickeys and scratch marks. The brunette's phone chimes with a text and he proceeds to answer it, blushing, and Kuramochi feels what any caring upperclassman would feel—apprehension.
He jumps to his feet, "Hey," he says warily, "are you sure this is genuine? Are you sure he didn't take advantage of you because you were in a bad headspace? This is happening too quickly for my liking. Do you know what you're doing?"
Smoke puffs from Eijun's nostrils as he swings his bag over his shoulder, "Of course I know what I'm doing, Mochi-senpai! Don't underestimate the power of love!"
"Love? You guys aren't even dating!"
"I wouldn't bet on that if I were you." Eijun grins as he pries the keys from Masuko's hand and unlocks the door.--Flashback End--
--Flashback--"Kuramochi," Tetsu says, "as his roommate, you must know the root of this miracle. He wasn't on the bus with us when we left the Yakushi game, correct? Where did he go?"
Kuramochi shrugs and withdraws a bat from a crate.
"Who knows. I'm not trying to give you guys any spoilers, but let's just say that Sawamura's acquired a new source of happiness overnight. I'm still on the fence about it, though."
"What makes you say that?" Kawakami questions. "If he's finally happy again, we shouldn't judge."
"I'm not judging, it's…I don't know. It seems superficial to me. I mean, anyone would glue themselves to the first thing that makes them forget about their sorrows. It's natural, but there's no way having good sex with someone he barely knows can cause this." 'Unless that person was there the entire time…'--Flashback End--
'It's the only explanation,' the shortstop thinks, returning to the present, 'Miyuki is dead to me so I shouldn't care about this as much as I do, but my moral compass will not rest until I get to the bottom of this. Perhaps Sawamura isn't as innocent as he seems.'
Eijun flinches as Kuramochi extends his hand towards him, "What now?!"
"Give me your phone."
"Why?!"
"Because I'm your upperclassman and you should do whatever I say without question."
"That's cool and all, but it's my phone! That's an invasion of privacy!"
Kuramochi frowns demonically, "The hell did you just say to me? Masuko, tie him down! This little shit thinks he can talk back to me."
"Aye, aye." Masuko is already on the move, trapping Eijun in a full-body lock he's practiced, "Nothing personal, Sawamura-chan."
The pitcher screams bloody murder as Kuramochi wrestles his phone from him. He's spent all his energy trying to break free of Masuko and wasn't paying attention to his hands.
The green-haired teen realizes that he needs a fingerprint to unlock the phone, so he grabs Eijun's thumb and presses it against the home button.
Bingo.
"You can let go of him now," he says, sitting at his desk, "I have what I need."
Masuko releases his victim and apologizes once more before resuming his pudding consumption.
Eijun springs up from the floor and lunges at Kuramochi, but is stopped dead in his tracks with a death glare.
Eijun huffs, "Just tell me what you want from my phone! You randomly accused me of cheating on Kazuya! Are you trying to find evidence or something? Hey!"
Ignoring him, Kuramochi opens the Messages app and finds Sanada's emoji-adorned name. Connecting the phone to his laptop, he uses software to download their entire conversation, from the very beginning. He saves the data to his hard drive, disconnects the phone, and hands it back to its rightful owner.
"We'll see," he says finally, "If you got nothing to hide, you wouldn't be panicking. Now get the hell outta my face and take a shower! It's late!"
--
While Eijun's in the bathhouse, Kuramochi scrolls to the first message and starts reading. He's adamant about finding what he's looking for.
[Messages - Sanada]
Sanada: Is your, you know, okay?
Eijun: Who is dis?!
Sanada: Sanada from Yakushi. We met in the bathroom remember?
Eijun: Oh yeahhhh! Sorry I didn't save your number yet lol
Sanada: That's fine. Is your thing okay?
Eijun: My what?
Sanada: You're really gonna make me spell it out? Your dick. Is it okay?
Eijun: Ah it's fine lol Thanks for helping me free it from my zipper. If it weren't for u, I would be in terrible shape! It was embarrassing tho…
Sanada: How
Eijun: Due to my lack of graceful physical abilities, I let a stranger see my dick! My most humble apologies! *three bowing emojis*
Sanada: You're good you're good. I didn't mind. Seeing you in hysteria and almost passing out was pretty cute
Eijun: D-Did u just call me cute
Sanada: Yes
Eijun: My boyfriend's gonna kill me *blind walking emoji*
Sanada: You got a man???
Eijun: Yep we just started dating a few days ago
Sanada: Is he the one who picked you up from the bathroom
[Eijun sent a GIF]: *a rabbit nodding its head feverishly*
Sanada: He's lucky
Eijun: Why
Sanada: Bc you're so cute
Eijun: STOP
Eijun: CALLING
Eijun: ME
Eijun: THST
Eijun: *THAT
Eijun: GRRR
Sanada: Did you just growl at me?? That's hot
Eijun: ADKAJDKSHIHS I'M BLOCKING YOU
Sanada: Ok I'll stop lmaooo
Sanada: Let's be friends though
Eijun: Uh uh not so fast. I'm reducing u to texting buddy for now
Sanada: I'll take what I can get *smiling emoji*
They didn't talk for two weeks after that interaction, so Kuramochi scrolls down until the conversation starts again, initiated by Eijun.
Eijun: Do u ever feel awkward doing burpees?
Sanada: No why
Eijun: It's like I don't get it, the transition from the push-up to the jump is super weird for me. I'm not doing it right
Sanada: There's a lot of videos out there that can help correct your form. I'll send a few links if you want
Eijun: Oh how foolish of you! There's a reason I texted
Sanada: ??
Eijun: I was hoping u could send a video of u doing it. I thought it'd be better to ask someone I know rather than watch random dudes online
Sanada: What about your teammates
Eijun: I don't want them to bully me for having crappy form *two skull emojis*
Sanada: Lmao alright. Give me like 5 mins
[Sanada sent a video.]
Kuramochi rolls his eyes. In the thumbnail, Sanada's shirtless, only sporting his unbuckled jersey bottoms, socks, and cleats.
"He knows what he's doing."
He presses play.
"Hello, my pitcher in need," the Yakushi player says with a smile, pressing his fingertips together. He's alone in the weight room, "You said burpees are awkward for you, but it's actually pretty simple. Let me show you."
He steps back from his phone camera and angles himself on the exercise mat in a push-up position, "See, what you wanna nail first is this position. Hands shoulder-width apart. If you can't really gauge that, try making sure your hands aren't too close or too far apart. A good amount.
"The next step is the actual push-up. If your upper arm strength is mediocre and you can't do it, you can instead hold a plank position for a few seconds then transition into the jump. For that, the most crucial tip I have is to bring your knees as close to your chest as possible."
Sanada demonstrates, doing a push-up, jutting his legs forward, tucking his knees to his chest, and then springing into a jump, his arms in the air. He does it again, explaining the steps as he performs each motion.
"The closer you bring your knees, the more you're able to go straight into the jump without any awkwardness. It's a shooting upwards action, you know? When you jump normally, your knees are aligned with you, if that makes sense. I hope that helps."
Sanada clasps his hands as he walks back to the camera and ends the tutorial.
Eijun: PERFECT THANKS SO MUCHHH! I'll make great use of this! I'll be the king of burpees in no time *smoke puffing out of nostrils emoji*
Sanada: No problem :) Feel free to ask for advice anytime
Kuramochi is perplexed. He scrolls endlessly, their conversations entailing Eijun looking for pointers and Sanada serving countless instructional videos like candy—shirtless, nonetheless—but there was nothing incriminating.
'Hell, I'm such an asshole for even insinuating Sawamura would cheat on Miyuki,' he thinks in defeat, 'What's wrong with me? Ugh, does this mean I have to apologize to him—wait…'
A particular text catches his attention. It's a month later from the ones he's read.
[Sanada sent a post from Instagram.]
It's a video of a parcel delivery man getting frightened by a dog sitting calmly on the front porch. The man throws the package then runs away as the dog barks loudly, but in excitement.
Eijun: LMAO WHY WAS HE SO SCARED THE DOG DIDN'T DO ANYTHING
Eijun: That radiates small dick energy
Sanada: Huh?
Eijun: Any person who's afraid of a little dog has small dick energy
Sanada: Interesting
Sanada: What type of dick energy do you think I have?
Eijun: I WOULDN'T KNOW LMFAO are u afraid of dogs?
Sanada: Love them
Eijun: Then there's ur answer
Sanada: Okay but liking or hating dogs shouldn't be the only factor in determining if a person has small or big dick energy
Eijun: What else is there to consider *thinking emoji*
Sanada: Actually seeing it? *winky face emoji*
Eijun: SIR— I—
Eijun: *running away emoji*
Eijun: YOU NEEDA LEAVE
Eijun: SIT IN THE CORNER AND THINK ABOUT WHAT YOU JUST SAID SMH I HAVE A MAN PLEASE STAHP
Sanada: Gotcha lol *door emoji* *walking emoji*
Except Sanada didn't leave or stop.
Bitter saliva coats Kuramochi's mouth as their conversation performs a 180 and transforms into the Yakushi player being more candid with his romantic advances, sending goodnight texts, unsolicited shirtless pics in bed, and shamelessly calling Eijun adorable and fuckable.
For the most part, Eijun did a magnificent job of ignoring him or responding vaguely, but there were times when he slipped up and entertained Sanada's efforts.
Eijun: U up?
Sanada: Yeah
Eijun: Ahhhh senpai I can't sleep *two crying emojis*
Sanada: Why not
Eijun: Idk I just can't
Sanada: I have the perfect solution
[Sanada sent a voice note.]
Kuramochi forgoes playing it.
Eijun: Was that…A LULLABY???
Sanada: Yes because you're such a baby
Eijun: Not ur baby
Sanada: Ouch that hurt
Eijun: Ha gotteeem. Ngl ur voice is kinda…hot
Sanada: Enough to get you hot and bothered?
Eijun: The voice note needs to be longer for that to happen *winky face emoji*
Sanada: *kissy face emoji*
Eijun: WAIT WHAT AM I SAYING AMDSDNLAP I'll just go to bed goodnight
Sanada: You make me excited when you do that. Goodnight <3
Eijun: Denied!
'So fucking cringe,' Kuramochi thinks.
He's had enough. He slams his laptop shut as Eijun returns from the bathhouse, his towel slung around his neck.
"Sit your ass down," Kuramochi spits, "You have some 'splaining to do."
Noting the growing tension in the room and the impending screaming match, Masuko leaves to go buy some more pudding and baseball magazines.
Once the door closes, Eijun sits on the floor, crosslegged and pouty, "After violating my right to privacy as a law-abiding citizen, did ya find anything?"
"I found plenty."
"You're lying! I never ever cheated on Kazuya!"
"Don't raise your fucking voice at me! Yeah, you may not have outright cheated, but you were damn sure flirting!"
"HOW?!"
"I said don't raise your voice!" Kuramochi leans forward in his chair, resting his elbows on his knees, "There were countless red flags with how Sanada was talking to you, but you ignored them like a blind rat because you're a birdbrain who can't tell the difference between honest conversation and flirting! How many times did you tell him you were dating Miyuki, yet he carried on trying to get into your pants?"
Eijun squints in bewilderment, "Get in my pants? When?"
"The chat log doesn't lie, Sawamura. That convo about small-big dick energy or whatever when he mentioned actually seeing it. If you had said yes, do you think he would have sent you a dick pic?"
"No!"
"How the fuck not?!"
"Because he knew I was dating Kazuya and that would be crossing the line!"
Kuramochi mimics Eijun, also squinting in confusion. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He knew Eijun severely lacked common sense and social cues at times, but the fact that he was excusing Sanada's predatory behavior with shitty reasoning was making his skin crawl. He can tear his defense apart with a mere scratch of a fingernail, and that's exactly what he was going to do.
"There was never a line for him to cross because you never drew one," he says.
Eijun's heart is thumping against his ribcage. All he wanted was a friend outside of Seido, someone he could respect and also text freely, but now Kuramochi was being the detective no one asked for or wanted, carving their friendship out to be something completely different.
Him, a cheater? Flirting behind his ex-boyfriend's back? It displeases him that Kuramochi is accusing him of such dishonorable deeds and he is having none of it.
"What are you talking about?" he asks.
"Based on what I read, not once did you firmly state that you were disinterested in his advances. All those corny ass emojis and telling him to 'please staph I got a man' weren't enough of a reinforcement. He definitely thought you were playing hard to get and it reads like you were playing around, too."
"Okay, but I never said those things because he was joking. Guys talk about dicks all the time! I can find so many examples in the team group chat!"
"Last I checked, we don't suggestively talk about sending pictures of our meat to each other."
"Okay, but—"
"Enough with the okay buts! Okay, but nothing!" Kuramochi moves on to another example, "How about all the times he called you cute and fuckable? Is that not a red flag?"
Eijun doesn't hesitate to refute him, "I took that as a compliment! Isn't it satisfying when old ladies on the street call you cute? It's the same thing!"
"So you're just gonna slide past the fuckable part?"
"Well, you can't deny that I have raging sex appeal."
"I'm gonna fucking kill you! JESUS!" Kuramochi makes a strangling motion with his hands, his face scrunched up with outrage, "You're special. You're actually special. How could you possibly be so stupid and dumb and slow and dense and gullible and foolish and thoughtless and—ugh, Sawamura, there aren't enough words to describe how much you're killin' me right now!"
He walks over to Eijun, squats in front of him, and latches onto his upper arms, shaking him.
"Listen to yourself!" he pleads, "Do you hear yourself? No matter how much you try to argue that there wasn't anything suspicious going on, that's exactly what the evidence is looking like. If someone were to read those messages unbiased, they would certainly get the wrong idea.
"Look, Sawamura. I know your mental processes are a bit…skewed, and I'm not blaming you, but Sanada never respected your relationship with Miyuki because you didn't set firm boundaries. You were an open door and you let him walk right through, uninvited, but he felt invited because you didn't say anything.
"Calling you cute and fuckable is not friendly. Him sending shirtless pics and baiting you into wanting a dick pic is not friendly. Saying his voice is hot is not friendly. Don't you get it?"
Eijun's head hangs back when Kuramochi stops shaking him. His eyes are stinging, nostrils flaring, and his lips start to quiver, "R-Really?" he whispers.
"Yes," the shortstop says, "I have nothing against your relationship with Sanada nor am I asking you to break up with him. To be freaking honest, what that four-eyed snake Miyuki did will always be a million times worse and in no way am I comparing you to him, but how you acted towards Miyuki during the breakup, as if he was the only one who did wrong…it's a bit ropey with this new information. That's all I wanted to figure out. Do what you will."
"I-I'm gonna go for a run."
Eijun staggers to his feet and heads out.
Kuramochi sits there in silence, staring at the door. Before he's able to think of anything, it opens upon Masuko's return.
"I just saw Sawamura-chan going to the field," he says, "He didn't look too good, and you don't look any better."
"Yeah. It was rough."
"Want some pudding?"
"…sure."
"Sorry. I ate them on the way here."
"All of them?! Already?! Then what's in the bag?"
"Magazines and the empty cups."
Kuramochi sighs, "Bro…"
--
"My beloved tire," Eijun sings, his voice cracking, "My sweet tire, how did your rope become undone? Lemme fix you up right quick. Crap, I can't see through all these tears! If only, like an angel, Harucchi would appear and lend me a hand!"
"You called?" a voice says from afar.
The brunette whips around and as he had wished for, Haruichi's walking towards him, gloved up and bat in hand.
"My lord and savior!" Eijun cries, "How timely is your presence!"
"I was doing some late-night batting, but then I saw you so I finished up and came over—wait, are you crying?! What's wrong?"
"My tire's rope came loose…"
Setting down his bat, Haruichi kneels and helps Eijun reattach the rope. The latter's fingers are trembling and the tears won't stop flowing, so Haruichi concludes that the source of his sorrow is not a mere tire malfunction.
"Eijun-kun," he says, removing his gloves, "do you want to talk about it?"
"Yes."
Eijun didn't know how to describe it, but Haruichi had a magical ability—extracting confessions from people. He never bothered lying about his emotional state because once Haruichi applied pressure, the truth would pour out like a raging waterfall. He was his personal little therapist—emphasis on the little—who would shoulder his issues unconditionally.
He hoped to return the favor someday.
"D-Do you think I'm a bad person?" he asks, rubbing the grooves of his tire.
Haruichi blinks twice under his bangs, "What? Obviously not!"
"That's what I used to think, then Mochi-senpai hit me upside the head with the cold hard truth and now I feel terrible."
Eijun spills the tea, from Kuramochi reading his messages to how they argued about Sanada's intentions, and as the details accumulate, Haruichi is physically unable to hide his disappointment.
"I mean," he starts once Eijun is finished, "it was silly of you to not notice that Sanada was being really aggressive. He was pursuing you from the start."
"Do you think I cheated, though? That's the real question."
Haruichi exhales. It's more of an awkward laugh and he can't face Eijun, talking to the ground instead, "I wouldn't say you cheated, but flirting and having suggestive conversations? I'm going to have to say yes. However, you said it was unintentional since you thought you were being friendly. It's not like you did it purposely. Don't beat yourself up about it—"
"HOW CAN I NOT?!"
Eijun steps into his tire and brings it to his waist. His eyes are now fully red and his cheeks are white with tear stains, "I spazzed on Kazuya like he was the scum of the earth! I mean he is, but it turns out I wasn't innocent either! What he did was still horrendous and I will never forget it for the rest of my life, but what gives me the right to hold that grudge if I technically betrayed him first? Unknowingly?!"
"At least nothing physical happened between you and Sanada, so the gravity of the situation isn't that bad. Besides, like you said, what Miyuki-senpai did was a million times worse. You shouldn't stress about this." 'I'm trying so hard to lay this as nicely as possible, but it's not working. This is quite the predicament we have on our hands here.'
"That doesn't matter, Harucchi! That's exactly what Mochi-senpai said! From both of your perspectives, I messed up by being blind and naive! Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go vent my frustrations through punitive exercise. Goodnight!"
Bowing at a ninety-degree angle, Eijun dashes away and begins running laps around the field.
'P-Punitive?' Haruichi thinks, sweat-dropping, 'His brain cells work better when he's upset compared to his normal state. Oh, what are we going to do with him? He's guilty of accepting Sanada's advances because he failed to create boundaries, but he's not guilty of actively participating in those conversations. He didn't cheat. He was just being the Eijun-kun we all know and love and that equates to one word—stupid.'
Half an hour later, Eijun's still running. He's lost count of the number of laps he's on. His lungs and legs were screaming and burning, but the pain doesn't register as he was hyper-focused on his current dilemma. The tire dragging behind him serves as a metronome, timing his thoughts.
'I'm in deep shit,' he thinks, 'Super-deep shit. Mochi-senpai's pissed at me. Harucchi, though he didn't say it, lost all faith in me and was trying to hide it by being nice. I, like the idiot I am, allowed Sanada-senpai to flirt with me and never put my foot down about it. I didn't even realize he was flirting in the first place! I thought it was funny, but now no one's laughing. Kazuya didn't deserve that one-sided outburst.
'Wait, no, he definitely did and I'd do it all over again! Screw him! But...before everything hit the fan, I disrespected him by not making Sanada-senpai respect our relationship…ahhhhh! It's all in the past, so it shouldn't be bothering me this much, but it's stuck in my head!
'Should I tell Kazuya? Should I tell the others and get their opinions, too? Should I forget about this? Shit, I dunno! Find out next time on Sawamura Eijun's Internal Dilemma Dialogue!'
He roars as he increases his pace and zooms around the field.
Haruichi keeps a watchful eye on Eijun in case he collapses from overexerting himself, mentally and physically.
Which he does. Unsurprisingly.
"Eijun-kun! Are you okay?! Oh, brother…"
SUY NGHĨ CỦA NGƯỜI SÁNG TẠO 
redpenkiller
redpenkiller Channeling my inner inconspicuous fuckboy for Sanada was...interesting to say the least. And I love writing text messages, they fill me up with delicious cringe lmaooo
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