Reckless Muse

Ch. 2: Discoveries (Part 3)

Sakura hummed along to a song in her head as she skirted around some puddles. The rain drummed steadily on her umbrella and poured around her. She smiled as the fresh scent of wet grass surrounded her. Overlooking the field, she took a couple photos with her handheld camera. It was an older model, but it had been a birthday present and she used it every time she wanted a reference picture.

She sighed. No this wasn't the right angle, either. She continued walking, her feet bringing her to the top of a grassy hill off to the first base side of the field. She held her camera up again and took a couple more shots. Again, however, the results were less than perfect. She continued walking down towards the field.

"Maybe from homeplate?" she thought aloud to herself. For the past several minutes she had tried every angle she could on the field. By first base, third base, outfield, atop the hill. She didn't dare walk on the muddy field to the top of the mound since she was liable to leave footprints, but maybe behind homeplate would do the trick.

She stepped carefully through the soaked dirt and snapped a couple more photos. She looked through them, still unsatisfied. She clicked her tongue as her gaze swept the field, trying to determine if there was another angle she couple try. She eyes caught on a dot of blue out beyond third base, near the foul post. She could barely make it out through the rain, but something was there. Her feet carried her to subconsciously and when she was standing over it, her breath caught.

There in the grass was a small blue flower. The petals were a soft sapphire color and the large leaves were emerald. Sakura had never seen a flower similar to it before and she never expected to find one on a baseball field. She held her camera to her eye and snapped a picture of the rain covered bloom. She smiled at the photo in her hands. It wasn't what she had come for, but it was still an excellent reference picture.

Sakura made her way to the third base dugout where she set her stuff down on the dry concrete. She knew that she had promised her brother that she would go home early, but she wanted to draw the flower before the memory had faded. As useful as reference pictures were, they never did quiet hold the same feeling as seeing it for yourself.

She pulled out her pencils and began to do a quick sketch. She would go back and do the full thing later, when she wasn't shivering in a dugout with a walk home waiting for her. But for now she wanted to sketch the unexpected inspiration. As she drew, the rhythmic sound of the raindrops beating on the roof over her turned into a sort of melody. It lulled her into a state of relaxed concentration and Sakura remembered again why she always seemed to produce her best works on rainy days; the rain was nature's paint and the sound of the drops was it's music. Mirai had called her crazy for her view before and Fumiya had politely agreed with her. She would be the first to admit that it was a bit too poetic to be something serious, but nonetheless she still enjoyed the rainy days.

Sakura was so enthralled with her work, she didn't hear the loud footsteps splashing closer to her little haven of creativity.

~

Kuramochi ran. He ran and ran and ran. He cursed himself under his breath as the rain pelted him and soaked him to the bone. His white shirt clung to him and his dark jeans made running hard. But still he ran. It barely registered to him as he made his way through Seido's entrance and his feet carried him to the fields.

He hadn't intended to join in their stunt. He hadn't intended to get wrapped up with them. But that wouldn't matter. If it ever got out that he had met up with a group of guys who tried to rob a convenience store then his time at Seido was over. He cursed himself again for believing that maybe those guys just wanted to hang out with him. He should have known better when they commented that he looked like he knew how to get into, and out of, trouble. He shouldn't have agreed to meet with them. Hell, he had been a troublemaker once, he should have caught the signs.

He continued running, circling Field B. His wet jeans rubbed sorely on his legs and the rain streaked down his face. Thoughts of his expulsion, his stupidity, and his baseball career's end swirled through his mind. He didn't notice when he finished circling Field B and went on to circle Field A, following the same path that they always used at practice. His feet followed the familiar path as his mind swam. What was he going to do if the group tried to rat on him? Tried to blame him?

He passed the first base dugout. Maybe they wouldn't say anything? Maybe, if the cops caught them, they wouldn't try to drag him down with them? Maybe the cops wouldn't believe them? Maybe the store owner would vouch for him since Kuramochi had spoken up immediately when he realized what was happening? Maybe he wouldn't be in trouble because he had ran when he realized what was going on? Maybe they would see his record from Junior high and they wouldn't care?

He traced the outfield, his mind still whirring and spinning so fast it was making him nauseous. He needed to sit down before he fell over. He would sit in the third base dugout for a while, try to calm down, and then decide what to do. Maybe he could run away from Seido? After all, running was what he was best at. His lips twitched up into a self-depreciating grimace at the thought. Then, as he raised his eyes, everything came to a screeching halt.

His mind and body froze as his eyes took in the unexpected visitor to the field.