THE SANDLOT | m. kazuya

8.

THE SANDLOT !
CHAPTER EIGHT

for some reason he felt.... odd.

like his body was stuck on solid ground and his soul was somewhere in the ozone layer of the atmosphere. the strange feeling comes and goes whenever it pleases, usually during the nights when sawamura decides to practice on his own. in the end it never fails to show how much he relies on the brunet's presence. though there's a part of him that knows sawamura does the same too. both boys were used to being constantly surrounded by lively company, now they only had each other.

"katsu."

the soft voice of watanabe helps the fuzzy thoughts in his head go away. blinking away the haziness in the corner of his eyes, he peers up to look at his roommate. "we need to head towards the indoor field. coach's order." katsu pushes himself off the soft sheets of his bed, and his aching muscles protest at the sudden movement. "it won't be long." there's a sympathetic downturn on his lips as he watches katsu struggle to slip on his shoes. "we'll shut the lights off early so you can sleep more comfortably when we get back."

the gentle air that the second year often emits never fails to bring him comfort, and it only makes the homesickness come back tenfold. "thank you." katsu grumbles sleepily, feeling so exhausted that he has to practically drag his feet. "of course, i have to look after my kouhai." they slip out of their shared dorm and make their way down the corridor in silence. the only sounds being the buzzing of the fluorescent lights and the clicking of cicadas. the nights were growing significantly warmer, and it made him regret not taking off his long-sleeved undershirt.

they make it into the building in mere minutes, and he does a beeline towards sawamura and haruichi. like everyone inside, they're dead silent, faces grim and bodies rigid. seeing them you'd think they were attending a funeral. stifling a wide yawn, he greets the two faintly, and just like watanabe, they give him looks of pity due to his current state. it made him feel slightly pathetic. they looked nowhere near as dead as he did and they did most of the moving around during the game. why was he so tired to begin with?

they're soon joined by coach kataoka, and as usual, he's wearing his usual stoic mask. it was hard to pinpoint what the man was thinking or even feeling. "i'm going to name the three people that have made the first-string now." he gruffly states, crossing his arms as he stands before the large group. "this decision was made based on the practice matches we've had so far." they all had their fair share of opportunities, though some more than others. katsu was one of the lucky ones. "those who make the first-string, do keep in mind that you're there as a representative of the entire team. and those who don't make the team please continue to support them." the coach pauses, making the room feel stifling as they wait.

"the first string members will be first years kominato haruichi, higashi katsu... and sawamura eijun."

katsu feels like caving in on himself after glancing around, seeing the disappointed and frustrated faces of his upperclassmen. it wasn't fair for those who trained for three years for a chance, he knew that. but it was the survival of the fittest, coming down to those who were going to guarantee the team victory. "they will be added to the twenty names playing in the summer and they will be practicing for it starting tomorrow... that's all for today. the third years who weren't chosen are to stay behind."