𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐏𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐎𝐅𝐅. furuya satoru

chapter 1: prologue

Alternate Title: Tadanori takes a big leap, though whether it was forward or backward, Kazuya was still unsure

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Hazui Tadanori, First Year

The stars were glittering on the pitch-black sky as brightly as they could that Tadanori was sure that even if the managers were to turn off the light, they could still see the head coach’s face well. All that he could feel that night was the heavy wind blowing harshly on his face, and even after so many times brushing them back, his dark brown hair still managed to fall right in front of his eyes. They have grown a bit too long for his liking that sometimes they would poke his eyeball when he’s on the field, so maybe later he’ll ask Kazuya to help him cut them off.

To his left, a boy stood tall with his hands folded neatly behind him, a sleazy smirk was painted on his lips and he wore his head high on his shoulders above the rest of the first years. His eyes darted around as they started introducing themselves and which position they are interested in doing, for a moment there Tadanori wished he had Kazuya’s confidence but he remembered that he wasn’t willing to sacrifice his high school social life just for a tad more of it.

As the boy on his right finished his short introduction, Tadanori straightened up his back and cleared his throat. Talking in front of other people was never his forte but he was willing to try. Kazuya gave him a slight nudge between his shoulder and elbow, as if encouraging Tadanori.

He took in a deep breath and stepped forward.

“Hazui Tadanori!” He yelled, and he was quite proud of his himself that his voice didn’t waver. His name being spoken caused some commotion, and he could feel Kazuya’s condescending sneer grow—Kazuya was always the type to show Tadanori off even when Tadanori doesn’t want to, implicitly saying, ‘This is my pitcher. My pitcher, Hazui Tadanori.’ Tadanori could never bring himself to do that, it was just not in his blood to be cocky, while being cocky is everything Kazuya was. The commotion died with one sharp glance from the coach and Tadanori was free to continue. “I used to play as a pitcher in high school,” despite being a nervous wreck on the inside, he stared hard into the eyes of coach Kataoka, “but I am interested in playing outfield. From now on I will be in your care, so thank you very much!”

Towards the end of the introduction, Tadanori’s hands were already sweaty, he stepped back and only then realized the look Kazuya was giving him. Though their eyes met, Tadanori couldn’t really tell what he was thinking. Perhaps it was horror, or maybe it was shock. He couldn’t say for sure as it was not often that he could see Kazuya with his mouth hung low and eyes wide open like it was going to pop out, if he had to make a comparison, Kazuya looked like a ventriloquist puppet. Tadanori wanted to laugh at the face he was making but then he realized that the entire field was staring at him with the same hardened eyes as Kazuya’s.

Outfielder…

This was a dangerous thing to do, the introduction he just did literally placed his pitching career on the line, everything he had built basically thrown down the drain. All the signs he had learned with Kazuya, all his forms, his techniques—he pondered for months and months leading to his graduation and by the end of it, he decided that if he wanted to continue baseball, this is the best choice. Was it a risky choice? Yes. But did Tadanori care? Well, yes. But it felt right and baseball to him had always felt right.

He did talk to Kazuya about this, in endless conversations when Kazuya would stay over in Tadanori’s house where they would just talk and talk to each other until the first sight of the sun finally greets them after a sleepless night of pouring each other’s heart on to the other. Tadanori brought the topic up twice, a week after The Absolute Fucking Worse Experience of His Life and the other after Takashima Rei invited the two of them for a tour around Seidou. Kazuya must have thought he was joking, though, seeing the unbelieving look in his eyes.

“Next!” Coach Kataoka’s voice rang, breaking everyone out of their trance. Kazuya’s gaze lingers on Tadanori’s eyes for another second before finally stepping up.

“Miyuki Kazuya. Catcher. Thank you.”

The introduction got jeered at, perhaps for being too short, but Tadanori got the feeling that Kazuya wanted to say something more. Maybe even saying something along the line of, ‘Catching to anyone shouldn’t be a problem, but I would love to catch to Hazui Tadanori.’ (Perhaps Tadanori is getting too full of himself, but Kazuya was the type of person to embarrass him like that). He glanced at the catcher as he returned back to his original spot to his right. Tadanori didn’t see his usual characteristic smirk, but instead Kazuya was looking down, drilling holes to the ground. He seemed upset; he didn’t even look like he wanted to look at Tadanori.

Tadanori could only sigh, looking straight ahead as the first years were finishing up their introductions. For the first time in a long time, his head stood taller than Kazuya’s.