Diamond no Ace

Winning Again

Blog prompt: exes meeting again after not speaking for years au

He had lost the game and had given up their small lead when they were only two innings away from winning. Unlike the regular season, it wasn't just one game of many. He had been entrusted with the fifth game of playoffs. He had pitched quite well before, but the steaks were higher this time. There were high expectations for him. He couldn't afford to mess up. Even if he felt pressured, he had to be in top shape when he stepped on the mound. He wasn't in high school anymore. He wasn't in some random college game either. He was in the United States playing for an MLB team. He wasn't only representing his friends, he was representing all of Japan. They weren't paying him millions of dollars to mess up that way.

Eijun placed his towel over his head as he tried to swallow his anger and irritation. Even as he stepped out of mound, an entire crowd of forty-five thousand people had given a standing ovation he simply didn't deserve. It was true that had pitched almost seven innings with only one given run, but that wasn't enough. When he was just one out away, the team they were playing against was able to score three more runs off a few singles and a double. It was frustrating because he had let the game slip away. His teammates told him not to fret about it and that they would tie the score in no time, but Eijun could clearly see that they didn't even believe their words.

Then, the opposing pitchers didn't give them any breaks especially the closers. They were able to toughen up and prevent them from taking back the game. With utter defeat, Eijun watched bitterly as their rivals celebrated their victory. They had advanced to next and final round they needed before getting to the World Series. It was truly disappointing. He really wished he could have done more. He wanted to take his team there too and he didn't want to watch as another team went for them instead.

Still, no matter how many things he regretted, he couldn't turn back to fix his mistakes. As the losing team, they had move on and wait till next year.

He was suppose to give the press an interview, but he just didn't feel like it. His English was still pretty bad or more than awful. Then, with the current state he was in, he also was also afraid of suddenly throwing a fit in front of them, so he told the manager he wasn't up for it. Surprisingly, he understood and said he would talk in his place. Other teammates of his were suppose to give interviews too in representation of the losing team, but a majority of them had already gone home to their families. Sadly, he didn't even have that since the people he was the closest to were thousands of miles away.

Grabbing the towel over his head, Eijun started stuffing his dirty clothes and uniform inside his bag before he looked at the locker room. He took in deep breath and silently said a quiet goodbye. He wouldn't be back until spring which was months away. Sighing for the millionth time, he was suddenly startled by one of his teammates.

"Hey, Sawamura, there's a person that's here to see you. He says he's your friend and that he's here from Japan." He told him, peeking his head from the doorway. While he didn't exactly understand what he had just said, he was able to make out the words 'friend' and 'Japan'. Eijun nodded, wondering if Wakana had found a way to come after all. She told him she was going to try and make it, but that she couldn't promise him anything since she was busy with work.

Eijun bent down to zip up his bag when he heard the voice he least expected to hear. It was a voice he was still unable to forget even though he hadn't heard it years. Along with a loud gulp, his chest started burn with an unexplainable ache. He could feel those same eyes from the past staring at him with grave intensity. However, he kept asking himself what Miyuki Kazuya was doing there.

Standing up straight, Eijun looked at the man before him as his heart skipped a beat. While it annoyed him, it was amazing how he was still able to make him react that way.

"Hey, it's been awhile." He repeated, thinking he probably hadn't heard him the first time around. Dressed rather sharply, Eijun tried not to stare at him too much even though he really didn't look much different.

"What are you doing here?" Eijun wanted to ask him a million things and yet, he felt too surprised to even move. He hadn't expected to see him at all. This was the first time in years since they had seen each other. In fact, after their sad break up, Eijun had cut all types of communication with him.

"Easy. They easily recognized as a professional Japanese baseball player and I told them I came to visit you. Then, some guy led me here." He paused and stepped a bit closer toward him. "I came here to see you pitch and you've really improved. I'm impressed."

Eijun didn't know if he should believe his words or not, but they did manage to stir something within him. Even after so many years, it was pathetic to think he still felt something toward him. Miyuki was the one that broke up with him after all, saying that they were drifting apart too much and that they're relationship would never work out. He was the one that tore his heart into millions of pieces without a reason. He swore he would never forgive him and out of pure rage he ended up accepting the offer he had gotten from his current MLB team.

"No one asked you to come." He replied coldly not even bothering to look at him. His chest hurt so much and he wanted him to leave already. He didn't know why he had gone out of his way come to America just to see him pitch. "Anyways, I have to go. I don't have time to sit around and talk."

"You pitched better than I ever imagined, you know." He was completely ignoring him which ticked Eijun off to no end. He always hated that aspect of him in the past. "You shouldn't be upset for what happened. I could tell you were trying your very best. You didn't run away and you were able to close the inning without giving away any more damage. You should be quite proud."

"What do you want?! And what are you doing here?!" He snapped at him which caused Miyuki to smirk. He was still the same and he still like to see him get mad. "I don't think you came to Japan just to tell me that?!"

"Yeah, you're right." He shrugged before he placed his hand on his shoulders. Eijun wanted to push it away, but when his eyes met his, he completely froze in place. "I wanted to see with my own eyes the great pitcher you had become."

"Couldn't you just see the game on television?!"

"That's not everything, though." Miyuki told him as another smile broke on his face. He reached out to touch his hair, but Eijun quickly shoved it away. He didn't want Miyuki to get any closer to him. "I didn't come here just for that. Just like you, I was offered a rather interesting contract by the team you just played against. I came with my manager to talk more about. So maybe next year, I'll playing here and against you."

Unable to believe his words, Eijun clenched his fists and looked down at the floor. "Is that all?!"

"No, it's not."

Suddenly and completely out of nowhere, he tightly grabbed his face and planted a kiss on his lips. Panicking, Eijun's immediate reaction was to push him off, but he ended up getting stuck in the moment. When Miyuki released him, Eijun stumbled back with utter astonishment. Miyuki quietly laughed at his reaction before turning around to leave.

"I thought I wouldn't be able to catch up to you because of my injury and that's why I let you go." He started without even bothering to look at him. However, by that point, Eijun's mouth had gone dry and he couldn't even remember the game he had just lost. "I was such idiot, though and I regretted it. I guess I couldn't stand the fact that you might be better than me."

After a small pause, Miyuki looked back at him with a mischievous smile. "I guess I was wrong and I'm here to win you over again."

...

(A/N: I just need one more before I'm done with blog prompts. Then, I'll be working a fic request I received from doremishine itsuko a long time ago and another request I received from Stel-Manie recently. If anyone else would like to send me a fic request or a prompt, please pm me and I'll definitely consider it! Or feel free to leave it in the reviews! Anyways, thanks again for reading my stuff! Like always, please excuse my grammatical errors and I hope this chapter meets your expectations!)