III: I'm Lucky
With a few steady ticks from a clock, summer vacation ended. Ko packed his bags and suited up for the second academic term of his final year at Seishu. What should he expect heading back to school? The baseball team's still there; however, their time at Koshien has expired. It was a triumphant run, of course, but that was already the peak for high school baseball. Ko peeked at an old aluminum bat that hung out of a closet of his. Blinking a couple of times while in thought, Ko started his way out his bedroom door.
"Ittekimasu," he said out loud, glancing at two alarm clocks that sat on his desk.
Seishu High School was a modest school of average size—with mostly average students, average teachers, average staff, average extracurricular activities and average ratings—though with some standout points. Until the Seishu baseball team won at Koshien, no headlines really surged from the school. Now there was Ko, the fireball-throwing ace pitcher of ultimate power and control; Aoba, the one girl on the team, and a fireball-throwing pitcher of parallel power and control; Yuhei, one of the most feared power hitters in the league; and Osamu, the team captain and notoriously cunning catcher. In the making of a championship team, it could be said that all the starting members were above average—at least above average based on their in-game performances.
Ko strolled through the campus's main gates, his bag slung over his right shoulder, casually acknowledging the praises and compliments spewed out by nearby classmates and peers. By the school building's entrance, Aoba waited in the shade, coolly leaning against a concrete pillar.
"Nice pitching at Koshien!"
"You're the best, Kitamura-senpai!"
"Show us your 160-kph fastball sometime!"
As Ko progressed toward Aoba, the rowdy cheers gradually transformed into murmurs and rapid-firing words of gossip. When Ko's eyes met with Aoba's, the murmurs soon became all-out chatter.
"Wait, is it true Kitamura-senpai and Tsukishima-senpai are dating now?"
"No way, I thought that was a rumor started by the baseball team—"
"Wasn't Tsukishima seeing someone else before?"
"I thought that was a rumor, too…"
"I see those two together all the time—"
"Just because their families are close doesn't mean they have to be close!"
"They held hands before—"
"Gosh," Aoba mumbled as soon as Ko stopped at her side. She unfolded her arms and rested her hands on her hips. Then she pointed her index finger right between Ko's eyes. "Quite the celebrity now, aren't ya?"
"Same goes for you," Ko remarked, grabbing hold of her hand, prompting a loud gasp from the students around them. Hesitantly, he made a quick glance over his shoulder before chuckling quietly to Aoba. "Looks like we're famous now."
"Gee, I'm lucky to have you, Ki-ta-mu-ra. Sen. Pai," Aoba declared loudly, pronouncing each and every syllable, causing the nearby students' murmurs to suddenly die down. Ko looked around with evident uneasiness as Aoba leaned in and broke her voice into a whisper. "You know I have a bunch of annoying admirers from all corners, right?"
A raucous sob echoed from somewhere in the student mass.
"I'm sure lucky then, right?" Ko countered, smiling earnestly.
Aoba scowled at Ko's mocking tone. With a brief "hmph," Aoba reversed the grip and yanked Ko along through the school's door, leaving behind a sea of relentless gossipers, brokenhearted classmates and overly curious devotees.
"You better keep all those other guys in line," Aoba stated gallantly. "It is your job now."
"Hai, Tsukishima ojou-sama!" Ko continued to joke.
"You don't regret this at all, do you?" Aoba suddenly said.
"What do you mean?" asked Ko, sensing the change in tone.
Aoba let go of Ko's arm and stopped by the bottom of the first-story staircase. A couple of students passed by, minding their own businesses. Ko tilted his head slightly, curious and relatively concerned.
"Don't you ever… get… the feeling… that…" she searched for her words with serious strain, helplessly pausing every few seconds. "That somehow… we're… betraying Waka-chan… by doing this…?"
Ko opened his mouth to respond, but he could not think of the proper way to answer right away. Aoba looked up into his eyes, the sincerity of her feelings genuine as portrayed by the glistening of her eyes. Ko had never seen Aoba so emotional on so many occasions before. He unintentionally drew tears from her a few times, but those occasions never caught him by surprise. This moment, though, he was ambushed.
"Do you?" Aoba asked again, blinking away the moistness in her eyes.
Ko tried to pull every bit of morality and virtue from deep within his heart and soul, hoping for an answer. Did he feel as if he was betraying Wakaba? Did he choose Aoba by mistake? Did Aoba choose him by mistake?
"Ko?"
"I—" he responded, his ears tingled when Aoba used his given name instead of his surname. "I don't think so… no. No. I don't. I don't think we're betraying Wakaba. No. Do you?"
"No," Aoba lied.
"All right then."
Really? she wanted to yell at Ko. You don't? Not even after all the love Waka-chan had shown you? She really loved you. How could you choose me? And I had the nerve to take you from her. And you let me.
Ko shifted his feet in silence as Aoba seemed to go into a daze. He reached for her hand, triggering a mild flinch from the girl.
"Well, if it's bothering you, we can talk about later. After practice. We'll go to your place or something," Ko suggested. "I'll make you a Napolitan."
"What?" Aoba stuttered in surprise.
"You don't want to talk?"
"No, I mean—" she started, then sighed heavily. "I'll see you at practice."
They exchanged goodbyes. Ko watched from the base of the staircase as Aoba made her way upstairs to her first class. In solitude, even with all the passing students, he unconsciously ignored the greetings and compliments some passersby offered. The solemn and profound expression on his face eventually signaled to classmates that he was in no mood to be praised.
"You think they broke up?"
"Tsukishima-san probably dumped him."
"Kitamura-senpai could do so much better than her!"
"They always argue anyway—"
Ko shot some of the gossipers looks of disapproval. He made his way through the maze of students, navigating down the hallways to his own class. The majority of students went about their own ways, though there were always small handfuls that continued to gossip incessantly.
"Geez, she doesn't hate me that much," Ko chuckled to himself.
But he had no idea Aoba felt that way. It was surprising, even for him. For the most part, he understood Aoba exactly the way she is: a pitcher, a competitor, a friend, a sister, a loved one. A girl. And he knew, on the opposite end, Aoba understood him as well. Even if they both keep the attributes hidden from one another—at least on the outside—they still know nonetheless.
Ko sat down in his assigned seat and looked out the window, down at the empty baseball field as his teacher began roll call.