Chapter 3 Finale
It’s Fujimura Ren! I’m nine years old, and today is my very first official baseball practice.
Mama dropped me off a little while ago and there were already a bunch of kids there—some playing catch, some just hanging out near the benches.
I drift toward the group near the benches and try to blend in.
Then I see her.
The woman from the hot springs.
Which probably means…
I look around the field, but there are too many kids and—
“Alright, bring it in!” she calls, positioning herself in front of the crowd I’m in.
She waits for a few stragglers to join the crowd before speaking again.
“I’m Sakuragi Naoko, and I’ll be your coach. We’re gonna start with the basics today—just throwing and catching—and that should give you a better idea whether baseball is right for you.”
She gestures at someone in the crowd.
“Toji.”
He steps up next to her, and…
He is here.
“Now everyone, watch his form closely,” Sakuragi-san says as she fastens a mitt to her hand.
Sakuragi-kun is already wearing one, apparently.
She crouches down.
He throws.
Clean. Straight. Fast.
Like it’s nothing.
Of course he’s good.
She tosses the ball back to him.
He throws again.
Just as perfect.
Sakuragi-san nods once.
Her attention turns to us in the crowd again.
“Alright, pair up, spread out, and practice gently throwing the ball to each other. I’m talking underhand only, alright? Good, now go.”
Kids start moving all around me, probably pairing off with their friends and stuff.
I didn’t see any of my friends when I first got here, and looking around now just confirms it.
By the time I’m done looking, everyone I even recognize is already partnered.
Everyone but Sakuragi-kun.
He’s still standing with his mom, apart from the rest of the crowd.
He looks… kind of intense.
His mom is saying something into his ear, and he’s scanning the various pairs that have formed throughout the field.
Eventually his eyes find me and…
…just keep going. No reaction at all.
Which…
Ow.
Guess I’m partnering with a stranger, then.
-----
I, he-of-the-occupied-bathroom Sakuragi Toji, do my best to keep busy.
Coffee machine first, then back to ‘the forbidden bedroom’.
I tell myself I’m gonna study for a while, but even I don’t believe me.
I stare through the pages of my textbook anyway, long enough to finish my coffee and feel a bit more awake.
I glance at my phone.
Almost 5.
Shit.
I stalk towards the bathroom, then the doorway to the tub area, and…
…You have got to be kidding me.
They’re still in there—Fujimura on the stool, Hoshino behind her.
A black-stained towel is wrapped around Fujimura’s neck, and a halo of different hair-pins holds tufts of dark hair every which way.
In other words, they’re not even close to being done.
“Hey!” Fujimura smiles at me. “How does it look?”
“It looks…”
On second glance, Fujimura’s hair is much shorter than it was, and darker than I’d realized—not black exactly, but getting there.
Even halfway done, the hair is working. She’s too curvaceous to fool anyone right now, but give her the right outfit, and…
Holy shit, this whole crossdresser plan might actually work.
“You… look like a boy,” I say.
She giggles. “Well, that is kind of the point.”
“I do good work,” Hoshino deadpans.
Which reminds me that oh yeah, I’m actually super mad at them.
“Are you guys almost done in here?”
“Nope!” Fujimura chirps.
“‘No’?”
“The color didn’t take evenly,” Hoshino says without looking up. “I’m fixing it.”
I frown.
“I thought you said you’ve done this before.”
“I have.”
“But you still messed it up?”
Hoshino clenches his teeth. “I didn’t ‘mess up’. Different hair just has different needs, and Ren-senpai’s needs another coat.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose.
“Okay, well, how long is that gonna take? Because I have to leave, like, now.”
I don’t love being late, but if I text ahead, it might be fine?
Hoshino ponders. “Uhh maybe an hour or so?”
“An hour?! It’s already been over two!”
Hoshino shrugs. “Each coat takes time to apply and dry. Not much I can do about that.”
Shit. An hour late is out of the question.
So it’s either cancel the date, or…
Or…
Fuck,I hate this.
“…Fine,” I say. “Just… don’t break anything. And my mom can’t see you. Orknow you were here. So finish up, clean up, lock up, and leave without a trace. Can you do that?”
Fujimura’s face goes mock-stern. “You can count on us,” she says.
I really hope that’s true.
But I guess we’ll find out.
-----
Café Parfait is… a lot.
Date spot and tourist trap all at once, it’s long since spread its fairy lights and high-tops up and down the surrounding waterfront, letting customers eat, relax, and act as free advertising to passersby.
Needless to say, Hina-chan fucking loves this place.
I check myself in my phone camera on the way up.
I never did get a chance to shower, but I look… okay?
Shirt’s clean.
Or… looks clean?
Jeans are… what was available.
Hair is—
You know what?
Let’s forget about my appearance for a bit.
Fuck, it’s a wonder I ever got a girlfriend at all.
Hina-chan is already here.
Of course.
She’s leaning against the railing out front, one foot hooked behind the other like she stepped out of a fucking magazine or something.
Different outfit from school, obviously—new skirt, light cardigan over a fitted top, something soft-looking that hugs her curves and actually matches. Her hair’s down now, too, styled into that ‘effortless’ look I once blundered myself into a ten-minute lecture about—‘effortless’ is anything but, apparently.
She looks up and spots me. Catches me staring.
And her face lights up.
…Okay. Maybe I didn’t completely screw this up after all.
“Wow, look at you,” she says as she gives me the once-over.
“Are you saying I don’t look like death anymore?”
“Hmm. More like… charmingly disheveled,” she says, stepping in a little closer to fix a stray piece of my hair. “There’s a difference.”
“If you say so.”
“I do say so,” she smiles, satisfied.
We’re lucky enough to nab a good seat outside. The menu is short and seasonal, so we choose quickly before Hina-chan launches into a story about something her friends did earlier today.
I do my best to keep up—laugh where I’m supposed to laugh, react where I’m supposed to react.
It feels… easy.
Familiar.
Normal.
Finally, Hina-chan is just finishing her story—complete with impressions—when the waiter comes.
“Strawberry parfait and oolong tea,” she orders.
“And just a coffee for me,” I say.
“Uh, make that two strawberry parfaits,” Hina-chan says.
“You’re not gonna share yours?”
“Nope.”
“Rude.”
She shrugs.
I scowl.
“Then… two strawberry parfaits, I guess.”
The waiter doesn’t seem to care one way or the other, just scurries off once we’ve ordered.
“So,” Hina-chan says, resting her chin in her hand. “Fujimura.”
There it is.
My temples throb a little.
“I know we were gonna talk about it, but can we, like… not make it a whole thing? I really want, like, one normal thing today.”
Her expression softens.
“…Okay,” she says. “Deal.”
Relief hits me harder than I expect.
“Thanks.”
“Don’t thank me yet,” she says, a hint of her usual grin returning. “You still owe me answers.”
“I said I’d talk about it,” I say. “How much I can ‘answer’ is another matter.”
“Yeah, yeah,” she grins.
Our drinks arrive, which buys me a few seconds.
“So,” she tries again, gentler this time. “I’m not upset with you or anything. It’s just a little surprising, is all—I mean, he went from ‘classmate’ to ‘monopolizing my boyfriend’ kind of out of nowhere, you know?”
…Right.
“I guess this is the bestplace to start. Fujimura isn’t… just our classmate.”
“…No?”
“No. Um. He and I used to be friends. Like, really close friends, actually. Back when we were kids.”
Her eyes widen and she blinks. “…Oh. Wow. I had no idea. Were you already in Aokawa back then? How did you and I not meet until high school?”
“Oh. No, we didn’t meet in Aokawa. Mom and I moved to Yunohana for a bit. Real small town up in the mountains.”
“Just you and your mom? Dad was already out of the picture?”
“He was… leaving the picture,” I say.
“Ah.”
“Yeah… So anyways, Fujimura and I met through school and baseball and stuff. Then I moved away and we just kind of… lost contact.”
Hina-chan thinks for a moment. “Okay, so you lost contact… But then you both wound up here? In the same city, in the same school, and in the same class?”
“Uhhh yep. Seems like.”
“Wow. Small world.”
“Small province, at least,” I laugh again.
“But still. You two never reconnected or anything?”
“…Fujimura tried once. Last year. But… it just wasn’t the same. We had both changed a lot.”
…I breathe in. Breathe out.
Hina notices. Recalibrates.
“It sounds like a lot,” she says.
I nod.
“Thank you for telling me,” she says.
I force a smile.
Definitely not how I wanted this date to go, but I can’t say I didn’t see this coming.
She silently places her hand face-up on top of the table, and I slide mine into hers.
It’s warm and soft, and I take a second to just… let myself be comforted.
Let her comfort me.
Finally, I take one last deep breath and look up at her again.
She smiles at me.
“‘Normal thing’ time?”
I smile back—less forced this time.
“Yes, please.”
-----
Our parfaits arrive, and we fall back into an easy rhythm—bickering over toppings, trading bites of our identical parfaits, sometimes just sitting in comfortable silence.
By the time we’ve both finished our parfaits, I’ve apparently yawned one too many times, and Boss Hina-chan sends me home.
One bus nap later, I climb up the stairs to my apartment and let myself in.
It’s not late late, but late enough that the hallway’s gone quiet and the whole place has that end-of-day feel to it.
I step inside, slip my shoes off, and—
The TV’s on.
Low. Some variety show murmuring to itself.
Meanwhile Mom’s out cold on the couch, one arm draped over her face like she lost a fight with gravity.
…Right.
The bathroom.
My pulse spikes.
If there’s dye on the tiles, I swear to God.
I slip inside the bathroom and slide open the door to the bath area, already bracing myself for…
Nothing.
I frown.
Take another step in, like maybe the mess is hiding from me.
But nope.
No bottles left behind. No stains. No streaks.
Everything looks fine.
I stand there for a second.
…Huh.
I don’t know what I was expecting, exactly. This is what they agreed to.
I just… hadn’t really believed them.
…
Well, whatever.
I have homework to do.
-----
It’s Fujimura Ren—nine years old and just finishing up with my first ever baseball practice!
It was fun, for the most part. Lots of throwing and catching and discovering I’m not as good at either as I thought.
But looking around, it was pretty clear I was in good company, so I don’t feel quite as bad. We can all work on it together!
I’m reaching for my phone to call Mama when I spot Sakuragi-kun off to the side, and…
I still feel really bad about that time at school.
I should probably… say something.
Like… apologize.
Or something.
I mean…
I could just leave.
That’d probably be easier.
For both of us.
But…
No.
I jog over before I can think about it too much.
“Um—Sakuragi-kun?”
He turns, looking a bit surprised at… someone talking to him, maybe?
“I, uh… I’m sorry!” I say as I bow quickly. “About before at school. I kinda just… said stuff, and I shouldn’t have, and I’m really really sorry.”
He blinks at me.
Then rubs the back of his neck.
“And I kind of… shoved you… that day. So… I’m also sorry.”
…Oh.
I wasn’t really expecting him to apologize back.
Do I… still say ‘I forgive you’ in this case? It’s never happened to me before!
We both just kind of… stand there for a second, silently staring out at the field together.
…Right.
Um…
“Okay, well…” I dip my head a little. “Um… see you!”
I turn to go.
“Who was your partner?”
I stop.
Turn back.
“Huh?”
“Your partner,” he says. “Like… during practice?”
“Oh! Tanaka-kun.”
He makes a small face. “Ah.”
“…‘Ah’?”
“He’s not the best catcher,” Sakuragi-kun says, which feels a little harsh.
I laugh a little. “I’m not a great thrower, either, so…”
“Oh,” he says.
Another silence follows.
“I could… help,” he says eventually. “If you want.”
I blink.
“…‘Help’?”
“Like… show you some stuff. Or whatever.”
I smile.
“Okay!” I say, probably a little too fast. “Just let me text my mom, okay?”
He nods.
I shoot off a quick text to Mama, only to see Sakuragi-kun already holding a baseball.
“You ready?” he asks.
I nod and follow him onto the field.