It was his turn to bat.
What was Kiyono thinking? He was only doing it for one person.
He was doing it to save himself.
She tried to find an excuse for her warmly beating heart, then calmly accepted it.
Finally, she thought of herself again.
Eriri subconsciously held her breath as the boy, just like throughout the week, walked into the batter's box with a baseball cap and white batting gloves, his stance relaxed.
There were already two outs on the field. If the third batter was also struck out directly by the pitcher, the situation would likely become one-sided. But he didn't seem to care about any of that. He just tightened his grip on the bat. Perhaps it was her imagination, but she felt Kiyono glance at her and smile.
I'm going to break through this wall, he seemed to be telling himself.
First pitch, a ball.
Second pitch, an outside curveball. He swung and missed. A strike.
"Don't make such a cool face if you're going to miss the ball!"
Although she knew one or two strikes were nothing, her heart couldn't help but feel anxious.
Third pitch, an inside fastball. Sparks seemed to fly from the metal bat as he hit it foul.
The situation seemed to be temporarily stalled. At this moment, the opposing pitcher wound his arm dramatically, and Kiyono tapped the ground twice with his bat. This pitch would decide the outcome.
Kiyono took his batting stance, his eyes seemingly sparkling, just like that day, Eriri thought. Seeing this, her heart filled with blind confidence, certain that he would—
Time seemed to slow down, incredibly slow.
Kiyono's falling sweat, the light reflecting off the metal bat, the flying white ball, the motion of raising the bat—everything slowed.
Then—
Clang!
An incredibly familiar crisp sound echoed in her ears. The girl subconsciously looked up, watching the white ball fly high. That white ball was like milk, turning her vision into pure white.
This moment, undoubtedly, was for Sawamura Eriri.
To make her bravely take a step forward.
To make her honestly face herself.
After a brief two or three seconds of the world freezing, deafening cheers suddenly erupted.
It was strange. To achieve something like this in just one week—this idiot clearly had terrifying talent, didn't he? Wasn't she disheartened precisely because of this aspect of the boy?
But—
Crash—a sound of shattering.
That high wall had a large hole punched through it by his passionate hit. Fresh air blew in from the other side, intoxicating her.
Although he hit a home run in the first inning, besides Kiyono, there was still an overwhelming difference in strength between the two teams. By the seventh inning, Soubu High was on the verge of complete defeat, needing only one or two more mistakes.
Every player on Soubu High seemed to have given up. They no longer tensed their bodies, no longer challenged with all their might. They were either casually relaxed or silently bowed their heads in avoidance, as if afraid to meet the gaze of others, performing only mechanical movements.
Facing players whose talent, effort, and ability far surpassed their own, and with the situation on the brink of collapse, they seemed to have no reason to continue.
"Give up. This is it. Lack of talent can't be helped." She could read the hearts of these people.
"How embarrassing, how shameful," Eriri felt from the bottom of her heart.
But she wasn't thinking that the players on the field were embarrassing; rather, through these players, she saw herself—the self who, when faced with difficulties, only thought of retreating.
Ahead was a dead end.
However, there was only one person.
Only Kiyono stood there, constantly swinging his bat, swinging, running. His expression wasn't one of obsession with winning the game, but he still wore a brilliant smile, resolute and never giving up.
Was it because he was an external player, indifferent to winning or losing, just enjoying the game? No, he had put in all his effort to convey his words to her heart. He was treating this game with utmost seriousness.
Ah, she suddenly understood. Kiyono had always been like this. Faced with difficulties, he never avoided them but confronted them head-on.
Clang!
The sound of the bat hitting the ball and the sound of the high wall shattering occurred simultaneously.
The high wall deep in her heart shook more and more violently, trembling incessantly.
Clang!
"Foul ball!"
Just looking at his dazzling appearance made it clear.
She was a coward. Since that day, she had been deceiving herself. Whether it was the problem with her childhood friend or the problem with her drawing, she had always been avoiding them.
In truth, she was just afraid—afraid of being hurt, afraid of important people being disappointed in her, terrified that after giving her all, she would still receive no reward. So afraid that she only dared to run away from problems.
She wasn't jealous of Kiyono's talent. It was just, just… she hated this self who ran away out of fear.
She had always been afraid to face the dark, sticky emotions deep within her heart, and as a result, she had been deeply mired in pain. But actually…
Clang!
As if responding to her feelings, the ball flew high again.
"I really love drawing."
Clang, crash, crash, crash, crash.
In fact, that high wall wasn't what she perceived as talent or ability; it was her fear, her weakness.
Now.
Now—
The wall in her heart had disappeared.
The world felt so refreshing.
She had always hoped someone would notice, hoped someone would tell her. She wanted to honestly face herself, move forward bravely, without regret—
The game reached its decisive seventh inning. Unbeknownst to them, the other players were infected by the boy's enthusiasm, rekindling their passion and full effort, battling the opponents. Then, it came down to the crucial last pitch.
Eriri could no longer suppress the burning emotions in her heart. She stood up from her chair, clenching her fists tightly.
She took a deep breath.
"Go, go, go, go, go."
Was she saying this to herself, or to Kiyono? It didn't matter.
"—Go!!!"
She yelled, letting her voice resound across the field along with the high-pitched sound of the ball.
Kiyono heard her voice, looked at her, and grinned.
He raised his bat as if to use all his strength.
This ball would definitely—
—Thump-thump, thump-thump-thump.
The sweet sound of her heartbeat lingered in her ears, refusing to stop.
Shortly after the game ended, Eriri couldn't control herself and ran directly into the players' tunnel.
The moment she entered the tunnel, her vision dimmed considerably, and the air suddenly became much colder, but the emotions in her heart hadn't cooled at all.
Someone was leaning against the doorway, a metal bat beside him. Sunlight streamed in from the tunnel entrance, illuminating half of his face and leaving the other half in shadow.
He seemed to be waiting for her.
Eriri subconsciously stopped, feeling her face and heart burn, her mind blank, unsure what to say.
Ah, I ran over impulsively. Isn't this exactly like a girl who can't control herself and confesses? What should I do?
But if she didn't do it now, she would definitely regret it for the rest of her life, so she had no regrets.
Silence fell between them for a moment, leaving only their breathing and the sounds of baseball from the field.
At this moment, Kiyono finally spoke with a smile.
"Was I cool just now?"
He said something like that again, but… he really was cool.
However, the girl just looked at Kiyono, flustered, her pupils trembling, unable to utter a single word.
"Did my feelings reach your heart?"
They reached it, they reached it. You're all I dream about.
He smiled.
"Has the flame in your heart rekindled?"
Idiot, it's already a grand fireworks display, burning throughout my entire chest, and it will never go out again.
Eriri lowered her head, pressing her hands to her chest, a deeply moved smile on her face.
"I don't really understand the value of talent and dreams, because I never had the right to pursue them before. I was worried seeing you passively close yourself off, but life is heavy, and words are light. I always felt that light, airy words couldn't awaken your passion, so I only thought of this method."
Seemingly embarrassed to say such serious things, Kiyono turned his face away for a moment, then gazed at her again.
"Most importantly… aren't you Sawamura Eriri?"
His eyes were incredibly bright.
"You know how much effort you've put in. Isn't drawing the most important thing you've invested in in your life? So—"
Kiyono took a deep breath. He picked up the bat by the wall, rested it on his shoulder, took two steps back, his eyes burning with a passionate light.
Just then, a huge cheer suddenly erupted from the field.
Amidst the tsunami-like shouts—
"Idiot! Don't give up!"
The boy swung his bat as before.
"Hit the difficulties back like you hit a baseball!"
He showed an incredibly brilliant smile.
In an instant, tears streamed down her face.
She couldn't control her tears at all.
This person was truly too warm, too gentle, too strong.
When she came to her senses, she had already uncontrollably pounced on him.
They both fell to the ground, the dropped bat making a clunking sound.
The mingled scent of dirt, sweat, grass, and rust wafted over. She felt she would never forget this smell in her entire life.
Eriri's lips trembled, opening and closing, but no sound escaped.
Say it quickly! You can do it now! Say it!
Then—
"I will face everything with passion and effort. Whether it's embarrassing, or getting hurt, or feeling discouraged, or not seeing the road ahead, I, I…"
She should have said more, conveyed her feelings, but she only managed to say these fragmented words.
She propped herself up with her hands.
"I will never avoid or give up again!"
Tears wet his face.
The spark he painstakingly delivered, the spark she received from him, would surely transform into a strong, beautiful, ever-burning flame that would never extinguish.
"Yes, you can definitely do it. Go, go."
"…Thank you for not giving up on me, thank you for saving me, thank you, thank you."