[Short Story] The Lounge at Dawn (Part 2)

“…I want to play baseball.” Suddenly, Yuujirou opens his mouth to speak. “I see.” “And you will have to catch my balls again someday. So please be more careful from now on.” He grabs my wrists and looks at my burnt palms with a somber expression. “Your hands are important… I really want you to be careful with them…” “……I understand. I’m sorry……” Feeling guilty for his trembling voice, he lets go of my wrists and sits back down. Considering what I did in the first place, I have no right to make him worry. Only now does his kindness bring a slight pain to my chest. After a moment of silence, Yuujirou suddenly puts his head on my shoulder. “H-Huh……?” I was confused at first, but I understood why as soon as I heard the sound of him sleeping. I guess he couldn’t fight his drowsiness any longer. “Dammit, didn’t I tell you to go to bed……?” Could I carry him to one of the bedrooms, even though I have burnt hands? “……Well, if this is how it has to be……” I keep his head on my shoulder and lean back in my chair. His breaths tickle my collarbone, but I guess it’s not so bad to spend the night like this. Now that I think about it, the time I spent with Yuujirou on our team was so short. We’re two years apart, so we could only be on the team together for six months. We weren’t just connected by our team with us living in the same village and being childhood friends, but it was still a special experience. Each day was fulfilling, and I thought it would last forever, but before I knew it we both have started missing it. Will we continue to not play baseball? ……No, of course not. We both love it so much after all. We have such a desire to play that there’s no way that will happen. There’s grass-lot baseball. We have Sousuke and Kuugo, and if we get the word out, more people will join us. I just want to be on a team with Yuujirou again and play with the people I care about. With just that, there should be a way to do it. ……Every once in a while, I get jealous of soccer players. Even if there aren’t enough people for a team, all you need is a ball to play a simple game. It’s easy and flexible, and it’s open to anyone. That’s why people are familiar with it even in the poorest of countries. On the other hand, baseball is out of the question if there aren’t nine people on each team. There’s so much that needs to be prepared, including the equipment. It’s far from cheap, certainly making it a sport with a high barrier to entry. I still love baseball though, so I guess that’s just something I must put up with. Its allure won’t let that high threshold make me give it up. “Mm…………” Half asleep, Yuujirou shifts his body. I stop him from slipping off me by catching his with my hand. Didn’t I say that hurts, you idiot? “Gou-senpai…………” “What? “…………” “…………?” I thought he woke up, but I guess not. Even though I’m right next to him, I don’t bother to ask him what he’s dreaming about. However, it makes me feel comfortable enough to be able to sleep like this, and I start to feel a little drowsy as well. His sleepiness is contagious. My hands still hurt, but I think I can fall asleep now. I place my head on Yuujirou’s as he leans on my shoulder and close my eyes. “…………” “……………………” --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- “Gou-senpai, please wake up, Gou-senpai.” Yuujirou calls my name, pulling my consciousness out of its slumber. “Come on, the sun’s already up!” Sunlight glowing softly through the milky sky pours into my opening eyes. A cool and somewhat salty sea breeze blows through the window. I seem to have slept all the way until dawn. “It wasn’t that long, but I got a good night’s rest, Gou-senpai.” Getting a “good night’s rest” in a chair is quite the feat. It seems he put my head on his shoulder after he woke up, as it was sticking to his clothes and my drool was running down them. “S-Sorry.” “It’s okay. The same thing happened with me.” “Hm……?” When I take a close look, I can see the fur on my shoulder also got sticky with his saliva. “……It certainly did.” “Heh heh heh……” As Yuujirou nervously laughs, the sound of his stomach growling echoes throughout the Lounge at the same time. “……I’m hungry.” “Me too.” “I’ll make something.” “Since when could you cook?” “I’ve been helping out here long enough to know!” “And by “helping out” you mean being a waiter…… Oh well, I can’t make anything, so go ahead.” “Leave it to me!” Yuujirou rises and makes a dash for the kitchen as the morning sun illuminates his back. For some reason, that back looks just a bit bigger than I remember. ......I start thinking again. It doesn’t matter if I retire from the team or quit baseball. He is my kouhai, and I am his senpai. We help each other when we are in trouble. We lift each other up when we feel down. When things get difficult, we are there for each other. That’s how Yuujirou and I are as teammates, childhood friends, and senpai and kouhai. I can confidently say that will never change. ……So, should I go as far as to give him advice in the kitchen too? Even fried eggs will give him trouble. I’ll go teach him how to properly make a good breakfast. After all, I am his senpai. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------