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The wide area in front of the karaoke venue was a constant spot for men to loiter in, catcalling at any and every girl that passed. The boutique next door was quite popular with teenage girls, and the only way to access it was to pass by that spot, making the boutique’s customers prime targets. Shinooka knew this, but most of the time she simply passed through the area without making eye-contact or acknowledging the catcalls she received. Unfortunately, this time there was man almost twice her size who wouldn’t let up in his pursuit of her.
“Why don’t we spend some time together, missy?” He continued to ask her as he followed her down the sidewalk.
Shinooka was terrified, but the only thing that she could think to do was continue to ignore him and not show that he was getting to her. That was the plan to which she had been intending to stick. Of course, the older man wouldn’t just let her go, so it was only going to get worse for her from there.
“Oi, listen to me!”
Her mind went blank as the man threw an arm in front of her and proceeded to corner her against the side of a building. Her body trembled in terror as she felt her back hit the wall behind her, her harasser towering over her. She glanced around out of the corners of her eyes, trying to find a way to escape. There was nothing.
“So? How about it, girly? Spend some time with me,” He insisted, the corners of his lips curling up into a twisted grin.
“...alone…” She was trying to talk her way out of this situation, but her voice could barely get above a whisper.
“Ah?”
“Please... leave me alone…” She repeated, still trying to keep from making eye contact with the man. Looking him in the face would do nothing aside from make her even more nervous and give her attacker a thrill.
“The fuck did you just say?” A fist was slammed down next to her left ear. She flinched and curled away, still refusing to look up.
“L-Leave her… alone!” A much smaller hand entered her field of vision along with a voice she had come to know quite well over the course of the past several months. She finally lifted her head and saw her team’s timid pitcher standing next to her, his right hand placed on the older man’s arm like he was trying to push him away from her.
“Mihashi...kun…”
Encountering Mihashi outside of school wasn’t an usual occasion for Shinooka. Most of the time, she wouldn’t say anything to him because he looked like he was busy, probably with errands from his parents. She never thought he had noticed her before. Even if he hadn’t, she was immensely grateful he saw her this time.
“A-Are you okay, Shinooka-san?” He asked nervously, glancing back at her. He looked as terrified as she felt, and Shinooka couldn’t exactly blame him for that. Even though he was taller than her, the older man looked like he was as big as the two of them combined.
“Hah?! You supposed to be her boyfriend or something, midget?”
“Y...es!” He sounded extremely hesitant in his response. She knew it couldn’t have been easy for him to lie like that, but a sudden warmth flowed through her at his single-word confirmation.
Everything suddenly took a turn for the worse when a fist connected with Mihashi’s nose. Shinooka let out a small scream as the baseball player stumbled backward, letting go of the man’s arm and grabbing his face.
“Tch! Fucking weakling.” The guy moved away from Shinooka and toward Mihashi, about to go in for another punch. The manager was desperate to keep that from happening and quickly started calling out for help, stopping the man in his tracks. Her shouting caught the attention of a nearby police officer who began running toward them.
“You’d better hope I never see you again!” Her attacker threatened them both before taking off down the street away from the officer.
By the time he arrived, the man was long gone. Shinooka spoke to him, efficiently recounting the events of what had previously transpired. He tried to talk to Mihashi as well but was barely able to get more than a word out of the boy.
A few minutes after the officer left, Mihashi began to settle down a bit. The manager took this as an opportunity to speak with him. She started off by thanking him for stepping in and then asked him why he did it when he knew it could get him injured.
“Some things… more important than... p-pitching!” Those words, seemingly spoken innocently, sparked something within her.
Never would Shinooka have thought that, out of everyone, the tiny pitcher with no confidence would be the person that she ended up falling for. Saying that it was completely unexpected for her would have been an understatement. It was far from disappointing, though. Mihashi was a kind person, as he had just shown, and someone who worked hard for the things he loved.
When she looked back on past events, it became clear to her. His hard work, as well as his kindness and inability to hate anyone were what drew her to him. He was always working to improve himself, not necessarily just for himself, but also for the rest of the team. He was like sunshine, the blinding ray of light that brought about warmth and happiness to those around him.
It was amazing to watch Mihashi grow as a pitcher, but it was even more amazing to see how his interactions with his teammates had changed over the course of the year. When Shinooka thought back on it, that combination could have been what initially brought about her feelings for the timid boy.
“Mihashi-kun… You know…” She began, grabbing onto the loose sleeve of his sweatshirt. “When you told that guy you were my boyfriend--”
She was cut off as Mihashi let out a loud squawk and immediately apologized for lying about that.
“N-No! I didn’t… dislike it,” She trailed off after mumbling those final couple of words, but she knew Mihashi heard what she said by the way his body stiffened. “In fact… I was wondering if you maybe wanted to… make it the truth?”
As soon as she finished speaking, Shinooka whipped her head upward, looking directly at Mihashi’s face. They stared at each other for a moment, their cheeks an almost identical shade of pink. His eyes were wide and his mouth flapped open and closed soundlessly. Finally, unable to speak, he gave one single, sharp nod of his head.
They broke their eye contact after that, both of them turning their gazes in directions opposite of each other. Neither of them could think of anything to say to the other after that, and both of them stood in silence, just staring off to the side. Mihashi, surprisingly, was the one to break the silence.
“Do you… want me… to w-w-wa-walk you home... Shinooka-san?” He inquired, stuttering in a way Shinooka hadn’t heard since he first joined the team. He really had matured since then, and she found it kind of cute that he was stuttering like this not because he was afraid, but because he was embarrassed.
“Chiyo.” She said simply, a small smile spreading over her face. “Everyone else has started using first names, so… You should call me Chiyo.”
Shinooka could’ve sworn he had stopped breathing while trying to process what she was saying. The cogs of his mind weren’t visible, but when it finally registered, it was almost as if there was a massive explosion inside of Mihashi’s head. His face could have easily been mistaken for a perfectly ripened tomato.
“And I think I’ll take you up on your offer!”