Miyuki was not the only person in particular who was worrying her. Sawamura was starting to worry her too. So much that she was having difficulties concentrating on the final match between Inashiro and Komadai Fujimaki from South Hokkaido. Unlike the rest of the team who were engrossed with the match. Even the coach didn't take his eyes off the TV screen from the meeting room. She felt bad because her brother was playing one of the most important matches of his baseball career. And she knew that she had to give him her full undivided attention. However, this final match of Koshien made her realize that regardless of the outcome, the end meant finally moving forward from summer for good. After today, the next challenge is the fall tournament which was another chance for Seido to go to Koshien. After all, that was their end goal and she couldn't let herself get distracted.
Even though Sawamura was already his old self with his loud obnoxious tone and sunny disposition, Azusa had a feeling that he was not 100% back to normal. His performance during the scrimmages was a bit concerning for her. Although he had always had an issue with his control, his pitches were a little too wide for her liking. For now, it was working since they have not had games against any higher level team. But if he didn't change that then his pitching wouldn't work against a match of the likes of Ichidai, Inashiro, or Yakushi.
Azusa hoped that she was overthinking this matter and that it wasn't a bigger problem than she thought she was. It could probably just be that he is still readjusting and working out some kinks throughout the summer. Which was totally normal, and she hoped that it was the case for his sake.
' And for the team's sake too,' she thought.
Sawamura was an integral part of the team, and the overall performance of the team would decline if something were to happen to him. Especially now that the team was going through a transition period to establish the new team since the third years retired. They would need to become stronger if they had any hopes of winning the fall tournament.
Because of that, she decided to bring up her concerns to Miyuki. If she had that unsettling feeling then there was no doubt that he had been thinking the same thing. It was better to address it now than farther down the line close to the next tournament.
'After the game ends, I'll have to speak to him,' the manager thought. 'Now, I have to pay more attention,' she then told herself.
To her defense, the match between Inashiro and Komadai has gone on longer than she anticipated. They went into extra innings since neither of the teams was backing down. Mei was pitching spectacularly, but Komadai was a tough team with a diverse group of pitchers. Just like Seido they had a four pitcher relay who was holding down Inashiro to two runs. The Inashiro batting line-up has not been able to get used to surpass the different rhythms of the pitchers.
Right now Inashiro was up to bat and they had one more chance to turn the game around if they scored a run. She was a bit nervous for them but deep down she felt confident. There was no way that they were going to lose. That Mei was going to lose. They defeated Seido so they had to win all the way to the top.
There was no way they were going to lose. No Way-
' Wait what?' Azusa blinked in confusion as she watched the Komadai pitcher, Hongou, she thought his name was, strike out the last batter from Inashiro. The narrator was declaring Komadai the winner as the Hokkaido team cheered in excitement. So that means that...
Inashiro lost? Mei lost? She blinked a couple more times. She couldn't believe it. Literally, just a second ago she was so confident that they were going to pull it off and win against Komadai. The team couldn't believe it either judging from the surprised gasps and murmuring that she was hearing.
Azusa took a deep breath, leaning against the door behind her. Trying to calm herself down. She felt a pang in her heart as she watched the camera pan towards Mei. Her older brother had tears streaming down his face that he was trying to hide with his cap. Harada was walking behind him with his hand on his back and a comforting smile gracing his features.
The manager could not imagine how he must be feeling right now.
'Probably heartbroken,' she mused. 'Just like we felt when we lost.'
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
After recovering from the initial shock of watching Inashiro lose Koshien, Azusa did her best to switch gears and move forward just like she has intended since the beginning. For the most part, she accomplished her goal and didn't have any issues with concentrating on her duties. But it would be a lie to say that she was one hundred percent focused. Mei was always in the back of her head since she hasn't heard from him at all since the match ended.
Azusa texted Mei hours later after the game. To give him some time to cool off. She did not expect him to text her right back. But she did at least hope that he would contact her the day after or the day after that. But he has not replied to her at all and she doesn't know anything about his well-being. Not even her mother knew since she asked Azusa if she had spoken to Mei.
She just hoped that he was doing well.
Meanwhile, Seido was being revitalized. After feeling aimless and not being able to bat decisively, the team was fired up since the coach announced that Yakushi asked them to have a practice match. Needless to say, everyone was excited about the upcoming practice game. This was the perfect chance to test their abilities and see where they stand. Haruno was worried about the practice game since most likely they were going to play against Yakushi in the fall tournament. However, the game was more important than the outcome in this case so, it didn't matter.
The team also got a new assistant coach which was interesting, to say the least. Especially since he wasn't part of the alumni. Azusa had an unsettling feeling about him due to his strange demeanor but she could tell that he was capable. He also did not see any issues in playing against Yakushi.
Miyuki also seemed to be in better spirits. He was being a bit more confident with the rest of the team. She even noticed that he took her advice when it came to Nori. He proposed to the sidearm pitcher to help out in practice since he had great control and was more experienced in that area than both Sawamura and Furuya. It was a great catcher-like idea to get Nori back on his feet.
'It wouldn't hurt him to follow my advice more often,' Azusa thought in amusement.
" Ne, Azu-chan?" she heard Miyuki call out her name.
The manager turned to him with a slightly panicked expression. They were walking together to the bus stop like they usually did in the evenings. Usually, she spaces out and he calls her out just like he did right now.
'Did he read my mind?'
"Yes?" Azusa asked instead.
"Have you spoken to Mei?" the catcher asked in curiosity, sparing a glance towards her.
Azusa widened her eyes in surprise and then averted her gaze from him. Not quite expecting that question from him.
"No, I have not," she replied, her cerulean eyes still glued to the ground. "I texted him that same evening but he did not respond. He has yet to respond and is almost going to be three days," she added with concern laced in her tone.
There was a pregnant pause before Miyuki spoke. "I'm sure he is fine," Miyuki said in a reassuring tone. "He is going to reply to your text once he feels ready. Mei is not weak. This is not going to break him."
Azusa looked up to meet his honey brown eyes and gave him a small smile. "You're right," she conceded.
Miyuki grinned. "He is going to come back stronger than ever so you don't have to worry and mope around."
The manager's smile was quickly replaced by a scowl. "Who said that I was moping around?"
"Me," he replied teasingly. "It was obvious. You kept looking at your phone and you have not been as loud as you usually are which was concerning."
Azusa grumbled in annoyance but it quickly dissipated when she realized that Miyuki's teasing meant that he was actually worried about her. And if he was worried about her then that meant that he has been observing her for all of this time.
The manager grinned as warmth spread across her chest.
Perhaps, she was making progress with the cheeky catcher after all.
"You're right again," she conceded again. "He is going to come back stronger than ever," she repeated his own words.
"Exactly," Miyuki nodded. "So we need to be prepared."
"We're still not there yet," she pointed out.
"Definitely not," the catcher said in agreement. "The team still worries me."
"It worries me too," she confessed. "And... I'm also worried about Sawamura," the manager added. "He is not pitching like before. His pitches are too wide."
"Trust me. I know," Miyuki said, looking away while he scratched his head in exasperation. "He needs to work on that because that pitching won't work with the higher level teams."
Azusa nodded, hearing Miyuki voice the same concerns that she had. "I think a match against Yakushi will be helpful, but when it comes to him... Do you think that he will be okay?"
Miyuki stayed silent for a moment as he crossed his arms across his chest. "I don't know," he finally said and then turned to her. "But what I do know is that this game will show us where we stand. It might be scary but without it, we won't know. And if we don't know then there is no way of fixing it and moving forward."
The manager nodded once again. She knew that he was right but it didn't mean that it was any less nerve-wracking.
She just hoped that everything turned out to be alright.
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