Chapter 70: Afterstory & Prequel – 17: Misunderstanding

Even during Golden Week, there’s no rest for us in the baseball club. Today, we endured another grueling practice. Starting tomorrow, the team will head to a training camp in the neighboring prefecture for practice matches—though I won’t be joining. For the first time since entering high school, I’m taking a break from the club. In fact, I can probably count on one hand the number of times I’ve ever taken a break from baseball in my entire life. I didn’t share the full reason with anyone except Obayashi and the coach, but I’m confident that when I return, my growth will put everyone’s worries to rest.

It was 10:30 PM. Normally, I’d be sound asleep by now, but I lay on my bed, staring at the ceiling, unable to drift off. My heart was racing, refusing to calm down. It felt like 20% anticipation, 30% anxiety, and 50% fear. Pathetic. Absolutely pathetic, but that’s the truth. I don’t want to admit it, but I have to. This is the kind of guy I am right now. That’s why I’ve been crushed under the weight of a younger girl’s idealized love and why I’ve made a mess of my relationship with my sister. It’s also why I can’t focus on the baseball that’s supposed to fulfill my important promise to Riko.

Even so, I gathered what little courage I had and took a step forward. Swallowing my embarrassment, I bowed my head to Dad—someone I usually make fun of. Dad cried. I couldn’t fully understand what complex emotions were behind his tears, but he silently patted me on the back with his large, fatherly hand. Then, with tears streaming down his face, he gave me a firm nod.

Tomorrow is the big day. The day I finally say goodbye to the darkness I’ve carried for seventeen years—

“Kyuugo!!”

“Wha—!?”

I jolted upright like a shrimp, startled by Maika bursting into my room with incredible force. She practically dove onto my bed with enough momentum to knock me over.

“W-What’s going on? It’s so late…”

“What’s going on?!”

Maika’s voice faltered, but she stared straight into my face from up close, her gaze sharp and piercing.

“Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“Eek…”

She was furious. Her tone, her expression—everything was pure anger. Over the past month, things between us had been tense, but she hadn’t confronted me directly like this. It had been a while since I’d seen her face this close. Even when she’s mad, she’s cute. Even with blonde hair, she’s cute. She’s just so precious. After all, Maika’s anger is always for my sake.

“I heard it from Ogikubo-senpai. There’s a training camp starting tomorrow, right? But you’re skipping it!”

“Ah… well, yeah… but…”

I’d told Maika and Riko that the camp was canceled. My plan was to leave the house tomorrow like it was a regular practice day and come back pretending nothing was unusual. Dad was in on it, too.

“Don’t lie to me!”

Tears were already welling up in Maika’s eyes. It was clear she was on the verge of breaking down, but she still grabbed me by the collar with both hands, her expression desperate. At some point, she had climbed onto my bed.

“N-No, I’m not lying. I just… didn’t think it was something you needed to know…”

“…Why… why would you…?”

Maika’s wide eyes and devastated expression hit me like a punch. It reminded me of her face when she found out Mom had left us all those years ago.

No way… It’s not that big of a deal, is it? Did she misunderstand something?

“Maika, listen. That’s not it. This is my problem to deal with.”

“Don’t say that…!”

“Huh?”

Her voice trembled, her body shook, and finally, tears began to fall. Through her sobs, she choked out,

“…You’re getting surgery, aren’t you? I just heard from Rumiko-san on the phone. Where is it? Tell me. Where is it? It’s not your shoulder or elbow, right? It’s not your right arm, is it…?”

“…You…”

Rumiko-san—Obayashi’s mom. So she told her… That means Maika—

“W-Wait, Maika—”

“No! I won’t wait! I can’t wait! Why?! Why didn’t you tell me?!”

“Calm down, seriously.”

Maika clung to me, shaking my body as if to snap me out of something. Before I could even react, she climbed onto my bed, straddling me, and leaned down on all fours, pinning me in place.

“You’ve been struggling lately because of an injury, haven’t you? And I didn’t even notice… even though I said I’d take care of everything for you! I’m such a failure as your support!”

“It’s not like that, seriously. Look, just calm down for a sec—”

“Wait… is that why you told me not to become the manager? So I wouldn’t find out about your injury?”

“Huh? No, it’s not—”

Her wide, tear-filled eyes overflowed, and drops fell onto my face. Even as her expression twisted in frustration, her fierce glare stayed locked on me. I couldn’t look away.

“I’m so stupid… If I had ignored you and become the manager anyway, maybe I could’ve noticed sooner. Maybe it wouldn’t have come to this—needing surgery…!”

“Maika…”

“I’m sorry, Kyuugo. I’m so sorry… It was my job to protect your shoulder and elbow.”

“…”

Her anguished face was hard to watch. Maybe all this anger she’d been carrying wasn’t directed at me, but at herself.

“I was such an idiot, being stubborn over nothing. I dyed my hair, acted out, and declared I wouldn’t become the manager… and then I couldn’t back down because of my own stupid pride.”

“That’s my fault for saying it first. If anyone’s to blame, it’s me.”

But Maika weakly shook her head.

“It’s me. All me. I didn’t do it to get thanks or anything like that—I didn’t care about getting anything in return. All I wanted was for you to give your all in baseball, and that would’ve been enough. But I ended up having these dumb, selfish expectations. I got carried away just because you relied on me, like I was someone important… I didn’t know my place.”

“Don’t say that. Don’t ever say that. You’re my one and only partner! You always have been!”

“I wanted to be! I thought I was! But I wasn’t, was I? I let you get hurt, didn’t I? It’s my fault you’re having surgery! If I’d been there, maybe I could’ve—”

“It’s phimosis surgery!”

“What?”

“I’m getting phimosis surgery! The operation is just to cut away excess foreskin!”

“…What?”

“You heard me! It’s just a circumcision! It’s not my shoulder, elbow, or anything like that! It’s just my leftover skin!”

Her shocked expression froze in place, her mouth agape as if she couldn’t process my words. Still straddling me, she stared blankly, tears still streaming. Stop equating phimosis with me!

So yeah, she had completely misunderstood everything. The surgery tomorrow was just a simple procedure to remove excess foreskin and stitch it up. There was no rehab involved—just a week or two of rest because it’d hurt too much otherwise. And honestly, even that much was terrifying…!

“So… you mean…”

“I’m not injured!”

Her big, round eyes widened even more as the realization hit her. Slowly, her face turned bright red from embarrassment.

“But… but you’ve been off lately! Was it really just because of Nakano treating you like her prince?!”

“Exactly! Especially the part where she assumed I was already circumcised! That’s why I’m cutting it off! The excess skin!”

“…!”

“Once I do that, I’ll finally be a confident man! I’m even grateful to Nakano for making me realize it! Without this holding me back, I’ll make it to Koshien!”

“Idiot!”

“Ouch!”

She slapped me. Hard. What was that for?! I didn’t say anything wrong!

“You can’t have the surgery!”

“What? Why?!”

Maika grabbed my collar and started shaking me again. The force caused her to straddle me fully, and the movement made me… feel things. She needed to stop that.

“Do you even get how much courage it took for me to make this decision?!”

This was a major procedure for me! Like Shohei Otani hitting a home run just for my sake level of important! I’m cutting off something I’ve carried for seventeen years!

“Of course I get it!”

“You do? You really do?”

“But! A Kyuugo without phimosis isn’t Kyuugo!”

“What the hell? That’s harsh! Sure, you know about my issue, but still!”

When we were kids, we used to bathe together. Even as we grew older, there were plenty of times she’d walked in on me changing—or more accurately, doing things like posing naked, shadow pitching, or practicing swings. I like checking out my muscles, okay? But because of that, she knows exactly what’s going on down there.

“And that’s fine! You’re fine the way you are!”

“But… isn’t it better if I fix this? Nakano might lose all respect if she finds out. Besides, I want to be a proper older brother to you. I don’t want to make you feel burdened.”

“I’m not burdened at all!”

“R-Really?”

“Obviously! If there’s something about you I don’t like, I’d tell you outright!”

“Fair point.”

“But the things I do like about you—I’ve been struggling to… I mean… never mind! Forget I said that!”

“It’s fine. I didn’t hear anything.”

“Good! You didn’t hear anything! Anyway, stop worrying about Nakano! Who cares about her? What matters is me! I like you just the way you are! It’s perfect! Cutting your skin for no reason is stupid! If you’ve got money to throw around, buy an SBD belt! Or get me a Miele combination steam oven, or a Vermicular rice pot, or Laudemio olive oil from Frescobaldi!”

She had a point. Even now, Maika’s more into cooking appliances than fashion or beauty products. When she’s flipping through catalogs or browsing websites for them, she practically swoons. Honestly, it’s adorable.