Breaking the Ice

Ichiro stood motionless before the sliding doors.

An immense feeling of trepidation and uncertainty nailed his feet in place. Despite the steady stream of people entering and exiting through the doors, he found it difficult to take that first step. The curious glances from passersby only added to his unease, as he wondered what they must be thinking of his hesitation.

Instinctively, he grabbed the bill of his ball cap and pulled it down slightly to cover his eyes. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t will himself forward. A desire to turn and leave was only just being edged out by the simple fear of everything he had worked for fading away.

Clenching his jaw, he gritted his resolve and tugged his cap back into place. Taking a deep breath to gather his courage, he proceeded into the office with determination in each step.

Time seemed to stretch endlessly as he moved forward, inching closer to his destination.

As he stepped into the office, he found himself in a spacious room, mostly open, with partition curtains dividing it into multiple sections. In the center, several individuals were engaged in simple exercises, receiving assistance from nurses dressed in medical scrubs. After checking in at the front desk with the nurse, he was guided to a designated massage area, where cushioned tables were placed.

Taking a seat on the table like he was instructed, Ichiro questioned why he was so worried previously. If he didn’t follow his prescribed physical therapy routine, it could cause him to heal poorly and prevent him from being at his best ever again. Those words had scared him straight, but what was it that filled him with apprehension earlier?

“Hey, it’s Baseball Boy! So you did make it in!”

And there it was. Or rather, there she was. The cause of his earlier trepidation, which he couldn't articulate before, now stared him in the face from just across the massage area.

Wincing hard and saying a silent prayer, he slowly opened his eyes and found her still sitting there. A deep sigh of frustration escaped his lips upon taking in the scene before him.

In this particular area, there were only two patients at that moment. Apart from Ichiro, there sat a young girl, slender in physique, with her legs slightly extended in front of her. A nurse was gently massaging and manipulating her feet, while a sickly sweet smile played on the girl's face.

This girl was also sitting deeply in a wheelchair with a flowy blanket on her lap. Her mere presence was enough to trigger a sense of discomfort back into Ichiro. Something deep within him was making him shutter.

“Why’d it have to be you…” Resigned to his fate, he sighed again, silently accepting the situation.

“What?” the girl in the wheelchair gasped in utter surprise, bringing her hand to cover her mouth. “Are you shocked to find me here, of all places? Or are you not appreciative of me gracing you with my company?”

The nearby nurses stifled their laughter, observing the interaction between the two of them, adding pressure on Ichiro to make a good impression. Struggling immensely, he forced a smile on his cheeks before answering.

“No, I'm happy to see you again. Truly…” he replied, attempting to hide his true feelings from those around him. However, he carefully laced his last words with a hint of disgust, hoping to subtly convey his intentions to Izumi alone. While the nurses whispered quietly, seemingly captivated by the connection between the two teenagers, she playfully cut her eyes back towards Ichiro.

“Oh, I’m so glad you are enjoying yourself, Baseball Boy” she raised her eyebrows mischievously as she spoke, playing with him like a cat would its prey. “I don't usually let commoners gaze at my legs like this, but I'll make an exception for you.”

“Come now,” the nurse currently massaging Izumi’s feet shook her head while focusing on her work, “You shouldn’t tease Mr. Ishii like this. He will only be in for a short while. Should treat him more nicely with the little time you have together, right?”

At first, Izumi began to roll her eyes as she was being lightly reprimanded by her attending nurse, but she froze suddenly. Her gaze slowly shifted from the ceiling to resting solely on Ichiro. Her face had all emotions completely faded from it as her swirling inky pupils drilled directly into his soul.

A cold chill ran down Ichiro’s spine as he wondered what he did to upset her.

But as soon as her blank eyes had begun to bore a hole into his heart, it quickly morphed. In an instant, it had melted for such intensity to a jovial grin that was pushing her cheeks upwards over her eyes.

“Well, while you are here, why don’t we make this more interesting for our temporary guest?”

As she spoke, she raised the blanket draped across her lap, revealing her upper shins and knees. A devious grin danced on her lips as she locked eyes with Ichiro, causing a wave of irritation to surge through his head in response to her taunting remarks. It seemed like she was not going to stop any time soon as the edge of the blanket began moving further up her legs to her thighs.

Though Ichiro felt a rush of heat on his face as she continued, it was ultimately short-lived.

“UUAAAHHHH!!”

Izumi's cry of terror pierced the air as the nurse applying pressure on her leg pushed too forcefully, causing her to lose her balance. Frantically, she tried to stabilize herself by leveraging against the armrest of her wheelchair.

The nurses rushed to her side, apologizing for the scare. As she caught her breath, she gestured for them to give her room. Subtly, she gripped the edge of her blanket and lifted it, covering the lower half of her face.

“A-Actually,” she stumbled over her words, “I don’t feel comfortable with your lecherous gaze beholding my perfect legs. C-C-Can we set a partition between us?”

The nurses exchanged subtle glances with soft giggles between them, acknowledging Izumi's request, and promptly moved one of the curtains to create a partition between her and Ichiro. Before she vanished from his sight, he caught a glimpse of her rosy cheeks.

In a brief moment of clarity, Ichiro quietly thanked the nurse for allowing this separation between them, whether purposeful or accidental didn’t matter.

Unexpectedly, this revelation failed to evoke the emotions Ichiro had anticipated. In any other circumstance, he might have succumbed to a sense of superiority.

However, his chest felt constricted, a small and tight sensation burning within him. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't suppress this feeling. Instead, he gripped his collar, attempting to calm his frayed nerves.

“So you are friends with Ms. Nakagawa, I see.”

“Huh? Who?” Ichiro's head snapped up in surprise, his gaze shifting towards the nurse, who was engrossed in marking notes on her clipboard. As she started to move his arm, testing its current limits, she briefly glanced up towards the recently drawn curtain.

“Yes, it's so nice to see her friends coming to visit her,” she chuckled lightly while continuing her work, “Even if it is under circumstances like this. Poor girl has been here for so long, I thought maybe all of her friends had forgotten about her.”

Ichiro glanced back and forth between the nurse and the tightly drawn curtain, his mind gradually piecing together the puzzle.

Unconsciously, his free hand moved to the bill of his ball cap, pulling it down to cover his face, which was gradually heating up.

“We’re… not friends,” he finally managed to utter, his voice tinged with a mix of frustration and resignation.