Moment in the Sun

Ichiro could not for the life of him explain what he was feeling at that moment.

“Can you believe it?”

“Man, whatever.”

“I am being serious here!”

Ichiro chuckled as he watched his friends' conversation go nowhere fast. They strolled along the sidewalk, casually kicking fallen cherry blossom petals aside. Throughout their banter, they engaged in playful fights, shouting, and their laughs echoing across the streets.

It had been a week since the last time he was at practice, and it made him feel utterly terrible. But no matter how much he tried to apologize to his team for not being there to practice with them, they politely told him it was fine. It was still incredibly early in the season, and they knew if they wanted him to be at the top of his game, they would have to let him have the time to heal up first. Though he greatly appreciated the sentiments they were giving him, he couldn’t help but feel hollow inside, knowing he was missing out on so much in such a short amount of time.

Still, his friends acted as though he hadn't missed a thing. They filled him in on all the details of what he hadn’t been there to witness firsthand.

They recounted stories of the coach making them run extra laps for goofing off, freshmen struggling to keep up with powerful hits, and stupid pranks pulled in the locker room, which is what got them in trouble in the first place.

As Ichiro laughed and joked with his friends, a nagging feeling tugged at his heart. He did his best to suppress it and continue enjoying the laughter.

“But seriously, dude,” Takuya exclaimed, almost jumping onto Ichiro's shoulder but being cautious not to re-injure his buddy, “You have to admit, he's been a good replacement so far.”

“Is Ishida really that good?” Ichiro chuckled, giving his friend a sidelong glance and attempting to brush his friend’s weight off him.

“Oh, nowhere near as good as you, man,” another player chimed in, “but he's really stepped up and shown us he might be able to catch up to you one day. Right, Ishida?”

Trailing slightly behind the group of seniors was a junior. With his shaved head and glasses, he stood out among the mostly casually dressed and unkempt older teens leading the pack.

“It's nothing.” Ishida replied, averting his gaze and focusing on anything other than his upperclassmen as they playfully teased each other.

Ichiro felt a bit perplexed by his junior's reactions. He had witnessed Ishida's efforts during practice. Among all the younger players, he could confidently say this Junior was the most skilled, even if he happened to be the shortest as well.

The idea to try to work with Ishida and train with him, a hope that they would both increase their own natural talents against each other, had danced across his mind before the season took off in full swing. But that never had the chance to come to fruition, as the day he was going to ask for Ishida’s input on the plan was the same day he hurt his shoulder. So instead he turned to look over his shoulder at the shorter boy following along just behind him.

Raising an eyebrow in confusion, Ichiro attempted to read his enigmatic underclassman, but Ishida remained silently shrouded in mystery beyond what he displayed on the baseball field.

As Ichiro studied him, Ishida's gaze cut through the corners of his eyes. Though partially obscured by his glasses, Ichiro was certain that Ishida's eyes were solely fixed on him. In that brief moment, there seemed to be something intense in that gaze, although Ichiro couldn't be entirely certain, as Ishida quickly averted his eyes again.

Furrowing his brow, he wondered what he had witnessed when someone accidentally bumped into Takuya, who was still holding onto Ichiro and nearly causing him to stumble.

“Come on, guys, I am still on injury reserve,” Ichiro chuckled and playfully pushed Takuya back into the group.

“Oh, yes, our delicate prince,” another teammate chimed in, jokingly pushing Takuya back onto Ichiro while everyone laughed.

“Why am I the only one being shoved around?” Takuya protested, attempting to break free from their playful harassment.

Although Ichiro joined in the laughter, playfully pushing his friends along with them, for some inexplicable reason, he felt a sudden disconnect from them at that very moment. As though, even if he was the center most of their crowd walking down the street, he was watching them passing by on the other side of the road.