From the Blue

Ichiro couldn’t help his heart as it raged in his chest.

Uncertainty weighed on him as he exited the physical therapy office with his nerves all abuzz. He swallowed hard, wiping his sweaty palms on his pants, as he kept walking away without looking back for a second.

Once he felt he had put enough distance between him and the office, he abruptly stopped. Unsure of even his own next actions, he tightly closed his eyes in an attempt to calm his ragged breathing.

“So, Baseball Boy?” The voice of the person he had asked to follow him outside interrupted his thoughts. Letting out a heavy sigh, he turned around to face her as best he could at that moment. “What did you want to say to me that you couldn’t tell me inside in front of others?” Izumi snickered as she arrived, looking up at him playfully curious.

To be honest, Ichiro couldn't provide a specific answer at that moment. It didn’t make much sense at that time to him either. He was waiting for his appointment to begin when Izumi rolled up and began her normal banter. Feeling his sanity slowly straining, he suddenly sprung to his feet. All he said to her was, “You, me, outside, now.” Without another word, he quickly made his way out of the office.

Now that he was outside, looking down on her right into the eyes, he was desperately racking his brain as to why he was so determined to talk to her like this.

“Or is this,” she gasped, raising a haughty hand to cover the feigned surprise on her lips, “The secret love confession I have heard so much about? I don’t know if my feelings are ready for such a commitment just yet, Baseball Boy. Oh, what would my mother think of me getting married at such a young age-”

“It has nothing to do with that,” Ichiro sighed, trying his best to get things back on track. Though he still wasn’t positive where that track was nor where it would lead yet. “I just… I just was going to say that my last day of physical therapy is tomorrow.”

Slowly lowering her hand, Izumi looked up at the nervous teen with a confused look tinged with disappointment. Her inky eyes burning holes into his own. “Is that all you wanted to say?”

“It means that tomorrow will be the last day I will have to come to the hospital.” Ichiro straightened up slightly as he answered, finally finding a semblance of footing in the conversation. “I won’t have any reason to come back.”

Izumi’s eyes continue to lifeless stare into his for several moments, the sheer weight of her gaze was enough to make Ichiro shudder, but he fought hard to stay strong before her. But within a couple of seconds she scoffed lightly and threw back her hair haughtily, puffing out her chest. “Oh, I see what is going on.” She spoke confidently, placing her hands on her hips, “You are upset that you will have absolutely no reason to be around me anymore. Indeed, yes, that is a very upsetting turn of events, isn’t it? Poor you.”

As she continued to teasingly chastise him, Ichiro began to wonder why he chose to say anything at all. He could have avoided all of this, but now he had to endure her badgering.

“Well, how about this, to make you happy,” She winked at him with a cutesy face while fluttering her eyelashes, “I could let you visit me in my room at the hospital. Anytime you want, in fact. Just give me a heads-up beforehand, and I’ll let the nurses know to let us have our time alone, and then you can-”

Ichiro felt his ability to keep up with her fading faster than he had expected. He raised a hand, hoping to interject amidst her ramblings.

“Why would I do that?”

Izumi came to a complete halt, statue-like, with her mouth left open mid-word. She blinked a couple of times before she slowly turned to face him again, her eyes changing from their glistening excitement to the cold, inky glare he was starting to get used to. “Huh?” her voice was low but very forceful as she asked him her very succinct question.

“I don’t know anything about you. Why would I bother visiting you then?” Ichiro clenched his fist as he answered her back. “Plus, you don’t even know my name, do you?”

Izumi’s neck recoiled only the slightest bit as she continued to glare at him, though her eyes softened slightly as she opened her mouth to speak. But her brows furrowed as she tried and failed to say anything that didn’t start with the letter B.

“It’s not Baseball Boy.” Ichiro cut her off again then bowed slightly, “Ishii. Ichiro Ishii.” He raised his head again, his eyes narrowed on the wheelchair bound girl before him, “You were really quick to introduce yourself, but in the two weeks I have had to be around you, that’s about all I know about you. And you knew even less about me until now.”

The corners of her down turned lips quivered like her wavering eyes conveyed everything Ichiro needed to know. He allowed her a moment to process what he and just informed her of.

“Oh, well, now that you tell me that, I, uh,” she struggled to answer, her eyes darting around, unable to maintain prolonged eye contact with Ichiro as she tried to keep her voice as stern as it was before, “I didn’t think of you when, or rather, I felt it was um…”

“You never gave me your full name, either.” Ichiro interjected, interrupting Izumi's fluttering words. “I had to get that from the nurses.”

For once, Izumi fell completely silent. Her mouth remained open again, but Ichiro could sense that she was slowly coming to terms with the situation as she closed her lips and slumped back into her wheelchair.

After a few quiet seconds, she lifted her eyes to meet his again. It was obvious by the defeat they reflected that she was frustrated, not angry. “You got me. I guess it was true that I never really cared about you. I don’t know why I kept thinking you would be different…” She trailed off, turning her head to the side. Then, with a sigh, she began to reverse her wheelchair and turn away. “Whatever, have fun with the rest of your life. I am out.”

“I am not done yet!”

Izumi came to a halt upon hearing that. Ichiro was relieved that she had listened, but the irritated look she shot back at him left him unsettled.

She glanced over her shoulder at the backside of her wheelchair with a huff. “Do you mind?”

Confusion distorted his face. In response, Izumi nodded behind her. Glancing in the direction she indicated, he realized that his hand was tightly gripping the handlebar of her chair, preventing her from leaving.

“Oh! Sorry!” Ichiro quickly pulled his hand back to his side, his face turning bright red. Izumi kept a sharp eye on him before finally sighing and turning to face him properly again.

“Spill it.”

Ichiro's nerves were getting the best of him, but he pushed them aside and fought to regain his composure.

“I play baseball! I am a pitcher!”

He nearly yelled, attracting the attention of people around them, who looked over in curiosity before shrugging and continuing with their activities. In reply, Izumi furrowed her brows and narrowed her eyes back at him.

Ichiro took a deep breath before continuing. “I play because I want to make a career out of it someday. I hope to attend a good university and play there. And when the time comes to turn professional, my dream is to be drafted into the American League. That's what I've been working towards every single day. These are my goals and I keep my goals in focus and never waver from them.”

As Ichiro spoke, his confidence grew, reflected in his straightened posture and clenched fist. He held his head high, delivering the last part of his testimony with conviction.

Izumi remained silent for a prolonged moment. Her eyes were widened. The inky orbs seemed lifeless for a majority of it. Until they were abruptly cut halfway, and a mischievous grin spread across her lips.

“Oh, those are some pretty lofty goals you have there,” she snickered, flicking her hand dismissively, “You might have to stand on your tippy-toes to reach goals like that.”

Though her words were dripping with a sardonic intent, Ichiro remained tall, unyielding. A fire burned in his eyes, causing Izumi to lower her head slightly, glaring up at him again.

“So? She nearly spat out her words. “Why are you telling me all of this?”

He kept his back straight as he took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. Exhaling sharply as he spoke again. “I thought it would only be fair if I told you mine before asking for yours first.”

Izumi froze, her eyes widening like a deer caught in headlights. She blinked, tilting her head to get a better look at Ichiro, who stared at her intently. “Huh?” was the barely audible response that escaped her lips.

Ichiro repeated, “What’s your dream? You must have something.”

She simply looked at him in reply. For the first time, Ichiro noticed how small she appeared. It seemed like she was shrinking away from him still.

One of her hands came to rest under her chin as she gazed down at her feet, wearing a puzzled expression. She glanced up at him briefly, but quickly averted her eyes, avoiding direct eye contact.

“Do you really want to know?” she asked, her eyes darting upward while her nose pointed towards the ground.

Ichiro only nodded. She continued to stare at him, the corners of her lips turning sharply downward, her brow furrowing in frustration.

Suddenly, she thrust her open hand toward him, her fingers curling as if requesting something, her eyes closed the entire time.

“Lime.”

“Huh?” Now it was Ichiro's turn to be bewildered. He shifted his gaze between her palm and her side turned face a few times.

“Give me your Limeline.” She answered, as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Seconds ticked by before realization dawned on him. Ichiro fumbled to retrieve his phone from his pocket and placed it in Izumi's palm. She, in turn, took out her phone adorned with a cute charm of a goofy looking bear hanging from its protective case and entered his information before handing it back to him.

“Uh, ok?” Ichiro said, taking his phone back and checking to see what she had done, “but what did that have to do with what I asked?”

“Hmm?” Izumi snickered as she tucked her phone away and started to push her wheelchair away once more. “Isn’t it obvious? One of my dreams is to see you play one day.”

“Wait, huh?”

“Izumi?” Right as Ichrio reached out to get more information from the wheelchair bound girl, another voice cut over his, “Where’d you go this time?” Out of the therapy office's front door, a short girl with twin long ponytails, probably about 10 years old, emerged, frantically searching high and low for something.

“Ah, there you are!” she exclaimed loudly, locking eyes with Izumi and rushing over to her. “You know you're not supposed to leave on your own without someone accompanying you for now.”

“Mizuki,” Izumi sighed, rolling her head back, “I’m fine! Plus, I do have some accompaniment.”

The girl with the twin ponytails, Mizuki, looked confused and followed Izumi's thumb, which was already pointing backward towards the bewildered teenager in the baseball cap. He, in reply, looked around then pointed at himself worryingly.

Mizuki studied Ichiro for a moment before circling around and stretching her arms out to create a barrier between him and Izumi.

“I won’t let you kidnap my sister!”

Ichiro's eyes widened as he glanced around, ensuring that no one else had heard what Mizuki said, or at least that they weren't taking her seriously. His hands moved about nervously as he struggled to find words to defend himself.

“Stop it, Mizuki,” Izumi tried repeatedly to swat at her little sister, reaching over her handlebars, “This is Ishii. He’s here for therapy too. We were just talking!”

Ichiro mostly stood still, unsure of what to do, his hands continued fidgeting aimlessly as he desperately sought a sense of normalcy. It took several seconds, but somewhere in the back of his mind, he couldn’t help but feel a warm feeling inside him as Izumi spoke his name.

Finally, Izumi grabbed one of Mizuki's ponytails and yanked at it, causing her to recoil with flailing arms, attempting to break free. “Just push me back to my room, OK?”

After being released, Mizuki rubbed the tender spot on the back of her head before turning around and grabbing Izumi's handlebars. As she began to push, she turned back and stuck her tongue out at Ichiro, just as they reached the entrance of the hospital, disappearing inside.

“Huh?” Ichiro was once again left utterly clueless.