Upon returning back home after the win, Daichi was feeling drowsy. If it wasn’t for Ken’s insistence, he would have gone straight up to his room and hopped into bed without another word.
However, he did his best to eat some food, trying to ignore the throbbing pain from his wrist. But this wasn’t the worst part. His parents and Miho were fawning over him the entire time, asking plenty of questions about the tests and scans.
He had to lie to those who cared about him, something that he didn’t enjoy one bit. But this made him realize that what he was doing now was not so different than what he’d been doing before.
While it wasn’t outright lying, he had hidden the fact his left hand was injured. This was just as bad, if not worse, Daichi understood that now.
“I’m heading to bed.” He announced, letting out a yawn.
After saying his goodbyes to everyone, Miho quickly followed behind and helped him get undressed once they got to the room. She tucked him into the bed and placed a kiss on his forehead.
“Get some rest, I’ll come to bed soon.”
Daichi smiled softly at her, “Don’t worry, I’ll be fine when I wake up tomorrow.”
Miho was about to reply, but she saw that Daichi’s eyes were now closed, his steady breathing audible in the quiet room. A worried expression appeared on her face before she collected herself.
“Sleep tight.” She whispered, closing the door softly behind her.
***
Daichi tossed and turned in his sleep, his sweat soaking the sheets underneath him.
He opened his heavy eyes and glanced around the room, only to realize that this was not his room in Detroit. It was however, a room that he was familiar with.
Yet as he gazed at this familiar room, he did not feel any warmth or nostalgia. All Daichi could feel was a lingering sense of dread.
Just as he was questioning his sanity, the room door burst open, startling him.
“So you’re just gonna sleep all day!? Do you think this is a just a holiday home?”
The smell of alcohol filled the air, its scent overpowering. Out of reflex, Daichi sat up from the bed in a fit of panic and was about to apologize, but someone else did before he could.
“Mom, I’ve been studying. I’ve done all my chores already, I promise.” A meek voice replied, causing Daichi to freeze.
He turned his head, only to see a figure seated at his desk with a few textbooks open, clearly studying. The sight caused his eyes to widen in confusion as he stared at his younger self.
“Don’t you be smart with me you little twerp…”
Daichi’s mother entered the room, stumbling as she almost tripped over his bed. This only seemed to make her angry and without warning, she lashed out, hitting him on the left arm.
The younger figure of himself flinched, but he didn’t utter a sound of complaint, “I’m sorry mom, I won’t let it happen again.”
But his mother didn’t seem satisfied with just this. She grabbed the back of his chair and used all of her strength to try and knock it over with the younger Daichi still in it. Unfortunately, the young man was far too large for this to work.
“YOU BASTARD! HOW DARE YOU TURN AGAINST ME!” She screamed, going into a drunken rage.
Seeing all this, the real Daichi felt his anger burn. However, there was something that seemed off. Originally he had thought this was his memories, but he did not remember such a thing occurring.
As the younger version of himself struggled to endure the hits, it was as if something snapped. Instead of covering his head, the teenager stood up, baring his fangs.
“THAT’S ENOUGH!” He bellowed, grabbing his mothers arms and preventing her from beating him any longer.
Both the real Daichi and his mother were shocked at the situation. The latter because this was the first time her son had spoken back to her so aggressively and the former because he was now certain this was not his memories.
For a moment fear was present in her face, but it quickly turned to anger.
“You can forget going to Osaka for that baseball thing. I won’t be supporting such an ingrate any longer.” Sachiko said, finally managing to pull away from the grip of her son.
She stormed out of the room, leaving Daichi and this younger version of himself in the room together. The latter fell back into his chair and cradled his head in his hands, tears slipping through his fingertips as he silently cried.
BUZZ BUZZ
The phone rang, breaking the atmosphere.
The teenager picked up his phone and his face changed upon seeing the caller.
“Hello?”
“Oh hey Ken… Yeah I’m all set for Koshien next week.”
The real Daichi raised his eyebrow in confusion, still not understanding what was happening.
“Is this a dream?”
But before he could continue to question it, the scene changed.
All of a sudden he was in a locker room with a bunch of teenagers. At first he didn’t recognize anyone, but then some familiar faces appeared.
“Hiroki? Yusuke? Why am I in the Yokohama locker room?” Daichi mumbled.
It was then that he saw his teenage self seated alone on one of the benches, talking to the coach of the team. He approached, wanting to listen in to the conversation.
“How are you feeling Daichi?” Coach Hanada asked.
“I’m doing good thanks coach. Thank you again for giving me a place to stay.”
“Don’t mention it. I’ve talked to a detective friend of mine about searching for any living relatives that might be able to take you in, but in the meantime you’re welcome to stay.”
‘I’m living with Ken’s High School coach? Just what the hell is going on!?’ Daichi screamed inwardly.
“Damn it! I need to wake up!” He shouted in the middle of the locker room, but not a soul heard him.
