Goodbye

Dear readers, this story is not one with a happy tematic, it contains death of a character, if anyone is sensitive towards the subject please do not read this.

As well as if you do not tolerate gay relationships (though is just a mention) please abandon the fic right now.

The characters belong to Yuuji Terajima-san but the story is entirely mine.

Enjoy~~~

Goodbye

The soft and steady beeping of the Heart-Rate machine was the only thing disturbing the peace in the room where the young Eijun Sawamura was resting quietly, his body relaxed as if he was casually sleeping after a hard day of practice, but the truth was that the boy wasn't even breathing by himself, the machine was the only thing that was actually keeping him alive.

It had been a week after the accident and Sawamura still did not show any sign of improvement, his condition at least was stable, but the doctors where reluctant to wake up the boy of his induced coma state, fearing the boy wouldn't survive at all.

Eijun was brought by emergency and immediately admitted in for surgery after he was hit by a ball after a bad pitching he made, sending the ball straight to the center of the home plate, an easy target for the batter, who swung with all his force and send it flying straight to the center, taking Sawamura off guard and hitting him directly on the head

The force of the impact fractured his skull, causing internal hemorrhage, and blackout, and boy was out the second the ball made contact with the right side of his head, before Eijun touched the dirt of the mound, Miyuki ran fast towards him, throwing his catcher gear to a side to watch the boy carefully, fear taking over him horribly fast. Soon, the rest of the team was near Eijun and the paramedics followed swiftly, taking the injured boy quickly on the stretcher and to the ambulance, going as fast as they could to the nearest hospital.

The game continued after that, but neither Seido nor the opposite team where focused anymore, so Furuya ended the game quickly so they could hurry to the Hospital to see how Sawamura was. Unfortunately for them, when they reached the hospital, Sawamura hadn't got out of surgery.

The air in the waiting hall was thick with tension, sorrow and dread, Miyuki was staring at the wall, thinking about nothing as the hours passed, saying a few goodbyes to most of the people of the team who had to study for exams. The coach Kataoka, Rei, Kuramochi, Maezono, Haruichi, Furuya and Miyuki where the ones left in the hall, waiting for any news of how Sawamura was.

It wasn't until another hour that the doctors finally came out of the room, looking pale and tired, trying to compose themselves before facing the coach of the team to inform him about the state of the boy.

Miyuki listened every single word the doctors said to Coach Kataoka and Rei, feeling like if a huge stone had just fall over him when the doctor said that the chances that Sawamura survived where near null.

Kuramochi glanced towards Miyuki and felt his heart hurt at the look of desperation and fear in his eyes, trying to conceal it from everyone else behind his bangs and glasses, but Kuramochi had known him for a while now, and picking up on his mood swings was actually easy for his keen eyes.

Yo, c'mere for a sec - Said Kuramochi, pulling Miyuki's dead weight with him towards the bending machines that where far back from the visitors room they were in, buying two sweet beverages for both of them, feeling that Miyuki was about to enter a shock due to all that happened today.

Kuramochi didn't muttered a word after handing him the can, watching him taking a few sips and sigh deeply, closing his eyes for a moment, letting it all sink in even deeper, his body tense with fear.

He's gonna be ok, he's a strong one - said Kuramochi, his voice low and steady, concealing his fear himself, knowing that his friend didn't need to know that he himself was scared as well. Kuramochi eyed him again, catching a single tear run over his cheek before he excused himself to the bathroom, handing him the can without meeting his eyes as he walked past Kuramochi, shutting the door closed quickly after he was in, Kuramochi walked towards the coach and Rei to hear a but more about his roomate's condition, regretting his choice when he saw the coach's stern face filled with sorrow and Rei on the verge of crying.

They weren't allowed in Sawamura's room until two days after his surgery, despite the fact that the boy was in coma and couldn't actually respond to a multitude on his room, the doctors wanted check the boy's condition was stable, preferring to avoid an awful breakdown of his patient's health when his teammates were there with him.

Miyuki skipped practice and classes’ every day, walking from the school to the hospital every morning to sit beside Sawamura's bed, and returned every night after the nurse deemed closed the period of visiting. Kuramochi was not only preoccupied for his roommate, he was also starting to get worried about his usually teasing friend, Miyuki was quiet the last few days, barely uttering a good morning to their coach or to thank for the food, he didn't make any bad jokes or mocked people like he usually did. Kuramochi was starting to feel like he was losing Miyuki as well with this accident.

When he opened his eyes and his sight was met with the hideous white color of the hospital's room, blinking a few times to adjust to the hard light, he moved his head around his right side and saw a few machines working steadily, following the tubes of his arm to the machines a few times to actually realize that they were connected to him, measuring his condition and providing him of oxygen.

Sawamura was nothing but confused, moving a little more without feeling anything at all, his mind working furiously as the fear took over him, sitting up on the bed before taking another look to his surroundings.

Eijun felt somehow moved by the sight he met at his left side. A sleeping figure he got to get used to see every morning after he confessed his feelings almost a year ago now, reaching out for him to tap on his shoulders to wake him up, panicking when his hand passed through him.

Eijun tried once again, trying to convince himself that it was all his imagination, reaching for Miyuki's shoulder more than ten times before he was desperately clawing for everything, his mind going wild at the situation. He couldn't touch a single thing, his hand passed through everything he tried to grasp and failing miserably, the fear and panic pulling tears out of the young pitcher, who got off the bed and turned towards Miyuki, stopping abruptly when he saw his body lying there in the bed, all the tubes coming out of him and connecting him with the machines, falling to his knees suddenly in desperation and confusion, screaming his lungs out while he cried openly on the floor.

He stood there for a while, trying to understand why that was happening. All he could remember was pitching a little off what Miyuki asked and then everything was black after that, not even remembering why he was brought here. He caught Miyuki moving with his peripheral vision, watching him twist from the chair and scrubbing his eyes a little before letting out a heavy sigh and reaching for Sawamura's hand, caressing it softly before a few tears roll off his eyes, leaning on the bed to kiss his hand before saying goodbye, standing from the chair to walk out of the room.

Wait! Don’t go! Please... Kazuya!

Sawamura screamed at Miyuki's back but the taller one couldn't hear him, no matter how hard he screamed, his voice never reached his ears.

Sawamura wished this was all a bad joke...

Two more weeks and Eijun wasn't showing signs of improvement, the doctors called the coach and his family to explain the situation, but none of it was easy for them, Eijun wasn't getting any better, if anything, the boy was more and more close to have a brain death by now.

Eijun's parents stared crying when they heard the news, his grandfather was more collected but the pain was visible in his eyes, wanting to see their little boy once more before deciding what to do.

By the time the Coach Kataoka and Rei reached the school again, the whole Seido was there in front of the car, staring intensely at the both of them before the got out of the car, all their strength leaving them after the saw Rei's face, Kataoka's eyes where hidden behind his usual dark glasses but his stern face giving it up already.

The team was shaken with the news of the possible death of their loud boy, some of them retired after hearing the news, too shaken to stay there holding their tears.

Miyuki was dead on the spot, trying to be strong while his teammates left the gym, making a good effort to stay calm and collected, feeling his heart shatter to pieces with every passing second.

Kuramochi didn't bothered him, he just pulled him out of the gym towards his room, ignoring everyone on their way to the captain's room, shutting the door behind him when they were inside, letting Miyuki fall to his bed to cry in peace, his body shaking visibly on the bed while his sobbing became more audible.

Kuramochi felt bad for his friend, he knew that Sawamura and Miyuki had started dating not long ago, surprising them more than once while they were making out on their room until Sawamura decided to display their affections in Miyuki's room, which was mostly empty except for the few hours their teammates meet there before sleeping. They had hidden their relationship from everyone and practically made Kuramochi swear he wouldn't say a word about it, although the conduct of Miyuki did change a bit after being with Eijun but they didn't show any more than their usual jokes as a battery, so it was comprehensible that right now Miyuki wanted to hide his pain so hard, trusting the green haired boy enough to cry so desperately in front of him.

They spent the rest of the night locked there, Kuramochi got out every now and then to get something to eat for both of them, his attempts to make Miyuki eat failed until the morning after, when Kuramochi lost his patience and practically shoved a piece of bread into his mouth, claiming he wouldn't let him starve because of this, sounding almost like mad mother.

The worst part of the day was to get him to the hospital, today they were going to disconnect Sawamura and the thought itself made Kuramochi helpless, not even daring to imagine how Kazuya was feeling.

They let everyone head first, walking mindlessly through the empty field to calm their nerves some more, waiting for a text from Haruichi, he had asked him to let him know when their teammates started to leave so Kazuya could say his goodbye calmly and with privacy.

Kuramochi entered the room quietly, like he was afraid to wake him up, slapping himself at such a though, he walked near the bed, trying his best to remain calm before sitting down beside him, failing to make one of his usual salutes, praising the young boy, murmuring how good he had been despite having such a loud personality, staring a little to his resting face before saying anything.

Bakamura... you can't give up! Come on! - He said, his voice coming out with a painful tone, trying his best not to scream his frustration between the tears.

Kuramochi-sempai... i can't even... - Sawamura murmured, his voice raspy from the crying and screaming he had been doing ever since he found himself in that state.

The green haired boy put his fist on his chest gently before standing up. I'm gonna miss you... - he murmured and left, allowing Miyuki in the room.

Miyuki slumped on the chair, his face was a mess, his eyes where swollen and red from crying, he had dark bags under his eyes and his hair was a mess, he let out a deep sigh and took Eijun's left hand in his like he always did, not managing to stay composed long enough and started crying against his hand, his shoulders shaking violently.

Sawamura's heart broke at the sight of his boyfriend crying like that, reaching out to caress his back, ignoring the fact that his caresses wasn't actually working on the brown haired boy.

I'm sorry Kazuya... this is all my fault... that you're suffering this much... - murmured between tears, hoping he could have a little moment to actually be able to talk to him.

I don't want you to leave me like this... please Eijun... wake up... - said in between tears, squeezing his hand tighter.

There's so much we haven't done together... so many things i haven't said... - continued, his voice breaking wildly - and now... I won't have the chance to say to you... i would have loved the face you would have made when i finally said to you how good your breaking ball is... or how good you look when you are fired up on the mound, that i love your passion, how good it is when you cheer for us even when you're not playing... how much i love how you look when you steal my jersey in the morning... how much i love you for even just breathing...

I love you so much Eijun... - murmured, his voice barely audible, hiding his face in his hand again.

Kazuya don't...- he stopped when the door opened, the doctors, his parents and Kuramochi entered the room, his mother still crying and everything had finally down on him. It was time to let go for good.

Kazuya-chan, it's time... - murmured Eijun's mother, putting her cold hand on his shoulder to shake him off her son, offering a hug to comfort him for what was coming.

No... Please don't do this! Please! i can get better! Don’t! Mom! Dad! Don’t do this please! - Eijun screamed like crazy, trying to hold out to any of them but that was useless - Kazuya! Was the last thing he could mutter, the doctors disconnected the machines and his pulse became null. Kazuya couldn't take it and left the room thanks to Kuramochi, who took him away by his arm from Eijun's body.

His parents stood there for a while more contemplating their son just a bit more. Miyuki locked himself in his room after they reached their dorm again, not caring about hiding his state to anyone.

He skipped classes and all his practices, not eating or drinking anything for a few days, alarming Kuramochi, who got the spare key and made himself at home in Miyuki's room, making him eat everything he brought for him, claiming that Eijun wouldn't have liked to hear that his beloved tanuki was trying to kill himself by starve.

The team felt heavy and emotionless, missing the cheers from their loud pitcher, who always had a word of encourage for everyone. It took them some time to get over their lost, and after seeing the Coach, Rei and Kuramochi emerge from Miyuki's room they decided to give more time to their captain, not mocking or complaining of his absence after the hard words of their coach, who tried to explain his state to his students without making so much emphasis on the relationship they once held.

Miyuki returned a few days after, looking terrible, but no one made a comment about it, some of them fearing it wasn't right to joke about his state and others for fear of the killing stare Kuramochi had in his face, decided to protect Miyuki from anyone who made him feel like shit right now.

Weeks later, Miyuki was in his former good state, catching like he always did but more quiet and stern, avoiding certain jokes he usually made for Eijun, directing the team like Eijun always told him to do, sometimes smiling sadly at the image of his loud brunette on the mound fighting with Furuya for a chance to pitch for Miyuki, but he had been moving on, learning how to treasure his memories of Eijun without feeling like shit about it, having him on his mind with a small smile was his way of treasuring Eijun like he would have done it if none of this would have happened.

Eijun would always be his most precious memory of his entire life.