What happens after
In the quiet, hushed hallways of the now-empty school, Sanada walks alone. His footsteps echo off the polished wooden floors, the sound a lonely drumbeat in the otherwise silent space. Graduation has come and gone, and with it, the familiar rhythm of high school life. Yet, the specter of one particular face seems to linger in the corners of his mind – Raichi.
Sanada was always aware of the undercurrents that ran beneath the calm surface of their friendship.
The soft edges of Raichi's smiles, his laughter ringing out like a bell in the midst of the clamor and chaos of their baseball games. The way his eyes sparkled when they locked onto the ball, determination and passion burning bright within them.
Those were the things Sanada would miss the most.
In the quiet of his apartment, Sanada finds himself drawn to his old baseball gear. A worn-out glove, a bat chipped and scratched from countless games, and a baseball, once white and shiny, now stained with the dirt of many a pitch. Each item a reminder of the days spent under the sun, of adrenaline-fueled moments, and of Raichi.
He remembers the way Raichi would trip over his own feet in his eagerness to catch a ball, the way he would laugh it off with a sheepish grin. How his face would light up when Sanada handed him a snack after a particularly grueling practice.
Each memory pulls at something within Sanada, a dull ache that seems to resonate with the silence of his new life.
There's a certain comfort in the mundane, in the everyday things that make up a life. The shared lunches, the moments of quiet in the middle of a bustling day, the exchanged glances on the field. Sanada realizes then that it's not just the game he misses, but the simple, everyday moments shared with Raichi.
He picks up the baseball, the seams rough against his fingertips, the weight of it familiar and grounding. He thinks of the team, of Raichi, of the way things used to be, and of the way they will never be again. He's not one to dwell on the past, but he allows himself this moment of nostalgia, this fleeting pang of longing for what once was.
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