15:
He awoke to his brothers’ loud voices and sat up slowly, small fisted hands
rubbing his eyes as he tried to make sense of his whereabouts. He didn’t have
to wonder too long, for the familiar sight of the beautiful garden at their
estate met his widened gaze. The air was sweet with the fragrance of a colorful
sea of azaleas, roses, chrysanthemums, gardenias and so much more, bringing a
small but warm smile of contentment to his features.
“So you’re finally awake, Wolfram darling,” came the soft, soothing voice that
he knew so well. He turned his head a little to meet the smiling visage of his
mother – his oh-so-beautiful mother. She was sitting beneath the large sakura
tree with a book in her hand, still dressed in a pair of white jodhpurs, a red
riding jacket and black knee-high boots. Her thick mane of flaxen hair seemed
to gleam in the sun, her smile as radiant as her son could ever remember. She
reached out to gently brush strands of hair from his flushed cheeks.
“You’ve been sleeping all morning,” she continued. “Would you like to eat
something now?” She pointed to a well-prepared picnic spread on her left. On
the large red and white checkered cloth were large wicker baskets filled with
gourmet cheeses, breads and wines. There were also freshly picked fruits, two
large cakes as well as his favorite bowl of ice cream, waiting for him.
He beamed in delight. “Mother…”
“For crying out loud, Conrad, your stance is enough to make any baseball player
weep! Here…do it like this…”
The voice of his oldest brother, Gwendal, caused Wolfram to look at the other
boys again. His stomach, which had growled with hunger moments earlier, now
churned with envy. It wasn’t fair – not being allowed to play with them. They (Gwendal
especially) kept saying he was too young and would get hurt.
(No, you can’t play with us today, Wolfram. Go back to your room and play
with your toys or something.)
(You’ll get hurt and mother’s going to yell at us if we let you play…besides; you
just got a new train set from Uncle Stoffel. Are you sure you don’t want to go
play with that?)
(No, no, no! How many times do I have to tell you that you’re too little? You
can’t play baseball yet. Maybe in two years I’ll teach you how to throw, okay?)
Wolfram scowled. He knew he could play! He had been practicing on his
own, always watching his brothers and mimicking their motions as best he could.
He knew the basics and the rules. He just wished they’d give him a chance to
prove it to them.
“Mother?”
“Yes, my dear?”
“One day,” he began quietly, raising his knees to his chest and wrapping his
arms around them, “when I grow up, I’m going to be the best baseball player in
the world!”
“Oh my!” The woman laughed softly as she clapped her hands together in delight.
“I’m sure you can do it if you set your mind to it, Wolfram.”
“I’ll show big brother Gwendal and Conrad that I can be better than them!” He
rose to his feet and spread his arms as far apart as they would go; his green
eyes bright with determination. “I’ll practice and practice and practice,
mother! No one’s going to beat me and then everyone in the world will
acknowledge what a great player I am…ouch!”
He spun around to glare at the older boys; Gwendal looked smug and Conrad a bit
sheepish. Wolfram opened his mouth to scream at them, but then noticed the ball
still spinning on the ground and next to his feet.
“Why don’t you stop daydreaming and give us back the ball, Little One?!”
Gwendal yelled, folding his arms across his chest.
“I’m not little!” Wolfram screamed as he bent to do just that. “And here’s your
stupid ball! You just wait! One day, I’ll be better than you! I’ll be the best
and then…and then…ugh!”
With all the strength he could muster in his small body, Wolfram threw the round
white object towards his brothers – secretly hoping it would hit Gwendal in the
head in retaliation. His eyes stung with unshed tears, and he failed to see the
looks of surprise on their faces as the ball flew directly into Conrad’s
waiting mitt. The throw was so hard and fast that Conrad could still feel it
spinning within the glove. He had to remove the glove quickly and tossed it to
the ground, flexing his aching hand as he gave Gwendal a knowing look.
Their little brother was a natural.
“Hmph,” Gwendal scoffed and spun on his heels to look away. “Just a lucky
break.”
“Just one game with us couldn’t hurt,” Conrad said with a warm smile, noticing
that Gwendal was doing his best to maintain his scowl. However, there was no
denying the look of pride which had filled those blue eyes for a brief moment.
“Come on,” Conrad said, nudging him gently. “For a little while…”
“Fine, fine,” came the gruff reply as Gwendal stomped back to their makeshift
baseball diamond. “But if he gets hurt, I’m not taking responsibility. Got it?”
“Got it,” Conrad said with a grin before jogging towards his younger brother
and mother. “Hey, lil’ slugger,” he called out with a wave. “Do you want to hit
a little?”
Wolfram, who was busy scrubbing his eyes again and doing his best not to cry in
front of his mean siblings, lowered his hands to gawk at Conrad in shock. He
hadn’t just…? Conrad didn’t just…?
“So what do you say?” Conrad asked, holding out a hand to the blond. “Come play
with us…”
“And hurry up!” Gwendal bellowed from home plate. “Before I change my mind!”
Wolfram’s responding smile simply lit up his cherubic features. He laughed in
delight and spun around to face his mother, who was grinning with pleasure as
well.
“Mother! I can play with them! They said I can play!”
“Yes, darling, you can,” she replied, her green eyes warm with love and pride
for her young boys. “Now go out there and show them what you can do, hmm? And
if you hit a homerun, mommy will give you a kiss.”
“YES!!” Wolfram replied as he reached out to grasp Conrad’s hand tightly. “This
is going to be so much fun, right, Conrad?”
His brother laughed in response. “You got that right, little brother. This is
going to be so much fun…”
“…so much fun, my ass,” he muttered thickly and closed his eyes as the
medication began to take effect again.
He just wished it would make him stop having such childish and painful dreams.
She found him sitting on the patio with a glass of wine cradled in a strong
hand. He gave no indication of having heard her arrival, his gaze still fixed
on the green bottle of alcohol on the table before him. She could see that it
was a brand new bottle and he was already halfway through it. At this rate, he
was going to get himself drunk without even trying.
“Not bad for a man who wants to drown his miseries in alcohol,” she drawled as
she pulled a chair to sit beside him. “Hope you don’t mind if I take a swig or
two.” She reached for the bottle and drank thirstily from it, unaware of the
sidelong glance she received from impassive blue eyes.
“Aaah, that hit the spot,” she said, burping gently before leaning back on the
chair to gaze into the city’s night sky.
One could barely hear the hundreds of cars or the hustle and bustle of city
life, several floors below them. Up here, it seemed as if they were in another
world – away from reality and trapped in their own illusions, whatever those
might be.
“I met Gunter on the way here,” the redhead muttered as she eyed the object
still grasped in her hand. Long, but well manicured, red-painted fingernails
were a sharp contrast to the green bottle; for a moment, she admired it with
great interest. When no answer was forthcoming from her silent companion, she
shrugged and continued. “He said you’ve been sulking all day and haven’t said a
word to him. He wants to help, you know. You can’t bottle it all up inside…”
“I don’t need anyone’s help,” came the low but cold reply, which had Anissina
raising a brow.
“At least he speaks,” she drawled and took another swig. She wiped rouge-colored
lips with the back of her hand before speaking again. “So Conrad’s left to
bring him back, huh?”
She expected no response and wasn’t disappointed. However, that didn’t deter
her. She had been friends with Gwendal for several years now and was more than
accustomed to his many surly moods. “I still can’t believe that guy got to them
like that. I’m glad he’s finally in police custody…. while hospitalized. It’s
enough to make you wonder just how many psychos are out there. In fact, I think
my company is going to have to improve the current tasers in the market.
Everyone has to protect themselves…”
“It’s all my fault.”
She blinked and turned to look at him. “Did you say something?” His head was
now lowered and he seemed to be staring at the dark liquid in his cup with
acute fascination. His eyes still looked glazed and distant, a look that
Anissina did not like at all.
“Yamaguchi Hiroshi,” Gwendal continued in that same low tone devoid of any
emotion. “I should have known that a bastard like him wouldn’t give up so
easily.”
“What happened with him?” the woman asked quietly, hoping to get Gwendal to
open up a bit more. At least this was a good start. “Why is he so upset with
you?”
“His son,” came the quiet reply. “Yamaguchi Sousuke. He was the first draft
pick last year and looked like he would be a promising player. However, after I
bought the team and had all the players retested for steroid use, it was
discovered that Sousuke had tested positive. Apparently, he had been using
several performance enhancing drugs.”
Anissina gasped softly, but Gwendal wasn’t done. “I gave him a warning, advised
him to go into rehab and to clean up his act. We would keep it out of the press
so as not to tarnish his name, but the stupid kid kept on using them and even
had the gall to sell some to his teammates!”
The cup in his hand began to tremble, and Anissina was sure it would soon break
in half if Gwendal wasn’t careful.
“I began to reduce his playing time. Hell, I even called up Hiroshi to talk to
him about it and the bastard wouldn’t listen. He kept trying to convince me
that his son was innocent and tried to bribe me to get his fucking way. After
two months of this, I finally had enough and cut Sousuke from the team. It was
either that or go to the papers and let everyone know that I had a player who
was using drugs. It would tarnish the Royals’ reputation, but it was a risk I
was willing to take. Who knew?” His voice seemed gruffer. “Who knew the fool
would go this far to get back at me? Using my own brother…fuck!”
The cup flew across the patio and smashed into tiny pieces against the brick
wall. He groaned and buried his hands within his hair, shaking it slowly as if
in great pain.
“You have no idea how…” The words seemed stuck in his throat and he hardly felt
the reassuring squeeze on his shoulder as Anissina moved closer to comfort him
as best she could. “When I heard Wolfram’s scream…I…I was so angry and
yet…so…damn afraid. I couldn’t do anything, Anissina. I was so damn helpless!”
He pounded a fist on the table repeatedly. “If they had done anything worse to
Wolfram…!”
“But nothing worse happened,” she mumbled softly, still caressing his shoulders
gently. “Someone came in and stopped them, right? Do you know who it was?”
Gwendal lifted his gaze and this time it seemed more focused. “Yozak…Yozak said
it was that boy. The boy I told never to touch Wolfram again. Shibuya
Yuuri…only he isn’t really…all he seems.”
Anissina tried not to look as confused as she felt. “Care to explain in
English?”
“Conrad told me the most ridiculous thing -- except now that I hear the same
story from Yozak, I can’t help wondering if there’s really some truth to it.”
She smiled and clapped her hands together. “Try me. You’re looking at a science
nut here, remember? I’ll believe anything as long as there’s proof and it
works.”
Gwendal shuddered. He didn’t need to be reminded of Anissina’s insane
tendencies. He stared at the shattered glass regretfully but soon found the
almost empty bottle of wine thrust in his hand. He gave a small smile and drank
gratefully before clearing his throat. He soon launched into Conrad’s tale of
their reincarnation and Yozak’s hurried account of the Maou’s appearance over
the phone.
When he finished, Gwendal felt even more like a fool than before he had started.
He stared into Anissina’s features, hoping he wouldn’t see ridicule or a sneer
of derision. But to his surprise, she looked lost in thought.
“Anissina…?”
“Hmm…you know…they might have a point there,” she said with a small nod.
Gwendal groaned inwardly, wishing he had more wine…or something stronger. “What
is it now? You’re not going to tell me that you too have had flashbacks of a
past in some castle…?”
“No, of course not!” she cried out with a wave of her hand. “But I do know that
if I’m a reincarnation of someone, she must have been just as cool, smart and
sexy as yours truly. Geniuses like me come around only once in a century.”
“Yes, only one of you is enough for any century,” Gwendal mumbled and rubbed a
hand across his forehead. “In my case, I hope my former self had a much better
time of it than I am now. I can’t believe how fucked up everything is.”
Anissina wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “As fucked up as it is, things
worked out fine in the end, didn’t it? Wolfram might be hurt, but Gunter
reassured me that Gisela said it was just a minor fracture. In a few more
weeks, he should be good to go…”
“But what about the other boy?” Gwendal asked quietly. “He had to be taken
directly to Fuji Memorial Hospital. His playing days…his playing days may be
over, Anissina. I can’t even begin to imagine what he must be going through or
how he will react when he wakes up and learns the news. It will kill him.”
He rose to his feet, sinking hands into the pockets of his dark slacks, to
stand before the low brick wall. A cool evening breeze ruffled his hair as he
stared into the city’s night lights with a pained look in his eyes.
“To a young man who dreams of becoming a baseball player…having those dreams
halted at such a time is the worst thing that can ever happen to him. His life
will be changed forever and he might end up loathing and hating a game that
once brought him pride and joy.”
Anissina joined him, her arms resting upon the cool ledge. “Let’s just hope
that he never changes, Gwendal.”
“Yes…I can only hope so too…”
Yozak sighed heavily and crushed out the cigarette beneath his low-heeled
shoes. He was still dressed as Yolanda, although his character was the farthest
thing from his mind at the moment. The past twenty-four hours were beginning to
take a toll on him as sleep seemed evasive. The events that happened in the
barn were persistent images in his mind and he ran through them over and over
again, wondering if there was anything he could have done differently.
Yes, you should have gone in immediately after the Maou. Maybe you would
have been able to stop those assholes from going after the boys again.
Yes, and that was all well and good, but he also had to remember that the Maou
had given him specific instructions not to come into the building until it was
safe to do so. Yozak, still in awe of the demon king, had not had the guts to
disobey him. He had waited for as long as he could and when curiosity finally
got the best of him, he had gone in a minute too late.
“Fuck it,” he muttered, rubbing a hand over his eyes. “Damn it all to hell and
back.”
He had managed to take down the henchman, punching the bastard until the man
was out cold. All his anger and frustration had gone into the beating and his
knuckles still ached from it. Several phone calls later, an ambulance was on
its way to take the unconscious Yuuri to the hospital, though Gwendal had
insisted that Wolfram be taken to the clinic where Conrad would be arriving to
pick him up. He didn't want his brother out of his sight again and all
necessary precautions to make sure Wolfram was safe would be implemented.
Conrad’s job was to take him back to the family estate as soon as possible.
Their family doctor could take care of the rest if anything more needed to be
done.
“Yolan…Yolanda-chan?”
“Huh?” Yozak began in his normal speaking tone before realizing who had called
him. He pushed himself away from the wall and tried to smile as warmly as he
could at the two pale young men standing before him. He recognized them as Wolfram
and Yuuri’s companions on the field trip…although their names escaped him now.
“Ah, hello boys,” Yolanda spoke amiably enough. “What brings you here tonight?”
Yoichiro took a step forward. “We were just wondering if Wolfram was finally
awake. We came by earlier today but Doc von Kleist said he was still sleeping.”
Yozak glanced at the building and towards the lights in Wolfram’s room. “I
don’t know either, to be honest. I’m waiting for Doctor von Kleist to tell me
something good, too. Maybe we should all sit out here and wait, hmm?”
Keiichi and Yoichiro nodded solemnly and sat beside the big woman in silence.
They had both heard the news from a tearful Greta, who had come running back to
the inn to let them know. But as they arrived back at the village, they had
been promptly ushered into the bus, even though they did their best to ask
questions to find out what had really happened. Once at camp, the other players
seemed too frightened or worried to do much. Keiichi and Yoichiro had had to
prevent curious players from trying to look into the missing boys’ room, both
having to suffer through their own concerns in silence. As expected, the rumors
began to spread, many saying that both boys had been kidnapped and their bodies
found in the forest. Dinner in the cafeteria had been a somber affair and the
coaches forced everyone to go to bed even earlier than their regular curfew.
Sometime during the night, however, Yoichiro had woken up to find Keiichi not
in his bed. Panic-stricken and worried, he had tiptoed out of the room in
search of his friend, only to find the blond sitting outside Yuuri and
Wolfram’s room like a sentry, fast asleep. Without saying a word or bothering
to wake the other, Yoichiro had gotten their blankets and wrapped them around their
bodies as he sat beside his roommate to wait for their friends.
He knew they would be all right. They just had to be. After all, they
had all planned to leave this camp as minor leaguers. And that dream, no matter
how long it took, was going to come true eventually.
Conrad had found himself reaching for his upper left arm several times already
on this trip…or rather since he heard the news about Wolfram and Yuuri. He knew
it was more of a psychological thing than actual pain, but it still didn’t stop
the queasy sensation in the pit of his stomach. Each time Yozak’s words
describing the extent of their injuries filled his mind; Conrad felt mixed
emotions of anger at the bastard who had done such a thing, of fear, of concern
and of great sadness at the boys’ suffering. However there was good news from
Gisela, Gunter’s adopted daughter (unbeknownst to the hungry press). She had
taken a few x-rays and concluded that Wolfram would be fine after three to four
weeks in a cast to heal the broken humerus in his left arm.
Unfortunately, Yuuri was going to be a whole other matter altogether. No one
could tell the extent of his injuries for sure. And although Conrad had called
the hospital several times hoping to find some answers, the doctors were being tight-lipped
about it. Gwendal had been the one to make the call to Mrs. Shibuya, while
Conrad called Murata to tell him the news about his friend. All in all, it had
been a very trying day for Conrad and picking up Wolfram would hopefully end
one chapter of this horrible ordeal. There was one particular chapter of the
events which had intrigued Conrad greatly, however, and that was the appearance
of the Maou – something Yozak had witnessed and still had had to pinch himself
to be sure it had actually happened. There was no doubt that the Maou was a
powerful being and Conrad had to wonder what it would actually be like to find
himself standing before the other man.
I should thank him properly someday for saving Wolfram’s life…both he and
Yuuri…saved his life.
“We’ve arrived, sir,” the driver said quietly.
Conrad nodded. “You can park the car in front of the dormitories. I will be
returning with my brother and his luggage in a few minutes.”
“Very well, sir.”
“Thank you.” He stepped out of the vehicle, grateful for the cloak of darkness
as he began to walk briskly towards the clinic. As he crossed the lawn, a burly
figure stepped out of the shadows, causing his steps to falter as he realized
who it was.
“Adelbert,” he greeted with a curt nod.
“Weller,” came the similar response as guarded blue eyes met the cool brown
ones before him. “I dare say Gwendal’s not too pleased with what’s happened, is
he?”
“It’s no one’s fault,” Conrad replied with a wan smile. He would rather not
stand and chit chat with Adelbert, but he had a feeling the blond would not let
him go so easily. “You couldn’t have foreseen such a thing happening.”
“However, they were my responsibility,” Adelbert insisted with a scowl. “I
should have been more careful. Those boys…” His jaw worked for a moment and he
fixed his gaze on something over Conrad’s shoulder. “Those boys worked really
hard the past week and to hear such a thing…I’m almost ashamed to admit that I
was just as hurt, Weller.”
Conrad was surprised to hear such words coming from a man like Adelbert, who
was always known for his take-charge attitude and gruff personality. To see him
admitting that his players were that good…it was definitely a positive step for
him.
“That’s…really nice of you to say, Adelbert.”
“Nice? I’m not trying to be nice, Weller. I’m just being honest.” The coach
reached into the pocket of his jacket to bring out two envelopes. “I was going
to approve them for the minors come selection day. These are their certificates
of completion. You can congratulate them on my behalf.”
“Why don’t you do it yourself?” Conrad asked, putting the letters in his inside
breast pocket.
Adelbert spared him a look before shaking his head slowly and turning away
completely. “It is best this way, Weller. Tell them that I look forward to
seeing them on Opening Day in three months…both of them.”
“But Shibuya…”
“…will return,” Adelbert interrupted firmly. “I believe in that goofy kid.
Somehow and in some way that’s really aggravating to me. I really do believe
that kid will return and prove us all wrong. Later, Weller.”
Suddenly and seemingly for no reason at all, Conrad heard the name ‘Julia’ fill
his mind. He had taken a step towards the clinic but froze at the sound of it.
Who in the world…?
“Did you say something Weller?” Adelbert asked with bemusement in his features.
Conrad shook his head slowly.
“No…nothing…why?”
The blond frowned and then shook his head. “Nothing as well. I just thought I
heard you call out…forget it.”
In a minute, he was gone and Conrad was left standing beneath the lights of the
lamp post with his heart thudding painfully within his chest. There was no
mistaking it; Adelbert must have heard his thought and Conrad had the feeling
that the blond was indeed one of them. He didn’t know if he ought to be
excited or worried about that. However, that issue would have to wait for a
while; he had bigger fish to fry and no time to waste.
“I thought you had gotten lost,” Yozak/Yolanda greeted as he noticed the tall
man approaching the building. “What took you so long?”
Conrad had to smile at the picture his boyfriend made as he leaned close to
plant a soft kiss on his lips in greeting. “I got side-tracked by
Adelbert…what? Are you choking?”
“Fi…fine,” Yozak managed as his back was pounded on gently by his concerned
partner. “Eh…did he say anything to you?”
“Well yes but…” He stopped as he noticed the two young men, who had been
watching them with faint amusement. “Ah, hello.” He looked to Yozak for help.
“Oh, these are Wolfram’s next door neighbors,” Yozak introduced with a small
smile. “Yoichiro Yoshikawa and Keiichi Oku. Guys, this is Conrad Weller…”
“We know who he is,” Keiichi replied with a nod, his eyes now lit up with
recognition at the famous baseball player before them. “I had no idea you were
Wolfram’s brother.”
“Yeah,” Yoichiro chimed in. “You two look nothing alike.”
Conrad eyed Yozak, who looked sheepish in return. “Sorry, it just kinda slipped
while talking to them…”
“Conrad? Oh my, it’s been ages!” The men spun around at the woman’s voice,
Conrad’s smile becoming wider as he noticed who it was.
“Gisela!” They hugged and greeted each other warmly for a few minutes, until
she took a deep breath to tell them what they really wanted to know.
“He’s awake,” she said quietly, noticing the visible signs of relief on their
features. “He’s not supposed to be walking about but dear God, I’ve never seen
such a stubborn young man in my life.”
“That’s Wolfram for you,” Conrad replied with a soft chuckle. “Did you tell
him…?”
Gisela nodded slowly. “I had to…he demanded I tell him the extent of his
injuries and he seemed relieved that it wasn’t as bad as he had thought.
However…” Her voice trailed off.
“…Yuuri?” Keiichi asked quietly.
“I couldn’t bring myself to tell him about Shibuya,” Gisela finally admitted.
“I just…couldn’t. Maybe you’ll have better luck than I did.” Without another
word, she led them into the building, down the small corridor and into the
patient’s room.
“You have visitors, Wolfram,” she said with a warm smile as she ushered in the
men behind her. The blond was propped up against the pillows, his features
drawn and pale but green eyes still blazed with that familiar fire of
determination. His left arm was enclosed in a black sling while a flesh-colored
band-aid covered an area on his right forehead.
“Hey, you,” Keiichi greeted with a wide smile. “I would hug you, but I’m afraid
I’ll get clobbered with that arm of yours.”
“You are such an idiot,” came the good-natured reply. Before long, the three
boys were talking as if nothing had happened in the past few days. As they
talked, the grown-ups watched on in companionable silence.
Wolfram swung his legs off the bed as carefully as he could. He brushed aside
Conrad’s offered hand, shaking his head rapidly. He might have broken an arm
but he wasn’t an invalid. He could very well walk on his own…
“Ah…!”
“Easy now,” Yozak said as he watched Wolfram try to steady himself against the
bed. “You’ve been lying down for almost two days. Your legs are bound to be a
bit shaky.”
“Thank you for reminding me,” the blond replied in a caustic tone, leaving both
men to share a knowing look over his head.
“I’ll lead you back to the car,” Conrad began quietly. “And then maybe Keiichi
and I will go get your things.”
“No, it’s okay,” Wolfram replied with a light shake of his head. “I can manage
to pack up my own things.”
“But Wolfram…” Conrad found himself unable to complete the sentence as he met
Wolfram’s eyes. Although defiant and stubborn, he could still see the hurt and
frustration within them.
“I can do it,” Wolfram said in a much firmer tone, and something in that
sentence told Conrad that it wasn’t just about making his way to his room
without help. “I can do whatever I want if I set my mind to it.”
His older brother smiled softly at the familiar saying as he watched Wolfram
make his way out of the room, both Keiichi and Yoichiro following close behind.
In the end, a normal walk of about ten minutes to the dorms took them almost
half an hour. It wasn’t due to Wolfram’s injury, however, but rather to the
number of curious players who had come out to wish Wolfram good luck or say
their goodbyes. The blond would have laughed at how ironic it all was, but he
was too tired to think much about their ulterior motives. If they had any.
As he approached his room, his steps became heavier; soon enough, he felt as if
lead weights had been attached to his feet. His arm was beginning to throb
lightly and he sighed as he placed a hand against the wall to catch his breath.
“Fuck,” he muttered tightly, knowing that part of the reason for this sudden
‘heavy’ feeling was due to what awaited him behind the door.
No Yuuri.
He didn’t need a rocket scientist to tell him that something bad had happened
to his roommate. While drifting in and out of consciousness at the clinic, he
had tried to ‘speak’ to Yuuri and had found himself listening to a heart
wrenching silence that could only mean one thing. With a trembling right hand,
it took several tries before he was able to open the door to their room with the
key. He staggered into the room and sat down heavily on his bed, lowering his
gaze as Conrad walked in to turn on the desk lamp. The older man looked at
Keiichi and Yoichiro, who nodded in understanding and closed the door leaving
the two brothers alone.
“I’ll start with your clothes in the closet,” Conrad said quietly. He waited
for Wolfram to prevent him from doing so, but was mildly surprised to see no
such argument from the silent blond. He sighed to himself and began to do as
stated, removing the uniforms from the hangers and folding them into neat piles
on the chair.
“I think they must have sent someone to get Yuuri’s things,” Conrad said, now
pulling out Wolfram’s black carryall bag. The other section of the closet was
empty. “It would make sense…”
“How bad is he?” Wolfram finally asked in a low voice that sounded thick and
slightly muffled. “What really happened to him, Conrad? Why won’t anyone tell
me anything?!”
He finally lifted his gaze and Conrad could see how bright his younger
brother’s eyes were. It was clear that the blond was doing his best not to let
his emotions get the best of him, a familiar defense mechanism he had come to
know and understand over the years. He stopped folding the clothes and made his
way towards the bed to sit beside his sibling.
“No one really knows for sure the extent of his injuries, Wolfram,” Conrad
began softly. “But Yozak said…”
Wolfram stared at him in bemusement. “Yozak?”
Flushing a little, Conrad cleared his throat. “Yolanda…is Yozak. It was his
idea and that was only because Gwendal was being anal about protecting you…”
“Fat load of good that did me,” Wolfram replied coldly. He should have known
that Gwendal was capable of going that far to spy on him, just as he should
have known that Yolanda was actually a man. With a light snort, Wolfram rose to
his feet – making sure he wasn’t going to fall – and walked towards the closet.
He stared at the pile of clothes yet to be packed and noticed the blue pajamas
tucked between his uniforms. He pulled them out carefully and held them within
his right arm and against his chest, a sudden stubborn lump filling his throat
as the faint but undeniable scent of Yuuri filled his senses.
All at once, he could see the goofy grin on the dark-haired boy’s features as
he had held out the nightwear to him.
(You look so much better in that, Wolfram, and it fits too!)
He could see Yuuri on that wooden chair, showing off his baseball card
collection and boring (at the time) Wolfram to death with all the littlest
stats of each player.
(…and this is Akemi Hiyashi of the Okinawa Bears. He was a rookie last year
and had over 20 homeruns in one season! Can you believe that?!)
Wolfram glanced towards the top bunk bed, staring hard at the empty space;
almost sure he would see the outline of his roommate on the soft mattress.
Perhaps hoping that Yuuri would sit up with a grin and say…
(What are you standing there for, Wolfram? You have to go to bed, remember?
We’ve got practice tomorrow. Don’t worry…everything will be just fine.)
But no matter how hard he looked, there was no one there and never would be.
The bed had been stripped bare and now looked empty and cold as did the entire
room. The boy he had once thought useless and annoying, a boy he had loathed on
sight and thought incapable of being as good as he was on the baseball
field…had somehow ended up saving his life in the end.
Yuuri, you idiot! I’ll never forgive you if you end up not playing baseball
anymore. You swore you’d be better than me and now…goddamn it!
He shivered and held the pajamas tighter to him, turning away so as not to let
his older brother see how deeply he was affected with this sudden cold feeling
of loneliness.
“Conrad,” he finally whispered huskily as he took a deep breath to compose
himself as best he could.
“Yes, Wolfram?”
“Let’s go home.”
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