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8086-- Crippled Swallow

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Crippled Swallow
----8086 --

It's been a few months since Yamamoto-kun was in a car accident. Neither Kyoko nor I was informed of this event that left a hole through his abdomen and crippled him since.

Tsuna-kun had been very uneasy, and the normally snappy Gokudera-san is angrier than usual. None of them wanted to talk to us about it.

Reborn-kun stepped in and answered some of our many questions. It was a hit and run vehicle; the car obviously had rammed into Yamamoto-kun, who was probably at the time holding his bat in a way that it pierced his chest. No one saw it.

And Reborn-kun left it at that.

Again we were kept out of the dark. I had a feeling that it wasn't just a car accident...

But we have to trust Tsuna-kun until the time we're told everything.


---

He can't walk anymore... but yet he still smiles... a very sad smile...

"Haru~" a voice called out from the distance. Haru's fingers instinctively slackened its hold on the wooden bat. She turned around seeing the cheerful boy waving at her.

"Yamamoto-kun!" Haru called back with an equally bright smile. The wind caught her bangs as she jogged towards him. "What are you doing here this early? Haru thought therapy ended at five?"

"I got let out early so I thought I'd come by to see you play," he replied, handing her bottled water. Haru accepted it with a small murmur of thanks before twisting the cap open. Her brown eyes fell onto the wheelchair that he was sitting on, she looked back up to meet a sad smile. "How's your batting coming along?"

'... he looks so pained...' She thought, biting back a frown. Instead, Haru smiled, pretending to be oblivious to his gaze. "Well, its definitely improving since Haru started playing two months ago! Haru just misses some pitches, that's all!" She allowed a slight pause before pulling her bat behind her. "How about Yamamoto-kun? Haru heard from Tsuna-kun that Yamamoto-kun has two hours dedicated for additional therapy from Reborn-kun?"

Yamamoto laughed, his breaths seem to be caught short. It wasn't like his normal, smoother laughter. "Well yeah! The kid is sure killer even though I can't walk or run that much. But I feel energized every time I come out of the dojo."

Tsuna-kun told me that Yamamoto-kun has the limit of doing vigorous activities on his feet for the time he calls "additional therapy." But I'm sure that it isn't dedicated to the sport he loves. I heard that Yamamoto-kun always falls short of Reborn-kun's expectations, and the hours exhausted him so much to the point where sometimes he forgets to laugh.

"Well that's good," Haru lied. Yamamoto doesn't see through it but hummed in a light tone, his eyes following the white ball as it soared through the air. She noted it and her fingers crinkled the half empty water bottle in her hand. "Uhm...Haru needs to get back to practice now..." She smiled wide. "Haru will try to hit a home run just for Yamamoto-kun!"

He nodded and gave his shining grin; Haru's smile almost faltered before she turned to jog back to the diamond field. "I'll be watching you from here, Haru!" he responded, hands cupped around his mouth for added volume. She pulled the baseball cap hard against her head, a painful jerk to remind herself to not cry.

Yamamoto-kun pretends that he's okay, but inside he must be crying...

---

Everyday for the next two months continue like this...

A catchy jangle floated in the air before a hand snatched the source and flip it open.

After school, I would play with baseball players on the field. It was their past time and when I first began, they treated me like I was incompetent. Though now, the 'professional' baseball players like Yamamoto-kun accepted me into their make-shift teams on the field.

"Yamamoto-kun?" She sat onto her bed, a towel bounced after her and landed on her moist hair. Haru brightened up considerably. "Haru is great! There's no muscle ache at all today! Yamamoto-kun's advice was very helpful!"

She paused and listened to the comments about great ways to keep from any more additional pain. His voice was lacking its usual pep and hype. Haru wondered if Yamamoto pushed himself harder during Reborn's sessions.

Yamamoto-kun would always come on the appointed time of five thirty; half an hour before the unofficial games call off. His hours in the morning were mostly for school, where Tsuna-kun and Gokudera-san help him move about. Light exercises that he was instructed to do would be done during the breaks. Once the bell rings, he goes to his family dojo and the time then was for Reborn-kun.

-"...Haru?"-

"Ah?" She flustered, realizing that she wasn't paying much attention. Haru rolled onto her bed, mind churning for something to say. "Haru will keep that in mind next time!" Hopefully that covered her listening mishap. "Also, Yamamoto-kun! Tawaru-kun and the guys asked me to play in the game next week! Come by if you can, okay?"

She smiled to herself as she heard the familiar laughter and 'Sure will!' on the other line. Haru instinctively grabbed for the remote and switched on the TV. The small noise from the match droned into the background. "Did you watch the game--?"  

A knock from her door cut into her sentence. She whispered hastily into her cellphone, "Haru has to go now!" Without waiting for a reply, she snapped shut the phone and buried it deep into the sheets. She rolled onto her stomach and propped her face up with both hands.

The door sounded again. "Haru?"

"Yes, Mom?" she called back with an annoyed tone. "Haru is watching a game right now, so bother Haru later!" The door cracked open slightly in response; an older woman in her forties peeked in with a concerned look. The stare made Haru's insides twist.

"I heard you talking to someone?"

Haru shot up from the bed and sat there stubbornly. "Mom it's just Haru's  friend okay? He was...asking Haru about today's homework!" Her mom stood there unpersuaded. Haru added exasperatedly, "Really, Mom..."

"I don't see how homework relates to the baseball match you're watching now."

Haru's face went hot.

"W...Well Haru finished all her homework and was just helping," she mumbled. Her feeble glance was directed back to the game. She could feel her mother's eyes boring through her skin. "Mom, stop staring at me like that."

"Haru..." She shook her head and walked through the door. "Your dad and I... just can't understand why you spend all your afternoons outside in the park playing some crude sport when you should be home studying--"

"Mom, it's not a crude sport!" Haru snapped, a bit more louder than what she intended. She bit her lip and tsked under her breath before retracting her glare. "Haru just needs exercise or else she'll get fat from eating all those cakes!"

"But Haru, it's not about the exercise. You're going to graduate from high school next year and you have to put more effort into studying so you can get into the University--"

"Mom, I can manage," she said steadily.  

"Haru. It's twelve, at least sleep for tomorrow's test!" her mom stressed. Haru only sighed before reluctantly shutting off the TV.

"Fine."

---

My parents have become paranoid, but I aced the test I received the next day. From that time on, I doubled my effort in order to keep my grades from faltering and at the same time manage the afternoon sport.

"That was good game, Haru!" The crunch of rocks nearby made her look up. Water dribbled down her face and she patted it dry with a towel. Despite the cold flush of water, her face was still red from the hot weather.

"Especially when you managed to hit the ball before you got struck out! Man, that pitcher put out most of your teammates, huh?"

She blushed. "Well that hit was just out of pure luck." Haru pulled back the rubber band that held her hair together. Yamamoto silently watched the pink band travel across the long brown locks. He suddenly grinned.

"Your hair is getting long," he noted. Haru blinked before she pulled the tips of her hair to the front. She was visibly surprised that she didn't notice it. Haru laughed before snapping the band off.

"Really? Because when Haru started baseball, her hair was just above her shoulders!" Her vision blurred as something pulled down on her head. She only saw Yamamoto's feet propped up by a rest on his wheelchair and in that split second her eyebrows knitted. She heard him chuckle in front of her, unable to see the change in her expression.

"You're so airy sometimes! Be sure to take care of yourself, okay?"

She didn't dare look up at his eyes but quietly responded. "...okay..."

---

It's the second week without Yamamoto-kun. Practice after schools was normal as usual, if not more rigorous. School still demanded the same amount of attention every day... if not a bit more since summer break was coming...  

"Where did Yamamoto go?" he repeated, blinking. Haru nodded. She had been trying in so many ways to subtly ask Tsuna or Gokudera about where their grinning friend disappeared to, but in every attempt she failed... except this one.

Haru clenched the pencil in her hand. "Haru was wondering why Yamamoto-kun isn't here on Sundays... does he go to another therapist now?"

"Actually Haru--" A small voice poked in. She turned her direction to the baby clad in a suit. He was relaxing on a hanging bed from Tsuna's ceiling. "Yamamoto was sent to Italy for better treatment. Shamal said that the treatment was very effective but with Yamamoto's peculiar injury, we don't know how long it would take for him to move again."

Haru quieted considerably and glanced back at her own paper. Gokudera sneered, something about that baseball idiot will probably be gone for a year or so-- "Good riddance!"

Tsuna only smiled, "I wish we got to see him off, but I guess it was so sudden that not even Yamamoto knew about it."

And the days without Yamamoto-kun continued...

---

It has been several months. Leaves changed their color and trees appear to be no more than bare sticks on the ground. Final exams were coming up with the closing of school. There was a winter baseball competition among all the free-formed teams in the district. Sports demanded from me my early morning before school and after school until the late evening. School tests required me to drag my hours deep into the night studying.

My parents said nothing about my unexplained dedication to baseball and my sudden decision to cut my hair. I lied that short hair was the new style in my school. In truth, short hair meant less maintenance.


THWACK

The ball flew into the air but disappointingly fell into the middle of the field. Haru's bat dropped from her hands, and she felt the tender hands throb. She would have asked Yamamoto how to treat sore hands, but she didn't dare ask Reborn for a contact number.

"What's the matter, Haru? Can't take it?" someone from the team yelled across the field. She knew that he meant no insults, but couldn't help but feel shame. "After all you are the only girl on the team!"

Haru stubbornly grabbed the bat from the ground. She hastily stood up. "Haru's sleepy, not exhausted!" she retorted. "Who's idea was it to wake up at five to practice?"

The boys in her team shrugged but continued the game play with much vigor and friendly insults. While she hit the ball as hard as she could, Haru wondered if this was why Yamamoto was willing to go to Italy in order to get on his feet again.

She sighed as she watched the ball sail in the morning sky and into the grass.

Haru jogged for the umpteenth time to retrieve it, sighing in her breath as she made her way across the field: "...Haru doesn't get why boys love baseball..."

---

The number of days that rain started to increase and the number of hours I sleep decreased down to four. Nevertheless, the captain of our baseball 'team' demanded that we practice in rain or shine, morning and night.

Haru gasped for air as she stopped at the second base. The guys in her team were still going at it, despite the heavy rain that battered against their very bodies. Haru squinted, but she could only make a slight outline of the white figures standing in a distance.

Her body ached and her white baseball uniform that was given to her by the team captain was now soiled with mud and dirt. Haru's legs ached from the constant running and slipping; her wrist now felt sprained from the way she hit the ball.

"Hey Haru! You ready? You're gonna run this one and possibly score that home run with our next batter." Tawaru said; he was playing at second base. It seemed really hard for her to hear him over the onslaught of rain. She could almost imagine the crackling of dirt under the wheelchair...

...but almost.

Her vision swam in and out, and she bent over, hands on her knees. Chest heaving heavily. "Y...Yeah, I think so...--"

Her knees felt weak and she almost slithered onto the floor had not a strong grasp come and catch her from falling. "Hey, Tawaru. Can't you see that she can't play anymore?"

The voice was familiar but deeper. Haru could barely lift her eyes. The rain continued to pelt and her head was giving her problems.

She could faintly hear Tawaru let out a surprised breath then a sigh of frustration- "A-h... I would love to, but we need to practice for the game-"

"If you want, I'll sub for her. But for now, please... let her rest."  

"Well fine. It's almost embarassing hearing that from you since you never had the time for us. But...  since it's you, I guess I can make allowances."

She felt a warm breath blow onto her cheek. She weakly opened her eyes, catching only a small smile on those familiar lips. "I told you to take care of yourself, Haru."

Then Haru blacked out.

--

The steady crunch of rocks and pok from rain hitting something above her stirred her awake. Haru was in a daze and she tried to register where she was. She last remembered that she was on the diamond field and now...

Something dry was draped over her shoulders and she was sitting on something. Her head throbbed again.

"Haru, you okay?"

It was the voice again. Haru blinked once, twice, and then swallowed painfully. She tried to speak but her dry throat ached, after a while, she managed to whisper hoarsely, "What happened...?" She turned her head towards the speaker of the voice. Haru's eyes widened. "...Yamamoto-kun?"

He offered a smile, rain seem to melt off his black hair. Haru was momentarily puzzled about why she wasn't wet, but the sound of rain being repelled by the umbrella he held for her answered her question. As for the dry cloth hanging around her shoulders, she registered it to be Yamamoto's blue jacket.

"You nearly fainted on the field," he nonchalantly replied. But she didn't seem to be listening-- he confirmed by her next outburst.  

"HAHI? You're back from Italy!" she sputtered, her mouth open in awe.

Then that meant--! Haru's eyes drifted down to the object in which he was pushing and that she was sitting on.

A wheelchair?  

"HAHI?! Yamamoto-kun can walk now?!--" she exclaimed, before his hands planted her firmly in the chair preventing her from leaping off the chair to confirm what she saw. Yamamoto grinned patiently, he was expecting this type of reaction from her.

"I can, but you can't, so stay here for a while, okay?" She settled down and he continued the trek down the path. Haru was still turned towards him, her face flustered and spirited-- a complete opposite of what he observed at the field.

She muttered more to herself than him: "I can't believe it. That was really fast--"

In a matter of moments, her excited mien turned into concern. "When you walk...it's not painful is it?"

Yamamoto blinked in surprise. He was startled by her question, if only a bit. "Doesn't hurt one bit, Haru," he beamed.

"Really?"

"Really."

"You can play baseball now?"

"In your place, yeah, haha."

They walked in silence for a while. Haru had long turned her back to him and stared at the road in which he was pushing her towards. During the time, Haru felt awkward that she was in a wheelchair especially when she could walk... or attempt to walk. But the comfort of having steady arms and legs pushing her calmed those nerves.  

Her house was in a distance, but she didn't want to leave the chair just yet.

"You live around here, right?" he asked, his pace slowed down. Haru looked at her large house and nodded. The silence that stretched between them prompted her to answer again.

"Mm." She wondered how Yamamoto even remembered the way to her house after being gone into a foreign country for half a year.

"... you cut your hair." The strands on the back of her head was pulled gently. "...why?"

"...It was getting in the way of baseball," she truthfully answered.

He looked at her wet hair wistfully before replying with a clipped, "I see..." Yamamoto was unusually quiet and less talkative. "Why?"

"Why what?" She sat sideways in the large wheelchair and stared up at him curiously. She could see the confusion on his face and a slight redness tinting his cheeks. 'Does he have a fever or something?' Haru thought innocently.

"You normally aren't interested in anything baseball. Why did you do it?"

Haru stared for a while before her face exploded in red. Haru ripped her eyes away and stared hard at the floor. "...W...Well, Haru saw that... Yamamoto-kun couldn't play the sport he loved so... so..."

"You did it for me?"

She nodded, completely exhausted of words.

Yamamoto decided to pry, this time a familiar grin on his face, "Why?"

Haru's face grew redder and she pouted. She tried to conjure up a possible explanation, but nothing came out of her mouth save for an embarrassed squeak in which he heard. Haru allowed him several seconds of laughing before she snapped, "Stop asking Haru why! Haru just felt like it alright?!"

His smile grew tender and his hand tousled her hair energetically. The mere gesture of affection made Haru almost cry of relief; she decided she wouldn't, but a tear escaped the corner of her eye.

"... Thank you, Haru. "

I was taken right up to my door and Yamamoto-kun helped me out of the wheelchair. He was right. Once my feet hit the steps it almost collapsed had not Yamamoto-kun grab me from slipping. My dad opened the door after a few knocks.

Yamamoto-kun didn't allow me to fall onto the floor so he held me fast even when Dad pounded him with questions.

Fortunately, Yamamoto-kun was able to explain why he was there and Dad and Mom took me in without yelling at his face. But I heard plenty from Mom and Dad later on...

I was banned from ever playing baseball again in extreme weathers and at insane times. Mom and Dad felt convicted enough to let me watch the game in which Yamamoto-kun played in my place. There were no signs of discomfort on his face and he appeared very ecstatic to play his sport again.

Though...

Weeks later, Reborn-kun confessed that he had secretly taped all of my baseball matches and sent them to Yamamoto-kun only because Yamamoto-kun wouldn't go to Italy without the condition that he receive them.

Reborn-kun said that normally with an injury as big as Yamamoto-kun's, it would take more than a year to even walk. But strangely Yamamoto-kun was able to speedily recover in the span of half a year. Though he has limits, he can walk, jog lightly, and even run for a period of time.

Reborn-kun then said something about the power of love that spurred Yamamoto-kun on to do his best, which probably contributed largely to his speedy recovery.

...It's kind of a disappointing idea... but... again...

...I guess I'll never understand why boys love baseball.
Tools: Wordpad. XD;

Dude. I suck at writing. OTL, sorry guys. I really suck... it's been a while since I wrote any fanfiction. This was originally going to be a comic, but then I kind of thought it over and gave up at the comic idea. XD;

Ehhh... I'll draw a picture later... maybe sometime later tonight.

o3o; Is it possible to have a picture at the very top? -wonders-

Oh yeah, much apologies. I didn't have any references to Reborn with me on the time I wrote. xP; Obviously this takes place when Yamamoto got punched by Kaoru and he's hospitalized. And then it spins off from the canon and into AU, because the family inheritance thing never happens here and...somehow Haru and Yamamoto are in their second year of high school? OTLL, I have no idea what I was thinking. Just excuse all the time confusions. And I really am not smart with baseball. I only know about bases, pitches, and home runs. >3<; Little pieces from what I could collect from my softball times.

Egh, if you find any errors as in punctuation... just leave it be, cus I don't want to go back and fix it. And I pretty much ran it over five times, and I'm too shameful to ask my sister to proofread it cus...it sucks. OTL.

And lastly, I think Yama's box animal is that of a bird... (besides the doggie.) something bird. Dunno if it was a swallow or sparrow. SO EXCUSE THAT PLZ. 8D;;;; I'll honestly make it up one day when I'm not arsed to write (cus I really suck. OTL)

Haru, Yama (c) REBORN
© 2010 - 2024 kyunyo
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YamaHaru's avatar
It's so cute.. really... I love your plot.. :D