Brothers

Brothers

By the time Lang Zhi rushed upstairs, he already felt things should not have developed this way. He should have faced everything calmly like Kōshū did, but how was he supposed to explain himself if he went back down now? It would be even harder to deal with than before. So he hid on his bed, his back to the door, concealing the helpless look on his face.

Downstairs, Shen Qing declined the family's offer to eat out. The two adults made Lang Zhi's favorite curry rice, and Kōshū carried it upstairs. Feeling the two expectant gazes behind him, Kōshū pushed open the half-closed door.

But he did not speak first. He simply pulled out a chair and sat down. The porcelain plate tapped lightly against the table, and the scent of curry filled the room. Lang Zhi's stomach, clenched tight from nerves, suddenly began protesting. Along with his stomach growling came the sound of someone eating curry behind him.

One bite, then two. It was hot, so Kōshū opened his mouth and blew out a couple of breaths.

Lang Zhi knew Kōshū would not yield to either soft or hard tactics, so he waited for him to say anything at all, giving him an excuse to back down. But he did not. Three bites, four bites. Lang Zhi could practically imagine a chunk of curry collapsing away. Damn it, that's my curry. If he eats it all, what am I supposed to have for dinner today?

If he did not stop him now, he would go hungry. But if he went downstairs, he might have to face the two adults. Lang Zhi was caught in a dilemma for a moment. In the end, he chose the easier problem to solve.

"Hey, that's my curry!"

Then he saw that more than half the curry was already gone, and Kōshū was shoveling another heaping spoonful into his mouth. Lang Zhi immediately forgot his earlier awkwardness and pounced on him to snatch back the food.

Kōshū let him take it. Once he saw Lang Zhi wolf down several bites, he said in a tone that allowed no argument, "Lang Zhi, I'm assigning you seven days of homework. If you complete it, I'll buy you an Idol LIVE figurine. But if you refuse to do it, or do it poorly, I'll throw all your things into the trash."

"Huh?" Lang Zhi, still wiping his mouth, looked completely lost. His mouth babbled, "Who cares what you say?" but his eyes darted about uneasily.

Before the tasks were even explained, Lang Zhi already felt a mountain-like pressure weighing down on him. The branch that had once been broken was teetering on the verge of collapsing again. He thought he had escaped the effects of the bullying, yet now, facing the threat of someone bigger and stronger, he had not even considered resisting before surrendering in his heart.

Kōshū keenly noticed something was wrong with the shorter boy and changed the first task. "I have a thousand yen here. As long as you complete the first task, it's yours for free. The first task is—go downstairs and get another serving of rice."

Lang Zhi's face was full of question marks, but Kōshū, with his darkened expression, was terrifying. Lang Zhi did not even dare ask. He ran downstairs in a flash. To him now, the greatest difficulty had become being alone in the same room as Kōshū. He would rather face the two adults downstairs.

"Ah, Lang Zhi, let me help you get some more rice." Both adults were in the dining room, and Shen Qing came over to greet him.

Out of habit, Lang Zhi held out his bowl, only to stiffly pull it back. Lowering his voice, he said, "N-No... it's fine. I can... do it myself. Don't move around too much... you're pregnant..."

At the silent dining table, Shen Qing and Mr. Sasaki both heard him. Watching the child quickly serve himself rice and hurry upstairs, their hearts finally settled.

"I told you Takano would definitely have a way." Mr. Sasaki smiled. It really took a child to deal with a child.

Lang Zhi dragged himself upstairs. Through the wide-open door, he saw that Kōshū was gone. A thousand yen and a hastily written task list had been left on the table.

First task: Go downstairs and get another serving of rice.

Second task: Buy Mom a pregnancy gift.

Third task: Help Mom wash the dishes.

Fourth task: When Kōshū suggests cleaning out the guest room and turning it into a nursery, actively speak up and participate.

Fifth task: Clean the nursery.

Sixth task: Clean the yard.

Seventh task: Ask to look at the prenatal examination report.

The final line read: "Complete all tasks within seven days. Upon completion, collect one Saori figurine from the task issuer."

That damn Takano actually used a Saori figurine to tempt me!

In the end, all he dared do was slam the door shut, crumple up the task list, and toss it into a corner of the table.

Hearing the door close across from him, Kōshū, who had been listening intently, let out a sigh of relief. Thinking of the obvious fear in Lang Zhi's eyes just now, he felt a little annoyed. Did Mr. Sasaki give birth to a girl...? No, I really should have dealt with those people sooner.

So adolescents were the second hardest to handle. The hardest were probably newborn babies. But in seven months, this house would have two troublesome children at once. What would that look like?

Well, it was not his problem to worry about anyway. Kōshū thought calmly that the baby in swaddling clothes would probably become the center of the entire family. He or she would be related by blood to every member of the family and would truly belong completely to this home. And what about him? He should grow up and stand on his own as soon as possible, then begin a life of putting down roots and branching out.

Two days later, Lang Zhi, who had been carefully watching his stepbrother's movements, sensed the unrest beneath Kōshū's calm exterior.

First, Kōshū had started getting up earlier for morning runs, and his training intensity had increased. Second, instead of properly practicing his pitching, he had begun practicing batting with everyone else.

"Hayakawa-kun, come here for a second." Lang Zhi secretly pulled Hayakawa Aki aside and told him about all the unusual things he had noticed recently.

"Kōshū has been practicing batting lately because his fastball exceeded the coach's expectations. He may start for the Second String later, so he needs to keep up with batting practice too."

"Why didn't I know that?" All of Lang Zhi's guesses over the past few days had been overturned.

"The Second String has no games lately, but everyone's been quietly improving. The Kanto Tournament will end in two weeks, and then there'll be invitations for more games." Hayakawa Aki patted Lang Zhi on the shoulder earnestly. "Sasaki-kun, I probably shouldn't be saying this, but from now on, you'll be the one covering your brother's back. Do your best."

So that day, after the First String finished training, Lang Zhi found a spot near Kōshū to practice batting.

Kōshū was working with Shibasaki. Shibasaki fed him pitches, and Kōshū batted.

"Are there any specific pitches you want to practice today?" Shibasaki asked from the other side of the net.

"No. Shibasaki-kun, set your own pitching strategy. I want to see how well I can hit."

Shibasaki did not hesitate. His first pitch was a tricky fastball low on the outside corner. It was not especially fast, around 127. As Kōshū steadily waited for the ball to reach his hands, he thought, Has Shibasaki-kun's fastball gotten a little faster? Though part of his attention was elsewhere, it did not interfere with his swing. The bat cut through the air with a whistle, sending the ball flying backward far faster than it had come. It soared high and far, landing at the edge of the field.

"Kōshū, did you guess that one?"

"Ah, you caught me. Shibasaki-kun has been working hard on tricky Outside Corner Balls in the Bullpen lately, so I guessed your first pitch would definitely be low outside."

The second pitch was high and inside, with an odd spin. Kōshū knew it was a High Rotation Speed Straight Ball. When the ball left the pitcher's hand and approached Home Plate, it should normally drop due to gravity. But unlike other pitches, this one did not follow a normal downward trajectory. In Kōshū's eyes, it seemed to float upward instead. He knew it was an illusion, caused only by the High Rotation Speed Straight Ball's reduced drop.

The ball was already before his eyes. Kōshū did not hesitate. Even in that fraction of a second, his attention remained locked tightly on the ball. The sensation of the bat in his hands gradually faded, as if it had grown from his arms. An illusion.

The next instant, the bat collided with the ball, and the vibration traveled through Kōshū's entire body. The bat had not disappeared. It had bitten into the heart of the ball, sending it soaring high once more, all the way to the end of the field.

"Amazing, Kōshū." Shibasaki knew this time it definitely had not been a successful guess. Even the previous hit had not been a guess. Kōshū's batting, like his pitching, carried a beast-like instinct that made people shudder.

"If I didn't hit it, it would've been a ball, right?" Kōshū said with a grin.

"Only two pitches so far." Shibasaki spun the ball in his hand and adjusted from a Four-Seam Fastball grip. His index and middle fingers shifted slightly right by several seams, his thumb rested directly beneath the ball, and when he threw, his middle finger applied more force.

Another High Rotation Speed Straight Ball? No. The afterimage of the ball's spin was that of a Four-Seam Fastball, but its axis was slightly tilted. Kōshū, who was extremely familiar with a true-axis Four-Seam Fastball, spotted the difference at once. Just before the ball reached Home Plate, its tilted axis carried it toward Kōshū's inside corner.

It breaks too late. Kōshū had already swung. He forcibly adjusted his body and barely hit the sweet spot. This one landed much closer, but he did not care about that anymore.

"Shibasaki-kun, was that your Cutter?" His eyes seemed to burn with blazing fire.

"Yeah. You still hit it, Kōshū. I thought since it was your first time seeing it, you'd hit a grounder."

Shibasaki's urge to show off immediately cooled. Is he a beast? My pitch speed isn't fast, but I just developed this way of throwing a Cutter. It was his first time seeing it, and he hit it like that... Fine. Looks like I need to practice for a while longer.

Lang Zhi also stepped out of the batting cage and went around behind Kōshū, outside the net. He was extremely curious about that last pitch too.

"Haha, the timing of the break was beautiful. At first glance, the spin looked very much like a fastball, and its speed was not much different either." Kōshū's desire to learn beautiful Changeups was overwhelming. "Shibasaki-kun, how do you grip it? Teach me."

"The grip is very similar to a fastball's, but wait until the coach permits it before learning Changeups." Without waiting for Kōshū to say anything else, Shibasaki added, "The next pitch is coming. You can't be thinking about pitching while you're batting!"

Crack—

Over the full half hour of batting practice, Kōshū hit almost every pitch Shibasaki threw very well. Shibasaki's restless heart, which had been buoyed by his recent improvement, was suppressed again. "Kōshū, pitch speed really is the foundation of everything."

"Yeah. My pitch speed is even slower than yours, and I can't throw Changeups. I'd probably get crushed." Having faced his own pitching head-on today, Kōshū also felt weighed down.

Hey, hey, no one's stopping these two pitchers from facing off over here? Shibasaki-kun's confidence is going to get destroyed, Lang Zhi thought from where he stood behind them.

Right now, the feeling was to keep writing, keep at it until it became a habit, and finish one novel.