alright! that is nearly all of the submissions - please reach out to us if you didn’t receive your gift or can’t find an original source for it: we’ll be glad to help out.
we had one last drop out at the last second and I was unable to find a pinch hitter in time for that giftee to receive their exchange gift today :| please expect it this friday.
all in all though, that’s a wrap! remember to show support for your fellow artists and writers!! what keeps all of us moving and creating is support from our community: comment, kudos, and reblog! all of your posts will be on a staggering queue for the next week, just to circulate things a little more.
i received a lot of asks about another exchange! this is the first gift exchange that i have ever hosted and although i made a few mistakes, i don’t think it was a failure. if this particular blog does another one it’ll be at the end of summer!
thank you so much for all of your hard work guys, especially my pinch hitters. some of you helped out with three assignments! both of the mods had to pick up some of the exchanges too, so without you guys we would have been doomed.
happy birthday eijun! i hope we did right by you by creating more content for everyone ♥
‘Something like this isn’t really easy for me, you know,’ Miyuki says, laughing to mask the nervous shake of his voice. He takes a few steps forward, trying to catch Sawamura’s eye - the pitcher keeps his gaze to the ground, his expression unreadable. There’s a shift in the air that Miyuki finds unfavorable and sweat gathers beneath his collar, festering dread in his gut. ‘I wish you would say something.’
Say anything, Bakamura
Sawamura fiddles with a baseball, tracing the seams with his fingers. Still unable to reach his eyes, Miyuki finds comfort in the burning red of Sawamura’s ears, splotches of embarrassment patching his cheeks and collar.
The bullpen is quiet except for Miyuki’s breathing (calm down, calm down) and Sawamura scratching at the baseball, his feet shuffling anxiously underneath him. ‘Hey, I know you can be a little dense sometimes,’ Miyuki laughs again, close enough to touch Sawamura’s hand. Instead, he takes the baseball cautiously, tossing it in the air with enough confidence to fool even himself. ‘So I’ll repeat myself. I like you, Sawamura. I think I’ve lo - liked you since you threw me that first pitch,’ the words tumble out of his mouth fast and sloppy, nothing like himself, but finally off his chest and with Sawamura. ‘I never wanted anything to come between baseball, but now that I’m graduating, it doesn’t matter.
I didn’t post this until today, so I was unable to submit this before.
A gift for the lovely starrwinter!
The road is a rough and infinite, but Sawamura Eijun knew that when he set out. Anything was better than wasting away in a household that treated him like property.
So Sawamura Eijun sets out on the long, dusty trail, and searches for that something that will set him free.
Miyuki Kazuya has been living in Sambourna selling anything he can get his hands on for his whole life. He lives in boredom and waits for the something that he knows will come. The something that will show him what it means to live.
(Inspired by the wonderful book Tess of the Road, which holds a special place in my heart)
for @xiaorawr my gift for the @misawa-exchange ! ♡
I had such a hard time deciding what to do, I had so many ideas once i saw your letter. But I’m such a sucker for horror and I’ve been wanting to create an apocalypse AU for some time now though so I hope you enjoy this, set in a presumably zombie apocalypse though that’s up to personal interest, they spend the days never far from the others side, endlessly protecting each other and making the best with what they have
Staring up at the mansion looming in front of him, Miyuki can’t help feeling small and insignificant. Even with the full moon shining above them, the mansion seems to cast a shadow large enough to swallow everything in its path whole.
Ryousuke didn’t seem to care. The other was the most fidgety Miyuki had ever seen him. He led the way around to the back of the house, twitching ever so slightly at every noise. This was going to be a long night, Miyuki could tell.
——-
A guard is clanking up creaky wooden steps when they reach the basement door. They watch from the dark treeline.
“What’s our plan?” Miyuki whispers to Ryousuke, who’s been out of it all night.
“We wait until he’s left, and then we go in through the door. In and out.” Ryousuke replies.
“Simple but effective. I like it.” Ryousuke just snorts. It doesn’t take long for the guard to round the side of the mansion, and they’re tip-toeing across the clearing in no time.
“Ready?” Miyuki asks. Ryousuke takes a deep breath and pushes open the door to absolute silence.
——-
Sawamura is too busy worrying that Kuramochi will bite it if he looks away for a minute to hear the door opening, but when he hears footsteps on the uneven concrete floor, his heart seizes in terror.
Please no. He’ll die if he has to endure another one! I’m begging you! But he’d never say it because the beatings always got so much worse.
But when he looks up to see who has come this time, he’s met with eyes behind glass, and a short, pink-haired man.
“Miyuki?” He says in astonishment. The man grins.
“You can’t get rid of me.” He swirls a key ring on his index finger with a cheeky grin.
“The idiots left them by the door.” He unshackles Sawamura and turns to Kuramochi, who the shorter man has been frozen staring at in horror. Sawamura can’t believe he almost forgot Kuramochi in the excitement of Miyuki, right here in front of him.
“Miyuki. Please save him. He doesn’t deserve to die.” Miyuki huffs a laugh.
“You thought we’d just leave him? He’s the whole reason Ryousuke over here is even within a ten-kilometer radius of this place. But don’t forget about yourself, idiot. You’ve suffered too.” At the sound of the other man’s name, Sawamura perks up, ignoring some of the nicest words Miyuki’s said to him like the idiotic bastard that he is, but before he can open his mouth, Kuramochi mumbles out a,
“Ryou-san?” He’s unconscious again in seconds. Ryousuke looks like his heart just shattered into pieces. Miyuki unlocks the other’s wrist clamps carefully, before setting the green-haired man’s arms down gently.
Kuramochi Youichi was in front of death’s door. Sawamura had never seen anyone look worse in his whole life, which was saying a lot.
But honestly, it was the look on Ryousuke’s face that made his heart break. He raised his hand hesitantly, as if his very touch would be the thing that pushed Kuramochi through the doorway.
At this point, Sawamura wasn’t sure that it wouldn’t.
One thing he is sure of, however, is that Kuramochi needs medical attention, and fast.
“Miyuki, do you have anything that can help at all?” Miyuki already has his pack open, rummaging through for his medical supplies. He whips out disinfectant, anesthetic, gauze and bandages.
“I don’t have anything for stitches. This is going to hurt a lot, but we need to stop any further infections and try to get rid of the worst of it.” He gets to work quickly.
“You two, get me a cloth and bucket of water. Watch for guards.” Sawamura rushes off for the water while Ryousuke shakily gets up to stand guard.
Sawamura returns with the cloth and water and runs off again for more. Miyuki focuses on the task at hand.
He takes the cloth and soaks it with disinfectant, wiping carefully at the fresh cuts, but unable to stop the natural sting. Kuramochi shakes and whimpers in his sleep. Ryousuke keeps glancing over his shoulder at them.
None of the infected cuts have closed over, and Miyuki grimaces. He rolls up his sleeves. This is his least favourite part, but he has to get the pus out or the blood will clog.
“Ryousuke, this is going to be painful.” He mutters out a warning, and Ryousuke has barely started to reply with a confused, “Wha-” when he starts squeezing the worst cut.
The effect is instantaneous. Kuramochi starts screaming, eyes flung open, yet staring sightlessly past Miyuki. Ryousuke forces himself to turn away, his eyes filling with unshed tears he refused to show.
Yellow and green pus oozes out and Miyuki forces himself not to gag. He wipes away the thick, clumpy liquid and washes the cut out thoroughly.
He does it again, and again, and again until Kuramochi lapsed back into a semi-conscious state. His eyes were unfocused and cloudy, but they weren’t the eyes of a man on the verge of death.
He bandages every wound after smearing disinfectant around the sickly skin. He grimaces. It’s far from perfect, but carrying Kuramochi out probably wouldn’t kill him now.
Which was good, because surely the sound of Kuramochi’s screams would draw attention. If there had only been a few, the guards might’ve assumed that he was being tortured by another and left it alone, but it had been too drawn out.
The guards would be coming right for them.
“Ryousuke.” He hisses. The Ryousuke he knew on the road would have snapped to attention, ready for any threat, but this Ryousuke… this Ryousuke had just seen his best friend on the verge of death.
And indeed, he snaps out of his position as if in a trance, taking in the view of Kuramochi on the floor. He nods shakily, and Miyuki scoops up Kuramochi just as Sawamura returns with another bucket and cloth.
He sets the bucket down but keeps the cloth. He runs after them, and Miyuki feels exhilaration flood through him. He can feel shaky laughter bubble up in his throat, but he forces it down. The last thing they need is the guards finding out where they are.
He blinks as Ryousuke veers away from them as they leave through the door they came through, but as the other holds up a matchbox with the grin of a devil exacting revenge, Miyuki lets an exasperated smile come over his face.
He shakes his head as the other sprints with glee towards the windows. He knows that high will disappear as he makes his escape, but he can understand the feeling.
When Sawamura disappeared, he felt like his chest had been torn out. Empty. Sawamura was with him now though, and he feels like the world has righted itself again.
God, his heart aches because Sawamura is here. With Miyuki. Not in a horrible house where no one cares who lives or dies.
When they make it back to where he and Ryousuke had set up a temporary camp, he sets Kuramochi down as carefully as possible onto their bedrolls. He and Sawamura collapse beside each other, and Miyuki can finally breathe.
Not for long, though, because Sawamura turns to him with an impossibly large grin, and Miyuki feels a surge of desperation relief love all at once, and he takes Sawamura’s head in his hands and crushes their lips together.
He feels Sawamura smile into the kiss and he knows right then and there that they’ll be alright.
“Are you okay?” Miyuki asks breathlessly.
“I am now,” Sawamura answers lowly. Miyuki grins at the younger, responding with a light chop to the head. Since when was he able to say things like that with a straight face?
Instead of voicing his question, he settles for another kiss. They smile at each other and the sun starts to rise behind them and the moon sets, their future seems brighter than ever.
Yeah, healing Sawamura’s hidden hurts would take a long time, maybe even years, but Miyuki Kazuya is going to be there with him every step of the way.
———-
The road is long and the journey ahead of them even longer, but they have each other, and really, that’s enough for them.
Sawamura watches in horror as the whip comes down again, followed by dunking the man’s head in a water bucket. He doesn’t give them the satisfaction of struggling, just takes his punishment with a shit-eating grin.
“This is what you get for the denying the lady’s noble request!” The man laughs, and it sounds like a hyena has possessed him.
“You mean her demand that I turn in my partner? She threatened to burn my hometown if I didn’t hand him in, but she just stuck me down here instead. I guess she’s not one to keep her promises! Hyaha!”
The guard growls something unintelligible and smashes his head against the wall.
“That’s your hundred-ten whips and fifty dunks, Kuramochi. Are you ready to turn in your partner yet?” The guard spits partner like it’s some sort of curse, yet Kuramochi just laughs. The guard releases his head and stalks away grumbling.
Sawamura watches as Kuramochi’s facade crumbles. He clutches at his head and groans with pain. He curls in on himself, wincing as his fresh cuts ache and burn.
Sawamura cringes in sympathy, the best he can do while chained. He hears Kuramochi whispering to himself.
“Ryou-san will come, Youichi. Don’t lose faith.” He feels his heart break for this stranger, for his blind faith that someone will come for him.
Now that the other’s head is no longer caked in his own dried blood (though much still remains), he can make out a greenish hue to the other’s hair.
Not for the first time, he finds himself wondering how long Kuramochi has been here. Long enough to make his voice rasp like he’s dying, for him to be stained with dried blood with fresh and old cuts alike to be oozing out more.
Long enough for his eyes to go dull and what must have been an optimistic twinkle in his eye to fade.
Yeah, Kuramochi may as well have been a dead man walking. Sawamura wishes he knew how much longer it would take for the ‘walking’ part to no longer be true.
————
“That’s a little violent,” Miyuki says mildly as he watches Ryousuke shove a man up a wall while threatening to slash his throat if he doesn’t give the information he wants.
“It’s effective,” Ryousuke states blandly. Miyuki sighs and leans against the wall until Ryousuke releases the man and walks towards him, writing something down on a piece of paper.
“Effective enough to get us the information we need,” Ryousuke smirks, and it’s cold and sharp. He flips the paper around so Miyuki can see what’s written messily on the front. His eyes widen, and then he just smiles and shakes his head.
“So, which direction?”
———
They’ve been walking for four days. They’ve had next to no sleep these days, not wanting to risk the chance of news reaching the house that there’s going to be an attack. An invasion, really.
The Sawamura household. Miyuki had been expecting it, but this made the situation so much more real.
He doesn’t know what they’ll find there, and he isn’t sure he wants to. But he walks on because he knows that he’d follow that bright smile anywhere.
He bets Ryousuke has someone like that too. Kuramochi perhaps? He snorts. Who couldn't fall in love with Kuramochi at some point?
Even he’d had a crush on the yankii for a while. He remembers green hair, a hyena-like laugh, and an all too infectious grin.
-
Miyuki met Kuramochi Youichi young. The other had already been wild back then. Perhaps he was the same way, maybe he was even more reckless now.
In fact, he’d met him after the kid had stolen food. Still, the kid had still radiated the will to fight even after being caught. He’d fought tooth and nail, laughing all the while. Miyuki had been interested.
He’d grown up in Sambourna, the quietest town around. Kuramochi had moved there after his father left with everything they had. He was eight, young and scruffy, yet so broken.
You could see it in his eyes. Maybe it was the way his eyes had radiated fire even though those very same eyes showed a world of hurt, but Miyuki had helped him in his thievery.
That is how Miyuki Kazuya learned how to pick locks, developed a silver tongue. Those days taught Miyuki more than all the adults in the whole town taught him in his entire life.
They were friends of sorts. The town called them the jack and the joker. That is where Miyuki became the jack of all trades, never settling only on one thing whole-heartedly. That is where Kuramochi had become the joker, nothing more than the fool.
Kuramochi left when they were fifteen. There were no tears nor any proper goodbyes, but that was how they rolled, and how it always would be.
———
Kuramochi Youichi did not have long to live, Sawamura knew. He saw it in the bruises and cuts that covered every inch of skin. He saw it in the way that the man’s eyes unfocused and closed before he snapped them open again.
He saw it during the beatings, how Kuramochi couldn’t manage a smile or a laugh like before. He never stayed awake after the guard left, sometimes passing out in the middle of a dunking.
Yeah, Kuramochi Youichi was on the edge between life and death, and Sawamura knew that the already fine line was getting even thinner.
Please, Ryou-san, whoever you are, come quickly. I can’t watch this man die because of the cruelty of my parents.
His thoughts flashed to Miyuki. Did the elder even care that he was gone? Had he continued on, figuring that Sawamura had just tired of him and left?
He shakes away the thoughts. If Sawamura Eijun was anything, he was not a pessimist. He sends out a silent prayer to the fates, begging them not to cut Kuramochi’s string just yet.
Not yet!
The days have been hard for him too, and he knows it, but his hunger and mental state pale in comparison to Kuramochi’s injuries.
Really, his family coming regularly to spit at him about how he’s a failure and a disappointment isn’t anything he isn’t used to. Not that it doesn’t hurt, because he can’t help but believe it somehow, but he’s too worried about Kuramochi to address his own issues.
C’mon Kuramochi, hold out a little longer! I swear I’ll make sure you live through this to see Ryou-san again!
He’s halfway through his morning routine when he notices that Sawamura hasn’t started to stumble out of his sleeping bag yet.
Usually, Miyuki would’ve started breakfast over a fire by now, yawning consistently enough that Sawamura was half-convinced that he’d fall asleep in the fire.
But he wasn’t. They didn’t take many things with them. A sack or two of goods to trade, their sleeping bags, and a backpack for their clothes. Sawamura’s backpack was very much gone, and Miyuki Kazuya was very much concerned.
“Sawamura?” He asks, just loud enough for Sawamura to hear if he’s been hiding behind a nearby tree. It wouldn’t be the first time Sawamura’s tried to trick him, but this time feels… different. Like it’s more serious than a simple practical joke.
When no response comes, he tries a little louder. He gets up from where he’d been piling sticks onto their makeshift fire pit and searches for Sawamura’s belongings.
Half an hour later, he’s torn up the entire campsite without a trace of the younger’s property. There’s no sign that Sawamura had ever been there at all.
Damn it Sawamura, where did you go? Miyuki grits his teeth. His heart is heavy when he flops down next to the firepit. Something small and white catches his attention as he turns his head towards where he left his cooking supplies.
A note.
Dear Miyuki,
I have found your company tiresome, and so I have decided to set off for home. Please refrain from following me, or I shall set the guards upon you.
Sawamura Eijun
Well. That doesn’t sound at all like he’s been kidnapped. They literally told me where they were going.
——-
The nearest town is in an uproar.
“-And then they just passed, dragging this screaming man behind them!” One woman says, waving her hands around wildly. Who the hell would make such a scen- oh . Miyuki realizes.
There’s really only one person that could manage that kind of display. Miyuki is on Sawamura’s trail.
———
He isn’t sure why or how they tracked him down. All he knows is, they’re here. They’ve come for me, and they’re going to take me back that house.
He fights because there’s nothing else left to do. He fights because he’s grown tired of being used for other’s means. He fights because he’s finally found someone that who doesn’t seem to care about where he’s from, just what he is now.
A meter feels like a mile, he thinks as he struggles against the hands that push him down. A single meter away, Miyuki is asleep. A single meter separates him from freedom.
A cloth is shoved into his mouth, ropes tied around his head to prevent him from spitting it out. Despair washes over him, and yet he will still fight. Against the household who’s held him captive for longer than he can remember.
But he will lose, just as he always has. He will be dragged, lashing out against the cruelty that awaits him.
——–
They drag him down the steps to the overly large basement, which Sawamura knows doubles as a place for the servants and slaves.
They shackle his wrists tightly above his head next to what Sawamura supposes is a corpse at this point.
Gross. They left another body down here to rot. He thinks numbly. He studies the corpse. The guy couldn’t have been a year or two older than himself, with short hair and strong looking legs.
A corpse with short hair? Most slaves have been here long enough that their hair was down to the small of their back!
A groan startles him from his thoughts. The corpse next to him stretches, yawning.
“Is it time for whipping number one-hundred-an’ ten yet?” The corpse that wasn’t a corpse asked nonchalantly, slurring most of his words. Sawamura shrieks. The man sighs and shifts so his shoulders cover his ears.
“God, ya don’t hafta be so loud ya know.” He complains.
“Y-you’re alive?!” Sawamura stutters. The man has a vaguely concerned look on his face.
“Do I look that bad? Damn, maybe Ryou-san won’t recognize me after all…” He mumbles, mostly to himself.
The sound of heavy footsteps fills the dungeon. The clanking of metal footwear makes the man next to him scowl.
“Now there's whipping one-hundred-and ten.”
———-
Of all the things Miyuki expected to find when he ducked into an alley for what he assumed was a shortcut, being held at knifepoint was not one of them, which really should have warned him about his level of self-preservation.
“I asked if you knew anything about the capture of the bounty hunter Kuramochi Youichi. If you value anything in your miserable life, you’d answer me.”
“Never heard of him.” This was a lie. “Why, are you looking for him?” Miyuki asks as if they were having lunch together instead of in a dirty alleyway discussing whether Miyuki would live or die.
“Tch.” The shorter man growls, presumably with frustration, before turning to leave. Miyuki doesn’t know why he calls out, but as the man turns he sees a flash of… desperation? Anger? Loneliness?
“I’m looking for someone too.” The shorter man pauses.
“And this interests me how?” He says in a mild tone that doesn’t match the sharp grin that’s taken over his face. Miyuki shrugs.
“We could look for them together, if you have a use for a thief.” He says it flippantly, as if he could care less if he joined the other on his journey.
“What can you do? Pick locks? That’s cute. I don’t have time for you.” The man snorts.
“Well, picking locks is one of my many skills. I also happen to have persuasion, variants of chemicals that induce instant knockouts, knife-throwing, among other things.” Miyuki does a quick, exaggerated bow.
The man looks at least a little interested now.
“Fine. Tag along, if you care enough to keep up.” Miyuki assumes this is the man’s way of accepting him.
“If you would be so kind to give me your name, sir? They call me Miyuki Kazuya.” The man’s smile only widens.
My work for my giftee in the misawa exchange, the lovely starrwinter!
(i’m daiyadreamer)
————
Chapter One
Sawamura has been on the road for a long, long time. He has no need to look back on where he’s been, only forward to where he’ll go.
He has no fixed destination, has never considered stopping. He only knows that forward is the way he’s meant to walk.
Ahead. Beyond the constraints of someone always telling what to do, how to act, of criticizing his every move. No, Sawamura Eijun is a free man.
Staying still was never going to be his style, and neither was his parent’s plans for his future. So he’d cut his hair, replaced expensive silk with breeches and simple tunics, and set out for the long road before him.
Yes, the road was his home. The sky was his ceiling, the trees his walls. Tree stumps and fallen logs were his tables, the rivers his sink.
The markets he passed through were always alive with music and children playing games. Travellers and locals mixed together, a stream of people that ebbed and flowed that Sawamura never tired of. Here was where everyone blended in. Here it didn’t matter where you were from.
Sawamura liked it that way.
He’d buy his provisions for the journey ahead and then the fun would start, sometimes in the form of festivals.
It’s in the Sambourna Market that Sawamura meets Miyuki Kazuya.
The sky is a wondrous blue that morning. Sawamura would often complain that the day he met Miyuki shouldn’t have been so nice, to which Miyuki would reply that he was a wonderful person and that the weather understood this obvious fact.
This, of course, would set them off into yet another squabble, which Miyuki would somehow win, and Sawamura would be left scowling for a day or two.
But that is a little too far ahead. So let me back up and tell you the story of Sawamura Eijun, the traveller who never put down roots, and Miyuki Kazuya, the swindling merchant who accompanied him.
————
Sambourna Market, 10:36 am, 17XX
Sawamura claps along to the odd, yet thrilling rhythm of the music. He joins locals and wanderers alike, twisting, clapping, and cheering with the crowd.
Merchants laughed and sang along to the lively music, the flutes and tambourines making the song come alive.
The locals skip in a circle, folding their arms and clasping their hands together, clapping to the beat. The children join the dance, slipping between the adult’s legs to the middle of the circle, twirling in the opposite direction, hands on each other’s shoulders.
Red and yellow flags adorn the stalls, fluttering in the wind. A merchant watches the dancers from a nearby stall. A smirk makes its way onto his face as he locks onto his new target of the day.
He makes his way through the crowd, eyes glimmering at the opportunity in front of him.
A scream carries through the air as he grabs the arm of one of the young dancers. He grimaces. He’d hoped that since she was near the edge of the circle she would be easy to grab, but he realized now too late how foolish that idea was.
A young man steps in front of him.
“Let her go.” The merchant sneers. This weakling could barely count as a boy. He’s small and scrawny and doesn’t seem to be much of a threat to anyone.
“And who’s gonna stop me? You?” He bellows, but the boy doesn’t give him any sign that he’s afraid.
“Yeah, me.” The crowd starts whispering. A few men step up beside the boy, and the merchant shuffles backward instinctively.
Ten minutes and three bandages later, the merchant is taken into custody. Sawamura huffs and sinks down into a bench near an empty stall. The merchant in it looks up at him and grins.
“Wow,” he says, leaning over the counter, “You really got beat up by Azuma!”
“Don’t you have anything better to do?” Sawamura asks, annoyed. “Like selling stuff?” The merchant laughs, and his glasses almost fall off.
“Can’t you recognize when someone is closing up shop? Do you usually walk up to stalls that are closing?”
“You’re the one that started talking to me!” The bastard actually laughs at that.
“Ah, but you’re the one who responded!” Sawamura growls in frustration.
“That doesn’t make any sense!”
“I see there really isn’t much up there.” The merchant taps his skull with a smirk.
“Hey!” And that is how Sawamura meets Miyuki Kazuya, under a blazing sun with one too many bruises as an unwanted bonus.
The merchant turns to where the thug is being shoved along roughly by a ginger-haired soldier who rolled his r’s a little too much and was yelling most of what he said.
The merchant nods to the thug.
“That’s Azuma. The soldier is Jun-san. It’s usually Kawakami on duty when Azuma starts causing trouble, but Tetsu-san or Jun-san are occasionally here at the time.”
Sawamura frowns.
“What do you mean by usually?”
“I mean usually. I’m not sure why the judges keep giving him light sentences, but I bet Ochiai is behind it. Azuma keeps getting out way earlier than he should, so he keeps coming back here. I have no idea why he doesn’t have the brains to leave after he’s basically recognizable on sight.”
The merchant shrugs as he finishes.
“Anyways,” He says, closing a few more boxes, “What brings you to Sambourna, stranger?”
“Passing through on my adventure. It’s the only market around for a few miles, so I figured I’d stop here to stock up.” The merchant whistles.
“What kind of adventure?” Sawamura doesn’t really know how to tell him that not even he himself knows.
“An adventure to find what’s ahead.”
“Deep. What way are ya headed next?” Sawamura shrugs.
“Whichever way I feel like going.” The merchant laughs.
“I like you. Say, mind if I tag along? This adventure of yours sounds interesting.” Sawamura thinks about it.
“I don’t even know your name.”
“Miyuki Kazuya, jack of all trades, master of none, at your service. What’s yours, stranger?” Miyuki says with a bow.
“Sawamura Eijun. Why would you want to travel with someone whose name you don’t even know?”
“Cause you’re interesting. And new. You’d think at a market you’d see tons of different faces every day, but this is Sambourna. Sambourna doesn’t do ‘new’.” Miyuki says, making air quotes when he says new. “It’s almost as amazing as it’s frustrating.”
“You could’ve left before. You don’t need me.” Sawamura says suspiciously. Miyuki laughs.
“True. But I knew if I waited long enough, someone interesting would come along. And here you are!” He vaguely sweeps a hand at Sawamura. Sawamura scowls.
“Whatever. I guess you can tag along. But you aren’t setting our course.” He says reluctantly.
“Wouldn’t dream of it.” Miyuki snickers.
——-
Miyuki has been on the road for a long time now. Of course, nowhere as long as Sawamura has been trekking the way his heart takes him.
At this point, Miyuki has long since started to consider the road his home too. And if a certain, loud brunet just so happens to be a package deal, well, he’s not going to complain.
Sawamura has become used to Miyuki by his side on the ground. The markets, the forests, the villages and towns they pass, it’s no longer just him, but them. He would never admit it, but he’d miss the annoying bastard if he left.
Miyuki is fairly certain that Sawamura likes having him around, annoying as he can be at times. Which is why it comes as such a surprise that Sawamura isn’t next to him when he wakes one day.
Sawamura is trying to tell Miyuki something, hopefully something romantic but we all know how Sawamura is. I can imagine how fluster he’s going to be (sunflowers was the main theme for this gift because Sawamura’s literally a ball of sunshine)~
This gift is for Vicky! I was your creator for the exchange, and I had a lot of fun doing it~ You asked for something along the lines of “bartender Eijun impressing salaryman Miyuki” so I hope I was able to fulfill your guidelines.
Hope you like it (o´∀`o)
My gift for @cjoycoolio - I loved your idea of college au and tutoring I hope you enjoy the art and story!
“How’d you do on your Anatomy midterm?”
Sawamura finished pulling his baseball jersey over his head. “I’m not sure” he mused. “I wonder if the grades are posted yet.” Reaching into his locker, he fished his phone out of his gym bag and swiped over to the blackboard app to see that the grades had indeed been posted. With a sinking heart, he saw the 67 — barely passing. He held it up to show his catcher.
“Ouch,” Chris whistled. “And your average wasn’t that great to start with.”
“I knowww!” Tears practically streamed down Sawamura’s cheeks. “What am I gonna do?”
Chris smiled kindly. “I wish I could help you study but between my own classwork and baseball, I’m barely keeping my head above water. Maybe you could get a tutor?”
For @matsinko. Hi Binnie. Hope you enjoy this mess of a story. I may make a few minor changes in the future but I still like how it turned out. Also thank you for your elaborate “dear creator” letter. It was really helpful in giving me ideas of what to write for you. Anyways enjoy!
From the very pitch into his glove, Miyuki knew that Sawamura Eijun was something special. He may have not known it at the time but that was the day he became completely enamored by the pitcher. The way his golden eyes shine and his smile became so big and bright after each pitch was just some of the things that Miyuki enjoyed seeing from his beloved pitcher.
Game after game, practice after practice they became more stronger as battery partners. It seemed to the team though, that their relationship was nothing more than just teammates. The fact that Miyuki would yell and tease Sawamura whenever he did something wrong or just for fun made the team feel like there was no other feelings they shared with each other.
However, that was not entirely the case. This was because Miyuki had not too long ago developed some romantic feelings towards the pitcher. He didn’t know it at first. But in time he realized that what he felt for Sawamura was totally different than anything he’d ever experience before. He couldn’t describe as it was a rather strange subject matter. He just started to think about Sawamura more than a person usually should of a teammate. For example how smooth his skin must be but how rough his hands must be or how softs his lips must feel or how warm he’d be in his arms. He couldn’t help it. The southpaw pitcher just occupied his mind completely.
Miyuki however never knew how to really express his feelings. His father was always working especially more so after his wife died. Miyuki became rather closed off after the death of his mother. He didn’t let out his feelings, not wanting show to any weakness or emotion. Instead he continued to let his all his feelings out with baseball. All his frustrations coming out after every swing of the bat.With baseball things seemed easy or at least manageable. But when it came to actually telling or showing someone how he felt, it seemed impossible. He knew how he felt but he just didn’t know how to express it.
That however, did not mean he didn’t try. The catcher attempted multiple times to catch Sawamura off guard, but the pitcher was too oblivious to notice anything different about Miyuki’s actions. Even though the catcher would often go out of his way to practice with the pitcher even if it sometimes inconvenience him, it still went over the pitcher’s head.
“Sawamura, shall we practice your pitches after dinner tonight?”
The golden eye boy looked up at the catcher and smiled brightly. “Really?” But then he looks at the catcher rather quizzically. “ Don’t you have a test to study for? I mean that’s why Kuramochi went straight to the library after practice. You know to study.”
“It’s fine. I know the material. Kuramochi is just a dumbass who hardly pays attention during class. So he’s probably just jamming all the information we learned, in one night for the test” Miyuki stated before chuckling. “So what do you say, Sawamura? Pitching practice tonight after dinner?”
The pitcher nodded his head and grinned. “Sure. I’ll meet you at the bullpen at eight.”
“Perfect. I’ll see you then, Sawamura”.
That night around 7:55, Miyuki arrives at the bullpen, ready to have a one-on-one session with his personal favorite pitcher. That is until Sawamura showed up five minutes later with Kawakami, Furuya and Ono.
“We’re ready for our pitching practice, Miyuki” Sawamura said happily.
Miyuki had to force himself not to frown or seem rather disappointed. Instead he grew stern as he instantaneously came up with a routine for them all to do and what pitches the pitchers needed to focus on.
“And finally, Sawamura, we will pair up and work on your change up. Everyone got it?”
The boys all nodded their heads in acknowledgement.
“Alright good. Let’s get started. Come with me, Sawamura”. Miyuki then impulsively grabs the pitcher’s wrist and pulls him towards their own private practice bullpen.
However, even in their own station, every so often they were interrupted by a question or a comment made by one of the other boys.
“Miyuki, am I holding the ball right?”
“Miyuki, I think Sawamura should try it this way”.
“Miyuki-senpai. Why can’t you catch my pitches?”
It was then Miyuki realized that his attempt to have Sawamura all for himself that night really did fail. But he didn’t give up just yet. He continued attempting to grab the pitcher’s full attention in every way he could possibly think of, like taking him to an actually pro game (which Sawamura of course invited Furuya and Haruichi to as well), or helping him study for a test in a subject he was failing in, (which again Sawamura had Furuya and Haruichi attend as well), or even trying to hang out alone with him in his room, (in which one of his roommates always came in during the time). Before he knew it Miyuki became a third year and was ready to graduate.
He knew that his feelings for him were still strong but nothing he did seemed to get through to the pitcher clearly. He decided that if Sawamura couldn’t get it after all this time about how he felt then he might as well give up on him. Besides he had other things to focus on; like going to Nationals and going to a good college. There wasn’t any time to worry about someone who doesn’t even get how he felt about them. So Miyuki graduated without explicitly telling Sawamura how he felt about him.
Years passed but even with the distance and the time between them, Miyuki still hasn’t been able to get over the younger brunet. It seems rather silly to still have feelings for the pitcher after such a long time but even after dating both boys and girls he never could get over what he felt for Sawamura Eijun. His past relationships always ended with him saying it just didn’t feel right or being brutally honest and saying he never loved them, albeit the never lasted more than two months.
All his effort into giving the pitcher ended up becoming useless and a waste of time. At least that is what he thought until the unexpected happened.
It was a warm Spring evening and Miyuki had ended his shift at the small cafe he works in for the past few months when his ears caught a familiar roar of laughter. He quickly turns his head towards the noise. His eyes grew wide in shock as his heart rapidly beat in his chest forcing a blood rush to his cheeks. It couldn’t be.
“Sawamura?” he breathes out in disbelief. He takes off his glasses, rubs his eyes a bit before putting them back on. After blinking a few times, he still couldn’t believe his eyes. Just across the street from him stood the golden eye pitcher who is still his long time crush, laughing along with some people he didn’t care to acknowledge.
It happens so fast but before he knew it his crush starts to walk towards him. Panicking, Miyuki swiftly rushes out of Sawamura’s view and hides behind a wall of a corner store. He peaks over to see them still heading towards him.This causes Miyuki to run down the street in fear of being caught.
Unbeknownst to the catcher however, his swift movements wasn’t enough to elude himself from one person. A tall dark haired male was able to decipher the boys features when he peaked behind the wall. He couldn’t help but be a bit shock. He looks towards his friend who was still laughing over a joke someone said earlier before. “Hey Sawamura. I think I just saw your crush. just now, peeking behind that wall ahead of us” the tall dark haired male states.
Sawamura freezes in his place. He then chuckles. “Your funny, Masara. There is no way you just saw Miyuki-senpai”.
“Except that I did. He was just over there peeking behind the wall. I swear it.”
“How are you so sure it’s him? You haven’t even met him, Masara-san”.
Masara gives him a deadpan stare. “Do you not remember how many pictures you’ve shown me of him? Or the fact that he’s still practically on every sports magazine? Of course I fucking know what he looks like.”
“There is no way you saw him and I don’t believe you. So just drop the subject” Sawamura says before angrily walking away from the rest of the group.
His head was going haywire with millions of thoughts running through his mind. He couldn’t wrap his head around the possibility that his long time crush being here in this city. Sure the city is big and there is a huge possibility of them living in the same city and not ever running into each other, he still didn’t believe that his friend saw him. It just didn’t make any sense to him.
Why would Miyuki be here? Why haven’t we seen each other? And why was he hiding behind the wall?
Just when he was starting to forget about the catcher and push the memory of him to the back of his mind, the catcher re-enters it in a matter of seconds. But who was he kidding. No matter how much he tried to forget him, he couldn’t help but still think of him on a daily basis. He misses the way the catcher laughs, smiles and cracks his knuckles before each and every game. And of course he misses how the ball sounded each time it reached Miyuki’s mitt.
Sawamura didn’t have the guts to even approach the boy about his crush back when they were in high school together. For one he wasn’t sure the catcher felt the way and two he didn’t want to ruin the relationship they already had. He was fine with admiring from afar and hiding his feelings whenever he got closed to him. And every time there was a chance he could get alone with him, he purposely brought others along so he wouldn’t have to be alone with him. The fear of admitting his feelings if they were alone terrified him so he never let that chance happen.
And over time his feelings only grew stronger and before he knew it they were seperated when Miyuki had to go to college. Now several years later all of the sudden the possibility of getting back to that time where they could co-exist together could actually happen. And that is something Sawamura didn’t even imagine could be a possibility. And now that it is, he didn’t even know how to process the information.
“Sawamura. Dude. You alright?”
The pitcher shakes out of his reverie and turns towards his friend. “Yeah. I’m alright. Just need to find out if the person you saw is actually here.”
“How exactly are you going to figure that out?”
“I don’t know yet.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Miyuki finally slows down when he felt he was far enough away from his crush. He reaches a small park and sits himself on a bench to catch his breath. He grabs out his phone and types out a text.
“Youichi. He’s here. -MK”
“Who?” -KY
“Who the fuck else? HIM” - MK
“Wait? As in Sawamura? Really? Where did you see him and when?” - KY
“Just now after work. He was across the street from me. He was with other people. But he’s definitely here.” -MK
“Did he see you?” -KY
“No. I panicked and ran away.” - MK
“Why am I not surprised? So what’s your plan? Are you going to meet up with him?” - KY
“I don’t know. Anyways. I’ll grab us dinner and meet you at our place.” - MK
“Alright. See you soon.”- KY
Miyuki pockets his phone before releasing a sigh. “Can’t believe he’s actually here” he mutters under his breath before he walks towards the direction of his apartment.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Sawamura parts ways with his friends once he reaches his bus stop. Unfortunately during this time of the night the busses are usually crowded, however, he was able to find two empty seats near the back of the bus. He places his backpack on the seat next to him.
He so happens to be on the last stop of this bus route and that was still quite a long way from where he is now. Thankfully he had his phone to keep himself occupied for the rest of the 45 minute ride home.
A few stops later new passengers arrived and departed yet none have ever had to take the seat next to him. However, one more passenger boarded than departed. Unfortunately that meant Sawamura had to move his backpack to let the passenger on. Just as he was putting his backpack on the floor next to his feet, the person stood frozen just a few feet from him. It wasn’t until their eyes met did he understand why.
“Sawamura?” the frozen male’s voice states as his eyes met the younger pitcher.
“Miyuki?! ” Sawamura shouts in astonishment before suddenly the bus moves forward causing Miyuki to crash onto Sawamura’s lap.
The catcher stumbles to get out of the pitcher’s lap before finally settling to the seat next to him.
His cheeks flushing pink in embarrassment. He just couldn’t believe he’d run into him so soon after almost running into him earlier today. Unable to find words to say, Miyuki legs start to shake in nervousness.
“So, w-when your stop?” Sawamura asks after a few minutes of awkward silence.
“Uh. Oh right. The one right before the last stop. How about you?” Miyuki replies as he turns to look at him.
“Mine is the last stop” Sawamura states. “So..uh. How long have you been in town?”
“Since I graduated Seido. H-how about you?” Miyuki stutters out. He knew he was stuttering a lot but this is Sawamura, for chrissake. He couldn’t help but be a bit more nervous than usual.
“Oh. I didn’t know you moved here. I actually just moved here two months ago.”
“Ah. I see. That makes sense as to why I haven’t seen you around then. So I uh..I got an apartment with Youichi. Would you believe that?”
“No way. Kuramochi-senpai? That’s actually hilarious. First he was my roommate now he’s yours. Does he still snore?” Sawamura answers with a smile.
Miyuki chuckles. “We don’t actually share a room so he’s more like a housemate but yes he still snores.”
“Good to know some things haven’t changed, I guess” Sawmura states.
“I guess you’re right. Anyways how have you been, Sawamura? Still pitching I hope?”
“Of course! I still aim to be the best Ace Pitcher I can be.”
“Good. I’m glad you didn’t stop chasing your dreams. Something I admire about you” Miyuki states.
Sawamura starts to blush at the uncalled for compliment. “T-thanks.”.
“So did you and Wakana finally get together?” Miyuki jokingly asks, secret;y hoping the answer is “no”
“Wakana? And Me? You’re kidding me right? She’s like my sister. And the only guy I’d date is you” Sawamura says before laughing, not realizing his mistake.
Miyuki’s eyes widen in shock. “What did you just say? I’m the only guy you’d date?”
Sawamura’s eyes widen in shock after realizing what he just blatantly admitted out loud.” I…I mean.. I…” he starts to stutter. “What I meant.. Was…..well..” his cheeks start to flush red in embarrassment. “Look I’ve had a crush on you since high school” he admits before turning towards the window, not wanting to show his face towards the catcher.
Miyuki’s heart was pounding rapidly. He was stunned beyond disbelief. How did he really not know. After all this time, the pitcher was feeling the same way he was. It was then he smacks Sawamura’s head. “You idiot. I’ve tried so hard to get you to realize that I like you too but you never caught on”.
“Ow!” Sawamura says with a frown before his eyes turn to shock once more. “Wait are you serious? You had a crush on me too!?”
“Yes, Seriously. I tried so many times to be alone with you but every time I tried, you’d bring someone along with us. It seemed like you didn’t want to be alone with me.”
“That’s not true…well I mean… okay…it was more complicated than that. I just got scared that if we were alone I’d ended up admitting my feelings and you’d reject me and I get hurt. And I just couldn’t take that chance because I really really like you, Miyuki”.
Miyuki eyes soften a bit. He chuckles. “You’re such an idiot, Sawamura.”
“Hey. You could have just told me you had a crush on me too!”
“You’re right. I didn’t. I guess I’m an idiot too.”
“Last stop!” The bus driver announces.
“Oh guess I missed my stop” Miyuki chuckles.
“Uh.I know this is kind of last minute but would you want to come over for a bit?”
Miyuki smiles and nods his head before grabbing his phone as he gets up from his seat. “Sure. Let me just text Youichi I’ll be home late. You know how much he worries”.
“Good idea” Sawamura smiles before he grabs his backpack and heads towards the exit.
Miyuki follows behind closely, thanking the bus driver for the ride.
Sawamura holds out his hand and Miyuki instantly takes it, forming a newfound love out of long term crush.
For eternal-heathaze : Dear Taki, thank you for your lovely letter and I hope you enjoy this! Much love ~BubblySage
Koi no Yokan (恋の予感)
(n). Japanese
The feeling a person gets the first time they meet someone and knowing they will fall in love eventually. Not to be confused with the English phrase ‘love at first sight’.
aka what if Sawamura and Miyuki knew each other from childhood?
Chapters : 8/8
Words : 44,130
Main Tag : College AU, Childhood friends AU, Get-together fic
A MiyuSawa (Detective Conan crossover) fic by BubblySage
For kittebasu : Dear Kitten, it has been a privilege to write a fic for you (aka I lowkey died, haha). I wanted to focus on fake dating but somehow it ended up as a crossover and Kaito is involved, so there’s definitely something fake there, haha. I enjoyed your letter so much. Hope you enjoy this! Much love ~BubblySage
Summary: Kaito needed to find his gem. If it meant impersonating Miyuki and infiltrating the Seido baseball team, then so be it. It would’ve been a lot easier if someone called Sawamura didn’t feel the need to cling to this Miyuki person every damned second. Honestly, what is with this baseball battery?
Chapters : 1/1
Words : 11,040
Main Tag : Hand-holding, Crossover with Detective Conan
