Work Text:
Crash!
What had been possibly the best home run of Hinata’s life was officially ruined when he heard the breaking of glass in the far distance. He grimaced visibly, noticing what he had done.
Noda burst out in laughter, giving Hinata a hardy slap on the back. “Better go retrieve your ball. You might wanna work an extra shift or two to pay for that window.”
“I know, I know.” Hinata sighed, handing his bat to the other boy. The others watched, some laughing and some pitying him as he walked shamefully to the house whose window he had just obliterated.
He knocked on the door and was led upstairs to the room where, presumably, his ball had landed. Before him was a girl with bright pink hair—she turned to him when he entered the room. He winced when he noticed the bandages on her hands; they had to be cuts from when the glass had broken.
“Um… my apologies for the intrusion.” Hinata bowed at ninety degrees. “I was playing baseball and accidentally hit it too far.”
The girl was silent for a moment, but then she smirked. “You’re kind of stupid, aren’t you?” Hinata stood up straight, face flushed with embarrassment. “Well, whatever. It’s been a while since anything this interesting happened,” she continued, grinning.
“Oh… well, um.”
“Are you going to tell me your name?”
“Ah- yes! I’m Hinata. Hideki Hinata.”
“I’m Yui. Nice to meet you.”
Hinata smiled, rather relieved. At least she wasn’t yelling at him. That was a good thing, wasn’t it? Who knows, maybe they could even be friends.
~~~
Eight months later.
“Yui! Hinata is here to see you!”
Yui perked up at the sound of her mother’s voice. A few moments later, Hinata stepped into her room.
In the past few months, he had become her beacon of light. The source of her laughter, the one thing she remained living for.
Hinata was in love with her, and she was in love with him.
“Hey, Hinata.”
“Hm?” He sat down on her bed, looking at her with curious eyes.
“What do you want to be when you grow up?”
“Well, that’s easy.” He grinned, poking her nose. “A pro baseball star. That’s always been my dream, so I’m gonna keep working at it.”
“That’s amazing. I’ll be rooting for you, from right here.” Yui smiled sadly. “I wish I could be something when I grow up, too.”
“You could be my wife.” The words spilled out of his mouth before he knew what he was saying.
The two looked at each other for a few moments that felt like eternity.
“Even… even though I’m like this, you would want me to be your wife?” Tears welled up in her eyes.
“Of course! Even if you can’t walk, even if you can’t have children…I would want no one but you.”
Yui sniffled. Tears overflowed and slipped down her cheeks. “Yeah. When I get better, we’ll definitely get married.”
~~~
Four months later.
Hinata panicked when he felt his phone buzzing in the middle of class. There was no one who should be calling him at this hour, so why…?
He slipped his phone out under his desk. It was Yui’s mother. For her to be calling him at this time of day was definitely bad news.
He stood up, ignoring the exasperated scoldings of his teacher, and ran outside. He called Yui’s mom back in a hurry.
“Hinata! It’s Yui. She’s in bad shape. Please come quickly.”
He wasted no time asking questions, grabbing his bicycle from the school grounds. No matter the case, he would rush to her side, always. That was his promise.
He dropped his bicycle off in Yui’s front yard and rushed to the door. Her mother was already there, ushering him in.
When he got to Yui’s room, he felt his heart crack in two. She was coughing uncontrollably, her head lolled to the side, unable to support even that little weight. She had always been sick, but this—
“Yui.” Hinata was by her side in an instant, cupping her cheek and holding her head up as he knelt by her side.
“Hinata—” she could barely utter his name before being interrupted by a fit of coughs again.
“Shhh, don’t speak. It’s okay. You’re going to be okay.” He tried to comfort her, but inside, he was panicking. This wasn’t supposed to happen. Yui was supposed to get better, she was supposed to grow up and they were going to get married. She was supposed to watch him play baseball on TV and he would return to her side at night and they would enjoy each others’ company and grow old together. That was how it was supposed to be. That was how it had to be.
“Hinata, listen,” she wheezed, “I think this is it for me.” Through her tears, she smiled. “Thank you for being here. Thank you for taking care of me and lightening my mother’s burden. Thank you for caring for me, for loving me…”
“Stop it! This isn’t goodbye. I said you were going to be okay…” Now it was Hinata’s turn to cry. The tears were unstoppable.
Yui just chuckled. “You’ve always been a bit stupid, haven’t you? Your mom must’ve dropped you as a baby.” He shook his head, denying her every word. “I love you, Hinata.”
He sniffled, trying to choke back his tears. “I love you too.”
Coughs wracked the girl’s body for another few agonizing moments. And then, finally, she was still.
Hinata realized just then how painfully small her body was. She was always saying grand things and talking loudly, but without her life and vitality, her body was small. So pitifully small.
Her head lolled into his chest, completely limp. Hinata let the tears fall, painting her sleeping face.
In death, they had made a promise to be together. In death, Yui had left Hinata behind. In life, they had been reunited. And in life, they had been torn apart once more.