31_days | [August 6th] [Only Yesterday] Home Run

Title: Home run
Day/Theme: August 6. "3,500 miles away"
Series: Only Yesterday
Character/Pairing: HirotaTaeko, Hirota
Rating: G
Disclaimer: Don't own studio Ghibli's "Only Yesterday"

Hirota likes Okajima Taeko.

He doesn't understand why his heart keeps skipping several beats faster than usual, as if he were having a home run in the middle of a game, while his eyes rivet to the petite girl from class 5-3 whenever she passes, why he's even crushing on someone he hasn't even spoken a word to and why he's so giddily happy as soon as he's found out from buddy-buddy acquaintances that said petite girl is called Okajima Taeko.

He doesn't understand it. How could he? He's only a fifth grader, who dreams of becoming the best pitcher in the whole world. Some day. He's only an eleventh-year-old, who adores his mother to bits and couldn't help being so popular amongst the girls in his class.

It's your smile. It's your charm. It's your cool.

Hirota has heard this many times. From various people. And yet, -she- doesn't even know about his mere existence. Hirota is young and naive and still a kid, so he treats this as nothing serious. He's not an adult yet. He's not into the serious issues just yet.

Carefree as he might be, Hirota knows he can't contain himself. He's filled with energy, filled with baseball and the need of freedom. Somehow his classmates find out about his crush. He doesn't remember telling anyone. He doesn't remember slipping out a name. He doesn't even remember how everything ends up this way. Awkward. Silent.

EVERYONE KNOWS.

He thought he's going to die of embarrassment. Especially when she finally -sees- him oh-so-many times.

"Rainy days... cloudy days... sunny days," he begins awkwardly, his palms start sweating. Okajima Taeko is staring at him, confused and waiting and not really staring at him. "Which one do you like?"

With a nervous glance in his direction, Taeko answers shyly, faltering. "Cl-cloudy days."

Hirota hears the imaginary crowd cheer in his mind, loud and excited, and he stops suppressing his giddy smile. "You're like me!"

Okajima Taeko looks surprised.

He looks back with a grin and runs off--he doesn't know where--throwing his baseball in the air before catching it with practiced ease.

End.

TheNekoTalks:

I've watched this movie so many times, I keep falling in love with the story line, I keep feeling that itch to write something about Taeko's life. And it ends up with a not-so-good drabble that makes no sense. Though, considering the fact that we hardly know much about Hirota from the movie (he's only appeared for only a few minutes... ), I just keep his character this way.

Thank you for reading~!

.:Nekocin:.