Mushoku No Sonzai 無色の存在 (Colorless Existence)

                    Perspective : Ren
----------------------------------------------------------------- Pant. Pant...

"Alright!!! Go!"

Swing!

"Strike! Try that again!"

Pant...

Swing!!

"Strike Two!"

Pant..

"Yo! Get your stance correct!"

Swing!!!

"Strike Three! Out!"

"Alright everyone! That's enough for today! Good work! Get rested for more practice tomorrow!"

Pant...

"Ren. I expect better performance from you at tomorrow's practice. Alright?"

That was our coach for baseball, Takashi-sensei.
Yeah. Another lecture from him.
As he leaves the field, I rub the sweat off my face, and head to the water fountains.
Damn. It's so hot...I could feel the bright sun burn through my skin like an oven.
I splash the ice cold water on my face.

Sigh.

I'm Ren Wakahisa.
I'm nothing special. I'm just a high schooler, who's no good at studying actually.
I do play baseball though. No, the truth is, I'm not exactly good at baseball either. No. I actually suck.
I walk towards the field's exit gate.
No, seriously. Who decided to practice in the middle of a day this hot?

"Hey! Wakahisa-kun!"

I turn around and wave. A girl was running towards me.
As she approached, she panted out of exhaustion.

"Wakahise-kun."

I hand over a water bottle from my backpack.

"Ah. Thank you!"

That's Chiharu Tachibana. No, I don't remember when I met her at all. Ever since the beginning of high school, she just suddenly started following me around. Well, not that it bothers me.
She chugs the water and smiles at me afterwards. I give her a devilish smile.

"Seriously. If you keep waiting for me after practice, people will get the wrong idea."

"So I can't...?"

Her face begins to tear up. No. That face is too much for any man to say no to!

"Gah...! Fine! Fine! You can! Just don't go around saying anything weird!"

"Hai~"

I turn back around and head for the exit gate. This heat is unbearable.

"You going home?"

She appears at my side before I finish asking. Of course.
We make our way to our usual paths home.
Well, our town was relatively peaceful. There weren't many cars or streets to cross often.
I cover my face from the sun's glare as we walk through the street. The sun burns...

"You know, Tachibana-san. I've actually been thinking.."

She looks at me confused.

"Thinking what?"

"Well...I just don't think I'm cut out for baseball. And I really suck. So, I was just thinking I should just quit."

She stops walking.

"Eh? Tachibana-san?"

She pokes my nose.

"No can do Wakahisa-kun. You can't give up. You promised I could watch you play the tournaments remember?"