The horror in his partner's eyes that day is something that he'll never forget.

It was an accident; the batter's too sharp angle and a moment of miscalculated trajectory were the key points that ended a pitcher's career.

The final game of the college tournament, Sawamura Eijun and Miyuki Kazuya acting as battery once more after high school graduation, predictions on their win filled the spectators' minds. However, one of the batters hit the ball in a way that flew directly towards the ace's left shoulder, shattering it on impact.

Teammates and rivals alike ran to the fallen player, Miyuki being the fastest to take hold of Sawamura who lets out a choked sound of pain and locks eyes with the catcher's horror-filled ones before losing consciousness.

The damage caused by the hit affected many parts of his left side; his left shoulder blade was cracked and fragmented in some parts, there was a couple of fractures on his collarbone, and the collision also influenced the joint between shoulder and upper arm.

It didn't look good. The doctor said that Eijun needed multiple surgeries and that after a long bout of rehabilitation he might be able to regain full mobility of his left arm once again. However, regarding his pitching the possibilities of actually being able to throw with accuracy or to be able to even last more than 20 pitches were certainly null.

But there's something everyone knew Sawamura Eijun for; his stubbornness and his 'never-give-up' disposition. So, he went through everything, the surgeries, the rehab, and the intense and grueling drills in order to regain his throwing arm back.

His friends supported him all the way. He got visited by Chris, someone that knew the hardships of rehabilitation since high school and someone Eijun looks up to after years since the catcher's graduation. The pitcher was grateful to them all. Even more so to his one and only partner, the one who no matter the odds would always bring out his full potential, one Miyuki Kazuya.

He became his pillar during his dark times, always there to help him out or to just be an ear he could vent on. Miyuki also helped him with his studies in order not to fall behind, thanks to that; he graduated together with his friends.

Years later, his efforts were rewarded with the doctor's declaration of full health, with the exception of complete recovery of his previous reflexes and endurance. He could still throw a few times, but it would never be as much as before. The therapy for his arm would become less frequent but still and almost fixed the thing in his everyday life.

Of course, there were times when both of them would argue and silent wars between them became a famous and nostalgic thing among their teammates. One huge dispute was about Miyuki refusing to go to the Major League. He objected saying that he'll be ok just being on Eijun's side, but the pitcher almost got himself injured once again in his fury towards the catcher, if not for Miyuki catching him on time during his first tirade.

Sawamura, full of disappointment and fury, coldly told the catcher, that if the excuse to not follow his dream of becoming an international player was his injury or wanting to take care of him, then Eijun would cut ties with him and move as far away as possible to not see him again.

That convinced Kazuya of traveling to the States, with the promise of visiting during holidays and calling as many times as he was able to.

The day before Miyuki was to leave, all friends from college and previous Seido upperclassmen met up for a friendly farewell game. Eijun was on the sidelines cheering everyone up and making them smile. During the last inning, Kazuya's eyes became blurry withheld-back tears when Eijun walked to the mound for the last pitch.

That moment became a precious memory for both of them, for a brief while, their battery came back to life on the field. Eijun stroke out two batters and walked one, on the last throw he nodded to his catcher who nodded back to him before signaling for the pitcher's best throw, his fastball.

Everyone celebrated that nostalgic pitch, Eijun let out a sigh and used his cap to cover his teary eyes, then took a big breath and with a big laugh wished Kazuya the best of luck in America, to which the catcher responded with a genuine smile of his own.

Miyuki left, and Sawamura focused on finding something to be passionate about besides baseball. The farewell game let him know his limit from now on, so he needed something to take the place of favorite sport.

To the surprise of many, except his close friends, Eijun found his call in law enforcement.

[6 years later]

Sawamura Eijun, after years working with the police earning the reputation of a reliable officer, and well-known by the nickname 'Acejun' for his peculiar habit of going around with one or three rubber balls on him, and being able to stop running targets with his accurate throw, feels that fate wants to play a prank on him.

Recently, he got assigned into a division he thought only existed in comic books; the phantom thief division. It seems that every few years, someone following the footsteps of famous thieves like Arsène Lupin, Black Bart, Christopher Rocancourt, Slick Willie, and in most recent years; the Man of 20 Faces, Dark Mousy, and the infamous Kaito Kid. His superiors are known as the gentlemen detectives, a title that he isn't sure he'll want to himself if he does good in his assignment, which is to investigate the latest so-called phantom thief; Kaito Kaz.

His modus operandi is crafty most of the time and annoying depending on his mood. This time seems to be the latter. A message announcing that Kaito Kaz will rob the Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, the annoying part is that he doesn't specify his target and the heist is only hours away.

With a sigh, Eijun prepares himself based on his studies of comic books, and actually real documents related to this topic and takes around 6 rubber balls with him just in case. On his way out the news headline coming for a nearby tv calls his attention.

In it, the retirement of major league player Miyuki Kazuya is written in big letters, a picture of the catcher on one side, while the reporter also explains that Kazuya is considering going into the culinary arts, and there's a probability of him becoming a chef in the future.

Eijun shakes his head while chuckling at the reporter's words and walks out of headquarters on his way to the Hall of Fame. Hoping that Kaito Kaz wouldn't appear, so he could return home early.

No such luck. Kaito Kaz appears before the task force with a roguish smile on his face, wearing a white suit with violet undertones that appear under the right light.

A wild chase starts and the phantom thief laughs impishly at the way the members of the force fall into his harmless tramps. Eijun, watching the chaos from the sidelines incredulously, brings out one of his balls and takes aim, taking his nostalgic pitcher's pose; he throws the ball towards the thief's back. Kaito Kaz not only moves out of the way but is able to catch the ball in his hand.

This action annoys the ex-pitcher and he throws another ball, which is also caught. He curses the unfairness of the phantom having good reflexes and prepares himself for another throw. However, the lights go out and everyone starts to panic, Eijun tries to calm his coworkers making use of his loud voice when he feels a soft sensation against his lips. He turns around and meets a playful smile under a top hat. With a snap of fingers, the lights come back to life.

"My duty here is done!" declares Phantom Kaz "thank you for the entertainment of your presence on this beautiful night. Farewell!" States the phantom in a knowing tone, disappearing from the place under a smoke-screen of his own making.

The officers observed the act confused; the detective in charge orders them to check for any stolen item, letting out a frustrated groan when everything is reported in place. The officers consider this heist a prank and start to clean up the mess caused by the chase and miss the way one Sawamura Eijun is touching his lips with a bit of a blush on his face.

Everyone is sent home to report early the next day. Eijun hauls a taxi, no feeling in the mood to take the train, gives his address and looks out the window at the city lights.

When he gets to his apartment, he curses under his breath when he checks for his room key and can't find it. But then, the door opens slightly and a wonderful aroma comes out. Drooling at the delicious scent, Eijun enters his place and feels momentarily surprised when he sees famous Miyuki Kazuya in his kitchen cooking dinner.

The officer walks into the kitchen and glares at the starting next week on, ex-catcher who simply throws him a set of keys followed by a knowing smile.

"Next time don't lose them Bakamura," says Kazuya playfully, while cutting some vegetables.

Eijun groans at his words then walk farther in, and surrounds Miyuki waist with his arms, standing chest to back against the catcher.

"And next time don't come up with a whole annoying heist to steal them from me," says the ex-pitcher nipping Kazuya's neck.

"I'll try not too" promises the baseball player, also known by his partner as Kaito Kaz, turning around to kiss Eijun properly.

Sawamura returns the kiss happily, tightening his hold around the catcher's waist to bring him closer, moaning at the slight contact of their lower half.

"Dinner now, funny things later" orders Kazuya with a genuine smile on his face, bringing out a necklace from under the pitcher's shirt with a catcher's mitt charm and a simple ring beside it. Eijun follows the catcher's actions and brings out a similar necklace, this one with a tanuki charm beside the ring.

They look at each other with dopey smiles on their faces and peck each other's lips.

"I missed you" they murmur at the same time, laughing at the action. With one last kiss, Eijun steps back from Miyuki to prepare the table. This is a well-known routine since they started living together after Miyuki's first year in America, which became less frequent as the years passed by, but with Kazuya's 'retirement' they'll spend more time together, as the newlyweds they are.

The End