Strike 013
[ Yamamoto flops onto a random sofa in the student lounge, an open box on his lap and a letter in his hand. He laughs every now and then as he reads it, and grabs some mochi that was in a container for him to eat.
"..now Takeshi, listen up! I want you to have fun this year - work hard in your studies, keep working on your batting when the weather's warmer, make as many friends as you can and don't forget what I taught you about cafeteria food! You never know what's in it, so make sure you make your own food as often as you can."
Yamamoto shakes his head, and you can hear him utter a low, 'now, now, dad!' before he continues to read.
"I want you to know that I'm proud of you, son, and that I always will be. I hope you stay healthy and happy this year, just as you have been every other year. Jirou misses you, so hurry up and visit when you've got a long enough weekend, okay? You can help me out with the restaurant when you do - the regulars say that they've missed seeing you too. Don't forget to say hi to your mother and maybe go visit her if you can.
Happy new year!
-Pop.
Ps. I know you can't exactly play much baseball around this time of year, and I don't want you throwing any balls around the school and breaking things just because you're restless. I thought you might want to brush up on your kendo so you don't get rusty, so I've sent you my ol' trusty kendo stick. Take care of Shigure Kintoki - I don't want to hear a word about you mistreating him!"
Yamamoto carefully tucks the letter away in his pocket, a small smile on his face. He stares down into the box on his lap with a sheepish sort of laugh. ]
Well, sending me Kintoki was nice and all, but what am I supposed to do with these?
[ A long, plastic vuvuzela lies in the box, along with some mochi, tayaki, other little snacks, party poppers, hats, holiday crackers and noisemakers. ]
"..now Takeshi, listen up! I want you to have fun this year - work hard in your studies, keep working on your batting when the weather's warmer, make as many friends as you can and don't forget what I taught you about cafeteria food! You never know what's in it, so make sure you make your own food as often as you can."
Yamamoto shakes his head, and you can hear him utter a low, 'now, now, dad!' before he continues to read.
"I want you to know that I'm proud of you, son, and that I always will be. I hope you stay healthy and happy this year, just as you have been every other year. Jirou misses you, so hurry up and visit when you've got a long enough weekend, okay? You can help me out with the restaurant when you do - the regulars say that they've missed seeing you too. Don't forget to say hi to your mother and maybe go visit her if you can.
Happy new year!
-Pop.
Ps. I know you can't exactly play much baseball around this time of year, and I don't want you throwing any balls around the school and breaking things just because you're restless. I thought you might want to brush up on your kendo so you don't get rusty, so I've sent you my ol' trusty kendo stick. Take care of Shigure Kintoki - I don't want to hear a word about you mistreating him!"
Yamamoto carefully tucks the letter away in his pocket, a small smile on his face. He stares down into the box on his lap with a sheepish sort of laugh. ]
Well, sending me Kintoki was nice and all, but what am I supposed to do with these?
[ A long, plastic vuvuzela lies in the box, along with some mochi, tayaki, other little snacks, party poppers, hats, holiday crackers and noisemakers. ]