Nobody likes their secrets being discovered. 

Haruka looked at the message, feeling uneasy. She was sitting on her bed, with only the lamp in the room turned on. A room shrouded in darkness was the best way to think; at least she thought so. She hadn't meant to discover that secret; that Kenji was...and yet, she felt so inexplicably bad about it. Plus the way Kenji had reacted; she was sure that absolutely no one in the world had any idea that Kenji Sato, the famous baseball player, could be the twenty-foot-tall giant superhero that had been saving Japan for so long from the Kaiju.

Even just thinking about it, the whole thing sounded so absurd. And in Haruka's mind that made complete logical sense. The absurdity would be a good curtain to hide behind and keep that secret. 

Kenji is calling you!

Jumping a little out of surprise, Haruka accepted the call and raised her phone to her ear. "Hello? Kenji?"

"Hey, Haruka," Kenji sounded normal enough, but there was just that slight edge to his voice that made the hairs on the back of her neck stand. 

Please don't end our friendship! Please don't end our friendship! 

Haruka ignored the silent plea in her mind, before responding, "Listen Kenji, about your...your other thing, for what it's worth, I really am sorry that I-"

"Don't," Kenji interrupted, sounding somewhat resigned. "I told you to stop saying sorry, yeah? It wasn't your mistake, it was mine. I should have been more careful."

"No! No!" Haruka immediately said. "This is on me, entirely. I told you before and I'll tell you now; I swear I won't say a thing. I promise. Cross my heart and hope to die and everything. Besides I literally am not close to anyone to tell them something like this. I barely have anybody who I call a friend. Besides you of course. And-"

"I'm just going to stop you right there, Haru," Kenji sighed. "Look, I know you're sincere and I don't blame you. It's just...this whole thing..." He paused, releasing a sigh deeper than before. "At least it's you. There's no one better who could have found this out." 

Haruka didn't respond. On the one hand, she was relieved that Kenji wasn't going to end their friendship. On the other hand, that edge to his voice from before...she had to frame her next sentence very carefully. "Kenji, I...I am glad you trust me. But forgive me for asking...uh...do you not want this? To be...to be who you are. Because if that is the case, you shouldn't have to take on this role. You should have a choice."

Kenji snorted. "Yeah, well, if it was that easy, you and I wouldn't even be having this conversation right now."

Haruka pressed her lips together. So Kenji didn't want to be Ultraman. Huh. "Well, look, I don't know how much I can help you with this, but whatever you need, I am there. Consider this blanket permission to call me whenever."

"Hmm, interesting." She could hear the smirk in his voice.

"I should go now, Kenji. I have a painting to finish tomorrow and you need to get ready for your game." 

"Yeah, you're right about that. Though the game is one thing I know the Giants will win. And you better be wearing my jersey."

"I will, Kenji. I promise. Bye for now."

"Bye, Haru. See you at the game."

Game day arrived, quicker than Haruka expected.

And boy, she was nervous. She had attended baseball games before, but somehow this one just felt a little more nerve-wracking than usual. It was Kenji's first game back after all and there would be so many fans coming to the game, just for him. And she would be the only person in that stadium wearing a signed Ken Sato jersey.

Arrgh!! Why was this so hard?!! Haruka slapped her face. Things were fine. Things were going to be fine. Things had to be fine. 

She grabbed the jersey from her bed and stood in front of her vanity mirror. Slowly, she slipped it on, staring at herself as she did so. The jersey was a little oversized, but Haruka did not mind that at all. She preferred to wear slightly oversized things. 

"Where did Kenji even-?" She turned halfway, spotting Kenji's autograph just above his name. "That is a weird spot to sign something. Aren't you supposed to sign it in the front where your team name is?"

Haruka could imagine Kenji's response to that. I'm Ken Sato and I'll sign wherever I want to. 

She shook her head. Time to finish getting ready. Lucky for herself, Haruka had short hair, so with one quick swipe of the comb, her hair was done. She stared at herself in the mirror. 

Did she look ready? Yes. Did she actually feel ready? Probably not. 

But it was time to go now, especially since she did not want to be stuck in traffic. 

*

The new Tokyo Dome was massive. Maybe it was the artist in her, but she found the architecture to be surprisingly beautiful. And tonight the stadium was completely sold out, packed full of baseball fans, a majority of whom were here for one reason only. To witness Ken Sato's first match as a part of the Yomiuri Giants. 

As she walked down the stadium steps alongside actual baseball fans, Haruka already felt out of place. There were far too many people here than she preferred. At least, the ticket Kenji had given her was for some pretty good seats. (And then there was the jersey). 

She kept walking down the stairs even as the people around her were turning into the aisles, taking their seats. The lower she stepped down, the fewer people there were. The seats closer to the Giants dugout must have been expensive. Definitely more than she could afford by herself. 

Finally, right at the railing that separated the field from the stadium's aisles, Haruka found her seat. Row one, seat number 3. In the seat to her right was a middle-aged lady, probably in her early fifties, wearing a Giants jersey and her cap. On her left was a relatively young-looking man, in his early thirties maybe, also wearing a Giants jersey. As he turned to talk to the person sitting next to him, she spotted the big 'Sato 7' on the jersey. 

Don't talk to me! Don't talk to me! Silently praying, Haruka muttered a quick 'excuse me', settled into her seat before pulling out her phone. The perfect excuse to not interact with anyone and focus on just Kenji...the Giants, that is.

What seemed to be seconds or minutes or hours passed before the stadium was filled to the brim and it was almost time for the game. Some players from both teams were already in the field, doing a few practice drills.  And a few ads later, the commentators were also ready to go. 

"Welcome, baseball fans, to opening day and a matchup between your Giants and the visiting Swallows. You can feel the electricity in the air. 42,000 fans here tonight, a capacity crowd waiting to get their first look at Ken Sato, anxious to see what he can bring to this Giants team."

 Haruka could not sit still. She stood up from her seat and gripped the railing tightly as she waited for Kenji to walk out. How am I already this anxious?!?! The game hasn't even started yet!

Then, she saw him. Striding across the dugout, with confidence just oozing from him. He walked up to his coach and whispered something in his ear. The coach did not look happy. 

"...rightfielder Ken Sato!"

The moment his name was announced, the stadium exploded with cheers. Kenji took his bat from a kid who was dressed up in baseball gear and did a full 360-degree spin as the people in the stadium cheered even louder. Right as he came to a stop and started walking normally, his eyes scanned the crowd closer to the dugout as he though he was...the moment he spotted Haruka, he winked. 

Haruka shook her head with a fond smile, even as the people around her cheered even louder. Probably thinking that Kenji was winking at them. But she knew who that was intended for.  It's not a competition, but I win. Ha!

She kept her eyes on Kenji, watching as he walked with confidence, pride and...and a little pain. He kept a hand pressed to his left shoulder and though she couldn't see his face at the moment, she knew it was hurting. 

'But why...unless it was because....' Haruka thought. Immediately, she felt a spark of worry. She didn't know the extent of the injury, but Kenji would be fine...right? Maybe he had some extra-fast healing powers of some kind. Hopefully. 

As he stood on the batter's box, the entire stadium seemed to holding its breath, Haruka included, waiting to see the Ken Sato show in Japan for the first time. 

The pitcher threw the ball, his stance sharp. The ball sailed through the air and landed straight in the catcher's mitt. Kenji's first swing had been a strike. 

"Huh?" Haruka shared the same shocked reaction at the missed hit, like so many others n the stadium. But only she knew the probable reason why he wasn't able to hit the ball. And that only proved true, as Kenji missed the second pitch, resulting in another strike. He grabbed at his left shoulder, clearly in pain. 

'Damn it, Kenji, what are you doing?' Haruka wanted to shout out of concern. She watched with careful eyes as Kenji and the Swallows catcher exchanged harsh words. He was clearly mad, ready to fight the catcher. The pair were chest to chest, almost coming to blows before the umpire stepped in. 

"Bottom of the first, two strikes on Sato and he doesn't look happy," The commentator said, way too eager to point out the obvious. All of a sudden, Kenji switched sides and instead, held the bat in his right hand, rather than his left. 

"And now it looks like Ken Sato's gonna try something new. He's gonna switch to batting right-handed," Now, the commentator sounded shocked. Of course, Kenji would do something like that. "You know, I've never seen this in the middle of an at-bat."

Haruka gripped the railing in front of her, leaning forward, waiting and watching with bated breath. Kenji would hit this. She knew that. There was no way he was going to let himself get struck out this early. 

The pitcher launched his final throw, the ball curving through the air. And then, in a matter of a split second, Kenji struck the ball, the loud crack echoing across the stadium. The ball went flying through the air. The stadium exploded in cheers as he started running to cover the bases. 

"Go Kenji! You're amazing!" Haruka's cheered melted into the cheers filling the stadium. But she could care less. She was jumping up and down in her seat, celebrating Kenji's homerun like so many Giants fans in the stadium. 

Kenji Sato was the most incredible sportsperson she knew. (And considering she barely followed any sport....well...)

Just as she was about to sit down, Haruka looked at the stadium's roof. Something was...then, something crashed, loudly and fire filled the rooftop. Forget sitting down. "Oh my god," she covered her mouth in horror. Everyone else in the stadium was also starting to take notice. 

Contrary to the cheers from earlier, the stadium was now filled with sounds of stampeding feet and screams of people as everyone rushed towards the exit. Even the players on the field were running to safety, all except one.

Haruka stayed rooted at her seat, her gaze hooked onto Kenji as he stood, alone in the field. She stared into the center of the explosion, eyes focused on the serpentine creature hidden by the smoke. 

As the smoke cleared, the Kaiju roared, the sound of it bone-chilling and frightening. It was fucking Gigantron. One of the more dangerous, destructive Kaiju. 

Panic filled her heart. But even then, Haruka felt extremely worried about Kenji. Kenji the baseball player. Kenji her best friend. Kenji, who was Ultraman and would have to fight Gigantron. 

As she ran out of the stadium, joining the escaping crowds, she knew one thing. Sleep would be a distant memory tonight. 

....and so it all begins. 

i would have written more, but i think this was the perfect way to end this chapter. the next chapter will be more fun i promise, because as you all know, we get to meet a very special someone 

i hope you all enjoyed this chapter. let me know your thoughts in the comments!! <33