#(sorry this is late but miyu is complicated with alice asjdkf)

[museguided]

@shrapnelsong sent: Of course, the tradition didn't extend only to her juniors. She'd made sure to have Mochi's gift delivered to his place that very morning. But. When it came to a certain pretty boy catcher, it was a little trickier. Not only because he didn't like sweets, but mostly because he'd never given her his new address, which is understandable, really. And she never asked him for it either, not wanting to risk putting him in an awkward position of having to deny or divulge personal information. She knew which team he was playing for, though... Sooooooo, if it happens to cause any trouble, she'll take only half the blame. It was easy enough to find contact information for the staff on their website, and she picked the person who she felt would be in charge of dealing with any fan mail for the players or anything like that. If anything, she was sure they would be dealing with a lot of packages already, but she still got in contact beforehand just in case, sending a polite email a few days prior informing that she had been a manager to one of their newer players and if it would be okay to send him a gift. Once given the clear, she proceeded with the plan. Alice had decided on a blueberry theme this year, but she knew she would make something different for Miyuki regardless. As much as she couldn't relate, it was fun trying to find or come up with recipes for someone who didn't have a sweet tooth, and now that she had another group of friends to gift, it was nice having a healthier option too. The almond lemon blueberry pie bars turned out so nice that she put a few extra pieces into his box so he could maybe share with his teammates. Picking a blue-purple pen for the card, Alice smiled to herself as she wrote: "You're not getting away that easily, Captain! Happy Valentine's Day!" It took a few seconds for it to register that he wasn't the Captain anymore, but she didn't want to erase the lingering sentiment and left it like that, securing the card to the box and mailing it his way via his team.

Kazuya knew plenty of eyes were watching his every move. Even after he signed into new contract, the scouts that had observed him through his high school career soon turned to sports media, angling to interview him while he settled in. Thankfully, his agent was well aware of his lack of desire to enter that kind of spotlight and fielded the majority. Given that it was his first year as the new promising catcher on, arguably, the best team in the NPB, he managed to slip away from most of the publicity. But as time went on, he wouldn't be able to keep getting away with it, especially if he strived to be the team's main catcher sooner than later.

It brought him back to a conversation that seemed ages ago now. They both knew that he couldn't focus solely on baseball for the rest of his life. He wasn't disillusioned by the idea of any press that could show up at his door. However, if anyone were curious enough to dig into his life past the sport, he'd hardly make it easy for them. In the privacy of the elevator bringing him up to his residence, he chuckled.

The doors slid open and he adjusted his grip on the large paper bag in his arm, digging into his pocket for the keys with the other. He was only somewhat aware of its contents, light in weight and concealed in its box. Though he could make a fairly educated guess as to what it was. While the staff that had called in had sounded odd in an attempt to keep the package a secret, they couldn't withhold the name of the sender—especially if they wanted Kazuya to come down and pick it up. When he heard 'Sakurazuka', he made his decision.

"She really can't resist her favorite holiday." Though he hadn't heard much from her since graduation. Which was to be expected when every one of them had their own life to lead. Their grand tales together with Seido had reached its end, and holding onto sentimentality over the opportunities provided to them wasn't too realistic in the long run.

With the package carefully deposited on the nearest table, he finally lifted the lid to reveal the sweets she undoubtedly made by hand, her short letter sitting neatly on top. A soft smile curved his lips at the sight of his old title, popping the plastic tin to bite into one of the bars. With the taste of blueberries stuck to the roof of his mouth, he sought his old phone, hidden away in a drawer by his bedside. His management insisted that he should upgrade to receive their texts and files much easier and reliably. With the money that came from his contract, he saw no reason to refuse—well, beyond his own preferences, but he's heard enough of their mild complaints.

The flip phone was out of service, but he was still able to access his email to view his contacts, taking a few minutes to type out her email address from one phone to the other. Then, he wrote the address to his apartment along with his reply.

"Long time no see, Manager-san ❤️ I'm not sure what kind of strings you pulled, but you have the staff wondering who you are already. You're probably the only one I trust with my new address. At least you would let me know if you're stopping by ahead of time. Keep it from Kuramochi a little longer; I want to see his face when he finds out he's not my first choice~ And you should stop by, when you get the chance. I have a lot of recipes I'd like you to try to make up for all the baking you've done for all of us over the years. Including the extra consideration for my sake! Thank you. Happy Valentine's Day."