#let shinada out of the basement rgg

[overdevelopedglasses]

Tojoctober Day 17 - Sport

(It's a fight for our paradise)

Alt title is from “Savior”, the opening song of Astral Chain

While on the run after the 3K plan is enacted, Daigo makes a visit to someone who could at least assist in taking his mind off of things. Baseball ensues.

(Yakuza 5/6 spoilers)

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Daigo walks up onto the rooftop of a familiar building in Kineicho. He really hadn't moved all this time? Daigo wondered, looking at the small squat room in front of him, blocked by a door he didn't really recall being that put together. Still, it had been seven years since he was here last time, and he had told himself he'd visit more often, but business with the Tojo Clan had kept him within the confines of Kamurocho. Even now, things were happening in a very strange way, and Daigo was once again making a huge gamble, with only a few people even in the know. 

If anything, this trip was to clear his head before he had to put it on the chopping block.

Daigo walks up and raps on the door twice. He hears a bit of shuffling, a swear, and the door opens.

The man on the other side doesn't seem to have changed too much. His shoulder length black hair is a bit more put together than it once was, and his scruffy mustache and beard were a bit more grown in. His brown suede jacket is entirely zipped up, which complimented his nicer pair of black pants he has on.

This man, one Tatsuo Shinada, doesn't say anything, but stares at the chairman, eyes and mouth wide.

“Um…. hi, Tatsuo.” Daigo shuffles around awkwardly, not entirely sure how to go about anything. He was too used to the yakuza, which is an even harsher adjustment when he's the one sitting at the top of the pecking order. He has to discern the people kissing up to him with the ones actually worth a shit. So, to speak to someone who's his equal, that's not something Daigo’s accustomed to, especially when they aren’t yakuza.

“Well, holy shit! Dojima-kun, you should’ve told me you were coming!”

Shinada's expression broke into a big grin as he enthusiastically clapped Daigo on the shoulder. "It's been too long!"

Daigo let himself chuckle, a bit of relief washing through him. "It really has. Sorry it took me so long to get here."

Shinada spins around and lets Daigo into his abode. It looks even better than when he was here last. All of the furniture that was now in the space looks more new than the dinky stuff Shinada had in here seven years ago. His futon, cabinets, everything just had a little bit more class to it. Shinada pulls out two different cushions, places them next to each other at the table, and the two men sit. Daigo stares at the table, a nice walnut finish, not exactly sure what to say or do. Shinada, thankfully, picks up the threatening slack.

"So, what brings you to Kineicho?" Shinada looks at Daigo quizzically. Daigo knows he can trust Shinada, at least, so there’s no need to beat around the bush. He makes eye contact with his former classmate. 

"Well… there's a lot happening within the underworld, especially the Tojo Clan. I wasn't safe where I was, so my best men and I went into hiding."

Shinada looks bewildered, "So, are you supposed to be here, Dojima-kun?"

Daigo shakes his head "Save for the ones I left Kamurocho with, no one knows I'm here. Have to keep a bit of a low profile, sure, but no one said anything about not having a bit of fun," Daigo flashes a mischievous smirk, and Shinada begins to laugh.

"Well, damn, never expected you to be a rule breaker!"

Daigo starts to chuckle again, and the room is filled with laughter. 

When the laughter dies, the two men quickly begin to fill the space with conversation. Daigo tells Shinada that he had gained and lost a father, which left Shinada looking both confused and worried. Daigo was quick to assure him that his advisors, sister's family, and uncle have been keeping him company. The Tojo Clan was a subject Daigo avoided, but after what happened in 2012, he is a bit relieved that Shinada didn't poke into that heaping mess. He does mention his trips to Okinawa, and Shinada asks if he could potentially join him one day, which brings a smile to his face.

Meanwhile, Daigo is shocked to hear that Shinada and Milky are planning on getting married, despite Shinada's living situation. Apparently he had been saving his money and hopes to get a house with her by the end of the year. He had started writing creative stories a few years ago, and was starting to make a name for himself as a writer. He had really found a second home within Kineicho, and Daigo’s heart warmed at this fact. He was already proud of his friend and former classmate before this impromptu visit, but he could sense his pride growing as their conversation deepened.

The long conversation found its way to passions, and Daigo mentioned baseball, as that was the start of everything for the two of them. Well, that and the yakuza. Daigo doesn't want to think about the second thing right now. Thankfully, Shinada answered his question with enthusiasm. 

“Yup! I still frequent the batting cages, although it feels nice that I don't have to play it in secret. I've been coaching a few of the kids in town too! Wait a sec… Dojima-kun, do you even know how to play baseball?”

Daigo gave pause. Sure, he liked watching the local team, and his advisors (along with Akiyama and Haruka's unit) dragged him to a game one day a couple years back for his birthday. However, in terms of the game itself, he barely knew a baseball glove from a bat, let alone how to swing it outside of a fight. “...No?”

“NO??? Well, I know what we’re doing!” Shinada leaps from his seat and snags a bag sitting near his bed. He darts behind Daigo, grabbing both of the baseball bats that hang by the door.

“Tatsuo, I just said I have to keep a low profile!” Daigo shouted, but his words are lost on the man, since Shinada is sprinting out the door. All Daigo could do was sigh to himself and follow after him.

After a cab ride, where Daigo somewhat scolded, somewhat laughed with Shinada, they arrive at the baseball field just outside of town. The stadium is empty, as the baseball season hasn’t started yet, according to Shinada. Daigo stood in the middle of the field, on what Shinada described and he remembered as the pitcher’s mound. The winter air was cold, but refreshing, and Daigo finds himself enjoying the peace and quiet the field held within. All he could hear were birds and the occasional car passing by. 

That is, until he hears his "coach" grunting in the distance.

“Dojima-kun! Could you help?”

Daigo looks to his left, and sees Shinada pulling on… a pitching machine? He only knows what that is from seeing one in the 80s at the batting cages.

“Where the hell did you find that, Tatsuo?”

Daigo walks over to grab the other end of the machine, and Shinada leads them back to the pitcher’s mound.

“I had a feeling there was one around here, at least there was one at my old field, and it turns out there was one here too!”

Daigo almost drops his side of the machine, “You mean to tell me you had no idea if there was actually one of these here?” “Doesn’t matter now!”

The two men place the machine on the pitching mound, and Shinada runs off to go grab some balls. Daigo is put in charge of getting the machine to turn on.

He looks around the machine, and finds a switch on the side of the machine. Flicking it into the “on” position didn’t do anything. He shakes the machine slightly. Nothing.

“Well… maybe this?”

Daigo decides to take a page out of Majima’s book, and kicks the machine at its base.

It roars to life.

“Nice job, Dojima-kun!” Shinada emerges from inside the stadium with a bag full of baseballs.

Daigo decides not to tell Shinada how he made the machine turn on. 

“Thanks. Works like a charm.”

Shinada pours the bag of balls into the machine, then goes to hand a baseball glove to Daigo.

“Knowing how you were built several years ago, and from the looks of it you haven’t changed too much, I think the best fit for you is fielding. Essentially, take that glove- no, it goes on your other hand. I’m going to hit balls into the field and your job is to catch them.”

“Uh… I won’t get hurt by this, will I?”

“If you don’t get hit!”

While the statement doesn’t encourage Daigo one bit, there wasn’t a better way to spend the evening. He takes off his jacket, the T-shirt underneath not doing much to shield his upper body from the wind chill. 

“Let’s do this thing, Dojima-kun!”

With the pitching machine fully working, the baseball field is filled with the noises of machinery, cracks of a baseball bat, and various noises from both men. Daigo doesn’t do too great fielding at first; some of the balls do smack him in various parts of his upper body, earning a loud laugh from the batter. Daigo soon learns where Shinada is most likely to hit the balls that come towards him. He ends up throwing the balls into the center of the field, sometimes landing them back into the machine, and Shinada always shouted in joy when he noticed it happening. 

There is a point in their practice where Daigo decides to completely take his shirt off, the promise of unhindered sweat winning against the discomfort of the winter chill. He hears Shinada shout something about his tattoo, but he ignores it since he’s almost hit by another wayward ball.

After a long while, the last ball Shinada hits is a pop-fly, and Daigo, to his surprise, catches it, throwing it swiftly back towards Shinada. 

“Nice one, Dojima-kun!”

Daigo shouts in victory, “Yooooooou’re out, Tatsuo!”

Tatsuo lets out a loud laugh, “You got me. You had great form at the end.”

Daigo meets him in the middle of the field, both men breathing heavily. The evening had turned into night, and the floodlights of the stadium were not turned on, leaving both men only illuminated by the moonlight.

“That was really fun, Dojima-kun. Thank you for indulging me.”

Daigo finds himself smiling. “No, thank you. I think I needed that. I’m supposed to be here for a few days… maybe we can come back out tomorrow?”

It’s hard to see in the darkness, but Daigo can just make out a sharp smile emerging on Shinada’s face.

“Of course! We’ll do it every day you’re here!”

The two men shared another laugh, and Daigo gets the feeling that this outing, the calm before what Daigo only assumes will be a storm, is going to be even more important than it already is.