DISCLAIMER: I do not own Daiya no Ace or any of its characters. Only the plot and my OCs belong to me.
I've been working on this fic for a while as a personal thing for my own reading pleasure. Basically, this fic is what I work on when I'm having writer's block or creative difficulties regarding my other projects. It's gotten to be a really fun side project that I enjoy both reading and writing. I've written over 50K in both full chapters and random drabbles. I know this story is a little odd, but I really love it when a story has tons of action along with humor and romance. I'm not sure if you guys will find this as funny as I do, or if anyone will even read this stupid story. I just thought that it wouldn't hurt to post it online since the Miyuki/OC category is severely lacking. This is basically my first real fanfic, but I welcome any advice or constructive criticism. I'll try to update as often as I'm able. Thanks for reading!
Hello, There, Plot Twist.
Takashima Rei liked to believe that when it came to baseball she was not easily impressed. I mean, that was probably the most important aspect of her job as the Seidō baseball club's vice-president: to have high standards. And yet, there she was, gaping shamelessly at the petite figure hovering over second base in jaw dropping incredulity.
"Kurokage-san is quite an exceptional player, ne, Rei-chan?" The man sitting to her right asked, bubbling with excitement. His name was Ootani Akira and he worked as a sports journalist for a news network based in Kyoto. They had been friends since college and, in light of their similar occupations, relied on one another occasionally for information.
The unmistakable solid sounding crack of a bat making full-contact with the ball echoed throughout the field and stands. Rei's eyes remained glued on the second baseman as the ball came screaming down the field just right of second and only a few feet from the ground. With the bases loaded, the batter's goal was to send the ball in an almost impossible to catch direction and as low to the ground as possible to give his teammates an opportunity to make it to home. A good plan in theory, but, like in most theories, it was only applicable under ideal circumstances.
In a blinding flit of movement, the second baseman pivoted 180 degrees on their left foot leaving their back to home plate, dipping into a low lunge— so low that their left leg was nearly parallel with the ground— all the while ensuring to keep a toe on base, and held out their gloved right hand expectantly, as if the ball's destination was inevitable. Amazingly, the ball sunk into the player's glove with a surgeon's precision, and, following the ball's momentum, they proceeded to shoot back up while spinning back around. The runner sprinting to second obviously wasn't anticipating that catch, but by the time they'd realized what had happened they were well within that perfect window of close but not close enough. After tagging the runner out, without missing a beat, the second baseman snapped their arm like a whip, flinging the ball back to the catcher on home just in time for them to tag the runner coming in hot from third.
The whole thing was over in an instant. Rei was at a loss for words. How could someone so small move so fast? Who catches with their back to the ball? There were so many questions, but Rei could easily sum it up into one: just who was this Kurokage-san?
"Pretty incredible, huh? Almost seems unnatural. Though, I guess that kid's always been sort of a freak when it comes to sports," said Akira. "A national champion in kendo, judo, karate, and aikido: being the successor to the most revered martial arts school in all of Japan, I suppose the athletic prowess shouldn't come as a surprise, but it's hard to believe that person is really just a teenage girl."
Rei shifted her attention over to her friend once Kurokage had disappeared into the dugout with the rest of her teammates. "If she's a martial arts champion from a famous martial arts family then why is she playing baseball? She could probably qualify for the Olympics in a couple years if she trained hard."
Akira shrugged. "Who knows? Could be she's just sick of it, or maybe she just purely loves baseball. I'll tell you what I do know, though; I've been writing articles about this kid since she was four years old and not once did I ever see her smile before she started playing baseball. Not even when she won national champion and was standing up on the first place tier holding a trophy that was almost as big as her. I think that she could be a phenomenal player if the people on her team could keep up with her speed and reflexes. What do you think?"
Just as Rei had opened her mouth to reply, a familiar name came through the P.A. Speakers.
"Batting next, second baseman, Kurokage-san."
Both Akira and Rei turned their heads down towards the grey-clad player standing on the right side of the batters box. She was armed with a wooden bat, Rei noted, and she was also either a left-handed or a switch hitter. Time to see if she's just as impressive on offense.
On the first pitch, Kurokage's wooden bat flashed around her torso so quick that the only indication she'd actually swung at all was the deafening crack of the ball colliding with wood, sending it soaring into left field. Kurokage took off the instant the ball had left the face of her bat, sprinting to her destination with a level of agility and ferocity that she hadn't seen beyond Kuramochi Youichi.
He wouldn't be happy if I recruited another human cheetah, thought Rei.
The left outfielder was dashing to catch Kurokage's ball, but, unfortunately for him, he ran into the wall as the little white dot sailed over the barrier. That tiny teenage girl had just hit a home run. With a wooden bat.
Well, I guess it's always nice to have some friendly teammate rivalry.
Akira leaned back with an amused chuckle. "So, what do you say, Rei-chan? A freak belongs with other freaks, ne?"
"Seidō is not a team of freaks. They're just all uniquely talented," Rei defended. Although, I guess freaks would be one way to describe them.
She glanced down at the topic of their discussion just in time to see her cross over home plate. I can't believe I'm about to do this. Everyone's going to loose their shit.
"Alright. I'll talk to her after the game."
And thus began a new saga of hormones, hilarity, and, of course, baseball. Join our favorite high school baseball team as they take the highway to the "Neutral Zone."