A/N: I made a minor, minor change on Chapter 3, it was a crucial typo. Anyway, on to chapter 4. This is easily the longest chapter so far. lol
KBL = Konoha Baseball League SBL = Suna Baseball League and no, they are not under one organization like MLB. The Leagues are separate in this fic.
Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto.
24 Part 2
It's now the bottom of the 8th inning. Naruto and his teammates went back to the dugout. On deck is the clean-up hitter, Batting 4th in the lineup and one of Naruto's close friends on the team, Sasuke Uchiha. At bat is the 3rd Batter in the lineup and also one of Naruto's favorite teammates, Gaara.
"Good work, Naruto." Complimented by his skipper, Kakashi Hatake, a silver-haired man with lazy eyes whose mouth is covered by the collar of his jacket. "I'm sure you're aware of what's happening." He looked at Naruto heavily breathing on the bench. "It's the only reason why I still haven't pulled you ou-"
"I'm…. I'm completing this game…. sir. Perfect Game or not, I'm already here…. I'll complete it." Naruto interrupted Kakashi while trying to catch his breath. "No." Kakashi rejected and continued "We're only up by 2 runs. It's a save situation. If you blow the Perfect Game. I'm subbing you out and let Konohamaru close it out. This is an important game for us. We need this win."
The crowd cheered. Gaara had a base hit. He is now in First Base. At bat, the clean-up, Sasuke.
"Also, why do you want to finish this? It's not like I'm denying you of your Perfect Game. So why?" Kakashi was curious. True, this game was important but there's no need to risk anything outside of the Perfect Game. "This…. This'll be our last season in the SBL. I want to leave something for the fans to remember our club and to show my gratitude towards them. Of course…. I… We want to give them a Championship but…. This is an insurance in case it doesn't go as planned. At the very least… a complete game." Naruto was convincing Kakashi. He finally understood.
Their baseball club, 9-Tailed Fox, is transferring to the Konoha Baseball League next season. They had a new owner and the owner wants the club to transfer and play in the KBL where the fan base is bigger. Konoha is also the place where the owner managed to buy a huge land and is now building a new ballpark for the club. It was for the better. Nobody objected but most, if not all, in the team wanted to do something special for their fans in the Suna Baseball League. One For The Road
The crowd roared. Sasuke hit a homer. The score now? 4-0.
"Well there goes the save situation." The team's captain and the catcher, Shikamaru Nara, commented.
Kakashi sighed but still quite happy. Looks like the team is on the same page.
Gaara waited for Sasuke at home plate and returned to the dugout.
Naruto looked at Sasuke in the eye and nodded. "Thanks." Sasuke smirked. "Hn. Don't fuck it up." Naruto grinned and they made a high five.
The 8th inning ended with a double play. Top of the 9th. They face the bottom of the lineup. The first batter of the 9th inning hit a line drive to third base which was skillfully caught by Sasuke after diving hard and throwing to first base to record the first out of the inning. The Perfect Game lives on. The catcher, Shikamaru, called for timeout and is now meeting with the in-fielders and Naruto, the pitcher. He wants to calm them down.
"So much for 27 strikeouts. But the Perfect Game is still here." Shikamaru looked at the dugout to see Kakashi's face. Unfazed. He continued "Naruto." Naruto looked back at Shikamaru expecting a plan but was surprised to hear a simple "Follow my signs and think of the fans who supported you here. You got this. We're going to catch all the balls so don't worry." Shikamaru knows Naruto so well and how his emotions can give him energy and concentration. With that, they went back to their respective positions and continued play.
Facing the second batter of the inning. 3 balls and 2 strikes. Full count. The payoff pitch….
"Craaaaap…" Shikamaru hustled for the ball near the fans. He wants to end this quickly. So even if it's a foul ball, he'll try to get the out. He caught it. The crowd shouted their lungs out. Shikamaru was fired-up. It was out of character for him but he can't help but scream "YEAAAAAH!"
"You're OUT!" The umpire enthusiastically shouted.
The crowd started chanting "ONE! MORE! OUT! ONE! MORE! OUT!"
The third batter of the inning is at the plate. Suddenly, it was quiet. It's as if the noise magically disappeared. Pressure.
It wasn't just Naruto at this point. It's also the whole team's pressure now. Nobody wants to be the reason to break the Perfect Game. But the 9-Tailed Foxes are pro. Their whole team's concentration, at least in this at-bat, is on a championship level.
Shikamaru shouted again. "Alright! Let's finish this!"
Shikamaru made a sign for a forkball. Naruto winds up and threw the ball.
"Shit! It's not dropping!" He thought to himself. The batter hit it and his bat broke to two. The ball was heading towards the Pitcher's Mound. It hit Naruto's left shoulder. The ball was still in play and the batter ran to first.
Shikamaru immediately took off his mask and shouted "Naruto!" He was worried about Naruto.
Naruto was determined. His concentration during this inning was on another level. Despite the pain, he was aware that ball is in play and that the runner was heading to first. He quickly grabbed the ball that landed near him with his right hand and threw to first.
It wasn't even close despite the delay. The ball was so fast it travelled faster than the runner despite the huge lead. That last throw had Naruto and his Team's present for their fans in SBL.
"O-OUUUUUUT!" The umpire was also shocked at the speed of that ball. He looked at the pitcher and was amazed at that play.
The crowd was torn in half. Some were cheering and the others were silent, worrying about the pitcher. Kakashi, his teammates and the rest of the coaching staff rushed towards Naruto.
Naruto stood up, smiled, put up his right arm and yelled "YEEEAAAAAAAHHH!" as if nothing happened. The fans finally cheered their hearts out.
His teammates and coaches congratulated him and at the same time was worried about the last play. "How's your arm?" Kakashi asked out of concern and worry. Naruto answered with a smile "I think it broke." His teammates and coaches fell silent. "D'aaw don't worry about it guys. It's not my throwing arm anyway. Think positive! We made history! It's a great day!" Naruto reassured them.
Kakashi, Sasuke, Gaara and Shikamaru continued to stare at Naruto. They were thinking about the last play. It's not like Naruto can't dodge. His reflexes are topnotch which means he didn't dodge to stop the ball? Nobody knew the exact answer and asking about it won't help but one thing is for sure. They made history. They gave the fans a gift.
Back inside the locker room, a press conference is being held. The reporters mostly asked about the Perfect Game, his left arm and the last play. One of the reporters asked "Naruto, what are your thoughts about the Club being transferred from SBL to KBL next season and do you think you can continue to dominate there?"
Naruto thought about his home. He misses the house where he grew-up in. He misses their housekeeper, Kurama. He misses his friends. He then thought of Hinata's face and blushed. "Alright people, that's enough. Naruto needs to rest." Kakashi interrupted and finished the press con.
Back at Chakra Sports HQ.
"I'm back!" Hinata went back after finishing her assignment and handed her report to her boss. She was informed that Kurenai wants to see her. She went inside Kurenai's office and was nervous, wondering if she did something wrong.
"Hinata have a seat. Do you remember when I hired you, I asked why you wanted to be here? And what's your favorite sport?" Hinata sat and recalled "Y-yes…. my answer is baseball and I want to be here because I love sports. A rather…. Generic answer."
"Right." Kurenai was thinking of a way to execute her plan without sounding like douchebag messing with her employee's private life and using them. She thought this was the right time to do it. She grabbed a folder and gave it to Hinata. "Here. Consider this my early Christmas gift." Hinata opened it and was surprised to see documents about the 9-Tailed Fox and their impending transfer to the KBL. "I'm thinking of giving this assignment to you. You'll be in charge of this. Which means that from the moment the 9-Tailed Foxes come to Konoha, you will cover them." Kurenai looked at Hinata with a serious face. She continued "I will be honest with you, Hinata. I know and everybody in your inner circle in this office knows, that you are childhood friends with Naruto Uzumaki. You're friends with his personal account on facebook and all." Hinata was silent. Kurenai continued her sermon "I don't want the company to have a bad rep. In short, I don't want any scandals between you and Uzumaki. Avoid it. Understood?"
Hinata remembered a photo in facebook that Naruto posted. He was with a girl and his arms were around her shoulders. Hinata had a frown but was quickly changed into a determined look. "Yes. Of course. We're just friends." Kurenai smiled. Hinata was growing. "Good. You may leave." And with that, Hinata left.
A couple of minutes later Kiba entered Kurenai's office. "I heard some of what you said earlier. Sorry, didn't mean to eavesdrop."
"And?" Kurenai replied as if expecting that Kiba isn't done talking yet.
"Aaaand… I don't get it. If anything, Hinata being childhood friends is good for us and the magazine! Hinata obviously has feelings for the guy. I mean, darn, it's all over her face always blushing and being flustered whenever we talk about him. And if Naruto also feels the same way, it would be one heck of an article. A Love Story Exclusive. People love romances like these. I can see it now at the cover." Kiba looked at Kurenai and was surprised to see her eagerly listening to him. He continued to wonder.
"What's more confusing is if you really want to avoid all of this then you could've assigned a different person. Hmmm…" He looked at Kurenai again. She was nervously sweating. A lightbulb lit inside Kiba's mind. "Oooh you sly fox. Acting all cool and tough." Kiba started laughing. "You said all that so that if something bad happens, you can say I-told-you-blah-blah-blah. You also saved the company from looking like a douchebag because you'll have an excuse that you said indirectly blah-blah-blah-don't fall in love bullshit and if they do fall in love, it's all good because you ship them in the first place and it'll also be good for the magazine. You genius bastard."
"Kiba, get out before I ask HR and the higher-ups to remove your paid vacation." Kurenai was annoyed and forcing a smile.
"Riiiight." Kiba complied. He doesn't want his vacation time to suffer… again.
Kurenai sighed. She can't believe Kiba pretty much figured it out. She secretly ships NaruHina. Confirmed.
After work, Hinata went straight for her apartment. She immediately opened her computer and searched the net for any updates about Naruto's injury. She was so worried when she first heard of the news but still thankful that it's not his right arm or life threatening.
She smiled. "I can't wait to see you again."