"Yeah! Bring it on!"
Naoki laughed upon hearing Isashiki's roar while she observes Tetsuya 'practice'. The two of them are energetic this morning, shouting loudly and practicing seriously. Looks like the top players are recovering their spirits. It wouldn't be long until the mood catches up to the others. In fact, she had seen some players displaying a lot of enthusiasm after witnessing Isashiki's batting.
She glanced at Tetsuya and found he hasn't finished his image training. She smiled as a moment later he swung his arms to bat at an imagined pitch.
"Ah, that's a nice sound" she complimented, hearing the force his batting induced in the air.
She started walking to him while the two second-string members stared in disbelief after hearing their captain said his practice is over.
"Yuuki-senpai, may I practice with you?" Naoki said, halting a few meters from him. He stared at her in concern. He knows the mental toll it takes for her to pitch and he doesn't want her to get hurt more because of it. Naoki smiled in reassurance.
"It's fine, Yuuki-senpai. I need to improve myself too, otherwise, I'll lose what I have" she told him, fisting her hands as a sign of her determination. Tetsuya smiled and nodded, finding his proof at her steel gaze.
"Thank you. Let's go to field B, I already asked the coach if I can use the mound over there and he said yes so, ah, we need a catcher" she muttered at the end as she looked from side to side, trying to find a spare catcher.
"Um, I think Ono Hiroshi is available, Fujioka-senpai" a first year said shyly when he heard her look for a catcher.
"Is that so? Can you call him? Tell him we'll be waiting at field B. Thanks a lot" she said gratefully to the first year which caused him to blush and in turn, earned teasing remarks from the upperclassmen near them. He nodded in response and jogged away, looking for Hiroshi.
Tetsuya and she walked together in silence. Along the way, they noticed Tohru practicing on his own.
"Masuko-san! Can you join us?" Naoki called out and Tohru paused from his practice. He sent her a curious look. Naoki grinned and gestured at Tetsuya and her as they neared him.
"We're going to practice at field B."
"Masuko, you should join us" Tetsuya invited with a smile.
"It would be a good practice considering Fujioka has a lot of unique pitching styles" he continued. Tohru contemplated his current situation and thought of coach Kataoka's advice when he passed by earlier. True, it would be more effective to practice on a moving ball than hitting it in place and he can experiment his clutch. Not only that, he's quite curious about Naoki's pitching.
Naoki grinned when Tohru nodded his head. She couldn't ask for better opponents than these two. Their captain who is known to be a strong batter and a clean-up hitter, and their third baseman who is a heavy hitter. Both intelligent individuals who know how to analyze pitches and have high game sense.
"This is going to be fun"
"Okay, before we start, let me explain first what we are going to do" she started as they assembled. She nodded her head at Hiroshi who had come a few minutes after they had entered the B field.
"This is a mock game which means we will apply the three strikeout rule but without the participation of the fielders. To make this fun and exciting, we are going to have a reward and a punishment policy" Naoki explained as they huddled. The three men nodded their head, following her thoughts.
"It's simple. The person who gets the highest number of hits at the end of practice, or strikeouts in my case, will earn two favors, one from each loser with the exception of the catcher. The losers will, of course, have to do what the winner says. Is that agreeable?" she asks and they all nodded.
"Remember, there will be only one winner" she reminded, holding an index finger. Tetsuya narrowed his eyes, beginning to be fired up at the challenge and feeling determined to win the two favors. If he wins, he can use his favor to force Naoki to play shogi with him.
Tohru nodded his head, also feeling determined to win. If he can get the favors from each, he can finally find some good hiding place for his foods. It's hard to keep them all to himself while he's hiding the foods in their room. Eijun, it appears, has a knack for finding them even when they are nearly impossible to retrieve.
"Yosh! Let's get started!" she exclaimed as the tension soared. Then she turned to Hiroshi.
"Ono-kun, just position your mitt wherever you like, don't move it before catching my pitch. I'll put it there no matter what" she said, pointing to his mitt. He stared at her in surprise and amazed at her confidence.
"Hai! I'll do my best to catch your pitch, Fujioka-san but the game plan-" he said worried that putting his mitt somewhere without knowing her pitch might cause her a run.
"Don't worry, let me handle it" she said, smiling and patting his back in reassurance. He hesitantly nodded.
She walked up to the mound and stood there. She took a deep breath while goosebumps appeared on her skin and she felt faint. The edge of her fingers started feeling cold and her legs felt like they are becoming lead, so heavy and so hard to move. Naoki clenched her fingers inside her glove. After warming them, she retrieved the ball beside her feet and stared at it.
This is it.
Naoki turned her gaze to the home plate. For a second, her vision blacked out before refocusing again. This time, she's still in the present. She could still see Tetsuya as he prepared himself at the batter's box and she could still distinguish Hiroshi and his mitt. She took a deep breath.
Step by step. This is just a practice. Learn your limits. See how far you can push yourself without breaking down. Naoki repeated these words in her mind. She gave Hiroshi a nod, signaling she's ready.
Naoki plans to cycle on all of her pitching styles. What kind of pitching affected her the most and what are others that don't, although she already has an inkling what pitching style is closely tied to Naoko's memory. For her, the favors don't matter much, this practice is a sort of experiment and win or lose, as long as she can gather a useful information she's fine with it.
"Hmm, Yuuki-senpai had already seen some of my pitches but even if he hadn't, he's still an opponent I cannot underestimate. On the other hand, Ono-kun doesn't know how my pitches work and we didn't talk about signs before we started. I only told him to position himself" She thought as she contemplates, thinking her first set of pitches against Tetsuya while eliminating some for Hiroshi's sake.
"Okay, I'll start with this" she decided, choosing an easy variation first to warm up her senses and also with the goal of letting Hiroshi be familiar with her pace. It's not difficult for her to choose moves while on the field, she's already used to this since she and Naoko do this kind of training all the time. An image flashed in her eyes. It was Naoko standing on the batter's box and behind him is a wide green net, a substitute for a catcher, as he waited for her to pitch. The image disappeared as fast as it came.
Naoki blew a breath in relief.
Outside the field, Rei stood smiling at the participants with her arms wrapped below her chest and feeling excited at the prospect of seeing what kind of play Naoki will perform against one of the strongest batters of West Tokyo. Rei had accidentally stumbled upon their training while on her way to field A. At first, she was curious why they were clustered together, and with a bit of eavesdropping, she realized they will be playing a mock game. With her interest piqued, she opted to stay for a while to observe and had volunteered, without them knowing, to tally the score.
"Let's see..Yuuki-kun will be the first to at-bat then Masuko-kun. Ono-kun is the catcher while Fujioka-chan is the pitcher" Rei listed the players mentally. She focused her gaze at Naoki who is starting a wind-up.
Rei's eyes widened at seeing Naoki do a sidearm pitch.
"St-strike!" Hiroshi shouted after catching the pitch. He shifted his crouch to a much more comfortable position, his amazement not extinguishing for a bit. He had thought Tetsuya would hit the pitch for sure even though he had put his mitt inside-low, and there was a moment that Hiroshi almost moved his mitt after seeing the unusual movement of the ball. He didn't and it arrived, like it is its destination all along.
"Does that mean you have one point?" Tetsuya asked curiously, looking at her as she held her glove to receive the ball Hiroshi threw back at her.
"No. I need a strikeout to get a point. Which means you can still earn one if you hit my next pitch but like in a game, it has to be hit in the diamond for it to count. Fouls don't count." She explained which Tetsuya responded with a nod. He readied himself as he smiled, finding the mock game fun.
She watched transfixed as Naoki executed multiple pitches Rei hadn't seen in Naoki's last pitching game. Back then, she had thought Naoki is impressive with the way she excelled in everything. She didn't understand why coach Kataoka was not satisfied with her performance, but witnessing Naoki's display of diverse arsenal at this moment, she now understands his displeasure. She would too, if her godchild was not living to her expectations especially when the said godchild had already proven her skills in the past.
Ping.
"Woah, that'll be a long one! Nice job, Masuko-san" Naoki praised, as she watched the ball stop in a far distance from their location.
"Uga!" Tohru said proudly, pleased he had gotten a hit after multiple attempts. He walked out of the batter's box as Tetsuya replaced him wearing a seriously determined expression. Tohru stopped and patted Tetsuya's shoulder.
"You can do it" he cheered and Tetsuya's expression darkened even more, his determination leveling up to the umpteenth scale. Out of the two of them, he's the only one who hadn't gotten a successful hit since most of his attempts are foul.
Tohru couldn't say he's better because he had gotten a hit first compared to Tetsuya. Actually, he envies Tetsuya. He's the only one who gets the most difficult and hard to predict pitches of Naoki. It's usually during his at bat that Naoki reveals a new pitch.
He sat at the nearby dug-out, knowing for a fact this turn is going to be a long one. He turned his head, hearing approaching footsteps. It was Rei. She stopped beside him.
"So, it's Yuuki-kun's turn now"
Tohru nodded his head as he crossed his arms. Rei narrowed her eyes after seeing Tetsuya's second foul become a second strike. At this rate, he will fail to gain a hit from Naoki who was not letting up.
"The current status is 3:0:1, with Naoki taking the lead and Yuuki still not getting a hit" she stated, touching her glasses. Tohru glanced at her. He didn't know she was taking tabs about their score. He completely forgot about it as he is more focused on getting that one hit than spare a thought of their scores. He is sure Tetsuya forgot it too.
"Naoki's pitch count is 32 after four at bats. Now, this is Yuuki-kun's fifth foul, making her pitch count 37" Rei said with a sigh. Tetsuya doesn't want to give up and neither does Naoki. So stubborn to the point that they'll exhaust themselves, but she smiled seeing that the two are enjoying themselves.
Ping.
"Oooh, you finally hit one, Yuuki-senpai" Naoki said smiling widely, following the ball's flight as it hit the fence.
"A home run, huh" she mumbled, then she turned to Tetsuya and held two fingers, her lips forming a wide grin.
"A home run is worth two points, Yuuki-senpai!" she shouted on the mound and Tetsuya nodded at her then he fisted his right hand. He raised it above his head as an index finger points upward. Naoki laughed at his gesture.
"So he's gunning for the number one spot, huh?" Naoki smiled at the thought. It seems she also needs to step up her game, she doesn't want to lose after all.
"Guess I'll be using the more difficult ones to win this" she decided as she took a deep breath while Tetsuya is replaced by Tohru.
Naoki closed her eyes. She doesn't feel anything out of place. As a matter of fact, she's comfortable of herself right now, like a well-oiled machine, and she feels her vision becoming clearer from its hazy state.
Naoko's mirage didn't appear as their mock game deepened and Naoki lost herself to the euphoria of playing on the mound with her pitches. Everything she throws marks a new rediscovery, similar to finding life and movement on a once dead part of your body.
She feels so happy as her body continues its motion, her brain thinking of ways to optimize her pitch, and her fingers deftly switching its hold on the ball.
"Strike! Ah, Yuuki-san, you're out"
"Hey, you should see what's happening on the other field"
"Why? What's happening"
"It's awesome, I swear"
"Eh?"
Eijun's frustrations that no one is catching for him disappeared when he overheard some members running past him, he stared at them curiously, suddenly itching to go somewhere and witness whatever it is that earned such a praise. He glanced to the side to see that Chris, Kazuya, and Satoru also caught the conversation.
"Heh, looks like some players are getting energetic, huh?" Kazuya said with a grin. Satoru ignored him as he stood facing him, ready to pitch while Eijun restlessly shuffled his feet, staring at Chris in a wordless plea to let him go. Chris stared at him.
"Your form is still inconsistent so you need to work on it, there's no time to dally" he said in response to Eijun's silent request. Eijun grumbled.
"Ahaha, idiot" Kazuya laughed inside the bullpen. Eijun glared at him.
"Miyuki-senpai"
"He-y!" Kazuya's smirk was wiped away from his face as he caught the incoming ball without warning or any other signal from Satoru.
"Furuya, Sawamura" a voice called.
The four of them faced the source of the voice and found the coach approaching them.
"Go to the other field, I want you to observe Fujioka's form. Chris and Miyuki too" he ordered as he turned to proceed to the next field.
Eijun's mouth formed a wide grin.
"Yosh!" he shouted in excitement then froze as the realization hit him.
"Fu-fujioka-senpai is pitching?" he said in disbelief then his eyes transformed into stars as he remembered her pitching and he ran, leaving the three behind.
"Idiot, so excited he forgot about us and his training" Kazuya stated with a smirk and he turned to Satoru to order him.
"Furuya, go and follow—Oh" he stopped midsentence when he noticed that Satoru was already far from them, walking briskly as he too excitedly followed Eijun's tracks to the other field. Chris smiled at the two's antics.
"Well, we should be going too" he offered, starting to walk. Kazuya followed beside him.
"Chris-san, I've been meaning to ask you, what do you think of Fujioka?" Kazuya asked casually, trying not to drown on the incoming thoughts full of Naoki. He's in that state since yesterday evening, after Naoki declared her intentions to not give up on him. The barrage of thoughts fully centered around her threatened to steal his sleep and even though he had slept, his dream was still all about her. His every waking hour consisted of her and he nearly flunked his test this morning because of his distraction, thankfully he remembered what he's supposed to do and did it just in time.
Now that they're not conversing often, he discovered that thoughts of her doubled compared to the days they were together. He's finding that ignoring her is much worse than being with her, so he couldn't completely focus on baseball, which was his goal and the reason behind his cutting of ties.
"She's dependable and the two of you look quite good together" Chris smiled and he gave Kazuya a sidelong glance.
"Yes, she's depen—W-a-wait, what?" Kazuya sputtered as he gaped at Chris and a light blush crept on his face to settle on his ears where they glowed a dark shade of red. He didn't expect that answer from him. Chris' lips twitched while trying to suppress his laughter. He didn't offer an explanation to his words.
"Chris-san, that's…" Kazuya trailed as his pace slowed and the distance between them lengthened. His head bowed as his shoulders slackened and a hand covered his face.
Kazuya's face feels so hot and it's so hard for him to breath.
"He said we look good together"
The thought repeats itself like a mantra inside his head while Kazuya followed slowly behind Chris to the next field. His mind is currently irrevocably absent from baseball, floating to who knows where but having one subject in common: Naoki.
"Oi, woman! I will hit your pitch to infinity and beyond!"
"Isashiki-senpai, it's Yuuki-senpai's turn. You can't just appear here and take his place"
Kazuya's daze snapped into focus when he heard the words laughingly said by Naoki. His eyes went to the mound and settled on Naoki as she grinned while watching the struggle happening between Isashiki and Tetsuya.
"Jun, this is mine" Tetsuya said seriously and they reverted to a staring contest. Isashiki lost and he grumbled, walking out of the batter's box to stand near the dug-out where he positioned himself in front of Tohru, wordlessly saying the next turn is his. Tohru gave it to him without complaint.
Kazuya's gaze switched to the home plate and his vision turned green with jealousy. Not because Tetsuya is the one batting but because it was Hiroshi who is catching. His lips set itself in a fine line. Kazuya should have been the one catching Naoki's pitches, not him. The only catcher capable of making a battery with her is him, no one else.
Why didn't she call for him? He grumbled inwardly.
Oh, right. He's avoiding-slash-ignoring her. No wonder she went to another man.
"What's the score?"
"Hmm, I think it's 6:4:3, and 0 if Isashiki-san will join"
Chris and Kazuya turned to the voices.
"What is it all about?" Chris asked.
"Ah, it's the score of how many strikeouts and hits the players had. Fujioka-san is currently on the lead, followed by the captain and lastly Masuko-senpai"
Kazuya turned to the play, lips forming into a smirk. Feeling proud of Naoki all of a sudden.
"Strike!"
"Woah"
The crowd cheered after hearing Hiroshi's shout. This is Tetsuya's third strike and also his second consecutive strikeout. Isashiki growled from the dug-out and stamped his way to the batter's box.
Naoki tilted her head curiously as he replaced Tetsuya.
"Ne, Isashiki-senpai, you're joining us?" she asked as she furrowed her brows and then she glanced to the side. She blinked in surprise, seeing that they had a large crowd observing their practice.
"Woman! What are you doing?!" Isashiki shouted, becoming impatient as Naoki gaped at the crowd on the sidelines. She turned to him and blinked. Naoki took a deep breath, concentrating on the task at hand than thinking about the crowd.
"Based on his plays, Isashiki-san has a tendency to hit any pitches he likes." She thought, strategizing her pitches. She hadn't shown all of them yet but she's thinking it is the right time to execute them. Naoki suppressed the encroaching nervousness within her. It didn't help that she saw in her periphery her uncle's shadow. He is meticulously watching her every pitch.
She focused on the mitt as she made her decision, noting that Hiroshi moved his mitt inside. Naoki started her windup, gripping the ball in a two-seam fastball grip. She moved her index and middle finger slightly to the left. She pronated her wrist away from her body as she followed through.
"A change-up?" Isashiki inwardly asked as he swings his bat.
"Strike!"
"A-a screwball?" Isashiki gritted his teeth. He swung his bat a bit higher and missed the much lower pitch. He scowled at Naoki as he positioned himself again. Damn woman.
Naoki breathe heavily while catching the ball sent by Hiroshi. The screwball was a success but it's getting hard to focus herself, and her vision is graying. It's as if the world around her is sucking all the colors.
"Woah, Kichi! You finally did it!"
Naoki clenched the hand holding the ball.
"Don't lose yourself, Naoki. You're just remembering the past, no need to drown in it" Naoki encouraged herself as her breathing became more ragged.
She stared at the mitt and narrowed her eyes to focus on it. It seems it too is fading in the background. She can barely see its outline. She closed her eyes.
"T-time out" she called and Hiroshi hurriedly ran to her side while murmurs within the crowd ensued. This is the first time Naoki called a timeout.
Kazuya narrowed his eyes at the two persons in the mound. Naoki's complexion doesn't look good and she suddenly looked tired as she told Hiroshi something. She must have remembered a memory for those glazed eyes to slowly creep in. Concern flitted within him and he opened his mouth to call out to her.
"Kyahaha, looks like Fujioka is in a pinch eh?" Youichi suddenly said behind him, grinning at Naoki's troubled expression while inwardly worried that she's starting to lose herself again. He doesn't know why it happens to her at times. One second she's in her element and the next she looks untethered from reality.
Kazuya scolded himself for his instinctive action. If Youichi hadn't spoken, he might have shouted at Naoki. To tell her what? He doesn't know. He just had the urge to catch her attention and maybe, help her find something to hold on.
"Why don't we join them?" Ryousuke proposed while coming forward, not waiting for others to agree with him. He too, in his own way, is trying to help Naoki maintain her ground. He didn't know where such a desire is coming from. He knows, though, that Naoki is awakening the big brother instincts in him.
Youichi grins as he followed Ryousuke.
"Second baseman, coming in" Ryousuke introduced, smiling as he neared the mound. Naoki stared at him in surprise.
"Nyahaha, shortstop at your service" Youichi snickered.
"What are you do-" Naoki started but was cut-off when Eijun shouted as he ran to the dug-out.
"Then I'll be batting next to Masuko-senpai! Don't worry senpai, I will save you!" he declared as he marched with a bat and a determined expression. Behind him, Furuya followed closely, silently saying he will bat too while Haruichi joined them.
"Oi, Kanemaru, join us!" Eijun shouted at Shinji who was also watching the game. Shinji's vein popped at Eijun's commanding tone and he ignored him. He stared at the people clustered at the mound. He'd rather join Naoki than play with Eijun. He raised his hand, while putting his glove.
"Fujioka-san, I will be your third baseman" he volunteered, jogging to his position while Naoki tilted her head in confusion. Eijun followed Shinji's jog with his eyes, gawking at him in disbelief. How could he choose a girl over their friendship?
Others followed Shinji's steps and within minutes, the field have two improvised teams.
"What just happened?" Naoki asked as the field were filled with players. She looked at the home plate and at the dug-out, noting the line-up. Without her knowing, everyone started to join them and now she found herself pitching in a scrimmage of a sort.
Kataoka's mouth tilted upward at Naoki's expression. He didn't tell the players to join, they did it on their own accord and he let them. He glances at his side.
"You're not joining Miyuki?" He asks while Kazuya laughed and rubbed his neck.
"I think I'll pass, coach" he said without explaining, his eyes settled on the mound.
Naoki's team has Hiroshi as its catcher while the opposing team has Keisuke. But Kataoka knew without a doubt which team Kazuya wanted to play in as a catcher and it was already taken before he had a chance to volunteer. He smirked as he turned his attention to the mound. He found it entertaining to watch the two dancing at the boundaries of their relationship. Being close and by the next, becoming strangers. Kataoka, for one, is not opposed for his players to have a relationship as long as they focused on practices and games, that doesn't mean though that he'll encourage what's happening between them. He'll let the kids do it at their own pace but if it'll affect the team in a bad way, he will be forced to take the matter into his own hands. He might even tell Ren about it and knowing him, he'll probably be here and do what a "proper father would do for his princess" which is why that is Kataoka's last option if all things fail.
"You don't have to worry, Fujioka. We're just right behind you" Ryousuke assured while patting her back.
"Heh, you're not alone" Youichi said as he turned and jogged to his position.
"I'm not alone, huh?" Naoki smiled softly at Youichi's words.
"Ono-kun, I will be switching my gears now. I hope you can catch up" Naoki warned in front of her and Hiroshi gave her a nod, smiling at finding Naoki's enthusiasm restored.
"Hai!"
Naoki watched as everyone positioned themselves. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. There's no time to linger in her thoughts of the past. She couldn't afford to be selfish and bring the team down, granted this was just a pitching-slash-batting practice turned into a scrimmage, but she was the reason why everyone came together. It would be wrong to pay them any less than they deserved.
Kataoka smiled at Naoki's determined expression. At last, she's coming out of her shell and becoming one with the team.
"Ren, if only you could see your daughter. She's stronger now"
