A/N
Note:[""] are the announcers talking.
Recap:Karma had stepped out of the dugout to briefly stretch and get ready. Korosensei appeared below his feet.
"Not a good idea to appear right beneath my feet, coach. Unless the object is to get stepped on." Karma pointed out.
"Nurufufufuu. You're up to bat after Ryou, right? How about we shake things up, ey?" Korosensei suggested.
XXX
[Batter number six, Taiga."]
'This is messed up! How am I supposed to bunt my way around a BS set up like this! A little guidance coach?' Taiga mentally panicked and looked to Korosensei for help.
White, white, and white, a dismal Korosensei signaled and hide his face in his tentacles.
'You mean we've got nothing!' Taiga responded with shock. By the fence, Tsuna saw the exchange and facepalmed.
"Strike three, batter is out!" The umpire called as the ball smacked against the catcher's hand for the third time in a row.
["Two outs one after the other!"]
Sugino was still on third base. The baseball player was anxious. The group of E-Class girls and the other three teachers of E-Class caught the baseball lover's eye.
Tsuna smiled and mouthed the words 'calm down, we have a plan.'
Sugino nodded and smiled in relief. He wasn't alone on this field, he had his teammates, teachers, and friends.
XXX
"Hey Koro, in the baseball game, put Karma as the seventh batter." Tsuna told the yellow octopus.
Korosensei tilted his head. "Why?" The teacher curiously asked.
Tsuna smiled. "I...have a feeling we'll need him there." The brunette vaguely responded.
XXX
["Batter number seven, Akabane."]
"Move it kid, get your tail in the batter's box." The umpire gruffly ordered.
"Hang on, never pegged you as the type to play dirty, sir. If the rules haven't changed, this gambit is actually illegal. They're bow guarding the infield, umpire should call them on it by now. Oh come on, anyone smell a rat? Or is it just me? Oh nevermind. You guys are morons. Baseball is like a foreign language to you guys." Karma sarcastically observed.
The students of the higher classes outside the fence grew angry and shouted at the batter.
"Just play ball!" "This isn't even a real game!" And other cries were heard.
'Not bad. I hope it's working like you want coach.' Karma thought.
'That's perfectly fine, the important thing is to not buckle. You see an injustice, speak out.' Korosensei mentally reassured, although his student could not hear him.
XXX
"Koro, would you be mind terribly if I borrow Karma Akabane during the baseball training today?" Tsuna abruptly asked.
The octopus blinked at his fellow teacher. "May I ask for what?"
"Don't worry about it. Just some extra assurance. Training Karma is the crux of my strategy to use your strategy, to our advantage." The brunette responded.
"You know what mine is?" The octopus questioned, his interest rising. He hadn't told anyone in Japan what he had plotted for the baseball game.
"It was kinda obvious since you always tell the kids to do a specific bunt unless it's Sugino." Tsuna deadpanned.
Korosensei sweatdropped from embarrassment. "Nurufufufu. Well, I look forward to seeing what your plan is then, Mr. Tsuna." Korosensei replied.
XXX
"Okay, teach, spill it. Why am I here? Did you need some love advice?" Karma joked.
The teacher sweatdropped and decided to ignore the last part of what his student said. "You're strong, smart, and learn quickly. Koro has been teaching you how to bunt. But, I'm going to teach you how to bat."
The redhead snorted. "You're being pretty dramatic. How horrible is this going to be?"
"Very. Get ready for an extremely toned down variation of a friend's baseball advice and my tutor's training from Hell." The brunette teacher announced with a smirk.
XXX
The redhead looked over at the fence.
Tsuna gave a thumbs up, a beaming smile on his face. Karma grinned in reply.
'Now then, let's see if the training I did for the past three days can bring Sugino home.' Karma mused and stuck his tongue out at the pitcher.
["He's planning to bunt!"]
Just as Sugino did, Karma switched from bunting to a regular batting posture just as Shindo threw the ball.
Clang! Went the ball and it soared out to the outfield
["He hit it! It's in the left field! The runner on third base is headed home!"]
Sugino slide home in a cloud of dust.
On the other side of the diamond, Karma was a foot from reaching first base, but was hit due to his proximity of where his ball landed.
["One more point for E-Class! And three outs, it's the Kunugigaoka baseball team's turn at bat!"]
XXX
The baseball team gathered around Mr. Asano.
The ginger man stood in the dugout with a slight smile on his face and determination pouring out from him.
"You performed excellently, aside from your mishap that let Sugino slip through your fingers. Remember the basics, your priority as defense is to ensure no one reaches home plate, it didn't matter if the batter reached first. Shindo, foreseen fast balls are what will turn the tide. I want to see high drama, throw as if to crush them. Allow me to reiterate, this is far more than just a game of baseball, it is a benchmark on your climb to the top." The principal's words animated the team.
"Sir! Let's turn this around!" The team enthusiastically yelled.
XXX
The E-Class girls, Karasuma, Irina, and Tsuna watched the game through the green fence.
Irina muttered under her breath as she tried to read a book called "The easy to understand baseball rule book."
'The man knows how to light a fire under his students. Not unlike someone else we know. Gifted motivator, photographic memory of faces, strengths, and weaknesses. Their teaching methods are one and the same, and yet, as molders of young minds the two a diametrically opposed. They're on a collision course with each other, I can feel it.' Karasuma predicted as he looked at both baseball coaches. Principal Asano stood proudly in the opposing team's dugout and Korosensei covered his face in his tentacles and mentally scrambled for a new strategy.
"I get it! You hit the ball with a stick!" Irina exclaimed.
Tsuna sighed. At least basketball rules had been easy to remind Irina of. One of the assassin's longer term missions had a basketball player as a target.
["Batter number..."]
XXX
Sugino's pitches took care of the baseball team batters for the first inning.
Continually encouraged by their principal and incensed by E-Class's four home runs, the baseball team scored three points at the bottom of the second inning.
E-Class's attempts to score in the second inning proved fruitless.
The first half of the third inning was grueling for both groups. E-Class failed to score yet again.
XXX
["Bottom of the third the end is nigh!"]
"Hasimoto, a word." Mr. Asano told the first batter of the third inning.
"Yes, sir." The baseball member respectfully replied.
"Give E-Class a taste of it's own medicine." The principal ordered.
XXX
Hasimoto bunted and ran for first base. The infielders scrambled for the ball.
["Oh, ho, ho, ho. Look what we have here! The bunters became the buntees!"]
"Sorry." Justice apologized and tossed the ball to Sugino.
"It's alright, don't worry about it." Sugino replied with a smile.
["It's going to be another bunt!"]
'Imagine, my team bunting against amateurs. In any other situation this would be distasteful, but given that the upstarts have their own tricks turned against them. We chosen ones are perfectly justified.' Mr. Asano thought to himself.
["Zero outs, bases loaded, and it's the baseball teams pride and joy up next! Shindo!"]
The terrifying teenager that oozed bloodlust stalked towards home plate.
'You're mine Sugino, you hear! I'm going to crush you!'
"I've been building to this point since the first inning. The ending will be precise, dramatic, and the game will be decided not by a bunt, but by a promising young man under my tutelage. How will you answer my move, Korosensei?" The principal monologued to himself.
Korosensei popped up once again near Karma.
"Karma, I think it's time to put your trash talking to good use." The teacher suggested.
"Hmm. Ah, I get it now." The redhead figured out the plan and. Headed towards the E-Class huddle on the field.
"The only thing we can really do is walk Shindo." Sugino proposed, dismay in his voice.
"Yo! Hey, new marching orders from coach." Karma said.
XXX
["And so the game resumed. Except, what's with those defense positions?"]
Yuma and Karma stood about eight feet from home plate.
"Choking the infield isn't going to help the batter's concentration, but what are you going to do? Now if the ump had called you all out earlier, there would be a president for asking us to back off. You're cool with this right, chief?" Karma explained loudly with a grin and turned to the principal.
'Well played, but still just a desperate undisciplined ploy.' "Proceed as you will. A true athlete does not falter before such trickery." Mr. Asano declared.
"Wow! Duly noted! We'll hold to that, sir." Karma commented.
"Huh?!" Several student spectators declared.
Yuma and Karma now stood two feet in front of Shindo and home plate.
["For heaven's sake, they're standing so close! Talk about point-blank range!"]
"Hey mister chosen one, don't worry about us. You might hit us with your swing but we'll be fine." Karma jeered.
"Oh my, an obvious attempt at a bluff. Put everything you got into the swing. Crack a skull if need be. The penalty will go to E-Class for obstructing the rules." Asano slyly decided.
'Think you're are intimidating me? Well, let's see who pisses themselves when I brain you psychotic freaks!' Shindo swung early, the baseball thudded into Nagisa's catcher glove.
"Strike!" The umpire called.
'They dodged in the last millisecond.' Mr. Asano commented, slightly impressed.
'When it comes to guts and visual acuity, these boys are top of their class. Dodging Shindo's swing is as easy to them as bunting his fastball!' Korosensei thought as he ate a sparkly candy.
Shindo was terrified, who was that calm after almost getting hit in the head by a baseball bat.
"Holding back ain't going to cut it pal. On your the next throw, swing like you're trying to kill us." Karma pulled out an anti-sensei knife and stepped even closer to the batter.
'He's gotten pretty shaken up. He wants to do what the principal says, but can't bring himself to. Things change quickly in our world. One second you're playing baseball, and the next, the stakes are a lot higher.' Nagisa mused.
In Shindo's mind, Sugino's baseball turned into a purple skull as it flew towards him.
Shindo swung and missed. The ball bounced on the ground.
Karma jumped up and grabbed it. "Heads up Nagisa!" The bluenette caught ball and touched it to home plate.
"Throw it to third base!" Yuma yelled and pointed.
Justice caught the ball and touched it to the plate. The runner from second base slowed down to a walk.
"Out!" The umpire called.
"Kimura, run to first base!" A student from behind the fence cried out. The baseball team captain had sat on the ground in shock.
The ball was thrown from third to second, and then to Sosuke on First.
"Yeah!" E-Class and it's teachers cheered.
["The game is over. I can't believe it. This is insane. The winner is... E-Class, I never thought I'd say this. But the winner is E-Class!"]
"How could E-Class win?" "All that surperior firepower, wasted." The two nerds commented.
'If only people could see what was going on behind the scenes. This wasn't just a game, it was a straight-up battle of wills.' Nagisa thought.
"Not that anyone's keeping score, but between this and midterms. I'd say that it's 1-1. Until final exams, my dear principal." Korosensei quietly declared.
"Shindo! Sorry man. I didn't mean for things to go crazy like that. For what it's worth though, this doesn't change anything. You're still a better player than me. It's one little game, don't get depressed." Sugino encouraged.
"One little game? Why'd you go to so much trouble to win then? Don't feed me that line. You wanted to prove that you were superior stronger, and you did." Shindo scoffed.
"Take a look at us. We're not much of a team, I mean, we all get along really well. But collectively, we suck at baseball. Thing is though, when we practiced bunting, it was awesome. See the thing is for me, it wasn't so much about getting stronger, or better, it was, well, it was about being proud of my new friends. I want to just show them off, especially to you guys." Sugino replied with a sheepish grin.
Shindo smiled. "This isn't over between us. The next time we play will be in high school, Sugino."
"D* right." Sugino agreed. 'If the earth hasn't been blow to smithreens by then.'
"Something wrong?" Shindo asked.
"Nah." Sugino replied and stood up. The E-Class student offered his hand to his old friend. Shindo accepted and Sugino pulled the captain up.
Outside of the field, the rest of the E-Class boys smiled at the exchange.
XXX
The human E-Class teachers and girls of E-Class walked over to the guys.
"How'd the basketball game go?" Yuma asked.
"We lost." Rio bluntly admitted.
"But not by that much." Megu optimistically added.
"That's good." Maehara replied.
"You guys were pretty great out there." Touka complimented.
"Thanks." Yuma smiled.
"Hey guys, if you have time, how about I take all of you out for ice cream? You all worked hard the past few days." Tsuna offered.
"Yeah!" Came the resounding reply from the students.
XXX
Tsuna had put it off long enough. It was time to call in a favor.
"Hi, Luc. I like for you to do a job for me." Tsuna tapped a pen against a table.
"A favor or green?" The woman asked. *
Tsuna snorted. "Green. I'd rather owe Reborn something then you."
"Really? That hurts, you should be nicer to your friends." Lucretius joked.
"Yes. And I'm sure it breaks your heart to hear me say that." Tsuna replied in kind.
"Completely." Luc dramatically responded, she sounded utterly shattered. As if the love of her life had just died.
Tsuna snorted. A huff of muffled laughter came from the other side of the phone, a sure sign that her composure had broken as well. "Yes, I'm sure. Now about the 'job'..."
XXX
The Otogibanashi was small and relatively new yakuza group in the area. Yet, the members had managed to rack up a large list of suspected crimes over the past two years. I do want the reader to note 'suspected', the Otogibanashi was slippery as a soapy eel.
Two trucks had been driven to a dark warehouse at four AM. One truck back was packed with eighteen crates of weapons, the other was more empty then a shallow well in a desert.
The trucks flashed their lights at each three times. The doors opened.
Four men stood in the dark.
Two of the men approached each other. One had a black flashlight, the other used his phone.
The dealer was handed a backpack, he opened the inside pouch and counted the money.
"All good?" The buyer asked.
The dealer nodded. "Yeah. Go ahead, take the goods."
The buyer smiled. "Pleasure doing business with you."
Three shots pealed out. The dealer and buyer fell to the ground along with their source of light. In their right legs, a bullet had found its mark.
The two remaining men leaped for cover behind the trucks. But they chose the wrong side to hide on.
"Hello." A brunette man greeted. A pistol was in his hand and a fedora on his head. Even in the dim lighting, the men could make out the sharp edges of a black suit.
"I'll be taking this shipment. Sorry about the trouble."
XXX
The four men were in the truck, two injured and bleeding. All were scared and furious about what had happened.
"We'll take you to a good underground doctor if you want to." The man in the shotgun offered.
"Thanks." The dealer curtly replied.
"Text the boss." The driver ordered.
Omake:Weird
Chat:Just the weather
Seafood&Swords:Guys...something really weird happened
ClassicalRap:If you're saying that...
ClassicalRap:it must be really weird.
Illusionmast3r2:What happened?
Seafood&Swords:Tsuna asked me for sports advice.
WMDforlife:What.
BestDayEver:Extremely confused.
ClassicalRap:What?
Cowsrmylife:Whut.
ClassicalRap:You're joking
Seafood&Swords:I'm serious
Illusionmast3r2:...
Cowsrmylife:...
ClassicalRap:...
WMDforlife:Hn.
Illusionmast3r:Someone add Reborn
Espressofordays was added to Just the weather by ClassicalRap
Cowsrmylife:Umm.
Seafood&Swords: Reborn, we think Tsuna went insane
Espressofordays:Why do you think that?
ClassicalRap:He asked Takeshi for advice
Espressofordays:You're all overreacting
ClassicalRap:He asked Takeshi for baseball advice
Espressofordays:...
Espressofordays:You might be right.
A/N
*Green AKA money, more specifically American dollars.
P.S. The Takaoka episode is next.
-Silver