Before the fourth inning started, Ras, Charles and King Aither came to the boy team's dugout. Seeing them, the male players were surprised and acted formally. They wondered why three important people came here. After Aither expressed his excitement to join the game, the male players were doubting but they did not dare to speak it out loud.
Al looked at the young king up and down, before he said to Charles, "Can I ask if you are okay with this?"
"It is what His Highness wants but there is no need to treat him specially. When he is on the field, he is equally as everyone. Am I right, my king?" Charles replied and he looked at Aither afterward.
"Of course," Aither nodded.
That said, which position do you think he can be?" Ras asked.
Al took a few moments to think. After considering, he asked Aither, "Are you okay with the first baseman?"
"Anything is good. I'll do my best not to disappoint you," Aither spoke joyfully. Then he looked at the Heir of the Covenant, "Ras, what about you?"
"It depends on them since I'm not sure how to play it right," Ras replied and turned to Al for his suggestion.
"If that so…" Al looked at the baseball field and thought for a minute, before he spoke to him, "I think centerfielder will be good with you."
"Then it's settled," Ras smiled.
"Before we start…" Al spoke and stopped, and then, he picked a metal bat and pointed to Karzan, "The sixth batter."
"What do you mean?" Karzan was surprised.
Charles quickly understood the situation. He smiled and stepped closed to the two of them and suggested, "If you don't mind, Guardian Karzan, I will be the referee."
Karzan did not know what to say but he did not let them wait too long for his answer. He then picked up the metal bat from Al and said, "Thank you, Sir Charles, and Al, too."
From the girl team's dugout, they saw the change of the boy team. When she looked at them, Iseria smiled and said, "Now we're balanced."
And then, the fourth inning began. Standing on the batter's box was Aither, the third batter of the boy team. He was so excited and could not wait to swing the ball. As for Tamarinne, she was surprised that the young king was here. She looked at Charles and saw he nodded.
Aither was still too young and lacked experience for the game. He swung every time Tamarinne threw and missed three times. Even so, Charles did not hesitate to announce that Aither was struck out. Rules were rules, after all.
"I'm sorry," Aither returned to the boy's dugout and spoke in disappointment.
"Don't worry, Your Highness. We can't always hit a ball from such a strong pitcher like her," Pavel tried to comfort him.
Then, Al stepped into the batter's box. For some reason, he could feel Tamarinne was very annoyed after he made her miss the ball from Pavel in the previous inning. Needless to say, Tamarinne would play to her full potential. Al hit the first ball but it a foul and he did not swing his bat when she threw the second ball. And then, both of them stopped for a few seconds. Everyone and everything was silent. Tamarinne slowly raised her arms before she threw a fastball but Al successfully hit it. The ball flew very fast, touched the ground before it hit the wall. The female right fielder, Mercedes, ran to the ball and picked it up quickly but Al had already passed first base. He thought he could reach second base before Mercedes threw the ball.
But he did not.
Suddenly, something grabbed his leg when he was running, resulting in his face landed on the ground. Everyone was shocked except for two persons. When Al tried to stand up, it was too late and he was out by a precise throw from Mercedes to Carrot, the second baseman. On the ground where his leg was, a bunch of grasses transformed and bent to the other ones. After Al left the field, Tamarinne and Iseria exchanged a thumb up.
When Al returned to the stand, Pavel interrogated him, "How the hell could you slip like that?"
"I didn't slip. Something grabbed my leg," Al replied.
"Doesn't sound like a good excuse to me," Pavel insisted.
"It is," Karzen said and no one could say anything else.
Although he still did not understand, Pavel came to batter's box afterward. Tamarinne threw the first ball and Pavel let it fly past him. He was very impressed and surprised that Tamarinne's fastball did not lose any speed. He tried to swing two more times, but she still struck him out perfectly.
When Karzan stepped into the batter's box, Yuna was surprised and asked, "I've never thought you're interested in baseball."
"I know," Karzan replied as he swung his bat, but it was a strike.
"And I thought you would hit it easily since you're a guardian," Yuna commented when she threw the ball back to Tamarinne.
Karzan prepared himself for another pitch and said, "Originally, every guardian was a human. We can tone down our power back to our mortal form.". After his speaking, Karzan swung his bat again but he still missed. He commented, "Tamarinne is really amazing. I still can't believe a shy girl like her can hold such a capability. No wonder why she is suitable to be an Heir."
"Tell me, Karzan…" Yuna returned the ball to Tamarinne and asked, "Will she be happy in the future?"
"If I tell you the future, then it might no longer happen anymore," Karzan prepared himself for the last chance. Once more time, he could not see Tamarinne's fastball. With three strikes, he was removed from the field and the turn changed back to the girl team. Before he came back to his team, Karzan answered Yuna, "But there is still some exception, in this present, though. And you don't have to worry about them."
Yuna did not need to ask any more questions when she heard the answer. She then smiled and said, "Thank you."
When the girl team's lineup was preparing, Al saw a little change from it. It seemed the sixth batter would be Iseria, as they originally planned. From the line-up, it seemed the bottom of the fourth inning would be very difficult for the boy team.
When Carrot stepped on the batter's box, Al teased her, "Wanna hit another home run?"
"If possible," Carrot answered with her smile. As she prepared to swing her bat, she felt something strange with Pavel's throw. She swung and missed. After that, she spoke, "It seems he is improving."
Al did not say anything and it was enough for Carrot to understand his thought. The second time was another strike but she hit at the third, though wealky. The ball rolled close to Aither at first base, \ but he missed the ball and the right fielder had to support him. Carrot did not waste this chance and ran to the base.
The next batter was Cerise. When she looked at Pavel, she knew she would not hit his pitches easily. As she expected, Pavel threw a slider for a strike. When she did not notice, Al gave a signal to Pavel which made him unsure. Nevertheless, he still followed him and threw the ball. Cerise hit and she started running, as well as Carrot. However, after the ball landed on the ground and started rolling, the shortstop, Rikoris, quickly caught the ball and threw to the second baseman, Crozet, before he threw back to Aither. Thankfully, Aither caught it successfully, resulting in a double-play. It was very close for the boy team.
When Iseria came to batter's box, Al commented, "Seems like both teams are balanced."
"Can't say I disagree," Iseria took a deep breath and focused. When Pavel threw a fastball, Iseria kept her calm and swung the bat at the perfect time, scoring another home run.
"It was me who made you fell down," Iseria smiled at Al when she started running.
"Yeah, thanks for that," Al replied but he held no grudge against her. When Iseria finished her running, Al asked, "Did Tamarinne ask you?"
"Yup," Iseria smiled. Then Al slapped his hand to her to congratulate her home run.
The seventh batter, Mercedes, who joined the girl team recently, stepped on the batter's box. Judging from the looks, Al could see that this sport was new to her. When Pavel threw the ball, Mercedes hit it and it flew very high before it landed in the centerfielder, who was Ras. Despite that, they still smiled at each other. The fourth inning ended with four-one for the girl team.
At the top of the fifth inning, Ras, the eighth and the ninth batter came out. When Tamarinne was throwing, Al looked at her and realized something. He then said, "Tamarinne is starting to feel tired. Her fastball is slower than before."
Pavel then looked at Tamarinne and saw she struck out three batters consecutively with only fastballs. He then asked Al doubtfully, "Are you sure?"
"I'm sure," Al confirmed.
When Ras came back, he praised Tamarinne, "They are truly fast. From the outside look, I couldn't think they could be that fast."
"And you seem to have a lot of fun," Al said.
"Because it's really fun," Ras replied.
At the bottom of the fifth inning, the eighth, the ninth and the first batter of the girl team lined up. However, Pavel had no difficulty to strike them out. At the end of the fifth inning, the score did not change.
When the top of the sixth inning started, Rikoris, Crozet, and Aither prepared for at bats. Rikoris successfully hit the ball after two balls but his hit was stopped by the third baseman, Cerise. After that, Crozet hit the ball after two strikes but he was not able to send the ball fly far enough to reach the base before he was thrown out. Meanwhile, Aither hit the ball at the first pitch, though weakly, and the ball landed near him and Yuna. Afterward, Yuna picked up the ball the threw to the first baseman, removed him immediately.
As the bottomf of the sixth inning, although the second batter of the girl team was out, Tamarinne successfully hit the ball and ran to first base. When it came to Carrot's turn, she surprised everyone again with another home run. After that, Cerise stepped into the batter's box, she hit Pavel's first pitch and was able to run to the first base. When Pavel tried to strike Iseria out, he failed and she managed to send the ball fly very far, which was enough for Cerise to run to the home plate. To make it worse, Mercedes successfully hit the ball and let Iseria score one more point. Fortunately for the boy team, the eighth and the ninth batter were struck out. At the end of the sixth inning, the score was 8-1 for the girl team.
When Al, Pavel, and Karzan prepared for their at-bats, they could feel the heavy atmosphere from the boy's stand.
"You were right, Al. You were right," a male player spoke in shame.
Al wondered, "What do you mean?"
"That we should not underestimate the girls," he replied without looking at Al.
"No worry, we still have time," Al smiled and encouraged them before he stepped into the batter's box.
Once again, Tamarinne and Al faced each other. Strangely, they did not feel displeased with each other. Instead, they were having a lot of fun. As for Tamarinne, she really liked to spend time with Al, whether he was her opponent or not but she knew he would not like it if she went easy on him, so she knew she had to play as her best. As for Al, he could not hide the fact that he was always amazed by Tamarinne, and being with her would always be his precious memories.
"Foul!"
Charles shouted after Tamarinne threw her first ball and Al responded with a hit, but the ball flew backward, which meant he only had two chances left. Although he could see the tiredness on Tamarinne's face, he was surprised that Tamarinne was still able to throw a fastball, which he missed. He felt that it could be the fastest ball she threw in this match. The more he thought about it, the more he admired her.
Another fastball was thrown and Al managed to hit it, but it flew closed on the ground. Mercedes tried to catch the ball but it landed on the ground and passed her. Using this chance, Al ran and successfully reached first base. Even though Al hit her ball, Tamarinne only felt proud of him and they exchanged victory signs together.
When it came to Pavel, the tiredness started hitting Tamarinne. She then stopped throwing a fastball and diversified her pitches. Pavel was surprised at first but he managed to hit the third time and ran to first base. Meanwhile, Al ran full speed and reached second base in the nick of time.
When it was Karzan's turn, he tried to stay focused. He knew he could not underestimate this Heir. On the other hand, it was a long time since the last time he could be this joyful. It was so long that he thought he had forgotten this feeling. Then he thought, maybe because of someone here, he could feel it again.
Tamarinne kept her focus and breath as she was sweating. With two runners and no outs, there was a high chance that the boy team would score in this inning. As much as she wanted to see Al run to home plate, it would be unfair. After a few seconds, she threw a fastball and struck Karzan out. The guardian of time was surprised at the girl's stamina that she was able to throw such a high-speed ball. He then took a deep breath and focused, waiting for the second one.
And he succeeded. As he saw Al and Pavel were preparing to run to the next base, Karzan swung the bat strongly and it flew very fast.
"Ouch!"
Suddenly, the ball was hit by Karzan accidentally hit Al on the head, knocking him down instantly in the shocking eyes of everyone.
"Carrot!"
While everyone did not understand what was happening, Cerise picked up the ball, called Carrot, and threw it to her. Although Carrot was startled, she still managed to catch the ball and tag second before she threw back to the first baseman.
"Tr-Triple-play?" Even Charles was surprised at the situation.
When Al woke up, he felt something soft below his head, and he also felt something cold on the left side. He opened his eyes and saw his loved one was taking care of him. His head was placed on her laps and a small ice bag was placed on his head. No need to say, she was very glad that he awoke.
"Ouch!" Al grunted when he touched at the place where the ball hit.
"Careful," Tamarinne reminded him. She then asked, "Are you okay?"
"I'm okay, thank you," Al replied and they both stood up. "How long did I sleep?" he asked.
"We're already at the end of the eighth inning."
As Tamarinne replied, after Al was being taken care of, they went to the bottom of the seventh inning. Pavel managed to strike three batters out. In the top of the eighth inning, Cerise replaced Tamarinne as the pitcher. She was good but not as good as Tamarinne. Ras was managed to hit her ball and ran to second base. Although the eighth and the ninth batter of the boy team was out, they still hit Cerise's pitches and sent them high enough for Ras run to the home plate and scored one point. Unfortunately, when Rikoris stepped into the batter's box, he hit a pitch but the defensive players of the girl team caught the ball on the air, removing him immediately.
Then the bottom of the eighth inning started. Carrot and Iseria succeeded to reach first and second base. Mercedes managed to hit the ball but it was caught by Ras again. However, Carrot was able to run to the home plate and scored one more point. Iseria and the seventh batter was thrown out after reaching the base unsuccessfully. At the end of the eighth inning, the score was 9-2 for the boy team.
When the top of the ninth inning started, the boy team was hoping for a final chance to score a tie. Before they started, Al picked up a metal bat and came behind Karzan.
Karzan turned back when he felt something uneasy, and he was not wrong. "Triple-play, huh?" Al spoke emotionlessly.
Seeing Al was chasing after Karzan, Cerise asked, "What are they doing?"
"Warming up," both Tamarinne and Yuna laughed when they saw the scene.
After that, Crozet stepped into the batter's box. Looked at the lineup, Tamarinne knew what she wanted to do. She threw the ball and Crozet hit it easily. The ball flew fast and landed on the ground. Iseria caught it before she threw back to the first baseman but Crozet already reached it. The next batter was Aither. Instead of swinging without thinking as before, Aither tried to stay calm and watched the ball closely. After two strikes, he bunted the third pitche. Although Aither was not able to reach the first base, Crozet managed to run to the second base.
When Al stepped into the batter's box and faced Tamarinne once again. Everyone was silent. The audiences had two different opinions. One wanted Tamarinne to win, the other one wanted Al to score a hit or better, a home run. Meanwhile, the boy team wondered if Al willed to hit Tamarinne's ball while the girl team did not worry much.
As for Al and Tamarinne, they had so much fun and they did not bother with anything. Tamarinne prepared and threw the first pitch. Al swung but he missed. It was a perfect slider. Tamarinne threw another one but it ended up being a ball. After that, they both smiled at each other and did not think anything anymore.
Tamarinne took a deep breath and threw the ball with all she had left. It flew very fast and in response, Al held his breath and swung his bat strongly. The ball was sent threw the air and flew to Iseria. The female elf tried to follow the ball and catch, but she knew she did not need to do it anymore when the shadow of the ball left the field.
The boy team shouted in hope and joy when Al scored another home run. With one runner, Al had batted in two runs, narrowing the score. When Al ran to home plate, he looked at Tamarinne. They both smiled with no regret, only joy. Al also did not forget to celebrate with Carrot and Yuna. When he stepped on home plate, Tamarinne came to him and he picked her up. At that moment, they did not care what everyone was thinking, whether it was jealous of Tamarinne's fans, or awkward looks from the boys, or the support from the girl team.
"Alright guys, we still haven't finished yet," Yuna clapped her hands and the girl team laughed.
After throwing the ball, Tamarinne was exhausted and the pitcher position was given to Cerise. The next batter of the boy team was Pavel. Cerise managed to trick Pavel but she could not do the same with Karzan. He successfully scored a home run. The next batter was Ras and he reached a single. When the eighth batter stepped into the batter's box, he tried to stay calm and hoped that he would hit and managed to run to the base. But in the end, the eighth batter was struck out and the girl team did not have to play the bottom of the ninth inning. The result was 9-5 to the girl team.
After saying goodbye to the audience, the boy team came to the girl team and apologized for underestimating them, which the girls did not bother much. When they were chatting friendly, Al carried Tamarinne on his back and came to Hazel, who was checking the money from sold tickets. Together with her was Yuna.
"Do you need anything?" Hazel asked when Al and Tamarinne came to her.
Without saying anything, Al took the money box and gave it to Tamarinne before they left. Hazel was surprised and tried to take the box back but Yuna was faster. She said, "You used them to make money so it was their right to take a share of it."
No need to say, both teams were happy when they got some money. After taking their shares, Al and Tamarinne returned the money box to Hazel, before they left the baseball field with both teams.
Shaking the box, Hazel looked to the inside. She stayed silent for a while before she commented, "Better have something than nothing."
When they left the baseball field, the boys and the girls were having fun talking with each other. As for Tamarinne and Al, it was still another happy day, full of joy and happiness. And they both hoped those days would last forever, until the end.
THE END
Author's note: Well, that's all. Thank you for reading and I'm very sorry if you're not enjoying it.