Chapter 7 - When We Properly Met
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Miyuki Kazuya
'I wonder who that was with the coach and the assistant coach.'
Once I exited the cafeteria, I noticed them walking out of the room with a person about the same age as the coach. I stopped at the doorway, slightly bowing my head to greet them, "Good evening." The coach, nodding at me, had blocked my view to take a good look at the stranger's face, but instead, I watched the three figures take a turn around the corner. I was watching the guy's broad back walk away, somehow had made it a nostalgic view. I dismissed the thought and turned my head to the room from where they left. The lights were still on, "Let's ask, Rei-chan." I headed towards the office, letting my curiosity get the better of me.
When I reached the manager's office, I placed my hand on the doorknob to only have it suddenly open for me. I was slightly startled but not as much as the startled figure in front of me. Her appearance suddenly turned pale before jumping up in the air like a scared cat. I realized it was the same girl that did the same thing to the coach earlier. I turned mildly amused at every action she's made. Before I could start laughing, she stumbled towards me. I tried to react as fast as I could to catch her by the waist, but she beat me to it. Her hands slithered around my body, placing her right hand around my back and her left-hand supporting my head as she pulled me closer to her chest. I froze, 'Kuromochi would kill me if he sees this.' I could feel her other hand on my back, squeeze me closer. I manage to plant both my forearms on the ground to break our fall.
The girl kept a firm grip around me, only releasing my head when she realized there was no impact. I moved my head upwards to catch a breath when suddenly I stopped. I was barely an inch from her face. A pair of dark blue eyes widened in surprise, staring straight into my eyes. It was as if I was staring straight into a night's clear sky, with two of the brightest stars twinkling back at me. Though the only thing I could think of was, 'Why do they look familiar?' Her ruffled caramel hair starts to cascade down my face, the scent of fresh lavender filling my nose. She slightly pulled her head back and left lingering stares around my body. I pulled my head back even more to give us some distance. As I did, my eyes naturally drew lower, tracing the lines of her body. She was still wearing her school uniform, her white short sleeve, hugged her curves and tucked into her gray flannel skirt. My eyes widened, I've seen a few good-looking women, but it's rare when my eyes are too intrigued even look away. I kept my eyes on her trying to recall who she was, trying to find any hints or clues that could help me.
Though I was starting to lose it, the way she was sitting on my lap, her lingering stares, the alluring scent had me enticed. Suddenly her hands ran through my hair and back, gripping it lightly. I don't think she realized the position we were in, 'Ah… This is dangerous…' I tried to calm down and divert my attention when she quickly shot her head up, looking straight into my eyes with worry. It surprised me a little. I kept staring at the pair of nostalgic eyes, a little confused. The answer was at the tip of my tongue when suddenly a young boy's same worried face flashed into my eyes.
"Yan... Yanagi?" Before I knew it, I asked her in a state of shock. I started to deny it even though she hasn't answered me. It couldn't be him, the person in front of me was definitely a girl, and the last time I remember Yanagi wasn't. I tried to find more reasons to keep my hopes down.
"A-ahem."
Rei cleared her throat behind us, snapping us out of our trance. The girl perked up from the noise and immediately got off me. I could feel my ears and cheeks slightly heating up and hear my heart beating a little too loudly. The moment only lasted for a couple of seconds, but it seemed like an eternity. I picked myself up and started to dust myself, trying to compose myself, 'I'm turning crazy. It's been what? Five years?' I was still clinging on how I'd meet him here. It was too crazy of a coincidence to be offered a scholarship from the school he dreamed of. I looked around to see a couple of people who had witnessed the whole incident. I let out a sigh, 'I hope no one would tell the first string.' I knew I was going to get hell for this.
I finally manage to have a better look at the girl in front of me. Despite being such a beauty, she shared a striking resemblance with Yanagi, except he'd probably be taller. Her whole body was as red as a tomato. Her head pointed straight down on the ground as an attempt to hide her embarrassment. "I see, you've met our first-string catcher, Miyuki Kazuya." Rei introduced me, trying to break the awkward silence. The girl glanced at Rei and looked back at me with resolve. She gave a shy smile, "I'm Suzuki Mari. I aim to be the regular right fielder in this team." She said with full confidence in her eyes. With one sentence, my sliver of hope crushed. The person in front of me wasn't the pitcher I was clinging on.
Suzuki Mari
'Eh? He recognizes me?' I blushed uncontrollably, unable to compose myself at how he suddenly said my name. 'Should I hug him? Tell him it's me? What do I do? What should I do? I'm not ready for this. I was ready for disappointment, not whatever this is.' I stared intensely at the ground, trying to figure out how to tell him. A voice came from behind me that had introduced Kazuya. I turned around to Rei, and the answer laid in front of me. 'I don't.' I decided I couldn't turn back my word after asking her a favor. I turned to Kazuya,
"I'm Suzuki Mari. I aim to be the regular right fielder." I placed my embarrassment aside to introduce myself as confidently as I could. It was quick, but his eyes shifted a little from my introduction. I regretted it, but at least I wasn't lying this time. I didn't come to Seidou for him. I wasn't going to jeopardize my only chance to get away from my past. I came here to completely give up on being a pitcher and reinvent my way of baseball.
I stared at him, brimming with confidence at my choice. Though it was all for nought when he reached out his hand, "That was some tackle there. It's a good thing I wasn't the coach this time." He said, chuckling at the end. My embarrassment came back to haunt me. My whole body started to warm up by the second. I hesitantly shook his hand, "I'm sorry about that." I mumbled towards him, "It's okay. You seemed like you were having the time of your life checking me out." He said, bursting out of laughter. I blushed instantly, not realizing that's what I came off as. I scrunched my face at him, "Like you're one to talk!" He laughed even louder. His laughter brought out a smile in me, 'He still has the worst first impression.' Rei let out a sigh at his antics.
"Today's scorebook should be on the table." He finally stopped laughing, "Actu-, nevermind. Thanks, Rei-chan! Nice bumping into you, Suzuki-san." He teased with a wave and a big grin plastered on his face before entering the room. I pouted at his honorific towards me, 'How come he's more casual to the assistant coach than me?' I glanced at Takashima, 'Is it because she's a woman? No, I am too…' I trailed off as I glanced down her chest and then glanced at mine. 'It's her chest, isn't it?' Somehow the thought irked me even more. "Oh, right, Suzuki-chan." I raised my brow at the sudden change of honorific, 'Did she notice?' She smiled at me. 'She did.' "Why don't I give you a tour of the dorm?" I shook my head and hands, "It's okay. I don't wanna take too much of your time." I wanted to run away, already embarrassed, that she caught me staring.
"We've made slight changes for you since you'll be staying here." She ignored my refusal and continued, "Right now, we don't have a women's bath. So you'll be using the bathroom in the staff room upstairs." She told me while walking away. I followed behind her.
"Make sure you rest well!" Takashima waved off, taking her leave. "Good night, Takashima-sensei." I bowed my head and made sure to change my honorific after finding out she's an English teacher. We finished the tour at the indoor practice ground. The lights were already off, and no one seemed to be around. I decided to take a peek inside. I turned on the lights, and the room was big enough for all the members to practice inside. I hummed as I strolled around, my eyes darted towards the net with a bucket of balls beside it. I smiled, and I instantly took a ball and gave myself some distance. I scanned around the area, double-checking that no one was watching before I wind up, throwing a cutter towards the net.
Thump!
'My first pitch in Japan.' I thought, letting out a pained smile. Even though I planned on giving up on being a pitcher, it was even harder to quit cold turkey practicing as one. After all, the longest I've gone without pitching was for two months due to the injury. I sighed, picking up the ball, "I mean, today was the first practice. I think I deserve a little reward." I mumbled to myself, taking the bucket with me. I closed the lights and headed towards the baseball field. 'The lights stand out too much, and anyone can just wander inside.'
Whoosh! Whoosh!
Loud swings were coming from the back of the building. I approached closer, and it was a large figure relentlessly swinging the bat. 'Ah! It's Paper-san.' I went around him quietly, and I didn't want to bother him. He was too concentrated on practicing that he didn't notice me pass by. As I got closer to the field, it's deserted, and the only light that shined on the field was the moon. I was starting to feel a little afraid, 'Should I turn back?' I shook my head, "You're already this far, Mari. Just go to the field and pitch towards the backstop." I raised my voice, trying to fill the silence. I finally reached the field and stopped in front of the mound. 'I- I should test it out. Maybe it'll be different here.' I took a step on the mound, throwing ball after ball towards the wall.
By my 20th throw, the pain in my chest increased, though this time, it was like a sharp dagger piercing me. "Or not," I mumbled, my eyes started to gloss over. I kept throwing, ignoring the chest pains and bullets of sweat down my face and body. At my 30th pitch, I completely broke down. I collapsed on the ground, landing off the mound. I placed both my hands over my eyes, trying to calm down my rapid heartbeat and taking in deep breaths. I felt angry. I was angry at my injury, at the mound, at the ball, at everything. I was mostly angry at myself for being so weak. How could three years pass, and I could barely last three innings. "It's useless. I should give up on baseball entirely." I told myself, trying to hold back my tears. I've had enough of having to relive the feeling over and over again.
Tears started rolling down my cheeks. I quickly wiped my tears dry with my sleeves and cut myself off from my thoughts by slapping my cheeks as hard as I could. I let out a loud battle cry, trying to get a grip of myself. I spread my limbs apart on the ground, staring at the night sky. "It's only been three years, and my pitch count went from zero to thirty." I tried to comfort myself. "I need to at least get to 90 to be considered an ace... Ah!" I completely forgot my goal coming here. "I'm here to be the best outfielder there is!" I shouted as I sprung up, trying to convince myself.
I didn't even notice it was past 9:30. Still fired up, "One more hour!" I took the bucket and got closer to the backstop. I started to practice my pitching, trying to get used to the size and weight of the ball. Even though the difference was slight, I wanted to account for it. I pitched through a sequence, first was a four-seam fastball, two-seam fastball, change-up, curveball and then a cutter. I practiced till my heart's content, not sure when would be the next time I could pitch.
Timeskip - 1 month
"Kyahaha!"
It came from the other side of the room from where I sat. It's been the same laughter everyone would hear during our breaks. I sighed and stole a glance in their direction. I watched Kazuya laugh at him as Kuramochi, sitting in front of him, appeared irritated at him. I was glad to see Kazuya have a friend, but I wasn't pleased with the fact I wasn't one of them. It's been a month since I've last talked to him, 'Maybe I should just go up there and say hi. No, that's a little-' Before I could think of a plan, Ono came up in front of me, interrupted my thoughts. "Hey, Suzuki." I looked up and raised an eyebrow at him, "What's up, Ono?" I smiled, finally being able to talk to someone today.
"I wanted to give some advice on your slider," Ono told me, sitting on Kuramochi's spot behind me. I turned around, stealing one last glance towards the pair, "Could you? I feel like I've been throwing a fastball this whole time." I told him and gave him a pout. "Well, for starters, I think the problem might be the hand angle of your release. You've shown great progress, you're throwing with a fastball arm speed and mindset, but on your release, you slightly keep that fastball mindset." I stared at my hand and gripped it to a slider, and I furrowed my eyebrows, "What do you mean?" He clutched his right hand to the same pitch, pointing to the tip of his index finger, "You're releasing later than you should be. See, the spin is coming from twisting your hand underneath the ball. You could try to release it a little earlier. The spin should be coming from the index finger from the outside of the ball. Remember to tilt your wrists slightly, for a good wrist snap at the release." He told me, demonstrating with his hand while he explained.
I was interrupted before I could ask him any questions, "Oi! Ono!" Seki called out from the door at the front of the class with Asou standing beside him, gesturing to come. "Ah! Sorry, give me a second, Suzuki." He said, getting up to approach them, "No, no, thanks for the advice. I think I got it from here." I told him he gave me a nod before leaving. I turned back around to my desk, taking a peek at Kazuya, to find the two of them staring in my direction. I suddenly blushed, facing the front, trying to dismiss the fact I caught their eyes. I could hear Kuramochi laugh at Kazuya, 'What are they talking about?' The bell rang, and everyone started to go back to their seats.
"Ne, Mari, what were you and Ono talking about?" Kuramochi asked me with a teasing smirk across his face. "What are you? A jealous boyfriend?" I teased back at him. He let out his iconic laugh, "I should be saying that to you with the looks you give me every break." I puffed my cheeks out, "I do not!" Trying to deny it. "If you want me to be your jealous boyfriend, just say the word, Mari." He said with a wink, and it was my turn to laugh my heart out. "I'd like us to break up then, Kuramochi." I grinned at him. Kuramochi let out a laugh, and before he could say anything back, the teacher entered the room.
I turned back around, smiling throughout the rest of the day. Kuramochi was one of the two people I could manage to talk to in class. Though at the start, his personality with the guys was the opposite towards me. He wasn't able to speak to me until I started to greet him and slowly made small talk about baseball before classes would start. He came off as a gentleman at first, which would've fooled me except for the fact of seeing each other at the dorms, practices and classes. His personality peeked holes through after a month. Kuramochi failingly acted like a Casanova towards me while compared to Ono. One was actually considerate towards everyone in the team. He always knew when it was the right time to speak up like the first time he caught me practicing by myself was at night in the second week.
"Want me to catch for you?" He asked. I checked behind me to find one of my classmates. He was of a larger built with short-cropped brown hair. "Uh, O-Ono-san, right?" I asked him, unsure of his name. "Yes, Suzuki-san. I kind of caught you coming here at night, I got a little worried, and I followed you here to find you practicing. So I went back to the dorm to grab my glove." He said, trying to explain while raising his glove. I laughed, "Thank you for worrying about me. Honestly, I was scared at first coming here, but Sawamura at the other field made it a little easier." I told him, he slowly nodded. The mood was turning into an awkward silence, "Can you really catch for me?" I asked him in an attempt to break the silence between us. He stood at the home plate, with his glove open towards me. I smiled, throwing a pitch at him. For a couple of weeks now, he would help me practice twice a week after dinner. I managed to hide from Ono the types of pitches I could throw, but the downside was I was only able to throw fastballs around him before I asked him to learn a new pitch with his help.
It was Koeda, my psychologist, who suggested having a new experience regarding pitching. He advised that I could be subconsciously associating my five pitches to the past, and every time I threw them on the mound I relived that past. Instead, I should learn a new pitch that would give a better meaning to pitching. He reasoned since I was still able to play baseball by learning to play a different position. I didn't understand it, but I was willing to try. Ono never asked my reasons for practicing pitching even though I aimed to be an outfielder, instead he was inclined to help me out. I smiled for befriending someone so thoughtful. I peeked at Ono, sitting near Kazuya, before moving my eyes toward Kazuya, and my eyes lingered on him a little too long.
Everywhere Kazuya would go, there was someone always hogging him. He still wasn't a morning person, so I could never bother him before and during practice. During class breaks, Kuramochi would hog him while Kazuya stayed on his desk. When I see him at the cafeteria, Sawamura would always sit beside him. After dinner, it would be a couple of the first string bothering him. I sighed, hearing Kuramochi snicker behind me. "Mari, you're staring again." He whispered to me. I jolted from the spot, 'I hate how observant he is.' It wasn't the first time he caught me staring, and it wasn't going to be the last. I furrowed my head deep into my book.
My mind started to wander off to Sawamura. For the whole month, he still hasn't been able to practice. Every early morning and night, he would be running around the field. He hasn't touched a ball since his challenge with the coach. I started to accept the kid a little more, and even though he came off obnoxious, he knew how to compensate for his actions. I let out a quiet sigh, though he did deserve his punishment. I thought it was a horrible judgment not to let him practice for a whole month. I know he was still a diamond in the rough, but the team still lacked an ace, and his natural moving ball had too much potential to let go. 'Maybe I'll play catch with him today.'
I watched the first string head to the bus for their match with Ichidaisan. I approached Haruichi, "I can't come to the match today, Haruichi-kun." I told him, handing him my scorebook. "Do you know how to fill this?" I asked him with pleading eyes. He looked troubled for a second, "Uhm, they won't be as good as yours, Mari-senpai." He said modestly while taking the book off my hand. I smiled, "Filling it out halfway is more than enough, Haruichi-kun." I told him, "I have to get going now. I'll try my best." He said before he headed towards the bus. "Thank you! I owe you one!" Waving my hand as I watched him go.
"Get one more, and I'll double up!" I followed Sawamura's shout, leading me towards the baseball field. I watched him sprint off with two tires on his back, which he received from a manager. "I guess I'll warm up too," I mumbled to myself, heading towards the shed to grab a bat. He was too concentrated on running to bother him right now.
I got ready on the batter box. I swung my bat a couple of times before I started to visualize a pitcher in front of me. I began to rotate the tip of my bat in a circular motion at the back of my head. The pitcher winds up, pitching the ball. I tip my barrel forward before turning my shoulder. It created a running start that increased the bat's speed, keeping my hands back, allowing me to adjust to the speed and location while I moved my barrel forward. It was a fastball to the inside corner. I tipped the imaginary ball, hitting a line drive straight towards the first baseman. He caught it, even though I was the one to imagine it, I was annoyed.
I got ready for another pitch, 'That last hit lacked power.' I thought, focusing on my legs this time. Another pitch thrown, this time before I swung towards the ball. My weight fell forwards, keeping my hands back, hiding them from the pitcher. My back elbow pulled back against my leg pushed forward. I kept my weight centered over my back leg, and my upper body stayed back while my lower body leads my movement. I slammed the imaginary ball towards the back screen. I grinned, "That's better." I continued my batting practice for half an hour.
I lost my concentration by Sawamura's laughter. "This feels great!" He was shouting a couple of yards from me. He was playing catch with one of Haruichi's friends. "Playing catch is really great! Without a call, it's just not baseball!" I completely forgot the reason I stayed back for today. I wiped my sweat with my jersey, watching the two play catch while I tried to catch my breath. I kept watch of the two, and the stoic tall teen positioned himself to throw the ball harder. The ball managed to blow Sawamura's glove away, letting the stunned teen fall on the ground. I studied the tall, stoic boy, 'He can throw harder than that?' I knew he could throw far but imagining him on the mound, I got excited at the thought and started to approach them.
"Mind if I join in?" I asked the two first years. I noticed a weird aura around them. It seemed like I interrupted something I shouldn't have. "Good afternoon, senpai." I flashed a smile at the taller teen. "I saw that throw of yours. Do you think I can try to catch it?" I asked him, completely forgetting my previous plan with Sawamura, who was getting up from the ground in a daze. The dark-haired teen looked a little worried at first, hesitantly nodded. Sawamura finally noticed me, "Ah! It's pitcher-senpai!" He shouted, pointing at me. Even though I wanted to be nicer to him, it was going to be hard if he's going to blurt out unnecessary things. I gave him a threatening smile, "I'm an outfielder, Sawamura-kun. I was only practicing throwing at home plate, you hear me." I attempted to convince him. He was gullible enough to believe it, "Yes, senpai!" He bowed down his head, showing some respect. "Call me Mari." I introduced myself while I picked up and gave him his glove.
"Thank you, Mari-senpai." He acted a little off, but I dismissed it. "Now…" I trailed off, not catching the stoic boy's name. "Furuya Satoru." He interjected, "Well, Furuya-kun, throw one at me." I told him, throwing the ball back to him. He pulled back his shoulder and threw a ball slightly softer than his last throw. I easily caught it. I didn't know if he was testing or underestimating me. Either way, I was pissed and threw the ball hard enough for him to take a couple of steps backwards before the ball fell off his glove. "Mari-senpai! You were supposed to throw over here! Over here!" Sawamura whined right beside me, punching his glove. "Ah! Sorry, I wanted to teach a little lesson to my Kohai." I threw a glare towards Furuya, "Is that all you have?" I asked him.
I prepared to catch another throw from Furuya. This time it was faster than before. The ball thrown a little above my head, I brought my glove up. It made a loud popping sound hitting my glove, and it threw me off balance. I took a couple of steps backwards to support myself while my upper body pushed against the force of the ball. It was like catching a screaming line drive. I checked the ball in my glove, it still wasn't his fullest potential, but we were still warming up. "Better," I told him before throwing a light ball towards Sawamura. We continued to play catch until it was time for dinner. Even though I came here for Sawamura, I ended up getting caught up in my own interests. 'I wanna bat against these two.'
A day has passed, and it was already time for dinner. Today was chaotic. The news that the coach had revoked Tanba's ace title went around in the morning. And after practice, the coach announced tomorrow's practice game was going to be the first years against the second string. The coach was likely trying to find a way to make up for the team, lacking an ace with only three months before the summer tournament. 'What if I just go back to being a pitcher?' I asked myself, I imagined myself on the mound, and I could feel my chest already tightening up. 'Just kidding,' Though the joke pained my self-esteem.
I sat at our table, eating my first serving while reading the scorebook that Haruichi wrote in for me yesterday. "Mari-senpai, I looked through your other data. Why do you dot where the players are? Also, what are those lines at the bottom?" Haruichi asked me. He did a great job of trying to replicate my data, except for some missing information, and it was perfect. "So I know where their defense formation is regarding each batter, and I compare it to previous games if there's a pattern. And those lines are the course of the pitches I wanna remember." I answered him while I analyze the data. It was my turn to ask him a couple of questions about the game, "Could you tell the pitches he threw?" "He can throw a slider, curveball, forkball, and a fastball almost as fast as Furuya-kun's," Haruichi said, pointing at the kid heading towards Kazuya's table.
I raised my eyebrow, as he had pushed Sawamura off his seat for him to sit right beside Kazuya. 'Why didn't I just do that? Right! Cause I'm not shameless!' I thought, cursing a little at Furuya. "I don't feel like anyone here will be able to hit my pitches tomorrow. If I'm right, will you be my catcher?" I overheard Furuya talk to Kazuya, which hit the mark for me. I spent the whole day yesterday trying to catch that throw of his. Even though I only managed to successfully catch one ball at his full power with both my feet still on the ground. The rest of the time I've spent falling on the ground, but the ball would stay on my glove. 'I can hit that pitch out of the park after watching it close-hand.' I thought, slightly ticked.
The other members started to get up and approach him, glared at him menacingly, "You're saying nobody'll hit your pitches? Do you have any clue where you are?" Everyone started to join in, ready to scare off the freshman. I also wanted to get up there and scold the boy, and not only did he underestimate everyone, but he also claimed Kazuya to be his catcher. "Enough with all the bull! We'll work this out through baseball." The sentence alone from Tanba had quiet all the members and caused them to stand down. After a while, everything settled down, and I was on my third serving, "Mari-senpai, are you able to participate tomorrow?" Haruichi asked with his soft voice. I blinked, not knowing the answer myself. "I guess we'll find out tomorrow, won't we?"
The first inning was brutal to watch. I sat at the dugout beside Haruichi playing on his 3DS, waiting for the coach to place me in on the second inning. There was no way he was going to let the same players play after witnessing a massacre. "Ok, first-year students! We're going to shift the pitcher and the entire outfield!" I started to lighten up when the coach pointed at me. I got up to get on the field. "Yes!" Sawamura shouted at the top of his lungs behind me. 'Isn't it too early for him to pitch?' I watched him racing towards the mound, shouting his appreciation. "You're playing the right field!" Sawamura and I quickly stopped at our tracks. I turned back at the coach in disbelief.
The coach placed me in the left field. Sawamura had taken my position. I was slightly pissed at how he wasn't even taking it seriously. Not only was he not paying attention, but he also missed catching an easy hit coming towards him and throwing the ball precisely on the runner's back. 'Even if you never even played outfield, you should pay attention to the game.' I thought, bitterly, wanting my position back. I manage to get my head back into the game, 'Come on, hit it towards me.' The first years were starting to make mistakes at the start of the second inning. Most of the hits were deep, so I placed myself a little farther back, but I also had to prepare to sprint to cover for the third baseman and shortstop when they would miss catching a ball coming at them. We already lost nine runs, mostly from home runs. My teammates were already worn out and struggled to catch up with their breath.
The batter hits the ball, and it's a line drive between the third and second baseman. The shortstop jumped to catch it, but it fell short, and I was already sprinting towards the ball, expecting him to miss. I dive to the ground to catch the ball before it hits the ground. The runner just ran past third base in front of me. The shortstop right beside me telling me to pass the ball to him, I ignored it.
In a quick motion, I brought my right elbow and left knee close to my chest, propping myself up to a lunge position. I drew all my weight back, and I supported myself with my back leg and planted my front foot firm on the ground. I flicked my left wrist, launching the ball off the glove, catching it with my right hand while my throwing shoulder already pulled back, and I whipped my hand down, throwing a hard fastball towards the first-year catcher. In a blink of an eye, the ball magically landed on the glove. The catcher managed to tag the batter out in front of him. "Out!" The coach yelled. The audience started to murmur at first, "What happened?" "I couldn't even track the ball…" I got up dusted off the grass stains before shouting, "Two out! One more!" The first years' spirit slightly rose and joined in with my shout, "Nice double play!" I heard Sawamura shout.
"Player change! Satoru Furuya, get on the mound!" The coach yelled. Everyone watched Furuya get on the mound, some with worry and others a little threateningly. Furuya stood on the mound, throwing his first pitch. 'It's gonna be high.' I thought as I watched the course of the ball, the catcher missed the catch, and the ball hit the coach's helmet. I gasped, but the coach managed to dodge it by lifting his chin. Instead, the ball blew his helmet off his head. The second string came out of the dugout to ask if he was alright. "You passed, Satoru. Be at the first-string team's practice starting tomorrow!" Everyone on the field was shocked, including me. I feel like his single pitch paled compared to the double play I did when I was off-balance. The second string started to complain to the coach, "Please, wait a moment, sir! He hasn't thrown but one pitch. If it was at least three… no, two, then we can get a real look at his style!" I nodded along with their reasons. I wanted to watch him pitch and practice against it for later. "I want to let him continue, but… There doesn't seem to be a first-year player that can handle his pitches." They were speechless, and the coach must've muttered something to the player in front of him since they instantly let it go. "Pitcher change! Next pitcher! Come to the mound!"
We managed to end the inning instantly. The second string started to slow down, shakened up with Furuya's pitch. I was the first at-bat for the inning, I made my way towards the batter box. I bowed to the coach, and the catcher then swung my bat a couple of times, adjusting my grip. I've been watching his pitches, and his curveball was certainly a rare breed. It had such a steep curve. It seemed like it was coming straight at the batter, but it would break all of a sudden missing the batter and straight to the catcher's mitt.
I smirked at Tanba, 'Let's break that spirit.' Squinting my eyes at him mischievously, I was going to hit that curveball of his out of the park. 'He'll probably throw an inside fastball.' Tanba got ready to pitch, and I was right. I swung a little late for it to foul the ball. He was testing me, and I've given him something to chew on. "Foul ball!" He threw another fastball. It's another highball, and this time it was going to land near my head to try to intimidate me. "Ball one!" I let out a big breath, and he threw his next pitch. At first, it was going straight to the middle before I noticed it would suddenly break to the outside corner. "Ball two!" He was trying to judge if I would chase it. My eyes glinted in excitement. Not only did he have a nasty curveball, he knew how to control it well. The next ball was an inside low straight. The pitch barely grazed my knees. "Ball three!"
Tanba got ready to pitch again. The ball was coming straight at me. Finally, it was the pitch I've been anticipating. I swung at the curveball, and I realized the barrel of my bat was going to graze the bottom of the ball. As the ball hit my bat, I tried to change the direction of my swing upwards, and it forced the ball to hit the fence behind us. "Foul ball!" Observing the course of the ball sent shivers down my spine. He threw another fastball, and the ball hit at the tip of my bat. I swung heavily for the ball, sending a line drive straight to our bullpen, missing the person sitting down near the net. "Foul Ball!" I bowed towards their direction, 'I didn't think anyone would be there.' The count was already 3-2, and I had to make sure to swing for every pitch. I didn't want a walk to first base, knowing the next three batters would all strikeout. Tanba threw winding up and throwing another pitch.
I prepared myself to swing towards the ball. I brought my foot down, ready to swing at the ball. It was coming to hit near my head, 'There's no way you're going to walk me!' I thought before I swung down, I noticed the ball started to break to a steep curve. It was a curveball, and I was going to be short on this one. All my weight was still on my back foot, and I planted my foot down again to stop my momentum. I took another half step to regain my balance quickly enough to adjust and hit the ball hard. I clicked my tongue, 'This isn't gonna go far.' The ball popped up straight to center field, I dropped the bat and sprinted to first base, but the center fielder caught the ball. I let out a frustrated sigh, 'I got too cocky with my batting.' I made my way to the bullpen to sit beside Haruichi playing on his 3DS. "Haruichi," I whined to him. He was too focused on his game. "You could've scored on that first pitch." My eyes widened. I thought I was subtle about my intentions. "N-no, you think too highly of your senpai." I denied him modestly, and he gave me a knowing smile before he returned to his game. "Yes, Senpai." I rolled my eyes, watching his screen.
It was finally the fifth inning, and Sawamura was first at-bat. He moved up to the batter box with our teammates speaking ill of him. "What is he talking about… He still hasn't given up, even with their huge lead…" "Even if he gets a run, he still won't move up to the first string…" I sigh at the comments. They were playing to end the game faster. They've given up on winning the game. I watched Sawamura swing for both fastballs missing them by a foot. 'Can he do anything except pitch?' He was going to need to practice a lot more to even catch up to a high school level. Kawakami threw the last pitch, and my eyes widened as I tracked his pitch. It was a slider. I smiled, I was the fourth next batter, and I wanted to stand on that batter box again. The catcher wasn't able to stop the ball, "Not yet! The catcher deflected it behind him!" I jolted, not expecting Haruichi to shout beside me. Sawamura dashed to first base, "Make it!" Haruichi cheered him on, and I smiled at his sudden enthusiasm. Sawamura made it to first base before taking a stumble on the ground.
I laughed and nudged Haruichi, "What was that, Haruichi? I felt like I was going to go deaf!" I teased him slightly, causing him to blush. The team noticed the pink-haired teen at the back, and he turned a little uncomfortable with the attention. The next two batters struck out, the batter that came back started to complain. Furuya suddenly stood up and got the coach's attention, "Excuse me. Since I won't have another turn at-bat. May I go ahead and practice by myself?" He took off without a reply, waving bye to our team. The coach had let him off the hook. The team glared at Furuya for leaving and started to complain they wanted to end the game already.
"What did you all come here for?" Haruichi beside me suddenly spoke up. The boy handed me his console to continue the game as he continued speaking, "For the end that we all seek… Shouldn't you be starting to realize that your past achievements in junior high school stand for nothing here?" I was busy trying to play the video game, taking glances at the situation. He pointed his bat at the next batter coming up, "If you have no ambition, switch out." Before the guy could say anything, Haruichi got up, "Ah! Haruichi, I'm batting after you. So don't worry." I whispered to him. He nodded and brought his wooden bat along with him, "Sorry… Player change, please! The pinch hitter is me!" He announced to the coach. Our team was shocked and started to disapprove of his actions. "He thinks he can call all the shots!?" I finally managed to a save point in the game and pause it to watch Haruichi bat.
I've only seen him practice swinging, and it was my first time seeing him bat against a pitcher. I watched Haruichi fake a signal to Sawamura to try to gain an advantage for us. "Hah? What's that? What was that signal?! No one told me!" Sawamura shouted back, blowing off Haruichi's plan. "I'm going to make it all the way back to home plate! Let's both get runs!" He yelled back to Sawamura, blushing red on the spot. I started to laugh at the boy even though he stood firmly at the box, he was blushing too much to be taken seriously. Everyone started to laugh and judge the boy's skills, and my laugh died off at their comments. 'Build isn't the only factor to hit it long-distance.' I thought as I smirked as the pitcher threw the ball.
Haruichi suddenly fixed his grip, choking up on the long bat. He hit the outside pitch, and the ball was a line drive near the right side foul line. "Fair!" Sawamura was already in third base heading towards home. He slid to the plate, dodging the mitt by a hair and twisting his body at the last second to touch the plate. I grinned. "Safe!" Haruichi stood on second base, and I set foot on the field. When all of a sudden, the catcher rose to voice his complaint to the coach. "Do you really plan to end the game in this inning? We can't let the game end with two worthless first-years getting hits!" He yelled at the coach. I stood on the box and replied for the coach instead, "Well, you can count a worthless second year in there too." I taunted, shutting him up.
I swung my bat a couple of times, 'The last inning, huh? I better show a good finale then.' I pointed my bat towards Haruichi to gain his attention and did the same signal he used earlier. I tipped my helmet down, touching my chin, then tapping my chest. I watched Haruichi blush and nodded. 'This'll make them play aggressively.' I thought as I let out a snort at the comments from the opponents. "Does she think we're stupid?" "Teach her a lesson, Kawakami!" Kawakami threw his first pitch, and the ball started high and started to drop down. It was an outside breaking ball. I adjusted the barrel of my bat to match the swing plane to the plane of the pitch. The ball was going to be real low, and I tilted and dropped my back shoulder to match the height of the pitch, keeping the angle of my bat and shoulders to match up as it contacts the ball. I swung on it hard.
THWACK!
The ball made a loud crack at contact. I dropped my bat and sprinted to base. Though it didn't matter, the ball launched off to the back screen. It was a home run, and everyone was speechless. Even though I fared well against Tanba, they didn't expect a home run from me. Haruichi jogged to the home plate, and Sawamura was the first one to shout, "Good job, senpai! I expect no less from you, Mari-senpai!" I laughed out loud, "We're at three runs! Twenty-three more to go!" I shouted as I ran across the bases, trying to rile up the opponents. The next batter struck out, and the team started to spring to life out of nowhere. The first years finally started to show their spirits and headed towards the field, when we noticed the coach call for attention.
"Both teams line up! That's the game if we keep going the point difference is only going to keep growing…" The coach had ended the game. Both teams were shocked, "However, if all of the first-year students want to continue the game… then, that's another story… What'll it be?" The coach gave the team a choice. Our team was hesitant, and most of them wanted to end the game already. "What are you waiting for? You want to end it like this!?" Sawamura was the first to shout at them for giving up so quickly, and I covered my ears in an attempt to save my eardrums from his deafening shouts. I noticed he finished shouting, and I decided to join in, "Do you guys want to give up now when we finally started scoring?" I asked them a little coldly.
The team was frustrated, to say the least, "Shut up…" A first-year said, pointing at Sawamura, and the rest started pointing out all his mistakes throughout the game. I nod along with them, agreeing with every point that they've been saying. "Senpai! Even you!?" I nodded at him, giving him a grin and a peace sign. "Let us continue, please! Please!" " Please, Director!" "Please let us continue!" I heard the first years' plead to the coach. I stared towards Sawamura's back, 'He'd make a great ace.' Slightly saddened at the thought.
"Why didn't you all take the field with that kind of spirit from the beginning? After high school baseball, there is nothing else for you!" The coach scolded them. Before he pointed at Sawamura, "Punk from this inning on, you're the pitcher." Then he pointed to me, expecting my position handed back to me. "Switch out with one of the first years." He told me, and my eyes widened. 'What? Why? I didn't even play my position?' I tried to deny his order, "Coach-" He gave me a look that said he would order me to run for the rest of the week. I nodded furiously and gave my position away. I sighed and made my way to the dugout when I realized Furuya was still nearby. I decided to bother the first year and scold him for giving up so early in the game.
I ran to Furuya near the bullpen, "Furuya! Did you watch your senpai?" I asked him loudly, waving him down to catch his attention. When I got closer to the bullpen, I noticed a figure sitting down, hiding behind Furuya. I suddenly stopped in my tracks when I saw Furuya and Kazuya staring at me. I immediately blushed at how I practically embarrassed myself in front of Kazuya. I noticed Kazuya had amused written all over his face, and he gave me a little wave with a huge grin on his face,
"Don't worry. I was watching you, Suzuki-san." He said teasingly.
Note:
I'm planning to change the updates to maybe once or twice a month since school has been raining down hard on me lately. I'm sorry! But I'll make sure they'll be long chapters! You could always check my insta, cringe_at_me_ for fanart that goes along with this fanfiction.