Disclaimer: I don't own Ace of diamond. Some quotes from the original manga/anime are only borrowed because they are awesome. (Mostly the one in italics if you haven't already noticed.)

Warning: some spoilers from the manga ACT 2 and yes I did switch some timelines a bit. Guilty as charge. Reviews pretty please with a cherry on top? This is a work in progress. I'm still trying to improve this. Thank you.

~~ memories ~~ if you haven't guess by now.

Summer Act II

It took 2 weeks, 14 days and 336 hours for Sawamura to be able to pitch again.

The thing is, even with the game, it didn't change the fact that he made it to the first string as a catcher. They days after followed the same busy training they have been doing to get ready for the tournament. He trained his fielding. He trained his batting but mostly, he gets ready to catch for the team's primary and reserve pitchers.

There have been differences of course. Coach Kataoka had returned finally and Ochiai was delegated to coach the second string - a fact that he was thankful for. Otherwise, everything was almost the same as the year before.

He tried to ignore the stares that seem to be happening lately and concentrate on the food in front of him. A couple more bites and he should be done with the three customary rice bowls. Maybe he can do some more drills before turning in for the night?

"Sawamura, do you want to play catch?" He heard someone ask.

He looks up. Furuya stood in front of him, holding a ball and 2 mitts in his hand.

The conversation around him stopped. He could feel everybody stare as he put down his fork before nodding. Haruchi eyed them worriedly from his sides, eyes questioning, but he shook his head and followed Furuya out.

The field was barely deserted. A couple of members from the baseball team was still practicing and/or loitering around so it took awhile to find an inconspicuous spot. After that, Sawamura didn't know for how long but he found himself throwing ball after ball at the pitcher. He did the same.

"You're throws are disgusting." Furuya states after awhile. "They go in all different directions so it makes it very hard to catch."

Sawamura threw another ball. The ball went up high before it curved and landed on the other party's mitt.

"But…" Furuya continued, face unreadable. "I came here to Seido to find someone to catch my hardest throw. Even you who can…I don't want to give up the mound."

He sighed. Wasn't this scene familiar? Though calm, Furuya can be very direct and determined when it comes to baseball. He, himself, has been told was the same. It's what being an ace should be.

"I will see you in the mound, Sawamura. Please don't disappoint me."

Sawamura watched as Furuya walked back towards the dining hall. He looked up to the slowly darkening sky before decidedly walking towards another building where the indoor practice area is. On the way, he meets Miyuki leaning against a wall.

"All done?" Miyuki smirks.

Sawamura eyes the catcher's gear and baseball clutched in his hand.

He smirks back.

"Why? Want to play catch too, Miyuki Kazuya?"

Miyuki, Sawamura surmises, is someone who is so familiar and yet so different. Heck, he thinks the same goes with the rest of his teammates and friends.

Miyuki stands tall, full of confidence and so much knowledge about baseball for someone of their age. Arrogance aside, Miyuki is, as the media proclaims, a baseball prodigy - supposedly one of the best catcher in their generation.

"So what kind of pitches can you throw?" Miyuki asks him as he crouches down in front of the net.

Sawamura grins. "I pitch fastballs for life!"

He and Miyuki probably did more than a safe number of pitches afterwards.

They started the numbers that night and Miyuki caught most of them. This, Sawamura think is what he truly missed the most.

"What made you want to be a catcher, Miyuki?" He asks.

"Why the question?" Miyuki throws a question back to him.

Sawamura shrugs. "I'm just curious, is all."

The clock ticks away slowly. They stare at each other for a few minutes before looking away.

Miyuki smiles.

"Well don't you think it's cool that the catcher's mitt is very different from everybody else?"

The team practices continue. The stares while still there feel a lot less.

As a first string catcher, he was still regularly paired with Furuya for practice and some games. However, he also found himself paired with Miyuki more and more in the bullpen especially after practice. It didn't take long before the other members of the team and the alumni start to approach him about his pitching.

"Good job, Sawamura!" Haruchi praises.

"Bakamura! Didn't know you can pitch." Kuramochi and the other fielders call out whilst Okumura quietly asks him one day if he wants to catch for him too.

The coaches stand by the side, silent and observing.

"Was it an injury?" Chris asks him when he and the other retired third years visited.

He could only shake his head. An injury, a physical one that is, would have been a much easier thing to explain but…

"No…I…I had a slump." He grudgingly admitted. He watches as Furuya begins his windup with Okumura as his catcher then a bang. Miyuki chuckles as he slowly jogs through the bases before motioning for the next at-bat.

"I see."

Miyuki, noticing their stares, waves to them across the field. Okumura and Furuya stood at the sides, eyes burning with aura.

Houmei High.

Nihou Shonou

Eigen High

The team advances through the spring tournament and then….

Kawakimi drops a can he was holding during a meeting. They took him to the doctor. Possibly strained muscles, hopefully nothing too serious. He couldn't play for three weeks.

Furuya despite being a great pitcher lacks stamina. The rest of the first year pitchers didn't fare better against the batters of Ichidaisan.

They lose.

He said it once and he would say it again. Everything is different but also the same.

He grits his teeth. They needed another relief pitcher. He is one. Why didn't they use him?

"I…I could have pitched." He stammers through, feeling pain in his chest. "I WANTED TO PITCH!"

For the first time in a long time, Miyuki stands beside him eyes hard. "Then say it! Mean it!""

What?

….

Oh.

Oh…

There are approximately 1000 steps, half a mile, to go from the bus stop to the door of coaches' office. Standing in front, the door aged with cracks and discoloration showing in different places looks so brown, so ordinary, but nonetheless, it feels imposing.

Slowly, he raised his hands and knocked.

The door is opened by Rei who nods at him before leaving. He turned to see Coach Kataoka sitting on one of the couches, reading the team's journals. He sits across him and minutes passed by just like this: Sawamura watches as coach Kataoka continue to read one journal after another in silence.

"I am a pitcher." He breaks in just as Kataoka reaches for another pile. "I don't know how much I can help the team but please let me pitch in a game, coach! I want to pitch!"

He bows his head.

"Then why didn't you say so in the first place?" Coach Katoaka asks. "In baseball, once you lose, you lose. Every time out there is precious! Give the team everything you got!"

~~ "Coach…everyone….My name is Sawamura Eijun. I am going to be ace!" "~~

~~ "I plan to join the Yomura Giants after this. I hope to see you there, partner!"~~

~~ "Moving on to the 9th inning is number 11 pitcher Sawamura…pitcher Sawamura!"~~