The coach was stuck in a teacher's meeting, so the team got free practice. Of course, Seido took advantage of this time. Especially a certain tanuki catcher.
"Sawamura!" Miyuki calls his puppy.
"What, Miyuki Kazuya?!" Sawamura yells, eyes full of hope, "Are you gonna catch for me?! Catch for me!"
"Hm~ Not today~" Miyuki smirks, "Now, c'mere!" he beckons him with a finger.
Sawamura knows that look. That tanuki-like look that Miyuki gets when he wants to cause mischief. Normally, Sawamura would deny him and run the other way but...it's a free day, and he has nothing better to do.
He goes up to Miyuki, tilting his head to the side like a puppy, eyes questioning what they're going to do today.
Miyuki smirks as he whispers into Sawamura's ear his evil plot for today.
Sawamura just deadpans at him, "And why would I want to do that?"
"Because~ don't you want to see things from a different perspective? It's an experiment only for today anyway, so what's the harm~?" Miyuki entices.
Sawamura thinks about it for a moment. He does want to see what the tanuki's point is...and it's only for today. He nods, "Alright... don't make me regret this."
"Of course not, partner," Miyuki smiles.
In the bullpen, Seido was witnessing an "unusual" sight.
"Uh...what?" Kuramochi's speechless.
"Eijun-kun? Miyuki-senpai? Why...?" Harucchi asks.
"You're helping me put on catcher gear?" Sawamura raises an eyebrow as it's unlike Miyuki to be so nice.
"Just repaying the favor for the countless times you helped me put it on, baka. Don't think so hard about it," Miyuki replies as he straps Sawamura properly.
Yup. Sawamura and Miyuki decided to switch positions today.
"Oi...are those two switching positions?" Jun asks as Tetsu just observes.
"Is that going to be alright?" Kanemaru asks.
"Well...it's probably only for today," Tojo sweat-drops.
Getting into position, Miyuki pitches some warm-up pitches to get used to it, Sawamura easily catching them.
Then, Miyuki breathes as he raises his leg up, pitching a fastball.
SLAM!
Sawamura catches it with ease, his hand tingling.
'That sound just now...was so nice,' both Sawamura and Miyuki smile.
They go on like that, Miyuki trying out different grips and pitches as Sawamura just catches them all without missing a single one, the both of them falling in love with baseball all over again.
Mostly, those around the bullpen were fascinated by this battery. That despite their switch in positions, they still work together so well.
'That's just how strong their bond is,' Chris smiles.
Of course, when they take a break, Furuya cuts in-between them.
"Eijun...catch for me," Furuya demands.
"...fine," Sawamura sighs.
Miyuki takes a rest as Furuya replaces him. When Furuya pitches one of his fastballs at Sawamaura right off the bat, he easily catches it, much to the surprise of the whole team.
After throwing the ball back, Sawamura waves his hand, complaining, "Geez! Take it easy! My hand almost went numb from catching that!"
"And yet you still caught it..." Miyuki comments as Sawamura once again surprises him.
Furuya's happy now, cheeks pink as throws another one, ignoring Sawamura's complaints.
Of course, after Harucchi convinced Furuya to get some batting practice in, Sawamura sighs as Nori and Tanba got their turn with him. Tojo too.
Miyuki just smirks, watching Sawamura catch for the pitchers. His reflexes and flexibility are still being used to his advantage, even as a catcher.
"Miyuki~! Pitch to me!" Sawamura whines.
"Hahaha! Hai hai!" Miyuki smiles as they go back to playing catch until the day's end.
When practice ends, Miyuki cools down his shoulder, Sawamura helping him as he's not used to this. They bathe and change into their regular clothes before meeting up in Miyuki's room.
"So? How was being a catcher for a day?" Miyuki asks, grinning.
"...harder than it looks...but fun. I can see why you like it," Sawamura smiles.
"It was definitely a surprise that you can catch for Furuya though," Miyuki comments.
"I can probably catch anything, senpai," Sawamura smirks at the praise.
"Don't go getting a big head now..." Miyuki sighs.
"Well, what about you? How was being a pitcher for a day?" Sawamura asks, a teasing smile on his lips.
"...not bad," Miyuki answers, "I can see why you monopolize the mound so much. But my favorite part was definitely-"
"-when my ball hit your mitt-"
"-when your ball hit my mitt-"
"The sound was perfect!" they say at the same time before chuckling and giggling.
Smiling at each other, they share a hug before going to bed.
"Goodnight Miyuki-senpai! And you better catch my pitches tomorrow!" Sawamura quickly leaves before Miyuki kicks him out.
"Goodnight Sawamura," Miyuki shakes his head as he smiles at the pitcher's usual antics.
The next day was a normal practice, complete with Sawamura demanding Miyuki catch his pitches. But this time, Miyuki obliges.