Disclaimer: This is a work of fiction, the characters go with their respective creators of diamond no ace and I do not claim ownership of the characters or the world.

Chapter 12

Tohru watched Eijun seriously as he threw the ball back and the young pitcher catching it easily. For the past 6 years playing pro, this was the only time he was getting thrilled catching for a pitcher considering he was once a pitcher himself. As he looked at Eijun standing tall on top of the mound, with shining bright golden eyes focus only towards him, the excitement and anticipation of catching another one of his pitches is giving him goose bumps. He crouched back down and noticed that the batter was tensed with the first call of the strike. Hmmm… if I am guessing correctly, they would be desperate to try to hit his pitches now, he smiled on the thought and looked at Eijun closely who was still focus and waiting for him to give another sign for the next pitch. So I guess there is nothing wrong of letting them hit if they are eager to get some hits… as he gave Eijun his sinking fastball sign.

Eijun noticed the evil grin behind Tohru's mask as he gave him the inside sinking pitch sign, this time he did not give additional sign of holding his strength indicating he call pitch full force. He smiled brightly seems Hero sempai wants to finish this game fast… he thought as he started to lift his hand acting as if stretching for a bit, however Daiki, Maki, Miro and Towa noticed that action making them smile as well. The outfielders also noticed Eijun move, thus they slowly change positions, however since the focus was only towards the center line, the batter did not notice the shifting and change in defense position of the fielders. Eijun looked around, noticing everyone was already in position, he looked at Tohru who was still grinning, making him smile for a bit. I need to focus, this will be so much fun… Eijun did his windup and then threw the ball as hard as he could, upon release the ball it seems like it have a straight direction however when the ball was close to the plate it sunk like a fork ball, jamming the bat the moment the batter did a swing. The ball sailed towards 3rd base where Maki easily catches the ball and throwing it to 1st base tagging the running batter.

"One out!" Daiki yelled, making the other fielders answering the same and Eijun showing a one out sign.

Eijun turn to look at Tohru who was crouching down, as the next batter step in. Eijun noticed the next batter was a pinch hitter, who has a bigger built compared to the previous batter. He wrinkled his forehead for a bit, however he does not feel any intense pressure making him wonder why he was still calm considering the new batter seems like he could hit a homerun. He looked at Torhu who asked for his old cutter, however the target was directly in the middle of the plate making him smile more. This was a battle of strength, and Tohru was asking him to have a head to head power battle with the new pitcher who was obviously five times bigger than him. He nod in agreement, as he drop the resin bag he was holding in his pitching hand. He knew Hero sempai wanted to test how far his pitches could last, and one of the best way to test it was to see if he could be able to jam powerful batters, this is something he does not intend to pass experiencing. He took a deep breath first, then position himself for pitching, fixing his grip behind his mitt. He did his windup raising his knee higher than usual, then stepping in on the ground transferring his strength from his legs up to his pitching arm upon releasing the ball. The ball sailed directly towards the middle where the batter anticipated a fastball, as he made the swing the ball suddenly made an upward break jamming the bat letting it sail above Eijun head. Eijun failed to catch the ball that sailed up his head however Towa was able to have enough momentum for a jump to catch the pitch and easily throwing it to first base, tagging the running batter.

"Two outs!" the crowd yelled as Eijun and the other players flinch upon the hearing the cheers in the whole dome.

Eijun looked around the field grinning wide showing a two out sign, instead of yelling for two outs and his usual catch phrase 'yes yes yes'. The BJ players were also smiling as well, since it seems the whole dome was already pretty much cheering for them further increasing their momentum.

Tohru sighed deeply, ignoring the wild and loud cheers of the audience. He was a bit nervous asking for Eijun cutter right on the middle of the plate, however he wanted to see if Eijun has the power to actually jam strong batters, and since the young pitcher was able to deliver favorable results, he was now confident Eijun had really improve not just in his ball control but also in his power and speed. As he crouched back down to his catching position, he noticed the next batter stepping in obviously dejected and seems like he was no longer interested in keeping the game going. Tohru looked towards the Hawks dugout and notice that it seems like they have already accepted the defeat making him smile. He looked at Eijun directly and asked for his in high pitch where the young pitcher nod in agreement and throwing the in high pitch nice and clean directly where his mitt was position. "Strike!" the umpired yelled loudly however the batter did not flinch nor try to make a swing. I guess I can keep asking for fastballs then… Tohru thought happily, as he again ask for Eijun's pure spin fastball directly in the middle of the plate where the latter pitched it cleanly directly on the mitt, "Strike!" the umpire called yet again but the batter still did not swing. So Tohru just decided to end the suffering of the other team, thus asked for his changeup instead, where Eijun threw the pitch cleanly, but the batter did make a swing and had completely miss the ball due the timing being off. "Strike! Batter out! End of game!" The umpire yelled.

Eijun raised his hands on top of the mound as the players from the dugout run towards Eijun hugging him and lifting him up. It was like he had just won a championship game, making Tohru smile as he looked at Eijun being lifted and the other players all cheering for him.

"You have an interesting pitcher Tohru… I cannot wait for the season games" the batter remarked as he positioned his hand for a handshake in front of him. Tohru smiled accepting the handshake, however he did not comment in regards to the coming season games since everyone within BJ is aware that Eijun is not yet allowed to play with them officially since he was still in highschool, but of course the other team does not need to know that. The game ended with Black Jaguars win over Hawks in the score of 6-4. Eijun was able to pitch for 5 innings, with ten strike outs, 84 pitches, 1 hit, no runs given, and at that moment the nick name magic pitcher was given to BJ's ace pitcher who came in the 5th inning.

Eijun was wearing cool packs on top of his BJ jersey, they were at the back of the Tokyo dome waiting for their coach and Miro who stand in for Daiki since the latter refuse to do an interview for a mere practice games. But since the Hawks was recognized as the Pacific league champions, the media was going crazy with the teams lost and Black Jaguars win. "Will the coach and Miro sempai take long?" Eijun asked curiously, as he was not able to ask their coach before leaving for the interview, since after the game Asano and Maki immediately grabbed Eijun out of the dugout and hid him at the back side of the stadium where they are all waiting for their bus ride.

"They would most likely be out of there fast" Towa easily answered as he was fixing his bag.

"Owhh… I wanted to watch the interview too…" Eijun commented

"No!" a loud unison of the team answered as they all look at Eijun horrified.

"Ehhhh…" Eijun look confused, did he do something wrong, as he could see the expression of his teammates upon his remark, it was after all just an interview.

Tohru coughed for a bit to clear the sudden tension. "What the team means Eijun is that it would not be good for you to be more popular than our captain…"

"What!" Daiki's panic loud voice could be heard the moment Tohru made the comment making the other players snicker around trying to hide their laughter.

"Owhhh… then why is it not the captain doing the interview instead of Miro sempai?" Eijun asked still confused.

"That is because the captain is shy…" Maki answered earning a glare from the captain.

Eijun was about to comment when they heard a group of female voices calling out to them. Eijun turn to look and saw a group of five females who were all good looking carrying boxes and flowers walking towards him. "Huh…"

"Ahm… Mr. Samuwara that was such a nice game… we are looking forward to your pitching in the seasons game" one of the girls commented as he pushed the banquet of flowers towards Eijun.

"Ehhhh… What?" Eijun looked totally confused seeing the five female obviously giggling and pushing one another.

"That was such an exhilarating game sir Samuwara… we will cheer for you!" as the other girl push the boxes of sweets to the young pitcher.

"We will be your number one fans Sir Magic pitcher…" another commented making Eijun totally bewildered now. He was about to comment when suddenly the five female run away from him all giggling and from a distance they wave back as they run away again.

"What just happened?" Maki asked obviously annoyed.

"Owhhhh… Eijun is quite popular with the ladies huh…" Daiki commented smiling widely.

"I cannot believe this, I have been playing pro for 8 years, and no female fan every came up to me to give me flowers or sweets" Asano said in an irritated tone, while the other players all nod in agreement.

"Huh… but they said this was for Mr. Samuwara… this is not for me… who is Mr. Samuwara?" Eijun asked bewildered looking at his team who all turn to look at him in complete amazement. He was with the team for months now, and yet he has never met a player with that name.

"You have no idea who Mr. Samuwara is?" Towa asked obviously trying not to laugh; the other players have all started snickering obviously trying hard not to burst into a bit fit of laughter.

"No I don't… who is he?" Eijun answered innocently, however he noticed the contained laughter of his teammates making him wrinkle his forehead. "Ehhhh what is going on Towa sempai?"

The other players could no longer contain it as they all burst into laughter, making Eijun more confused in their reactions. "Eijun…" Maki called him in between his laughter's, "my tummy hurts oh my god… I cant… I just cant…" Towa remarked.

"Ehhhhhh… common I don't get it…" Eijun still does not get the joke if ever the team was joking for some reason. They were in that scenario when coach Shoji and Miro walked in the back lot. "What is going on?" Miro asked curiously as he noticed the team were all tearing up in laughter.

Daiki walked towards Miro who was clutching his tummy laughing, "Kiseki… help me… I cannot stop…" Daiki begged in between his laughs earning a totally bewildered look from the latter.

"Owh… common sempais! I don't get the joke at all!" Eijun was now obviously annoyed since he was the only one who was not laughing, more like he was the source of the laughter.

"Ok… Ok… what is going on here?" Shoji asked carefully turning to Masato who was on the ground obviously laughing hard as well.

"Ehhh.. Ahm… yes sorry coach… it was just Eijun, he has a fan club…" Masato answered as he tries to compose himself.

"A fan club?" Shoji and Miro asked in unison and they turn to look at Eijun as they now noticed the bouquets of flowers and boxes of sweets on his arms. "Owh…" Miro looked amazed, "Interesting…" Shoji commented.

"Ehhh… common coach, Miro sempai that is not what is going on… These girls suddenly called out and they said that this is for Mr. Samuwara, or something…" Eijun tries to explain however the team burst into another fit of laughter when Eijun tries to explain that the gifts were not for him but this Mr. Samuwara person. "Owh common…" Eijun looked at his teammates who were now all crouching down, a few were kneeling holding their tummy still laughing hard. As Eijun looked at their coach and Miro sempai, he noticed that both were trying hard not to laugh and looked away. "Ahhh! Common coach, Miro sempai not both of you two… I don't know who this person is!" Eijun tries to explain.

Shoji coughed for a bit obviously trying to hide his laughter. "Sawamura… have you not noticed anything ever since we handed you that jersey?" he started looking a bit serious and not at the same time.

"Jersey? You mean my BJ jersey?" Eijun asked innocently as he holds his current jersey still looking confused.

"Ugh… What the coach is saying Eijun…" Tohru was no longer able to stop himself, his tummy was already hurting laughing so hard. He could not remember when was the last time he laughed like that within the team, "check the back of your jersey Eijun…"

Eijun still looking confused handed the flowers and the boxes of sweets to Tohru who easily accepted them. And then he removed his BJ jersey and look at the name on the back with the big number eighteen below. Samuwara was printed on top in black bold letters. " EHHHHHHHHH… but that is not my name!" Eijun complained looking at their coach horrified.

"True… however if we use your real name then we might have problems if scouts or media finds out who you are Sawamura" Shoji explained easily.

"But but…" Eijun was bewildered. He had been using this jersey since the holiday break, and just found out now that it was not even his name.

"We are amazed you never noticed since the announcer also calls out your name during games you know…" Daiki commented obviously able to finally get his bearing together.

"I never noticed… not one bit…" Eijun answered dejectedly.

The other players noticed his dejected expression making them feel bad about laughing hard. "Eijun…" Tohru moved towards the young pitcher, "It is not about the name on the jersey, but the person who stands on top of that mound. If the media or your team got wind of what you have been doing during your free time, do you think you could be able to stand on top of that mound today, or play with us at all?"

Eijun looked at Tohru and noticed the seriousness and sadness in his eyes. "Plus… that is just temporary…" Daiki intervened as he put his arms around the young pitcher. "Temporary?" Eijun answered looking more confused now.

"Ehhh… don't tell me you think that name would be forever? Hell no!" Maki retaliated.

"That is only a temporary thing, up until you graduate or you can officially play in games with us" Masato explained as the other players nod in agreement. "You do plan to keep playing with us in the future right?" Shoji asked seriously as he looked at Eijun unsure expression.

At first Eijun was confused and unsure why his name was not on the jersey of BJ. He thought he was not a member of the team, however as he watched his team explain the reason of the name and at the same time the seriousness in asking if he would keep playing with them made him feel delighted. "Of course coach… I want to stay with this team forever!" he declared loudly.

"Good… now let us celebrate!" Daiki cheered as dragged Eijun towards a parked bus not far from them with the big sign of Black Jaguars on the sides. The other players also smiled as they followed the captain and there loud pitcher. Shoji watched his team as he followed a bit behind them. He could feel within his instincts that the moment he met Sawamura, his whole team has change drastically, as they all laugh and make jokes entering the bus, and that is something he does not want to lose.