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.

A/N: Hello everyone. Sorry for not being able to update earlier. I got sick due to the vaccine shot (sad) Anyways as an apology, I just decided to combine two chapters in a single chapter so this would be a bit long. (Smile) I hope you like it guys! Always stay healthy! P.S please dont get tired of reading this (wink) Love you guys! Stay Safe and peace out!

Chapter 29

Sawamura took a deep breath in as he made a side look towards first base and saw Kamiya smiling widely. I knew that you guys would make a hit sooner or later… You are not called champions by name anyways. However I am not going to let you people walk on this as easily as you think. As he gaze back towards Miyuki he saw Shirakawa stepping inside the batter's box. Plus I want to focus on this guy since I need to return a favor from last summer… he grin on the thought as he watched Miyuki asked for an inhigh pitch making him nod in agreement.

Even thought there was a runner in first base, Miyuki still asked for an inside pitch against Shirakawa. He does not want to let Inashiro think that they would be backing down in there offense. He watched as Eijun nod in agreement, did his windup and threw the inside pitch close towards the batter's chest, but Shirakawa did not made a swing at all. "Ball!" the umpire yelled making Miyuki sigh. Sawamura's pitches has spirit and strength in them, it is just that his rhythm was still not there. The courses still tend to stray. As he threw the ball back, and crouched back down he immediately noticed that Carlos's lead was starting to get a bit uncomfortable however, with Sawamura's course throw, he want him to focus only towards the batter, but just incase he positioned his mitt in a outlow position getting ready to throw if incase Carlos would try to steal second base.

Sawamura saw Miyuki's sign at the same time watched as his catcher positioned his mitt in a outlow position. I guess Kamiya is going for the steal huh… Eijun nod in agreement at the same time drop the rosin bag that he was holding. He did a quick look at Kamiya who seems to be not fazed then return his eyes back towards Miyuki sempai. He took deep breaths in, and as he rise his knee preparing for his pitching windup where his pitching hand is just behind his back, Carlos made the dash towards second base.

"Steal!" Maezono yelled out.

Carlos was not bothered with the call as he put his full speed sprint to go towards second base, but as he dash forward, he suddenly noticed Kominato's position was not on his regular position in the field and was pretty much in between second base and Sawamura. He tries to make a stop of his dash, however as if on slow motion he saw Sawamura snap his wrist that instead of the ball moving forward it sailed towards his back where Kominato easily catches the ball then moving fast enough to step in second plate. Carlos tries to make a slide to return back towards first base, however with Kominato's reflexes he was able to move close enough able to tag Carlos out with the ball. "Out!" yelled the umpire making Carlos unable to stand up from his position.

"A back toss! It was a back toss! We just witnessed a back toss from Sawamura Eijun tagging the runner and resulting for a failed steal!" The announcer yelled making the whole crowd of the Meiju Jingu stadium go wild. The other players within the field all looked dumbstruck. "What the hell! What was that!" Kuramochi yelled though he was pretty much surprised and happy at the same time. Honestly, he was a bit surprised when Kominato move in the between second plate and the pitcher, which was so weird, he was about to call him out however Carlos attempted the steal and it failed completely with a play he was not even aware off. "If you guys plan to do something! Tell me about it… that was awesome!" Kuramochi added as he grab Haruichi.

"Ehhhh… thank you…" Haruichi answered while blushing. At the same time a whistle from the umpire was called. The other players on the field freeze as they noticed a few of the referees were starting to gather in the side of the field and the game was put into a halt. It was an umpire timeout, which was actually rare in highschool games. "Owh… what is going on?" Kominato asked unsure.

"I think they are going to review the play" Kuramochi informs annoyingly. As he noticed Miyuki was jogging up towards the mound, thus they decided to move close towards mound as well.

"We are now going in a referee timeout…" the announcer informs making the people on the stadium confused.

The moment Kohata saw Eijun's back toss, he instinctively stood up and move towards the audience fence earning a complain from Daiki and Sagara. "Ehhhh Kyoya…" Sagara complained as he was surprised that his friend who was just sitting behind Daiki seem like to have been put in a daze resulting to completely ignoring them at the same time step in between him and Daiki in order to get close to the protective fence.

"What the hell Kohata!" Daiki annoyingly yelled, he was about to add more complain however he stop short as he notice the expression the catcher has on his face. He was totally immense on the field that it was obvious he would not care whatever Daiki or the others tell him, making Daiki sigh in defeat. "Whatever… if you just wanted to really watch him up close… all you need to do is ask, I will sit beside Takahashi… seat here… you will get complains from the other audience you know…" Daiki commented as he stood up and move back to Kohata's old seat beside Takahashi.

Kohata made an apologetic look towards Daiki raising his right hand as an apology. "Sorry about this Daiki… it is just that your young pitcher is really something"

"Yeah yeah… whatever… seat down man… a lot of people will notice you!" Daiki complained, though he totally understood Kohata's excitement, since he felt it as well the first time he saw Eijun pitch in there first promotional game.

A few of the White Knights also apologize towards him in regards to there catcher's antics at the same time Kohata still seeming like in a daze not removing his gaze on the mound seat beside Sagara totally focus on the center line of the field. Specifically his eyes are only looking at one person and that is none other than Seido's ace, Sawamura Eijun.

Eijun was a bit tense. It is ok… I did the play accordingly… nothing to worry… Eijun thought as he did his breathing exercise. The moment that Kamiya made the dash for the steal he knew with his weak course at the moment, they cannot tag him out, even if Miyuki sempai was able to catch his outside pitch, since it would most likely take 4.3 seconds for the fastest runner to take on second plate, with his weak course it would take an extra second even if there captain has the fastest throw to reach second plate plus there is also the possibility of a bunt from Shirakawa and that is something he does not want to happen. Thus there was no other choice but to do the back toss play. He made sure too that his back toss was accurate, so even if he was not sure if Haruichi was closely behind or not, it would have enough momentum for his friend to reach it and it did not fail. Haruichi indeed was able to catch the pitch at the same time tag the runner out, making him breath in relief. He also pretty much expected a referee timeout once the play was done, as he open his eyes, and notice that most of his teammates were already near him. However he does not care, there is only one person he was focusing on while grinning "Nice play… Haruichi" Eijun said while putting up his mitt.

Haruichi smiled the moment he heard Eijun remark. The moment they went near the mound, he noticed that Eijun seem to be doing a quick breathing exercise and at the same time the moment his golden eyes open, it immediately move towards his direction. "Yeah… thank you Eijun… it is a team effort" he answered cheerfully as he also put up his mitt and tap it on Eijun mitt.

"Well I am glad you're happy with a play we were not aware off… however it might not be counted…" Kanemaru informs as he was closely watching the referee's in the corner of the field at the same time the head coaches were also called in now with another person who was obviously an official of the game.

"No… it would be counted… back toss plays are legal in pro league, pro teams usually do it. A back toss would be counted as long as the pitcher has not been able to totally be in there windup. From what I did, I only raised my knee high enough to make it look like im doing my windup, so I am definitely sure it would count." Eijun confidently answered as he also look out towards the huddle officials.

Miyuki turn to look at Eijun seriously. "Owhhh… you seem to be quite aware of that huh… why is that?" he asked.

"Well I check on it before… I think I read it somewhere" Eijun casually answered earning bewildered gazes from his teammates.

"You read? You… of all person… really read?" Asou asked surprised.

Eijun hissed like a cat as he immediately notice the bewildered and unbelief reaction from his teammates "Hey! I do read! What do you think of me! I study too!" he complained in a cat like eye gesture making the other players laugh for a bit.

Miyuki gave a bit of smile as he tap Eijun head, "Yeah… you did a good job stopping that steal… however it would still depend on there judgment. Afterall this is the first time that a back toss play has been done in a highschool game. But it was a good play Sawamura… " He remarked making Eijun look at his captain surprised. For the first time, Sawamura felt that Miyuki sempai was grateful for the play they did, suddenly making him feel like for some reason pleased and happy.

"They are sure taking their time…" Daiki complained as a few minutes have gone by and the officials on the side of the field does not seem to reach an agreement.

"Well… this is the first time that a back toss play has been done in a high school tournament game. It is not prohibited nor prohibited at the same time… so I am sure a few officials are arguing if it should be counted or not" Takahashi casually remark as he gave a quick glimpse towards Kohata who seems excited for some reason gazing towards he field.

"Yeah… well there is no high school pitcher like our ace… so it makes sense… but they should decide this quickly…" Daiki answered while looking towards the huddled officials and coaches.

"Hmmmm… It has only been like what 3 minutes since the time out Daiki and it seems that Kohata is getting more and more interested with that pitcher of yours" Takahashi remarked softly, making Daiki turn towards the person sitting beside him bewildered.

"Huh… he already did mention he was intrigue with our ace… and what… you jealous?" Daiki asked confused.

Takahashi gave a light laugh hearing Daiki remark, then move his eyes towards the huddle players on the mound, "It is not like that… I was already aware that Kohata seems to be quite intrigue with players that Doc Harashi Yukime train. If I remember correctly within the league right now, she only has like 3 players that she personally scouted, Maki Isagi, Towa Meito and Tohru Hero." As he did a quick look towards Daiki he noticed the confused look on his face, making him grin " you know before… Tohru san is a pitcher right… before Kohata wanted to form a battery with none other than Tohru Hero"

Daiki wrinkled his forehead as he made a quick look towards Kohata who seems to be unaware of there conversation as he was talking to Sagara making comments about Sawamura. "Yeah I know Tohru is a pitcher once, but he is our catcher now… and Kohata wanted to form a battery with Tohru? Wait what?"

"Around our time, me and Tohru were the ones competing to be the top pitchers in our highschool career. Before we went pro, I had always wanted to go a head to head pitching battle against him. But that never happened, in Koshien tournament, our teams never tend to have a match up, up until he graduated. When we went pro, I thought I could be able to compete with him, especially when I found out that Kohata was actually looking forward in forming a battery to the best fastball pitcher of Kyoto, Tohru Hero. But that never happened, Tohru san decided to go to a different team, then he got injured that made him totally useless in pitching. I felt abandoned back then… that my rival suddenly disappeared and my catcher does not seem to show interest in me…" Takahashi explains softly making sure that Kohata or the other players beside them would not overhear him.

"Ehhh… but Tohru came back though he is a catcher now…" Daiki informs. However he cannot really recall the reason why Tohru return back to pro league, since back then they were on different teams.

"Yeah I guess… but you know I feel like he had also return back in pitching in the form of your ace pitcher… that is why Kohata is very interested in your young pitcher."

Daiki turn to look at Eijun who seems to be complaining with his teammates in the mound. "You mean when Tohru started teaching Sawamura those fastball pitches?"

"The control of strength in his fastball throw, five spin and three spin fastballs, and now the back toss… you are aware that only two pitchers within the league has the ability to throw that kind of play, me and the Hawks ace pitcher. But now that Seido's ace has shown he has the capability and flexibility to throw that kind of pitch, it makes Kohata excited at the same time he becomes a worthy rival too."

Daiki sigh, he totally understood where Takahashi's long and round about story is coming from. Tohru might not realized it, but WK ace pitcher Takahashi Taiga had recognized Tohru Hero as his rival in pitching, and since the latter is no longer a pitcher, his interest has been diverted towards Sawamura who is Tohru's student. But the problem there is that Sawamura is not like Tohru, he is more than a fast baller pitcher. "Sawamura is not like Tohru… he might run away with your money Takahashi… you see our Ace has wicked breaking balls. And like Kohata said… he just need a good catcher to totally pull out his 100% performance."

"Owhhh… and you think that Seido's catcher can do it?" Takahashi asked curiously.

"Don't know… I heard before that Sawamura and that catcher were the one that develop his breaking balls." Daiki answered honestly. Takahashi was about to comment something however they heard the announcement that the game was about to resume again. "Damn… about time!" Daiki yelled earning a bit of laugh from the people surrounding him.

"Did you see that Tohru! It is our play!" Towa excitedly informs as he stood up grabbing Tohru's arm and pointing towards the field.

"I cannot believe that our Sawamura is all grown up now… to be able to execute that play perfectly without fail" Maki informs impressed.

Tohru smiled as he look out towards the field. The moment he saw Eijun did the back toss, he was already expecting that a time out would be called since there are no rules in regards to that kind of play in a high school game. "I am just glad he did not hit anyone this time around" Tohru remarked as all of BJ players turn to look at Miro who was having a clouded expression.

"Owh… owh… I totally remember that… when Sawamura was totally practicing that play it was horrible, I cannot remember how many times the ball actually hit Miro san," Towa informs are he remembers the field practice they were all doing to prevent base steals with the young ace.

"Huh… all I can remember is when Sawamura did that back toss and it totally hit Miro's face… the captain was laughing hard and having a field day with that" Asano remarked earning a bit of laughter from the other players the moment they all remembered the failed back toss play by Sawamura.

"Yeah… coach Shoji was contemplating on abandoning that play too… but now look at this…" Mitobe added, trying to hide his laughter.

"Ugh… I am glad you are all having good memories of that back toss… I am just worried with how the game will progress now. Especially with Tadano…" Miro intervenes with the silent laughter of his teammates.

"Ehhh… with Tadano? What you mean?' Sagato asked confused as he move his eyes towards Inashiro's dugout.

"Sawamura and Tadano were practicing that kind of play until it was very late. Normally Tohru, Daiki or the coach would reprimand them for it, but now that Sawamura has successfully done a superb back toss play, how do you think will Tadano feel about it? Considering they are both in opposing teams" Miro explains.

"Owhhhh…." Answered in unison by the BJ players as they turn to look towards Inashiro's dugout trying to check on Tadano's expression.

"He will be fine…" Tohru commented not moving his sight away from Eijun who seems to be arguing with his team mates on the mound.

"Why do you think about that Tohru?" Maki asked curiously.

"Just a gut feeling, plus Tadano and Eijun are battery partners. They may not have been partners for long, but they are still partners in the sense of baseball. I am sure he is glad with the back toss play, since this time Eijun did not hit anyone" Tohru smiled lightly.

"Hahahahaha… True!" Towa answered all back to his excitement looking out towards the field. Miro on another hand did notice Tohru's smile did not seem to reach his eye. "What are you thinking Tohru?" Miro asked quietly making there catcher turn to him seemingly confused. "Don't give me that look, I have known you even before me and Daiki joined BJ. You are thinking of something."

Tohru lightly laughed on his vice captain remark as he return his gaze back towards Seido's team huddle. "I just cannot shake the feeling of jealousy towards Seido's catcher. Normally with how Eijun is throwing I would have taken a few time outs here and there. Or at least asked him to throw at first base for that matter, but that guy did not just asked for time outs but he continuously keep the play going despite Eijun's pitch course or his strength for that matter. He seems to be adjusting to the pitcher's pace making Eijun feel confident in his pitches at the same time with his rhythm. It is sort of annoys me for a reason or two…"

Miro smiled as he look back towards the mound. "It is not that I don't understand what you feel, however you tend to see yourself towards Sawamura, especially over the fact that you taught him all of your fastball pitches. And I would say what you are feeling right now towards Seido's catcher is justifiable, because you can see in Seido's catcher what you lack being Sawamura's BJ catcher." Miro could clearly see the annoyance in Tohru's expression though that latter refuse to answer back. "You are well aware you cannot fully utilize Eijun's pitches, but that guy, Seido's captain is not even aware what is Sawamura's full potential on the mound yet he could adjust to his timing, his off courses, his rhythm. That Miyuki Kazuya is a good catcher Tohru… you should accept that fact. If that guy is a good match with Sawamura, that is yet debatable, however that guy is a really talented catcher that is a sure thing."

Torhu sigh in defeat as he listen to there vice captain. Honestly deep down he already knew that he was lacking in regards in how he uses Eijun's pitches in some of there games and in the rate of how the pro league was changing with more talented players coming in, he doubt that kind of play would help if they plan to win a Japan title. "I accept that guy is a good catcher, however Eijun is my pitcher… that fact would not change…" he answered earning a light laugh from Miro, at the same time they heard the announcer of the game.

"We apologize for the wait, we are now resuming the game!" the announcer informs, "The back toss play done by Seido has been counted as a legal play and just for every ones knowledge this is the first time that a back toss pass has been made in a high school game. The only players who have been able to successfully done a back toss in NPB is Takahashi Taiga of Saitama White Knights and Utsumi Shunsen from Yokohama Red Hawks and now West Tokyo Seido High summer ace Sawamura Eijun"

Eijun froze the moment he heard his name from the announcer. Ehhhh… what did they just said?

"Owhhh… look at that… so now they are comparing you to top notch ace pitcher huh… Good job Sawamura!" Kuramochi informs putting his hand around Eijun shoulder.

"Ehhhh… is that true? Or is this some kind of a joke?" Eijun asked confused as he looked around his team mates, who were all smiling and seeming proud of him.

"It means you just need to meet up with their expectations being the ace…" Miyuki informs smiling widely. "Anyways… we only have a single out… let us finish this inning huh ace…"

Eijun beamed brightly as he heard the word ace from none other than Miyuki Kazuya. "Sure thing cap! Let us win this!" Eijun shouted brightly.

"You have got to be kidding me… what kind of stupid play is that!" Mei complained the moment that coach Kunimoto was called out towards the field. Carlos and Shirakawa return back towards the dugout when the umpire timeout was called.

"That was surprising, I never knew that Seido has been doing that kind of play" Carlos said in a amazed tone.

Shirakawa on another hand seems annoyed as he look out towards the field specifically to Sawamura. That first pitch… was he just testing me… or was he really gunning for an inside pitch, he was on that thought when he notice Itsuki standing beside him looking at him intently.

"How was it? Sawamura's fastball?" Itsuki asked curiously.

"Yabe and others are right in terms of not able to time it properly. If I have made a swing back then that would have been counted as a strike. His release the ball late than usual, however his pitches are slower compared to his Sankou game" as Shirakawa move his eyes towards the scoreboard pitcher speed. In the last inside pitch that was thrown to him, the speed was only 133 km/h. "I am guessing his hand is still hurting, and he is still trying to get his bearing."

Itsuki also turn to look at the scoreboard and took a deep sigh. "I think you are wrong Katsuyuki sempai."

Shirakawa looked surprised as he turn his gaze towards Itsuki. "Huh… what do you mean Itsuki?"

"Normally I would assume the same thing, however Sawamura Eijun is not that kind of pitcher. Aside from his perfected form, I believe that Sawamura is purposely controlling his throw strength. Have you noticed, during the 3 batters plus Carlos sempai, Sawamura has steadily been throwing a 133 speed fastball. The only time that change was when he threw his cutter to Carlos san, where the speed had increased for a bit, but with the first three batters it was all a steady of 133 km/h. That includes the first pitch he threw to you as well."

Shirakawa eyes grew wider upon the realization of what Itsuki was informing him. He immediately look at there manager who was taking notes of the players data. "Hey… can someone tell me… what is Sawamura's fastball pitch speed since he was put on top of the mound?" he asked immediately.

One of the players immediately turn to look at the score sheet they were recording and turn a few pages. "Ahm… 133 km/h" he answered immediately.

"To all our batters?" Shirakawa asked again eagerly earning a few confused look from the other players in the dugout.

"What is going on Katsu san?" Mei asked curiously.

"Ahm… yes… he threw 133 km/h fastball pitches to Yabe, Jinguuji, Ezaki, Carlos and the first inside pitch to you Shirakawa san" there team manager informs making Shirakawa totally annoyed as he return his eyes back to Seido's ace who seem to be arguing with Kazuya and totally ignoring Mei's question.

"Damn it… so that is what was bothering me for a while…" Shirakawa said annoyingly.

"Bothering you? What is it you found out Katsuyuki?" Yamaoka asked curiously seeing the displeased expression from his teammate.

"Shirakawa?" Mr. Masayoshi called out Shirakawa who seems to be having an inner conflict with himself.

Shirakawa immediately heard his name being called out as he return his gaze back towards his team mates. He took a deep breath in as if to calm himself, then turn his look towards Itsuki who seems to be letting him explain the situation they are in right now. " Seido's ace…" as Shirakawa started to explain as he gaze back to look at Sawamura on the mound. "I mean… Sawamura is purposely limiting his strength in his fastball pitches."

"Huh… What do you mean?" Mei who was annoyed before became serious as he look at Shirakawa.

"It seems that Seido's pitcher has been intentionally controlling his fastball pitches speed in order for us to purposely not determine the timing of his fastball pitches. For the first batters, he had been constantly throwing the same ball speed, and when we started getting the hang of it with the timing of that pitch, he purposely increase his speed and tempo in order to break our batters rhythm." Shirakawa explains.

"I see… so that was it…" Carlos thought as he did notice something was off the moment he step on the batter box and let the first pitch through.

"Maybe Kazuya is giving him signs?" Mei informs seriously, earning a bit of shake from Itsuki.

"I don't think that is the case Mei san… Miyuki was obviously surprised with the back toss play that Sawamura just did… so I think he has no idea what his pitcher is doing as well" Itsuki informs casually. The thing that is quite amazing is that Miyuki san could be able to keep up with Eijun's antics and pitches despite him not being aware of the pitches being thrown at him. Itsuki thought as he look at Miyuki who was smiling towards Sawamura, making him fist his hand as he could sense a bit of annoyance and jealousy.

"Huh… what the hell!" Mei complained at the same time an announcement was made informing them that the game is about to resume and that the back toss pass that Sawamura made was counted as an official play. Worst part that made Mei irritated is that Sawamura's name was included to the top NPB pitchers. "I will not let this go… we will this game…" Mei said in a very serious tone earning nods and agreement from the players in the dugout.