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. Please do support the maker of our favorite pitcher :)

Chapter 30

Sawamura was looking at his pitching hand while flexing his fingers when he saw Shirakawa, Inashiro's second batter step back in the batter's box, making him smile. I could finally return the favor from last summer. As Eijun could remember the time he had thrown a dead ball to the same batter who was now standing in front of him. He slowly bend down to pick up the rosin bag and hold it on his pitching hand as he looked at Miyuki seriously, slowly breathing out the air he inhaled deep in his lungs. He could totally feel the sensation coming back on his fingertips at the same time due to a successful back toss play he feel more relaxed and confident. He seriously look at Miyuki closely and seriously only focusing on the sign that would be given as he drop the rosin bag and transfer the ball to his pitching hand.

Miyuki was astounded the moment he saw Sawamura's gaze looking towards him with full seriousness. He already noticed that something seems to be off with Sawamura, but now he was sure that his kohai and pitcher seems to have change. He took deep breaths in and out as he closely observe Shirakawa's stance the moment he step in the batter box, he noticed that he was holding his bat higher indicating he was aiming for a long hit. As he turn his gaze back towards Sawamura, he could see that seriousness and extreme concentration, well considering what happened last summer, Miyuki could sense that Sawamura was out for blood. He did a quick look towards Seido's dugout where he could clearly feel coach Kataoka eyes watching them closely making him grin wider as he fixed his grip on his mitt, and positioned it for a in low 2 seam pitch, just barely in the outside of the plate. I know you can do this Sawamura… If he could recall the count was 1 ball no strike at the moment, thus he want to make sure to not give any breather to Shirakawa who seems to be way too serious for his own good.

An inside pitch… Eijun thought the moment he saw the sign making him nod excitedly. I am ready cap… let us do this… at the same time Eijun took a deep breath in and grip the ball tightly, as he did his windup, he threw his 2 seam pitch, making sure he transfer his strength from his feet up to his legs and thigh up to his arm towards his finger tips targeting the in low position directly landing on his catcher mitt with no space to spare.

"Strike!" the umpire yelled, Miyuki could clearly hear the call, and he noticed that Shirakawa seem to flinch on the pitch though he did not swing. But what astounded him was Sawamura's pitch. It landed directly in his mitt, without him moving an inch at all. It was a direct catch, making him look at Sawamura in complete amazement. What the hell… if you can throw like that… you should have thrown like that in the first place. He thought while snickering at the same time throwing the ball back towards his pitcher. "Nice pitch Sawamura!" he called out at the same time looking at the pitch speed, it was a 140 km/h, his top speed in his Sankou game making his grin wider. Now it seems you are totally awake Sawamura, I wonder maybe because it is Shirakawa… well why don't we try for another one… as Miyuki position his mitt again in another inlow pitch and he wants his 4 seam just barely above the knees of the batter. He watched as Eijun nod eagerly in his sign and did his windup and threw his 4 seamer, if Shirakawa did not made the swing and connected with the ball it would have directly landed on his mitt in complete accuracy again.

"Foul!" the umpire yelled making Shirakawa click his tongue. What the hell are his pitches, his totally controlling his strength, that pitch was not as heavy as I was expecting, and as Shirakawa look at pitcher speed for a bit he noticed it was back at a 133 km/h which has annoyed him more. His courses are well to close towards the inner portion of the plate. Is he planning to hit me… this guy is way too gutsy for his own good… I know Seido's ace has good ball control like our king however, what the hell are his pitches, Shirakawa thought as he could suddenly sense the building pressure on the mound. The hell with it… I say bring it on! as he raised his bat again choking it's handle, focusing totally towards Sawamura.

Eijun could feel his heart beating in a calm rhythm, at the same time he could feel the sensation in his fingertips. He knew he was in his peak condition, the two pitches he had thrown are all in the right courses exactly where the catcher's mitt is positioned in. He noticed Shirakawa was already emitting a deadly aura as if saying he was hell bent in hitting his pitch making him grin like a Cheshire cat. He watched as Miyuki positioned his mitt for another inside pitch where he nod again, and drop the rosin bag. As he did his pitching windup, he positioned his grip on the ball with his 3 spin fastball, targeting his catcher's mitt. He threw the ball in half strength and as it sailed, he saw Shirakawa hitting the ball however due to the rotation of the ball it directly drop towards the foul line. "Foul!" the umpire yelled again. It was 1 ball and 2 strikes now, and Eijun is totally in the zone eager to send a message to Inashiro's second batter. He closely watched as Miyuki positioned his mitt for an outside high pitch, normally that would be the best strategy considering they have already shown a couple of inside pitches to the batter, however Eijun slightly shook his head as dis agreement. Eijun clearly saw the surprised look of his captain face at the same time notice the confused reaction of his teammates around him, however he did not budge on the call. He does not want to throw to an outside for this batter, if he wants to get his revenge then it should all be an inside pitch. Sorry cap… I know what you are thinking however this time… just this time… I want to beat him fair and square… Eijun thought seriously as he grip the rosin bag on his pitching hand.

Miyuki was quite astonished when he saw Sawamura shake his head on a sign he has given. It is not like that was the first time that Sawamura disagreed with a sign, however the time that his pitcher would refuse a sign could be counted by his single hand at the same time with Sawamura's look of determination, it is as if he was challenging him as a catcher. He smiled inwardly as he could sense the buildup of adrenaline and pressure. So this is how you are changing huh Sawamura, it is as if you are leaving us all behind… as he remembered the defeat they had during the Spring tournament against Sankou where Sawamura informs him he trust him, yet after that game Sawamura had refused to sit with them in watching the Inashiro game. That also includes the meeting after they lost where in Nabe had informed him how Sawamura was displeased with his pitching performance and wanted to learn how he make calls. Miyuki slowly move closer to the batter as he position for a in high pitch and give his sign looking back towards Sawamura seriously. I accept your challenge Sawamura… I don't intend to be left behind as you move forward in full speed. I need you to swing your arm fully, don't hold back… throw in full strength and say hi! As Miyuki gave the most evil grin he could make.

Eijun smiled widely as he noticed his captain evil grin at the same time a serious and determined gaze straight back at him as if challenging him more. He saw the sign given and nod in agreement. He took a deep breath in and drop the rosin bag while gripping the ball tightly. As he did his windup, he made sure to transfer his full strength from his feet up to his pitching arm totally swinging it fully before releasing the ball. Eijun watched as the ball sailed directly towards the plate, at the same time he saw Shirakawa made a hard swing of the bat targeting the baseball however the ball suddenly made a sharp break before it even reach the plate making it look like it disappeared in front of the batter, where Shirakawa seem to hit air totally missing the ball at the same time the ball accurately landed directly in Miyuki's mitt. "Strike! Batter out!" the umpire yelled at the same time Seido's cheer erupted widely.

"What the hell is that pitch?"

"Owh my gosh… that was crazy!"

"Is that a fastball? change up… but it was too fast!"

"Did the ball suddenly disappear in front of the batter?"

Chris smiled as he could clearly hear the talk from the audience in regards to Sawamura's last pitch. It was his improved cutter. Honestly speaking that was a bit of a risky play considering that pitch was hit by Carlos before resulting for the 1st batter to secure first base, yet for Miyuki it was not a surprising call. Both Sawamura and Miyuki are aggressive players, and for some reason both of them match well.

"You seem to be glad about something Chris?" Yuki commented as he noticed a smile.

"Well… you can say those two are looking in the same direction now… so I am indeed glad they are finally a competitive battery" Chris answered pleased at the same time glad as he could clearly hear Sawamura yell two outs and the fielders responding accordingly.

"Hmmmm… are you jealous Chris?" Ryousuke teased as he recalled Chris hand fisting during the Sankou game. "Well considering you were the one who taught Sawamura a lot of things with pitching, I would not be surprised if you want to be sitting in that catching position" Yuki added.

"I would not call it much as jealousy, more of like dis appointment, I have not been able to pull out what Sawamura is capable of doing" Chris answered solemnly.

"Ehhh… which reminded me… were you the one who taught Sawamura about that back toss?" Masuko asked curiously.

"Owhhh yeah… what kind of evil play was that!" Ryousuke added seeming pleased with the outcome of the play.

"No… actually that was the first time I saw him do it… however he did mentioned he was doing something outside of practice." Chris wrinkled his forehead when he remembered a text message from Sawamura in regards to his improvements.

"Huh… extra practice… well we usually do it as well when we were in Seido" Yuki answered seriously, thought Chris does not seem to agree with his previous baseball captain.

"I was under the impression that Sawamura was having help from the seniors but with that play, it could be seen that Miyuki seems surprised, at the same time the coaching staff as well" Chris informs as he gave a quick look in the Seido dug out, making Ryousuke seem to think deeply.

"Well if Sawamura is having extra practice session, it would most likely be from a baseball person since a back toss is hard to execute especially for the pitcher. Maybe he is having help with the White knights ace pitcher Takahashi? Since he is only the few people who is flexible enough and a pitcher to boot to actually do the back toss easily. Plus from what I know that guy lives around here in Tokyo so it would be easier for him to mentor Sawamura. But then again…" Ryousuke commented earning a surprised look from all his friends surrounding him. "What? We all know Sawamura is a people magnet… it would not be surprising if he knew a guy like him…" he added.

"Ehhh… but Ryousuke san… I don't think Sawamura even totally understand the meaning and concept of a pro-league player, especially for a country person. Last time when we asked who is his favorite player he answered himself" Masuko explained, as he could recall a time when they were having a talk in there room, and Sawamura totally earning a choke lock from Kuramochi after they learned that Sawamura has no knowledge in regards to NPB players.

"Huh… is that for real… then maybe one of the coaches? Perhaps that new coach?" Yuki said seemingly unsure.

Chris did not answer as he looks at the field seriously focusing on Sawamura who was smiling brightly. I would need to ask him a lot of things, he is changing way to fast… as he suddenly grip his injured elbow at the same time ignoring Yuki and Ryousuke comment in regards to Sawamura's fast improvements.

"Towa?" Tohru called out his teammate the moment he saw Eijun threw his breaking ball striking out Inashiro's second batter.

"Yeah?" Towa answered shortly looking up at him.

"What is Eijun's top speed in his pitches?" Tohru asked curiously as loud cheers could be heard on Seido's side of the bleachers

"Ehhhh why you asking?" Asano asked eagerly as he noticed Tohru's intriguing expression.

"No… I am just kind of intrigue about something…" Tohru answered.

"Hmmmm. Normally with his fastballs in a good day he could average a 143 km/h but that is only when he is playing with us. With Seido I think he only average around 136 to 139 km/h. Plus you should already be aware of that… you are the main catcher" Towa commented obviously confused.

"Yeah… I mean… What is Sawamura's usual speed when it comes to his breaking balls?"

"Owhhh… hmmm…" Towa thought deeply as he recalls that he and Sawamura has been working out there battery a few times, and most of the time they were focusing on his breaking balls. "I think he is around 139 km/h or 140 km/h when he is with us." Towa finally answered.

"Yeah… I thought so… but that is when he is playing with us… but now he is with Seido… yet look at this pitch speed" Tohru informs as the other BJ players all turn to look towards the score board and noticed Sawamura's last pitch was exactly 140 km/h.

"Whoa… is he for real!" Maki seem impressed as he grin widely.

"That is also his top speed in his Sankou game. I think he would be breaking that 143 km/h…" Tohru informs pleased, as he watched Eijun smiling widely looking at the next batter, who was none other than Tadano Itsuki.

Tadano grip the handle of his bat the moment he saw Eijun threw his new cutter towards Shirakawa totally striking out there second batter. Back then the first time that Sawamura showed him that cutter, he was unable to catch it properly making resulting for Tohru sempai to banned that pitch from their battery and just use the usual cutter, making him take a deep sigh. It was already two outs, they already knew that Sawamura was controlling his strength but now what surprised him is that all pitches thrown where inside, as if declaring something to their second batter, Shirakawa. He could see the vex expression of Shirakawa as he passed by him the moment he stood up to move towards the batter's box. "Be careful with his control… it is back…" Shirakawa whispered making Tadano do a quick nod. Though he already knew that Sawamura control was back the moment he threw the first pitch to Shirakawa since they are battery partners after all. He took a deep sigh again as he step in the batter's box, trying to ignore Eijun's wide smile. He noticed Miyuki was looking at him very closely making him do another deep sigh, as he fixed his footing, he turn to look at Eijun dangerously at the same time raised his bat. Ok… let us do this Eijun… Itsuki thought as he stares directly on Eijun's bright golden eyes.