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: Extreme Warning... SPOILERS ALERT! SKIP if you dont want to be SPOILED! Since a lot of you guys already knew i needed to rewrite this, I just decided to adopt what I read recently on the updates from the manga, thus SPOILERS ALERT! Read on your own accord, but if you dont want to be spoiled, you can just skip this chapter (wink) and read the next chapter... again WARNING WARNING SPOILER ALERT!
Chapter 34
"Are you ok Sawamura sempai?" Okumura asked the moment that Sawamura step beside him the dugout railings.
"Huhhh… yeah… why do I look off?" Eijun asked curiously.
"Ahm no… its just that… it seems you and the captain are having an argument a while back, plus you seem like you were running away from a ghost" Okumura answered honestly.
"Owhhhh… hahahaha… well you see young Okumura there are things between a pitcher and a catcher that needs to be talked about aggressively" Eijun answered jokingly making Okumura and the other players around them sigh in defeat, since this is the Sawamura they all know about, the loud and stupid acting Sawamura. Eijun was joking around with Okumura not noticing Miyuki's slight look and coach Kataoka observing gaze. "Anyways how is the offense doing?" Eijun asked as he looked back out the field and notice Kuramochi was hanging on and keeping up with Narumiya's pitches.
"It is already a 2-2 count, Kuramochi sempai is not letting the Inashiro battery breath." Okumura reported.
"Owh… I wonder how he would do with the calls now…" Eijun answered looking closely at Itsuki, making Okumura notice that it seems Sawamura was again focused towards the Inashiro catcher.
In the 2-2 count, Itsuki decided to ask for the change-up as he noticed that Kuramochi seems to have improve his stats compared to last year. He watched as Narumiya nod in agreement and threw his well famed changeup, but this time Kuramochi was able to delay his swing for a bit, being able to touch the ball landing towards the foul line instead. Tsk… he was able to touch that huh… Itsuki thought annoyed, as he notice the superb concentration of Seido's leadoff. As he look at Mei seriously, we already showed him the changeup twice, it is still fresh in his mind. Let us finish him with a fastball he thought as he makes a sign for a fastball, but Mei shook his head as a sign of disagreement. Ehh,… its going to be okay, you can over power him Mei san… yet he saw Mei still disagreed with the call.
It's a no go Itsuki… we need to take this guy out and fast. Mei thought aggressively as he saw Itsuki taking a deep sigh and asked for his curve instead.
Itsuki took in deep breaths as he position his mitt for an inside pitch but Seido's leadoff was able to keep up with Narumiya's pitches, and as if being frustrated Mei missed his marked on the plate thus resulting for a walk. "Ball! Walk!" the umpire yelled making Itsuki sigh, with an annoyed look from Mei and a chilling gaze from coach Kunimoto. Itsuki knew that Seido was on an offensive move, and that Eijun just gave them the momentum, he could feel it in his bones at the same time as he gaze towards Seido's dugout, he could notice that Eijun was grinning. I guess this is the difference between Mei san and Eijun, Itsuki thought as Seido's second batter step in the batters box. Itsuki flexed his free hand as he looked at Kuramochi seriously; Mei was keeping him in check however he knew that Seido's leadoff was a fast runner. Even though he had practiced with his BJ captain and Maki sempai in terms of preventing steals, his base throw could still not be compared to Miyuki Kazuya. He took another deep breath in, as he slightly looks towards the Inashiro dugout, seeing his teammates all cheering for them. It's alright… I can do this… Itsuki thought seriously as he position his mitt in the lower portion of the plate asking for a changeup in the first pitch.
Mei grin widely as he nod in agreement with Itsuki's sign, he took a quick look to check where Seido's lead off was and then did his windup to throw the changeup directly towards Itsuki's mitt. This has resulted for a swing and miss for Kuminato making Mei's grin grew wider. What you missed that… aw… and here I was going for a double play…
Itsuki noticed that Kuramochi seems to be advancing thus he made a quick sign to throw to 1st just to keep Kuramochi in check, but as he asked for the second pitch he immediately notice Kuramochi made a sprint towards second base, thus he threw the ball towards second base the moment it had hit his mitt, but it seems his throw was a tad slower compared to Seido's lead off since the referee has declared it was a safe resulting for Seido to have a runner in a scoring position. Itsuki annoyed with the outcome, raised his hand asking for the fielders to move in closer, at the same time he looked at Mei noticing his pitchers serious look. Mei… I know you can do this… he thought seriously as he first he asked for an inside fastball where Mei had delivered accurately, making Kuminato fail to keep the ball in play. The next pitch he asked for is the changeup, but it seems this time Seido's second batter attempted to try to hit the pitch as it was grounded to first base earning them there first out. "One out!" Itsuki yelled, but as Inashiro fielders was about to respond Seido's wild cheers are roaring since their leadoff had been able to move to third base. It's fine… we can do this… this kind of pressure is nothing to us… Itsuki thought as he watched his teammates move in forward to prevent any more runs. Alright Mei… this is their cleanup now… for this batter we need to focus on the inside corner, as Itsuki position his mitt for a inhigh fastball pitch.
Mei grinned widely as he nod in agreement to Ituski's call. Ok… I am positively tingling now… as Mei drop the rosin bag, and gripping the ball in his pitching hand. That ever so calm face… I'll make it twist in a grimace, Narumiya thought as he did his windup and threw his fastball but as the ball sailed towards the stretch it failed to break in the direction it normally would thus hitting Seido's third batter instead. "Dead Ball!" the umpired yelled surprising Narumiya at the same time removing his hat as an apology.
Itsuki immediately stood up to apologize for the hit, however before he could even let a word out of apology he heard Seido's third batter yell, surprising him dead on the spot. Ehhh… it seems that Seido is really out for blood huh…I wonder if Eijun was the one who pulled them out… Itsuki sigh as he looked at Mei and noticing the latter looking flustered. "A time out please!"
"You don't need to come!" Mei yelled as he notice Itsuki was walking close towards him. He was getting agitated, there was a runner on third and first with only one out. He already gave up 3 runs and two of those runs are from Seido's ace which was not considered a strong batter before thus it is making him more irritated than usual. "I said I am fine… why you come up here?" Mei asked stubbornly the moment Itsuki was on the mound.
Itsuki sigh as he looked at Mei seriously, "Mei san, did you know the way a cat twists in midair apparently is called 'nyanparari'" Itsuki commented seriously.
"Yeah right!" Mei yelled doubting Itsuki.
"But its true… you can check the wiki later, if you doubt me…" Itsuki added seriously.
"Your jokes have been on the weak side lately you know, you should give me something with more punch already" Mei complained.
"I have something special prepared for the next timeout" Itsuki answered. Mei still whined about his jokes, however he seems more relaxed compared to his earlier demeanor. As Itsuki move back towards his catchers position, he closely observed Seido's captain and main cannon Miyuki Kazuya. I did not say it to Mei san, but if we can shut this guy out here now, we'll be able to seize the control of this game and I know Mei san is a pitcher who is capable of doing that. Itsuki fixed his mitt as he position his mitt for an inside pitch at the same time making a sign for his cutter. He watched as Mei nod in agreement to his sign and threw the pitch in a sharp break inside angle making Miyuki flinch but did not swing on the pitch.
Eijun could feel the intense pressure the moment Narumiya released the first pitch towards Miyuki sempai. As he looked at Itsuki, it seems his BJ catcher was back to being the laidback catcher he met before. Common Itsuki… Hero sempai told you to trust your game calling, don't let the pitcher pull you around… Eijun thought sourly as he watched Tadano on the catchers position. It was not that Itsuki was an aggressive catcher to begin with however he did notice that when it comes to Itsuki he seems to strongly depend on the pitcher's lead unlike Miyuki's aggressive strategy calling, making him guess that is why Narumiya san tends to shake in most of his calls. You can do better than this Itsuki… common… I know you can, he thought to himself as he watched the next pitch being a fastball and being hit towards the foul line. "Hey Okumura… let us go to the bullpen for a bit…" Eijun called out his kohai as the latter seems to be watching the intense battle between the captain and Inashiro's ace.
"Huh… but Sawamura sempai you were complaining about being hot?" Okumura asked confused.
"Yeah… a while back… but I am good now… it just a simple catch. You see my course is still a bit off…" Eijun explains as he put on his Seido cap and started to walked out towards the bullpen.
"Ehh… wait Sawamura sempai!" Okumura called out his senior as he immediately grab his mitt that was on the bench and run after Sawamura who went out first.
The moment Eijun was on the bullpen, he moved towards the bullpen mound acting as if stretching but more like trying to get the attention of the catcher that was on the field, at the same time he saw Itsuki failing to catch a pitch thus resulting for Shirasu sempai moving towards second base. Common Itsuki… you better get your bearing back… Eijun took in a deep breath as he yelled "Fiery decisive duel! Caps biggest moment!" and as if on cue, he watched as the next pitch that was thrown was a changeup and that Miyuki was able to hit the low pitch. Ahhhh… I knew it… he can really hit that kind of pitch… took him a while… as Eijun watched the ball sailed up towards the outfielders, at the same time he saw Kuramochi sprint for home plate the moment the ball drop on the field. It's a 4-2 run now Itsuki… Eijun thought as he noticed the uneasy look from Itsuki's face the moment he failed to stop Kuramochi's run for home. "Oh yes finally the cap shot! This is what I have been waiting for!" Eijun cheered as loud as he could, finally getting Itsuki's attention as the latter seem to move his eyes towards his direction. Damn… do you want me to loose my voice here… how could you be my catcher if it this hard to actually get your damn attention. Eijun complained in his mind as he slowly tip his pitching hand to his lips then back on his nose and back to his lips, making Itsuki freeze on the spot. Though it make look like an innocent gesture, Eijun failed to notice Okumura watching him closely the moment the latter arrived in the bullpen.
Ehhhh… that was the same gesture as before… who is Sawamura sempai talking too, Okumura thought as he move his gaze towards the field. Though at the moment since they have scored another run, the field is kind of chaotic thus he was unable to pinpoint who Sawamura sempai was giving a sign too, plus ever since he had became a regular, he cannot remember that they have a sign like that thus making him more confused.
"Itsuki if he managed to get a pitch like that, then it just could not be helped, let's just get over it!" Mei called out his catcher, as he noticed the latter seeming surprised and tense after Kazuya was able to hit his changeup. "If anything it absolves me of any blame entirely, so now we just have to switch gears!"
Mei san… Itsuki looked at Mei calmed demeanor, as he fisted his free hand and nod in agreement to Mei's remark. He have been hearing Eijun yelling in the Seido bullpen for a while now and as he turn his gaze he saw the most familiar sign that the both of them made up. He totally froze on the spot and remember the first time that he and Tohru san where doing a one on one coaching in the BJ facility. It was the time when Tohru informed him to trust his game calling, and at the same time stop being pulled around by the pitcher, but instead fuel the pitcher desire with his own. What the hell am I doing, l was totaling depending on Mei san… damn it… how could I call myself a BJ catcher if I am like this… nothing has change like before…as Itsuki looked down avoiding Eijun's gaze and returned back to his catchers position. I need to get my bearing… was I affected this much in regards to Eijun's homerun, or was I depending to much on Mei san… Itsuki was thinking deeply as he was doing his breathing exercise. The sign that Eijun did was to tell him to breath, this was the second time he did that sign. In the first part of the game, he was worried about Eijun but now it was the other way around making him feel disappointed at himself. What the hell… I will not let this go any further… he thought gravely as he looked at the ground concentrating on the predicament they are in now. It was a 4-2 score Seido leading, Mei already lost 4 runs, mostly because of him, now they have a runner on 3rd and 1st base with Seido's 5th batter in the box. Itsuki watched as Maezono step in the batter box, finally stealing his resolve he looked up towards Mei, eyes blazing ready to make the next play.
Narumiya was startled the moment he saw Itsuki's look. This was the first time that he saw Itsuki with a fiery look in his eyes, Ehhh… is he mad? Wait… does that guy ever get mad…common it cannot be helped if the changeup was hit a while back… Mei could feel a bit astonished as he was not sure how to handle Itsuki's seriously look. He watched at Itsuki positioned his mitt in the inside portion of the plate, near the chest area of the batter, at the same time asking for his cutter. He was about to disagree with the call considering they have used the cutter consecutively with the batters, but with Itsuki's look towards him it was hard to say no. Damn it… if this get hit… I will blame this on you… Narumiya thought annoyingly.
It is fine Mei san… he won't be able to keep the ball in play with the cutters tight angle break, I just need you to put your full weight into it this time… Itsuki thought aggressively as he watched Mei nod in agreement. He watched as Mei did his windup and threw the cutter in the inside direction, but before the ball even landed on his mitt, he notice Maezono's change in stance moving to a bunt thus hitting the ball. However due to Narumiya's weight on the pitch, the balled momentum move directly towards the pitcher where Mei was able to tap the ball back towards Itsuki catching it easily and blocking Shirasu's run for home tagging him out at the same time Itsuki threw the ball in a fast movement towards 1st base resulting to tagging Seido's fifth batter out before he even reach first base. It was a 1-2-3 double play making the audience and players in the field erupt with cheers for Inashiro's defense.
Eijun smiled as he watched an annoyed Shirasu sempai stood up from being tagged out and stopping Seido's offense dead on its tracks. He knew with Itsuki's hard work and knowledge, he could block the home plate thus preventing a slide safe, and with a 1-2-3 double play that they usually work on their BJ practices, where the ball ricocheting back and forth towards pitcher to batter to pitcher to catcher before heading to first base is one of the fastest double play they worked on and perfected. I know you have it in you… and now it is my turn to keep you guys in place… Eijun grinned as it was now Seido's turn for defense.