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 36

"A time out please" Miyuki asked the umpire as the latter nod in agreement. Miyuki carefully jog towards the mound, keeping his gaze towards Sawamura who was looking up towards the score board, where the score is now 3-4, Seido still leading one run. The moment he reached the mound, he notice Sawamura did not even acknowledge his presence and was still focus towards the scoreboard.

"Don't sweat it Sawamura… we are still leading… we just need to get another run in the next inning…" Maezono commented half laughing to ease the building tension on the mound.

"Yeah… Sawamura… it is not like they got that run for free… will get it back" Kuramoch commented seriously, but Sawamura still did not budge from looking up the score board.

"Eijun…" Kominato was about to speak but he was cut off my Kanemaru who seems to be frustrated about something.

"You should not focus on the lost run… it is not like we are losing you know. We still have one lead so stop looking up that damn board!" Kanemaru said annoyed as he was watching Sawamura since the hit, and he noticed that Sawamura kept on looking up the scoreboard as if upset with the lost run.

Miyuki could notice Sawamura did flinch on Kanemaru's remark making him feel bad in the lost run. He could remember that Sawamura told him that he would keep on throwing his best pitches and yet right now his pitcher looks dejected in the lost run. For some reason, the lost run felt like his fault since he was way to focus in figuring out the Inashiro's catcher play, and since Sawamura was pitches seem like back to normal, he never bothered to really check on what his pitcher condition is, which made him a failure as a catcher. "Sawamura… I'm sorry…" Miyuki started, making the other players look at Miyuki surprised, including Eijun who turned immediately upon hearing his captain remark.

"Huh?"

"That lost run… it was on me… I noticed that Inashiro was up to something, and I figured that they were trying to break your rhythm, that is why I keep asking for high balls. I should have requested a changeup instead to reset or something. We have a lot balls to use… yet I guess I got impatient… since we only have a single out" Miyuki explained seriously looking at Sawamura.

"Ehhh…. Cap?" Eijun was not sure how to respond as he could clearly see the serious look of his captain.

"You have waited patiently for your turn on this mound and have been performing well despite the situations we have been in. You have done your role as our ace, which is why… that lost run… that is on me… you were only following my lead Sawamura."

"Miyuki…" Kuramochi was so surprised he was not sure what to say. They were on the middle of the game, yet right now their captain seems to have indirectly informed he made a mistake in regards to the game calling which had resulted to a lost run.

"Ahmmm… cap…" Eijun sighed as he could sense the already thick tension around his teammates especially with what his captain just said. He lightly scratched his head trying to figure out what is the best way to explain their situation right now. "You see… it is actually not your fault… Ahm… they were actually targeting my slower fastball." Eijun tries to explain as he recalled the first ball that was hit was actually one of his new fastball pitches he learned in BJ, it was his three spin fastball, and the next hit made was again with that fastball. It would most like be assumed Itsuki had informed his teammates how to hit his three spin fastball since it kept going towards the right field which was actually the right way to hit his three spin. Well it took him a damn time… if he had not figure that one out… I would totally complain towards Hero sempai and make Itsuki train with us overtime. Eijun thought sheepishly as he smiled. It is not that he intentionally wanted to give out hits especially in a finals game, but he wanted to know how far he had gone, and since he had permission from Hero sempai to actually use his BJ pitches against Itsuki, then he does not intend to hold back. He looks at his captain bewildered look as if what he said was so unbelievable, making him hide his smiling face.

"I'm sorry… your what?" Miyuki did not seem to hear it right, but he thought he heard Sawamura said that Inashiro's batters were targeting his slower fastball. And when the hell did Sawamura had a slower fastball. He was so shocked his poker face broke, totally indicating a surprised look towards his pitcher.

"Ahmm… my three spin fastball, well it is actually like my moving fastball but in a slower speed. It is also faster than my changeup but it moves a bit in the plate in a slower motion, but I could throw in a steady speed thus reserving my strength. That is why I can keep it under 131 mph steady speed. " Sawamura explains his new fastball, trying to be careful not to mention he learned that pitched from none other than Tohru Hero of Black Jaguars.

Miyuki does not know how to react, first of all he is finding out right now in a game that Sawamura has a new fastball and not a breaking ball, but a freaking fastball that they normally use. Second he found about it in a freaking middle of the game scenario, since last time he check, both pitcher and catcher needs to be in the same page in order to become a good battery. At the same time, he finally realized the first time he received his pitches on the start of the 6th inning. He felt something was off towards his pitches, that it seems to be like the same pitches but different in a weird way that only a catcher that had been catching for him would notice. At first he thought Sawamura was still warming up, and thought nothing of it since he had been catching for him since the first day he set foot in the Seido field. It would totally make sense why he did not notice the difference since the 131 mph fastball was Sawamura first fastball speed when he was starting in Seido. His catchers insticts were all telling him something was different with his pitcher since the moment he step on the mound, but he ignored it which was so rare of him. He was about to make a comment in regards to Sawamura's information but was blocked by Kuramochi who seems pissed off in his behalf.

"What the hell Sawamura… you mean you have been throwing half assed fastballs since the 6th inning! Are you aware that this is the finals!" Kuramochi yelled obviously frustrated.

"Ahmmm… I don't think that is the case Kuramochi sempai" Haruichi tries to pacify his senior who seems to want to strangle Sawamura the moment he had a hold of him.

"No offense Haruichi… But I think Kuramochi sempai has a point. We are on our summer finals game… I repeat our summer finals game… throwing pitches that our captain Miyuki has no idea about is kind of detrimental for the team…" Kanemaru commented.

"Hey… they are not half assed pitches, they are decent fastball pitches!" Eijun complained, "I have gotten strike out so far have I not?" he added making Kuramochi more annoyed and Kanemaru totally looking at him in utter disbelief.

"Don't get cocky you damn Bakamura… they could have already taken at least two or three more runs from us if you have been throwing suck lame ass fastballs and Miyuki have no idea about it! And when the hell did you even start learning how to control your strength in throwing your fastball huh!" Kuramochi asked observing Sawamura who seems to squirm in his eagle like eyes.

"Ehhh… Kuramochi sempai!" Eijun backed up trying to keep a distance from his senior who seems to look like he would be put into a choke hold.

"Oi! Stop that both of you… we are on a game!" Maezono tries to reprimand Kuramochi and Sawamura but stop short when they heard Miyuki's low voice.

"Sawamura…" Miyuki called out lowly as if on a whisper.

The infielders including Eijun turn to look at his captain and noticed that serious and dangerous look on his face. Ehhh… don't tell me cap you mad? Eijun through nervously as he did a swallowing motion to keep his composure. I don't see any reason why you would be upset about this… I mean it is not like it is a big deal… Eijun was starting to sweat, seeing their captains deadly glare.

Miyuki was upset, not that because Sawamura did not inform him about that slower fastball pitch, but because of his inability to actually called him out on it. He knew Sawamura was doing something; he just did not bother with it since he knew Sawamura would not shake on his signs and put the ball where he asked too. Was I too confident on my skills as a catcher… No… I can't believe that I was lacking what catchers need the most… to communicate with their pitchers… damn it… was I too self-centered for this… Miyuki thought as he fisted his free hand, at the same time he noticed in the corner of his eye that Yui was jogging towards their end most likely to inform them a message from the coaches. However before the first year could ever reach them, he wants to make sure if Sawamura was on the same page with the team or more like the same page with him. "Sawamura… I just want to make sure… when you said that you would throw your best pitches… do you intend to throw them to help the team win? Or was it a way to prove something being the new ace of Seido?" Miyuki asked seriously.

Everyone was surprised with Miyuki's remark. They all knew the Miyuki was not really the nicest person on the team, but sometimes his directness have no boundaries. "Oi! Miyuki… what the hell you asking about our ace?" Maezono asked as he stood in front of their captain seeming mad. He remembered the time about Nabe planning to quit the team before, and Miyuki being crass about it and right now in this situation he seems to be that kind of Miyuki which he does not really like.

"I just want to make sure we are on the same page, because being an ace is not just a number. It means something more…" Miyuki answered not backing down.

Eijun fisted his hand. He understood where their captain is coming from. Since he failed to inform him about his new fastball pitch, in which he does not actually use in his high school games except now, his captain thinks he wanted to show off on the mound being the ace of Seido, at the same time not take Inashiro seriously and not someone who plays to win the game. He took a deep breath as he slowly did a side step towards his senior Maezono making him move in front of their captain facing him head on. "You know cap… the reason I never mentioned my new fastball to you is not because I wanted to show off or be little our opponents. It is actually far from that. I have always been honest with you with everything towards baseball, especially towards Inashiro since you knew what happened last year. I know they are a tough opponent, You of all people should know what happened after that last year summer lost" Eijun looked head directly towards Miyuki's eye, and he did notice a slight change on them when he mentioned what happened to him during the last year summer event.

Of course how could someone like Miyuki not realize what had happened last year in the summer game after their lost. That was the year that Sawamura had his yips, at the same time was forced to practice alone. Miyuki fisted his free hand more, as he was about to comment back but Eijun did not stop their as he continued what he wanted to say.

"I trusted you fully Miyuki sempai that you would be able to catch whatever I throw… Don't you think it is about time that you start trusting me as your pitcher not as the ace of Seido… but as your pitcher on the mound right now. I may not be like Furuya that you can always be open with… heck I am not asking that you treat me equally like Furuya, but I am a different pitcher than him. Don't you think I also deserve the trust you have in him?" Eijun asked seriously, looking at Miyuki's eye not backing down. They were on that kind of situation when Yui was in the range of the huddled players.

"Miyuki sempai, the coach said…" But Yui stop midsentence when he saw Sawamura and Miyuki tense face off on the mound… which was new and rare.

"What the hell is going on? They seem to be taking their time in the timeout…" Maki commented as he noticed 2 minutes had passed since Seido's catcher had asked for a timeout. "Though the messenger seems to have arrived late…" he added making the other BJ players focus towards the new player jogging toward the huddled Seido infielders.

"Maybe they don't know what to do in regards to the lost run…" Towa answered nonchalantly.

"Huh! Then that means Tadano won our bet…!" Asano chimed seeming pleased since he had bet on the catcher instead of their young ace.

"Oi! That game is not yet over you jerk!" Maki complained as if unable to accept that Eijun would lose against their reserve catcher and since he bet for their young ace, he refuse to lose a good amount in their bet.

"There seems to be a tension between Eijun and Seido's captain…" Tohru answered softly making Miro the only person who could hear his remark.

"Yeah… I noticed it too… maybe it was the call or the lost run, most likely a miscommunication. I think it was a well-played for Inashiro considering Tadano might have told them how to hit Sawamura's three spin, the only question is how would Seido rally in the lost run…" Miro commented also looking towards the huddled players.

Tohru did not answer, but he was closely looking at Eijun, and right now he did not like what he is seeing. It is like he is seeing his younger self trying to provoke his catcher to keep up with his fastball pitches. More like, he is showing his cards to his catcher in order for them to actually form a perfect battery. Making him feel agitated and dread, being Eijun's main catcher he wanted to monopolize there young ace but if Seido's catcher prove that he could keep up with Eijun's fastballs then that would only prove that he has another competitor that could show Eijun's true ability on the mound. At the same time would directly slap in his face what he lacks being a versatile catcher like Miyuki Kazuya. Tohru grip his injured elbow as he focus towards the two person on the mound seeming to have a argument.

"They sure are taking their sweet time for a single lost run…" Takahashi remarked as he noticed the timeout was a bit longer than usual.

"Their catcher was rushing and overthinking… I think Seido's pitcher is trying to put him on his place…" Sagara answered.

Takashi sighed as he did noticed when Seido's catcher seemed overwhelmed on trying to guess the other team plays. "Well… he is still young… I guess he would learn a thing or two when he goes pro…" as he could remember that Miyuki Kazuya's name were one of the candidate for draft this coming draft pick event.

"I don't think that is the case…" Kohata answered seriously as the other WK players turn to look towards Kohata who seems serious only focusing towards Seido's catcher.

"Ehhh… what do you mean Kyoya?" Higashi asked curiously.

But Kohata did not answer, and still remained focus towards Seido's captain who seems to be arguing with their pitcher. Daiki sighed as he noticed Takahashi's gaze move towards his direction when Kohata did not answered Higashi question. It made him feel like he need to answer the open question that was hang in the air, and if he did answer then it would seem like he would be giving information about his team. "Don't look at me like that… you won't get anything from me you jerk!" Daiki tries to act mad but this time the WK players are not being fooled.

"Owhhh common Daiki… you seem to know what Kohata means… it is not like you are giving info here… let us just say, you are trying to explain something to your ignorant friends" Takashi persuade.

"Don't give me that… first of all we are not friends… I just happen to have been sitting near your team… that is it…" Daiki still argues but the other players do not seem convinced.

"Common man… don't be so stingy!" Higashi added making Daiki feel more uncomfortable on his sit.

"Damn it Kohata… you explain it to your team… why the hell do I have to tell them!" Daiki argues making Sagara grin and Kohata turning to look at him apologizing.

"Sorry… it is just that it's a catcher's thing…" Kohata answered briefly making Takahashi wrinkled his forehead more and now seriously focusing more towards Daiki who seems to be more uncomfortable that he already was.

"Screw it man… You explain it to them… I am his freaking captain… why the hell would I give information about our future ace!" Daiki still tries his best to move the question to another direction but Takahashi was not budging making him sigh in defeat. "Owhhh… what the hell… If you have been present in the promotional games, you would know what is going on too…" Daiki complained.

"Well I am sorry I was not able to attend. I wanted to go… but at that time I never had the go signal to pitch yet. And our coach knew me to well, that I wont sit still on the bench, thus why he just not made me go… so explain what is going on?" Takahashi explained lengthily making Daiki gave another deep sigh.

"Our ace… I mean Sawamura… he is throwing his three spin fastball obviously without the knowledge of their catcher" Daiki explained.

"Three spin fastball? You mean Tohru's three spin fastball? the slower fastball?" Takahashi eyes glowed excited as he looked at the young pitcher on the mound.

"Yeah well… Sawamura's version is more different than that of Tohru's" Daiki added as he seem to avoid Takahashi's sparkling eyes.

"Yeah… that kid three spin fastball is slower than Tohru's but more deadly" Higashi commented.

"Huh… why is that?" Takahashi asked curiously as he turn his gaze to his teammates.

"Well that kid has a natural ability to actually move his fastballs on the plate. So if you incorporate that to a slower fastball, it would result to a grounded ball if hit in the wrong way. It took us a while to figure out how to hit that pitch, I remember a few of our players taken out because of it too." Sagara answered as he remembered the second promotional game.

"Owhhh… ok… then what is the tension between his catcher?" Takahashi asked confused, since he cannot really imagine what does Seido's ace moving fastball is like on the batters box.

"As a catcher, you need to trust your pitcher. It seems that Seido has not bothered asking what pitches his pitcher was throwing and just kept on asking for fastballs unaware that he was already receiving a different type of fastball. That would result to miscommunication, and mistrust at the same time plate positioning would be difficult. Sawamura has good ball control, with a good position in the plate those fastballs would be unstoppable, yet that catcher did not bother with it. Aside from the fact that Seido's captain was starting to overthink, due to the different play of the opposing team, it would definitely affect a lot things. Like I said it is more of a catchers thing… really hard to explain if you don't play catcher…" Kohata explains making Takahashi frown more obvious than normal.

"Yeah… well you seem to be missing something Kyo… I am your pitcher… means we could be in that kind of situation you know…" Takahashi commented making Daiki cough out his laughter at the same time the other WK players grinning on their ace pitcher remark.

Kohata on another hand grin towards his pitchers remark. He never thought he would see that day that one of the best pitcher in NPB is getting jealous of a high school pitcher just because he was interested in the said young player. "Yeah… I will try to remember that…" as he looked at Takahashi winking, making the other huff in frustration.

Miyuki froze for a bit as he looked back at Eijun serious golden eyes staring at him. Is that it?… was I not trusting Sawamura in his pitches that made me feel so edgy… Miyuki asked himself as he was having a face-off with none other than their ace. He noticed Yui coming close and stopping mid short of informing them about the instructions due to the tension. He also noticed a brief whistle from the referee as if informing them of the timeout time. "Yui what is the instructions from the coach?" Miyuki asked not looking away from Sawamura's gaze.

"Ehhhh… ahm… they said that Seido should not feel pressured with Inashiro's offense. We are on the lead, and if by any chance that we get tied, we still have another offense and we can always go into extra innings, since Sawamura seems to have been reserving his strength since the 6th inning. So that's why… ahm… Seido should just play Seido baseball..." Yui informs kind of nervous with the tension on the mound.

"I see…" Miyuki answered briefly. I cannot believe this… so even the coach noticed that Sawamura was reserving his strength and I did not… what kind of a catcher am I… was I not checking on my pitcher enough… or was I too pre occupied with trying to make a hit out of Mei's pitches… He then remembered Sawamura's performance on the fall tournament, the Hakuryu game, the time when Sawamura got overwhelmed being the ace on their first game, then getting back on track on their 3rd and semifinal summer games. He cannot seem to forget the look on Sawamura, when he was so sure that his pitcher was already ready for the ace number. And right now, his pitcher was giving him that look, making him grin. At the same time he felt like a heavy burden on his shoulders were lifted. He had never thought that this game was weighing him to much that he resulted to overthink and totally forgot the role of being the main man in the field. "Well I guess I should just prove to you that I have trusted you from the moment you first pitched towards me huh!" Miyuki said towards Sawamura, smiling widely as if a proud guardian seeing how far Sawamura has gone from being the loud mouth kid he first met before. He tapped his mitt on Sawamura's chest as he said "Show me the best art… partner" and then he slowly jog back towards his catcher position.

"Ehhh… what the hell!" Kuramochi was so surprised, while the others look bewildered, when their captain just left them on the mound just like that and move back to his position.

"So that was it? Huh… what do we do?" Kanemaru asked confused.

"Ahmmm… I guess let us play ball?" Haruichi asked unsure.

"Yeah… I guess… Thank you Yui for the message…" Maezono informed their first year as the latter nod once and job back towards the dugout.

"Eijun… you ok?" Haruichi asked unsure, but he noticed a wider grin from his friend who seemed pleased on top of the mound.

"Yeah… I'm good… actually never been better!" Eijun cheerfully answered as his eyes were locked towards their captain. The other players nod in agreement as they all move back towards their original positions. So what now cap… how do we do this… Eijun was getting excited. His captain trusted him since he first pitched to him, which means he already trusted him when they first met in the Seido field. Eijun had a bit of flashback when he and Miyuki first met when they were taking out Seido's senior Azuma.

Eijun could feel frustration bubbling up while this unknown person/catcher was laughing at him when he threw the ball on the dirt in order to avoid Azuma from hitting it. "I liked you kid, Let us slay that monsters together from here on out!" as Eijun could clearly see the grinning senior telling him what to do making him feel more mad. "Together? Yeah Right! I bet you're on his side" Eijun complained in full intensity. "Learn to accept the good will of others!" Miyuki informed grinning widely. "Shut up! Don't touch me!" Eijun complained while trying to brush off Miyuki's hand on his shoulder. "Anyway, what can you throw?"as Miyuki ignored Sawamura's demeanor and grab Eijun by the neck asking eagerly for his pitches, "I pitch fastballs for life!"Eijun answered proudly, making Miyuki laugh harder than intended. "Seriously! Im even more motivated now!" he added making Eijun feel that the older person was making fun of him. "Damn it! Your're making fun of me!". Eijun yelled obviously frustrated with the older boy. Miyuki smiled widely as he looked at the younger Eijun grinning, "Just leave it all to me, I know his batting habits well." Eijun seem appalled with Miyuki's intention as he angrily answered "It's got nothing to do with you! This is between me and him!". Miyuki smirked he had not released Sawamura from his hold, "What? Is that how you see it? Then… Do you plan to play baseball by yourself?"Miyuki asked. Eijun froze on the spot. As he recalled the whole reason why he was mad about the Seido senior was because Baseball is a team sport and it could never be played by a single person. "I don't know what kind of baseball you've been playing, but the best pitches are works of art produced by the pitcher and the catcher working as one." Miyuki explained making Eijun feel surprised. "Works of art?" Eijun asked unsure. Miyuki remove his arm around Sawamura's shoulders smiling widely, "Ill draw out your full potential, you just need to trust my mitt and throw you best pitches. It's that simple. Well be great partners" as Miyuki tap his mitt on Sawamura's chest, "Let's get cracking, partner" he said while smiling.

Eijun put his pitching hand on his chest, as he could remember the sensation when Miyuki sempai had tap his mitt on his chest, the first time and this time around had felt the same. He smiled widely as his focus move towards Miyuki's mitt the moment Inashiro's 8th batter step on the batter's box all serious.