Target 17: Of Baseballs and Boys (Part 1)
Shuffling and loud talking was what woke Yamamoto Takeshi up that morning. He frowned and rolled over, noticing the empty spot on the right side of the bed. He groaned, sitting up and noticing the light streaming through, that also played a part in waking the swordsman up.
Yamamoto stretched as best he could on the large bed and swung his feet over the side, standing shakily. It seemed as though the loud talking had just gotten closer to the room and the door opened, revealing a smaller and more feminine version of his lover.
Emiko stood in the doorway, a frown on her face, "Why aren't you dressed? I've been calling you for a few minutes now, dad."
She pouted and Yamamoto threw her a smile before walking over and ruffling her hair, making her protest.
"Sorry, what's so important about today?" Yamamoto asked. He couldn't recall what today was but it seemed pretty important to Emiko, that is, he didn't know until he looked at how she was dressed. "Oh, today's your game?"
Emiko only nodded, refraining from saying anything smart. Hayato walked in, pushing clothing into Takeshi's arms. He walked by the two, continuing to the small dresser which contained his jewelry.
"Well," Hayato looked back at the two, "Get dressed, damn it. Emiko can't be late. And we've gotta go by tenth's new house to pick them up, too."
"Oh, right, okay." Takeshi left the room, heading to the bathroom to get ready.
Reborn sat on Kita's head, the girl not really noticing or caring. Hitomi sat next to her, as did Kamiko. Katsumi sat next to Kita and most of the group was decked out in Nami-chuu paraphernalia.
Katsumi looked a little beat up, but Hitomi chalked it up to training with her father, as he looked rather bad too. She didn't say anything, and didn't need to as she turned her attention to Kita, who seemed a little out of place.
"You know, Kita-san." Kamiko beat Hitomi to the punch, "You could have gone with your mom—this isn't a…" She whispered the next part, "A family thing."
"Oh," Kita smiled, "Yeah, I could have, but I didn't want too. She was just going to visit family. I don't really like my family all that much anyway."
Before anyone else could say anything, Yamamoto pulled up and the three got out of the car. Emiko waved at Hitomi and the others before approaching them. "C'mon, Hitomi, we can't be late for the bus." Emiko began to pull the brunette in the direction of the school.
"Wait!" Kita yelled, making the group turn to look at her, "Why does Hitomi have to ride the bus with you?"
"Because," Hitomi started, "I'm a part-time manager for the baseball team."
"Well then I'll be going with you." Reborn ditched Kita's head to stand on Emiko's. Emiko sighed, pulling Hitomi as her parents called out to her, telling her things she deemed embarrassing.
After walking the two walked out of their sight, Solana and Hayato began piling everyone into the van. Just before Ryohei and his family could get in, Hayato stopped them, drawing curious looks from everyone already piled into the van.
"No. Not this time, Turf-top. You and the brats get your own car." Hayato pushed him away, Ryohei screaming in protest.
"Besides, dear," Amelia spoke, her husband almost instantly calming down, "There's no more room in there if Hayato-kun gets in."
Ryohei sighed, but agreed anyway, making Hayato climb into the car with a smug look of triumph. With the two cars now full of people, they began to make their way to the school.
Hitomi sighed as she and two of Emiko's teammate's helped pile the uniforms and equipment into the back of the bus. Itou and Haruka stood beside the spiky haired girl, both staring at her as she stood back up, waiting for anymore directions from her. When she didn't speak for a moment, Itou coughed, gaining her attention.
"Anymore, Hitomi-chan?" Haruka asked, dusting his slacks off. Hitomi responded by shaking her head and thanking Haruka and Itou. The two only nodded, leaving Hitomi alone.
"Damn this door, being so tall and—Ah!" Hitomi squeaked as the door was closed for her. She looks to see Ryota standing behind the door, his expression bored and tired. "Thanks…"
"Whatever." Ryota sighed. His pose and the expression showed slightly that he was impatiently waiting for something.
"What…?" Hitomi asked him.
Ryota shook his head, sighing louder and walking past Hitomi as Emiko ran up to her, Makimoto and a few others running after her. Emiko almost crashed into Hitomi, but the clumsy girl had already rammed herself into the back of the bus and was currently sitting near the tail pipe.
"Geez, Hitomi. Clumsy much?" Emiko asked, sarcasm practically dripping from her voice.
"Shut up and help me up, yo." Hitomi held out her hand for Emiko to take, which she did and Hitomi was yanked to her feet as the boys surrounded the two girls in an arc like circle.
"I can't believe Emiko's wearing a dress!" Makimoto said first, dropping his long arm on Emiko's head and resting it there. "I guess the impossible is possible!"
"Shut up, you… you…. Well, you! Besides," Emiko frowned, folding her arms and shifting slightly, "My aunt made it for me, idiot! It's not like I wanted to! And don't act so friendly towards me." Emiko swatted at his arm, making the tall boy move it.
Makimoto only laughs at Emiko's lack of a name to call him. He looks to Hitomi, noticing the manager was alone, "Hey," He starts, "Where's Miki-chan?"
Emiko's face contorted in disgust at the name and Hitomi did the same, receiving weird looks from the rest of the team. Hitomi turns, forgetting the bus was behind her and walks straight into it, falling back onto Makimoto and Emiko.
"Augh, Hitomi! You're so clumsy!" Emiko whined, dusting herself off as Hitomi pulled her up.
"Sorry, Emiko-chan… And, as for Akiyama-san," Hitomi looked around, "I haven't seen her at all—you should know, like most of the group, she doesn't come early to help load the equipment and she leaves before we unload when we get back."
"Eh?" Makimoto said, "Really? That's strange I—!"
"Makimoto-san! Everyone! I'm here!" Akiyama Miki called to the group. The light blue haired girl ran over, also wearing Nami-chuu clothing.
"Hey, Miki-chan!" Makimoto waved at the approaching bluenette. Before anyone else could even start a conversation, they were all yelled at to get inside the bus by Tanaka. Piling on the bus proved to be difficult, as bringing the whole team, even the members who wouldn't be playing, took up a lot of space. Reborn only made it worse as he appeared beside Hitomi, Makimoto and Emiko, who was forced to sit on Makimoto's lap in the small two-seater.
"Reborn! What're you doing here?!" Hitomi squeaked, clearly forgetting about the baby Hitman.
"I'm the assistant coach while the actual one is out—I think he got food poisoning…" Reborn grinned maliciously, making Hitomi pale.
"Oh, hey! Assistant coach! I didn't know you were coming with us!" Makimoto waved from where he sat at Reborn. Reborn acknowledged him with a nod while Emiko groaned at Makimoto's stupidity.
The bus began moving and Hitomi wanted it to end as Miki suddenly gained a mega-ton of school spirit and they sang the Namimori school fight song all the way there, Emiko trying not to dig her nails into Makimoto's leg.
"So who is the other team?" Takeshi asked as he held the small program in his hands. Emiko stood next to him, wearing her baseball uniform and chewing on a rather large wad of gum.
"They're from Tokyo; apparently they're the best in their division!" Hitomi explained as the group consisting of Kita, Kamiko, Katsumi, Yamamoto and Reborn stood in the terminal of the stadium.
"Really?" Katsumi whistled, having never really paid attention to the sport.
"Yeah," Kamiko spoke up, drawing the group's attention, "They've even got a 'secret weapon'. Someone who's supposed to be like Emiko; as in, a female."
"Wait," Emiko stopped the conversation, "They've got a girl on their team?"
"Yup," Kamiko said, "And she really doesn't like you—she's been bragging about how she's going to beat you in this game for months now over the internet."
"Well she can brag or whatever but she doesn't know until we actually start the game!" And with that, Emiko pulled Hitomi back down the hall.
"Well," Hayato returned shortly after coming from the bathroom, "Tsuna just texted me, he and the rest are up in the box."
"Box?!" Kita squealed, "We get to sit in the box? Oh! I've-never-been-in-a-box-and-it-would-be-so-great- to-sit-in-the-box! I just—!"
"Kita! Calm down to the extreme! It's just a box!" Katsumi held the bouncing girl down.
"Yeah, you act like you've never been in—oh wait," Kamiko scratched the back of her head, feeling stupid, "You haven't."
"Well, let's go." Hayato turned, walking back the way he came with the group following him.
Miki walked around the open part of the fully furnished locker room, sighing contently to herself. Hitomi and Emiko hadn't returned in a while and the game would start soon, if she didn't make it back in time—Wait, there they go, walking into the locker room and the attention is once again on Emiko.
The group of male players bombarded the two with questions, as they had already heard about the female on the opposing team. Emiko only swatted the questions away, clearly not deterred by the threat of another girl.
"Nothing we, as a team, can't handle." She simply said, making the other first years believe that she was really cool.
Hitomi knew otherwise, though, she knew that Emiko was probably freaking out on the inside. She could see the slightly worried look on the girl's face as Tanaka called them over for the pep-talk. Once the team was riled up and ready to go play ball, they all ran out of the locker room, Tanaka, Miki and Hitomi following behind them.
The field was huge. It was something of a professional baseball stadium and Hitomi's eyes widened as she looked all around. There were JumboTron screens resting just underneath the large flood lights coming from the top of the stadium.
"Whoa. This place is huge!" Haruka commented, saying what everyone else was thinking. "I can't believe we're here!"
"Yeah, well don't get too excited, Haruka. You're not playing yet." Tanaka said, leading him and the others to the dugout. "Alright, we're gonna go out there. Hitomi, you stay and start prepping. I hear that other team is pretty good."
"Not better than us!" Emiko retorted. The group agreed, shouting loudly before Tanaka called them to attention and filed them out onto the field for the national anthem.
Hitomi stayed back, allowing herself to get a better look at the other team. They were all pretty tall, menacing even, but Hitomi knew that Namimori would probably win in the end. If she knew anything about Emiko's family, it was that they didn't accept failure. She was sure they'd be able to churn out a win, even in the last few minutes.
After the anthem had been played, the captains of both teams came to the middle to decide who would bat and who would play outfield. A simple coin toss decided that Namimori would play outfield and Hitomi swore she saw some sort of bullet graze the coin, making it spin once more before landing in the umpire's hand.
Emiko, along with few others made their move to the outfield. She was placed to the far right, not really paying attention. "Emiko looks pretty relaxed, huh?" Reborn commented, startling Hitomi.
"Hii—Reborn! Don't do that! You nearly scared me to death!" Hitomi scolded as best she could, but Reborn didn't even seem to notice.
"Well, it wouldn't be the first time…" Reborn replied. "Like I was saying, Emiko looks pretty relaxed."
"Hm? Oh, yeah… she's always like this during games." Hitomi commented, "Like she can predict what the outcome of the game is." Hitomi could remember many a time when Emiko looked like she could win a game with her eyes closed and this looked to be one of those times… that is, until the ball was hit.
Makimoto was playing pitcher. Up on the mound, he gave the batter a long hard look, making his own smaller, barely noticeable gestures to the umpire for what type of pitch he was about to throw. Finally, his face took on a look that most rarely saw. He was excited.
Makimoto sized up the player. He looked meek, not really like he should be on the baseball team, so Makimoto threw the ball softly. But his version of soft was different from everyone else's and he ended up hitting the boy in the face, knocking him out.
"Penalty!" The umpire shouted.
"Makimoto! Don't kill them!" Emiko shouted from her place. Makimoto scratched his cheek, laughing lightly.
The next few pitches went like this; Makimoto would through 'soft' pitches and end up hitting the batters instead of the umpire's glove. Though the other team didn't complain, which Emiko thought was a little strange.
Until a menacing looking boy stepped up to the plate. He smirked, smacking the bat against the plate before readying himself for Makimoto's pitch. The pitch was fast, nobody even saw it leave his hand until the batter hit it. Surprise and shock was written all over his face as the ball went soaring over his head and into the crowd, the announcer declaring the first home-run of the game to the other team.
"Wh-What?" Emiko yelled in shock as she watched the boy—Fuji, she thinks—coast around the bases with a smug smile, blowing kisses to the crowd. "N-No way…"
"That's not the only trick we've got." He said, passing by Haruka, "You're in for a real treat today, Namimori~."
The game continued on like this for the next few batters. Makimoto would put his entire being into the pitch and they'd hit it like it was teed right to them. A frustrated Makimoto was surprised when the inning ended and they were called back to their dug out. Sounds of cheers and the announcer explaining the inning were heard as they all sat on the bench or stood around, looking at Tanaka.
"They're better than we trained for!" Haruka whined, "How are we supposed to beat them?"
"With a change." Tanaka said, "Hitomi, inform them that we're changing our pitcher." Hitomi nodded, leaving the dugout in search of the umpire.
"What?!" Makimoto stood up, uncharacteristically angry, "Who are you changing to? Am I not good enough anymore?"
"It's not that, Makimoto," Tanaka said, unfazed by his anger, "We're using Haruka because his pitches are erratically perfect. Yours are mostly fastballs and they've figured that out. And if he doesn't stop them, we're using Emiko as a last resort."
"Fine, whatever." Makimoto sat back down.
"I still haven't seen this 'girl' they've got up their sleeve. I'm starting to think she's just a scare tactic." Emiko crossed her arms.
"Me too," Fukao said, "I mean, why wasn't she with them when the anthem was playing? And we've gone through at least half their team, right?"
"Maybe she's not here yet?" Akai shrugged.
"Well, that doesn't matter. We need to get back in the lead. They've got seven points already." Saji replied.
"Saji's right, now get back out there." Tanaka commanded as the horn blew.
Emiko had taken Haruka's spot as third baseman while Makimoto took her spot in the outfield. Anxiously, they were waiting for this girl player to show up, but she never did and it was finally their turn to bat, having gotten three outs with Haruka's help.
"Ah, I'm better at batting anyway…" Makimoto mumbled to himself, rubbing his hands.
"I hate when he acts like this. I just want to punch him in the face even more." Emiko whispered to Hitomi who was handing out Gatorade.
"He'll get over it soon." Hitomi replied, "He always does."
Soon enough, they were back out on the field. Haruka was the first up to bat, followed by Saji. A player they didn't recognize was standing on the pitcher's mound. Wearing a hat, all they could see was purple hair sticking out from underneath the cap.
"Who—?" Emiko cut herself off with a gasp. The person turned their cap, purple hair falling from underneath to curtain out behind her. Her eyes shone with determination as she smirked.
"Yamamoto Emiko, it is I, your rival!" She bellowed, pointing at Emiko, "I have been waiting for this day since I was young!"
Emiko looked at her, everyone else's eyes darting between the two. "U-Uh… I would say something back, but I have no idea who you are." Emiko scratched her head.
"Wh-What?" She yelled, running over to her, "You don't know who I am?" Emiko shook her head, "How dare you forget!"
"Well, maybe if you were more memorable, I would be able to remember you." Emiko shrugged, "Anyway, can you go back to the mound? I kinda wanna play."
"Of course! I'll kick your ass and then you'll remember me!" She said, turning and running back to the mound. "Pitcher ready!"
"Batter up!" The umpire called and Haruka walked up, gulping. If anyone asked, he'd say he wasn't scared, but inside, he was truly terrified. Girls were scary, in his opinion and he'd consider himself lucky if he even made it out alive.
And the first pitch was thrown. Haruka was hit in the shin, but it didn't hurt too badly, and then the second pitch came, Haruka didn't swing, having had to dodge the ball which was coming for his head. Then it was the third pitch. Haruka tried to hit it, but the bat, being made of wood, snapped in half. "And that's my Mad Plum Pitch!" She tossed him a peace sign.
"Out!" The umpire called. Shocked and dazed, Haruka walked back to the dugout, passing his teammates.
"Sh-She could have killed me!" He yelped, "I-I don't want to go back out there!"
And that was how the inning continued. Saji went down on second base, his ankle having been twisted from the dog pile of the other team's players; Fukao knocked himself out by tripping over a base and the rest somehow got injured when running bases.
"They're cheating!" Emiko yelled, angrily pacing the dugout.
"Well what do you suppose we do about it?" Makimoto said. Currently, he, Emiko, Ihara and Ryūsaki were the only ones who hadn't bat yet.
"I don't know, actually." Emiko scratched her forehead, "Clearly it's me she has a problem with and she and her team have no qualms with injuring ours to get to me."
"Well we have to do something." Tanaka said. "You kids can't keep getting hurt."
"Wa-Wait!" Hitomi said, standing up, "I, uh, I have a plan."
The group looked to her, curious.
"Ah, Umeko-chan, you're being too rough, this is just a game." A blond male told her. Umeko gave him a look, leaning back and sipping her drink.
"She doesn't remember me; I'm doing what I need to. Plus, if she's out of the picture, then it's easier for us, right? Even with him on her team." Umeko replied. "Don't interfere, I can handle this."
She crumpled the bottle, tossing it into the trashcan. "I have to see that power again. If she can't do it now then she should just die."
"Umeko—ah, dammit…" He mumbled watching her go.
Umeko left the locker room, appearing in the dugout once more. "So, Umeko, how do you plan to crush the last few of their members?" Ushio, her captain, smiled maliciously.
"I don't have to tell you anything, Ushio." Umeko said, "Just let me do my job and you'll get your trophy, got it?"
"Of course, Umeko." He smirked, "But mess this up and I'll mess you up."
"I'd like to see you try, pervert." Umeko replied pointing a finger at him, "I'll kill you where you stand if you get in my way."
"A-Alright, Umeko. Don't get hostile. Save it for the field." Ushio replied, holding his arms up in mock surrender.
Onto the field they went. Makimoto was up to bat this time and Umeko wasted no time in throwing the ball, only Makimoto hit it. The bat cracked, making a loud noise as the ball was tossed into the stands, cheers following it. "What?! He hit my pitch?!" Umeko growled, "Not again." Umeko caught gazes with another of her teammates, nodding faintly.
Makimoto ran around the plates, his smile wide before his face hit the ground, a rather rotund player landing on top of him. He could swear he heard something crack. His loud screaming filled the area as the large boy rolled off of him, apologizing without really meaning it.
"Fuck!" Emiko kicked the bench as the medics came over, lifting the slightly paralyzed Makimoto off of the ground, "Now we're down a player! The plan is ruined!"
"Well… our alternative…" Tanaka checked the clipboard, "We've only got one… Hitomi." Hitomi gulped as all eyes went to her.
"S-Since when?!" She asked, standing up, "I never signed up as an alternative!"
"Well, your name is down as one. Get a spare uniform." Tanaka ordered. "Hitomi'll be taking Makimoto's place then."
"Fucking seriously?" Emiko growled. This wasn't going anywhere for her.
Cliffhanger! So, this is the first of two parts. I don't know much about baseball, but whatever. I do what I want! No, I probably just butchered the game of baseball, but y'know what? It's alright. Anyway, new chapter should be out in a few weeks. I've been procrastinating because I'm not too funny and I'm deciding whether I want to continue or not. It's hard because I've written so much, but I feel like it's not really good enough. I have a lot planned for this, I just don't know how to be funny for this first arc! It'll be ending soon, though, if I decide to continue after finishing part 2. Well, tell me what you think! If I should continue or not, tips, whatever! Okay, bye!
~TheUnluckyKat