Chapter 23: Baseball Idiots at practice

"Kaz, you make me sick!" Sora complained for the umpteenth time during this afternoon practice already. "I told you multiple times that it isn't so easy to explain or to show you what I can and what I can't do! That takes time. Just tell me what you want me to throw and I'm gonna do it for heaven's sake!"

"That's not what I want to hear, Sora"

"Yeah, but honestly speaking I don't even know what you want from me. I couldn't be more honest if I tell you I can literally do anything you want. And I still feel creepy about saying it out loud because it sounds arrogant as hell, I swear"

The young Seidou captain sighed and ruffled his brunette hair.

"It's just the same as during our first pitching practice test in front of the coach. I don't want that. I want your most extreme pitches possible and you don't give them to me. You've been holding back with me as your partner all along, unlike that time when Sawamura caught your ball"

Sora tilted her head in confusion.

"Have I?" she asked honestly. "I thought I've done everything you asked of me though… I've thrown that crazy angle ball that Eijun calls my killer pitch, too"

"Because I know the angle after having seen it. Just like your attempted one-bounce", Miyuki explained patiently. "But I don't know anything else about your other special stuff, so I can't ask for it properly. You have to show me first before I can use it"

Slowly but surely the blue head started to understand what her battery partner was talking about, but it still wasn't as complicated as he tried to make it. She just didn't know how to explain that to him properly.

"There isn't anything to show you, really. I'm just gonna follow your strategy. In other words, you can decide which pitch you want and how extreme you want it to be for yourself…"

The brunette let out a groan. This conversation wasn't developing in a way he wanted it to at all. Following coach Kataoka's orders would be a goddamn pain until the very end.

Sora, sensing her captain's frustration with her, rubbed the back of her head and thought about what to do when she suddenly spotted Sawamura coming back from the batting cages.

"Okay, you know what? I guess we're having a major misunderstanding here, 'cause it's not like I don't want to cooperate", she said matter-of-factly and pulled Miyuki's sleeve to drag him along. "I have an idea, but I don't know if it's gonna work out in our favor, so just watch for a sec"

"Gladly, if it makes things clearer for me in the end…"

"That I can't promise, but I try"

"That's all I'm asking for, Sora"

The young girl waved at her brown haired fellow pitcher friend and Sawamura waved back, falling into a light jog to join her and his captain.

"Ossu, Cap, Sora. S'up?"

"Care to help me out for a bit?" Sora asked, earning a puzzled glance from the southpaw.

"Sure, always. But, what can I do?"

"Grab a glove and we're gonna do that kind of thing"

"EEHH?! In front of Cap?!"

"Yup"

"But you said we should never do that because we wouldn't be able to use it in matches anyway… None of that stuff actually enters the strike zone, right?! We were only supposed to do that for fun and for workout"

"Well, yeah…" she admitted and scratched her cheek with one finger. "But that guy wants to know what I can and what I can't do and he wants to see it with his own eyes first, so… I don't really know what to do or how to explain it any better"

Sora pointed her finger at Miyuki, shrugging her shoulders and Sawamura crossed his arms over his chest in disbelief.

"Huh? But isn't that kinda easy?" he questioned and glanced at the young captain. "Sora can just throw whatever, right?! You just have to tell him and come up with some signs and strategies"

The blue haired girl only raised her eyebrows at Miyuki as if to tell him "See? Told you so…" and nodded along with Sawamura who seemed to have absolute faith in his blue haired friend and her skills.

"I can't come up with anything I don't know", the catcher emphasized again and Sora sighed.

"See?!" she told Sawamura and the brunette nodded.

"You're talking at cross-purposes"

"Exactly"

"Alright, I understand. Wait a sec, I'll be back with a mitt in a moment"

"Thanks, Eijun!"

As the brown haired pitcher was making his way to the storage room, Miyuki scoffed at the blue head slightly.

"That kind of thing?" he repeated amused and Sora deadpanned.

"We don't have a name for it and it certainly can't be called catch ball anymore. You'll understand when you see it"

"Heh…"

Little did he know that what followed could make his heart throb with exhilaration. When Sawamura finally returned with a baseball glove and a serious challenging expression, they entered the practice field together with Miyuki watching from the sideline. Sora told her brown haired friend not to hold back and of course he agreed, almost blowing steam out of his nose.

As they began pitching balls to each other, the captain's eyes grew wide and he gaped at his teammates with a slightly opened mouth not even realizing that he looked like a complete fool. Sora and Sawamura did the same thing they had done the day Takashima had scouted the blue haired girl, throwing more and more reckless pitches at each other. Extreme curves, absolutely ridiculous positions, rapid drops, reckless breaks, an extra added spin to the ball or one that wiggled in mid air like a jump floater from volleyball plays, Sora pulled off anything Sawamura shouted at her and hit his mitt no matter where he placed it, even when he turned around, showing her his back and held up his glove without looking at her.

Since Sora had entered Seidou, the two friends kind of had made it a habit and also a little challenging game, because the young southpaw was determined to find something that the blue head couldn't throw. Not to mention, he was not holding anything back when he returned the ball to Sora, pitching his moving fast balls and even his numbers to the young girl who caught them all flawlessly. Given, they were still standing, none of them was crouching or wearing catching protectors, so it was still a weird form of catch ball, just more extreme and it almost looked a lot more like fielding practice too.

After a while when Miyuki had come back to his senses, he raised a hand, signaling his two team members that he had indeed seen enough. He had a feeling that he started to understand what Sora had tried to explain to him and why the blue head wasn't able to get his point at all.

"Next time I'm so gonna beat you, Sora, so you better brace yourself!" Sawamura grunted as they both jogged back to their waiting captain.

"Bring it, Eijun!"

"Oi, oi, what kind of challenge is that?" Miyuki facepalmed. "By the way, did you honestly catch this guy's numbers just right now?!"

"I'm gonna find something that Sora can't throw to save his life!"

"Yup, sure did. Helps for batting practice with observing the pitches and anticipating in which direction they'll go. Gotta keep up my concentration properly and Eijun's randomly moving balls are a huge help for that"

They both gave back at the same time, looked at each other and began laughing.

"So, basically you were telling me that you're able to pitch the basics of any pitch I'd like and that you also can variate between the levels of difficulty and directions of the course, velocity and trajectory?" Miyuki questioned just to be sure.

Sawamura nodded fiercely, but Sora made a rather vague gesture with her hand.

"In theory, yes. I've researched and memorized every single pitch, pitching form and grip variety I could find for both, softball and baseball in Junior High and ever since I had been working on my perfect and target on point ball control, I kinda used that for reference. However, of course I wasn't able to try out every single possibility yet, since I also had to quit teams and stopped practicing and playing at some point and as I already said, I was more of a shortstop, so…" she started to trail off.

"That's why you told me to just request whatever and that it would take time?"

The blue haired girl hummed.

"I mean there is a whole lot of variety and I'm also ambidextrous, so some things might just work out for one hand only, some might work for both and sometimes even if I'm able to throw a certain pitch it might not be of any use for us in a match", she tried to sort out her thoughts for her catcher properly. "Take my fastball, for example. It's not as fast and impactful as Furuya's, nor does it have a natural spin that could take a batter off guard like Eijun's. It lacks speed and force and a surprise effect, so if you as my catcher aren't able to use it wisely…"

"…it will just be a meatball that could easily end up as a homer for a strong batter who can hit it out of the park", Miyuki concluded.

"Right"

"How many basic pitches have you tried out and how many do work out for you already?"

"Mhh…"

Sora thought for a moment.

"Okay, so I can throw a four and a two-seamer, obviously, I have my changeup that works well and others than that… a curve, a cutter, a sinker, a slider and a splitter, I guess… With different variations to the pitches depending on the batter, the overall situation and my orders from my battery partner. That's why I can pinpoint my pitches accurately, since the different kinds of throws cover up all directions within the strike zone and also if you want me to pitch a ball outside of the zone on purpose to test the batter. Ah, and with my left I can also do a crossfire, it takes some toll on my shoulder though, so I can't do it very often"

"But Sora, didn't you say that you were working on more than that since those are only the basics?" Sawamura chimed in, making his captain cock an eyebrow and making Sora put her finger on her chin thoughtfully.

"Yeah, I wanted to try different variations of my changeup since I've read something about a palm ball and also a so called circle changeup, which made me curious if I could pull that off and if there would be any change in what I'd be able to throw in comparison to the usual changeup I've already learned", the blue haired girl began to ramble on.

"Plus, I also researched rare kinds of pitches that aren't very well-known and usually used by pro players. Something like a fork, a knuckle or a knuckle-curve, a screwball and hybrid versions like slurves and sweepers, as well as the shoot ball that's actually mainly used in Japan and not so much in the USA. Additionally, I've heard of something called an eephus which I thought would be perfect for me since I also trained with the softball team and this pitch is supposed to be one of the rarest pitches thrown in baseball and it's known for its exceptionally low speed and ability to catch a hitter off guard. Typically, an eephus is thrown very high in the air, resembling the trajectory of a slow-pitch softball pitch. Batters, expecting a fastball that's nearly twice the velocity of the eephus, can get over-zealous and swing too early and hard. But for a batter who is able to keep his weight back and put a normal swing on the pitch, it is also the easiest pitch to hit. One without unexpected movement or excessive velocity, as I explained earlier, so we would have to be very careful with that since it also has a lot of disadvantages…"

"What the hell! I didn't even know that so many different pitches existed…!" Sawamura yelled, steam already coming out of his ears and his brain cells slowly but surely short-circuiting during this conversation.

Miyuki on the other hand couldn't help himself but to stare at the blue head in admiration. How much luck did he have to be blessed with a third battery partner like that? Or rather, fourth actually. Nori was a good submarine pitcher after all. Then there was the monster rookie Furuya and the loud-mouthed, hot-headed Sawamura with his moving fastball and now there was Sora with perfect ball control, huge variety, high focus and concentration and also some kind of a strategical almost-catcher-mind. Plus, the blue head was ambitious, studious, observant… and hot as fuck.

Okay, that wasn't helping…

The young catcher shivered, getting goosebumps all over his body before he managed to contain himself and to clear his throat to snap Sora out of it.

"Okay, okay, one step at a time", he snickered and held up a hand. "First, we have to see what works for you and what doesn't due to lack of speed or force which can affect certain types of pitches. Then we'll have to work out what's best for which hand. We'll come up with signs and some strategies and we're gonna hone the weapons you already got in stock until they're perfect and you'll be able to use them even in your sleep. And only after that's all said and done, we might be able and also get permission from coach to try out more and even new things"

"Ohhh, Cap knows how to get his job done alright", the young southpaw marveled at his battery partner, earning a glare in response.

"And I'm gonna seal the crossfire for now", the brunette catcher added. "We have enough in our repertoire, so there's no need to use a pitch that could possibly damage your shoulder. I'll only ask for it if it's truly needed. Understand?"

Sora nodded. Begrudgingly, but she had to admit that her catcher had a point indeed.

"But I can do crossfire too, right?" the brown haired pitcher beside them wondered.

"You're more flexible than me, Eijun. Your body is better suited for that kind of pitch. And you're a southpaw only, so your whole system is completely accustomed to throwing with your left. I use both hands, but in everyday life I'm a righty, so my body usually is focused on my right side", the blue haired girl tried to explain.

"Whoa, Sora. Whenever you explain things, they're so easy to understand. You truly are amazing after all"

"Oh, shut it!"

"Don't be embarrassed"

"I said shut it!"

Miyuki smirked and agreed inwardly with the self-proclaimed ace. He was stunned and in awe with the blue head, once again noticing how much his teammate had to love baseball to be so knowledgeable and to research things voluntarily without anyone ordering him to. Not to mention, the amount of practice and effort Sora would have to put in to achieve all that alone. Without the support of a team. And once again the brunette captain recognized himself falling for his blue haired friend, maybe even deeper than before. He could even see himself in Sora and he was sure they'd understand each other just fine.

If it was Sora, he'd be able to cope with his catcher. With his personality, with his tight schedule, with his baseball obsession and with his sharp tongue and lack of social skills. The blue head would be patient, understanding and gentle enough to accept everything, also his rough edges and flaws and his teammate would also be feisty and confident enough to talk back at him, to fight him, to put him in his place whenever he'd be in the wrong and it would be needed. Sora wouldn't break easily and with Sora it would never be boring.

Ahhh, shit!

Miyuki stalled. His spinning thoughts came to a screeching halt and his caramel eyes widened. Falling for Sora?! Really now?! Wanting Sora, yes, fine, but… Was this a serious crush? Or… Love?! Was he in love now?!

Oh, please, no! Ugh… How troublesome…

The young catcher watched the blue haired and the southpaw pitcher bickering about something he had entirely missed and felt his heartbeat growing stronger and faster in his chest until it got almost painful when suddenly a certain conversation over the phone during the new year's vacation plopped into his mind.

"You make me nervous, Kaz…"

"Oh, careful now, you're playing with fire"

"Burn me then"

His breath got caught in his throat thinking back on that moment.

"Be very glad that this is just a phone call. You wouldn't be able to be so sassy otherwise!"

"Try me, Kazuya"

"Believe me, I will!"

Miyuki had been right, he hadn't been able to sleep properly that night and he had cursed Sora multiple times, not being able to get the blue head's voice calling his whole first name out of his mind. In his dreams it soon had grown into a moan and the brunette catcher had thrown his own pride out of the window and had decided to… ah, well… take care of his little problem himself…

Not that he was ashamed of it, but it certainly hadn't been the ideal outcome for him after all. Only thinking about something you craved wasn't nearly good enough.

Pictures of Sora's female cosplay in the wellness center somehow magically appeared in his thoughts as well and Miyuki pinched the bridge of his nose in annoyance. If that was to keep up, then this whole crushing on someone thingy wasn't fun at all. Why could other people enjoy bothersome stuff like that and even wish for it?! Were they all crazy?!

"By the way, Miyuki-senpai", Sawamura's loud voice interrupted his train of thoughts and the young captain blinked at his pitcher. "Boss sent me over because it's my time for you to catch for me now. I'd like to work on the numbers a little more if that would be fine with you"

"Sure, that's why we came up with them in the first place", he gave back shrugging. "What about Sora?"

"Supposed to switch with me in the batting cage"

"Why don't you tell me that earlier, idiot?!" the blue head shrieked and dashed out of the bullpen, making a beeline to the practice field where she could see the rest of her team already.

She was welcomed by Kuramochi who kicked her for being late and the younger Kominato who was already standing in the cages, swinging his wooden bat at Toujou's fastballs. Once again the nice first year was helping out as a practice pitcher, since all the others were busy in the bullpen right now.

"There you are, Sora-kun", the pinkette greeted. "We've been waiting for you already"

"Sorry, sorry, Eijun took his sweet time telling me that I was supposed to switch with him. We had to figure something else out with Kaz first, too"

"Oh, is your teamwork as a battery improving?" Kominato asked curiously, making Kuramochi behind him only click his tongue.

"Ah… Well, yeah. More or less, I guess…?!" Sora answered sheepishly while equipping with gloves, bat and helmet.

"Was that a question, Sora-kun?"

The pink haired male put down his bat and stepped out of the cage to make some space for his teammate. The blue haired girl chuckled, shaking her head at him.

"No, it's just… difficult with him. We kinda had a misunderstanding, but thanks to Eijun we could solve it now. Finally…"

She sighed and walked into the batting cage, giving a short nod towards Toujou.

"Please take care of me, Toujou"

He nodded back with a smile and got into his pitching position once again.

"Hyaha! Sora, difficult is a huge understatement", Kuramochi commented lightheartedly from his place at the side and Kominato sweat dropped slightly.

"You-san…"

"What? It's true. Speaking from experience here, ya know"

Sora sighed, knowing her green haired friend was right, but she had to concentrate since Toujou just released his ball that was flying towards her. She kept her eyes only on the ball, readjusted her grip and her stance a little bit and hit it with a certain goal in mind, but the point where the small white baseball fell to the ground was not her target at all.

The blue haired girl frowned. She was really good in making contact with the ball, but since she was short and not very strong or muscular, Sora didn't have the ability to hit very far. So, actually she tried to aim her hits like she aimed her pitches to certain points on the field. In a match usually places where she could recognize holes or weaknesses in the other team's defense, but approximately half of her hits wouldn't go her way how she had planned it out in her head. Unlike a pitch, a hit with a bat was much more difficult for her to control and up until now she hadn't been able to figure out why and also not how to change this. The blue head was upset that she couldn't pinpoint her hits properly. It would make it way easier for her to get on first base.

Toujou pitched once again and Sora got ready, sharpening her focus. She aimed and swung, the ball flew over the field and this time it plopped down in the surrounding area of her exact target at least.

"Tsk!"

She suppressed her frustration and went on with her practice. As always, only half of her hits took the course she had aimed for and when she was finally done, the young girl let out a groan in annoyance.

"Oh, for fuck's sake!"

"Hyaha!"

"Sora-kun, your language…"

"Ah, sorry Haru"

"At least you apologize", the pink haired boy sighed. "Unlike someone else we all know…"

Eijun… Sora thought and shook her head in exasperation.

"What's the matter, Sora?" Toujou asked curiously. "That was nice batting. You made contact every single time. It's me as a pitcher who should be frustrated, you know"

"Oh no, not at all, your pitches were looking just fine. The course was also good. You did a great job, Toujou", the blue head praised causing the nice pitcher to get a little flustered. "It's just that my hits don't go the way I want them to. Well, not all of them"

"Eh?!"

Toujou looked puzzled and blinked a few times, while Kominato and Kuramochi exchanged a shocked glance with each other.

"Hey, Sora could it be that you actually aim where you want to hit the ball?" the shortstop asked, but Sora made a face.

"Well, I try, but I suck. Half of my hits don't land on my target"

"Target? Which target?" Kominato questioned.

"A random point on the field I focus on"

"Oi, oi, you wanna tell me you try to pinpoint your hits as you do with your pitches and you actually succeed in half of the cases?!"

Kuramochi gawked, but Sora scowled again.

"In only half of the cases, Mochi. That doesn't help in an official game when I try to exploit the other team's weaknesses and holes in their defense"

"Does that mean you can see something like that during a match?" Toujou also chimed in again.

"Most likely, yes. However, I'm not sure how well it works against top notch teams like Inashiro, Ichidai, Yakushi and the others we'll have to face. Our Junior High team wasn't so strong as to compete on their level, so up until now I've only played against teams that were comparatively weak. If they don't have any weakness, I can't see it after all"

"Still, Sora-kun. This could be very helpful even if you're just in the dugout", Kominato said matter-of-factly. "If you share what you can see with the other players and give us the information you would use for your own hits, then the team can connect with it. Maybe you don't have to hit them all alone, we could help you. No, we will be sure to help you"

"Hyaha! Damn right! 'Cause having another fast runner on base is worth a lot for the whole team"

Sora raised her eyebrows playfully and smirked at the green haired boy.

"What'cha mean another fast runner, Mochi? I'm faster than you"

"Huh?! Dare to repeat that!"

"My, my…"

Kominato sighed defeatedly and decided to resume batting practice with Toujou who laughed at the sight of their two bickering teammates.

"I. Am. Faster. Than. You!"

"Alright, ya punk. Guess I gotta put you in your right place then!"

"Pffft! If only you could… Good luck with that, Mochi"

"Home to first. Challenge, now!" Kuramochi demanded crossing his arms over his chest.

"You're on!" Sora accepted with a nod, putting her batting equipment to the side.

"Bring it, Sora. Try me if you dare and don't hold back!" the shortstop growled as the two friends both got ready for their sprint on the home plate.

"I would never! Just watch out not to cry when you lose"

"I won't lose!"

"Wanna bet on it?"

"Huh?! Getting cocky with me now, Sora?!"

"Winner gets a wish?" she offered.

"A reasonable one, though", the blue haired girl added after having seen the mischievous glint in Kuramochi's eyes.

"Hyaha! Interesting enough. Now I definitely won't lose!"

Shirasu who was interested in what his two teammates were up to, came over from the batting cages as well and agreed to do the countdown and to stop their times. Soon enough, half of the nosy team was assembled to watch the challenge and to see who would win the bet. Sora shook her head. If those gossips had nothing to talk trash about, there was something wrong!

As the calm and composed boy returned with a stopwatch, Sora and Kuramochi waited for him to begin with the countdown.

"Three"

"Two"

"One"

"GO!"

Both friends took off with a rocket start, running with all their might…