Chapter 5
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. English is not my first language so I do apologize for spelling/grammatical errors, Thank you! P.S apologize in advance if some of the characters move out of their characteristic traits
Hmmm… this is interesting, so he could actually have that kind of pressure huh. He should have started with that to begin with. Sota thought as he tried to choke his hold on the bat. He watched Sawamura nodding to whatever sign the Inashiro catcher asked, and did his pitching windup, which he closely noticed was tight. I already noticed this during the videos, and while doing those previous fastballs, but he really does have a tight form, only releasing the ball up until the last minute. He slowly loosened his hold on the bat, when noticing the ball being released, he immediately made a swing, however this time the bat never hit the ball, but instead cleanly landed on the catcher's mitt. Huh… what was… wait is that… as Sota looked at the catcher who was grinning. It was a changeup… the first pitch thrown to him was a changeup, after all those fastballs in the earlier round, the pitcher had thrown a changeup totally missing his timing. "That's sly of you… Itsuki…" Sota muttered annoyed, making Itsuki grin wider behind his catcher's mask.
"Strike!" unanimously said by the BJ players on the sidelines making Sota more annoyed than usual.
"Oi!" Sota complained as he pointed his bat towards the regulars.
"Don't complain, that kind of pitch is only the beginning…" Daiki answered as he pointed towards the pitcher, making Sota move his gaze back towards the mound, and notice Sawamura's concentration not breaking.
What the hell… and here I thought he was just a refreshing pitcher… Sota complained as he raised his bat back in a batting position. "Fine… Let's do this…" he called out.
Eijun felt relaxed for some reason, and he could clearly feel the sensation on his fingertips as he watched Itsuki give him a sign for his five spin fastball on the lower right portion of the plate. He dropped the rosin bag as he took in a deep breath, moving towards his pitching form, changing his grip slightly, as he pulled out his strength up from his legs, throwing his pitch in full strength towards Itsuki's mitt, and he watched the fastball sail directly towards the catcher mitt, not missing one beat.
"CLANK!" A loud sound could be heard, as the ball was hit by the bat, yet it sailed pass first base towards the foul line. "Pshhh…" Sato commented as he seems to be displeased with the direction of the hit. That's strange, I know I hit it with all my strength yet, it went towards the foul line. As he turns his gaze back towards Sawamura, who seems to be unfazed that his pitch was actually hit.
"You know… that was supposed to be an out… not a foul" Asano informed, making the younger Miro look at the BJ reserve annoyingly.
"Huh… I cleanly hit towards the foul line…" Sato complained.
"Yeah… yeah… tell yourself that brat…" Maki informed while grinning.
Itsuki sighs as he could feel Sato's annoyance starting. "Nice pitch Eijun…" he informed as he threw a new ball towards his pitcher, who seems to be still concentrating and giving a nod once as acknowledgement to his remark. "You know Sato, Eijun's pitches are not like any other pitches." Itsuki started as Sato turned towards him.
"I know that already… I watched his videos, you know…" Sato answered as he returned back to the batter's box, and raised his bat waiting for another pitch.
Itsuki sighs, as he notices Sato stepping in closer to the plate. "His pitches are different from videos, compared to when you are actually standing in that box." Itsuki informed as he moved closer for an inside fastball pitch, just barely in the batter's chest and gave the sign for his crossfire cutter. He watched Eijun nod in agreement, as he dropped the rosin bag, and went into his pitching form. Itsuki took in a deep breath as he watched closely Eijun's release pitch, passing directly towards Sato's chest, and him unable to swing at all.
"What the hell… are you trying to hit me or something!" Sato complained, while a few murmurs and whistles of approval could be heard on the sideline.
"I forgot to say… Eijun's best fastball pitches are inside the plate" Itsuki informed Sato, as he stood up and threw the ball back to his pitcher. "That was a strike by the way…" Itsuki called out, making Eijun grin at them.
"I know it was a strike, you don't have to rub it in you know… but that could be a brush ball you know" Sato informed as he turned to look at Itsuki. "I wanted an outside pitch that's why I moved to the inner box… plus what the hell is wrong with you… your call change, your not like a sniveling child"
Itsuki looked at Sato, seeming a bit surprised, "Huh… did I look like that?" he asked innocently as he crouched back down.
"Yeah… These past few days, you seem like a robot moving around.. But now… you seem to be more like I don't know alive" Sato informed as he put up his bat again waiting for another pitch.
"Ahhhh… I see… sorry about that…" Itsuki lightly laughed as he placed his mitt in the lower left portion of the plate and gave a sign for his palm ball. He noticed Eijun seemingly unsure, yet he did not shake from his sign. "I have you to thank for that…" he muttered as he watched Eijun do his pitching windup, and release his faster version of a change up, totally missing the timing of the swing yet again.
"Owhh common… stop doing that! Stop giving me those slow pitches!" Sato complained, yet he noticed Eijun was grinning from ear to ear.
"Huh… what was that… and you said our battery was lame…" Eijun answered teasingly.
"Please… give me your real fastballs!" Sato answered instead, making Sawamura grin wider, as he dropped the rosin he was holding and nodded to another sign Itsuki had given. He closely watched Sawamura's windup, choking his hold on the bat this time. The moment he saw the ball being released, he immediately made a swing, "Clank!" making a clean hit, however it was sent towards the foul line again. Damn it… that's not it either… what the hell is going on… I think I timed that one perfectly… but why… as Sato looked at Sawamura again, noticing an evil grin behind his mitt. This pitcher is starting to get on my nerves. If it's not the timing… then is it probably the ball rotation. He thought as he raised his bat asking for another pitch. He concentrated at Sawamura, timing the moment that the pitcher raised his leg for the pitching windup, and as soon as he noticed Eijun's release the ball, he grip his bat making a full swing, but this time it totally miss the ball, cleanly landing towards Itsuki's mitt. Why is this not working… this guy really has dirty fastballs… ugh… Sato complained as he looked at Eijun begrudgingly.
Eijun knew that the batter's swing was fast and strong, but for some reason he was more excited than normal. He looked at Itsuki who seemed to be laughing behind his catcher's mask. "Nice pitch Eijun…" he heard Itsuki called as he easily catched the ball being thrown to him. He nodded once again, at the same time fixed his feet positioning in the mound. It has been a while since I actually pitched like this… the last time I did this was in the qualifiers… Eijun thought as he looked at Itsuki closely, asking for his slower fastball, this time in the lower portion of the plate. This is getting more exciting every minute… As Eijun noticed the death glare Miro's cousin was giving him. He took in deep breaths and went into his pitching form, as he threw the three spin fastball directly towards the batter.
"Hey… how many pitches was that?" Asano curiously asked, as they had been watching the back and forth pitches.
"I don't know… I stop counting after that three spin fastball" Daiki answered as another sound of a bat hitting the ball was heard, yet the ball sailed out towards the foul lines again.
"Foul!" Maki called out, earning a glare from the young batter, but Maki did not let up.
"He can't keep it in play, if he bat's like that in the tryouts, the coach would really scratch him out…" Towa informed.
"Well it is true his records are good since his little league days performance, so I doubt that coach Shoji would just easily let go of such talent." Masato commented as he was looking at a tablet, scrolling for information.
"I think it's not his batting, it's more like Sawamura's and Tadano's battery seem to have settled down now…" Sagato smiled while interjecting his opinion, at the same time feeling bad for Miro's cousin, unable to keep the ball in play.
"Hmmmm… true… it's too bad we have to use that brat to get those two to work things out again huh…" Maki said while grinning at his captain at the same time they all suddenly heard a voice calling them from atop their dugout bleachers.
"Ahm, excuse me…"
As the BJ regulars heard the voice, they all turned and saw a boy not much taller than Tadano, but has a bigger build and tanner skin complexion. They notice a big bag on his side, at the same time a bat holder behind his back. Both Sawamura and Tadano also noticed the boy, considering his voice was not that low and could be heard from where they were. "Ahm, is it ok if I also try to bat with your center line?" the boy asked innocently, making Daiki grin evilly.
"Huh…"
"Ahm, sorr.." but before Masato could finish what he wanted to say, they all heard Daiki call the kid down.
"Sure thing kid… get down here… you have your gears right?" Daiki called as he was grinning.
"Oi wait… captain" Asano complained, looking worried.
"Hey man… you cannot just randomly allow kids to play," Maki added.
"Yeah! I am also not done here Daiki senpai!" Sato complained the moment it looked like he was getting switched out.
As the boy moved around the bleachers and moved towards the BJ dugout, Sato was already walking towards the BJ captain, obviously not pleased with the decision. "I was not done… We were only starting…" Sato complained again.
"But you should have been taken out a while back already… if a batter is out his out, need to be change" Daiki answered nonchalantly. While the boy he called down was putting on his baseball cleats, and pulling out his bat.
"Ehhh what is going on?" Eijun asked the moment Itsuki got close to the mound. He heard the new person calling out his BJ seniors, but that was the first time he saw him, yet that person seems to be familiar, at the same time notice Miro's cousin being annoyed and complaining to their captain.
"It seems captain Daiki called out a new batter to replace Miro…" Itsuki informed as he looked at the newcomer seriously. "Eijun… I think we should use more breaking balls with this guy" he said, turning to look at Eijun seriously while putting up his mitt.
"Huh… but why… wait, do you know this guy, Itsuki?" Eijun asked dumbfoundedly.
Itsuki nodded once, as he looked at the newcomer, who seemed to be warming up in the corner of the dugout. "His name is Hibachi Kanata, a clean up batter with Ikuei High School. They are a powerhouse in the Miyagi prefecture and have never missed to qualify in Koshien. I believe he is also a candidate for the draft pick together with Amahisa and Mei. He had also hit a homer from Mei in our Koshien performance before"
"Owhhh… but I never saw him during our time in Koshien?" Eijun seems more curious as he also turns to look at the new batter who seems to walk towards the batter box now, while also ignoring the complaining Sato to their captain.
"Ahm… I believe during your Koshien performance, their school got eliminated by Komadai, in their first match, he was the only one who had a hit from the Komadai pitcher back then, but they still got eliminated. I guess that's why you never saw him." Itsuki explained.
"I see… Well I don't know him, and whoever of such a bigshot he may be, I will follow your call, Itsuki… so just tell me where to pitch and I will deliver it" Eijun answered, grinning. Itsuki nods once, and taps his mitt in Eijun's chest once as he jog back towards the catcher's position. Eijun notices that Itsuki seems to be talking to the new batter as they easily shake hands as if introducing one another. Hmmm… I wonder how we would take this guy out… Eijun thought as he shifted dirt in the mound, trying to fix his footings. Well I don't care either way… it has been a while since I last pitched, so I would just do what I can, he thought, as he looked up and looked at the batter, then he suddenly felt a gust of wind from the batter box, as the batter seemed to be making a few swings. At the same time he could feel the sudden pressure the new guy was projecting towards him directly. Whoa… Ok… Let's get this on… as Eijun took a deep breath and looked at the batter seriously.
"Ok… Play ball!" Daiki called out, seeming pleased with what he had done, while the other BJ players on the sidelines looked annoyed.
"If anything happens, I'm shoving you under the bus…" Maki informs as he looks back towards their centerline.
"I prefer that we not just shove him down, but let that bus run him over…" Masato added while the other BJ players nodded in agreement.
"Hey… those are just morbid thoughts…" Daiki complained while still noticing an annoyed Sota. "It's fine kid, now you will see how those two make adjustments in their calls…" he informed the young batter, while the latter practically ignored him and looked out towards Eijun, while fisting his hands.
Eijun took in deep breaths, when he noticed Itsuki's first sign, it was a cutter, upper right portion of the plate for the first pitch, directly on the chest area. He dropped the rosin bag he was holding, while also fixing his footing. I wonder if Itsuki could catch my new cutter, but we never really practiced doing it… then as he looked back at his catcher, he could notice Itsuki's determination, as if telling him he was ready whatever pitch he throws. As Eijun changed his grip of the ball, he took a step back, took a deep breath, and went into his pitching form, throwing his improved cutter towards Itsuki in full force. He watched as the batter tried to swing, but as the ball was close enough, it made a sharp right course, making it seem to pass the bat and Itsuki catching the pitch, while also losing a bit of footing.
"Strike!" a unanimous call from the BJ regulars. Making the new batter take in deep breaths as he returns back to his batting position.
"That's a wicked first call, Tadano san…" he whispered, making Itsuki smile.
"Yeah… I guess, I almost did not catch it too…" he informs as he looks at the ball at his mitt. "Nice pitch Eijun!" Itsuki added as he threw the ball back, and watched Eijun grinning back at him as if proud of the pitch he had thrown. That was a bit risky, asking for the new cutter again, but I cannot let this guy think we would be holding back. Now for the second pitch… As Itsuki moved a bit in the outside part of the plate, and asked for his two seam, in the lower left portion of the plate. He watched Eijun nod in full agreement, while also dropping the rosin he was holding. Itsuki fixed his feet positioning, as he watched Eijun do his pitching form and release his two seam, but this time Kanata did not make any swing and let the ball pass, easily landing towards his mitt. "Ball!" Itsuki heard the call, making him click his tongue, so border pitches would not work with this guy, then how about… Itsuki thought as he threw the ball back towards Eijun.
Eijun was feeling his adrenaline pumping hard, as he watched Itsuki ask for a fastball, but not just any fastball, it's his rising pitch, directly at the center, making him wrinkled his forehead. I thought we were going for breaking balls, Eijun thought, but he could notice Itsuki's determination, making him grip the ball he was holding. He took in a few deep breaths, at the same time moving into his pitching windup, raising his knees high, and throwing his rising fastball on the middle upper part of the plate, as he watched the ball moved forward creating a rising motion towards his catcher, he notice the batter making a hard swing, but totally missing it as it passed the upper portion of the bat and Itsuki catching the pitch. "Strike!" As Eijun heard the call, he instinctively released the breath he took in. That was intense… he thought as he recalled feeling the gush of wind from the bat, when the batter attempted to hit his rising pitch at the same time noticing Itsuki nodding to him once while throwing the ball back.
Ok… the count now is two strikes, one ball… if we want a strike out… then the best pitch would be… Itsuki was thinking deeply, looking at Eijun closely. He is in his peak form, so I guess it would depend on me… ahhhh… screw it… imma go for it… As Itsuki moved a bit closer to the plate, positioning his mitt in the lower portion of the plate, giving his sign to Eijun and fisting his free hand. Let's do this Eijun… I will make sure to catch it!
Eijun was a bit taken back seeing the sign Itsuki gave, honestly Itsuki has around 45% chance of catching his sinking fastball based on Masato, that is also the reason they don't often use that pitch in a game since it would be hard for Itsuki to keep stopping the ball with the use of his body, but as he looked at Ituski's serious face behind his catcher mask, it made him excited if his catcher could really catch a pitch he had been having trouble catching. He took a deep breath in, as he nodded to the sign and again did his pitching windup, pulling his strength up from his legs up to his pitching arm and throwing his sinking fastball pitch directly towards the lower right portion of plate. The moment he released his pitch, he watched as the batter made a swing, but as the bat was about to make contact, the ball went down in a sinking motion, directly landing in the catcher's mitt with a loud sound.
There was a moment's silence, as the BJ players were taken back from the pitch that was thrown. "Hey! What was that pitch? Is that pitch the sinking fastball? Hey! Is that it?" Sato asked as he looked at the BJ players bewildered face.
"I see… so that was his sinking pitch…" Kanata silently said as he looked at the mound which seemed to make Eijun stand like a big giant. "That was a nice game," and as the batter looked at Itsuki, he noticed the surprised look of the catcher, looking at his mitt as if catching that pitch was also a big shock. "Hey… are you…" however before Kanata could finish his words, a very familiar and authoritative voice was heard not far away from the field.
"What are you guys doing?" Shoji asked, as he could already guess what was really going on, and was looking at his BJ captain accusingly. Beside him was Tohru smiling, while Miro seemed like he was about to murder someone. And as if on cue, everyone on the field woke up looking stupefy, almost all talking at the same time, mostly blaming the BJ captain for his carelessness.
"Tohru sempai!" Tadano called out as he immediately ran towards the BJ catcher in total shock, putting up his mitted hand and showing the baseball that Eijun just pitched. "Did you see it… I was able to catch it! I was able to catch Eijun's sinking pitch!"
Tohru smiled as he patted Tadano's head and looked out the field, as their coach seemed to be getting annoyed by his teammates, all talking at the same time and blaming their captain for the incident. "Yeah… nice work… Tadano… Eijun…" as he also turned to look at Eijun grinning while walking towards them.
"Hehehehe… did you see it, Hero sempai? Itsuki was all serious and all, that I can't even say no… and here he was saying we need to do breaking balls!" Eijun informs grinning while pointing at Itsuki who seems to be in cloud nine.
"Well I am happy for the chaos the both of you did…" as Tohru looked back towards the last batter, while the latter bowed showing respect. "Hibachi…" Tohru called out, " I believe your father is looking for you all over the place… he's in panic mode…"
"Owhhh… I'm sorry… I heard that BJ's ace was here, so I just came to look" Kanata answered as he slowly walk towards Tohru.
"Ehhhh… wait, you know him as well, Hero sempai?" Eijun asked, surprised.
"Mhmm… he comes here during school breaks, his from Miyagi and his Mister Taroh Hibachi's son, the security guard you met in your first day here…" Tohru informs, making Eijun look shocked and look back at the batter.
"Ahhhhh…. So that's why you look familiar! I mean… Hello… I am Sawamura Eijun!" Eijun greeted at the same time, introducing himself.
"Yes… Hello… My name is Hibachi Kanata, you are quite lucky to be under Doctor Yukime…" Kanata said while smiling.
"Huh! Really…" but as Eijun was about to ask more, he heard sister Nina calling him from the entrance of the field, making the other players also turn towards their direction.
"Ahhhh… seems like your break is over Eijun…" Tohru informs as he smiles back at his wife waving towards him.
"Owhhh yeah… crap… Imma just get my stuff sister Nina!" Eijun yelled as he run towards the BJ dugout maneuvering around his BJ seniors.
"Break? Wait… I thought Eijun is healed now? Why is Eijun with your wife Tohru sempai, and not with Seido?" Tadano asked, confused as he watched Eijun scramble to get his stuff.
"You should ask him…" Tohru smiled as he put his arm around the young player Hibachi, "common kid, let me introduce you to the others…" he added while winking at Tadano, making Itsuki confused and following his senior catcher from behind.
"Cap I need to go…" Eijun informs his BJ teammates, making the players look back at him and stop crowding their coach.
"Owh… wait Sawamura… I need to talk to you for a bit, let's walk towards the car… and as for you guys! Start warming up…" Mihashi ordered as he looked at his players who all seemed displeased with the idea.
As both Coach Mihashi and Sawamura started to walk towards the field exit, Eijun noticed sister Nina waving indicating she would go ahead, and wait in the car, which made him confused, considering they were all going in the same direction. "Ehhh… sister Nina?" Eijun called out, but the latter just smiled, as she walk ahead towards the dome exit.
"She might want us to talk privately. I already told her this idea, however I want your view on this Sawamura…" Coach Mihashi started as he was walking beside Sawamura.
"Huh?" as Eijun looked beside him, noticing the somber look of his BJ coach, and as if on cue, he remembered the tension he felt when they were talking to his Seido coaches. "Ahm… is something the matter, coach?" he asked, feeling a bit nervous.
"Hmmmm… it is not that much of a big deal, but you see… Sawamura… I know about your plan in regards to the advancement exam." as Mihashi still did not look at the young pitcher, but instead was looking up front, "You see… I have a friend who is one of the administrators of the advancement exams this year, and it seems there is an open spot this coming weekend. I was thinking of putting your name in."
The moment Eijun heard the advancement exam, and this coming weekend, he started to feel cold sweat running down his spine. "But but…wait coach… I have not fully studied yet…" Sawamura informed nervously as he could remember the topic he read on his notes, and could barely even understand it. "I don't want to just suddenly take the exam unprepared…"
Shoji slightly laughed seeing Sawamura's panic state, "I know about that Sawamura, and I already told Nina about this, but the exam you would be talking about is more like a preview of what you could expect from the advancement exam you plan to take this coming fall. If you do pass this exam by some miracle, then well in good, but if you fail, it would be ok… it would not affect your future yet." As Shoji stopped his walk and looked at the young pitcher seriously, "I want you to be serious in this Sawamura, because this will be your future, I want you on my team…"
The moment Eijun heard those words 'I want you on my team' he suddenly felt relieved, at the same time proud that someone would actually want him to pitch, as his eyes were starting to tear up, he watched his BJ coach smile wholehearted and said "but this is your future Sawamura. Whatever happens… I want you to know I would give my full support to you…" as he felt his hands on his shoulders as if pushing him to try his best. "Yes sir! I will do my best!" he answered in full joy, as he immediately bowed to show respect, and then ran towards Nina's vehicle parked not far from the stadium's entrance.
"Good luck Sawamura!" Shoji called out the moment Eijun ran away from him, as he also noticed the tears starting to form from the young BJ ace.
Eijun took one look back, took another bow and went towards the vehicle feeling more motivated than ever. As he opened the back door, he put in his bag carefully, then moved towards the front seat, sensing the eyes of Nina watching him closely. "I think I can focus on studying now sister Nina…" Eijun commented smiling, while putting on his seat belts. "Thank you for taking me here" he added softly, at the same time, he could sense the vehicle had started to move.
"Mhm… I figured you were getting stressed… especially after healing and all…" Nina commented, then as she made a quick glance towards Sawamura, she noticed the determined look on the young pitcher's face, making her smile. "By the way, Eijun… the sign you and the Inashiro catcher use is different from the sign that you and Hero use?" she asked curiously.
"Owhhh… hmmm… yes… you see Itsuki said it would be best for us to make our own signs, but we still do use Hero senpais basic signs like for fastballs and stuff" Eijun answered innocently, not noticing the glint of mischievousness in Nina's eyes.
"Interesting, then is it different as well with your Seido catcher?"
Eijun thought deeply before answering, "Yes… Totally different, Sister Yukime said I should not incorporate my Seido signs with BJ since they are different teams."
"Then what about the coaches? Does coach Shoji and your Seido Coach use different signs as well for making plays?" Nina asked.
"Yes… totally different… it's like more out of this world considering how many signs coach Shoji had me memorize…" As Eijun could remember the spartan training he had the first few weeks he had with BJ, and the number of signs he needed to learn, especially when they were fielding with the whole team. "That is also different from the signs I need to make when doing my slower fastballs, so that the fielders would know where to position…" he added at the same time shivering on the thought of going through that again.
"Really?" Nina asked excitedly, making Eijun turn to look at her, and noticed the delight in her face, at the same time making him feel cautious. "Ahmm… yes…" he answered tentatively.
"I knew it… I noticed it when you were pitching with that Inashiro catcher, and when you pitched with Hero at home… Eijun! I think you can pass the exam on your first try, to those guys who ever called you stupid… that was not true, in fact it is far from the truth…I swear I will make those guys pay… It's a good thing that this year's advancement exam has more memorization… I just need to make adjustments to your materials… Oh my gosh! I am so excited! We need to get home quickly and try it!" At the same time Nina accelerated her vehicle making Eijun grip his seatbelt for dear life.
"Wait wait… sister Nina… you're going fast!" Eijun panicked as he could sense the same driving he always had with Doc Yukime. "Wait Wait!" Eijun cried, but Nina ignored him as she excitedly drove home full speed ahead.
A/N : Guys guys! I just wanted to say that our favorite is getting a new season animated... I am sure a lot of us would already be updated about it... But I just wanted to share just in case not everyone knows it yet! I cannot wait to see our Sawamura take the mound again against Sankou!... Anyways... Stay Healthy and peaceout! Love you lots everyone!