Hello there! I hope you enjoyed my double update. I wanted to do it that way because the yips arc is so depressing and I didn't want to give you something depressing after so many months without updating.
Chapter 15 was fun to write and damn that Mei, right? He has excellent timing. We'll see if his excellent timing continues…
This chapter was fun to write. We're going to have more and more of MiyuAzu moments as the story progresses because they will be both coming into their own in their respective roles.
As always, thank you for your support.
I apologize for any grammar mistakes beforehand.
Disclaimer: I don't own Daiya No Ace. Yuji Terajima does. I only own my OC.
Enjoy and stay safe!
Chapter 16: Jinx
Hope.
Relief.
Excitement.
Those were all the things that Azusa was feeling now that the fall tournament was upon them. None of which she ever imagined feeling if you were to ask her just a mere week ago. But after having that retirement game with the third-years, the team was feeling reinvigorated. The third-years showed the team the right path so they could start coming into their own just before the fall tournament began.
After having a private discussion, the air in the atmosphere changed. She didn't know what happened but the team revitalized and led Miyuki to propose a new goal:
To win the fall tournament.
The initial reaction was skepticism at the ambition of Miyuki's plan. That much she could gather But Miyuki lit a fire in the team that brought everyone on board. She didn't know what words he used, but somehow it all worked. At least for now.
They had to win.
That's the feeling she got.
The stakes were too high. Even higher than last time. They needed to win for the sake of the third-years who deserved to go to koshien and finally get the championship title.
The stakes were too high but Azusa wasn't nervous at all. For the first time after their crushing defeat in the summer tournament, she saw that the team had the chance to go at the top. The summer tournament was the first time in six years that Seido actually made it to the finals. So this fall tournament was going to be the first time in six years that Seido was going to win the final match and go to Koshien.
They were going to have to make it.
And she was going to do her best to become the best manager and help the team.
It also didn't hurt that she was feeling extra motivated and confident after spending her birthday with Miyuki. Not only did she accomplish her goal of giving Miyuki a distraction so he could relax. She also had a great day with him and made precious memories with him. She also had her first almost first kiss with him…
That part wasn't so fun since it was bittersweet. She was so close… So close! He was totally going to kiss her. Totally…
'Right? He was totally going to kiss me!' she started to doubt herself. All this time, she was sure that they were about to kiss but now she was unsure. What if… What if it was just the product of her imagination and he was not going in for the kiss?
Was that it? Did she imagine things? Azusa started panicking. If he was not thinking of kissing her then she made a fool of herself right in front of him.
'Kami-sama, did I look like a fool? Did I do something embarrassing? Did I close my eyes like an idiot? Oh, why can't I remember now?' she whined to herself. 'This is all Mei's fault. That idiot! If he wouldn't have interrupted us then I wouldn't be having doubts wondering if it was an almost kiss or not.'
Soon her inner turmoil turned into anger as she gritted her teeth and clenched her fist in anger.
'I'm going to kill him next time I see him.'
"Azu-chan?" the manager heard a masculine voice call out her name.
"Yes?" she asked, immediately unclenching her first and relaxing her jaw to flash an innocent smile to her favorite catcher.
Miyuki blinked in confusion. "Are you okay? Don't be spacing out on me."
"I'm fine," Azusa replied with an awkward laugh.
The catcher narrowed his eyes and then pointed towards the entrance of the building where the Fall Tournament lottery drawings were going to take place. "We're here. Let's go."
Azusa nodded and followed Miyuki down the hall towards the room where the lottery was taking place. This was the place where each representative of a baseball team, usually always the captain, would draw a lottery ball number to determine in which block their team would be placed in. Once determined, each team would find out who they were playing against in the fall tournament.
Miyuki had invited her to go with him and she couldn't have been happier so she accepted in a heartbeat.
The room was packed with people such as team captains, national baseball organizers, and the press of course. They found two free seats in the middle row and sat down to wait for their turn.
"Which bracket do you think we'll get?" Azusa asked Miyuki.
The catcher shrugged. "Dunno," he replied. "But you better hope that it's not a hard one," he then added with a teasing grin.
Azusa narrowed her eyes at him. "Why not?" she asked, getting the impression that he was referring to something else.
"Well, I brought you here because I tend to have terrible luck when it comes to these things," Miyuki explained. "So you're my good luck charm so to speak. So you better hope that we get an easy bracket so no one gets mad at me back on campus. Otherwise, I'll blame you!" he revealed with a cackle.
The manager glared at him. "So, that's why you invited me? To use me as a scapegoat," she let out an indignant gasp.
"Scapegoat sounds too harsh… I already said that you're my good luck charm."
"Nonsense!" Azusa maintained. "You're just using me, you manipulative tanuki."
Miyuki shot her a disapproving glare. "What kind of way is that to speak to your senpai?"
"You're no senpai," she scoffed.
"Yakushi High School!" One of the event organizers called out the school's name so their representative could draw a lot.
Soon after that, Yakushi's ace Sanada Shunpei got up from his seat in the front row and went up to the stage to draw a lot from a small rectangular wooden box that sat on top of a desk being watched by an event organizer.
He got number five and Yakushi's bracket was determined soon after.
Other schools were called out first and Azusa was getting impatient.
"When are they-"
"Seido High School!"
'About time,' the manager thought in annoyance.
Miyuki smirked at her. "Wish me luck," he said, before getting up from his chair and making his way down the corridor and up the stage.
Azusa was crossing her fingers for him and reciting prayers for him. She hoped to get a good bracket so the rest of the team wouldn't hate them. But most importantly wouldn't hate her, Miyuki was sort of a lost cause.
Once Miyuki made his way to the stage, he drew a lot and got number seventeen.
Azusa smiled, feeling pleased with herself. It had to be a good bracket. Seventeen had to be his lucky number since his birthday was on November seventeenth. It made perfect sense, right? It was a sign, right?
Right?
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o
"That's the worst possible bracket ever!" the manager exclaimed in dismay.
"Tell me about it," Miyuki joined in with a cheeky smile, while they just reached the campus and were on their way to their meeting room. "What am I supposed to tell everyone when we're back? This is all your fault!"
Azusa gasped in horror. "How is this my fault?"
"You jinxed me!"
"No, I did not!"
"Yes, you did!"
"How? I didn't draw anything!" the manager argued.
Miyuki narrowed his brown eyes on her. "Precisely," he said. "That's how a jinx is supposed to work. Are you okay? Are you spending too much time with Sawamura?"
Azusa looked away so he couldn't see the blush gracing her features. "S-shut up," she retorted lamely.
The catcher started snickering. "Are you really this gullible?" he cackled. "I'm just kidding, silly."
Azusa spared a glance at him and then quickly looked away, still feeling embarrassed and pouting. "You're not funny, baka."
Miyuki grinned at her. "I don't care about the bracket," he said, rather serious this time around. "Our goal is still the same; go to Koshien."
Azusa met his gaze and glanced at him over. "You sound very determined," she observed. "More determined than usual," she added. "Did something happen?"
The manager's question took him by surprise, judging by his shocked expression but then grinned again. "And now it seems like you're spending too much with Kuramochi too because that's very observant of you."
Azusa smirked to herself. "So does that mean that I'm right?" she asked. "Something did happen?"
Miyuki stayed quiet for a few moments before speaking up. "Yes, something did happen," he confirmed.
"What happened?" she asked, almost instantly. The curiosity was killing her.
Miyuki took a deep breath. "Don't tell anyone, okay?" he began.
The manager nodded. "I won't," she replied, her heart racing with anticipation.
"The coach is leaving after the fall tournament," Miyuki revealed with a solemn expression.
"What?" Azusa exclaimed, panicked. "Why?"
Miyuki pursed his lips. "We think that's his way of taking responsibility for our loss this summer," he explained.
The manager shook her head in disbelief. "But it's not fair," she said. "We were so close," Azusa continued. "And it was Seido's first time in years of playing in the finals of the summer tournament. We wouldn't have been able to do that without him."
"I know," Miyuki said in agreement. "Which is why we have to win the fall tournament. There is no other option. If we win then he is going to have to stay. There is no reason for him to leave just because we lost the summer tournament."
"You're right," Azusa said with the same determined tone Miyuki used earlier. "There is no other option. We can't let him leave," she added, and then she started panicking. "Oh no, and we have the most difficult bracket ever!" Azusa exclaimed in shock. "And it's so important to win. What are we going to do? Is it really my fault?" she started rambling.
Miyuki grabbed her shoulder. "We're fine," he said in a reassuring tone. "I was just joking. It's not your fault. It's nobody's fault," he continued. "It doesn't matter which bracket we get. Our goal is still the same, remember? And besides, isn't this way more exciting?" the catcher asked with a cheeky grin.
Azusa let out a shaky breath. "You never change, do you?"
"Never."
"What are you two dilly daddling for?" They both heard Kuramochi call out. He was standing just outside the meeting room with a scowl on his face wearing a dark blue t-shirt and grey sweatpants. "We've been waiting for you."
Miyuki snickered to himself as he hurried towards the meeting room, leaving Azusa who was mildly nervous behind. Once they went in, Kuramochi sat down with Zono, Shirasu, Asou, and Higasa behind him.
"So what did we get?" Kuramochi asked in a business-like tone.
"Azusa?" Miyuki nudged her on the shoulder.
She looked at him confused and then blushed in embarrassment when she realized that she had the sheet of paper with their bracket information. "I'm sorry," she said sheepishly to Miyuki. "Here you go, Kuramochi-senpai," The manager then turned ahead to him and slid the paper down the table.
Kuramochi took it, muttering a quick "thanks" under his breath and his eyes started to dart across the paper. Azusa noticed his expression turning sour as he started to laugh nervously before looking up.
"Our first opponent is Teito?" he asked, sounding dismayed. "We're in the worst possible bracket. Your luck at drawing is so unreliable," the shortstop added, glaring at the catcher.
Miyuki laughed. "Isn't it exciting?" the catcher asked, sounding as confident as ever.
"It's not funny!" Kuramochi exclaimed. "This is all your fault!"
"Me?" Miyuki said in an innocent fake tone. "But it was not me. I swear. It was all Azu-chan's fault! She was the one who jinxed me," he said, pointing at the manager.
Azusa gasped, feeling betrayed 'After saying that it was not my fault, that bastard!"
The manager glared at the sneaky treacherous catcher. "How did I jinx you when you told me that you brought me along because you have terrible luck when it comes to these things?"
Miyuki shrugged. "Because you didn't do anything to fix my terrible luck," he replied as if it was obvious.
"I knew it! You just wanted to use me as a scapegoat! She exclaimed, clenching her fists in anger.
Now it was Miyuki's turn to let out a dramatic gasp. "How dare you accuse me of doing something like that?" he asked, feigning offense. "I'd never stoop that low."
Kuramochi scoffed. "Who are you trying to convince Miyuki?"
"As if someone would ever believe you," Zono joined in with the skepticism.
"Stop teasing poor Narumiya-san," Shirasu chastised.
"Yes, you know how easily she gets riled up," Asou added.
Azusa beamed and her chest filled with warmth as she heard how her actual senpai defended her and were behaving as senpai should. At least they were reliable, unlike a certain catcher.
"And besides," Kuramochi started to say. "You two were both there so you're both at fault!" he determined.
Azusa's smile faltered and quickly turned into a frown.
'Reliable? Ha! They're worse than Kazuya. At least he always shows his true colors.'
0o0o0o0o0o0o0
After she ended her argument with Miyuki, the team quickly switched gears and focused all of their attention on the first match that they were going to have against Teito High School. Teito was one of the tournament's favorites since they were a great team who had gone to nationals multiple times in the last couple of years. Even their current battery Mukai and Inui were at nationals last year.
Seido definitely had their work cut out for them.
Beating Mukai who was an excellent sidearm pitcher with his ultra-precise control was not going to be an easy feat. It was intimidating. But it was as Miyuki said. It doesn't matter who they are playing against. Their goal remains the same: win the fall tournament and go to Koshien in the spring.
The situation could've been worse. The team could've still be lost like before. But now they have found their footing, and the team was starting to feel more cohesive. Furuya is doing great and Sawamura has been making strides with his outer corner pitches. However, Sawamura's new pitch was not going to be enough and without his inside pitches then the team would've been in trouble.
But perhaps that would've been better.
"What do you think of my new pitch?" Sawamura asked everyone in excitement.
He had just displayed a sad and pathetic display of a sidearm pitch.
"What the hell are you thinking?" Azusa thought in frustration.
The coach was starting to lecture Sawamura and called him a clown in front of everyone. The team just laughed at him and dismissed him, taking cues from both the coach and Miyuki. There was no way that no one could take him seriously.
But that idiot southpaw didn't seem to realize that by trying to become a sidearm pitcher he was telling everyone that he had given up.
Azusa shook her head in disbelief. She thought that she had convinced him to let that stupid idea go.
But it seems that she needed to work on her persuasive skills.
'Maybe I should check on him before joining the girls,' Azusa thought before making her way to the indoor training facilities. She could hear Sawamura's screams from out far every time he pitched. She wondered who was the poor soul who had the task of catching his pitches. Was it Kanemaru? Or perhaps Kariba?
"Don't be shy! Say it loud and clear please!" she heard him yell which piqued her interest even more.
'He wouldn't say that to either Kanemaru or Kariba, right? Is there someone else with him ?' the manager picked up the pace to reach her destination faster.
Once the training room into view, she smiled to herself in satisfaction. Gearing herself up to say hi to Sawamura.
"Why don't you become a sidearm pitcher instead?" the manager heard an older gravely masculine voice asked.
She decided not to step in and hid herself to see what was going on.
As predicted, Sawamura was not alone. Kariba was in his catcher gear standing on the opposite end while the new assistant coach Ochiai was nonchalantly caressing his beard closer to the entrance.
"That way you can become a practice pitcher for the team," Ochiai continued. "Didn't you say that you wanted to do anything to help the team? At this level, this is the only thing you could do."
Sawamura gasped and then looked down as Azusa silently fumed.
'I hope he is not even considering it,' the blonde thought to herself.
"Think about it. You'll be more useful this way," Ochiai said dismissively before turning his heel and leaving the two players shocked.
Azusa bit her lip to keep herself from lashing out and just watched silently as Ochiai left in the opposite direction. Once the coast was clear, she stormed into the indoor training area.
"Sawamura!" she exclaimed, marching in with clenched fists. "Wipe that expression off from your face!" she demanded.
The southpaw yelled in surprise. "What are you doing here blondie-chan?"
"Yes, when did you get here Narumiya-san?" Kariba asked, equally surprised.
"Nevermind that!" she shook her head. "There are more important things at stake here," Azusa continued. "Like your practice."
Sawamura blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"
"It means to continue with what you're doing," Azusa clarified.
"But-"
"But nothing," the manager cut him off. "Don't listen to that old man. Just keep doing what you've been doing unless you want to pay the consequences, " she insisted.
Sawamura looked at her unsure of himself, which Azusa hated. He was just getting his confidence back and now thanks to that new coach his self-confidence took a hit.
"Becoming a sidearm pitcher won't benefit you in the slightest, alright?" she tried, hoping that she got through to him.
But it seems like it didn't work as shown with his latest antics.
This is all her fault. She should've explained to him why following Ochai's idea was bad in a more detailed manner. She decided against it because she didn't want to overload him with information but that was the wrong approach.
"Did you give up, Sawamura?" she heard the coach ask him.
'This is what I was trying to tell you, baka,' she pouted to herself.
But she couldn't blame him completely. He was influenced by someone who is supposed to help him. By someone who is supposed to be older and wiser. By someone who is supposed to be the new assistant's coach. Why wouldn't he listen to Ochiai?
She quickly glanced at the new coach and then quickly looked away. 'I don't trust him,' she determined. He was not to be trusted at all. He gave her a bad feeling with that nonchalant and aloof look that he had all day. What was his deal and what he was trying to accomplish by thwarting Sawamura's efforts?
This was not good at all and she needed to talk to Miyuki about it.
She was sure that he was going to know what to do.
'Ne, Miyuki-senpai?" Azusa quietly called out before he left the dugout.
The catcher turned around in curiosity. "What is it?" he asked.
"Well, I-"
"Miyuki!" Coach Kataoka's loud booming voice interrupted them.
Miyuki shot her apologetic look. "I have to go," he said with a sheepish smile.
"Okay…," she said, mildly disappointed. "Talk later?" she suggested.
He nodded. "We'll talk later," he said in agreement, before leaving the dugout to talk to the coach.
"We'll talk later then."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
'It sounded as if those were his last words,' Azusa thought after everyone dispersed to go back to the dorms. The coach had just announced the line-up for tomorrow's match and told everyone to believe in their skills as a way to motivate and invigorate the team.
Needless to say that it worked. The heavy tension in the air was lifted since everyone was concerned about tomorrow's match, considering how Teito was a powerhouse team. They were not the team that you wanted to face off in the first round. But the coach was right. They were overestimating their opponent and nothing good can ever come out of that.
Azusa had a good feeling about tomorrow. Something was telling her that they would be alright.
However, there was something still nagging at her in the back of her mind.
Sawamura… Well, more like Coach Ochiai's treatment of Sawamura.
That sneaky coach is not to be trusted. The way he manipulated Sawamura to become a practice pitcher and derail him from his road to recovery was suspicious at least. What was his end goal? If Sawamura doesn't recover soon from the yips then the team would lose a valuable pitcher. Couldn't that coach see that? That's why Azusa wanted to speak to Miyuki earlier and nothing is going to stop her from doing so now.
"Well, that is if he shows up," Azusa grumbled to herself.
She was sitting down on a bench in the area farthest away from the common training ground per Miyuki's instructions since he told her to wait for him there. After the coach dismissed the team, she spotted the catcher on his way out of the training indoor facility and quickly made her way to him to catch up to him.
He nonchalantly just told her to wait for him since he needed to do something first. But it's been over fifteen minutes and Azusa was starting to run out of patience.
"Where is that tardy catcher?" she exclaimed.
She suddenly felt a pat on her head.
"I just know that you're not talking about me?" she heard Miyuki say from behind her in a disapproving tone.
The manager turned around to meet the catcher's cheeky grin. He was still in his uniform and had his bat resting on his shoulder.
"What took you so long?" she asked with a scowl.
"What do you think?" he replied with a question of his own while pointing to the bat.
Azusa narrowed her blue eyes at him. "You're going to keep practicing ?"
"Practice makes perfect," Miyuki said, walking away from behind her and went around the bench to face her from a safe distance so he wouldn't accidentally hit her with the bat.
He positioned himself in a batting position and started to swing his bat.
"So am I here to watch you practice?" Azusa snorted.
"You wanted to talk, right?" he said haughtily. "Then talk. I can swing and listen at the same time," he added, in between swings.
Azusa scoffed while she rolled her eyes. "This is rude," she quipped. "But I'll overlook it since you're the captain and you don't have much time in your hands."
"I'm glad that you understand," Miyuki said in a sarcastic tone.
"Anytime," she matched his tone before composing herself. "What I wanted to talk to you about was Sawamura."
"What about him other than being stupid?" Miyuki asked. "I don't know what he was thinking with the little stunt that he pulled earlier today."
"That's the thing," she said, glad that he mentioned it. "It wasn't even his idea."
The catcher stopped briefly, showing curiosity at this new development for him. "That sort of makes sense because it's Sawamura after all," he said, taking in the information. "But who would suggest such a ridiculous idea ?"
"It was Coach Ochiai," Azusa revealed as she crossed her arms across her chest. "I was there when he suggested it to bakamura."
This time around, Miyuki stopped altogether and stared blankly into space while he stayed quiet for a few moments.
"Ka-"
"I guess it shouldn't be surprising," the catcher finally said and then glanced back at her. "He sort of let me know about his policy. So it's not that far-fetched."
Azusa lightly gasped. "What kind of policy?"
Miyuki let out a sigh as he rubbed his temples tiredly. "Back when Furuya completely shut down during that one match, remember that?" he asked and Azusa nodded. "He approached both Furuya and I late after practice and told us that he would've never pulled Furuya from the game."
Azusa blinked in confusion. "What? But Furuya was having a bad day. If he would've kept playing then that would let the opposing team know about all of our weaknesses."
"I know," the catcher said in agreement. "But he told us that he doesn't pull the ace away from the mound no matter what."
The manager scoffed again. "So, he's that type of coach ?" she asked. "The type to sacrifice the entire team just because he prioritizes the ace?"
Miyuki nodded. "Basically," he confirmed. "What you just told me cements the fact that he has an obvious preference for Furuya."
"Unbelievable!" Azusa exclaimed. "Where the hell did the school find this coach?"
"I don't know but I did find it odd from the moment he was introduced to us that they hired him since he is not even an alumnus. But now it's obvious."
"What do you mean?" she asked in curiosity.
"This guy is supposed to be the coach's replacement in the spring."
Azusa gasped again. Feeling both shocked and embarrassed. How could've she not put two and two together before? "We're going to be stuck with him?" she asked in horror once the realization sunk in.
"Of course not," Miyuki replied in a decisive tone and then started swinging his bat again. "That's why we're going to win. If we win the tournament then the coach won't leave and coach Ochiai won't be our new coach."
The manager stayed quiet for a bit while she stared at Miyuki practice his swing decisively. That confidence that coach Kataoka instilled in them slightly vanishing away and being replaced by nervousness. She remembered that the stakes were way higher than last time yet again. But she fought against those nagging thoughts of insecurity and tried to remain strong. Miyuki was not budging an inch in his resolve and neither was she.
"Y'know Kazuya? This reminds me of when were kids," Azusa finally spoke up. "You used to practice by the river and I used to watch until sundown."
Miyuki chuckled at the memory. "Yes, you used me to get away from Mei," he quipped.
Azusa pouted. "It was not only because of that," she said. "I also did it because I knew that if I left you to your own devices you would've been there all night."
The catcher made a dismissive sound. "I've never been that bad."
"Back then you sort of were," she said in a teasing tone. "But you've grown since then… In every sense," she continued with a smug smirk.
Miyuki scoffed. "Stop, I'm not that scrawny short kid anymore."
"Who said anything about that?" she feigned innocence. "I was just referring to that you've matured a tiny bit," Azusa explained. "But you might regress if you don't stop for tonight. Rest is also important, remember?" she added with a teasing grin.
Miyuki's lips curved into a grin as well at the last part. "I know," he conceded, finding the irony in her advice. He says that to both Sawamura and Furuya all the time. "But I'm part of the clean-up batting line- up now. I can't afford to just be good when there are runners on bases."
"I know you have to improve," the manager said in agreement. "But that doesn't mean that you don't need your rest."
Miyuki didn't say anything for a moment and let out a sigh of defeat. "Twenty more swings?" he offered, putting his bat down.
Azusa gave him a small smile as she shook her head. "Forget about what I said," she said between giggles. "You haven't changed," the manager continued. "You used to do the same thing back when we were kids too."
Miyuki pouted. "Oh, c'mon just twenty more."
The blonde shook her head. "Ten."
"Fifteen," the catcher counter-offered.
"Ten and that's final," Azusa said in a firm tone. "We can't have the captain injure himself, can't we?"
Miyuki slumped his shoulders in defeat. "Of course not," he conceded once again, before resuming his batting position. "Fine, ten it is then."
"And after that, you hit the showers and go to bed. You don't have to worry about me," Azusa ordered. "After all, we have a big day tomorrow."
Yes, she did have a good feeling about tomorrow after all. on