Chapter 30 : VS Osaka Kiryuu III
"Don't be like that, Jun-senpai." Hiroto sighed helplessly, rubbing the spot Isashiki had just slapped. "I am just lucky the new pitcher is not completely into the game yet. If I was in Miyuki's position right now, I don't know whether I could do it again or not."
"Don't be modest, Hiroto" Tetsu patted his back reassuringly. "Don't underestimate yourself. You are the second-best hitter on the team, and everyone has already acknowledged it. Hell, we don't know for sure, maybe you have already passed me as the number one slugger of the team."
"No way!" Hiroto shook his head rapidly. "I am still far from you, Senpai!"
"Don't be too modest, Hiro-chan," Masuko repeated Tetsu's words. "We don't know for sure about that. Maybe, we can test it in the batting cage later."
"Hey, that's a good idea." Tetsu nodded.
"That would be interesting! Count me in!" Isashiki grinned.
Hiroto could only shake his head helplessly Sometimes, he felt his senpai was overly enthusiastic. Not that he minded, though. It was what made this time lively. But to be the target of the senpai who had always been everyone's target was not something he was eager for.
The moment he entered the dugouts, Hiroto was greeted by the other players who congratulated him with excitement. It was not often for a grand slam to happen in a game, so to witness it live, not to mention it was for their team, no one would blame their reaction now.
"Good job, Hiroto!"
"What a grand slam! As expected of you!"
"Oi, Miyuki! Don't waste the chance everyone gives, okay?"
"Yeah! Keep scoring! Let's overturn the score!"
Miyuki who heard that could only smile wryly as the pressure was on his shoulder. "If only scoring would be that easy." He sighed, then turned to Hiroto and asked, "Any tips for this new pitcher?"
Hiroto pondered for a moment before saying, "The height would create a tricky angle, and the combination between his slow windup and nasty slider would mess up your timing. Be careful with it."
"Got it!" Miyuki nodded, putting his helm on while walking toward the box.
Unfortunately, Miyuki couldn't follow the wave of offense that had started aggressively earlier. After the grand slam from Hiroto earlier, the new pitcher was completely locked into the game, not affected by the addition of four runs he caused for the opponent as he threw another nasty ball calmly to Miyuki. While he was able to hit the ball, the catcher wasn't fast enough to get to the base safely as the ball only rolled down weakly to the direction of the pitcher.
While Shirasu was able to get a hit and go to the base safely, unfortunately, Sakai's grounder was too weak to let him go to the second base successfully as he was caught by between the first baseman and the second baseman after they sent out the designated hitter first, resulting in a double play which also ended Seido's offense.
A disappointing result, of course. However, to be able to tie the score in just one inning was enough to lift up the morale of the team.
"Okay, it is time to go! Furuya, don't mess this up! Let them hit the ball, we will be there to cover you!" Isashiki slapped the pitcher's back, encouraging him.
"Yeah, Furuya! Listen to what Dad said!" Ryousuke added mischievously.
"Yea, EH?! Dad?! What do you mean by that, Ryousuke?! You bastard!" Isashiki roared amidst the laughter of the others.
The pressure that could be seen bothering Furuya since the beginning of the game ebbed away as the mood was lightened up. At first, when no one encouraged or said anything when his situation was bad, he thought it was just like when he was in middle school again, that he would be abandoned by everyone. He was relieved it was the opposite, that the others didn't say anything because they trusted him to get out of his struggle soon.
"Are you good?" Miyuki asked.
"Yeah." Furuya nodded. "Never been better."
The genuine smile on Furuya's usual flat face still took Miyuki aback. But this was a good improvement. It meant the Hokkaido pitcher started to get out of his shell and feel comfortable with the team.
"Good! You might have one or two more innings before Kataoka-sensei replaces you, so don't waste it."
Hearing that, Furuya turned around to see Kataoka, just to find out the coach was still staring at the field, nothing could be seen behind those dark sunglasses. To be honest, this was the first time Furuya had ever thought of what would be inside the coach's mind. However, nothing came to his mind, as Kataoka with his dark sunglasses would always radiate the mysterious aura that enhanced his charisma, hence making him untouchable in Furuya's mind.
Furuya was grateful though, for Kataoka's trust even though he messed up big earlier.
"Let's go! The umpire had already asked us to come."
Furuya nodded, walking to the mound calmly. Unlike the four innings before, he felt a strange calmness the moment he stood on the mound. There was a different feeling this time as he knew awesome players were defending his back. Knowing that, Furuya took a deep breath, his eyes were completely locked into Miyuki's mitt.
BAM!
"BALL!"
His first pitch was bad. The speed was way lower than before, and he released the ball a bit too late, making it hit the dirt, showing how exhausted he was already. If it was the inning before, Furuya would be bothered that the batter didn't even bat his eyes on his pitch. But now, he put all of his concentration on Miyuki's mitt, unwavering by his bad result.
When he saw the sign Miyuki gave for the next pitch, Furuya grinned, blood rushed in excitement.
'Sawamura is right. This Tanuki bastard is crazy. To ask me to throw the ball in the same direction as it was before when the previous one was bad, he sure has no fear at all.'
Furuya himself was never a pitcher who backed down from a challenge. With full of confidence, he threw another ball in the same direction. While the speed didn't change too much, he adjusted the route well enough, giving the illusion that it was an easy ball for the batter.
Clank!
Even though the ball was hit pretty high, it didn't go too far, only a few feet from the first base. If it fell to the ground, it would land in the foul zone, so Tetsu who was the closest there tracked the ball all the time before catching it easily.
"OUT!"
"YOSSHA!"
"Nice catch, Tetsu! As expected from the captain!"
"Good job to you too, Furuya!"
After sending the first player out, the rest was easy for Furuya. He only took three pitches to send out the last two, one with a weak grounder to the first base that once again was handled by Tetsu, and the other was a tricky liner that was caught with a super dive by Kuramochi before it could go to the outfield.
"Good job!" Miyuki patted Furuya's chest with his mitt. "That's how you should pitch the ball. Not everyone has to be sent out with a strikeout, you know? You need to learn how to preserve your energy!"
Furuya nodded, knowing that Miyuki was right. He grabbed an isotonic drink from the ground and drank all of it before falling to his seat, trying to replenish his energy as much as possible. Even though he knew Sawamura was ready to go and there was a big chance he would be replaced, as long as he was still on the mound, Furuya would always go with all his strength.
Unfortunately, he only got a short time to rest as the three batters from Seido weren't able to go to the first base safely. Kuramochi's fly ball was caught by the catcher not too far from the batter's box, while Ryousuke was struck out in the eleventh ball after keep battling and fouling every ball possible. As for Isashiki, due to his aggressiveness, he was struck out immediately with just four balls. All in all, this inning was a disappointment for Seido.
"How is it?" Tetsu asked Ryousuke. "Is it difficult?"
"Not really." Ryousuke shrugged. "The pitcher has a strange pattern whenever he throws the ball. Whenever he did a slow windup, he would go for a breaking ball, and he had a nasty slider and sweeper in his arsenal which was annoying enough to mess up with your timing. But if you looked at him carefully, you would notice that in his windup, that pitcher would raise his non-pivotal leg higher, slightly above his abdomen whenever he wanted to throw a sweeper, so be careful."
If anyone from the Osaka Kiryuu heard that analysis, they would be stunned, then thought Ryousuke had already spied and gathered information about the new pitcher, Genji Iwamura for a long time to draw that precise conclusion. However, no one in Seido's dugout was surprised by Ryousuke's analysis. Well, no one except for Haruichi, Sawamura, and Furuya who were still getting used to the rhythm of the team, of course.
They didn't know that Ryousuke had a unique role when he was in the batter box. If Kuramochi was able to get to the base safely, he would pressure the opponent's pitcher by keep hitting foul balls and giving the shortstop chances to steal the base as far as possible. But when there was no runner on the base, his role was to observe the pitcher's weakness by keep hitting foul balls until the information he gathered was enough to help the team.
Both roles required him to keep swinging the ball to the foul area, something that would be impossible to do without good hand-eye coordination. However, this was Ryousuke's strongest area, and no one was more suitable for this role except him. Whenever he had enough information, the pink-haired second baseman would voluntarily get struck out by the opponent's pitcher to rely on the information, letting Tetsu and the other heavy hitters be the cannon to kill the game.
"Well, that's good, but we still have to defend first." Isashiki interrupted. "Let's go! The umpire had already waited for us. Let's finish this inning as soon as possible first, okay?"
"Sure."
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Furuya took his breath, his hand trembled slightly. He had always thought he had the nerve of steel and would never feel nervous, yet here he was, couldn't control his emotion well even though he was on the mound. And no, it wasn't because the opponent he would face was tough or because this would probably be his last chance on the mound today. Instead, it was the outrageous request from Miyuki that made her feel excited.
"Hey, Furuya! Didn't I tell you before the hell week to practice pitching with the ball placed between your fingers?" Miyuki asked. "Why don't we try if you could throw that or not later?"
To have the courage to ask a freshman to try a new pitch in his second game, if he didn't know better, Furuya would think there was something wrong inside Miyuki's head. However, it seemed he didn't know his senpai well enough, as after seeing the more outrageous signal the catcher threw for the first pitch, Furuya was convinced Miyuki should go to asylum.
'Seriously?' Furuya raised his eyebrow slightly, communicating silently.
'Trust me, it will work.' Miyuki nodded, convincing him once again.
Furuya turned his glance for a second toward the batter he would face, and after seeing Genji Iwamura's creepy grin, he hesitated for a second before nodding, deciding to trust his catcher once again.
"Hehehe.. Come on.. I have a feeling that I can hit anything today.." Genji Iwamura, the new pitcher who now was on the box gave Furuya a creepy smile that made his spin shudder in fright. "You better not give me a walk, brat!"
'This person looks like he is enjoying the match, but why is his smile so creepy?' Miyuki who was behind the batter thought. 'Well, it doesn't matter, because it is time for us to enjoy the game too.'
Genji Iwamura's breath getting more rapid as Furuya started to do his windup. He raised his bat high, coiling his body back slightly, ready to face a fastball. Unfortunately, he was bound to be disappointed as the ball that was thrown by Furuya was a slow ball without any speed straight to Miyuki's mitt.
Plop!
"STRIKE!"
"Eh?" The grin on Genji Iwamura's face froze immediately as he looked at the ball in Miyuki's mitt confusedly. All the people, whether it was from Osaka Kiryuu, from Seido, or the spectators also had the same confusion, didn't expect the battery to go for an insulting slow ball like that. "Hey, hey, even though his situation is bad, isn't it lame to throw such a slow ball like that? Are you insulting me?"
"What?" This time, it was Miyuki who smirked cunningly. "Why are you so surprised? It is not like you would swing before the count is two strikes, right?"
Yeah, that was something Miyuki finally noticed after the game ran for six innings. Osaka Kiryuu would only start swinging the bat when the count was two strikes, letting all the balls slide to give the illusion they were targeting some kind of pitches, giving the battery more pressure. A smart strategy to destroy an inexperienced rookie, but once it was cracked, it would be easy to deal with.
Hearing Miyuki's words, Genji Iwamura had a thick vein popped on his temple, irritation taking over himself. He glanced at Osaka Kiryuu's dugout for a second, signaling something. And when his coach gave the nod, the pitcher's grin widened more as he fixed his posture, ready for another ball.
'So, you are getting serious, huh?' Miyuki smirked. 'Well, let's see how you would handle it. Don't worry if the ball didn't break, just make sure it would go low, Furuya.'
Seeing the sign from the catcher, Furuya nodded once again before starting his windup. If there was a super camera following his movement, it would show his hand trembled slightly as if he couldn't control his nervousness. The moment he threw the ball, Miyuki widened his eyes, surprised when the ball didn't go as well as he thought.
'The ball is not breaking?!'
"HA! I GOT THIS!" Genji Iwamura swung his bat excitedly. However, before he could hit the ball successfully, like Sawamura's trademark pitch, the ball suddenly broke when it was already within the batter's reach, and even though Miyuki hadn't realized what happened, he still reacted quickly, not letting it slip from his possession.
BAM!
There was confusion for a second, all eyes were on Miyuki to see whether the ball was caught or not. When they all saw Miyuki in such an awkward kneeling pose holding the ball in his mitt, everyone was shocked before the umpire finally announced the decision.
"STRIKE!"
Murmurs began to spread as everyone was in puzzlement. They all could see when Genji Iwamura swung the ball, it was already within reach and by normal logic, the ball should fly at least to the outfield. However, seeing it in Miyuki's mitt, everyone knew the ball was not as simple as a normal fastball as they thought.
"What was that?"
"It seems like a normal fastball… But drops suddenly?"
"I don't really get it either, but it is the first time I see a pitcher forces Miyuki to catch the ball like that!"
"C-Could it be Miyuki.. He…" Oota, the president of the team and the assistant coach was speechless as he realized something. "Did he make Furuya pitch his first-ever breaking ball in a match like this?!"
Chris who had already noticed that smirked. 'To ask such an outrageous thing from a rookie, he is really a reckless guy. But this will be a great experience for Furuya and it would pull his potential out of the shell. Miyuki.. He understands the meaning behind a practice match and goes one step further.. What a guy...'
"Chris, ask Sawamura to prepare himself. Once Furuya sends this batter out, he will be replaced immediately." Kataoka suddenly gave a command.
Chris was taken aback for a moment. But once he pondered about it, he realized the coach's intention. For Furuya who always threw only a fastball, breaking ball was something out of their opponent's data. Since this game was not only seen by a normal spectator, but maybe also by the scouts from the rival teams, it would be better to hide the data first and let everyone guess blindly whether the breaking ball was a coincidence or not.
"Sure."
As for Miyuki, he was still frozen on the spot, then chuckled out loud as he stared at his partner.
'It seems like this idiot is afraid of pitching a wild all and didn't grip the ball tightly enough, making such an unpredictable route. What an interesting guy." He grinned. Seeing the dazed state of the batter, his grin spread widened more as he knew Furuya's pitch hit the batter's nerve. 'Even that creepy smile disappeared from his face. When the batter is shaken up this much, it will be easy. Let's end it off with your signature cannonball.'
And a second later….
BAM!
"STRIKE! BATTER OUT!"
"OSSH!"
"NICE PITCHING, FURUYA!"
"Good job!" Tetsu on the first baseman gave the pitcher a thumbs up. "That was the best pitch you've had today."
"If you have that kind of pitch, just take it out and show it to us!" Isashiki shouted from the outfield. "Don't be petty and keep it all to yourself!"
"Nice pitching, Furuya!"
Receiving so much praise from the others, Furuya was bewildered, he had his jaws dropped. This was the first time someone congratulated him for a good performance, and he didn't know how to react. Miyuki who understood his thought just smiled, throwing the ball back to him.
"Nice pitch, Furuya! Keep it up!"
Furuya nodded, still in daze. Unfortunately, his show had to be done this time, as before he woke up from his daydreaming, Kataoka-sensei finally stood up and announced his substitution.
"Time out! Sawamura Eijun and Kominato Haruichi will go for Furuya Satoru and Hiroto Suzuki!"
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Author note :
Hey! I have written a few next chapters of this new story and posted it already on my patreon account. If you want to read it in advance, you can visit patreon(.)com/ZetaFaes .
You can read this story up to chapter 40, and I will try to update it faster.
You can also read my other fanfiction, Kuroko no Basket: The Sixth man of Seirin Basketball Team up to chapter 178 on that page.
Thank you for your support! I appreciate it! :)
-Zeta Faes-