Chapter 05 : Sawamura's Debut!
"OH!"
"What a blast! As expected from the best hitter on the team!"
"Are you kidding?! If it was Tetsu, he would blast it further than Hiroto did!"
"Yeah! The captain is a different animal!"
As the chatters from the spectators were getting louder, Sawamura who guarded the right field clenched his fist tightly, watching Furuya and Hiroto with eyes full of envy.
'Damn! Hiroto-senpai is awesome! I really wanted to stand on the mound and play against him too! Should I make a request? No. no! I am just a newcomer whose punishment was just lifted here! I cannot demand too much! Let's be responsible for this area first. The boss had already promised to give me a chance, anyway. I need to be more patient.'
However, even though he could convince his mind to calm down, Sawamura couldn't hide his excitement at all. His body was trembling and his grin broadened more than usual, frightening his teammate who covers the center field.
Just then, he heard a loud voice.
"Haaaah?! What's up with the score?! You guys should've been a hundred runs up by now!"
Everyone turned to the source of the voice just to see a group of players standing there. The one who just shouted had an aggressive expression on his face. However, Sawamura could see he was deeply respected by the second team members.
"Pathetic." The one with the similar pink hair as his quiet teammate in the dugout added a word, a smile plastered on his face.
"Come on, Hiroto! Masuko! Show them how it should have been done! Should I need to go down and play?!"
"You can't, Jun-san! You just cooled down!" It was Kuramochi, his bastard roommate who held the aggressive senpai down. Seeing that Miyuki was also there, Sawamura could guess that this was the first team member.
'So, that's the main players of Seido, huh?' Seeing the fighting spirit that was roared from them, Sawamura grinned excitedly. 'They also want to play too? Man, this is getting more interesting! If only I could stand on the mound…'
Sawamura turned his head, looking at Kataoka-sensei with a longing expression. However, seeing that all the attention is still on Furuya, he knows there is no chance he would be allowed to stand there.
'I need to be more patient….'
------------------------------
Different from Sawamura's excited mood, Furuya is distraught right now. There was confusion written on his face, not knowing how Hiroto could blast two of his balls easily. At first, he thought it was a coincidence. But the second ball was stronger and faster, yet Hiroto could still easily send it outside of the field. Now, he was at a lost.
'How could he touch the ball that easy? Is it because my pitch is no longer threatening?' As that thought flashed into his mind, Furuya shook his head quickly, denying that possibility. 'No, I see it clearly. The coach looked at me with excited eyes. It was clear that my pitch impressed him. Does that mean it was the batter who was exceptional?'
After thinking for a while, Furuya finally took a relieved breath as he reached a comforting conclusion.
'Yeah. It was not my pitch that got worse. It was him who was incredible. As expected of Seido, they have a lot of exceptional hitters.'
Meanwhile, Hiroto who didn't know he was on the two first-year pitchers' minds finally reached the home plate. Unexpectedly, few came to greet and celebrate his play, as if his achievement before was nothing. All of the second-team players' focuses were already on Furuya, excited to try to hit that cannonball. Their spirits also got flamed by the arrival of the first team outside of the field, and now, all they wanted to do was blast every ball from the newcomers' pitcher.
Hiroto high-fived Masuko who would be the batter after him before whispering something toward the vice-captain.
'The catcher couldn't handle that fastball. If you couldn't hit it, Kataoka-sensei would change the pitcher immediately and move him either to the second team or the first team.'
Masuko nodded silently, walking calmly toward the batter box to face Furuya's pitch. In a normal competition game, Hiroto would give more information such as Furuya's lack of ball control to Masuko. However, his vice-captain had his own pride and arrogance too, and he would never accept the information about the newcomers he was about to face.
Furuya who had already adjusted his mentality frowned a little at Masuko's fighting spirit who was no worse than Hiroto.
'As expected from Seido. All of them had this ferocious aura that was trying to kill me right on the spot. I need to be careful.'
Seeing the state of his catcher who was trembling behind Masuko, Furuya felt helpless. It wasn't the first time someone was afraid of his pitch. Even his head coach in the middle school never put him on the mound because no one could handle it. That's why he came to Seido, where a genius catcher played for them. He hoped to find a catcher who could catch his ball. But until he could enter the first team, he had to be satisfied with his current catcher.
'Whatever. After this game, there is no way the coach would let me go away.'
With that kind of confidence, Furuya started winding up, lifting his leg high and forming his left-hand wall, ready to throw another cannonball. Masuko also gripped his bat tightly, observing Furuya's form, trying to predict where the ball would go. A second later, right when the ball was released from Furuya's hand, the sound of it resisting the wind could be heard even from outside of the field as it went in Masuko's direction violently.
*WUUUUUSH!!!*
Masuko himself widened his eyes in shock. Even though he observed Furuya's pitch carefully, looking at it from the batter box was a completely different experience. He could see the ball zoomed in straight into his face, not giving him any chance to react. However, what surprised him the most was how off the ball's course was.
'It didn't even go to the strike zone! If I let it slide, it would be a ball!' However, after taking a quick glance at the frightened catcher behind him, Masuko changed his mind quickly. 'This will probably be my only chance to face this ball! If I failed to hit it, Kataoka-sensei would replace the pitcher immediately. I need to act quickly!'
With that determination, Masuko swung his bat with all his strength, aiming for the canon ball that went in his direction. Unfortunately, even though Masuko is one of the heavy hitters on the team, his bat swing is not that fast. Usually, facing this kind of fastball, he would swing it earlier to catch up with the speed. But now, he was a bit too late to do so.
*Clank!*
Even though he hits the ball, because his timing is a bit off, it only resulted in a ground ball, which was easy enough for Kanemaru on the third base to catch and throw it directly to the first baseman.
"OUT! THREE OUTS! CHANGE SIDES!"
There was silence there for a couple of seconds before all of the newcomer players roared out loud.
"YOSSSHAAAAAA!!"
"Nice pitch!"
"That was a nasty speed that you have! What a cannon!"
"Yeah! You did a good job!"
Even though they didn't know a lot about Furuya, because he saved the team from another round of torture, they naturally flocked to the pitcher. There is a saying, that the more you show off your strength, the more crowd would approach you, and it seems to be the case for Furuya. Sawamura could only watch this scene in envy, wanting so badly to be on the mound too.
'No, I have to be patient!' Sawamura shook his head quickly. 'I need to be responsible for my task first! For now, let's focus on the next inning. Wait! I am the seventh batter of the team! It seems this is the time for this Sawamura Eijun to shine, hahahaha!'
However, before the start of the third inning, Kataoka-sensei made another decision that shocked all the people who heard it.
"Furuya Satoru, you passed the test. Be at the first-string team's practice starting tomorrow!"
"…"
Silence befell the field before the second-team players started to protest.
"Please wait a moment, Sir! Isn't that unfair?!"
"Yeah! Even though his pitch was super fast, Hiroto-kun and Masuko-senpai hit all of that!"
"He hasn't thrown a strike yet! We are not convinced about his ability! Let him throw for another 2 or 3 rounds first!"
Kataoka-sensei sighed, knowing his decision was indeed controversial. "Well, I really want to let him continue. But, it seems there is no first-year catcher who could handle his pitches.."
"This…"
Everyone was speechless, not knowing how to argue. And when they looked at the frightened catcher behind, indeed, they doubted there would be a catcher who could handle it from the newcomer team. However, they were still not convinced. It is okay if the coach puts him on the second team. But to the first team right after suffering a home run and just a ground ball without even sending a strike?
Yeah, they still think it was unfair.
Unfortunately, Kataoka-sensei had already made his decision, and nothing would change it. But this also ignited the determination of the second team, as they all saw the newcomers with murderous gazes. They all wanted to vent out all of their frustration in the next inning, wanting to score dozens more points next.
"Tanba-kun, you are out too!" Kataoka-sensei suddenly spoke again, snapping them from their anger. "You need to clean up your act completely by this summer!"
"Huh?" Tanba looked at the coach confusedly.
"What are you waiting for? Don't you want to go back to the first team?!" Kataoka-sensei barked at him, snapping him out of his confusion. "Report back to the training tomorrow! As long as you stick to your fundamentals, you'll be good for Koushien. Keep pitching with confidence!"
Tanba was touched by the confidence that his coach gave to him. He could only bow his head, shouted out loud, "YES, SIR!" Before leaving the field and go back to the first team who watched outside of the field.
"Lucky…"
"Well, he deserved it, though."
"Yeah. Tanba-san is awesome."
Unlike Furuya, Tanba's repromotion was supported by everyone on the second team. Even though there is still jealousy, they all recognize Tanba's ability as the ace of the team. This relegation to the second team was just his black episode after the disastrous performance in the last game. That's why there is no hard feeling from the second-team players.
A few seconds later, another pitcher came for the second team as Tanba's replacement. Sawamura is grinning madly, swinging his bat crazily while shouting at his teammates.
"Come on, Everyone! This is not over yet! I am going to make a breakthrough today! Let's get that first run!"
Everyone, even his own teammates just looked at him like an idiot. However, Sawamura ignored those gazes as he walked calmly into the batter's box and bowed to the catcher and the coach.
"NICE TO MEET YOU!"
Everyone cringed a bit at Sawamura's loud voice. However, Hiroto grinned from his spot, already seeing the impact of Sawamura's loudness.
'After getting scored for 20+ points in just two innings, what the newcomers needed the most was to think about how to forget it and start a brand-new game. And with Sawamura-kun's loudmouth personality, instead of getting depressed by the score, they all were annoyed by him, which was good enough for the newcomers. Now, if he could go safely to the base, this would lift the mood easily. Don't disappoint me, Sawamura-kun.'
Sawamura took a deep breath, taking a stance on the batter box and being ready for the ball. Unfortunately though, for all his talk, his ability couldn't match his words.
*BAM!*
"STRIKE!"
The first time he swung the bat, it missed the ball for almost 20 cm apart.
*BAM!*
"STRIKE!"
The second time he swung the bat, it missed the ball for at least 10 cm apart. Even though it was better than his first attempt, those two strikes just showed Sawamura's current lack of ability as a batter. Hiroto himself muttered inwardly, that if Sawamura hadn't given up on batting, he would help his kouhai to improve his skill.
However, he was probably the only one who was still optimistic about Sawamura. The other players on the field started to mock him mercilessly.
"Yeah, he is just a rookie."
"There is something wrong with his brain! How in the hell did he think he could challenge Seido players like that?"
"Yeah! He is just all bark but no bite!"
Hiroto could only shake his head at the mockery from the spectators while his mind thinking, 'Did they just forget the mighty senpai this year was basically called Seido's worst generation when they first joined? Compared to them, Sawamura who had the talent to become at least a decent outfielder seems to be better.'
However, he didn't voice his thoughts right now. He knows, that no matter how he defended Sawamura, strength spoke better than anything else. If Sawamura couldn't convince the others with his play, it would be impossible to reverse that negative opinion.
Sawamura himself is getting desperate. While his eyes were still on fire, his body language showed that he started to get nervous. He took a deep breath, trying to empty his mind and focusing on the ball. And when it was thrown by the pitcher, he could see the ball clearly with his eyes.
*WUUUSH!*
'Hey, it is not too fast! I could hit it!'
Sawamura waited until the ball was close to him before he swung his bat. Based on how his first two attempts went, he was confident he would be able to hit the ball this time. However, right in the last second, the ball suddenly went downward in an extreme way, catching him off guard.
'SHIT!'
He gritted his teeth, continuing swinging the bat even though he knew he wouldn't be able to touch the ball. And right to his predicament, the ball went straight into the catcher's glove, resulting in another stri-
"NOT YET! THE CATCHER DEFLECTED IT BEHIND! RUN!"
A sudden shout from the dugout snapped Sawamura from his thought. He processed that shout for a second, taking a glance behind him before realizing what happened.
'The catcher makes a mistake! This is my chance!'
Without hesitation, Sawamura threw his bat away and started running desperately toward the first base. The catcher who makes a mistake before gritted his teeth in annoyance, running to grab the loose ball before he threw it immediately to the first baseman.
Everyone held their breath unconsciously, watching every Sawamura's movement in thrill and excitement. And right before the first baseman could catch the ball, Sawamura dove forward, extending his arm far to reach the base. And right after the dust settled, they all could see Sawamura grinning excitedly as they all heard the result.
"SAFE!"
And in a second, Sawamura roared, venting out all of his frustration in the air.
Newcomer 0 0 0
Second team 12 14
-------------------------------------------
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 11, 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 151 on that page.
Thank you for your support! I appreciate it! :)
-Zeta Faes-