𝐣𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 [𝐟𝐮𝐫𝐮𝐲𝐚 𝐬.]

𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐟𝐢𝐯𝐞.

"wait, that's furuya?" koushi smiled, staring at the pitcher.

"isn't that the guy that katsumi-chan gushes over in texts and then says she isn't gushing over?" asahi raised an eyebrow.

"yeah, the one with the 'eyes that look like an ocean.' haha!" koushi put air quotes around his words as he recalled what katsumi had said in a text from when she first met the boy.

"yep." a fiery aura appeared around daichi as he smiled darkly. furuya threw his first pitch, hitting kazuya's mitt with a loud smack, earning raichi a ball. he stayed unmoving, but grinned and started laughing as kazuya stood to throw the ball back to furuya. furuya's next pitch was a ball, and raichi remained unmoving.

katsumi frowned, backing up slightly. furuya winded up his next pitch and raichi swung without hesitation, sending the ball flying into the air. katsumi gasped softly, taking off towards center as the ball flew in between right and center field. the ball bounced off the fence and shirasu scooped it up in his mitt, preparing to throw as raichi dive headfirst into second.

"kahahahaha! got second base!" the boy laughed.

"no need for a head slide!"

"actually, aim for third base!"

"idiot!"

katsumi frowned, turning her gaze to furuya, who was enveloped in a fiery aura. "don't worry about it." masuko called out to the boy.

"for now, let's get one out!"

"cut out that aura!"

the next batter walked up, swinging and missing the first pitch sent to him. "nice, furuya~!"

"be calm!" the batter swung at the next ball, sending it bouncing along the left line. katsumi flew forward, tuning everything out as she reached for the ball. her knee buckled slightly but she persevered, only hearing her brother's voice in her ears through all the white noise.

"throw home!" she gripped the ball, slamming her foot down at throwing to kazuya's mitt.

'no!' she scowled, watching raichi slide into home just before the ball hit the mitt.

"kahahaha!" raichi laughed. "i beat the demon ball!" kazuya looked at the boy with furrowed eyebrows. raichi looked over at katsumi with a a grin, 'it looks so much faster in real life than on the tape...'

'demon ball...?' katsumi hummed quietly, frowning.

"ah, this is bad, right?" asahi frowned.

"yeah, yakushi scored first, you idiot!" koushi smacked the taller boy's arm.

"i don't know! c- can't seidou just score more than them?!" asahi waved his hands.

"yakushi scored first, which means they've turned the momentum in their favor." daichi pitched in, eyes darting to katsumi. the girl was bouncing on her feet, biting her lips nervously as she watched furuya.

"f- furuya's straight got hit twice?!" oota panicked. "proper hits at that, not losing to the power of the pitch..."

the infielders gathered around furuya. "calm down." kuramochi scowled. "don't ignore me!" he kneed the boy in the butt.

"they got us," yuki nodded. "who would have thought they'd be aiming for the high straights."

"well, both the high and low straights are well defined, so it's not like it would be possible to hit them..." ryosuke chimed in with a smile.

"gar, i can't watch this anymore!" eijun yelled, attempting to stomp on to the field and getting grabbed by the collar by miyauchi. "please let me go!"