𝐣𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 [𝐟𝐮𝐫𝐮𝐲𝐚 𝐬.]

𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭.

the seidou infielders pushed further into the field, forming an aggressive infield wall. the batter continuously hit fouls off of kawakami, scowling at his inability to get a proper hit. "you can make a hit out of this one!" raichi laughed from his spot on third, swinging an imaginary bat.

"shut up! it's my at bat! you stay quiet!" the batter yelled, hitting another foul.

"go like this on this one!" raichi yelled, swinging again.

"shut up!" kawakami checked raichi, seeing him move his upper torso around in a circular motion with a wide smile. katsumi rolled her eyes at the boy and kawakami turned back to the batter, blocking the boy from his mind. he threw another pitch, the batter swinging forward and making contact, sending the ball to center field. raichi ran home, bringing the game to a one run difference.

"just got one by one!"

"don't worry about it!!"

"concentrate on the batters!"

the next batter walked up, swinging at kawakami's first pitch. the ball flew to the side of center, jun taking off after it. he jumped for it, cap flying off as he stuck his arm out. he successfully caught it, rocketing it to first. the yakushi runner dove for the base, the umpire declaring he was safe. katsumi picked his cap up gingerly, handing it to the yelling center fielder. "everyone's behind you! hang in there, nori!" kazuya called out with a smile. katsumi clapped softly as the next batter walked up. kawakami winded up his pitch, the batter swinging and hitting it past yuki.

furuya picked it up and threw it to yuki, but wasn't able to get it to first before the runner. sanada stepped up to bat, at the same time that kataoka stepped out of the seidou dugout. he called for a pitcher change and katsumi smiled as tanba jogged out of the bullpen. "tanba-kun replacing kawakami-kun. pitcher tanba-kun. top of the eighth, two outs, runners on first and third..." katsumi drowned out the voice over the intercom, glaring down at her nails and huffing as her knee began throbbing once more.

she watched kawakami hand tanba the ball, then jogged back to the dugout, jumping as eijun enthusiastically shoved a cup of water towards him. "take a deep breath! a deep breath!" jun yelled.

"can i touch your head? it might bring luck." ryosuke swiped tanba's cap off, smirking.

"hyahahaha! can i too?" kuramochi laughed as yuki slowly reached out to touch tanba's head.

"quit it, tetsu!" jun yelled. ryosuke tugged on the tanba's ear before everyone ran back to their positions, the atmosphere on the field growing tense. players from both sides let out yells of encouragement to tanba or sanada, and katsumi groaned quietly. tanba threw his first pitch, eyes wide as sanada swung at the speeding ball. the boy hit the ball high up behind him, hitting the fence.

"foul!" sanada hit another pitch off of tanba, the ball following the same trajectory as the last. tanba winded up his next pitch, the ball curving sharply and hitting the dirt in front of kazuya, bouncing away from him. he gasped quietly, the seidou players in the dugout yelling in shock. kazuya grabbed the ball with his right hand, sending a sharp glare to the runner on third. a chill ran down katsumi's spine at the intensity of kazuya's gaze.

"you've got power, tanba-san!" he smiled. "relax, relax." katsumi clapped softly, eyebrows pinching together in concern. kazuya glanced at her, nodding and smiling lightly. katsumi breathed a puff of relief, shoulders slumping slightly.

"tanba-senpai still isn't in top form.' she frowned, shifting her weight onto her right leg. tanba threw his next pitch, the ball curving as sanada leaned backed.

"strikeout!" tanba let out a howl, the seidou players erupting into cheers. katsumi grinned, clapping as she jogged to the dugout. she reached up, tapping tanba on the arm.