Devilish (Diamond no Ace)

Crazy is the Only Way

It's the bottom of the sixth inning. And finally, finally, Sawamura takes the mound. He giggles to himself while absentmindedly tossing the ball into his mitt, waiting for the batter to get into position.

Many of the spectators watching the field couldn't help but comment on the change of defensive positions.

"She switched the catcher and third baseman?"

"The second baseman is different too!"

"Hey! All of the player positions have been switched up!"

Oota gripped his head at the sight, "Is that legal? Coach Kataoka allowed that?!"

Takashima stared in surprise at the drastic measures Hana had already taken. She expected the girl to bring a new wave of chaos into the game, yes. But, she didn't think the blonde even knew enough about the players to put them in new positions. Heck! Takashima, herself, couldn't say with confidence that she paid attention to most of the new members to know their capabilities to coach them in a game. And she's been working here for who knows how long!

"Is this a hail Mary or does she have some sort of strategy in mind?" The sunlight reflected off of Rei's glasses as she watched Sawamura begin his windup.

He pitches straight down the middle, much to the surprise of the batter. The batter swung and got a hard pop fly off the pitch, however it landed straight into the left fielder's mitt. One out for the freshmen.

Once again, Sawamura pitched down the middle. Kawakami swung and got a hit off the first ball, only for it to fly straight into the third baseman's mitt. Two outs for the freshmen.

The brown-haired pitcher continued the trend, throwing down the middle. The third batter jammed the ball behind the right side of the mound. But, Haruichi ran over from second base, caught the ball after it bounced, and turned the upper half of his body to toss it to the first baseman. Effectively getting the freshmen their third out and ending the inning in three pitches.

'His defensive skills are almost just as high as his batting ones.' Hana let out a low whistle at the display, "How fearsome."

Cheers resounded around the freshmen dugout as they could finally start to feel the tides of the game turning in their favor.

"We didn't give them any runs this inning!"

"Awesome!"

Hana's dark red eye watched the discourse happening in the upperclassmen dugout, complaints erupting because of the three batters getting out on easy fastballs.

"What are you doing?!"

"You just gave the first years more momentum!"

"Sorry." The third batter responded, tugging on his helmet as he lamented over that last pitch.

An impish expression overtook Hana's face, "Kekeke. That's right. Continue to be confused. The more you try to understand the deeper you'll fall into hell! Kkkkhihihihi!"

'Uwah, she even cackles like a witch,' Haruichi sweatdropped after returning to the dugout.

Eijun, standing next to Haruichi, paled at the demonic aura that seemed to engulf the pseudo-coach, "AHHHH WHY CAN'T YOU JUST LAUGH LIKE A NORMAL PERSON!!!!"

Hana instantly turned and set her sights on the brown-haired boy.

The adults watching beyond the fence laughed at the antics from the freshmen, thinking the girl was playfully fighting with the pitcher in celebration. The yells of "STOP CHASING ME! SOMEONE STOP HER!" while the other freshmen joined the pursuit only spurred on their amusement (Everyone else that actually knew Hana sent prayers for Sawamura's soul. It was only a matter of time before his stupidity got him killed).