Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
june 6th; for the second string players, june 6th would become very important for them. most forget that the second string is filled with players from all three years. young and old. and, on this day only, would they be able to prove their potential and get a possible promotion to first string, considering this is the last second string game.
the first years have aspirations to become the best of the best, living up to their impossible baseball dreams and rushing the steps that must be taken to reach first string. the third years have aspirations to confirm their years at seidou were not all for nothing. the hope to achieve greatness and may finally prove that first string was where they belonged all along, after all, this would be their last year in order to prove such ideas.
amaya is stuck not only between the first years and third years, but she is stuck between men and women.
as a second year, she still has a long chance to obtain her goals, but, would it be as fair for her to go shooting for her ambitions while the third years are desperately clawing for a way to make it?
in this dilemma, amaya knows coach kataoka would say, "the performance of the third years does not affect your talent, your ability to play, nor the right you have to earn your position you play. no one can take that opportunity from you, but yourself, so you must work for it."
it makes amaya feel a bit better telling herself that as she respects coach's opinion.
but what she can't comprehend is her weird duality with gender. born as a woman, living as a man, feeling connected to neither. it's a struggle she faces lately, but can't confront.
as she sits in the dugout, watching the kokudokan high vs. seidou high practice game, she grows more unsure of herself. especially since she can't participate in this game.
as she watches the game, the pit in her stomach grows. chris is playing catcher with sawamura as his pitcher. he's already become so loud and aggressive within the little bit he's played, unlike his usual self.
most people would feel overjoyed that their friend is finally back in the game, but amaya couldn't help but feel extremely nervous for chris.
his shoulder wasn't exactly healed completely, and playing aggressively on his still injured shoulder could cause permanent damage. maybe in everyday life chris would be fine, but chris wasn't an everyday person. he aspired to be catcher and play baseball professionally, and his shoulder could ruin that for him. not to mention he's already thrown himself at the fence to catch a foul ball. amaya had to stop herself before yelling about that one.
yet, there was still a hint admiration left in amaya. she could see as to why coach kataoka put chris into the practice match.
there was something different about chris other than his more domineering play style.
amaya couldn't exactly put her finger on what had changed, but she could only assume it was being able to play an engaging match for the first time in who knows how long.
