The Demon Batter

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"ɴᴏᴛʜɪɴɢ ꜱʜᴏᴜʟᴅ ʙʀɪɴɢ ʏᴏᴜ ᴍᴏʀᴇ ᴊᴏʏ ᴛʜᴀɴ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴏᴡɴ ɢᴏᴀʟꜱ. ʟɪᴠᴇ ᴏɴʟʏ ꜰᴏʀ ᴛʜᴀᴛ ɢʟᴏʀɪᴏᴜꜱ ᴍᴏᴍᴇɴᴛ. ᴀɴᴅ ɪꜰ ʏᴏᴜ ᴄᴀɴ'ᴛ...ᴛʜᴇɴ ʏᴏᴜ'ʀᴇ ɴᴏ ꜱᴛʀɪᴋᴇʀ ᴀᴛ ᴀʟʟ."

-ᴊᴇɴᴘᴀᴄʜɪ ᴇɢᴏ

(ʙʟᴜᴇ ʟᴏᴄᴋ)

★★★★

Yuji yawned and stretched his arms before lying comfortably on the dugout railing. It was Seido's turn to see Kuramochi bat.

"Up too late watching the film?" Yuji groaned apathetically and wiped his face, attempting to concentrate on observing the pitcher. "Yeah, sometimes I get so focused on something I forget to sleep or eat."

"Mhm," Miyuki murmured in response, his gaze fixed on Yuji, "If coach fines out..."

"I know." Yuji groaned as he remembered the last time Coach Kataoka gave him a health talk. While he understands that he must be healthy to play, he prefers to acquire as much knowledge as possible for the team.

"Next time, I'll keep a shorter leash on you." Miyuki shrugged and turned to face Yuji. "What am I, a dog?" The first year was spent deadpanning and standing up straight.

'Where is the southpaw ace?' Kuramochi reflected as he stepped into the batter box. He looked at the guys on the field, perplexed and angered, as southpaw pitchers were uncommon. 'So, what should I do? The lead-off man usually gets a base hit, but I shouldn't just hit off a pitcher we have no idea about...'

The umpire leaned down and looked just above the catcher, signifying that the pitcher might begin pitching.

The pitcher tossed the ball, but Kuramochi did not swing, instead watching it fly to the catcher's glove with a deadpan expression. 'That slow?'  The second year rose straight up and faced the pitcher, 'He goes lower than Kawakami. The pitch rises briefly before dropping again. This is a problem since his pitch lacks pace.'

Kuramochi gently extended his leg, preparing to swing, when the pitcher tossed the ball. 'It's low. Is it barely in?' He waited to see the ball strike the catcher's mitt.

"strike two!"

'Crap. I'm cornered. I can't ignore the close one any longer. I need to show everyone what kind of pitcher he is.'

Kuramochu swung at the following pitch, his eyes widening in horror. 'Crap, what sort of pitch was it? A curve? slider? I couldn't tell since it was so slow,' he thought as he ran off for first base. The catcher hurriedly delivered the ball to the first baseman, forcing Kuramochi out.

Yuji went closer to Yuuki, who was outside the dugout, and said, "The catcher was calm in picking up that bouncing ball."

"They must have played together for a long time to have that trust," Yuji remarked, his gaze drawn to the catcher and pitcher, who roared in delight after their out.

"Ryo-san sorry!" Kuramochi shouted, taking the bat from the third year. "It's okay; I got to watch the final breaking pitch. "You did your part." The kominato turned to face Kataoka, who signaled, 'Concentrate your strikes on the simple throws.' Ryosuke smirked.