I Am A Shadow (DnA Fanfic)

12. Hell Continues!! Part 1

At six in the morning, sharp, the second day of Hell Camp began. This, batting was one of the main focuses. This referred to the certain "pathetic-in-all-else" pitcher. The one and only, Sawamura Eijun. Another first year was tossing baseballs to the older twin. With a determined flare, he set his heart to hitting just one ball. Eijun's arms pulled back, preparing for the ball to come his way. "I'm going to throw this over now." The first year called to Eijun.

"Got it!" Eijun responded, keeping his intense stare on the small white ball in his companion's hand. The first year tossed it lightly, trying to get Eijun to hit at least once. The ball flew low. Seeing the easy throw, Eijun swung with all his might. "OOOOHHHHHHH!" He let out a battle cry. Silence fell over the varsity team. Well, the team in general. Once more, Eijun had missed another easy throw. "DAMN! IS THE FATIGUE FROM YESTERDAY STILL AFFECTING MY PERFORMANCE!?" Eijun yelled with a frustrated scowl. The first year that was helping him sighed.

"Forget it....just go practice your catch..." He told Eijun. The brunette Sawamura male fumed, glaring at everything that he could see. Using the space next to him was, of course, Esumi. Unlike him, she was a perfectly balanced all round player. He observed as Esumi hit a homerun. A feeling of depression fell over him.

Esumi felt someone staring at her. The feeling was soon followed by something tugging at her heart. It made her feel sad. She looked around, but then spotted her twin sulking in the spot besides her own. "Ei-nii?" She asked, motioning for her pitcher to hold one for a moment. Eijun's eyes met her own.

"Esu...." He frowned, giving her his puppy dog face. Esumi tilted her head in confusion. "WHY MUST YOU BE SO PERFECT!?" Eijun whined. Esumi scratched her cheek, not understanding why the matter was being brought up.

"Because.....I trained to....be...an....all rounder....?" She replied as more of a question. Eijun pouted, knowing the hidden meaning behind the sentence. He knew that Esumi was internally mocking him.

When they were younger, Esumi had pestered her brother to train in all aspects of baseball. But Eijun was only captivated by the style of pitching. He simply waved off her advise of becoming an all round player. No he wanted to be the center of attention, the person on the mound. Eijun wanted the role of the Ace. So as he taught himself that, Esumi went to learn how to play every position in their favored sport. But naturally, she came to love the shadows known as fielding.

Now, Eijun knew that Esumi was mocking him. She was secretly smirking and telling him 'I-told-you-so'. He saw it in her eyes. Esumi offered him a smile. "You can do it Ei-nii." She told him innocently. But he knew the crazy side of his sister. Esumi was indeed mocking him. Eijun pouted, going to practice catching like he was told to do.

Esumi watch him walk away. When he wasn't facing her, a smirk made its presence. 'I told you so, Ei-nii.' She giggled to herself and set for another throw.

~__!__~

Morning practice had ended now. And the tired teens were making their way to the dining hall. Each of them were walking rather sluggishly. Their breaths were shallow, having just finished cooling their bodies down. Sweat trickled down the sides of their heads and created a thin layer over their torso and arms. The sun was still beating down on them, not making the hell camp any better.

Side by side, four first years walked amongst the baseball players. Three of them were out of breath and dying from the intense pace in practice. The one was skipping happily along at their sides. She was Sawamura Esumi. Her stamina could easily rival those you did cross country or track and field. If she wasn't so into baseball, Esumi could be in the junior olympics for track.

Eijun wiped sweat from dripping down his chin. He thought about the training regimen that the varsity members were given that day. '200 times of swinging practice, catching practice, jogging...' Eijun scowled at the intensity. 'Are they trying to kill us this early in the morning?' He thought.