Courage: An Ace of Diamond Fanfic

Prologue

Day of the Fall Tournament:

"Strike! Batter out!" the umpire shouted.

"Yeah!"

"That's her sixth strikeout in a row!"

"What a pitcher!"

"Is she really only a tenth-grader?"

"That catcher as well! Seidou's battery this year is strong!"

Akio took deep breaths as she made her way back to the dugout. Once under the cool shade of the dugout, she took off her cap and dabbed the sides of her face with a towel. Their opponent was sure persistent all right. There were times in the game where they had come close to hitting her pitches.

Miyuki took off his mask and walked up to Akio.

"Your pitches were starting to get a bit higher towards the last few pitches," he said. Akio nodded.

"Right, I'll fix that in the next inning."

Grabbing her water bottle, Akio took a quick gulp and grabbed her bat. When she moved her right shoulder, she was not surprised to feel that it was so sore. The coach had unexpectedly put her into the game after Tanba injured his arm during the third inning of the game and could no longer pitch. Shaking her concern of Tanba off her mind, Akio stood in the batter's box and raised her bat.

The pitcher's main weapon was his fastball although he did have a curveball at his disposal. She narrowed her eyes and focused on the pitcher's form. He raised his left leg and threw the ball.

Curveball!

Instinctively she kinked her back leg down and lunged towards the opposite side, successfully hitting the ball far into the outfield where it landed right between the left fielder and the center fielder. By then, she was already on second base, giving Miyuki, who was up next, a better chance at batting. As the pitcher was preparing to pitch, Akio scooted slightly so that she could get a head start in running.

The moment the pitcher swung his arm, Akio ran. She rounded third just as one of the outfielders threw the ball to the pitcher who then threw it to the catcher. Akio gritted her teeth.

Not today!

She dove for the home plate but failed to see the catcher's foot as he stepped forward to make contact with the plate while trying to catch the ball at the same time. As his foot's shadow descended on her arm, Akio could only freeze in terror. The catcher's foot descended on her arm.

However, a person's arm is not a flat home plate.

That's when things took a turn for the worst.

The catcher slipped - how? - Akio never knew, but as she frantically scrambled to her knees, the catcher's entire body came crashing down on her. She rolled to her side in an attempt to avoid him, but she was too late. The catcher's body took the breath from her and landed on her right arm, crushing it from the pressure of the fall. 

Akio clutched her chest with her left arm, suddenly unable to breathe. Damn, must be a cracked rib. Her chest began to throb from the lack of oxygen. She felt her breaths become more ragged as she struggled to breathe.

Miyuki was the first to reach her.

"Akio! Akio, can you hear me?"

Soon, everyone came running over. Coach Kataoka kneeled down next to her.

"Akio, can you get up?"

She opened her mouth, but no words came only a harsh series of coughs.

After some time of coughing, Akio managed to get some words out of her throat."C-can't b-breathe.."

"Cracked rib, definitely. Get a stretcher immediately!"

Akio closed her eyes and let herself succumb to the pain surrounding her.

The last thing she heard were the yells of the coach and the worried cries of her teammates before she fell into an abyss of pain.

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How was it? Was it bad? Good? Anyways, this story will be updated randomly as well Scattered Memoirs. I don't know baseball that well so I might some trouble with the rules and what the can's and can't's are. If you happen to see something incorrect, please let me know so I can change it.

Happy January and hello to 2017! (ᗒᗨᗕ)

~ Squiggly_Raindrops