The first thing Eijun noticed as Miyuki sat behind the plate was his smirk that twisted his features into something akin to a mischievous demon. Miyuki's brown eyes glinted with the steel of someone who knew that they were good at what they did. Eijun breathed in before exhaling forcefully to relieve himself of unnecessary thoughts. Then he readied himself for the signs that would come his way.
'fastball high and to the inside?' Eijun interpreted the signs quickly and cringed slightly looking at the fierce glare on Azuma's face. The large man (boy?) looked somewhat like a monster who could likely breathe fire. 'Calm down idiot' he thought to himself, 'don't let your imagination run away from you. Focus on the first pitch.' Eijun licked his lips before settling into his windup and getting ready to pitch the ball.
As he brought his body through his pitching motion, he focused on letting the ball go at the last moment to get the most power into his pitch. Just as he was coming to the end of the motion, he got a horrible feeling that Azuma would hit his ball. Being the stubborn person, he was, Eijun forced his arm down, throwing the ball into the ground rather than letting his pitch get hit.
***
Kazuya's eyes widened as he saw the scrawny junior high kid forced his pitch into the ground. He still caught the ball (obviously) and started to cackle madly. Gesturing up to his roommate and senpai, he called a timeout before sauntering over to the mound where the interesting pitcher was glaring, golden, eyes shining as bright as the sun.
"Oy Miyuki! You should have talked before we started." Azuma growled in annoyance. Kazuya just waved his arm at him dismissing him and riling up the large senior even more.
"You just threw that pitch into the ground on purpose didn't you." Kazuya stated firmly as he stepped onto the mound covering his mouth with his mitt. The kid's eyes widened before sharpening into a glare the fire in his golden eyes seeming to illuminate the mound around them.
"I felt like if I threw that pitch, then that guy would have gotten a hit off of me." The kid huffed.
"Oho?" Kazuya's eyes steeled themselves, "So you threw that pitch into the ground just to avoid him hitting it?" He cackled a bit, "Well you're not wrong. That course I just asked for is his favorite pitch to hit off." The kid's glare seemed to burn even brighter for a second and Kazuya froze seeing the beginnings of an ace that somewhere in the future may come from this guy.
"Whose side are you on Miyuki Kazuya?" The kid shouted fists clenched. Kazuya who usually preferred to be cold to his teammates, could not help but laugh at the boy who had suddenly barged into his practice and disturbed his monotonous day. His teammates who were crowding around the diamond that they had taken over for the 3 at bat challenge looked disquieted at the sight of Kazuya's face openly showcasing his joy at playing ball with someone unique and interesting.
"I'm on your side partner." Miyuki emphasized the word enjoying the flush it brought to the loudmouthed kid's face.
"Yeah well I don't need you to beat him" The boy huffed, pouting slightly as he crossed his arms.
"Oh? Well weren't you the one who said that you can't play baseball without a team kid?" Kazuya stared him down intensely before saying, "The best pitches are a work of art created by the pitcher and catcher working together."
"First of all, my name is Sawamura Eijun. Not kid. And secondly, I-" He flushed even more before sighing in resignation. "Yeah I did say that didn't I?" He smiled softly before looking back at Kazuya who was for once smiling and not smirking.
"All right then, Sa-Wa-Mu-Ra let's slay us a monster yeah?"
"Sure thing partner!" Miyuki couldn't help the laughter that escaped him when the b- Sawamura threw his words back at him. So, Kazuya tapped Sawamura on his breastbone with his mitt before making his way back the plate.
***
Kazuya squatted grimacing as Azuma's furious countenance glared down upon him. He snickered lightly, shoulders shaking in his mirth. The kid ("My name is Sawamura") was getting more and more interesting with every moment, and he couldn't help but be excited to catch for him. Squaring his shoulders once more, Kazuya signed the pitcher with his left indicating that they should use a palm grip for the next ball and a low strike to the outside corner.
Sawamura breathed in before starting his windup and swinging his arm all the way through. The ball, although not the fastest he'd ever seen, still traveled at a good speed towards the plate. Azuma swung, but the ball changed course above the plate dropping even lower, and going right into Kazuya's might. Kazuya grinned to himself before throwing the ball back to the loudmouthed kid pitcher and asking for the next ball.
***
They only did 11 pitches, but for Eijun those 11 pitches changed his life. They had won the 3 at bat challenge striking out Azuma 3 out of 3 times. For Eijun, that solidified his desire to go to Seidou and form a battery once more with the catcher Miyuki Kazuya. However, he first needed to find a way to not disappoint his junior high friends by telling them he wanted to go to Seidou.
It turned out that he needn't have worried. While he was at his recruitment session, his grandfather had bragged to nearly everyone in the town, meaning his friends already knew. Having been his friends since he was little, they knew nearly everything about Eijun and his innate desire to be the best pitcher and play baseball forever. They couldn't fault him for wanting to follow his dreams, and so they chose to support him, even if it meant they might not see each other that often.
So, with only a couple of months left until the start of preseason, Eijun had sent his decision to Takashima-san. He would be attending Seidou High school in the Spring.
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Author's Note: Hey, It's been a while hasn't it. Sorry about the long hiatus, but I'm back now. You can expect another update sometime soon. Sorry about the hold up
Love,
Cinnamon_Roll
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Southpaw
FanfictionWhat if after the last game of Akagi Junior High, Eijun threw himself into learning more about baseball. What if he acknowledges that he isn't that smart, and knows that his only chance is to be recruited for a big baseball high school? would he sh...
