THE SANDLOT | m. kazuya

6.

THE SANDLOT !
CHAPTER SIX

TESTIMONY 4 ;
KATSU HIGASHI

"KA-CHAN, WHAT'S MY STRONGEST POINT?"

the overwhelming raucous voice of sawamura caused many of his classmates to cringe back, faces scrunched up as they sent him piercing stares. though unlike them, he was used to the earsplitting volume. "hmm... your strongest point?" katsu pauses for a brief second, looking up to scrutinize his friend's face. the brunet had plenty of strong points, from his endless energy to his awareness of certain things. (though he was still a bit of a blockhead.) "um, your optimism? you can shift the entire mood to something more positive, like during the inter-squad game!" seeing him pitch while he was in a pinch made him yearn to play behind him.

his words made the other ponder, eyes clouded over as his eyebrows pinched together. "my optimism?...." although the pitcher wasn't good in terms of pitching (the irony), the boy still had some redeeming qualities. he was pretty flexible, that showing on how high he rose his leg during his windup and his shoulder.... that's it! "your idiosyncratic ball. if you were to hone that, it'd make you even better." katsu blurts out in excitement, slamming his fist on the surface of his desk.

said pitcher could only blush at the praise, rubbing the back of his neck. "aw chucks... so many compliments. keep them coming!" he could only deadpan. "you're still pretty shitty though."

"HEY!"

----

practice matches oddly felt like the ones he had back in the sandlot. they were informal but that didn't mean it lessened their competitiveness. as a matter of fact, it seemed to fuel them even more. these games would help the coach determine who was good enough to make it to the first string. which meant that his very own teammates were also his opponents.

"what? you're going to follow my lead?" ono looked doubtful at the pitcher's sudden request, causing sawamura to chuckle awkwardly. "yup... wherever you direct your stance is where i'll pitch."

the catcher nods, but not before giving him another hesitant look. katsu wanted to believe that his friend could do it, but his control wasn't exactly... up to par. he just hopes it doesn't crash and burn before his eyes. "one at a time." katsu harshly thumps him on the back, the two exchanging toothy grins as they hold up a single finger. he then jogs over to center field, trying to ignore the way his heart was thrumming wildly against his chest.

the fielders grew quiet as sawamura began his windup motions.

and seriously, he should've seen this coming.

the leadoff hitter easily made contact with the first pitch, sending it flying to the left. the third baseman dove to reach it, but it was simply way beyond his reach. katsu holds back a wince as komashiro's dugout exploded into cheers, some even throwing loud jeers at sawamura. this wasn't looking too hot. "don't mind!" the blonde yells out once he got a good look at sawamura's dumbstruck expression. the last thing he needed was the pitcher's performance to deteriorate by one measly hit. "just focus on the batter!"

if only it was enough to get him back on the grove. his pitching progressively grew worse, the next hitters striking his balls with no difficulty. he's doing really bad today. "timeout, please!" ono finally calls out, and they all run towards the mound for a brief meeting. zono reaches out to grab sawamura by the collar, yanking him close as he begins to yell right at his face. "you! what's that gutless pitching?" katsu comes to a halt beside haruichi, who's wearing a grim face as they watch the upperclassmen reprimand the brunet.

"it's not fun to be in the field behind you today, eijun..." the pink-haired butts in once they're done, and sawamura turns to look at him incredulously. katsu simply glances to the side with a grimace, wanting to avoid making eye contact with the pitcher. "you better go back to the bench and cool down." it was harsh, and no doubt did it hurt being told off by your teammates. "sawamura." rei loudly calls out from their dugout, arms crossed as she levels them a sharp stare. "pitcher change."

"get off the mound now."

----

sprawling across an empty bench right outside his dorm, he absentmindedly chews on a granola bar. he lazily watches the moths flutter around the dim light bulb, vaguely making out the sound of their wings fluttering. they had lost against komashiro by one run, something that made him undeniably frustrated. nonetheless, he couldn't say he didn't have any fun, even after their... really terrible start. katsu couldn't place the blame on sawamura. there was obviously something going on with the pitcher. katsu just hopes he figures it out soon.

"i heard today's game was a close one."

the blonde startles, nearly snapping his neck at how fast he whipped around to face his unexpected guest. miyuki was leaning against one of the posts, brown eyes leveled on him in a way that triggered his fight or flight instinct. "yeah..." katsu breathes out, looking down at his lap to hide his embarrassment. he still wasn't used to talking to the catcher. "hit a homer?" there was a teasing lilt in his voice, and the blonde couldn't help the small smile that bloomed.

the dumbfounded look on komashiro's pitcher painted a pretty picture. just like haruichi, they looked down at him due to his short stature. viewing him as a lesser contender until he showed them what he was capable of. "how did your game go?" the blonde questions out of pure curiosity, only knowing a bit of what had happened during dinner. "we won." miyuki looked positively smug when katsu finally glanced up at him again, followed by a little inaudible hehehe. something about his grin made him feel a bit annoyed, and for once he could kind of see why sawamura found him irritating.

"really? i had no idea." katsu drawls out, giving the other an unamused frown. which only resulted in him snickering. just as he was about to open his mouth again, the door to his dorm swung open. "lights out in three minutes." watanabe softly reminds the blonde, already dressed for bed. "coming." standing up from the bench, he looks back at miyuki only to find him already staring. there was something about his amber eyes that made him want to close in on himself. it felt as if miyuki was reading him like an open book. "goodnight." the second year merely gives him an idle wave, still wearing that snarky grin.

"make sure to hit another homer for me tomorrow, eh?"

katsu could only ignore the other, nudging past watanabe to get inside. what a silly request, was he doubting me?

(he hit a homer during the game, but not because miyuki asked him to.)

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wowie, i'm always surprised by the feedback i get for this story. thank you sososo much for reading! <3