𝐣𝐮𝐝𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 [𝐟𝐮𝐫𝐮𝐲𝐚 𝐬.]

𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐲-𝐬𝐢𝐱.

raichi swung forward viciously, sending the ball skidding across the ground towards masuko. he dove for it, missing and scowling. "foul!" katsumi ran across the grass, grabbing the ball mid-bounce in her glove and throwing it back to eijun.

"that was close!" eijun gaped.

"like this! more like this!" raichi yelled, ferociously swinging his bat. as eijun readied his next pitch, he was engulfed in a determined aura, smiling as he stared down kazuya's mitt. he pitched and raichi swung, the ball popping up in the air above eijun.

"alright! alright!" eijun grinned. masuko, kuramochi, and ryosuke darted forward, holding their mitts a few inches above the ground in case eijun couldn't catch it. katsumi ran forward, stepping on third just in case. the ball fell into eijun's mitt, earning a loud howl from the boy. "got iiiiiiit~!" katsumi giggled, clapping softly.

"for real, sawamura?!"

"h- he put todoroki out..."

"he can do it when he tries!"

the seidou players jogged back to the dugout, cheers surrounding them as katsumi looked over to right field. she smiled at furuya, waiting for him near the dugout entrance. "yeah yeah yeah!" eijun yelled, nodding his head aggressively. he glanced over at raichi, who was watching him with wide eyes. "yeah yeah yeaaaah!" eijun yelled louder, making the other boy jump. jun walked up to bat, hitting a flat grounder to right field and successfully sliding into first base. "nice job getting onto base, beard-senpai! that was a great flat grounder!" eijun yelled. jun growled at the first year as yuki walked up to bat, the stands cheering and singing for him.

he hit the ball to center field, bringing jun home and himself to second base. he held his fist up, his golden eyes on fire with determination. katsumi clapped softly for the boy, humming quietly. "bottom of the third, yakushi high school announces a player change. replacing pitcher mino-kun is... sanada-kun. pitcher sanada-kun." katsumi watched from beside the first years with wide eyes, glancing over at furuya at the sound of him slurping at the straw of his water bottle. the boy had a towel draped over his head and katsumi smiled, rolling her eyes.

"sanada-senpai, you can let them hit here!" raichi yelled, hitting his mitt. "i'll be sure to catch it!"

"i'm too scared of letting them hit to you. it'll probably be an error." sanada deadpanned.

"raichi! don't get in sanada's way!" raizo yelled from the bench. "make sure you watch where he throws case by case! cause you're not very bright!"

"c- coach..." the assistant coach stuttered with wide eyes.

"shut up! shitty pops!!" raichi yelled angrily. katsumi listened with wide eyes, eyes darting between raichi and the yakushi dugout.

"the atmosphere has changed entirely... since that pitcher came in..." oota gaped.

"there's no doubt. that man is that team's ace." chris remarked.

'he's the pitcher who throws shuutos to the side...' katsumi pulled her batting gloves on, taupe eyes fixated on sanada. 'rather than strike you out, he'll let you hit and get you out...' she watched masuko adjust his grip on his bat. sanada winded his pitch up, smirk on his face as the ball left his fingers. it flew towards masuko, hitting the boy's elbow. katsumi gasped quietly, eyes wide. sanada froze, mouth open in shock.

"dead ball!" katsumi left the dugout, kneeling in the circle as kazuya walked up to bat.

'crap... the next two are the ones to watch out for.' sanada frowned, pulling the brim of his cap down slightly.

"batting sixth, catcher miyuki-kun." katsumi clapped softly, barely audible to her older brother over the cheers of the stands. he glanced at katsumi, smirking and nodding. the girl perked up, eyes wide as kazuya lowered his grip on his bat. he leaned forward and grinned at sanada, who was grinning right back. the girl flinched at sanada's first pitch, kazuya jerking back to avoid being hit.