The Furuya Twins

12. End of the training camp

The rest of the camp passed by with exhaustion and lots of sweat (and tears- but behind closed doors of course). The first years on the first string were amazed by their seniors' fighting spirit and unyielding determination (especially when doing practice with the coach...). Satomi noticed a lot of things, like Tanba not liking Miyuki very much, and Sawamura and Furuya fighting over who Miyuki would catch for, like there's no-one else to ask? Furuya also told Satomi about Sawamura falling asleep and almost drowning in the bath. "It was a close call Onee-chan. He even scolded us for not waking him up, but we were also falling asleep." She laughed a full minute, and wiping away tears.

Saturday finally arrives, and with it the game against Osaka Kiryu High School . Furuya starts the game, but he loses 3 runs in the first inning. Well... Satomi thinks, he is fatigued from camp, but it doesn't make it easier to watch. The batters try their best, but by the fourth inning Furuya has reached a 100 pitches and has given up 11 runs.

Satomi could see Furuya was frustrated with the way he's pitching, and he then surprised everyone by asking for a time out. Furuya asked Miyuki "How can I stop giving up runs? I know I'm not pitching well, but I don't want to leave the mound like this." Miyuki is pleasantly surprised by Furuya. He knows now that he hasn't given up yet. "Start pitching having faith in your teammates." These words catch Furuya by surprise.

His teammates in middle school didn't want to practice with him, much less want him to trust them. He looked at Satomi. At least I had Onee-chan, Furuya thought. But maybe I can start trusting this team. Just after Furuya pitched with faith into Miyuki's mitt, the ball went flying to centre. Isashiki caught it and they get the out. See Onii-chan, Satomi thinks with a smile, I told you this could be your team.

At the top of the 6th, Sawamura replaced Furuya on the mound. The batters struggle to see this throwing arm, but can still his pitch pretty far. When the runner on 1st tried to run to 2nd, Sawamura tried to show off the pick-off he learned from Chris by trying to throw to second, but it ended up as a balk... Even Satomi blushed from embarrassment, but Chris took it the worst, apologizing to the coach... Sawamura at least redeemed himself by pulling off a double play. In the end Seido lost, but the first year pitchers gained valuable experience.

Later that night when Satomi was on her way to her dorm, she saw Furuya and Sawamura arguing about who has ownership of the tire. This brought a smile to her face. He's finally making friends. Miyuki and Kuramochi were also walking past when they saw Satomi. "Hello Satomi-chaan", Miyuki greeted her in a sing-song voice. "Hhello- Satomi-chan." Kuramochi greeted her, a slight blush on his cheeks. "Hi Kuramochi, Miyuki." They all looked toward the field where Furuya and Sawamura were still arguing. "They seem to be a hand full." Satomi commented. Kuramochi laughed. "Keha. You have no idea! They're quite ridiculous. Right Miyuki?" Miyuki chucked. "Yeah, but they at least have spirit!"

Just then Satomi's phone pinged with a message. Satomi took out her phone and Miyuki commented rolling his eyes, "Let me guess, it's Mei?". "Mei? As in Narumiya Mei?!" Kuramochi exclaims. Satomi sweat dropped. At least let me check... From: Narumiya Mei. Satomi-chan! Tomorrow I get to see you! Be prepared. I'll show off just for you ;D- Mei-chan. "It is Narumiya. Tomorrow is the 3 way round robin remember? Inashiro and Shuuhoku are coming." Miyuki and Kuramochi both had an oh yeah... moment. "Well, I'll be going. See you guys tomorrow." Kuramochi gave a small salute and left.

"Where did Mei get your number again Satomi-chan?" Miyuki asked Satomi. "Onii-chan gave it to him in exchange for chocolate..." Miyuki laughed. "Yeah, now I remember. Well, see you Satomi." Miyuki turned to leave. Satomi didn't know why, but she didn't want him to go. "Wait, Miyuki." She called, grabbing his hand. Miyuki turned back. "Yes, Satomi?" he asked. Satomi's cheeks were painted pink; she didn't know what to say. "Uh, don't let me down tomorrow, ne?" Miyuki saw the blush on her cheeks, and he also blushed; they were still holding hands. "I'll try my best." Miyuki said to Satomi, giving her a smile. She looked up at Miyuki, his smile giving her a warm feeling somewhere near her heart. Satomi smiled back, and her smile went right to his heart.

The next day arrived, and it was the round robin with Seido, Inashiro and Shuuhoku. The first round was Seido vs. Inashiro, with Kawakami pitching the whole game. One of the objectives of today's games was for Kawakami and Tanba to pitch a whole game, even if they weren't doing so well. Sawamura of course didn't understand this, and tried to convince the coach to let him play. He's always so eager, Satomi thought. Masuko and Kuramochi explained to him that Inashiro weren't playing their best players. Kawakami was still having a hard time, and Miyouchi called a time-out. He went to Kawakami and grabbed his balls, telling him to pitch with confidence. "I'll catch any pitch you throw." Those words gave Kawakami confidence. They still lost in the end though.

After the Seido-Inashiro game Satomi was helping to clean up the dugout when she heard someone calling "Satomi-chaan?". Satomi saw Narumiya standing there with Masa-san. She came out of the dugout, just as she stepped onto the field Narumiya jumped to her and gave her a bear hug. Narumiya was still holding Satomi in a hug (with her squirming to get loose) when he felt a poke on his arm. He reluctantly let her go and faced the one poking him. He saw Isahiki, Yuki, Masuko, Ryosuke, Miyuki, Kuramochi, Furuya and Sawamura, all with angry looking faces (except Sawamura- he just looked confused).

Narumiya sweat dropped and went to hide behind Masa-san. He peeked around him, "So scary...". "Yeah, we are scary you joker. Think you're funny right?" Isashiki asked him. "What did he do now?" Masa-san asked them. Yuki took Satomi's phone and showed him the photo where Narumiya put moustaches on their faces.

He sweat dropped before giving Narumiya a glare. "It's their fault! I just wanted to talk to Satomi..." Satomi just shook her head. "We told you, she's busy forever!" Isashiki said to Narumiya. "Then why can Kazuya hang out with her?" Narumiya asked with a pout. As one all of them turned to Miyuki, who was looking everywhere but at them, running a hand through his hair. "What is he talking about Miyuki?" Ryosuke asked Miyuki with a dark voice.

"Wait, wait wait! I don't understand what's going on here!" Sawamura exclaimed. Furuya then looked at Narumiya and asked "Got anymore chocolate?". "Okay, how about we sort this out after the game? We're going to be late Mei." Masa-san asked Yuki. "Fine. After the game then." "I still don't know what's going on!" Sawamura said.

They all went to the bench to watch the next game between Inashiro and Shuuhoku. Satomi heared her phone ping with a message, and she looked to the field, where she saw Narumiya sending her a wink. She read the message: Watch this Satomi-chan! I'll leave your sempai's gaping at me in amazement! But I'll be thinking about you ;). All of the seniors saw the wink, and also read the message. "That little..." Isashiki ground out. Yuki let out a burning aura. "He wants to die, doesn't he?" Ryosuke asked, sending out chills. That little twerp, Miyuki thought.

During the game Narumiya showed them his new weapon, the change-up. This is gonna make hitting off him even more difficult. This fires everyone up, and Narumiya enjoys their reaction. The last game starts, and Tanba really shows his dedication to being a good ace. After sharing his conviction of being the ace, Tanba went to bat. But the unthinkable happens. The first pitch hits Tanba in the face. This caused the end of the game, and Tanba is rushed to the hospital.

They'll later hear that he might not make it in time for the summer tournament. The game is stopped, and everyone goes. Satomi hears a ping from her phone. Sorry about what happened to Tanba, Satomi-chan. Maybe we'll be able to chat next time?- Mei-chan. Satomi is actually surprised Narumiya would send a message like that. She replies; Thank you Narumiya. See you next time- Satomi.

I'm sure this will affect everyone, Satomi thinks. And she's not wrong. At the next practice everyone lacked spirit, and even though it was expected, they didn't have time to waste. Satomi suggested to the coach that Yuki and Isashiki practice pitching. This had a positive effect on their spirit, and also lit a fire under the real pitches. Satomi even volunteered to catch for one of them. Miyuki stood in the doorway of the indoor training area. "YES! SATOMI WILL CATCH MY BAZOOKA BALL!" Isashiki yelled.

Yuki just pushed him to the side, and said, "I will pitch to Satomi." "NO FAIR TETSU! I WAS FIRST!". As they were bickering, Miyuki took Satomi. Miyouchi and Chris replaced her, and by the time they noticed Satomi had already left with Miyuki. That sneaky bastard, Isashiki thought. Wait, Yuki thought, didn't Narumiya say something about Miyuki hanging out with Satomi?