Work Text:
"Today we're going to another high school", Ijichi explains with his hands on the steering wheel. "A strong curse manifested within its grounds, and we're going there to exorcise it before anybody gets hurt."
Yuuji raises his hand. "Uhh, quick question." He looks around the vehicle--notably a van rather than their sleek black car--and locks eyes with the various jujutsu sorcerers around him. "Why are there so many of us here? And why are the Kyoto guys joining us?"
"Easy!", Gojo-sensei replies from the passenger seat. He holds up a sports bag and says, "We need a full team to play baseball!"
His statement sinks in for a few seconds, before several of them go, "WHAT???"
---
A whistle blows throughout the field. Sawamura stands up from where he just finished pitching to Kazuya in the practice hall, and they see coach gathering up the first string. Kazuya takes off his catching gear, and heads over with him.
"Any idea of what this is about?" Sawamura asks. Kazuya thinks of his conversation with the coach last night.
"I might know our plans today, as the captain." Miyuki smirks, and shushes Sawamura before he can get a word in. The coach then begins to speak.
"Today, we're having a practice match! It's not with a school we've played before, but I still expect you all to do your best!"
Murmurs rise up from the team, and Sawamura looks at Kazuya excitedly. Coach continues; "We'll be going with our usual lineup, but I'm having Sawamura start. Can you do it?" Coach locks eyes with Sawamura beside me.
"Y-Yes! You can count on me boss!" Eijun replies, surprised at being called out suddenly. A few of them laugh at this, while he spies Nori patting an intense-looking Furuya at the arm.
"Good. They'll be arriving soon, so get ready. Dismissed!"
The team disperses, and Kazuya heads over to get his water jug refilled. Distantly, he hears Sawamura chatter. "I'm the starting pitcer, Harucchi! For an unknown school!", while Kominato replies with a laugh and an Eijun-kun.
Kazuya joins in with the rest of the Seido team when a van pulls up near the fields. His first impression of the visiting team is that their van is plain black, and unassuming; he'd think a van for a baseball team representing their school would have their school emblem or logo plastered on front. His second impression comes from the adults who come out of the driver and passenger seat--a businessman and a man in a blindfold? What's up with that?
His third impression comes from the boy who first exits the back of the van. He has light brown hair and weird scars around his eyes. A delinquent maybe? Although that thought is interrupted when he laughs loudly at someone else from the van. Okay, maybe not.
Lastly, he registers that the visiting team exiting their van has girls in it. Ooh, a co-ed team. He glances over at Kuramochi and laughs at his dumbstruck expression.
The man in the blindfold, who appears to be their coach, grins and shouts out--"Let's play!!"
---
The team gathers in the dugout while Kazuya sets up with his gear. As the home team, they'll be defending first. He listens to his teammates' idle conversations as he glances at the visiting team.
"This is so great!", Sawamura exclaims. "I haven't played baseball with girls since middle school with Wakana!"
Kuramochi promptly puts Sawamura in a headlock, who struggles fruitlessly. "Don't be like that", Kazuya starts. "Kuramochi hasn't played with girls ever, baseball or otherwise."
Kuramochi, red in the face, lets go of Sawamura to shout profanities at Kazuya, glaring at him straight in the eye. It would've been more effective, had he not been the color of a tomato.
Kazuya laughs, and jogs towards home plate. Sawamura soon follows, and heads for the mound. As Kazuya crouches over home, he glances at the batter.
The visiting team's first batter has his uniform collar zipped all the way up, which seems weird for the hot weather. He holds his bat relaxedly, but Kazuya notes his tensed posture--he's ready to run. When the whistle is blown, Kazuya motions for a low outside pitch from Sawamura, who delivers well.
He motions for a high inside next, expecting to hear the Slam! of the ball against his mitt, but instead it clangs! against a bat. It zooms towards Kominato, but before he can catch it and get an out, the batter runs--as in, he runs--towards first. He doesn't even need to slide; he's already safe.
"Nice running Inumaki!", comes from a girl in glasses. Inumaki strangely replies with "Shake."
Kazuya instead focuses on Sawamura then, with a "Don't mind! Focus on the batter!"
The next batter however, a boy with wild dark hair, performs an excellent sacrifice bunt. It rolls down the line before Sawamura can catch it, and by then Inumaki has slid to second. Although, they manage to get the batter out at first.
The next one they manage to strike out. Kazuya notes that although he was in a solid batting stance, he didn't swing on any of their pitches. A female coach of theirs blusters and shouts, "Kamo! You STILL gotta swing!", to his teammates laughter.
Kazuya cannot understand this team at all. Their leadoff was a good runner and hitter, their second did an effective bunt, but their cleanup forgets to swing? Regardless, Sawamura shouts to the fielders--"Two outs!"
Their fourth batter comes up--the girl in glasses--and Kazuya doesn't know what to expect. Will she be a strong hitter? Or will she flop like their third batter? Well, better take this seriously either way, he suposes, and signals for a high inside.
Sawamura delivers, but the batter make strong contact with the ball. She drops her bat, and Kazuya watches Toujou chase after the ball, but he knows--rattle--that it was going to hit the fence.
The visiting team gets first blood. Kazuya seizes up the batter walking leisurely around the diamond; a home run at the first pitch. Who is this girl?, he wonders. She hi-fives Inumaki when they cross home, takes note of a Nice batting Maki-senpai! from a brown-haired girl (her name is Maki, Kazuya's gonna have to analyze her stats later), and calls for a time-out.
Sawamura looks a little shaken on the mound, but otherwise steady. He reminds him, "Two outs Sawamura!", and when Sawamura replies with his own Two outs!, he returns to home plate.
Thankfully, the half inning ends there when Kuramochi catches the fifth batter's hit.
---
Kazuya watches from the dugout as the visiting team sets up defense. He notes the players on each position--brown-haired boy as the catcher, Maki as the pitcher--and watches them warm up. The dugout atmosphere is a little tense, but Kazuya has faith in his team.
Kuramochi's on base right now, practicing a few swings, with Toujou on the on-deck circle. The whistle blows, and Kuramochi gets into his batting stance. He watches Maki pitch, letting the first two pass by (inside pitch and breaking ball), before hitting the third. He slides to first easily.
Toujou--who manages to get a hit--slides to first, but Kuramochi who attempts a steal gets tagged out. Shocked, he looks for where the ball came from, and sees Inumaki at second base.
Damn. Fast runner, good defense reflexes. He's like their very own Mochi.
Well, whatever. They're just gonna have to make up for it.
Kominato then gets a hit, and Kazuya manages a 2-RBI of his own, before the inning ends at a 2-2 with Zono.
---
What do they feed these kids, Kazuya wonders.
The next two batters (brown-haired and broom-haired girls) consecutively get on base, and then their catcher walks up to the plate. He's the eight-hole, so he shouldn't be than much of a threat, but he looks strong regardless. He swings a few times, before he steps into the batter's box.
Kazuya signals at Sawamura, who winds up and throws. But, for the second time today, the ball clangs against the bat, and rattles the fence.
Another home run, what the hell!
And then Kazuya realizes,
And it's only the second inning!!
---
The game soon ends with a 13-11 for the visiting team.
They lost, but Kazuya feels determination within him. They were strong opponents, and he's sure the team gave their all. It was a great scrimmage.
The teams bow and shake hands, and he tells their pitcher: "Great game." She smiles, and replies, "Likewise." He shakes hands with her other teammates, and he spies their catcher telling Sawamura, "Let's play again sometime!" Sawamura agrees enthusiastically, and they exchange numbers.
Before they leave, he sees their blindfolded teacher join up with them by the van. With a start, he realizes he was absent for most of their match. Where had he been?
"Did you manage to accomplish what we came here for, sensei?", asks the messy-haired boy. Their teacher replies, "Yep, sure did Fushiguro!", with his tongue out and a thumbs up.
The group says their farewells, and depart with their van.
Kazuya sidles up to Sawamura near him. "What a weird team", he says.
"Yep", Sawamura agrees.