23Hey there readers, this is my first Fanfic so please go easy on me in terms of criticism. I am of course completely open to it but helpful critique is most helpful. So just a fair warning, it kinda just jumps in. It was hard for me to give an intro so if you don't like that I apologize but that's just how it's ganna be for now. Please enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Ace of the Diamond or Fairy tail. Nor do i own any characters, all credit goes to the respective owners.
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Raichi was doing his warm up swings in the on-deck circle the field provide. He was happy, he was up to bat next, his favorite part of baseball! And probably the only part of baseball he knew. When Raichi was growing up, his dad never had the money to join a little league and his middle school didn't have a baseball team. Thus leaving him with a baseball-less life.
All he had was his bat and the scariest pitches and pitchers he could imagine. So, when he had been accepted into this new school and found out they had a baseball club he joined immediately. There were quite a few people in the baseball club, more than what a team needed. Apparently this school had a reputation for their baseball.
To give everyone a fair chance to get on the regular squad which would compete in the actual tournaments, the coach divided up the new recruits into teams and had them play the first-string to see what they had to offer. But none of that really mattered to Raichi as long as he got to play baseball, he didn't care if he played in tournaments.
Chalk it up to the ignorance of not having played an actual intense game of baseball, but having been deprived of something he loved to do he was grateful to step onto a diamond let alone the batters box!
"STRIIKE, BATTER OUT!" Raichi was pulled from his thoughts as the umpire called out. A wicked grin grew on his face as it was finally his turn to bat.
He gave one final swing with his two bats. One of them a high school standard metal bat and the other a wooden one that his dad gave him. He let the wood one drop showing its dark color and worn appearance. But the thing that stood out most was what was on it.
"金のなる木"(Money Tree) Was engraved vertically into the wood bat. The bat let out a heavy thud as it hit the ground.
"'Money tree', huh? Sounds interesting..." The Assistant Coach Gildarts Clive thought. "I won't expect much, but I'd like to keep my hopes high. Heh, yea right, he is only a first year" he finished his thoughts, it wasn't an unreasonable train of thought.
Raichi didn't exactly stand out physically, well maybe his メ-shaped scar stood out. but other than that he held a somewhat small stature, standing at just about 5'7", or just above it, with dark brown hair and small iris'. He was pretty average looking
If the Head Coach, Laxus Dreyar, had any thoughts he didn't let them be known. He stood and signaled that battery to play as they want. He was just observing today and wanted to see how much his 1st string team had improved from last year.
Laxus had the 1st stringers play against the new recruits because he wanted to show the standard for the elite team, and he wanted to see if even when faced with a superior opponent who would give up and who would keep fighting. He had no room for quitters on the 1st string, each and every first stringer gave there all no matter what. In practice, I'm games, in losing situations, and in winning situations.
It would be plain disrespectful to weaken such hard work with the mindset of a quitter. Thus he put the newbies against the first stringers to see who stood out. It also gave him the benefit of seeing what each player could improve on, first string or newbie. Just because they were first stringers didn't mean they could get complacent.
There are plenty of second stringers waiting for their chance to prove themselves.
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The catcher, Jellal Fernandez, got the coaches signal and nodded at his pitcher, Freed Justine. Though Freed may be the backup pitcher he was no slouch. He made it to the first string for a reason. In the past 4 innings he had yet to give up a run. He gave up hits, but no runner made it past third base. Thanks to the more than capable infielders and talented outfielders.
Some of the best of which came in the form of the second baseman and shortstop, Gray Fullbuster and Natsu Dragneel in that order, who played their positions exceptionally well. Despite not getting along one bit, their teamwork was unparalleled. Though they too were just first years, they played in the school's' middle school division. Vermillion Academy (I thought that would sound better than Fairy Academy) had an elementary, middle, high, and even college level school education. Both coaches were actually alumni from Vermillion Academy.
So having been recognized and having tried out for the team the previous summer, both Gray and Natsu made the cut as starters for the first string. Though it's the first time it happened in quite some time that first years made the cut most of the members accepted them seeing as their abilities were nothing short of prodigious.
As for the outfielders the most stand out player was Gajeel Redfox, a second year with a gnarly arm. He was an aspiring pitcher but was convinced by the coach that outfield might be a better fit for him and then results proved him right. He'd saved the team from a run with laser throws back to home more times then they cared to count.
Though Gajeel was a scary looking dude with piercings everywhere, narrow red eyes, and long wild hair. His team new they could count on him.
Though he wasn't the only one that was good, they also had Jet Aoki (made up last name) who had the speed of a demon. Jet was a slim guy and fairly average looking, but don't be fooled he was more than good enough to handle anything thrown center. His tremendous speed helped catch some of the more difficult flies and saved the team more than a couple times.
And last but not was Elfman Strauss, Elfman was a large guy standing at, at least 6 feet and had tons of muscle bulging from his already formidable body. he wasn't the best outfielder nor was he the fastest, but he most certainly was the physically strongest. He was best known for his hard throws and was mostly a backup catcher the normal outfielder Droy had broken his hand and was on recovery for awhile so he was filling in for now.
As for the first baseman we have Loke Noil (Made up last name) and the third baseman Mest Gryder they certainly didn't stand out as much but they each had their own skills. Loke was exceptionally good looking and had girls flocking around him, his talents weren't really baseball related but that didn't make him incapable. His reflexes were nothing to sneeze at.
And Mest was better at gathering data and getting it to someone to analyze, so he wasn't the best player but he could hold his own. And being an information gather he'd had info on most of these newcomers when the coach and lead catcher had asked him to get some.
He knew their fielding abilities, batting abilities, what positions they played, what positions they wanted to play. He knew everything about all of them.
Well almost all of them.. The boy, Raichi Todoroki, walking up to bat had almost no data to be gathered. His previous school had no baseball club and he wasn't known in any of the little leagues. In fact, as far as he knows, this might actually be the first real game he's played in. Mest put his focus back on the game and saw the grin the kid had on his face.
"Well even if this is your first game play to your heart's content, there's no pressure on you to succeed now. You've got 4 years to improve" Mest smiled. However, given that he was on base he couldn't feel the aura this kid exuded. An aura that could only be felt from the pitcher's mound and the catcher's spot.
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Raichi walked around the catcher and umpire to take his place in the box.
"A lefty batter, not ideal for the situation. Hopefully we can avoid any meatballs" Jellal thought. He looked out at the bases as Raichi went through his rituals, noting that there was a runner on first and second. A meatball would be real trouble, even if the first-stringers were up by 7 runs he'd hate to give the first years any momentum. That and the seniors would chew them all out, especially the juniors and sophomores.
Though not once did he expect that Freed would or even could ever throw a meatball, he was extremely meticulous and had great control over his pitches. They just lacked any real power or impact behind them. There not easy pitches to hit, but without the speed and power behind it, even the slightest mistake could prove to be a massive blow. Jellal was taken out of his thoughts by what happened next.
"Yosha! Pitch to contact, we got your back!" Natsu's fiery voice yelled out from behind
"Speak for yourself hothead! Don't put words in my mouth!" Came Grays retort
The team and dugout sweat dropped at here antics. While Laxus had a tick mark on his forehead
Before there argument could continue a firm feminine voice rang out.
"NATSU, GRAY QUIT YOUR CHILDISH BICKERING THIS INSTANT" The voice yelled
Both boys startled, straitened up and got into a game ready position and saluted to her.
"Y-YES BOSS!" The two yelled in unison. The aforementioned woman happened to be none other than Erza Scarlet. Though she was not on the team or in the club her two childhood friends, Natsu and Gray, we're playing so she thought she'd come support them. Not to mention her crush and old friend was also the starting catcher.
"Oh my, you're quite demanding Erza." A white haired teen next to her giggled. This was Mirajane Strauss, she too was not in the baseball club as a matter a fact she was in the same club as Erza. The Girls Baseball club (Like Girls Baseball in the Crossgame anime if you've seen it, I like they idea of female baseball instead of softball), both wanted to be professional athletes and it wasn't a pipe dream if you considered the talent they both had. Mira played catcher while Erza played the pitcher, together they were a golden pair, a battery unrivaled. Though she had a small stature Mira can and will stop any pitch that comes her way.
And her arm was no joke either, she threw like a canon. It wasn't easy to get a steal off the golden battery. Mira batted third while Erza batted fourth, the ability they possessed in both offense and defense was an irreplaceable asset.
She had originally come to watch her brother, Elfman, perform and see how he would hold up in the current baseball club. Perhaps there would be an interesting player here with the new recruits? Excluding Natsu and Gray of course. So far though none seemed to really stand out amongst them.
Erza blushed and looked away at her closest friends words. Even though Mira had known the boys for almost just as long as Erza she wasn't as strict with them, especially Natsu. He knew what she could be like, having spent so much time with Mira's little sister, Lisanna, he knew the demon that lay under her smiling face and knew better than to get on her bad side.
"If I don't keep them in line, no one will" she muttered "I think Coach Laxus can handle them Erza" Mira stated
Back on the field Jellal, once again, sweat dropped as he calmed down from his mild scare.
"You can really put em' in there place, Erza" Jellal thought
"Nee-chan came to watch me play, as a real MAN I can't disappoint her" Elfman said as he prepared himself
Being caught off guard by the sudden shouting Raichi lost his grin stepped out of the box, slightly frightened and turned to see what was going on. He noted the first one a pretty redhead, with a great figure, she was a bit taller than him from what he could see. She must've been "boss" as the fielders called her. He noticed the girl next to the redhead, a voluptuous girl with white hair. He blushed a bit at how pretty she was. Raichi shook his head and realigned his gears.
"This is my time to play baseball, and at school with so much great players. There must be tons of pitchers that will pitch to me. Baseball really is amazing" He thought in excitement. He gave his bat one last practice swing out side the box and stepped in.
Jellal turned back to where Erza and Mira were watching behind the batting fence and signaled Erza a small thanks and turned back toward the field. Needless to say Erza was ecstatic. Though you could only tell by the blush on her cheeks and the butterflies that flew around her, her stern expression never changing. Mira giggled beside her
Jellal pulled his face mask down and kneeled ready to begin. Raichi stepped in the batter's box, a mad grin still etched onto his face. With his chest slightly bent over the plate, and his right knee bent slightly inward towards his body. He raised his bat a bit higher than jaw height and took has form.
A red aura seemingly rolled off him as he raised his head toward the pitcher, eyes lit in red with excitement.
"That's some spirit you got kid." Jellal thought as he looked over
Freed bent slightly to get a better look at the signs the catcher might give him. A bead of sweat fell down his face from the heat, but he was by no means tired. As far as anyone was concerned he was just getting started.
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"That batter. He's got good form." Erza stated
"I agree and it looks like he's having a lot of fun too" she said in reference to his grin.
"Well, despite having a solid stance a doubt he'll get the team any points, our infielders are on another level compared to other schools and even if he was able to pop it over them it still be hard to get a runner home." Erza commented
"That's true, if it went anywhere near center Jet would be able to catch it, if it went left Gajeel has the power and speed to throw the ball home in time. And if it went right since there are already two outs Elfman has more than enough strength to get the ball to first base before the runner. Nothing short of a home run will get them points" Mira agreed.
"Given his fairly small stature I doubt that he can hit it out that far, even with a metal bat, this field is slightly bigger than a regulation field. Even more so, I doubt Freed will throw him a ball easy enough to hit that far, he's great at locating his pitches." Erza finished
Mira silently nodded her head, though she hated to admit it, it was harder than one would think to hit a homerun. It took a LOT more power than what was expected, she knew from experience, being rather small herself she was unable to generate necessary power to hit homers at will. Though her batting avg was higher and they had about the same number of RBI per game, she had considerably less homeruns than Ezra. There's a reason she wasn't THE cleanup.
While Mira stood at 5'6" flat, Erza had her beat by about 3 inches standing at about 5'9". Her added height and good build allowed her to generate more power than she would be able to. So Mira focused less on power hitting and more on locating to get on base. It was a good strategy and lots of people played like this. Not everybody could slap a dinger.
But against a team with superb fielding skills it was extremely difficult to pull off. Mira tried to come up with a plan she would use to get on base if she couldn't get a runner home. Sadly she could only come up with a homerun, you couldn't rely on one of the fielders making a mistake, they were just too far and few in between with this team, especially with Natsu and Gray.
"I guess all you can do is have fun and focus on just returning the ball, if you had to pick someone to mess up aim for Loke, he's more concerned with looking good." She thought as she looked on noticing that, Raichi already looked to be having the time of his life. A wild grin on his face waiting for the first pitch to come barreling down the strike zone. Mira giggled.
"Well it is just a practice game between the newbies and 1st string, there isn't a need to be so serious" Mira said. It was true, despite this being a game to decide whether you could play in the actual tournaments there was still plenty of time before the first one and plenty of time show case your skills.
"They are first years after all" Erza finished with a smile, content to just watch the game.
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Freed stood on the mound waiting for the first pitch call, freed knew his skills and he knew his team's skills. He had not a doubt in his mind that they would cover any spaces that were left open and grab any balls that came through. Despite there being runners on first and second, he placed his faith in his team and himself
And thanks to that little distraction from Erza, he was able to collect himself a bit. Not only that, but also putting a fire in himself when he noticed who was with Erza.
Mirajane Strauss.
He had had a crush on her for quite sometime and in high school, they had briefly gone out in their first year. Though they were now third year as juniors, and both seemed to have moved on.
"I won't lose. Not in front of her and especially not to some first year!" He mentally hyped himself up.
Down by the batters box Jellal had made his battle plan. They'd play aggressive, give him some on the inside to get him to back off the plate a bit and finish him off with an outside cutter. Freeds's favorite pitch.
Right next to him Raichi still stood in his batting form ready for the pitcher to give him his first pitch
"Come on, come on. Throw me your best!" He thought eagerly to himself.
"He's a first year, but I won't take it easy. This is a good time to establish Freed's confidence and give him the push he needs to get consistent with his pitch speed" Jellal thought
"Okay first pitch, he's leaning a bit over the plate. Let's give him a slider to the inside have him back up a bit." Jellal signed for the pitch and set himself for the pitch, glove positioned on the inside.
"An inside pitch" both Erza and Mira thought at the same time
Head Coach Laxus smirked as did the assistant Coach Gildarts. (Will now be known as HC Laxus and AC Gildarts)
"He's got some cojones playing that aggressive… Even if it is only a practice game" AC Gildarts said.
Laxus chuckled and nodded in agreement.
"A-an inside pitch to an unfamiliar batter, is that wise?" Freed hesitated a bit before nodding and standing up. He glanced over to the runner on first and looked back at Jellal. Out of his peripherals he saw Mira and the head coach. Freed had an odd obsession with HC Laxus and called him "Leader" instead of Coach. It was an off putting infatuation but Freed was a fan of Laxus in his playing days. Who wouldn't be, Laxus Dreyar was a beast in his playing days. Though he was only 27, his career was cut unfortunately short. But that's for another time.
"You've got quite the presence, freshman" Freed thought as he was taking in the aura the seeped out of Raichi.
Freed brought his focus back onto the catcher, more importantly the mitt. Not an ounce of the hesitation he once bore present.
He started his wind up, bringing his left knee up waist height, keeping it bent at a 90 degree angle. He then took a large step with all his weight behind it, his left foot landed facing Jellal. Freed transferred the weight to his arm as he fully swung his arm down giving all his power and put the necessary spin on the ball for a slider.
Freed grunted as he threw with all his spirit, hoping to end the inning and impress his Ex. Not to mention the HC. His leader, teacher, coach, and some other weird stuff he wanted to call him.
"Don't stand in my way first year!" He yelled in his head.
"Just where I want it, a perfect pitch. Exactly what you can expect from Freed" Jellal thought.
"Nice pitch" HC Laxus nodded
"Exactly where he wants it, as expected of Freed" Erza thought
"Same Freed as ever" Mira thought
"Kaheh" Raichi saw the ball coming
He could hit this.
CLANK
The sound of an explosion went off.
The ball was hit with the force of a bomb.
"Grk!" A strangled noise came out Jellal. That was the pitch he called and the pitcher threw exactly where he wanted him to. So how.
How did it become a homerun?!
The sound of birds chirping and flying rapidly off trees caught their ears as they saw Elfman slow his run a few meters away from the far right fence between him and center.
It was a liner to the trees..
Freed swallowed the lump in his throat as he stared at the trees the ball flew to
"Kahahaha… Hahahaha…"
Raichi froze in his finished swing, body twisted, left knee bent toward the ground, and the bat behind his back with only his right hand on it and left hand thrown away from his body…
"Hahaha. A-Amazing. That ball, it bent right in front of me!"
Jellal stood up gazing at the trees the ball had flown, no more like blown through. He glanced at the kid that just hit it with sweat dripping off his face
He might as well as shot a bullet into those trees.
"Who the hell is this kid?!"
"Wh-what the hell?!" Gildarts
"Are-are you serious?" Laxus
"That… That's not the swing of a first year..!" Both Erza and Mira said in sync.
"Baseball is awesome!" Raichi roared
"Oi, kid! Hurry up and take your bases!" The umpire brought them out of their stupor.
Raichi tossed his bat and made his way around the bases still laughing like a child on the playground.
"He hit Freed's slider… Like it was nothing!" A second year sophomore in the dug exclaimed.
"Is he really a first year?!" Another followed up
The freshmen that were being coached by Macao Conbolt, the middle school baseball club coach, were in awe.
"He's the same age as us?!"
"He's not human!" Were some of the things being said
"Looks like you got yourself a gem Laxus!" Macao thought to himself
Raichi made his way around the bases and stepped on home base, smile still on his face. He picked up the bat his dad gave him and walked backed to the dugout.
"Kahahahah. Hahahah. Hahahah" he continued to laugh as he entered the dugout. It was all quite and people kept staring at him, he didn't really know what to do so he kept laughing.
What? So what if he can blast a dinger out of the park on the first pitch, no one said he was a social butterfly.
"Hey, kid!" Macao called out. Instantly Raichi stopped laughing but his stupid smile and mouth open like he was in mid laugh.
Raichi quickly looked at his surroundings to see if he was talking to him.
"Yes, you!" Macao repeated
… Raichi quickly looked around again to be absolutely positively sure he was tal-
"Yes you! Number 20!" Macao yelled with a tick mark on his head.
"A-ah yes sir!" He answered. Macao lost his previous expression and gave him a thumbs up with a grin.
"Nice hit."
Raichi's eyes lit up like a Christmas tree
"Thank you!"
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Later that day.
Mira was walking with Erza back to their dorm after the game was had a thorough talk about it with their fellow Girls Baseball club teammates who saw the game.
It was now sunset and the game was over the final score ended up being 16-3 with the first-string taking the blow out victory. They expected as much from the team comprised of all first years against the first-string.
But after that one first year, the one that got the 3 runs for the first years! They had wanted more, unfortunately he didn't bat again, they had to get through all the other kids that were there too. After the homerun Freed had trouble picking up his confidence, even if it was only a practice game it was a pitch he threw with all his heart. To see such a pitch destroyed, by a first year no less, was a huge blow.
Erza would agree to that, being a pitcher herself she saw the effort Freed put into that pitch and to see it swatted away the way it was, was brutal. She winced imagining herself throwing a pitch that would be hit like that. She couldn't finish the thought.
HC Laxus quickly called for a change in pitchers and brought out their Ace pitcher, Alzack Connell, after it was obvious Freed couldn't pull himself back together.
"Well he certainly surpassed our expectations, not once did we think him capable of hitting a homerun" Erza spoke
"You're right, that wasn't something I could have foresaw happening, perhaps we were too quick to make our judgment." Mira replied with a small smile on her face.
"What if it was just luck though. You saw what happened when he was on defense" a new voice giggled. This was Lisanna Strauss, little sister of Mira and girlfriend of Natsu. She too was in the Girls Baseball club, though she wasn't a starter she was good enough to be in the dugout, she played first base.
She had gone to see the game and support Natsu, she was just as surprised as everybody else when that cross scarred kid hit the homerun off Freed. She had known Freed from when he and Mira had briefly dated a couple of years ago. And she had remembered he was a rather good pitcher and rarely threw any meatballs. To say she was surprised to see such a, for lack of better word, gnarly, hit off of him was an understatement.
"Ahahah! Kids a riot!" Another loud feminine voice made itself know. This was Cana Alberona, a rather tall and busty brunette. She too, was apart of the softball team and played shortstop, batting 5th. And, she, was most definitely at the game.
The rest of the girls looked at the sky recalling what had happened on defense for the slugger
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FLASHBACK
During the game
Raichi was now on defense playing his preferred position of third baseman. It's what his dad played so he thought he live up to the legacy.
So far, the first stringers had gotten another run making the score 8-3. And seemed to be on a roll they were at the top of the batting line up starting with the lead-off Jet Aoki.
It made sense he was the fastest on the team. Raichi crouched in his place and waited for the ball should it come his way.
The pitcher threw a curveball bu-
Clank!
It was an easy hit. The ball was hit well, with lots of ball speed and ended up a grounder grounder right In Between the shortstop and Raichi.
"It's going through!"
Thwok!
A ball hitting the inside of a mitt. Raich had stretched his left hand out as far as he could and dove for the catch. His superior reflexes saving the first years.
Jet held his breath as he saw that and ran even harder.
"oh shit, it's him!" he thought
"Woooooah! He stopped it!" Were the cheers from his dugout
Raichi quickly got up and prepared to throw it. "Hahahahaha, here!" He yelled as he threw it….
...wide
In his excitement Raichi had thrown the ball much too wide and gave the runner his base.
"A wide throw?!" Both Erza and Mira shouted comically
"The hell you doing? Are you a newb?!" Screamed another
"Puahaha. Maybe he sucks!" Natsu laughed out
"You kidding?!", "Get in the game third!","Stop screwing around" we're all from his dugout
Sweat poured down Raichi's face as he pulled his hat off in apology to his team. His grin made its way back to his face the noticeably more nervous and forced.
"Ehheh. Ehahah. Ha…" He finished
"DONT LAUGH IT OFF YOU IDIOT"
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Present
"Ahem" clearing her voice to regain her composure Erza turned back with a small smile on her face. It was quite the spectacle when it happened it would make a plentiful memory in the future.
"Yes his fielding does.. Need work. But-" she was cut off by her catcher
"His hit was anything but luck" Mira interrupted quickly
"O-Oh, how do you figure Mira-nee?" Lisanna asked surprised at her sister's out of character behavior. Cana too was surprised at the suddenness of her interruption.
"Aren't you giving him a bit too much credit Mira? Maybe Freed just got tired and threw some meat?"
"In his swing there was not a single hint of hesitation, nor was there any stopping point. He made a full swing with full confidence that he'd hit. You don't swing a bat like that by luck." She explained as a matter of factly
"She's not wrong, you don't gain the kind of swing he has with plain old luck or ignorance" Erza finished up. She agreed with her partner, though she could see how the younger Strauss and Cana could see that.
"And as for Freed, his control is top notch. It's at a national level, considering he's been to nationals it's a given. When you reach that plane of playing you can't afford to through any meatballs." Mira answered the brunettes second question.
She may not like Freed in a romantic or even regular basis anymore but she could recognize his ability as a baseball player.
The two younger girls thought about it a bit. Certainly it was true that his swing had nothing but the belief that he would hit and that wasn't gained overnight. Cana knew that more than anybody she open her hands and looked at the calluses on her hands. Nothing short of none stop swinging could put such things on human hands.
"He's not that big I wonder how much he's practiced to get to where he is.." Both Cana and Lisanna had thoughts along those lines.
WOOSH
"The hell was that sound?" Cana muttered. It startled the girls out of their thoughts with its volume. It seemed to be coming from around the school leading to the backside facing the baseball/softball fields. Opposite of the dorms, which were in eyesight by now.
The girls let curiosity get the better of them and silently made their way to the edge of the wall.
WOOSH
Another reached their ears as they peaked around the corner. And what they saw widened their eyes.
Todoroki Raichi.
Not that they new his name was yet, for now they'd just call him #20. But that's beside the point here.
"He's swinging already, he just had a game not more than an hour ago!" Mira whispered
Cana looked on in slight admiration, the will and drive to be better. A fire had been lit under her and the reason was in front of her. A kid one year younger showing the second year what it took.
WOOSH
Another swing.
And another swing, and another, and another.
And another..
Lisanna was awed by the passion that seemed to be in each swing. If you looked carefully and had a keen eye, you could tell what kind of pitch he was hitting. She wasn't as serious about the sport as Natsu or her sister, so she could never really put much care into bettering herself. Seeing another first year practice so earnestly made her feel ashamed that she took it so lightly while her teammates and sister took it so seriously. Maybe it's why she was stuck on the bench?
"Seeing a swing like that up close is actually pretty scary.." Lisanna said to herself. As a pitcher Erza couldn't help but agree with her. To a pitcher there was no noise more terrifying, but as a cleanup hitter her pride was also being tested. No way in hell she'd let this guy, this first year, show her up. She was the ace and cleanup of her squad, she wouldn't take it.
Raichi, or #20 as the girls had known him, suddenly stopped and let his hands fall to his side as he took a breather. With his back to them they could see his hands or at least his left, as his right held the bat.
An unimaginable amount a calluses on his hand. It had to be rock hard by now. This was complete madness how much swings does that take?!
"His hands!" Mira once again whispered
The other girls turned their eyes to his exposed hands and gasped.
"The hell… Since when has he been swinging.." Cana got out
Erza and Lisanna speechless, said nothing and stared on taking in the scene.
Mira looked at her own hands, she had more than a few calluses, but she frequently lotionized. She practiced hard, harder than anyone on the team. She had to as captain she was setting an example. Not only that, she couldn't, or rather didn't want to, be left behind. Erza was a once every hundred year talent, while Mira was extremely talented, some could even say genius. Erza was just more special than her, and it got to her. As much as she'd like to deny it.
It got to her.
"Is this what it takes?" She thought to herself.
"Oi, what d'ya think you're doing kid? You just had a game, go get some rest. You're ganna hurt yourself. " A new masculine voice made itself known
"C-Coach!" Raichi exclaimed surprised he looked around flustered, his jaw length bangs swinging as he did so, and didn't really know what to do. Outside of the baseball field Raichi quickly fell into old habits. It was hard for him to socialize due to his "pointy eyes", small iris', and the scar on his cheek.
People either thought he was a delinquent and stayed clear of him or made fun of his shy demeanor and how he got low grades. So he hardly made friends.
He was a completely different person on the diamond
"I-uh, don't know where the dorms are" he said in a meek voice. Very unlike the #20 they had first seen. HC Laxus eyed him and sighed, freshmen man. Always a pain.
"I see, well I'll take you there then, you know your room number and everything?" Laxus turned around to begin leading the boy.
"Ah, yes I do. But coach…" Laxus looked back to see what the boy wanted and was surprised by his change in expression
Raich picked the bat up with both hands and put his hands face height, almost as if he was analyzing his very own bat. His timid and flustered expression gone.
"That pitcher today… Had so much energy, so much aggression.."
In its place a new expression more aggressive than his previous one.
"There are more like him out there right..?"
"Hmmm?"
His intense expression gave the HC chills as Raichi made eye contact with him.
"You punk, you're still a first year." Laxus thought in amusement
"I want to hit. And hit and hit and hit! Till I can't anymore! I want to blow them all away!" He finished with an intense red aura and animalistic grin (insert gnarly guitar here)
"This kid. He's a real beast." Laxus thought with his own grin
"Kahahahaha! Hahahaha!" That was the Raichi they had been introduced too. Not that his timid side wasn't amusing or likable, just unexpected.
"Stick around and maybe you'll get your shot kid. Let's go." Laxus smirked
"By the way, what's your name? They didn't give me a list of this years recruits." Laxus asked
The girls still hiding behind the corner leaned in a bit also curious as to what his name was.
Raichi stopped laughing and looked at Laxus.
"I'm Raichi. Todoroki Raichi." He grinned
"I hope you'll survive the camp, Raichi. That's when it really gets hard" Laxus warned him
As he walked away Raichi quickly grabbed his bag and followed the coach.
Back behind the wall the girls had their own thoughts about what they had seen.
"hmmm? He's interesting huh? What are your thoughts girls?" A mature feminine voice made itself known
"A-Ah Coach Rei, we didn't see you there." Lisanna stuttered
Takashima Rei head coach to the Girls Baseball club. Is an astonishingly beautiful women whom usually wears professional business suits and has a playful but serious personality.
She actually used to do scouting for the school's baseball teams. Both of them. As a matter of fact she scouted Erza, Mira, and Cana for the Girls Baseball club and Jet, Freed, and Alzack for the baseball club. Currently she's been the head coach for three years now.
So after she scouted those people she was promoted to the head coach position, rightfully so. Her knowledge of baseball/softball was extensive and nearly unparalleled. Or so she thought…
"Todoroki Raichi I mean. What impression did he leave you with?" She asked again
Knocked back to reality they answered
"He's a monster" said Cana looking back on his swing.
"He's super intense" Lisanna answered remembering his convo with HC Laxus.
"He talks big, even though he's just a first year." Erza smirked she didn't think it was a bad thing. He more than had the ability to back it up.
"... He's hungry?" Mira said quietly, she couldn't quite understand it. He looked like he wanted to play so badly like he was hungry for baseball.
They all blinked while Rei smirked and pushed up her glasses
"I'm glad one of them was able to see it" the Coach thought
"What? How could you tell he was hungry" asked a bewildered Cana.
"She meant it in a different context." Rei answered for her
"He's hungry, yes. But not hungry for food, what do you think he could be hungry for?" She let her question hang in the air waiting for an answer.
"No takers? Fine then I'll help you out. Baseball. He's hungry for baseball, you can see it in his face and in his playing. Todoroki was having the time of his life out there. He played like he was starved of baseball and was suddenly given a buffet of it."
"I've never seen somebody more hungry for baseball than him." With her piece finished Rei walked away.
"Don't forget to wash and rest up, we have an early practice tomorrow and a game in a couple of days"
The girls nodded and made their way back to the dorms. Hungry, huh? Surely they could see it, in the way he went after the ball, in the expression he made when he was on the field, or even just when he was practicing his swing.
Being hungry.
How did one obtain that kind of hunger? The thought plagued their minds and without realizing it they too had grown some sort of hunger in them.
"This is exactly what they needed, especially Erza and Cana they grew complacent and were bound to suffer the consequences." Their coach thought he she watched them make their way back.
"I'm glad that they got that here, if they had gone into a game and been obliterated who knows what that could have done to them. Especially Erza she hasn't felt what it feels like to be responsible for a loss yet" Rei said to herself as she made her way to the teachers office.
"Todoroki Raichi. You'll make the year a bit more interesting" she finished.
FINITO
Alright, so what did you think? I hope it was able to entertain you, at least somewhat.
Now you more than likely noticed that some of these scenes basically mirrored the anime or manga of Ace of Diamond. I know that it's heavily influenced currently but give me some time and I'll be able to make my own scenarios. Currently I've been using episodes as a kind of frame work but eventually I promise I'll be able to come up with completely original stuff!
For grades I'll be going by American High School standards. So a total of 4 grades instead of 3.
Freshmen
Sophomores
Juniors
Seniors
There were hardly seniors in this game, simply because I'm having trouble coming up with some, as for the first-string starting lineup and batting order as well as grade, this is how it is currently before Raichi even stepped on the field.
Jet Aoki (Centerfield) 3
Gray Fullbuster (Second baseman) 1
Natsu Dragneel (Shortstop) 1
Jellal Fernandez (Catcher) 3
Elfman Strauss (RightField) 2
Gajeel Redfox(Leftfield) 2
Alzack Connell (Pitcher) 3
Mest Gryder (Third baseman) 4
Loke Noil (First baseman) 4
That's how it is for now, idk if I'll keep Loke though. I have mixed feelings about it, plus I need someone older that's capable of being a captain. Preferably a senior but a junior works for me too, my current choice would be Jellal. But if you have thoughts leave a comment or message me, I'll try to get back to it. I'd Prefer if it was someone from fairy tail guild, I'd like to use other guilds as separate teams in the future.
As for Mest, most def will not be on the team. He'll be a good info gatherer for the team to help them know the teams they play as well as help see their own problems. And eventually I want Raichi to take 3rd base. So that's that, idk what order he'll be in batting. He's definitely good enough to be cleanup, for sure, but on a team like this
he doesn't really have a place yet. So I'll figure something out. Maybe I'll make him a designated hitter and take the pitchers batting spot?
As for the girls I'll give you who I mentioned in the chap if you really want it I'll include a full line up after next chapter of the entire girls team. Same way as the boys
3. Mirajane Strauss (Catcher) 3
4. Erza Scarlet (Pitcher) 3
5. Cana Alberona (Shortstop) 2
And finally: Lisanna Strauss (First Basewoman) 1 and is currently benched
As for pairing, idk it's hard to fully commit to one. I feel like a Mira pairing is over done, but I really like it and it's over done for a reason ya know? If not her, kinda leaning toward Cana. Raichi is pretty wild and so is Cana so that seems like a match point for me, but I'm open to suggestions!
I just looked at this on the computer, so if you read from the computer sorry that the structure seems so odd. I typed from my phone and it looks a lot different, so if you read on the computer my bad! I'm working for a better structure that I can use.
Anyways, leave a fav, follow, or review if you can! See ya next chapter!