A/n: (・ω・)ノHey readers! I'm better!!...kinda. Still coughing, but I feel better! Sorry for the LONG wait! ☆〜（ゝ。∂）Enjoy~!

~__!__~

Furuya had just come back to the dugout after swinging a homerun. The last couple batters were now making bases. Esumi was up to bat again. Tachi smirked seeing the girl reappear in the batter's box. Tachi's ghostly looking eyes stared down at the girl that was almost three times smaller than himself. Esumi pulled her bat back. The shadow like ball was pitched. The familiar green lights of Esumi's grid flashed and stretched over the field. Instead of one spot highlighting in white, all of the boxes next to the fence lit up.

Everything returned to its normal speed and with all her strength, Esumi smashed the ball toward the far fence. Kiryu was taken off guard because her last shot was infield. So now, the whole outfield was empty with no defenders. The white ball bounced three feet from the fence in outfield. Esumi was already passing first base, heading to second. Kiryu's center fielder got the ball and shot it to second base. By this time, Esumi made it to third and stopped. Unfortunately, the next Seidou batter was unable to bring Esumi home.

The next inning was just beginning, and now the older Sawamura twin was pitching. Miyuki and Eijun did a couple of practice throws, before the umpire let the Kiryu batter step up to the plate. Eijun took a deep breath, lifting his leg. With a fired up glare, the boy slammed his left arm down to the ground. "Strike!" The umpire announced.

Eijun grinned a little bit. 'Hope you saw that Esu!' He thought. From the fields, Esumi gave a small grin of her own.

'Great job Ei-nii..' She thought, but pain kept her from continuing her thoughts. 'I just have to last a little while longer..'

Eijun pitched another ball. The ball ricocheted off the aluminum bat. It bounced off the ground, heading toward Kuramochi. "Short stop!" Eijun yelled, looking back. Kuramochi got the ball in a tight position, so when he turned around to throw the ball at first base, the batter was already there.

At the current moment, there was a runner on first and third. Not to mention that there were no outs. Esumi could easily tell that her brother was in a pinch. Eijun heard the spectators berating him. His face contorted into a look of shock and minor stage fright. Gold eyes met another pair of gold eyes when Eijun looked to his sister for help. Esumi flashed a tight and thin smile back at her older twin brother.

"Focus on the batter Sawamura!" Yuki called from his position on the field.

"Let them hit to this spot! I'll pass back home and get them out!" Jun yelled loudly, with his voice laced with confidence.

"We aren't expecting your strikeouts.." Ryosuke teased a bit. He smirked and tipped his hat down over his face.

"You got this Ei-nii. Trust us." Esumi said quietly to herself. Her brother may not have heard her speak, but she knew he felt how she felt.

Eijun turned to the field and bowed his head to the fielders, albeit stiffly. "Yes! I'm depending on everyone!" Something bubbled in his chest, urging him to looked at his sister. They met eyes once again. 'I'll do my best, Esumi.' He thought, facing the next batter from Kiryu.

Esumi watched her brother's back. Movement caught her eyes. She glanced toward the guest dugout. Kiryu's coach was making gestures. The runners on the bases gave discreet nods back. Esumi looked at the stiff body of her brother. 'You've got to relax Ei-nii.' She thought, silently willing Eijun to calm down.

Eijun eyed the runners, silently thinking to himself. He wasn't sure if they were planning on stealing a base. He was second guessing himself, unsure. The weight on his shoulders made him tense up even more. Again, Eijun felt the silent words from his sister. He took a deep breath and thought back to his training. 'First a glare...Use a glare and stop the runner from running!' He thought glaring at one of the runners. 'Then feint a pick off..and pitch quickly!'

The white ball flew toward the batter, but it was hit right toward Eijun. By killer instinct and luck, the ball bounced before flying up into Eijun's mitt. For a quick second, Eijun froze. Everything moved in slow motion. 'What to do now...Ah. There's a runner on third!'

"Sawamura! Pass to second! It could be a double play!" Miyuki called from home plate. The batter made his move to get to first base. The runner on first ran as fast as possible toward second. Eijun turned, chucking the ball toward second base. Kuramochi covered the ball that was taking its natural curve away from second. He caught the ball and threw it rapidly toward second base.

"THIS IS A GREAT DOUBLE PLAY!" The audience cheered happily. They were no longer bored of the game.

"The runner on third was frozen to his spot!"

"Not bad, Sawamura!"

"What brilliant defense skills!"

"The batters were held down!"

After the crowd had calmed down into excited murmurs, the game moved to continue. Eijun pitched his next ball. The Kiryu batter swung, and the ball flew in field. Moments later, Seidou gained their second out. Another batter from Kiryu moved up. Miyuki glanced at the batter, then signaled a pitch to Eijun. Eijun nodded his head and moved to pitch. Kiryu's runner on first moved to run toward second. Eijun twisted his body, going for a pick off. Feeling proud of himself, he boasted.

"Balk! Runner advances to second!" The umpire declared. Eijun was shocked, not understanding his mistake. Esumi shook her head in slight embarrassment. Yuki explained the balk to Eijun, while tossing the ball back to the first year.

"Don't mind just focus on the batter!" Miyuki yelled to Eijun. He repositioned himself, moving his mitt for an inside pitch. Eijun took a deep breath. He held it as he went through the familiar movements of pitching. Eijun swung his arm down and the ball rolled off of his fingertips. Kiryu's batter dodged the high ball. Miyuki caught it knowingly. Again, Miyuki readjusted his mitts position. The ball was it after being pitched, and it flew.

"Right fielder!" Eijun yelled by habit. He turned to look over his shoulder, just as the ball began to fall. Esumi was running. Kiryu's dugout were cheering for their runner on third to make it to home plate. Esumi dropped down to her right knee and slid. She almost, almost, cried out in pain. But she ignored it. Her right hand extended out to her side and the ball dropped directly into her mitt. "W-wow.."

"Nice catch, Esumi-chan!" Kuramochi congratulated, tousling the girl's hair. Esumi smiled faintly.

"You were really fast. Good reflexes." Masuko agreed, patting the smaller girl on her shoulder.

As the team continued to compliment her, Esumi just smiled. They slowly made their way to the dugout. 'I don't think I can continue.' Esumi's smile wavered. Eijun noticed it. He went up to her and flicked her forehead. "Ow! Ei-nii..." She winced and looked up to meet her brother's gaze.

"Oi, Sawamura. Go easy. She just saved your butt after all." Miyuki smacked the boy behind the head. To his, and everyone else's shock, Eijun didn't respond to the action. His eyes were solely trained on his twin sister. He was serious. Esumi noticed this, averting her gaze.

"How long?" He asked slowly, but still loud enough for Seidou's members to hear. Esumi's gaze hardened. She turned away, attempting to walk into the dugout. Eijun moved quickly, grabbing his sister's arm. "How long, Esumi?" He questioned again. His tone was clear, telling everyone that he was not joking around. Esumi refused to answer. "Fine. You're not playing."

Esumi's head snapped toward him. "That is not your call." She bit back in the same tone. Eijun looked at her. Their gold eyes clashed, having a silent conversation.

"Sawamura, what's wrong?" Yuki stepped in, looking in between the twins.

Eijun didn't spare his captain a glance. Instead his eyes trailed down to his sister's knees. Esumi looked away with a frown. "She's injured." Eijun said.

"Seidou? Is there a problem?" The umpire questioned, coming toward the dugout. Kataoka stood up, bowing his head a bit.

"Sorry. I'd like to call a timeout. We have an injured member." Kataoka told the umpire. The man nodded, announcing the timeout requested by Kataoka.

"Really? Esumi-chan?" Haruichi frowned at the girl. Esumi sighed, looking back at her brother.

"You knew. Why are you just now calling me out?" Esumi asked her brother. Eijun's eyebrows furrowed in anger and stress.

"I didn't think you'd wait this long!" He scolded, moving Esumi so she was on the bench. "You're not the idiotic one Esu." Eijun took a breath again. He bent down in front of his sister, rolling her pants up above her right knee. There revealed a blue and purples swollen knee. "Esu.."

Esumi turned to look away again. "I'm fine, just continue the game." She spoke quietly. Esumi didn't meet anyones gaze, as she bent down over her legs. Under the bench she pulled out her bag. Inside, Esumi was able to find a heating pad. She placed it on her knee, and ignored everyone.

"Seidou your time out it over." The umpire informed. Kataoka nodded, turning to his team.

"Shirasu, you'll be subbing in for Esumi." He ordered. The second year nodded his head. Yuki hesitated to go out on the field. He sent a worrying glance toward the younger Sawamura. Then he moved to get his batting gear. Yuki stepped onto the field. He glanced toward the scoreboard. The score was 11-3 in Kiryu's favor.

'For Esumi.' He thought, setting himself in the batter's box.

Esumi had moved herself into the far corner of the dugout, isolating herself. She was disappointed that she wasn't able to hold herself until the end of the match. She thought she was being discreet enough, but her brother knew her best. He was bound to find out after all. 'Why do I feel as if I haven't made any progress? Like all that excessive training I did for my technique, didn't get me anywhere?' Esumi's hands balled into tight fists. 'I feel useless.' She thought again, looking toward the field.

Yuki was standing in the batter's box. The ball was pitched and flew quickly past Yuki. Yuki didn't even flinch though. Tachi smiled in slight interest, while his partner scoffed. Three more balls were pitched until, "Four balls!" The umpire had announced a walk.

"Ok, ok! Nice pitching!" The Kiryu catcher told Tachi. "I'll throw the ball to you Tachi! Do your best against the next batter." He encouraged the creepily grinning Kiryu ace.

Masuko had stepped up next. He swung his bat to get comfortable. Then he fell into position, letting Tachi know that he was ready. Tachi threw the ball with absolutely no hesitation. Masuko tensed at the oncoming ball. His grip around his bat tightened, as he watched the ball fly carefully. The ball suddenly dropped when it reached the strike zone. Masuko swung, dropping his bat as well. The tip of the bat came in contact with the ball. It flew right toward first base, and landed into the first baseman's mitt. Masuko groaned.

Now Miyuki was up to bat. The grin on Tachi's lips spread even wider, if possible. Miyuki cockily stood in the batter's box, watching Tachi get ready. Yuki inched off of first, then booked it. He went for the steal. Tachi was already winding up his next pitch. It flew from his hand, landing in the catcher's mitt. Miyuki had swung and missed. The Kiryu catcher stood to get Yuki out, but Yuki had already made it to second.

"Great job Testu!"

"Captain!"

Seidou cheered from their dugout. They paused, hearing Kiryu's coach call out. "Tachi, there's four more inning left! Don't let the opponents score even one more point!" Matsumoto yelled toward his ace pitcher. "If it's you, you'll be able to do it, won't you?" Tachi turned and grinned widely at his coach.

"Hahaha! He actually gave instructions of not letting the opponent score anymore." Miyuki laughed in amusement. "And after getting those instructions, that pitcher seems really happy. Kiryu is unexpectedly and interesting team.." He spoke with his usual smug grin. Tachi threw his next pitch. It seemed as if it would be a strike, but Miyuki moved to swing at the pitch.

"It's in! A solid hit that sticks close to the right foul line!"

Miyuki smirked, running toward first. On the other hand, Yuki had made it back home. The audience cheered for Miyuki's batting, as did the rest of the Seidou team.

Esumi observed quietly from the shadows in the Seidou dugout. Her left knee was pulled closely to her chest, while her right knee hung off the bench. Her arms wrapped around her left leg, while her chin rested upon her left knee. She was amused. 'I want to be out there too.' Esumi thought, blinking away her frustration.

Next up to bat was Eijun. He awkwardly bowed to the umpire and catcher. "Nice to meet you!" He yelled. Eijun exhaled, trying to calm himself down. To be honest, he was still incredibly peeved off at Esumi, which doesn't happen very often. There were currently two outs, runner on third, and a seven point difference. Eijun thought back to how cool Miyuki looked when he bat. 'Me too..' He thought surely.

"Sawamura! Choose your pitch carefully!" Miyuki advised. The ball was thrown. Eijun swung, and missed... Again. And Again.

"Strike three you're out!" The umpire declared loudly.

"Damn! I was so close!" Eijun cursed hitting his helmet with his bat.

"In what way were you close!? And why was your swing so slow!? Were you even trying!?" Kanemaru yelled from the sidelines.

Seidou was now setting up to be on the field. Esumi sat quietly, watching Shirasu get ready. That was supposed to be her. 'I failed.' She thought. Seidou beginning to head onto the field now. Esumi's golden eyes trailed after them.

"You didn't fail." A voice said. Esumi looked up at the figure that towered over her.

"Yuki-senpai." She whispered quietly. Yuki stared seriously at the girl.

"You're just lost. You just have to work harder to get down that technique." He told her with an expressionless tone. Esumi was taken by surprise, hearing the word 'technique' leave his mouth.

"How-?"

"I've seen you practice and overwork yourself. Even after training had just finished." Yuki stated casually, observing the girl's reaction. "But right now, rest." He order, turning to head out to the field as well. Yuki paused, not looking back at Esumi. "We need you back on the field." He stated, and left the girl in the shadows.

Kiryu's first batter stepped up. Miyuki glanced up at him, then signaled to Eijun. Miyuki repositioned himself. Eijun let out a breath, and moved to pitch. He released the ball, rocketing it toward the batter. Kiryu's batter swung. The ball flew past Eijun and toward Masuko. It hit Masuko's stomach. Masuko picked up the ball and threw it to first.

"Woah! He used his whole body to stop the powerful grounder!"

"And looks unharmed too!"

"It appeared! Masuko's victory pose!"

"That makes it one out, Sawamura." Masuko smirked, giving Eijun a thumbs up.

"Masuko-senpai!" Eijun grinned happily. He smiled, turning back to pitch again. The ball went to left field. "Left field!" Eijun called out loudly. It was where Furuya was guarding. The other first year pitcher went to get the ball, but it was caught instead by Ryosuke at second.

After that pitch, Miyuki called a timeout to talk with Eijun. Esumi watched from her spot in the shadows. Someone sat beside her. "Esumi-chan." A quiet voice spoke. Esumi didn't turn her head, only changing her gaze. Her gold eyes stopped at the familiar small statured pinkette.

"Haruichi-kun." Esumi muttered softly. Haruichi held out a small cup of water to the girl. A offered a kind smile, when she took the paper cup. "Thank you."

"I know you want to be out there." Haruichi spoke quietly. Esumi frowned a bit, noticing the longing look in the younger Kominato's eyes.

"You do too." Esumi stated surely. Haruichi smiled and laughed a bit.

"Yeah." He agreed, watching Esumi take a sip of the water. "Can I asked what's wrong with your knee?" Haruichi questioned a little hesitantly. Esumi paused, thinking a bit to herself.

"I'm not so sure yet." She started with questioning eyes. "Might just be overuse. But then again, I might've torn something." Esumi took a peek at the boy sitting beside her. "I thought I would be able to play at least till the end of this match."

"I'm glad you're not playing." Haruichi whispered. He flinched a little when he noticed Esumi watching him. "Ah, I didn't mean it like that!" He declared. Esumi let out a little laugh.

"I know." She smiled ever so slightly.

"I meant that you didn't injure yourself further..which is good!" Haruichi's face began to turn red. Esumi laughed at the flustered boy.

Back on the field, the timeout had ended. Miyuki was back in his position. Tachi was once again ready to bat. And Eijun had found a new flame to pitch. Eijun took a deep breath to relax himself. His right leg lifted. So far he looked calm. His arms raised high above his head. Eijun worked himself into the lunge forward, with his arms pulling apart. He created his wall and his whip like left arm swung down. The ball rolled off the tips of Eijun's fingers and toward the awaiting Tachi.

"S...Strike!" The umpire declared loudly.

~__!__~

The sun was setting now. The match between Seidou and Kiryu came to an end. A bus had arrived to take Kiryu back to their school. The Seidou regulars were waiting alongside the bus to see the Kiryu member off. So both teams got to talking.

"Aren't you guys lucky! You have for managers in your club!" One member from Kiryu spoke.

"Our team's too scary - so scary that no one dares to become the manager." Another added on.

"And all your managers are cute too!" Another exclaimed enthusiastically.

Kiryu was standing outside their bus, speaking to the Seidou regulars. All of the Seidou boys were there, except Esumi. The smaller brunette girl was passing by to get to her brother. One of the Kiryu members spotted the girl and grinned. "Not to mention, you have a cute girl member playing alongside you guys."

"Yeah, we're lucky to have Esumi-chan on our team. She's really strong." Kuramochi acknowledged the girl. Esumi turned, hearing herself being mentioned. She smiled a bit at the boys of both teams, then continued her way to her brother.

"Oh yeah! You guys are still in training camp right?" One Kiryu member asked. "You guys were too clingy. It was so hard to shake you guys off."

"Your attack in the ninth inning made us break in cold sweat!" Another had mentioned enthusiastically.

As the other regulars continued to talk to the Kiryu members, Esumi made it to her brother, Haruichi, and Furuya. "Hey guys." She smiled a bit. Eijun grinned wrapping her into a side hug.

"Esu!" He greeted her. "Sorry for blowing up earlier..How's your knee?" Eijun apologized, then asked. Esumi looked down at her right knee.

"The swelling went down." She replied softly, leaning against her brother for support. Eijun happily helped her.

"That's good to hear Esumi-chan." Haruichi told the girl. Esumi nodded, glancing at Yuki. A smile crawled onto her lips.

"Yeah. Thanks to Yuki-senpai." She whispered to herself, making sure that not even her brother heard.

"Hey." A deep voice called. The four first years turned to the bus beside them. Above, one of the windows were open. Sitting inside the bus was Kiryu's ace. "Even though the two of you are first years, your pitching is quite good." Tachi complimented. "After seeing both of your performances, I was reminded of the me from back then. This will provide me with motivation and affect me positively." The four stared questioningly at the male. "Continue to work hard..."

"Y...yes!" Eijun yelled with determination.

"I'll do my best." Furuya replied casually.

The ace pitcher glanced at Esumi. "You, girl..." Esumi quietly looked at the older male. "You did well too. It was surprising to see how well you played. Heal fast. Next time, I won't go so easy on you. I'll be going all out." He told the girl. Esumi smiled kindly, nodding her head.

"Will do, senpai." She answered back with respect. Suddenly the window slammed shut.

"Don't think badly of him. Contrary to his looks, Tachi is actually pretty introverted." One of Kiryu's member told the four Seidou first years.

With the coaches of either team, Kataoka and Matsumoto shook hands. "We had a great match today. And it allowed us to have a useful training session." Matsumoto began.

"You're too flattering. We benefited from it too!" Kataoka spoke back.

"While we're on the topic, I must say, I envy you Kataoka-san!" Matsumoto smirked, thinking back to the game. "For you to have two entirely different pitchers amongst your first years. When it started stabilizing near the end, the fastball of that pitcher had amazing speed. The lefty that went up for the second half of the match too, his pitches surprised us. Even though they also seem to waver sometimes. I can understand Kataoka-san's feelings of wanting them as secret weapons." He paused to take a small breath. "If he manages to gain a stable control, he'll probably be able to become an impressive pitcher, won't he?"

"He's still lacking in many ways." Kataoka mentioned seriously. Matsumoto's smirk had widened.

"Hehe...aren't you a strict coach?" Matsumoto had chuckled. "And that female player of yours is interesting too. An acrobatic fielder with speed and seemingly an endless amount of stamina. She's a dangerous weapon as well. It's too bad she was playing injured. She was quite troublesome today. I imagine her even stronger if she was playing at 100%." Matsumoto glanced aside, looking at the three players he was talking about. "Well, whatever it is, this match really gave our players a boost. We are looking forward to facing you again in Koshien."

"Yeah!" Kataoka smirked back at the coach from Kiryu.

Matsumoto turned to walk to the bus. He raised his fist up in encouragement. "Hey! We are going to Kanagawa tomorrow! Let's keep up our spirits and move out!"

"Yes!" The Kiryu team yelled back. As the team boarded the bus, Kataoka bowed in respect.

In the end, that matches ended 14-7.

Kiryu's win.

~__!__~

Later on that night, the whole Seidou team was in the canteen discussing everything from that day and for tomorrow's matches.

"We have two matches tomorrow." Kataoka began, getting everyone's attention. "The pitcher for the first match will be Kawakami."

"Yes!" Kawakami responded surely.

"Tanba will be the starter for the second one!" Kataoka announced.

"Yes!" Tanba answered in the same fashion Kawakami did.

"Even though the two of you are probably feeling tired, I'll still have you both pitch one full match each. GOT IT?" Kataoka asked the two first year pitchers.

"Yes!" They both responded with a tired look on their faces.

"Huh? Why are the two of you eating so little today?" Haruichi asked his two friends.

"For some reason, I feel really tired." Eijun muttered with a dazed expression. "So this is the pressure a first string member has to deal with.."

"That's because both of you did your best today.." Esumi giggled, patting her twin's shoulder.

"Who do you think did better? Be honest!" The two exclaimed, looking toward Esumi and Haruichi.

"Uh.." The latter two hesitated.

"Tell us and give reasons!" Furuya and Eijun ushered.

"Whatever it is, I really envy you three for being able to participate in a match." Haruichi began first. He looked down with a small smile. "Unlike me, who didn't even get a chance to play."

Both boys ended up apologizing to Haruichi, pushing their leftover food toward the boy. Haruichi looked at his friends weirdly. Esumi sat to the side and laughed.

"Sawamura Esumi." Kataoka called the attention of the female baseball player. Esumi looked up at her coach. "You are suspended from any upcoming matches until your knee is fully healed. That includes practices."

"Yes sir.." Esumi frowned a bit, but reluctantly agreed.

"We need you in the upcoming tournaments, so make sure to heal properly." Kataoka ordered. Esumi looked at him and smiled.

"Yes sir!" She replied with more enthusiasm.

~__!__~

Later on that night, Esumi was in her shared dorm with Haruno. Esumi was sitting in her bed. She was currently recording everything she witnessed in that day's game. "Aren't you tired Esumi-chan?" Haruno wondered, looking at the female baseball player.

"I am, but I have to write everything down before I forget." Esumi yawned a bit. She covered her mouth with her hand. Haruno giggled.

"You should just go to sleep. The match is recorded after all." Haruno suggested. Esumi sighed, setting her things down on her desk.

"You're right Haru-chan." Esumi smiled thankfully. "Goodnight Haru-chan."

"Night, Esumi-chan." Haruno responded, climbing into bed as well. The two desk lamps flickered off.