A/n: I AM SOO SORRY THAT I DIDN'T UPDATE WHEN I SAID I WAS! I have no excuse really...i was just a bit lazy...lol
I hope this chapter satisfies you. I'm also going (hoping) to post CH 17 later on AFTER i do my HW...hahahaha😂

It was finally that relieving last day of the harsh training camp that the Seidou baseball players have been put through. A double-header match was being played between Inashiro, Seidou, and Shuuhoku. For the first match between Seidou and Inashiro, the second year sidearm pitcher, Kawakami, was up on the mound. Sweat was clearly visible, dripping down the sides of his face. Kawakami pitched, but the batter ended up making it to first base. The next batter from Inashiro stepped up, hitting it past Kawakami.

"Wow! Finally, in the bottom of the 8th inning, Inashiro's bats have woken up!"

"This half-inning has turned the game on its end! Seidou's about ready to take any out."

"With only three innings remaining, it'll be difficult to make a comeback."

"They lost to Kiryu by a large margin yesterday too."

"To have to wonder about the state of Seidou! The summer tournament is just around the corner!"

"Further more, today's opponent is not any practice opponent."

"It's their biggest rival in the region...Inashiro High!"

The spectators continued to talk and foretell the outcome of the game. At the guest dugout of Seidou's field was Inashiro. The coach of Inashiro, Hiroshige Kunitomo, stared intensely at his players spread throughout the field.

On the other hand, in the Seidou dugout, a clear ruckus was being made. "Manager!" A loud voice exclaimed. We could've only guessed who it belonged to. "Kawakami's running on fumes! He's still exhausted from the training camp too! If you send me out there cold, I won't have any problems with it!" Eijun announced with a strong and determined voice.

"This ain't your problem!" Kataoka replied bluntly. "Get outta here!" He shooed Sawamura away.

"Not my problem!?" Eijun replied in shock.

"Isn't this a team?" Masuko asked, trying to reach for Eijun. He grabbed his youngest roommate around the neck and dragged him away. "Sawamura, come with me for a moment." Masuko declared, already dragging off the struggling Sawamura.

"Dumbass!" Kuramochi yelled, glaring at the idiotic twin.

"But they're really good! I need to be on that mound!" Eijun cried, shouting obviously loud toward his roommates.

"Where does that confidence come from?" Masuko asked with a straight face. Eijun blinked.

"Are you really that stupid?" Kuramochi emphasized the word 'that.' "They aren't even using their starters!" Kuramochi lowered his voice a bit. Eijun blinked again, now processing the new information. His head turned, seeing a handful of Inashiro players lounging the bench. "Why the hell would we give their scouts more information about our team in goddamn spring training? We aren't using our starters either!"

"Wow, really?" Eijun questioned stupidly.

"We're just measuring up each other." Kuramochi stated glancing toward the other dugout across the field.

On the field, Miyauchi gave a signal toward Kawakami. The Seidou sidearm pitcher smirked to himself. He drew his arm back, going through the motions. Kawakami's arm whipped out from the side. He had released a pitch to the outside corner. Miyauchi caught the ball perfectly. Hearing the loud smack resonate through the field, non-regular Seidou members began congratulating Kawakami's 'good pitch.'

~__!__~

"Thank you!" Everyone shouted. The game between Inashiro and Seidou was finished. Seidou packed up their things for the next game between Inashiro and Shuuhoku. Kuramochi came by and ordered Eijun to clean up the dugout. As Eijun was cleaning, a hand was placed on his shoulder. He jumped a bit, turning around quickly.

Standing behind him was Esumi. She smiled ever so slightly. "Need help, Ei-nii?" She questioned. Eijun shook his head, denying the help.

"I'm fine." He replied. "Hey Esu?"

"Hm?"

"What'd you think of our game just now?" Eijun asked, continuing to pack things up. Esumi shrugged, tapping her notebook in her arms. "You recorded?"

"Of course." Was Esumi's exceptionally short reply. "Isn't this game exciting though?" She swiftly shifted the topic of conversation.

Eijun looked down a smirked excitedly. "This is our first time participating in a game between three schools...It's very exciting!" Eijun couldn't help but agree to. "ARRRGH! I wanna play too! Even though Furuya and Haruchi are participating, I'm-"

"We're." Esumi corrected, pouting a bit.

"Hey! Boundless energy over there!" A voice called out. Eijun stopped yelled, and pointed to himself. "Yeah you!" Two players from Inashiro stepped up. One was tall and brawny. The other was shorter with blonde hair. "Is Furuya pitching today? I heard he's a freshman with a rocket arm. I want to see how fast he throws." The blonde boy was the one speaking.

"You just want to know if you throw faster than him, huh?" The taller one asked bluntly, looking down at the blonde beside him. "What a joke..." He scoffed.

The Sawamura twins both thought the same thing. 'They're from Inashiro..'

"Shut up! I just want to see it okay!?" The blonde one exclaimed, pointing at his teammate and friend. The taller one muttered a quiet 'loser' while folding his arms across his chest.

'These two guys....' Esumi thought to herself. She felt herself getting stupider in the two Inashiro boy's presence.

"He's not pitching today." Eijun spoke, looking at the other two curiously.

"Eh? Really? I was really looking forward to it!" The blonde one exclaimed, leaning forward a bit. "I heard he struck out six batters in a row against Yokohama High!"

"Yeah..he did...." Eijun replied unsurely. He was definitely confused by the two.

"That's awesome! He's a monster!" The blonde baseball player continued to compliment.

"Dude..quite yelling.." Esumi muttered, eyeing the hyperactive blonde. Said male looked at Esumi, bouncing over to her.

"Eh? You're the rumored girl on Seidou." He leaned forward, closer to her face. Esumi leaned back as he leaned forward. Their eyes locked. Eijun pushed himself in between them, glaring at the blonde. "Anyway, why isn't he pitching? Is he resting?"

Eijun eyes the blonde, then began spreading a rumor about himself. Esumi scoffed, turning her head away. 'What an idiot..' She rolled her eyes at her older twin brother. Esumi's eyes caught onto Kuramochi stomping their way. Miyuki was trailing after his best friend. She stepped aside, just as the shortstop sent a powerful kick to her brother's ass.

"Don't give away information about the team! Dumbass!" Kuramochi growled. Eijun stumbled forward.

"Then he wasn't lying! That was the truth!?" The blonde yelled in shock.

"Yeah. It's true. Furuya didn't have his stuff that game." Miyuki confirmed, showing off his own smirk. The blonde huffed a bit, giving a softer expression.

"Kazuya...I always think the opposite is true of whatever you say." The blonde stated.

"Oh right. You're pitcher today." Miyuki began casually.

"Hell yeah I am!" The blonde replied with much energy.

"I'll be keeping my eye on you!" Miyuki declared.

Esumi moved beside her brother, and held out a hand for Eijun to take. "Ah. Thanks Esu." He spoke, not taking his eyes off his two upperclassmen.

"Let's go Mei. I hate this guy." The taller male from Inashiro stated rather rudely.

"Oh yeah...Kazuya played you like a fiddle last year." The blonde, Mei, taunted.

"Up yours! We're leaving!" The taller one declared, and stomped away from the four Seidou members.

"Sawamura. He's a lefty, just like you. You better watch his pitches." Miyuki explained, placing his left fist on his hip.

"In last year's summer qualifiers....that guy... When he pitched in relief halfway through the game, he shut us down." Kuramochi spoke seriously, watching the two males walk away.

"He's a roadblock. We'll have to beat him to make it to Koushien." Miyuki explained.

"Narumiya Mei-senpai." Esumi whispered, reading something from her phone.

"Esu?" Eijun looked at her. Esumi didn't look up. She simply shook her head and continued to type away at the phone's keys. "Researching?" He asked with a tiny smile. Esumi smiled, still not looking up, and nodded her head.

"Of course." Her voice came out like a whisper.

~__!__~

The game in between Shuuhoku and Inashiro had now begun. Shuuhoke was batting while Inashiro was in the field. But that meant that Narumiya Mei was pitching in Inashiro's favor. "What are you doing!?" The coach of Shuuhoku called from his dugout in frustration. "If the pitch is in the zone, swing the bat! You can't get a hit if you don't swing!"

The Shuuhoku batter stood in the batter's box. His mouth was agape and sweat ran down his cheeks. His wide eyes proved how shocked he was. He couldn't tell where Narumiya's pitches were going at all! The spectators either stood up or leaned forward in anticipation. Bottom of the sixth inning, Inashiro was leading with a larger margin of 8-0.

"He actually managed to quiet Shuuhoku's lineup; one that is becoming known for his prowess among schools in East Tokyo...."

"Although they've mustered five hits through six innings..."

"He always comes through in the clutch!"

"I'm impressed by Inashiro's ace's ability!"

Esumi heard the audience whisper amongst themselves. She frowned, inwardly thinking how she wanted to go up against that ace. 'I bet I could knock you down a few notches.' She cockily thought, though she'd never say that out loud. She made her way over to the third years that were standing and watching the match.

"Hmph. That punk." Yuki muttered, placing his left hand on his hip. His steel colored eyes were still trained onto the field. He didn't even take notice that Esumi had taken a place to his left.

"He didn't pitch well in the early innings!" Jun claimed loudly, as per usual.

"But now he's showing his skills." Esumi stated. The two upperclassmen flinched in surprise toward the girl's soft voice. "Sorry senpai." She apologized, giving both of them an apologetic smile.

"It's fine." Jun and Yuki sighed in relief.

Narumiya winded up, then pitched a very nasty slider. He threw a splitter where the bottom just barely drops out, next. It was as if he heard Esumi's statement and was proving her correct. "They become more devastating when you combine them with hits..." Esumi explained briefly. "But then, there is also his 148km/h 4-seamer..." Esumi commentated just as Narumiya threw the aforementioned pitch.

"Strike!" The umpire announced loudly.

"Breaking balls with horizontal and vertical movements. Then backed with a powerful fastball." Esumi continued to speak. Everyone around her listened closely at the information that the female baseball player was giving. "He's like the prototypical pitcher.." Esumi glanced over to her right. A few feet away were Eijun, Furuya, and Haruichi. They were all watching with amazement written all over their faces. But Haruichi's expression was nothing like the two freshman pitchers.

"Hey! You guys better be taking notes." Miyuki called toward the two freshman pitcher. Eijun and Furuya had both ignored the second year catcher, too consumed in the game.

"Even those two seem to recognize that pitcher's class." Chris mentioned, smirking a bit.

"Yeah, from an opponent's view. He's the guy you least like to see on the mound." Miyuki sighed while adjusting his hat.

Narumiya moved for the his next pitch. Esumi noticed a particular gleam in his eyes. 'Something's happening!' She thought, squinting to get a more focused observation. Narumiya lifted his right leg in preparation. He launched the ball forward and toward the batter. Esumi's eyes widened when the Shuuhoku batter swung too early. 'No!' She thought. The ball hasn't even crossed home plate yet, as the batter completed his swing. "A change up..." Esumi whispered, devastated. It was another monster pitch from the monster ace.

"Strike!"

"Huh? What was that kinda-fast-kinda-not pitch?" Eijun asked, pointing toward the cheering Inashiro team. "Huh? Why's everyone so down?" He rephrased his question into something else.

"Che." Yuki scoffed, now crossing his arms.

"After seeing that pitch, I know we're in trouble." Jun growled out, though he didn't want to admit the truth. "Not only does he have that powerful fastball, he's got breaking balls with horizontal and vertical movement. But now he can change velocity."

"But as long as we have Esu, we stand a chance right?" Eijun asked dumbly, throwing his arm around his sister's neck. Esumi stared at him weirdly.

"Idiot! You think Esumi can stand against him alone!?" Jun growled, hitting Eijun on the head. Eijun cringed. He took his right hand and placed it over the spot that was hit.

"Yes!" Eijun still replied confidently. His mood suddenly changed. His gold eyes hardened and his jaw clenched. "You still haven't seen Esumi go all out." Eijun stated seriously. The Seidou team looked in between the two twins. The eldest was completely serious, which didn't happen often. The youngest had turned her head away.

"What are you talking about Eijun?" Esumi asked. She too called her brother by his full name. Both twins were completely serious.

"You know what I'm talking about!" Eijun persisted. Esumi turned, meeting eyes with her brother.

"No." She replied, and walked off.

"What did you mean Sawamura-chan?" Masuko asked, as all of the players watched Esumi walk away. Eijun frowned.

"There was a time before she was able to control her ability." He spoke in almost a whisper. "Meaning, before, Esumi used to play all out....All the time." Eijun ended.

"Really? Esumi-chan is stronger than what she's been showing us?" Haruichi questioned, tilting his head. Eijun nodded.

"Why won't she go all out anymore?" Yuki asked, almost worriedly. Eijun shrugged.

"I really don't know. After she was able to control how much strength and effort she used, she just never went all out." Eijun sighed.

"I wanna kick their ass!" Jun raged, all the while turning everyone's attention away from the youngest Sawamura. "That look on their faces is just begging to get smashed." Beside Jun, Yuki was scarily glaring toward the Inashiro ace.

"In these situations, only the opposing pitcher can swing momentum." Ryosuke added.

'I absolutely must hit today.' Masuko thought, not feeling like voicing his goals.

"Hehehe..I can't wait!" Kuramochi smirked to himself. He folded his hands together, giving a creepily ecstatic expression.

'He must tip his pitches in some way...I must find it!" Chris thought to himself.

'Mei, you probably were trying to scare us with that pitch, weren't you? Too bad it seems to have caused the opposite effect.' Miyuki thought, looking toward Narumiya. 'We won't be scared that easily.'

"Hahaha I won't loose!" Eijun announced himself enthusiastically. "Even though I have no idea what's going on, I won't admit defeat!"

"I have to work even harder!" Haruichi nodded in agreement.

'I won't lose either!" Furuya secretly thought.

"Miyuki let's warm up." Tanba called the catcher. He saw the way that the freshman got fired up. He didn't want to be shown up. Miyuki turned around to look at the 'Ace' of Seidou. "Won't it be easier to check if I'm in good condition in the bullpen." Tanba paused for a moment. "It'll be easier for you too, since you'll know which pitches to call." The Ace spoke, already walking away.

~__!__~

After Esumi had left her friends, she went toward the fountains near the boy's dorm. She took a breath and hid her gold eyes behind her eyelids. Her hands reached forward and turned the faucet. Water gushed out, splattering onto the floor. Esumi bent forward, cupping her hands. She splashed water all over her face.

Esumi did that a couple times, and turned the faucet off. She pulled a towel from around her neck and wiped the liquid dry. "I want to go all out." She muttered after a couple minutes. She whipped the towel back around her neck, letting it hang loosely. "But I can't. Not yet." She whispered.

"Why not, Esumi-chan?" A voice asked. Esumi spun around. Her eyes landed on the youngest Kominato brother. Esumi's gold eyes widened, as fear flashed through them.

""W-what?" Esumi stuttered, still trying to think of an excuse.

"Why can't you go all out?" Haruichi asked again. Esumi was silent for a bit. Haruichi observed. His eyes widened when he saw Esumi's gold orbs dull.

"I've crushed so many people's dreams." She muttered out slowly. "So many kids got hurt because I didn't know the meaning of 'hold back.' It was always awful seeing kids being pulled away in a gurney because they were hurt. I didn't understand though. Why were so many people still coming up to me and asking to be my friend? Why were they still saying that my talent was amazing?" Esumi ranted for a short moment, before having fallen silent.

"Esumi-chan..." Haruichi frowned. He stepped toward her, pulling the girl into a comforting hug. "It's because Esumi-chan is so likable." The pink haired boy let out a little laugh. He let the space between him and Esumi grow. Esumi looked up at the male that was only slightly taller than her.

"Thank you." Esumi smiled happily. Haruichi felt happiness and relief that the light in her gold eyes had returned. "But I still can't go all out." She whisper. Haruichi gave her a confused look. "Because it simply isn't time yet. Plus I'm still banned remember?" Esumi laughed.

"Right.." Haruichi laughed awkwardly.

"Let's head back now. Our game against Shuuhoku is going to start very soon." Esumi urged, tugging the pinkette's arm toward the fields.

A/n: awwwwwe Esuichi! Lol any better ship names for Esumi and Haruichi? OH!! Harumi? Maybe? Lol

Ships So Far:

Haruichi X Esumi (Harumi)

Jun X Esumi (make a ship name guys!)