The next day was Saturday, but I had to wake up early to go to practice. My uniform was a softball one since I was a girl, but I liked it anyway. By the time I got there, some of the guys were already warming up. “Akira!” I was surprised to hear someone call me by my first name. A girl in a maroon jumpsuit and short brown hair ran up to me. “Hi, I’m Shinooka the team manager, you wanted to see me about everyone’s names?” I nodded yes. “Okay…” She showed me the list of players with their school pictures and full names. I thanked her as she ran to organize the equipment. I put my team cap on and started to bend my glove. I’d taken it home last night and put it under my mattress to break it in, but it was still a little stiff. “Uh…Takizawa?” I heard a mumbling voice say. I turned to see the pitcher, twiddling his thumbs and looking around. “Oh hi, you’re…Mihashi right?” I asked. He looked at me startled, and blushed a little. Then he nodded frantically. “What’s up, did you want something?” I asked. He looked around some more, and then down at his glove. I could relate to him in a way, seeing as to how I was just as shy around other people. Coach called for a huddle in the dugout and he scurried like a field mouse. I found myself smiling a little. He might be even shier then me.

I spotted Abe and decided to stand by him. He looked at me startled. “Oh, good morning, you scared me sneaking up on me like that!” I apologized, embarrassed. I tend to do that a lot. “Okay, listen up everyone. We’ve got a practice game in two days at Mihoshi Academy, so we’ve all got to work our hardest!”  I heard a loud thud, and realized Mihashi had fainted. I was the first to reach him and try to shake him awake. At first he looked at me calmly, then his face turned red and he shot up, accidentally head butting me. I staggered back, a little stunned and felt someone catch me by the shoulders. “S-Sorry!” he whimpered. I rubbed my forehead and tried to smile. “That’s okay, accidents happen right?” I said assuredly. He looked at me surprised, as if he expected me to blow up at him. I looked behind me to see Tajima, giving me a big smiled. “Yo, you okay?” he asked. I nodded, and thanked him for catching me. “Alright, now everyone split into groups and start practicing your throws.” Coach said, clapping her hands. Tajima grabbed my hand and lifted it in the air. “I call Takizawa!” he yelled. I hid my face with my cap and blushed. Some of the other guys protested, but they eventually got into their own pairs. Mihashi paired up with Abe. At first I thought it was a pitcher and catcher thing, but then I considered they might actually be friends. Tajima plopped a ball in my glove and ran a few paces. He punched the center of his glove a few times and held it out. “Ready when you are!” he said. I flinch a little. I’d forgotten that I threw in Junior high too. If they found out about my fast ball, I wasn’t sure what I’d do. And knowing how nervous Mihashi is, he’d probably be afraid that I’d replace him. I took a deep breath and felt around the ball for a screwball. Then I wound up, only using a quarter of my momentum, and aimed straight for Tajima’s glove with perfect control. “Nice throw!” he said, getting into a stance like mine. Was he trying to copy me? “Try to catch this!” he said. He wound up, using more momentum then I had, and threw it straight at me instead. I moved my glove in time to catch it, but it was too close to my chest. Combined with how fast he threw it, it nearly knocked the wind out of me and sent me staggering backwards. I coughed twice and looked down. Was he trying to challenge me? “Hey, are you okay? Did I throw too hard?” he asked worriedly. I shook my head and straightened up. Tajima smiled. “I was trying to show you that you need to pitch harder than that, but I didn’t mean to nearly knock you over.” My hand twitched as I touched the ball. He thought I was a weak pitcher. I tightened my grip on the ball and took another breath. Using half my speed wouldn’t be so bad right? I wound up, using half my momentum, and threw a fast ball straight at his glove. Tajima was expecting the same kind of speed, so he caught it but it actually knocked him off his feet and made him fall on his . I twitched and felt heat rise to my face. I ran toward him and tried to help him up. Instead of yelling at me, he smiled and said, “Yep I’d say that’s hard enough!” I couldn’t help but laugh, and he laughed with me. I turned around to go back to my spot once he was on his feet, and gave a tiny yelp when I saw coach standing behind me with more stars in her eyes. I knew this wasn’t going to be pretty. “You were a pitcher too?!” she said excitedly. I hesitated for a while, but eventually I nodded yes. “That’s great, now we don’t have to look for a backup pitcher when we alternate games!” she said happily. But I wasn’t too happy. If Abe ever made me throw a fastball straight down the middle, I might accidently throw full speed. All I knew was I didn’t want my arm in a sling again. I spotted Mihashi and my thoughts worsened. He looked worried, and I knew why. Coach yelled that it was time to start batting practice, and Tajima challenged me in a race to the dugout. My mind was still on Mihashi, so he ended up winning. I caught Mihashi after I got my bat and helmet. “Hey, can I talk to you for a sec?” I asked him. He jumped at the sound of my voice, and then nodded yes. “Look, I know you heard what coach said about me pitching, and I know you’re afraid that I might take your place.” He looked at his feet, as if agreeing with me. “But I just want to let you know that you shouldn’t be. To tell you the truth, I don’t even want to be pitcher.” He looked at me shocked. “B-but you’re…good at pitching.” He said. I was a little flattered by his complement, but I didn’t let the matter go. “Maybe, but you’re the ace, not me. And I could never take that away from you. Even if coach paid me 1,000 yen, I’d turn it down.” He started to make more eye contact, so I knew I was getting through to him. “Really, but why?” he asked. “Because you earned your number though hard work, and I just joined off of pure luck of talent.” I put a reassured hand on his shoulder and gave him my best smile. “You deserve it a thousand times more than I do.” Mihashi blushed and looked at me with what seemed to be gratitude. “T-t-thank you…” He said a lot more happy now. Tajima snuck up on us and put his arms around our shoulders, making him stand between us. “You two seem to be getting along!” he looked at Mihashi. “I’m almost jealous!” Mihashi looked embarrassed, but I was confused. Why would he be jealous?” We alternated batters for about a half hour and for some reason coach kept skipping over my name. Then we took a 10 minute water break so I had a chance to talk to her. “Huh, you want to know why I didn’t call you?” she asked. I nodded. She smiled deviously. “Because I want you to pitch the next set, so get ready!” I stood there like a solid statue as she went to give water to her small dog, Ai. If I threw with a quarter of my speed Abe would notice. If I threw with half my speed coach would notice. If I threw full speed, they would put me in more than Mihashi. I didn’t stand a chance. “Hey, are you alright?” I turned to see Abe, holding a cup of water. “You look kinda warm, are you dehydrated?” he asked. My mouth was too dry with fear for me to answer. He handed me the cup of cool water. “Here, drink up okay? If you’re going to pitch the next set you can’t have your muscles tense from the heat.” I nodded, and sipped it gingerly. Abe didn’t take his eyes off me, as if he wanted to ask me something. “What’s your pitching limit?” My shoulders jumped, and I nearly spit out my water. “Well, uh…” I ran my index finger around the rim of the cup. “It depends on the ball, I guess” Abe grew more interested. “Oh yeah? Give me an example.” I picked my mind for a bit. “Well, if I throw straight screwballs, my limit is 80. If I throw straight curves my limit is 70. If I through all sliders I can get up to 90. And…” my voice trailed off. I looked up at Abe, whose eyes were sparkling as much as Coach’s had. “Yeah, don’t leave me hanging!” I looked at the dugout for comfort, but was shocked to see everyone listening. They looked excited too. I looked back down and took a breath. “If I throw all fastballs…I can get by with 100.” I gulped. “Sometimes…even a few more…at least when I only use half my speed.” Abe looked like a caffeine junky by this time. “How many fastballs can you get by with at full speed?” he asked earnestly. I shifted on my feet. “I…try not to throw at full speed. So…I set my limit at 25” I knew hearing that disappointed him, but it was the truth.  I was afraid that if I threw more than that, it would be the accident in junior high all over again. Of course at that time I could push up to 90, but my catcher was so greedy to get a no-hitter that she made me push over 100. “Sorry I can’t be any better.” I said, almost feeling like I was going to cry. Abe plopped my glove on top of my head and made me face him. “Don’t start that, if your start getting down on yourself you’ll cry as much as Mihashi!” My eyes widened a bit. Mihashi and I really were a like. He turned me around and pushed me forward. “Get on the mound, we’ll practice a few throws before we start batting again.” I didn’t really want to, but I ran towards the mound anyway. I tried to get my foot adjusted to the dirt while Abe fixed his catcher’s gear. “Hey!” he shouted. “Have you worked with signs before?” I nodded yes. “Great, I’ll throw you some, so just do your best to follow them. And try to take it easy, you probably haven’t thrown in a while…” I flinched. “You’ve been practicing?” Abe asked. I nodded. “Great, in that case, give me what you got!” I started to get worried again, but then I realized something. Coach had left to run some paper work through the school, and Abe didn’t know what my full speed was. I just might be able to throw at half speed, and convince him that it’s my full speed! I wasn’t very confident about the idea, but it was worth a try. I knew everyone was watching me from the dugout, so I tried to loosen up a little. I watched Abe’s hand for a sign. Okay, screwball, straight down the middle I thought. I took a deep breath and wound up. I leaned in with half my momentum, just as I had when pitching with Tajima, and snapped my wrist at the last second for more spin and control. It hit Abe’s glove with a low whap kind of sound. He threw it back, looking pleased. “Good job, now for the next one.” He flashed me another sign. Curveball, coming in from the left outside corner. If I focused on control, it would hit his webbing. But if I snapped my wrist again, it would move toward the center at the last minute. I wound up and leaned with half my momentum, this time twisting my wrist through the motion. I watched as the ball went for the outside, and then curved inside at the last minute. It hit Abe’s glove with a sharper sound this time. He threw it back again. “Nice change up!” he yelled. I nodded back, kind of embarrassed. “Okay, last one and then we bat.” I watched his sign and instantly tensed up. He had asked for a fast ball straight down the middle. I know I told myself only to throw at half speed, but sometimes I forget due to muscle memory and throw at full speed instead. I had to focus on only using half my speed, and nothing else. I wound up one more time and leaned in with only a little more momentum than usual, but still far from full speed. It hit Abe’s glove with almost a sharp crack kind of sound. I straightened up on the mound, wiping the sweat from my forehead. I looked at Abe, waiting for his feedback. Instead of throwing the ball back, he got up and jogged toward me. I expected him to smile again, but this time he was frowning. I felt a pain of guilt in the pit of my stomach. “What was that? I thought you said you could throw at full speed 25 times, so why didn’t you just throw one?” I couldn’t answer. Was I really that afraid of making Mihashi worried? Or was I just afraid for myself, that if I threw at full speed I would get hurt again. Abe sighed and looked around. “You know…I understand if you think I’m over estimating you.” I looked at him shocked. “I mean, I got so excited about your pitches that you probably think I expect a lot form your full power fast ball, but I don’t. I just want to see how well you pitch when you really give it your all.” He looked at me, this time with a warm smile. “Okay, Akira?” I blushed at the sound of him calling me by my first name. “Yeah…Okay.” I said a little more confident. “Alright, one last pitch and we’ll start striking out teammates.” He joked. I giggled a little. “Bits of advice, when Tajima comes up give him a fast ball at full power on the last pitch. He’s the hardest to strike out. And go easy on Mihashi, he’s not much of a hitter.” He said. I nodded as he headed toward the box. “Oh, and one more thing.” He said turning around. “I really hate it when pitchers shake my signs, so don’t okay?” I felt a little tenser now, but I agreed anyway.

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