Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Bleach Baseball ❯ Inning Four ( Chapter 4 )

Inning Four

Hanataro ran out to the plate with four balls in his hands. “Here are more balls, Kurosaki-san!”

Isshin took the balls and stuffed them into his pants pockets.

“Man, that ball boy's just as cute as can be!” Yoruichi exclaimed.

Urahara eyed her from under his hat. “Hmm… First it's redheads, and now youngsters. You have… extensive tastes, Yoruichi.”

“Hey! I just said he was cute!”

“Cute enough to snack on!” a bulky Hollow agreed. “Hey, ball boy! Why don't you bring a few balls up here? Some of us Hollows want to play catch.”

Hanataro's large eyes got larger. “I don't think so! You just want to eat my soul!”

“Don't be silly! We just want to lick off a little spiritual energy! You'll hardly notice! Maybe you'll enjoy it!”

Hanataro scurried back into the Shinigami dugout.

“Quit hassling our ball boy!” an eleventh squad member shouted.

“Yeah!” Another eleventh squad member jumped to his feet and shook a fist. “You Hollows are all sneaky, worthless lowlifes!”

“Well, you Shinigami are arrogant, cocky jackasses!”

“Why don't you come over here and say that to my face, donut!”

“Who you callin' donut?!”

“I'm callin' you donut, donut! You got powdered sugar in that hole of yours, pussy? I bet all your Hollow buddies think you're real sweet!” The eleventh squad howled with laughter and the insulted Hollow jumped to his feet.

“That's it! I'm ripping out your guts, Shinigami scum!”

“You can try, Hollow filth!”

A dozen eleventh squad members charged toward the Hollow section and an equal number of Hollows surged toward the Shinigami.

“Ladies and gentlemen!” Urahara blared through the loud speakers. “There will be no fighting in the stands! Please resume your seats so the game can continue.” Shinigami from other squads forced the eleventh squad members to return to their seats, and the Hollows reluctantly sat down as well. But the two sides continued to throw angry glares at one another. “That's better,” Urahara said as order was restored. “Up next for the Arrancar is Tousen. The blind captain seems to be having a little trouble settling into the game, but I'm sure that will change at any moment.”

“He's pretty worthless if he can't drag us all down to his level,” Yoruichi said pointedly.

Tousen stepped up to the plate, swinging his bat casually. Ichigo took the sign and threw in a slow breaking ball. Tousen swung and missed. The next pitch was a curve ball and Tousen hit it with a loud crack. But the ball rolled straight to Kenpachi and he picked it up without even removing his foot from the base. Tousen heaved an annoyed sigh.

“At least you made contact this time,” Luppi said snidely. “You're improving.”

Tousen returned to the dugout without a word.

Gin glided out of the on-deck circle with his wide smile folding his eyes nearly closed. “We're gettin' a lot of contact on ya, Ichigo,” he purred. “Maybe your arm's gettin' a little tired?”

“You'll know when I'm tired!” Ichigo snapped. “And it won't be from dealing with the likes of you!”

“Now, now! Don't take it personally.” Gin glided up to the plate and hunched over, his bat poised in the air above his shoulder. He let the first two pitches go by and jumped on the third one, but it rolled to Rukia at shortstop and she threw him out easily.

A collective grown rose up from the Hollows.

“It's two out and one of the Arrancar's weakest players, Wonderweiss, is at bat,” Urahara announced. “It doesn't look like the Arrancar are going to add to their lead this inning.”

Tousen led Wonderweiss from the dugout and positioned him at the plate. He leaned over and put his face in front of Wonderweiss'. “Scrunch down a little,” he said. Wonderweiss scrunched toward the ground, his bat pointing straight up. “That's good. Stay like that.” Tousen walked back to the dugout.

Ichigo scowled at Wonderweiss, whose strike zone was now the height of a jar of peanut butter. “That's ridiculous! He can't swing like that!”

“Just pitch the ball,” Isshin ordered.

Grumbling to himself, Ichigo went for the fast ball.

“Ball one!”

“Dammit!”

“Ball two!”

“Goddamit!”

“Ball three!”

“Stupid fucking shit!”

Ichigo leaned in for the sign, rolling the ball over in his hand. Finally, he took a long, slow windup and smoked in his best fastball.

“Ball four!”

“No fucking way!” Ichigo threw his glove down in disgust.

“Uwah!” Wonderweiss exclaimed.

Tousen jogged out of the dugout and took his hand. “Come with me.” He jogged Wonderweiss to first base. “Stay here, Wonderweiss. Wait until Szayel hits the ball.”

“Uhw?”

“Just wait here.” Tousen jogged back to the dugout.

Szayel swaggered up to the plate. He took a few easy swings, smirking at Ichigo. Ichigo glared back. He pitched a breaking ball and Szayel floated it into center field, just over the tip of the leaping Ikkaku's glove. He sprinted for first and then stared in dismay at the unmoving Wonderweiss. “Run, you idiot!”

Wonderweiss pointed at the ball. “Bah?”

Renji, charging in from center field, scooped up the ball and threw it to Ikkaku. Ikkaku tapped second base with an amused grin on his face and Szayel slapped his forehead.

“You were supposed to run!” he screamed at Wonderweiss.

Wonderweiss blinked at him for a second, then turned and sprinted to second base. Ikkaku touched him with the ball. Noba blinked once. “Out.”

“Why the hell is he playing?!” several Hollows screamed at the Arrancar dugout. “He's brain-damaged!”

Ulquiorra blinked once at the crowd and the Hollows immediately fell into a subdued silence.

“He's scary,” someone whispered.

“So, the Arrancar fail to add to their lead,” Urahara announced. “Let's see if the Shinigami can take advantage of this opportunity.”

“They may have to wait a few minutes,” Yoruichi said. “It looks like the Arrancar left-fielder is distracted.”

Still at second base, Wonderweiss crouched down to stare at a butterfly that had chosen that moment to land on Noba's head. “Ooo!” Wonderweiss poked a finger at the butterfly and it fluttered away. “Ah!” Wonderweiss followed it, unfortunately wandering away from his position in left field. With a sigh, Halibel caught his hand and led him back to the Arrancar dugout.

Tousen handed him his glove and pointed at left field. “Go to your position.”

Wonderweiss grinned at his glove, shoved it on his hand, and scampered out into left field, where he promptly plopped down with his legs splayed out so he could stare at a dandelion.

There was a universal slapping of foreheads among the Hollow spectators.

As the rest of the Arrancar team jogged onto the field, Szayel sneered at Grimmjow. “That worthless human pitching for the Shinigami is showing you up. He has more strikeouts than you do. I could do much better.”

“Hah!” Nnoitra snorted. “You're too weak! We need someone strong like me pitching! I am the strongest of the Arrancar, after all.” He puffed out his chest.

“Pitching is a precision skill,” Grimmjow retorted hotly. “Neither one of you is good enough. I'll show you!” He settled into his stance as the Shinigami batter stepped up to the plate.

“First up is Abarai Renji,” Urahara announced. “He popped up in his last at bat.”

Grimmjow threw a fastball, and Renji swung and missed. In the coaching box, Byakuya's lips thinned slightly. Renji scowled. The next pitch was a breaking ball and Renji missed again. Byakuya blinked once. Renji swore under his breath. Grimmjow pitched a knuckleball and Renji tipped it. The ball smacked into the backstop with a resounding clang. Byakuya folded his arms. “Gah!” Renji cried, and he smacked his bat on the ground.

“Byakuya's giving him a real tongue-lashing out there,” Ganju remarked.

“He sure is,” Matsumoto agreed, leaning on the dugout rail and allowing a generous portion of bosom to spill into view. “But Byakuya has high expectations of him.”

Grimmjow wound up and pitched a slider. Renji missed it high, swinging so hard that he almost lost his balance. “Shit!” He jammed his bat into the ground to keep from falling.

“Uh oh,” Matsumoto said. “He'll have to make that one up to his captain.”

“What? Like spend a few hours as a footstool while Byakuya reads reports?” Ganju chuckled.

“If he's lucky.”

“I wouldn't let him off so easy,” Hitsugaya put in. “With a bankai like his he should at least be able to hit the stupid ball.”

Renji stamped into the dugout, his face scarlet.

“Don't worry about it,” Ichigo said. “I'm sure he'll give you your balls back if you get a hit next time.”

Renji threw himself down on the bench. “Does he publicly admonish anyone else like that? No! It's just me! I'm the only one he needs to humiliate that way!”

“The first Shinigami batter strikes out,” Urahara announced, “bringing Chad to the plate. Chad got a single last time. The human players are really holding their own against the immortals, wouldn't you say, Yoruichi?”

“Absolutely, Urahara!” Yoruichi agreed enthusiastically. “These humans are showing that they are just as big and as powerful as any Shinigami or Arrancar. And Chad here is the strong, silent type, too. Just what you need when you're looking for a lot of performance and not a lot of talk.”

Chad trotted silently out of the on-deck circle and faced Grimmjow with his bat at the ready. Grimmjow scowled back and shook off the first two signs. Then he wound up and pitched a high fastball. Chad swung and just managed to tip the ball. It popped over Gin and Isshin's heads and rolled to the backstop. Hanataro dashed out to get it.

“Strike one!”

Chad blinked once at his bat and settled in for the next pitch. Grimmjow pitched another fastball, this one low and outside. Chad swung again, making no contact at all.

“Strike two!”

“Come on, Chad!” Ichigo shouted from the dugout. “What are you playing at? This pussy is no pitcher! Get a hit!”

Grimmjow smirked. He faced Gin to get the sign and then nodded confidently. He wound up and delivered.

“Unh!” Chad grunted as he swung, but it was too soon. The breaking ball dropped in just after his bat went through the strike zone.

“Strike three!” Isshin cried. “You're out!”

Chad gripped the barrel of his bat as he walked back to the dugout.

“It's ok, Chad!” Tatsuki shouted from the stands. “You're still batting .500, which is better than most of those scummy Arrancar!”

“Who are you calling scummy, puny human?!” a big Hollow cried out. “Our Arrancar are worth a dozen of your wretched Shinigami, and you humans don't count at all!”

“If we don't count,” Tatsuki said with a superior grin on her face, “how come you Hollows are always trying to eat our souls? That makes us way better than you!”

“Hah!” the Hollow shouted back. “You're just cattle, nothing more!”

“Well, moo!” Tatsuki laughed.

“Yeah!” Karin jumped to her feet. “You're envious of us! You want to be human, so that totally makes us better!”

“That's not true!”

“You got human-envy!”

“Do not!”

“Do too!”

“Shut up!”

“Make me!”

The Hollow charged out of his seat, bounding over the heads of neighboring Hollows.

“Gimme that soccer ball, Yuzu,” Karin said calmly.

“Why does she have a soccer ball?” Ishida muttered.

Karin bounced the soccer ball on her hand as the Hollow bounded toward her, and then she leaped up and kicked the ball squarely into the Hollow's bony face. The creature slammed over backward, crashing into other Hollows.

“Get off, stupid! We're trying to watch the game!”

“She insulted me!”

“Well, that wouldn't be hard!” a slender, nearly human looking Hollow snapped. “You're stupid even for a Hollow.”

“What?!” The angry Hollow plunged at his erstwhile comrade, his clawed hands reaching for the slender Hollow's throat. The slender Hollow calmly grabbed one of those outstretched hands and flipped the Hollow into another row.

“Dammit!” several Hollows shouted. They picked up the hapless Hollow and flung him back toward his seat. “Sit down and shut up, fool! You're making us look bad.”

“Opening your mouths makes you fools look bad!” An eleventh squad member howled. “That dinky little human showed you up proper!”

“Ladies and gentlemen,” Urahara announced, “we cannot resume the game until order is restored in the stands. Jinta! Ururu! More refreshments.”

Slowly, the crowd settled down and Ikkaku strolled toward the plate, swinging his bat above his head and back over his shoulders. All but the last button of his uniform had come undone, revealing the hard planes of his chest and abs.

Ayasegawa squealed, clasping his hands together reverently. “Oh my! Do you see that? Such definition! Such firmness! I wish I could run my hands over him!”

The Shinigami in the next seat blinked at him. “Um, you might not want to say stuff like that out loud.”

“But he's so beautiful!”

“Ok, you definitely don't want to say stuff like that out loud. People are gonna wonder about you.”

“But how can you not appreciate such perfect masculine beauty? You know I have a deep appreciation for all things beautiful.” Ayasegawa sighed wistfully. “His skin looks damp. Isn't that an arousing sight?”

The other Shinigami shifted over slightly and waved a hand at Ururu. “Beer! I need a beer over here!”

Ikkaku took his position at the plate with a gleam in his eye. Grimmjow grinned back maniacally. Then he blew Ikkaku down with three straight fastballs. Ikkaku swore furiously as he stamped back to the dugout.

“He's beautiful even when he's striking out,” Ayasegawa purred happily. “I could just stare at him all day.”

The Shinigami beside him chugged half his beer. “Yeah, but now the side's out. He should have gotten a hit.”

“Well,” Ayasegawa shrugged. “Beauty isn't always perfect.”

“You're nuts.”

Grimmjow swaggered back to the dugout. “I doubt either of you could have done as good a job,” he gloated to Szayel and Nnoitra. “My skills are more than a match for these weak Shinigami. You wretches would have allowed them to get hits.”

“Don't become overconfident,” Ulquiorra said, his eyes fixed on Grimmjow. “The Shinigami can hurt you if you let your guard down.”

“Of course,” Grimmjow said quickly. “I know that.”

Ulquiorra tipped his head slightly to the side. “Good. Because if that happened, then I would have to hurt you, too.”

Grimmjow flinched. “I've got it all under control,” he said loudly. “You have nothing to worry about.”

“I'm so glad to hear that.”

“That's the end of the fourth inning and the score remains 3-2 in favor of the Arrancar,” Urahara announced. “Both teams seem to have settled in now, wouldn't you say, Yoruichi?”

“That's right, Urahara. This game is definitely becoming more interesting.” She laughed. “And the fans are pretty entertaining, too. Although the Hollows don't seem to have much aptitude for soccer.”

“Boo! The color announcer is showing her bias again!”

“I'll show you my bias!” Yoruichi shouted. She jumped up and started to yank down the back of her pants.

Urahara grabbed her and pulled her back down into her seat. “That will be quite enough of that, Yoruichi!” he said firmly. “There are families in the audience.”

“I'm sick of their whining.”

“Just behave yourself.”

In the Shinigami dugout, Yachiru climbed up onto Ichigo's shoulder. “They're still in the lead, carrot-top,” she said with a pout. “You need to get them all out again.”

“Hey, I'm doing my best!”

“So keep it up!” Yachiru smacked him on the head and did a back flip off his shoulder onto the ground. “Everybody work hard! We can beat these Arrancar just like we always do. Go get `em!” She thrust her little fist into the air and grinned hugely.

“Right!” The Shinigami players charged out of the dugout for the top of the fifth inning.

“The two coaches have completely different styles for motivating their teams,” Urahara said. “It will be interesting to see which method produces the better results.”

“Hmm,” Yoruichi said. “Ultra-cuteness or stomach-clenching fear? It's a tough call.”