Bleach Fan Fiction ❯ Bleach Baseball ❯ Inning Five ( Chapter 5 )

Inning Five

“Leading off the top of the fifth is Nnoitra,” Urahara announced. “He's had one hit in two at-bats.”

The tall Arrancar swaggered to the base. “I'm prepared for you this time, human,” he said with a superior smirk. “Give me your best shot.” He scrunched over, his bat held high over his shoulder.

Ichigo scowled. He pitched an outside breaking ball, but Nnoitra didn't go for it. The next pitch was a fastball, and Nnoitra pounced on it with a sharp swing. With a loud crack, the ball shot into right field. Hitsugaya turned and sprinted for the fence, but the ball flew over his head. He played it off the wall, but Nnoitra was already rounding second.

Luppi threw up his hands. “Hold up!” he shouted. Nnoitra looked like he planned to round third for home and Luppi waved his arms. “I said stop, you idiot!” he shouted.

The insult worked. Nnoitra slid into third feet first with an infuriated look on his face. “Why did you tell me to stop?!” he shouted angrily. “I could have made it home!”

“Oh, really?” Luppi pointed at Matsumoto, who was now holding the ball. Nnoitra's mouth fell open. “That right fielder can throw. He almost got you out.” Luppi smirked lopsidedly. “Always listen to the base coach.”

Nnoitra turned to stare at Hitsugaya, who was rubbing his shoulder.

“He's real accurate, too,” Luppi added snidely.

“Shut up!” Nnoitra growled.

Zommari strode silently up to the plate, as usual.

Byakuya, leaning on the dugout fence, cleared his throat. “Should I mention that this batter has made solid contact at both at-bats?”

Ichigo glowered at him. “I'm aware of that!”

“And the batter after that is their strongest hitter.”

“And your point is?”

“Perhaps you might want to consider pitching a few strikeouts.”

Ichigo muttered something under his breath that sounded both unflattering and physiologically impossible. He took the sign from Ganju and pitched a hard slider. Zommari swung and missed. Ichigo went for the breaking ball and Zommari made contact, but not solidly. The ball rolled back to Ichigo on the mound. He held Nnoitra on third with a look and then threw Zommari out at first.

Byakuya lifted an eyebrow. “Not quite a strikeout, but effective in holding the runner.”

“Wow!” Yoruichi exclaimed. “That almost sounded like a compliment. Someone better check that man for a fever!”

“There was a suspiciously praise-like quality to that statement,” Urahara agreed. “Perhaps the sun is getting to him.”

In center field, Renji snorted angrily. “For that meager performance, he gets a compliment?! That's just not right!”

Byakuya sniffed. “I will certainly be glad to mention it when my second-in-command manages to do something that doesn't completely shame the sixth.”

“Augh!” Renji screamed.

“Maybe it would be better if he went back to the silent admonishment,” Hitsugaya suggested from left field.

“I don't need any advice from you, half-pint!”

“Excuse me?!”

“You heard me, shorty!”

Hitsugaya started for center field. “I think you might want to rephrase that, 0 for 2!”

“Oh, yeah?!” Renji started for right field.

“EXCUSE ME!” Ichigo screamed. “Do the outfielders mind if I pitch to the batter now?!”

The two Shinigami pulled up and stared sheepishly toward the infield. But they continued to throw angry glares over their shoulders at each other as they returned to their positions.

“Thank you!” Ichigo faced Yammi. “Sorry for the delay. I'll get on with your strikeout, now.”

“What?!” Yammi snorted. “I don't think so, puny!” He took a few slow swings as he settled into his stance. “Just blow one in here. I'll give your outfielders something to do besides whine at each other.”

“Hah!” Ichigo did a full wind-up, but instead of a fastball, he floated in a high breaking ball. Yammi got under it and popped it up high into right field. “Shit!”

Nnoitra tagged up at third and leaned toward home eagerly. As the ball plopped into Hitsugaya's glove, he took off running. Hitsugaya's throw came in only seconds late as Nnoitra slid head first into home. But that didn't stop Ganju from clouting Nnoitra on the side of the head with a hard tag.

“Safe!” Isshin declared loudly.

“Is that all you have to say?!” Nnoitra demanded. “He hit me with the ball!”

Isshin blinked. “The tag was late. You slid head first. These things happen.”

“He did it on purpose!”

Ganju blinked innocently. “I was aiming for his arm?”

“See?” Isshin said. “An unfortunate accident. The run still counts.”

“Humph!” Nnoitra stamped back to the dugout.

Luppi glared at him as he went by. “You don't even have a bruise! I have a huge lump from you throwing your bat at me! Serves you right!”

“Oh, shut up!”

Yammi jogged back into the dugout. “You can all thank me for bringing the run home,” he said generously.

Ulquiorra blinked at him. “There would be two runs if you'd hit a home run instead of a pop fly.”

“But…”

“Perhaps next time you'll live up to my expectations.”

Yammi slumped down on the bench with a big pout on his face.

“He reminds me a little bit of Byakuya,” Yoruichi remarked with a shiver.

“I have to agree there are similarities in their personalities,” Urahara acknowledged. “Although I think Byakuya is less likely to gut his players for failing to perform.”

“That's just because he's not the team manager.”

“Good point. Next up is Stark. He hit a home run in his last at-bat.”

Stark slouched up to the plate with his bat slung over one shoulder. “Man, I'm tired! Do I really need to do this again?”

Ichigo snickered. “You could just stand there and let me strike you out.”

“Really? You'd do that for me? You're a pretty decent fellow.”

“Right.” Ichigo wound up and pitched a fastball. It blazed past Stark's unmoving form. “Come on, you could at least pretend,” Ichigo said. “Your manager might get annoyed with you otherwise.”

“You raise a good point,” Stark said. He glanced quickly at Ulquiorra and hunched over into a batting stance. “This will make it look better.”

Ichigo flamed in another fastball and Stark made an ineffectual swing at it.

“Strike two!”

“How about one more just like that?” Ichigo suggested.

“That works for me.”

Ichigo blew in a fastball that smoked into Ganju's glove before Stark even started his swing. He let the momentum of his swing carry him around and propel him into a stumbling walk back to the dugout.

“Strike three! Side's out!”

Ganju handed the ball to Isshin and the Shinigami jogged off the field.

“What was that?” Ulquiorra asked pointedly as Stark entered the dugout.

“A strikeout,” Stark said with a yawn. He sank down on the bench and pulled his cap down over his eyes. “I'll just catch a quick nap before we start the next inning.”

“Idiot!” Grimmjow kicked his feet. “Have you forgotten that we have to take the field while the Shinigami are batting?”

Stark groaned. “That's really inconvenient. Don't they have designated fielders in this game?”

“Get off your ass and get out there!” Grimmjow screamed.

Stark sat up to find Ulquiorra regarding him with a completely flat expression. He swallowed. “Right! Of course! Right field! That's me!” He scurried out of the dugout and galloped into right field.

“Old lazybones can move when he wants to,” Yoruichi observed.

“Ganju is leading off the fifth for the Shinigami,” Urahara announced. “He ran out a long single in his first at-bat. He's not a Shinigami, but he's quick and strong.”

“He's going to need to come out strong to make up a two-run deficit,” Yoruichi said.

Grimmjow smirked at Ganju. “I won't underestimate you this time. I've got some pitches you can't hit.”

Ganju grinned. “I like the sound of that! Let's go!”

Grimmjow started out with a knuckleball and it dropped in for a strike.

“Nice one!” Ganju exclaimed. “What else you got?”

“Try this.” Grimmjow wound up slowly and then exploded into the pitch. The fastball blurred toward home plate, but Ganju cracked it over Grimmjow's head and into center field. Yammi ran in for the ball and Ganju pulled up as he rounded first.

“I liked that pitch,” Ganju said with a grin.

Grimmjow snatched the ball out of the air as Yammi threw it in, but managed to hold his tongue.

Matsumoto bounced up to the plate, her majestic and nearly independent bosom drawing nearly every eye in the stadium.

“That's ridiculous!” Grimmjow exclaimed. “How do you expect to even swing the bat with your tits hanging out like that?”

Matsumoto batted her eyes at him. “I can swing a sword just fine. How different is a bat? Anyway, you want to throw me one of those nice fastballs?”

Grimmjow growled and waited for the sign from Gin. He started with a curveball that dipped into her strike zone at the last moment.

“Strike one!”

“Oh dear!” Matsumoto heaved a big sigh, treating everyone to an even better view of her magnificent endowment. “That was tricky.” She leaned toward the mound and Grimmjow paled. “Are you sure you don't want to throw me a fastball?”

“Urg…” Grimmjow choked. He stared down at the ball in his hand.

Gin chuckled. “Now ya shouldn't be distracting our pitcher like that, missy.”

“Oh, come on!” Matsumoto laughed. “From everything I've heard he wouldn't know what to do with these anyway!”

“What?!” Grimmjow's head snapped up. “Goddammit! I am a normal man!” He whirled into his pitch and blazed in a smoking fastball.

Matsumoto swung hard, but missed. “Drat!” Another button on her uniform popped free and her jugs spilled into plain view.

“Cover up the kids' eyes, folks!” Yoruichi laughed, “or they'll get an education on female anatomy.”

“A hefty education,” Urahara agreed, also laughing.

“Matsumoto!” Hitsugaya shouted. “You're embarrassing me! Cover yourself up!”

“I told you to strap `em down, Rangiku-san,” Rukia said, trying hard not to laugh. “It's easier to run if they're not bouncing all over the place.”

“But then I can't breathe,” Matsumoto pouted. She shoved her tits back in and fastened a few of her uniform buttons.

Isshin cleared his throat. “Um, excuse me, but you struck out. You're out.”

Matsumoto wrinkled her nose. “Oh, fine.” She jogged back to the dugout.

Ichigo trotted out to the plate. “Hey, Grimmjow, I think you're getting too cocky. It's time I took you down a peg.”

“You're nothing but talk!”

“It wasn't talk that made contact with your pitches the last two times,” Ichigo smirked. He swung his bat a few times. “Shall we make a bet on whether I get a hit this time? If I get on base, you have to admit you like it up the a…”

“Ichigo!” Isshin barked. “It is illegal for players to bet on the performance of their own team.”

Grimmjow flushed bright red.

“Whatever. Let's go.”

“Ya sure tease that boy a lot,” Gin remarked as he made signs below his glove. “Maybe ya'll are interested?”

“In that?” Ichigo snorted. “If I swung that way, I'd still want a real man.”

“You scrawny, red-headed jackass!” Grimmjow screamed. “I am a real man!” He threw a fastball, but the delivery was a little high. Ichigo leaped on it and the ball blazed into right field, just clearing the leaping Tousen's glove. Ganju pounded into the turn at second and sprinted hard for third. Ichigo put his head down and charged for first, beating the throw from Stark by several paces. Ganju made it into third standing up. Grimmjow threw his glove on the ground.

Gin trotted out to the mound. “Ya let him get to ya.”

“He keeps harping on my manhood!” Grimmjow complained.

Gin patted his shoulder. “I know ya got it where it counts, dear boy. Now quit lettin' him rattle ya.” He picked up Grimmjow's glove. “Now stay focused. Ya only got one out and a runner at third.”

“Yeah, yeah!” Grimmjow muttered. He took his glove and jammed it back on his hand.

Hitsugaya marched up to the plate swinging his bat. He took his stance and made a few easy swings while Grimmjow waited for the sign he wanted. Then Grimmjow took a deep breath, paused for a moment to settle himself, and then flowed into the pitch. Hitsugaya's bat snapped around in a blur and cracked a fly ball down the left field line.

A cry of anguish ripped from the throat of every Hollow in the stands. “NOOOOO!”

Wonderweiss was sitting spread-eagled in the grass, leaning on his elbows and staring intently at something between his knees.

“Wonderweiss!” Yammi screamed. “Get off your ass and catch the ball!”

Wonderweiss looked up and pointed at the grass. “Ah!” Very carefully, he pinched something between his fingers and held it up. It was a green and black striped caterpillar.

Yammi slapped his forehead and charged for left field, but it was too late. The ball bounced just inside the left field line and rolled all the way to the fence. Ganju scored easily before Yammi was even close to the ball. Ichigo scored, earning a high-five from Ganju, as Yammi picked up the ball and threw it in. Hitsugaya ran flat out and Shunsui spun his arm, sending Hitsugaya around third toward home. Szayel let Yammi's throw go over his head and Gin played it on the bounce, but the ball was too high to make the tag. He swept his glove down to catch the sliding Hitsugaya, but the Shinigami's foot had already hooked the plate.

“He's safe!” Isshin shouted, flinging his arms out sharply.

“Yeah!” The Shinigami crowd surged to their feet, cheering wildly.

“Way to leg it out, Toushirou!” Karin shouted.

Hitsugaya, in the midst of getting high-fives from his teammates, glared at the stands. “Don't call me Toushirou!”

“Amazing!” Urahara exclaimed. “I think Hitsugaya-taicho might have gotten a triple on that hit even if the left-fielder hadn't been distracted by a bug.”

“Caterpillars are fascinating,” Yoruichi said gravely, but she was grinning broadly.

“And as so often happens in this game, a single play completely turns things around,” Urahara continued. “Hitsugaya-taicho's homer puts the Shinigami on top by a score of five to four, and there's still only one out.”

“If the Arrancar aren't careful, the Shinigami just might break this thing open,” Yoruichi added.

“Up next is Kuchiki Rukia. She has the only other home run for the Shinigami.”

Rukia came to the plate wearing her usual serious expression. She let the first pitch go by.

“Ball one!”

She started to swing on the second pitch and pulled up.

“Ball two!”

She cracked the third pitch straight at the shortstop and Nnoitra threw her out easily. She looped around the coach's box and headed back toward the dugout with a disappointed frown on her face.

“They can't all be home runs,” Ichigo said.

“I don't see why not,” Rukia grumbled. “Next time.”

In the on-deck circle, Kenpachi laughed aloud. “That's a good attitude! That's what I need. If two tiny people like Rukia-san and Hitsugaya-san can hit home runs, I certainly should be able to.”

“Who are you calling tiny, spike-head?” Hitsugaya shouted.

Ken lumbered up to the plate and pointed his bat at Grimmjow. “You won't defeat me this time! I'm going to hit one out!”

Grimmjow scowled. “Enough of this shit!” he snarled. He bent over to read the sign and then straightened up for his wind-up. He pitched a knuckleball. Kenpachi swung and missed. Grimmjow grinned. He pitched another knuckleball, but this time Kenpachi tipped it.

Kenpachi stepped out of the batter's box and glared at his bat. “This thing is too small! How am I supposed to hit anything with such a miniscule little twig?”

“What are you talking about?” Ichigo exclaimed. “You fight with an itty bitty little zanpakuto! How can this be any different?”

Kenpachi's eyebrows shot up. “Hey! That's right!” He gripped the handle of the bat firmly and stepped back into the batter's box. “I can do this!” He grinned maniacally at Grimmjow.

Grimmjow grinned back and threw a curveball way outside.

“Ungh!” Kenpachi swung hard and completely missed it. “What?!”

“Strike three!” Isshin hooked his thumb over his shoulder. “That's the inning.”

“But… but…” Kenpachi stared at his bat unbelievingly. Then his shoulders slumped and he stumped droopily back toward the dugout. He was met halfway by Yachiru, who climbed up the front of his uniform and sat on his shoulder.

“What are you doing, Keni? I'm totally embarrassed.” She smacked his forehead with her open palm. “Baseball is a precision sport. You're not hacking up Hollows. You'll never hit anything all tensed up like this. So relax!”

“How am I supposed to relax if I can't fight anyone?”

Yachiru leaned over and whispered in his ear. “You know, it's perfectly legal to hit someone with the ball if you knock it into them with the bat. That's kind of like a long range attack, right?”

Kenpachi's eyes began to gleam.

“Think of it as a baseball bankai.”

“Oh dear,” Matsumoto said. “She probably shouldn't have told him that.”

“Why not?” Ichigo shrugged. “It could be amusing if he brains a few Arrancar before the game is over.”

In the Arrancar dugout, Ulquiorra regarded Grimmjow expressionlessly. “This inning did not go as I'd hoped.”

“Well, that makes two of us!” Grimmjow snapped. He flung himself down on the bench. “And anyway, it wouldn't have been as bad if you had someone decent playing left field!”

“So don't let them hit any more into left field.”

“What?!”

“In fact, perhaps you should stop letting them get any hits at all.”

Grimmjow goggled. “Just how familiar are you with this game?”

“I have completely memorized the rules, physics and strategy of baseball.”

“When? Yesterday?”

“Actually, it was three days ago.”

“WHAT?!”

“There isn't much to it.”

Grimmjow put his hand over his face. “And you dare to question my pitching?”

“Just try to be more precise. It can't be that hard.”

Grimmjow's mouth worked silently and he retreated to the far end of the dugout.

“And that's the end of the fifth,” Urahara announced. “The Shinigami will be taking a 5-4 lead into the top of the sixth. I think we're going to see some hard hitting from here on out.”