"Line up, folks!"
Dachii and the rest of Squad S-1 were lined up by the bench, right in front of the batting area. They were all dressed in baseball outfits, which Akari and Aoki seemed to poke at.
"What are these?" Akari asked. "Some form of armor?
"This thing is so heavy," Aoki complained, grabbing at her helmet. "I want it off."
Saori's helmet and jersey appeared to be too big for her. "Is this a costume? I love costumes!"
Luca noticed the crowd giving their team weird looks. "They're staring. How wonderful."
Okuda's team walked onto the field, and Okuda got in Dachii's face. "Nice, you're all ready. Your team is on offense, so try not to flop. We will show no mercy!"
He patted Dachii on the head and laughed, going to the pitcher's spot.
"That human reminds me a lot of Arata," Hikari remarked.
"Same," Akari agreed. "Those types must be a dime a dozen."
Marachii turned towards the team. "So, does everyone remember the rules? Or do I have to explain them for the 15th time?"
"Hit the ball…?" Hikari suggested.
"Run laps?" Akari added.
"Don't get caught?" Saori wondered.
"Kill people?" Aoki questioned.
"No, Aoki, no," Marachii shot down. "No killing people. And you're batting first, so step up to the plate."
"The WHAT?"
He motioned to the home base that was right in front of Okuda, who was lined up to pitch. "The plate."
He put the bat in her hands and pushed her to the plate. "Good luck!"
"Marachii! I swear, if you don't help me—-!"
"Just hit the ball!" Marachii called out. "And run around the bases! If you think they're going to tag you, stop at a base!"
"How do I hit the ball—-?"
"Just imagine you're swinging a sword!"
The ref blew his whistle. "Begin!"
Okuda prepared to throw. "Okay, little girl. This one's going for your head! Don't flinch!"
He laughed and instead threw it low, and Aoki took a deep breath, watching the ball approach her in slow motion. "Kill. Kill. Kill. KILL!"
She swung the bat hard at the ball, sending it flying into the air. "I hit it! Now what?"
"Now run!" Marachii exclaimed.
Aoki dropped the bat and got into a running stance, immediately running to first, second, and third all before Okuda could catch the ball. Her helmet hit her in the face, causing her to trip. "Damn this thing!"
"That's good, Aoki!" Marachii shouted. "Stay there!"
"For how long?" she asked.
"Until the next person hits!"
Okuda got back to the pitcher's area. "Damn, that girl's FAST! What is she, a track star?"
John scratched his head. "Her legs look so average. Must be genetics."
Marachii gestured to Akari. "Okay, Princess! Now it's your turn!"
Akari stretched her arms. "Alright."
Once she stepped up to the base, Okuda prepared to throw. "Watch it, girly. This one's going left!"
He threw a fastball to her right, but she managed to deflect it into the air, while the outfielders tried to run after it. "Go! Akari! Run!"
Akari easily crossed from first to second, attempting to run to third, but Aoki was still standing there. "Girl, can you move?"
"Move where?"
"I don't know! Run home!"
"Well, no one told me to run, idiot!"
"I need the base, idiot!"
"Have it, then!"
Aoki stepped off the base as Akari tried to run to it, but Okuda quickly tagged her and then Akari afterwards, and the ref blew the whistle. "Out and out! That's two outs!"
Marachii slapped his forehead. "You've got to be KIDDING me."
"Uh-oh!" Saori giggled. "Akari and Aoki are fighting again!"
Both girls looked at the referee.
"How am I out?" Akari asked. "She didn't run!"
"Me? I was standing there! I should be fine! It's her that should be out!" Aoki protested.
"Out!" the referee repeated. "Please go back to the bench area until it's your turn again!"
"What kind of referee are you—?" Aoki snapped.
Marachii grabbed their arms and pulled them back to the bench. "Sorry about them! They're new to the sport!"
Once they were at the bench, Marachii sat them down. "Listen, you can't argue with the referee, girls!"
"Why the hell not?" Aoki demanded.
"Because he'll eject you," Marachii explained. "That means he'll kick you from the game."
"Good," Akari remarked. "Kick her for sabotaging my turn."
"Sabotaging?" Aoki replied. "You should have just waited at a base like I did, idiot!"
"Why would I do that if I can score in one go? What? Are you not fast? Old age dulling your reflexes?" she mocked.
"That's it! Die!"
As Marachii tried to break them up, Dachii stepped up to the plate.
"Good luck, Dachii!" Hikari cheered.
"Yeah," Luca said. "Don't get tagged."
"I wanna hit the ball!" Saori blurted out.
Okuda gave Dachii a grin. "That's two outs. One more and we're on offense. Don't miss, Jones! Think fast!"
He spiraled the ball toward Dachii's forehead, but Dachii batted it just enough to get a head-start. Jeff quickly ran and grabbed the ball, forcing Dachii to stay at first.
"Why'd you stop running?" Hikari questioned.
Dachii pointed to Jeff, who had the ball in his hands. "If he touches me, I'm out."
"Oh…"
Luca walked up to the plate next, popping beef jerky in his mouth. Okuda narrowed his eyes. "This kid looks wild. Everyone go farther out! He's finna spike this!"
Luca smirked. "What gave you that idea?"
Okuda threw the pitch, and Luca lightly tapped the ball before running off. "What the hell?"
Dachii took off before they could tag him, and Luca slid onto first base right as the baseman caught the ball.
"Safe!" the referee declared.
"Nice job, Luca!" Hikari cheered.
"Your turn, Hikari!" Marachii called out.
"Okay!"
She walked up to the plate, calming her nerves and holding the bat as steady as she could. "Guys! Please run when I hit this! I don't know how far I'll make it!"
Luca gave her a thumbs-up. "Got it."
Okuda pulled his hand back. "She just looks soft. Let me throw a hardball!"
Okuda sent a pitch spiraling at Hikari, and she panicked and quickly hit it, causing the ball to land between James and Jake. "I did it! I did it!"
Jake picked the ball up.
"Oh crap!" Hikari exclaimed.
She immediately took off for first base as Luca and Dachii ran off theirs, and while Luca stayed, Dachii kept running, jumping over a batter who tried to tag him and hitting third.
"Come on, men!" Okuda grumbled. "We've already got two of them out! We just need one more!"
Akari and Aoki watched from the bench.
"Seems our team is performing well despite my absence," Akari remarked. "That's good."
Aoki simply scoffed. "Forced on the bench. How pathetic."
"We need some runs, guys!" Marachii shouted. "Don't let them get you!"
Saori skipped over to the bat, picking it up with a carefree smile. Okuda almost gave her a look of pity. "This one's little! I'll go easy on her!"
Okuda gave her a soft pitch, which she spiked outward.
"That's it, Saori!" Marachii congratulated.
Dachii ran towards home, sliding under an outfielder when he tried to tag him. The referee blew his whistle. "Team Jones has one run!"
"Finally, we're on the board," Marachii sighed. "Now it's my turn…"
Marachii came up to the plate, practicing a few swings. Okuda laughed at him. "Marachii's on the plate. This will be light work."
He threw the ball. "Coming hot!"
Marachii swung and missed, while the ref blew the whistle. "Strike one!"
"Okay, so he's playing dirty," Marachii thought. "Elara, scan this next pitch."
His eyes briefly glowed red for a moment before reverting to normal, and a voice appeared in his head. "Scan complete. Arm position: 75 degrees. Power: Moderate. Height: High to Low."
"Got it," Marachii replied.
The ball came at him, dropping low, and he batted it before dropping the bat and immediately taking off running. Luca, Hikari, and Saori all ran their bases.
John picked up the ball and threw it toward third base, where Junior tagged it right as Luca got there. "Out!"
"Wow. Really thought I got that," Luca shrugged.
"Come on, Luca!" Hikari groaned.
Okuda took the glove off. "Now we swap. It's time for some FUN."
A few minutes later, the teams were reversed, and Luca was pitching, while Marachii was on first base, Saori was on second, and Dachii was on third. Hikari was on the field, along with Akari and Aoki.
"I don't know if it's a good idea to put these two on the field," Marachii worried, pointing to Akari and Aoki.
"It's a perfect idea," Luca remarked. "They should have so much energy after their big failure, that they'll catch every ball they see!"
Akari glared at Aoki, who did the same back to her.
Luca spun his arm around. "Now I get to throw the ball. Nice."
Okuda cracked his neck, tapping the bat on the ground. "Give it your best throw."
Luca threw the ball hard, but Okuda batted it into the stands, far beyond where Akari and Aoki could catch.
"What…do we do?" Akari asked.
"Obviously we jump into the crowd and get it!" Aoki pointed out. "Now go grab it! It's too many humans in those stands for me."
Okuda ran across all four bases, sliding on the way back to home. The ref blew the whistle. "Home run! Here, take this ball!"
He tossed Luca another ball. "Home run? Huh. That's interesting."
Jeff stepped up next, yawning. Luca threw the ball high, and Jeff batted it out towards the field. Akari and Aoki both tried to catch the ball, but they tripped over one another, falling while Jeff ran to third base. Saori walked over and picked the ball up. "I got it!"
"Unbelievable," Marachii groaned.
Akari stood up, dusting herself off while Aoki distanced herself from her. They both immediately glared at each other, accusatory. "She did it!"
Jeff laughed to himself. "This is easier than I thought!"
John was next. "Throw it, kid."
Luca threw a fastball, which sailed in the air. It landed near Hikari's feet, who picked it up. "What do I do with this? Guys?"
"Throw it!" Marachii stated. "Throw it to Dachii!"
She zipped the ball to Dachii, who caught it, but Jeff was already home, and the ref blew his whistle. "Two runs!"
"Man, we suck," Marachii moped.
James took his spot, picking up the bat. Luca threw the pitch to the side, but James batted it into the outfield, where Aoki ran after it, catching but fumbling it.
"This stupid glove!" she complained.
She grabbed the ball, but James was already on second, and John was on third.
"We're losing…" Dachii noted.
Jake came next. "Throw it fast, kid! I want power!"
Luca pulled his arm back. "If you say so."
With a burst of strength, he launched the ball at Jake, who batted it high into the air, allowing James and John to advance to home before it dropped near Hikari's feet.
"Do I throw it now?" she asked.
"No," Marachii sighed. "Luca, don't listen to their requests! You don't want them to hit it! You want them to fail!"
"Oh," Luca realized. "Makes sense."
"That's two more runs!" the ref announced. "The offense now has four!"
Hikari gave the ball back to Luca, who prepared for the next batter: Joe. Luca got into a throwing stance. "Look up."
He threw the ball low, giving Joe barely enough time to swat the ball, which rolled near Luca's feet, and he threw it to Marachii, who caught it and tagged Joe.
"One out!" the ref announced.
"Man, why'd I have to be the first?" Joe complained.
"That wasn't bad," Marachii said. "Now we just need to do it two more times!"
Junior hulked over to the plate last. "Hit me."
Luca sized him up. "Why do they call you Junior if you're such an oversized dude?"
The man shrugged.
"Whatever. Here it comes," Luca announced.
He threw a curveball, but Junior batted it so hard the bat broke and the ball went flying over the stands. He ran all the bases and landed at home.
"Home run!" the ref declared. "That's five runs for the offense!"
"Man, we're TERRIBLE!" Marachii realized.
Later, on a bench…
Half an hour later, Dachii and the rest of the squad were sitting on a bench near the field, dressed back in their outfits, as Okuda and his group walked past them.
"Don't feel too bad," Okuda laughed. "15-6 is better than the last team did!"
"That's nice…" Dachii remarked.
Okuda then kept walking. "If you see Mihina, tell her call me! Peace, Jones!"
Luca popped some beef jerky in his mouth. "That was fun."
"That was embarrassing," Marachii clarified. "The entire crowd laughed at us…"
Luca shrugged. "Not me. Those two."
He pointed at Akari and Aoki, who were both sitting on opposite sides of the bench, refusing to look at each other.
"Don't point at me," Aoki growled. "I did my duty."
"Ridiculous." Akari shook her head.
Saori played around with the bat in her hands. "What are we doing now? I want to have more fun!"
Suddenly, a bus drove up to them, and Toru was standing on top of it. "There you fools are. I thought I told you to be back at the mall by 7."
Marachii looked at his watch. "It's just now turning 6:59."
"My point exactly," Toru replied. "Now get in this bus. It's time to pay a visit to this Soundwave Concert."
—-