Bat to Bat

[strike_you_out]

Who: Lil' Slugger and Haruko Haruhara
What: Slugger faces Haruko in "baseball practice"
When: mid afternoon August 3rd
Where: Tiger Field
Warnings: violence

Bred from varying degrees of idleness and several shades of boredom comes a growing desire to find something and smash it. In just such a mood, Slugger has wandered onto Tiger Field with his bat on his shoulder. His gaze is set on nothing in particular until he spots some movement in the grass. 

Along the fence behind home plate, he spots a malfunctioning drone bird that seems to think it's in mid-flight while flat on its back on the ground. Ever the inquisitive sort, Slugger approaches, gives it a few experimental prods with the end of his bat, then kneels down to stare at it like a mischievous cat about to play with its prey. He's paying no attention whatsoever to whomever else might be on the field this afternoon.

Comments

[ukelelenogood]

Haruko, too, is someone who gets bored easily. And when Haruko is bored is when she's at her most volatile. Is when she is most likely to do something unnecessarily strange or erratic in order to ease that boredom.

But lately she's been melancholy. She would never admit it out loud but seeing Naota go had been a bigger hit to her then she would have ever expected. A big enough hit in fact to make her well of "creativity" run dry. So she had take to the field and just throwing a ball at one of the trees. Again. And again. And again.

God. This place sucks.

It doesn't take her too long to spot Slugger when he shows up. She stares, and smirks for a minute, clutching one of the baseballs in her hand.

And then that baseball is rip-roaring right towards Slugger's head.

[strike_you_out]

No sooner than Slugger hears something whistling toward his head at high speed is he struck dead on. The ball packs so much force that he's sent rolling sideways into the chain-link fence, rattling it on impact. It shouldn't be possible for someone to be sitting himself back up just seconds after taking a blow to the head like that, but he is and he's staring down the field at Haruko, his face caught somewhere between a grin and an angry grimace because dammit that still hurts.

Once he's back on his feet and his cap is back on his head, Slugger treads wordlessly up to the batter's box where he raises his bat and looks down its crooked barrel at Haruko. You want a piece of this, lady? You got it.

[ukelelenogood]

Okay. Haruko's got to smile a little bit at that kid. You took that like a champ and are ready to still keep going. You've got moxy Slugger. Guess she'll have to see just how much you really have.

Haruko will walk over to the pitcher's mound, eyeing Slugger over a bit. After a moment she spits on the ground like all pitchers are want to do (as far as she can tell) and pitches another fastball towards Slugger.

[strike_you_out]

The first one's a swing and a miss, but at least he's not afraid of the ball. From the looks of it, he's got a powerful swing albeit somewhat wild. Still half-sneering at her, Slugger digs his skates into the dirt as he assumes the batting stance once again and gives the bat a few twirls to "warm up" his muscles.

Then, elbows raised, he awaits the next one. His ball cap is pulled so low over his eyes it's a wonder how he sees the ball coming at all.

[ukelelenogood]

Haruko chews on the inside of her cheek a bit, her smirk never leaving her face. So you want to go kid? You've got moxie. She's gotta give you that.

"Bit stiff, kid?" She chides a little as she gets another baseball. Where she's getting them who knows. But it's looking like she has plenty to spare. "C'mon. Hope you're not planning for me to walk ya if that's what you're hoping for. Not gonna happen."

She pauses before getting into a pitcher's position again. And then?

Letting fly with a curveball.

[strike_you_out]

This time his bat connects with the ball and pops it straight up into the sky at a near 90 degree angle. Surely luck was a factor; Slugger himself seems a little surprised to have hit it. But he doesn't stick around to stare after it for long and charges speedily toward first base with every intention of making it around the diamond before the ball hits the ground.