C&C please.  I know it's an obscure series, but I hope you enjoy it all
the same!  And I'll be tackling Gundam Wing later on tonight, as the USA
looks to hold its own early tomorrow morning! ^_^
---
Caught in the Sun
A 2002 World Cup / Anime Fanfic Series
By Roehl Sybing (indef@infinitedeferral.com)

Episode Five: Keeper
Group H: Russia v Tunisia @ Kobe
A Princess Nine Fanfic

Late getting out of bed and out of the house, Daidoji was certainly not
going to make it to school on time.  She ran as fast as her legs would
take her, but as Kisaragi's largest baseball player, there was no getting
around her not being as agile as her fellow teammates.  Her pace
involuntarily slowed to a walk as she had no choice but to merely enjoy
the scenery on the way to school.  Daidoji's tardiness could not possibly
disqualify her from practice, with such a big game coming up later in the
week.
Up ahead in the road, she heard some shouting.  Mao walked more quickly to
see what was the matter.  To her curiosity, there stood a man with all of
his belongings scattered about on the ground as he clutched his knee so
tightly.  With his possessions in plain sight being various articles of
soccer memorabilia and the red-colored jersey that he wore, he must be in
town for the World Cup.  Mao approached him to help, but from his
appearance as a foreigner, communicating with him was not going to be
easy.
She tried anyways, "Are you OK, sir?"
The man spoke, but could not be understood.  He was in pain, of course,
apparently having hurt his knee.  Daidoji had to help; this part of town
was far from a hospital or anything that could be of assistance to him.
Luckily, she had some topical medicine in her backpack, stowed away just
in case she ever got hurt during practice or in a game.  After a bit of
initial resistance from the foreigner, Daidoji applied it to the bruised
area according to the instructions.  The tissue beneath the injury was
tender, but fortunately it would heal very quickly.
Daidoji had to hurry; she was already late getting to Kisaragi.  Still,
she wanted to know that he may be alright.  The man walked on it for a bit
and stumbled at first.  Eventually, though, he walked through the hurt and
could easily move about on his own.  He offered a non-verbal sign of
gratitude by nodding and smiling, and Mao did the same.  But she had no
time for other pleasantries, and said goodbye as she ran off to school.
She was happy, of course, that she did what she could to help.
---
The baseball sailed into the air and Mao watched it travel across the
field.  She gasped when she realized that it was intended for her.  But as
she got into position a moment too late, the ball tipped the edge of her
glove and bounced onto home plate, much to the disappointment of all of
her teammates.
"Daidoji!" Coach Kido cried, "We've been through this over and over!"
"I'm sorry, coach!" she replied, "Azuma was on first, I didn't expect--"
"She can still score at any time off an outfield hit, you have to
anticipate it!"
"Yes, sir."
"Don't give up!" Ryo said to her, "You can do it!"
It was easy for her to say.  Kisaragi's star female pitcher was a natural.
Daidoji, on the other hand, was the only one in all of the school that
could take on her fastballs without falling backwards.  Otherwise, Mao was
always on a steep learning curve.  They have been lucky so far, proving
themselves against a number of boys' high school teams.  But the Kisaragi
Princesses were always one mistake from being dismissed as a legitimate
ballclub.  What if Mao became responsible for the one mistake that cost
everything for the rest of her team?
"Alright, everyone!" the coach said as he took the plate with a bat, "Keep
working on our fielding now!"
Daidoji watched as her coach threw a ball up and swung at it, sending it
to right.  The quite uncertain glove of Yoko was all over the fly ball, to
everyone's surprise.
"I got it!" Yoko said happily.
"Very good, Tokashiki," Kido said, "Next!"
The next pitch was sent bouncing up the middle, where Kanako was waiting.
Hikaru read her body language and assumed position at first base to
simulate the easy out.
"Excellent work!  Next!"
The third pitch caught the tip of Kido's bat, and skied upwards above home
plate.  This time, Mao knew it was for her.  She stood up and watched the
ball reach the top of its arc before its descent.  She lifted up her
glove, placing it in front of her eyes, hoping to catch the ball.
The dirt kicked up around the ball as it landed into foul territory.  Mao
looked down at it, to her dismay.
"I'm really sorry, coach," she said downhearted.
"We'll work on it," Kido replied, "It's all about fundamentals.  We just
have to--hey!  Who allowed you in here?"
The team looked past first base as a figure approached them.
"Oh no!" Daidoji said, "He followed me!"
"What?"
"The man, I helped him out this morning, he must've followed me!"
Sure enough, the foreigner followed her all the way onto the field at
Kisaragi.  He had been watching all this time, and after that last play he
just couldn't watch any more of it.
The man put down his bag and took from it a pair of gloves to wear.  Once
in full form, he kneeled behind home plate and outstretched his hands.
"What's he doing?" Ryo asked curiously.
"Ohhhh," Coach Kido said, "I get it now!"
The foreigner caught the coach's approval, and nodded accordingly.
"Daidoji!  Pay close attention, you might learn something!" the coach
cried as he helped himself to a soccer ball hidden away in the stranger's
bag.
"What do you mean?" Mao asked, "How is this--?"
"Just watch!" said Kido, putting down the ball in front of the pitcher's
mound.  He waited for everyone to look on before digging his foot
underneath the ball, shanking it and skying it up towards home plate.  The
foreigner reacted very quickly, getting on top of the ball's shadow and
raising his hands above his face.  As expected, the ball landed quite
softly into his hands.
"You have to SEE the ball," the coach said to her, "Or else you will never
catch it!"
"But if I don't catch it," Mao insisted, "I'll get hit in the head."
"Well then, if you catch it, it'll never hit you, right?"
The others nodded silently, and Daidoji was forced to agree.  It was good
advice, she simply needed to heed it when the situation called for it.
"OK, then," Kido said, then giving the soccer ball to Ryo, "I trust your
kick is just as good as your fastball."
"I think I can manage," Ryo said confidently, placing the ball on the tip
of the mound.  Mao observed the stranger anticipating what much resembled
a penalty kick.  The ball powered away from Ryo's foot, darting towards
the man at home plate.  With both hands in front of him, the man took the
ball into his own, killing the attack dead.
Kido clapped in applause. "Wonderful, wonderful," he said, "Do you
understand now, Daidoji?"
"I think so," Mao said.
"Good.  Try handling one of Ryo's fastballs."
She nodded, and put back on her baseball glove. "Thank you," she said to
the stranger, who smiled back.  The pointers that were given to Daidoji
raced around in her head as she struggled to retain them.  Ryo smiled at
her catcher as she wound up into the pitch.  A fastball, down the middle,
that's all.  She delivered the pitch to Mao, a hundred miles an hour from
the mound to the plate.
---
"Strike three!  Batter out!"
Mao gasped as the ball rested firmly in her glove.
"We did it!" she said.
"We did it!" Ryo said, jumping up and down upon retiring the final side of
the game.  All the Kisaragi Princesses stormed the pitcher's mound as they
scored a defeat against one of their toughest opponents yet.  They all
gathered around Ryo as she pulled off yet another thrilling victory for
Kisaragi High School.
"Congratulations, Ryo!" Daidoji said, "You were wonderful!"
"No, Mao," Ryo replied, "I couldn't have done it without you!"
Mao blushed as the rest of the team continued to celebrate.  She had
counted in her head over one hundred pitches that landed in her glove, and
she had not let go of a single one.
"Alright, great game everyone!" the coach cried, "Let's bring it all in,
now!  Miss Himuro has asked to see all of you!"
---
The Princesses chatted among each other about their hard-fought win as
they made their way to the Chairwoman's office.  No doubt she was there to
congratulate all of them.  No doubt she would discuss with all of them the
next step on their way to Koshien.
"Let me congratulate all of you on the win today," Himuro said, "I'm proud
of all of you."
"What are you planning for us next, Miss Himuro?" Ryo asked.
But she shook her head, saying, "There will be time for that later.  Right
now, I've asked you all in here because I have some news."
"What is it?"
"It turns out," she said, glancing at a man who stood alongside the
opposite end of her office, "This man has come from Japanese Organizing
Committee.  He has specific instructions to take all of you to Kobe and I
have agreed to it."
"What?" they all said amongst themselves, "Why?  What's in Kobe?"
---
The Kisaragi nine joined the tens of thousands at one of the tournament's
matches at the Wing Stadium in Kobe.  Treated to a set of free front-row
seats at the game, they all sat in awe of the environment about them and
of the match on the field.  Ryo, Mao and the others imagined what it would
be like to play at Wing Stadium, where the student olympics were held and
where this historic game was being played now.  In their confidence, they
agreed they were quite capable of playing with the boys in front of tens
of thousands on this particular field.
"This is exciting!" Nene said, "It just like I dreamed it would be!"
"I sure never expected to be here!" Seira replied, "I wonder who arranged
for all this?"
Sitting in the aisle seat on the end, Daidoji knew exactly who it was.
While everyone focused on the midfield where most of the game was played,
she took special notice of the final player at one end of the pitch.

"That's going to do it, and Tunisia upsets Russia with the final score of
two-nil!  No doubt in all of our minds that the man of the match is
Tunisia's keeper, saving according to our count a whopping eleven shots
off a storming Russian offense.  He has kept Tunisia's hopes alive with
three points with his stunning defense in net.  What a game!"

The Princesses stood up in unison along with the rest of the vast crowds
at Wing Stadium to cheer on the winning team.
"Way to go!"
"Congratulations!"
But while their celebration was sincere, the Kisaragi nine would have
applauded the other team had they won.  Just happy to be at an exciting
match, they were quite neutral to it all.  Except, of course, for one.
Daidoji cheered on the winning goalkeeper, who had much to celebrate with
his own teammates on his end of the pitch.  He postponed the jubilation,
however, and broke away with the ball to midfield, where Mao and the rest
of her ballclub sat.  They both exchanged looks of gratitude, Mao for
helping patch up what might have been a serious injury if it were not
treated on the spot, and the keeper for teaching her how to catch just
when she needed it the most.
The keeper, the foreigner who gave Kisaragi's girls' baseball team the
front-row tickets to such a thrilling match, dropped the match ball in
front of him and sent it flying towards Mao.  Instinctively, the others
ducked while Mao stood unafraid, catching it with her two hands.  All of
her teammates looked back up at the keeper, and then in awe of Daidoji,
who had a new prize to accompany such an unforgettable time.
"I got it!" she cried.

END.

Next match:
Special Episode: USA v Portugal @ Suwon, Korea Republic
A Gundam Wing Fanfic
---
Roehl Sybing
"The past is gone but something might be found to take its place" - Gin
Blossoms, Hey Jealousy

Infinite Deferral - http://www.infinitedeferral.com/
 - stories, fanfic, politics, j-pop, and some curling
every-now-and-then-when-it's-in-season


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