Shattering Humanity-Chapter 310: A Takamagahara Instant Classic: Shelly’s Badass At Bat

Chapter 310: A Takamagahara Instant Classic: Shelly’s Badass At Bat

"...’Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.’

’Do you now believe?’ He replied.

’A time is coming and in fact has come when you will be scattered, each to your own home. You will leave me all alone. Yet I am not alone, for my Father is with me.

I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.’" -John 16:29-33

________________________

Itsuka: "I didn’t know you were into baseball too, Saku?"

Saku: "Yea, football was always my favorite sport to play and watch, but I’m a sports kid in general.

So when it was spring, and there was no football or basketball, I would sneak into the minor league games and watch some of their games.

It’s not as physical of a sport as football, but..."

He looks up at his pitcher with a half smile as he beats his padded chest twice.

Saku: "...the catcher can get beat up a little bit if there are thrown pitches in the dirt or if a runner is trying to beat a throw coming home."

...

Itsuka: "Saku, w-why is the body physicality of the sport the most important part to you?"

Saku cranks his neck with the bulky catcher’s mask halfway resting on his hair tied head, he does one strong nod, forcing the protective equipment down his face and he quickly fits it properly.

Saku: "What do you mean?"

The sports enthusiast smacks the "helmet" twice for assurance.

Saku: "The more you’re willing to put your body on the line for a cause, the more exciting or fulfilling something becomes, no?"

Itsuka looks at the small baseball in her scratched up, and scarred up right hand. She has a chipped teal painted pointer nail.

At home plate, the young man shivers after remembering one important piece of his protection is missing.

Saku: "Oh yea. Just please, whatever you do, try to keep the ball out of the dirt...

I’m not wearing uhh...a cup..."

Itsuka smiles and nods, putting her worries to the back of her mind.

...

[Faithful Friends Firehouse Field]

There is a *POP* of a baseball being caught perfectly in the webbing of a catcher’s mitt.

Saku: "Coming Down!"

The catcher for Izanami squats down and flashes his glove.

At the bump in the middle of the infield, Itsuka has her heels pressed up against the rubber mound.

Swiveling her right foot, she presses the right side of the planted appendage against the white rubber.

Lifting her left leg allllll the way up, her toes pointing to the sky, she then brings the raised leg forward, and slams it on the dirt. From her over head slinging right hand, a white blur flies out and at Saku.

The ball *POP*s once again as it slams against the special thick webbing and Saku shoots up from his squatting position as Itsuka ducks.

He transfers the ball from the glove to his right hand and fires it down to 2nd base.

There, Jormungand catches it a pretends to lay a tag down on a phantom stealing runner.

He smiles as he looks up and carefully flips the ball to the 2nd basewoman, Sol.

Sol: "Not bad.

Looks like we have more ’Star Athletes’ on the team."

While the modest young man chuckles and blushes, Sol lofts the ball back to Itsuka.

At home plate, Saku stands up and rests the mask on top of his hair tied head.

Saku: "Okay so here’s the rules, no balls or walks, only swung at pitches are strikes nd hits that are put in play count.

If it lands in the outfield and Xaaydagaay or Friend steals it..."

In the outfield from center into left, Xaaydagaay and Friend are chasing and barking at each other, playing like the animal minded creatures they both are.

Saku: "...the base runner has to stop at the most recently touched base."

He looks over at the opposite sided dugout, over there Shelly is waiting, with a bat in her hands, taking practice swings.

Saku: "You guys ready?"

Shelly and the "manager" Katsu both nod.

Saku looks over to the mound and he nods at his pitcher. Itsuka too gives him the nod back that she is ready.

Saku: "Ight, let’s play ball!"

He adjusts his mask back over his face and squats behind home plate.

Saku: "Batter up!"

Shelly turns around and looks at her manager.

Katsu: "Every team has their best player be the lead off hitter.

Go get em Shelly!"

Shelly blushes with a smile and walks to the plate as a right handed batter.

Before she steps into the batter’s box she looks across at her foster sister with an encouraging tattooed thumbs up.

Shelly: "Good luck Itsuka!"

The strong pitcher blushes and gives a thumbs up in return.

Itsuka: "You too Shelly!"

Ruining the good sportsmanship, from third base....

Laban DaeMon: "Heeeyyyy Batter Batter Batter Batter!

Heeeyyyy Batter Batter Batter Batter!

Infield move in!

Free out is at the plate!

Play is at first!"

Both girls shoot hard glares over at the instigating third basewoman snickering at her own shit talking.

Shelly steps into the box and rotates the bat once with just her wrist before getting in her stance.

Itsuka hides the bottom of her gorgeous face with her glove then finally begin her pitching motion just as Laban starts her taunts again.

Laban DaeMon: "Heeeyyyy Batter Batter Batter Batter!

Heeeyyyy Batter Batter Batter Batter!

Heeeyyyy Batter Batter Batter Batter!..."

Itsuka fires the ball towards home plate, heading straight down the middle.

Laban DaeMon: "...Swiiiiiiinnng!"

With a HARD step forward, Shelly brings the bat around and makes such a loud *CRACK* off the bat...

[FLASHBACK]

As soon as her black sneakers, covered in her new aura, touch the ground, Shelly leaps towards both the Don Laban and the HFF’s #1 fighter reward sword.’ Shelly sees the same thing the Don saw, and knowing Laban truly doesn’t appreciate her tenacity as a fighter, Shelly smirks.

Shelly: *Thank you, Katsu. Thank you, Big Sis Itsuka. And thank you, Grandma Skalmönd. Because of you....!*

Now already having achieved the incomprehensible speed, Shelly opens her mouth, bites down on the blade, spreading the thin layer around the blade. Drawing blood from the corners of her mouth and with all the power the Valkyrie descendant could muster in her neck, back, and core abdominals, as well as the little Seiõr surrounding her, she swivels/twists her entire body mid-air, appears behind the over confident Laban and with the flat, not sharp, butt of the katana *CRRRACKKKS* Laban in the CVJ, where the back of her skull and top of the spine meet.

[END FLASHBACK]

...The contact with the ball gives Laban flashbacks off her loss against "Skalmond" and once the DaeMon comes back to, she realizes Shelly has been mean mug staring at her while the home run ball sails over the bright yellow wall.

Xaaydagaay and Friend hear the *CRACK* off the bat. Instead of each other, they chase after it while the ball is in the air but the both of them stop once they reach the warning track and wall.

While she rounds the bases, Shelly doesn’t take her eyes off Laban rounding first and second.

Saku looks over at the dugout where everyone on team Izanagi is cheering for their teammate’s incredible lead off home run, except Katsu.

He is Above Sanpaku smirking at his rival and through the metal cage of his helmet, Saku returns a Below Sanpaku back.

As she rounds around third, Shelly keeps her eye contact with Laban and actually back pedals on her way to home plate, keeping the stare down with each other ’all the way home’.

Once her heel touches home plate, that’s when she smiles and turns around breaking the eye contact.

Laban DaeMon (mumbling): "Fuck you Skalmönd..."

Itsuka looks at her "teammate" over at third base with a hateful stare.

Itsuka: "I don’t know if you’ve learned by now, but how about you stop taunting Shelly, or else she’s just gunna continue shitting all over your life."

Laban: "How ’bout you shut the fuck up?!"

Saku: "Aye!"

The captain/catcher takes off his face mask/helmet.

He angrily looks back and forth between the two bickering women who now have their heads down.

Saku: "That was just one batter!

We still have an entire game left to play!

Now I don’t want to hear anymore bullshit between the two of you for the rest of the game.

Do you both got that?"

Itsuka(mumbling): "Yes..."

Laban DaeMon(mumbling): "Yea..."

From her 2nd Base position, Sol has her arms crossed and watches as the coaching scene unfurls.

She raises an eyebrow while watching the Captain take charge of his arguing team.

Sol: "Not bad, Cap."

Back at the plate the captain/catcher places his mask back over his face and Katsu perfectly tosses in a ball from his dugout which Saku catches.

Saku: "Play ball!"

He tosses the new baseball towards his pitcher and she grumpily snatches it out the air barehanded with a smack.

Coming to the plate, a scared and timid Aiden, batting lefty, creeps up to the plate but a little too far away.

Saku: "Take a step closer to the plate, Nerd."

The shaking genius does as he’s told and looks at the pitcher.

Laban stays quiet as Itsuka winds up her pitch and sends a cannon shot towards the plate.

Aiden swings, but entire 2 seconds late...