Shattering Humanity-Chapter 330: Adding Positivite Content To Your Character
"They sacrificed unto [demons], not to God, to gods whom they knew not, to new gods that came newly up, whom your fathers feared not.
Of the Rock that begot thee thou art unmindful, and hast forgotten God that formed thee.
And when the Lord saw it, He abhorred them, because of the provoking of His sons and of His daughters.
And He said: ’I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end shall be; for they are a very forward generation, children in whom is no faith.
They have moved Me to jealousy with that which is not God; they have provoked Me to anger with their vanities. And I will move them to jealousy with those who are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation." -Deuteronomy 32:17-21
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[Faithful Friends Firehouse Field]
SeiõrSnow continues to fall from the partly cloudy, pink and orange skies.
Saku: "Coming Down!"
*POP!*
The baseball hits Saku’s catcher’s mitt and he shoots up from his stance.
Transitioning the ball from his glove to his right hand, the Yin Vessel fires a perfect pick off throw over a ducking Itsuka and the shortstop Jormungand once again lays down a fake tag at the base.
Jormungand: "Good throw, Big Bro!"
Saku gives him a thumbs up to relay the congratulations to his heads-up teammate.
Jormy tossess the ball over to Laban at third, and the DaeMon catches it.
Then with as much strength as she can muster, Laban zips the ball back to the pitcher at the mound.
A surprised Itsuka barely catches it and shoots a glare over at her "teammate" but doesn’t say anything at the snickering 3rd basewoman, lightning up another blunt to satisfy her chain smoking habit.
Saku: "Alright, batter up!"
Scylia approaches the plate and gets in her stance.
Saku holds up one finger between his crouched knees.
Itsuka nods and continues to show off her flexibility by lifting her entire left leg up, pointing her toes to the sky, and finally SLAMMING it on the dirt.
Bringing her hand over her shoulder, the nimble pitcher delivers a fastball and Scylia swings.
*KNOCK!*
Saku: "Foul ball!"
However, Laban begins drifting to her right while looking up into the sky.
She finds the ball and starts tracking it down.
Laban DaeMon: "I got it! I got it!"
Without paying attention, the unaware 3rd basewoman is heading straight for the side fences in front of bleachers while looking up at the fouled pop fly.
Saku: "Laban! Wait, look out!"
Not worried about her rival, Itsuka turns her back away from the play and mumbles to herself.
Itsuka(mumbling): "Don’t warn her, she deserves everything she does to herself..."
With a true athletic effort, Laban leaps up and her hip hits the top of the fence as the ball is coming down with her.
Both the ball and Laban go behind the chain link, nobody can see the result of the selfless play.
The concerned team/division captain rips his helmet off and sprints over to check on his 3rd baseDaeMon.
Princess Rebekah runs from her dugout and follows Saku.
Everyone else however...
Doesn’t care...
The Izanagi Captain emerges from his dugout.
Katsu: "Big Sis!"
The uncaring expression towards Laban’s injury quickly flips once she is called out to.
Katsu holds up a new ball and once again tosses her another throw, but this time, without Saku or Laban watching, Katsu throws the baseball with just his knuckles.
Without any rotation on the ball at all, on it’s way to Itsuka, the baseball wiggles slightly left to right while in mid air.
Both Shelly and Itsuka are jaw dropped while watching the white ball with red stitches not even spin one quarter of a rotation.
Unable to track it correctly, Itsuka misses the catch and it bounces off her mitt, to the dirt.
Itsuka & Shelly(thinking): *What kind of throw was that?!?*
Everyone else watches as Saku approaches the fence and looks over.
Knocked out Laban is comedically swirly eyed, laying on her back.
Her gloved arm is at a 90° angle but sitting in the netting of the mitt, is the caught foul ball.
The successful and self sacrificing infielder is mumbling while in her daze.
Laban DaeMon: "Did I win, my Sakipoo’s baby yet?
Am I the prettiest woman here...at the barbeque?
I like pretzels, Saki..."
Smiling Saku hops the fence and as his feet hit the ground, Laban snaps herself awake.
She looks at the glove with the ball in it, then up at smiling Saku in front of her. Then at Princess Rebekah on the other side of the fence.
Saku: "Good job, Laban!
You sold out your entire body just for our team’s win!"
He holds out his hand for her to grab.
Laban takes a moment to admire the orange sun behind the beaming Yin Vessel.
The DaeMon blushes with her mouth agap, then looks over at Princess Rebekah.
She doesn’t say anything as she gets up slowly and looks around.
Now that she has gotten back up, the two teams look over at Laban and Saku.
Saku: "Go ahead,show them."
Laban DaeMon: "I didn’t catch it Saki..."
Saku is surprised by the unusual admittance to her own failure.
Saku: "What do you mean?
I saw you knocked out, with the baseball already in your glove..."
Without a second thought, the hardheaded Izanami Captain and Absorption Eye user forces his blessed Anjell Eye into it’s 2nd Stage. A black aura with a bright white streak emits from his symbiote.
Clearly in pain, Saku holds his hand over his straining ocular sensor. He uses Laban’s own ability to watch the instant replay as she and the ball both hit the ground.
Laban notices the ball drop before the side of her head hits the ground and she tumbles unconscious.
The ball takes one hop and lands perfectly inside her glove.
Clearly not a catch.
A sweating, and in pain Saku quickly deactivates his Anjell Eye.
He catches his breath and looks at Princess Rebekah, then back at Laban.
While looking at the ground, the ex-Don of Roronora City is caught off guard once Saku’s hand rubs the top of her head.
She looks up and sees him still recovering, but smiling even wider then when he thought his teammate had made an amazing play.
Saku: "See Laban, I told you.
Sooner or later, you would become a better person not just for me, but for yourself and Princess Rebekah.
You’ve taken the first step to realizing, what makes someone great isn’t their accomplishments, but the overall content of their character.
You could’ve lied and said you had caught it.
I definitely wouldn’t have checked with your own ability if you hadn’t brought it up, and you would’ve made everyone else here impressed, but instead you decided to add positive content to your character.
Extra points for it being in front of your influential daughter too."
With her still receiving head pats, Laban peeks at the still worried princess and gives her adopted daughter a half smile.
Laban DaeMon: "Mama’s all right, puddin’.
You can go back and sit in your dugout."
Princess Rebekah gives her Mama a blushing smile with a nod before running back to sit with her other Mama, Zoram on the benches.
Zoram: "Is she okay?
Did she catch it?"
The princess shakes her head but beams a smiles up while swinging her legs.
Princess Rebekah: "I think Mama is going to be just fine."
Zoram tilts her head in confusion from the way the child answered her two questions, but decides to follow her own adopted daughters happy energy.
Eventually, Saku and Laban hop back over to the playing field, the catcher waves off the out.
Saku: "She didn’t catch it!
You’re still up Scylia!"
The love rival to Laban raises an eyebrow and smirks in victory, but Itsuka’s confident attitude quickly fades. She watches Saku help brush off the dirt and grass from Laban’s back, midsection, and legs.
The jealous woman curls her pierced lower lip and her nose twitches in anger.
Itsuka(to herself): "That’s no fair...
She’s a natural asshole, forcing herself to do noble things for his attention.
While I’ve been constantly improving, and trying to...
...trying to..."
After a little self reflection, Itsuka remembers her own symbiote’s ability.
She recalls how the personality of her mirrored reflection was before and after meeting Saku.
Itsuka(to herself): "... While I’ve trying to become a more positive person, too..."
The beautiful, tall, dark skinned young woman swallows her own spit nervously.
Itsuka(thinking): *What if I’ve done all this, and changed for nothing?
What if Saku never actually does fall in love with me, in the same way I’ve fallen in love him?*
From behind her, there is an opac, dark skinned cheek, and the familiar lips of someone, as if a ghost, gets close up to Itsuka’s ear.
Only the self doubting Itsuka can hear the voice that escapes the "ghost".
Ghostly Woman: *Like a ring around your tummy...*
Itsuka snaps out of it and looks around.
Saku and Laban have gotten back to their positions.
The catcher squats back behind home plate.
Saku: "Let’s play ball!
Count is 0-1!"
Itsuka shakes out her head and focuses back on the current game at hand.
Itsuka(thinking): *No!
I gotta just follow my gut, and keep on bettering myself, even if Saku doesn’t end up loving me the way I love him!*
