Baseball Game - Part 1
WHO:
-- Black Sheep Squadron Players: Roy Fokker, Shinji Ikari, Rook Bartley, Thraskar Davidson, Forte Stollen, Toji Suzuhara, Ilyse Amsel
-- Relief Society Players: Erstin Ho, Vash the Stampede, Yasutora Sado, Kon (as Space Prettyboy X), Sanji, Orihime Inoue
-- Spectators: Ichigo Kurosaki, Lalah Sune, Eriol Hiiragizawa, Lenneth Valkyrie, Jotaro Kujo, Amuro Ray, Nono, Rukia Kuchiki
WHEN: Saturday, 3 March
WHERE: Onose Park - Karakura Town
WHAT: The Sheep and Society have a friendly Baseball Game!
Tags Needed For: Vash the Stampede, Lalah Sune, Ilyse Amsel, Jotaro Kujo
[OOC] Roy Fokker says, "Alright. Since we obviously can't field whole teams.. here's the basic rules. There's a pitcher, someone working 1st and 2nd, someone working sortstop and third, and two in the outfield (no catcher, they're boring). The basic rule is to use +bat and do what the bat says. If you're in a position where the ball is hit to you, a +touch on the batter will get them out. A miss, they successfully make the base. Once on base, you can advance on normal hits and pop ups/fly balls. Questions?"
Onose Park [OP]
A relatively small park, located close to the banks of the Onose river. There's a small playground here with swings, a slide, and a merry-go-round. The flat metal kind, not the carousel kind. Further inland, away from the river, a meandering path cuts through a grassy area. There's a fountain in the center of the park, and a large pond filled with carp and, in the warmer seasons, ducks. There are only a few shade trees, but there are plenty of picnic benches and wide open areas for people to enjoy themselves.
Roy is one of the first to arrive on the field. Has to do setup, after all. And sitting in the visitors dugout is a large canvas bag. Inside? A gigantic inflatable black Sheep. If the Society loses? Guess what will fly from their roof for the next /year/? Taking out some bats and balls, the pilot slips on his glove and tosses the ball up and down to loosen up.
Next to arrive would be Rook Bartley. Well, she does remember /some/ things from when Earth used to be just a normal planet, and the rules of baseball are one of those things. Well, some of them. Whatever.
She wears a red tee-shirt and jean shorts, hair tied into a ponytail, which in turn is stuck through the back of a black ball cap, and carries a beat-up looking baseball glove.
"Hey, Fokker!" She waves, trotting up to the pitcher's mound, grinning like a fool. "We ready to go kick some ass?"
Tossing the ball to Rook, Roy smirks. "You know it, Rook. But we're the visiting team - which means we bat first." the pilot responds.
Ilyse Amsel shows up in her normal 'uniform' of a T-shirt and jeans. You expected otherwise?
Well you expected WRONG.
Ilyse shows up with a bag over her shoulder. It looks like a regular aluminum bat and not something she modified, but you never know with her. "Hey guys," she says, heading toward Roy and Rook. "Sorry I just sort of showed up on you."
"Ahahahah." A sarcastic laugh. "That supposed to scare me, or somethin'?" Rook reaches up, snapping the ball from the air with her glove. She turns at the sound of another voice. Oh, goody. Teammates! "Hey, Ilyse!" To Roy, she throws the ball back. She's got a nasty fastball... for such a stringy thing, anyway. "Great. Well, we'll steamroll 'em anyway. You know it!"
Snagging the ball out of the air, Roy tosses it back towards Rook. "Only if you can't swing a bat, Rook." Dressed in a pair of sweats chopped off at the knees and a muscle shirt, his hat rests precariously over that hair of his. "..you must be Ilyse." the pilot offers his hand. "Commander Roy Fokker. Pleasure to meet you in person."
Orihime loves baseball. Even if it had been pouring rain, she would have showed up to play. There's just something about it! The way your team cheers their support especially for YOU when you step up to bat, and the nervous flutter in your stomach as you do your best to make them cheer more with a good solid hit... That's invigorating! A little nerve-wracking, especially with that first all-out DEAD RUN to get to first, but she adores the feeling.
The chestnut-haired girl arrives on the field, struggling with a large cooler of drinks which she carries on the right side, Tatsuki holding up the left. It's heavy, but it's the smaller container. They let Chad take care of the big one. "Roy-san!" she calls out with a cheery smile as she steps onto the field. Wow, a lot of new faces here she doesn't recognize from the last Sheep/Society get-together. "We're here! Thanks again for inviting us!"
Toji Suzuhara, meanwhile, comes running up /slightly/ late, but apparently just behind the Relief Society members. He's wearing his school's baseball uniform, and has a duffel bag slung under one arm. "I'm here, I'm here!" he shouts, waving an arm. Then he mutters: "Man, am I the only one who had school today?"
Ilyse Amsel accepts the hand, not gripping too hard. "Thanks! Yeah, that's me," she says, cheerfully. "Nice to meet you, Roy."
There is no way she's calling him Commander.
She swings the bat back up to her shoulder after she's done. "It's Saturday, why the hell would I have class?" she asks of Toji, apparently having better ears than most.
Sanji has arrived.
Chad could probably have taken all the coolers, really. But even though he could lift him, they would have piled up in front of his face, and then he couldn't have seen where he was going. And you just KNOW that would have led to hilarious, and messy, results.
The large teen is dressed in sporting gear that seems just a tad too tight for him to be wearing. Apparently it's tough to find it in 'giant' size. He's not wearing a cap, though, despite the fact that it's tradition.
He places the cooler down, then procedes to wait around for things to begin quietly. "..."
Snatching the ball from the air, Rook tosses it up before catching it, smirking. "Oh, I see. So you think I'm chicken or somethin'?" She lobs the ball right back at the commander, glancing around at the flood of new arrivals. Ahahahah. Grinning, she offers Orihime a wave, as well as Toji and Chad.
"Anyway, you sayin' you want me battin' first? You're, uh, probably better off just lettin' someone else do it... but I can do it! Just sayin', bats aren't my first love -- I'm better off on the pitcher's mound." Griiiin. "But I plan on givin' 'em hell wherever you put me."
Roy doesn't usually ask people to call him Commander. Noticing Orihime, the pilot smirks, first towards Toji. "Not all of us are from freak zones that say no way to weekends." he offers.
And then, he descends on Orihime and scoops her up in a hug that would make Agrias proud. She knows the two had a bit of a falling out, but at least the Veritech commander is making a huge step here. "How've you been, Hime?" Roy asks as he sets the girl down. "We'll talk later, alright?"
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Roy Fokker says, "No, I was saying, as a team, we bat first, Rook. But if you want the honors.."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Ilyse Amsel says, "Or I can."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Roy Fokker says, "If you want to, Ilyse. Rook, you're second. I'll bat third. Toji, cleanup. Shinji, fifth."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Rook Bartley, sound of fist smacking into glove. "Gotcha. Heh, heh."
Ichigo may, in fact, already be in the stands. He looks...pretty bored. The game hasn't started yet, and he hasn't had the chance to be a jerk to people.
Luckily, Rukia's not here, or she'd hit him every time he opened his mouth.
For the moment, he lounges, leaning back in the stands, elbows resting on the seat level behind him.
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Roy Fokker says, "Toji, when we're in the field, I want you trolling first and second. Ilyse, shortstop and third. Shinji, you're with me in the outfield. Rook, you get to pitch.. and uh.. we'll police our own pitches."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Ilyse Amsel says, "Shortstop's the one between the bases, right?"
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Roy Fokker says, "Right. Opposite Toji."
"It didn't help..." Shinji Ikari, who's /also/ running in a wee bit late behind Our Boy Suzuhara, and wondering why the heck he's even here since 'team sports' are not exactly something Ikari the Younger thinks of as 'fun' or 'sane', "...that the Class Rep gave us clean up duty /again/. I know you two don't get along, Toji, but do you have to /try/ and get her ticked off? I think I saw steam coming out of her ears this time..."
Shinji shudders. "S-suddenly, her friendship with Asuka makes so much more sense..." Because Hikari is terrifing.
Orihime Inoue squeaks as she's scooped up, but she's beaming, and returns the hug with the ferocity of a bear. Yay! "I've been okay!" she beams up at the commander from beneath the rim of her Zombies ballcap. Go Zombies! ...Whatever team THAT might be. "But you're right, we'll catch up later. See you on the field!" She reaches up to flip her hat backwards, then waves to Chad and the rest of her teammates, beckoning them to join her on the field. "Everyone pick a base! I'll pitch first," she volunteers, picking up a catcher's mit and a couple of baseballs before jogging up to the mound. Whatever base is left will surely be claimed in a glorious fashion by the incoming SPACE PRETTYBOY X.
The Black Sheep's Positions/Batting Order
1. Ilyse Amsel - SS/3rd
2. Rook Bartley - P
3. Roy Fokker - CF/LF
4. Toji Suzuhara - 1st/2nd
5. Shinji Ikari - RF/CF
Toji Suzuhara immediately looks over his shoulder at Shinji, his expression world-weary. "What do you mean /try/? She's hated my guts ever since the third grade, and probably always will." He says this with the tone of someone who's quite sure that they are DOOMED, while heading over to what he guesses is the Sheep dugout with bag in tow. "I swear, I didn't even /mean/ for that cicada to jump into her hair either..." And then he trails off into barely-intelligible grumbling.
There's an SDF baseball cap occasionally visible as someone slight, small and smiling weaves his way through the gathering here to watched. Oddly enough, he's here to cheer for everyone, since Eriol has no intention of offending anyone.
He may or may not have brought food. He certainly has no idea how baseball works, anyway, aside from it being that weird foreign batting game played in Some Other Country Across The Pond. This will be quite the learning experience!
Roy is likewise wearing that SDF-1 Macross ballcap, as he pats Ilyse on the shoulder. "You're batting first. Knock it out of the park!" he offers encouragingly, then yells out. "Play ball!"
"Uh huh, uh huh." Rook grins, watching as Orihime's set down by the freakishly tall commander. Really. Nobody's that tall in Invid-world. Well, except the Invid, but Roy's hardly an Invid. He's just... Roy. Ahahah.
She goes to take her place with the others, cracking her knuckles and settling down to wait. Grinning, she reaches up in a wave. "Give 'em hell, Ilyse!"
And yes, her ball cap is also SDF.
Wait, what's this, up in the sky? Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It's a parachuting Space Prettyboy X, having dropped in on the park from a flying rocket horse! "SPACE! PRETTYBOYYYYYYY! X!!"
He lands on one of the bases, regardless of wether or not someone is actually there at the moment. If so, he totally ignores it. To no one in particular, he poses, as he gives a short speech. "Vanquisher of evil! Great fan of revealing outfits! Just androgynous enough to capture the hearts of a thousand women yet make a thousand men envy him!"
"SPACE!"
"PRETTYBOY!"
"X!"
The parachute, bearing a large blue X on a white background, falls on him. He promptly wiggles his way out of it, then throws it into the audience's seats.
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Roy Fokker says, "I'll give you a bonus if you hit the idiot in the parachute."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Rook Bartley says, "Can I nail 'em with a fastball when I'm up to pitch? Pleeeease~?"
"You got it," Ilyse says, heading toward the batting spot.
She stops to stare at the parachuting 'Space Prettyboy X'. "What the hell do you guys put in your drinks?" she asks, curiously, as she takes up a position; she is a right-handed batter and stands as if she hasn't had a lot of practice lately.
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Toji Suzuhara says, "I dunno if you want to pick on one of those superhero guys...."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Toji Suzuhara says, "Aren't they like faster than speeding bullets, or some crap like that?"
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Ilyse Amsel says, "They can't ALL be faster than speeding bullets because sometimes they get shot."
There is a long moment's silence from the crowd, then polite applause from the front. No idea who you are, dear chap, but Eriol thought that was a rather...unusual entrance.
"..." Chad just stares at Space Prettyboy X's entrance for a few moments, then goes back to waiting around quietly. So, no one probably noticed any difference.
Ichigo Kurosaki squints at the heroic spouting guy. He sounds familiar. Really familiar. He can't seem to place him, though, which is frustrating.
This will just make him heckle harder. Channeling frustration, you know.
The Relief Society's Starting Positions/Batting Order
1. Yasutora Sado - Shortstop/3rd
2. Vash the Stampede - 2nd
3. Orihime Inoue - Pitcher
4. Space Pretty Boy X - 1st
5. Sanji - Outfield
(We're going to rotate positions so everyone gets a chance.)
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Roy Fokker says, "OOC If y'all guys want to rotate, that's fine, just tell me, and I'll shuffle things. But knowing the code, the ball will wander where it will. XD"
"I didn't know you guys knew each other that long." Shinji says, blinking a little. The whole idea of 'childhood friends' is something of a novelty to him, after all.
He waves a little at the other Sheep, and Society members, and nods at Roy because that is the polite thing to do, after all, even if he's fairly sure he's going to get beaned with a baseball. "Sure you didn't." Shinji then murmurs Tojiwards, and pauses. "...what did you do to her in Third Grade, anyway?"
Orihime taps the toe of her foot on the pitcher's mound, dusting the mit against her hip. Then she straightens, cupping the baseball within her hand as she loooooooks to first base. Loooooooks to third. (Even if there's no one there, it's what she's seen the pitchers do on television...she just doesn't know it's to make sure bases aren't being stolen.) Then she winds up, lifting her leg, and pitches! Go for it, Ilyse!
Ilyse Amsel swings her bat and gets a Fly Ball to Left Field!
Ilyse Amsel probably should have practiced at least once before doing this.
Ilyse swings wildly for the ball and is probably as surprised as anyone else that she actually manages to connect with it, launching it high and left. She immediately drops the bat and starts running flat-out for the first base, head down. "Charge!"
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Roy Fokker says, "Run Ilyse!"
Sanji successfully targets Ilyse Amsel with his C'mere Ball! action.
If he can fight in dress shoes it seems perfectly fine with Sanji that he plays baseball in them too. Though he is wearing at least some traditional sports attire. His black pants are high at the calves and instead of the normally oh so formal clothing the Straw Hat cooks tends to wear, he's dressed in a red baseball jersey that's buttoned in the front with a loose v-neckline. On the right side of the jersey against his chest is the notorious Mugiwara Pirates symbol! The shirt even has his name on the back with the number 34 underneath it, and on his head is a white baseball cap that's been turned backwards.
And with the game starting there he stands, far in the outfield and by himself. Is it because he's a fast runner and can manage such a large space on his own? Perhaps. Or maybe it's because it keeps him away from the women. c_c; "You can do it, Orihime-chwaaaan!" The hearts are floating up from left field. Which is a good thing, since the ball is headed his way already! But there's just enough time for him to light a cigarette first and set it between his lips. The cook turns and begins to dash backwards, amazed at how far the ball is flying. It's a good thing he's got those ridiculously long legs. o_o; His mit goes into the air and then the catch is made. A grin follows as he throws the ball across the field to the pitcher again. "Sorry, honey!" He feels so bad. ;_; She had a lot of energy!
Vash does a few quick stretches, making sure he's limber enough for when something heads his way. One side of his mouth bulges out, but not from chewing tobacco -- cause that's just nasty. Wolfwood might argue that though since he has an obvious nicotine addiction. Instead, the gunman has stuffed enough bubble gum into his mouth to choke a horse! He hopes it'll help him concentrate on the game. Sure it's just a friendly little event, but he still hopes his team wins. He chews a couple of times before moving the wad over to the other side of his mouth. The chewing pauses when Illyse hits the ball. Wow, that was pretty good! But it looks like their outfielder has it covered. "Good job Sanji!" Vash grins and calls out to his teammate before turning his attention to the next batter.
Wait...what happened to his gum? Vash blinks in alarm and starts searching the ground around him. Ack! He must've swallowed it. "Aww." The tall man deflates a little bit. Oh well. Maybe he can grab some nachos between innings or something.
Roy winces as he watches the ball fall.. fall, and right into Sanji's glove. Drats. "Good try, Ilyse!" the pilot yells out before he pats Rook. "You're turn." he offers, before settling back to start his own practice swings. He's next, after all.
Toji Suzuhara pulls a pair of gloves out of the duffel bag and tugs them on, flexing his fingers to check the fit and glancing over at Shinji. "Well, ah....I caught a cicada, and was gonna sneak up on her with it and freak her out, y'know, usual kid stuff. Then the cicada jumped out of my hands and got tangled up in her hair somehow. I don't think she's ever forgiven me for it." He says this all rather matter-of-factly, too. It's been so long that Toji doesn't really care about the incident anymore, but he's /convinced/ that's the real reason for Hikari's strange behavior.
....Toji's kind of a dunce when it comes to these things. He sits up a little straighter in his seat, though, when he sees Ilyse hit the ball. "Go! Go! GO!" he shouts encouragingly...then the ball gets caught. Nertz. "...that was a close one," he offers.
There's also a cringe from the freedom fighter. Drats. Ilyse started out so strong, too, with such a great headlong charge for the base. Ah well. Time for her to hammer a home run! Or something. "Yeah, yeah..." Rook hefts herself to her feet, picking through the bats until she finds a wooden one to her liking, dog-trogging out towards home plate. Hey, batter batter.
Grinning, she settles into stance, wagging the bat a bit as she waits for the pitch. Bring it.
Ilyse Amsel makes it to first before realizing that the ball got caught a little while ago. "Oh, well," she says, apparently not actually terribly upset about it. She can hit it harder next time, and it beat the heck out of a foul ball or just missing entirely. She is not exactly the most athletic member of the Black Sheep.
Roy ruffles Ilyse's hat as she walks by. "You'll knock it out of the park next time." he offers with an encouraging wink before hefting his bat to take another practice swing.
Orihime applauds into her mit, for both Ilyse and Sanji. That charge was AWESOME. Immediately, she decides she likes Ilyse for that reason alone! She stretches her mit to catch the ball as it comes her way, and beams at Sanji. "Good catch!" Now for the next batter! She taps her toe against the dirt again...winds up for the pitch...and decides to try her luck with a curve ball!
Rook Bartley swings her bat and gets a Grounder to Third!
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Roy Fokker says, "Haul ass, Rook!"
Rook squints, giving the bat a final wag before rearing back and swinging it around for a homer. Instead, it's a lowly grounder out to third base, but the freedom fighter is an opportunist. She'll take what she can get, gladly!
The bat smacks into the ball with a hearty 'clunk,' and the pilot's immediately running like a rabbit for first base. "Woohoo~!"
Yasutora Sado misses Rook Bartley with his Let's See How Well Chad Can See With That Hair In His Eyes... action.
Chad notices the ball, just a few seconds too late. It misses his glove, just barely. "...oops." Truth be told his hair was in his eyes, but he'll just hope no one noticed that. He's not cutting his hair, nor putting a cap on.
If Shinji Ikari were a normal boy, considering his sensitive personality, he would probably suspect something at this point. As it is, he basicly takes Toji's words at face value, as he knows much more about the confusing world of social interaction than Shinji does, only mildly adding, "I always figured it was the picture busniess." And a pause. "Hey, at least you didn't sucker punch her."
Shinji makes sure to smile, despite not being prone to smile, in order for Toji to know that the comment is ment in good humor. His latest self-help book on communication reccomended this, and honestly Shinji thinks of The Fight as a good memory these days.
"Um, you didn't get hit! Better than I'll do." Shinji says to Ilyse, trying to be supportive but possibly sounding insulting by mistake. And he does a little, "Ah, yay?" for Rook as she does her thing. He's not so much insincere as he is very, very reserved, but people have mixed this up about Shinji before.
Ichigo shouts, making a face. "Come on, Chad! It was right there! You're better than this!" Just wait for the fly ball to the face.
Run rabbit run! Rook doesn't bother risking a glance back; she just... makes a dive for the base. Sliiiide. It doesn't do much but get dust all over her, but it's cathartic, dangit. Climbing to her feet, she leans towards second, with her foot still firmly planted on the very corner of first base. Ahahah. She raises a fist in a salute to her teammates, grinning like a fool.
Dropping the bat between his knees for a moment, the Veritech Commander claps and gives a sharp whistle. "Nice running, Bartley!" Roy yells out, before taking up his bat to advance to the plate. "Alright, Orihime, I know I'm cute, but no throwing it at me." he teases as he settles in with his huge strike zone, setting the bat up, and clutching it.
Hooohhhhh, this is gonna be a hard one! Oh well, Orihime will just do her best! "I'll try not to, Roy-san!" she beams. She winds up for the pitch...and pitches! A sloooooooooow baaaaaaaaaaaaall.
Roy Fokker swings his bat and gets a Foul Ball to Right Field!
Swing around the bat, Roy jumps on the first pitch and slams it past the first base line and into the stands. "Heads up!"
Hopefully, noone got hit with that ball. Roy coughs, settling back down, taking up the bat and settles back into the batter box. "Come on, Hime, bring me some heat." he teases, trying to taunt the girl into throwing faster. Choking up on the bat, the pilot brings it up and prepares to swing again.
"Did better than he did, too," Ilyse says, pointing at Roy's ball. She calls, more loudly, "Come on! Hit it out of the park or something!" She isn't upset by Shinji, having had to deal with people (a little) like him before. In fact, she asks him a question directly. "You play baseball much?"
"Want me to sucker punch /you?/" Toji asks, sticking his tongue out at the younger Ikari before he gets addressed by Ilyse. He then cups his hands over his mouth and shouts out towards the pitcher's mound: "GIVE IT SOME GAS!"
Rook stands on the edge of the base, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Aw, c'mon, Fokker! Is that the /best/ you can do?!" Big tall guy like that ought to be able to smash it halfway across the city, right? Heh, heh. She'll just stand here and heckle indiscriminately until it's her time to run again. "C'mon, smash that baby right outta the park...! Gimmie a chance to really stretch my legs!"
Orihime flinches a bit. She saw the ball head towards the stands...hopefully it won't hit Ichigo. :( But that's why she brought a couple of extra baseballs with her, to keep the game moving along! She...is not sure how to give it heat, or gas, but perhaps they want her to pitch a fast ball! Sure, she'll try that! Zoom!
Roy Fokker swings his bat and gets a Triple to the Wall!
Sanji blinks as he sees the ball soar in his direction. There's no stopping that one! The ball zooms into the outfield and bounces to a stop against the wall. Sanji skids to a stooped position to snatch it up and throw the ball back to the infield. By then Roy is already on third! What a great hit!
Watching the pitch, Roy isn't as eager to jump on this one as he was the last time. Instead, the pilot gives it a hard swing and knocks it over the third base line. It stays fair, bouncing into the grass and rolling fast towards the corner. Sanji's going to have to have afterburners to get to it in time. "Run Bartley!" the pilot yells as he takes off on his own gargantun legs and sending Rook home while he slides to a stop at third as the ball arrives back at Orihime.
Standing up, he dusts himself off, and yells to Toji. "Bring me home!" One out. He can run on a pop up, he's fairly certain.
Vash understands the special bond between a man and his hair, so when Chad's keeps him from making the catch he's the last one to judge him. It does get a slight wince but also a smile, since the batter is obviously happy to be on base. What's important now is the next batter up, and he looks like a man who knows how to get things done. His eyes follow the first foul ball up into the stands. But that second hit... "Whoa." Impressive! And it puts their team on the board.
The freedom fighter shades her eyes, squinting up as the ball flies high towards the wall. Now, that's exactly what she was talking about. She sets off immediately, kicking up dust in a wild sprint for second base. Hey, maybe they stand a fighting chance after all. "Go, go, go...!" Well, it's more like 'huff, huff, huff.' She's used to having the machines do the running /for/ her. Still, she can run pretty well! And fast, evidently. She likes keeping her skills top-notch, and 'run away' is a perfectly legitimate skill! And, as the ball /keeps/ going, she keeps running. Woohoo! Endurance is a good thing, and she doesn't even slow as she stomps over the second base, over the third, and on through home... jogging still towards the dugout, and collapsing over a bench. Huff. Huff. Oof. "Water," she rasps, sticking out a hand. Someone. Anyone?
Munch.
Popcorn makes everything better! Eyes wide, Eriol watches as the Commander steps up and proves that...second time's the charm? Although he is the third up to bat. "Well done, Roy-san~!" he cups his hands around his mouth as he calls, although the cheer is unlikely to carry very far. Rook's completed lap also gets applause.
And then, more popcorn. Munch.
Toji Suzuhara, obligingly, gets a paper cup and an aluminum bat from his duffel bag, filling the cup on the way out and passing it to Rook. He then heads up to the appointed spot, and swings his bat once before tugging his hat down securely. "Allright, let's go." He can do this. Baseball is his thing, after all.
Orihime whistles. Wow, nice hit! "Great job, Roy-san! Way to run, Bartley-san!" Orihime cheers. So what if they're on the other team? They're all friends! And now Toji is up to bat, eh? A relatively new face, though Orihime's heard him on the radio before. She inclines her head with a smile. "Good luck!" And here's the pitch!
Toji Suzuhara swings his bat and gets a Foul Ball to Left Field!
Gratefully, the freedom fighter in red takes the water, gulping down some of it. "Thanks." And off he goes, and there's a grin. "Good luck."
"It's, ah, more Toji's thing." Shinji murmurs, flushing a little. Toji already gave Rook some water, so Shinji just says, "Nice, um, job out there."
He then sees Toji's hit, and only wishes that it'll hit Ichigo in the face a /little/ bit.
And once again, the ball goes flying off towards the stands. "Look out!" Toji shouts, because he doesn't really mind Ichigo all /that/ much. His expression does, however, turn serious as he regards Orihime levelly and tunes out all distractions. This time he's going to hit it, his pride is on the line! ...right?
Shinji's wish is Karma's command. The fly ball sails through the air and SMACK! Right in the nose.
Ichigo, of course, swears and grabs his face. He'll be quiet fore a while.
Roy was about tio bolt for home, but comes to a halt as he watches the ball sail into the stands. "You'll get it next time, Toji..!" he calls out, clapping his hands as he gets back to the base.
When someone runs home, Ilyse bellows, "Yeah! Go go!" with her hands cupped around her mouth.
She does quiet down when Toji gets up to bad. "Yeah, well, I don't play much either, but I thought I'd show up. I'm afraid of what uniform I'm going to be stuck in anyway."
"Thanks." The freedom fighter takes another gulp or two of water, watching the proceedings out on the field. She grimaces a little as the ball runs foul, flying awry to left field. Oops. Well, maybe the next pitch ought to be a little better. There's another cringe as the ball smacks squarely into Ichigo's face. That's gotta hurt. To Shinji, she decides to strike up a little conversation. Maybe. She doesn't look at him when she talks, watching the field, but she does speak loudly enough to be heard. "You play baseball much?"
_______________Inning_______________________ Score___
_______|__1__|__2__|__3__|__4__|__5__|__6__|_____|__R__|__H__|
|Black | | | | | | | | | |
|Sheep | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 1 | 2 |
|-------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|Relief | | | | | | | | | |
|Society| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 0 |
'-------'-----'-----'-----'-----'-----'-----'-----'-----'-----'
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[[O O
| o/oo]
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"It's more Toji's thing." Shinji meekly repeats, scooching a little more into himself, somehow, so as to give Rook more room without compromising Ilyse's personal space. It's a gift. "Eva piloting's usually more than enough physical activity for me, you know?" Shinji wonders, briefly, if they know or, like Mister Zonvolt, aren't aware of just how much the pilot's physical condition goes into Evangelion Piloting. He's also not sure which sceneario he'd prefer. "Um, how about you two?"
Poor Ichigo! "Sorry, Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime shouts, feeling more than a little guilty. She's the one that pitched it, too! At least, if his nose is broken, she can fix it? Medic and pitcher all in one, hurrah!
Nonetheless, on with the game. "At least you hit it!" she beams encouragingly at Toji, and pitches again.
Toji Suzuhara swings his bat and gets a Grounder to First!
Toji Suzuhara lets out a whoop of joy as he sees the ball go flying off, he doesn't even care that it's a grounder and /very/ close to his current destination...he simply drops the bat and runs for first base like it's an oasis in the desert.
Kon successfully targets Toji Suzuhara with his NOT SO FAST, EVILDOER! action.
For a moment, Roy considers bolting to home. He watches the ball head towards first, the Veritech pilot bolts, heading for home, leaving Space Prettyboy X with the choice, try to run down Roy or go after Toji and the easy out.
And while Toji goes down, his sacrifice is not for nothing as Roy crosses over the plate, scoring the second run of the game.
Ilyse Amsel doesn't know a thing about the Evangelions other than they're big and have giant Duracells sometimes. "What, you jump around in it? I do that sometimes," she says, "because I couldn't get all the controls to fit right in front of me and so sometimes I have to reach over and grab the others."
She watches Toji get tagged out, shaking her head. "Not bad, I guess, but..."
The ball is headed for Space Prettyboy X's territory! It's his turn now! "NOT SO FAST, EVILDOER!" Yes, he actually says this, as he whips out a baseball glove, puts it on (can't wear it all the time and still be pretty, you know?) and LEAPS at the ball! As he touches it, the kanji for something cool appears behind him, but what it actually means is unknown, as his player doesn't know japanese.
Meanwhile, the masked hero totally fails to notice Roy's gamble, too busy congratulating himself on a job well-done.
Roy holds out his hand to trade skin with Toji as he jogs back to the dugout. "Knock it out of the park, Shinji!" Bases empty, two out, Ikari up to bat. The Veritech Commander drops into his seat and takes grabs a bottle of Gatorade from his bag to take a swig.
"Well, I used to play, before Earth was sacked by the Invid," the freedom fighter reports cheerfully. "Used to play with some of the kids that lived on my street. We all sucked. Pretty bad, in fact, but we had fun."
She squints out towards the field, watching the proceedings. Come on, Toji, let's have a home run. Instead, it's a grounder. Sigh. Well, better than nothing. She stands up, cheering as he runs for first base. And tagged out. Doh. Fortunately, it's off to the next.
"Go for it, Shinji!" she calls.
"Well it's, ah, more like..." Shinji trails off, standing up and stretching a little because that's what the health manuals say to do before any strenious physical exertion. "Um, I'll explain later. Or Toji will. He's less depressing than me."
Shinji contemplates something showing manly affection, like patting Toji's shoulder, but just nods at the Fourth instead, stepping up to the plate, and desperately trying to remember how to stand properly. His knees are a little wobbily, and it almost looks like the bat's too heavy for him to be holding upright like that.
Toji Suzuhara grins a little as Space Prettyboy X tags him. "Oh well, damned if you, damned if you don't!" And then he makes his way back to the dugout whistling a little, because he /did/ get Roy to home plate, and the points are all anyone really cares about, right? He gives Shinji a Manly Nod (Tm) as he passes, and sits down to see how well Shinji will do. His friend has a knack for being oddly competent when he has to be, after all.
Oh there we go, someone Orihime's definitely met before! Orihime waves briefly at Shinji as he moves to take the bat. He immediately inspires kicked puppy syndrome, but she resists the urge to go easy on him. She'll treat Shinji just like everyone else, because that's the only fair way to go about it. Besides, he'd feel bad if he DID hit it, when Orihime made it simple. If he hits it when she's trying, then he'll feel good! "Here it comes!" she grins, winds back, and pitches!
"Um, uh, ah-" Shinji SWINGS.
And hits! "Um, d-duck, Inoue!" Shinji shouts, even as he tosses the bat aside and runs-
"Lol." Says Professor R who, as a supervillain, is the facet of Shinji most skilled at appreciating irony.
-towards first base! He makes a mental note to frown meaningly at anyone making the obvious joke there.
_______________Inning_______________________ Score___
_______|__1__|__2__|__3__|__4__|__5__|__6__|_____|__R__|__H__|
|Black | | | | | | | | | |
|Sheep | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 | 3 |
|-------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|Relief | | | | | | | | | |
|Society| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 0 |
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O]] . O_
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IT'S A HIT!
"Hey, it's the boy from the cooking contest." Vash smiles to himself when he spots Shinji at bat. And he hit it! A nice hit too. The gunman blinks and runs for the ball to make himself useful, but Shinji's already on base by the time he gets it anyway. He scoops it off the grass and into his glove before throwing it back to Orihime.
Somewhere off in left field Erstin flinches slightly at the crack of te ball against the bat. Earl doesn't have many sports quite like this... ...And she's never been much of one for conventional sports anyway. It took sending her to Guarderobe to seriosuly get her involved in much of anything that was seriously athletic before.
She understands the CONCEPT well enough.. but.. well.. Yeah. We'll have to see if Guarderobe's special forces training can make up for having never played this game before.
Yeah. She's been here. Sanji's just been quicker on his feet than she has. She grits her teeth a little, steels her expresion a bit more.. and will see what she can do about doing a better job of this.
"Ilyse, you're up. Two out. But don't worry, it's only the first inning!" Roy offers as he takes another swig of Gatorade, considering trading it out for the whiskey.
The freedom fighter kicks back on the bench, sticking two fingers to her mouth in a piercing whistle for her team. Woo! Go Sheep. In the meantime, she'll just sit here with her water and watch.
"Oh boy," Ilyse says, "a chance to screw up and blow the inning. Oh well, it's the first inning." She shoulders her own favourite bat as she walks over, then picks her favourite spot to stand and waits for the pitch. This time, she looks at least a /little/ more practiced (she warmed up doing the first run, technically, even if it barely counts).
*wiskwiskwisk* goes the small BlackSheepSquadron flag Eriol seems to have procured from ...somewhere. Perhaps one of his pockets. (He has one for the Relief Society too but it's not their turn to be cheered yet.) "Good luck~!"
He has no idea what makes up a good score, but people seem pleased enough so far..
Orihime jogs forward to catch the ball, and brushes her wrist over her brow. Phew! Shinji's better at this than she thought! "Thanks, Vash-san," she beams, saluting, before she trots back to the pitcher's mound. And Ilyse is up again, woo! Orihime winds back, and hucks the ball forward. (Finally.)
Ilyse Amsel swings her bat and gets a Bloop Single!
Ilyse Amsel swings wildly again, and with all her might!
It doesn't connect quite the way she was hoping for; it goes up about ten feet at its highest point and not, as Ilyse wanted, out of the park. There is definitely enough time for her to discard the bat and charge toward first, stomping on the base itself and deciding to stay there rather than keep running.
She waves toward Shinji on the next base.
"Oh, uh-" Shinji doesn't have time to think, so instead...he runs! Like the wind, even!
"Um, hello Mister Vash." Shinji says, mildly, to the second baseman. He is briefly worried by the man's similarity to the infamous bandit from Gunsmoke...but he wouldn't be in the Relief Society! Shinji mentally kicks himself for being a worrywart.
Wow, another one of those bloops. Vash watches it bounce on the grass before he leaves his base to get it and return it to the pitcher. "Let's go Orihime!" He cups his hands around his mouth to cheer on their pitcher. "Hey there, nice to see you again." The gunman smiles at Shinji. His smile falters at the boy's worried expression though. "Something wrong? You're not dehydrating or anything are you?" Because that would be bad.
Toji Suzuhara, meanwhile, is chilling in the dugout watching everyone else play at the moment. "That's Shinji for ya," he says to nobody in particular, folding his arms over his chest and nodding sagely. He does, however, raise his fist and let out another whoop when Ilyse bloops the ball. "Nice shot!"
"Good hit, Ilyse!" Roy calls out, looking towards Rook. "Your turn. No pressure, have fun!" And with that, he doesn't pat her on the butt, does watch her jog out to take the batter's box. Who wouldn't?
Orihime rubs her cheek with an embarrassed smile. She hasn't struck anyone out yet! Ah well, at least her teammates are awfully sweet about it. She loves her Relief Society! She beams at Vash again, applauding the hit, and heads back to the mound. Rook is up to bat once more! Orihime pulls back...pauses...and pitches da ball.
Ichigo is still not heckling. His face hurts. Maybe some ice cream, or a sno-cone will make it stop. He wanders to the concessions to see if this is true.
Rook Bartley swings her bat and gets a Grounder to Second!
Hefting another wooden bat, Rook grins, giving a lazy salute to the commander. Well, then. It's her turn to bat again, so she's going to give it her all, or something. The freedom fighter takes her place at the plate, watching... and waiting..
In comes the pitch, and Rook lets fly with the bat, putting her whole body twist and go into the swing. Come on, let's hope for a home run, this time. She'll take what she can get, though. Batting isn't her forte, and best to just take what comes...!
Grounder to second. Okay, that's doable. Dropping the bat, Rook again makes a sprint for first base, kicking up dust. Woohoo! Off we go.
Better late than never.
This is what Lieutenant Davidson tells himself as he hefts his duffel bag over his shoulder, simultaneously swiping a hand across his skybike's lockpad. The vehicle chirps as its security activates; Thraskar jogs out of the parking lot, headed for the Black Sheep dugout.
"Sorry about the timing," he says, glancing over at Roy as he walks into the dugout proper. The dufflebag settles onto the bench next to him as he sits down, adjusting his sunglasses to better block the light. "A briefing happened." The sesheyan turns out to the field, carefully analyzing the situation--baseball isn't /his/ game, but he did a bit of research before he signed up for this gig. Not too bad, not too bad.
Vash the Stampede successfully targets Shinji Ikari with his Go get some Gatorade! action.
"I uh I guess I should-" tag. Shinji blinks at Vash's lightning fast reflexes. Wow. "Um, this is how I normally look, sir." Shinji, knowing that the inning is over because he's a big failure face, shrugs and heads for the outfield.
Before Shinji even gets a chance to respond, Rook hits the ball his way. Vash hurries towards it, grabbing it up and tagging him before he can get too far. "Sorry." Vash smiles faintly at the look of failure. He feels like he just kicked a puppy or something. "Don't hold it against me, okay? I'd like to order a chocolate cake from you sometime." He remembers the dessert really well. Since the inning is over the lanky blonde man removes his glove and hurries off the field.
Oh no, not the failure face! "It's okay, guys!" Roy says encouragingly to his Sheep as he switches the bat out for a glove and heads for the field. "Orihime, Thraskar will be picthing this inning, then we'll go back to Rook. Splinters." the pilot shrugs as he jogs towards the outfield.
"About time for a change anyway," Ilyse says, taking up her nominal post of 'shortstop' that also means 'third base' under Crazy Rules Baseball.
She likes these rules better. Regular rules are for boring people, and she is absolutely not boring.
-- Black Sheep Squadron Players: Roy Fokker, Shinji Ikari, Rook Bartley, Thraskar Davidson, Forte Stollen, Toji Suzuhara, Ilyse Amsel
-- Relief Society Players: Erstin Ho, Vash the Stampede, Yasutora Sado, Kon (as Space Prettyboy X), Sanji, Orihime Inoue
-- Spectators: Ichigo Kurosaki, Lalah Sune, Eriol Hiiragizawa, Lenneth Valkyrie, Jotaro Kujo, Amuro Ray, Nono, Rukia Kuchiki
WHEN: Saturday, 3 March
WHERE: Onose Park - Karakura Town
WHAT: The Sheep and Society have a friendly Baseball Game!
Tags Needed For: Vash the Stampede, Lalah Sune, Ilyse Amsel, Jotaro Kujo
[OOC] Roy Fokker says, "Alright. Since we obviously can't field whole teams.. here's the basic rules. There's a pitcher, someone working 1st and 2nd, someone working sortstop and third, and two in the outfield (no catcher, they're boring). The basic rule is to use +bat and do what the bat says. If you're in a position where the ball is hit to you, a +touch on the batter will get them out. A miss, they successfully make the base. Once on base, you can advance on normal hits and pop ups/fly balls. Questions?"
Onose Park [OP]
A relatively small park, located close to the banks of the Onose river. There's a small playground here with swings, a slide, and a merry-go-round. The flat metal kind, not the carousel kind. Further inland, away from the river, a meandering path cuts through a grassy area. There's a fountain in the center of the park, and a large pond filled with carp and, in the warmer seasons, ducks. There are only a few shade trees, but there are plenty of picnic benches and wide open areas for people to enjoy themselves.
Roy is one of the first to arrive on the field. Has to do setup, after all. And sitting in the visitors dugout is a large canvas bag. Inside? A gigantic inflatable black Sheep. If the Society loses? Guess what will fly from their roof for the next /year/? Taking out some bats and balls, the pilot slips on his glove and tosses the ball up and down to loosen up.
Next to arrive would be Rook Bartley. Well, she does remember /some/ things from when Earth used to be just a normal planet, and the rules of baseball are one of those things. Well, some of them. Whatever.
She wears a red tee-shirt and jean shorts, hair tied into a ponytail, which in turn is stuck through the back of a black ball cap, and carries a beat-up looking baseball glove.
"Hey, Fokker!" She waves, trotting up to the pitcher's mound, grinning like a fool. "We ready to go kick some ass?"
Tossing the ball to Rook, Roy smirks. "You know it, Rook. But we're the visiting team - which means we bat first." the pilot responds.
Ilyse Amsel shows up in her normal 'uniform' of a T-shirt and jeans. You expected otherwise?
Well you expected WRONG.
Ilyse shows up with a bag over her shoulder. It looks like a regular aluminum bat and not something she modified, but you never know with her. "Hey guys," she says, heading toward Roy and Rook. "Sorry I just sort of showed up on you."
"Ahahahah." A sarcastic laugh. "That supposed to scare me, or somethin'?" Rook reaches up, snapping the ball from the air with her glove. She turns at the sound of another voice. Oh, goody. Teammates! "Hey, Ilyse!" To Roy, she throws the ball back. She's got a nasty fastball... for such a stringy thing, anyway. "Great. Well, we'll steamroll 'em anyway. You know it!"
Snagging the ball out of the air, Roy tosses it back towards Rook. "Only if you can't swing a bat, Rook." Dressed in a pair of sweats chopped off at the knees and a muscle shirt, his hat rests precariously over that hair of his. "..you must be Ilyse." the pilot offers his hand. "Commander Roy Fokker. Pleasure to meet you in person."
Orihime loves baseball. Even if it had been pouring rain, she would have showed up to play. There's just something about it! The way your team cheers their support especially for YOU when you step up to bat, and the nervous flutter in your stomach as you do your best to make them cheer more with a good solid hit... That's invigorating! A little nerve-wracking, especially with that first all-out DEAD RUN to get to first, but she adores the feeling.
The chestnut-haired girl arrives on the field, struggling with a large cooler of drinks which she carries on the right side, Tatsuki holding up the left. It's heavy, but it's the smaller container. They let Chad take care of the big one. "Roy-san!" she calls out with a cheery smile as she steps onto the field. Wow, a lot of new faces here she doesn't recognize from the last Sheep/Society get-together. "We're here! Thanks again for inviting us!"
Toji Suzuhara, meanwhile, comes running up /slightly/ late, but apparently just behind the Relief Society members. He's wearing his school's baseball uniform, and has a duffel bag slung under one arm. "I'm here, I'm here!" he shouts, waving an arm. Then he mutters: "Man, am I the only one who had school today?"
Ilyse Amsel accepts the hand, not gripping too hard. "Thanks! Yeah, that's me," she says, cheerfully. "Nice to meet you, Roy."
There is no way she's calling him Commander.
She swings the bat back up to her shoulder after she's done. "It's Saturday, why the hell would I have class?" she asks of Toji, apparently having better ears than most.
Sanji has arrived.
Chad could probably have taken all the coolers, really. But even though he could lift him, they would have piled up in front of his face, and then he couldn't have seen where he was going. And you just KNOW that would have led to hilarious, and messy, results.
The large teen is dressed in sporting gear that seems just a tad too tight for him to be wearing. Apparently it's tough to find it in 'giant' size. He's not wearing a cap, though, despite the fact that it's tradition.
He places the cooler down, then procedes to wait around for things to begin quietly. "..."
Snatching the ball from the air, Rook tosses it up before catching it, smirking. "Oh, I see. So you think I'm chicken or somethin'?" She lobs the ball right back at the commander, glancing around at the flood of new arrivals. Ahahahah. Grinning, she offers Orihime a wave, as well as Toji and Chad.
"Anyway, you sayin' you want me battin' first? You're, uh, probably better off just lettin' someone else do it... but I can do it! Just sayin', bats aren't my first love -- I'm better off on the pitcher's mound." Griiiin. "But I plan on givin' 'em hell wherever you put me."
Roy doesn't usually ask people to call him Commander. Noticing Orihime, the pilot smirks, first towards Toji. "Not all of us are from freak zones that say no way to weekends." he offers.
And then, he descends on Orihime and scoops her up in a hug that would make Agrias proud. She knows the two had a bit of a falling out, but at least the Veritech commander is making a huge step here. "How've you been, Hime?" Roy asks as he sets the girl down. "We'll talk later, alright?"
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Roy Fokker says, "No, I was saying, as a team, we bat first, Rook. But if you want the honors.."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Ilyse Amsel says, "Or I can."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Roy Fokker says, "If you want to, Ilyse. Rook, you're second. I'll bat third. Toji, cleanup. Shinji, fifth."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Rook Bartley, sound of fist smacking into glove. "Gotcha. Heh, heh."
Ichigo may, in fact, already be in the stands. He looks...pretty bored. The game hasn't started yet, and he hasn't had the chance to be a jerk to people.
Luckily, Rukia's not here, or she'd hit him every time he opened his mouth.
For the moment, he lounges, leaning back in the stands, elbows resting on the seat level behind him.
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Roy Fokker says, "Toji, when we're in the field, I want you trolling first and second. Ilyse, shortstop and third. Shinji, you're with me in the outfield. Rook, you get to pitch.. and uh.. we'll police our own pitches."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Ilyse Amsel says, "Shortstop's the one between the bases, right?"
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Roy Fokker says, "Right. Opposite Toji."
"It didn't help..." Shinji Ikari, who's /also/ running in a wee bit late behind Our Boy Suzuhara, and wondering why the heck he's even here since 'team sports' are not exactly something Ikari the Younger thinks of as 'fun' or 'sane', "...that the Class Rep gave us clean up duty /again/. I know you two don't get along, Toji, but do you have to /try/ and get her ticked off? I think I saw steam coming out of her ears this time..."
Shinji shudders. "S-suddenly, her friendship with Asuka makes so much more sense..." Because Hikari is terrifing.
Orihime Inoue squeaks as she's scooped up, but she's beaming, and returns the hug with the ferocity of a bear. Yay! "I've been okay!" she beams up at the commander from beneath the rim of her Zombies ballcap. Go Zombies! ...Whatever team THAT might be. "But you're right, we'll catch up later. See you on the field!" She reaches up to flip her hat backwards, then waves to Chad and the rest of her teammates, beckoning them to join her on the field. "Everyone pick a base! I'll pitch first," she volunteers, picking up a catcher's mit and a couple of baseballs before jogging up to the mound. Whatever base is left will surely be claimed in a glorious fashion by the incoming SPACE PRETTYBOY X.
The Black Sheep's Positions/Batting Order
1. Ilyse Amsel - SS/3rd
2. Rook Bartley - P
3. Roy Fokker - CF/LF
4. Toji Suzuhara - 1st/2nd
5. Shinji Ikari - RF/CF
Toji Suzuhara immediately looks over his shoulder at Shinji, his expression world-weary. "What do you mean /try/? She's hated my guts ever since the third grade, and probably always will." He says this with the tone of someone who's quite sure that they are DOOMED, while heading over to what he guesses is the Sheep dugout with bag in tow. "I swear, I didn't even /mean/ for that cicada to jump into her hair either..." And then he trails off into barely-intelligible grumbling.
There's an SDF baseball cap occasionally visible as someone slight, small and smiling weaves his way through the gathering here to watched. Oddly enough, he's here to cheer for everyone, since Eriol has no intention of offending anyone.
He may or may not have brought food. He certainly has no idea how baseball works, anyway, aside from it being that weird foreign batting game played in Some Other Country Across The Pond. This will be quite the learning experience!
Roy is likewise wearing that SDF-1 Macross ballcap, as he pats Ilyse on the shoulder. "You're batting first. Knock it out of the park!" he offers encouragingly, then yells out. "Play ball!"
"Uh huh, uh huh." Rook grins, watching as Orihime's set down by the freakishly tall commander. Really. Nobody's that tall in Invid-world. Well, except the Invid, but Roy's hardly an Invid. He's just... Roy. Ahahah.
She goes to take her place with the others, cracking her knuckles and settling down to wait. Grinning, she reaches up in a wave. "Give 'em hell, Ilyse!"
And yes, her ball cap is also SDF.
Wait, what's this, up in the sky? Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No! It's a parachuting Space Prettyboy X, having dropped in on the park from a flying rocket horse! "SPACE! PRETTYBOYYYYYYY! X!!"
He lands on one of the bases, regardless of wether or not someone is actually there at the moment. If so, he totally ignores it. To no one in particular, he poses, as he gives a short speech. "Vanquisher of evil! Great fan of revealing outfits! Just androgynous enough to capture the hearts of a thousand women yet make a thousand men envy him!"
"SPACE!"
"PRETTYBOY!"
"X!"
The parachute, bearing a large blue X on a white background, falls on him. He promptly wiggles his way out of it, then throws it into the audience's seats.
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Roy Fokker says, "I'll give you a bonus if you hit the idiot in the parachute."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Rook Bartley says, "Can I nail 'em with a fastball when I'm up to pitch? Pleeeease~?"
"You got it," Ilyse says, heading toward the batting spot.
She stops to stare at the parachuting 'Space Prettyboy X'. "What the hell do you guys put in your drinks?" she asks, curiously, as she takes up a position; she is a right-handed batter and stands as if she hasn't had a lot of practice lately.
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Toji Suzuhara says, "I dunno if you want to pick on one of those superhero guys...."
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Toji Suzuhara says, "Aren't they like faster than speeding bullets, or some crap like that?"
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Ilyse Amsel says, "They can't ALL be faster than speeding bullets because sometimes they get shot."
There is a long moment's silence from the crowd, then polite applause from the front. No idea who you are, dear chap, but Eriol thought that was a rather...unusual entrance.
"..." Chad just stares at Space Prettyboy X's entrance for a few moments, then goes back to waiting around quietly. So, no one probably noticed any difference.
Ichigo Kurosaki squints at the heroic spouting guy. He sounds familiar. Really familiar. He can't seem to place him, though, which is frustrating.
This will just make him heckle harder. Channeling frustration, you know.
The Relief Society's Starting Positions/Batting Order
1. Yasutora Sado - Shortstop/3rd
2. Vash the Stampede - 2nd
3. Orihime Inoue - Pitcher
4. Space Pretty Boy X - 1st
5. Sanji - Outfield
(We're going to rotate positions so everyone gets a chance.)
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Roy Fokker says, "OOC If y'all guys want to rotate, that's fine, just tell me, and I'll shuffle things. But knowing the code, the ball will wander where it will. XD"
"I didn't know you guys knew each other that long." Shinji says, blinking a little. The whole idea of 'childhood friends' is something of a novelty to him, after all.
He waves a little at the other Sheep, and Society members, and nods at Roy because that is the polite thing to do, after all, even if he's fairly sure he's going to get beaned with a baseball. "Sure you didn't." Shinji then murmurs Tojiwards, and pauses. "...what did you do to her in Third Grade, anyway?"
Orihime taps the toe of her foot on the pitcher's mound, dusting the mit against her hip. Then she straightens, cupping the baseball within her hand as she loooooooks to first base. Loooooooks to third. (Even if there's no one there, it's what she's seen the pitchers do on television...she just doesn't know it's to make sure bases aren't being stolen.) Then she winds up, lifting her leg, and pitches! Go for it, Ilyse!
Ilyse Amsel swings her bat and gets a Fly Ball to Left Field!
Ilyse Amsel probably should have practiced at least once before doing this.
Ilyse swings wildly for the ball and is probably as surprised as anyone else that she actually manages to connect with it, launching it high and left. She immediately drops the bat and starts running flat-out for the first base, head down. "Charge!"
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Roy Fokker says, "Run Ilyse!"
Sanji successfully targets Ilyse Amsel with his C'mere Ball! action.
If he can fight in dress shoes it seems perfectly fine with Sanji that he plays baseball in them too. Though he is wearing at least some traditional sports attire. His black pants are high at the calves and instead of the normally oh so formal clothing the Straw Hat cooks tends to wear, he's dressed in a red baseball jersey that's buttoned in the front with a loose v-neckline. On the right side of the jersey against his chest is the notorious Mugiwara Pirates symbol! The shirt even has his name on the back with the number 34 underneath it, and on his head is a white baseball cap that's been turned backwards.
And with the game starting there he stands, far in the outfield and by himself. Is it because he's a fast runner and can manage such a large space on his own? Perhaps. Or maybe it's because it keeps him away from the women. c_c; "You can do it, Orihime-chwaaaan!" The hearts are floating up from left field. Which is a good thing, since the ball is headed his way already! But there's just enough time for him to light a cigarette first and set it between his lips. The cook turns and begins to dash backwards, amazed at how far the ball is flying. It's a good thing he's got those ridiculously long legs. o_o; His mit goes into the air and then the catch is made. A grin follows as he throws the ball across the field to the pitcher again. "Sorry, honey!" He feels so bad. ;_; She had a lot of energy!
Vash does a few quick stretches, making sure he's limber enough for when something heads his way. One side of his mouth bulges out, but not from chewing tobacco -- cause that's just nasty. Wolfwood might argue that though since he has an obvious nicotine addiction. Instead, the gunman has stuffed enough bubble gum into his mouth to choke a horse! He hopes it'll help him concentrate on the game. Sure it's just a friendly little event, but he still hopes his team wins. He chews a couple of times before moving the wad over to the other side of his mouth. The chewing pauses when Illyse hits the ball. Wow, that was pretty good! But it looks like their outfielder has it covered. "Good job Sanji!" Vash grins and calls out to his teammate before turning his attention to the next batter.
Wait...what happened to his gum? Vash blinks in alarm and starts searching the ground around him. Ack! He must've swallowed it. "Aww." The tall man deflates a little bit. Oh well. Maybe he can grab some nachos between innings or something.
Roy winces as he watches the ball fall.. fall, and right into Sanji's glove. Drats. "Good try, Ilyse!" the pilot yells out before he pats Rook. "You're turn." he offers, before settling back to start his own practice swings. He's next, after all.
Toji Suzuhara pulls a pair of gloves out of the duffel bag and tugs them on, flexing his fingers to check the fit and glancing over at Shinji. "Well, ah....I caught a cicada, and was gonna sneak up on her with it and freak her out, y'know, usual kid stuff. Then the cicada jumped out of my hands and got tangled up in her hair somehow. I don't think she's ever forgiven me for it." He says this all rather matter-of-factly, too. It's been so long that Toji doesn't really care about the incident anymore, but he's /convinced/ that's the real reason for Hikari's strange behavior.
....Toji's kind of a dunce when it comes to these things. He sits up a little straighter in his seat, though, when he sees Ilyse hit the ball. "Go! Go! GO!" he shouts encouragingly...then the ball gets caught. Nertz. "...that was a close one," he offers.
There's also a cringe from the freedom fighter. Drats. Ilyse started out so strong, too, with such a great headlong charge for the base. Ah well. Time for her to hammer a home run! Or something. "Yeah, yeah..." Rook hefts herself to her feet, picking through the bats until she finds a wooden one to her liking, dog-trogging out towards home plate. Hey, batter batter.
Grinning, she settles into stance, wagging the bat a bit as she waits for the pitch. Bring it.
Ilyse Amsel makes it to first before realizing that the ball got caught a little while ago. "Oh, well," she says, apparently not actually terribly upset about it. She can hit it harder next time, and it beat the heck out of a foul ball or just missing entirely. She is not exactly the most athletic member of the Black Sheep.
Roy ruffles Ilyse's hat as she walks by. "You'll knock it out of the park next time." he offers with an encouraging wink before hefting his bat to take another practice swing.
Orihime applauds into her mit, for both Ilyse and Sanji. That charge was AWESOME. Immediately, she decides she likes Ilyse for that reason alone! She stretches her mit to catch the ball as it comes her way, and beams at Sanji. "Good catch!" Now for the next batter! She taps her toe against the dirt again...winds up for the pitch...and decides to try her luck with a curve ball!
Rook Bartley swings her bat and gets a Grounder to Third!
[Y-Black Sheep Squadron] Roy Fokker says, "Haul ass, Rook!"
Rook squints, giving the bat a final wag before rearing back and swinging it around for a homer. Instead, it's a lowly grounder out to third base, but the freedom fighter is an opportunist. She'll take what she can get, gladly!
The bat smacks into the ball with a hearty 'clunk,' and the pilot's immediately running like a rabbit for first base. "Woohoo~!"
Yasutora Sado misses Rook Bartley with his Let's See How Well Chad Can See With That Hair In His Eyes... action.
Chad notices the ball, just a few seconds too late. It misses his glove, just barely. "...oops." Truth be told his hair was in his eyes, but he'll just hope no one noticed that. He's not cutting his hair, nor putting a cap on.
If Shinji Ikari were a normal boy, considering his sensitive personality, he would probably suspect something at this point. As it is, he basicly takes Toji's words at face value, as he knows much more about the confusing world of social interaction than Shinji does, only mildly adding, "I always figured it was the picture busniess." And a pause. "Hey, at least you didn't sucker punch her."
Shinji makes sure to smile, despite not being prone to smile, in order for Toji to know that the comment is ment in good humor. His latest self-help book on communication reccomended this, and honestly Shinji thinks of The Fight as a good memory these days.
"Um, you didn't get hit! Better than I'll do." Shinji says to Ilyse, trying to be supportive but possibly sounding insulting by mistake. And he does a little, "Ah, yay?" for Rook as she does her thing. He's not so much insincere as he is very, very reserved, but people have mixed this up about Shinji before.
Ichigo shouts, making a face. "Come on, Chad! It was right there! You're better than this!" Just wait for the fly ball to the face.
Run rabbit run! Rook doesn't bother risking a glance back; she just... makes a dive for the base. Sliiiide. It doesn't do much but get dust all over her, but it's cathartic, dangit. Climbing to her feet, she leans towards second, with her foot still firmly planted on the very corner of first base. Ahahah. She raises a fist in a salute to her teammates, grinning like a fool.
Dropping the bat between his knees for a moment, the Veritech Commander claps and gives a sharp whistle. "Nice running, Bartley!" Roy yells out, before taking up his bat to advance to the plate. "Alright, Orihime, I know I'm cute, but no throwing it at me." he teases as he settles in with his huge strike zone, setting the bat up, and clutching it.
Hooohhhhh, this is gonna be a hard one! Oh well, Orihime will just do her best! "I'll try not to, Roy-san!" she beams. She winds up for the pitch...and pitches! A sloooooooooow baaaaaaaaaaaaall.
Roy Fokker swings his bat and gets a Foul Ball to Right Field!
Swing around the bat, Roy jumps on the first pitch and slams it past the first base line and into the stands. "Heads up!"
Hopefully, noone got hit with that ball. Roy coughs, settling back down, taking up the bat and settles back into the batter box. "Come on, Hime, bring me some heat." he teases, trying to taunt the girl into throwing faster. Choking up on the bat, the pilot brings it up and prepares to swing again.
"Did better than he did, too," Ilyse says, pointing at Roy's ball. She calls, more loudly, "Come on! Hit it out of the park or something!" She isn't upset by Shinji, having had to deal with people (a little) like him before. In fact, she asks him a question directly. "You play baseball much?"
"Want me to sucker punch /you?/" Toji asks, sticking his tongue out at the younger Ikari before he gets addressed by Ilyse. He then cups his hands over his mouth and shouts out towards the pitcher's mound: "GIVE IT SOME GAS!"
Rook stands on the edge of the base, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Aw, c'mon, Fokker! Is that the /best/ you can do?!" Big tall guy like that ought to be able to smash it halfway across the city, right? Heh, heh. She'll just stand here and heckle indiscriminately until it's her time to run again. "C'mon, smash that baby right outta the park...! Gimmie a chance to really stretch my legs!"
Orihime flinches a bit. She saw the ball head towards the stands...hopefully it won't hit Ichigo. :( But that's why she brought a couple of extra baseballs with her, to keep the game moving along! She...is not sure how to give it heat, or gas, but perhaps they want her to pitch a fast ball! Sure, she'll try that! Zoom!
Roy Fokker swings his bat and gets a Triple to the Wall!
Sanji blinks as he sees the ball soar in his direction. There's no stopping that one! The ball zooms into the outfield and bounces to a stop against the wall. Sanji skids to a stooped position to snatch it up and throw the ball back to the infield. By then Roy is already on third! What a great hit!
Watching the pitch, Roy isn't as eager to jump on this one as he was the last time. Instead, the pilot gives it a hard swing and knocks it over the third base line. It stays fair, bouncing into the grass and rolling fast towards the corner. Sanji's going to have to have afterburners to get to it in time. "Run Bartley!" the pilot yells as he takes off on his own gargantun legs and sending Rook home while he slides to a stop at third as the ball arrives back at Orihime.
Standing up, he dusts himself off, and yells to Toji. "Bring me home!" One out. He can run on a pop up, he's fairly certain.
Vash understands the special bond between a man and his hair, so when Chad's keeps him from making the catch he's the last one to judge him. It does get a slight wince but also a smile, since the batter is obviously happy to be on base. What's important now is the next batter up, and he looks like a man who knows how to get things done. His eyes follow the first foul ball up into the stands. But that second hit... "Whoa." Impressive! And it puts their team on the board.
The freedom fighter shades her eyes, squinting up as the ball flies high towards the wall. Now, that's exactly what she was talking about. She sets off immediately, kicking up dust in a wild sprint for second base. Hey, maybe they stand a fighting chance after all. "Go, go, go...!" Well, it's more like 'huff, huff, huff.' She's used to having the machines do the running /for/ her. Still, she can run pretty well! And fast, evidently. She likes keeping her skills top-notch, and 'run away' is a perfectly legitimate skill! And, as the ball /keeps/ going, she keeps running. Woohoo! Endurance is a good thing, and she doesn't even slow as she stomps over the second base, over the third, and on through home... jogging still towards the dugout, and collapsing over a bench. Huff. Huff. Oof. "Water," she rasps, sticking out a hand. Someone. Anyone?
Munch.
Popcorn makes everything better! Eyes wide, Eriol watches as the Commander steps up and proves that...second time's the charm? Although he is the third up to bat. "Well done, Roy-san~!" he cups his hands around his mouth as he calls, although the cheer is unlikely to carry very far. Rook's completed lap also gets applause.
And then, more popcorn. Munch.
Toji Suzuhara, obligingly, gets a paper cup and an aluminum bat from his duffel bag, filling the cup on the way out and passing it to Rook. He then heads up to the appointed spot, and swings his bat once before tugging his hat down securely. "Allright, let's go." He can do this. Baseball is his thing, after all.
Orihime whistles. Wow, nice hit! "Great job, Roy-san! Way to run, Bartley-san!" Orihime cheers. So what if they're on the other team? They're all friends! And now Toji is up to bat, eh? A relatively new face, though Orihime's heard him on the radio before. She inclines her head with a smile. "Good luck!" And here's the pitch!
Toji Suzuhara swings his bat and gets a Foul Ball to Left Field!
Gratefully, the freedom fighter in red takes the water, gulping down some of it. "Thanks." And off he goes, and there's a grin. "Good luck."
"It's, ah, more Toji's thing." Shinji murmurs, flushing a little. Toji already gave Rook some water, so Shinji just says, "Nice, um, job out there."
He then sees Toji's hit, and only wishes that it'll hit Ichigo in the face a /little/ bit.
And once again, the ball goes flying off towards the stands. "Look out!" Toji shouts, because he doesn't really mind Ichigo all /that/ much. His expression does, however, turn serious as he regards Orihime levelly and tunes out all distractions. This time he's going to hit it, his pride is on the line! ...right?
Shinji's wish is Karma's command. The fly ball sails through the air and SMACK! Right in the nose.
Ichigo, of course, swears and grabs his face. He'll be quiet fore a while.
Roy was about tio bolt for home, but comes to a halt as he watches the ball sail into the stands. "You'll get it next time, Toji..!" he calls out, clapping his hands as he gets back to the base.
When someone runs home, Ilyse bellows, "Yeah! Go go!" with her hands cupped around her mouth.
She does quiet down when Toji gets up to bad. "Yeah, well, I don't play much either, but I thought I'd show up. I'm afraid of what uniform I'm going to be stuck in anyway."
"Thanks." The freedom fighter takes another gulp or two of water, watching the proceedings out on the field. She grimaces a little as the ball runs foul, flying awry to left field. Oops. Well, maybe the next pitch ought to be a little better. There's another cringe as the ball smacks squarely into Ichigo's face. That's gotta hurt. To Shinji, she decides to strike up a little conversation. Maybe. She doesn't look at him when she talks, watching the field, but she does speak loudly enough to be heard. "You play baseball much?"
_______________Inning_______________________ Score___
_______|__1__|__2__|__3__|__4__|__5__|__6__|_____|__R__|__H__|
|Black | | | | | | | | | |
|Sheep | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 1 | 2 |
|-------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|Relief | | | | | | | | | |
|Society| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 0 |
'-------'-----'-----'-----'-----'-----'-----'-----'-----'-----'
/
/
[[O O
| o/oo]
/| |
/ | |
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
"It's more Toji's thing." Shinji meekly repeats, scooching a little more into himself, somehow, so as to give Rook more room without compromising Ilyse's personal space. It's a gift. "Eva piloting's usually more than enough physical activity for me, you know?" Shinji wonders, briefly, if they know or, like Mister Zonvolt, aren't aware of just how much the pilot's physical condition goes into Evangelion Piloting. He's also not sure which sceneario he'd prefer. "Um, how about you two?"
Poor Ichigo! "Sorry, Kurosaki-kun!" Orihime shouts, feeling more than a little guilty. She's the one that pitched it, too! At least, if his nose is broken, she can fix it? Medic and pitcher all in one, hurrah!
Nonetheless, on with the game. "At least you hit it!" she beams encouragingly at Toji, and pitches again.
Toji Suzuhara swings his bat and gets a Grounder to First!
Toji Suzuhara lets out a whoop of joy as he sees the ball go flying off, he doesn't even care that it's a grounder and /very/ close to his current destination...he simply drops the bat and runs for first base like it's an oasis in the desert.
Kon successfully targets Toji Suzuhara with his NOT SO FAST, EVILDOER! action.
For a moment, Roy considers bolting to home. He watches the ball head towards first, the Veritech pilot bolts, heading for home, leaving Space Prettyboy X with the choice, try to run down Roy or go after Toji and the easy out.
And while Toji goes down, his sacrifice is not for nothing as Roy crosses over the plate, scoring the second run of the game.
Ilyse Amsel doesn't know a thing about the Evangelions other than they're big and have giant Duracells sometimes. "What, you jump around in it? I do that sometimes," she says, "because I couldn't get all the controls to fit right in front of me and so sometimes I have to reach over and grab the others."
She watches Toji get tagged out, shaking her head. "Not bad, I guess, but..."
The ball is headed for Space Prettyboy X's territory! It's his turn now! "NOT SO FAST, EVILDOER!" Yes, he actually says this, as he whips out a baseball glove, puts it on (can't wear it all the time and still be pretty, you know?) and LEAPS at the ball! As he touches it, the kanji for something cool appears behind him, but what it actually means is unknown, as his player doesn't know japanese.
Meanwhile, the masked hero totally fails to notice Roy's gamble, too busy congratulating himself on a job well-done.
Roy holds out his hand to trade skin with Toji as he jogs back to the dugout. "Knock it out of the park, Shinji!" Bases empty, two out, Ikari up to bat. The Veritech Commander drops into his seat and takes grabs a bottle of Gatorade from his bag to take a swig.
"Well, I used to play, before Earth was sacked by the Invid," the freedom fighter reports cheerfully. "Used to play with some of the kids that lived on my street. We all sucked. Pretty bad, in fact, but we had fun."
She squints out towards the field, watching the proceedings. Come on, Toji, let's have a home run. Instead, it's a grounder. Sigh. Well, better than nothing. She stands up, cheering as he runs for first base. And tagged out. Doh. Fortunately, it's off to the next.
"Go for it, Shinji!" she calls.
"Well it's, ah, more like..." Shinji trails off, standing up and stretching a little because that's what the health manuals say to do before any strenious physical exertion. "Um, I'll explain later. Or Toji will. He's less depressing than me."
Shinji contemplates something showing manly affection, like patting Toji's shoulder, but just nods at the Fourth instead, stepping up to the plate, and desperately trying to remember how to stand properly. His knees are a little wobbily, and it almost looks like the bat's too heavy for him to be holding upright like that.
Toji Suzuhara grins a little as Space Prettyboy X tags him. "Oh well, damned if you, damned if you don't!" And then he makes his way back to the dugout whistling a little, because he /did/ get Roy to home plate, and the points are all anyone really cares about, right? He gives Shinji a Manly Nod (Tm) as he passes, and sits down to see how well Shinji will do. His friend has a knack for being oddly competent when he has to be, after all.
Oh there we go, someone Orihime's definitely met before! Orihime waves briefly at Shinji as he moves to take the bat. He immediately inspires kicked puppy syndrome, but she resists the urge to go easy on him. She'll treat Shinji just like everyone else, because that's the only fair way to go about it. Besides, he'd feel bad if he DID hit it, when Orihime made it simple. If he hits it when she's trying, then he'll feel good! "Here it comes!" she grins, winds back, and pitches!
"Um, uh, ah-" Shinji SWINGS.
And hits! "Um, d-duck, Inoue!" Shinji shouts, even as he tosses the bat aside and runs-
"Lol." Says Professor R who, as a supervillain, is the facet of Shinji most skilled at appreciating irony.
-towards first base! He makes a mental note to frown meaningly at anyone making the obvious joke there.
_______________Inning_______________________ Score___
_______|__1__|__2__|__3__|__4__|__5__|__6__|_____|__R__|__H__|
|Black | | | | | | | | | |
|Sheep | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 2 | 3 |
|-------+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+-----+
|Relief | | | | | | | | | |
|Society| 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | | 0 | 0 |
'-------'-----'-----'-----'-----'-----'-----'-----'-----'-----'
/ o
/ .
O]] . O_
\ /\
|\ /|
/ \ ||
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
IT'S A HIT!
"Hey, it's the boy from the cooking contest." Vash smiles to himself when he spots Shinji at bat. And he hit it! A nice hit too. The gunman blinks and runs for the ball to make himself useful, but Shinji's already on base by the time he gets it anyway. He scoops it off the grass and into his glove before throwing it back to Orihime.
Somewhere off in left field Erstin flinches slightly at the crack of te ball against the bat. Earl doesn't have many sports quite like this... ...And she's never been much of one for conventional sports anyway. It took sending her to Guarderobe to seriosuly get her involved in much of anything that was seriously athletic before.
She understands the CONCEPT well enough.. but.. well.. Yeah. We'll have to see if Guarderobe's special forces training can make up for having never played this game before.
Yeah. She's been here. Sanji's just been quicker on his feet than she has. She grits her teeth a little, steels her expresion a bit more.. and will see what she can do about doing a better job of this.
"Ilyse, you're up. Two out. But don't worry, it's only the first inning!" Roy offers as he takes another swig of Gatorade, considering trading it out for the whiskey.
The freedom fighter kicks back on the bench, sticking two fingers to her mouth in a piercing whistle for her team. Woo! Go Sheep. In the meantime, she'll just sit here with her water and watch.
"Oh boy," Ilyse says, "a chance to screw up and blow the inning. Oh well, it's the first inning." She shoulders her own favourite bat as she walks over, then picks her favourite spot to stand and waits for the pitch. This time, she looks at least a /little/ more practiced (she warmed up doing the first run, technically, even if it barely counts).
*wiskwiskwisk* goes the small BlackSheepSquadron flag Eriol seems to have procured from ...somewhere. Perhaps one of his pockets. (He has one for the Relief Society too but it's not their turn to be cheered yet.) "Good luck~!"
He has no idea what makes up a good score, but people seem pleased enough so far..
Orihime jogs forward to catch the ball, and brushes her wrist over her brow. Phew! Shinji's better at this than she thought! "Thanks, Vash-san," she beams, saluting, before she trots back to the pitcher's mound. And Ilyse is up again, woo! Orihime winds back, and hucks the ball forward. (Finally.)
Ilyse Amsel swings her bat and gets a Bloop Single!
Ilyse Amsel swings wildly again, and with all her might!
It doesn't connect quite the way she was hoping for; it goes up about ten feet at its highest point and not, as Ilyse wanted, out of the park. There is definitely enough time for her to discard the bat and charge toward first, stomping on the base itself and deciding to stay there rather than keep running.
She waves toward Shinji on the next base.
"Oh, uh-" Shinji doesn't have time to think, so instead...he runs! Like the wind, even!
"Um, hello Mister Vash." Shinji says, mildly, to the second baseman. He is briefly worried by the man's similarity to the infamous bandit from Gunsmoke...but he wouldn't be in the Relief Society! Shinji mentally kicks himself for being a worrywart.
Wow, another one of those bloops. Vash watches it bounce on the grass before he leaves his base to get it and return it to the pitcher. "Let's go Orihime!" He cups his hands around his mouth to cheer on their pitcher. "Hey there, nice to see you again." The gunman smiles at Shinji. His smile falters at the boy's worried expression though. "Something wrong? You're not dehydrating or anything are you?" Because that would be bad.
Toji Suzuhara, meanwhile, is chilling in the dugout watching everyone else play at the moment. "That's Shinji for ya," he says to nobody in particular, folding his arms over his chest and nodding sagely. He does, however, raise his fist and let out another whoop when Ilyse bloops the ball. "Nice shot!"
"Good hit, Ilyse!" Roy calls out, looking towards Rook. "Your turn. No pressure, have fun!" And with that, he doesn't pat her on the butt, does watch her jog out to take the batter's box. Who wouldn't?
Orihime rubs her cheek with an embarrassed smile. She hasn't struck anyone out yet! Ah well, at least her teammates are awfully sweet about it. She loves her Relief Society! She beams at Vash again, applauding the hit, and heads back to the mound. Rook is up to bat once more! Orihime pulls back...pauses...and pitches da ball.
Ichigo is still not heckling. His face hurts. Maybe some ice cream, or a sno-cone will make it stop. He wanders to the concessions to see if this is true.
Rook Bartley swings her bat and gets a Grounder to Second!
Hefting another wooden bat, Rook grins, giving a lazy salute to the commander. Well, then. It's her turn to bat again, so she's going to give it her all, or something. The freedom fighter takes her place at the plate, watching... and waiting..
In comes the pitch, and Rook lets fly with the bat, putting her whole body twist and go into the swing. Come on, let's hope for a home run, this time. She'll take what she can get, though. Batting isn't her forte, and best to just take what comes...!
Grounder to second. Okay, that's doable. Dropping the bat, Rook again makes a sprint for first base, kicking up dust. Woohoo! Off we go.
Better late than never.
This is what Lieutenant Davidson tells himself as he hefts his duffel bag over his shoulder, simultaneously swiping a hand across his skybike's lockpad. The vehicle chirps as its security activates; Thraskar jogs out of the parking lot, headed for the Black Sheep dugout.
"Sorry about the timing," he says, glancing over at Roy as he walks into the dugout proper. The dufflebag settles onto the bench next to him as he sits down, adjusting his sunglasses to better block the light. "A briefing happened." The sesheyan turns out to the field, carefully analyzing the situation--baseball isn't /his/ game, but he did a bit of research before he signed up for this gig. Not too bad, not too bad.
Vash the Stampede successfully targets Shinji Ikari with his Go get some Gatorade! action.
"I uh I guess I should-" tag. Shinji blinks at Vash's lightning fast reflexes. Wow. "Um, this is how I normally look, sir." Shinji, knowing that the inning is over because he's a big failure face, shrugs and heads for the outfield.
Before Shinji even gets a chance to respond, Rook hits the ball his way. Vash hurries towards it, grabbing it up and tagging him before he can get too far. "Sorry." Vash smiles faintly at the look of failure. He feels like he just kicked a puppy or something. "Don't hold it against me, okay? I'd like to order a chocolate cake from you sometime." He remembers the dessert really well. Since the inning is over the lanky blonde man removes his glove and hurries off the field.
Oh no, not the failure face! "It's okay, guys!" Roy says encouragingly to his Sheep as he switches the bat out for a glove and heads for the field. "Orihime, Thraskar will be picthing this inning, then we'll go back to Rook. Splinters." the pilot shrugs as he jogs towards the outfield.
"About time for a change anyway," Ilyse says, taking up her nominal post of 'shortstop' that also means 'third base' under Crazy Rules Baseball.
She likes these rules better. Regular rules are for boring people, and she is absolutely not boring.