[Action]

[triggerhappytraitor]

It was an old habit Tachibana had picked up when he had first been training to be Garren, one that he had picked up again after demonstrating it to Mutsuki. It likely looked strange to anyone else at the batting range, him standing there with no bat or glove, eyes trained on the machine in the distance that would send the balls launching at him.

It was calming in a strange sort of way, focusing so intently on the moment that his mind went silent. No worries. No fears. No nagging doubts or feelings of failure. In that moment, it all faded to the background. The clicking grinding sound of the machinery as the arm of the launcher rose up filled his ears as he focused, eyes narrowing slightly.

With a sudden snap of action, the ball flew out, Tachibana's hand shooting out to grab it. "4!" An agile flick of the wrist turned the ball around in his hand to show off the worn number 4 on the ball. With a nod, he dropped it, eyes back on the machine as it clicked and whirred.

It wasn't action. It wasn't figuring out what he should be doing or how to fit into this new city, but it was training. It was familiar. It was something to put aside the unease and restlessness that was plaguing his mind.

Comments

[gigigigigigi]

Tachibana might not have realized it, but he was being watched. The batting cages weren't too far from the park Amazon preferred to hang out in, and it was a quiet day. The constant thunk-thunk-thunk noise from the batting cages caught his attention; usually, the noise of the pitching machines was punctuated by the sound of bats hitting balls. But not today! There was a man out there doing something strange, and so Amazon decided that there was only one thing he could do--creep at Tachibana from the bushes.

[triggerhappytraitor]

The only indication that Tachibana was aware of his audience was the periodic flick of his eyes over to the side where Amazon was lurking.

"Are you going to keep staring all day?" he finally asked, question punctuated with a "2" as he caught the next ball.

[gigigigigigi]

Amazon growled uncertainly. He'd been seen? He didn't like being seen. He stepped out from the bushes where he'd been hiding and gestured at the thing. "No bat." See, that was weird, whatever Tachibana was doing with the ball. Amazon knew it was.

[triggerhappytraitor]

"This isn't for play," Tachibana returned, catching another and checking the number before letting it drop.

[gigigigigigi]

"Baseball game," Amazon said, confused. That was what he'd been told, that the cages were for playing baseball and that it was a game, and that the pitching machines were not to be weaponized, and please don't scare away anyone, Mr. Jungle Man.

[triggerhappytraitor]

"I don't play it." Keeping his focus on the ball while conversing added an extra challenge to the exercise. Not that this was a particularly challenging conversation that he had to pay much attention to, but when the ball was about to be launched, his focus was on it, rather than anything else.

Snap. Catch. Drop.

"I'm using this for something different."

[gigigigigigi]

This got Tachibana a curious headtilt. "Dif-er-ent?" Did Amazon wonder how it was different? Did he wonder what "different" even meant? It was a mystery.

[triggerhappytraitor]

"I'm not playing a game," Tachibana clarified, pausing to catch another ball. "I'm training."

[gigigigigigi]

"Not train. No tracks. No metal box." So Amazon had seen a subway train at some point. It had left an impression.

[triggerhappytraitor]

"Training," Tachibana repeated, empathizing the difference, mild irritation starting to show. "Practicing to get stronger."

[gigigigigigi]

"How make stronger?" Amazon seemed skeptical. "Ball not help in fight."

[triggerhappytraitor]

Tachibana didn't answer at first, focusing on the machine as it readied the next ball, eyes narrowed. As the ball launched his hand shot out as he yet again called the number on it, turning the ball to face his observer to demonstrate. "When you can see what's coming at you, you can dodge much more effectively," he explained, dropping the ball among the others.

[gigigigigigi]

Amazon still didn't seem to be too impressed. This was in part because he couldn't yet recognize all of his numbers. "Amazon can catch too. Still better ways get strong."

[triggerhappytraitor]

Amazon, huh? With the man's seemingly primitive speech, that was likely his name, wasn't it?

"The catching isn't the important part. Seeing the number before you do is what counts," Tachibana countered, pausing to call and catch another. "Can you read numbers?" It didn't seem too likely....

[gigigigigigi]

"Number?" It didn't seem as though Amazon was familiar with that term. Lucky Tachibana. The skeptical tone he took suggested as much.

[triggerhappytraitor]

...Didn't even know what numbers were? Tachibana barely held back a sigh, turning off the launcher to turn to face the clearly uneducated man. "Numbers like one, two, three," he explained. "You count with them."

[gigigigigigi]

"Count?" Amazon did not seem to know this. "Onetwothree?" Definitely didn't know this.

[triggerhappytraitor]

"Exactly like that," Tachibana nodded, leaning down to scoop up one of the balls. "The number on the ball is One," he explained before tossing it back into the pile. "Each ball has a number on it."

[gigigigigigi]

"One?" Amazon still didn't seem entirely convinced of the feasibility of this training method. "Not hit. Not fight."

[triggerhappytraitor]

"There's more to fighting than hitting things." If that were all it took he never would have had any of the problems he had had.... His aim was exceptional. It was everything else that was lacking....

[gigigigigigi]

"Is important part." Amazon has a very simple view of battle, and he's the sort that these things just come easy for. Living in the jungle has honed his senses to the degree that simply surviving has been training enough for him.

[triggerhappytraitor]

"All parts are important."

With an almost dismissive flick of the switch, he turned his attention back to the batting cage.

[gigigigigigi]

Amazon sat there to watch for a bit longer, but it was pretty clear he was getting bored with the silly man and his numbered baseballs.