Power Pros Forum

Thank you for being an inspiration I'm glad you all enjoyed it Because I woulda felt really stupid if you hadn't... <3
I'm guessing either the native New Zealanders see it as a sign that he is one of their own and start worshipping him, or...
it comes alive and gives him advice and is foul mouthed and wise cracking.
Haha thanks, but I'm not gonna clutter this thread with mah crap I might keep doing other fanarts tho

oh lol whoopsies :3


u kno it


hey now that's an idea ;}}

Please do continue zumi! C:

If you drew fanart for the Gunmen I wouldn't complain.

*whistles*

I echo this statement for the stranglers.

May 9, 2036
Quest On Ward, Hamilton, New Zealand
3:13 PM

After Kenma and I set our bags down in our rooms, we went across the hall to check on Miyuki. You see, yesterday the three of us hit a bar to check out some of the local food.

--Before anyone asks, I had a soda.--

Anyways, we had gone to a bar to check out the food and see what New Zealanders were like…

May 8, 2036
Hamilton’s Pub, Hamilton, New Zealand
8:57 PM

“Uh, just a soda, please.” I said to the waitress in Japanese.
She stared at me, one eyebrow raised.
“%%)$@#_Coke.” Miyuki spoke up
She nodded and left.
“What was that?” I asked Kenma
“I have no idea, I don’t speak New Zealand.” He replied
“That was English, you idiots.” Miyuki coldly responded
“I had no idea you could speak English, Yuki.” Kenma said
I was shocked too, who would’ve thought our sister would know English? Hell, I didn’t even know they spoke English in New Zealand!
“I did recognize ‘Coke,’ though. Is that what you ordered for me?” I asked her
She looked directly at me, “Yes. I know that’s what you rea-” For some reason she stopped speaking mid-sentence.
“What? What is it?! Yuki? Hellloooooo?” I waved my hand in front of her face a few times.
Nothing.

I turned to look behind me.
“Ohhh.”

A brown-haired, blue-eyed dreamboat of a man walked in the main entrance by himself. He looked to be in his mid-thirties. “Ohhhohoo, Yukiiiii.” I said.
She blushed, “Shush now. I need to think about my plan of attack.”
“Yes, ma’am.” I saluted.
Miyuki stared very seriously in the general direction of the entryway and this foreign-model-man.

The waitress came back with our drinks and put them down without a word.
Kenma took a sip of his beer. “Shit, this is real good.”
“Anything’s better than Koshihikari.”
“True.”
He took another sip, “ahh. Yuki if you can make this pull, I will literally give you 40,000 yen.”
“You have a deal.”

She stood up and walked over to the man. Kenma and I couldn’t help but look on like schoolboys.

“Seems they’re talking.” I said
“Yeah… I wonder what about.”
“Oh! He’s smiling!”
“She’s doing that stupid coy shit. Jeez…” Kenma took another sip of his beer, “how Japanese can she get?” He leaned back in his seat.
I put the straw of my Coke in my mouth, “well, whatever she’s doing seems to be working.”

We watched the two of them talk for a little while. Complete gibberish, mind. English has never been my strong suit; it’s much too fast.

“Ooh! Ooh! Ryu, look!”

I turned around in my seat.
“They’re walking to the bar!” I was proud of my sister.

She’s been feeling pretty lonely since her divorce a few years back. She really deserves to find someone. And who better than an Oceanic stud?

Miyuki and this mystery man sat next to each other at the bar. He ordered two of something.

“He’s getting her a drink! Ooh, this is getting goooood.” Kenma was really getting into it. As much as he teases her, he really does care about her. I couldn’t help but smile at how giddy he was.

It’s really strange. They have a completely different relationship with each other than I do with either of them. They’ve been together pretty much their entire lives. Miyuki only had one year of being the only child before Kenma came along, so mother and father pretty much treated them as if they were the same age, or so I hear. There are eight whole years between them that I didn’t even exist for. My first real memory is the two of them dressing me up in a jester’s outfit. I must’ve been around two at the time.

Kenma and I eventually bonded over a shared love for baseball, but Yuki had always been “that much older” that I didn’t really talk to her when I was younger. She was too busy with school, anyways. Our parents were always the hardest on her… She was their first born, their “beautiful fortune,” after all. It wasn’t until pretty recently that we’ve started to talk. Actually, I think it was right after her husband left her that we really started to get close… She had a lot to live up to, and despite her becoming fantastically successful, I always think that she looks sad. So-

-snapsnap-
“Yo, Ryu? Hello, Earth to Ryu? You still in there?” Kenma was snapping in front of my face
“Huh?”
“Yuki got the dude’s number!”
“She did? She did?!”
She was standing at the head of the table with a napkin in her hands.
“Lemme see! Lemme seeeee!”
I took the napkin from her. Sure enough there was a phone number written on it. With the characters:

Call me in the morning
Michael

underneath it.
“What’s it say?”
She grabbed the napkin, “it says to call him in the morning. Ohhhh, this vacation is turning out to be the best one I’ve ever taken!”
“Shit.” Kenma reached for his back pocket.
He pulled out eight 5,000 yen notes.
“Here you go.”
“Thank you very much, brother.” She smiled wryly.
“Yeah… Whatever.” Kenma crossed his arms and sat back in his chair.
Just as soon as he touched the back of the chair, he jumped up and hugged Miyuki, “Congrats, Yuki!”
“Hahah! Thank you, Kenma!”

--

ayy, look at'chu zumi, you've got a fan club :}

Dang Zumi, sick drawing!!

Was the jester thing a Halloween manuever?

as I said in chat you actually had me lost in the writing, I actually tend to think that they're talking English the whole time. The fact that they're not but it doesn't matter anyway ends up being a fun realization. So when Yuki actually does speak English it was a nice touch and a reminder. They're in Japan really, but they have similar conversation and humor that you wove, so you forget.

the family aspect is/was something I can relate to, being the third sibling. my older sister and brother are closer in age so there's sometimes a disconnect. but I'm fairly close with my brother anyway so it's all good. I find those parts fun because I can imagine us acting the same way towards each other, lol.

Heh, Kenma and Miyuki were fond of dressing poor Ryu up in costumes back in the day.

And that's awesome! I'm an only child so I'm sorta just makin the sibling relationship up as I go, heehee.

I'm glad it's accurate :}

May 9, 2036
Quest On Ward, Hamilton, New Zealand
3:14 PM

“Uh, Ryu?” Kenma slapped my arm, “You gonna knock or do you want me to?”
“Oh! Right! Uh… I think you should.”
“Errrr, maybe you should?”
“Nah, you should. You two are like peas in a pod, after all. You should knock.”
Kenma sighed, “Fine. I’ll knock.”

He knocked three times.
“Yuki? It’s us.” He said
“Come on in.” she responded from behind the door.

Kenma looked at me, took a deep breath, “ready?” he asked
I nodded.
He slowly opened the door.

.
.
.

The room was perfectly clean. Miyuki sat alone on her crisply made bed, legs crossed, filing her nails.
“Uh…” Kenma vocalized, though it was more because his mouth was hanging open.
Miyuki looked in our direction. “Can I help you?”
“Uh…” Kenma reiterated
I broke the silence, “We came to see… uh, how it all went…”

Miyuki just sort of stared at us. The left side of her mouth rose to make a catty half-smile.
Kenma immediately knew the situation, "Yukiiii! Damn girl, good job. How was 'Mr. Michael'?" He nudged her with his elbow
"Pretty good, I suppose." She replied with a wink.

Kenma and her shared a laugh. I looked on, smiled and nodded my head a few times. I did feel a bit uncomfortable, yes.

"So..." Kenma began, "you think you're gonna call him back?"
"We've still got a few days down here," she walked over to the mirror in her room, "no need to rush it."
"Heh. Fair enough. Listen, we were thinking about heading to some place called Smith and McKenzie Chophouse for dinner, and we need a translator. Could you please come with us?"
She sighed, "I can never leave you boys, can I?"
Kenma patted me on the back, "it's hard to get rid of the Azuma boys!"

May 9, 2036
Quest On Ward, Hamilton, New Zealand
10:38 PM

After a fantastic dinner and a tour around town, we finally got back to our rooms. Kenma and I bid Miyuki adieu for the night and walked into our messy two bedroom suite.
Kenma jumped onto the loveseat, “Ah… Now THAT’s a meal!” He picked up the remote and turned on the TV.
“I have no idea what they’re saying.” he said
I chuckled, “well, as you’re enjoying that, I think I’m gonna take a shower.”
“Alright. Oh!” He seemed to remember something, “use the soap that’s in there. It’s done something amazing to my skin. Seriously, it’s never been this soft.” At this point, he was right next to me, “Go on, feel it.”
I touched his outstretched arm, “Oh, ohhh, that’s real nice.”
“Right?!”
“Yeah, I’ll definitely be using that.”
“Good. Enjoy your shower.”

The white tiles complemented the light blue walls of the, frankly, oversized bathroom. The tub had massaging jets and a rainfall showerhead. It was a farcry from my modest bathroom back home. I turned on the water and let the steam fill the room.

Unbelievable. This is where I ended up. It still amazes me that I landed this job… Hell, this life! I had a privileged childhood, there’s no doubt about that… But still. I’m really living my dream right now, even if I’m not up in the NPB yet, I’m still living my dream. I’m being paid to do what I love to do.

Even still, I am lonely… My only extended relationship with a woman was back in college, and good God, I don’t even have to go into how horribly that ended. I don’t really have any friends outside of Kenma and Miyuki, and some of the players… I’m a thirty--wait, thirty one--year old guy with no friends, no wife, no children… I’m not really anything, am I? I’m inconsequential to the grand scope of the universe.

Ah, the vast universe. It’s infinite reach really does put everything into perspective. It makes you, I don’t know, feel so… so small and insignificant. But no. No! *(censored)* that, we’re all significant. Every single person on this Earth is here for a reason. They have to be. I refuse to believe there is no reason for our lives. The mere chances that each of us is alive in the first place are astronomically small. We’re all here for a reason… We just have to figure out what it is for ourselves. Nothing in life is handed to you on a platter. Life is most certainly not fair, and it owes us no favors, but it’s our job as people, as humans, as living beings! to say, “hey, *(censored)* off, life. Let me live how I want to live.” We can’t just lay there and do nothing. Time stops for no man. We can’t be spectators in our own lives. To live we must take risks! Take action! Forge our own destinies! If there is a God, or some other higher being that put us here, then they put us here to figure it out. The key to life is unique to each person. It’s up to us to find it. And if we never do… Then I don’t know what happens. I don’t know, and that frightens me. We’re all just specks on a map of the cosmos, and what we do, in the grand scheme of things, is meaningless. But for right here, for right now, our personal connections with other people prove we are alive. What’s life without other people? Certainly not one I’d like to live…

-knockknockknock-
“Yo, Ryu? You drown in there or something? It’s been like half an hour.”
Wuh… I was snapped out of my inner-ramblings by Kenma knocking on the door. shit! Has it really been half an hour? It seemed that my incredible ability to completely lose track of time when not in the immediate vicinity of a clock wasn’t gone. I quickly shampooed and got out of the shower.

11:13 PM

I was hoping beyond hope that gravity would be kind to me and keep my towel up as I rummaged through my bag to find my pajamas.
“Hey, Kenma, you seen my pajama pants?”
“You still wear those?” Kenma responded from the couch
“Of course. They’re comfy and easy to wear!”
“Uh, right. No, can’t say I’ve seen them.”
“Ughhh, could you help me look for them?”
“Sure thing, bud.”

I heard Kenma grunt as he stood up.
“Dammit! Every freaking time…” ...and the sound of the remote falling to the ground
Kenma walked into the bedroom, “so… what are we-”
Kenma covered his mouth.
“What? What is it? You okay, man?” I was worried that he had suddenly gotten very ill. He’s not used to upscale meals, after all.
“Yeah… hehhe… yeah, I’m good. But uh, Ryu?” He was holding back laughter, “...is that an octopus?”

I looked at my left shoulder and sighed, “...It’s a long story…”

Ryu's inner rambling in the shower is the high point so far in this already very solid log. For me at least. Good job!

I would be uncomfortable too at that situation, lmao. Think about what they're doing and asking, really, hah.

Ryu be like


He got lots of explainin' to do about that octopi.

ayyy, ty Pauly :}

I'll be jumping into Azuma's head quite a bit ;}


The Azumas are very forthcoming with each other, heehee

"Solair system so humongous big, you kno"

this dude knows what's up

May 18, 2036

I opened the door to the locker room with such great force, all conversations being held were immediately stopped.

“I’m back.” I said, not nearly loud or cool enough to warrant opening the doors with such gusto.
“Azuuuumaaaa!” Ishikawa yelled
“Ishikawwaaaaaa!” I replied
“Welcome back, coach.” Kura said

I looked around the locker room, there were two notable absences.

“Oh yeah,” Ishikawa seemed to notice my fleeting eyes, “Saitoh and Yoshimi are gone.”
“Ah, they finally got called up?”
“Yep.”
“Good for them!”
Bad for us, those were two of our best players… Oh well, I knew this was going to happen sooner or later.

Ken Saitoh - C, 2036 2nd String Stats
AGE, 2ND POSITION, B/T, TRJ, CON, POW, RUN, ARM, FLD, E RES
24, 3B/1B, L/R, 3, D, B, D, B, C, B
Games: 32
AVG: .347
HR: 11
RBI: 32

Kouhei Yoshimi - RF, 2036 2nd String Stats
AGE, 2ND POSITION, B/T, TRJ, CON, POW, RUN, ARM, FLD, E RES
20, OF, S/R, 2, B, E, B, A, C, B
Games: 35
AVG: .329
HR: 2
RBI: 26

“It’ll be a real shame to lose the two of them, but we still have to look forward. Tsukada! Morimoto! How you guys faring?”
Tsukada looked my way, “finally starting to get on base more, coach.”
Morimoto was a bit more reluctant to answer, “having a bit of trouble with the bat.”
“Okay, we’ll work on it.”

After that I went back into my office to check the standings.

1. Asuka Archers (23-10-2)
2. Mito Ronin (22-12-1)
3. Fukushima Bears (2nd) (20-15-0)
4. Saitama Seibu Lions (2nd) (19-16-0)
5. Chiba Lotte Marines (2nd) (15-19-1)
6. Rakuten Golden Eagles (2nd) (14-20-1)

(since the Foxes don’t have a second string team yet, in an effort to make the divisions a bit more fair, the Samurai’s second string team was thrown in the Pacific League pool. Of course, it’s not a huge deal, since we can play any team at any time).

“First place!” I was real proud of the boys and how they did in my absence.

We’ve got the Toki second string team tonight, one of the four expansion teams added in the NPB overhaul. Like their NPB counterpart, they’re run on the principle that “speed wins games.” So they’re full of speedsters.

Hideki Kokura - 2B
AGE, 2ND POSITION, B/T, TRJ, CON, POW, RUN, ARM, FLD, E RES
19, SS, L/R, 1, C, G, A, D, B, C
He’s a terrible hitter, but he can turn anything into a triple with ease. One of the fastest kids currently in the 2nd string circuit.
AVG: .286
HR: 0
RBI: 13

Kunio Gouhara - LF
AGE, 2ND POSITION, B/T, TRJ, CON, POW, RUN, ARM, FLD, E RES
20, OF, L/L, 3, F, C, A, C, D, F
He’s their best hitter--power-wise--which is saying something. He can run into a few, but his poor bat control make him someone we don’t really have to worry about all too much.
AVG: .219
HR: 8
RBI: 40

Let’s get this started!

0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0 0|1|0 Toki (2nd) (18-18-0) - 0
2|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|x 2|6|0 Archers (24-10-2) - 2

Lineup:
1. Takamaichi Ishikawa - CF (2-4, 3B)
2. Tsuyoshi Tsukada - C (1-3, BB, 1 RBI [2])
3. Satoshi Kura - SS (1-4, HR [6], 1 RBI [23])
4. Kaz Murata - 3B (0-3)
5. Gingo Yokoi - DH (1-3, 2B, 2 K)
6. Taiga Shimizu - LF (0-3)
7. Hironori Nakagawa - 2B (0-3)
8. Moriaki Takamachi - 1B (1-2, BB)
9. Makoto Morimoto - RF (0-3)

Pitcher(s):
Michinori Kondo (CG, 0 R, 8 K, 1 BB)

WP: Michinori Kondo (4-2)
LP: Takeki Yasuda (1-4) [8 IP, 2 R, 2 ER, 2 K, 2 BB]
S: --

What a win!

“Well done, boys.” I said to the team in the locker room, “Thank you very much for putting on such a strong performance for me in my first game back!” I bowed
“Not a problem, Coach!” Tsukada, who I don’t think has ever spoken up before, yelled from the back of the room
I smiled, “heh, thanks Tsukada. Solid hit to drive in Ishikawa tonight!”
His face lit up.

Tsuyoshi Tsukada was the Knights’ first round draft pick at the end of the 2035 season, so he’s got a lot to prove. Unfortunately for him, Saitoh was stuck down here with us and the role of starting catcher was, obviously, his. Now that he’s back with the NPB club, Tsukada’s our main force behind the plate. He’s a patient slap hitter with some serious speed. His abilities behind the plate need some work, but I can easily see him up with an NPB club (the Knights or otherwise) in a couple years’ time.

“...and Kura!” I continued, “where you been hiding that opposite field power all year?”
He was busy untying his cleats, “deep down in the depths of my soul, man. It’s been laying dormant, waiting to burst out when it was most needed. Seems that was tonight.”
“Uh… Right.
.
.
.
Anyways! Solid work tonight, boys! Get showered and get out of here, we’ve got a game at noon tomorrow.”

I dismissed the team and went into my office to update some of my books and check the emails I missed in my two week absence.

“159 emails in two weeks…? Damn…”

May 19, 2036

Niigata Toki (2nd) - 4 (19-18-0)
Asuka Archers - 3 (24-11-2)

May 20, 2036

Niigata Toki (2nd) - 2 (19-19-0)
Asuka Archers - 8 (25-11-2)

May 21, 2036

Mito Ronin - 9 (26-12-1)
Asuka Archers - 3 (25-12-2)

May 22, 2036

Mito Ronin - 4 (27-12-1)
Asuka Archers - 1 (25-13-2)

May 23, 2036

Mito Ronin - 2 (27-12-2)
Asuka Archers - 2 (25-13-3)

May 24, 2036

Mito Ronin - 1 (27-13-2)
Asuka Archers - 2 (26-13-3)

May 25, 2036

--DAY OFF--

May 26, 2036

Saitama Seibu Lions (2nd) - 6 (22-21-0)
Asuka Archers - 3 (26-14-3)

May 27, 2036

Saitama Seibu Lions (2nd) - 2 (22-22-0)
Asuka Archers - 3 (27-14-3)

May 28, 2036

Saitama Seibu Lions (2nd) - 1 (23-22-0)
Asuka Archers - 0 (27-15-3)

May 29-June 1

--DAY OFF--

June 2, 2036

We’re playing the second string team of the Sendai Sakura for the next few days. They’re all about the pitching.

Hiromi Ueno
AGE, B/T, TOP SPD, CON, STAM, PITCHES
19, R/R, 150 km/h (93 mph), A, B, slider - 3, curveball - 2, shuuto - 2
He’s a finesse pitcher with an above average fastball. We’ll be facing him in game two of the series. Despite how fantastic he is, he’s still not one of the top 5 in the organization…

Kaimei Kamida
AGE, B/T, TOP SPD, CON, STAM, PITCHES
18, L/L, 160 km/h (99 mph), F, F, changeup - 2
His fastball is explosive, but it’s really his only weapon. He has a lot to learn before he gets a callup. Even still, he’s a dangerous closer.

Asuka Archers - 0 (27-16-3)
Sendai Sakura (2nd) - 1 (26-18-2)

June 3, 2036

0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0|0 0|2|0 Archers (27-17-3)
0|0|0|0|3|0|0|0|x 3|5|0 Sakura (2nd) (27-18-2)

Lineup:
1. Takamaichi Ishikawa - CF (0-4, K)
2. Tsuyoshi Tsukada - C (1-4)
3. Satoshi Kura - SS (0-3)
4. Kaz Murata - 3B (0-3)
5. Gingo Yokoi - DH (1-3, 2B, 2 K)
6. Taiga Shimizu - LF (0-3)
7. Hironori Nakagawa - 2B (0-3)
8. Moriaki Takamachi - 1B (0-3)
9. Makoto Morimoto - RF (0-3)

Pitcher(s):
Genta Kojima (6 IP, 3 R, 3 ER, 3 BB)
Minao Takei (2 IP, 0 R, 1 K)

WP: Hiromi Ueno (6-0) [9 IP, 0 R, 3 K]
LP: Genta Kojima (3-3)
S: --

Yikes… Three shutouts in a row… The Sakura really do live up to their reputation. They shut our offense down both nights. I suppose it’s some consolation that we limited them to only 4 runs.

June 4, 2036

Asuka Archers - 3 (28-17-3)
Sendai Sakura (2nd) - 2 (27-19-2)

June 5, 2036

Asuka Archers - 1 (28-18-3)
Sendai Sakura - 2 (28-19-2)

June 6, 2036

--DAY OFF--

Saitama ni-gun are OP, jeezus! If he's one of 5+ top pitching spects, they gotta be on their way, right?

I remember reading they're the worst squad in this NPB.