“Bow.”
“Yoroshiku Onegaishimasu!”
The two teams were lined up as they bowed to each other, wishing for a good game. The sun was already in full swing as the siren sounded in the arena, prompting the crowd to cheer in anticipation.
“Yokohama won the coin toss and has chosen to bat first.”
An announcer called out through the speakers, setting the scene for the game that was about to be played. Despite it being only 9am, the arena was packed with people who had been waiting since the early hours of the morning to get tickets.
Coach Hanada gathered his players and got their attention.
“We’ve worked hard all year for this moment guys so now is the time to put what you’ve learned into practice. Trust your hard work, trust your teammates and most of all, trust yourselves.”
He looked at his players with a sense of pride, feeling his nerves disappear.
Seiji placed his hand forward, which was followed by Makoto, Ken and the others placing theirs on top. He turned to Makoto and nodded.
“YOKOHAMA!”
“FIGHT ON!”
Ken felt his adrenaline spike after participating in the war cry and it wasn’t only him. Tatsuya who would usually saunter out to home plate in order to get the attention of the ladies, actually had a serious expression on his face.
He began some practice swings while he waited for the pitcher to warm up his shoulder, not once glancing into the crowd for any beauties.
Ken couldn’t help but nod in appreciation at the change of attitude. This was an important match against a formidable foe, they could not afford to take it easy today.
A tall figure with bleach blond hair stood on the mound, looking like one of those delinquents one would see in Anime. As he threw balls to the catcher, one could see his unorthodox pitching form.
Instead of lifting his leg and stepping directly forward, Kei swept his right leg outwards in a sweeping motion as if he was trying to trip someone running past him.
However, despite looking a little weird, it was fast and effective. Not only could it throw off the batter, it made it a nightmare for those who wanted to try and steal bases.
The fact he was a southpaw essentially forced 1st base to stay put and not get any ideas.
Ken’s eyes moved to the silent assassin who was standing at short stop. His messy brown hair was hidden by the blue cap, yet one could still see the bored expression plastered on his face.
His skin was a flawless white, yet it didn’t seem pale. The sun seemed to reflect off of him, just as it would with polished jade or even fine china.
‘Mika, use showdown on Tatsuo Shiraki.’
[Understood. Using skill: Showdown]
[Complete. All grades will increase by 2 when pitching against Tatsuo Shiraki]
A smirk crept onto Ken’s face as he heard Mika’s monotonous voice ring in his mind. This would be the first time he’d used showdown so he was excited to see what it could do in this match.
“Play ball!”
The umpire called out, prompting the crowd to cheer in response.
“Batting first, Left Outfield, Tatsuya.”
Tatsuya stepped into the box, performing his usual ritual of tapping both his cleats and home plate before getting into his batting form. His eyes glanced at the coach for a moment before nodding.
He turned his attention back to the delinquent looking pitcher and gripped his bat tightly.
‘I just need to get on base.’
Kei performed his sweeping wind up before blasting the ball towards the strike zone. The action was so quick that Tatsuya had trouble gauging the timing of the pitch.
WHOOSH
PAH
“Strike”
Not expecting the sudden speed, he’d swung well after the ball had landed in the catchers glove. He turned his attention to the board at the back of the stadium where he could see the speed of the pitch.
150km/h
Tatsuya sucked in a cold breath of air.
‘This won’t be easy.’
Before long the next pitch came flying toward him again. Anticipating the 150km/h fastball, he adjusted his timing and swung earlier, only to hear the crisp sound of the ball entering the catchers glove once more.
‘Was that a slider?’
Sweat began to form on his brow as he glanced at the jumbo screen once more.
130km/h
He began to feel a little anxious, not knowing whether he’d be able to make contact with the ball, let alone make it onto base.
Feeling the pressure, he was about to look at the coach for directions. Yet as he turned his head, he saw the face of his brother staring at him intently. There was a mixture of belief and expectation within Jun’s gaze, surprising him in that moment.
‘You can do it, I believe in you.’
The words weren’t said aloud, but Tatsuya heard them in his mind. He suddenly felt his confidence return abruptly, almost as if it was merely being hidden by all the pressure he was feeling.
“Ah, I almost did something lame.” He murmured before a grin formed on his face.
The catcher Kenta looked weirdly at the expression on the batter’s face.
‘Is he talking to himself? What a weirdo…’
However he shook his head in the next moment, turning his attention to Kei on the mound.
‘Let’s go for another slider.’ He said inwardly, placing his glove on the inside.
Since it was a slider from a lefty and Tatsuya batted right handed, the slider would break down and in towards the batter. This made it extremely difficult for them to be hit, which was what made Kei’s arsenal so deadly.
The tall figure on the mound nodded and quickly performed his sweeping wind up, sending out his slider.
However, he was instantly shocked when Tatsuya moved his hand up on the bat and held it horizontally over the plate.
“B-Bunt!”
DING
Tatsuya sent the ball towards third before dropping the bat and accelerating at full speed towards first base. He didn’t verify if the ball was going to be fair before pinning his ears back and yanking the throttle.