'144km per hour!?'
Coach Hanada's eyes widened in disbelief after seeing the outlandish number on the radar gun.
How could a first year high school student at the age of only 15 or 16 possess such strength?
Hiroki who had faced the ball head on suddenly reevaluated the person on the mound. He had been so surprised by the sudden speed that he did not even have a chance to swing at the ball.
"Nice pitch. Throw me another."
Instead of being cowed by the intense speed of the pitch, Hiroki felt his fighting spirit ignite. It wasn't often that one could face such fast balls against high schoolers, let alone a first year.
"Heh, you don't have to tell me twice." Ken responded, his face still burning with determination.
Shiro was still staring at the ball in his glove, not even noticing that Ken was waiting on the mound for him.
"Timeout please."
Ken requested a time out since ironically, his catcher had yet to catch up to the proceedings.
"Shiro, come here." Ken beckoned, finally getting his attention.
Like a lost little lamb, he made his way over to the mound.
"K-Ken, why didn't you tell me you could pitch so fast." He complained. "I'm not even sure that I can catch them properly."
"Don't worry. Just put your glove in the middle of the strike zone for the next pitch, I'll make sure the ball finds its way there."
"Oh and for the 3rd ball…" Ken placed his glove over his mouth and whispered into Shiro's ear, only to receive a confused look in response.
"Okay head back to your spot." He shooed Shiro away like a small animal.
After thanking the umpire, he finally got back into position and waited for play to resume.
Both Coach Hanada and the assistant coach were holding their breaths. They were hoping that the last pitch was not a fluke, so they watched with rapt attention.
It wasn't just those two, both the players in the dugouts and the ones on the field all had their eyes focused on Ken on the mound. He was like a tall tree which stood grandly, yet had an air of danger surrounding it. (Takagi literally translates to Tall Tree in Japanese)
"Play!"
The umpire called for play to resume, prompting Ken to begin his wind up.
As he began, Tatsuya who had a lead on first base quickly took off to steal second base. It seemed that everyone had forgotten he was on first, including both coaches.
Shiro fidgeted a little, however there was no way he would be able to split his focus in the moment. If he moved his glove even an inch, he couldn't guarantee that he'd be able to catch the pitch headed his way.
Ken on the other hand ignored the runner. His complete and utter focus was on one thing, his showdown with Hiroki.
SWHOOSH
PAH
The sound of air being struck followed by the ball landing in the glove rang out in everyones ears.
"Strike two."
This time, the atmosphere in the first teams dugout was solemn.
Hiroki had rarely failed to make contact with a ball he swung at. In fact, he had never been struck out in high school, making him a bane for pitchers early in the batting line up.
The fact that he had missed the ball so spectacularly indicated that Ken was the real deal.
"147km per hour… Is he a monster?" The assistant coach mumbled.
"Heh…" Hiroki couldn't help but laugh, tightening his grip on the bat.
"BRING IT ON!"
Tatsuya, who was now sitting safely on second base blinked a few times in confusion. Usually whenever he stole a base he would receive some cheers, however everyone seemed to have forgotten about him.
Since he was used to all the attention, especially females, he couldn't help but feel stifled.
He took another lead, intending to steal another base and make the defense pay.
'If you won't pay attention to me then I'll just steal an entire run.'
Ken gripped the ball in the glove, holding it to his chest. His eyes were drilling into the glove which was placed just below the strike zone, close to the ground.
Without hesitating, he began his wind up and whipped the ball out again.
Shiro noticed the ball was a little slower than the last, but he saw the trajectory and panicked. Instead of heading towards his glove, the ball was heading right down the middle of the strike zone.
'What do I do? What do I do?' He panicked inwardly, feeling as if time had slowed down.
'Place your glove below the strike zone and don't move it no matter what. Trust me bro.'
Ken's instructions from before rang out in his mind. His instincts were screaming at him to lift his glove, but Ken's words spoke the opposite.
Generally, a battery (pitcher and catcher duo) would need to build up experience and trust between each other before making such a request. But since this was the very first time the two had played with one another, the task was almost too much to handle.
While they were friends and even sat next to each other in class, it was only the third day of high school. How much could one trust someone they'd only known for a few days.
If he didn't move the glove and the ball continued on its current trajectory, it would likely hit him square in the chest, a rather painful affair even with a chest protector.
However, if he moved his glove and the ball ended up below the strike zone, it was his crown jewels that were in the firing zone.
After a serious mental debate, Shiro finally decided to keep his glove where it was. If he was hit in the chest then at least he wouldn't be incapacitated, or risk putting and end to his whole family line in the process.
'Damn you Ken.' He gritted his teeth, keeping his eye on the ball.