He walked back to the bench and said a few words to his brother on the way.
"He's still not recovered. Make sure you send him flying."
Jun nodded in response before heading into the batters box. He gripped the bat tightly and narrowed his eyes.
'Damn it! How dare that guy hit my pitch like that…'
Meanwhile, Kazuhiro was still caught up with Ken's hit. He was feeling humiliated, especially since he had been inwardly gloating beforehand.
'I won't let anyone else get a hit from me'
His face changed, turning into one filled with determination as he began his wind up. The air around him seemed to change, giving one the impression that this boy was on a battlefield.
WHOOSH
The ball came flying through the air towards the outstretched glove of the catcher, looking as if it wanted to blow past everything like a cannonball.
Jun's eyes opened wide with shock, not expecting such a lively ball.
DING
'Damn it!'
He quickly accelerated towards first base, realizing he had messed up.
Kazuhiro swooped in and collected the ball that was rolling his way, throwing it in one smooth motion towards the 1st base.
"Out!"
The first base umpire shouted, causing the Yokohama bench to let out a disappointed groan in response.
Jun tagged Makoto on the way past, telling him to be careful.
"Unlucky Jun." Tatsuya said with a wry smile. Despite not facing the ball himself, Tatsuya knew that the pitcher on the mound had already mentally recovered from his setback.
Next to the field, Ken was warming up his arm with Yasuki, the backup catcher. He had already thrown to him during practice for the past month so there was no issues right now.
'Time to test out my new lively pitches skill.'
It had only been 2 days since he had received the skill from a Silver Lottery ticket, so he did not have a chance to practice with it just yet.
Unfortunately, this also meant that Yasuki had yet to catch one of them too.
"Okay Yasuki, I'll be pitching for real now." He announced.
Yasuki's eyes narrowed and he got into position. Ken's pitches were fast, but his control had improved tremendously since he first caught them. As long as he was alert, there should be no issues as usual.
Ken performed his full wind up before stepping forward and whipping out his arm. He made sure to flex his fingers at the tail end of his pitch, sending the ball ripping through the air towards the glove.
'H-Huh!?'
Yasuki panicked as he saw the ball rocket out from Ken's fingers, appearing blurry from how fast it was spinning through the air. The ball seemed to come alive as it danced and weaved towards him.
PAH
Thankfully, the ball ended up in his glove albeit not in the ideal place he would have liked. His hand felt a little numb from catching the ball which was by his estimation in the early 140's.
He stood up and was about to ask Ken what the hell that pitch was, before he was interrupted by the coach.
"Ken, let's go. It's your turn to pitch."
"Coming."
Ken bowed slightly to Yasuki and headed back towards the pitch.
Yasuki's gaze followed his figure.
'He's gotten better again…'
Back on the field, Makoto was standing at third base with a sulking expression. He had gotten all the way to a full count, and was even starting to get the hang of Kazuhiro's timing.
However, the player at first base managed to pull off an incredible catch on a foul ball from him, securing the third out.
"If I had just one more chance…" He mumbled.
"Don't mind Captain. We're up by 1 run and our new star rookie is coming to pitch for us."
Naoki Ito the shortstop with the fringe came over and encouraged the captain. With his eagle vision, he was easily able to see that Makoto was annoyed.
"Well it's about time." He commented, feeling fired up.
"Let them hit it Ken! We've got your back." Hiroki at first base called out.
"Show them your guts! ORYAHH!" Makoto added, using the opportunity to flex.
Yuta made his way to the mound and placed the ball into Ken's glove, a calm smile on his face.
"You nervous?" He asked.
"Nervous? Nah. It's just a friendly." Ken replied, inspecting the ball.
"Hahaha. Someone tell that to the coach."
Ken tilted his head in question, before looking over and seeing Coach Hanada pacing back and forth anxiously. The sight made him laugh, easing the tension considerably.
Yuta proceeded to tell him the signs before heading back to home plate so the final innings of the match could be played.
The current score was 6-5 in favor of the visiting Yokohama. As long as they could get 3 outs without giving up a run the match would end.
"Play!"
Ken turned his attention to the batter and adjusted his cap. This was the 8th batter in the Shuei line up, so he should have no issues at all.
Meanwhile in the Shuei dugout, there was looks of confusion everywhere.
"Isn't that the kid who sent Kazu's pitch flying? He's also a pitcher?"
Even Coach Goto was frowning, ditching his usual warm smile.
Carlos was a little intrigued, however he didn't have much expectation. If Ken was a great batter, he held little hope that he would be anything more than a mediocre pitcher to compensate.
"They're probably just resting their Ace since he's pitched over 120 balls." One of the other players added.
However, the catcher who had heard Tatsuya call him Ace was currently unsure. He had a bad feeling about the whole situation, yet he wasn't sure that anyone would believe him.
Not knowing how much of a stir his appearance on the mound had caused to the opposition, Ken took note of Yuta's signs before nodding.
He brought his hands to his chest and lifted his knee before taking a large step forward with his long leg. As he planted his left leg, his arm whipped out, sending the ball flying towards the open glove of Yuta.
PAH!
Silence.
Carlos's face morphed at the sight, feeling his whole body fill with adrenaline.