"Alright team listen up."
Coach Hanada stood up at the front of the bus, addressing all of his players after the bus came to a stop. His expression was serious, though one could see he was excited.
Everybody quickly hushed, turning their attention to the coach. There was an air of excitement in the atmosphere, since they were just one win away from securing their position at Nationals.
"I know that we beat these guys in the friendly match a couple of months ago, but that does not mean the situation will be the same this time."
"Their best player won't be sitting on the bench anymore, and you remember how much we struggled against their Ace." Seiji paused for a moment, his eyes roaming over his players.
"But… We're not the same players we were a couple months ago." He said with a wide grin.
"Yeah!"
"Damn right."
A few hoots and hollers were shouted out in response. They could feel the confidence oozing from the coach and couldn't help but reciprocate, bringing the atmosphere to a fever pitch.
"Alright now let's show them how much Yokohama High has improved!"
"ORYAAAAH!"
The team then hopped off the bus and made their way to the locker room.
Coach Hanada moved his gaze across the field, looking for a person in particular. As soon as he saw them, a haughty smile unconsciously appeared on his face, making one want to punch it.
"Coach Goto! It's great to see you again." Seiji said, taking strides towards the opposition coach.
"Geh"
Coach Goto who had his back turned, suddenly felt his face twitch in annoyance.
However, he donned his trademark smile and turned around. Yet when he saw the expression on the other coach's face, he couldn't help but feel his eye twitch in irritation.
'This damn kid…'
Seemingly unaware of how annoyed the other man was, or at least pretending he wasn't, Seiji held out his hand and went for a firm handshake.
Coach Goto responded in kind, ensuring to pour all of his strength into his grip so as to punish his cocky rival.
But who was Coach Hanada? There was no way he would give his counterpart the satisfaction of winning, even in a competition of strength.
The cocky grin remained on his face, but inwardly he was cursing.
'Damn old man! How are you so strong!'
"Coaches, Can you please submit your lineup?"
One of the umpires arrived, breaking up the match of strength between the two.
"Ah, sure. I'll hand it over in a few minutes." Seiji said, feeling his hand throbbing after letting go of the handshake. Though his expression hid any discomfort from the earlier confrontation.
Coach Goto too retrieved his hand, casually placing it back into his pocket.
"Best of luck out there coach… You'll need it." He remarked, turning to head back to their teams locker room.
"Heh, we'll see who needs the luck."
A few minutes later, the coach walked into the locker room and his eyes widened.
"Ken, what are you doing getting changed?"
Ken lifted his head and stared at the coach innocently.
"My shoulder is all healed. Why wouldn't I get ready?"
Coach Hanada said nothing, walking towards the boy who was already almost 15cm taller than him.
"Take a seat and pass me your arm." He said, his tone not leaving any room to decline.
Ken did as he was told, sitting down and holding out his arm. The coach then began to move his arm around, evaluating the range of motion and flexibility of his shoulder.
Since he'd evaluated many pro players in the past, he was adept at judging things like this.
"Tell me if there's any pressure or if anything hurts. If you don't, it'll only make the injury worse."
The next few minutes, Ken sat patiently. He had no issues with what the coach was doing, especially since the system had already told him all he needed to know.
When he was injured, his pitching grade had reverted back to the C+ grade as a result from his bruised shoulder. Yet when he checked this morning, everything had returned the way it was, letting him know that he was fully functional once more. Just in time for this fated match.
Once the coach was satisfied, a grin returned to his face. He was already confident of victory earlier, but now that Ken was fully healed, things would go even smoother.
"Ah crap…"
It was then that he suddenly remembered he had already submitted the official line up to the umpires for his team. Now that it had gotten to this point, he would no longer be able to make changes.
'It's a good thing I put him as a reserve player…' Seiji thought, fighting against the urge to wipe the non-existent sweat on his brow.
"You'll be on the bench at the start." He said simply, patting Ken on the shoulder.
Ken's face fell a little, but he wasn't too concerned. Unless Akira could shut down Carlos, they would need to use him eventually.
With that, he got everyone's attention once more.
"I won't say too much here. You have all worked hard to get this far, I'm proud of every single one of you regardless of what happens in today's game."
"This is our last match to qualify for Koshien, the holy grail for high school baseball. As long as you guys play as usual, then I have the utmost faith that you will succeed."
Coach Hanada smiled genuinely. If they lost here, this would be the last time these players would be playing together in a tournament together. Such was the situation with High School baseball.
Once this summer tournament ended, the third years would be forced to retire. It was a vicious cycle, but it also allowed the newer talent in the room to blossom.
Many of the third years would stop pursuing baseball seriously once leaving high school. Only those who wanted to go professional, would continue on in University.
This was why he believed that they should cherish this moment.
"Trust your training, trust your teammates and ultimately, trust yourself."
With that, he placed his hand out.
The rest of the team reciprocated, placing their hands on top of one another.
Makoto looked around at his teammates and grinned, beginning the chant.
"YOKOHAMA!!!"
"FIGHT!"
"ORYAAAAH! LET'S GO!"