"W-What is happening?"
Akira stood on the mound, a cold sweat pouring down his back. He looked around and saw two players on base before turning his attention to the curly haired teen in the batters box.
From the very first pitch he threw, Shuei had attacked him, sending his balls wherever they pleased. He didn't understand why they could hit him so easily, especially since he had done rather well in their friendly match.
The score was currently 1-0 with no outs and a runner on first and third base. If this wasn't bad enough, the batter at the plate was giving off a tremendous aura which spelled danger.
"Coach, do we take Akira off the mound?" One of the assistant coaches came up to Seiji and asked, his voice sounding panicked.
Coach Hanada frowned as he shifted uncomfortably. He had not expected Shuei to be able to attack so aggressively from the beginning.
Although Akira wasn't their best pitcher, he was still at a good standard for High School teams, at least at the prefectural stage. Though this may not be the case at Nationals.
He looked at Carlos in the batters box for a moment before turning to Akira.
Akira looked a little lost, but his face quickly shifted as he turned his attention to the batter. A look of resolution appeared on his expression, telling the coach all that he needed to know.
"No. He's still got some fight left." He said simply.
The assistant coach seemed a little unconvinced, but he could only sit back and watch.
'I just need to strike the rest of these guys out…' Akira thought, feeling his emotions stabilize.
Yuta who was about to call a time out, noticed the change in his pitcher and nodded. They needed to play this batter perfectly, otherwise they'd be down 4 runs before they knew it.
"Tsk, why is your ace on the bench?" Carlos asked with annoyance.
Yuta heard this and couldn't help but smile. He knew that Ken was injured recently, so he could only imagine the Coach didn't want to play him the whole 9 innings. However, he wasn't going to tell this to the opposition.
"Not telling~" He replied cheekily.
Carlos's expression fell and he gripped onto his bat tightly.
"I'll make you bring him to the mound." He stated confidently.
"Scary~"
With the pleasantries out of the way, Yuta called for a fastball on the inside, hoping to jam the batter and get an easy out.
Akira nodded, performing his wind up and whipping the ball out at a fast pace.
DONG
Everyone stopped and watched the ball sail into the air, looking as if it would never touch the ground. There was silence, followed by a few shouts from the opposition dugout.
"Foul."
"Nice hit Carlos!"
"Unlucky! Send the next one out of the park!"
Yuta let out a small whistle of surprise.
"Lucky~"
Carlos turned and raised his eyebrow, "Was it though?"
'Hmm? Did he do that on purpose?' Yuta thought, his face donning a small frown.
To send an inside pitch into the foul zone and for it to carry so far would require tremendous strength and impeccable timing. If that was the case, then it really would be scary.
Once again Akira sent his pitch towards Yuta's glove with perfect control.
DONG
"Foul"
DONG
"Foul"
'What the hell is with this guy?'
Yuta frowned, feeling a headache starting to brew. He'd called for 3 different pitches, all in different parts of the strike zone, yet this guy had fouled every single one of them with ease.
It would be one thing if Akira's pitches weren't sharp, but it was quite the opposite. If anything, this was some of the best pitching he'd done this entire year.
Out of frustration, Yuta called for a ball outside the strike zone, hoping to get an easy out. He placed his glove hovering just above home plate and sent the signal.
Despite getting hit around the park, Akira seemed to be holding on mentally. He fully trusted the 3rd year catcher, especially since they'd been a battery since the start of last year together.
WHOOSH
DONG
"Foul"
'W-What!?'
Yuta couldn't help but stare at the ball which was once again belted into the foul zone. There was a sense of helplessness that began to take root within his psyche, causing a lost expression to form on his face.
It wasn't just him, everyone who was watching the game felt as if something was wrong. Every single one of the pitches were fouled off, shooting off into the distance like a rocket without fail.
Ball after ball was sent into the foul zone, regardless of where it was pitched to. It was as if he was toying with Akira, letting him know that he could hit a home run whenever he chose to.
Ken frowned. He could tell that Carlos was doing this on purpose, as if he had no care or concern about the game that they were playing. Like he wanted to prove a point.
While this was good for their team, Ken couldn't help but feel annoyed.
'What kind of person sacrifices the teams success on their own whims?'
They were currently in the middle of the Kanagawa Tournament final, a game that would decide which team advanced to the nationals. As far as High School baseball went, these were the highest stakes.
Yet this kid was left to do what he wanted in the batters box, not caring about the blood sweat and tears his teammates had committed to improving. It was people like this that gave baseball a bad name.
Without realizing it, Ken stood up from the bench and walked over to the coach.
"Put me in Coach." He said simply, his gaze glued to the guy in the batters box.
Coach Hanada was about to reprimand Ken for jumping the gun, but upon turning around he saw his pissed off expression. He was taken aback, not expecting him to act in such a way.
His impression of Ken was that he was mature and level-headed even under pressure. So what was it that pissed him off?
"I won't let him underestimate baseball." Ken muttered, clenching his fist.