Carlos felt as if the entire field turned silent, his entire focus on the ball headed towards him with great speed and velocity. His body was in a state of flow, bringing with it a sense of thrill that he hasn't experienced in a long time.
'This feeling… This is it'
His eyes widened and a wicked grin formed on his face.
Ever since he picked up a baseball bat, Carlos had been the best player on his team.
At first he was able to have fun with his teammates, taking joy in the victories that came along with his tremendous talent. He was always popular, despite looking different from everyone else.
Yet as he grew older, things began to change.
The pitches he received were too easy, too predictable. Whatever was thrown at him, he was able to get contact on, no matter what, like his bat and the ball were magnetized.
He had outgrown the competition, resulting in resentment building up little by little. What made it even worse was that even if he hit a home run in every at-bat, his team had still suffered defeat.
Despite possibly being the best batter in the country, his team was knocked out in the first round of Koshien last year, suffering a humiliating defeat.
Since none of his other teammates were a threat, he was targeted. After hitting a home run in his first at-bat, he was walked in the subsequent innings and essentially taken out of the game.
He could only watch on from first base as his team squandered their opportunity away. This led to a bitter resentment that had been festering for a long time, causing him to isolate himself from the others, leading to the current circumstances.
Carlos threw away the team. If they weren't useful, then what was the point? He now only wanted to face the best pitchers and enjoy himself, who cared about what the team wanted?
With his priorities like this, he only wanted one thing in the match today and that was to face the pitches of Yokohama's ace… Ken Takagi
"Thank you for the meal"
WHOOOOOSH
The sound of the bat swinging through the air was almost deafening to the ears.
Yet it was eclipsed by another sound a moment later…
PAH
"Strikeout!"
Carlos held his follow through and felt a bout of confusion enter his mind. He had timed the swing perfectly, placing it right on the ball's course, so why did it not connect?
As his mind was racing, Ken was wearing a vindicated expression.
"Don't get so cocky."
"WHOAAA!"
"ORYAAAH!"
The players on the field and crowd suddenly went crazy, seeing the masterful pitch that was thrown against the batter who had been trying to embarrass them earlier.
"Who is that kid? Is he a first year?"
"I'm not sure but he looks so tall and handsome."
Since Ken had not been playing in the recent matches and because the crowds only tended to come later in the tournament, no one really knew who he was. They were surprised when Akira was taken off the mound at first, but they could see this guys was much better.
The umpire saw that Carlos was left standing in the batters box even after he'd called the strike out. He tapped him on the shoulder to try and get his attention.
"Please get off the field, it's time for the next batter."
However, Carlos didn't move an inch, as if he couldn't hear him. His gaze was focused on the mound where Ken was staring him down with a sly grin.
Just before the umpire was about to lose his cool, the curly haired teen laughed out loud.
"HAHAHA good, very good. It wouldn't be worth waiting all this time if your pitches weren't like this." Then he turned and made his way back to the dugout with a smiling expression.
When he arrived at the dugout, he spoke to no one, not even acknowledging the coach before sitting down by himself.
One might usually be downcast after being struck out, yet Carlos looked the opposite.
The next player up to bat was given a special instruction by the coach before stepping up to the plate.
Coach Goto watched on with a hint of anxiety. They had to capitalize on the strong situation they were in now that the true Ace had arrived on the mound.
He believed that as long as they were a few runs ahead, Kazuhiro would be able to defend against the batting line up.
Ken received the lead from Yuta and nodded. His eyes shifted to the left ever so slightly before springing into action and sending a pick off throw to first base.
Hiroki snatched the ball from the air and tagged the runner who had tried to dive, reaching out to first base with his hand.
"Out!"
"Damn it!"
The runner at first exclaimed in disappointment. The previous Yokohama pitcher had not thrown any pickoffs even during their friendly, making him complacent.
Yet this pitcher had only thrown 1 strike before catching him off guard and securing the out. All of a sudden, Shuei went from a great scoring position to suddenly 2 outs and a runner at third.
Coach Goto was forced to change his strategy, sending some different signals to the next batter. Originally he had called for a squeeze play, intending to give the runner at third base a free run.
Unfortunately they were no longer in the same position.
The opposing coach frowned. Ken had only thrown a single pitch thus far, yet he had already turned the game around for Yokohama. There was also the impact he had on his teammates surrounding him.
Their morale had soared.
A bitter smile formed on his face as he turned his attention to his own star player sitting alone on the bench.
'Both are stars, but they shine differently.'
PAH
"Strike"
The batter at the plate felt his body go cold.
'What the hell is with that pitch?'