Hiroki finished his lap around the bases and grinned at Yusuke who was waiting patiently for him at home plate. Their hands collided, producing a crisp hi five that crackled in the air.
"Nice hit."
"Your turn now" He replied with a chuckle, heading back towards the dugout.
Once he arrived, dozens of hands came out of nowhere and slapped the top of his helmet. This was a ritual that had formed since his home run streak had begun over a month ago, much to his dismay.
He'd once tried to take the helmet off before entering the dugout, but it just resulted in the palms painfully slapping the top of his head instead of the helmet.
So rather than complain, he chose to grit his teeth and bear it.
"The slugger strikes again."
"Teach me how to hit Hiroki-chan~"
"Hahaha, who said that?"
The team broke out into a rabble, shouting and carrying on like a bunch of kids. Although it could be argued that at the end of the day, they were exactly that.
"Alright alright, enough about me. Let's cheer on Yusuke." Hiroki said, pushing his way through the crowd and taking a spot next to Ken.
Ken seemed to be separated from the rowdiness of the others, yet no appeared bitter because of it. They knew that he was just as invested in the game as they were, possibly even more so.
Although Carlos was also separated from his team, the machinations were completely opposite. He only cared for himself, never acknowledging nor celebrating with his teammates.
As Hiroki looked out over the pitch, he felt a sense of happiness.
'The Yokohama team this year really is great.' He thought, feeling a smile creep onto his face.
"Dude, put that smile away. You're creeping out Yusuke." Ken said, grabbing his attention.
He turned to Yusuke who shifted uncomfortably from his smiling face and felt incredulous.
"What? Does he think I'm ugly or something?" He replied, feeling a little offended.
From his perspective, he was neither ugly nor overly handsome. In fact, he believed he was slightly better than the average Japanese male, which may not be saying much depending on who one asked.
Ken couldn't help but chuckle at the response, shaking his head in amusement.
"How would you feel if another man was staring at you and smiling so fondly." He replied.
"Ah…"
DOONG
Both he and Ken quickly stood up after hearing the sound of the bat and ball connecting. Their eyes followed the ball which flew along the ground between first and second base for a single.
"Nice hit Yusuke!"
The bench yelled out their praises before turning to Naoki, the 3rd year with the fringe.
"Just try and get on base Naoki." Yuta said with a smile.
"Nah don't listen to him. Show us your guts and hit a big homer."
"Eh? You think it's that easy to hit a home run eh captain?"
Suddenly Makoto and Yuta started to bicker back and forth. It was a rather unusual sight to see the two going at it, but no one seemed too worried.
That was until the coach turned around and sent a stern look in their direction.
"Pay attention you guys. Yuta, you're up to bat after Naoki so go get ready."
"Ah, yes coach."
The game resumed once again with Naoki facing the sharp pitches of Kazuhiro.
Shinji evaluated the batter in the batters box and couldn't help but scoff inwardly, recognizing this player from the friendly match.
'This kid looks like one of those English Sheepdogs with his hair covering his eyes.'
The moment he thought of this, Shinji had to try not to laugh.
'There's no need to waste any pitches with this guy. Let's go for some fastballs.' He said inwardly, calling for an outside pitch.
Since the coach wanted Kazuhiro to pitch the entire game, he needed to keep the pitch count as low as possible. This meant Shinji was tasked with making the most of his pitches, using efficient leads to make this a reality.
Kazuhiro nodded, and began his wind up.
DASH
The sound of cleats hitting the dirt rang out in his ear, distracting him at the last moment. The pitch that was meant to be an outside course was off, heading straight down the middle of the strike zone.
'Ah crap!'
Shinji panicked, focusing his attention on the ball and shifting his stance slightly so he could throw it to 2nd base right away.
DONG
The ball was smacked, just before it could enter his glove, shooting directly over the right outfielders head. He did his best to run after the ball, but it was just out of his reach as it dropped to the ground and rolled away.
"RUN! RUN!"
Once again Ken, Hiroki and the rest of the bench were out of their seats and cheering loudly from the hit. Yusuke put on the afterburners, jetting around the third base and blitzing his way back home.
As he placed his foot on home plate, he gave a fist pump, celebrating the run with a guts pose. Since his knee was fully healed, he had regained the acceleration and speed that he was capable of.
This was at least on par with the Aoyama twins.
Naoki also looked pleased as he waved happily from second base towards the dugout.
Shinji almost couldn't believe what just happened. This was the first time that he'd seen Kazuhiro crumble like this, ever since they became a battery at the start of the school year.
He frowned and called timeout, making his way to the mound to address the first year pitcher.
"Hey Kazu are you all good?"
Since Shinji was a 3rd year student, he was a little more mature and level-headed than the 16 year old Kazuhiro. He needed to calm the kid down and make sure he went back to pitching like he was before.
"A-Ah sorry Senpai, I'm not used to having runners on base." He admitted, feeling a little embarrassed.
'Huh!? What kind of pitcher isn't used to having runn—'