Both Yusuke and Hiroki caught up to him on the way back to the bench, smiles adorning their faces. They didn't seem at all upset that they'd had nothing to do for the innings.
"Just a few more of those and we'll be punching our ticket to nationals." Yusuke added, in good spirits.
Ken's forced out a smile before looking at Shuei's bench, specifically at the lone figure sitting at the end.
"I don't think it will be that easy." He remarked.
When they arrived, the coach quickly gathered everyone, looking like he wanted to say something.
"Be careful of that first year pitcher. He seems to be going through a metamorphosis as we speak." Seiji Hanada said with a serious expression.
"Metamorphosis? Like those caterpillars who turn into butterflies." Shiro asked, trying to understand what the coach meant.
"Maybe like a tadpole turning into a frog?" Makoto added, scratching his chin in contemplation.
Coach Hanada paused, trying to keep his cool in front of the two dodo's.
"To put it simply, ever since the last innings he's been refining his pitching form, shedding unnecessary movements that don't add to his power or accuracy."
Ken's eyes lit up in understanding instantly. He too had felt as if there was something different about how Kazuhiro was pitching, but he never would have picked it so easily if the coach didn't point it out.
'As expected of Coach.' Ken thought, feeling his appreciation bubble to the surface.
Since Seiji had 15 years of assessing and refining professional athletes, it made sense why he was able to come to the heart of the matter so quickly.
However, even if they knew what Kazuhiro was doing, there was not much that they could do about it. At least that's what Ken thought.
"I want you all to watch his balls closely. Since he's refining his form, there are bound to be some wayward pitches that will find their way to you. This is when you'll strike." He said confidently.
"Yes coach!"
Everyone answered right away, although most probably didn't follow his line of thought.
'That's a good idea… But Hiroki and I could probably hit them without waiting for such a thing.' He thought.
Since he'd been doing image training on the Amateur difficulty, he'd faced plenty of pitches at and above Kazuhiro's level. Once he faced a few more, he was confident that he'd be able to hit them well enough.
As if reading his mind, the Coach gestured for himself and Hiroki to come closer.
"You guys can probably disregard what I said. As long as you think you can hit, swing for the rafters." He said with a smile, placing his hands on their shoulders.
Ken could only blink a few times, staring blankly at him.
'Is this guy in my head or something?'
"ORYAAAH"
Makoto made his loud entrance onto the field, warming up his shoulders on the way to the batters box. He squared up and turned his attention to the mound, waiting for his moment.
PAH
"Strike."
Makoto's eyes widened for a moment, not expecting such a fast pitch.
He tried to play it cool, letting out a few small coughs and readjusting his gloves.
'I'll get the next one…'
WHOOSH
PAH
"Strike."
Feeling a little more panicked than before, he once again got into his stance and awaited the next ball.
WHOOSH
PAH
Makoto swung his bat with nearly all of his might, intending to smash it to pieces. Yet only the sound of his bat crashing through the air followed by the ball hitting the catchers glove entered his ears.
"Strikeout!"
"Ahem." The captain cleared his throat, feeling his face redden a little. Yet there was nothing that he could do besides head back to the dugout where Tatsuya was waiting, his face the perfect picture of schadenfreude.
"It seems that the coach was right, his pitches have significantly improved." He said matter-of-factly.
"Oho? Captain, it's okay to fail. You don't need to make excus—"
Tatsuya's words were suddenly drowned out as he was assaulted by a short and swift punch to the gut from the muscular captain.
The noise alerted the coach who sent a cursory glance towards the two on the bench. Seeing the coach looking his way, Makoto managed to respond with a smile, wrapping his arm around Tatsuya's shoulder in a brotherly hug.
Seiji's eyes narrowed for a moment before he turned his attention back to the game.
Hiroki was now in the batters box, wearing a calm expression. He waited for the pitch with a hint of expectation in his eyes.
Kazuhiro performed his hawk-like wind up and sent the ball flying towards him. Hiroki could instantly tell that the pitch was different, containing a lot more spin and intent than the previous pitches he'd faced.
Without waiting for another pitch, he calculated that he could get a good hold of this one.
WHOOSH
DONG
"Whoa! Hiroki hit it."
"As expected of our home run king!"
Yet it seemed that their words were too hasty.
The ball rocketed into the air and right down the throat of the central outfielder, making for an easy catch.
Kazuhiro subconsciously let out his pent up breath. Facing the average looking youth was a lot scarier than he realized.
Hiroki on the other hand looked a little annoyed.
'I was too hasty.' He thought, picking up his bat and heading back to the others.
While he had predicted the course correctly, he had underestimated the spin on the ball. This caused the angle of the hit to be much higher than he had intended.
"Wow, I think that's Hiroki's first out of the tournament."
"Eh!?" Ken turned to the location of the soft voice on his left.
Ai was looking through the notebook, as if to make sure she was indeed correct. Only after triple checking did she confirm it, much to Ken's exasperation.
'What the hell!? 5 matches and that was his first out?' His mind raced for a few moments.
"Just what kind of monster have I created…" he murmured.