Once again Tatsuya found himself curled up on the ground, struggling for air.
Instead of rushing to help their downed teammate, the bench turned their attention to the field where the delinquent had returned to the mound.
Despite being down 3-0, the teen's expression seemed… Happy.
He looked a lot more carefree then he did in the opening innings, almost as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.
"What's with this guy?"
"Maybe he likes playing from behind?"
"Pfffft. Hahaha!"
As speculation and laughter rang out from the innuendo, Ken narrowed his eyes at the pitcher, having a bad premonition.
'Looks like this match might not be so easy.'
Of course he hadn't expect the match to be easy in the first place, however there was something about the delinquent that made him feel wary.
In the first innings it had seemed as if he was coiled tightly, preventing him from playing the way he wanted. The scowl on the guy's face was enough to figure out he was struggling with something.
Yet now, his carefree demeanor and fluid motions was a complete transformation.
Ken felt as if something was familiar.
His mind suddenly returned to the Kanagawa Prefecture finals, where Kazuhiro had begun his metamorphosis and kept the team scoreless afterwards.
'Don't tell me I'm the reason for this…' Ken thought inwardly, feeling his stomach curl.
If every team he played had a sudden awakening, wouldn't he be better off just not playing at all?
As if to add weight to his words, Kei entered his wind up and sent the ball blitzing towards the open glove of Kenta.
PAH
Ken instinctively looked up at the Jumbo screen only for his face to morph into a wry smile a moment later.
'154km/h'
'Damn it!'
Unaware of the gloomy atmosphere he'd created, Kei retrieved the throw back from his catcher and walked back to his spot on the mound. He couldn't help but smile as he saw the look of concentration on his friend's face.
'Thank goodness he's starting to take baseball seriously.' He thought.
His gaze drifted to the opposing dugout, eventually falling on the tall yet foreign looking youth inside. Kei wasn't sure who the guy was, but he was able to do what no one had been able to over the last 5 years…
Getting Tatsuo interested in something.
'Thank you Ken… For awakening the monster.'
With his heart full of happiness, Kei went back to pitching, feeling as if the difficulty had decreased significantly. Each of his pitches felt crisp and easy to control.
Like that, he easily dispatched Naoki, Yuta and Yuki, bringing the innings promptly to a close. From that point on, it was back and forwards between the two teams.
Ken continued his strikeout streak, sending the cleanup batters including Kei back to the dugout with ease. They couldn't even touch the stitching on the balls before they were snapped up by Yuta's glove.
Kei followed up his masterclass in the 2nd innings, not allowing the lead-off hitters a chance to get onto base. Makoto had managed to make contact with the ball, only for it to fly into the waiting glove of the outfield.
"Damn it!"
Makoto had lost his calm and cool disposition, clearly not happy with failing to get on base once more. Despite having great strength and coordination, it felt as if he was missing something crucial.
Thus it was Ken's turn to clean up the tail end of the batting order in the bottom of the 3rd. He wasted no time in cutting through the chaff, only needing 9 pitches to put an end to the innings.
"Looks like this is turning into a pitchers match." Daichi said aloud to his father. However, he had a smile on his face, knowing that Yokohama were up 3 runs already.
As long as the game progressed like this, they would be the victor in the end.
Chris nodded, rubbing the bottom of his chin in thought.
"If Ken keeps on pitching like he is, I don't see anyone who can hit them. Apart from that short stop."
Daichi was a little taken aback, so he turned to his father and asked.
"Why is that? Sure you he has a talent for baseball mechanics, but is that enough to hit Ken's pitches?"
Chris was silent for a while, debating on whether or not to divulge his true feelings. However his expression turned to one of realization a moment later.
"Yeah you're right. As long as Ken keeps pitching well, there shouldn't be any issues." He said with a smile. Seeing the concerned expression on his sons face prompted him to ruffle his hair and let out a chuckle.
"Daaad…" Daichi complained a little, however he was rather happy on the inside.
Chris laughed at Daichi's reaction before turning his attention back to the field.
He had decided against voicing his real opinion. He was here as a fan of the game, to watch his son play baseball. Talking about such things was what he did at work, not when he was enjoying the game.
Therefore no matter how accurate his opinions were, he would keep them to himself for today and just believe in his son's abilities. If he as a father could not be supportive of his sons then what was his purpose?
The start of the 3rd innings began, prompting everyone to pay attention once more.
"Batting 4th, 1st Base, Hiroki."
Hiroki made his way up to the batters box with his bat in hand. In the first innings he had been forced to hit a grounder thanks to the slider he didn't judge correctly. Yet he was feeling more confident this time around.
At least, that was until he saw the pitch flying towards him.
WHOOSH
PAH
His bat sailed over the pitch, missing it by a few inches and almost causing him to slip.
Whatever confidence he had earlier seemed like a distant memory as he faced the blond haired pitcher upon the mound.
'This might be a problem.'