Judging by his expression, one might think that Yokohama were the losing team in this situation.
Tatsuya who had already had some success in this match had a snide smile on his face. Since they were up, he was hoping that the captain would make a fool of himself so he could make fun of him later.
Of course he didn't mean it with animosity, he merely liked to tease the muscular guy, even if it ended in him on the ground.
Kei was still on the mound, his earlier smile still lingering on his face. Despite it being the 9th innings, he didn't looked fatigued at all.
He wound up and sent a fastball right on target, blitzing through the strike zone and into the catchers glove.
"Strike."
Makoto grit his teeth and tightened his grip on the bat. He felt his shoulders tense up as his anxiety began to peak.
He just so happened to look in the direction of the dugout and saw Ken standing next to the Coach. They locked gazes for a moment, only for Ken to extend his arm out and give a thumbs up, with a small smile.
Makoto blinked a few times, before letting out a small chuckle.
Although there were no words, he could feel Ken's confidence flowing within him in that moment. They were ahead at the moment, so why did he feel so anxious?
'It's just some stupid pride.' He thought.
Subconsciously, his body relaxed shortly afterwards, feeling the pressure disappear from his shoulders. In that moment, he felt confident who he would hand the mantle of Captain over after he retired.
"Let's go out with a bang." He muttered, a sly grin creeping onto the corner of his lips.
Kenta saw the hulking figure of Makoto relax, as if unwinding his coiled muscles.
'Did he give up on hitting?' Kenta thought.
Yet in the next moment he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. He slowly raised his gaze and could feel a stalwart aura emanating off the man in front of him. It was like an impenetrable wall that could never be surpassed.
Kenta felt as if no matter what pitch he called for, it wouldn't make a difference.
Eventually, he settled on the pitch that he felt Kei was most comfortable with.
'Let's go with your fastball Kei…'
Kei nodded in response to the lead. He could also feel the impenetrable aura that was surrounding the muscular teen in that moment, however he did not falter. He had been through much scarier things than this.
With his signature sweeping leg, he performed his wind up and sent a blazing fastball towards the open glove of Kenta. There was no fluctuation in the speed, despite it already being the 9th innings.
Makoto's frame seemed to increase in size as his muscles tensed up. He planted his left foot and twisted his body, using his strong core to add to the torque of his swing.
"Hup!"
DOOOOOONG!
Makoto followed through on his swing, feeling the bat still vibrating in his hands after the hit. He didn't need to watch the ball for long to know that it was right on target.
"ORYAAAAAH!"
He let out his signature yell before dropping the bat to the ground and beginning his jog around the bases.
The stadium erupted with cheers as the ball sailed into the crowd. It was the biggest home run that they'd seen, even though it was only the 4th game of the tournament.
Everyone in the Yokohama dugout was shocked, yet they whooped and cheered in the next moment.
"Woooo nice hit Captain!"
"That's our Captain!"
Only Tatsuya was left silent as he stared at the crowd where the ball had landed.
'Damn.'
Kenta had a pained look on his face as he watched the muscular teen almost skip around the bases. He had a premonition that the ball would be sent into the crowd, but there was nothing he could do at this point.
It was the 9th innings and they were facing the clean up batters next, even if he chose to walk Makoto it wouldn't have been any easier.
The rest of the Shinjuku team looked crushed. They had been holding onto some hope, yet it all seemed to have vanished at this point.
Kei could feel the atmosphere plummet on the field, feeling as if the last nail in the coffin has been hammered in. He could only smile wryly, feeling the build up of fatigue begin to rear its head.
Tatsuo looked around and could see his teammates beginning to get emotional, causing him to frown. He balled his hands into fists and felt a wave of frustration.
'Why are they acting like this? The game isn't even over…'
He had never felt like this in his life, the feeling of losing, the feeling of his teammates giving up. These were all new experiences, yet they were not pleasant.
'I don't like it…'
"It's not over."
"IT'S NOT OVER!"
Tatsuo screamed, his immature voice ringing out over the field. All of his teammates turned towards him in shock, not expecting such a reaction from him.
"Tatsu…"
Kei turned towards his friend and couldn't help but feel a lump in his throat. Tears threatened to fall down as he felt his eyes begin to sting.
Yet everyone looked at Tatsuo with a little resentment. How could the guy who didn't even join them in training know what it was like for them to lose on such a stage?
Why should they listen to this guy who seemed to be having a tantrum.
"He's right! We still get a chance to bat after this."
Kei stepped forward, casting his tall shadow on Tatsuo's small figure.
"Raise your heads. We didn't come this far just to give up now did we!?" Despite his words, his teammates could see the signs of emotion on their Ace's face.
Tears pooled on the corner of his eyes as he made his impassioned speech. This was someone that had trained with them every day and sweated the same, if not more than them throughout the entire summer.
"H-He's right! We still have a chance!"
"The game isn't finished yet!"
Soon enough, the players rallied together and picked up their spirits. Shouts came from all over the field as they turned their attention back to the game with vigor.
"Kei…"
Tatsuo's eyes were open in shock as he stared at the back of his friend.