Once breakfast was finished, both Shiro and Ken said their goodbyes before going to locate the coach. Since they planned on leaving to go train today, they needed to notify the correct party.
"Hmm? You want to go train?" Seiji Hanada was cradling his coffee and wearing casual clothes, something the players rarely got to see.
Ken and Shiro both nodded.
"I'm working on increasing my pitching arsenal." Ken admitted.
The coach sat up abruptly, those words getting his attention. Judging by the expectant expression on his face, he was quite happy Ken had brought it up.
"Have you decided on a pitch yet?"
Although he asked that, Ken could tell that he wanted to suggest something. Unfortunately for the coach, he had already selected the curveball.
"Yes Coach. I've decided to learn the curveball since my Dad already taught me some pointers." Ken responded, telling a little white lie.
If the coach was to insist he pick a different pitch, he would not really be able to refuse. Thus he would lose the advantage of the 66.7% proficiency given to him by the system.
Fortunately, the coach's face lit up at the mention of the curveball.
"It seems your Dad and I are on the same wavelength." He said with a slight smile.
"Your fastball is your biggest weapon, however it is not as good as it could be. If you could pair it with a slower ball, the batters would have a nightmare facing you. I was also going to suggest the curveball since your pitching action will be almost identical."
Coach Hanada's excitement seemed to reach a fever pitch as he explained the possibilities. Ken could even see his hand shaking, a telltale sign of his enthusiasm.
"Yes, that was Dad's thoughts as well." Once again, Ken lied through his teeth yet thanks to his Poker Face skill and the coach's agreement, he did not notice.
"Alright well there's a few parks close by that you could use to practice. You can take some equipment, just make sure that you take breaks and don't injure yourself."
Ken heaved a sigh of relief after being given the stamp of approval. He quickly left the area and dragged Shiro along with him.
"Y-You're trying out a new pitch?" Shiro asked, his voice faltering a little.
The last time he had helped Ken with his pitching was back at the Intersquad match at the start of the year. He remembered being pummeled by the ball in the middle of the stomach since he had no control.
"Yeah, I need your help to refine it." Ken said, putting his long arm over Shiro's shoulder.
Shiro couldn't help but gulp.
'I need to bring extra padding…' He thought, panicking inwardly.
The two grabbed their things and headed out the door to one of the parks that the coach had mentioned earlier. The streets were abuzz as everyone made their way to Koshien stadium for day 3 of the nationals.
After skillfully dodging some oncoming foot traffic for a few minutes, they finally found their destination. It was a kids park, however there was a wall for them to use as a makeshift cage so the ball wouldn't go flying onto the street.
As long as he could measure the 60 foot distance from him to Shiro, then it would work perfectly fine.
Ken placed his bag roughly where he thought the mound would be, before putting his cleats on and going through his warm up routine. Shiro didn't waste time, placing his chest guard and protective gear on.
A smile formed on Ken's face as he looked around him. There was a hint of nostalgia in his expression as he remembered all the times he used to practice his pitching in the park similar to this one back at home.
His father would play catch with him in the afternoons, teaching him about the game that they both loved.
'I wonder if I would also do the same with my son.' He thought inwardly, getting caught up in the moment.
His face turned bright red a moment later as he thought who would be the mother of his child. Ai's face appeared almost instantly in the recesses of his mind, surprising him for a moment.
Ken quickly shook his head, deciding to bury it for now.
He turned his attention to Shiro who was standing in front of the wall and couldn't help but look at him in shock.
The teen was wearing additional padding on his arms and legs, as well as something that looked like a pillow stuffed underneath his chest protector, making him look ridiculous.
Ken fought back the sudden urge to throw the ball at him before he was ready.
"Shiro… Could you take this seriously for a moment?" He asked, trying his best to remain polite.
"Don't worry Ken! I'm good to go." He replied, sending a thumbs up.
"…"
Ken silently walked towards his friend with barely restrained annoyance.
"Ah n-no wait, Ken!"
THUD
A few moments later, Ken returned back to the marked mound and began to roll his shoulders while he waited for his friend.
Shiro who had just been manhandled, adjusted his chest protector which was now missing the pillow he had stuffed into it earlier.
"You ready?" Ken called, ignoring the pouting expression on Shiro's features.
"Y-Yes."
"Alright, lets go a few warm ups for now." He said nonchalantly.
After around 12 throws he felt good enough to get into it.
"Mind if I throw some fastballs first?"
Shiro gave the thumbs up, mainly because he didn't want Ken to hear how nervous he was in that moment. Even when he was watching from the dugout, he could feel how crazy Ken's pitching was.
Yet in the next moment he hardened his resolve. He remembered what Ken had said, that they would become a battery next year, which meant he couldn't continue to act scared in such a situation.
Ken performed his wind up and sent the ball flying towards the open glove.