At the bottom of the 7th, Osaka were starting with their 3rd batter. Both he and Daichi had gotten onto base in the 4th, though they weren't able to convert it into any runs.
Ken approached the mound and got into position, a grin forming on his face.
'Let's see how you go picking my pitches now?' He thought smugly.
Since Osaka had found out a way to pick his pitches through his pitching action, Ken had almost been caught out in this match. Were it not for the sheer speed of his pitches, he would have been picked apart.
Yet now that he knew what those pesky guys had been doing, he'd be able to use it to his advantage.
"Batting 3rd, Pitcher, Yatsuo"
Yatsuo stepped into the batters box, his large frame taking up a lot of the space provided. He wore a serious expression that screamed he wanted to hit the ball.
Yuta could see this and called for a pitch on the outside of the strike zone. Ken nodded and adjusted his cap. Now was the time for his patience to pay off.
Ken lifted his left knee and slightly stuck out his left elbow before stepping forward and whipping his arm out.
The moment Yatsuo saw this, his eyes widened and an imperceptible grin formed on his features.
'Here it is!'
The ball flew towards the outside, yet slowly began to creep towards the right handed batter. By the time Yatsuo realized that it wasn't a forkball, it was too late.
DING
The ball flew high into the air yet the distance was miserable.
"Mine!"
Yuta called out, taking his catchers mask off and taking a few steps forward, positioning himself directly under the ball.
Pah
"Out!"
The umpired called the out, leaving the astonished Yatsuo to stare blankly at Ken upon the mound. As if to keep the secret, Ken activated his Poker Face skill, yet underneath he was wearing a gloating expression.
'Serves you right.' He thought, his eyes dancing in amusement.
Yatsuo could only walk back to the dugout, passing Daichi who was on his way up to the batters box.
"I thought he was throwing a forkball since his elbow jutted out." He said weakly.
He wasn't sure whether it was on purpose or not, but the fact of the matter was, he was out.
"I'll keep that in mind." Daichi said.
His earlier happy-go-lucky attitude was nowhere to be seen. Since their team was currently 2-0 down, this might be the final opportunity they had to get some runs on the board.
"Batting 4th, Catcher, Daichi."
Daichi stepped into the batters box, his attention never leaving Ken upon the mound. He stared at him like a predator who had been backed into a corner, poised to strike the moment it saw an opening.
Yet Ken was not intimidated.
He had seen this expression on Daichi's face before, on the TV while he was playing professionally. This was the same face he made when hitting the walk-off home run that night when he had messed up his medication and taken his own life.
It was time to put an end to this match.
He felt the effects of Showdown course through his body, filling his muscles up with strength. It was a wonderful sensation that quite frankly felt almost addictive.
Yet his thoughts were on one thing only. Getting his brother out.
Ken performed his wind up and sent the ball whipping out with incredible speed, it's target away and outside where Yuta's glove was waiting.
DING
"Foul"
The ball rocketed into the right side of the field, outside of 1st base. The amount of power behind it was a reminder of just how deadly Daichi was with the bat.
Everyone in the crowd began to get restless, particularly when the speed of the pitch was displayed on the jumbo screen.
"161km/h? Hasn't this guy pitched 7 innings already?"
"This guy's stamina is crazy."
Chris was at the edge of his seat as he watched the duel between his sons. He didn't want to miss a single moment of this fight, it would be a great story to tell to his grandkids one day.
'Huh? Grandkids?' He shook his head. Why was he thinking about such a thing right now?
Back on the field, it seemed as if sparks were flying between the two brothers. One intent on slowly constricting the other into submission, and the other trying to blast their way through with a metal bat.
DING
"Foul"
DING
"Foul"
The crowd watched on as the two continued to duel back and forth, neither side looking like they would give up.
Each time Daichi fouled the ball, it would go farther and farther, threatening to make its way over the fence for a home run. It seemed that he could see the pitches, but the timing was slightly off.
Yet after each swing, it seemed to be getting better.
Seeing this, Ken felt his intuition tremble for a moment. He knew that he couldn't keep up this kind of attack, not if he wanted to strike Daichi out.
Despite this being their 3rd match up, he had not yet struck his brother out. While some would argue that getting him out was the same result, those people were definitely not pitchers.
'I'm going to strike him out…' Ken thought, his eyes narrowing as the determination began to fill his body.
He had two tricks up his sleeve, one being slightly less risky.
'Let's try that first.' Ken said, shuffling the rosin bag in his hand.
In the next moment he readied himself and performed his wind up, consciously jutting his left elbow slightly as he whipped the ball out.
Daichi's eyes lit up and he was about to go for broke, using all of the strength his body was able to output. However, in the next moment his eyes changed, realizing that it wasn't the pitch he was looking for.
In a masterful display of strength and dexterity, he managed to change the trajectory of the bat mid-swing, thrusting it upwards into the ball.
DING
The bat collided with the ball, thrusting it up into the air and straight over both Yuta and the umpire's head and onto the ground behind them.
"F-Foul."
The umpire called out, never having seen such a baseball swing in his life.