'I need to look cool in front of Miho…' Daichi thought, gripping his bat tightly.
He watched the pitcher wind up and send the ball towards the plate. The ball was around 145km/h and was outside the strike zone. Though he could still definitely hit it, Daichi didn't even flinch as it went through to the catcher.
"Ball"
From what he'd seen, the pitcher had only thrown fastballs so far. But thanks to his father's extensive research, the team was already aware of his pitching arsenal.
"2 outs! Keep it coming Park!"
The Korean team shouted words of support from the infield towards the pitcher. Of course no one on the Japanese team could understand them.
On the mound, Park nodded towards the catcher and performed his wind up once again, sending a slider that broke away from Daichi.
Daichi's eyes lit up, he'd been catching the exact same pitch from Ken for the past couple of weeks therefore he had complete confidence in following its trajectory.
WHOOOSH
DOOOONG
The entire South Korean team paled as the ball was smacked with authority. They followed its flight path as it soared through the air, destined to be lost in the sea of empty seats.
"NICE DAICHI!~"
Ken couldn't hold back his cheers as his brother absolutely nailed the slower curveball. He knew that Rodgers stadium had a larger field than Koshien, particularly in the center field which measured 120m (400 feet).
Yet Daichi was able to clear the wall with ease before making his way around the bases.
As he passed first base, he heard a few grumbles from the 1st baseman, though he couldn't understand the words. Yet he was too busy performing his victory lap to care.
Riku jogged to home plate before casually stepping on it and waiting to the side.
Daichi felt ecstatic at his home run, his gaze moving to the dugout every now and then during his run. This didn't escape Ken's sharp eyes as he let out an exasperated sigh.
'Ah man… I really hope this doesn't blow up in our faces.' Ken thought with exasperation.
"Nice hit rookie!" Riku said with a wide grin, offering up a high five.
"Thanks!"
Daichi stepped onto home plate and accepted the high five before he made his way back to the dugout. Chris was just as ecstatic as Daichi, however he was forced to hide it inside.
"Ahem, nice work Daichi. Let's keep it up." Chris said with a barely hidden grin.
A rain of high fives and praise fell upon the teen as he walked back into the dugout. Yet there was only one person that he wanted to see in that moment.
Miho couldn't help but giggle seeing the obvious expression on Daichi's face. He was like a golden retriever who was looking for a few pats after fetching the ball.
She flashed him a smile and a thumbs up, instantly causing a smile to appear on his face.
Ken held up a hand for a high five, but was left hanging as Daichi walked straight past him towards Miho.
Ken's eye twitched in annoyance before he quickly lashed out and grabbed his brother from behind.
"Oi ya bastard, keep an eye on your surroundings."
"Eh? Ah Ken, what are you doing?" Daichi was surprised to see Ken, but was even more confused as to why he was being manhandled.
It was then that he turned around and saw the Head Coach smiling at him.
Daichi felt his heart jump up to his throat as he quickly collected himself. After giving a small wave to the coach, he settled in next to Ken and felt a cold sweat run down his back.
"That was close…" He muttered.
"Keep your eyes on the prize bro…" Ken replied and let out a sigh.
"You can't go and do a flashy play and expect to not receive some attention in the dugout afterwards. Let's be smart about this."
"Mmm." Daichi nodded, his expression turning thoughtful.
Ken frowned. He could already tell what this idiot was thinking, so he quickly nudged him and clarified.
"You better not be thinking about coasting for the rest of the game so you can fly under the radar. If I see you slacking, I'll tell the coach about you and Miho myself."
A look of horror appeared on his brother's face as he stared at him with incredulity.
"Y-You wouldn't."
"If you think I'm kidding, call my bluff…" Ken said matter-of-factly.
"Ken what are you doing? You're batting after Ichiro." Chris called out, a frown on his face.
"C-Coming!"
Ken flashed a "I meant what I said" look towards Daichi before grabbing his helmet and bat and heading onto the field.
The game was currently 2-0 in favor of Japan with 2 outs and no runners on base.
Ichiro was up to bat and had already faced 2 balls with a count of 1-1.
DING
"Foul"
The guy seemed unperturbed after fouling the ball. He rolled his shoulders and got back into position for the next pitch.
Ichiro was probably one of the quietest players on the team, but he was a serious baseball nut. If Ken had to describe him, he would probably refer to him as the Baseball Hermit.
The guy lived and breathed baseball and could even be seen scrolling through play by plays for both the Major League and NPB games.
As the next ball came flying towards him, Ichiro twisted his body and swung through, yet only managed to hit the bottom of the ball.
"Alright, mine!"
The ball floated into the air between first base and the right outfielder. Without any fanfare, the ball was easily caught by the outfielder, bringing an end to the inning.
"3 outs, changeover!"
Ken frowned a little. This was the problem when facing a pitcher with many breaking balls. Ichiro had swung thinking that the pitch was a curveball, but it was in face a splitter.
In that way he had hit far too low on the ball, not managing to get enough distance.