The Japanese team began to warm up as the coach hit grounders to the players and ran a few quick drills. At this point in time there was no sign of the Australian players since Japan had opted to come on the field a little earlier.
Once again this was one of the perks of being the first game of the day, allowing for longer warm ups. Of course there was a limit to how early one could arrive, and the game would start on time no matter what.
DONG
"Ken!"
The coach shouted, directing a grounder towards him.
Ken scooped up the ball and sent it right back to one of the other staff members. He was starting to get a lot more comfortable in his outfielder position after 5 games, though he much preferred to pitch.
Both Masayuki and Riku had accepted his abilities rather quickly, with the captain even giving him pointers outside of matches. His tall frame and long limbs were also a benefit to the position, allowing him a much longer reach than most.
He was also happy since he'd been moved up in the batting line up, slotting right behind Daichi as the 5th-hole. This meant that he'd proved himself enough in the past 5 games.
So in reality, he had nothing to complain about with his role on the team. As long as he kept performing, there would also be chances to come in as a closing pitcher.
Of course this set up would almost be impossible to replicate once he became a professional player. They would likely make him focus on a role, whether it was in the outfield, or as a pitcher.
It might be a little selfish, but Ken had a dream to pitch in the Majors, something he would continue to strive towards. Thankfully, this was not something that he needed to worry about, at least for now.
After all, he was still in the first year of High School.
As Ken moved to the back of the line for the next set of drills, he saw the Australian team emerging from the tunnels. The first thing that came into his sight was a giant…
"Holy crap, that guy looks way bigger in person." Daichi spoke up, falling into line behind Ken.
The guy was standing above 6'7 at least.
Right in front of him was an energetic figure who barely came up to the giant's chest.
"Who is that kid? Don't tell me that the giant brought along his child!?" Aki spoke up, his eyes bulging out of his face.
"Pffft—" Ken almost choked on his laughter.
Thud
"Oww~"
"That's Nikko, Australia's short stop you idiot. We talked about him yesterday in the film session." Masayuki retorted, smacking Aki on the back of the head.
It seemed that the Captain was annoyed that Aki hadn't paid attention in their meeting.
The team then quietly went back to their warm ups.
"Nikko, they're looking at us." The giant spoke up, his deep voice sounding rather nervous.
"Ay? Don't worry about them Jeb. They probably haven't seen anyone as handsome as us before in their lives, hahaha!" Nikko shoved out his chest and laughed heartily.
"Mmm, I dunno about that…"
"Guys hurry it up, we're a bit late." A person dressed in a green and gold outfit spoke up, hurrying the players along.
This was Coach Cooke, one of the leading figures in Australian baseball. He was the main reason why Australia had progressed so much in the past few years.
He moved his gaze over to the Japanese players and stopped when he saw a familiar face. Without a word, he walked over and shouted out some words.
"Oi Tucker!"
Ken's ears perked up, drawing his attention to the coach walking over.
"Yo Itamae!" Chris proclaimed, a bright smile forming on his face.
'What the hell is going on?' Ken thought, puzzled by the names the two had called each other.
Itamae was the Japanese word for Chef, but the guy was clearly a baseball coach, so he didn't understand the reason for the pet name.
Ken would later learn from his father that the Australian coach couldn't pronounce Chris's last name, and therefore called him Tucker instead of Takagi. Chris returned the favor by calling Coach Cooke, Itamae (chef).
As for how the two knew each other…
They played baseball together in High School.
The two performed a solid handshake before sizing each other up. Chris looked at the man who he hadn't seen in many years, yet looked so familiar. He had grown out his beard, yet the prominent brow and hazel eyes were just as he remembered.
"It's good to see you again Dean." Chris said, his smile genuine.
Dean Cooke grinned. He had to raise his head to look at Chris who was at least half a foot taller than him.
"Wish I could say the same about you mate, it looks like you haven't aged a day. What are they feeding you over in Japan?" He exclaimed, feeling a little self conscious.
Since the two were now in their early forties, the signs of aging were rather visible.
"Ah come on, you don't look a day over 39" Chris said, letting out a peel of laughter.
He moved his arm around Dean's shoulder and walked off the field, continuing their conversation.
"Ah piss off!" Dean replied, joining in on the laughter.
"Still, I never thought you'd make your way into coaching. Here I was hoping you'd come over and scout a few of my boys." He added.
Chris smiled in response, "Well, things change. I've now got two sons."
"Ay? How old is the other one?"
"Same age as Ken." He replied, letting out another chuckle after seeing the confused expression on his friend's face.
"We adopted him, both my boys are actually part of the team."
"Fair dinkum!?" Dean looked shocked.
"Well, of course you'd know that if you did your research." Chris replied.