DOOOONG
Ken threw his bat to the ground and sprinted towards 1st base. He had to quickly seal his mental capacity once more since he had started to become dizzy.
'Where is the ball?'
In his rush to reign in his mental prowess, Ken had not seen where the ball went exactly. He briefly raised his head and looked towards the outfield, trying to discover its path.
'Crap.'
The ball was headed to the one place that he didn't want it to go, Center outfield.
Santiago was already in motion, running towards the back fence with his eyes not leaving the ball. With his long strides it seemed almost inevitable that he would be able to track it down.
'Please don't reach it.' Ken thought as he ran around 1st base.
Everyone in the stadium seemed to hold their breath as the ball began its descent from the air. With the majority of the audience being from America, they were rooting for the home team.
'Catch it!'
Only a few people like Michael shouted the opposite in their heart.
Time seemed to slow down as Santiago approached the wall at full pace. His athletic body leaped into the air, showing a mesmerizing grace that one wouldn't expect.
He stuck his leg out, hitting the wall and preventing himself from running directly into it. Then, with a kick, he propelled himself upwards, defying the laws of gravity in a daring move.
Pah~
The sound of the ball entering the leather glove sounded out before Santiago gracefully descended back onto the field. With the help of the wall, he had jumped over 6 feet in the air for the catch.
"Out!"
"Argh damn it." Ken muttered in disappointment.
With this catch, they had lost a great opportunity to get a much needed run. He would have been much more confident going into the latter half of the game with such a buffer.
"WHAT!? NO way!" Ai screamed at the TV.
"Wow what a hit! Your boyfriend is so cool." Rie said, dancing around in celebration.
It took her a few moments to notice that Ai was not joining in on her celebration any longer. The moment Ken hit the ball she had been straight to her feet and pumping her fists wildly.
"Err, what's wrong? Was it a foul ball or something?" Rie asked, her expression showing her confusion.
She had never watched baseball before, let alone had the time to understand the rules.
Back at the stadium, Michael in the crowd looked like he'd swallowed a fly. There was no doubt that the catch was marvelous, yet it was definitely not the result he was after.
On the field, the US team cried out in adulation after the home run saving catch.
"Nice work Santiago!"
Even Ryan who rarely gave out compliments, turned around and gave his teammate a thumbs up. If he had have conceded a home run at this point in the game, It would be a large hit to morale.
Ken who had almost made it to 2nd base before the catch, was forced to make his way off the field. He was rather disappointed, but not all was lost.
The fact that he was able to use his mental capacity to track the ball was already a boon. There was still another chance in the game for him to make use of it as well.
Santiago stopping the home run seemed to have brought Ryan some back bone.
"You won't be getting any hits today Ken." He said, waggling his finger.
There was a haughty grin on his face, which looked like a big target to anyone on the receiving end.
However, Ken merely laughed in response, shaking his head in amusement. To him, Ryan was just acting like a kid which made him easier to ignore.
"Tch."
Seeing how his provocation had not worked, Ryan clicked his tongue in annoyance. He had hoped Ken might lash out at him, but he was unable to get under his skin.
"So close!"
"Damn, that Santiago is a real beast…"
The moment Ken stepped into the dugout, he was quickly surrounded and consoled by the other players. They were obviously as devastated as him about the denial of the home run, but things like this happened in baseball.
"Nice hit Ken. Try hit it a little farther next time though okay?" Aki said, patting him on the shoulder gently.
"…"
Ten different pairs of eyes fell on him, yet they were all thinking the same thing.
'Idiot.'
Ken laughed aloud in response, finding the comment funny. Just like Ryan, this guy was also a kid, though he was probably more annoying than the cocky American.
"Sure sure, go show me how its done." He replied in amusement before walking past him.
He approached Daichi and Miho who greeted him.
"Unlucky bro, I was sure it was going over." Daichi said.
Ken shrugged his shoulders, there was no point in complaining since it was already done.
"Our Uncle sure is athletic though." He replied, a grin creeping onto his features.
"Hahaha."
Daichi couldn't help but laugh out loud at how ridiculous the situation was.
Only Miho was by the side with a confused look on her face.
"Uncle?" She muttered.
Back on the field, everyone's favorite side show had already faced a couple of balls with no success. Once again he was battling against his inferiority complex, comparing himself with Ken the entire time.
'I just need to get a hit and I'll have done better than him so far.' He said inwardly, gripping his bat tightly.
Yet throughout every ball he faced, he could never seem to even get close to hitting it. Frustration was starting to mount as he stared at Ryan on the mound.
The pitcher began his wind up and sent the ball out, this time a two seam ball which broke inside.
WHOOOSH
PAH
"Strikeout!"
"3 outs, changeover."
Atsushi let out a deep sigh and retreated. He saw Aki's figure on the side of the field shake his head, as if he was a teacher that was disappointed in his student.