With his home run, the Gladiators were now up by 3 runs and had no outs in the first inning. It was honestly a terrible situation to be in for the opposite team, but by no means would they give up in a tournament like this.
"Let's not get too complacent." Ken said, taking a seat next to Steve.
"Mmm. Brett is pitching well today, like he has something to prove."
"Good…" Ken replied, but inwardly he complained, 'Hurry up and let me pitch…'
Steve looked at his friend and could almost tell what he was thinking. But in the next moment he froze, as if he remembered something. "Ah, what did you say to the pitcher after your homer?"
"Hmm? Oh, I just said something in Japanese." Ken said, waving his hand dismissively.
"Tell me…"
Ken glanced at Steve briefly. One look was all it took to understand that the guy would keep bothering him until he told him what he said. Wanting to avoid the annoyance, he gave in.
"Jigou Jitoku" He said simply.
"…"
"What?" Ken asked, raising an eyebrow.
Steve looked at him expectantly, "So, you gonna tell me what it means? I don't bloody know Japanese…"
Ken grinned, "You should learn it, it's rather simple."
"Tell me…"
"You reap what you sow." A voice spoke from behind them, catching both Ken and Steve off guard.
Ken turned around, seeing that it was Coach Wyatt who had answered him. He was wearing a thoughtful expression, as if the words meant more to him than what was on the surface.
"Coach, you know Japanese?" Ken asked in surprise.
The coach shook his head, "Goodness no. I watch a bit of Anime here and there. It's quite a common saying in those."
Ken's surprise turned into disinterest almost immediately. He had already been hassled by many people at school about Anime. They seemed to think that just because he was from Japan that he would know everything there was about it.
Apart from a few of his favorite sports Anime that he had seen, Ken preferred to read Manga, as did a lot of Japanese people around his age.
"It's quite a good phrase and can be used in many situations. When you simplify it, it basically means that you get out what you put in." Coach Wyatt stated, still wearing his thoughtful expression.
Steve looked at the coach weirdly, clearly not expecting a lecture at this point in time.
"Take baseball for example, if you don't put in any effort, you won't get any success. But if you train hard and continue to practice, your rewards will be great, both on and off the field."
Ken nodded his head in agreement. He was the biggest proponent of training hard so he could perform well on the field and reap the rewards.
'Rewards?'
Ken froze, panic gripping his entire body as if he had realized something.
'Wait, this is a national tournament… Why haven't I received a mission?' Ken thought, feeling a sense of loss.
Usually when he entered a tournament like Koshien or even the U18 World Cup, the system would give him a set of goals to hit with great rewards offered. He had forgotten since he'd played for 18 months without the system.
[Answer: User requires a higher level of competition to qualify for the next set of missions.]
Mika's monotonous voice rang out in his head, dousing whatever hope he had left. There was a part of him that had guessed this might happen, but that didn't mean it was an easy pill to swallow.
After all, it was tough to let go of free rewards.
'What sort of competition are we talking Mika?' He asked, his disappointment evident.
[Answer: College equivalent competition.]
It was a simple answer, but Ken felt his heart sink. He was currently in his Junior year, which meant he still had another year until he could go to college. Missing out on any missions in that time would likely slow his progress.
'I guess its not all bad news…' Ken thought after a while.
Considering he wanted to increase his physical grades without the Elixirs for now, it might not be so bad. Of course he would miss out on any new skills or Lottery Tickets that might be on offer, but he also had the Image Training in the meantime.
Plus, he still had the SSS-Grade Physical Elixir he hadn't used. In a few weeks time he should have caught up to his physical grades and would be able to use it, propelling his fitness to another level.
"Alright, I gotta get ready." Steve said, sitting up from the bench.
"Watch out for the beanball's." Ken replied with a grin.
Steve froze for a moment and looked as if he was going to say something, but he quickly ignored Ken and grabbed his bat and helmet.
Ken turned his attention to the field. Since he'd been busy chatting away and having an internal crisis, he had missed the last bit of action.
He saw Max standing on 3rd base and in scoring position. Dion was up to bat right now, meaning that the opposing team had still not gotten an out.
WHOOOSH
PAH
"Strikeout!"
Ken wore a wry smile, 'Maybe we do better when I'm not watching…' he thought.
With that, Steve was now up to bat. With Max standing on third base, Steve turned to the coach, as if asking for the play.
The coach made various signs, receiving a nod from Steve in the process. Ken's eyes lit up, a small grin touching the corner of his lips.
As the pitcher threw the ball, Steve held his bat out with two hands, tracking the ball easily and delivering a beautiful push bunt towards first base.
Even before he'd made contact with the ball, Max had taken off at full speed towards the plate. His big frame must have looked menacing since the Catcher didn't dare to stand in his way.
"Safe."
"Out."
Steve was called out at first base, but he had already done his job. With the squeeze play, their team was already up 4 runs in the very first inning.
"Nice play."