In the stands of the stadium...
"Hahaha, who would've thought Shun's team would be this strong!" - Toji laughed excitedly. After seeing his friend get destroyed last year, he hadn't expected such a big improvement, not only in Shun but in all the players from Shoto Junior High this year.
"Maybe they'll really make it to the Kanto tournament..." - Akira said, surprised. He hadn't expected Shun to progress so much in just one year.
"Hmph! They're definitely going to make it!" - Sugawara huffed grumpily as he stood up from his seat and began walking toward the stairs to leave the stands.
"Haha, see you guys!" - Kohei also got up, but unlike his rude friend, he bid farewell to his Japanese national teammates before following Sugawara down the stairs.
'Blue-eyed idiot, I'll crush you and your team in the Kanto tournament!' - Sugawara thought, clenching his fists tightly. He was determined to show Shun and the other Shoto players who the best was on the grandest stage in middle school, the Kanto tournament.
"Ahhh! You!" - Sugawara yelled in surprise, pointing at a figure who had just climbed the stairs to the stands. Explore more at m,v l'e-novelhall.net
"Huh?" - Shun looked confused at the white-haired boy. He had just climbed the stairs himself, searching for a spot to watch his next opponent's game, only to be met with the sight of Yoshinori Sugawara, Hokuto's maniacal catcher, pointing at him.
"Ohhh, if it isn't Hokuto's great captain with his ace! What are you two doing here? Don't tell me you came to study us?" - Noticing Sugawara's startled expression, Shun seized the opportunity. He flashed an irritating grin and spoke in a teasing tone to Hokuto's battery.
"Huh? Study? What? Who the hell came to study you, you bastard! I was just passing by and decided to grab something to eat at the stadium. I didn't even know your team was playing!" - Sugawara blurted out, surprised by Shun's comment, but quickly irritated by the boy's smug grin.
He offered the best excuse he could think of.
"Huh? What are you talking about, Suga? You just watched Shun's game with me! And I didn't see you eat anything..." - Unfortunately for the white-haired boy, Toji appeared behind him and immediately exposed his lie, draping an arm over Sugawara's shoulder.
"Hey..." - Shun grinned foolishly and raised his hand to greet the five people, but before he could say more, he felt an arm drape around his shoulder.
"Hey, man, since when do you taunt your opponents like that?" - Toji asked excitedly, wrapping his arm around Shun's shoulder. He had never seen his friend provoke players from other teams before.
Everyone there, including Shun's old teammates from Tokyo Nakano and his current teammates from Shoto Junior High, looked at him curiously. None of them had ever seen this side of Shun before.
"Oh, that. Those guys are really good when they're focused... I can't mess with that pitcher's mental game with simple taunts like these, but that white-haired catcher... he's pretty easy to rile up, hehe!" - Shun explained with a sly smile. He wasn't provoking just for the sake of it, it was all part of his plan for a possible future match against Hokuto in the Kanto tournament.
Little did Sugawara know, Shun's strategy to defeat Hokuto had already begun.
"Oh." - Toji was surprised. While it wasn't unusual to use such strategies in baseball, he hadn't expected Shun to already be preparing for a potential match against Hokuto. His friend seemed to have changed a lot, he almost felt like a different person compared to his Tokyo Nakano version.
Toji wasn't the only one taken aback. None of Shoto Junior High's players expected this from Shun, not even his sister, Mika. In fact, Mika hadn't thought her brother would use a plan at all, let alone one he devised himself.
Meanwhile, outside the stadium...
"Ahhhhhh, I'm going to crush that bastard! Hey Kohei, why the hell did you hold me back?!" - Sugawara vented his anger, punching the air.
The left-handed ace, Kohei, didn't even bother responding to his manic friend, he just sighed as he listened to Sugawara unload his frustrations.
"Hmph! Crush me? I'd love to see how he plans to do that! Hey Kohei, starting tomorrow, we're doubling our training! I'm going to destroy that blue-eyed idiot..." - Sugawara grumbled, irritated.
'Damn...' - Kohei sighed, feeling sorry for his teammates. He had brought Sugawara here to ease up on the training a bit, but in the end, it had the exact opposite effect.