Shun watched the first Aoba batter walking toward the batter's box and felt the adrenaline rushing through his body. He knew it wouldn't be easy facing Aoba's batters for the second time, but he wasn't afraid, much less worried, he was excited for the challenge.
Shun lifted his right leg as he propelled his body forward. He stepped firmly on the ground, twisting his entire body and whipping his arm toward home plate.
PAH
"Ball!"
"Tch!" - Shun observed as the first Aoba batter stayed motionless. He was sure that was a good pitch, but it didn't matter much since the batter didn't seem like he planned to swing.
Shun kept pitching.
PAH
"Ball!"
PAH
"Strike!"
PAH
"Ball!"
"Tch! Is this guy not going to swing?" - Shun muttered irritably. None of his pitches had been bad, but since they didn't land in the zone, it was useless, as the batter seemed unwilling to swing at anything.
"If you're not going to swing, don't blame me for this!" - Shun said angrily as he lifted his right leg and propelled his body forward. His arm whipped toward home plate.
"Hehe! Finally!" - The first batter looked at the pitch Shun had thrown and smiled. Perhaps due to Shun's frustration or irritation from the batter not swinging, Shun's pitch was mediocre, it was obvious what kind of pitch it was.
"Damn!" - Daigo exclaimed in concern as he watched the pitch, but before he could think further, a bat entered his field of vision.
WOOSH
DOONG
The first batter sprinted toward the base as soon as he felt the ball connect with his bat. He watched the ball soar toward left field, stopping only at the stadium's fence.
PAH
"Ball!"
PAH
"Ball!"
PAH
"Ball!"
PAH
"Ball Four!" - The umpire announced as the third batter walked to first base, pushing the other runners ahead one base as well.
"Fuck!" - Shun kicked the dirt on the mound in frustration. He had just loaded the bases without getting anyone out, and the next batter was the best hitter on the opposing team.
But before Shun could do anything else, he saw Coach Yamada climbing the dugout steps and walking toward him. At that moment, memories began flooding Shun's mind.
He remembered a very similar scene, he couldn't get the batters out, and then his coach came to the mound and replaced him. Back then, his coach was someone else, and his team was Tokyo Nakano Junior, but he remembered very clearly that after that day, he never pitched again for Tokyo Nakano.
Fear began to take hold of Shun, self-doubt, low self-esteem, questions about his abilities. All the emotions Shun thought he had overcome began to resurface, as the fear of being replaced took control.
Shun wasn't afraid of being taken out of the game, he was afraid of what would happen afterward. Just like with Tokyo Nakano, someone better than him would take his place, his number, his friends, his crush...
Daigo, Ren, Kenta, and the other infielders also gathered at the mound, surrounding Shun to prevent any information from leaking to the opponent.
"Are you injured, Shun?" - Coach Yamada asked calmly as he looked directly into Shun's big blue eyes.
"Huh? N-No, sir!" - Shun replied, a bit nervous, still dominated by his fears.
"Are you tired?" - Coach Yamada noticed Shun's expression but calmly asked another question.
"N-No, sir!" - Shun responded, confused. He didn't understand why the coach was asking so many questions before replacing him.
"Oh, I see. So you can still pitch?" - Coach Yamada asked without hesitation, closely watching Shun's expression.
"I-I..."