PAH
"Strike!" - The umpire announced the second strike of the at-bat.
"Yeeeeaahhh! Go Seiryu! Go Seiryu! Go Seiryu!" - Seiryu's cheering section grew even more excited after seeing another 140 km/h fastball land in the strike zone while the batter stood motionless.
Meanwhile, Shun remained completely still in the batter's box, calmly watching Seiryu's ace on the mound. He had once again perfectly identified the lack of movement in Kaito's glove, which told him a fastball was coming even before it left Kaito's hand. However, now that he had let another pitch go by, he was in a tough spot with two strikes and no balls.
'This guy can't react to your fastballs, Kaito. Let's finish him off with another one!' - Seiryu's catcher thought, assuming Shun was unable to handle Kaito's fastballs, given that he hadn't even moved for the last two. Because of this, he decided the best option was to call for another fastball rather than a secondary pitch. He signaled for a fastball on the outer edge of the strike zone.
Kaito nodded in agreement. The ace of Seiryu also believed that the reason Shun hadn't attempted to swing at his fastballs was simply because he couldn't. Confidently, Kaito lifted his leg, stepped down hard, and whipped his arm toward home plate.
"Hehe." - Unfortunately for them, a fastball was the worst pitch they could have chosen at that moment, considering Shun had spent the last two pitches analyzing its trajectory and speed. Shun gave a satisfied smile as he saw the ball coming his way. He had once again identified the lack of glove movement, which meant he was fully prepared for the fastball. Without hesitation, Shun swung his bat.
WOOSH
DONG
The ball shot off Shun's bat toward left field, and he sprinted toward first base. By the time the left fielder retrieved the ball and threw it back to the infield, Shun was safely standing on second base.
* CLAP *
Shun and Ren returned to the dugout together. Ren, hearing the cheers and praise from the crowd directed at him, felt even prouder. Shun entered the dugout first, with Ren following close behind, his chest puffed out and his face brimming with confidence, ready to receive his teammates' admiration.
"You idiot! Why the hell did you swing at the first pitch?!" - Unfortunately for Ren, things didn't go as he expected. The moment he stepped into the dugout, he was met with a hard kick to his backside and a stern scolding from his friend Kenta.
"Ouch! What the hell, man?! I just hit a homer!" - Ren yelped in pain and quickly turned to Kenta, complaining as if he were being unfairly punished. He had just hit a two-run home run, so why was he being yelled at?
"Ren, did you forget what I said about not swinging at the first pitch?" - Before Kenta could say anything else, Shun approached Ren with a cold smile and asked.
"Ah! Sorry, Shun, I forgot..." - Only now did Ren remember Shun's instruction not to swing at the first pitches. Realizing he had made a mistake and that his actions might alert Seiryu's team that something was off with Kaito, Ren apologized, embarrassed. Find adventures at empire
"Ahh, it's fine. What's done is done. Let's just hope they don't figure anything out now..." - Seeing that his friend understood, Shun simply sighed and didn't press the matter further. After all, even though Ren hadn't followed his instructions, the young samurai had still hit a two-run home run, putting them ahead on the scoreboard.
---
Meanwhile, after Ren hit a home run, Seiryu's catcher quickly called for a timeout and ran to the mound. In his eyes, Kaito's fastballs were excellent, but seeing the first two batters make solid contact with them, he started to worry. Was there some issue with Kaito's fastball that he couldn't detect?
"Be honest with me, is there something wrong with my pitches?" - Kaito asked directly as soon as the catcher reached the mound, surprising both the catcher and the other infielders gathered around.
"To me, your pitches look great, honestly... I have no idea how that guy managed to send it to the stands..." - The catcher replied honestly, clearly referring to Ren's recent home run.