The coach walked over and began to rifle off some names, mostly first years who would be on the starting team against the seniors. Of course Ken, Shiro and Yusuke were included in this lineup.
Apart from Shiro who was jumping up and down with excitement, both Ken and Yusuke thought this was natural.
“Ken, Shiro told me yesterday that you’re a pitcher so how about you start on the mound for the second team?” Coach Hanada asked, his pen and clipboard in hand.
“Yes Coach.” He answered, a small smile forming on his face. He had been looking forward to getting back onto the mound, even if it was just a friendly match.
“Shiro, you can be our catcher. Yusuke… Where do you usually play.”
“Second base.”
Both Shiro and Coach Hanada looked at the person who said these words with confusion in their faces.
Yusuke on the other hand looked completely shocked as he stared at Ken who had correctly guessed his preferred position, even answering before himself.
Ken didn’t bother explaining himself and told Shiro to follow him so he could warm up his shoulder.
“I take it by your expression he is correct?” Coach Hanada asked, looking at Yusuke expectantly.
“Y-Yes.” Yusuke responded, unsure of how to react. He kept his gaze on the tall figure of Ken walking alongside Shiro to warm up.
Shiro couldn’t help but feel excited. Since he was a first year, he thought it would be a long time before he could get the opportunity to show off what he could do, yet here he was about to battle the first team.
“Go and get your equipment on.” Ken advised, rotating his shoulder and getting it loose.
“Yes sir!” Shiro replied with a grin.
A few moments later Shiro returned, fully kitted out in his catchers gear.
“Ready when you are Ken!” He stated before getting into a squatting position.
Ken started off slowly, warming up the muscles in his shoulder. Besides yesterday at Yokohama stadium, this was the first time he’d thrown properly with his right arm in a year.
Of course he had pitched last night in the Image Training, however that was everything but physical practice. After around 10 balls he finally felt that he had warmed up enough to throw seriously.
“Let’s see if I’ve improved from yesterday.” Ken mumbled.
Shiro felt as if the atmosphere suddenly darkened as Ken’s face turned serious. He saw the long limbs of Ken retract as he pulled his hands to his chest and lifted his knee to begin his throwing action.
‘Here it comes’ Shiro tensed as he felt the hairs on his body begin to stand up from the pressure.
“Hup!”
Ken released his arm like a whip through the air, sending the ball out of his fingers with tremendous force. His shoulder felt fantastic, working as it should like a well-oiled machine.
“Ah”
Shiro quickly stood up and tried to jump in the air in order to catch the ball that rocketed over his head. Thanks to his quick reflexes he was able to tip the ball, however it still carried on and landed over 10 meters away.
“Hahahaha!”
Grating laughter filled both Shiro’s and Ken’s ears as they turned to look at the ball. A tall and skinny teen bent down and collected the ball, his face filled with amusement.
“Is this meant to be the new first years pitcher? Look’s like we’ve got nothing to worry about fellas.” He turned to the players surrounding him and chuckled once more.
‘Akira… I kind of feel sorry for this guy.’ Ken mused inwardly.
In his previous life, Ken had taken the spot of Ace pitcher from Akira not even a month after joining the team. Unfortunately, he planned on doing the same in this life. It seemed that this lanky guy was doomed to be a side character all along.
“Senpai, ball please.”
Ken smiled warmly. There was no point in giving into the taunts of this kid who would fade into the background in a month or two.
“Heh.” Akira smirked and gripped the ball in his hands, before loading up and sending it back straight towards Ken.
“AH! What are you doing!?” Shiro yelled out.
Since they were just warming up, Ken had yet to put on a glove. Seeing the ball thrown at Ken with such force caused him to cry out in worry. If he tried to catch the ball barehanded, it could easily end in an injury.
It wasn’t only Shiro that was anxious right now as Coach Hanada happened to hear the commotion earlier and had been watching.
“Duck!” The coach yelled out the first thing that came to his mind as the ball came flying towards Ken at great speed.
A grin formed on his face after hearing the coaches warning. It seemed as if he didn’t have to do much, Akira had already sealed his own fate.
His eyes never left the incoming ball which was coming straight for his face. Ken waited for the opportune moment and stepped to his right before placing his left hand exactly where his head had been a moment ago.
Before the ball arrived, he moved his hand backwards to reduce the impact of the baseball on his hand. With his mental capacity and keen control over his body thanks to the Fine Motor Control skill, he was able to secure the ball without bearing the brunt of the force.
To further reduce the impact, Ken twisted his body in the direction of the balls trajectory, safely bringing the ball under control.
Silence.
Shiro stared with his eyes wide open and jaw slack after witnessing the precise and almost flawless movement that took place in front of him.
Akira was also dumbfounded, however he clicked his tongue in the next moment and was about to walk away. That was until a thunderous voice halted him in his tracks.
“AKIRA!”
“Oh crap.”
His expression paled when he saw the coach bounding over to him with a livid expression.