Azuma Kiyokuni stood in the batter's box, strong and confident, with an impressive presence.
He looked like a mountain, steady and commanding attention.
A lot of his teammates supported him.
He was the heart of the team and their cleanup hitter.
With how well he'd been playing, it was natural for them to rally around him.
"Hit it out!" someone urged excitedly.
"Show that rookie what our top hitters can do!" another shouted with enthusiasm.
The crowd seemed to already picture him sending the ball flying.
Their team was known for its strong offense—not just in Tokyo, but across the country.
And yet, here they were, struggling against a junior who'd only been in high school a couple of months.
If their core batters kept failing like this, how would they keep their spots on the team?
"Keep it down! Don't spook him. Come on, throw your Spiral ball," someone urged sharply.
Azuma stood tall, raising his bat high, ready to swing.
Takigawa, crouched behind the plate, felt a rush of excitement.
As the team's main catcher, he knew just how good Azuma was.
And right now, he was serious.
"Just throwing Straight and Spiral balls might not be enough to get him out. You ready for this?" Takigawa challenged, locking eyes with Takumi.
He looked up and met Takumi's calm, steady gaze across the mound.
He wasn't fazed by Azuma at all.
"Nice!" Takigawa praised, clearly impressed with Takumi's pitching.
"Straight ball, right here," he directed, positioning his glove at the inside corner of the strike zone.
Miyuki, standing not far behind, caught sight of the glove's angle.
"Takigawa-senpai, you're giving him too much credit. Takumi can't throw an inside pitch from that angle." he muttered to himself.
Having worked closely with Takumi, he knew his pitching style well.
But at that moment, Takumi on the mound suddenly made his move.
He took a step forward, his movements clean and precise.
Then he swung his arm, releasing the ball.
Whoosh!
The ball zipped through the air and appeared right in front of Azuma.
"You're asking for trouble!" he roared sharply.
His eyes locked on the ball as he swung his bat hard.
Boom!
The bat cut through the air with a sharp whoosh.
The players nearby felt the vibration in their ears.
They saw the bat hit the ball perfectly, sending it flying far.
"It flew out!" someone exclaimed.
Azuma's supporters erupted, their cheers bursting with excitement.
The moment they'd been waiting for was finally here.
But to their surprise, even though the ball flew over a hundred meters, it wasn't counted as a home run.
"Foul ball!"
The ball missed the foul pole by about three meters.
"Tch!" Azuma clicked his tongue in frustration.
He shot a sharp glare at Takigawa, his eyes flashing with irritation.
Takigawa knew that spot was Azuma's favorite to hit, and he wouldn't give it up easily. That's why he deliberately had Takumi pitch there, baiting him to swing.
Of course, Takigawa's glove placement must have been a bit off this time.
Otherwise, the ball wouldn't have gone foul.
"Showing off won't get you anywhere. Sooner or later, he's got to face me head-on," Azuma grumbled under his breath.
Even though the players felt a bit disappointed the ball wasn't a home run, watching it soar that far still made their hearts race.
"Think that first-year rookie's going to be rattled by this?" someone wondered aloud.
After all, the ball had traveled over a hundred meters.
Any pitcher would feel the pressure after a hit like that—it could mess with their next throw.
But just as that thought crossed their minds, Takumi threw his second pitch cleanly.
He didn't know much about Azuma's style.
But that didn't really matter, since he trusted Takigawa's guidance completely.
So he pitched with confidence.
Whoosh!
Another Straight ball!
This one came in at an even trickier angle.
"Such an obvious pitch. You really think I'll fall for that?" Azuma scoffed, gripping the bat tight as he watched the ball sail right past him.
Thwack!
Coach Kataoka, the chief umpire, suddenly called out, "Strike!"
Azuma turned his head in disbelief. Did that really count as a strike?
Kataoka shot a sharp look and asked, "You got a problem?"
"No…" Azuma muttered, licking his lips and raising his bat again.
By now, he was already down to two strikes.
Miyuki, standing nearby, swallowed hard, his eyes filled with disbelief.
When did Takumi's control get this good?
That last pitch was right on the edge of the inside corner.
Just then, Takumi, after catching the return throw, took his pitching stance again.
This time, he took a bit longer to prepare.
Is he going to throw a Spiral ball?
Azuma, standing in the batter's box, felt a spark of excitement.
Finally, he'd get to face the it!
Whoosh!
The pitch whistled through the air.
He tightened his grip on the bat, eyes locked on the ball.
'Come on, fly out for me!' he urged inwardly.
Even though the pitch was a bit high, he swung with everything he had.
Whack!
Azuma, Seidō's cleanup hitter and a well-known power batter, looked ready to crush everything in front of him.
The players watching held their breath, waiting for the bat to connect.
They expected something spectacular.
But surprisingly, the bat missed the ball.
The pitch slipped just over the bat.
Takigawa, who had already stood up, caught the ball smoothly in his glove.
Thwack!
The ball hit the glove with a solid thud, trying to get away.
Takigawa smiled faintly.
"Even the tail on his Straight ball has gotten better." he remarked appreciatively.
"Strike!" Kataoka, the chief umpire, announced firmly.
With three strikes, Azuma was out.
Across the entire field, nearly a hundred students and players fell silent.