NOVEL SIMPLE V6_Chapter 9: Seidou’s Offensive!
V6_Chapter 9: Seidou's Offensive!
In the bottom of the inning, Seidou High School is on the attack!
“First Batter, shortstop, Kuramochi-kun.”
“Hyaa-ha-haa!”
Kuramochi stepped into the batter's box with confidence. With his Kohai performing so well, he knew he couldn’t afford to look bad as a Senpai.
The opponent’s pitching was precise but not particularly fast—just a little over 130 km/h(80 mph). It shouldn’t be too hard to hit. With his speed, even if he just managed an infield grounder, he could still make it to base.
‘Let’s see what you’ve got! Watch as Kuramochi shows you how it’s done!’
Muttering to himself, Kuramochi raised his bat high, his eyes fixed on Taiyou on the pitcher’s mound. His aggressive aura naturally put pressure on Inui, the catcher.
‘As expected of a main player in the team that won the Championship, his aura is really different.’
Kuramochi simply stood there, but it gave them an extremely powerful sense of oppression.
‘This opponent is also a key player from the National Champion team. We need to be extra cautious.’
Inui carefully signaled to Taiyou on the mound.
Taiyou, who received the signal, didn’t seem to take it seriously. After a nod, he pitched the ball.
Whoosh!
The white ball whizzed straight toward Kuramochi’s head.
“Whoa!”
Kuramochi ducked quickly, then noticed Inui, who had stood up to catch the ball.
SNAP!
“BALL!”
Startled, Kuramochi quickly took a breath to himself.
‘Suddenly a ball to the head! Damn it, was that a deliberate attempt to scare me?’
‘Moreover, an obvious dead ball and no apology from the pitcher?’
‘And this umpire did not give a warning for such a pitch?’
Kuramochi, still shaken, was internally fuming. If he wasn’t trying to hold himself, he would have charged the mound to give Taiyou a piece of his mind!
However, he knew that the field was the place to settle scores, not with his fists.
‘All right, you little shit…’
He adjusted his grip on the bat, resolved to hit the ball, and show Taiyou that Seidou’s leadoff was not to be trifled with.
Taiyou’s second pitch came next.
Whoosh!
This pitch was completely different—a low outside pitch compared to the high inside one before.
‘It seemed to miss the strike zone by a bit.’
Kuramochi hesitated but decided not to swing. He remained calm, knowing that revenge could wait for the next pitch.
He let the pitch go by and watched as the ball landed in Inui’s mitt.
SNAP!
“STRIKE!!!”
Kuramochi was visibly surprised by the umpire’s call. He looked back at the umpire, eager to ask, ‘Are you blind? How could that pitch be a Strike?’
Reason stopped him from speaking out.
He understood that the umpire couldn’t be favoring Teitou High School so clearly as to call a Ball a Strike.
‘There must be some kind of trick.’
Kuramochi glanced back at Mukai on the mound, wary.
‘The first pitch was high inside, and the second was low outside. Is it to trick me that this pitch is a Ball? This first-year pitcher had a control that surpassed many third-year players.’
‘What a terrifying talent!’ Kuramochi mused. ‘This generation not only has monsters like Sawamura but also strange talents like Mukai…’
He was already amazed by the emerging talents. Little did he expect Taiyou to be another extraordinary pitcher.
The count was one Ball, one strike.
Despite his thoughts, Kuramochi had to face the next pitch.
The third pitch came swiftly!
Facing this sudden inside pitch, Kuramochi swung without hesitation. He specifically positioned himself in the right-handed batter’s Box to get a clear view of Taiyou’s pitch.
He saw the ball clearly and didn’t hesitate to swing.
Ping!
The ball flew out of the line.
“FOUL!”
The count was now two Strikes, one Ball. Kuramochi was chased.
‘Damn!’
Determined, Kuramochi focused intently on Mukai.
On the mound, Mukai Taiyou smirked, sticking out his tongue playfully.
‘No matter how hard you glare, you won’t hit it out. I’ve already imagined your defeat.’
Taiyou’s left arm catapulted the ball like a laser beam.
Whoosh!
The pitch came in fast. After facing the speed of Furuya and Sawamura, this pitch seemed exceptionally slow to Kuramochi.
How could such a slow pitch be so difficult to hit?
‘The ball was coming at a low course!’
Kuramochi swung decisively.
Ping!
The ball hit the ground and bounced right into Mukai’s mitt.
Mukai caught it, stuck out his tongue at Kuramochi, and threw the ball to first base.
SNAP!
“OUT!”
Like that, Seidou High School’s first batter Kuramochi was Out.
One Out, no one on base!
“Damn guy!” Kuramochi muttered angrily as he returned to the bench.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get revenge for you,” Sawamura said with a smile.
With one Out and no runners on base, the announcement came:
“Second Batter, second baseman, Kominato-kun.”
As Sawamura vowed to avenge Kuramochi, Kominato Haruichi had already taken his position in the batter's box.
“I’m not so weak that I need your help for revenge. I’ll handle it myself,” Kuramochi said angrily.
Kuramochi was already frustrated by Mukai’s schemes, and hearing Sawamura’s comments only added fuel to his anger.
Kuramochi had the feeling that this Kohai had become increasingly rude.
While they were speaking, Haruichi was already facing Mukai.
Mukai’s pitching was exceptionally tricky, but it also had clear weaknesses, such as a lack of speed and power.
For a skilled batter like Kominato Haruichi, Mukai wasn’t a particularly difficult opponent.
Standing in the batter’s box, Kominato was confident, just waiting to hit Mukai’s pitches.
Whoosh!
The white ball flew toward him, and despite the tricky pitch, Kominato didn’t swing.
He remained calm, appearing unhurried as he used the time to observe Mukai’s pitching.
“STRIKE!”
‘I see.’
The ball was almost exactly as he imagined. The trajectory was clear, the speed was not fast, and the power seemed weak.
After making this judgment, Kominato patiently awaited the second pitch.
Whoosh!
The pitch came!
‘Mukai’s pitching rhythm might not be as smooth as Eijun-kun’s, but it was certainly effective.’
Facing the incoming white ball, Kominato didn’t hesitate and swung his bat.
Ping!
The white ball was hit and flew high into the air.
For a moment, Kominato’s expression stiffened.
The ball landed squarely in front of the first baseman.
Teito’s first baseman calmly opened his mitt and easily caught the descending ball.
Clap!
“Out!”
Two Outs and no runners on base.
On the surface, it seemed like Seidou High’s batters were not in good shape.
The first two batters had failed to make effective hits.
One hit a grounder straight to the pitcher, and the other hit a pop fly to the first baseman.
These kinds of hits were almost the same as giving away Outs to the opponent.
But to those who understood the game, the details were clear.
“Throwing to the corners like this means that even if the batter hits the ball, it will either be a Foul or an easy hit to the fielders,” said Fuji, a senior reporter for Baseball Kingdom Magazine.
His junior, Okada Akiko, quickly noted down Fuji’s words.
The game continued.
With two Outs, Sawamura Eijun stepped into the Batter’s Box.
…