บท 99: 99. Friendly Match (VI)

Noticing Suzuki was up next, Rei did not make the same mistake as he did previously and took him completely seriously. If Suzuki made it to a base, it would get tough with the next batsman and that was Sora.

Rei asked the first pitch to be low in the middle to make it pass. Izumi naturally complied, and threw the pitch low, Suzuki naturally left the pitch and waited for a better one. But he did not know the next ones weren't any better. Rei went inside for the next one, and Suzuki could only foul it.

The last pitch was to the outside and Suzuki couldn't reach it with his bat making it a swinging strike-out. Suzuki went back to his team bench and Sora stepped into the box. He grinned and lightly said, "I am taking a run or two in this inning."

Rei just smirked and replied, "Let's see."

Rei's plan was to walk Sora as the first base was open and deal with Suzaku, who compared to Sora was less dangerous right now. So he asked for a pitch outside the zone, making his intention clear to Izumi. But surprisingly, Izumi shook his head in denial.

Rei was confused and placed the glove in another place outside the zone, and he got the same answer. He stood up and called for a timeout and made his way towards him. Covering his mouth with his glove, he asked, "What happened?"

"I want to face him." was a simple answer, but for Rei, it was not one.

"Are you crazy? If we walk Sora now, our chances of keeping the score to a zero will be higher." trying to get his point across.

"Yeah but I still want to face him head-on. It's ok, have some trust, I am now ready to get him out." Grinning like an idiot.

Rei shook his head, but couldn't say anything and simply returned to his position. He noticed Sora grinning like an idiot similar to Izumi and shook his head. Both of them are muscle heads and like frontal conversations in the game.

As they decided not to walk him, Rei asked for an inner low pitch trying to make it difficult for Sora to connect. Izumi simply went with it and threw the pitch at that place, and Sora swung his bat. But luckily, he missed and got his first strike.

Rei threw back the pitch and asked for the next pitch. He went a bit higher inside, nearing Sora's chest level. Izumi pitched it accordingly, but Izumi brought his bat down and connected the ball and flew high for a foul. Getting back to his stand, he was ready for the next one.

With 2 strikes in, Rei asked the last pitch to be a lower one, not going for an outside pitch, trying to catch Sora off guard. Izumi once again nodded and threw pitch after taking a deep breath. The ball went correctly to his glove until a bat came in its way and Sora smashed it to the center field. Akamine in the center field ran back trying to chase the ball as the left fielder also went for support.

He was able to catch the pitch, but only after a step on the ground. Not wanting to turn back, he backhand passed it to the left fielder who threw the ball at 2nd base. Sora could easily make it to the 2nd base, bringing a player home and Tanaka to third.

Rei exhaled as a player made it home and looked at Izumi, who had a sorry face and shook his head. He got back down ready for the next batter, Suzaku. This time Rei decided to end this rather than loading the bases by giving him a walk.

He asked the first pitch to the inside, and Suzaku swung his bat at it. He got jammed and went straight to Akira, who caught it and threw it back home to get Tanaka out. Tanaka was unable to go back after the huge lead he took and just went for it. Rei was able to tag him and get an end to the inning.

Relieved that they did not lose another run, Rei made his way back. He stayed in his gear once again and observed the next batters. He did not hope to get another run and simply decided to defend the next inning as his life depends on it.

Just as Rei expected nothing much happened in the inning. The first batter had some improvement and was able to successfully take a base after fouling many pitches. With him going well, Rei expected the others behind him to do well too.

Rei looked down, not bothering to look at Izumi's horrible batting, but he heard the bat connecting and whipped his head towards the source and saw him connecting.

But the ball fell right into the glove of the right fielder for a very smooth out. Exhaling, he just looked at the runner on 2nd who was able to advance. He noticed the next batter was another member of the club and hoped for another advancement for the runner on 3rd.

But reality was hard as the batter was struck out, and Rei just looked at him coming back. He slowly turned towards Izumi by his side and asked, "Are all the players in your team so bad in batting?"

Izumi looked at him and replied, "No, these are not even our benchwarmers for a game. Sora must have invited them to have some fun, and the starter players are busy." shaking his head.

Rei nodded, and he heard the bat connecting once again and noticed it was Akamine's turn to bat. The ball went right to Tanaka as the runner remained at the 2nd base and the players had to change side with. Rei slowly made his way to his position as he remained focused on not giving another run.