Battle of Wills (1)

"Batting 4th, 1st Base, Hiroki."

As Hiroki made his way into the batters box, he noticed a shift in the Shinjuku players. When Makoto had hit the home run, they seemed dejected and on their last legs, yet now they were completely different.

Not only did they look invigorated, there was also a kind of savagery behind their eyes.

The tall delinquent upon the mound looked especially intimidating as he took his position. The soft smile that was on his face during the past 7 innings was nowhere to be seen, now replaced with grim determination.

Hiroki couldn't help but feel tense in that atmosphere, yet his expression hardened in the next moment. 

Shinjuku weren't the only team that had gone through hell to be here right now. Just remembering the devilish training overseen by their very own Training Demon was enough to make a grown man cry.

Yet they survived it, coming out the other side of the gauntlet having improved drastically.