12 Chapter 12 : Kanto Tournament Began!

Three days later, the game between Seido and Yokohama Kouhoku Institute finally started. This was both teams' first game against each other, therefore the only information they had of their opponents came from the video, and this was almost like coming into the game blindly.

Sometimes, the feeling the players gave on the field was different from what they watched in the video, so even if they had a bundle of information summarized on paper, this would only help a little. Anything could happen on the field.

However, Seido still entered the field with confidence. This was the belief of the strong team that they would always be the winner no matter what happened out there. Tetsu gathered all the players around, forming a big circle before he started Seido's infamous chant.

"Who are we?"

"We are the king, Seido!"

"Who shed the most sweat more than anyone else?!"

"Seido!"

"Who shed the most tears more than anyone else?!"

"Seido!"

"Are you ready to fight?!"

"Yes!"

"With the pride of the school in our chest, we strive to conquer the nation!" The captain shouted a declaration, raising his arm high. "Let's go!"

"Yeah!" All the members yelled.

Hiroto couldn't help but shiver in a goosebump. Tetsu was truly one of a kind. His voice carried that command, that you couldn't help but agree with whatever he said. He was truly the leader of the team, both in figure and spiritually.

"Let's go! It's time to warm up!"

Hiroto followed Tetsu's lead as they started stretching out their body. A moment later, they could see another bus arrive outside, and they knew it carried their opponent today. The atmosphere turned solemn as they observed one by one coming out of the bus.

"So, that's Yokohama Kouhoku Institute, huh?"

"Don't underestimate them, Jun." Tetsu reminded his friend. "They are here for a reason. Just remember what the coach said last night."

"Yeah." Isashiki nodded solemnly. They still remember what Kataoka-sensei said about this team during the scouting meeting last night.

"They are a similar team like us, with a strong lineup and aggressive playing style. This would be a test for Tanba-kun. So, I hope you all can get as many points as possible to ease his pressure."

That was the last thing Kataoka-sensei said before ending the meeting. Even though it was short, they knew how important the message was. Even though Tanba was an amazing pitcher, they all knew how vulnerable he was under pressure. And after the disastrous performance last game, Kataoka-sensei wasn't sure about Tanba's mentality.

To be honest, it wasn't just Tanba. Kawakami also suffered the same here. That's why Kataoka-sensei was so desperate for a good pitcher that wouldn't crumble in a crucial moment.

However, putting Furuya as the opener in his first game wasn't an option. Furuya's capability hadn't been tested on the official match, and Kataoka-sensei would feel more at ease putting him in the middle of the game where the pressure was less heavy. Even though he was eager to test the first-year pitcher, he wasn't desperate enough to give up the starting position that was supposed to be for the ace to the newcomer.

That's why it was important for the others to score as much as possible. For one, it would lessen the pressure on Tanba as the ace, and it would also give him a chance to test Furuya here.

Fifteen minutes later, all the players from both teams were ready, waiting for their captain to determine who played the offense first. At the outside, the supporters of both teams were already gathered to watch the game. Even though it was just the first game, they didn't want to miss it. After a quick coin toss, Tetsu came back to the dugouts to deliver the news.

"We are going for the offense first."

"Yosssha!" Kuramochi grinned ferally. As the first batter of the Seido team, he was excited to see what kind of ball the opponent's pitcher would throw. "Ryousuke-senpai, don't forget to send me back home later!"

"Well, you can say that after going to the base first." The pink-haired boy said with his default smile, not giving any hint of emotion to the other. However, Kuramochi who partnered with him for a while, he knew Ryousuke was excited about this game too.

"Yosh! Don't worry about it, Senpai! I will be able to do it!"

A moment later, all the opponent's players were already on the court, ready to defend the ball. Kuramochi took a deep breath, keeping his eyes on the pitcher. He wasn't the type of batter who could give pressure like Tetsu or Hiroto, but Kuramochi had his way of being on the batter box.

'Let's see what would he do…. It's slow! Would it break though? Whatever. Let's do the usual.'

After seeing the ball went pretty slowly, he didn't lower his guard for a second. Kuramochi knew there were a lot of pitches that were slow at the start as bait, just to change their direction at the last second to mess up the batter's timing. And Kuramochi's decision was proven to be right as before it could reach his hitting range, the ball suddenly dropped downward pretty sharply.

'A splitter? Hah! This is easy!'

In the last second, Kuramochi suddenly changed his posture from a normal stance into a bunting stance. It startled the opponents a bit. However, before they could react, Kuramochi was able to connect the ball to the bat first, aiming it into the tricky spot close to the foul line before he started running with all his strength.

"It's a bunt! Third baseman!"

"I got it!"

Unfortunately, Kuramochi was too fast. Before the third baseman was able to send the ball to the first baseman, he had already touched the plate there, arriving safely at the first baseman.

"Safe!"

"YOSSHAA!!"

"Nice run, Kuramochi!"

"Ryousuke-senpai, send me home!"

Ryousuke who had already warmed up outside of the dugouts just shook his head amusedly at his enthusiastic kouhai. "This boy.. When will he give me time to break?" He walked calmly to the batter box and greeted the referee politely before raising his bat high, sending a creepy smile toward the opponent's pitcher.

It seemed the pitcher was still in shock at how easily Kuramochi got into the base before. It took him a while to calm down. However, Ryousuke could see the pitcher was not in the right state of mind.

'Hmm.. Let's see if it had any effect or not.'

The pitcher threw the ball for the first time against Ryousuke. It was another strong splitter to the outside. However, Ryousuke ignored the ball, letting it slide over. Instead, he looked at Kuramochi who was already running, stealing the base aggressively.

"Steal! Damn!"

"Catcher!"

"I got it!"

Right after he caught the ball, the catcher threw it straight into the second baseman. It was a good throw, showing off his strong shoulder. However, Kuramochi's feet were faster as the shortstop had already dived and touched the plate before the second baseman could get the ball.

"SAFE!"

"YA~HAAA~!"

"Nice steal, Kuramochi!"

"Good job!"

"Senpai, send me home!"

Ryousuke smirked, sending a big thumb to his kouhai. This was his role as the leadoff hitter, to get a clean hit and try to steal the base aggressively. This is to put pressure on the opponent's pitcher and split up their concentration. As for Ryousuke's role, it should be to get the pitcher's information as much as possible while sending Kuramochi back home to take the lead.

Now with Kuramochi on the second base and ready to steal again, the catcher was a bit wary and decided to play it safe. The next pitch was exactly the same, but the route moved slightly into the center. It seemed the catcher wanted to play it safe and test his reaction. However, Ryousuke ignored the ball once again.

"STRIKE!"

This confused the battery a lot. If Kuramochi could touch the ball easily, Ryousuke who had a reputation as a batter with hawk eyes should be able to do the same, right? Is there any pitch that he was targeting to hit?

Ryousuke himself just stood there silently, still with the default smile on his face. Inwardly though, he was happy. The battery was trapped in his mind game, and now, they would guess what ball pitch he wanted to hit. This usually would lead to a sloppy ball from the pitcher.

"BALL!"

He let the next ball slide again, knowing it was a bit off the course. It seemed the pitcher was bothered by him and Kuramochi on the base and started to crumble on the mound. However, there was no hint of mercy on Ryousuke's face. He had already locked down the ball's route and movement, and he was sure he could hit the next pitch.

"Well, let's start the party."

Right after that, he swung his bat in a calculated manner, hitting the ball to the tricky spot on the right field.

*Clank!*

"FOUL!"

Ryousuke clicked his tongue in annoyance. He was too eager to hit the ball and messed up the contact point with the bat for an inch. However, in the next round, he finally managed to send a liner to the center field, which allowed Kuramochi to go back home.

"Nice hit, Ryousuke!"

"Come on, Kuramochi! Go faster!"

"Send the ball to the catcher! Hurry up!"

"I got it!"

The center fielder tried his best to throw the ball as fast as possible, trying to prevent Kuramochi from getting a score. However, the shortstop was too fast. The moment the catcher caught the ball, he had already passed him and touched the plate, throwing his helm above to celebrate.

"YOSSHAAA!"

"Nice run, brat!"

"Good job, Ryousuke!"

Everyone sends their praise from the dugouts to the protagonist of the last play who arrived at the second base safely. The opponent's pitcher was in a daze as he wasn't expecting to lose a score that easily. However, he didn't have time to relax as the Seido's heavy hitters stared at him hungrily.

Isashiki came toward the batter box next, greeted the umpire politely. "Yoroshiku onegaisimashu." However, after that, he roared wildly as if there were two personalities inside him. "COME ON! GIVE IT TO ME!"

Facing Isashiki who had 'aggressive' written on his face, the pitcher hesitated for a second before throwing his pitch. It was a normal four-seam fastball to the inside, which was greeted aggressively by Isashiki.

"YOSH! I GOT IT!"

*CLANK!*

Unfortunately, it was a pretty weak hit, as the ball rolled down on the ground.

"DAMN!"

Isashiki sprinted with all his strength to reach the base. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to get it safely as the pitcher caught the ground ball and threw it immediately into the first baseman. The good news is, that Ryousuke managed to arrive at the third base easily and only one step away from home.

"Tch!" Isashiki clicked his tongue in annoyance. "I will get it the next time! Just watch it!"

Everyone who knew about Isashiki just stared at him amusedly. However, they forgot about him quickly as the focus suddenly turned to the two best hitters on the team, Tetsu and Hiroto. They would be the fourth and fifth batters next, which wasn't ideal for Yokohama Kouhoku Institute as their pitcher was still not in the right mind after losing the score earlier.

"This is Tetsu's turn, right?!"

"Yeah!"

"Send it here, Tetsu!"

The chatters and cheers exploded as Seido's captain walked into the batter box. The pitcher gulped nervously, especially at the pressure that was radiated from Tetsu's spot. He sent a quick signal to the catcher and decided to play it safe.

"BALL! BALL! BALL! BALL FOUR!"

"Eeh? They didn't even let him swing the bat?!"

"This is so boring!"

"Coward!"

"Idiot! Tetsu is one of the best hitters in Tokyo! Of course, people will avoid him!"

"Don't worry, the next would be Hiroto-kun. Come on!"

Hiroto walked slowly, giving his captain a nod as the latter went to the first base. Now Seido had two runners on the base with just one out. He could do a sacrifice hit to play it safe. However, Hiroto remembered Kataoka-sensei wanted the players to score as much as possible, so the moment the ball was thrown, even though it was a tricky splitter, he slammed it hard to the outside of the field.

*CLANK!*

All the heads rose as everyone tried to track the ball's movement. Only the runners did a different thing, starting to run casually to the home plate. They all knew that when Tetsu or Hiroto was on the box, the probability of getting a homerun was high for them.

And when the ball disappeared from the eyesight anymore, cheers exploded for the first home run of the game.

YKI 0

Seido 4

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Author note :

Hey! I have written a few next chapters of this new story and posted it already on my patreon account. If you want to read it in advance, you can visit patreon(.)com/ZetaFaes .

You can read this story up to chapter 20, and I will try to update it faster. 

You can also read my other fanfiction, Kuroko no Basket: The Sixth man of Seirin Basketball Team up to chapter 158 on that page.

Thank you for your support! I appreciate it! :)

-Zeta Faes-