<27> The Deadly Pitch!
Chapter 27: The Deadly Pitch!
Miyuki, unexpectedly, couldn't catch the ball?
Kusonoki, witnessing this scene, doubted if his eyes were deceiving him.
Though Furuya's pitch was extraordinarily powerful and seemed to surpass high school levels, it was hard for Kusumi to believe that even Miyuki couldn't handle it.
"Are you sure you didn't just let that one go?"
Hearing his senior's doubt, Miyuki gave a wry smile.
"How high do you think my skills are? A ball that speeds up and doesn't follow its usual trajectory, but instead rises? No one could catch that on their first try!"
As Miyuki spoke, he felt his back drenched in sweat.
Looking at the mark on the wall behind him, if that pitch had hit him directly, even with protective gear, the outcome would have been far from pleasant.
"This kid's not just pitching; he's practically trying to kill someone!"
Previously, people speculated that Furuya didn't gain national recognition in junior high possibly because of his teammates. They might have been unable to handle his pitches, preventing him from showcasing his full potential.
But now, it seems Furuya's former teammates might not be to blame after all. With pitches like that, it's hard to believe that even high school catchers could handle them. It was terrifying!
"Excellent, let's see another pitch!"
Facing such a challenge, Miyuki showed no signs of backing down. Instead, he seemed even more excited.
He squatted back into the catcher's position and raised his glove.
"Right down the middle of the strike zone!"
Seeing Miyuki's determined attitude, Furuya felt a surge of nervous energy.
Though his former teammates had eagerly tried before, they were always just on the brink of national competition. They knew that if someone could catch Furuya's pitches, they would advance to the nationals.
Even on the national stage, they could perform well, and with a bit of luck, they could become champions.
The temptation was enormous.
Furuya's former teammates were never able to resist it. They tried many times, and Furuya admired their spirit.
But there was no denying that...
No matter who tried to catch Furuya's pitches back then, once they truly witnessed his throwing, they all wanted to escape.
The eyes never lie!
The way they looked at Furuya's pitches was something he could clearly recall even now.
Although their relationships hadn't soured, Furuya had often overheard his former teammates discussing privately how his pitches were deadly.
While others expended effort in pitching, Furuya's pitching required a capable partner.
Furuya's final year in junior high was not a happy one. Even though his teammates shouldered the responsibility, Furuya wondered if the problem was with him.
It wasn't until now, seeing Miyuki's expression, that Furuya truly understood it wasn't his fault.
"I'm ready, Senpai!"
The white baseball was, as always, the same.
In his intense pitching, Furuya couldn't precisely control the baseball's location. Hitting every corner of the strike zone was practically a luxury.
The only spot he could reliably control was the middle of the strike zone.
During practice, he would draw a circle around the strike zone and aim for its center. Over time, the circle became smaller until he could limit the margin of error to a few centimeters.
Later, Furuya tried targeting other spots, such as the inside and outside corners of the strike zone.
Curiously, when he marked those spots with circles, he struggled to pitch accurately as he did before. The pitches would often stray from the strike zone with a high probability.
Without needing a professional catcher to point it out, Furuya knew these pitches weren't weapon-worthy.
Thus, he focused more on perfecting his straight pitches. He designed two modes: a precise fastball and a fastball that, when unlocked, would rise to varying degrees.
"Smack!"
It wasn't until the third pitch that Miyuki successfully caught the ball.
"Excellent!"
Miyuki's smile was radiant.
"Although I'd prefer not to praise a first-year student too highly, I have to say that you're qualified to join the first string. It's not just because of your potential, but because of your actual skills. Have you played in any games during junior high?"
Miyuki's last question elicited an eye roll from Kusonoki.
This hardly counts as reluctance to praise. Miyuki's underlying message was that even if Furuya had no prior game experience, his current two fastballs alone were enough to secure a spot on the first string of Seidou High.
Such praise was startling!
"I was the core player and ace in junior high. Our team was the runner-up in Hokkaido!"
Furuya answered truthfully.
This achievement wasn't particularly impressive, especially since he had played with a junior high soft baseball rather than a youth baseball hardball. It was less of a boast and more to convey that he wasn't a complete novice.
"Good to know! If you were a complete rookie, we couldn't have been confident putting you on the field, especially with the Kanto Tournament coming up."
In the following days, Furuya joined the first string, and his name was added to the roster for the Kanto Tournament.
While Sawamura and Haruichi were playing practice games with the second string, the Kanto Tournament took place as scheduled.
April is the Tokyo Spring Tournament, and May is the Kanto Tournament. These two tournaments are nearly back-to-back.
Furuya felt that just a few days after joining the first string, and without even having gotten familiar with the players, he was already headed to the Kanto Tournament with the team.
Their first opponent in the tournament was Yokohama Kohouku, a well-known powerhouse in Kanto.
"Right from the start, it's a tough battle!"
As the teammates were reflecting on this, Coach Kataoka suddenly addressed Furuya.
"Start warming up from the fifth inning."
The fact that Furuya, who had just joined the first string, would represent Seidou in a game against Yokohama Kohouku was shocking, even to Ota, who had always supported Furuya.
"Coach?"
"It's settled!"
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