101. Friendly Match (VIII)

Noticing Rei nod, Akira nodded back and grabbed his bat tighter. He knew they needed a run here and it would decide the match. He slowly took a deep breath and relaxed a bit. He looked at Suzaku, who was ready to pitch his first ball. Suzaku nodded at a signal given by Suzuki behind the plate and pitched the first ball.

The ball went right down the middle and Akira could not miss this chance and slammed the ball right back from where it came from. The ball went soaring high into the center field. Rei ran back home and jumped on the plate while pumping his fist in the air.

The ball dropped far behind Sora as he quickly pitched it up and turned back to see Rei at home and Akira on the 2nd. He threw it back to Suzaku before jogging back to his position. Rei came back to the bench as everyone gave him a high-five for the run and sat down while taking off his helmet and setting the bat aside.

"That was good bating," said Izumi sitting beside him looking at the new batter.

"Thanks but I wish I could say the same to you." not holding back.

"Hey! Everyone has their own weaknesses. Mine just happens to be my batting." trying to defend himself.

Rei simply shook his head, not continuing the discussion, and looked ahead. Izumi unconsciously exhaled in relief as he noticed Rei wasn't pursuing the topic and looked ahead.

The next batter could not do anything against Suzaku's speed and got struck out at 3 pitches. Rei stood up as he wore his gear and got out into the field. The final inning and if they could defend this one, then the match would be theirs.

Rei got into position as Izumi grinned from the mound with obvious excitement. The first batter was Suzuki, and this time the next 2 batters were the core of the team and they could not drop their guard.

Rei asked for the first pitch to the outside. He asked the pitch to the utmost corner and just thought of framing it if necessary. Izumi nodded and pitched it exactly where he asked and Suzuki just left it, not willing to swing at a risky pitch. Rei threw the pitch back and asked for the next one low.

Izumi pitched accordingly, but Suzuki reacted for this ball and the ball went over the third baseman. Suzuki immediately dropped his bag and ran to the first base. The third baseman couldn't catch it and before he threw it, Suzuki was already at 1st.

Sora came up and stood in the batter's box, completely ready. Izumi received the ball and noticed Rei asked for an outside pitch. Izumi nodded and pitched it directly where he asked, and Sora swung his bat only to be a miss. Getting back to position, Rei asked the next one to be a high pitch to mix things up.

Izumi pitched to the exact place once again, and this time Sora did not swing his bat and let it pass by. Throwing back the ball, Rei decided to gamble a bit and asked the next one to be outside once again, but this time lower than the previous one.

The next pitch came and Sora bought his bat down and connected it. The ball blasted off to the right side as Sora ran to the first base. Suzuki circled the 2nd base when he noticed the fielder yet to pick up the ball and reached 3rd safely. Sora pumped his hand into the air as he stood on the 2nd.

Rei sighed as he got back into position, and Suzaku came up to the plate. Gripping his bat tighter, Suzaku only had one thought in his brain and it was to bring Suzuki home. Till now he only hit a double at his first play and wanted to compensate for the runs he gave up.

Rei remained silent as he thought of ways to get him out and finally asked a low pitch. Izumi complied as he threw the ball and Suzaku bought his bat down only to foul it. Exhaling, Suzaku got back into position and Izumi received the ball. Rei asked the next one to the outside low, and Izumi pitched correctly once again.

Similarly, like the previous pitch, Suzaku brought his bat down and fouled it again. This continued for the next 5 pitches as Suzaku kept on fouling them. But he got his lucky break as Izumi finally lost a bit of his control and Suzaku was able to perfectly connect it.

The ball soars right to the right field and fell right before the fielder. Suzuki was running home and deciding this, the fielder threw the ball directly home. Suzuki leaped on to the plate as Rei was able to catch the ball and turn to tag around only for the dust to get collected.

The referee waited as the dust settled down and he saw that Rei could not tag him out, giving the run to them and tieing the game. Exhaling, Suzuki slowly got up along with Rei and jogged back happily to his bench. Rei felt a bit frustrated but shook it off when he heard the referee.

"It's ok kid, shake it off." gently giving him a pat on the back.

Rei nodded and got back to position. He noticed Sora at third and Suzaku at 1st, and the present batter was Takeo. Exhaling one more time, he looked at Izumi who still had a fire in his eyes and wryly smiled thinking how he felt sad over a run.

Slapping his cheeks, Rei got back to position. He continued to ask for pitches and were able to end the game without allowing any more hits for the batters and stopping Sora at 3rd. Takeo was struck out and the other two club players could only desperately hit and get caught by Akira and Izumi.

After the last out, The referee ended the game and Rei stood up. As he was about to make his way towards their bench he heard the referee once again, "Hey kid. What's your name?"

Feeling a bit weird by the sudden question, Ri answered, "Toujou Rei, but why?"