Hongo, as a pitcher, batted sixth in Kyoma University Lineup. His powerful arm was his greatest weapon.
"Hongo!"
"Hit it!"
Though he was only the third batter of the inning, Hongo's appearance had already whipped the stadium into a frenzy. More precisely, everyone loved seeing two ace pitchers face off.
After all, only one pitcher could stand on the Pitcher's Mound at a time.
Kōshū shook his head dismissively. Hongo swung hard, but his overall batting accuracy was not high—much like Seido's own wild cannon, Furuya.
Use some edge pitches. Make him mad.
That was the advantage of being second. Most of the time, second place only had to keep an eye on first place, while first place had to constantly endure the scrutiny of powerhouse teams from other regions, leaving them at a disadvantage in terms of preparation.
Miyuki immediately understood the pitcher's intent and placed his mitt along the outside edge.
Hongo stared intently at his Pen Pal across from him. The moment he noticed the faint smile at the corner of the other's lips, alarm bells rang in his head. He had been struck out by a Changeup in the previous at-bat.
But there was no turning back now.
Ahead of him, the eyes beneath the pitcher's cap brim were brimming with the desire to win.
Either the east wind prevailed over the west wind, or the west wind prevailed over the east wind.
Everything that had spilled beyond the lines—or had simply been written on paper—boiled down to that one sentence.
Kōshū was unfamiliar with this kind of friendship. Instinctively, he found it rather warped, yet he could not be bothered to lecture others about how to live. Still, since they had met at Koshien, he would introduce Hongo to a new kind of friendship.
Friendship