After Kōshū, a child immediately followed his example and rushed forward too.
"Alright, alright, we still have other activities afterward. Please quiet down. The two middle school players participating in this event have been decided. As for the second one, what's your name and which little league are you from?"
"My name is Saitama, from Kōyō Little League! I'm so happy to be with Igarashi!"
The host froze for a moment. "Looks like our teams have been decided too. Saitama will be with Igarashi, and Kōshū will be with Miyamoto. Next, you'll have two minutes to discuss things. A reminder: everyone on the team must take turns pitching."
Kōshū ran to the pitching area and met up with the middle-aged player, silently praying, This better not be Lang Zhi's doing, or I'll make him pay tonight.
"Hello, Miyamoto. I'm Kōshū."
Miyamoto Shinya was thirty-six, a graduate of PL Gakuen who had played for the Yakult Swallows since 1995. He was a shortstop. Compared to the boisterous excitement of the other pair, this side was much quieter, so Miyamoto had to find a topic himself. "With your height, are you a pitcher?"
"Yes—I'm a pitcher."
"Wow, reliable. Then our team has a pitcher too, so we should be able to win easily, right? How fast do you throw?"
"My top speed is 138. If I have one strength, it's probably that my pitching is accurate."
"Oh—then why don't you pitch first later? Will you be nervous?" Miyamoto had attended plenty of events like this, and sometimes he wanted to try something different.
"Ah, that's fine. Five misses allowed, right?"
"That's right." They had only exchanged a few words when the host arrived with the camera.
"Without further delay, let's begin. The first pitchers from both teams, please step forward—"
At the