19: Growing Stronger Together

Su Qing did not understand why everyone was so surprised, but after giving it some thought, he understood. For him, throwing a hundred-mile fastball might be something in the future, but it was already a completed future. In his previous life, his pitching speed had already reached a hundred miles. That meant that as long as he kept growing taller, building muscle, and training, he would eventually throw a hundred-mile fastball.

But for Harada and the others, this was uncertain. There had never been anyone like that around them. Even throughout Japan's history, there had never been a pitcher capable of reaching that kind of velocity. Naturally, they were shocked when Su Qing said it.

"Su Su, I didn't expect you to have such big ambitions."

Shirakawa punched Su Qing lightly in the chest. Su Qing quickly returned the punch, and the two of them started laughing and wrestling. The others dispersed, leaving only Narumiya Mei standing still, a gleam flickering in his eyes.

When Su Qing voiced his "ambition," Narumiya Mei had been the most shaken. He had actually been quite satisfied with his current velocity. His fastball ranged from 140 to 150, and especially after growing taller and undergoing Su Qing's special training, he could occasionally reach 150. He had been content with that. After all, velocities like Su Qing's and Furuya Satoru's were hard to come by—they were gifts of talent.

But now Su Qing said he wanted to throw at the unreachable speed of 160, while he himself was complacently standing still. Was that acceptable? Absolutely not! He was a senior! How could he watch his junior gradually surpass him, even leave him far behind? He had to keep getting stronger too!

"Su Qing."

Su Qing looked doubtfully at Narumiya Mei, who stood before him with an unusually solemn and serious expression. What was wrong with his kitty? Was he upset again?

"Let's get stronger together."

Seeing the determination in Narumiya Mei's eyes, Su Qing nodded happily.

"Okay."

Their hands clasped tightly together. But Narumiya Mei could not stay cool for more than three seconds. He quickly reverted to his usual self and began wrestling with Su Qing, and Shirakawa and Carlos soon joined in. Their little group at play grew even bigger.

Coach Kunimoto stood nearby with a gratified smile. He had heard Narumiya Mei's conversation with Su Qing just now. Once again, he sighed inwardly. Narumiya Mei meeting Su Qing truly had been a stroke of luck. Although Su Qing did not compete with him, Narumiya Mei's personality meant that no matter how kind Su Qing was to him, he would still sense the threat Su Qing posed and work hard to become stronger.

What Coach Kunimoto had feared most was Su Qing and Narumiya Mei failing to get along. With the ability Su Qing had displayed so far, he had completely surpassed Narumiya Mei. It would be difficult for him to keep favoring Narumiya Mei with the ace number. If the two did not get along and Su Qing replaced Narumiya Mei as Inashiro's new ace, Narumiya Mei would definitely explode with anger. If he could not catch up, then with Narumiya Mei's temperament, there was a very real chance that he would collapse under the pressure.

That was not what Coach Kunimoto wanted to see. Emotionally speaking, he was naturally closer to Narumiya Mei. He also felt somewhat guilty toward him, regretting that he had failed to train a capable enough pitcher, forcing Narumiya Mei to shoulder Inashiro's burden in his first year.

Narumiya Mei had once regretted his wild pitching, but hadn't Coach Kunimoto felt the same? That burden should never have been Narumiya Mei's to bear.

Now, it seemed Su Qing had no intention of competing with Narumiya Mei for the ace position. That truly relieved Coach Kunimoto. Su Qing was strong—too strong, in fact—and because of that, Coach Kunimoto felt no sense of accomplishment. It was completely different with Narumiya Mei. Narumiya Mei becoming today's Tokyo Prince definitely had something to do with Coach Kunimoto.

As for Su Qing, he had already been an exceptionally complete pitcher when he arrived at Inashiro. He also had his own insights into training and understood even more than Coach Kunimoto did. Coach Kunimoto truly had no use at all. All he could do was be a good coach who recognized talent and used it well.

"Sorry, I couldn't get a hit." Van Masami had returned to the Rest Area. He had hit a grounder toward third and been forced out, allowing Yamamori to record the final out. Ogata had gone Three Up, Three Down that Half Inning.

Everyone comforted Van Masami before taking the field on defense. After being hit for a base hit in the previous inning, and after hearing about "Su Qing's ambition," Narumiya Mei had become completely serious. He went all out. While he himself shone brilliantly, it also made everyone else on the field seem almost nonexistent.

That continued until the top of the seventh, when things finally changed. By then, the score had reached 6–0.

After observing for two at-bats, Ogata finally caught the timing of Narumiya Mei's fastball. He picked out a high fastball and sent it flying. It was a solo Home Run, bringing Yamamori one run and making the score look slightly less ugly.

But Narumiya Mei's expression turned incredibly ugly. Kitty was angry! And the result of his anger was that Mihokata Katsunori, standing there without any warning, was struck out.

After returning to the Batter's Box, Narumiya Mei grabbed a bat and went out to practice his swings. No matter what, he had to answer back with one of his own! Seeing this, Su Qing ran over and carefully explained Ogata's pitching characteristics to Narumiya Mei. After nearly seven innings, the SC System had analyzed Ogata inside and out. It had even picked up some of Kamizu's pitch-calling patterns.

After Su Qing finished his analysis, it was Narumiya Mei's turn to bat. He strode eagerly into the Batter's Box, determined to make Ogata pay.

Neither Ogata nor Kamizu thought much of it. After observing nearly three at-bats, Kamizu had already gained an understanding of Narumiya Mei's batting preferences. He could easily use that information to strike Narumiya Mei out.

Without even looking at Narumiya Mei, Ogata signaled for the first pitch.

Su Qing had already told Narumiya Mei in the dugout what Kamizu might call for the first pitch. Now that he saw it was exactly as expected, Narumiya Mei swung without hesitation. The bat struck the baseball perfectly, and the ball soared into the sky.

Both Kamizu and Ogata were stunned. Ogata had felt great releasing that pitch, and Kamizu had believed Narumiya Mei would never swing. How had he hit it?

Narumiya Mei rounded the bases and returned to home plate, where Su Qing was already waiting for him. They raised their hands and slapped them together hard, then Su Qing picked Narumiya Mei up and spun him around once.

"How are you so strong?!"

Narumiya Mei was incredibly embarrassed after being put down. He had gone blank when Su Qing picked him up, then started struggling. Fortunately, Su Qing had only intended to spin him once.

"Hehehe. So? Want to join Shirakawa and me on the celebration team?"

"Our batting orders aren't next to each other. How would we celebrate?"

"Shirakawa and I aren't in the same batting order either."

Narumiya Mei hesitated for a moment before ultimately agreeing to Su Qing's suggestion. It was pretty fun, he thought. Though being picked up by someone was just far too embarrassing!