If Sasaki had told Sendou how he felt about him, Sendou would definitely have said Sasaki was talking nonsense!
Whatever kind of aura someone gave off was nothing more than the observer's own imagination.
It was like seeing an old man and thinking nothing of it, but the moment you learned he was some important figure, you suddenly felt an indescribable pressure radiating from him.
It was just imagination. Humans were creatures incredibly capable of filling in the blanks!
Of course, Sawamura's movements and reactions resembling Sendou's were not a conscious imitation.
Sendou had thought Sawamura felt a lot like Narumiya Mei or Hongo.
But in reality, the person Sawamura had spent the most time around was Sendou himself!
Sendou usually gave people a gentle, refreshing impression, but Sawamura, who had been around him for years, could still occasionally sense that pride ingrained deep in his bones!
Maybe Sawamura himself had never noticed it, but whenever he got nervous, he instinctively imitated the person he trusted most.
Back in middle school, Sawamura had been the light of his companions, but in Sawamura's eyes, Sendou—the savior of the team—was the true hero!
"Looks like I've got a reason I can't afford to lose too!!" Seeing Sendou's shadow in Sawamura, Sasaki tightened his grip on the bat. Rather than being intimidated, he was fired up.
After feeling Sawamura's change of pace in his previous at-bat, Sasaki had already prepared himself to swing the moment the ball came.
"Don't back down! Attack him head-on!" Miyuki knew this was no time to show weakness and set his mitt on the outside corner.
Puff!
Whoosh!
Ping!
Foul!
"So fast! And it carried so far!!" That was Sasaki's first impression of the pitch.
But... I won't lose!! Sasaki reset his stance without another thought.
Puff!
Whoosh!