"Is this guy really a rookie?" Ben mumbled to himself.
However, he didn't have time to ponder the question for very long. As soon as Ken entered his wind up, Ben felt his shoulders twitch slightly. It was almost imperceptible, but to someone who knew their body so well, he didn't miss this.
He watched as the ball left the pitchers fingertips and flew through the air as if it was a bullet fired out of a gun. The speed was not something that he was used to facing, even at the professional level.
'That's a strike, I need to swing.'
It didn't take him long to make the decision to swing. Ben planted his foot and let loose, intending on sending it out of the park.
WHOOOOOSH
PAH!
Ben's eyes widened. The ball had been even faster than he had anticipated. This in addition to the movements of the ball thanks to the high rotational speed had made it almost impossible to anticipate its course.
"Dang that was tough." He said, letting out a grin.
Ben turned and gave Ken an evaluating look. It was clear that he could not treat this person as a regular rookie. Doing so would only have him swinging at nothing but air during the at-bat.
'Never thought I'd have to get serious during Spring Training.' He thought incredulously.
Back on the mound, Ken saw Ben turn towards him. They locked eyes for a brief moment before the latter's demeanor shifted entirely. No longer did he seem like a happy-go-lucky guy.
It was clear that he now meant business.
'Heh, you think that would be enough to intimidate me?' Ken scoffed in his heart.
He accepted the next lead from Daichi and quickly went into his wind-up. After lifting his left leg, he kicked off the pitchers plate and strode forward, planting his foot hard on the ground.
Ken's arm whipped past his head and he raked his fingers down on the ball, throwing another fastball towards the outstretched glove of Daichi. Even with this speed, he was able to accurately control the course of the ball thanks to his Zone Mastery skill.
His eyes narrowed as Ben planted his foot and swung.
For a brief moment, he froze, feeling the hairs on his neck stand up. This was something that happened when his intuition activated.
Ken cursed inwardly. Was he about to get smacked?
WHOOOOOSH
THWACK!
The bat and ball collided, their clash sending an echo throughout the field.
Ken's eyes snapped towards the ball in the air, his heart sinking. However, as he saw its course, a small tendril of hope appeared.
'Please go foul…' he prayed in his heart.
The ball looked like it was on a direct course to hitting the foul post in left field. As it approached closer and closer, the entire field was quiet, waiting for the seemingly inevitable sound of the ball striking the post.
However, it never came.
The ball soared right past the foul post without a sound.
"Foul."
Ken suddenly felt his body relax and he let out a sigh of relief.
"Too close…" he muttered, turning his attention back to the batters box.
Ben seemed a little bummed, but he seemed to move quickly past it. Just as he was about to get into position, he frowned and looked down at his bat, his eyes widening briefly.
"One moment please, I need another bat." He announced.
The umpire took the bat and inspected it briefly before replying, "I don't see any damage."
Ben retrieved the bat and held it with two hands. "If I swing, the whole thing will fall apart. I guarantee it."
The umpire seemed a little reluctant to agree, that was until Daichi stood up and sent a swift, yet soft chop to the barrel of the bat with his right hand. His action was too quick for anyone to stop it.
The moment he made contact, the bat separated into two pieces, leaving the barrel to drop to the ground and the handle to remain in Ben's hands.
"R—Right, go and get a new bat." The umpire replied, looking rather taken aback. If he had let Ben swing, anyone on the field could have been hit by the bat as it broke apart, including himself or the catcher.
"Good job." The umpire said to Daichi.
Daichi smiled, giving the guy a thumbs up.
Ken on the mound breathed a sigh of relief. He had already been hit by the debris of a bat before, he could not afford for it to happen again. Especially with so much at stake this year.
Soon enough, Ben had chosen another bat and returned to the batters box. He once more got into position, wearing the same expression as earlier, as if nothing had ever happened.
But things were different this time. The count was now 0-2 in their favor, which meant a single strike was enough to send this Major Leaguer back to the dugout with nothing.
Of course Ken wasn't so conceited that he thought he could do this on his own, so his eyes turned to Daichi behind the plate. The guy had been silently studying Ben all this time, only now giving his lead.
Ken was surprised as he saw the call for another fastball, but this time it was above the strike zone.
Ken nodded, he would not second guess his brother. They were in the same boat here, there was no room for ego in this situation.
So he threw the fastball, right where Daichi wanted it.
PAH
The ball went straight past Ben who didn't even flinch. It was as if he knew that the ball wasn't a strike the moment it left Ken's fingertips.
"Strikeout!"
"Huh?" Ben turned, a perplexed look on his face.
Daichi stood up and threw the ball back to Ken and happened to send Ben a wink right afterwards.
Ben took a moment to understand what had happened, but instead of getting angry, he just smiled and made his way back to the dugout.
'Cheeky bastard. I Guess it's not just the rookie pitcher we need to worry about…' Ben thought.