"Hey, snap out of it, girl."
Beside the field, four managers were busy recording training data.
Mita Yuka playfully smacked Fujiwara Takako on the head to get her attention.
"Senior, what was that for?" Takako blinked.
"Tell me — what were you staring at so intensely?" Yuka teased, eyes bright with mischief.
Takako sighed. "I was just thinking… what if Kanzaki had come to Seidou a year earlier."
"Don't be greedy, Miss Takako." Yuka tapped her chin, then grinned. "But if he had come earlier… you two might even be in the same class."
"Senior — your shipping radar never switches off, does it?" Takako replied with a helpless smile.
While the managers joked, Tanba Koichiro finished his turn on the mound. Kanzaki stretched and walked up to take over.
"Enough messing around—Kanzaki's pitching now," Takako said, gently prying Yuka's arm off.
"Alright, I'll behave," Yuka laughed.
As Kanzaki climbed the rubber, Tanaka Wataru rose from behind the plate.
"Senpai," Kanzaki greeted.
"Only four-seamers today. That okay?" Tanaka asked.
This was batting practice. The goal was to test the batters' reactions to a live fastball; Kanzaki's straight ball—averaging close to 150 km/h—was ideal. Coach Kataoka had specifically asked them to run this drill.
"No problem," Kanzaki said, hiding a grin behind his glove. "Makes it more fun."
Tanaka's eyes flashed. "Good. Let's see how many of them we can take down with your fastball!"
They met each other's gaze—both fired up. Even in practice, neither would give the batters an easy ride.
The first batter was Shida Shota, Seidou's starting shortstop—fast, good at hitting outside pitches, but shaky with pitch selection.
Tanaka set his glove in the high inside corner. Kanzaki nodded and delivered.
The ball screamed out—right toward Shida's chest.
Shida didn't swing.
So fast.
Watching a live 150 km/h heater was a different experience from watching video or machine pitches; the ball seemed to explode from the pitcher's hand. Shida had decided to observe the first pitch, and that was expected.
Tanaka called for the second pitch—right down the middle.
Kanzaki tightened his grip, wound, and fired a perfect four-seamer. Dead center.
Shida swung—too late. The ball was already in Tanaka's glove before his bat finished its arc.
"Damn…" Shida breathed. Timing is everything at that speed; one millisecond off and the swing is meaningless.
"Shida couldn't even catch up," Nanjo Taishi said, frowning.
"It's not easy," Azuma Kiyokuni added. "Even a pitching machine that fast is tough to hit unless you've adapted. Kanzaki's fastball isn't just speed—there's life in it."
"Did you hit any?" Isashiki Jun called out.
Azuma's confident expression darkened. "…I did," he muttered—he'd put a foul on one of the pitches, and that counted.
"As expected from Azuma-senpai!" Isashiki praised.
The third pitch was an outside-low offering—perfect to frustrate someone who hunts the plate. Kanzaki threw another thunderbolt.
Shida lunged, swung early, and only nicked the bottom of the ball—foul.
"Tch," he clicked his tongue, then gave Kanzaki a thumbs up. Even without connecting, he couldn't deny the freshman's quality.
After Shida, the lineup continued:
2nd batter: Nanjo Taishi
3rd: Yuuki
4th: Azuma Kiyokuni
6th: Isashiki Jun
(The fifth batter was Tanaka, catching.)
After five batters, Kanzaki's four-seamer had only been put into play in fouls or weak contact: Azuma hit a fly out, Yuuki pushed an infield grounder, Nanjo and Isashiki fouled pitches off. No clean hits.
Walking off the mound, Kanzaki and Tanaka bumped fists—satisfied.
Being limited to one pitch type and still keeping strong contact minimal was a solid result.
"Kanzaki, Coach wants to see you," Mita Yuka called, approaching with a towel.
"Thanks, Senior," Kanzaki took the towel and wiped his face.
"No need—Takako asked me to bring it," she said with a wink.
Kanzaki glanced at Fujiwara Takako, who sat on a bench in the dugout. Their eyes met and Kanzaki nodded once. Takako blinked in confusion at first, then smiled back politely.
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