Chapter 267: This Really Is One Amazing Game
"Even though it ended up as a ball, it wasn't completely useless! The next pitch—here!"
Seeing the sign from Harada, Narumiya nodded seriously.
"What will the next pitch be…? If it were Harada's usual stable style, it might be a change-up. But that last change-up—somehow—Pure-san actually hit it.
Would he really call that again? I can't read this at all…
If that previous pitch hadn't gone wild, maybe I could narrow down the options…"
"Fwoosh!"
Ping!
"Foul!"
"Fastball!!!"
"Didn't he just miss his spot?!"
"He throws a wild pitch and immediately follows it with a fastball to the exact opposite side! What an aggressive battery!"
"I totally thought it'd be a breaking ball!"
The spectators began to buzz with lively discussion.
"To be honest, I thought so too! Alright—here comes the fun part: the prolonged battle! I need to watch out for the change-up now!"
Sendo cycled rapidly through his thoughts.
"Fwoosh!"
"Another fastball? But this diagonal route won't work!"
THUD!
"Strike!! Batter out! Side retired!!!"
"Ah… a forkball, huh." Sendo sighed helplessly.
"YOSSHAAA!!!" Narumiya barked with fiery intensity after striking out Sendo.
"The Ace roars! This is the first strikeout Sendo has suffered since entering high school! This will be a massive boost to Inashiro's morale!!!"
"OOOOHHH!!!"
"Well done! Narumiya!!!"
"Narumiya-kun!!!"
"…Hm? What is it?" The umpire asked when he saw Sendo still standing in the batter's box.
"No… nothing. Just—great pitch. And nice work."
Sendo reassured him, then glanced toward Harada and Narumiya, speaking softly.
Only the umpire and Harada managed to hear.
"I never imagined Sendo would strike out in a situation like this. The momentum has completely shifted toward Inashiro now!"
Owada Akiko from the press box shot to her feet, astonished.
One shocking event after another—she could hardly sit still anymore.
For the first time, Seidou's golden duo had both failed.
"In this situation, maintaining that level of pitching…
This is what makes the Ace of last year's champions truly terrifying. If Seidou can't respond with something big on defense, this game is already…!"
"Beautiful pitch!"
Narumiya exhaled after yelling, ready to walk off the mound—
—when Carlos jogged past him and muttered:
"Thanks to you, God-sama, Buddha-sama, Carlos-sama~"
Narumiya's good mood evaporated instantly.
That one sarcastic whisper forced him to remember that ball had blasted earlier.
Meanwhile, on the Seidou side—
Everyone was frozen.
"Sendo… got struck out? That's the first time…"
"And in this situation…"
The entire Seidou cheering section fell silent.
Not just because Sendo struck out—but because this at-bat was absolutely critical.
Inashiro's lineup had already scored three runs.
Seidou's core hitters had been completely shut down.
And that final strikeout hammered their already fragile morale.
It felt like the game was telling them:
"The only way you score is with a home run… or luck."
The pressure was overwhelming.
And Seidou's pitchers—while strong—each had exploitable weaknesses.
Everyone could feel the weight crushing down.
Miyuki and the others, unaware of what was said at the plate, were far more worried about Sendo's mental state.
This might have been the biggest setback in Sendo's entire baseball life.
Even Miyuki, who knew Sendo well, couldn't ignore the possibility.
And the sight of Sendo walking back with his head lowered only deepened their concern.
"Oi—seriously?! No way…"
Seeing Sendo exhale, head tilted down as he walked back, Miyuki felt something bad in his gut.
Without even putting his gear on, he sprinted over.
Everyone else was still drowning in their own shock.
"You okay, Sendo? Hey—strikeouts happen all the time! Don't overthink it! Just do your best next at-bat!
Don't get discouraged, alright!?"
Miyuki, who wasn't great at comforting people,
still clumsily tried his best.
"Hm? Nani yo? (What?)"
Sendo blinked in confusion, pulled out of his thoughts.
"…Huh? Wh—what?"
Now it was Miyuki's turn to be stunned.
There wasn't a trace—not a single trace—of discouragement in Sendou's expression.
In fact, even without smiling, his face radiated a mood so calm and steady it was obvious he was in perfect mental condition.
"You—!"
"Oh? Don't tell me you thought I was depressed?
So you rushed over to comfort me?"
Sendo smirked teasingly.
"Of course I did! You're one of our biggest weapons!
Why else would you walk back with your head down?!
You scared the hell out of me!"
When it mattered, Miyuki was always reliable.
Unless he resorted to Narumiya-style childish denial
and tried to insist, "I was worried about the team, not you!"
—which, fortunately, he didn't.
"This is where the game finally gets fun! How could I be that fragile? The game is far from over! And this match is so good it makes my palms sweat! I'm more excited than anything— I don't even have time to be depressed. There'll be plenty of time for that after the game."
While helping Miyuki buckle his gear, Sendo pointed to the scoreboard behind them.
"Don't say things like that! Sometimes they actually come true, you know! This stuff—"
"But you're right—the game is far from over! And honestly… just thinking about it gets me fired up."
Following Sendo's gesture toward the scoreboard, Miyuki suddenly understood.
It was still only mid-game.
And perhaps only Miyuki could truly understand Sendo.
When Narumiya invited him years ago, the things Narumiya said back then…and the things Sendo was saying now—they sounded like they came from the same person.
That must be why those two get along so well…
and why they were branded the infamous "Trash Duo."
Their values and mindset were just too similar.
....
Meanwhile, the upperclassmen—still gloomy—headed toward the field.
"Suu—!"
Sawamura took a deep breath.
"MATTA! (It's still too early!)Matta! …MATTA MATTA MATTA MATTA! The game has only JUST begun!
HAHAHAHA!! Let's pump up the energy and defend LIKE MEN!!"
BONK!
"You're too close!"
Oni-san chopped him in the back of the head.
"How many times do we have to tell you?! Stop yelling into people's ears!"
Kuramochi scolded.
"You shut up! We're gonna hold them down and score again! Watch us!!"
Jun-san rubbed his fist mercilessly into Sawamura's scalp.
"Y-Yes!! I believe in all of you!!"
Only then did the upperclassmen realize…
They'd been so depressed that they actually needed Sawamura, of all people, to cheer them up.
"YOSSHAAA!!!"
Now that he'd snapped out of it, Jun-san roared with renewed energy.
"Let's go!"
Tetsu joined in.
Tetsu and Jun-san's relationship was always weird—
Tetsu handled the physical violence,
Jun-san handled the yelling.
One worked "inside," the other "outside."
(…Okay, that sounded way worse than intended.)
But at crucial moments, they complemented each other perfectly.
"Right—where's Sendo? He got struck out earlier… is he okay?"
Jun-san finally remembered and looked around.
"Oh, you mean me? I'm fine." Having just finished helping Miyuki put on his gear, Sendo casually raised one hand like a student answering roll call—
tone calm, voice loud.
"You little bastard—at least act depressed!! You were just struck out! You're making us look bad!!"
Jun-san instantly wrapped an arm around Sendo's neck.
He wanted to rub his fist on Sendo's head too,
but reality was harsh—he simply wasn't tall enough…
"Well, looks like he's fine,"
Oni-san commented.
"Yeah…I can't believe we were so depressed we forgot about him. But I'm glad he's alright."
Tetsu breathed out a relieved laugh.
Behind the group, Tanba took a deep breath of his own.
Even with a one-run lead, in a situation where he absolutely had to hold the line and give his team time,
the pressure on the pitcher was immense.
Tanba felt like even the air he inhaled was hot.
"Watch closely! Inashiro, hungry to extend their momentum—and Seidou, desperate not to let the fired-up Narumiya score again! You're about to see both teams' REAL strength!"
Yan spoke with excitement to the teammates around him.
"H-huh?"
"Don't you dare cave in! You hear me?!"
Azuma was already having terrible flashbacks.
Zaisen was cheering for Seidou too—though, as usual, his tsundere encouragement went unnoticed.
And of course, all the Seidou supporters watched anxiously—especially Sendo's parents and grandparents, now fully aware of the match's tense situation.
....
Bottom of the 6th inning — Inashiro's attack.
"Second batter: shortstop, Shirakawa-kun!"
"Even though the team fired him up last inning,
he still didn't throw any fastballs in the end. And judging by how he looks now…he's under enormous pressure. I won't let you recover that easily.
In fact, I'll throw fuel on the fire."
Shirakawa was extremely perceptive—even the usually expressionless Tanba couldn't hide from him.
"We've already thrown plenty of breaking balls last inning. Whether they can still work—or whether they can be a trump card—all of it depends on the fastball."
Miyuki raised his right arm high.
THUMP!
He smacked his chest protector sharply, giving the sign.
"Tanba-san! Stay aggressive— Let's attack!"
"Eh…?!"
Already drowning in pressure, Tanba froze at Miyuki's call.
He swallowed hard, desperately trying to calm himself.
"Inside… fastball. And on the VERY FIRST pitch…"
His left glove pressed hard against the baseball in his right hand—his fingers gripping with both hands' strength.
Forcing himself to stay calm…
But the home run from earlier flashed in his mind anyway.
Still, he knew—last inning the breaking ball worked ONLY because Inashiro was hunting fastballs.
Against a technical batter like Shirakawa, he couldn't avoid the fastball forever.
This was a test—of whether he had the right to stay on the mound, and of the quality of the backup pitchers behind him.
Tanba understood—right now, he absolutely could not retreat.
Otherwise, the first thing he'd betray would be his jersey number and his coach's trust.
The second thing—his teammates, and the three years of effort they had all poured into baseball together.
He thought about all the trouble his gentle temperament had caused, and all the effort he had put into overcoming it.
Slowly, Tanba's breathing steadied.
His eyes sharpened.
"Hm?"
Shirakawa sensed something—Tanba's gaze had become razor-sharp.
"Huuu—!"
With a ferocious glint in his eyes, Tanba threw the first pitch.
POP!
"STRIKE!!"
Shirakawa, who had anticipated something strange,
watched it all the way in.
From the sound and trajectory, it was a flawless fastball—power, speed, angle, everything.
"Great location, great power—nice pitch, Tanba-san!!!"
Miyuki thought, his pulse surging.
This pitch gave Miyuki renewed confidence.
"With this, I get so many more options!"
"Nice pitch, Tanba-kun!!"
Yuuki led the cheering.
"Great work, Tanba!"
"Good ball!"
"YOSSHAAA!!! Keep the pressure on, Tanba!
Take them out one by one!!"
The loudest, of course, was Jun-san.
Shirakawa exhaled slightly—glad he hadn't swung at that unknown first pitch.
Facing an unsettled pitcher was always dangerous.
"If I had swung, I might've been caught off-guard…
But this doesn't reduce the pressure."
Shirakawa, Onii-san, and Miyuki all understood what pitchers hated the most.
"Fwoosh!"
POP!
"Ball!"
Ping!
"Foul!"
"Foul!"
"Ball!"
Shirakawa kept fouling things off—and Tanba, still not fully recovered from injury, was relying almost entirely on adrenaline.
Even with his improved control from the first pitch,
he couldn't sustain it for long.
Ping!
"Foul!"
POP!
…
"WALK! Batter takes first base!"
"What a shame…He finally regained so much confidence…"
Shirakawa tossed his bat aside with a crooked grin.
This game had entered its boiling point.
Neither side was going to spare any tricks now.
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