Chapter 304: Exit
"Senpai Takako cried!"
After the hug, Yui said it with a smile—even though her own eyes were filled with tears.
"I didn't cry!"
Takako protested, but the moment she said it, she couldn't hold back anymore.
Coach Kataoka stood there, deeply aware that his body simply wouldn't move. His legs were already weak—he was afraid that if he took even one step, he'd break down crying.
He had waited for this day for far too long.
On the field, Seidou's players laughed loudly, but tears flowed uncontrollably down their faces.
"Line up!" Tetsu said.
Supporting teammates whose bodies had gone limp from crying, Seidou's players began to form their line.
....
On Inashiro Industrial's side, a row of players slumped over the dugout railing. They didn't even have the strength to stand anymore.
Tears streamed endlessly, impossible to stop.
"Ah…"
Narumiya Mei sat alone on the bench, no longer wearing that vacant stare. He clutched his head with both hands and cried, his voice already hoarse.
Carlos, the strong and stoic type, tilted his head back, his cap brim hiding his face as tears ran down his cheeks and neck.
Shirakawa sat on the bench with his arms crossed over his knees, his face buried in his forearms, soft sobs escaping him.
Among all of Inashiro's players, the only one not crying was their captain, Harada.
"Mei, it's time to line up," Harada said softly beside him.
…..
"You still have next year," Harada continued, forcing himself to endure, when Mei didn't respond.
"But… Yasa-san,"
Mei poured every last bit of strength he had into his words.
"This is your last summer."
"…Yeah. But… we lost. Last summer, we already went to Koshien. I have no regrets."
As he spoke, Harada forcibly lifted Mei and guided him toward the field.
No regrets…?
How could that be true?
But how could he say it out loud?
He was the captain.
At the very end, he couldn't cry.
Even though tears had welled in his eyes, he closed them—and forced them back.
Just like Tetsu had.
Tetsu only shouted once, after all.
Did anyone really think the winner didn't want to cry?
Of course not.
After four hours of brutal combat, with the game swinging back and forth between despair and hope, even he had nearly given up several times.
Then Sendo's home run crushed Narumiya, ignited Seidou's lineup, and gave them a final chance at victory—one they seized.
A game that dragged them repeatedly through heaven and hell…
No one could come out of that without wanting to cry.
…Except Sendo and Sawamura.
Sendo was completely satisfied—there wasn't a shred of sadness left in him.
And Sawamura? He looked like he'd taken a shot of pure adrenaline.
With the head umpire's leniency, both teams slowly gathered at home plate.
"Line up properly! Line up!"
Still riding his excitement, Sawamura frantically checked Seidou's formation.
Both teams' coaches removed their caps.
The cheering sections on both sides were filled with sobbing voices.
"Rei!"
"Thank you for the game!"
More than thirty players, crying as they spoke in unison.
Seidou High—The revival of a powerhouse.
After the lineup, the players shook hands, followed by a few minutes of interaction.
"Sendo."
Harada stepped in front of him.
"What's up, senpai?"
"Exchange LINE. I know you can remember it."
There was no room for negotiation in Harada's tone.
"Sure."
Sendo agreed without hesitation.
Nearby, Isashiki and Tetsu watched with unmistakable curiosity.
"…(Harada's LINE ID, omitted)…"
"OK."
To prove he remembered, Sendo repeated it once.
"Haa…"
Harada finally let out a breath of relief.
"What's with that sigh?"
Sendo frowned. He could hear all sorts of meaning in it—mostly distrust.
That didn't sit well with him.
"I'm relieved. Six years ago—who was it that suddenly went completely out of contact?"
"Uh… but we weren't on the same team. And I didn't know something like that would happen!"
"…Maybe it was fate. Otherwise, I'd have wanted to attend the same school and form a pitcher-catcher battery with you. Even if it was only for one year."
"So if you'd known earlier that I was coming here…"
"…I might be wearing a Seidou uniform right now."
"Then you'd probably be a third-year bench player—or filling in somewhere else. And if you'd been here, maybe Chris-senpai wouldn't have gotten injured."
That hit straight to the heart.
If it were Miyuki, Harada might've still claimed the starting spot as a senior.
But a healthy Chris…?
That opponent was just too strong.
"…And I don't even want to be a pitcher."
"Why?"
Harada was stunned. He'd always assumed Sendo didn't pitch because of injury or circumstance.
"Why? That position's exhausting. I'm not doing that.
Koshien means pitching again and again. I'll just let our four pitchers share that suffering."
Sendo grinned.
Somewhere, Seidou's pitching staff felt a sudden chill.
"That really is your style," Harada said with a wry smile.
"Always lazy, always winning…"
"Make sure you add me," Harada said again before leaving—still worried.
He was graduating soon.
He didn't want to turn around now and have to wait three years to track down Sendo's contact info again.
…Like a child afraid of being abandoned by his mother.
"Relax. I'll add you once I get my phone. You can log in after you've calmed down to check," Sendo said, then turned to leave.
"What a kind person…" Harada murmured.
Isashiki and Tetsu, who had watched everything in silence, were both speechless.
They really wanted to wave and say, No, that's definitely a misunderstanding.
But thinking about it carefully… it wasn't entirely wrong.
Sendo was gentle, a good listener, great at giving advice—smart, flexible, and reliable.
A perfect "nice guy."
That was why his popularity was absurd.
His LINE friends list included nearly the entire baseball club, members of the brass band, and countless fans.
Most girls who sent requests were accepted.
And that was despite Sendo being quiet, often skipping out, and frequently disappearing.
Of course… that "nice guy" image only existed if you ignored his dark side.
When that mouth went on the offensive, it cut deep.
.....
Inashiro's players supported each other as they slowly returned to the dugout.
Seidou's players, having wiped away their tears, ran ahead.
Next, they needed to thank the spectators.
Inashiro went to receive consolation.
.....
"Thank you for your support!"
Coach Kataoka bowed first.
"Thank you for your support!"
Then Tetsu.
"Thank you!"
The rest followed, voices hoarse, tears still lingering.
"Seidou!!!"
"Sendo!"
"Tetsu!"
"Miyuki!"
"Furuya!"
Even substitutes had their names called out.
"BOSS!!!"
"GENERAL!!!"
That definitely wasn't coming from the bench.
In such a joyful moment, even Coach Kataoka accepted it calmly.
"Nice game!"
"Go raise hell at Koshien!"
"Stop crying, Isashiki!"
"I'm not crying, you idiot!"
"That's clearly crying!"
"Nice pitching, Sawamura!"
"They've finally broken through… the wall of the nation."
"If Inashiro is a team strong in both offense and defense, then Seidou is a team of overwhelming offense. Against them, no pitcher can ever be perfect.
They limit damage with relays, then win by scoring more than their opponents. But even nationwide, there aren't many teams like Inashiro—elite on both sides of the ball. No matter how far Seidou goes, they're going to stir up a massive storm at Koshien this year."
Amid the thunderous applause, commentator Mine Fujio spoke with emotion.
"Especially Seidou's first-year, Sendo—six plate appearances, four hits, one hit-by-pitch, one strikeout.
Batting average: .800. His slugging percentage?
An astonishing 2.16."
"I can't wait to see what they do at Koshien,"
Akiko Oowada added.
"Here it comes! Seidou's tradition!"
Someone shouted, and the applause died down.
Seidou's players formed a circle—the crowd knew exactly what was coming, and the stadium fell silent.
"Haa…"
Tetsu took a deep breath and placed his hand over his chest.
One by one, the others followed.
The moment had arrived.
.....
"Who are we—?"
"The Kings of Seidou!!!"
"Who sheds the most sweat?!"
"Seidou!!!"
"Who sheds the most tears?!"
"Seidou!!!"
"Are we ready to fight?!"
"OH!!!"
"YAAAAH!!!"
"…!"
At that point, Tetsu paused.
"Then let's—go take the very top!!!"
"…!"
Hearing Tetsu's different declaration, Seidou's players smiled and looked at one another.
"OH!!!"
"Let's go!!!"
"OH!!!"
"YAAAAH!!!"
....
"Seidou!"
"Seidou!"
"Seidou!"
"Seidou!"
"Seidou!"
After the players finished their chant, the entire stadium began shouting Seidou's name in unison.
Back in the locker room, Inashiro's players heard it—and wanted to cry again.
Or rather… some of them already were.
.....
After Seidou received the championship banner and returned to the locker room—
"An interview?"
Having changed clothes, Sendo looked at Rei in confusion.
"That's right! You're today's biggest contributor!
A lot of reporters want to interview you. And you're not just any first-year—you need to get used to this."
The way Rei spoke and moved was… strange.
Like a nanny? A maid? An older sister? Or even a wife proudly showing off her husband?
A bit of all of it.
Sendo was completely baffled. He knew she was in a good mood, but he never expected the usually cool, serious Rei to act like this.
Even though they were close and got along well…
"Did the coach approve it?" Sendo asked.
"Of course! He said, 'If it's that kid, there's no problem.'" Rei said with a smile.
"…!"
Sendo fell silent for two seconds.
"I'm not going."
He turned around, about to run—but Rei was prepared. She hooked his arm and stopped him.
Her chest pressed against his arm, making this straight-laced guy blush.
Thankfully, Fumino didn't see it. Otherwise, she'd be staring down at her own "A" again… and spiraling into despair.
"Why not just send Tetsu?" Sendo complained.
"It's such a hassle."
He only dared say this because it was just Rei there—his teammates were busy packing up.
"Of course you'd find this kind of thing annoying," Rei said, facepalming with her free hand.
There was no way she was letting go.
If she did, Sendo would absolutely run off—probably straight to the bus to wait.
Rei truly couldn't understand why Sendo disliked interviews—opportunities most people would kill for.
"Well, it can't be helped. You were just too amazing today. Everyone else's spotlight got completely stolen."
She tried to reason with him.
"Don't make that face—reporters will be here any minute. Okay?" she coaxed him gently, like soothing a child.
It was exactly like a mother calming her son…
Or a loving wife pacifying her sulking husband.
"Ugh… fine," Sendo sighed, his face scrunched up.
Looking at Rei—now smiling brightly like the girl next door, completely different from her usual self—he finally gave in.
"Good boy, good boy," Rei said, standing on tiptoe and patting his head.
"Don't treat me like a kid! Seriously… Rei, how did I never realize you had this side to you?" Sendo said helplessly.
Rei just kept smiling, even straightening his collar for him.
Sendo was usually easygoing and careless about details like that.
But Rei's cool, mature image?
Completely blown away by the joy of victory—sent straight to some faraway land.
Seeing Rei become this gentle, Sendo had no choice but to give in.
He ran a hand through his hair, quickly fixing it.
Looks like… he was heading to that interview after all.
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