Chapter 27: Seidou vs. Maimon West (2)
Fifth batter: Masuko Tooru.
He smacked a powerful grounder for a base hit—
putting runners on second and third.
Sixth batter: Miyuki Kazuya.
This was the pivotal at-bat. Whether or not they could score hinged on him.
What Rinichi didn't expect was…
Miyuki had his own cheer song.
Rinichi: "..."
First pitch—Miyuki swung.
It was a low pitch, but he dug it out.
Yuuki made it home, scoring a run.
Masuko advanced to third, and Miyuki reached second.
Just like that, the momentum swung in Seidou's favor.
Rinichi picked up his bat, put on his helmet, and hoped he'd get his chance this inning.
He squatted down in the waiting area, eyes locked on Shirasu-senpai.
In his mind, he chanted over and over:
"Get on base, get on base, get on base…"
A bunt.
Masuko and Miyuki both took off running.
Masuko reached home for another run.
Shirasu also made it safely to first, and Miyuki moved to third.
Rinichi stepped into the batter's box.
He readied his stance and took a deep breath.
Whatever happens… it's up to luck now.
First pitch—Rinichi swung.
"Foul ball!"
Damn, that pitch was really low.
"Ball!"
Come on, give me something higher.
I'm not good at hammering grounders.
"Ball!"
These angles are tricky—everything's low and outside. No way I'm digging those out.
Feels like he's pitching scared.
Next one's gotta be inside, right?
Pitch four.
Rinichi smirked and put everything into his swing.
The ball soared—slamming into the top of the back fence.
Home run.
That brought the total to five runs this inning.
"Nice hit!"
"That was amazing!"
Rinichi slapped hands with his upperclassmen.
"Thanks, guys!"
Meanwhile, the coach for Mimon West looked completely cracked.
At this pace, they wouldn't even need to finish nine innings.
"Kamishiro will pitch the next inning," Coach Kataoka said.
"Yes, sir!"
Rinichi smiled.
"Didn't expect Kamishiro to hit that well…"
Kuramochi muttered, surprised.
Miyuki just grinned mischievously and said nothing.
...
Bottom of the 4th.
Mimon West had yet to score a single run.
Rinichi stepped onto the mound, adjusting his cap.
If we make it through the fifth… this game's over.
He thought to himself.
"Swing at it, Senpai!"
"Yeah, take that first pitch!"
"Don't give in—fight them!"
"At least get one run this inning!"
"Show them we've still got pride!"
Suddenly, the Mimon West bench erupted in cheers—rallying behind the current batter.
Rinichi suddenly felt like the villain in the story.
A run?
Under the brim of his cap, his cold eyes narrowed.
You're not getting even one run.
This isn't something you can earn with guts alone.
"Strike!"
Summer tournaments are like this—no matter the school, they'll never admit defeat until the final moment.
"Strike!"
"Strike three! Batter out!"
Mimon West's defeat was now a certainty.
Overall, Rinichi's pitching was nearly flawless—But compared to his explosive offense earlier…he didn't get a single hit for the rest of the game.
Rinichi: "..."
He made contact, but every hit ended up being caught.
"Why are you hitting pop flies?! Didn't coach say to aim for strong grounders?!"
Kuramochi was clearly frustrated.
Rinichi snapped back, equally annoyed:
"If I could hit grounders, I would have already!!"
Everyone froze.
"…So this guy… only knows how to hit fly balls?"
Then laughter broke out.
Miyuki laughed the hardest—he doubled over on the bench, wheezing.
Rinichi: "..."
He felt thoroughly crushed.
Seidou 17 – Mimon West 0.
The game ended early by mercy rule.
Both teams lined up.
The players from Mimon West walked over in tears.
"Salute!"
"Thanks for the match!" they said in unison.
Then came the handshake.
"Thank you. You guys keep fighting."
"Make it to Koshien for sure!"
"Even though we lost badly… we've got no regrets."
There was genuine sincerity in their words.
And carrying that expectation from their rivals—
They couldn't afford to lose now.
As they were about to leave the field, one of the Mimon West players called out to Rinichi and held out his hand.
"That was some beautiful pitching."
Rinichi looked up at him, face unreadable.
He reached out and shook his hand.
"Thanks."
...
Back at school, the upperclassmen went right back into self-training.
Furuya was running laps— his mind full of Rinichi's presence on the mound.
I want to…stand on that mound again…
His eyes sharpened, and he picked up speed.
As for Rinichi—
He had already pitched in today's game, so he was in the batting cages, practicing his swing.
But it wasn't going well.
Either he couldn't connect at all, or it was another easily caught fly ball.
He was trying to hit a strong grounder, but no matter how he tried, his body just instinctively scooped upward.
Rinichi: "..."
Man, this is hard.
...
"Their batting lineup isn't just stronger than in spring—even their ace pitcher, looks completely dialed in."
Takashima Rei adjusted her glasses.
"If we face Ichidaisan," she continued,
"the result will probably come down to our pitching staff."
After all— Rinichi can't throw a full nine innings.
They'd have to switch pitchers midway.
Coach Kataoka went quiet for a moment before replying:
"We've still got two more games. First, we've got to win the next one."
...
Rinichi, now getting in a rhythm, finally hit a solid ground ball.
His face lit up with joy.
To make sure it wasn't a fluke, he kept swinging—
Out of five more swings, only one was a miss.
Feeling good about his improvement, he packed up and went off to dinner.
Everyone noticed Rinichi was in a really good mood that night.
They all assumed it was because of his great performance on the mound.
But if that were the case, he would've been glowing the whole bus ride back.
Across from him, Haruichi smiled and asked,
"You seem happy. But I don't think it's because of your pitching, right?"
Rinichi paused mid-bite, chewed, swallowed, then declared proudly:
"I can hit grounders now!"
Kominato: "..."
Everyone nearby heard that.
Miyuki looked like he had nothing left to say.
They were getting used to this.
The others who didn't know Rinichi well started to realize—
He's kind of… weird.
He was a pitcher, yet obsessed with improving his batting.
There were even rumors that Rinichi was aiming for a cleanup spot.
People had brushed it off as just talk—but now, it really seemed true.
Still, the current third-year batters were on a whole other level. Even if Rinichi did improve, there was no way he'd take a center batting position while they were still around.
Well…maybe after they graduate.
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