Chapter 100: Resolution
In the corridor, two figures walked briskly. A step behind was Miyuki, a step ahead was Isashiki Jun, his aura fierce and intimidating.
The people around them quickly stepped aside to clear a path.
"Isn't that kind of thing simple? Just learn it already!" Isashiki barked.
Miyuki stayed silent.
They stopped in front of a classroom door. With a sharp bang, Isashiki shoved it open and bellowed:
"Kamishiro! Where's Kamishiro?!"
The sound made Rinichi, who had been reading, jolt in surprise.
Kanemaru and the others pointed toward his seat.
Isashiki marched straight over, snatched the book from Rinichi's hands, and lowered his voice:
"Kamishiro… you said last night you wanted to quit the club, didn't you?"
Kanemaru and the others were stunned.
Kamishiro… wanted to quit the club?
Rinichi shot a glare at Miyuki.
Was this… tattling?!
Miyuki said nothing.
"That was just—" Rinichi began.
"A joke?" Isashiki pressed.
Rinichi hesitated, then answered calmly:
"Yes, that's right."
Isashiki stared him down.
"I heard about yesterday's game. Ended much earlier than expected…"
He had also heard about Rinichi's unusual behavior during the match.
"You… you really thought about quitting, didn't you?"
Rinichi's chest tightened. He lowered his gaze to the desk, clenched his fists, then looked up at Isashiki with steady eyes, no fear in them.
"I won't quit the club. No matter what happens. So, senpai, you don't need to worry."
He stood, reaching to take back his book—only for Isashiki to hold it higher.
Rinichi fell silent.
"Don't dodge the question. You did think about quitting, didn't you?" Isashiki pressed again.
Rinichi's gaze sharpened, his voice even.
"Yes. I thought about it."
"Why?"
Rinichi gave no reply.
"Because Miyuki bullies you?"
Rinichi: "..."
Miyuki: "..."
Neither was sure who was really bullying who.
"No."
"Then why did you want to quit?"
"…Can I not answer that, Isashiki-senpai?"
"No."
Rinichi turned his face aside, reluctant, and muttered something under his breath.
"What?" Isashiki leaned closer.
Rinichi glanced warily at Kanemaru and the others.
Kanemaru frowned. Why so secretive?
Rinichi looked back down and repeated his words, a little louder this time.
Miyuki: "..."
Isashiki: "..."
The reason was honestly crushing.
From Kanemaru's point of view, Isashiki simply placed the book back in front of Rinichi, then left the room with Miyuki—quietly, without another word.
They had stormed in like thunder, and left in silence.
.....
Later, Watanabe held up a folder of scouting notes.
"Their ace is Wakabayashi Go. He's one of the rare pitchers who builds his game around the forkball."
Rinichi studied the footage of his delivery.
The arm pull-back is short… almost like a fielder's throw.
Kuramochi frowned.
"His tempo's quick. In the box, you won't have time to prepare."
"And their lineup's key threats are the first baseman, Haruhi, and their No. 5 right fielder," Watanabe continued.
"They don't hit towering balls. It's all powerful line drives—slicing right through the defense. If their offense starts linking together, they'll be a real headache."
"And their defense adapts by situation. Be ready for them to have gathered detailed intel on us."
Coach Kataoka added, "Don't take this opponent lightly. We'll do as always—defense, offense, baserunning. In every aspect, we'll overwhelm them!"
"Yes, sir!"
"Alright, dismissed."
As Rinichi stood to leave, Kuramochi asked, "Kamishiro, heading to take swings?"
Rinichi shook his head.
"No."
He left the cafeteria.
Kuramochi glanced at Miyuki.
"Earlier, Jun-san dragged you off to talk with Kamishiro, right? The look on your faces afterward… What did he say?"
Miyuki's expression stiffened. He recalled Rinichi's quiet words:
"Don't you think… winning all the time makes things kind of meaningless?"
But to Kuramochi, Miyuki rephrased it bluntly as a statement.
Kuramochi's eyes widened.
"He really said that?"
He remembered how Rinichi always stayed up late before games, endlessly watching footage of opponents.
Once, Kuramochi asked him: What do you even see in all that video?
Rinichi had answered calmly:
"Patterns… team atmosphere… the pitcher's mechanics, the catcher's calls. If you know a pitcher's habits, his personality, what he likes to throw… and if I were him, what pitch I'd call against a batter like me…"
"Once the game starts, I can basically figure out what kind of pitches they'll throw to deal with me… and from there, I know what I can do with those pitches. Whether I can hit them, or if I'll miss completely…"
He even added something Kuramochi couldn't quite understand:
"Compared to Shinomiya-senpai… I'm still far behind."
Secretly putting in effort behind the scenes…
Never underestimating an opponent, no matter how weak they were…
Though, yeah, he did have the bad habit of mocking his opponents in games from time to time.
Still, he didn't seem like the type to say something like that.
"…No way he was lying to you, right?"
"..."
Rinichi really did know how to throw people off.
Just hearing that he'd thought about quitting the club had been shocking enough.
This team couldn't do without Rinichi.
As for what was truly going through his head—Kuramochi had no idea.
Before long, only Maezono was left in the cafeteria.
But his mind was full of Isashiki Jun's words to him:
"I heard about it. You butted heads with Miyuki, didn't you?"
"So then, what did you actually do?"
"Just losing your temper, right? Didn't the coach tell you anything when he picked you as vice-captain?"
From here on, Miyuki's responsibilities would only grow heavier.
"Anybody can snap back when they're pissed off. But what matters is working together afterward to fix things—that's your responsibility. Don't dump everything on the captain."
Maezono slammed his forehead against the table, teeth clenched.
"Just dealing with Kamishiro is already driving him crazy…"
"Sometimes, you guys should be helping Miyuki out too."
"Kamishiro only acts that way toward Miyuki. With you all, he's still respectful. If you actually talk to him properly, he'll listen."
Maezono: "..."
…He had a point.
Left speechless, Maezono could only stew on the words.
The next day at practice—Rinichi, feeling clearly singled out by Maezono: "..."
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