Chapter 101: Seidou vs. Ouya (1)
Top of the first inning, Ouya on defense, Seidou on offense.
Not long after the game began, Rinichi was called to the bullpen.
Just like last time, he hadn't pitched at all since the previous game, and Miyuki couldn't do anything about it.
"Strike."
Miyuki stood up and tossed the ball back to Rinichi.
Catching it, Rinichi stepped out of the bullpen.
"All this pitching in the bullpen is meaningless. Save it for the game. I've already done all the warmups I need."
He added calmly, "Besides, my turn at bat is coming up soon."
Miyuki: "..." Fair point.
Back in the dugout, Rinichi glanced at Kuramochi.
"Why aren't you on base?"
Kuramochi: "..."
Seeing no reply, Rinichi didn't press the issue. He looked at the bases—empty. Haruichi was at the plate. Rinichi fell silent, then cast another glance at Ouya's infield positions.
"Out!"
Rinichi tugged his cap lower, his tone calm: "Three up, three down?"
Kuramochi nodded.
"Not easy to pull that off," Rinichi muttered.
Walking out of the dugout, he heard Coach Kataoka call out:
"Forget the low pitches! Lock in on fastballs. Don't let anything hittable near the belt go by! Stay aggressive and take control!"
"Yes, sir!"
Low pitches, huh? Rinichi lowered his eyes and headed toward the mound.
"This time might not be the same as before…" Miyuki said as he walked beside him.
"You mean they've studied us?" Rinichi cut in.
Indeed, this team was pretty good at "research."
Even if something unexpected happened, Rinichi's mentality wouldn't be shaken.
"I'm more curious how much they can really figure out about me."
Miyuki: "..."
To the opponents, Rinichi must look like an abyss—powerful, unknowable. Especially since he occasionally threw pitches even Miyuki had never seen from him before.
"From here on out… let's drag the momentum to our side."
"I'm not about to let Ouya get cocky."
Miyuki blinked, then smiled faintly at Rinichi's serious profile.
Reliable as ever.
"Strike!"
Ouya's leadoff hitter froze—he couldn't even swing.
Standing in the box felt completely different now! From this angle, the pitch seemed even faster—like it was on him in a blink. The power bore down like a wave.
"Strike!"
A swing.
"Strike! Batter out!"
Rinichi exhaled with a hint of satisfaction, his expression proud, a flicker of contempt in his eyes.
Three pitches.
Miyuki, catching all three, could feel it—the pitches just kept getting sharper. Rinichi was only now entering his groove. Judging from his expression, his form today might surpass most days.
Rinichi picked up his dropped cap, dusted it off, and set it back on, casting a sidelong glance at Ouya's second batter.
That cold, arrogant stare made the hitter's heart skip a beat.
Miyuki noticed. Already shaken—just from a glare.
He sighed.
So Rinichi had the leisure to apply mental pressure, too.
…
"Strike! Batter out!"
With ease, he closed out the inning.
Wakabayashi Gou narrowed his eyes, gnashing his teeth as he watched Rinichi walk back to the dugout.
All that time spent training just to reach this level… what's there to be so smug about?
"Dream Crusher," was it?
What a ridiculous title!
Wakabayashi carried those thoughts as he climbed the mound—only to see Rinichi step up at bat. His irritation grew deeper.
"Foul!"
Let's see if you can turn my pitches into a home run!
"Foul!"
Idiot! Swinging at balls outside the zone too?
"Foul!"
…
"Foul!"
Wakabayashi was on the verge of exploding.
This was already the tenth pitch. Strike or ball, Rinichi fouled everything off.
What the hell is he trying to do!?
But when Wakabayashi met Rinichi's eyes, he froze, clenching his fist.
That look seemed to say: Hurry up and throw me the pitch I want.
Grinding his teeth, Wakabayashi snarled inwardly. Fine then—try hitting this!
Switching his delivery to a sidearm motion, he aimed straight down the middle.
The instant the ball left his hand, his face went stiff.
Ping!
The ball soared high into the sky.
A home run.
Rinichi tossed away the bat with a satisfied look, mouthing a silent "thank you" to Wakabayashi Gou before jogging the bases, not caring about what mood or expression the pitcher was wearing now.
He adjusted his helmet, his expression not particularly cheerful.
That was close…
The sudden switch to a sidearm delivery almost caught him off guard.
Still… if it had been anyone else, they probably wouldn't have been able to connect at all.
An unexpected sidearm, even if thrown straight down the middle.
What was more concerning was that this pitcher had never shown a sidearm before.
A spur-of-the-moment adjustment, most likely.
Rinichi crossed home plate.
Whatever. Just a matter of brains, that's all.
Average velocity, decent control…
All in all, just a very ordinary pitcher.
Back in the dugout, he removed his helmet, only to see Miyuki already retired, and then it was Maezono's turn.
It should have been a beautiful liner into left field, but Ouya's left fielder seemed to know exactly where it was headed and caught it cleanly.
The batter after him didn't fare any better.
Rinichi's gaze deepened.
This team was… interesting. Almost like a cheap imitation of "senpai."
Inferior.
Rinichi mused.
Switching sides.
Wakabayashi returned to the dugout.
"Gou, don't let their pitcher lead you around by the nose."
"Yeah."
They could all sense it—the rhythm of the game was being forcibly dragged toward Seidou's pace.
Wakabayashi exhaled. If he hadn't cooled his head by running math in his mind right after being taken deep, things might have collapsed right then.
"I know. Sorry, I was impulsive. I shouldn't have tried to challenge their clean-up directly."
"It's fine, Gou."
"They've only scored one run. We'll get it back!"
"Exactly. Just focus on pitching steadily, take out each batter one by one!"
Encouraged by his teammates, Wakabayashi's face eased a little.
But the opponent wasn't just their No. 4. Their No. 5 was also incredibly patient at the plate—
Back on the mound, Rinichi rolled the ball in his left hand, then tapped the brim of his cap.
Miyuki: "..."
That was the sign for 'I'm going to give them something to hit.'
But when he saw the batter square around for a bunt, Miyuki tensed.
The cleanup hitter… bunting?
Rinichi charged forward, scooped up the ball, and fired to first.
"Out!"
Ouya's bench couldn't shake the strange feeling, though none of them could put it into words.
"Strike! Batter out!"
…
"Out!"
Whether swinging away or trying to bunt, none of them escaped an out.
Two quick outs, one strikeout.
End of the second inning.
"Man, feels good when they help me keep my pitch count down," Rinichi said with a hint of satisfaction.
Miyuki: "..."
"…Ouya's a bunch of good guys," Rinichi added.
Always making him throw weird pitches.
Miyuki had once asked him if he'd consider adding that kind of pitch into his regular repertoire.
It had been half a joke—he was sure Rinichi would refuse.
And he had.
But what Rinichi just threw… wasn't quite the same as the special pitch he used against Inashiro.
It seemed tailor-made for countering bunts.
The spin rate almost looked like it accelerated the closer it got to the plate. The trajectory made it easy for the bat to meet, but once contact was made, it reacted like the ball was repelled by some hidden force, bouncing harmlessly away. Rinichi didn't even need to charge too far forward.
A high-spin fastball?
But Rinichi's usual high-spin fastball tended to ride upward.
This one actually dropped, right into the middle of the strike zone.
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