Chapter 248: The Night Before the Finals
"You said that kid is a valuable asset, right?
Then let me see with my own eyes whether he really is that kind of man!"
When senior Azuma stepped into the batter's box, his presence was overwhelming—but Sendo could barely keep from laughing!
As Azuma twisted his waist, his belly almost blocked Miyuki's glove from view.
"Well then, I won't hold back!" Miyuki said.
The result was obvious. Azuma was stunned by Sawamura's pitching form—and since he couldn't even see the release point, the ball smashed directly into the bit of exposed flesh sticking out of his chest protector. The ball spun like a bullet, and even his fat rippled into a whirlpool shape from the impact.
Tears streamed instantly from Higashi's eyes.
Seeing that scene, Sendo couldn't help but think of a crying mother pig…
"Ahhh!"
"Azuma-senpai! ×N!"
"Are you okay?!"
Hearing the scream, the upperclassmen watching nearby all rushed over.
"It hit the part that was squeezed out of the armor!" someone exclaimed.
But those who knew what they were seeing were shocked—by Sawamura's pitch.
Especially Miyuki, who was completely taken aback by the rotation and sharpness of the ball.
"Pff! Hahaha—cough, cough!" Sendo knew this wasn't the right time to laugh, yet he couldn't help covering his mouth with one hand.
"Th-that feeling just now…!"
"Fatty-senpai! Can I keep pitching? Before I forget that feeling!!! Please!!!"
Just looking at Sawamura's bowed head and earnest attitude, one would think he was a polite and well-mannered kid…
That is, if you ignored his opening line and the current situation.
"You big idiot! Apologize first! Next time you call me fat, I'll kill you!"
As expected, Azuma exploded in anger—but deep down, he was stunned by Sawamura's pitch.
He hadn't even managed to dodge it.
Still, he finally understood what Miyuki had meant—this was something he simply couldn't refuse.
Assuming he could even stand up, that is…
And in fact—he did stand up.
It was truly a tragic ordeal…
"Sendo!" Coach Kataoka finally couldn't take it anymore and called out to the boy who was still trying not to laugh.
Only then did everyone notice just how gleefully Sendo had been chuckling.
Azuma saw it too and got angry—but he didn't even have the strength left to stay angry.
When Sendo heard his name, he reluctantly raised his head.
"You, get into the right batter's box! You're not doing anything anyway!"
"Uncle Shades! Actually—" Sendo tried to make up some excuse, not wanting the comedy show to end yet.
But one look at Coach Kataoka's eyes, and he swallowed all his words.
"Uncle Shades!"
Azuma's pain seemed to lessen the moment he heard Sendo's nickname for the coach.
He snuck a glance at Kataoka, then turned back toward Sendo with a faint look of admiration.
Seeing a fat guy move like that was… strangely adorable.
"Hehe!" As Sendo stepped into the batter's box, Sawamura grinned slightly.
There was no need for words between them—their friendship said it all.
Seeing that smile, Sendo smirked back and got into position.
"Ahh, what a nightmare…" Azuma groaned as he clutched his stomach, walking out of the bullpen.
Anyone watching might've thought he'd just overeaten— And in a sense, he had—he'd been stuffed full of baseballs!
"That brat just kept throwing at me without mercy!"
"Good thing you wore your gear, huh?" Rei laughed softly.
"This isn't a joke!" Azuma protested.
"You're just bad at dodging! At this rate, you'll have a hard time later!" Coach Kataoka said without even turning his head, still watching the bullpen.
"Ugh…" Azuma's face went pale; he was terrified of the coach.
"Watch that kid's dodging motion carefully. It'll probably help you later. If nothing goes wrong, he'll be the team's clean-up hitter come autumn." Kataoka continued.
"Huh? The clean-up hitter?"
"Excuse me!" a voice called from behind.
"Please take care of me!" It was Furuya, holding a ball and saluting him.
"What the heck are you doing?" Azuma asked blankly.
Furuya, who admired Sawamura deeply, had been imitating him all along—so he also wanted Azuma-senpai to experience his pitches in the batter's box.
"Azuma-senpai! How was Sawamura's pitch?"
"Yo, Chris! I heard your shoulder's almost healed—is it back to normal now?"
No one knew where he'd heard that, but clearly he had no idea who Furuya or Sendo even were…
Chris spoke up for his beloved pupil, while poor Furuya was completely ignored.
Meanwhile, Azuma obediently followed Kataoka's instructions, carefully watching Sendo at the plate.
The slightly thin boy didn't look particularly strong, yet the coach had called him the next clean-up hitter—Azuma couldn't help feeling curious.
"Indeed! That kid's pitch is fascinating—he's like a completely different person from a year ago!
But his technique's still rough, and his control's not good. Honestly, I can't picture him wearing the ace number yet! But that other guy—the one at the plate—yeah, he's definitely clean-up material, as the coach said." Without turning his head, Azuma gave his evaluation to Chris, throwing in a comment about Sendo as well.
"Pretty harsh, huh?"
"Idiot! If you think about it, weren't the current third-years even worse back then? Chris was special—the others were terrible!"
"That's from your perspective, Azuma-senpai, so naturally—"
"No, no, seriously! They were awful at the start! I wanted to chop them to pieces!"
Furuya listened in shock at this earth-shattering revelation.
"How far he'll grow depends entirely on himself! That's what you should tell that brat! But that kid Sendo—he's really got some finesse!"
"You should be growing up too!"
Coach Kataoka was unusually fond of roasting people today.
Sweat poured down Higashi's face.
"Azuma-senpai!" Chris quickly broke the tension again.
"Hmm?"
"If possible, please come watch our game tomorrow!"
"Oh? So you guys are that highly regarded this year?"
"Not yet—we're not sure about that. But our rise… has already begun."
"Since you put it that way, I'll come!"
Azuma looked at Sawamura and Sendo in the bullpen—he wanted to believe, and he understood what Chris meant.
"Huh? He's already gone? I didn't get a chance to apologize yet!"
After Sawamura and the others finished practice, they realized Azuma had already left.
"Ah, I forgot to say goodbye too! Kawakami—and you too! He said you're an excellent pitcher, and that all you need is confidence! He's only strict with the ones he actually respects. Those were his words!"
Azuma's parting words—spoken casually—unexpectedly resolved Kawakami's recent issue with nervousness.
At that point, Coach Kataoka sent the pitchers off to rest and instructed the rest of the First String to complete their final pre-game drills.
After the hitters were one by one defeated in live-batting practice, the day's training came to an end.
Tomorrow was the decisive battle, so rest was essential.
Taking the chance, Rei-chan also explained to the twin pitchers why the third-years were once called "useless."
She wanted them to understand that the seniors weren't strong from the start—they'd become strong only through relentless effort.
Everything that needed to be done was done.
Now all that was left was to give everything we've got.
For the field we've shared these three years—
we'll return here again, smiling.
That was the resolve of every third-year—a resolve that, in another life, had drawn countless tears.
"Thanks for your guidance!"
With that, the final practice came to a close.
Everyone from Seidou returned to the dorms to rest and recover.
All that remained was the final strategy meeting, and then—the ultimate trial of the summer preliminaries.
Win or lose, everything would be decided tomorrow!
....
That night's pre-game meeting was simple—just some final notes and the announcement of the starting lineup.
It was basically the same as in the previous timeline: Furuya would start again—his fourth start this tournament.
He looked absolutely thrilled.
Sawamura and Kawakami were told to be ready, but in truth, Coach Kataoka wasn't planning to let either of them pitch if he could help it.
When Sawamura heard his name, he loudly expressed his enthusiasm—but an impatient Coach Kataoka cut him off with a sharp "Dismissed!"
After dismissal, everyone went their own way.
The Kominato brothers went to hit a few more balls,
Miyauchi went to drink his protein, Tanba-senpai shaved the few hairs left on his head while praying for victory—leaving Shirasu and Kawakami staring, speechless.
Chris-senpai watched Narumiya's pitching videos with Kanemaru from his room again and again, analyzing each curve—there were so few that they had to replay the footage endlessly.
Elsewhere, the comedy trio of third-years who once shouted "three years with no girlfriends" were practicing their cheer poses—while insisting that the more shameless and embarrassing, the better.
The dual pitchers went on another errand run—this time, Furuya volunteered himself.
He genuinely enjoyed it; running errands had practically become his hobby.
Sawamura, meanwhile, bought the wrong drink again—one extra can of cola—so he decided to give it to Sendo.
Even though Sendo had actually asked him for juice.
Now he had two cans.
"I'm back! Got the drinks!"
But when the duo returned, they found the seniors huddled together—watching something on Sawamura's phone…
Even Pudding-senpai, Yuuki, and Miyuki looked intrigued.
Yuuki was rubbing his chin—something he only did when playing shogi—which showed just how nosy he really was.
"That's my phone! Why are you just taking it like that?"
"Baka! What's wrong with checking our juniors' behavior?" Jun-san snapped back self-righteously, scolding Sawamura instead.
"Why are you guys mad?" Sawamura asked, genuinely puzzled.
But really, it was obvious—it was pure jealousy.
Still, if Sawamura could understand that, he wouldn't be Sawamura.
"Because, y'see—Kuramochi seems really curious about your girlfriend!" Yuuki cheerfully sold Kuramochi out, though his expression showed that he was also curious.
"Tetsu-san!" Kuramochi groaned helplessly.
"I told you already—she's not my girlfriend!"
"Oh? Is that so? Then why don't we confirm it with a text?" Kuramochi teased.
"Yosh! Give me the phone! I'll take a few cool pics of us for her!" Jun-san snatched the phone away.
He sat down, and everyone crowded around him.
Except Miyuki and Sendo—everyone else joined in:
the usually quiet Ono, the good-natured Pudding-senpai, the serious Yuuki—and even Furuya, who'd just walked in.
Furuya clearly just wanted to take a group photo with everyone.
Miyuki and Sendo stood aside, snickering.
Neither of the "playboy duo" liked being in photos, and lately Miyuki had been racking his brain trying to convince Sendo to delete some of his blackmail-worthy shots.
"Is Wakana coming back tomorrow?"
"Has Wakana already gone to bed?"
"'Wakana' really is a nice name, isn't it?" Jun-san and Kuramochi said one after another.
"You guys just want an excuse to say her name!!!" Sawamura shouted—and instantly regretted it.
Kuramochi pinned him down with judo,
Yuuki snapped photos of the chaos,
and Jun-san scolded Sawamura for not using honorifics.
Then the second-years, led by Maezono, came in after psyching themselves up outside, hoping to ask the seniors for advice on their swings—only to find the room in total chaos.
"You idiot, Sawamura! How come you're so close with the seniors? We're all nervous right now!" Maezono shouted, misunderstanding the situation completely.
Who could blame him, with Jun-san laughing nearby and Yuuki pretending to be a cameraman?
"You think that kind of relationship looks good?"
"The seniors go easy on him but are strict with us!"
"What are you mad about, Maezono?" Jun-san asked.
"I'm not mad!!!"
"Sure looks like you are!" Jun-san barked back.
"How is that not being lenient?!" Sendo sighed, covering his face.
Yuuki was completely addicted to taking photos now—even snapping Pudding-senpai eating pudding and declaring it "perfect."
Jun-san started retelling the story of Sawamura hitting Azuma earlier that day.
Sawamura, of course, argued it was just bad luck.
Miyuki desperately wanted to kick them all out, but he didn't dare—so he tried to calm them down instead, to no effect.
Yuuki even snapped a picture of that moment.
Fortunately it wasn't a video—or it would've been another piece of blackmail material.
For many people, this night would be a sleepless one.
The excited fans awaiting tomorrow's game.
The players struggling with pre-game nerves.
Even at Inashiro Industries, that eccentric bunch was the same—Yamaoka slept hugging his bat, Carlos ran around half-naked, and the rest, at least, were normal.
Seidou's supporters too—including Azuma, who had decided to attend, and various others—were restless.
What Sendo didn't know was that his parents had already returned to Japan—bringing some of their company's staff with them to watch the game.
In recent years, his parents had done very well.
The Sendo Group had built a great reputation,
and unlike many Japanese firms skeptical about his parents market, they had always treated it seriously—even without Sendo's input.
That was why, for years, they'd hardly had time to come home.
Their company had expanded into many industries, and this time they'd brought along some of their female entertainers.
Of course, in his previous life Sendo had never paid attention to celebrities—so even if someone told him, he wouldn't recognize them, no matter how famous they were.
A clear sign of just how successful his parents truly were.
-----------------
If you want to read 20 chapters advanced.
Visit my patreon: patreon.com/Shu_21