Chapter 297: Twin Stars Shine
"This guy's pitches—so fast!"
"Ping!"
"Foul!"
"Alright! We've got him cornered!"
"Finish him, Sawamura!"
"Attack him, Sawamura!"
"And the tempo's fast too…The timing is really hard to catch!"
With just two pitches putting him under pressure, sweat began to bead on Yoshizawa's face.
"Steal!"
"Pop!"
"Ball!"
But Carlos immediately retreated back to the base.
Clearly, he was trying to help Yoshizawa with a fake steal.
"He saw it clearly!"
"Hit it!"
At that moment, both Yoshizawa and the next batter, Harada, recalled what had been said before the inning.
....
"Do you realize how important this inning is? No matter how good his condition looks, judging from what we've seen, it's impossible that there's no effect at all. Just aim for the inside pitch. We can't let him survive this inning! If it's just this inning, I still believe we'll win. But if he gets through this inning, what's left is a battle of willpower—and no one can say for sure who'll come out on top!"
That was how Coach Kunimoto had summed up the situation.
.....
"If the coach said that, then I absolutely can't go down like this!"
Yoshizawa thought fiercely.
Harada, meanwhile, silently stared at the field.
"Whoosh!"
"Right down the middle?"
"Ping!"
"Foul!"
"So after that hit-by-pitch, it really is hard for him to throw an especially sharp inside pitch, huh? Still, judging from the first pitch, normal inside pitches are fine."
"Still late on the swing? The coach was right—this pitcher really has been affected! There's no way I'm letting this chance slip!"
Because of his tension and excitement, Yoshizawa's slight movement of his right foot didn't escape Miyuki's notice.
"He's aiming for the inside pitch…,"
Miyuki muttered, crouched low and silent.
Then he stood and called time.
"What's wrong, you scheming glasses?"
Sawamura asked, puzzled but serious.
"Don't call me that like Sendo does!"
Miyuki snapped back.
"Did you notice it?"
"Notice what?"
"He's aiming for the inside pitch—and not just him. The batters after him too."
"Huh?"
Sawamura looked surprised, but quickly regained his composure.
"What happened during your delivery just now?"
Seeing Sawamura's expression, Miyuki felt a little relieved—but he needed to know exactly what went wrong.
He had called for a cutter aimed at the right-handed batter's chest.
Instead, it had turned into a pitch down the middle.
Luckily, it was the batter's first look at Sawamura, or it could've been disastrous.
"When I was pitching, I suddenly remembered Shirakawa-senpai's face—right before he got hit. That scared expression,"
Sawamura said honestly.
"I see,"
Miyuki replied, understanding.
....
"Heh."
"Huh? Why are you grinning like that, Miyuki Kazuya?!"
Sawamura shouted, startling the umpires.
"Now, close your eyes."
"What are you trying to do?"
"Just do what I say! This is Sendo's secret technique!"
Miyuki said with a grin—though there was a hint of bitterness. Only heaven knew how he'd learned it.
"Okay, got it."
Sawamura closed his eyes.
"Now recall the moment you just mentioned—right before Shirakawa was hit. Make it vivid. Three-dimensional."
Sweat visibly poured down Sawamura's face. His breathing grew ragged, as if he were enduring something painful.
Still, he followed Miyuki's instructions.
He knew this guy—normally even less reliable than Sendo—was just as dependable as him in moments like this.
"Is it clear?"
Miyuki cruelly checked.
Sawamura nodded with difficulty.
"Listen carefully. That was just an accident. Pure coincidence. And more importantly—it was Shirakawa's own responsibility. He deliberately blocked the plate. He'd already accepted the risk of getting hit. Do you understand?"
Miyuki's method was simple: if the memory was terrifying, then face it directly.
Once Sawamura built resistance to it and calmed down, verbal guidance would work far better.
Learning this technique had been… painful.
But Miyuki knew just how effective it was.
As expected, Sawamura's expression quickly returned to normal, and his breathing steadied.
"Now take a deep breath. Think about what Sendo just told you."
(Some of what Sendo said had been whispered, so Miyuki improvised.)
"…Alright. Open your eyes."
When Sawamura opened them, his gaze still carried a beast-like intensity—but something subtle had changed.
"That's it. You're fine now. This game's in your hands, aibo."
Miyuki repeated the word from their very first meeting.
Sawamura nodded.
"Don't tense up too much. Enjoy the game. This stage belongs to you alone right now."
With that, Miyuki turned and ran back to his position.
Sawamura stood there, looking completely won over.
"Seriously… Have you spent too much time around Sendo or what? Why is it that when you guys say something, I just end up believing it without question?
Enjoy it… huh?"
He muttered to himself.
For a moment, he saw flashes of his middle school days with Sendo—and felt that Miyuki was starting to become more like him.
Though, truth be told, the two had always been similar.
"Let's mess with his timing using the outside pitch first. Here we go!"
"Steal!"
Captain Tetsu called out.
"Puff!"
But pitcher and catcher didn't even flinch—their eyes were locked solely on the batter.
"If you're going to run, then come!" ×2
At that instant, the two were of one mind.
After the step, Sawamura's form carried a strange kind of beauty.
"Pop!"
"Ball!"
Carlos retreated again.
"That was close—lucky break," Yoshizawa thought, forced to pull back his swing at the last second.
Like getting faked out by a crossover in basketball.
Miyuki, however, said nothing.
"This one… even though it was called a ball, it could've been a strike! The pitch was lower than usual too—full of presence, and just sharp enough!"
"Nice pitch! That was sharp!"
Miyuki's voice rose without him realizing it.
"Strike! Sawamura!"
"Keep it going!"
"I can see it! I can see it!"
"Yoshizawa-san!"
"One hit—please!"
"Then… let's settle this once and for all!"
"You can do it! Throw it here, Sawamura!"
Miyuki crouched back down, feeling that everything was finally in place. Now all that remained was to see just how decisive a pitch Sawamura could throw.
In Sawamura's eyes, there was already a faint, barely noticeable hint of pride.
"We've come this far—how could we possibly back down now?! Whether it's ten innings or twenty! We—we're going to win!!! Koshien—we're definitely going!!!"
"Whoosh!"
"Inside pitch!!!"
"Ping!"
"A c–cutter?!…Why? How could this happen? He just threw a hit-by-pitch a moment ago!"
Yoshizawa, instinctively dropping his bat and sprinting toward first, screamed in confusion inside his head.
"Pop!"
"Out!"
Yoshizawa had plenty of power, but his contact point had reached its limit—this high fly ball was the best he could manage.
Sendo jogged lightly, gave a small hop, and caught the ball cleanly.
That single jump perfectly showcased his incredible leaping ability.
The number 8 on Sendo's back looked dazzlingly cool.
Akagi Middle School—twin stars shining brightly!!!
"Yoshii!!!"
"Oh!!!"
Seidou erupted in celebration as they overcame yet another massive crisis.
Yoshizawa, who had just been put out, tilted his head back and stared at the sky.
Carlos did the same—though he'd done it twice already this inning.
Harada recalled Kunimoto's words once more and realized the game had begun slipping beyond control. His expression grew even more grave.
"Three outs, change sides! The eleventh inning is over! This inning also ends scoreless, and the game will continue! And in the top of the twelfth inning, both teams' lineups will start from the cleanup hitters!!!"
"This West Tokyo Final has become one of the most thrilling games in the tournament's history! Even now, the battle remains completely even! Both lineups have produced an incredible number of runs. What's most unbelievable is that Narumiya Mei—the Kanto region's top left-hander, who allowed zero runs and barely any hits throughout the summer qualifiers—has given up eight runs to Seidou in just this one game! Jingu Stadium, packed to capacity for a high school qualifier for the first time ever, has made today an unforgettable experience for every fan in attendance!"
"Yoshii!!!"
This time, Sawamura didn't repeat himself over and over—he just let out a single roar, showing his fighting spirit.
"Nice pitching, Sawamura!!!"
"You were amazing—I'm seriously moved!!!"
"We're definitely going to Koshien!"
"Today, you can do anything!"
"That was unreal—it was honestly terrifying to watch!"
"That beast-like roar just now—what a real man!"
Seidou's cheering section and supporters were completely losing their minds.
The deeper an extra-inning game goes, the heavier the pressure becomes on the team batting first. With the score tied, the bottom half of the inning always means one run equals sayonara.
.....
"Narumiya, this inning is crucial! We can't afford to walk anyone anymore—no showing weakness! Settle this head-on with them!"
Harada said as he put on his gear beside Narumiya Mei.
He was right. At this point, the game had become a pure clash of wills.
Any sign of weakness would cause a chain reaction. After all, these were high schoolers—not professionals who could give up walks or even losses without flinching.
That was why intentional walks were so rare in high school baseball. Shaking the ace's confidence could be devastating to the entire team's morale.
Walking Sendo the previous inning had been purely because Narumiya's condition wasn't ideal at the time—so the damage to his confidence was minimal.
But now Narumiya was in explosive form, forcibly dragging his velocity and pitch power back to peak levels through sheer willpower.
Despite having thrown 130 pitches, he looked like someone who'd only thrown 30—his control even sharper than before.
This mental-state-driven pitching couldn't last long, but right now, it was Narumiya at his most confident and most powerful.
Even though Seidou's lineup had gradually adapted to his pitches, getting hits was still extremely difficult.
They couldn't walk batters—but attacking them was dangerous too. After all, this was already the seventh time through the lineup.
"Yeah. I know. Yasan—let's go."
Narumiya replied expressionlessly.
In his mind, he kept replaying the look Sendo had given him when he was walked. He wanted nothing more than to charge over and fight that bastard head-on.
"…Good."
Seeing Narumiya's expression, Harada felt his own confidence return.
....
"From here on out, this is a battle of will!! Technique and tactics don't matter anymore—the side with stronger fighting spirit will win! Go out there with no regrets!"
Coach Kataoka shouted.
"Yeah!!!"
"Hit it, Tetsu!"
Tanba called out to the captain.
"Yeah! Definitely!"
Sendo silently put on his helmet.
The usually distracted, always-glancing-around guy suddenly became so focused that no one even noticed.
"Sendo."
Tetsu walked up to him.
Everyone in the dugout turned their eyes toward them.
"Yeah?"
"Thank you. You carried us all the way to the twelfth inning."
Everyone on Seidou knew just how much Sendo's explosive performance had mattered.
Eight runs.
Six of them were directly connected to him—not to mention his incredible defense and the pressure he put on the opposing lineup.
Tetsu—and the entire team—were deeply grateful.
Caught off guard, Sendo didn't know what to say at first.
"Heh. I'd been looking forward to this game for a long time. It felt like I'd been storing up energy… for ages.
Today was total overperformance—I never dreamed I'd feel this good. And honestly… I was just enjoying my duel with Narumiya. In the end, I was just swinging the bat for myself. I really can't accept that much thanks, Tetsu."
Sendo answered honestly in a light tone, trying to ease the awkwardness.
"That's more than enough. I'll get on base this inning—you bring us home!!! We're entrusting all three years to you! If even you can't hit it, then we'll give up—and retire with a smile!"
"Tets—"
Sendo barely got out the first syllable before Tetsu raised a hand to stop him.
"Just stick to your own rhythm. Swing for yourself. Enjoy the game. Enjoy your duel with Narumiya. Step into the batter's box smiling."
"I will. Thank you, Tetsu—and thank you, senpai, for indulging my selfishness.…By the way, Tetsu, you're the leadoff hitter this inning, aren't you?"
Sendo replied warmly—then suddenly flipped the tone, sounding exactly like Miyuki.
"…Huh? Is that so?"
The airheaded captain froze.
In the emotion of the moment, he'd completely forgotten he was the leadoff batter.
Everyone watching nearly threw out their backs from whiplash—they were almost collectively struck down by that sudden turn.
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