Chapter 97: Seidou vs Ugumori (4)
"Out!"
Getting just one out was already a huge struggle for Ugumori.
Change of offense and defense.
In the 2nd inning, neither Ugumori nor Seidou scored.
Rinichi picked up his glove.
"Man, I really want to end this game early…"
Miyuki glanced at him but said nothing.
"Ugumori?" Rinichi chuckled lightly. "Sure, their ace does a good job at rallying the team's spirit…"
He paused.
"But the same thing can be seen two ways—on one side it's a dream, on the other it's a goal."
"Because it's difficult, that's why it's called a dream…"
He stepped up onto the mound stairs, turned his head, and shot Miyuki a sidelong glance.
"What do you think, Miyuki-senpai? Which side is more likely to actually reach it?"
Backlit by the sun, Miyuki couldn't make out his face—just the confident curve of his mouth, his eyes calm and condescending.
Before Miyuki could answer, Rinichi turned back, stepping onto the mound as if melting into the light.
Miyuki caught up, walking beside him.
"What's with you? Is it that the opponent's too weak to motivate you? Or do you just plain look down on them?"
"True enough…" Rinichi's smile deepened.
In his mind flashed images of teams from junior high, collapsing after a loss.
"But it's not that I look down on them…"
"It's just that—"
His thoughts tangled, words cut off. The scene in his head shifted: his own backyard wall, scarred with the countless marks of pitched balls.
The truth was, he couldn't even put the feeling into words.
"…Forget it. For now, I'll focus on the game."
With that, Rinichi quickened his pace and mounted the mound.
Miyuki, unsure why Rinichi had suddenly said all that to him, was left with a strange feeling.
And—didn't Rinichi just call him Miyuki-senpai?
A shiver ran down his spine.
It was unsettling. Especially since Rinichi had tricked them all once before with his "obedient" act.
Still… at least Rinichi was willing to share these incomprehensible thoughts with him.
....
"Strike! Batter out!"
Change of offense and defense.
Back in the dugout, Rinichi immediately swapped to his helmet and batting gloves, striding off with his bat in hand.
Everyone else: "…"
Nothing could be more eager than that.
Just as Miyuki was suiting up, waiting his turn, the sharp crack of a bat rang out.
The ball soared out of the park— a clean home run.
The cheers exploded.
Miyuki smiled.
That guy really is ridiculously strong.
Then Miyuki himself followed with a home run.
Back-to-back blasts against Ugumori.
As Rinichi touched home and adjusted his helmet, he glanced back at Miyuki rounding the bases: "…"
Something about this felt weird.
Nearly everyone was stunned silent by the two consecutive homers.
A scout from another school stammered:
"A… a monster battery."
Elsewhere, Akiko Oowada said, "Miyuki's batting has really leveled up…"
"With Kamishiro and Miyuki on defense—and the two of them slugging like this…"
Her voice caught in her throat.
Back in the dugout, Miyuki got no praise—only teasing jabs.
Miyuki: "…"
His gaze drifted toward Rinichi, only to find him laser-focused on the game.
If he asked, Rinichi would definitely answer something like: 'Huh? Of course I can hit homers too.'
And he'd say it completely deadpan.
Suddenly, a home run didn't feel so sweet anymore.
....
Bottom of the 3rd inning: aside from the runs driven in by Rinichi and Miyuki, no more scored.
The 4th inning began.
Ugumori's lineup turned over, bringing back that short leadoff hitter.
Honestly, Rinichi wasn't eager to face him again.
Sure, he was small.
But he had good speed, and could—
The ball met the bat and trickled onto the ground.
See what I mean.
As expected, Rinichi's expression didn't change as he stepped forward, scooped up the ball, and threw it to first.
"Safe!"
Rinichi: "…"
If I'd been just a fraction quicker, that would've been an out.
Kondou Daiki's stiff face eased slightly.
That throw from Kamishiro was blazing fast—almost an out—and his pitches were heavy too, making bunting against him no easy task. Still, he managed to get on base.
And once on base, of course the goal was to put pressure on the pitcher.
He took a lead off first.
With that single safe hit, Ugumori's dugout energy rose again.
Rinichi adjusted his cap, glancing lazily at Kondou Daiki.
Persistent little guy.
But I don't care about runners on base. Miyuki-senpai's pretty good at throwing them out anyway…
Fortunately, their No. 2 hitter wasn't anything special.
If he'd also been skilled at bunting, it would've been a headache.
Stolen bases were annoying enough as it was.
Yeah, I really don't like having runners on.
"Strike!"
Kondou froze mid-step.
What's going on…? This pitcher's motion feels faster.
Even Miyuki exhaled in relief as he caught the pitch.
After all, Rinichi rarely had to deal with runners on base—so naturally there was some concern. But for now, he was completely calm.
Up to this point, he hadn't thrown a single change-up this game. As for the runner, maybe he was just trying to apply pressure.
But then Kondou edged two steps closer to second.
"Strike!"
High and inside.
With that kind of velocity, most batters instinctively pulled back.
Without hesitation, Rinichi fired again before Kondou could react. Kondou had barely lifted his foot when he had to stomp it back down.
"Strike! Batter out!"
From the mound, Rinichi's eyes flicked to the runner, then back to Miyuki, chin tilted arrogantly upward—
as if to say: "Hurry up and gun this guy down for me."
Otherwise, once their clean-up hitter came up, Ugumori's momentum would skyrocket.
But then Rinichi paused mid-thought.
Wait… wouldn't it be even more crushing if their clean-up guy ended up making the third out of the inning?
No problem. As long as the rest go down by strikeout, it'll be fine.
He was already calculating in his head.
But before Kondou could even wait for his clean-up to arrive—
"Out!"
Time seemed to freeze. What Rinichi saw was Miyuki rising and finishing the follow-through of his throw.
Rinichi: "…"
I was hoping their ace would be the third out.
He resisted the urge to cut off the throw.
After all, this was a team sport, not his personal playground.
"Strike! Batter out!"
Change of offense and defense.
Rinichi returned to the dugout, carrying a trace of regret on his face.
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