The Koshien Final was held on August 20.
Seido returned to school the following day to a grand celebration.
On August 22, Ushijima Wakatoshi boarded a flight back to his home country.
Knowing that he was an international student who hadn't seen his family for months, Coach Kataoka gave him a week of leave.
Missing one week of training wouldn't have any effect on a player of Ushijima's caliber.
"Wow..."
Ever since Seido won the Summer Koshien championship, the baseball field had become crowded with visitors every day.
Some were familiar faces.
Local residents.
Seido alumni.
Others were complete strangers.
Many had come simply to see the national champions with their own eyes.
Some parents were even visiting the campus while considering Seido for their children after junior high.
"Where's Ushijima Wakatoshi?"
"I haven't seen him during practice."
"Yeah, he wasn't here yesterday either."
"Did he get injured?"
One person immediately guessed,
"Maybe."
"He threw nearly 160 pitches in the championship game."
"I heard his right arm was already trembling near the end, and he had to switch to pitching left-handed."
"It wouldn't be surprising if he were injured."
Before long, someone stopped Kuramochi during practice.
"Kuramochi!"
"Where's Ushijima?"
Kuramochi blinked.
"Ushijima?"
"Yeah."
"Is he okay?"
"We haven't seen him for two days."
"Hahaha!"
Kuramochi burst into laughter.
"I thought something serious had happened."
"Don't worry."
"Ushijima's an international student."
"Koshien is over, and school doesn't start again for another week or so."
"He flew back home on the twenty-second."
"The coach gave him a week off so he could spend some time with his family."
"He'll be back before classes begin."
Only then did everyone finally relax.
Without Ushijima...
The thought of Seido entering the Autumn Tournament was hard to imagine.
While Ushijima was away, Coach Kataoka focused on evaluating the second-string players.
During Seido's two-week Koshien run, the reserve team had played fifteen practice games.
He carefully reviewed every performance.
Especially the pitchers.
Sawamura's progress...
Or rather, his lack of progress...
Left the coach deeply concerned.
A week later...
Ushijima returned to Japan.
He brought plenty of local specialties from home, distributing souvenirs to his teammates before practice.
The following morning, however, he made one noticeable change.
Unlike before...
He no longer woke up at 4:30 a.m. every day to run.
After helping the third-years win Koshien, the strange "anime ending" that had once haunted his dreams had disappeared.
The vision of Seido losing to Inashiro was gone.
He still trained every morning.
He simply allowed himself a little more rest.
After the team's morning assembly, Coach Kataoka addressed everyone.
"The third-year players have unanimously recommended Miyuki as the new team captain."
"Kuramochi and Maezono will serve as vice-captains."
The coach glanced at Miyuki.
"That should keep you from slacking off during batting practice."
"Gah?!"
Miyuki froze.
He hadn't expected to become captain at all.
"C-Coach..."
"I think Ushijima is more suited for the job than I am."
Before Coach Kataoka could answer—
Smack!
Ushijima lightly slapped the back of Miyuki's head.
"Of course I'm qualified."
He shrugged.
"But just because I'm qualified doesn't mean I have to do it."
"I can always be captain next year."
"Hahaha!"
The entire team burst into laughter.
Coach Kataoka nodded.
"Then it's settled."
"Now let's discuss the new starting lineup."
He looked directly at Ushijima.
"The ace number belongs to Ushijima."
"As long as he's healthy, that won't change."
"After the third-years graduate..."
"He'll also move into the cleanup spot."
The players showed no surprise.
Everyone had expected it.
"However..."
Coach Kataoka continued,
"I'll limit Ushijima's workload on the mound during the Autumn Tournament whenever possible."
"He'll only pitch if the team faces a crisis."
"I want him focusing primarily on batting."
"Our main pitchers this fall will be Kawakami..."
"Furuya..."
"And Sawamura."
No one objected.
Even Ushijima agreed.
He had never intended to become Seido's full-time ace.
He had only taken on the role because the team desperately needed another dominant pitcher.
Now things were different.
Furuya and Kawakami had both gained valuable experience pitching at Koshien.
It was time for them to shoulder more responsibility.
Reducing Ushijima's innings would also keep him fresh enough to maximize his greatest weapon—
His bat.
After all...
His 12 home runs at Koshien had already proven just how terrifying he was as a hitter.
"That's all."
"Dismissed."
Everyone immediately headed toward practice.
"Ushijima."
Coach Kataoka stopped him.
"I need a word."
Following the coach into the office, Ushijima accepted a sheet of paper.
"The new first-string roster."
"We've retained the returning first- and second-years."
"And promoted several players from the second string."
Ushijima scanned the list.
The names didn't surprise him.
Toujou.
Kanemaru.
Maezono.
Higasa.
Asou.
All had earned their promotions.
The new twenty-man roster consisted primarily of second-year players.
Second Years
Miyuki
Kuramochi
Shirasu
Kawakami
Maezono
Asou
Higasa
Ono
...
First Years
Ushijima
Haruichi
Furuya
Sawamura
Toujou
Kanemaru
...
There were still more second-years than first-years overall.
However...
One familiar first-year name that Ushijima remembered from before was nowhere to be found.
Coach Kataoka folded his arms.
"This is probably the strongest roster we can field."
"But..."
"Our batting has clearly weakened."
"The recent practice games have shown that."
"The lineup lacks consistency."
He looked at Ushijima.
"What do you think?"
After a moment's thought, Ushijima answered.
"Lead-off: Kuramochi."
"Second: Shirasu."
"Third: Haruichi."
"Cleanup: Me."
"Fifth: Miyuki."
"Sixth: Maezono."
"Seventh: Furuya."
"Eighth: Toujou."
"Ninth..."
He paused.
"Either Kanemaru or Asou."
"Kanemaru gives us better offense."
"Asou provides stronger defense."
"It's a tradeoff."
Coach Kataoka nodded thoughtfully.
The lineup was undeniably weaker than the championship squad.
Replacing four veteran starters overnight was impossible.
Every powerhouse school in Japan faced the same problem after Summer Koshien.
Once the third-years graduated from tournament play...
The Autumn Tournament became a rebuilding season.
Even defending champions couldn't avoid that reality.
After thinking for another moment, Ushijima spoke again.
"I have an idea."
"During this training period..."
"I won't spend much time in the bullpen."
Instead...
"I'll throw batting practice."
"The hitters need to face quality pitching if they're going to improve."
"And while I'm doing that..."
"I can continue developing my left-handed pitching."
He smiled.
"Now that I can pitch effectively with both arms..."
"The more comfortable I become with my left hand..."
"The better prepared I'll be for unexpected situations in the future."
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