"That was truly an interesting ga today. It gave us a great opportunity to observe and practice as well," Coach Matsumoto said.
"Don't ntion it. The feeling's mutual," replied Coach Kataoka.
"But I must say, I'm really envious of you, Coach Kataoka. Even though the pitcher who ca in during the sixth inning gave up a lot of runs, he didn't allow any in the final inning."
Coach Matsumoto smiled as he spoke, but then his eyes sharpened with intensity. "Still, that pitcher from the first five innings—he's a natural-born ace. I'd heard about Kamishiro before. I assu a lot of schools tried to recruit a pitcher like him. I just never expected him to choose Seidou..."
"In any case, our players were really impacted by this match. Let's et again at Koshien."
"Of course," Coach Kataoka replied with a smile.
As Coach Matsumoto turned back to his team, he called out, "Alright, we head to Kanagawa tomorrow. Keep your spirits up!"
"Yes!"
"Thank you for the ga!" The players all bowed in front of the bus and shouted in unison, watching it drive away.
Only when the bus disappeared from view did Rinichi lower his gaze and head to the cafeteria.
He looked at the few plates of food and a bowl of rice in front of him, clearly distracted. Compared to his usual pace, he was eating extrely slowly today.
By the ti he finished, the cafeteria was nearly empty.
His body ached with fatigue, and a wave of drowsiness washed over him.
Although he hadn't pitched that much in the ga today, the exhaustion from the previous days' training hadn't faded yet.
He exhaled and opened the door to his room. It was pitch dark inside; both of his senpai were gone.
They were probably out training again.
"Those senpai really are as diligent as ever…" Rinichi thought.
His eyes landed on the bat resting in the corner. He walked over, picked it up, and headed to the area where he used to practice swings with Masuko-senpai.
When he arrived, he found all of the upperclassn already there practicing their swings.
"Oh? Lil' Rin is here," Ryousuke was the first to notice him.
Because of that one comnt, everyone turned to look at him.
Rinichi felt a bit awkward under their gaze.
Kuramochi snickered, "Still hung up on that strikeout, huh? You normally never bother practicing swings."
Rinichi said nothing.
But I did hit a single though… he thought, but didn't say aloud.
A sweaty Isashiki Jun slung an arm around his neck and grinned. "Don't worry about it. Everyone gets struck out."
"You struck out Tetsuya earlier too, didn't you?"
Rinichi paused and glanced at Yuuki. "Thanks, senpai. That was surprisingly comforting."
Yuuki: "…"
"Oi, Jun-senpai…" Kuramochi muttered, half-exasperated. But seeing how Rinichi's expression had relaxed compared to before, he decided not to push it.
"No matter how good soone is at hitting, they'll get struck out eventually. And with us senpai around, don't put all the pressure on yourself."
"What, do you think your senpai are unreliable or sothing?"
Rinichi looked startled and stamred, "N-No, not at all."
It wasn't really about being reliable or not… but he couldn't deny it—he'd always carried the mindset that he had to be the one to hold the line, that he had to be the one to score.
That belief had made him seem like a strong and dependable person to many.
At so point, Rinichi had begun to think of it as a given.
But now that his senpai had called it out, it didn't feel so absolute anymore.
He felt conflicted.
Isashiki exhaled. "Don't carry everything by yourself. Baseball isn't a one-man ga, right?"
"But hey, your pitching today was great. Not a single run allowed."
Rinichi looked up and saw his senpai smiling warmly at him.
After a few seconds of silence, it was as if sothing had been released from within him. Rinichi smiled brightly and replied with strong conviction, "Yes!"
It's unclear how many swings he practiced alongside his upperclassn, but by the ti he was done, he was drenched in sweat. Figuring it was enough for one night, he wrapped up and headed back.
Coincidentally, Miyuki and Kuramochi had also finished, so the three of them returned together.
Since Rinichi had started earlier than the others, he ended up finishing earlier too. Deep down, he felt a little awkward about it.
Still, the other two didn't comnt—maybe because they understood Rinichi's current limits.
"By the way, aren't we playing two schools in a round-robin match tomorrow? Which ones?" Rinichi asked.
"What, you wanna play?" Miyuki said with a grin.
"Tomorrow's mainly for Tanba-senpai and Kawakami. No way the first-years are getting on the mound."
"You clearly weren't listening to coach at all," Kuramochi said.
"Probably had his mind full of that strikeout. No way he heard anything the coach said," Miyuki added, sounding sure of it.
Rinichi, slightly guilty: "…"
So basically, he and Furuya would be warming the bench tomorrow. Not a pleasant thought.
"It's Inashiro Industrial and Shuhoku," Miyuki added.
Rinichi's expression stiffened slightly, but in the darkness, neither Miyuki nor Kuramochi noticed.
As they passed the practice field, Kuramochi glanced over. "Looks like soone's still out running."
When he said that, both Rinichi and Miyuki paused.
Through the dim light, they could make out Furuya.
Didn't expect him to be working this hard, Rinichi thought.
"Ahhh, it's Furuya… He's definitely more dedicated than Kamishiro," Kuramochi said with a teasing smile.
Rinichi, suddenly called out: "…"
"But when it cos to skill, Kamishiro's still way ahead—his control and fielding especially," Miyuki added, as if kindly saving Rinichi's pride.
Kuramochi snickered. "True, Furuya gave up eight runs in just four innings. We almost lost because of him."
"I wonder who'll be the ace this sumr—Kamishiro or Tanba-senpai."
Miyuki paused thoughtfully. "Probably Kamishiro."
That answer caught Kuramochi off guard. "Huh? You really think that highly of him?"
Rinichi, walking between them as they discussed him: "…"
Miyuki smiled but didn't reply. Instead, he turned to Rinichi and asked, "Well? Do you want to be the ace?"
"Of course I do," Rinichi said, finding the question a little strange.
"I thought you were the type who wouldn't care about that."
"…"
"Well, it's not really our decision to make. That's up to the coach," Miyuki said, shifting his gaze away and walking ahead of them.
Kuramochi caught up first, chuckling. "You just want Kamishiro to be the ace 'cause it'd make things easier for you, right? Tanba-senpai probably hates your guts."
Rinichi blinked. "Why would Tanba-senpai hate Miyuki?"
Still not calling Miyuki "senpai."
"You kidding? Miyuki talks back to Tanba-senpai all the ti, never backs down an inch. Of course Tanba-senpai would hate him."
Miyuki: "…"
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