Chapter 327: A Premature Stumble
"I was planning to pitch all the way to the end! Why did they pull me in the fourth inning?!"
Furuya was venting his aura wildly from the outfield.
"Haa…"
Seeing Miyuki's mitt, Sawamura let out a deep breath and began smoothing the mound.
But he still couldn't suppress his restless excitement. From the first inning on, he'd been bouncing around like a monkey, and now he was grinning ear to ear, teeth showing.
"This dirt! The stands! The heat—no, the passion! The smell! Hehehehe… This air… it's nice… Koshien! Furuya—so you got to hog it for that long!"
Thinking that, Sawamura raised his leg, his excellent balance making the crowd think he was a textbook lefty.
"This is… the beginning of Sawamura Legend: Chapter Two—"
Then, as his right foot came down and his heel touched the ground, he slipped.
"…Two—!"
Sawamura finished the last syllable mid-fall and went tumbling straight off the mound.
The ball hit the ground before it ever reached home plate and bounced awkwardly toward the plate, where Miyuki quietly trapped it in his glove.
Sawamura knelt on the mound, face darkened, wearing the same demonic expression as Jun-san—completely at a loss. His face turned red at lightning speed.
In the outfield, Sendo was already on his knees, clutching his stomach and laughing. It was the first time he'd seen this—he hadn't watched the Spring Koshien arc in his previous life and had no idea this even happened.
"So red! His face is so red!"
"Hahahaha!"
"Even his ears are completely red!"
"It's true! You can see it from this far away!"
The entire stadium was laughing itself silly. Only the Sawamura family, Wakana, and their friends in the stands were blushing just as hard. Furuya's grandfather—somehow seated with them—kept a perfectly serious expression.
On Seido's bench, everyone was laughing with flushed faces. The only one laughing openly and satisfied was Azuma.
The difference between Sawamura's Spring Koshien stumble and this one was the number of spectators—several times more. And that didn't even count TV viewers. With Summer Koshien, it was impossible not to watch. Sawamura was truly famous now.
"It's fine! That pitch doesn't count! Let's just pretend we didn't see it!" a Kansai-accented fan shouted.
"Quick, reset your mindset!"
"Haha, he's totally lost!"
"Don't get discouraged, Number 18!"
Sawamura stood up, face burning red, copied Miyauchi-senpai's sharp exhale, and began taking deep breaths.
"Oh! He's moving!"
"Hahahaha!"
"Life lets you start over, kid!"
"Hahahaha! How many deep breaths are you planning to take?!"
The game had practically stopped. Miyuki at home plate and the guy in center field were holding their stomachs laughing. The upperclassmen were red-faced too. Sawamura had already taken countless deep breaths, yet the embarrassment wouldn't fade.
With no other choice, Miyuki called a defensive timeout—one of only three allowed per game.
Sawamura had already been breathing for three straight minutes.
Even the three outfielders jogged in.
"Adjust your mindset, Sawamura-chan! Pfft—"
Masuko-senpai tried to comfort him, but broke into laughter mid-sentence.
Sawamura breathed even harder.
"Wham!"
"Thud!"
Seeing words weren't working, the middle infielders each smacked him once.
"This is all your own doing. It's your first game at Koshien, I get that you're excited—but you were clearly thinking about something weird while pitching, right?"
Sendo said, rubbing Sawamura's face with both hands, trying to relax his facial muscles.
After a bit, Sawamura's face finally calmed down—though the embarrassment still lingered.
"How did you know? I was thinking about something else…"
"So… what kind of pointless thing were you thinking about?"
"What do you mean pointless? This was the start of Sawamura Legend: Chapter Two, you know?"
"I remember your notebook said 'Sawamura Legend' too. You were shouting that kind of thing on your very first day here. Hahaha! Well, you really are a legend now—a Koshien legend. Do you know how many people are watching this game right now? Millions across Japan—maybe even overseas. And the better you become, the more people will know about this black history, and the longer it'll follow you. I can't—let me laugh for a bit! Hahahahaha!"
Oddly enough, Sendo's merciless speech actually erased Sawamura's embarrassment. With his goldfish-level memory, all that remained was rage toward Sendo.
"What are you even here for?! If you're not going to comfort me and just laugh, get back out there!"
"So… do you still need comforting now?" Sendo asked, holding back laughter.
"…You're right."
Sawamura suddenly realized—his shame was gone.
"Want to make up for it?"
"There's really a way?" Sawamura asked desperately, like he'd found a lifeline.
"Yeah. Pitch your heart out. Make a name for yourself in baseball. Become famous."
"But didn't you just say the more famous I get, the more people will know this black history?"
"Exactly. But once you succeed, it stops being black history and turns into a joke instead."
Sendo patted his shoulder.
"Eh? Is that really how it works, Masuko-senpai?"
"That's right. People will tease you about it, not mock you," Masuko-senpai confirmed.
"Alright! I'll do it!"
"Mm. After the game, I'm getting a copy of the footage and saving it," Sendo muttered, rubbing his chin.
Seido always recorded their games, so footage definitely existed.
"Seriously… the only guy who can fix the situation with a few words is you," Miyuki thought to himself as he watched Sawamura recover, staring at Sendo.
"I can switch with you, you know," Furuya said—half encouragement, half sincerity. He genuinely wanted to trade places.
"There's no role for you here! Go back! Shoo!"
Sawamura instantly exploded.
"If you don't want to get pulled, then pitch properly," Miyuki cut in at just the right time.
"I know!" Sawamura replied firmly.
"Oh—remember to make me a copy too."
Miyuki slung an arm around Sendo and whispered so only the two of them could hear.
"A copy of what?"
"Don't play dumb. You're definitely going to ask the video crew for the footage, right?"
Sendo didn't answer—just flashed an OK sign.
"Hehehe," Miyuki snickered.
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