Bottom of the ninth inning, two outs, bases empty.
The batter was Shirasu Kenjiro, Seido's eighth hitter.
As soon as Shirasu stepped into the batter's box, he swung at the first pitch.
Unfortunately, his luck wasn't great. The pitch was a low outside breaking ball, and Shirasu could only barely nick it with the bat. The ball rolled toward first base, where Akikawa's first baseman easily fielded it and stepped on the bag.
Out.
With that, the eighth inning came to an end.
Akikawa High School was about to face their final chance at bat.
As soon as Sawamura took the mound, the first batter he faced was Akikawa's fifth hitter — You Shunshin.
Unlike Sawamura, who looked extremely excited, Miyuki remained cautious.
Even though the outcome of the game was practically decided, he still wanted Sawamura to finish strong.
Let's start with an outside-low cutter.
Miyuki gave the signal.
Sawamura nodded immediately.
Facing You Shunshin made him feel thrilled from the bottom of his heart. Before the game, he had heard many stories about how strong this batter was. From the dugout, he had watched him bat several times.
But standing across from him now…
It felt like facing the final boss of a video game.
First Pitch
Whoosh!
Sawamura fired the ball toward home plate, the white blur streaking through the air.
Thwack!
"Strike!"
You Shunshin calmly watched the ball settle into Miyuki's mitt.
Outside low, huh…
Miyuki tossed the ball back and studied his opponent. Since You Shunshin hadn't swung, he decided to try another outside pitch.
Second pitch.
An outside high fastball.
Thump!
You Shunshin swung.
"Foul ball!"
Adjusting his glasses, he stared silently at Miyuki.
The pitch itself wasn't unexpected, but because it was slightly outside the strike zone, he couldn't make clean contact.
Outside low, then outside high…
If nothing unexpected happens, the next pitch will probably come inside.
You Shunshin quietly made his deduction.
Miyuki observed him carefully.
This guy is waiting for an inside pitch…
After a moment of thought, Miyuki made his decision.
Fine.
Let's confront him directly.
He signaled for an inside high fastball.
A pitch coming from the opposite corner like that would normally be very difficult to hit.
Let's see what your pitching can really do against a batter like You Shunshin.
Sawamura bent slightly and nodded.
An inside high fastball to decide the duel?
He loved this kind of head-on challenge.
Whoosh!
The baseball shot forward.
A flash of white reflected across You Shunshin's glasses.
Inside!
Swing!
Bang!
The ball rocketed toward right field.
You Shunshin calmly ran to first base and arrived safely.
Miyuki smiled faintly.
Even though Sawamura's inside pitch had been well thrown, once the batter was prepared for it, it was difficult to win the count.
He turned to look at Sawamura.
What kind of reaction would the pitcher have?
Instead of looking discouraged, Sawamura was glaring angrily at You Shunshin.
"Sawamura! Focus on the batter!" Miyuki shouted.
"Ah—right!"
Sawamura quickly turned back toward home plate. Akikawa's seventh batter was already stepping into the box.
Hehe…
Once I take care of the rest, the game will be over.
Sawamura felt secretly pleased.
Even though he only came in during the eighth inning, he was still happy he could finish the game.
He even chuckled to himself.
Miyuki stared at him speechlessly.
He had literally just told the guy to focus.
"Sawamura! What are you laughing about?! Hurry up and pitch!"
A teammate's shout came from behind.
Sawamura jumped in surprise and quickly threw the ball.
"Ball!"
Miyuki sucked in a sharp breath.
That pitch had flown over his head. If he hadn't stood up quickly, he wouldn't have caught it.
"Focus!" Miyuki said helplessly.
"Sumimasen!!"
Sawamura bent forward and shouted loudly in apology.
After regaining his composure, Sawamura quickly dealt with the rest of Akikawa's lower batting order.
Moments later, the final out was recorded.
Final Score: 9 – 1
Seido wins.
You Shunshin stood quietly, looking toward Seido's dugout.
Beside him, several teammates were quietly crying.
Honestly, they had done their best.
He didn't blame them.
Still…
He felt a bit regretful.
He never got the chance to face Kanzaki Ryou on the mound.
"Line up!"
"Thank you for the game!"
The two teams lined up and shook hands.
When You Shunshin stepped forward, Kanzaki Ryou smiled at him.
"You lost, didn't you?"
You Shunshin blinked in confusion.
"You—"
"Handsome, right?"
Kanzaki said shamelessly.
Ignoring his nonsense, You Shunshin sighed.
"I hope we'll have another chance to play against each other."
Kanzaki tilted his head.
"Probably not. Aren't you going back to your country?"
"You know that too?!"
You Shunshin looked shocked.
Did Seido investigate him that thoroughly?
Kanzaki chuckled.
"I'll give you a suggestion."
"You're going back for your college entrance exams, right? Why not come study here for university instead? Then we can keep playing baseball together."
"I can tell you really love baseball."
You Shunshin froze.
We just met… and you're already planning my future?
"Heh… we'll see," he said awkwardly.
"It's still too early to say."
After the game, the two teams departed.
On Seido's bus ride back to school, Kanzaki Ryou sat in the front row behind Coach Kataoka.
"Coach, I arranged something."
Coach Kataoka turned around.
"Oh? What is it?"
"I scheduled a practice game with You Shunshin."
Coach Kataoka looked slightly surprised.
Since when had this kid started doing the manager's job?
Takashima Rei and Ota also looked over curiously.
Although Akikawa's overall strength was average, their ace pitcher was impressive.
Playing them again would still be useful.
Ochiai Hiromitsu nodded.
"That's not a bad idea."
"I thought the same," Kanzaki said.
Coach Kataoka nodded as well.
"Then let's schedule it after the summer preliminaries."
"When we begin preparing for Koshien, we'll need some practice games anyway."
Hearing that, everyone on the bus smiled knowingly.
Seido's mindset had already changed.
Koshien.
They would definitely make it.
Just as the bus arrived back at school, Takashima Rei—who had been looking at her phone—suddenly turned around.
Her expression was unusually serious.
"Coach!"
"Jingu Second Stadium…"
"Ichidai Third High just lost!"
The entire bus fell silent.
Everyone was stunned.
At that moment, Kanzaki Ryou suddenly remembered.
The opponent was—
Yakushi High School Baseball Team.
The team led by the terrifying slugger…
Raichi Todoroki.