"That's only if he can make it into the first string!"
In Kominato Ryosuke's mind, only when his foolish younger brother climbed to the first string would they truly be on the same baseball team. Muddling along in the second string or third string didn't count, even if they were both at Seido.
The friends around him went quiet.
For this little guy standing in the batter's box right now, how easy would it be to climb to the first string? Even if he performed as well as Kominato Ryosuke had in his own first year, promotion would still be very difficult.
Seido currently had an extremely stable second baseman whose defensive ability was almost the best on the entire team. And in terms of hitting, Kominato Ryosuke's role was equally significant.
Without the ability to unseat his older brother, Kominato Haruichi would need some other remarkable quality to earn a first string spot. Stolen bases, hitting. Only someone with astonishing talent in those two areas could realistically become even a substitute player for Seido.
Looking at Kominato Haruichi's physique, the third-year players around Ryosuke quietly dismissed the possibility.
"That's why I said he's foolish. He had invitations from prestigious schools back home, but he insisted on coming to the same school as me through general admission."
Kominato Ryosuke murmured to himself.
On the mound, Kawakami had also vaguely pieced together Kominato Haruichi's identity. His motivation sharpened. Only when his opponents were strong enough could his pitching truly show its worth. Facing weaker opponents, even a strong performance would be hard for Coach Kataoka to take seriously.
With his mind made up, Kawakami threw a clean, sharp outside pitch.
In the batter's box, as the ball came toward him, a flicker of excitement crossed Kominato Haruichi's eyes, half-hidden by his hair.
This pitcher-catcher duo had a habit when facing an opponent of unknown strength. They started with an outside pitch as a probe, watched the swing, then adjusted their approach. They had done it with Takatsu. They had done it with Toujou.
Kominato Haruichi had expected they might change things up for the third batter. Maybe they thought that too. Three consecutive outside first pitches would be a pattern, and patterns could be read. Or perhaps they believed that even if he guessed it, an extreme outside pitch would still be too difficult for him to handle.
But unfortunately for them, there was no better pitch for Kominato Haruichi to hit than that one.
He stepped forward and swung his wooden bat with force.
"Ping!"
The bat found the ball solidly and sent it flying along the first base line, landing behind the first baseman.
Kominato Haruichi dropped his bat and sprinted for first.
Logically, that ball could have been a double. The space behind the first baseman was open. But the second string outfielder Tajima reacted too quickly, and Kominato Haruichi had a feeling that pushing further would get him thrown out. He held at first.
Two outs, runner on first base.
"He actually hit it!"
"That's incredible."
"I didn't expect that little guy to have something."
"No wonder he was put in the core hitting lineup."
The spectators talked among themselves, smiling. They had not expected a freshman to get a hit this quickly.
"Your younger brother is something else!"
Isashiki Jun and the others, who had more or less written Kominato's younger brother off, had just been proven wrong. Facing Kawakami for the first time and hitting him cleanly, if that wasn't a fluke, then this little guy might actually have a real case for a first string spot.
A faint smile appeared on Kominato Ryosuke's face.
"He has real talent."
The other Seido players didn't quite know what to say to that. His own younger brother was coming for his position. The feelings behind that statement had to be complicated.
"I will not give him my position. Even if he is my brother."
Kominato Ryosuke said it with conviction. But the more firmly he said it, the more uneasy the others felt.
Why did he feel the need to say it so explicitly?
Could it be that in his own heart, he already believed his younger brother, two years his junior, was capable of competing with him for his spot?
Sensing the looks on their faces, Kominato Ryosuke smiled and shook his head.
"Of course, the prerequisite is that he makes it into the first string."
Out at first base, Kominato Haruichi glanced over at his older brother.
Did he see that?
"Fourth batter, first baseman, Jinguuji!"
Two outs, runner on first.
Although the freshman team had immediately felt the weight of who they were up against, Kawakami, whom they had initially underestimated, had given them a hard lesson. Most of them had taken a serious blow, not physical but mental. He had used his pitching to tell them plainly that they still had a long way to go.
Just as the freshman dugout was tipping toward despair, a not-so-tall figure had stepped up and gotten a hit at exactly the right moment.
Kominato Haruichi's hit carried a message to his teammates.
The senior team is not invincible.
Work hard enough. Be good enough. And there is hope of getting a hit, or even a run, off these upperclassmen.
The freshmen in the dugout were already Coach Ochiai's selected elites. When they couldn't see any hope, their morale had naturally dropped. But give them even the smallest spark, and these guys would light up immediately.
In the senior team's dugout, Chris frowned.
"The momentum shifted that fast."
He took a long look at Kominato Haruichi.
As far as freshman performances went, this kid might even outshine his older brother.
"It's too early to say. The key is the next confrontation."
Zhang Han shook his head.
Kominato Haruichi had gotten a hit. But it was clear he had exploited Kawakami's habits and tendencies to do it. If Kawakami had known from the start that the small guy in front of him wasn't easy to deal with and had brought his full focus, the hit probably wouldn't have happened. There was an element of luck, and an element of Kawakami underestimating his opponent.
The next confrontation would be different.
With a runner on base, Kawakami would not hold anything back. He would pitch at full strength. If he retired the freshman team's fourth batter cleanly, then his performance against Kominato could be written off as a momentary lapse. But if he failed to handle the fourth batter, then this year's freshman team was genuinely something special.
All eyes turned to the batter's box.
The fourth batter was well-known even among the first string players. He had been called the strongest newcomer and the player most likely to earn a first string promotion. That wasn't just empty flattery. Coach Ochiai had put him in the fourth spot for a reason.
Jinguuji had legs that appeared to exceed 1.1 meters in length. Combined with his tall frame, just standing there he radiated a kind of physical presence that put opponents on edge.
"Except for being a bit fairer-skinned than Carlos, he looks exactly like another Carlos."
Someone among the first string players summed it up perfectly. In terms of build and bearing, the resemblance really was striking.
"Looking alike isn't enough. We need to see his strength."
Isashiki Jun said, clearly unimpressed.
In terms of allegiance, he was naturally on the side of the senior team. And beyond that, with both Chris and Zhang Han standing nearby, there was simply no way he could emotionally accept watching the freshman team swagger around. Kominato Ryosuke's brother was one thing. Now someone else had turned up looking just as bold.
Isashiki Jun touched his little beard and glared at the field.
"Don't give up a run in the first inning. That would be too embarrassing."
On the mound, Kawakami fixed all his attention on the opponent in front of him.
Jinguuji stood tall and composed, centered in his stance, neither stiff nor showy. Honestly, his waiting posture was irritating. It felt like he could handle anything thrown at him.
During practice games, Kawakami had only felt that way facing Yuuki, Miyuki, and Zhang Han. A small handful of players.
Could this young man, barely a month into high school, already stand at that level?
Impossible.
Absolutely impossible.
Kawakami shook his head hard, took his stance, and fired the ball in. Not his fastball this time. He went straight to his preferred breaking ball.
Seeing the ball coming, Jinguuji swung without hesitation.
"Ping!"
He made contact with the sharply breaking ball and swept it along the third base line.
"Pop!"
Foul ball.
Jinguuji exhaled slowly, eyes still fixed on Kawakami.
This senior's pitching was even sharper than he had imagined. Especially as the ball approached his hands, the angle and speed of the break were astonishing. He had very nearly sent that ball into fair territory. If he had, being caught out was almost certain. He felt a chill at how close it had been.
What Jinguuji didn't know was that his contact had sent the hearts of the second and third-year players jumping.
Facing Kawakami's inside breaking ball for the first time, from a sidearm delivery no less, and he had made contact?
In the freshman dugout, Coach Ochiai stroked the beard on his chin with a quietly satisfied expression.
For most of this year's freshmen, challenging the senior team was still premature. But there were always one or two exceptional cases. Players who had been in high school for less than a month and were already improving by leaps and bounds.
Jinguuji was one of them.
If his position and attributes didn't directly conflict with players already on the first string, Coach Ochiai genuinely believed he already had the strength to challenge for a spot.
"The stage is set. Shine brightly, young man."
"Pop!"
"Strike!"
The first pitch had been a foul. The second Jinguuji didn't swing on.
Two strikes, zero balls. The strong start was quickly put under pressure.
Kawakami threw a ball, trying to bait a swing. Jinguuji watched it go by without moving.
"Pop!"
"Ball!"
Even with Kawakami's command, the pitch had hugged the strike zone. But even under the pressure of two strikes, Jinguuji hadn't chased it.