"About Tanba's condition, I'm sure most of you have already heard…" Takashima Rei exhaled deeply. "As expected, we have no choice but to send in Kamishiro."
Before Coach Kataoka could say anything, Club President Ota pushed open the door: "We're back, Coach."
Takashima and Kataoka turned around.
"The Summer Tournament brackets have been finalized—"
The sky was overcast, and rain was pouring steadily.
Everyone gathered inside the indoor training facility, as instructed.
At that moment, all eyes turned to Rinichi with a different look.
After all, in their hearts, aside from Tanba, Rinichi was the most qualified candidate to wear the ace number.
Rinichi, along with Haruichi and Furuya, huddled together to check the tournament bracket.
"Only five games before the finals…?" Furuya remarked.
"We won't face Inashiro until the final, but I didn't expect us to meet Ichidaisan as early as the quarterfinals," Rinichi muttered thoughtfully.
"They're all powerhouse schools," Haruichi added.
Then the team was called to assemble. Everyone quickly lined up.
"I believe you've all heard the news. That pitch yesterday fractured Tanba's jawbone. Luckily, there was no serious break or brain injury," Coach Kataoka said with a grave tone. "However, he won't make it in time for the preliminaries."
"He had just regained his form as the ace pitcher. I imagine no one is more frustrated than he is…"
"This decision comes from me, as the coach…"
"The number one jersey goes to Kamishiro!"
As soon as he said it, everyone's gaze landed on Rinichi.
Given the circumstances, he was clearly the most suitable choice.
Rinichi looked slightly nervous. He swallowed hard.
"I can count on you, right, Kamishiro?" Coach Kataoka asked deliberately.
Rinichi clenched his right fist, eyes filled with determination—no hesitation or confusion in sight—and responded with conviction, "Yes!"
This outcome was one everyone had more or less expected.
"From now on, the third-years will take the lead in supporting Kamishiro during games."
"Also, not just Kawakami, but the first-year Furuya as well—I'll be increasing both of their opportunities to play."
"I'm counting on you all."
Watching Rinichi's back, Kuramochi muttered, "Will he really be okay? He's just a first-year. Carrying the pressure of being the ace and having everyone's attention on him might be too much."
Miyuki chuckled lightly. "He'll be fine… This will be a great catalyst for him."
In the bullpen, both catchers were with Rinichi.
Miyuki was squatting as the catcher, while Chris stood nearby observing.
After a few pitches, Chris finally spoke. "Kamishiro, your limbs are naturally flexible. Try widening your pitching motion a bit—almost like a whip—so you can maximize your strengths."
Rinichi listened carefully and nodded, adjusting his form as instructed.
He noticed the pitch seemed to float a little, but the velocity was faster than before—probably around 150 km/h.
Chris looked pleased. "Once you get used to it, you'll be fine."
"There's no issue with your pitching. Just throw a few to get a feel for it. But you really need to spend more time running and improving your stamina." Chris had already pulled out his notebook and started jotting things down.
"Long-distance running, plus baserunning drills."
Rinichi: "…" Running—his most hated thing.
Chris glanced up with a smile.
"Didn't you say you wanted to become a cleanup hitter? Being a slugger isn't just about power—you need speed on the bases too."
Rinichi: "…" How do these senpai know everything about me?
"Alright, that's it for now. Go run 20 laps. I need to check in on Furuya. After your jog, 10 sets of baserunning drills."
Surprisingly, compared to the hellish training he'd been through before, this wasn't so bad.
However, by the fourth lap, Rinichi already felt exhausted.
But still—he didn't stop.
Since he now wore the ace number, he had to live up to it—he couldn't let his seniors down.
"Everyone was quiet at first…" Takashima Rei's lips curved slightly as her eyes fell on Rinichi running. "But I'd say half the credit goes to Kamishiro."
"As upperclassmen, they probably don't want to bring their low spirits to Kamishiro. After all, he's just a first-year who's now the ace."
Coach Kataoka, arms crossed, also cracked a smile.
Aside from training, Rinichi had almost forgotten that final exams were coming up.
He'd definitely slept through a few classes from sheer exhaustion.
Whatever—just studying from the textbook should be fine.
As he packed his books, something occurred to him. He turned around to the student behind him.
"Kanemaru, can I borrow your notes to copy?" Rinichi asked seriously. "Please."
Kanemaru Shinji looked at him—he was totally serious.
Well, this guy's about to go up on the mound as the ace. They couldn't let him flunk.
"Sure, just return them later," Kanemaru said, pulling out his notes. He even took out notebooks for every subject.
To say Rinichi wasn't touched would be a lie. He grinned and took the notes. "Thanks a ton!"
With that, he stuffed them in his bag and left the classroom.
On the way back, Rinichi had already mapped out his schedule:
Train during the day, study at night, go to bed early, wake up early to run, then go to class.
As for only training during the day—well, that was because Chris-senpai had warned him against overtraining.
So using the evenings to study worked out great.
As the ace, there was no way he could afford to fail a class.
His sudden motivation actually startled his dormmates, Kuramochi and Masuko.
Even the rustling at the crack of dawn took some getting used to.
Though it was weird at first, they eventually got used to it—and they never tried to stop Rinichi's efforts.
Back in class, during a break, Rinichi was still poring over Kanemaru's notes.
"Ahh, Kamishiro looks so cool when he's studying."
"Did you hear? He's going to be our ace pitcher."
"Did you sign up for the cheer squad?"
"I totally forgot! It's too late now—they've already started training."
"That's such a shame… It would've been great to be part of the cheer squad and root for Kamishiro."
If you want to read 20 chapters advanced.