At that moment, Miyuki finally realized that Rinichi was more sensitive than he seemed. Beneath the well-behaved surface was a side of him that was actually quite forceful and stubborn.
The atmosphere turned tense.
Then Kuramochi jabbed Rinichi in the butt with his knee. "Hey, what are you even thinking about?"
"You're our ace. If we don't trust you, who would we trust?"
The other seniors quickly chimed in.
"Don't overthink it, just focus on pitching!" yelled Isashiki in his usual loud voice.
"…Got it." Rinichi averted his gaze, then added awkwardly, "Sorry."
The tension finally eased.
"What are you apologizing for?"
Someone smacked Rinichi on the head.
Miyuki let out a breath of relief.
Still… why did it feel like he was the one at fault, and not Rinichi?
Bottom of the fourth.
"Third batter, center fielder, Isashiki!"
Isashiki marched forward like he was about to throw hands with someone. "My turn!"
He nearly forgot his helmet—thankfully, Kuramochi reminded him in time.
Before stepping into the batter's box, he politely greeted the umpire and catcher, which startled both of them.
"Don't drink too much water," Kuramochi warned.
Rinichi, mid-sip: "…"
"Are you my mom or something?!"
Kuramochi grinned. "Seeing you this lively is reassuring."
Then, more seriously: "Why'd you say something like that back there?"
"You're the ace. Of course we trust you."
Rinichi couldn't say anything.
Because if he gave the real reason, he'd sound like a petty kid.
So he fudged part of the truth and pinned it on Miyuki. "He said I wasn't thinking about the team when I pitched."
"But I only did it because I knew I wouldn't give up a run."
It came from his confidence in his own ability.
Still, he had to admit, that pitch was driven by emotion.
So basically, he knew he was wrong—but also kind of not?
Meanwhile, Isashiki stepped up to bat with a weird stance like he was aiming to pound the ball into the ground.
"Don't look down on me!" he yelled with intimidating flair.
With a powerful swing, he sent the ball flying.
First pitch—solid contact.
It went deep into left field—and landed.
Rinichi was a little surprised. "That pitch was pretty high and outside… he still hit it?"
With that odd batting form, no less.
Kuramochi chuckled. "As long as it's not absolute garbage, Jun-senpai can hit anything. He's got an appetite for it."
Rinichi: "…" So it was a lucky shot?
People were practically screaming their lungs out.
"Cleanup batter, first baseman, Yuuki!"
Yuuki stepped up to the plate.
Akikawa's pitcher You Shunshin and his catcher both felt the pressure immediately.
It veered toward first base.
That one swing was enough to make You Shunshin abandon his plan to strike Yuuki out.
Rinichi watched closely.
So they avoided Yuuki. Still, You Shunshin's control seemed to be slipping.
His mindset was a bit shaken, and he'd already thrown a lot of pitches.
Probably twice as many as Rinichi.
"Fifth batter, third baseman, Masuko!"
First pitch—Masuko laid down a sacrifice bunt and took off for first.
But now Seidou had runners on second and third.
"Sixth batter, catcher, Miyuki!"
Miyuki stepped into the box.
Akikawa's fielders moved forward in anticipation.
Well, they had to. One more solid hit and Seidou would score. Miyuki wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Damn it, the precision machine is starting to lose control—trying to force itself back into rhythm, huh…? Even if you walk the clean-up hitter, as long as you shut down the batters behind him, it's fine…
He readied his stance, eyes gleaming with excitement.
A curveball barely skimming the edge of the strike zone.
That's a nightmare to hit.
Miyuki's smile stiffened as he adjusted his batting stance again.
An inside high fastball.
Rinichi rotated his left shoulder to loosen up.
All those pitches were high.
And those kinds of pitches—Rinichi actually liked them. They were just right for smashing into a home run.
Next up was the fourth pitch.
If he were calling pitches for this pitcher… forget the setup—just finish it with a low breaking ball outside—
But the ball shot past You Shunshin from above.
Both runners advanced—Miyuki slid safely into third.
The stands exploded with cheers, louder than before.
That's when Akikawa called a timeout.
Rinichi put on his glove again.
Shirasu stepped up and went for a bunt.
Miyuki took off for home—You Shunshin fielded the ball and threw it to the catcher.
Safe at third, but they held the run.
Rinichi, who had just put his glove on, had to take it off again, grab his baseball glove, and return to the mound.
That inning ended with just two runs. Bit of a shame—almost made it three.
Still, compared to Akikawa, Seidou was ahead.
Akikawa hadn't scored at all.
From the first inning to now, they had been completely on the defensive.
Their batting lineup was helpless—unable to find any opening against Rinichi. They could only rely on defense to stall for time.
Now that Seidou had scored first, the balance was broken. The momentum had clearly shifted in their favor. Akikawa was probably panicking already, but it wouldn't matter much.
Rinichi didn't even need to use any new breaking pitches—his velocity alone was enough to shut them down, let alone his fastballs with movement.
The leadoff hitter stepped up—and went for a blind swing with his eyes shut.
He somehow made contact… but the ball flew right into Rinichi's glove.
That hit was pure luck.
But it saved Rinichi from throwing two more pitches.
Hard to say who got luckier.
The next two batters didn't even put up a fight—both struck out on three straight pitches.
Mine Fujio and Owada Akiko looked visibly serious.
"Akikawa is way too passive right now," Owada said.
"Seidou has complete control of the game."
"This game is basically decided. Akikawa's offense is too weak—Kamishiro didn't even need to throw real breaking balls."
Mine Fujio watched Rinichi descend the mound and frowned.
"His pitch count… still under fifty."
If you want to read 20 chapters advanced.