"Which high school do you want to go to, Rinichi?" Shinomiya asked.
The sudden shift in topic caught Rinichi off guard. He looked at the senior walking in front of him with a faint smile.
"You've probably had some powerhouse schools reach out to you already, right?"
Rinichi hesitated for a moment before nodding.
But they were all from Kanagawa. He felt it was too soon to decide. If he had to choose, he thought, it would be better to wait until his third year of middle school.
"You're thinking of staying in Kanagawa?"
Rinichi fell silent.
"What about choosing a high school in Tokyo?"
Rinichi lifted his eyes.
Shinomiya continued, "Your family's in Tokyo. You'll have to return sooner or later… Besides, I'm sure Mukai will choose a Tokyo high school too."
It was true. Mukai Taiyo's current middle school was already in Tokyo. His parents worked there, and when they had been too busy to care for him before, he had been sent to his grandparents in Kanagawa. But when they realized the distance was too long, they brought him back for middle school.
As for Daikyou… while it leaned closer to Tokyo, it was still quite far for both Rinichi and Taiyo.
Taiyo would definitely end up in Tokyo. Shinomiya-senpai too. Even Ryuichi had said he wanted to attend Tokyo University later…
And Ryuichi had been urging him many times to return to Tokyo. His mother was there too…
If he stayed in Kanagawa, wouldn't that just make him the "inconvenience"?
His thoughts froze there. He didn't even realize he'd forgotten about Narumiya.
"But… would a Tokyo high school even bother scouting me here?"
Rinichi frowned, muttering under his breath, "What a hassle…"
Shinomiya: "…"
It's just an entrance exam… how is that a hassle?
With Rinichi's grades, plenty of schools would open their doors to him. So was he calling opportunity a hassle?
"Seidou. Seidou High School. Go look into it," Shinomiya said with a smile.
Seidou?
Rinichi froze.
"If you were still playing baseball, Shinomiya-senpai, would you have chosen Seidou?"
"Yes."
Rinichi was silent again.
But he did as Shinomiya suggested and looked into it. Not long after, Seidou's representatives came in person.
It was a huge surprise.
The first person he thought of… was Shinomiya.
But when they invited him to visit their campus, he wasn't ready to say yes right away. Still, when they asked him to come for a look, he agreed.
During the tour, he barely paid attention to Takashima Rei's explanations. His mind was filled only with what Shinomiya had said—that he would have chosen Seidou.
What kind of place was this Seidou that Shinomiya-senpai had valued so highly…?
Looking out over the players training on the field, Rinichi smiled.
"Alright. I'll come."
After the summer tournament ended, Rinichi was suddenly pushed into the position of team captain.
Even he didn't quite understand why everyone unanimously agreed on him.
He knew very well he hadn't made any special contribution to the team…
But once he became captain, there was no way he would let them down.
And the others began to notice the change in him.
He no longer skipped practices…
He fulfilled his duties as captain—and even did better than the previous one.
(That previous captain: "…")
While packing up, Okumura glanced sidelong at Rinichi, who was also putting his things away.
Rinichi noticed, smiled, and asked, "What's wrong?"
"…Nothing."
Rinichi just smiled again, slung his bag over his shoulder, and walked off.
Along the way, people stopped to greet him.
"See you tomorrow, Rin-senpai!"
"Good work today, Rin-senpai!"
"Rest well, Rin-senpai!"
Okumura turned and watched Rinichi's back.
He was no longer the reckless boy he'd first met. Sometimes he even took the initiative to reconcile, and more often, he was the one offering him comfort.
So what did Rin-senpai—who carried the hopes of the entire team—truly feel inside?
Those expectations hadn't crushed him. Instead, they made him grow stronger at a pace visible to the naked eye.
Yes. Rinichi was the kind of person who thrived the higher the expectations placed upon him.
What was pressure for others, for him became fuel.
Of course, this had a lot to do with his upbringing.
From a young age, Rinichi had been raised under endless expectations—his parents', his teachers', his friends'…
What he couldn't accept wasn't expectation.
It was disappointment.
He remembered what Rin-senpai had said when he first became captain:
"I want to try leading you all to a national championship."
In that moment, Okumura understood what the team truly meant to him.
To Rinichi, the team wasn't something he cherished for its own sake.
He just did his part quietly.
As the Ace, he shouldered only the Ace's responsibility.
As the Captain, he shouldered the whole team.
Simply put—he was an individualist.
That was the truth hidden beneath Rinichi's so-called "perfection."
However, after entering Seidou, Rinichi found it extremely difficult to adapt.
Whether it was the upperclassmen here, the training methods, or the official catcher… nothing felt comfortable to him.
And the strikeouts he suffered during the practice game against Osaka made him realize that his ability had declined.
He knew very well—if things continued like this, it wouldn't work.
With the third-year ace pitcher still around, Rinichi also understood there was no way the coach would hand him the No. 1 jersey right away. That would only breed resentment from the seniors.
So during this period, he thought maybe there was no need to push himself so hard.
Forget it—just coast along for now.
Although that second-year catcher could handle his pitches with ease, Rinichi still didn't like the feeling he got from him.
That said, he had to admit—it was surprising that someone could actually receive his pitches so easily.
Other than that surprise, he had no real thoughts about it.
Of course, if the catcher could receive him, that was ideal. If not, and he still wanted to pitch, he would have no choice but to work with the regular catcher until the guy got used to his throws. Only then could he stand on the mound.
Later, once he was given the No. 1 jersey, Rinichi attributed all his earlier discomfort to not wearing it.
Back in middle school, from the moment he first started pitching, he had immediately been made the team's ace—and carried the No. 1.
He had grown used to that. So when the number was suddenly gone, it always felt like something was missing.
What struck Rinichi most about Seidou was this:
As expected of a powerhouse.
Whether it was the batting lineup or the defense, everything was reliable.
And with his own pitching on top of that, Rinichi thought—winning a national championship with this team wasn't impossible.
As long as he didn't let the opponent score, that meant all the scoring rights belonged to their side.
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