Compared to the number of reporters watching the upperclassmen bat, there were just as many gathered around the bullpen.
"Oh, it's Kamishiro!"
"The first-year ace pitcher!"
Miyuki put on his gear and walked to an open spot, crouching down with his glove facing Rinichi.
"Throw whatever you want, anything's fine," he said.
"But if your pitching sucks, forget about batting."
How could he possibly pitch poorly?! Rinichi thought.
He felt underestimated.
He set his grip behind the glove, raised his right leg, and stepped out with a powerful motion.
The pitch roared toward the plate, intimidating and direct.
"Whoa, that was awesome!"
"A fast forkball! Just watching that drop was terrifying!"
"That had to be at least 150 km/h, right?"
"No wonder he's the ace pitcher after only two months."
"Looks like Seidou has a real shot at Koshien this summer."
Miyuki was mildly surprised.
That was the first time Rinichi had thrown a forkball like that and landed it in the strike zone.
Rinichi beamed with pride. His eyes practically sparkled. "Well? I can go bat now, right?"
Miyuki sighed and took off his mask. "Yeah, go ahead. But I'm checking your pitching again tomorrow."
So far, Rinichi had never had an off day on the mound. His consistency was remarkable.
Miyuki hoped he could keep it up.
As for learning new pitches—there was no rush. One step at a time.
Cleared to bat, Rinichi left.
"He's done after one pitch?"
"Probably just a condition check."
"They say he never slipped up even once in middle school."
"That's what being an ace is."
"Can't wait to see how Kamishiro does this summer at Koshien."
"Wait, he only throws fastballs and forkballs, right? At least that's all we've seen so far. Though, his fastball is pretty unique…"
"No way that's all he has. He's got other pitches for sure, just hasn't shown them yet. I was a fan of his back in youth league."
"Kind of hard not to notice him. He stood out so much in the national tournaments."
"You guys actually followed the youth league?"
Even at the national level, youth baseball never had the spotlight that high school baseball did.
"You were barely in the bullpen. Don't tell me you bailed early?" Kuramochi asked with suspicion.
Is his reputation really that bad?
"Miyuki-senpai just wanted to check my condition. I pitched well, so he sent me back to hit."
Isashiki walked up with a bat over his shoulder and a scowl. "Is that true?"
"It is. Cross-my-heart true."
Even Isashiki-senpai was suspicious of him?
Finally, after that awkward pause, Rinichi made it into the batting cage.
He'd been observing the upperclassmen's swings earlier and imitated their form as best he could.
He still couldn't hit anything.
But after a few more swings, his form smoothed out.
Rinichi was just naturally gifted when it came to baseball.
Whether it was pitching or hitting, he only needed to see it once and practice a few times to pick it up.
After finishing his batting practice, he ran into Coach Kataoka.
Rinichi felt a little uneasy.
Why did it seem like Coach was waiting specifically for him?
No, no, he told himself, I'm just overthinking.
"Kamishiro. Run 20 laps before you're done," Coach Kataoka said in a tone that brooked no argument.
Rinichi was surprised but complied without complaint. "Yes, sir!"
He set down his hat and bat and started running.
The sun was already beginning to set—almost dinnertime.
Everyone looked at Rinichi with mild surprise.
"Did Kamishiro piss off Coach?"
"This totally looks like punishment."
"Yeah, he didn't even go into the bullpen today."
By the time Rinichi finished his run, the sky was completely dark, and everyone else had already eaten.
Sweating profusely and panting heavily, he bent over with both hands on his knees.
Haruichi Kominato handed him a towel.
Rinichi took it. "Thanks."
He had thought the coach would say something to him after the run, but there was no one there. Not a word.
Strangely, he wasn't angry at all. On the contrary, he felt calm.
"The senpai even asked the kitchen lady to save you a meal. Rest for a bit and then go eat," Haruichi said.
After a short rest, he headed to the cafeteria. The room was empty—no one in sight.
Standing outside the entrance were Miyuki and Kuramochi.
"Is he really okay?" Kuramochi asked.
Miyuki grinned. "He's fine. Coach just wanted to stop the bleeding early."
"Right now, he's our only real ace."
"Huh? So the punishment was because Kamishiro went to hit without permission…"
Miyuki's smile faded slightly. "Don't worry. Kamishiro probably understood that better than anyone."
And indeed, Rinichi had gotten the message. Ever since that day, he hadn't gone off to practice batting on his own again.
Instead, he'd obediently entered the bullpen every day and met his pitch quota, followed by running and left-field defense drills.
Coach had mentioned that they might use him in left field during the later innings of future games—just so they could still have him pitch again if needed.
"We have another game tomorrow. That's all for today," the coach said.
"The game starts at ten in the morning. Make sure to warm up and be at the field by 8:30. I heard it'll be over thirty degrees, so don't push too hard during self-practice, and get a good night's sleep."
The team responded in unison before dispersing.
Rinichi rotated his left arm.
Three days of training had flown by. Thirty degrees tomorrow, huh…
He thought to himself that he should conserve strength when pitching tomorrow—sweating too much could dull his grip and feel for the ball.
He really hated summer.
Isashiki Jun approached Yuki Tetsuya. "Hey, Tetsu, gonna watch the Akikawa footage again?"
"No need. I've finished the mental simulation. The rest is all about executing at the plate," Yuuki replied with focused eyes.
Kuramochi stepped up. "Jun-senpai, I'd like to watch too. I want to study their pickoff timing."
Masuko Tooru, standing next to him with arms crossed, added, "Focus on the pitcher's motion when there's a runner on base."
Jun looked at Masuko with surprise. "You too, Masuko? Thinking of stealing bases?"
Masuko nodded with a smile.
"I-I want to watch too!" Rinichi suddenly popped up in front of them, raising his hand.
Is this guy a grade schooler?
Jun laughed. "Kamishiro wants to steal bases too?"
Kuramochi smirked. "Well, you'll have to get on base first."
"I-I just want to learn a bit… about base-stealing," Rinichi said with hesitation.
Honestly, it didn't seem like stealing bases was his real goal.
What surprised them more was how unaffected Rinichi seemed by the punishment he received from Coach the other day.
Coach never brought it up again. No scolding, no conversation. Nothing.
Maybe it was because Rinichi already understood.
And since Coach didn't bring it up, the rest of them figured they'd pretend it never happened either.
Jun, Masuko, and Kuramochi: "…"
"Harucchi, wanna hit at Top Gun with me later?" Ryousuke asked.
The group turned their heads instinctively.
Haruichi looked stunned. "I-I can go too?"
Ryousuke chuckled. "What's that supposed to mean? Of course you can. See you there."
Kuramochi muttered, "Wow, Ryousuke actually invited his little brother."
"They are siblings after all," Jun added, then turned to Rinichi. "Let's go watch the footage."
Miyuki watched Rinichi walk off with the upperclassmen.
Grinning, he turned to Furuya beside him. "That guy blends in so naturally… totally different from you."
And it was true. The senpai really liked Kamishiro.
Sure, he could be a little stubborn, but he always listened to what the senpai and the coach told him. Overall, he was just… well-behaved.
Furuya stared quietly at Rinichi's figure as it faded into the distance, saying nothing.
If you want to read 20 chapters advanced.