Top of the 5th inning.
"Strike! Batter out!"
Mine Fujio was surprised. "I didn't think we'd still be scoreless against Kamishiro even into the fifth inning…"
"Yeah, people say he was the strongest pitcher in youth league, but normally once you get to high school, the differences start to show. Some guys who were stars in youth leagues disappear, and some who barely played suddenly rise to fame."
"Right, if I remember correctly, Kamishiro had a great catcher partner back in middle school—what was his name again…"
"Come to think of it, that catcher was only a year older than Kamishiro. He should've been able to play through third year, but he quit after his second year. Weird…"
Owada Akiko thought for a moment. "I think his name was Shinomiya… Kazuyuki?"
Normally, no one would pay attention to this kind of thing—after all, youth baseball isn't that closely followed. But with Rinichi's rise to prominence, reporters had started digging into his past.
"Yeah, that's right—Shinomiya Kazuyuki… I don't think anyone ever found out which high school he ended up playing for," Mine said.
"Strike! Batter out!"
Owada Akiko muttered, "Shinomiya… that Shinomiya? If it's him, I doubt he's playing baseball anymore."
Mine Fujio sighed. "If the two of them were still battery partners in high school, they'd probably be the strongest duo… Kamishiro's performance now is amazing, but somehow it feels like he's missing something compared to his first year in youth league."
"Holding back?" Owada suggested.
"Strike! Batter out!"
Three up, three down. All strikeouts. No suspense at all.
The upperclassmen swarmed around Rinichi, each praising him in turn.
Bottom of the 5th. Seidou didn't score either.
Kawakami put on his hat and glove, but before he could take a step, Rinichi called out, "Kawakami-senpai."
Kawakami turned to see Rinichi still seated, raising his right fist. When their eyes met, Kawakami saw a warm smile on Kamishiro's face.
"I'm counting on you, Kawakami-senpai."
Those eyes were sincere and clear.
Kawakami blinked in surprise, then felt his confidence rise. He formed a fist with his left hand and lightly bumped Rinichi's in return.
"Don't just sit there. You're in left field," Kuramochi called out with a sly grin.
It's just… saying that while sitting looked cooler!
Yakushi's dugout was visibly surprised when they saw it wasn't Rinichi taking the mound.
They had assumed Seidou's ace would pitch the whole game, but he'd been sent to left field instead.
Raizou clicked his tongue. "What's this? Are they underestimating us? Putting their ace in left field?"
"Maybe he's injured?"
"Either way, good for us! This is our comeback chance! Everyone—smash those pitches!"
Clearly, with the pitching change, Yakushi's morale had lifted after being suppressed for so long.
"Batting eighth, shortstop—Kobayashi."
Miyuki could feel the shift immediately—Yakushi had come alive.
And this inning, they'd have to face Raichi…
Even though our ace is off the mound, that doesn't mean we're going to let you score so easily.
He got into his catching stance.
Kawakami nodded nervously.
Rinichi had held Yakushi scoreless this whole time—he couldn't be the one to ruin that.
Fueled by that determination, he began his windup.
Rinichi himself didn't seem particularly concerned. He stood in left field, rotating and stretching his arm.
"Strike! Batter out!"
Before long, the umpire's voice rang out.
He struck out the 8th batter.
But on the second pitch to the 9th batter, the ball was hit between first and second base. Neither Ryousuke nor Yuuki could reach it. The 9th batter made it to first base.
Standing on the bag, the batter raised his fist in triumph as if he'd already won the game.
One out, one on base.
Now Seidou needed two more outs to end the inning.
It was either Yakushi scoring two runs or none at all—well, that's assuming Raichi could hit a home run.
The odds of a hit reaching left field were low.
Rinichi thought about it.
If it came down to it, they might have to put him back on the mound.
If every game relied solely on him, Rinichi wondered if he'd burn out by the end of the Koshien tournament.
Though honestly, he didn't care much about burning out—as long as they won the national championship.
Retiring early didn't sound so bad.
He never planned to go pro anyway. After high school, he'd just move on to something else.
"Batting first, third baseman—Todoroki-kun."
Raichi looked thoroughly displeased.
Why'd they take that pitcher off the mound!
He really wanted to smash all of Seidou's ace's pitches.
Raizou slung his arms over the bench, legs crossed, and let out a chuckle.
The worst mistake Seidou could've made was swapping pitchers. Without that ace… if Raichi could hit a bomb, the whole team might wake up.
"It's all you, Raichi!"
The atmosphere on Yakushi's side had completely shifted—they no longer seemed as suppressed as before.
Beneath the brim of his cap, Rinichi's eyes remained calm.
So the momentum he had worked so hard to crush was rising again… What a pain…
If Raichi managed to hit a double or a home run, the momentum would completely flip, wouldn't it?
A team like Yakushi… really is a pain to deal with.
They're like cockroaches—you just can't squash them.
He adjusted the brim of his cap.
Think faster, Rinichi. What kind of pitch would Miyuki call in this situation? How would Raichi swing at it? Which direction would he hit it in?
Images of Raichi's previous batting footage flashed through his mind at lightning speed.
He exhaled slowly, a bead of sweat sliding down his cheek.
That swing carried such intensity that even Kawakami felt a flicker of fear.
Rinichi's eyes suddenly sharpened. The next pitch—
Before he'd even finished the thought, his body was already moving. Just as the next pitch was hit, he was running.
The ball soared toward the edge of left field, bounced off the ground, and landed squarely in Rinichi's glove.
No one had expected it—Rinichi had already been running toward that spot before the hit even came.
And it just so happened that he wore his glove on his left hand…
Rinichi's lips curled into a smirk as he threw the ball toward second base. "Kominato-senpai!"
With a loud thud, the ball landed in Ryousuke's glove—who had just snapped out of his daze—then was quickly thrown to first base.
The top of the sixth ended in dramatic fashion.
The smiles on Yakushi's bench froze.
"That was insane! He threw the ball from that far and it landed right in the second baseman's glove!"
"Did you see that? When the pitcher was winding up, the left fielder had already started running—like he knew exactly where the ball would go!"
Mine Fujio stared in disbelief. "That was a 'Shinomiya Anticipation!'"
Owada Akiko: "..." What? Did he just make that up on the spot?
"Shinomiya Anticipation"…?
Even Rinichi was stunned for a moment.
He'd actually predicted it correctly just now…
That was his first time succeeding with something like that.
Of course, in later games, Rinichi would realize that this success had been pure coincidence… He hadn't actually mastered any new "skill." But that was a story for another time—
Raichi stood stunned, but then burst into laughter.
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