<14> Wavering Resolve

Chapter 14: Wavering Resolve

"That one's thrown every pitch he knows now."

It was mostly because Miyuki couldn't take Rinichi suddenly throwing some new pitch in the middle of training—without warning.

And worse, it seemed like Rinichi wasn't even doing it on purpose.

"Start with your fastballs," Miyuki added.

Rinichi nodded, adjusted his grip, lifted his right leg, rotated his waist slightly, and threw smoothly.

The first pitch was his signature fastball—appeared to dip slightly but actually didn't. A deceptive pitch.

The second was also a fastball, but with less spin: a low-spin fastball that dropped sharply just before contact.

Miyuki blinked. He had only discovered that one two days ago during practice.

The third pitch was another fastball—but this one had high spin. It seemed to rise at the last moment, almost like a rising spiral, but not quite.

That one he had noticed just yesterday.

Miyuki stared at Rinichi, growing increasingly surprised.

How many secret weapons is this guy hiding?

Fourth: a knuckle-flick pitch—fluttery like a butterfly, good for targeting the inside or outside corners.

Fifth: a cutter. For lefties it broke away, for righties it jammed in. Rinichi could even make it rise slightly.

Sixth: a changeup. It looked like a fastball out of the hand, but then it would suddenly drop sharply just before the plate—either inside or outside.

Seventh: a forkball. Came out looking like a fastball, but dropped much faster near the plate.

After that, it was just more of the same.

Once Miyuki felt satisfied, he stood up. "That's enough for today. You've thrown plenty."

"Let's go over the new signals."

"…New signals?" Rinichi looked confused.

He didn't think he had thrown anything new.

Miyuki: "…"

"You started off with those high-spin and low-spin fastballs, remember?"

"I didn't throw those before?" Rinichi asked.

"No!!" Miyuki snapped.

"But your velocity's gotten much more consistent lately—not all over the place like before."

Rinichi nodded. "That's mostly because I've been throwing daily. At this rate, I should be able to keep it steady at 150 km/h by the Summer Koshien."

Which essentially meant: he'd barely practiced pitching seriously before.

Miyuki chuckled. "Reliable as ever—no wonder you've always been the team's ace."

But Rinichi didn't smile. "I wasn't always the ace," he replied flatly.

Then he lifted his eyes, meeting Miyuki's gaze with rare seriousness. "But starting from the Summer Koshien a month and a half from now—I'll be the ace, from then on. Period."

Miyuki was caught off guard, but couldn't help praising him: "That's the spirit."

He smiled, though the look in his eyes deepened.

A player with overwhelming strength, a bit arrogant, but who knew exactly what he wanted. In his pursuit of that, Rinichi tended to ignore others. He stared only ahead—and those who tried to chase him down would likely give up.

That sense of distance, the feeling of hopelessness, combined with Rinichi's relentless push forward...

A player like Rinichi could crush the spirit of other pitchers competing alongside him—like Furuya.

If Rinichi kept that attitude, it was a real possibility.

...

Today was a practice match between the First String and Teito High.

Once again, Rinichi started the game.

He struck out Teito's first three batters—on three pitches each. Not even a foul ball.

The inning was over in a flash.

"No surprise from Rinichi. He may be a freshman, but that skill is no joke."

"He did the same thing during the Kanto Tournament—three-pitch strikeouts."

"But come to think of it, wasn't he just throwing variations of fastballs?"

"Yeah, now that you mention it…"

"Wait, could it be… that he only knows fastballs?"

"Still, the guy's strikeout rate is insane. And he's rock steady."

Back in the dugout, Rinichi removed his cap and placed his glove down.

Across the field, the Teito batters returned to their bench, all wearing frustrated expressions—some even turning back to glare at Rinichi as he sat calmly.

"What the hell is with that freshman?"

One of the Teito batters flung his cap onto the bench in frustration.

"Some fast, some slow—looked like regular straight pitches, but when I thought I was about to hit it, the ball either rose or dropped at the last second. It's disgusting."

In short, Rinichi completely disrupted their timing.

Bottom of the 1st inning—

From the 2nd to the 4th batter, Seidou strung together three consecutive doubles and scored three runs.

Rinichi continued pitching through the 2nd and 3rd innings, shutting out the opposition.

In the 4th, they switched to Furuya.

Coach Kataoka's plan was clear: Rinichi would handle the first three innings, and Furuya would pitch from the 4th onward.

There was no role for Tanba today.

The goal was clearly to test the two first-years.

But by the 5th inning, something seemed off with Furuya.

"Sorry, can we pause for a moment?"

Furuya requested a timeout, and Miyuki jogged up to the mound to check on him.

They exchanged a few words, and then Miyuki signaled to the dugout—Furuya was coming out.

Rinichi wasn't entirely sure what had happened, but he had noticed Furuya staring at his right hand right after calling the timeout. Probably something wrong with his fingers.

"Coach, I'm ready to go in anytime."

Tanba stepped forward, volunteering himself.

Ota looked worried. "Tanba, you just pitched yesterday, and even though you've already warmed up—"

But Coach Kataoka cut in.

"All right. But you can only pitch three innings."

"Yes, sir!"

Tanba turned immediately and jogged toward the mound just as Furuya returned.

"Furuya, your nail split, didn't it?" Coach Kataoka asked.

A split nail?

Rinichi was a little surprised.

"Nails are a pitcher's lifeline. This shows you haven't been taking proper care of them."

"Furuya, no pitching for the next two weeks. Go run on the Second String's field."

Coach Kataoka's verdict even shocked Ota. "Coach, isn't demoting him to the Second String too harsh?"

But Kataoka didn't waver.

Furuya's demotion was final.

Rinichi instinctively glanced at his own nails.

He hadn't had any issues like that, but… maybe it was time to start caring for them.

With Furuya as an example, Rinichi couldn't afford to ignore it anymore.

Coach Kataoka gave Rinichi a sidelong glance, then refocused on the game.

Third-year Tanba… First-year Rinichi…

The choice of starting pitcher weighed on him.

For the third-years, this summer would be their last chance.

But Rinichi, as a freshman, would have more opportunities.

Still, Rinichi's pitching ability was undeniable.

What shook him—what caused the hesitation—was the way Tanba had looked at him just now, when he said, "I'm ready to go in anytime."

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