<19> Seidou vs. Osaka Kiryu (2)

Chapter 19: Seidou vs. Osaka Kiryu (2)

Seeing Miyuki's signal clearly, Rinichi adjusted his grip on the ball under his glove.

He exhaled deeply and raised his right leg high.

Still, if he throws another fastball now, it'll probably get hit.

The batter at the plate was Hiromi Tachi, cleanup hitter for Osaka Kiryu—and also their ace pitcher.

Cleanup and ace? That's exactly the kind of rival Rinichi wanted.

But ever since arriving at Seidou, he hadn't even gotten close to the center of the batting lineup.

Guess the upperclassmen were just too strong.

Maybe once they graduate in third year, he'll get his shot.

Maybe he should be focusing more on hitting than pitching?

Well, for now, the game's more important. He could worry about batting later.

With that in mind, Rinichi released the pitch.

Boom! The ball slammed into the catcher's mitt.

"Strike!"

Tachi was completely caught off guard.

He'd expected another fastball—but it was a splitter!

And one that dropped sharply from a high release point, with surprising velocity.

How is anyone supposed to hit that?!

Miyuki stepped slightly closer toward the batter's side of the box.

Inside pitch.

Didn't matter what kind—just keep it inside.

Rinichi was a little tempted to try something flashy, but he remembered Miyuki's words from yesterday: "Unless I signal otherwise, throw fastballs."

He still kind of wanted to throw something else.

If he did, Miyuki would probably scold him... though honestly, Miyuki didn't seem like the yelling type.

The ball came. Tachi instinctively thought about dodging, not hitting.

"Strike!"

Tachi reset, now staring at Rinichi standing tall on the mound.

This guy's just a first-year… and he can pitch like that?

Gritting his teeth, he swung hard.

"Foul ball!"

Even Rinichi was a little surprised—it actually connected?

But just as he was thinking there's no way Tachi could hit the next one, Tachi made contact again.

He hit it—but his face didn't look pleased.

That was a forced swing, barely scooping the ball up.

At best, it'd be a weak grounder.

He tossed the bat and dashed.

The ball rolled right to Rinichi's feet—he grabbed it quickly and fired it to first base.

"Out!"

Miyuki stood up, feeling like his earlier worry was totally unnecessary.

This guy was surprisingly reliable after all.

"What was that throw just now?! It looked like a rocket blasting into the first baseman's glove!"

"You're exaggerating," someone muttered.

Only someone obsessed with Rinichi would say something like that.

He didn't strike out the next two batters in three pitches, but he still got them both out on strikeouts.

Not a single run for Osaka Kiryu!

Change of innings.

Miyuki led off the bottom of the second.

But for two consecutive at-bats, he didn't get a hit.

As Rinichi passed him on his way back to the dugout, he said seriously, "If you're not performing, Miyuki, then hurry up and give up that sixth spot in the lineup."

He didn't even call him senpai.

Miyuki: "…"

This kid just totally ignored Shirasu, huh?

Still, the seventh batter, Shirasu, didn't reach base either.

Now it was Rinichi's turn as the eighth batter.

"Foul ball!"

"Ball!"

"Foul ball!"

"Strike! Batter out!"

That… he really hadn't expected.

Walking back holding his bat, Rinichi was sweating, his expression blank.

Back in the dugout, Miyuki was doubled over laughing.

"You were just running your mouth earlier, and now you got struck out!"

He laughed wildly, clearly enjoying it.

Rinichi: "…"

Since what the other person said was true, Rinichi didn't argue back.

He sat alone in the corner, tugged down the brim of his cap, and lowered his head to stare silently at the bat resting on his legs.

After the inning changed, Miyuki put on his catcher's gear and walked up to him.

"Hey, hey, you're not gonna cry, are you?" he teased.

But as soon as Rinichi looked up, Miyuki was met with a pair of eyes burning with stubborn resolve.

"No!" Rinichi said firmly.

And true enough—he hadn't cried.

Rinichi put down his bat, picked up his glove, swapped his cap, and headed to the mound.

Still, Miyuki couldn't help but feel a little concerned.

He was worried that Rinichi might start losing control of his pitches out of frustration.

But as it turned out, his worry was unnecessary.

Rinichi pitched even better than before. His whole body radiated the kind of energy that said, "I'm going to strike out every last one of them."

His pitches became even sharper, with a noticeable uptick in speed.

Well, knowing Rinichi's stubborn personality, that was understandable.

Since he didn't hit well, he was determined to prove himself through pitching…

For some so-called geniuses, everything had come easily to them growing up. So when they finally stumble, it feels like the end of the world.

Rinichi was probably one of those people.

This might get troublesome.

There was a good chance Rinichi would now throw himself into batting practice full-time.

That thought lingered in Miyuki's mind.

Three batters. Three strikeouts. Nine pitches. No suspense.

After the inning, Rinichi let out a deep breath and finally felt a bit of relief—but the sting of that earlier strikeout still lingered.

"Don't let it bother you. Everyone gets struck out sometimes," Miyuki offered casually—he didn't want Rinichi to start obsessing over hitting.

But Rinichi just shot him a cold sideways glance, eyes frosty and silent. He turned away, took off his cap, and sat back down.

Though his eyes were on the game, his mind was somewhere far away.

He had almost never been struck out before. To suddenly be struck out—it left him deeply unsettled.

In his mind, he kept replaying the pitch he saw.

He should've been able to hit it. But he didn't.

Why? Because he underestimated the pitcher. He was arrogant—he believed it would be easy.

He had approached each pitch with that same overconfidence.

But every pitch had defied his expectations, just slightly.

That's why all he managed were two foul balls.

Back in his youth league days, he had always gone up to bat with that same confident attitude.

Because he'd never tasted failure before, he carried that bad habit into high school.

This was the first time anyone had seen Rinichi like this.

"What's up with Kamishiro?" Kuramochi asked.

"Probably still bothered by that strikeout," Haruichi replied.

Back in the dugout, Coach Kataoka went straight to Miyuki.

"How's Kamishiro's pitching?"

Everyone turned to listen.

"Really good. Even better than the last inning," Miyuki said with a smile.

For a moment, no one could tell if he was being sarcastic.

But thinking it over, Miyuki had no reason to lie.

"Good," Coach Kataoka replied simply with just those three words.

Then, lowering his voice a little, he added,

"Don't worry about him."

Miyuki paused for a second—then quickly understood.

"Understood."

Rinichi's current role was strictly as a pitcher.

It seemed the coach wasn't expecting him to become a strong batter any time soon. Rinichi's value to the team was on the mound.

And honestly, wasn't this helping him pitch even better?

Or perhaps… this might just be the kind of experience Rinichi needs to grow.

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