"Come on, try it."
Takashi looked at her deeply, then stepped up to bat, imitating her stance.
He was the type who understood quickly, copying her stance after just one look.
Whoosh!
The sharp wind sound came as Takashi started swinging before the ball arrived.
There was no feedback from the metal bat—another miss.
'Too fast.'
Takashi immediately realized it wasn't Hayasaka Ai's instruction that was wrong; his 7-point stamina made his reflexes too fast.
"Slower, even slower."
Before Hayasaka Ai could say anything, Takashi adjusted himself, resetting his stance.
Hayasaka Ai, who was about to say something, silently closed her mouth.
Whoosh!
Another pitch came flying.
Takashi swung again.
The metal bat seemed to tear through the air.
His full-power swing was so fast it disappeared from Hayasaka Ai's retina; all she could hear was the sharp wind.
When the bat reappeared, its tip struck the baseball perfectly.
The ball instantly seemed stuck to the bat, flattened, but the next moment it sparkled like a star and quickly vanished.
Under the noon sun, the white baseball in the high sky lost its spin, its leather shining like a star as it soared upward before being caught by the wire fence.
The ball hit the wire mesh, spun a bit longer, then dropped.
Hayasaka Ai: w（°o°）w
She had only seen this scene in the "Diamond Ace" manga.
Never expected to see a real-life reenactment.
"Pretty stress-relieving."
Takashi twisted his wrist; he was now sure.
The difference between 6 and 7 stamina points was roughly that between an ordinary person at their physical limit and a professional athlete.
If 7 points were like this, what about 8 points?
Takashi began to look forward to it.
At the same time, he made up his mind that at this fireworks festival, he would make a killing.
Bang!
Half an hour later, after squeezing out every bit of strength, Takashi put down the bat and sat on a chair to rest.
"Here."
Hayasaka Ai handed Takashi a bottle of water.
"Thanks."
Takashi twisted open the bottle cap and took a big gulp. Water droplets rolled down his throat, making a "glug glug" sound.
Hayasaka Ai stared at the movement of Takashi's Adam's apple, and for some reason, she suddenly felt like biting it.
"Phew, that's refreshing."
Takashi drank more than half the bottle in one go, then turned his head to look at Hayasaka Ai. "Miss, what's your name?"
"My name is Smithy A. Hasaka."
There was no way she could use her real name.
Hayasaka Ai simply made one up on the spot.
After all, she was mixed-race, with a quarter Irish blood.
"I'll just call you Smithy. I'm Takashi."
Takashi smiled faintly, a half-smile that didn't expose her lie.
You want to play? Then I'll play along.
"Miss Smithy, are you visiting this island nation as a tourist?"
"No, I grew up here since I was little. I'm currently studying at Felice Girls' Academy. Kitahara-kun, how about you?"
"Shuchiin."
Hayasaka Ai's expression stiffened.
She didn't understand why Takashi mentioned Shuchiin.
Could it be that he saw through her?
That shouldn't be — they should have never met before.
"I'm classmates with Aoba."
Hayasaka Ai finally relaxed.
"Oh, is that so?"
Takashi observed Hayasaka Ai, who alternated between nervous and relaxed, and roughly judged her level.
Not a worthy opponent.
If it were him in this situation, he would remain calm and say, "Oh, really?"
No matter what, you must not lose your composure.
That was the calmness of a man who had been through countless battlegrounds.
"Miss Smithy, do you like baseball? You seem to know a lot about it."
"Yes, my childhood wish was to marry a professional baseball player."
Hayasaka Ai clasped her hands in a praying gesture, acting as if it were true.
In fact, she didn't care about baseball at all.
Whenever she was dissatisfied, she would bring this up.
"She definitely doesn't like baseball."
Takashi judged this almost immediately.
From the moment Hayasaka Ai approached him, he knew this woman had an ulterior motive.
From her lying about her name alone, Takashi didn't trust anything she said.
"She's probably sent by Shinomiya Kaguya."
Takashi didn't know the exact relationship between Hayasaka Ai and Shinomiya Kaguya, but he guessed.
Both were from Shuchiin, and the only one who could be his rival was Shinomiya Kaguya.
"I'm here to vent."
Takashi leaned back against the chair, tilting his head to look at the sky.
"Vent…"
Hayasaka Ai was stunned, thinking, "What a coincidence."
"Kitahara-kun, do you have worries even though you look like this?"
"Miss Smithy, don't be fooled by appearances. Actually, I'm a scumbag."
Takashi started confessing.
The other party must have already known he was a scumbag, so there was no point in pretending otherwise.
Hayasaka Ai was stunned again.
Why wasn't he following the usual script?
"I don't think Kitahara-kun is that kind of person!"
Hayasaka Ai comforted him.
"People shouldn't be deceived by appearances. Scumbags don't write 'scumbag' on their faces."
Takashi tilted his head, looked at her and smiled: "What if I really am the kind of person you think I am?"
"I trust my instincts."
Hayasaka Ai's clear blue eyes looked straight at Takashi, full of trust.
"Even if you really are a scumbag, you must have some unspeakable difficulties."
"It's not exactly unspeakable. My parents died early and left me no inheritance. If I lack money, I become a scumbag."
The slanting sunlight passed through the trees and window, casting a slightly yellow glow on the boy's handsome face.
"How else can I study? How else can I live in Tokyo?"
Takashi said this casually, but Hayasaka Ai couldn't help feeling a pang of sympathy.
Yeah.
He had no one to rely on.
He had to support himself.
"Miss Smithy, you know? Before coming to Tokyo, I had a girl back home in Hokkaido who was about to become my girlfriend."
"We were neighbors, childhood friends, and even promised to marry after high school."
"But because my parents had an accident, I started to distance myself from her. At that time, I was insecure. How could I, who can't even support myself, offer her the future she wanted?"
Hayasaka Ai gazed at Takashi absentmindedly, as if seeing the real him behind the cold facts.
She asked softly, "What happened next?"
"Later, when I saw her again, she was already with another guy. From that moment on, I knew she no longer belonged to me."
"I'm a person who lacks security."
"I'm most afraid of being broke."
"When I have no money, I don't even dare to speak loudly."
"For me, money is my sense of security, my biggest confidence."
"With money, I can continue studying, go out with a few friends, and change myself."
"My biggest dream is to become rich. That way, I can boldly confront anyone, no longer flatter those I dislike, and show my true face."
"When I face someone I like again, I want to loudly express my feelings."
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