Chapter 71: Extra: Failure Is Something Everyone Must Experience. In the Past, I Never Truly…
A cloudy day.
The clouds in the sky were white.
It wasn't going to rain.
But maybe… it would be better if it did rain.
Rinichi rested his chin in his hand, staring out the window.
"Hey…"
"Taiyo."
Mukai Taiyo, sitting in front of him, turned around in confusion.
"Got anything fun?"
Rinichi's face showed no emotion at all.
Taiyo had noticed—ever since Rinichi had come back from taking several days off, he'd been like this.
Rumor was that Rinichi's parents had divorced.
Of course, Taiyo had only heard it from others. He didn't know the truth, and he didn't intend to ask.
If Rinichi wanted to talk about it, he'd say so himself.
"Something fun?"
Taiyo thought for a moment, and soon had an idea.
After school, Rinichi followed Taiyo home.
He thought there might be some kind of fun game.
But the monitor was filled with pink backgrounds and girls everywhere.
Rinichi: "…"
What the hell was this?
As if hearing his thoughts, Taiyo explained:
"A romance simulation game."
"It's fun, really."
Rinichi: "…"
He didn't think this was fun at all.
And it didn't suit him in the slightest.
"Are you kidding me?"
"No."
Taiyo's face was serious, and Rinichi knew he meant it.
As expected—if you want something fun, you had to find it yourself.
Fun…
Rinichi began to think.
Suddenly, he remembered when Narumiya Mei had dragged him into a soccer game a year ago.
So he asked:
"Taiyo."
"Do you have any sport you like? Like soccer, or something…"
It didn't really have to be soccer.
Anything would do, as long as it could distract him.
Sports seemed like a good option.
Taiyo was surprised, eyes full of doubt.
"Rinichi, didn't you say you hated sports?"
Rinichi: "…"
"I like them now."
Though he didn't know what had changed Rinichi…
"I was thinking of playing baseball. There's a little league team nearby. I'm planning to join." Taiyo said.
Baseball?
Something stirred inside Rinichi.
He knew a little about it.
"All right, I'll join too."
The answer came so suddenly.
Taiyo sighed helplessly.
"Then what position do you want to play?"
What position?
That question caught Rinichi off guard.
Seeing the blank look on his face, Taiyo said:
"Don't tell me… you don't even know what positions there are in baseball."
Rinichi: "…"
Well, that was true.
When he didn't reply, Taiyo realized he genuinely didn't know.
So after explaining the positions to him, Rinichi nodded in understanding, then decisively answered:
"I want to be a pitcher!"
The pitcher standing tall on the mound was the most dazzling, the most eye-catching…
Rinichi had always liked being the best.
Taiyo wasn't surprised he'd choose pitcher.
"Then we'll be rivals."
"Why?" Rinichi didn't understand.
"There can only be one ace with jersey number one. Only one can stand on the mound."
After hearing that, Rinichi liked the position even more.
"But if you want to be pitcher, the coach will test you first—to see if you qualify."
Rinichi froze.
So it wasn't just about wanting it, huh.
Still, he wasn't afraid.
"Then test me. If I can't…"
He paused.
"…We'll see."
Taiyo: "…"
The next day, Taiyo took Rinichi to the local baseball field.
There was a small crowd watching, and the faint shouts of kids filled the air. Rinichi felt a twinge of curiosity.
His eyes locked immediately on the boy wearing jersey number one on the mound. His gaze brightened, as if he'd found something interesting.
The two of them approached the coach.
"All right, let's see you throw." The coach's gaze settled on Rinichi. "You first."
"Yes, sir!" Rinichi answered, taking the ball.
The coach crouched, setting his mitt as a target.
Throw toward the glove…
Rinichi gripped the ball nervously, focused his eyes, and with an awkward motion and poor grip, he hurled the ball.
The coach blinked in surprise.
The speed was incredible… at this age, almost no one could throw that hard.
The only question was—could a catcher even handle it?
The coach stood and shouted toward a group of boys in uniforms:
"Yamaguchi, come here a second."
The boy named Yamaguchi pointed at himself in confusion, exchanged glances with his friends, then jogged over after a moment's hesitation.
He was bigger than most kids his age, and was wearing catcher's gear.
He stopped beside the coach, glaring at Rinichi and Taiyo with faint hostility.
"Yamaguchi, try catching Rinichi's pitches."
"Yes, sir!"
He didn't question the coach's instructions.
His eyes fell on the boy holding the ball—so this was the Rinichi the coach had mentioned.
Yamaguchi pulled down his mask, crouched, and set his mitt.
Not knowing how his own pitch would turn out, Rinichi was still visibly nervous.
He hastily went through the pitching motion in his head.
The ball shot forward at high speed. Yamaguchi's eyes flickered with fear—
The ball only grazed the edge of his glove before slamming straight into his body.
Yamaguchi collapsed to the ground.
The coach hurried over, worried, and helped him up.
"You okay?"
Rinichi's chest tightened with guilt. He instinctively glanced down at his right hand.
But Yamaguchi gritted his teeth, tore off his mask, and glared sharply at Rinichi.
His childish but piercing voice rang out:
"Coach! I'm not catching his pitches! Let someone else do it!"
"No one can handle a ball like that!"
"Any catcher would get killed!"
Rinichi froze. His palms broke out in cold sweat, his gaze sinking downward.
Mukai Taiyo's eyes shifted toward him. He stepped forward, but couldn't find the words to say.
The coach looked embarrassed. His tone softened when he turned to Rinichi.
"Rinichi… there are plenty of other positions besides pitcher. Think it over, all right?"
Rinichi said nothing—just silence.
"Taiyo, you give it a try."
"Yes, sir!"
Taiyo looked at Rinichi with concern.
Rinichi lowered his head, then gave him a gentle push.
Go on.
Only then did Taiyo turn back to take his position.
Rinichi alone stood rooted to the spot, his eyes darkening, his fists curling tight.
This was the first time in his life he'd ever been rejected.
To him, it meant failure.
For someone who had always been proud—someone who had always been the one rejecting others—Jinrai Rinichi could not accept this.
But acceptance or not didn't matter.
This was reality.
In the end, the coach chose Taiyo Mukai. As for Rinichi, he was told to go home and think about which other position he might want.
Rinichi responded dully. When he lifted his gaze and met Yamaguchi's eyes, all he saw there was ridicule.?
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