Chapter 74: Extra: What Was Your Name Again?
The new members of Daikyou's baseball team stood in a line, introducing themselves one by one before the current roster.
The most nervous of them all was Rinichi.
His palms were sweaty, his chest unsettled.
"Next!"
The coach's voice sounded almost right in his ear.
Rinichi snapped back to attention, tension tightening inside him.
"My name is Kamishiro Rinichi, and my preferred position is—"
He paused, and everyone's eyes turned doubtful.
Does this kid not even know what position he wants to play?
"…Pitcher!"
His tone was stiff, but his voice rang out unexpectedly loud.
Out of all the new recruits, only Rinichi and Mukai Taiyo had chosen pitcher.
Neither of them thought much of it—they simply wanted to play the positions they'd been drawn to before.
Few ever suddenly switched positions… and especially not to pitcher.
"Shinomiya, try catching for these two."
The coach gave the order.
Rinichi's gaze fell on the senior named Shinomiya.
The older boy noticed and slowly turned his sharp eyes onto Rinichi. Flustered, Rinichi quickly looked away, a strange guilty feeling stirring inside him.
Their brief exchange didn't escape Taiyo's eyes, who could only sigh.
He truly didn't understand why Rinichi was so certain this Shinomiya could handle his pitches.
What if he couldn't? Wouldn't that mean Rinichi would have to give up being a pitcher for real?
He remembered Rinichi telling him, "I'm going to Daikyou."
It had been such a sudden decision.
"Why?" he had asked.
"Because Shinomiya-senpai is there."
If he recalled correctly, Rinichi had said Shinomiya was a catcher.
"How can you be so sure he can catch your pitches? What if he can't? Wouldn't that mean you'd really have to give up pitching?"
Rinichi's answer had been just two words: "A feeling."
"…."
Taiyo had no idea how to argue with that. Rinichi was stubborn. Once he'd decided, no one could change his mind.
....
Taiyo pitched first.
Shinomiya calmly received a few balls, leaving the coach nodding in approval.
So he's a lefty sidearm… speed is ordinary, but his control's better than most at his age. If he learns a breaking ball, he could be something special, the coach thought.
Then it was Rinichi's turn.
Nervous, he reflexively gripped the ball in his right hand. Only when winding up did he catch himself—and switched to his left.
Others noticed, but only showed mild confusion, which quickly passed.
Shinomiya, however, narrowed his eyes, intrigued, but said nothing as he set his mitt.
For Rinichi, this was the first time pitching before others—with his left hand.
Three years of effort… there's no way it was for nothing!
With that conviction, he threw.
The moment the ball left his hand, everyone froze, staring as though they'd seen a monster.
Even Shinomiya's eyes flickered in surprise. Yet he caught it cleanly.
His gaze lingered on Rinichi, whose face lit with joy.
This speed… you'd be hard-pressed to find another kid around here in three years who can match it.
But just now…
....
Rinichi was still basking in his relief, thinking only—Does this mean I can finally be a pitcher?
"Try throwing with your right hand."
Shinomiya's words jolted him back to reality.
"…My right hand?"
"You were about to use it earlier, weren't you?"
Shinomiya asked, unfazed. He didn't care why Rinichi hadn't.
Instead, his expression was lit with the thrill of discovery, as if he'd found treasure.
Rinichi hesitated.
"Don't worry. Whatever you throw, I'll catch it." Shinomiya's voice brimmed with confidence.
"Come on."
He gave Rinichi no chance to refuse—mitt already raised.
The coach, meanwhile, was still frozen in disbelief.
This kid… can pitch with both hands?!
Rinichi gripped the ball in his right hand, lifted his left leg high, and with an awkwardly unfamiliar motion, let fly.
The coach's jaw dropped.
That pitch was even faster than the left-handed one!
And Shinomiya, as promised, caught it clean.
Rinichi stared, wide-eyed, at his own ball being received.
His heart thudded with emotions he couldn't put into words.
Shinomiya's lips curved into a smile as he studied Rinichi's stunned face, eyes gleaming sharply.
Finally. A true prodigy pitcher.
"What was your name again?" Shinomiya asked.
"…." Rinichi blinked. Hadn't he already introduced himself earlier?
But obediently, he answered:
"Kamishiro… Rinichi."
"Then, Rinichi, how about throwing a few more pitches?"
Shinomiya's expression softened, his tone no longer as overbearing as before.
"Pitch!"
Rinichi's reply came with joy, not even noticing that Shinomiya had called him "Rinichi" so casually.
Every cell in his body was burning with excitement.
Each pitch cracked into the mitt with a resounding thwack, loud and clear.
The other new recruits stared wide-eyed, as if they were witnessing something unbelievable. Mukai Taiyo, on the other hand, could only sigh helplessly, though he too felt the pressure of competition bearing down.
As for the current members, sweat trickled down their brows.
One monster like Shinomiya was already more than enough for them to deal with—and now there was another one.
Worse still, the two seemed to get along just fine.
Of course… monsters are drawn to monsters.
Shinomiya, truth be told, had long grown dissatisfied with pitchers who were too ordinary.
Though still only in his second year of middle school, Rinichi had crushed them all with nothing but raw talent… and the privilege of resources.
Naturally, most of them resented Shinomiya. But Shinomiya had never cared about their opinions—he always did things his own way.
And now? That third-year pitcher senpai was probably about ready to explode.
The thought crossed everyone's mind as they glanced toward him, their expressions twisted into something downright frightening.
All the while Rinichi pitched, Shinomiya kept studying him, silently picking out flaws.
His form was a little unpolished…
His lower body wasn't stable enough—though with some running and training, that could be fixed…
He relied heavily on grip to control the ball… surprisingly, though, his control wasn't bad…
And above all—he lacked confidence in his pitching.
But speed? His velocity was flawless. In this entire region, they hadn't seen another pitcher throw like that in years.
Finally, Shinomiya stood up.
"That's enough for now."
He pulled off his mask, a gentle smile spreading across his face.
"We… will definitely become the best battery."
For Shinomiya to say such words… the older members could hardly believe their ears.
A newcomer—just like that—had earned Shinomiya's approval.
At once, the way they looked at Rinichi changed.
And of course—anyone who could throw at that speed was bound to.
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