Chapter 86: Seidou vs Teitou (1)
Top of the 1st inning: Teitou on offense, Seidou on defense.
Dark gray clouds covered the sky, looking like it could rain at any moment.
Rinichi tugged at the brim of his cap.
Is it going to rain…?
It wouldn't be the first time he played in those conditions. But he couldn't deny—it was uncomfortable.
He let out a breath and delivered the first pitch with a smooth, almost elegant motion that was pleasant just to watch.
"Strike!"
The sound of the ball slamming into the mitt was sharp and loud.
Teitou's leadoff hitter froze. That single pitch rattled him. For a moment, he was dazed just staring at Rinichi on the mound.
So this is the pitcher who shut down every lineup and carried his team to the national championship…
"Strike! Batter out!"
So fast. His tempo was unbelievably fast.
Before some fans could even look up from their phones, the inning was already over—three quick outs, and it was time to switch sides.
The stunned Teitou dugout sat in silence.
"This is insane…"
"Wasn't the pitcher just throwing without signs from the catcher?"
"No, there were signs… it's more like the pitcher and catcher were perfectly in sync."
But behind the mask, Miyuki wasn't smiling. His expression was grim as he watched Rinichi's back.
No… this isn't synchronicity. He's ignoring my calls altogether.
Sure, it had happened before, but never this blatantly—not three straight batters in a row.
In truth, Rinichi wasn't ignoring him—he had already figured Miyuki out, memorized his style, and simply threw what Miyuki wanted before the signs even came down.
From the bench, Mukai Taiyo sighed under his breath.
"Catching for Rin really is exhausting."
Kenta Inui, meanwhile, thought much more simply.
So this 'national champion pitcher' is just moody.
"Don't give them control of the game! Show them we mean business!" Teitou's coach barked.
Back in the dugout, Rinichi had already grabbed a bat.
The team: "..."
Hey, it's not even your turn yet. And why are you acting like you're itching to smash your old teammates?
But no one said a word. Rinichi always did whatever he pleased.
"Wait for the pitch to come into your zone. Go opposite field toward center-right. You won't see many hittable ones—don't chase until two strikes. Let the first round go if you have to. Lay off the low pitches."
That was Coach Kataoka's instruction.
Bat in hand, Rinichi sat quietly, watching the game.
First pitch—strike.
Second—ball.
Third—strike.
Low inside… high inside… now low outside. They're making the strike zone feel huge. Not easy to hit at all…
The fourth pitch was a screwball, tailing away. It looked like it would drift out of the zone but nicked the edge.
"Strike! Batter out!"
By the time the third batter, Maezono Kenta, went down swinging, Rinichi calmly set his bat back on the rack.
Everyone noticed—today he seemed unusually calm.
"Strike! Batter out!"
Three batters, three up, three down. No suspense at all.
Momentum swung hard back to Seidou's side.
From the bench, Inui watched Rinichi's back in disbelief.
"Unreal… throwing that kind of velocity and hitting the corners like that…"
The inning switched. Rinichi slipped on his helmet, waiting in the on-deck circle. He watched as Miyuki went down swinging—and to Miyuki's surprise, Rinichi didn't taunt him, didn't even look his way as he passed.
Miyuki: "..."
Now at the plate, Rinichi locked eyes with Mukai Taiyo on the mound.
For a moment, both fought to suppress a grin.
Each was already running calculations in their head.
Inui glanced from his own pitcher to Rinichi.
"..."
He didn't understand either of them.
But then, the smiles vanished. Both got serious.
First pitch—Rinichi swung.
"Foul ball!"
Mukai knew. Even on a tough pitch, Rinichi can still get the bat on it.
The invisible pressure was already wearing on him.
Low inside? No. High outside? No. Low outside? No.
If all of those are off-limits… what's left to throw?
Second pitch—high and outside.
"Foul ball!"
Mukai grimaced. Yeah… batting against Rinichi is the worst. You always feel like he could launch one at any moment.
Fine. Don't fight the inevitable. Shutting him down completely was impossible.
The best he could do was minimize the damage.
Third pitch—Rinichi connected.
This time, it dropped in for a single.
Mukai Taiyo tugged his cap upward and stuck out his tongue at Rinichi in a playful taunt.
Rinichi: "..."
The next two batters went down swinging, ending the top of the second inning.
Rinichi stomped back to the dugout in frustration.
It's rare to see him not connect at the plate, the others thought silently.
The rain began to fall harder, though not enough to stop the game. Still, after a while, their uniforms would be soaked through—meaning another change of clothes. A hassle Rinichi found especially annoying.
No one knew that while standing on the mound, Rinichi was busy thinking about such trivial things.
Meanwhile, Shinomiya had arrived and spotted Seto Takuma and Okumura Koshu.
He greeted them with a friendly smile.
Okumura stared at him.
Shinomiya: "..."
He forced a smile. "Didn't expect to see you guys here watching the game."
Seto nudged Okumura gently and answered, "Of course. This is Rin senpai and Mukai senpai's match—we wouldn't miss it."
Something seemed to click in Shinomiya's mind. "So… you're about to graduate soon, right? Decided on which high school—"
Before he could finish, Okumura cut in: "Seidou."
Shinomiya: "..."
Of course—he didn't even need to ask why. It was obviously for Rinichi.
He turned his attention back to the game.
"Strike! Batter out!"
The third inning's top half ended just as easily.
"Good… looks like Rinichi is working well with his catcher."
A bold-faced lie.
He was clearly baiting Okumura.
And Okumura… actually believed it.
Shinomiya turned his face away, shoulders shaking with a stifled laugh.
"Catching Rinichi isn't easy at all… his velocity's gone up again. It'll only get harder to handle. I heard Seidou's starting catcher was able to take his pitches from the beginning. At this rate, he'll probably be able to throw right-handed again soon, won't he?"
He said it with a smile.
Okumura's face twisted, his fist tightening until his knuckles turned white.
Seto Takuma glanced between them, at a loss for words. It's so obvious Shinomiya-senpai is doing this on purpose…
"I…" Okumura's voice was low but firm.
"I'll catch every single one of Rin senpai's pitches."
His sharp gaze cut toward Shinomiya, filled with defiance.
Shinomiya wasn't surprised in the slightest.
Instead, his smile widened. "Looks like Rinichi's grown up a bit. He can choose his own catcher now."
Okumura: "…?"
Seto: "..."
"Relax. Hardly anyone can catch his pitches on the first try. Don't take my words too seriously."
Okumura and Seto: "..."
Back in the dugout, Rinichi sneezed.
"You okay? Do you need to change into dry clothes?" Miyuki asked, assuming his teammate had gotten chilled from the rain.
If that was the case, Rinichi would seem awfully fragile.
But after checking his shirt and finding it wasn't all that wet, Rinichi just looked puzzled and shook his head.
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