Chapter 87: Seidou vs Teitou (2)
The light drizzle showed no sign of stopping.
They'd said it would clear up by the afternoon.
All around, the cheers of Teitou's cheer squad filled the air.
Though his uniform wasn't yet completely soaked, the chill of the rain already made Rinichi uncomfortable.
Tch… the stands are way too noisy.
He tugged at the brim of his cap, irritation building.
The fastest way to shut them up was obvious.
"Strike! Batter out!"
By the fourth inning, no one had broken the streak of three-pitch strikeouts.
Batters stared at Rinichi on the mound, his proud posture and cold gaze making them feel like mere insects beneath a god.
"Strike! Batter out!"
Another moment of carelessness, and Seidou's ace had struck out yet another hitter—on just three pitches.
All of them were like that—three-pitch strikeouts.
The Teitou batters returned to the dugout with grim faces, teammates scrambling to console them.
Mukai Taiyo glanced over.
Control… velocity… sheer presence…
Just those alone were enough for Rinichi to crush most hitters' mentality, leaving them convinced they couldn't even touch his pitches—let alone score.
The fear that "we can't hit him" and "if we can't score, we'll lose" magnified with every pitch.
He stood, picking up the ball as he headed toward the mound.
What will it take… to beat Rinichi, even once?
But when his eyes lifted, he saw Rinichi already standing in the batter's box.
Rinichi ground his cleats into the dirt, bat hanging low, swaying lightly back and forth.
Taiyo knew this gesture. It wasn't bluffing. It meant Rinichi believed with absolute certainty that the next ball would be his.
He was going to hit it.
Taiyo exhaled and delivered the pitch anyway.
Rinichi tightened his grip on the bat.
This game's balance—I'll be the one to break it.
With a fierce swing—crack!—the ball soared high into the outfield.
The center fielder backpedaled frantically, then froze.
The wall was already at his back.
The ball cleared it easily.
A perfect home run.
Chants of "Rinichi! Rinichi!" erupted from the crowd.
Taiyo sighed. His batting's as dangerous as ever…
That pitch should've been nothing more than a double at best, but he turned it into a home run.
Fine. I'll just shut down the batters that follow.
Top of the fourth.
The rain grew heavier.
Rinichi, having just changed into dry clothes, frowned.
At this rate I'll need another set soon…
"Strike! Batter out!"
He dusted his hand with rosin, but the moment he gripped the ball, the rain soaked through. The powder barely worked at all.
Tch… If my grip slips and I bean someone, that's not my problem.
The lack of control annoyed him.
"Strike!"
It was harder to place the ball exactly where he wanted. One more inch off, and it would've been meat for the bat.
His uniform was half-soaked now. Another irritation.
Abandoning the rosin, Rinichi raised his left hand, deliberately letting the rainwater soak it.
Even Miyuki didn't understand what he was doing—neither did Teitou.
Then Rinichi gripped the ball, letting it roll once in his palm, coating it with water before winding up.
With this rain, I'll need to aim higher.
"Strike!"
Miyuki almost missed the catch.
The batter's eyes widened—
Was that… a changeup? A knuckleball?
Even Miyuki was surprised.
It's got a hint of a splitter, too…
Teitou's dugout turned grim.
Only Mukai Taiyo remained calm. Nothing strange about this. There isn't a pitch Rinichi can't throw.
Rinichi exhaled. If it weren't for the rain, I wouldn't need to force it up so high… what a hassle.
"Strike! Batter out!"
It wasn't just hard for Rinichi to throw—Miyuki was struggling just as much to catch it.
Miyuki: "..."
Why does this guy like pitches with that fluttering knuckleball movement so much…
But this time, Rinichi hadn't meant to.
"Strike! Batter out!"
Shinomiya caught sight of that pitch and the corner of his lips curled.
"Okumura… if Rin suddenly threw a pitch in a game that you've never seen before, would you be able to catch it?"
Okumura fell silent.
Clearly, the answer was no.
"Go change your clothes," Miyuki said.
He understood why Rinichi had thrown that kind of pitch.
With the rain coming down harder, the rosin had lost its effect.
What he hadn't expected was that Rinichi still had a pitch left he could rely on under those conditions.
But if the rain grew heavier, even that would stop working.
He'd noticed Rinichi's release point was as high as possible, yet the ball still dropped low into the strike zone.
One slip, and it could've been called a ball.
If the batter swung, it was fine.
If not, it would've been trouble.
Rinichi nodded, though his mind was elsewhere—thinking about whether the game would be suspended, and how many more dry uniforms he had left.
And just as he thought that—
"Ladies and gentlemen, due to worsening weather conditions, the game is temporarily suspended. Please remain calm, play will resume shortly."
The announcement echoed across the stadium as the rain poured even harder outside.
Rinichi changed into another dry uniform, towel draped around his neck as he flexed his arms and hands.
"Who knows when this rain's going to stop…" someone muttered with frustration.
We could keep playing. It wouldn't bother me, Rinichi thought.
"Kamishiro, this break could last a while. Don't let your body get cold," Miyuki warned as he walked over.
"Yeah."
"Do you have enough dry uniforms?"
"Enough."
The answer was short and clipped.
Miyuki: "..."
Coach Kataoka turned to the manager keeping the tally.
"How many pitches for Mukai?"
"Sixty-two."
Kataoka adjusted his cap. "This break will throw off Mukai's rhythm. If you see even one hittable pitch, don't waste it."
"Yes, sir!"
Rinichi lifted his gaze but said nothing.
Elsewhere, Seto Takuma bought a drink from the vending machine.
"Please, don't let this turn into a rescheduled game… I might not even have time to come back and watch."
He popped the cap.
"Oh right, I spotted some other junior league players here too… most of them probably came just to see Rinichi-senpai. Winning the national championship in his last summer of middle school, then becoming an ace almost immediately in high school and winning another national title… With that kind of track record, how could they not come?"
"Yeah, bet a lot of them will try for Seidou."
Of course, there'd be the cowards who didn't want to face Rinichi head-on and would rather cling to Seidou's prestige instead—
But most were there to follow in the footsteps of the senior they admired.
Seto glanced at Okumura.
He looked like someone who'd go to Seidou even if it killed him.
When the two of them returned to their seats, the crowd suddenly erupted in loud cheers.
"Ah, the game's back on." Seto blinked in surprise.
Bottom of the fifth.
The lineup reached the ninth batter.
It was true—Taiyo's rhythm was off.
By the time Rinichi stepped back onto the mound, the rain had started again.
Rinichi: "..."
Still, it was better than before. At least the rosin worked this time.
"Strike! Batter out!"
The top of the sixth flashed by in the blink of an eye.
"Damn it… I thought that rain would throw Rinichi off his rhythm… but it's like nothing's changed at all!"
One of Teitou's players cursed under his breath.
Up in the stands, Ochiai stroked his mustache.
As expected of a national champion pitcher. Not even the rain can faze him.
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