Chapter 89: Seidou vs Teitou (4)
Bottom of the seventh inning.
Mukai Taiyo held strong, not allowing Seidou to score.
"Damn it… we have to score this inning!"
"Hey, what's Rinichi's pitch count at?"
Teitou's scorekeeper flipped through his notes, stammering:
"Si… six… up to the seventh inning, just 63 pitches."
A hush fell.
Every time they thought they had him figured out, Rinichi threw something completely unexpected.
Inui Kengo stared at the mound.
The catcher's signs were sharp. The pitcher's execution even sharper.
It was as if they were deliberately emphasizing the gulf in ability.
But he couldn't deny it: Rinichi was a true ace.
Every pitch he threw felt like it had reached "perfection."
He knew exactly what his ability was, how much to show each inning, how to distribute his strength across every pitch.
Inui's gaze slid toward Mukai Taiyo.
Taiyo: "???"
He remembered what Taiyo had once said:
"Compare myself to Rinichi?!"
At the time, his expression had been complicated.
He gave a stiff smile.
"Don't joke. If I want to keep playing baseball, I shouldn't even try comparing myself to him… Besides, we're not even the same type. I'm a lefty, a lefty, a lefty."
Important things, repeated three times.
"And his velocity is insane, isn't it?"
He'd added that too.
Which, to be fair, was true.
Inui had replied: "So Rinichi's pitching is stronger."
Taiyo: "..."
"No! I'm the stronger one!"
For once, he said it with conviction.
Even though his earlier words meant the opposite.
Inui Kengo stepped into the batter's box, bat in hand, stance ready.
"Play ball!"
At the umpire's call, Rinichi lifted his head, and that's when Inui saw the eyes hidden beneath the brim of his cap.
Calm—yet ice-cold. Eyes fixed on something far away.
Inui gripped his bat tighter but didn't swing.
"Strike!"
No different from the heater he'd seen in the second inning. Sharp, perfectly controlled.
Of course—it was only Rinichi's 63rd pitch.
Inui swung.
"Foul ball!"
So heavy…
So this is what it feels like to connect with Rinichi's pitch.
Rinichi got the ball back and, without hesitation, flowed right into his motion again, smooth and unbroken.
If we can't score, we can't win.
Inui's pupils narrowed.
"Foul ball!"
And just like that, Teitou's cheer section roared back to life.
Even the neutral spectators started cheering for Teitou.
Seidou's cheering squad, of course, pushed back just as loud.
The rain still fell lightly, but compared to the fourth and fifth innings, it was nothing. At least rosin could stick now.
Miyuki glanced at Inui, his grin widening, eyes sharp.
He flashed the sign for a quick forkball, then pressed his glove down toward Inui's side—low inside heat.
He pounded his fist into the mitt, leaning subtly toward the batter's box, mask tilted inside.
Rinichi's presence all but said: This is your favorite moment, isn't it? To give them hope, then crush it—silencing the cheers.
"Strike three, batter out!"
The umpire's ragged voice almost trembled with excitement at that pitch.
Every shout of "Teitou!" was cut off instantly.
Exploding in their place came one name:
"RINICHI! RINICHI!"
Inui staggered in a daze.
He knew it was coming inside—yet still couldn't touch it.
....
"Strike three, batter out!"
Top of the eighth, over.
The game neared its end: Teitou 0, Seidou 4.
Meanwhile, Taiyo's pitch count had already climbed past 120.
Bottom of the eighth.
Out.
Strikeout.
Two down.
"Ninth batter, center fielder—Tojo."
Rinichi's mind drifted back to his showdown with Inui.
He thought about what pitch he'd choose if he had the chance to do it over.
"Strike!"
Diagonal fastball. No swing.
Rinichi blinked back to focus.
Come to think of it… Taiyo had already thrown over 120 pitches, and still no sign of fatigue.
If it were me… past 120? I wouldn't last.
Rinichi had always prided himself on winning with low pitch counts.
Over 100 in a single game?
He thought about it.
Not once.
Taiyo studied the batter—Tojo Hideaki.
Tojo… from Matsukata Little League, wasn't he?
And now an outfielder.
Because of Rinichi, no doubt.
Sure, a perfectly reasonable choice…
Still. To step aside that easily—
Second pitch—contact!
Through second base, into the outfield.
And he'd done it one-handed.
"Safe!"
The lineup rolled over.
Kuramochi squared up for a bunt.
Teitou never expected Seidou to go for a bunt with two outs. Even though the ball rolled toward third, the wet field made it difficult to stop.
Fortunately, Teitou's defense made an errant throw, and with Kuramochi's blazing speed, he reached base safely.
The misthrow shocked everyone.
Without it, the inning would have been over.
Rinichi glanced over a few times, then looked away.
Doesn't this just add more pressure on their ace?
He exhaled.
Taiyo must be miserable right now… That's why it's better when the ace carries the weight himself.
Now there were runners on second and third, two outs.
"Second batter, second baseman, Kominato!"
Just one pitch, and Teitou was in crisis again.
They called for time, and when play resumed, Inui crouched outside.
A walk? That'd load the bases.
Teitou's really daring to risk it this way, Rinichi thought.
"Ball four! Batter takes his base!"
Now it was all on Maezono.
Rinichi's gaze flicked to the scoreboard.
But even if they didn't score this inning, it didn't matter.
I won't let Teitou score in the next inning anyway.
"If I were the catcher, the last thing I'd want is for a batter to just let the low ones go," Miyuki said to Maezono.
"No matter what, if you can't hit it, you can't hit it. Just focus on picking the ones you can hit."
Then, under his breath: "If we don't score again, Rinichi's gonna look down on us."
Maezono: "…"
The only one he looks down on is you.
Did Miyuki even realize the truth?
Nodding, Maezono walked into the batter's box.
The cheer squad roared.
"Ball!"
Good eye.
Still, Teitou's catcher sure trusted Taiyo. A passed ball here would've been disastrous.
"Strike!"
One ball, one strike.
"Strike!" A ball in the dirt, but the swing turned it into a strike.
Fourth pitch—low breaking ball.
"Ball!"
Fifth pitch—outside corner, just grazing the zone.
Maezono fouled it off. That was close.
Next would likely be inside. Even if Maezono hit it, it'd probably just be foul. Bait him inside, then finish outside.
That's what Rinichi thought.
And just as he expected, Inui shifted closer to the batter's box—tight inside.
But wait—wasn't Maezono good at turning on inside pitches?
A thought flashed through Rinichi's head—just as Maezono lifted it into the air.
It dropped just fair inside the left-field line.
A bases-clearing double.
Maezono tried stretching it into a triple, but the throw came in.
"Out!"
Maezono: "..."
Back in the dugout, he saw Rinichi smirking, trying to hold back laughter.
In the end, Rinichi chuckled openly.
Kuramochi smacked him on the head.
Rinichi: "..."
"…Sorry."
Kuramochi exhaled. "Seriously… Do you even realize why we work so hard to score?"
"If our runs are fewer than our ace's runs, it's a joke."
Rinichi: "..."
What do you mean, just me?
Counting Miyuki's RBI, Rinichi had contributed two runs himself.
Seven runs total: two from Rinichi, five from the rest of the team.
If they'd stayed at four runs, the totals would've been equal.
Of course they weren't satisfied with that.
Why does the ace always have to do everything…
Rinichi turned his gaze aside. "…I get it."
He picked up his glove and walked back to the mound.
By the final inning, the skies cleared, as if to declare Seidou's victory in advance.
Rinichi didn't expect Teitou's leadoff batter to bunt toward third.
Even more surprising, Higasa charged in, scooped it, and fired to Maezono at first.
"Out!"
Defense isn't just about our ace.
Rinichi jogged, then reset on the mound.
"Strike! Batter out!"
…
"Strike! Batter out!"
Teitou's dugout was silent.
It all felt unreal.
Is it… over already?
The spectators had mixed feelings.
"Knocked out in the first round…"
"Well, what else could they do? Their opponent was this summer's Koshien champion."
"Teitou was at Koshien too, though…"
"Exactly. They didn't meet in the summer, but now they've clashed."
…
Both teams lined up.
"Thank you for the game."
As they shook hands, Mukai Taiyo hung his head, lost in thought.
Suddenly, a hand reached out. He looked up—Rinichi, smiling faintly.
"You pitched well."
Taiyo's eyes lit up. He gripped his hand firmly. "Yeah."
"Eighty pitches." Okawada Akiko checked Rinichi's total, surprised.
At first, the duel had seemed evenly matched. But as the game went on, the difference between the pitchers was laid bare.
"Of course…" Mine Fujio muttered. "That's a national champion's ace. The one who shut down every lineup at Koshien."
-------------
If you want to read 20 chapters advanced.
Visit my patreon: patreon.com/