1 out, runners on first and second.
The next batter.
Fourth batter, Ayanokouji Kiyotaka.
By the way, having encountered a subject he was not good at, Sudo also chose a proxy answerer.
As for Ayanokouji...
Hikigaya glanced at Ayanokouji beside him.
During the last at-bat, despite it being his first time facing Sumida's pitching, Ayanokouji successfully hit a base hit.
Clearly.
His hitting ability should be the best in Class C; that's exactly why he was placed as the fourth batter.
Should he just be walked to first base?
In that case, the bases would be loaded.
The next batters would be Ike Kanji, Horikita Suzune with her direct base-running right, and Koenji Rokusuke, whose performance was unknown.
Losing one point was almost inevitable.
Depending on the situation, they might even lose two or three points.
It had to be said.
This lineup arrangement wasn't exactly powerful and had many unstable factors, yet it still exerted pressure.
Forget it. A base hit wasn't something to worry about particularly; it wasn't much different from a walk.
Besides.
Inside corner, changeup.
Hikigaya made a hand signal, and Sumida took a deep breath and nodded.
The opponent was already familiar with several pitch paths; being able to suppress them with breaking balls until now was commendable. It was time to use the trump card.
With a swish, Ayanokouji swung the bat at the oncoming white ball with a flawless posture.
Although ordinary people couldn't see such ball speeds clearly.
Most relied on experience, feeling, and the pitcher's posture to judge the path.
However.
In Ayanokouji's keen dynamic vision.
It wasn't very fast.
Just as Koenji said.
In Ayanokouji's eyes, as long as one mastered the secret, this was just a game of hitting a flying ball.
The question was, where to hit it?
A hit, a double, the outfield, a home run.
Nothing more.
However.
Thud.
The dull sound rang out.
Approaching home plate, the ball suddenly decelerated, dropping into the glove about one ball's distance late.
"Strike!"
Mashima-sensei shouted at the top of his lungs. Ayanokouji was also somewhat surprised.
"A changeup?"
Faced with a pitch path he was encountering for the first time, even Ayanokouji could not hit it.
It was just that these past two months were enough for him to understand baseball-related knowledge.
It wasn't that Class C lacked people who could throw breaking balls, but their speed was only around 80 kilometers—the level of an ordinary person—and thus they couldn't serve as combat power.
Simply adding one more pitch path.
The catcher's options would increase infinitely.
"That was..."
"A changeup?"
"Damn it, that guy actually knows that kind of ball. To think he only brought it out now."
In the dugout, Yukimura and the others looked grim, while Horikita Suzune and the others on the field felt their hearts tighten.
If Ayanokouji were put out.
That would be 2 outs.
The next batter, Ike Kanji, could only be relied upon for luck. Hirata and Miyake Akito on the bases would have played for nothing.
All their efforts would go down the drain.
Although Ayanokouji remained expressionless at this moment, he must have felt immense pressure.
Please, Ayanokouji.
On the field.
"Whew..."
Watching Ayanokouji reset his stance after the swing and miss, Hikigaya breathed a slight sigh of relief.
As expected, even Ayanokouji couldn't handle a new trump card immediately.
What to do for the next pitch?
Continue with a changeup to press the advantage, or switch to a new pitch for a psychological war?
After a moment of thought.
Hikigaya placed his glove low, at the edge of the strike zone.
A ball.
Test him once.
Sumida nodded, maintaining the same opinion.
After all, the opponent was Class C's fourth batter; it was normal to be cautious.
"Ball!"
Looking at the unmoved Ayanokouji, Hikigaya looked up and happened to meet his gaze.
Those eyes, black as ink, seemed like a pool of dead silence.
Nothing could be discerned.
Did this guy not swing because he saw it was a ball, or did he fail to swing because he was affected by the changeup?
"How calm..."
Hikigaya tested him.
"It's nothing, I just guessed it would be a ball."
Ayanokouji spoke casually, continuing to watch the pitcher's mound.
This was a declaration.
It wasn't a problem with the ball; it was that I had already read your thoughts.
Even a test would instead have its mentality disrupted like this.
As expected.
Unlike Sudo and the others, one couldn't feel any inner fluctuations from Ayanokouji at all; even if there were any, they wouldn't show on his face.
Hikigaya didn't particularly care.
As long as he looked forward and handled the next pitch well, it would be fine.
Outside corner, fastball.
The previous changeup must have left a deep impression on the opponent.
The combination of the changeup with fastballs and breaking balls was Sumida's strongest weapon.
Crack.
A crisp hitting sound rang out.
The white baseball transformed into a stream of light, passing straight past second baseman Beppu Ryouta; even though Shibata reached out with his glove, he was still a bit short.
The ball hit the ground.
Then it rolled toward Ichinose, who was coming to meet it.
The situation changed in an instant.
Sumida stood dazed on the spot, while Hikigaya urgently observed the surroundings...
Hirata and Ayanokouji weren't slow; the one with the highest catch rate should only be Miyake Akito. At this distance...
"Third base!"
Seeing the ball rolling toward Ichinose, center fielder Watanabe acted first.
After all.
With Ichinose's arm strength, throwing the ball back to home plate or even to the shortstop would be difficult.
Since the start of the match.
Left field basically belonged to the common defensive range of Shibata and Watanabe.
However.
It was useless.
Stepping over first base, Ayanokouji rushed toward second.
Compared to him and Hirata.
Miyake Akito's speed was indeed not that fast.
But.
Only he himself knew.
If nothing went wrong with the OAA evaluations, or if Watanabe and the others had some hidden strength, or if Ichinose suddenly underwent a mutation.
This landing point would be a 100% double!
"Run scores."
Mashima-sensei waved his arms and shouted at the top of his lungs.
On the other side.
Watanabe held the ball high, his movements frozen in place.
Miyake Akito and Ayanokouji were only one step away from third and second base, respectively. Hirata Yousuke had already returned to home plate.
Clearly, it was already too late.
1:4.
1 out, runners on second and third.
"Amazing! As expected of Ayanokouji, show these guys what we're made of!"
"Ike too! The rest is up to you! Definitely don't let this chance go!"
Seeing this.
In the Class C dugout.
Sudo, Wang Mei-Yu, and the others burst into cheers, and Horikita Suzune also breathed a slight sigh of relief.
Should one say, "as expected of Ayanokouji"?
Even facing such pressure, he successfully resolved this crisis with a perfect double.
Not only did he let Hirata score successfully.
He also let Miyake Akito and himself reach third and second base respectively.
By contrast.
On the other side.
Hikigaya's expression was slightly solemn.
Was he predicted?
Impossible, the likelihood of that was extremely low.
Having just experienced a changeup, how could he not care about it?
Without a doubt.
Ayanokouji could not only accurately judge Sumida's posture but also clearly see the pitch path and react.
As expected of the White Room's masterpiece.
In just two months.
He had already reached such a level. Was this Ayanokouji's full strength?
Hikigaya still had some doubts.
After all, this guy didn't show any look of pride or relief on his face.
But.
Just this level of strength was already terrifying enough.