Chapter 7: Domination
Rinichi sat quietly in the dugout, chewing a lollipop with his cap pulled low and arms folded across his chest.
The number 18 on his back marked him as a bench player—a substitute.
Coach Kataoka held a thin twig, drawing lines in the dirt at his feet. His voice was calm but firm. "You all know this already," he began. "Compared to the Fall Tournament, which determines who advances to Spring Koshien, and of course the Summer's final stage, this Spring Tournament isn't as important."
He paused, then his eyes sharpened. "But today's opponent is Ichidaisan High—the team that beat us in the Fall Tournament."
He snapped the twig. "We'll pay them back tenfold."
"Yes, sir!" came the united shout.
"Yuuki, go with the usual," Kataoka ordered.
"Yes, sir," Yuuki Tetsuya replied.
Rinichi blinked. "Go with the usual"? He looked around in confusion. Before he knew it, the team had formed a circle, crouched down low with their hands on their knees. He followed suit, mimicking his seniors.
Yuuki stood in the center. Everyone placed their right hand over their heart. Rinichi did the same.
Yuuki pointed a thumb to his chest. "Who are we?"
"Champions of Seidou!"
Rinichi barely kept up.
"Who shed the most sweat?"
"Seidou!"
"Who shed the most tears?"
"Seidou!"
Rinichi raised his eyes. A strange feeling stirred in his chest.
"Are you ready to fight?" Yuuki roared.
A thunderous shout erupted around him.
"Carrying the pride of our entire school, our goal is only one—"
"To conquer the nation!"
Every hand shot skyward.
A fierce cheer followed.
Caught in the wave of passion, Rinichi felt out of place—but he tried to match the energy of his teammates.
The sun overhead was blinding. He couldn't even see the sky clearly.
This… was nothing like before.
Looking at the serious expressions of the seniors, Rinichi felt like he was in a completely different world.
He slung his gear over his shoulder and followed.
Back in the dugout with the number 18, Rinichi stayed quiet in a corner. He didn't think he'd get to pitch today. The seniors were solid.
Suddenly, the crowd outside roared.
He caught bits of shouting—"home run," maybe?
A home run, huh… He was even more certain he wouldn't see the mound today.
But it didn't bother him. Sitting the bench was temporary.
He knew how strong he was.
Kuramochi's strange laugh broke the moment: "Didn't think you'd actually hit that out. You guessed right on his deciding pitch."
"The look on his face—like he was turning into the Hulk!"
Rinichi pushed his cap up with a finger and looked up to see Miyuki standing in front of Kuramochi.
So it was Miyuki-senpai who hit the home run…
A deciding pitch?
"That was just luck," Miyuki said as he stepped into the dugout. "It won't be that easy next time."
Kuramochi scoffed. "Oh come on, who hits a pitch like that out of the park by luck? Quit pretending to be humble." With that, he playfully kicked Miyuki in the rear.
Coach Kataoka added, "Now that he's given up that home run, their pitcher won't dare throw a slider again. Be ready for fastballs."
"Yes, sir!"
Even though Rinichi hadn't been watching the game, he picked up the important details just from their conversation.
Slider. Difficult to hit.
Rinichi quickly deduced—it must have been an inside slider.
A shadow loomed over him. "What's wrong? Not watching the game?"
Rinichi looked up slightly and saw Miyuki, backlit by the sun.
"No," he replied calmly.
"You're not sulking because you're not playing, are you?" Miyuki smirked. "Still, you're pretty bold, huh—eating a lollipop right here. If Coach saw you—"
His words trailed off meaningfully, followed by a mischievous laugh.
Rinichi: "…"
Just then, Coach Kataoka's voice rang out.
"Kamishiro, warm up. Be ready to go in."
"Yes, sir!" Rinichi quickly pulled the lollipop out of his mouth.
Good thing Coach wasn't looking his way.
He glanced once at Miyuki, then grabbed his glove and headed toward the bullpen.
As he entered, the stadium announcer's excited voice rang out: "Ichidaisan High, a top-eight team from the Spring Nationals, is being overwhelmed by Seidou High's explosive batting lineup!"
The crowd roared in approval.
Rinichi looked to his left—he could see the entire game clearly from the bullpen.
In the bottom of the fourth inning, Tanba was still pitching.
But something seemed off—his control was shaky.
Rinichi silently calculated his odds of getting on the mound.
Pretty high.
If Coach Kataoka wanted to crush the opposition, he'd definitely call on him.
Rinichi had no doubt.
Sure enough, after Tanba gave up a few runs, someone came to fetch Rinichi back to the dugout.
He adjusted his cap. "Got it."
By the time he returned, the bottom of the fourth inning had just ended.
The scoreboard showed that Ichidaisan High had closed the gap—just three runs behind Seidou now.
Up in the press box—
"This game's turning into quite the slugfest."
"Last year, with that monster Azuma anchoring their lineup, Seidou had one of the most powerful offenses in the country. Looks like they've kept that up this year."
"All they need now is a pitcher who can fully bring out the potential of Miyuki's game-calling. If they find that, winning Nationals isn't a dream."
"Coach Kataoka must be frustrated—he was a pitcher himself, after all."
"Their one real issue is clear. They don't have an ace."
"Next inning, Kamishiro goes in," said Kataoka flatly.
Tanba's eyes widened in shock. He clenched his fists, biting back the frustration.
Being pulled—for a first-year?
The bottom of the fifth began.
The stadium announcer called out: "Pitching change—Kamishiro replacing Tanba."
"Who's that? I don't think he's pitched before."
"Must be a first-year."
Ichidaisan High took it as an insult.
A first-year pitcher?
They assumed Seidou was underestimating them.
A first-year?
It hadn't even been two weeks since the school year started.
But soon enough, their smirks vanished.
In the bottom of the inning, the very first batter was struck out on three straight pitches.
In fact, every batter from Ichidaisan High in that inning went down the same way—three pitches, three strikes.
The crowd was stunned.
"Whoa, who is this first-year?"
"He's way too strong!"
Rinichi exhaled slowly, adjusted his cap, and calmly stepped down from the mound.
Kuramochi was the first to praise him—right before giving him a playful kick.
Rinichi: "…"
For the remaining five innings, Ichidaisan High didn't score a single run off Rinichi.
Seidou completely dominated them with a final score of 13–6.
Sweat rolled down the forehead of sports commentator Mine Fujio. "Seidou clearly isn't lacking an ace pitcher anymore."
"Maybe this really is their year to win Nationals—especially while their seniors are still here."
Akiko Owada watched the two teams lining up post-game. "His velocity is insane, and his control is sharp too… but the movement on his pitches seems kind of odd."
"Kamishiro… wasn't he with the Daikyou Senior Baseball Club?"
"Didn't expect him to end up at Seidou."
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