Chapter 231: The Sensen Battle
"Hey! Wake up! It's just waking up a little… twenty minutes early!" Isashiki-senpai scolded.
"Yeah, but I'm still so sleepy! Eijun is just an energetic idiot."
"Hmm… I don't know what animal woke me up this morning with its cries, but I swear, I'd love to cook it." Sendo said, his tone disturbingly serious.
"An animal? What kind of animal?"
"I don't know. I couldn't even tell what sound it was. It was just really loud, and after I woke up, all I heard were dogs barking. Probably dogs fighting or something. Didn't you guys hear it?"
"Nope! Maybe you're just too sensitive to sounds? Or maybe you misheard? But since there were dog barks, I guess that part is true."
"Anyway, no big deal! We've got a game today!"
"Ahhh!!! I'll be fine! I'll just wash my face with cold water later." Sendo yawned, then took a big bite of meat, washed it down with a gulp of water, and swallowed it all in a few quick chews.
"Tanba! How are you feeling today?" At that moment, Chris approached Tanba with a gentle tone.
"I think I'm good!"
"You don't look tired at all." Chris pulled out a chair and sat down.
Clack! Clack!
The sound of crisp footsteps echoed through the cafeteria as someone entered.
In an instant…
On the second-year side, Kawakami's eyes widened, Miyuki's jaw dropped, and Kuramochi stared with his teeth clenched in shock.
On the third-year side,
Yuuki turned toward the door normally, while Miyauchi let out a sharp exhale through his nose.
"Ah!" Jun-san gaped in disbelief.
"Hmm?" Sendo, in the middle of chewing a mouthful of meat, noticed Jun-san's strange expression.
"A-ah… ma… ma… ma—mas—ma…!" Sawamura was completely speechless.
Curious, Sendo turned his head toward the entrance—only for his own eyes to widen in shock.
Standing in the doorway was Pudding-senpai… with a completely smooth, shiny bald head.
And with how big and round Masuko's head was, the sight was truly striking.
Sendo was so stunned that he forgot to chew, instinctively swallowing his food in one gulp. Then, as if possessed, he picked up a cup of water and took a sip.
COUGH COUGH COUGH COUGH COUGH! He immediately choked.
"Finish your breakfast first, then we'll have a quick meeting." At that moment, Coach Kataoka and Rei entered the room.
"Yes!"
"We'll depart at seven."
"Got it!"
"And then, about the bus—"
Just then, the two of them finally noticed Masuko standing at the entrance.
"...!"
A brief silence fell over the room. Masuko started sweating profusely.
"Masuko… what exactly are you trying to pull here?"
PFFT!
Hearing that, Sendo, who had just taken another sip of water to calm himself, instantly spat it all over Yuuki.
And it wasn't just Sendo—almost everyone else struggled to hold back their laughter.
Most of them had their hands covering their mouths, but their shoulders trembled with suppressed mirth.
"That's just too harsh, Coach!" Kuramochi said between laughs.
"Seriously, what's up with your head, Masuko?!" Jun-san barely managed to squeeze out a sentence while laughing uncontrollably.
"Are you trying to change your image?"
"I… I forgot to put on the attachment while shaving…" Masuko explained in a slow, embarrassed mumble, his face flushed red.
That explanation only made everyone laugh even harder.
"It really suits you, Masuko-san! Your intimidation factor just doubled!" Kuramochi wiped tears from the corners of his eyes.
"Hahaha! My stomach hurts!" Miyuki clutched his abdomen, laughing so hard he was almost in pain.
"Looks like you've found a kindred spirit!" Ryousuke teased Tanba with a chuckle.
Chrisi, sitting nearby, simply smiled.
The only one who remained dead serious was Tanba.
"So… so painful!" Sawamura clutched his stomach, threw his head back, and shook with laughter, his expression completely over the top.
"You're laughing way too much, Sawamura-chan!" Masuko couldn't help but retort.
"Oh, I see!" Sendo suddenly had a realization about the 'animal' he had mentioned earlier.
"Wait, no! I need to forget about that!" He quickly dismissed the thought, remembering how he had talked about cooking it earlier.
"Ugh!" At that moment, Masuko noticed that even Coach Kataoka and Rei were covering their mouths, trying to suppress their laughter. That was the last straw for him.
"What's done is done! But make sure not to make these little mistakes during the game!" The coach said, barely holding back his grin.
And with that, the laughter exploded to a whole new level.
"How am I supposed to eat like this? Pfft! Hahaha! Hic! Hahaha! Cough cough!" Sendo tried to take the situation seriously, but his body refused to listen.
Still, laughter was the best remedy. After all the commotion, Sendo didn't feel as sleepy anymore.
...
The summer qualifiers had finally reached the semifinals. The remaining three games would all be played at Meiji Jingu Stadium.
It was July 29th. Seidou's match against Sensen Academy was scheduled for 10 AM, while Inashiro Industrial would face Sakurazawa High at 12:50 PM.
In other words, both games were bound to be scorching hot.
By the time Seidou's team arrived outside the stadium, the weather was still tolerable. Sendo had even managed to catch a quick nap on the bus.
"They're here! Seidou!"
Fans waiting outside the stadium erupted into cheers as soon as they spotted Seidou's team bus pulling up.
A wave of enthusiastic shouts and applause greeted the players as they stepped out.
By the way, Sendo had stuffed his cap into his bag. He hated carrying things in his hands and didn't like wearing anything on his head either.
Yesterday, he had no choice but to wear a helmet, but today, there was no way he was letting a cap mess up his carefully styled hair.
In this lifetime, Sendo had a bit of a show-off streak.
And just as Kuramochi had said, Masuko-senpai's shaved head had doubled his intimidation factor, making him look even more like a thug.
Sendo could swear he even heard some fans calling Boiled Egg.
...
"How are you feeling?" Jun-san asked as soon as they reached the stadium.
It was clear that he was worried about Sendo, who hadn't slept well the night before.
"Not bad! Pretty much the same as usual! But today's pitcher is gonna be tricky. That fastball is way more of a problem than his curveball."
"Still, thanks to that sunglasses-wearing old man, I should be able to adjust within one at-bat. That guy's pitching isn't that unpredictable."
"Hah! Then how about crushing one right off the bat?"
"Well, who knows?"
"Tch! You humble little punk! You never used to be like this!" Jun-san grumbled before locking Sendo in a headlock.
"Jun-san! Can't we just talk this out without getting physical?!"
Meanwhile, deep down, Sendo was thinking about yesterday's practice.
Coach Kataoka had deliberately refused to tell him what pitches were coming whenever he was at-bat, which led to a rough hitting session.
(At least, in Sendo's opinion…)
...
The game has officially begun!
Top of the first inning, Seidou High School's offense.
Batting first, shortstop—Kuramochi-kun!
"Coach told us to thoroughly observe the pitches in the first round. I can't just go down too easily!" Kuramochi thought as he stepped into the left-handed batter's box.
"Pop!"
"Strike!"
"Damn, that's a nasty pitch! And the angle of the drop…"
Kuramochi let the first pitch—a low outside strike—pass, but the information he gathered gave him a bad feeling.
Sensen's pitcher, Maki, stood at a towering 195 cm. His coach had trained him to maximize his height in his pitching mechanics. With a small stride, he maintained an extremely high release point, making his pitches appear to come from above.
A pitcher like Tanba, who had a sloped shoulder delivery, released the ball only slightly above his own height due to his arm angle.
But Maki? His release was purely based on absolute height. Even if his arm strength was subpar, his wingspan alone gave him a natural advantage, making his release point visually appear to be nearly 2.5 meters high.
Combine that with the raised pitcher's mound and his ability to throw low pitches, and he effectively created a steep diagonal trajectory, making his fastball significantly harder to hit. His natural pitch movement even surpassed Coach Kataoka's fastball.
Though Coach Kataoka had arranged special batting practice yesterday to prepare for Maki, the batters were already aware of the pitch types in advance. Since they had never faced Maki before, it was only a last-minute crash course.
Even with the high-level practice session, the coach had already anticipated a scoreless first cycle through the lineup—and that was before even considering Seisen's coach's calm and strategic approach to the game.
Maki used low fastballs and curveballs to create significant pitch movement, quickly putting Kuramochi in a tight spot.
"Pop!"
"Strike! Batter out!"
Batting second, second baseman—Kominato Ryousuke-kun! (Since both Kominato brothers were on the roster, their full names were announced.)
"Ryousan! That guy's fastball is similar to the coach's in general, but it's got way more force and a steeper angle. When he throws low, it's really hard to hit!" Kuramochi summarized as he returned to the dugout.
"Hmm! We're mainly just gathering information this round. Let's leave the scoring to those monsters!" Onii-san (Ryousuke) casually remarked.
"So? How's Maki's pitching?"
Jun-san joined Sendo in the on-deck circle, while Yuuki, helmet in hand, also walked over.
Lately, the seniors had been closely monitoring Sendo's performance. Since he had made significant adjustments to his batting, their concern was understandable—even if he didn't show any outward signs of it.
"Watching from the side doesn't tell me much. But that fastball… its drop is huge. Even if we adjust to the pitch type, it won't be easy to hit cleanly."
"After all, the bat's contact surface is pretty narrow."
"Hmm?"
"Hmm?"
As soon as Sendo finished speaking, he noticed Yuuki's blank, clueless expression.
Yuuki, in turn, responded with a confused "Hmm?", his head practically sprouting question marks.
"…Forget it." Sendo gave up on explaining, realizing it would be a waste of breath.
"Oh well! Just focus on finding your own rhythm," Yuuki said before heading back out.
To Sendo, it was clear that Yuuki had no idea what he was talking about and simply wanted to avoid an awkward situation where he'd be forced to pretend he understood.
"Ping!"
"Pop!"
Meanwhile, Ryousuke battled through a few pitches before grounding out.
"This is ideal. Keeping Seidou's top order in check early on is key. If we let the cleanup hitter bat with runners on, the risk skyrockets."
Sensen's Coach Ugai rubbed his chin in thought.
"And the next few batters aren't easy to handle either… especially Seidou's biggest run-producer this summer—Sendo Akira, batting fifth, and Miyuki Kazuya, batting seventh."
Seidou's run-scoring was a unique case.
It wasn't that Yuuki was unreliable—on the contrary, he was too reliable.
If there were runners in scoring position, Yuuki almost always delivered.
Then came Sendo and Miyuki, a pair of reckless sluggers who feasted on opportunities.
Sendo's team-leading RBI total wasn't a coincidence. Who knew how many times he had stolen scoring chances from Miyuki? On top of that, his home run count only boosted his corn-thieving reputation.
More than once, Miyuki had probably cried in the restroom over it.
For now, though, everyone had to follow Coach Kataoka's orders and focus on pitch observation—
even Yuuki.
Unless they got an easy pitch to hit, they weren't swinging.
As for Sendo…
It wasn't that Coach Kataoka was giving him special treatment—his ability to distinguish between strikes and balls was simply too sharp. Restricting him would be like tying his hands behind his back.
In this inning, Jun-san also grounded out, ending the top half. That steep fastball combined with the curveball was still a major challenge.
...
Bottom of the First Inning – Sensen Academy's Offense
Sensen's batters focused entirely on Tanba's fastball, which had a tendency to float and stay up, making it much easier to hit.
However, Seidou's defense was too solid. Even though two Sensen batters managed to get on base, they failed to capitalize, and the inning ended scoreless.
...
"Batting fourth, first baseman—Yuuki-kun!"
"A true man walks his own path! If I had to describe it… he's like a shooting star streaking across the sky!"
"Hit it, Yuuki… Yuuki… Yuuki…!"
Clang! Clang! Clang!
As the brass band and dugout harmonized their cheers, Sendo's mood suddenly darkened as he stared at the scoreboard.
The scoreboard displayed Sensen's name as a single kanji—"仙"… which also happened to be the first character of his own name.
"Tch… 'Sen'… This is seriously ruining my mood." Sendo grumbled internally.
"Yuuki-san! Get on base!"
..
"If anyone can get a hit in this first round, it's these two."
Ryousuke squinted at Yuuki in the batter's box and Sendo waiting in the on-deck circle.
Unlike the previous timeline, where unfamiliar pitchers often shut down Seidou's offense early, things were different now.
Even if Yuuki managed to figure out the pitch type and connect, back then, there hadn't been any follow-up hitters who could continue the momentum.
But now?
With Yuuki and Sendo forming a powerful 4-5 duo, the team had more options and more pressure to apply.
Not to mention, walking them wasn't exactly a safe choice either—they couldn't possibly issue intentional walks to both, right?
Even though Sensen's coaching staff could see that Seidou's first rotation through the lineup wasn't likely to generate runs… they knew that wouldn't last.
...
Yuuki vs. Maki
"Against this batter, I have to keep the ball low!"
Whoosh!
Pop!
"Strike!"
Yuuki, ever composed, didn't swing at the first pitch, carefully studying its movement and trajectory.
"Is he… gaining more power as the game goes on?" Sendo narrowed his eyes at the towering Maki.
Pop!
"Ball!"
An outside pitch, then an inside pitch—but it never actually touched the strike zone.
"As expected, they're not even trying to throw inside strikes."
Whoosh!
Ping!
Foul!
The third pitch was a curveball to the outside corner.
Fourth pitch—
"Hmm?"
Yuuki frowned slightly as the ball came toward him.
Ping!
The ball bounced high off the ground—if it had been any other pitcher, it would've shot past the defense for a hit.
But—
Pop!
Pop!
"Out!"
Maki, tall enough to leap up and snag the ball mid-air, immediately threw to first, securing the first out.
"One out! One out!"
The Sensen dugout erupted in cheers, their morale skyrocketing after getting Yuuki out.
...
Sendo's Turn
"What happened, Yuuki-san?" Sendo asked as Yuuki returned to the dugout, his expression slightly furrowed.
"Nothing. His pitches are similar to the coach's, but it's tough to hit them without knowing what's coming."
"The last pitch landed right on the edge of the strike zone… kind of a gray area."
"But, we've observed enough now. You should be fine."
"I'll take that as a compliment." Sendo thought to himself.
Unlike Yuuki, Sendo never worried about pitch selection—he simply swung when he felt like it.
Still, hearing it phrased like that… it didn't sound too great.
Of course, Yuuki probably didn't think too deeply about it—he was just stating facts.
So, Sendo decided to forgive his airheaded captain.
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