CH 83

Chapter 83: Winning And Running Away

TL: Akabane

***

The day of the match against Hayao University finally arrived. Both teams have won three games so far. The winner of this game would be the winner of the Five College Baseball Tournament. The two teams lined up, bowed to each other, and the game got underway, but for some reason, the faces of quite a few of the Hayao players were clearly pale.

"Hey, Manager Yuzuriha!"

The first team to attack was the Koto University. On the bench, I spoke to Yuzuriha.

"Yes, I understand what you mean. The morale of Hayao University's players is obviously low. If it were now, we could bring the winning percentage to 50-50. But why?"

The laptop on Yuzuriha's lap was showing the brilliant plays of Hayao University's key players. But compared to that, their movements on the mound right now are lackluster. Imayuri looks like he is in good shape when he is pitching on the mound. However, he was looking at the other players with an obvious displeasure on his face. Even from an amateur's perspective, the Hayao University baseball team seems to be in a rickety state.

"Hey, Tokiwa, Yuzuriha. He's laughing."

Ayashiro, the head coach, points behind his back with his thumb. There was Hagiri, who was reading at the back of the bench. He always looks mysterious when he's reading, but today he's somewhat flirtatious.

"You swore in front of everyone that you would follow sportsmanship, didn't you?"

"I hope you don't blame me for everything."

"You know, a team that was on a roll just a few days ago just fell apart in an instant. Who else but you could have created such a situation?"

I said this and Hagiri looked up from his book and smiled. He looks like a child who is happy to be praised, even though I didn't praise him. I think his mentality of being happy to have his wrongdoings pointed out to him is really garbage.

"Victory affirms everything. Therefore, all actions that lead to victory belong to goodness. Therefore, I have done nothing wrong. Do you understand?"

This is nothing more than a quibble. But I would do anything if I couldn't go two or three steps further. It's hard to argue with that. But I still have to say it.

"That's not cool."

"If you don't get it, then quiet. It's easier to deal with if you're the kind of person who doesn't care about winning."

We'll never mesh. Policies, ideologies, whatever the word, we will never mesh. It seriously pisses me off. I'm definitely going to make him cry one day.

The game was going rather well for us. Except for Imayuri, all the other players were not motivated. It was as if they were scared of something. Even so, because of their high ability, hits and other hits were coming out, but we managed to handle all of them with our defense. Except for Imayuri. Before Imayuri got into the batter's box, he shouted loudly to the stands on the Koto University side. There, the cheer club of the Imperial Capital University and the dance circle of Milan were giving a lovely cheering performance.

"I'm giving you my extra-large love now!!!!"

A confession of love that even I, in the open air, could hear. It must be Imayuri's propose to Igarashi. There's something very adolescent about this. I'm beyond envious. However, Igarashi was neither shy nor happy about it, but rather, she was listening to Imayuri's voice with a face like a Noh mask. I hate that face. I really don't like that face. But sadly, that Noh-like face is terribly beautiful. So beautiful that it drives people crazy.... And now, Imayuri stands in the batter's box. With his bat, he proudly points to the scoreboard in the outfield. Perhaps annoyed by this, Hagiri raises his eyebrows. He really is a man who is quick to accept provocation. That's when Yuzuriha sending a sign to Hagiri with a blue face. That sign was used for the first time in this tournament. It was the sign for "intentionaly walk." There were no runners on base with two outs. But Yuzuriha's sign was a sign that they were in trouble. But Hagiri ignored the sign and started pitching at his usual pace. The first pitch was a curve. It drew a sharp curve and went into the catcher's mitt.

"Strike!!!!"

Hagiri grins. Now that curve is a pro-level ball. No wonder he looked so good at it. And next is a high-speed slider, which hits a velocity of 152 km/h and lands in the catcher's mitt.

"Strike two!"

The crowd erupts in cheers. Hagiri must be shining like a star player to the spectators. Then Hagiri threw his third pitch. It was a crisp Hawkball. It was on a trajectory that would surely induce the hitter to strike out. But.

"Oooooooooo!!!! I love it!!!"

What a surprise, Imayuri hit that hawk ball as if to salvage it and show it off.

"What? Seriously? Hey, hey, hey!!!!"

The ball went over the pitcher's head, over the top of center and just barely over the outfield fence.

""""Woooo!!!""""

The stadium erupted into a loud roar. Imayuri circles the diamond with dignity. Imayuri had surpassed the pitching of Hagiri, who had not allowed a single run until today. And with the bases loaded, a run scored for Hayao University. Hagiri looked terribly unhappy. I don't think I've ever seen him like that before. He looks rough. However, he struck out the next batter, and the game was changed. I went back to the bench from the outfield. I looked at the cheerleading section of the University of the Imperial Capital, where both the cheerleading squad and the dance circle were looking somewhat dejected. When Milan saw me, she smiled and waved the flag. I was happy to feel the warmth of their support. Igarashi was smiling with a reddish, yet unmistakably sexy smile. Her eyes were slightly wet. She was staring at me with those eyes. And when our gazes met, her lips moved. I know how to read lips, so I tried to read what she was trying to say.

(When will I be kidnapped?)

My heart pounded as I understood the meaning of those words. I promised Igarashi that if I lost, I would take her away. She remembered that. I felt myself getting terribly elated by that. Yes, it was okay if I lost. If I did that, I would just take Igarashi away. I had no reason to care about winning. I swore to Igarashi that I would ruin the game that the men had put their whole hearts and souls into from the side. A sweet, sweet promise. And I think I got carried away. I walked onto the bench feeling good and trying hard to keep my grinning cheeks in check.

"Why are you looking so happy? When your team is about to lose? Are you that happy about my blunder?"

Hagiri glared at me. He didn't even hide his grumpiness. It was making the atmosphere on the bench very bad. But that doesn't make my grin go away at all.

"No, no, no. It's none of your business. It has nothing to do with you. I'm just laughing about something, so don't worry."

How am I going to kidnap Igarashi? That's all I've been thinking about since a while ago. And where shall we go? I can go anywhere holding her hand.

"...You can't be...! Did you promise something to Riri?"

It was a frighteningly good intuition. As expected of a childhood friend.

"Ah, I see. So that's what this turn of events is about...!"

"No, you just licked Imayuri, didn't you? But he's at the professional level."

I just remembered at the mention of Imayuri, how about kidnapping Igarashi right in front of him? That guy would probably regret it. I wouldn't give him a lukewarm kiss on the cheek like I did with Kirin-san. How about I show him how our tongues are intertwined?

"After all, our prayers do not overlap, we don't share our love either, so no one's wish will be granted..."

While I was lost in my fantasy, Hagiri was looking terribly mystified. Then, he started calling someone on his phone. Well, he must be plotting something. You can do it on your own. Because right now I just want to play in my sweet fantasy.

Then, it was Hagiri's turn in the batting order. Hagiri is a man who shows great ability in batting. But in this situation, it would be impossible. Hayao University's pitcher was competent. By the time Hagiri's turn came around, he had already struck out two. Unless he hit a home run, there was nothing he could do here. But Hagiri had a smile on his face, as if he could afford it. Then, he glanced at the pitcher. The pitcher has a blatant look of fear on his face.

"What the...? That's not the face of a pitcher on the winning side, is it?"

Ayashiro seems to feel the same discomfort as I do, and she tilts her head. Yuzuriha compares her laptop to the pitcher and suddenly stands up.

"Kanata! Get the time! Please take the time as soon as possible!"

"What's wrong? What's going to happen!"

"Get the time! Get the time!"

"No, Yuzuriha. You can't get time without Hagiri's permission. That's the condition for joining our team."

The real control of the team rests with Hagiri. I can't take the time.

"Oh...that's right...Kanata...please. Please cover my eyes from behind. Cover them gently...If I can't get time, I don't want to see what happens next..."

Yuzuriha trembled with fear. What has she predicted? At any rate, I do as Yuzuriha says and cover her eyes from behind with my hands. And then the pitching begins.

"Strike!"

"Ball!"

"Ball!"

"Strike!"

"Ball!"

In no time at all, it's a two-strike three-ball. Nothing seems to happen. But Yuzuriha is shaking and shaking.

"I'm scared. That really scary! I'm crazy! I can't believe he was willing to do something like that! I'm scared! Oh no, I don't want to see it!"

Yuzuriha's fear is unusual. Then, the sixth pitch was thrown. It was quite a fastball. And it flew toward the batter's box with a high trajectory. Yes, that's right. The trajectory of the ball was.... A dull sound was heard.

"Kyaaaaa!!!! Hagiri!!!"

A scream came from the stands. It was Mashiba's sad and painful voice. And the stadium was filled with murmurs.

"...Oh...so that's what you mean...damn son of a b*tch...!"

I hugged Yuzuriha tightly from behind. Ayashiro hugged us too.

"When you're about to lose a match, there's one way to turn it around. You can make up a reason why you can't help losing. But I've never seen anyone seriously do that before... that's crazy."

"...That's why I don't want to see it. I don't want to see madness! I don't want to see this childish madness! It's disgusting!"

The relief workers were gathering in the batter's box. Everyone was looking worriedly at the fallen Hagiri. Yes, the sixth pitch was neither a strike nor a ball, but a dead ball. It was an extremely dangerous pitch that hit him directly in the helmet. The pitcher who threw it was lying on the ground with a blue face.

"If you can't win, you take the victim's position and make the bet itself go away. It's a joke. Unbelievable...!"

Perhaps, that was what he had told earlier. I am sure that the Hayao University baseball team has a weak spot in their hands, except for Imayuri who is now on bet. He ordered the pitcher to intentionally generate a dead ball, targeting himself. This way, even if he loses the game, he can still win people's sympathy as a tragic hero. Even Imayuri wouldn't be able to bring up Igarashi in the game. Hagiri tried to win the game with a dead ball. I turned to Igarashi in the infield bleachers. She was sitting down flat and helpless. Her face was filled with fear, sadness, or something I couldn't quite put my finger on. Milan was standing by her side, trying desperately to comfort her. Igarashi had been looking at me just a moment ago, but Hagiri had managed to escape even that feeling with his sneaky tactics. Once again, I was to learn the horror of this man, Hagiri.