Time flew by, and in the blink of an eye, a month had passed since the last practice game against the Hiyori High School Baseball Team.
During this period, Todoroki Raizo arranged several more practice games. In these games, the Yakushi High School Baseball Team scored at least twenty runs, showcasing their terrifying offensive power to every opponent, and won all of them.
To conceal Yakushi High School's true strength and leave the Three Great Powers of West Tokyo with an unforgettable shock in the upcoming West Tokyo Summer Koshien qualifiers, Todoroki Raizo deliberately chose opponents from outside West Tokyo. As a result, Yakushi High School still attracted no attention in West Tokyo.
...
In early June, only a few days remained until the birthdays of Kitamura Kou and Tsukishima Wakaba.
That evening, after finishing a day of training, Kitamura Kou walked home with Nakanishi Daiki and Akaishi Osamu.
The three of them walked down the street at dusk, and when they passed a convenience store—
"Let's get some ice cream before we head home," Nakanishi suggested, pointing at the store.
"Eating again? You'll get fat," Akaishi Osamu reminded him calmly.
"One won't make you fat," Nakanishi Daiki replied.
With that, the two of them started walking toward the convenience store.
After a few steps, they noticed that Kitamura Kou hadn't followed, so they stopped and asked, "Kou?"
"I won't have any," Kitamura Kou said, refusing as he looked at the eight scattered coins in his hand.
...
The next morning, on another training-free rest day, in Kitamura Kou's room—
Kitamura Kou picked up the penguin-shaped piggy bank beside the photo frame on his desk—the one holding a childhood picture of him and Tsukishima Wakaba—and poured out all the coins inside.
"One, two, three..." As Kitamura Kou concentrated on counting his money, he suddenly heard a familiar voice from outside the window.
"Hey, Kitamura! I thought you'd be free today, so I came to ask you to hang out with me. Keep me company, will you?"
Kitamura Kou walked over to the window and saw Keiichirou Senda. He was a former classmate from Seishu Academy Junior High School—a somewhat self-important, overly familiar, and long-winded guy.
"Why do I have to go out with you?" Kitamura Kou refused immediately.
As soon as he finished speaking, Kitamura's dad opened the door and came in, saying to Kitamura Kou, "Kou, if you're free, come help out. Clean the warehouse."
Kitamura Kou, who rarely had a day off, quickly made an excuse to decline.
"Ah, no, I've already made plans to go out with a friend."
After speaking, he pointed downstairs at Keiichirou Senda.
...
Seishu Academy Junior High School baseball field.
Ping!
Ping!
Ping!
The junior high school baseball team members were training enthusiastically.
"Moriyama, thank you for today's match," the Fourth Middle School Baseball Team coach greeted.
"Ah, hello. We're the ones who should be thanking you..."
"They hit well, don't they? These three have been in the main batting lineup since their second year, and after a year of training, their strength has improved even further," the Fourth Middle School coach boasted about his team's players.
"Oh, that's really good," Coach Moriyama echoed indifferently.
"In last year's practice game, your Ace—what was his name, Seda something?—let us get quite a few hits and score a lot of runs. Let's aim for ten runs today," the Fourth Middle School coach said.
"Hahahaha! That's truly frightening," Coach Moriyama replied casually.
Tsukishima Aoba was warming up on the sidelines when a Seishu Academy Junior High School Baseball Team member named Yashiro approached her and said, "Tsukishima."
"What is it, Yashiro?" Tsukishima Aoba asked.
"Um... maybe... I mean, if I get a hit in today's game, would you go on a date with me?" Yashiro asked shyly.
"Huh?" Tsukishima found it somewhat unbelievable.
"Wait a minute! If I hit a Second Base hit, with me..."
"If I successfully steal a base..."
"If I get on base twice, please..."
Three more people rushed over from the side and spoke to Tsukishima Aoba one after another.
"Your goals are too low! At least say a Home Run in every at-bat. That would be more like it!" Tsukishima Aoba exclaimed.
"Hehehe, that's a bit too... impossible."
"Forget it. Anyway, this year's Ace is Tsukishima, so one or two runs should be enough."
"Although last year's Ace was unstable, this year..."
Several people found excuses to back down.
"You guys..." Tsukishima Aoba was about to get angry when a voice from behind interrupted her.
"Hi everyone! Are you working hard? Last year's Ace is here to see you before the game starts!" Keiichirou Senda greeted everyone.
"Hello, Senior..." Everyone bowed in greeting.
"If you need advice, leave it to me. After all, I've gone two for two against Fourth Middle School," Keiichirou Senda said proudly.
"A hero doesn't boast about past glories," Kitamura Kou retorted.
"Hmm!!!" Keiichirou Senda glared angrily at Kitamura Kou.
"By the way, Senior Senda."
"Like being kicked out of the first string..."
"Or having your Pitcher position taken..."
"Or the manager ignoring you..."
The junior high team members asked one after another.
"Hey, hey, focus on the upcoming game!" Keiichirou Senda shouted, embarrassed and angry.
"What are you doing here?" Tsukishima Aoba asked Kitamura Kou.
"This guy dragged me here by force," Kitamura Kou said, pointing at Keiichirou Senda.
"If you have time to watch a junior high game, you might as well go practice pitching. Unless you want to lose again..." Tsukishima Aoba looked at him with disappointment.
"You're right. Then let's go back," Kitamura Kou said, turning his head away from Tsukishima Aoba.
"Hmm!" Tsukishima Aoba glanced at Kitamura Kou out of the corner of her eye.
"Play ball!" The umpire's voice broke the silence between the two bickering figures.
...
Whoosh!
Thwack!
Whoosh!
Thwack!
Whoosh!
Thwack!
Tsukishima Aoba, a third-year junior high girl, used three fastballs exceeding 130 kilometers per hour to make the Fourth Middle School Batter swing and miss three times in a row.
This scene left the Fourth Middle School manager dumbfounded.
"What the hell? What are those main hitters doing? They didn't play this badly against me!" Keiichirou Senda yelled angrily.
"Is that so?" Kitamura Kou turned his head away, secretly chuckling.
"Hmm!!!" Seeing this, Keiichirou Senda glared furiously at Kitamura Kou.
...
"Tsukishima, nice pitch!" Coach Moriyama praised Tsukishima Aoba as she returned to the dugout after retiring the Batter.
"Thank you," Tsukishima Aoba replied modestly.
Soon, the game reached the bottom of the fourth inning, with Seishu Junior High at bat. The current score was two to zero, with Seishu leading. Tsukishima Aoba had perfectly suppressed Fourth Middle School's batting lineup, shutting them out completely.
Seeing this, Tsukishima Aoba decided to change her pitching strategy.