Chapter 1

The cicadas in the trees chirped more joyfully as the temperature rose, but for the third-year graduates, the sound brought a bittersweet feeling to their hearts.

Because this was their last summer at the school.

Perhaps a few days, perhaps a month, perhaps... at most, only a few months remained before parting awaited them.

Another dawn arrived.

The moment of regaining consciousness after opening his eyes in bed.

The person lying in bed told himself that this time, he absolutely must not leave any regrets.

This scene played out in many of the dorm rooms in Seishin Lodge.

The first and second-year players, looking out the window at the dimly lit sky, knew that they had woken up earlier than usual, but felt more energetic than ever.

However, when they got up, they found that the beds of their third-year seniors in the same dorm had already lost their warmth.

It was clear that the owners of those beds had already left.

As they wondered when their third-year seniors had woken up, the dorm room door opened, and a third-year senior from their dorm, who had just finished exercising, walked in.

The sweat on their bodies showed that they had definitely not just gone for a walk.

The first and second-year players were taken aback by this realization.

Because they had already woken up at least half an hour earlier than usual, their third-year senior must have gotten up more than an hour earlier.

Was it really okay for their first match in the regional preliminaries of the summer tournament?

At first, especially the first-year players, were very worried about this.

However, when they saw the determination in their seniors' eyes, they gradually calmed down.

After spending these days together, they believed that the seniors on the team would definitely be fine.

But time passed quickly.

No, it should be said that time flew by after the training camp ended.

The day after the three-school round-robin ended, Seidou confirmed the numbers of each regular player, and their coach, Katakura, officially began the final training for the upcoming summer tournament regional preliminaries.

Unlike the training camp, where the focus was on maximizing the players' potential and pushing their physical limits, this period was mainly about adjusting the regular players' conditions.

Perhaps because everyone knew that each passing day brought the summer tournament closer, the Seidou team felt that time was flying by.

However, when the day finally arrived, the Seidou team felt that time was moving too slowly.

How could their match not have started yet? The waiting was truly torturous.

They all felt that this torment made them start to worry and become increasingly anxious.

However, when they officially stepped onto the field, their hearts settled.

It had finally begun.

Led by their captain, Yuuki Tetsuya, the Seidou team walked from the corridor onto the field, slowly appearing before the crowd that had been waiting for a long time.

At that moment, the Seidou team realized just how lively the field was.

Looking around, the stands were packed with people.

Most of these people were there for Seidou.

Among them were ordinary spectators, scouts from other schools, supporters of their own schools, and of course, those who were there just for the excitement.

Although this was just Seidou's first-round match and the opponent was not very strong, making it less exciting, after the three-school round-robin, the news that "Seidou's first-year sensation from last year, Akihiro Yūsuke, had returned" spread throughout the high schools.

Especially when the news stated that he had not been affected by the car accident he had previously experienced, many people could not sit still.

The ace pitcher of Inazuma Jitsugyo, Narumi Sei, had already shown his prowess; and Akihiro Yūsuke, who was said to have been even more outstanding than Narumi Sei in his first year, had only fallen silent due to the car accident.

Now that Akihiro Yūsuke had not been affected by the car accident, what kind of player would he be now?

Everyone wanted to see for themselves if the rumors were true and if he was as good as they said.

Therefore, no one expected so many people to gather here for this reason.

However, their expectations were destined to be disappointed—

"Yūsuke, did you see the message from Narumi? I just received a message from him, telling me to check my phone," said Mikado Ichika, who was wearing the catcher's gear, suddenly remembering something he had forgotten and turning to his friend.

"Yeah, I saw it."

"Why didn't you reply? He said he sent several messages and kept waiting for your reply, so he started bothering me instead."

At this point, Mikado Ichika gave his friend a reproachful look.

Akihiro Yūsuke shrugged without saying a word.

"Wasn't the message from him about today's match?"

"Yeah."

"Did you tell him you're not playing today?"

"I think if I told him, it would be troublesome." Akihiro Yūsuke gave Mikado Ichika a look that said, "You know what I mean."

"True, he would probably call you right away and ask why you're not playing, thinking you're afraid of him and didn't ask our coach to let you pitch," Mikado Ichika laughed.

"But Narumi is really stubborn about competing with you."

As Mikado Ichika spoke, Akihiro Yūsuke's mind flashed back to the first day of the three-school round-robin.

After their match against Inazuma Jitsugyo, Narumi Sei had found him.

"Yūsuke, you're a sly one!"

...

"But don't think that showing off today will throw me off. I won't fall for it. Just watch, I'll outdo you in this summer tournament!"

...

After seeing Akihiro Yūsuke's performance on the mound, Narumi Sei was convinced that his injury was not as severe as rumored and that he had been secretly preparing to outdo him.

This high-profile return today was surely to put pressure on him, making him feel that his talent was far inferior to Yūsuke's, leading to mistakes in the summer tournament.

At the time, Akihiro Yūsuke was at a loss for words when he realized Narumi's thoughts.

Though his purpose in pitching today did include this, he wasn't that bored to deliberately spread rumors about his severe injury just to secretly prepare and outdo Narumi.

When faced with Narumi's accusations, he wanted to explain, but was met with a look that said, "I see through you."

Thus, he ended up "carrying the blame" and received daily text messages from Narumi.

Narumi claimed that he was doing this to ensure a fair competition between them in the summer tournament.

However, Akihiro Yūsuke still couldn't understand the connection between this and the daily text messages.

Perhaps because of the "indescribable" expression on Akihiro Yūsuke's face as he recalled this, Mikado Ichika couldn't help but laugh.

He pretended to be "kind" and "comforted" his friend, "Yūsuke, Narumi just considers you his only rival, so he's 'nervous' about you. Just be understanding!"

Akihiro Yūsuke swatted away Mikado Ichika's hand from his shoulder.

"If you have the time to chat about irrelevant things, you should focus more on how to pitch today!"

"What, Yūsuke, are you worried about me, or are you jealous?"

At this moment, Akihiro Yūsuke felt that this guy's face was getting thicker, but he also knew that if he argued with him, he would only get angry.

So he simply gave a light "hmm" and a look that said, "You tell me," then stood up and walked away.

Mikado Ichika, seeing this, wanted to stop his friend and continue their banter, but the unfastened gear on his body prevented him from doing so immediately. Continuing would make him seem like he was looking for trouble.

After some consideration, Mikado Ichika gave up.

However, as he tied his laces, a slight smile appeared on his face, showing his good mood.

At first, he had just remembered the text messages and asked casually, but later, he was purely bantering with his friend.

Indeed, after a good banter with a close friend, one's mood did become much lighter.

It turned out that even Akihiro Yūsuke hadn't realized that Mikado Ichika was feeling nervous and anxious today.

But it wasn't anyone's fault for not noticing.

Who was Mikado Ichika in Seidou?

It was said that the current first-year star, Sawamura Eijun, was bold, but Mikado Ichika was no less so in his first year.

He had dared to challenge the third-year seniors even before becoming a regular player.

On his first day joining the team, he announced to everyone that he had come to Seidou to beat Chris-senpai and take his position as the starting catcher.

When the team's starting catcher, Takakura Chris, was injured and couldn't play, Mikado Ichika, still a first-year, took on the responsibility without hesitation, showing no signs of being a rookie even in Koshien.

Such a mentally strong person, who had appeared in official matches before, facing an opponent that wasn't particularly strong, would be nervous?

So even if they noticed something off about Mikado Ichika's expression, they wouldn't think it was due to nervousness.

"The game begins—"

As Mikado Ichika walked to home plate and crouched down, he took deep breaths under his mask.

He felt his hands trembling slightly at this moment.

This was a rare experience for him.

After all, even when he first appeared in an official match as a first-year, he hadn't felt this kind of "nervousness."

Realizing his nervousness, Mikado Ichika asked himself why.

This might be a difficult question for others, but for him, it was not.

He was nervous today because this would be the most fair competition between him and Chris-senpai.

Mikado Ichika had never forgotten his initial reason for choosing Seidou.

He wanted to beat Chris-senpai.

In the fairest conditions, to compete fairly.

Although this was his second year at Seidou, and he had competed with Chris-senpai in various ways, he knew that in the past, due to team considerations, neither of them had given their all.

But this time, the conditions were ripe.

Now, with five pitchers on the team, it was the perfect opportunity to determine who was the better catcher at bringing out the pitchers' potential.

Taking another deep breath, Mikado Ichika's gaze fell on Chris-senpai, who was standing by the field.

At that moment, Chris-senpai was also looking at him.

Because he had already issued a "challenge" to him...

Takakura Chris, watching the figure crouching behind the plate, had not told anyone about what had happened.

Last night, Mikado had come to see him.

Under the moonlight, it was just the two of them.

"Although I said this a long time ago, I want to say it again today, Chris-senpai. I will beat you before you leave."

At that moment, Takakura Chris was taken aback.

He had never thought that this junior, who was a year younger, would be so "serious" about this.

Or rather, so "determined."

Recalling the look in his eyes when he said those words last night, and seeing him crouching behind the plate now, Takakura Chris, in that moment, softly said, "Alright, I'll be waiting."