They had finally won. It had been an incredibly hard-fought victory, and even after winning, nothing got easier. They were presented on the spot with the banner representing West Tokyo, then went to thank the spectators in the stands who had supported them. Only then did they return to the Dugout to pack up.
"Hey, hey, Kōshū, are you okay?!" Kuramochi looked around and found the pitcher who had slipped away earlier. He was currently sprawled over a bench in the resting area, eyes closed, with no clue what was going on.
Kuramochi's panicked voice immediately drew everyone's attention, and they began to panic as well. Kataoka hurried through the players, stepped forward, and shook Kōshū. "Kōshū, Kōshū?"
After being shaken twice, Kōshū finally reacted. He groggily opened his eyes and yawned. "Huh? Manager? What's wrong? Isn't there no game today?"
The anxious looks on everyone's faces vanished at once, replaced by expressions too complicated for words.
In the end, the Manager spoke first. "Get up. We just finished playing Inashiro."
"Huh? I took a nap. Did I somehow travel back to yesterday?"
Kuramochi finally snapped. "Travel back my ass! You haven't even been asleep for ten minutes!"
Then, together with an equally irritated Isashiki, he kicked and prodded the first-year from either side, urging him forward. "Hey, first-years in the back, remember to bring his stuff."
Eijun, Haruichi, and Furuya all nodded, finishing the packing Kōshū had left halfway done.
"That guy fell asleep while packing..." Eijun gripped Kōshū's glove tightly and stuffed it into the bag.
The other two first-years said nothing, but they had clearly heard him. Their hands paused before continuing.
Scattered questions still came from outside the Dugout. "What happened? Why did everyone suddenly gather around? Is something wrong?"
"What problem could there be?