On the bus ride back, everyone was clearly much more relaxed.
"Today's rain was really heavy. I almost thought the game would be suspended halfway through."
"But once it started raining, the temperature dropped noticeably. I heard it'll keep raining for the next few days."
"It feels like autumn arrived all at once."
"Yeah."
From the front of the bus, where the second-years had gathered, bursts of discussion broke out from time to time, while others closed their eyes and rested despite the noise.
Furuya only sat upright for a short while. After receiving special praise from Kōshū and everyone else, he had been full of energy for a brief period. But as the bus swayed along, his focused gaze gradually turned bleary, like a shaken cocktail. Thunk. He fell asleep and knocked his head against the window beside him.
"Furuya did really well today." Kuramochi, seated in front, noticed what had happened behind him. "What do you think?"
After becoming the new captain and vice-captain, Kuramochi and Miyuki found that their thoughts overlapped far more often, and their relationship naturally improved as a result.
"Yeah. Every now and then, he threw one too high and made me break out in a cold sweat, but most of his pitches were good. All in all, today should make Furuya realize something." Miyuki's words left Kuramochi puzzled.
"Realize what?"
"Haha, what it really feels like to become the team's ace." To an outsider like Kuramochi, the gleam in Miyuki's eyes looked utterly calculating.
"Miyuki Kazuya! Quit grinning like some villain!" He was a captain now. Couldn't he be a little more composed? The gap between him and Yuki Captain was simply too great, and Kuramochi still had trouble adjusting to Miyuki as captain.
Miyuki ignored him completely. He remembered that, when they