"Game over!"
Some of Seido's players stood while others sat in the stands, their eyes fixed on the group in gray uniforms below.
"As expected of Ichidai Third High."
"That Slider got nastier and nastier in the later innings."
The people around them started discussing it. Kōshū patted the unusually quiet Furuya beside him. "Just like you—you both start off shaky and get better as the game goes on!"
"Start off... shaky..." With a buzz, Furuya's emotional switch flipped. He shot to his feet and loudly declared as if stepping onto a stage, "From now on, I'll pitch well from the very start!"
That statement briefly quieted everyone around him before teasing and encouragement quickly piled on.
"That's the spirit. You settled into the game quickly today, too."
"What's this? Have you finally decided to fight Kōshū for the ace position?"
"Yeah, yeah. Kōshū, are you feeling a little threatened now?"
Kōshū grinned. "Isn't that a good thing?"
Furuya became the center of attention, and he was a little unaccustomed to it.
Meanwhile, Eijun stared wide-eyed as that blockhead blended into everyone's conversation. Feeling unbalanced, he immediately shouted, "Me too! I'll use Numbers to strike everyone out!"
"Yeah, yeah, Sawamura, stop butting into everything." Lang Zhi's words set the tone, and everyone else followed along.
"Hahaha, you did great today too. Everyone saw it."
"With two starters on our team, our defense will be airtight no matter what."
Eijun snorted unhappily as the topic about him quickly shifted back to Furuya and Kōshū. It's always like this. When will everyone start paying attention to me?!
Yui, a first-year who likewise couldn't get a word in, stood beside Eijun and listened as the topic drifted farther and farther off course. He turned his thoughts over twice before speaking. "Sawamura Senior, I