First Victory

First Victory

Kinoshita Little League's first game was held at the club itself. After gathering that afternoon, Kōshū, who had just come out of the training room, sensed that the players' mood was different from usual.

Didn't they say the game wouldn't start until five in the afternoon?

Just as he was about to look at Hayakawa, someone whispered by his ear, "Quiet." It was Hayakawa's voice. He could already predict Kōshū's every move.

Several strangers filed in, led by Coach Ninomiya. Those are umpires' uniforms.

They stopped in front of the team, and Coach Ninomiya introduced them.

"These are the umpires for today's game."

All the boys bowed together in greeting.

"All First String players, head to the Indoor Training Field to warm up. Second String, remain on the third-base side and assist the umpires with inspecting the field. After that, wait on the slope outside the field for the opposing players to enter. Understood?"

"Yes, sir—"

The Kinoshita Club's outdoor training field had artificial turf in the outfield and red clay in the infield. The entire team had cleared away the stones yesterday and redrawn the white lines. After walking around the field once, the umpires returned to the scorekeeper's room to discuss matters with the official scorer.

Since there were no stands, the twenty-odd boys could only sit on the slope beside the field and wait for the game to begin, serving as ball boys.

With no umpires or coaches around, Kōshū started getting restless again. Hayakawa Aki sat beside him. "Don't even think about sneaking off again. Coach already has his eye on you."

Kōshū shrugged.

As they spoke, unfamiliar figures appeared at the entrance. It was the Dōhoku Little League Team. They only stood there briefly before their coach led them to the first-base side. Kinoshita Little League had won the coin toss and chosen to bat second.

"As long as we hold the score through the top of the sixth, we'll get to play one less game." Someone's careless remark drifted into Kōshū's ears.

"Is the Dōhoku Little League Team that weak?" Hayakawa had now evolved from a babysitter into Doraemon, though he did not seem particularly unhappy about it.

"It'd be hard to call them a strong team. Otherwise, they wouldn't have chosen to bat second after winning the coin toss."

Kōshū hugged his knees as he sat on the grass. The weather was wonderful today, like a brief return to spring. Sunlight came with a cool breeze, and he was about to drift off in the embrace of warm air.

Unfortunately, Hayakawa Aki was beside him, true to his name. "Coach is looking over here." That single sentence plunged Kōshū into autumn. Once the chill had driven away his drowsiness, he looked toward the third-base side again, but there was no coach there.

Just as Kōshū was about to put Hayakawa in a headlock as punishment, he saw that Coach had actually brought the First String over to third base. Kōshū naturally patted Hayakawa Aki on the shoulder. "The wind blew some dust onto you. I was brushing it off."

Hayakawa Aki gave him a teasing smile.

Kōshū pulled himself together and did not dare let Coach catch him not taking the game seriously again.

"Play ball—"

The Dōhoku Little League Team was weak. Their batters could not handle Nozawa's pitches. They seemed committed to an aggressive swinging strategy, taking big cuts without hesitation and missing again and again. After three innings like that, everyone on Kinoshita Little League felt relaxed, as though they were using a sledgehammer to crack a nut. The players watching from the third-base side began whispering among themselves.

As the foremost line of the team's defense, Nozawa had racked up several strikeouts in a row. His nerves loosened, and he carelessly threw a ball.

Captain Ito noticed that the team had lost its fire and called a timeout, summoning even the outfielders to the Pitcher's Mound.

"What is wrong with you guys?! Is this our home field or theirs?"

The Second String members on the third-base side heard the captain's shout from the Pitcher's Mound. Even from so far away, they could feel the anger in it. Most of them looked at Coach Ninomiya, who stood off to the side with his arms folded, his expression unchanged.

"Left field! Why did you stand there after seeing the ball fly over before going after it? You almost failed to catch it." The left fielder lowered his head.

"And not just left field. The rest of you too—I can see the slackness in your throws."

Everyone gathered around the Pitcher's Mound, and even the air seemed several degrees hotter.

"And you, Nozawa Kai!"

Nozawa did not feel offended at being called by his full name by his childhood friend. He only felt terrified.

"I don't want to catch pitches with no spirit in them. You know what you need to do next, right?"

"Yes, sir—" Nozawa unconsciously straightened up and avoided the gaze across from him.

After the timeout ended, the field somehow grew quieter. The game finally began tilting toward Kinoshita Little League. Everyone on defense became more focused, and their batting started linking together as well. The atmosphere of a strong team gradually coming together finally made the Dōhoku Little League Team on the first-base side feel the mounting pressure.

The final result was just as everyone had expected at the start. Kinoshita Little League held them through the top of the sixth and won 8–1.

Coach Ninomiya swept his gaze over the boys before him, still covered in dirt and dust. He said nothing, only ordered that everyone who had played in the game run fifteen laps, while those who had not participated would run twenty.

Huh? Why do we have to run more than them? We were just watching. Kōshū only dared grumble inwardly. In truth, he understood that everyone today, from those on the field to those watching, had taken their opponents too lightly. Kinoshita Little League had clearly won, yet the brilliant sunshine seemed to leave with the Dōhoku Little League Team, who had scored only one run.

"We actually scored one run."

"Yeah, what a surprise."

"But their equipment is really complete."

Only dark clouds remained over Kinoshita Club. A black aura seemed to rise from the coaching staff's faces before settling heavily in everyone's hearts. Whenever they passed the coaches, they ran a little faster, hoping not to get called over.

As everyone gathered while panting and swaying on their feet, Coach Ninomiya spoke with a cold expression. He apologized first. "I bear most of the responsibility for this game. I knew in advance that the Dōhoku Little League Team was relatively weak. I shouldn't have put all the starters in the first game. Nozawa-kun, do you think that's right?"

Nozawa hurriedly answered with a serious expression, "No matter the situation, we all want to play!"

"Does everyone else feel the same?" Coach Ninomiya swept his gaze around. The starting players who had played today all nodded, then lowered their heads again.

"Then the game I saw today does not match what you just said, no matter how I look at it. Look at the others behind you. Sasaki-kun, do you want to play defense?"

Lang Zhi froze. The words left his mouth before he could think. "I do..." After the others glanced at him, he shut his mouth again.

"See? There are people who want to play in the games you don't want to take seriously. If I see anyone lose focus on the field again, they'll be taken out immediately!"

Everyone fell silent. The moment the dismissal order was given, they immediately returned to the locker room to pack their things.

Lang Zhi sidled up to Kōshū, his expression a little stiff, but a senior shortstop from the First String dragged him away. "You brat, why is your face so stiff?"

"Looks like Coach knows you speak without thinking too."

"Haha, yeah."

"No, it's just that I've never been in this kind of situation..." Lang Zhi tried to explain, but a burst of jeers embarrassed him into silence.

Hayakawa Aki glanced at the seniors enthusiastically "bullying" Lang Zhi, then looked at the expressionless Kōshū. "This should be your first time seeing Coach get angry, right?"

Kōshū's expressionlessness at that moment really was just calmness. Still, he remembered something from the past. While distractedly helping pack Lang Zhi's things, he said, "Oh, it is the first time. But he wasn't as scary as my English teacher in China."

"You know, once during English class, she scolded us for half the lesson and even broke several pointers. When the dismissal bell rang, she just stood at the front of the classroom with a dark face and didn't mention school being over at all. Everyone got tired from keeping their heads down. Then someone from another class got curious and peeked through the crack in our classroom door. She spotted them and threw a broken pointer straight out, scaring everyone outside into an uproar."

"That scary? Was it corporal punishment?"

"Not really. She didn't hit anyone. Her presence was just terrifying. Scared us half to death."

"So what exactly happened?"

Kōshū faltered a little. Right, why had the teacher gotten so angry? "I vaguely remember that someone from our class got involved in a fighting incident. But I don't think they actually fought. Before they even went, the teacher kept all of us in the classroom and chewed us out."

"Haha, somehow it sounds like you deserved to be scolded."

"Shut up!"

After packing up, they rescued Lang Zhi from the seniors' big hands. By then, Kōshū and Hayakawa had mostly stopped sweating, and they slowly rode their bicycles home.

They usually parked their bikes in the small shed beside the garage.

As they went around the gate, their pointless discussion continued. "You can't cut off a cat's whiskers, because that's how they receive signals."

"That's a lie. Back in the countryside, some cats got so close to the fire that their whiskers curled up. That proves their whiskers are really dull."

"That's just a special case..."

Listening to Lang Zhi's booming voice behind him, Kōshū cut in, "They got home pretty early today."

Interrupted, Lang Zhi also noticed that their parents' cars were already in the garage. "You're right. We can eat early today."

When they pushed open the door, Mr. Sasaki and Shen Qing were sitting across from each other at the dining table. The curtains were half drawn, but the lights were off.

"Why aren't the lights on?" Kōshū, who entered first, turned them on. He noticed the flustered looks on the two adults' faces, but once the lights came on, they calmed down, as though they had something to say.

Only Lang Zhi remained oblivious as he rushed to the fridge and opened a can of soda. "Ah—so refreshing."

Mr. Sasaki spoke first. "Shen Qing, why don't you go back to your room first?"

"No, let's discuss it together." Shen Qing gestured for Kōshū to sit down.

At that moment, Lang Zhi also sensed that something was wrong. He backed up and stood behind the counter, refusing to come over. "What is it, Mom? What do you want to say?"

The two adults exchanged a glance, and Shen Qing said to Lang Zhi, "Lang Zhi, Mom is pregnant."

Kōshū had no particular reaction. Lang Zhi froze for a moment, holding the soda can over half his face. "Ah... congratulations?"

Mr. Sasaki looked toward Kōshū again. Kōshū replied, "That's good. You just need to be careful with an advanced maternal age pregnancy."

Shen Qing let out a breath of relief. Mr. Sasaki reached across the table and held Shen Qing's hand. Taking advantage of everyone's attention being away from the counter, Lang Zhi silently rushed back to his room.

"It's fine. I'll go check on him in a bit. He'll be okay." Kōshū immediately reassured the two adults. "How about we eat out today? We can treat it as a celebration."

The two adults still looked somewhat worried. Kōshū snapped his fingers. "Don't worry. I'll drag him downstairs."

As he headed upstairs, he said over his shoulder, "You two get ready. Mom, you're the star today, so pick whatever you want to eat. We're fine with anything."

Hearing Kōshū slam open the door upstairs, Mr. Sasaki let out a breath. "Takano really is like an adult. There are so many times when he surprises me."

Shen Qing murmured, "Yes. He'll definitely be a good big brother."