"Coach, what was that catcher's name?" Sendou asked as he walked off the field.
"The cleanup catcher? Harada, Harada Masakatsu. What is it? He's a strong player, isn't he?"
"I'm just a beginner. How would I know whether he's strong or not? But why does that name sound so familiar?" Well, Sendou still had no idea just how strong his own team was.
Both teams were considered prestigious, and with little difference in individual strength, even though Harada possessed personal ability beyond his teammates and even the Wildcats' regular players, it was difficult for him to show much against such a well-coordinated Wildcats team. Without anything to compare against, there was no way to judge who was stronger.
He simply did not know how strong his teammates were. Since he could not compare to them in pure batting or pitching, he had even less of a way to tell. After all, Sendou had little awareness of his own level. Since even a beginner like him could become the cleanup batter, he did not think his teammates were particularly strong, no matter if the manager called him a monster. He might even have suspected that he had joined a fake prestigious school.
Where was the legendary rookie beatdown? (That was just his fantasy.)
Half of this was Sendou Ichiro's fault. His father only had a vague understanding of things himself. He merely knew that the Wildcats were famous, so he sent him there. Sendou himself had not cared about it either.
"Uh..." But before Coach Nakanishi could recover from his speechlessness, Sendou had already gone to put on his protective gear.
Over the next two innings, apart from Sendou hitting a solo home run, the score did not change. However, both sides picked up hits one after another, and both teams' batting orders would begin with the second batter in the final inning. That was assuming the Sailors Team could tie the score; otherwise, there would be no bottom half of the inning.
In the top of the seventh, after the Sailors Team's third batter got a hit, their cleanup batter hit a home run. But they did not score again after that, and the final score was set at 10–2.
The opposing team had not gotten Sendou out even once. Instead, he went four-for-four with four long hits and six RBIs.
After the teams lined up and bowed to each other, Harada Masakatsu called Sendou over.
"You're Sendou, right?"
"Yes, senpai!"
"You're really incredible. Honestly, in your last two at-bats, just seeing you standing in the Batter's Box sent chills through my whole body."
In the original story, Harada disliked Miyuki because Miyuki overwhelmed him intellectually. But Sendou crushed him with pure, absolute ability. Even knowing Sendou had the weakness of not actually being able to distinguish balls from strikes in the Batter's Box, he was still beaten senseless. When the difference in ability was that vast, there was naturally no unwillingness to accept it or dislike him. At least for now, Harada could not even summon the desire to compete with him. That showed just how hard Sendou's batting had hit him.
"Thank you!"
Then Harada lightly patted Sendou on the shoulder.
"The tournament is coming soon. Do your best!"
Before Sendou could reply, he went off to speak with one of the Wildcats players. Sendou vaguely heard one of his seniors say, "He's amazing, right? That guy!"
The reply came, "Yeah. Honestly, starting from his third at-bat, just seeing him standing there gave me a shadow. I can't tell whether it was fear or some other feeling."
"Seriously? But it's true that he's terrifying the moment he stands in the Batter's Box. Trying to face him for a decisive victory while crouching behind the plate must be a nightmare, right?!"
"Yeah!"
Sendou shrugged.
"But none of that matters anymore," he muttered inwardly.
After the Wildcats returned to camp by bus, they disbanded on the spot.
"I'm home!"
"Welcome back! Akila, your father is back. Go wash up first. Dad has something to tell you."
"Got it!"
After washing up quickly, Sendou came to the living room and sat down on his knees.
"Akila, you should know that our family is in business. I've decided to develop our business in China, so your mother and I will be going there.
"But I hope you can stay in Japan, because I want you to have a colorful childhood. You're a little quiet by nature, so I don't think life abroad would suit you. I'll send you to live with your grandfather in the countryside."
"Okay. When am I leaving?" He did not object at all and chose to comply.
"I'll finish the arrangements tomorrow. Go say goodbye to your classmates and the Wildcats' coach."
"Also, I'll give you some money. There may be things you cannot buy in the countryside, so you can buy them and take them with you. It doesn't matter if you start school a day or two late."
"I understand. Then I'll go back to my room first," Sendou said softly after taking a deep breath.
Although Sendou had not made any friends on the Wildcats, he had spent every day with Coach Nakanishi. Suddenly leaving still made him feel somewhat downcast.
"Let him have some time alone," Sendou Ichiro said, stopping Sendou's mother when she looked as if she wanted to say something.
In his room, Sendou aimlessly fiddled with his phone, opening and closing it, then opening and closing it again. If he had to put it into words, he was lost.
After a long while, Sendou stood up and walked over to the full-length mirror in his room. Looking at the face reflected inside—a little like that cheerful handsome guy from Slam Dunk—if he had to point out the difference, it was his eyes. Sendou had phoenix eyes, with sapphire-like pupils that gave off such a sharp feeling that people did not want to meet his gaze.
"Seriously... sigh. What a nice face. Should I get Sendou's spiky hair? I wonder if that Sendou was born with the same stiff hair as me, where it stood up like hedgehog spines as long as it was cut a little short?"
"Decided. I'll get a haircut tomorrow. With my hair texture, just a little hair gel should be enough to make it stand up!" (Actually, from some angles, Sendou's hair in Slam Dunk did not seem that long. The longest parts were only around two or three buzz-cut lengths, while the shortest parts were about the same as a buzz cut.)
"Starting tomorrow, I'll be a brand-new me. Long live the Going-Home Club!" he shouted "long live" without any energy.
Even Sendou himself knew that this was all just self-deception, a way to shift his attention. But he did not want to let himself off like this. He wanted to keep himself busy and hide the sorrow of parting.
So he began packing his luggage, then cleaning up his room, sorting what he would take with him and what he would leave behind. When Sendou saw the family photo, he stared at it blankly for a long time before finally putting it into his bag.
Next came the pile of books Coach Nakanishi had given him: basic manuals, training menus, and more.
For someone with Sendou's mind, he had long since memorized the training menus by heart. But these baseball materials, Coach Nakanishi's notes, and theory books...
"Since I've chosen the Going-Home Club, I'll leave these here," he said, placing all of them into the closet. It was filled entirely with things he would not be taking away.
As he closed the closet door, Sendou felt as though he were saying goodbye to the person he had been before today.
At that thought, all the oppressive gloom suddenly vanished.
That was the kind of person Sendou was. Even in his previous life, he had always been able to accept reality quickly, no matter what happened.
He only did what he could do, knew what he should do and what he was capable of doing, what he could only believe in, and what he could only wait for.
The latter half of today was a little depressing, at least in my opinion. It might be the same tomorrow when he says goodbye. I don't know whether I can write that kind of atmosphere. I remember there being a similar line in Cross Game at the end. Suddenly, I want to reread Cross Game. Mitsuru Adachi's baseball details are not particularly strong, but his emotional writing is truly the best. I always skip the part where Wakaba dies. I can't stand that heartbreak.
Before you continue