"Hey! Have you been waiting long?" Harada greeted Sendou, who was sitting on a bench in a square in Tokyo.
"It's okay! I just prefer being alone!... Really!"
"Sorry for asking you out at this time!"
No! I'm free today anyway!
No, I should say I'm usually pretty free.
"If it's troublesome, a lot of people ask me for autographs when I'm here, which is quite annoying," Sendou replied nonchalantly.
Harada's veins bulged when he heard this!
However, he also understood that Sendou was indeed this kind of person who disliked trouble. It was entirely because of Narumiya Mei at home that he had developed a conditioned reflex and hadn't been able to change it in a short time.
"You're so free... Shouldn't you be preparing for the competition lately?"
The Koshien opens the day after tomorrow!
Although your match won't be until the 12th!
"I never dreamed that Yuki's fortune would be so good!" Harada sat down naturally next to Sendou.
"It's actually a little complicated!"
Did you see the Drawing Lots ceremony?
To be honest, I didn't expect that we would get a bye in the first round and only need to play two more matches to advance to the quarterfinals.
And the opponents in those two matches didn't seem to be any particularly famous schools!
"I really don't want to watch this without you!"
After defeating their opponents, Drawing Lots ceremony is held!
"Is it really that annoying?"
"Hey! You're still a first grader, you don't understand what Koshien is like!"
"Um?"
"Alright! Even if you knew, you wouldn't feel anything, would you?" Harada knew Sendou's personality quite well.
After all, he's the man she's been dreaming about! (So gay!)
"No! I'd really care if it's this year!"
"Oh?" Harada was surprised because Sendou didn't show any tension or concern on his face during the finals.
"For me, the seniors in the third year are the best seniors!"
So I really want to go! Koshien!
Join them!
"...Sorry!" Harada looked at Sendou for a few seconds, somewhat moved, then sighed. (Hey! I wasn't talking about you...)
"To be honest, before the Drawing Lots, I thought I would at least make it to the quarterfinals, but I never dreamed that Tetsu-san would have such a good draw!"
Sendou recalled how he had looked at Miyuki with a strange expression when he saw the Drawing Lots drawing, almost making the guy uncomfortable.
Sendou really wanted to say, "Look! Learn something!"
"We must reach the top!" Harada stared intently at Sendou.
"... I understand, I will try my best!"
"It's all about risking my life! Otherwise, I'll be too pathetic!" Harada turned around and met Sendou's eyes.
" Harada-san!"
"Um?"
"This doesn't feel like your personality at all!"
"Really? Maybe he's still bothered by the loss."
"... It's not just about that, can you stop staring at me like that?"
It turns out that Harada had been staring into Sendou's eyes the whole time, almost making Sendou feel uncomfortable.
"So hurry up and give me the stuff!"
"Oh! Sorry, sorry!" Sendou pushed a bag away.
Harada loves history, as does Sendou, so after learning about China's Warring States period from Sendou, he became very interested.
So Sendou agreed to lend him his Strategies of the Warring States. At this time, bilingual Strategies of the Warring States was not easy to obtain. The Warring States Policy that Sendou lent him was not bilingual either, because the translator was Sendou himself.
In his previous life Sendou was interested in this but had never read it. So, when he was in elementary school and had nothing to do, he asked his father to buy him a set from China.
When I was bored and making my own annotations, I instinctively wrote them down in Japanese, otherwise Harada wouldn't have been able to read them!
Therefore, even if it's a commentary on the Sendou, Harada has no complaints.
"I'm sorry!" Yuan took the book she had been longing for.
"But is this alright? Don't you need to prepare for an exam?"
"No, I've already decided to participate in the winter draft and go pro!"
So I'm pretty free!
"That makes sense!" Sendou suddenly remembered that Harada was still very popular. Even without his Koshien experience from his previous life, he was still an all-around fighter!
Special catchers require a lot of brains. Harada's tactical ability in the finals was something that made many teams drool, and he was also a rare power hitter.
"Um, can we go back and read it later?" Sendou looked at the guy in front of him with disdain, who couldn't wait to flip through the book. He felt that Harada's character had collapsed!
Sorry! I couldn't help myself!
... By the way, you said you've been really free lately, what's going on? I'm very interested!
Anyway, we're both pretty free..."
"In short, the coach said that all I need to do is complete batting practice and have Head-on Showdown with regular-level hitters like Tetsu-san, and then I can rest!"
So I'm very free.
"A duel?"
"Okay! Pitch!"
"I haven't pitched in six years!" Sendou felt he didn't need to worry about seniority in front of Harada, so he spoke his mind without any reservations.
"Pitch?... Boom!"
However, when Sendou turned his head to look, Harada suddenly exuded an aura!
" Harada-san! You've ruined your persona! How did you become like Natural Airhead?" Sendou really wanted to complain, but he couldn't bring himself to say it.
"Who answered? Miyuki?" Harada really dislikes Miyuki!
" Senior Chris!"
" Chris?" Harada calmed down upon hearing Chris's name.
After all, Chris was someone Harada truly admired.
Chris was a true monster in junior high school. He was recognized as the best catcher in the Kanto region by the second year of junior high, and he was unparalleled in his prowess. Moreover, he was perfect in the catcher position, and Harada was completely convinced of his abilities.
"By the way! Don't you hate it?"
"To be precise, I hate being a pitcher!"
That position was too tiring; it was practically uninhabitable.
But it's been a while since I've voted, so it's quite fun to tease someone like this.
"That's just like you! And what happened?"
"Four days No Hit! I struck out Tetsu-san ten times!"
"As expected of him...!"
"Perfect! There's a makeshift baseball field nearby. Shall we have a match?"
What are you saying, Harada-san!
"Did you bring the ball?" Sendou asked, looking at Harada.
"Perfect, I have one!" Harada pulled a ball out of his pocket!
"Um... why are you carrying a baby when you meet me?"
"I'm used to it! It always feels weird without baseball equipment!"
"And it can also be used for self-defense!!" When it came to self-defense, a glint seemed to appear in Harada's eyes.
Anyway, Sendou was at a loss for words to complain, there were just too many things to criticize.
"Tell him, ' Harada-san, you already feel very safe, you don't need anything at all?' I'd probably get beaten up if I said that!"
"Hey!... Harada-san? With your physique, you don't need this thing! Are you trying to kill someone?"
This is quite obvious; hardball baseballs are basically like solid wooden balls! Plus, Harada's strong shoulders...
Seriously! It's hard to believe that any fool would go looking for trouble with someone as strong as Harada, right?
"Then treat it like a talisman!" Harada said, sounding a little embarrassed.
He absolutely did not intend to trick Sendou into throwing the ball... absolutely not.
Harada glanced subconsciously at his backpack, making sure his gloves weren't sticking out... (It was just his imagination.)
"Heh! I didn't expect that even when we met in private, our conversation would keep veer towards baseball!" Sendou chuckled.
"There's no way around it! From elementary school until now, my mind has been filled with nothing but baseball every single day!"
"Let's go then!"
"Um?"
"In that case, let's have some fun!"
Didn't you want to have a showdown with me? Just like six years ago?
And there should be gloves in that bag!
"What an understanding junior! I'm a little envious of Yuuki and the others!" Harada thought of his own group of problem children.
Haha! Our team is about the same!
What happened? The observant Sendou noticed that Harada's expression showed a mix of headache for a problem child and a hint of worry.
"Isn't this all your fault?" Harada sighed.
If Harada's expression were a little more resentful, this dialogue would have been a real spectacle!
Sendou remained silent, waiting for Harada to adjust his mindset and speak. If he didn't speak, it meant it was something he shouldn't know.
Harada understood Sendou's understanding nature and took a deep breath.
"It's that guy, Ming!"
Maybe he'll give up baseball soon!
The atmosphere suddenly became heavy.
"...! Because of the decisive battle?" Sendou said after a moment of silence.
There's actually no need to ask.
"To be precise, the last Home Run!"
That shot shattered not only our Koshien dream.
It also shattered Ming's confidence!
He's been hiding in his dorm room the whole time, and what really worries me is...
He mentioned to me during dinner that he no longer has the courage to even pick up a baseball.
I can understand!
It's hard for anyone to accept that a genius who is at the top of his game, who feels invincible, is suppressed by absolute power!
You could ruin a future baseball star with just one Home Run!
"Oh dear! That's a real shame!" Sendou said in a nonchalant manner.
Harada frowned slightly upon hearing Sendou's words, because in his memory, although Sendou was very easygoing and didn't care about seniority, he generally wouldn't say anything rude.
"Don't worry! That guy isn't going to give up on baseball so easily!"
Now that you mention it, that white-haired guy next year will be even more difficult to deal with!
I can't wait!
"I see!" Upon hearing Sendou's explanation, his furrowed brows finally relaxed.
"I don't know why, but I can't help but want to believe what you say."
"I get told that all the time! Anyway! Let's go!"
"We're two grown men here, people might think we're 'this'!" Saying this, Sendou made a couple's hand gesture.
Even though Harada knew Sendou was joking, he couldn't help but shudder!
"That's really bad!" Harada said casually, leading the way.
"This is it!"
" Harada-san! Do you have some kind of misunderstanding about what 'close' means?" Sendou couldn't help but complain as he walked onto the court.
"...!" Harada didn't say anything, reaching into his backpack to get gloves. Of course, it wasn't that he had any misunderstanding about how close they were; if he didn't say that, would Sendou have come with him?
"Here you go!" He grabbed it and threw it over without even looking at it.
He was still a little embarrassed that he had tricked Sendou into coming.
"...!" Sendou stared at the glove in front of him for a long time.
Harada was about to take out the baseball bat he had borrowed earlier without noticing anything amiss.
" Harada-san!"
"Hmm?" Harada had just taken out his baseball bat.
"Why catcher's gloves?"
"...Huh?" Harada knew he was in trouble.
"Could it be that you planned this all along, intending to lure me to this desolate place?"
"We've been exposed!" Harada awkwardly went to find his gloves.
"Seriously! One after another, they're all baseball idiots!"
I understand the fun aspects of baseball a little bit, but this is just too exaggerated, isn't it?
Harada-san! You don't sleep with your baseball bat in your arms, do you?
"Uh!... No, not at all!" Harada was a little embarrassed to talk back and could only passively endure Sendou's attacks.
That's not what I meant!
What a rare holiday... and now I have to play baseball again!
"Really!" Sendou muttered to himself again after finishing his output.
"..." Harada still didn't dare to speak, only hoping it would end soon.
After glancing at Harada's embarrassed face, Sendou felt too awkward to continue his sarcastic remarks.
"Then let's get started!"
"Huh?" Harada didn't expect Sendou to finish his rant so quickly.
"Isn't it going to be a decisive battle?" Sendou said in a gentle tone.
"Um!"
"As expected! This guy is very gentle!" Harada thought to himself.
When he stood in the Batter's Box and looked at Sendou on the Pitcher's Mound, Sendou's previous gentleness was nowhere to be seen.
Instead, there is a heavy feeling of being looked down upon.
If we say that when Narumiya Mei pitches, it's like a king looking down on his country.
The Sendou seem to have a divine aura, looking down upon all living beings.
Seeing that look in his eyes, Harada even sensed true ruthlessness.
Harada preferred to call the person in front of him a demon king!
"This guy exudes a suffocating atmosphere, whether he's in the Batter's Box or the Pitcher's Mound!" Harada thought to himself as he carefully observed everything.
"Have you thought of the rules?" Just as Harada was feeling the pressure coming from the Pitcher's Mound, Sendou asked.
"There's only one ball! Three at-bats, please!"
However, if the ball is lost...
Don't worry! We won't lose the ball!
"I'm not going to let you touch the ball!" Sendou said, looking down at the batter in front of him.
"What did you say?" For a moment, Harada thought he had misheard.
When he looked up, all he saw were pure black pupils looking down at him.
Strikeout and preventing the batter from touching the ball are two completely different concepts.
"You... do you know what you're saying?" Harada asked the arrogant man in front of him, somewhat incredulously.
The claim that "three at-bats would prevent any contact between the bat and the ball" is utterly outrageous.
"It's very clear!"
"This contrast is too great!" Upon hearing the affirmative answer, Harada wondered where the gentle and refined Sendou who had chatted with him in the park had gone.
Did you find this side story interesting? I think it's quite interesting, and it also introduces things about Inajitsu.
Finally, I'm asking for your votes.
How many readers thought the intra-team matchup would be a long story? You probably didn't expect me to skip it entirely.