Drawing Lots

"Sendou! Get down here!"

You bastard, you did this on purpose, didn't you?

Consider the occasion! You idiot!

"Give me a break, no, let me strike out once!!!" After cursing Sawamura, Isashiki-senpai turned his fire on Sendou.

"But it wasn't like this before..."

"What before? Baka!"

"I see!

This time I'll go easy on them!

Get down here right now!!!

Do you think I'd fall for that twice?

That was your plan from the beginning; I've already figured out your sinister intentions.

You bastard, your heart is black!

Don't interfere with the game! Baka!!!

The two of them bickering had everyone around them in stitches.

No matter how much Sendou tried to persuade him, Isashiki-senpai remained unmoved, insisting that he leave the scene immediately. (He's been fooled far too many times.)

"Alright! Hurry up and get down here, the match is about to start!" Coach Kataoka also urged everyone to hurry up.

Seeing that pleading and begging were useless, Sendou simply stepped off the field and let the match continue.

Sendou's fans saw another side of him, and felt that Sendou himself was more authentic.

Those who caused trouble have all left.

This follow-up exhibition match can be considered to have officially begun.

The initial tension had dissipated, replaced by a relaxed and joyful atmosphere.

There were no tactical calculations left; it was like children gathering together at a roadside baseball field, playing the most ordinary baseball.

Running around the field, swinging the big stick wildly.

The spectators on the sidelines also found it very interesting; even those who knew nothing about baseball felt the joy and warmth.

It was more like a large-scale party.

The seniors have conveyed what they wanted to express through their performances, and several juniors, such as Miyuki, have also adjusted their mindset through this competition.

With both sides intentionally involved, the match went to fourteen games.

In the end, the seniors emerged victorious, and the scoreboard bore the last line that Jun-san had repeated several times.

"Don't underestimate your senior!"

Asshole!!!"

evening,

"The team didn't adjust well before, so they were quite strong today!"

"Now I can rest assured!" Isashiki-senpai said with his hands outstretched and a look of relief on his face.

"But! In the end, we won!" Onii-san reminded him of that.

No! No! No!

"I just conceded the victory to my seniors in the end!" Miyuki said with a sly grin.

"You seem to have plenty of energy to spare!" Oni-san said with a smile.

"Hmm?" Isashiki-senpai responded fiercely.

"Otherwise, Sendou's Home Run would have ended it all!" Miyuki said, feigning smugness.

"That was agreed beforehand not to count!"

If I could do it all over again, I would definitely strike him out!

"Don't you think so?" Isashiki-senpai looked at Sendou with unusual kindness.

"Yes! That's it!" Sendou's answer greatly pleased Isashiki-senpai.

"Perhaps this team still lacks some strength. But all that's left is to give it their all," Miyuki, no longer intending to joke around.

"Hmph!" Isashiki-senpai snorted lightly.

Captain Tetsu stared at the entire active team, intending to make a final closing statement.

Practice doesn't lie!

I now truly believe this statement.

It's so great to be able to fight alongside this team.

Even so, it's a world of victory and defeat.

As long as a battle takes place, there will always be one outcome: victory or defeat.

In the summer, we were also forced into a desperate situation, so it's not surprising that we lost the game.

Now, I sincerely want to say,

Sendou! Thank you!

"After that, I'd also like to ask you to lead this team with your skills!" The couple chuckled as they said this.

"Don't lose, you guys!"

"Hi!!!" the first and second graders answered in unison.

"Let's go!" Captain Tetsu said to the other third-year students.

So the third-year students left the court.

"We still won't be waterproofing tomorrow, so be prepared, you bastards!!!" Jun-san Declaration of War before leaving.

Practice Match on Saturday Sunday, Sendou successfully joined the third-year team amidst shouts of "Cunning! Traitor!" from Sawamura.

The first and second graders lost their key to success and were naturally given a severe lesson.

The duo of Sendou and Captain Tetsu have reappeared, and even if we know it, there's nothing we can do about it.

For Sendou, who originally thought he would never have the chance to play baseball with his seniors, this was nothing short of a gift from heaven.

On the one hand, it helps the current team see reality clearly, and on the other hand, it allows them to enjoy their last moments working together with their predecessors.

Finally, there's the opportunity to compete against Furuya, Sawamura, Kawakami simultaneously—how could anyone miss such a chance?

Sendou was happy, but the pitchers, including Furuya, were anything but.

They were absolutely brutally beaten.

Although Sendou is in a slump, his Double Pitcher control is too poor Ball Trajectory is too limited, Kawakami...

Anyway, these people are quite strong, but right now they feel like they're being countered by Sendou.

Although the score was appalling, there was still regular training in addition to Practice Match.

But this also shows that I had a very fulfilling two days.

The spectators who came specifically for the event also witnessed several good matches.

Not to mention that the third-year team is basically a reunion of the Summer Koshien champions, and the combination of Sendou-Tetsu has reappeared, driving their fans crazy.

Everyone knows that this is probably the last time.

Since it was a weekend, there were a lot of people coming.

Nishino and the other two girls who weren't in any clubs also came to watch the games every day; strictly speaking, they came to see Sawamura.

On the 26th, after dinner,

"The Drawing Lots is tomorrow!"

"Should we go and pray?" Senior Kuramochi walked over to Miyuki and asked.

"No!

It doesn't matter which group we're in or which team we play against!

We have only one goal, and we're already prepared for that, aren't we?

As long as we aim for that place that everyone wants to go, that everyone yearns for,... as long as we aim for the summit.

There are no easy situations; everyone strives to win, regardless of the team.

"We're all starting from the same point," Miyuki said.

"That's what they say, but I still feel like something's not quite right," Senior Kuramochi said.

"Hey! Sendou!"

You're quick-witted; does this guy have anything he's hiding?

Well, for example, they might be hiding some important intelligence to lure us in.

You're the expert, can you help me analyze this?

"So that I don't get fooled by this guy again!" Senior Kuramochi turned around and called to Sendou, who was about to leave.

"When did I become a secret weapon against Miyuki?" Sendou thought to himself.

"I don't know if this guy is hiding anything!" Sendou didn't turn around and continued forward.

Miyuki had a "See?!" look on his face.

"However, there is one point that this idiot might not have thought of."

"Hmm?" Upon hearing Sendou's second sentence, Kuramochi turned his head seriously.

"Baka?" Miyuki's focus was on this.

He's usually the one calling others "baka," but this is the first time someone has called him "baka" by someone else.

"What?" Senior Maezono also showed curiosity.

"Although you have to win all the games to get to Koshien."

However, to put it extremely, all the matches are against strong teams, and only the final match is against a truly formidable opponent. The physical and mental exertion required in each of these matches is completely different.

Just like the last three games of Koshien in the summer!

Hearing Sendou mention the last three games of their summer Koshien was absolutely devastating.

We faced three championship-level teams for three consecutive days and were almost worn down.

"You! Go and pray for me right now!"

"Draw a good lot for me, just like in the preliminary rounds!" Senior Kuramochi turned to Miyuki and threatened him.

"That's right! That's right!"

If I have to play against top teams in a row, please spare me!

Although it's not like Koshien where there's a match every day, the opponents are too strong, and it's difficult to get into top form. "Senior Maezono chimed in.

"However! They're all weak teams, so they can't really help us grow."

"The best opponents are all those we can beat, but who are also very tough to deal with, the kind that allow us to improve!" Sendou continued as he walked to the door.

"There's no way I'll be that lucky. I just pray that I don't face any too strong opponents in the early stages, and that the powerful teams don't all come together," Senior Maezono said.

"So pray for me right now, you bastard!" Senior Kuramochi continued yelling at Miyuki.

"How could anyone believe in that? And even if we believed in luck, given Xia Tetsu-san's situation..."

This guy, like Tetsu-san, had great luck in his first Drawing Lots draw!

I am afraid..."

"Stop talking!"

"Don't say anything unlucky!!" Sendou was stopped before he could finish speaking.

"Alright!" Sendou shrugged and left the cafeteria.

The next day after school, Miyuki and Head Manager Oota went to the Drawing Lots venue.

Because there are so many schools in West Tokyo, the venue was exceptionally large.

Representatives from each school will hold name tags and take turns going up on stage to Drawing Lots lots from a box. Staff will then call out their school and number into a microphone.

School representatives would simply show the numbered square to the staff before going on stage to display it to everyone, thus eliminating the possibility of cheating.

Staff will place the school nameplates under the corresponding numbers.

The representatives from each school are not necessarily the team captains; some may even be female managers. However, this is more common among weaker teams, which have fewer members and less practice time.

"Maekura High School! Number 29!!"

"Oh!!" The entire arena gasped in surprise upon hearing about the match between Maekura High School.

"The first round of this battle between the powerful teams must determine a winner!"

"How terrifying!"

"Let's just put them all together!!!" Some people in the teams started having wild ideas.

Look!!

That's... the legendary pharmacist, right?

"The winning streak hasn't ended yet, has it?"

Even the newly King Seidou, won!

"Former King."

Most of the champion members have retired. While those first-year students are formidable, aside from Sendou-kun, the others are still somewhat inexperienced.

"That's true!"

"Yakushi High School!!"

Number 41!

Even after hearing this sound, various other sounds continued to come from below.

Regardless of what number he draws, some teams will eventually have to face him.

So some people shouted, "That's great!", while others shouted, "Really?!"

The scene was not as quiet as other public places in Japan.

After all, Japanese people generally don't speak loudly. For example, if they can't hear someone speaking, they won't raise their voice to emphasize it.

Because in the general Japanese perception, speaking loudly means being angry. If you encounter someone with a bad temper, they will think you are about to argue with them, and it is easy for an argument to break out.

As time went on, Miyuki, having seen enough, also went up on stage.

"Here it comes! The King of summer!!"

Seidou High School!!! Miyuki's appearance on stage naturally attracted much attention.

Some people were still chatting and gossiping. After all, there were many teams there, and the people who went didn't know much about the competition format, so they weren't under pressure. They would chat with people from other schools when they met them.

"Unlike the summer tournament, the autumn tournament is a mixed elimination tournament with no seeds and no distinction between east and west!"

So the schools that appear in Koshien might face off in the first round! Seeing Seidou enter the arena, some people naturally started chatting with the people next to them.

"This is really terrifying! The Autumn Tournament!"

"The Spring Koshien isn't actually that grand!" The person next to him happened to be unaware of these details.

"So don't underestimate the power of Drawing Lots!!"

"Luck is also a part of ability!!!" The person who said this looked somewhat smug!

"Seidou High School!! Number 49!!" At that moment, the results of Seidou's Drawing Lots were announced in the venue.

"Oh!!!"

"Really?!"

"This is going to be interesting!!"

After Seidou High School's number was announced, the entire audience went wild.

Even Mingchuan, Yang Shunchen, and Yakushi Sanada Shunpei, who had already drawn their lots and were sitting in the first row below the podium, were equally astonished.

The two people who had just been discussing were stunned. They realized that Seidou 49's first-round opponent was none other than Teitou High School.

I had just finished speaking when I realized that the West Tokyo representative for summer really did coincide.

And it happens to be the first round he mentioned!!

"Summer represents West Tokyo, Koshien champion, King Seidou High School, and East Tokyo, the top 16 in Koshien, Teitou High School."

These two teams faced off in the first round...

This was absolutely brilliant! It cleverly avoided two prestigious schools!

No, Inajitsu is in that group too!!!

"OMG!

This is a death squad!

Tokyo's top families have clashed!

"This is absolutely gratifying!!!"

"Let these prestigious families just kill each other in one group!!!"

"Yes!!"

"I never expected that only one of the two Koshien teams would be left right from the start."

And soon they'll be facing the summer's strongest King Inajitsu!

After all, most of the schools in Tokyo have a welcoming attitude.

The fact that these prestigious schools collided with each other allowed them to avoid a large number of formidable opponents in one fell swoop.

Miyuki, on the other hand, looked completely indifferent... no, he was also a little taken aback.

However, he didn't have many other emotions. On the one hand, as he said yesterday, it didn't matter who he fought with, and on the other hand, it was an acceptance of the established facts.

But Head Manager Oota went with him and watched from a distance, had gone mad.

The minister covered his head with his hands and shouted "NO!!!"

They were reluctant to accept reality.

However, Miyuki couldn't go that far to comfort the minister.