Samurai of Seidou: The Otherworldly Ace Who Challenges Koshien - Episode 6

A distant murmur reached his ears. The light streaming through the classroom window was painfully bright. Kujou Touya remained slumped over his desk, unable to move. Since that game, the familiar scenery looked like a different world. The voices of other students walking through the hallway. The everyday routine of people who had nothing to do with the baseball team. But Touya's time alone had stopped in the bottom of the ninth inning. (*Why were they able to hit it?*) Kitou's face surfaced in his mind. The moment his bat caught the forkball Touya had thrown. The sharp crack of the metal bat. The white ball getting swallowed up into the outfield. Every time, the pit of his stomach went cold. "......Damn it." He hadn't even realized he'd said it out loud. Still clutching his head, he clenched his fist tightly. Even as a pro, he'd felt his limits, died once, and been picked up by something he couldn't tell was a god or a devil. He'd finally gotten his second chance on the stage. It all ended in an instant. Summer was over. * * * After school. Normally, he would have changed into his practice clothes immediately, but Touya's feet carried him in the opposite direction from the field. He couldn't bring himself to go to the clubroom, or to the practice area where no one would be. He wanted to go somewhere without people. Thinking that, he wandered aimlessly. The area in front of Kokuritsu Station was crowded as usual. A group of middle schoolers apparently on their way back from cram school. A housewife carrying shopping bags. A male high school student pedaling a bicycle. None of them knew about Touya, or that Seidou had lost. *That's only natural*, a calm part of himself muttered in the back of his mind. To everyone else in the world, their defeat was nothing more than a single line of news. "......It's nothing." He murmured that and stopped walking. His feet wouldn't move anymore. He didn't know where to go from here. Should he go to the back mountain and run? Or should he return to the dorm, just pull the covers over his head, and sleep? (*What should I do?*) No answer came. It had been the same in his previous life. That day he was cut from the pros, he'd just sat in his apartment room for hours—and in the end, he couldn't do anything. The sensation of his body breaking down. The sensation of his dreams slipping through his fingers. He'd thought he never wanted to feel that again, yet now, he was standing in the same place. At that moment. "Kujou-kun." A small voice came from behind him. He didn't have the energy to turn around, and just stood there frozen as footsteps approached. At the edge of his vision, he caught the sleeve of a thin parka and a familiar black short haircut. "[gentle]I've been looking for you. You weren't in the clubroom, and you didn't answer your phone." He hadn't felt like answering. He knew his phone had vibrated twice. But he was afraid to look at the screen. "[cold]......What do you want?" His voice was hoarse. "[sad]Do I need a reason to talk to you?" She lined up beside Touya and gazed at the bustling station front just as he did. A few seconds of silence. Then, she took a small breath in, and let it out. "[gentle]I got called in by the coach today." Touya didn't answer. "[sad]'The third-years are retiring now. First-years like Touya will build the future of Seidou.' That's what he said. And then, the coach told us: 'Don't let that defeat end as just a defeat.'" Touya raised his face. "[scared]......End it or not, it's already over." "[serious]It's not over. Because you can still wear the uniform, Kujou-kun." Her voice didn't waver. "[gentle]The third-years can't play in the next tournament anymore. But you're different. There's next year. There's the fall tournament. Everything is still ahead of you." Her words pierced his chest. (*I know.*) He knew that. But right now, that "ahead" felt impossibly far away. "[sad]......I'm the one who gave up the hits." "[gentle]Yeah." "[sad]My forkball didn't work. My fastballs, they got all of them. I made the team lose." The fact he'd spoken aloud with his own mouth tore through his chest like a blade. "[crying]......That's not true." Takako's voice trembled faintly. "[crying]The team lost. You didn't lose alone, Kujou-kun. You can't blame it on any one person. Because... everyone cheered until their voices were hoarse, right to the very end. Even the bench was watching you the whole time you stood on the mound. Everyone was fighting together." "[angry]......Then why." Touya, his fist still clenched, forced the words out. "[crying]Why couldn't we win, even then? Why did I give up runs? I couldn't shut them down by myself. Even fighting as a team, we still couldn't reach it." His voice grew heated. It was the same in the pros. The same in the corporate leagues. His efforts weren't rewarded. No matter how much he ran, no matter how much he threw, in the end he broke down, and his dream ended. "[sad]......Kujou-kun." Takako gazed at Touya's fist. Then, her small hand gently touched that fist. It was cool, but he couldn't pull away. "[gentle]You know, watching that game, I thought of something." She spoke without letting go of his hand. "[gentle]I thought, you really do love baseball, Kujou-kun." "[surprised]......Huh?" "[gentle]Because I've never seen anyone look so frustrated. Giving up a run, biting your lip, gripping the hem of your uniform so tightly. But I could tell you were only thinking about throwing an even better pitch to the next batter. The whole time you were on the mound, you were only thinking about baseball. You weren't thinking about anything else at all." Her eyes looked straight up at Touya. "[gentle]Whether you might break down. Whether you might cause trouble for the team. None of that had anything to do with the next pitch, right?" Touya couldn't say anything. He only realized it once she said it. On that mound, he had indeed been thinking only about shutting down the batter in front of him. Forgetting about his elbow, forgetting about his previous life—. "......Yeah." This time, his voice came out properly. "[gentle]That was really, really cool." Takako smiled, just a little. It was the first time he'd properly looked at her face. Even though she was smiling, her eyes were faintly glistening. "[gentle]So, I really can't give up after all. You probably still need care for your elbow, too." "......Fujiwara." "[gentle]Hey, Kujou-kun. When do you think the fall tournament starts?" When Touya couldn't answer, she continued with a mischievous look. "[gentle]It's already started. Starting today." * * * That night. Touya stood alone on the Seidou field. No one was there. The lights were off. The outfield grass was faintly visible, floating in the moonlight. In his hand, a ball. (*I can still throw.*) He slowly swung his right arm. No unpleasant sounds. His elbow didn't hurt right now. "[serious]......Kitou." Picturing his face, Touya quietly began his windup. He lifted his left leg, wound his arm back—. *Thwack.* The white ball slammed into the net for wall practice. (*Next time.*) (*Absolutely.*) He changed his grip on the forkball. He gripped it a little deeper. Narrowed the gap between his index and middle fingers, increasing the friction applied to the ball at the moment of release. *Thwack. Thwack.* He threw a third pitch, a fourth. Sweat dripped from his forehead. "......Not yet." Feeling the strain on his elbow, he still swung his arm. In his previous life, he'd known the wall of the pros, and even in the corporate leagues, he'd known his limits. But now was different. (*I'm not done yet.*) The moment he thought that, he felt like he heard the sound of a catcher's mitt. Of course, no one was there. Even so, his body moved on its own. "[laughing]......Haha." Laughter bubbled up. *This is ridiculous*, he thought. Alone in the middle of the night like this, drenched in sweat, throwing pitches for no one to see. But—. (*This is fun.*) The same sensation he'd felt standing on that professional mound in his previous life. His heart was dancing. The ball was growing warm in his palm. "I can still do this." He murmured it to no one in particular. * * * He arrived at the back mountain after running for another hour. When he reached the small clearing at the top, there was a figure there. "[surprised]......You came again." Fujiwara Takako was sitting at the base of a tree, hugging her knees. In her hand was the bag with that gel pack again. "[gentle]Of course. I knew you'd definitely practice at night too." Takako stood up and, as if it were the most natural thing in the world, pressed the gel pack to Touya's right elbow. It was cold. But that coldness felt pleasant now. "[serious]......Hey." "[gentle]Hmm?" "[serious]Do you think we can win? Next year." Takako tilted her head slightly, then said quietly. "[gentle]I don't know. But I'll work hard too, so that we can." Her hand left Touya's elbow. The cool sensation still lingered there. "[gentle]So, I'll be waiting at the back mountain again tomorrow." Saying just that, she shoved her hands into the pockets of her parka and headed down the mountain path. Watching her back as she left, Touya let out a small breath. He looked up at the sky. The stars were startlingly clear. (*Next time, I'll win.*) Something hot welled up from deep within his chest. It wasn't over yet. There was no way it could be over. Because he loved baseball. "......Wait for me. Koshien." Alone in the empty mountains, he made that vow to himself. The summer night breeze cooled his sweaty cheeks. In the distance, only the sound of insects could be heard. From here, it begins again.

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Episode 6

Name: Samurai of Seidou: The Otherworldly Ace Who Challenges Koshien
Author: Novelia

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