Source
https://kakuyomu.jp/works/16818093087122434729/episodes/16818622173536077313
Top of the third inning. The score is 0-0.
One out, runner on third base.
This is what they call a chance.
“Hey, Ren. Please. If I make it home, I’ll get married.”
Yeah, that’s a surefire way to die, Aota. Who’s the opponent? I haven’t heard anything about it.
I thought to myself as I picked up my bat and headed to the batter’s box.
Fourth period was PE. This time it was baseball. Our PE teacher is pretty laid-back and lets us do whatever we want as long as the field is available.
The time before last was volleyball, and last time was badminton, and so on.
However, there is a problem. For some reason, it usually turns into a serious competition.
Our high school puts a lot of effort into sports in general, but maybe because the teachers are separated by gender, they take it seriously.
I just want to enjoy it normally…
“The next batter is… Hayami, huh. He doesn’t seem very reliable.”
I hear that voice from the team bench. What a rude guy. Still, it’s true that the opposing pitcher is definitely strong.
“Hehe, go ahead and hit it if you can, Hayami.”
“Haha, go easy , okay?”
Takuji Itakura. A second-year student and the ace of the baseball team, he’s a right-handed pitcher and batter.
His fastball reportedly reaches 142 km/h. His breaking balls include a slow curveball and a slider that breaks vertically.
Even if it’s not as good as the professional baseball you see on TV, it’s still not something a beginner could hit.
“How did he manage to hit it so easily? That guy.”
Aota calmly caught the first pitch, a fastball, and hit a foul ball that was just short of a home run. On the second pitch, he skillfully folded his arm and swung sharply at the slider, which was the decisive pitch, sending the ball over the outfielders’ heads for a triple.
However, his form was far from textbook, clearly that of a beginner, and the bat likely missed the sweet spot of the ball.
Still, Ata hit it.
“…You’re really the protagonist, aren’t you? Well…”
At this point, if I don’t get the protagonist back on base, I’m disqualified as Friend A. Though, to be honest, I don’t really have the qualifications to call myself Friend A.
“Here I go! Hayami!”
Itakura wound up and threw the first pitch.
The speed wasn’t that fast. The trajectory was slow. In other words, it was a curveball.
“!”
I swung the bat. However, the ball’s trajectory was one below what I had expected. It grazed the tip of the bat and rolled to the left.
“Hmm. It’s a curveball. It’s not like in professional baseball.”
Of course, I don’t have the talent to bounce the ball back like Aota does.
So, I focus. I read the incoming ball and think about the best move.
“Here I go! Second pitch!”
Itakura swings again and throws the second ball.
The ball, released straight from his fingertips like an arrow, streaked toward my chest.
This is unhittable. Probably because he’s holding back, it’s not even 130 km/h, but the contrast in speed with the previous curveball made my reaction too slow.
“Alright! I’ll get it next time!”
Itakura, who caught the ball from the catcher, smiled smugly.
“…Next, huh?”
There’s no way the prideful Itakura would throw a playful ball at a beginner. But he wants to show off how amazing he is. That’s the kind of guy he is.
I glanced over at Aota on the third base side.
“Huh? …What are you planning to do, Ren?”
Aota’s mouth moved slightly.
As expected of my best friend. He seemed to understand what I was going to do from that glance.
“This is the last one!”
His fingertips. His wrist was raised as if he were throwing a rugby ball.
The pitch was, as expected, a slider that broke vertically.
“Huh!?”
It wasn’t me who was shocked. It was Itakura.
No wonder. After all, I had broken my stance and held the bat against my chest. And then.
“I believe in you, Ren!”
Aota, who was at third base, sprinted toward home plate. As expected of a physical monster. If he could roll forward, he would clearly be safe.
“Squeeze!?”
A bunt. With two strikes, a failure would result in a strikeout and an out.
But.
The side of the bat made a small “clang” as it caught the ball. The sensation was similar to trapping a soccer shot with your chest.
“Yesss!”
The ball rolled weakly toward the pitcher. Itakura chased after the ball and
“Yes! Goal!”
Aota, who had already started running, couldn’t be stopped, and took the lead.
“Damn it! At least…”
Itakura grabbed the rolling ball and threw it to first base.
“Out!”
Well, there’s no way he could have made it in time. Still, if they can just get one point…
The next batter struck out easily, and the teams switched sides. The score was one point. The opposing team had multiple baseball players, so it was a disadvantage.
“Let’s go!”
“Alright, partner.”
Our team’s pitcher was Aota. And I was assigned to catch.
“Here we go!”
His form is terrible. His ball speed is obviously not as fast as Itakura’s, and his breaking ball is just a slightly curved curveball. But even so…
“Guh! Why can’t I hit this ball?!”
Two batters in a row struck out on three pitches.
…Yeah, I guess that’s what they call talent.
“You did well earlier with the squeeze play.”
The last batter to step up was Itakura himself.
“Nah, it was just luck. I got lucky.”
“Don’t lie. You were aiming for that on purpose. Otherwise, Hasegawa wouldn’t have charged home plate.”
As expected of the baseball team. A half-hearted excuse won’t cut it.
“I just tried it and it worked. It was definitely a coincidence.”
“Is that so?”
In the end, Itakura hit a double. It was a last-ditch effort. However, the next batter struck out, leaving runners on base. The bell rang, and class was over.
“Man, I’m hungry. Ren.”
“Yeah.”
After cleaning up, we headed back to the classroom. Two-thirds of the long day was over. With that…
“Hey, Hayami-kun. Glad to see you’re doing well.”
“Ugh.”
When I opened the door leading to the hallway, there was a familiar face I had recently met.
“Ren, who is that person…”
“I’m Sanada, student council president. Nice to meet you, Hasegawa Aota.”
The president looked away from me and looked at Aota next to me.
“Nice to meet you, President. …Ren, see you later.”
Aota greeted her casually, then hurriedly walked past her.
Somehow, it didn’t seem like him. It was awkward, or something…
“He seems to be surprisingly perceptive. Yeah, that’s helpful.”
Looking sideways at Aota’s back, President Sanada said that.
“Is there something you need?”
“I’m in a bit of a bind. Our school has a newspaper club. Do you know about it?”
…I’ve never heard of it. It must be a major club activity, but I’ve never heard of it or seen it before.
When I shook my head, Chairman Sanada smiled slightly, as if to say it couldn’t be helped.
“Well, could you come with me for now? There was something interesting posted on the bulletin board earlier.”
Saying that, Chairman Sanada began walking, flipping her long black hair, and I quickly followed her
There are several bulletin boards in the school, in front of the staff room and in the club building. However, Chairman Sanada seemed to be heading toward the room next to the student council room.
“Oh, Chairman. You brought me here.”
For some reason, the area around the bulletin board was cordoned off with yellow tape, the kind you only see in detective dramas, and Honjo was standing there.
“Yeah. Since Hayami-kun is also a victim in this matter.”
What is going on?
“Well, um… I’m sorry for your loss, Hayami-kun.”
When Honjo made eye contact with me, he gave me an incredibly complicated look.
What This is kind of scary.
“Well, Hayami-kun. What do you think of this?”
And then. What I saw.
It was.
“What the hell!! This is crazy!!”
An article with a photo taken from an angle that made it look like the president and I were kissing at the bus stop yesterday.
──“President Sanada’s Passionate Love Affair. Daytime Mistress”
It was a sensationalist article with that title.
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