Clover Café.
"Ichiyō, I'll have the at sauce pasta and a coffee."
"Then I'll have the sa."
Two custors called out to the busy Tsukishima Ichiyō behind the counter.
"Ah, okay. The at sauce pasta is really popular today," Ichiyō replied as she jotted down the order.
"Sister Ichiyō, rember to save one portion!" Momiji quickly reminded her.
"Save one?" Ichiyō asked, puzzled.
"It's for Kou!" Momiji said with a grin.
"Oh! If Kou wins the intra-squad practice ga, Aoba has to treat him to at sauce pasta!" Ichiyō suddenly rembered.
But then she shook her head decisively.
"That won't happen."
"Why not?" Momiji asked.
"Because aside from sandlot baseball, this is Kou's first ti pitching on a proper mound. And his opponents are high school players," Ichiyō explained.
"Don't you know? What Kou is best at is creating miracles!" Momiji argued confidently.
"Best at?" Ichiyō tilted her head in confusion.
"Haven't you heard? When Kou imitates sounds. Like—beep!"
"That's a car horn."
"Ancient tombs? Pyramids?"
"Those are ruins."
"Haha! The one related to ti!"
"That's called timing."
"The one that flies in the sky!"
"That's an airplane."
"The first-years nowadays are terrifyingly strong..."
Sanada Shunpei muttered under his breath after watching the freshman Kitamura Kou blast his pitch over the fence for a ho run.
Despite it all, the smile on his lips never faded.
Clearly, he wasn't discouraged.
Back in the dugout, Kitamura Kou was treated like a returning hero.
"Kitamura-san, are you hot? Let fan you!"
"Here, take this towel! Or I can wipe the sweat for you!"
"Hey, hey! Move aside! Can't you see Kitamura-san needs a seat?"
"Hehe, Kitamura-san, please sit!"
"Kitamura-san, drink so water. Careful not to get heatstroke!"
Kou stared at his noisy teammates, completely speechless as he passively accepted their over-the-top hospitality.
"Oho, looks like you're pretty popular, Kou," Akaishi Osamu teased.
"Hmm? Akaishi, isn't it your turn to bat?" Kou asked in confusion when he noticed Akaishi sitting beside him.
"Uh... I got out on the first pitch."
Akaishi scratched his head awkwardly.
"That senior's pitching is seriously strong. I can't believe you actually hit a ho run off him."
Seeing Akaishi's embarrassed expression, Kou couldn't help laughing.
"Hey! Stop chatting! It's our turn to field!" a senior shouted from the side.
"Let's go, partner," Kou said as he picked up his glove. "Let's enjoy the ga."
In the end, Kitamura Kou pitched five innings in the ga before moving to right field in the sixth.
His pitching line was astonishing:
13 strikeouts.
No hits allowed.
No runs.
No walks.
In the fifth inning, he faced Todoroki Raichi again.
This ti, it took six pitches.
Raichi did manage to make contact, but it was only a ground ball rolling weakly in front of third base. He was thrown out before reaching first.
At the plate, Kou was just as terrifying.
In four at-bats, he hit:
Three ho runs
One double
An explosive offensive performance.
The double ca during his second duel with Sanada Shunpei. Unfortunately, the following batters failed to drive him ho.
Sanada Shunpei himself was pulled after pitching five innings due to heavy exhaustion.
He allowed one ho run and one double, giving up only one run.
However, he contributed nothing offensively.
After that, the ga turned into a full-blown slugfest.
In the end, Team A won 14–13, taking the intra-squad ga by a single run.
After the ga ended.
"Here."
A third-year senior tossed a baseball to Kou.
"A commorative ball for your first high school pitching appearance."
Kou caught it and stared at the ball in silence.
Although his personal performance had been incredible, the team had still lost.
Even if it was only an intra-squad ga, soone as competitive as him couldn't help feeling frustrated.
"Honestly, how long are you planning to stay in a daze?"
The third-year senior nudged him lightly.
Kou snapped out of his thoughts.
"Cheer up. Show so spirit," another second-year said encouragingly.
"Senior, you're the last person who should be saying that," a first-year joked.
"What did you say, you brat?!"
The second-year pretended to be angry.
"Hahaha!"
The team burst into laughter.
"Anyway," the senior added, "you really did pitch well."
"Senior..."
Kou finally brightened a little.
"Alright! Chest out! Let's head back to the dugout!" Akaishi suddenly shouted.
"Yes!"
Everyone responded loudly.
Watching his lively teammates walking ahead, Kou couldn't help smiling.
"They really are a reliable bunch of teammates..."
He murmured quietly.
"Yakushi High School's baseball team... coming here really was the right choice."
He quickened his pace to catch up.
The setting sun bathed their youthful, smiling faces in warm orange light, radiating a vibrant energy.
Back at Clover Café.
The phone rang.
Momiji picked it up.
"Hello, Clover Café."
"Oh—Wakaba! How was the ga? How did Kou do?"
"Oh... oh, I see."
"Got it."
She hung up.
"So? How did the ga go?" Ichiyō asked.
"We don't need to save the at sauce pasta anymore," Momiji replied.
"So the miracle didn't happen," Ichiyō said with a smile.
"Ahhh, I'm starving!"
Momiji suddenly changed the subject.
"Sister Ichiyō, make so at sauce pasta for !"
That night at Clover Café.
"Good evening, Sister Ichiyō."
Kou walked in and greeted her.
"Oh, Kou! You're here. What would you like?" Ichiyō asked warmly.
"Uh... I'll have a bowl of at sauce pasta."
From the side, a sarcastic voice rang out.
"Soone sure has thick skin. Showing up for at sauce pasta even after losing."
It was Tsukishima Aoba.
"Mind your own business! I didn't ask you to treat !" Kou shot back, sticking out his tongue.
"Blee!"
"Alright, alright, Aoba. Kou actually perford really well today," Wakaba quickly said, grabbing Aoba before she could charge.
"Exactly. Stingy girl," Kou added recklessly.
"What did you say?!"
Aoba's anger instantly flared back up.
"You jerk! I'll teach you a lesson today!"
She struggled to break free from Wakaba's hold.
"Kou, please say less too," Wakaba said helplessly. "I won't be able to hold Aoba back."
Kou imdiately shut his mouth.
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