Chapters 120-129

Chapter 120

The chapter opens with Kinjou commenting to himself, “If I’m able to capitalize on this opportunity to crush their cleanup here, the opponent’s morale will surely weaken.” Kinjou signals to Watanabe to throw a high inside pitch for the first pitch. Toudou fouls it off with a big swing, leaving the Hanaki battery shocked. However, Kinjou beams with joy, pleased that Toudou swung at the pitch. The fact that he did is crucial, as it simplifies Kinjou’s strategy moving forward.

Kinjou instructs Watanabe to throw a slider to the inside corner, telling him it doesn’t matter if it’s outside as long as Toudou swings hard. Toudou watches the pitch, thinking to himself that it’s a ball, but the umpire calls it a strike, leaving him surprised. Both Kinjou and Watanabe are thrilled, as the pitch was perilously close to the strike zone.

In Kotesashi’s dugout, Coach Sako remarks that Watanabe has relaxed and swung his arm fully. The audience notes that Hanaki has effectively cornered Toudou with just two pitches. They speculate that if Kotesashi fails to capitalize on this chance, the momentum might shift in Hanaki’s favor.

Meanwhile, Kinjou struggles to maintain a straight face, convinced that they’ve secured the win. The earlier double that Toudou hit off the outside pitch was the groundwork he had set for their victory this round. The greater the opportunity, the heavier the pressure would be for Toudou. And when one’s feeling cornered, they tend to unconsciously favor a familiar path that they have previously scored a successful hit.

Kinjou instructs Watanabe to throw an outside low pitch as hard as possible, aiming to be lower than the previous one. Watanabe winds up and throws, and Kinjou watches it approach, commenting that it’s exactly where he wanted it.

We then see the General saying, “Kinjou will probably ask for that.”

We then see the continuation to the conversation between the General and Toudou earlier. The General had advised Toudou, “If it’s an easy pitch, swing aggressively from the first pitch. However, when you’re cornered, Kinjou will take you out on an outside low.” Toudou had responded, “You mean on the same course when I hit the double?” The General had replied, “No… it’ll be about three balls inside.”

“So hit that winning shot of theirs.”

The scene shifts to the match, where Toudou hits a three-run home run, sending the audience into a frenzy. Kinjou is left stunned, because it was the most perfect course. He was very sure that Toudou would not have swung at that unless he knew about it in advance … then, could it be that “Kaname Kei” completely saw through him?!

Back in Kotesashi’s dugout, the General praises Toudou on his nice hit. Toudou credits the General’s words for his success, saying he’s glad he trusted him. The General looks taken aback by Toudou’s words, but the third years praise him, saying, “Amazing! It’s the brainy-type General-kun with the power-type Toudou-kun combo!” Tsuchiya adds, “That’s what teamwork is! Man, baseball really is fun!”

The General’s expression remains stoic, but he narrates, “This time seems to be going well. Teamwork as a means of victory was too much for our previous teammates. If we had not been isolated by them, we could have achieved greater heights with our teamwork.”

“That’s right – this time, things seem to be going well. So there’s no need to invest more emotions into this.”

However, Toudou and Tsuchiya smiles at him.

“Because investing too much emotions will only lead to weakness. Always stay objective when it comes to the team.”

Toudou hits the General on the shoulder, asking, “What’s wrong? For once, you’re looking a little dumb there. If your mind’s tired, just say it.”

Chapter 121

Kiyomine is walked. Hinomoto lines to first, and Hanaki gets a double play. The 6th inning closes with 3 runs for Kotesashi.

At the bottom of the 7th, Hanaki is on the offence with Watanabe on deck. Frustrated that Kotesashi managed to score 3 runs off him, Watanabe insists that his grudge against Kaname is not that simple a thing. He hits the first pitch, a double, and Taki remarks that he messed up and threw a meatball.

Kinjou steps up to the plate, with no outs and a runner on second. He remarks to himself that, lineup-wise, this will be their last chance to be in a good position to score. He considers what happened during the top of the 6th inning and concludes that Kaname must have predicted his pitching leads. But that also confirms that their thinking patterns are the same! So this means that he should also be able to predict what Kaname will call next.

The pitch is to the inside, a strike. Kinjou fails to swing, and in his mind, he wonders if Kaname knew he was “reading” his mind and changed his calls accordingly. He concludes that this is absurd and tells himself to calm down.

However, the General is thinking, “Right now, Kinjou is only focused on me. Even though the pitcher, Taki, is the one throwing the pitches. Kinjou, you’ve really studied a lot about pitching. However, you ignore your pitcher’s ‘feelings’ too much.”

“Calling for a pitch is not ‘commanding’.”

As the General signals to Taki, Taki gives a smile and nods in confirmation. The next pitch, a fastball, is also a strike, and the General continues, “Calling for a pitch is ‘being mutual’.”

At this point, Kinjou wonders, “Was Taki ever this good a pitcher?” The General praises Taki for his pitches, continuing, “Taki’s fastballs today is really sharp. The more spin it has, the faster it appears to the batter. And because his fastballs seem fast, and he really wants to throw them, I focused our strategy on fastballs. It all has to do with the pitcher. That’s pitch calling.”

He becomes subdued, saying, “Although, during our senior league years, I never thought about any other pitcher other than Haruka. I didn’t trust any other pitcher’s abilities, especially since I’m aware that I can be quite aggressive in my pitch calling.”

“I’m glad I was able to call pitches for Taki quite well today, since it’s not Haruka,” he adds.

Taki beams with confidence, smiling eagerly at Kaname. Kaname remembers the same smiles from Tsuchiya and Toudou after his two-run hit in the 6th inning.

The General continues, “This Kotesashi team sure can make me be carried away…”

The scene shifts to Hanaki’s dugout, where Kinjou looks spiritless. As he watches his teammates getting outted, he thinks, “Yup… it’s over. Matches have a ‘flow’. Miraculously, Watanabe is on base. This will be the last time for me as the 4th batter, and I’m the best batter on this team. At this point, there’s no way we can get back those 3 runs.”

The Hanaki members shout encouragements to the players on the field. Kinjou’s narration continues, “How stupid. Even though baseball has nine innings, once you’ve missed the ‘deciding point’, it’s over.”

The next inning is about to start. As Kinjou puts on his catcher gear and walks out of the dugout, Watanabe tells him, “I won’t give up. I will change the ‘flow’ with my pitching!!” Hearing this, Kinjou grins in reply.

Chapter 122

As Watanabe prepares to pitch, Chihaya remarks that Watanabe’s intensity is different from before. As Watanabe starts to wind up, he tells himself, “So what if there’s a 3-point difference! We will win this! I won’t give up!!” Chihaya swings but misses. Watanabe continues, “I’ll wrest back the momentum to our side!!” His next pitch takes Chihaya out.

Yamada steps up to the plate. As he connects with the ball and hits a single, he remarks to himself, “There’s no doubt – he’s exhausted!!” Kinjou comments that Watanabe has already exceeded 100 pitches, so from here on, his power will definitely decrease.

On the mound, Watanabe pants heavily as the General steps up to the plate. Watanabe thinks to himself, “Kaname Kei… you once told me –” and we see a flashback sequence of when they were both at Houya. The General advises Watanabe to focus on side throwing, which requires pitching control, as his body’s rotation is better suited for it. Even as the General is instructing him, internally, Watanabe is frustrated because he really admires Kiyomine’s high-speed pitching and wants to emulate him.

Back in the match, his first pitch is a strike. Even Kinjou is surprised by the intensity of his pitch. Watanabe’s monologue continues, “Take that, Kaname Kei!! When you dismissed my talent without a second thought, I researched pitching forms to increase my speed. I managed to flip around your stupid advice and switched to an overhand form.”

As Watanabe’s hip rotation tilts parallel towards the ground, his pitching control is unstable due to his three-quarter form. This can be improved by switching to a sidearm throwing form. However, there’s another solution: tip his shoulder forward to match the rotation of his hips, stabilizing his rotation and balance, which would be the overhand form. It takes more physical effort and requires more muscle, but if done correctly, his pitching speed would increase.

Back in the game, the General smiles and tells Watanabe, “That was a really good pitch. You’ve really worked hard, Watanabe.” Watanabe is taken aback by his words. Suddenly, he realizes, “If he hadn’t mentioned ‘hip rotation’ back then, I wouldn’t have improved my form. Could it be that he didn’t dismiss my talent, but actually said that to encourage me to work hard and make something of it…?” Even as he finishes this thought, he convinces himself that it’s impossible and insists he can’t forgive Kaname Kei for it. The next pitch is a ball.

As Kinjou throws it back to him, he remarks to himself, “Watanabe, I never knew you could throw such a fastball.” The General, meanwhile, is feeling lightheaded. He wants to score some runs, but he’s also worried about his stamina to make pitching calls later. As he prepares, Kinjou, who sees Watanabe’s determination, signals for a “Fastball, full power.” Watanabe nods in agreement and pitches.

Even as the General swings, Kinjou thinks to himself, “A pitcher’s ‘feelings’-filled pitch… I never once believed in something so abstract…”

The General connects with the ball and sends it flying.

Kinjou continues, “… but I guess it does exist,” even as the ball hits the scoreboard. The General has made a two-run homerun.

As Kinjou looks on at Watanabe on the mount, he comments, “That was your best pitch. This time, we just have to give props to the batter for making that hit.”

Kotesashi wins their second match, with a score of 5-0.

Chapter 123

The chapter opens with the audience cheering for Kotesashi while Watanabe is crying inside the Hanaki dugout. He recalls his conversation with the Seimei players as he taunted them about their loss, saying they were disappointingly weak for a prestigious school team and that if there was a point to their crying and getting all sentimental when they were so weak.

Back in the present, he realizes that he had been such an idiot. Kinjou, who has been watching him, goes up to him and says, “So you cried? That means you were playing seriously.” Watanabe can’t stop crying, and Kinjou smiles and continues, “I’m somewhat envious. I can’t even shed a tear… However, I’ve discovered a way to help you grow, and I’m so excited to try it out. You’ll definitely become a better pitcher! Let’s win the next time. Then you can cry in victory.”

They both head back to the field for the after-game greetings. As the team part ways, Kinjou turns back and calls out to the General, telling him that he has something to talk to him about. He looks away for a moment before he starts to say, “In the past, I… I thought you had an unfair advantage. If our skills were at the same level… then it must have been the difference in luck. But that wasn’t it. I realized today that you were simply better than me. Like, finally. I can’t believe how upset I am at myself for taking so long to realize this.”

“From the 8th inning, Watanabe’s pitching dramatically improved. He actually improved in the middle of the match. However, it was not because of my pitch calling. It was because of his own “feelings” (or emotions). That’s something I’ve always underestimated. I’ve realized for the first time that with “feelings”, one can perform beyond their potential.”

“I used to dismiss emotions and motivation as something “mystical”, but today, I’ve experienced that “mysticism” as an actual “technical theory”. If we think of emotions as being unlimited, then if there are ten people, there would be ten different emotions. And these emotions continue to evolve as the situation changes. If the catcher takes into account these “emotions” into his pitching calls, the amount of thinking he must be doing must truly be staggering.”

“And yet, Kaname, you’ve done that ever since you were in junior high – the depth of your thinking, it just blows my mind. There’s just no way I could beat that. And since my skills were not up to par, there was no more reason for me to be envious of you!”

Kinjou bows to the General, saying, “I’ve learned a lot today. Thank you very much.” The General is shocked at his words and actions. As he struggles to get Kinjou to lift his head, Watanabe runs up to them and thrusts the “Kaname” effigy doll into the General’s arms, telling him that this was his own handiwork and it is now belongs to the General.

Watanabe then proceeds to pull out two needles from the doll and tells the General, “This is Kinjou-san and my portion. I’ll remove them.” The General replies that there’s still plenty more needles remaining though.

Watanabe smiles back and replies, “Why don’t you take the rest off yourself?” He runs back to the dugout after. Kinjou laughs and also takes his leave.

The General stands there watching them leave. When he turns around, his teammates stand in line waiting for him. We see needles sticking out of him.

As he runs towards them, the needles start to fall out one by one.

Now that Kotesashi has won their second match, if they continue to win, they will face Teitoku in the semi-finals, Hikawa in the finals, and at Koshien, they will eventually face Youmei.

Chapter 124

The chapter opens with Kaname in bed and chatting with the General. He apologizes for passing out, and the General reassures him that it can’t be helped this time, but they should work on his endurance going forward. Kaname thanks the General for winning the match, but the General tells him he needs to hurry up and surpass him.

Kaname responds, “So how was it? Your first official match. You made a big splash, didn’t ya? Wish I got to see it~.” The General pauses before quipping, “What do you think?”, upsetting Kaname who was expecting a proper answer from him. Kaname asks again, “Come on, you won, right! Can’t you just say ‘yeah, I had fun’?” The General responds, “There’s no way I would.”

The scene shifts to the baseball club house, where the two effigy dolls from Watanabe now sit as decoration. Yamada, Chihaya, and Toudou are browsing online and finds Kiyomine’s interview after their match with Hanaki.

We then see a flashback to a team meeting prior to the Hanaki match. Coach Sako advises Kiyomine to put more thought into his interview answers. We see a past interview article featuring Kiyomine, who looks disinterested and vaguely annoyed on the photo. During those interviews, he would respond with words like “whatever” or exercise his hand muscles.

Coach Sako comments that it was obvious the journalist was offended, using words like “his attitude is problematic.” In short, Kiyomine is giving them a bad impression and Coach Sako asks Kiyomine to imagine having to listen to himself speak. Kiyomine starts to imagine it, and concludes that “I want to punch him.” Coach Sako continues, “Making an impression is important. When the time comes, things will be different if there are people cheering (or supporting) for you or not. Not to mention, any stain on your reputation reflects badly on the entire team.”

“You want to be a ‘real ace’, right? Then you have to carry your team!”

Now we see a flashback to after Hanaki’s match. Coach Sako is surrounded by reporters, including Reporter Sako. A couple of them complain about Kiyomine’s tardiness, and the adults seem unhappy about his attitude when Kiyomine walks in. To Reporter Sako’s surprise, Kiyomine is smiling (in the Moomin way) and the reporters are somewhat mesmerized by it. Kiyomine starts to say words like “For the team’s sake, I’ve worked hard…” and the adults are totally touched by it. As a result, the report on the Hanaki match is very positive. The team comments that old men are “too easy” to have been easily taken by Kiyomine’s acting.

Meanwhile, the unnamed manager is still waxing poetically about her “Kei-sama” whom she caught glimpse at the Hanaki match. She comments that while she often sees this weirdo guy (Kaname) all the time, however, sightings of Kei-sama is truly rare. Since her love fortune for the day is very good, she hopes to be able to speak with Kei-sama today. She then walks into Kaname who is making a “pai-ge” (boob hair) demonstration to the first-year members. She catches that performance from six (camera) angles, and faints from how unfunny it was.

Anyway, Himekura tells the team that starting from the third match, the brass band will be coming to support them. Yamada is very happy about it. The unnamed manager (now awake) also mentions that she will be pitching in to help with the cheerleading. Despite everyone’s excitement about the upcoming cheering support, Kiyomine seems unimpressed. Satou, who notices his expression, comments, “You don’t seem impressed.” Kiyomine responds, “Yeah. Because I don’t understand what would change if there was cheering or not. Since it’s all about one’s skill after all.”

The scene changes to the third match. Kiyomine is in shock to hear that Taki is the starting pitcher. He is in the dugout with Satou standing beside him. Satou tells him that it’s all for conserving Kiyomine’s strength. And since he’s here anyway, how about they cheer for the team. Kiyomine is a little shocked at the suggestion.

Coach Sako, who is watching the entire exchange between them, comments to himself, “Kiyomine-kun and Satou-kun … this is rare chance to watch these two extreme opposites talk with each other. This might be interesting … or not?”

Chapter 125

The chapter opens with Kiyomine in shock as he discovers that Taki is the starting pitcher. He turns his anger towards Coach Sako, lifting him off the ground above his shoulders! Coach Sako, shouting for help, desperately explains that he wanted Kiyomine to conserve his strength. Kiyomine tells him it’s unnecessary.

We then see Taki pitching in the game. As they both watch Taki pitch, Coach Sako comments that Taki’s performance has been very good since the match with Hanaki. Kiyomine feels the same for his own pitching, but Coach Sako tells him instead to cheer for the team.

Meanwhile, Kiyomine feels like he is locked inside a cage here. Satou comes over and greets Kiyomine, telling him that cheering from the dugout can be rather fun! Kiyomine is in shock hearing that from his mouth. Inn his eyes, Satou looks like an alien speaking a weird language! To himself, Coach Sako comments that Kiyomine is the real alien here.

The game progresses, and Satou feels a strong sense of being watched by Kiyomine, who eyes him with a strange expression. Kiyomine proceeds to tell him that “Baseball’s more fun when playing, than just watching.”

Satou smiles and responds, “That’s true but… I was dropped from the regulars team this year.” With a deadpan face, Kiyomine asks, “Why were you dropped?”. Beside him, Coach Sako is internally shouting, “That’s because I dropped him!! How can you ask something like that?! Should I intervene here? No matter how you look, this question is all wrong!!”

Satou smiles and replies, “That’s because my skills are inferior to Sarukawa-kun.” Coach Sako is surprised at Satou’s words, when Kiyomine asks, “Who is Sarukawa?”.

The inning ends, and some players return to the dugout to prepare for the next half. As the announcer announces Chihaya as the batter, the Kotesashi cheering squad and band start cheering for him. Chihaya, Kaname, and Yamada’s faces brighten up at the display.

In the dugout, Satou continues, “Being able to experience the cheering live is such a luxury. Just the thought of having ourselves being cheered on is so heartening!” Kiyomine seems to consider it, and then he responds in an unconvinced way, “… perhaps.”

Satou laughs softly and continues, “That’s right, that’s because you’ve never lost before. You’ve never been broken before. That’s why you don’t know the power of cheering.” Suddenly he remembers something, “Ah! … no, [you’ve] lost before. Last year, during this time, [you] lost to Teitoku, right…?”

Kiyomine responds, “Yes. [I’ve] lost.”

Satou continues, “But really, if you think about it, there’s no way you’ve never lost. Even the strongest professional player there is has lost some matches before. But Kiyomine-kun has this ‘crazy strong aura’ that I totally made a mistake.”

Kiyomine responds, “I’ve lost in various matches.” Satou laughs awkwardly, “Ahaha! Yeah, of course! Me too–” when he realizes what he said and shouts in protest, “Ah, no! My losing and your losing is different! Sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

Kiyomine cuts in, saying, “It’s the same. A lost match is a lost match.”

Satou is now flustered, blabbering while waving his arms in denial, “Absolutely not!! It’s totally different!” Kiyomine suddenly reaches out to grab Satou’s wrist. He looks at the large callouses on Satou’s palm, and says, “It’s the same. We practice daily so that we are able to win the next time.”

“You and I are the ‘same’, Satou-san.”

Satou blushes at those words, and continues, “Even though I’m on reserve, I continue to practice my swing everyday.” Kiyomine seems puzzled at his comment and replies, “Isn’t that normal…?” Satou is flustered and awkwardly thanks him for the words.

Kiyomine then comments, “All this while, I’ve always thought Satou-san is a weird person because I have no idea what goes on in the head of someone like you.” Satou is shocked, thinking this is the first time someone has called him weird.

Kiyomine continues, “But it seems that we do have some similarities after all.”

Satou silently thinks to himself, “All this while, I’ve always thought Kiyomine-kun is like an alien. He’s just so amazing, it’s like he’s from another world. But to him, I’m probably also an alien.”

Outloud, Satou tells Kiyomine that, “I’m glad I had a chat with you today, Kiyomine-kun. And that I’m glad I’m was on reserve for this.” Kiyomine replies that he’s also glad they had this chat.

Back in the game, Toudou hits a home run, and the stands erupt in cheers again.

Kiyomine observes the cheering, and comments, “I guess when the ‘same type of people’ cause this sound, you could say the cheering can be heartening.” Satou smiles and replies, “Yup! That’s what a ’team’ is!”

Kotesashi wins their third match, scoring 6 to 1.

Chapter 126

The chapter opens with a moment in the past where the General asks Kiyomine if he could learn another breaking ball. Kiyomine replies, “Yes, teach me.” The General tells him that he will teach him the change-up.

The scene switches to the present where the General and Kiyomine are taking a break near a temple. The General tells Kiyomine that his “master” fell asleep after going over 100 pitches in today’s match. Kiyomine asks if he is alright, and the General responds that it should be fine since there is time between the matches. Kiyomine responds that that was not what he meant, but rather that he was concerned about his health (i.e., body).

The General seems caught off guard by his question, and comments that it’s not like Kiyomine to be concerned about other people, to which Kiyomine replies that Kei is not “other people” to him. The General then tells him that he has other things to be concerned about right now as he still hasn’t perfected “that” – referring to the change-up.

The General continues that it’s so unusual for Kiyomine to be unable to do something. Kiyomine apologizes, saying that he has been practicing but he’s not able to do it consistently yet. For some reason, he still cannot get used to the feeling when he tries to release the ball.

The General considers his words but internally comments to himself that while Kiyomine has enough pitch variations, he just hopes it will be enough against Teitoku’s batters. His thoughts are suddenly interrupted by Kiyomine, who tells him that actually, he has been experimenting with another pitch. It’s the forkball.

The General stands up and tells him that he really isn’t acting like usual at all today. He tells Kiyomine that it’s true that having a pitch with a vertical break is enticing, as combining that with his high-speed slider would make him an invincible pitcher. However, forkballs put a lot of stress on his elbow.

He continues that he had suggested the change-up because it does not stress the elbow and it fits nicely together with his high speed slider since introducing a slow change-up helps mix up the speed variations. Kiyomine looks a little crestfallen, saying that the change-up just isn’t going well.

The General suddenly interjects with a question, “Where is your goal?”. He continues, “High school baseball’s match schedule is tough. Taki is around but even so, as the ace, your exhaustion will eventually build up. If you don’t carefully consider your choice of pitching arsenal, you will regret it in the future. Don’t make Koshien your goal. Koshien is just a checkpoint. Your goal, Kiyomine Haruka, is be able play professionally for as long as possible.”

A moment of pause between the two before the General comments on Kiyomine’s lost puppy look saying, “Don’t make that face… look, I’m saying this because it’s for your sake. And you’re upset about that?!” Knowing that Kiyomine won’t budge here, the General promises to let him throw the forkball tomorrow and he will take a look at it.

The next day, at the school field, Kiyomine is getting ready on the mount while the General is having a conversation with Kaname. Kaname comments that the General is really strict with Kiyomine. The General replies that it’s too dangerous to leave Kiyomine to himself, to which Kaname comments that he is being over-protective.

Coach Sako notices the two of them on the field so he decides to watch them.

Kiyomine winds up and pitches but the pitch does not break. He tries again, and again, but all the pitches do not break. At this point, the General calls for a stop as it does not seem the forkball is ready to be used in a match. He continues that Kiyomine still has a long future ahead of him so there is no need to attempt the forkball right now because he will eventually need to learn a new pitch every year when he becomes pro anyway. Increasing the chances to get injured isn’t what he should be pursuing right now.

However, Kiyomine insists by saying, “I’m serious about this and I know that I will grasp hold of the forkball. Because right now, I am Kotesashi’s ace, so I have to learn it now”. Both Coach Sako and Kaname are shocked at Kiyomine’s words.

The General responds that he wants to respect his decision but questions what’s up with Kiyomine since yesterday. Kaname realizes that while Kiyomine can be willful and self-indulgent with him, this might be the first time Kiyomine has openly defied the General.

Kiyomine continues, “Is it wrong for me to think?”. The General tells him, “Of course not.” Kiyomine pushes on, “You always …!”, when he stops short and continues inwardly, “… always, just like right now, show me the right path. Kei’s words is always ‘absolute’, and he’s probably right about the forkball….”

“But then why did I suddenly get mad?”

Outloud, he apologizes to the General, who also apologizes in return. The General ends the conversation by telling Kiyomine to take it easy with the breaking balls.

Coach Sako who’s been watching the whole conversation, concludes that Kiyomine has started to prioritize the team over himself. Just like with the conversation with Satou yesterday, he is starting to take an interest in others – and this is a step closer for him to become a “real ace”.

The rest of the players arrive for practice and Kiyomine heads overs to talk to them.

However, watching his back to him, the General looks sad(?). Kaname notices his countenance and asks why did he suddenly went quiet and if he has a stomach ache. The General quips back that Kaname sure has no worries.

Chapter 127

The chapter opens with the Kotesashi players wrapping up their practice. Coach Sako tells them to head home and rest well for their quarterfinals match the next day.

Kaname suddenly comments to Chihaya, “We haven’t been to your house yet.” Chihaya attempts to discourage them, but they are very persistent on coming home with him. He tries to reason with Yamada, but even he cannot be dissuaded.

Chihaya absolutely does not want sweaty and filthy after-practice boys in his house. He tries to suggest going to a family restaurant instead when Kiyomine pulls out an envelope. He tells Chihaya that it’s the latest selection from his brother for him.

With that, the boys end up going to Chihaya’s home, which is located in a fancy building with automated entry access. As the boys step into the foyer, Chihaya tells them to wait for a moment. He then brings out four sets of brand-new dollar-store slippers and tells them to put those on, and to bring them home with them to be disposed of after. It looks like he really dislikes filth in his space.

Chihaya then leads them into a room where they wait, admiring the multiple sets of headphones hanging on the wall as well as a fancy stereo system in the room – this is definitely an audiophile’s room. Chihaya proceeds to serve them tea in fancy tea cups and saucers. The boys are shocked that the tea tastes so good.

As they start to relax, Chihaya begins rolling up the sand around them. It seems that the sand from their clothes is really bothering him. An awkward silence falls in the room as they pretend to ignore his actions.

Chihaya then stops and says, “Looks like I’ve worried you guys because I’ve tried to change my batting stance. I thought it was strange that even Yamada persisted on coming over.”

He continues, “As you can tell, I’m currently in the process of refining my batting stance in order to be able to hit long hits. While my batting average has definitely dropped, I’ve chatted with the coach about it, and this is something I’d like to try it out. However, I’m far from being a ’leadoff batter’ who can support the team just yet. To be honest… I’m a little lost, maybe I should return to my previous stance…”

Kaname interrupts him here, smiling and saying, “You don’t have to switch back! That’s what I came here to tell you today! Though the main reason is that we came over to play.”

Yamada continues, “You don’t have to explain yourself if you really want to try it out.”

Toudou follows up with, “After all, some things you can’t get a hang of until you try it in a real match. Besides, you’re not the type to do reckless things, so I’m sure you feel this has a chance to be successful.”

Chihaya is touched by their words, but quips with, “Don’t you guys think you’re being overly nice here?”

Kiyomine responds, “Not really. I’ve always been helped by you so there’s no problem here.”

Everyone is very shocked to hear Kiyomine say that, as he has never expressed gratitude before. Yamada comments to himself, “Let alone Chihaya-kun, but even Kiyomine-kun is now changing for the sake of the team!”

Meanwhile, Kaname is staring at the General who is sitting apart from them.

The scene changes to Kaname walking home after. The General is ahead of him, with his back turned to Kaname. Kaname asks the General why he seems angry, as he senses that the General is holding back some words.

The General replies, “Yes, I have a lot to say. What is that last conversation? Playing at empty moments of youth. What’s with the wishful thinking? How can you even allow this knowing that Chihaya’s batting average will go down?! Having ’trust’ is pointless. Are you even serious about winning? I don’t understand why the coach would want to tweak Chihaya’s form. This is obviously a bad move.”

Kaname interjects, “You know, General, why did you keep quiet all this time? You must have already noticed it from the start. There must have been many opportunities for you to put a stop to it.”

The General stops walking and turns back to say to him, “Hey, master. Who are you to talk to me that way? I’m your side personality. As such, I cannot disobey your will.”

However, Kaname replies, “You may like to make it my fault, but actually, isn’t this also your will as well?”

The General looks away as if to consider it, then replies, “Not possible.” He then starts to walk on, and tells Kaname to hurry up and go home.

As Kaname watches his back, he thinks, “Haru-chan has started to change, but maybe the General’s heart has also started to change as well …”

The General turns back and adamantly says, “Not possible.”

Chapter 128

The chapter opens with scenes of Kotesashi winning their quarterfinals match against a school named Matsu-something (the rest of its name is conveniently blocked), with a score of 4-0.

At Hikawa, the players are watching the match on TV commenting that the top order batters are really good. However, Ube notes that Chihaya’s batting percentage has been low in this tournament. Maihara wonders if he’s injured, and Ube replies that it’s obvious that Chihaya’s tweaking his batting form. Makita steps in, hits him on the head, and tells him not to put on airs when saying it. He then continues that he can’t wait to fight with them. Kirishima ends the conversation, reminding them that there’s no guarantee they’ll face Kotesashi yet.

Back at the stadium, Kotesashi’s players rush to get a good seat for the next match which will be Teitoku versus Katayama. Toudou then notices Kaname is not with them, and Yamada tells him that he went to the bathroom.

In the bathroom, General Kaname comments to Kaname that it seems all went well without needing them to change positions. Kaname replies that he was able to go for a total of 115 pitches this time but that’s probably because he went to sleep immediately after the third match ended. He continues that he finally figured out the trick. After deciding what to call, he needs to shut out other thoughts and considerations to change it. He usually gets anxious and wants to deliberate further, but he’s realized that most of the time, he ends up going with his first choice. And if it gets hit, he tells himself to reflect on it after the match and immediately switch gears. General Kaname compliments him, saying this is proof that his pitch-calling accuracy has improved.

Just then, someone wearing Teitoku’s uniform enters the bathroom. He immediately recognizes Kaname and calls out his name. Kaname mistakenly guesses that he might be a fan, but the boy responds that he’s interested in famous catchers because they’re all his rivals. He then introduces himself as Noridomi Daizen, the genius first-year and main catcher for Teitoku, from Saga prefecture, pointing to his jersey number 12.

To himself, Kaname comments that the jersey number indicates he’s the reserve catcher. However, General Kaname remarks that he must be pretty amazing to be on the team as a first-year.

Outside the stadium, the Kotesashi players bump into Teitoku’s players. Hinomoto greets them, and goes up to Teruya who greets him calmly. Hinomoto asks about the family as he is unable to go home and Teruya tells him that they are doing fine. Teruya continues that he’ll be watching their match and cheering for them. Hinomoto thanks him and tells him that they’ll win today’s match and will be their opponent tomorrow.

That day, Teitoku performed as befitting their status as the best, and won the match with a called game, scoring 9-0.

In bed that evening, Kaname mentions to the General that they didn’t see the player they met in the bathroom. The General asks if he’s anxious about the match, and Kaname responds that strangely, he isn’t. He’s not saying this because he’s being indifferent, but having seen the match today, he could tell that Teitoku has improved significantly compared to the previous year. However, they too have put everything they have and done what they need to do. What’s more, they have the General this year, and that’s reassuring. The General pauses for a moment, then replies that Kaname needs to stop talking nonsense and go to sleep.

We then see pictures of the rest of the team in bed, trying to sleep, ending with Kiyomine going, “Tomorow, if [we] win, then [I’ll] be a ’true ace’”.

The chapter ends with a view of the backs of the Kotesashi main five, heading towards the Meiji Jingu stadium.

Chapter 129

The semi-finals have started, and Teitoku’s just wrapped up their warm-up practice, to the dismay of the excited audience. Kusuda and Mitarai are in the audience to watch this match. Mitarai comments that although it’s really hot, for some reason, he’s getting goosebumps from watching Teitoku’s warm-up.

In Kotesashi’s dugout, Coach Sako, with a deadpan face, tells the team that if they get afraid here, the match is over. Kiyomine replies that he’s totally not afraid. Toudou replies that he’s the best at defense, to which Chihaya quips that he’s better. Yamada replies that he’s not anxious since they have a cheering team this year. Taki replies, “I don’t feel anything.” Sarukawa, who is actually really scared, replies that he feels the same way. For first-year Kinoshita and the three third-years, they are feeling so nervous that in turn, it feels like a usual feeling. Teruya, however, responds with, “I just feel excited.” Kaname agrees, and continues, “It’s like finally, we can get our revenge!”

Coach Sako smiles reassuringly, though in reality, his legs are buckling under him. He responds super encouragingly, but is literally babbling out of his mouth. The announcer calls for Kotesashi to start their warm-up practice. Coach Sako, feeling super nervous, makes an odd hit that Toudou has to make an effort to catch while shouting, “Where the heck are you hitting?!”

Although the audience (and Toudou’s sisters) are complimenting him, Coach Iwasaki complains that that was lousy batting and that “that coach” doesn’t sit well with him. The assistant coach beside him comments that he’s glad today Coach Iwasaki is calm…

We then see a flashback of last fall when Coach Iwasaki found out that Kotesashi wouldn’t be participating in the fall tournament. The assistant coach tells him that it was the decision of the new coach who just joined the team. Coach Iwasaki responds, “Coach? But I’m the coach?” It turns out that Coach Iwasaki considers himself the “air coach” (physically not present) of Kotesashi. He then gets into a tirade that “those children” just refuses to rely on adults but choose to grow up all by themselves. The assistant coach reminds him that they do rely on an adult, to which Coach Iwasaki responds, “Then why won’t they rely on me?!”, and the assistant coach tells him, “Well, that’s because you are Teitoku’s coach.”

Coach Iwasaki then insists on seeing the new coach with his own eyes so they goes spy on Kotesashi. His reaction when he saw Coach Sako was, “Who the hell is that old man?!” He absolutely sees Coach Sako as a no-gooder who is taking advantage of his “Kotekko”, the children of the Kotesashi baseball team.

Back to the present, Coach Iwasaki, with a straight deadpan face, tells the assistant coach, “I believe there is no other players better than our Teitoku players.” The assistant coach quips to himself, “And he dares say that.”

On the field, Kaname calls for the last pitch, which is caught and thrown around until it reaches Yamada on first base. Yamada then throws it to Chihaya, who then throws it back to Kiyomine.

Kiyomine suddenly says to Chihaya, “It’s here again. Summer.” Chihaya is a little surprised until he remembered the previous summer when they had lost the match and he had said to Kiyomine, “Summer will come again. Another two times.”

Kiyomine continues, “Yes. I’ve been waiting for this day. To fight with Teitoku again.”

"[And] this year, we will win!"