"Let's go, Kanzaki-kun. I'll take you to your dorm."
Miyuki Kazuya wore his usual grin, even moving forward to help Kanzaki Ryou with his luggage.
No good deed goes unpunished—and no sudden kindness comes without hidden motives.
With that truth deeply ingrained in his mind, Kanzaki naturally wouldn't let Miyuki have his way.
After getting his dorm key from the administrator, Kanzaki stopped at the door and glanced at the nameplate. Three names were written there.
Azuma Kiyokuni, Takigawa Chris Yu… and Kanzaki Ryou.
A third-year cleanup hitter, a second-year genius catcher, and a first-year powerhouse pitcher—what a perfect combination.
"I'm really jealous of your room," Miyuki muttered, his tone dripping with envy.
"Heh. Then you can go back now," Kanzaki replied as he opened the door.
Clean, bright, and perfectly tidy—that was his first impression.
It had to be Chris's doing. Azuma didn't exactly strike him as the "neat" type.
"Don't be like that. Come on, let me help you unpack," Miyuki said shamelessly, stepping right in.
"No need. Just stand there."
"Alright, alright."
Strange.
Kanzaki couldn't figure out what Miyuki was up to. But following his usual rule—the less you say, the less trouble you get into—he quietly finished unpacking before asking,
"So, what exactly do you want, Miyuki?"
Miyuki pulled up a stool, sitting down with that mischievous grin.
"Don't be so formal. I'll call you Ryou, and you can call me Kazuya."
"You're quick to get friendly," Kanzaki said with a chuckle. "But I don't hate that, Kazuya."
The two exchanged smiles. Just a few words, yet both felt a sense of connection.
"Let's go," Kanzaki suddenly said, standing up.
"Huh? Where to?"
"Don't you just want to see me pitch, catcher?"
Ah. So he'd figured it out.
Miyuki must've heard all about him from Takashima Rei and had been itching to see the so-called monster pitcher in person.
"Haha, we really are in sync!" Miyuki burst into laughter, clearly delighted.
After changing into their sportswear, they headed to the training field.
Since it was still the first day of school, no one else was around—Chris and Azuma hadn't returned yet either.
"Are you seriously not going to wear any protective gear?" Kanzaki frowned. Miyuki only had a glove on.
Wasn't he afraid of getting hit?
Miyuki turned to look at him, eyes suddenly sharp.
"Rei said your control is perfect. I trust you."
"Whew~ When you say it like that, the pressure's on," Kanzaki said with a grin. "If I injure a genius catcher, that'd be a sin."
"Heh, no pressure means no growth. I also heard about your little Ace declaration."
That smug grin of Miyuki's made Kanzaki's face twitch.
Back then, his bold words had spread through the entire Seidou community—
"Catch my pitch even if it kills you!"
At the time, he thought it sounded cool. Now, it just made him want to bury his face in the dirt.
That damned Miyuki!
Grinding his teeth, Kanzaki stomped onto the mound. When he turned around, Miyuki was already crouched down, ready.
"Only three pitches!" Kanzaki called out. "We haven't warmed up."
"That's enough!" Miyuki replied, serious now.
Neither noticed the two people watching from outside the fence.
"Coach, aren't you going to stop them?" Takashima Rei asked worriedly.
She'd only been gone for a short while, and these two were already trespassing onto the field without warming up! What if they got hurt?
But Coach Kataoka Tesshin was already storming over.
"What do you think you're doing?!"
Thud—
The ball dropped from Kanzaki's hand. Both of them froze, then slowly turned toward Kataoka's terrifying expression.
"Coach!"
"Boss!"
The two stood stiff as boards. Miyuki's lips twitched—"Boss"? He wanted to laugh but didn't dare.
"Didn't warm up, and you're already pitching? Is baseball a joke to you?!" Kataoka barked.
"Sorry!" ×2
"Go warm up properly. Then you can continue."
The two glanced at each other—
That was it?
Maybe the coach wasn't so bad after all.
"After you're done," Kataoka added coldly, "you'll each run five kilometers."
So much for "not so bad."
Ten minutes later, after a quick warm-up, Miyuki obediently put on his catcher's gear.
Kataoka stood on the sidelines with a radar gun.
"Kanzaki, give it everything you've got," he said. "Let's see what you can do."
"Yes, sir!"
Taking the mound again, Kanzaki could feel Miyuki's excitement.
He probably wanted to catch his full-power pitch as much as Kanzaki wanted to throw it.
"First pitch—four-seam fastball!"
Lifting his left leg high, Kanzaki focused on the glove and released with everything he had.
A flawless motion.
The next instant, the ball exploded into Miyuki's glove—dead center.
"Ha… hahaha…"
Miyuki lowered his head, laughing uncontrollably.
That pitch… it was perfect.
Speed. Power. Control.
Everything was in sync. It was pure bliss.
"Nice ball!"
Catching Miyuki's return throw, Kanzaki grinned, equally fired up.
"Coach, what's the speed?"
Kataoka checked the radar. "151."
"Only two kilometers faster?" Kanzaki frowned.
"151 is already amazing," Miyuki said, slapping his glove. "Don't be so spoiled."
"Tch. A genius should grow faster."
"Here we go again with the chuunibyou lines." Miyuki chuckled.
"Bastard, just squat down and catch the damn ball."
"Hehe~"
"What are you laughing at? Are we close now?"
Kataoka sighed. "Second pitch! Hurry it up!"
Both immediately straightened up.
This time, Kanzaki threw a Two-Seam Fastball—a pitch that curved to the right mid-flight before dropping sharply at the end.
Splat!
Miyuki caught it cleanly, eyes gleaming.
"Not bad! That Two-Seamer's insane. Horizontal movement, vertical drop—what even is this?"
"Kanzaki's special Two-Seamer. Got a problem with that?"
"No," Miyuki said with a grin. "In fact, I love it."
The movement combined the sweep of a regular Two-Seamer and the depth of a Sinker—it was something truly unique.
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