Chapter 20: Sankou’s Lunatic Ace

For the players of Seidou High School, the past two days have been relatively uneventful. Their sole focus has been on serious preparation for their decisive match against Ichidaisan High School.

Although Watanabe has stated that their chances of winning are strong, the players at Seidou High School still put in a lot of preparation. After all, their opponent is none other than one of their long-standing rivals, Sankou.

The day of the game soon arrived.

The Seidou High School team arrived half an hour early.

They had previously faced severe traffic issues with their bus.

So, Coaches Kataoka and Ochiai decided to come early, hoping that reporters wouldn't be waiting at the stadium gate half an hour in advance.

By arriving early, Seidou High School could also familiarize themselves with the venue and prepare for the game.

However,

The enthusiasm of the reporters exceeded their expectations.

When they arrived, they were still blocked by a large group of journalists.

President Ota, leading coaches from several teams, stepped in to restore order.

Those who had initially questioned Kataoka's approach were now extremely grateful. It was fortunate they arrived early; if they had come in half an hour later, the reporters who had already been waiting would likely have been even more impatient.

Not to mention, if they had arrived half an hour later, the crowd would have been even larger.

"Seidou High School is here!"

"Miyuki!"

"Demon King!!"

"Kuramochi!"

"Kominato!"

"Furuya!"

"Toujou!!!"

Despite arriving over half an hour early, Seidou High School still had to face a massive crowd of onlookers.

Dedicated Seidou fans had learned from experience. If you want to see Seidou High School play, arriving exactly on time means you'll be left standing, with no hope of getting a good seat, let alone a front-row spot.

To get a seat, you need to arrive at least ten minutes early. For a good spot in the front row, you must arrive more than half an hour early.

Fans of Seidou High School had figured this out.

If you want to watch the game, arrive early!

Although the pre-game time can be a bit dull, it's nice to chat and pass the time when a crowd gathers.

After a bit of greeting with the fans, the players entered the stadium.

Getting settled and ready inside, with a bit of time at hand, Sawamura decided to go to the restroom.

Following him were Furuya Satoru and Kominato Haruichi.

They didn't need the restroom but followed Sawamura out of habit, arriving here without realizing it.

"You guys didn't need to come with me."

'Or more like something always happens when you do.' Sawamura thought but he didn't want to jinx himself.

'Please not that guy! Please not that guy! Please not that guy!'

"I thought only girls went to the restroom together, but I didn't expect you to have this hobby, Sawamura-kun."

'Damn it! It is him!'

A teenager with a monk's head had somehow slipped behind them.

He was tall and looked a bit handsome.

He spoke casually, which made him seem easily offensive.

"Who's this?" Furuya asked bewilderedly.

He was startled when he saw the stranger's face, which seemed familiar but he couldn't place it.

He searched his memory but couldn't recall where he had seen him before.

"Amahisa Kousei!" Haruichi, unlike Furuya, had a clear memory.

The moment he saw the stranger, he recognized him instantly.

Amahisa Kousei, the new Ace of Ichidaisan High School!

He hadn't expected to run into him here, and he certainly didn't anticipate such an opening line.

It caught him completely off guard!

After Sawamura finished washing his hands, he turned around and looked at Amahisa.

The moment Eijun saw his Amahisa's face he couldn't help but grumble internally.

Of all the people in Sankou, he had to run into this idiot here.

If Sawamura had to sum up Amahisa Kousei in one word, it would be "eccentric"

He looked like a normal young man.

But once he started speaking, you just don't know how to deal with this guy.

He doesn't care about social cues and can be very honest and also tactless when speaking. All of that while keeping an honest look and energetic attitude, that makes you weirded and have no idea what this guy is thinking.

The most interesting thing is that Amahisa Kousei isn't stupid but simply naturally clueless.

In other words, he doesn't realize how strange his way of interacting with people is.

"The game is about to start, and you're still stuck in the restroom as the team's Ace. Is that really okay?" Sawamura asked.

His words hit the mark.

Amahisa responded naturally, "Unlike you, I actually came to use the restroom!"

He even went over to the urinal, as if that would prove his point.

"We'll head on ahead!" Sawamura said, not wanting to waste more time, and he, along with Haruichi and Furuya, started to leave.

He didn't want them to get infected with this guy's weirdness.

Sawamura was generally satisfied with how eccentric they already were and didn't want them to get any more weird.

"Hey!" Amahisa called out, but Sawamura didn't pay him any mind.

Amahisa, however, wasn't ready to give up.

Just as Sawamura was leading Kominato Haruichi and Furuya Satoru away, a shout suddenly came from behind them.

Sawamura's expression immediately changed.

From what he knew of Kousei, he was bound to say something.

And sure enough, Kousei continued, "As fellow pitchers from Tokyo, can we have a word with each other?"

His tone was very polite, making it hard to refuse.

Furuya and Haruichi both looked at Sawamura.

At this critical moment, it was naturally up to Sawamura to make a decision.

Sawamura gave a wry smile. Right now, he really wanted to walk away. People who have never interacted with Kousei don't understand his personality. But given that the two teams are rivals—and, to be blunt, enemies—retreating was not an option.

Despite his deep reluctance, Sawamura turned around and gestured for Kousei to speak.

"Please, go ahead!"

Kousei didn't hesitate and asked directly, "I watched the video of your pitching game and saw a breaking ball that's very magical. The angle of the ball's movement is quite large, and batters often miss it. How exactly do you throw that pitch?"

Haruichi's heart sank.

He knew Kousei was referring to Sawamura's latest breaking ball.

The Cut Ball Kai!

'This guy must be out of his mind,' Haruichi thought.

Asking about an opponent's Ace pitch before the game?

Sawamura smiled and replied, "I throw it with my hand."

"Pfft~"

Haruichi couldn't hold back his laughter and laughed out loud.

Kousei, the one involved, looked confused.

When he returned to his team, Amahisa was still pondering the question. Sasaki, unable to stand it any longer, poked Amahisa and asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Amahisa finally came to his senses retold what happened and asked Sasaki, "Why did he really say that?"

Sasaki stared at Kousei in disbelief. "You really asked him that? People are probably going to think you're a lunatic. They might even ridicule Sankou because of this. If this somehow gets to the media, it could completely ruin our school's reputation."

Sasaki's expression was one of utter frustration.

A headline like [The new Ace of Sankou is a Lunatic!!!] would definitely attract attention.

Sasaki had no doubts about that.

As for the reporters' professional ethics, Sasaki wasn't concerned. They were typically out for sensationalism, and if there was a juicy story, they wouldn't let it slip.

Now he could only hope that the Seidou High School players would keep quiet and not spread the word.

…