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Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju:Volume7 The Fifth Question

2011-09-12T23:23:13Z

89.75.34.234:

===The fifth Question===

Remember these baseball rules!

Yuuji: “So that's how it is. Since Himeji doesn't understand baseball, we will do a simple explanation of the rules.”

Akihisa: “We're normally the ones being taught, to think that it'll be the other way around.”

Mizuki: “Ple, please teach me well.”

Yuuji: “Now, we're going to explain the foul called '[http://www.baka-tsuki.org/project/index.php?title=Baka_to_Tesuto_to_Syokanju:Volume7_Translation_Notes_and_References balk]'.”

Mizuki: “Balk...is it?”

Yuuji: “That's right. This is a foul when the pitcher's pitching.”

Mizuki: “A foul? What is it about?”

Akihisa: “For example, when the pitcher's steps on the rubber to pick off the baserunner in place but didn't throw the ball out.”

Yuuji: “Or throwing a pickoff while the toes are facing the batter.”

Akihisa: “And there's also the 2-part pitching stance—stopping midway throwing the pitching motion, even if it's a little bit, these are all fouls.”

Mizuki: “Let me see, pointing the toes at the batter yet throwing a pickoff, and the 2-part pitching stance...”

Yuuji: “Anyway, it's not okay as long as the pitcher does something to hassle the batter or make the batter misunderstand.”

Akihisa: “Like letting the batter think that 'the pitch is coming' only to throw a pickoff, or making the batter think that the pitch won't be coming and pitching out of a sudden. This will severely affect the match.”

Mizuki: “I see...so letting people misunderstand is called a balk...”

Yuuji: “Well, yeah, you just need to think this way.”

Mizuki: “Then, Akihisa-kun...”

Akihisa: “Hm? What is it?”

Mizuki: “You balked.”

Akihisa: “Eh?”

Mizuki: “You balked.”

Akihisa: “What are you saying, Himeji-san?”

Mizuki: “Akihisa-kun balked.”

Akihisa: “Eh...”

Yuuji: “Haiz...I'm too lazy to even comment about this...”

In the end, class 3-E and 3-F couldn't beat each other, and so we advanced to the next round without a fight.

Thus--

“It's time for the semi-finals.”

“Yup, the class of that Toko-Natsu pair.”

We've just battled against them in the test of courage a while back, and now we met each other so soon. It seems that we have sort of inexplocable relationship with those two.

“Um, so that means 2-A lost?”

“I guess they did.”

“They lost? They have the almighty Kirishima-san!”

The class rep of 2-A, Kirishima Shouko-san is someone whose scores is greater than even Himeji-san's. How did she lose to that Toko-Natsu group?

“Mm...well, she's not as bag as Himeji but Shouko doesn't know much about baseball. I guess that's the reason why she lost.”

“The way I see it, there are people who are as impressive as Kirishima.”

“Well, I guess so.”

Anyway, since class A, which is led by Kirishima-san, lost, we have to be ever more cautious now.

I guess there's only 1 or 2 times that we can get points from the third years.

“It's pointless to think about it no. Let's hurry to the sports center.”

“That's right. We should be able to understand once we play against them.”

I'm wondering about the fact that 2-A lost to them, but to us, this may be a good thing. Besides, the key to us winning is the plan Yuuji comes up with. Class 2-A has Kirishima-san, who understands Yuuji's personality and thoughts thoroughly, leading them, so they should be harder to beat than class 3-A with better marks.

“Yuuji...”

“Hm? What is it, Akihisa?”

“If class 2-A advanced, what would your plan be?”

I think Yuuji thought of a plan against 2-A already.

“I actually planned to get Kubo to join us by charming him over and play 10 vs 8.”

On hearing my question, Yuuji casually answered back. 10 vs 8...if we can do it, the difference between both classes can be reduced, so it will be to our advantage. It's just...”

“Charming Kubo-san over? What are you saying? How can Kubo-san do such a dirty thing?”

“Really...if you can think this way, maybe it's a blessing to you...”

“The real Kubo got blinded by those corrupted feelings...”

“...Not knowing is the real blessing.”

“Eh? Why is everyone looking at me with pity when I mentioned Kubo-san?”

Those eyes looked like someone just died. I can't understand them at all.

“Oh yeah, Yuuji, what's our plan now?”

“To be honest, I really didn't expect 2-A to lose with Shouko and Kubo among them, so I didn't really make any adjustments for the match with class 3-A. However--”

Though he says this, Yuuji must have planned already.

“--I guess we should just kill their summoned beasts.”

I see, this plan is easy to understand.

“Seems like you guys don't have any sportsmanship at all...”

“This tactic is the worst...”

“Kill them? We're going to kick them out?”

Seeing Himeji-san look so puzzled, it seems that she still doesn't understand Yuuji's plan well.

“Got it. So we're going to beat those guys up during a mess-up until they can't show up?”

“...Who're we doing it on?”

“I'd say, you guys have already accepted such a plan without hesitation...”

Muttsurini, who's used to assassination, taking photos from the shadows, cover operations and doesn't even have any relation to sportsmanship. Of course, he accepted it without any resistance. I'm different from Muttsurini, I'm a pretty fair guy normally, but we have an aim we have to achieve no matter what, so it can't be helped that we have to use such underhanded means to win.”

“No, it's alright even when it's not a mess. There are many other means besides attacking directly.”

“Yup, like sliding into the opponent or throwing a 'Hit by Pitch'.”

“...Or faking a swing and hitting the bat on the opponent.”

“That's good. Great that you can understand.”

“I say...you guys are really too evil!”

It's too crude to call us evil. If there's a need to call us that, just say that we have a flexible approach to the rules.

Standing beside us, Minami rolls her eyes and says,

“I say, you guys...if you guys do such a thing, you deserve it even when you're scolded and called 'despicable'!”

Despicable? Scolded? What is this girl saying?

“Hoho, Minami, it seems that you don't understand.”

“Yup. Seems like Shimada hasn't gotten the whiff of our sportsmanship.”

“...Lack understanding.”

I, Yuuji and Muttsurini answered in turn. Can't be helped though. Even though she didn't study enough, there has to be a limit.”

“Wha, what do you mean by that!? What are you trying to say?”

“Listen up, Minami.”

Seeing the troubled and puzzled Minami, all three of us answered loudly in unison,

“““DESPICABLE AND DIRTY ARE THINGS THAT ONLY LOSERS WILL COMPLAIN ABOUT!!!”””

“YOU GUYS ARE REALLY ROTTEN!!”

This is the golden rule of winning and losing. To win, we have to pull all the stops.

“Uu, well, but even if we force the opponent's summoned beasts to be immobile, it doesn't mean that we will win, right? How should we deal with it? And looking at their points, we can't possibly do much damage to them, right?”

Hideyoshi voiced out his doubt.

That's true. It's okay to take them out, but what do we do after that?

“The opponents are the 3rd years. And the spot-check was only done on the 2nd years, so their desire to win isn't a great, right?”

“Mn, that's true.”

We're motivated to get back those confiscated items, and we're a whole lot different from the 3rd years who're just participating this school event out of necessity.

“So we'll use the difference in strength of motivation.”

“Using the difference in motivation? Even if you say that...”

“Ahh, well, just look at it. Besides, there's no other way anyway.”

“Mn, I got it somewhat.”

“...Understood.”

Yuuji didn't explain the plan further, and we head to the middle sports arena where the match will begin.

“...At times, I really thought, what's so good about that guy...”

“Using such evil means just to get back the A-books....”

“Ah, ah hahahaha...”

<center>☆</center>

"--STRIKE THREE! BATTER OUT!"

The umpire's call echoed throughout the sports arena, and the 1st batter Minami walked back in a lonely manner. As expected of class 3-A, their ball velocity and control can't be underestimated.

"Sorry, I really couldn't hit it..."

"Don't worry, Shimada. There's a huge difference in scores anyway."

Yuuji consoled Minami like a coach. This time, we're using Chemistry as the subject, and as it's not Minami's specialty, it couldn't be helped that she couldn't hit it. Besides, Yuuji's plan isn't to hit the ball, but to attack through violence, so it doesn't matter that we didn't hit the ball.

"Summon!"

As the second batter, Sugawa-san called out him summoned beast. On a side note, this match's batting lineup goes like this.

#First batter: 3rd baseman Shimada Minami
#Second batter: Shortstop Sugawa Ryo
#Third batter: Pitcher Yoshii Akihisa
#Fourth batter: Catcher Sakamoto Yuuji
#Fifth batter: Right fielder Kondou Yoshimune
#Sixth batter: 2nd baseman Tsuchiya Kouta (Muttsurini)
#Seventh batter: Center fielder Kimishima Hiroshi
#Eighth batter: 1st baseman Fukumura Kohei
#Ninth batter: Left fielder Yokomizo Koji

It'll be bad if we use violence right from the start, so the lead-off batter just need to hit in a normal manner, while Sugawa-san and me behind are to act according to the situation. If we feel that it's alright, Yuuji will give us the go. It'll be great if the first batter Minami can make them let their guard down...

Class A, Natsukawa Shunpei, Chemistry, 244 points.

VS

Class F, Sugawa Ryo, Chemistry, 59 points.

As how things went in the past, the pitcher and catcher are the baldy-sempai and the mohawk-head, the Toko-Natsu group that we're all too familiar with. I heard that the pitcher and catcher were different in their match against 2-A. Maybe they decided to take over this time because they know that Yuuji and I are partnering in this one. Those two really hate to lose.

“59 marks? This guy's score is really pitiful.”

Standing on the pitcher's mound, baldy-sempai saw our displayed scores and happily mocked us. This guy's looking down on us as usual.

But even though we got laughed at for our grades. Sugawa-san doesn't look like he really cares. His summoned beast just raised the bat and gets into a swinging position, As expected of a member of class F, he didn't lose his patience even though he got treated like an idiot.

“Oh, you don't even have the guts to argue back? Such a useless bum.”

After saying this nonchalently, baldy-sempai's summoned beast gets into a pitching motion. IT gathers all the force in the arm, and at the next second, he throws the ball out.

“STRIKE!”

The next moment, the ball landed neatly into the glove of the mohawk-sempai's summoned beast. I noticed it a bit when Minami was in the batter box. That ball's really fast.

“What's wrong? That was right down the middle,”

The baldy-sempai gave a mocking smile at us as he looked down on us and receives the ball from the catcher. Sugawa-san doesn't respond at all as he just readjusts himself as he readies his bat again.

Seeing Sugawa-kun's unmoved look, the baldy-sempai just looks bored as he snorts. He then pitches the second ball.

“STRIKE TWO!”

He didn't swing at all again. Now, it's two strikes. Sugawa-san continues to stare at the opponent, seemingly analyzing the situation calmly.

“You're going to be the 2nd one who's going to be struck out!”

Baldy-sempai pitches for the 3rd time. The breaking motion isn't too different, but the velocity's a lot slower than before.

Did he miss the timing? Sugawa-san didn't swing the bat as he just remained over there. The pitch just landed inside the glove. If that's the case...

“STRIKE THREE! BATTER OUT!!”

Like what baldy-sempai predicted, he really struck Sugawa-san in three strikes. Now, it's 2 men out with no baserunners.

“Oi oi oi, I threw that ball really slowly already. Shouldn't you swing your bat already?”

Baldy-sempai mocked us with a taunting tone. Ever since we began, his way of pitching was basically mocking us. This sports meet is planned by them, so they're still angry about this? They're the ones who came up with the punishment in the first place...

“What's wrong, Sugawa-san?”

I asked Sugawa-san softly as I went past him. Maybe he noticed a flaw in the opponent's attack.

“No way, I couldn't find a way to attack.”

“I see...”

“No matter how I tried to look for it, I couldn't found that sempai in the erotic yukata...”

“I see, this information is way too useful.”

If that's the case, I don't have to waste my time looking for that sempai. Though it's a little...no, it's really a pity, but now I can concentrate on the match. Let's think of it in another way. Maybe this might be a good thing.

“You're going to be the 3rd batter I'm going to strike out, Yoshii Akihisa!”

As I walked into the batter's box, the baldy-sempai on pitcher's mound said that to me.

Class A, Natsukawa Shunpei, Chemistry, 244 points.

VS

Class F, Yoshii Akihisa, Chemistry, 57 points.

After a while, our scores are shown. I understand that my score will cause me to be in a tough battle. Unless I can hit the ball in the middle, the ball shouldn't be able to fly into the outfield. However--

“I won't give up like that, Hengawa-sempai.”

“HOLD ON A MINUTE! DID YOU JUST MIX MY NAME WITH THE WORD 'HENTAI' TO CREATE A COMPLETELY NEW SURNAME!?”

“Ah, sorry, hentai-sempai.”

“NO!! I DON'T WANT YOU TO CHANGE IT TO 'HENTAI'! CALL ME 'NATSUKAWA'! JUST GIVE ME A PROPER NAME!”

“Sorry, because your name pronunciation is easy to mix up.”

“SINCE WHEN IS IT EASY TO MIX UP! THE ONLY THING SIMILAR IN 'NATSUKAWA' AND 'HENTAI' ARE THE NUMBER OF KANJI WORDS!!”

“My my, don't be so agitated, Natsukawa-hentai.”

“So you mixed them up because 'sempai' and 'hentai' sounded all too similar!?”

The fated duel's within the bat of an eye as baldy-sempai's burning up. This isn't any different from a hot-blooded shounen sports manga anyway.

“Damn you, Yoshii Akihisa...I'M SO GOING TO KILL YOU!!!”

Baldy-sempai's summoned beast raises its position and gets ready to pitch the 1st ball—which quickly came rushing here.

“STRIKE!!”

The first ball was right down the middle. I didn't react to this pitch at all as I analyze the situation.

“Heh, seems like you don't dare to take action.”

My reaction seem to make the baldy-sempai happy, as after he received the catcher's throw back, the baldy-sempai snorted in a rather good mood.

Then, he pitches the 2nd ball.

“STRIKE TWO!!”

At this moment, the opponent pitched another ball right down the ball.

“What the heck. You're pretty quiet now.”

Like when Sugawa-san was on just now, I just let two pitches fly by me to see if there's anything. Baldy-sempai just snorted in a bored manner.

“I'm just checking where you're pitching. I'll get the next one.”

“Checking where I'm pitching? HA! Stop lying! You just couldn't hit my pitch, right?”

“...”

I didn't answer him as I just wait silently for the next pitch.

Like how he pitched against Minami and Sugawa-san, the opponent's been pitching only in the middle. It's really just like his personality. He wants to strike me out within 3 pitches, so I guess the next pitch is straight down the middle again.

“Che, so you can only look at the ball? You guys are wimps!”

It's true that I've been observing the ball up now. However, I'm not just looking at the ball, but also the positioning of the pitcher. The baldy-sempai would stand at the same place after both the 1st and 2nd pitch. AS expected of this 3rd year sempair. He really knows how to control his summoned beast, and his posture is rather stable.

But that's going to be his Achilles' Heel.

“Alright, time for the final blow!”

After getting into position, the opponent pitches the 3rd ball at me. I use this chance to match the opponent and swing my bat hard at the opponent.

The white ball zips through the air as it flies towards my head while I throw the metal bat at the opponent's face. Both of us use our killer throws, and at that nail-crunching moment, it finally reached my head.

“--DANGER!!”

The pitch the opponent threw grazes past my temples, and the metal bat I threw flies past the opponent's nose.

““YOU'RE TOO DESPICABLE!!””

“YOU TWO ARE THE SAME!!”

That damned bastard made me think that he would throw all three pitches down the middle, and the last pitch came flying at my temples! If I didn't dodge it at the last minute, it would have become a huge tragedy that couldn't be recovered!

“STRIKE THREE! BATTER OUT!”

My throw just now was treat as a swing by the umpire, so I got struck out. So now, with 3 men out, it will be a switch over.

There's no other ideas I can think of. Better gather with Yuuji and the rest on the bench and talk it through first.

“Sorry Yuuji, those guys may be wary of us already.”

“Don't mind. Just make up for that failure through your pitching.”

“...Don't worry, everyone will help you out.”

“That sounds rather normal, but for some reason, I'd think what you guys are talking about is the worst...”

“Don't these guys know of something called sportsmanship...?”

“Like being cautious, induced base on balls, there's really a lot of technical terms in baseball.”

Of course, I can pitch. My scores aren't great, so the power of the ball isn't much, but I'm rather confident of my control. I'll smack that ball hard into the opponent!

“Alright, time for us to go up. EVERYONE, LEVEL THEM TO THE GROUND!!!”

“““YEAH!!!”””

<center>☆</center>

“Are you Yoshii? Whether it's about the test of courage meet before or this competition...I'll make you regret taking on us 3rd years! Summon!”

The first batter from class 3-A entered the batter box with hostility. Seems like the test of courage made more seniors hate me now.

Class A, Hotta Masatoshi, Chemistry, 217 points

Vs

Class F, Yoshii Akihisa, Chemistry, 57 points.

Soon after the summoned beasts appeared, our scores were shown. As expected of a student from class A, the marks aren't to be underestimated.

(Let's take this guy head on. I want to see how far the ball will fly with such a difference in scores.)

That's what Yuuji's telling me with his eyes. Yuuji's right. Right now, we're facing class A opponents, so we have to see how good they are. If things so smoothly, we'll be facing the teachers' team that's even better than class A. We have to know how far we can go before we should hold back. That is an important thing.

I nod my head slightly to indicate that I understand, and then let my summoned beast get into a pitching posture. Yuuji's glove is located at the low outer corner of the strikezone. Even if it gets hit, at least it won't fly out if it's not a solid hit, right?

Compared to the baldy-sempai's pitch in the previous half of the inning, the pitch of mine is a lot slower as it flies towards Yuuji's glove.

“STRIKE!”

Facing the pitch I just threw, the opponent just let it by and doesn't swing the bat. Does he want to check my pitch velocity and power? The score's over there already, so he won't feel that I can threaten him. If the next pitch lands in the strikezone, I guess he would swing.

Then, Yuuji throws the ball over. This time, it's slightly high at the corner. Is he trying to make the opponent have a hard time hitting the ball (is that a free stance)? Well, I can't really think of a reason why such a difficult thing.

I follow the position Yuuji indicated, and this time, the opponent swung the bat.

KLANG—The crisp sound of the impact can be heard, and this time, the opponent did swing the bat.

It seemed that the batter either missed or wasn't used to playing baseball as the ball missed the center. The fly ball didn't drag its distance as it flies.

“DAMN IT!”

Looking rather angry and hurt, the opponent returned to the bench area.

I see. Even if the difference in scores is larger, it naturally doesn't cause the ball to fly far if the opponent missed the center. On the other hand, when facing class E, even though their scores were about the same, the ball would naturally fly near. It's not that power alone can win games as this would be no different from other baseball matches. However, the stronger class still has overwhelming superiority.

“Okay, I'm okay. Summon!”

A familiar voice can be heard as the second batter called out his summoned beast.

Class A, Tsunemura Yuusaku, Chemistry, 223 points

Vs

Class F Yoshii Akihisa, Chemistry, 57 points.

It's the other member of the Toko-Natsu pai, the mohican-head sempai who was the catcher. Even if he's really rotten deep inside, he's really worthy of being a member of A class, having such high scores.

“BRING IT, ON, YOSHII! SAKAMOTO! I'LL RETURN ALL THE SHAME I BORE WITH INTEREST!!”

The mohican-head sempai glared as he said that to us. Seems like he's rather pumped as well. What should I do...

(Let's pitch a ball first.)

Yuuji positions his glove. His glove is aimed at the far corner where the bat can't possibly hit. I guess he has a plan if he wants me to throw that far out.

I open my arms wide and pitch the first ball. At this moment, the mohican-head sempai deliberately swung the bat. Alright, now we have a stike--

“Ahh, my hand slipped!”

Just when I thought that, the mohican-head sempai continued his swing without stopping as he swung the bat back to Yuuji's summoned beast that's getting ready to receive the pitch.

Class A, Tsunemura Yuusaku, Chemistry, 223 points.

Vs

Class F, Sakamoto Yuuji, Chemistry, 109 points.

Having been hit on the head heard, Yuuji's summoned beast had its points changed due to the damage, and the 200+ points up till now got deducted by a lot now.

“Sorry Sakamoto. That wasn't on purpose.”

Glancing back to look at the umpire's decision, the mohican-head sempair said that to Yuuji.

If that act just now was deemed as intentional, he would be forced off the field. That sempai was probably worried about this, which was why he just said those insincere words.

“...No, no need to worry about it. A lot of mishaps often happen in sports anyway?”

Yuuji doesn't look bothered by it as he said it with a smile on his face. His summoned beast bends down to picks up the bell that was dropped due to the impact.

“I see, Sakamoto's rather maganimous.”

“No no. I'm not really a kind person.”

Both of them seem to maintaining their smiles as they said that peacefully. After that, Yuuji throws the ball hard at the opponent with all his force.

--At the summoned beast of that mohican-head sempai between us.

With the blunt impact sound, Yuuji threw the ball directly at the mohican-sempai's summoned beast head.

Class A, Tsunemura Yuusaku, Chemistry, 191 points.

Vs

Class F, Sakamoto Yuuji, Chemistry, 109 points.

“Sorry sempai. It seem that I really can't control my summoned beast well.”

This time, it's the mohican-head sempai whose score got reduced. Yuuji lost about 100 points, and yet the opponent lost only about 30. It seems that since Yuuji's summoned beast was weakened, the difference in power was clearly shown on the ball that was pitched.

“But this can't be helped. A lot of accidents happen in sports, right?”

“Uu...ye, yea. I'll forgive you with a smile then. Besides, there wasn't much damage anyway...”

The mohican-head sempai smiled as he said this, but veins are popping out of his forehead. I see that he really looks like he wants to rush up to Yuuji. However, he showed these emotions to the umpire,

“YOU TWO, CONCENTRATE ON THE MATCH! BOTH OF YOU WILL BE EJECTED IF YOU DO SUCH A THING AGAIN!!”

““...””

After being lectured by the umpire, those two didn't say anything more as they return back to positions to complete the mission. This time, Yuuji threw the ball into my glove. And my summoned beast readies itself to fire another pitch.

Before I pitched, my eyes receive the signal Yuuji gave me.

(It's time, Akihisa.)

(Got it.)

I finally got the attack signal from Yuuji. The catcher's glove is set at the middle, but my pitch is aimed at the batter's head. Aim at the head and throw. I must break the enemy's head!

“Bring it, Yoshii!”

The mohican-head sempai gets into the free-swinging posture...that's an easy way to swing, either for the catcher or the hitter—he should be aiming it at Yuuji, right? That hit just now must have vexed him. If that's the case, right now, we just need to blow off the enemy's head.

In this tense atmosphere, my summoned beast lets out the 2nd pitch.

The ball that's aimed at the forehead of the batter and the bat that's deliberately aimed at the catcher let out forceful hits as we all hit our targets like we were attracted.

“--HIT BY PITCH!”

Don, dong...the ball rolled on the ground several times, and the results of the attack are shown.

Class A, Tsunemura Yuusaku, Chemistry, 177 points.

Vs

Class F, Sakamoto Yuuji, Chemistry, 7 points.

“AKIHISA YOU IDIOT! YOU DIDN'T DECREASE HIS POINTS BY MUCH!!”

“WHAT ABOUT YOU, YUUJI! YOU GOT HIT TOO MUCH! DEFEND YOURSELF PROPERLY!!”

Yuuji got 100 points reduced, and that mohican-head sempai just lost 10+ points. If this keeps up, we're going to be killed by them.

“OI, YOU BASTARDS! THAT WAS DELIBERATE, RIGHT? YOU HAVE GUTS TO DO THIS TO YOUR SENIORS!”

“WHAT NONSENSE ARE YOU SPOUTING!? YOU SEMPAIS ARE ANGRY THAT YOU LOST TO US IN THE TEST OF COURAGE, RIGHT!?”

“WHAT ARE YOU SAYING!? IF YOU'RE GOING TO DO IT LIKE THIS, FORGET ABOUT WHAT BASEBALL TOURNAMENT OR SUCH, LET'S JUST--”

“FINE BY ME! I HAD ENOUGH OF YOU THIRD YEARS ANYWAY. LET'S--”

The other bench players started a commotion. It's true that we didn't like each other, so it can't be helped that there would be so much antagonistic intent. Is this the chaos that Yuuji planned to raise?

Acting as the catcher, Yuuji smirked. If a battle's about to begin, I have to hurry up and choose my target so that I can punch him with all I got when I get the chance.

“STOP YOU!! ALL YOU IDIOTS!!”

At this moment, a certain person with a hoarse voice entered the fray that's about to become a battlefield. Who is it? Coming here to interfere while our objective was about to be complete!

“Really, you brats are really a lost cause...why can't you be obedient even when I let you people use summoned beasts to fight it out?”

Putting her hand on hear forehead as she said this—is the damned old granny who always interfered with us.

“WHAT THE HECK, GRANNY!? WHY DID YOU COME HERE!!?”

Yuuji inadvertently clicked his tongue and questioned her. Besides, since his plan was ruined, I can understand Yuuji's reason for being unhappy.

“CALL ME THE PRINCIPAL, YOU DAMNED BRAT!!!”

The prinicpal snorted as she turned to Yuuji. She then turned around to glare at all of us before saying,

“Really...thje moment I heard that you two classes are matched up, I immediately came over to see the situation. To think that it ended up like this again. It's rare for the guests to find that our summoned beast baseball tournament is rather good. I can't possibly allow all you idiots to wreck it and ruin the school's reputation.”

It seemed that the damned old granny came over to watch us once she saw that it was us class 2-F vs 3-A...she really thought everything through.

“Please don't stop us, principal! We have a duty to use physical education to teach those useless scum from 2-F what respect and common sense is about!”

“We're the ones who can't stand you guys! Treating others as idiots and looking down on us so badly! Principal, please let us kill these sempai scums who love to put an act!

'''“I TOLD ALL OF YOU TO SHUT UP!!! YOU DAMNED BRATS!!!”

Facing the quarrelling group of people, the principal roared again. As expected, an elderly person sure can do things when she takes action. Everyone just shut up once she roared.

“Really, you idiots...so you would come up with this because the pain of the summoned beasts won't be inflicted on you...”

The principal shook her head reluctantly, thinking as she stares at us.

Finally, as she puts her hands on her hips, she decide to say to us,

“I've decided to change the settings of the summoned beasts in this match.”

“““Huh?”””

Everyone present just expressed their doubts in unison.

Change the settings of the summoned beasts? What does that mean?”

“Only this once, just once. I'll let all of you feel the pain that's inflicted on the summoned beasts. With that, you won't think about all sorts of nonsense and play ball seriously, right?”

Inflicting the pain the summoned beast suffers onto the body—anyway, it's about setting the summoned beasts to be like mine?

“Alright, that'll be it. All of you are to play seriously now!”

Leaving these words behind, the principal waved her hand and turn around to walk to the school building.

“Eh, now...”

Things just happened out of a sudden, and for a while, I didn't know what to do. It's alright to change the settings of the summoned beasts, but if that's the case, what about our plan?

“Sorry, please allow us to take a timeout.”

Yuuji asked for a timeout to the umpire, and this match just interrupted officially. After confirming that, we should start a strategy meeting.

Yuuji and the infield players are all gathered near the pitcher's mound. Okay, what do we do now?

“What do we do now, Yuuji? Our plan to create chaos was ruined.”

Our plan right from the beginning was to create chaos with the 3rd years, but it ended up like this, so our plan could only end with failure. We can't win if with play with them head on!

“No problems. Things are different from what I expected, but if that's the case, we can launch our secret weapon here.”

“Secret weapon?”

“That's right. It's a good thing that the next batter's that baldy, so there's no need to go easy on him.”

After saying that, Yuuji walked to the umpire and turn to the bench, asking for a switch of players.

“Himeji will replace Yoshii as the pitcher, Yoshii will be the catcher, I as the catcher will switch to Shimada's 3rd base.”

So the defensive alignments and pitcher are to the changed? So Himeji-san is the pitcher, I'll be the cater, Yuuji defends 3rd base, and Minami returns to the bench to rest?

We follow Yuuji's instructions and head to our respectively areas. Himeji-san came out from the bench, running to Yuuji to say something to him. I can't hear them as they're too far away. What are they saying?

“Sakamoto-kun, I, I can't be the pitcher. I never played baseball before, and I can't really play sports...”

“Calm down, Himeji. Listen to me.”

“No, no! I can't! I can't do it.”

“Baseball focuses on teamwork, so the trust between the teammates is important—especially the pitcher and the catcher, which has to be the closest.”

“Ah, I see...but...”

“A pitcher and catcher that can create a beautiful combination—is often called 'husband and wife' in baseball.”

“Eh? Husband and wife...”

“That's right. From now on, I won't be the catcher. Akihisa will be the one. The result of this match will prove whether you and Akihisa can develop a good 'husband and wife' relationship.”

“...”

“You must believe in your relationship with Akihisa, so throw that ball in your hand out to see it. Akihisa will use all his strength and catch your pitch. That's the 'partner'--no, 'husband and wife' relationship.”

“I...I got it!”

“Remember this, Himeji. Use all your strength. Don't think about where the ball will got. Just use all your strength to pass your feelings to Akihisa. If you deliberately hold back, your trust between each other can't be established.”

“I understand!”

What's going on? I don't know what's going on, but I have a bad feeling about this.

Just when I'm trembling at this unknown chill, Himeji-san, who finished talking to Yuuji, came running over. She look really energetic.

"Well...Akihisa-kun, please guide me through!"

"Mn, please guide me through as well, Himeji-san."

Himeji-san seem to be rather nervous as she started stuttering.

"I believe in Akihisa-kun, I'll pitch the ball with all I got!"

"Haha, I'm happy to hear that. Let's do our best."

"Okay! Let's do our best. Let's create a wonderful family! Well...my, my beloved..."

What? What did Yuuji just say to her?

"Then, please catch my pitch!"

After she took small steps to the pitcher's mound, Himeji-san starts her preparations as she gets ready to pitch. Oh well, better not think too much. I just need to do my own job.

I'm standing at where Yuuji's been standing up till now as I let my summoned beast squat at the catcher's position.

Alright. Right now, there's one person out, one man at first base, and the match continues.

"Heh~I don't really understand what stupid plan you're thinking of, but that's not going to work on me! I'll show my strength to you. Summon!"

The opposing 3rd batter--baldy-sempai entered the batter's box and gets ready to summon.

"I, I'll do my best...summon!"

The pitcher and batter's scores are shown half a second later.

Class A, Natsukawa Shunpei, Chemistry, 244 points.

Vs

Class F, Himeji Mizuki, Chemistry, 437 points.

"Wah! That's woman's score way too much..."

On seeing Himeji-san's score, baldy-sempai started trembling. That can't be helped. Like what everyone can see, Himeji-san's scores are the elite amongst the elites, so even baldy-sempai from A class can't possibly beat her.

"Damn it. Leaving Takagi behind may be a bad decision..."

Baldy-sempair looked troubled as she muttered to herself.

Takagi? This name seems familiar. Where have I heard that name before...

"O, okay, please guide me through!"

Just when I was thinking, Himeji-san's already getting ready to pitch. I should be the one who should learn from her--HOLD ON A MINUTE! I DIDN'T REALIZE IT JUST NOW, BUT AM I THE ONE WHO'S SUPPOSED TO CATCH HIMEJI-SAN'S PITCHES!!? I'LL DIE REALLY BADLY IF I FAIL!!

"Let me see. First, step on the rubber, and then..."

"Ho, hol, hol, hold on a minute Himeji-san!!"

"Hm? What's wrong, Akihisa-kun?"

I called out to stop Himeji-san, who's getting ready to pitch. Himeji-san is so gentle and understanding. I guess she would hold back a bit, but since the difference in our scores are so far different from each other, I don't know what's going to happen, so it's better to let her try out.

"You see a runner at first base? Throw a pickoff at first base to prevent him from stealing base. Would you like to try it?"

The runner at first base didn't run too far away. I just want Himeji-san to throw a pickoff there so that she can get used to it. Anyway, I just want to let Himeji-san throw a ball first.

"A pickoff--ah, I got it. I just need to throw to first base, right?"

"That's right. Can you please throw to Fukumura-san at first base?"

"I understand. Then--"

Himeji-san's summoned beast raises its arm and gets into a pitching position.

"Heh!"

"................AH?"

Class A, Tsunemura Yuusaku, Chemistry, DEAD.

Vs

Class F, Himeji Mizuki, Chemistry, 437 points.

Class F, Fukumura Kohei, Chemistry, DEAD.

Vs

Class F, Himeji Mizuki, Chemistry, 437 points.

--There were immediate reports of two deaths.

KLANG...with that, the sound of some heavy objects tumbling down continuously can be heard.

The summoned beasts of the runner at first base, that mohican-head sempai and Fukumura-san, who's watching first base disappear together into the wind like good friends.

""WAAAHHHHHHHHH!!! IT HURRTTSSS!!! MY BODY HUUUUUURRRRRTTTTTSSSS!!!"

After a short while. the controller of the summoned beasts cried out in pain as well.

It seem that the settings change managed to catch up to the ball, so both of them got the effects of the damage done to the summoned beasts, which caused them to roll on the floor in pain.

"Ah! So, sorry! I didn't know how to control the strength on the ball, so..."

Himeji-san frantically lowered her head to apologize to both of them who're rolling on the ground. However, I don't think they would bother hearing her apology now.

"Will the bench players please take over the injured players so that we can continue the match?"

The refereeing teacher coldly asked the players to come on. The 2 severely injured players who are unable to move due to the pain are carted off. The opponent sent out one sempai, while Hideyoshi, who was on the bench, replaced Fukumura-san to guard 1st base.

"Uu...I failed..."

Though she managed to bury two people at one go, Himeji-san seem to be remorseful over it. If possible, I would like to encourage her, but if she doesn't control her strength and use all her force, the next ball will strike me, the catcher. If I get hit by that powerful ball, I'll most likely get sent to a whole new dimension in pain. Though I'm really sorry to her, I really don't want--

"Don't mind, Himeji. Just pitch with all you got."

"But..."

"Don't worry too much. That's what a catcher should do."

"But if I do this, Akihisa-kun would..."

"Oi oi, why are you saying such a thing? Don't you trust Akihisa at all?"

"Ah...no, that's not it! I never douted Akihisa-kun!"

THAT BASTARD'S DEFINITELY TRYING TO KILL ME!!!

"Akihisa-kun, here I come!"

NOOOOO!!! HIMEJI-SAN, DON'T THROW THAT BALL AT ME!!!!

"He, heh!"

"Hm? eh? How did it--"

Himeji-san let out a cute sound and a pitch that's not cute at all. The pitch that can't be seen with the eyes landed directly on the 3rd year senior who's waiting to bat next.

Class A, Kindaichi Shinnosuke, Chemistry, DEAD.

Vs

Class F, Himeji Mizuki, Chemistry, 437 points.

The 4th batter of class 3-A didn't even managed to show his score as he immediately become a lifeless soul, never to come back again. Because of that, he became the 3rd victim.

"RE, REF!! THAT WAS A DANGEROUS BALL, WASN'T IT!!? SHE SHOULD BE EJECTED!!"

Standing in the batter's box, the baldy-sempai's expression changed greatly as he argued that Himeji-san broke the rules. But before the umpire could say anything, Yuuji, who's standing at 3rd base, says,

"Oi, sempai? How can you say such a cruel thing? Look at Himeji. You know that she didn't do it on purpose!"

"So, sorry! This is my first time as the pitcher. That's why I'm so nervous..."

Himeji-san came running over to class 3-A's bench and continued to bow to them in apology. Seeing Himeji-san looking so lost about what to do, I don't think anyone would doubt that she didn't do it on purpose.

"ST, STOP JOKING AROUND, SAKAMOTO!! SOME THINGS CAN'T BE FORGIVEN EVEN IF IT'S NOT DELIBERATE!!"

"SHUT UP, YOU SCUM!! Sensei, think carefully. One side is a cute student who's working hard to participate in a class event even though she's not good at it. The other side is one whose evil intent is to tarnish the sacred meaning of sportsmanship, a dumb, evil and ugly sempai. As a teacher, which side will you stand on?"

"BEGIN!"

"U, umpire?"

The umpire mercilessly announced the continuation of the match. Compared to our dastardly deeds, Himeji-san's actions aren't of ill intent at all. In that case, the judgment's correct, but I find that this umpire has a rather distorted view on values.

"OI, YOSHII! HURRY UP AND CHASE THAT WOMAN AWAY! YOU'LL DIE IF THIS KEEPS UP!"

"HO, HOW CAN I DO THAT? DON'T LOOK AT HER LIKE THAT, HIMEJI-SAN'S REALLY SOMEONE WITH VERY RADICAL THOUGHTS!!"

I continue to talk to the baldy-sempai in the batter's box. If I can do it, I really want Himeji-san to get off the field!

"Uu...it's really hard...maybe I can pitch better if I use a little more force..."

Himeji-san returned to the pitcher's mound and said that, causing me to break out cold sweat.

HOW IS IT POSSIBLE!! SHE DIDN'T THROW THAT BALL JUST NOW AT FULL STRENGTH!!>

The one with the ability to be the valedictorian of our year pitched that without noticing the control. It seem that only the bench is a safe zone. If that's the case, it just made me forget that we have a baseball tournament going on. This isn't a match, it's a one-sided massacre.

"Th, this time...I must pitch it at Akihisa-kun!"

""EEIIYYYYYAAAAA!!""

Baldy-sempai and I let our summoned beasts throw our bat and glove away as we just cared about using both hands to cover our heads and duck. A heavy fastball flew right above our summoned beasts' head.

"BALL."

The umpire decided that it was a ball, BUT WHO WOULD CARE ABOUT WHETHER IT'S A STRIKE OR A BALL NOW!!?

"SUB HER OUT, SAKAMOTO! GET THAT PITCHER OFF!!"

"What are you saying, sempai? Himeji's pitches are getting sharper. Isn't she getting into the groove?"

"I CAN'T SEE HER AIMING AT THE CATCHER'S GLOVE!!!"

I agree with that.

Ignoring the baldy-sempai and Yuuji who're arguing, Himeji-san stands on the pitcher's mound, seemingly muttering about something.

"Uu...maybe it's because I didn't trust in Akihisa-kun thoroughly, so I couldn't pitch well...I have to trust Akihisa-kun more..."

Thus, she grasps onto the ball in her hand even tightly as she prepares to do something even more shocking. Eh? What's Himeji-san doing?

"HO, HOLD ON A MINUTE!! DID THAT PITCHER JUST CLOSE HER EYES!!?"

"That's not the case, that's the trust between partners. It's because she belives in the guidance of the pitcher that she would close her eyes to pitch."

"HOW IS SHE GOING TO BE GUIDED BY THE CATCHER IF HER EYES ARE CLOSED!!? YOU'RE SPOUTING NONSENSE HERE!!"

"That's it. It must have opened her inner eye. A truly great player doesn't need sight, he just needs to detect the presence of the pre--the opponent's location.

" SO WHAT IF SHE FOUND MY LOCATION! THE MAIN POINT'S TO PITCH DIRECTLY INTO THE STRIKEZONE, RIGHT!!? DID YOU JUST NEARLY CALL ME 'PREY'!!?"

"Please don't say something overbearing, alright? Prey-sempai?"

"DID YOU JUST SAY THAT!!? YOU JUST CALLED ME 'PREY-SEMPAI' WITHOUT THINKING, RIGHT!!?"

The most important thing right now is whether the prey Yuuji just mentioned involved me or not.

"Well...Himeji-san! Can you hear me? Actually, you don't have to be so serious..."

"Hoo...ha...hoo...ha...it's alright, I can pitch a strike if I believe firmly in Akihisa-kun..."

"Himeji-san?"

It seems that Himeji-san just entered a zen phase as she's unable to receive my words or the hand signals. Anyway...I have to use my own means to survive if I want to see the sunrise tomorrow.

"Can, can't be helped. If that's the case, I'll just dodge sideways when Himeji-san pitches. If my luck is good, maybe I can keep my own life!"

"THAT, THAT'S TOO UNDERHANDED, YOSHII!! YOU JUST WANT TO SAVE YOUR OWN LIFE!!?"

"Sorry sempai, I still love my life!"

On a side note, the basic rules of baseball indicates that the batter can't leave the batter box. I feel somewhat sorry that the baldy-sempai in front of me will have to dodge Himeji-san's pitches in the narrow area.

"I'm pitching, Akihisa-kun!"

"PLEASE TRY AND OPEN YOUR EYES, HIMEJI-SAN!!"

Facing Himeji-san's declaration, I could only beg for her to spare my life. But it seems that my wish didn't reach her heart as Himeji-san continued to keep her eyes closed and pitch the ball with all her strength.

A heavy fastball

With tremendous power

Aimed at the baldy-sempai's summoned beast's head.

".........................waaa........."

Everyone knows of a fruit called pomegranate that blooms in the beginning of summer? It's a sweet and sour fruit that's bright red. It grows on the tree, and when it ripens without anyone picking it off, it will drop because it overripes. Once it drops onto the ground, the crimson red flesh and juice will spill out all over the place.

Right now, the image of the batter that's shown into my mind started to remind me of the terrible state when the pomegranate drops for some reason.

Class A, Natsukawa Shunpei, Chemistry, DEAD.

Vs

Class F, Himeji Mizuki, Chemistry, 437 points.

"That's...overkill...that woman's...the...devil..."

Standing beside the summoned beast that got battered badly, baldy-sempai suffered lots of pain as he looked like he's about to lose consciousness and collapsed onto the ground. Seeing this...I can only feel pity for him.

After lunch, I think some people will recover, right? But the baldy-sempai's summoned beast carried its thoroughly devastated state as it disappeared into mid-air.

"wWell...Akihisa-kun, was that pitch alright?"

It's only at this moment that Himeji-san finally opened her eyes. It's because she kept her eyes closed that she didn't see that burst pomegranate-like scene. Maybe this might be a good thing to her.

"Well...if we considered our initial aim, that ball was well pitched..."

But for some reason, there's some emotion within me that's making me unable to be happy.

"Next batter, please step up the plate."

The umpire coldly prompted for the next batter.

Looking over at the 3-A bench, everyone there is deliberately looking down, not daring to look at the umpire straight in the face.

"HEHE!! THE 3RD YEAR BATTERS ARE SCARED!!"

It's unknown where that mockery came from.

Hoo...I think the batter's not the only one who's scared.

"SENSEI! WE RAN OUT OF SUBSTITUTES!!"

Class 3-A reported that they don't have any substitutes left. If that's the case, since there are other events going on, there could only be 2 bench players. What should be done? Is he going to get those unregistered to play?

At this moment, I remember a rule included in the summoned beast baseball tournament. Yuuji added a rule that 'Each team is to hand in the list of players. Those players whose names aren't on the list will be unable to take part in the match'. That damned bastard created this plan to fulfil that rule...?

"Not enough bench players? Well...we'll skip past that person's batting order. The other players are to do their remedial tests."

The teacher made that cold decision. This sounded reasonable, but wouldn't that mean that the other players will have to do the tests just to take Himeji-san's killer pitches...?

"Right, so now to the next batter--5th batter, please step up. Those players with no points left are to take part in the remedial tests.

"""CLASS 3-A DECIDED TO FORFEIT!!!"""

And thus, with two Hit by Pitch at two batters and having caused 4 martyrs, a damage rating of 200%, the pitcher of F class Himeji Mizuki became a legend in the sports meet.

<noinclude>
{{BakaTest Nav|prev=Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju:Volume7 The Fourth Question|next=Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju:Volume7 The Sixth Question}}
</noinclude>

Baka to Tesuto to Syokanju:Volume7 The Third Question

2011-09-05T23:16:58Z

89.75.34.234:

===The Third Question===

'''Please read the text below and answer the following question:'''

:“The forces of King Xiang has arrived at the wall, having suffered casualities and lack of food."
:"The Han forces and the warlords surrounded them."
:"During the night, forces of Han surrounded the encampment of King Xiang and started singing folk songs of Chu. The leader of Chu was startled by this."
:''"Has Chu falen into the Hans' hands? Since when did Chu has so many?"''
:"King Xiang stood up in the middle of the night and starting drinking.”" [http://www.baka-tsuki.net/project/index.php?title=Baka_to_Tesuto_to_Syokanju:Volume7_Translator%27s_Notes]

Please write the idiom that was formed to describe Xiang Yu's attitude.

'''Himeji Mizuki's answer:'''

“Chu Song from 4 sides (四面楚歌, shimensoka).”

'''Teacher Comment'''

Correct answer. When the enemy forces started singing the 'Chu folk songs' his own comrades should be having, this means that Xiang Yu's forces are trapped yet have no way to fight back. 'Being isolated and surrounded on all sides' is thus called 'Chu Song from 4 sides'.

'''Tsuchiya Kouta's answer:'''

“Strike first.”

'''Teacher's comment'''

He struck later.

'''Yoshii Akihisa's answer:'''

“Strike first.”

'''Teacher's comment:'''

He lost after attacking later, okay?

“The summoned beast baseball tournament will be held at the 2nd sports hall. Will all participating students please—”

The broadcast was aired through the loudspeakers all over the school.

Just like that, it's now the day of the sports meet.

After the boring opening ceremony ended, we stood up from the seats that we specially sat for this sports meet and head towards the baseball arena.

“Yuuji, who's our first round opponent?”

“I remember it should be our neighboring class in the same year. We're facing class E. See, this is the schedule.”

Yuuji handed an A4 sized paper to me, and there's a pyramid-shaped diagram schedule.

So we're facing class E...though it's our neighbor class, it seems like we didn't interact much with each other. We never faced them in a summon battle, and yet didn't really interact with them during the test of courage event. If I have to say it, the only time we really interacted with each other was during the peeping. In other words, I don't have any information on the.

“Is it okay for us to go up against class E? Will there be any problems?”

I asked Yuuji, who's walking beside. Besides, we have Himeji-san and Hideyoshi on our side, so I have a duty to make sure that they're alright.

“Mm...I don't think there will be much of a problem. I just said hello to their class rep for a bit, and her reaction was rather cute.”

“Eh? Really? You said cute, what sort of person is she?”

“If I have to say, it's...”

Yuuji would actually call her cute. Even if she's the opponent, I'm rather intrigued. How did class E's rep greet Yuuji.

“'Hello, I'm class E's rep, my name is Nakabayashi! We will definitely win today's match!' Or something like that.”

“That person must be pretty muscular, right? She's not cute at all, right!?”

No matter how I think of this, I can't possibly link this sentence to the word 'cute'!

“I'm joking. She basically said, 'let's have a good game, we'll definitely not lose~☆ '. Well, that's roughly the tone class E's rep used.”

“I see. Okay~ we won't lose as well!”

“But she's from the rugby team.”

“That's someone who's ridiculously muscular, right!?”

Someone from the rugby team uses such a tone? That's annoying!

“I lied. Class E's rep is the leader of the girls' tennis club, Nakabayashi-taichou. She has a similar personality to Shimada.”

“And her appearance?”

“About the same as Iron—I was kidding!! Where're you running to, Akihisa!?”

“Your jokes aren't good for the heart, Yuuji!”

If she really has Minami's personality and Ironman's offensive power, we can't possibly win.

“Really...Yuuji, stop bullying Akihisa too much. That doesn't involve the main objective anyway. Speaking of which, how's E class like?”

This time, Hideyoshi, who's walking beside us, asked as well. It seems like he's not familiar with class E as well.

“Sorry, well...if there's a need to describe class E, it's that they're a 'sports class'.”

“A 'sports class'?”

“Yeah, Those guys from class E seem to be focused on sports. As they're busy with club activities, their scores were atrocious. However, their physical abilities and senses are amazing.”

So they're a class centered around club activities? No wonder they never took part in summoning battles much. To them, having good club facilities is better than class facilities.

“I see, so they're just a bunch of sporty idiots.”

Hmm...just when I nodded my head in understanding, a figure's walking up to me from the front. Hm? Who's that?

“I DON'T WANT TO BE CALLED AN IDIOT BY YOU, YOU IDIOT!”

A girl with a headband saw me and started scolding me. I, I guess this is the first time I met her...

“Well, that...”

“IF WE'RE IDIOTS, THEN YOU CLASS F GUYS WHO'RE OF A LOWER LEVEL THAN US ARE SUPER BIG IDIOTS! YOU BIG IDIOT!!”

This girl with the head band looked really angry as she pointed at me and started scolding me. This is...

“Akihisa, this is class E's rep, the Nakabayashi I just told you about.”

Seeing me with the puzzled look, Yuuji gave me a rare kind explanation to solve the doubt in my heart.

Ahh, I see, so this is—

“So this is the girl who we just said was muscular all over the place and—”

“MUSCULAR ALL OVER THE PLACE? HOW DID YOU INTRODUCE ME!?”

The girl with the headband widened her eyes and shouted in disbelief.

Ah, sorry. I said the wrong thing. Should call her class E rep.

I use this time to recollect my feelings and stare at Nakabayashi-san. Her appearance does give the impression of being strong, but other than that, there's nothing too weird. That's great...finally, a normal person I didn't get to interact with nowadays!

However, my stare just seemed like it created a misunderstanding in her, so Nakabayashi-san suddenly uses her arms to wrap around her body and gets away from me, shouting,

“WHA, WHAT'S WITH THAT EXPRESSION OF YOU!! THAT'S WHY I HATE CLASS F IDIOTS!! LOOKING AT OTHER PEOPLE'S BODIES LIKE THIS, YOU GUYS ARE REALLY PERVERTS!!”

That's a serious misunderstanding, I didn't look at you like that.

“That's not true! I just thought that Nakabayashi-san plays rugby, so you should look somewhat like Ironman—”

“YOU'RE PICKING A FIGHT WITH ME, RIGHT!? YOU'RE JUST LOOKING FOR A FIGHT, AM I RIGHT!!?”

Not good, she just stared directly at me and looked extremely angry.

“Ahhh, calm down, brawn-haired girl, Akihisa just said that out accidentally.”

At this moment, Yuuji saved me at the right time just when I don't know what to do. But what's with that brawn-haired.

“Brawn-haired? You mean blond-hair? You idiot, I didn't dye any blond hair or anything like that. Do you want a checkup at the hospital?”

Nakabayashi-san seem to be harboring the same doubt as me as she stared at Yuuji in disbelief.

“No no, I'm not talking about brawn-haired as is 'the hair is blond', but that even your hair is so trained that even muscles came out.”

“And you dare to say that...”

“—That's what Akihisa thought.”

“WHAT DID YOU SAY!!”

“THAT'S A HUGE MISUNDERSTANDING!!!”

I got hit! I didn't say anything all all!!

“Oh ya, Nakabayashi, I forget to ask you. Will E class be batting first or later?”

“I DON'T KNOW! JUST DO WHATEVER YOU WANT!”

“I see. Since you say that, we'll pitch first and bat later.”

“ANYTHING! ANYWAY, REMEMBER THIS! I WON'T LOSE TO YOU GUYS!!”

Leaving these words behind, Nakabayashi-san took forceful steps as she returned back to class E's rest area.

“Nice going, Akihisa. That taunt just now was good.”

“What do you mean 'nice going'? Because of Yuuji, she already had a huge bad impression on me! How do you intend to compensate me!”

“Don't mind, Akihisa. If you are willing to work hard, the difference between humans can be patched up, dreams of different magnitudes can be fulfilled, and we can get back those A-books of ours.”

“Hearing you say it like that, the last sentence was the most impactful!”

Sigh, but it's true that the A books are important.

“It seem like a quarrel happened. Are you two alright?”

“We're okay. Or rather, things went as I expected. Can't be better.”

“For me, it's really bad...”

What should I say? The mental trauma's too great.

“Sigh...if that's the case, another person thinks that I'm a weirdo...”

I always tried to live under the hood, and yet this society's approval of me seem to go downhill. That's too illogical.

After sighing for a bit, I guess it's time to call of the summoned beasts. The first inning of this match will be refereed by Mukai-sensei. Seems like we're competing using Ancient Literature.

“Here I go, summon!”

After saying these words out, some little array appears beside my foot. Then, a little figure that's of my appearance appears in it. The summoned beast that normally wears a student uniform and has a wooden sword is...

“So it got baseball clothing. Actually adjusting the system for this tournament, the principal sure is hardworking on some weird aspects.”

My summoned beast looks rather cute with the baseball bat and glove in hand.

“It seems like they automated some aspects of the controls to help smooth-flow this baseball tournament.”

Well, that's right, or else we can't play baseball.

Looking at how the summoning system used to work, even though everyone wants to wait for a ball, no one will be able to throw the ball accurately. It's good that the principal managed to think of it.

“As for the problems with the system, I guess it's pointless to think too much about it. Right now, the most important thing is that we should focus and get ready for the match.”

“Hideyoshi's right. No matter the circumstances or what, anyway, this is a good chance to get back out confiscated items.”

Though Yuuji says this, he hasn't mentioned anything about the brilliant plan.

“Okay, I'll announce the defensive lineup and batting order. Oi, everyone, listen up!”

Yuuji raised his voice to the other classmates who are ready to take part in the baseball tournament. Every time this happens, it means that Yuuji's has something planned out, so there's no need to worry. That is why everyone would gather and listen to Yuuji.

“Basically, this will be the defensive lineup and batting order.”

# First batter: 1st baseman Kinoshita Hideyoshi
# Second batter: Shortstop Tsuchikya Kouta (Muttsurini)
# Third batter: Pitcher Yoshii Akihisa
# Fourth batter: Catcher Sakamoto Yuuji
# Fifth batter: Right fielder Himeji Mizuki
# Sixth batter: 2nd baseman Shimada Minami
# Seventh batter: Center fielder Sugawa Ryo
# Eighth batter: 3rd baseman Fukumura Kohei
# Ninth batter: Left fielder Yokomizo Koji

Bench players: Kimishima Hiroshi and Kondou Yoshimune.

So I'm the 3rd batter and the pitcher? That feels like a nice position...

“But Yuuji, is it alright that I be the pitcher? Wouldn't you or Himeji-san be more suited?”

If we're to battle using summoned beasts, the ones with the highest scores in our class, Himeji-san or Yuuji should be the pitcher, since wouldn't that make it more difficult for the opponent to bat? And it I'm placed in the outfield, my points may be too low and I can't throw the ball back time. I think it should be alright if I defend the infield.

“If I could, I really want to do that.”

On hearing my question, Yuuji just smiled bitterly.

“If you could? What do you mean by that?”

“If Himeji or I are to pitch, which catcher do you think can catch the ball?”

Hearing him say that, I start to imagine the situation.

Uu. Now that he mentioned it, it's true...

“Oh ya, since the summoned beasts aren't like an ordinary human body, and that it has 10 times or more that of a human...”

“That's the case. Though it's a relatively minor issue, it's like how we can't touch the summoned beasts, so we can't touch the ball as well, but there will still be weight. And considering that the ball is to be used by the summoned beasts, I guess that old granny would increase the points of the ball.”

“I, I see...”

Hearing Yuuji say this, I am a little shocked, but I feel that I can understand it. Even if the summoned beasts strength are of our points, they're still several times stronger than a human. Just with class F's abilities alone, we are already able to throw with such fore, let alone the students of class A.

“If that's the case, it can't be helped. If someone like Himeji or Yuuji is pitching, I don't think anyone in our class can catch the ball.”

Of course, it's not that we can't catch their pitches in the gloves...but if there's an accident, like being hit on the body or something, It seems that I can fly off into the Heavens.

“Then can't Himeji pitch and Yuuji catch?”

Hideyoshi raised his hand and asked, but before Yuuji could answer, Himeji-san already answered first.

“I, I'm sorry, but I don't understand baseball at all...in fact, I never played it before...”

“That's the case. We'll consider everything else later, but right now, I need to let Himeji understand the rules of baseball in this first round, which is why I left her at right fielder. However, looking at the scenarios in the future, I may need to do some defensive alignments.”

Forget about those guys on the baseball club, in a tournament of baseball that's held with summoned bests, I think it's not easy to hit the ball to either left or right, rigtht? Besides, when the ball is hit out, it will be harder to hit to right field, and the infield situation is rather messy, since it would be harder for people who are not used to playing there, so Yuuji's judgment should be correct.

“This is all I have to say. Any questions?”

Yuuji looks around at everyone. It seems that nobody has any questions.

Thus, all of us naturally form a circle around Yuuji, and Yuuji shouts to encourage everyone present.

“Okay, let's go—ARE YOU GUYS READY!!?”

“OOSSUU!!”

“SO WHAT ABOUT E CLASS? THEY'RE JUST A STEPPING STONE!! WE CAN'T POSSIBLY LOSE!!”

“OOSSUU!!”

“OUR AIM IS TO ADVANCE TO THE FINALS AND TAKE REVENGE ON THE TEACHERS!!! OUR GREATEST AIM IS TO KILL THEM OFF, GET THEIR SCALPS AND OFFER THEM TO OUR FALLEN COMRADES (A-books) GRAVES!!”

“WWWWWWOOOOOOHHHH!!”

“EVERYONE, THE TIME HAS COME!! THIS WILL BE A WAR FOR OUR IRREPLACEABLE FRIENDS (A-books)!!!”

“““LEAVE IT TO US!!!”””

The guys' eyes are burning with passion. Those enemies of ours who took away our friends without remorse—the teachers' team led by Ironman will suffer DIVINE PUNISHMENT!! WATCH AND LEARN, YOU TEAM OF DEMONIC TEACHERS!!!”

“Well, about that, Minami-chan...things have developed like that. It feels like...”

“Yeah...it's like we got those kinds of books confiscated from us...”

“I didn't bring any A-books to school...”

Our class F is finally united. Because we must remain united and beat those classes above us!!

<center>☆</center>

“PLAY BALL!!”

Mukai-sensei, who's acting as the umpire, shouted as the voice echoed throughout the sports arena, and with that, the match officially begins. The real match is played with summoned beasts, so it doesn't matter where we stand...but for easy control, everyone's standing behind their summoned beasts, so it basically not much different from being on the field ourselves.

“Let's have a nice game! Summon!”

The first batter of class E said hello as he stepped into the batting box. The defensive side isn't required to stand at a particular place, but the batter has to remain in the batter box. It seems that it's to prevent the batter from see the defensive signals and the location of the glove.

Ancient Literature

Class E, Sonomura Toshiya, 117 points

vs

Class F, Yoshii Akihisa, 71 points.

The subjects tested for every inning are, Ancient Literature for the 1st inning, Maths for the 2nd inning, Chemistry for the 3rd, English for 4th and Health Education for 5th. So right now, it's a battle of Ancient Literature.

My summoned beast holds the ball in its hand, waiting for the catcher's signal. As the breaking ball can't be used, Yuuji can only indicate the trajectory and the speed. Let me see, the first ball. Yuuji's summoned beast is putting its hands at—the middle!?

(Can I really throw it right down the middle!?)

I use my eyes to ask Yuuji, who's behind the catcher summoned beast. This would be the common way we would communicate with each other, as Yuuji answered me in the same manner.

(No problems. This is the first ball, and the opponent isn't used to controlling the summoned beast. I just want to test out the opponent.)

(Okay, I see.)

On getting Yuuji's reply, I understand that he wants me to throw a strike down the middle. Considering that we have to taunt the opponents, let's give a slow ball. Since I have to throw a strike, it's best for me to preserve my energy.

(I'm pitching, Yuuji.)

(Okay, bring it on!)

I just need to follow the trajectory Yuuji pointed out and throw the ball. Ready...

KLANG!!

“HOMERUN!!!”

“THROW THAT DAMNED BALL BETTER, YOU IDIOT!!!”

“I SHOULD BE THE ONE SCOLDING YOU! GIVE A BETTER DIRECTION, YOU SCUM!!!”

The ball let out a sharp sound and disappears behind the blue sky.

That damned Yuuji, that's basically what I just said.

“You two...no matter what, throwing a slow bullseye down at a club member was really dumb...”

The first pitch was sent flying for a homerun, and we immediately fell behind, 0-1.

“Let's have a good game! Summon!”

With no one out and no baserunners, the 2nd batter's already standing in the batter's box. I receive the box and exchange looks with Yuuji.

(Akihisa, you bastard! If you mess up next time, I'll stuff that bat up your butt!)

(Right back at you, Yuuji! If you make another mistake, I'll break you leg bones with the bat!)

After confirming the signal through eye contact, I launch the first pitch to the 2nd batter.

KLANG!

“HOMERUN!”

““GIVE ME THAT BAT!!!””

Yuuji and I immediately ran to the rest area and sounded out our request. We lost points again! This damned bastard...how useless is he!? This is stupid!!

“I CAN'T STAND YOU TWO IDIOTS!! WE CAN'T LEAVE THIS TO YOU TWO!!!”

“ACTUALLY TRUSTING IN THOSE TWO IDIOTS YOSHII AND SAKAMOTO!! WE'RE THE BIG IDIOTS!!!”

“IF THAT'S THE CASE, I'LL PITCH! YOSHII, SUB!”

“I'LL BAT THEN! SAKAMOTO, SUB!!”

--KLANG!!

“Class E 3-0 Class F”

“...Arr, suddenly a large crisis...”

“No no no, this isn't a crisis anymore. Only one side is getting the points...”

Even if the pitcher and catcher were changed, the opponent still hit a homerun off us. Right now, the score is 0-3. Those class E bastards, to think that they're rather impressive.

We asked the umpire for a timeout at the pitcher's mound. At this moment, Himeji-san, who was guarding the outfield came running over in small steps.

“Well, Akihisa-kun...”

“Hm? What's wrong, Himeji-san?”

“Is it really alright to change pitchers like that?”

“Mn, it's alright as long as we're not changing with bench players.”

There're a lot of rules in real baseball, but the summoned beast baseball tournament doesn't seem to have too many restrictions. However, if we're overboard with our efforts, some people may have issues with regards to this.

“Anyway, let's regroup. Akihisa will still be the pitcher, and we have to attack cautiously. Akihisa, you better throw the ball better this time.”

“Mn, got it.”

After deciding the plan, we all return back to our defensive positions. I'm the pitcher again...got to pitch seriously this time.

After returning back to the pitcher's mound, I wait for the batter to get ready. Now, I'm facing the 4th batter, which means--

“Yoshii Akihisa, you actually called me muscular...I, I definitely won't forgive you!”

So as expected, it's Nakabayashi-san from class E. As expected from the 4th batter, she has amazing presence.

(Akihisa, it's the 4th batter now. Just pitch with all you got.)

I nod my head to respond to Yuuji's eye signal. I'm not so stupid to mess up here.

Trying to hold down the nervous feeling in my chest, I sigh deeply and get ready to pitch.

DONK!

“HIT BY PITCH. BATTER WALKS.”

“LET'S ME BEAT HIM UP! JUST ONCE, JUST LET ME BEAT HIM UP!!”

“Calm down, Nakabayshi! We have the upper hand now. Wouldn't our efforts be futile if you make the match invalid because you were too much?

The guys in class E are trying desperately to calm the raging Nakabayashisan.

I used too much force and missed...would Nakabayashi-san be willing to forgive me if I immediately take off my cap to apologize to her?

Even though I'm feeling despair with regards to the relationship with the neighboring class rep, the match still continues. Baserunner on 1st, and nobody out. It's now the 5th batter.

(Alright, no time for games. Pitch seriously now.)

(I was being serious since the beginning...)

I sighed, and pitched the ball to where Yuuji's glove is. Maybe the batter felt pressurized as there were consecutive homeruns before, as the batter in the batter box frantically swings at a fly ball that falls in front of the second base and sends him out. With that, we finally got our first out.

(Good, good, very good. Now, pitch here.)

Yuuji readies his glove. I missed and hit Nakabayashi-san, but right now, I'm getting used to the rhythm of the game, so there shouldn't be any problems now.

“STRIKE! BATTER OUT! SWITCHOVER!”

Next, the 6th and 7th batters were out, so now it's finally time to switch sides. This time, we'll be batting.

“Alright! There was a little miscommunication, but it's basically still within my plan! Let's hurry up and get the points back and kill off class E!”

“““YOOOOSSSSHHHH!!!”””

Speaking of which, our class's normally disorganized. It's only when we're attacking that we can finally fulfill our abilities.

“Our first batter will be Hideyoshi. It's up to you.”

“Leave it to me.”

After saying that, Hideyoshi turns and walks to the batter box. Do your best, Hideyoshi!

“Kinoshita, I'll immediately crush you and use this momentum to get all the way to the finals!”

Standing on the pitcher's mound is Nakabayshi-san, who's acting as pitcher. She's burning with passion all over. Being the class rep of the class full of people in clubs, her attitude right now is basically what I would expect.

After confirming that Hideyoshi entered the batter's box, Nakabayashi-san starts to pitch. Hideyoshi stares carefully at the ball that flew here, and just lets the first ball fly past.

“BALL!”

The umpire shouted out 'ball' really loudly. The catcher throws the ball back to the pitcher, and the 2nds ball is thrown.

“BALL!”

The second ball never landed in the strike zone cleanly as well. Nakabayashi-san looks somewhat troubled as she receives the ball, and gets into position cautiously before throwing the next pitch.

“STRIKE!”

This time, it finally entered the umpire's strikezone. It seem that Nakabayashi-san was unable to pitch well because she couldn't decide on the pitch as it made her look anxious.

As the match continued, it's now 2 balls and 2 strikes. As Nakabayashi-san starts to pitch again, Hideyoshi, who hasn't been moving up till now, finally takes action.

“FOUL BALL!”

Hideyoshi seems like he's deliberately not swinging with full force as the bat grazes the ball. This is what they call 'cut', right?

“Oi, Yuuji, that swing Hideyoshi just did...”

“Yeah, he's most likely trying to get base on balls.”

This is a baseball tournament that's played with summoned beasts instead of being there themselves, but the basic rules of baseball hasn't changed. If the opponent throws 3 strikes, it'll be a strikeout. But if the opponent throws 4 balls, the batter can walk on to first base. However, it seems that the umpire isn't too stringent on pitching fouls.

“FOUL BALL!”

He used the same method to hit the next ball. This method can lure the opponent to throw a large amount of pitches, it can also cause psychological burden on the pitcher. Already unused to controlling summoned beasts in this tournament, the 1st batter's already being so tough to handle. I guess the opponent must find it tough, right?

“BALL!”

And another ball. Now it's 3 balls and 2 strikes.

“Damn you...KINOSHITA, YOU'RE BEING TOO DESPICABLE!”

Being on the pitcher's mound, Nakabayashi-san's gritting her teeth in anger. Right now, in this world that so emphasizes on winning and losing, this is a common tactic, but Nakabayashi-san doesn't seem like she would forgive him.

“SWING HARD, KINOSHITA! IT'S TIME TO SETTLE THIS!”

“Sorry, but I can't oblige. We're now 0-3 down, and this match only has 5 innings. We must get points from you.”

Due to time constraints, this baseball tournament matches are only 5 innings long. As the attacking side, Hideyoshi's judgement is correct.

“WHAT! ARE YOU AFRAID OF ME? FORGET ABOUT BASE ON BALLS AND SWING A BASE HIT!”

“It's useless no matter how you taunt me. I just want to do my part.”

“DAMN YOU! STOP SAYING TO MUCH AND PLAY—CAN'T YOU BE MORE LIKE A MAN!”

“...You say that you want me to be more like a man?”

“--STRIKE! BATTER OUT!”

“Sorry everyone. I can't do it.”

“No worries, this can't be helped...but why did you swing so hard at the last minute?”

“Don't mind, it's just that I won't back away with regards to certain things.”

“Eh? Uu...”

I don't really understand, but anyway, Hideyoshi got forced out. Right now, the second batter's Muttsurini. This guy's pretty good at sports, and is very used to controlling summoned beasts. He probably won't let us down.

Ancient Literature, Class E, Nakabayashi Hiromi, 105 points.

Vs

Ancient Literature, Class F, Tsuchiya Kouta, 22 points.

“What do we do now, Yuuji? I feel that Muttsurini will die really badly!”

“That's a coincidence for once, Akihisa, I feel this way as well.”

Even if he can hit the ball, with the unique difference in scores, he can't possibly hit the abll far, right?

“But Akihisa, you don't have to worry too much.”

“No, even if you ask me not to worry...”

Is there a way we can think of?

“WE MUST BELIEVE! IF WE BELIEVE, EVEN THE YOUKAIS WILL STAND ON OUR SIDE!”

“AH, NOW WE CAN ONLY PRAY TO THE GODS!”

And we're doing this in such a ridiculous manner.

“Please, killer youkais...”

“Watch out! That guy's using the name of evil spirits!!”

If the prayer really comes true, maybe the evil god would ask for a sacrifice from us?

“OUT!”

As we're talking about this useless thing, Muttsurini hit a rolling ball to the batter and got struck out. Now, it's 2 men out. Next, it's the 3rd batter—ahh, time for me to take the bat.

“Alright, I'll hit a big one!”

“Oh! Akihisa, we'll leave it to you then!”

“Leave it to me!”

Thomp thomp! I beat my chest as I enter the batter's box. No problems. I'll do well!

DONK!!!

“--Hit by Pitch, batter walks.”

'IT HURTS! IT HURTS! MY ORGANS GOT RUPTURED!! OUUUCCCHHHH!!”

The first ball was a hit by pitch on the face. The impact of the ball that hit my summoned beast's face was transferred onto my body. You don't have to go that far!

Facing me, who's rolling on the floor in pain, Nakabayashi-san, who's standing on the pitcher's mound, says seriously,

“FROM THIS MOMENT ON, AS LONG AS YOU'RE THE ONE BATTING, I'LL THROW THE BALL AT YOUR BODY!”

“THAT'S A LOUSY DECLARATION! YOU'RE HATING ME FOR WHAT HAPPENED JUST NOW, RIGHT!?”

Can someone replace me for my next bat?

I drag my body that's in pain to 1st base, Uu...that was just a misunderstanding...

“Alright, now the real powerhouse is here.”

Now, it'll be the 4th batter Yuuji.

Ancient Literature, Class E, Nakabayashi Hiromi, 105 points.

Vs

Ancient Literature, Class F, Sakamoto Yuuji, 196 points.

Like usual, both their scores are displayed to everyone.

Yuuji's scores are so high, has great control over his summoned beast, and he's pretty athletic, so there shouldn't be any problems. Facing off against the opponent from class E, he should be able to take one down.

“Ugh...that's guy's terrifying, but the next batter is 'that' Himeji...better settle it here.”

Nakabayashi-san glared at Yuuji's score and muttered.

If the next batter after Yuuji is just a little prick, maybe Nakabayashi-san would deliberately throw a Base on Balls to avoid the confrontation, but unfortunately, behind Yuuji is the second in our year, Himeji-san. Of course, she doesn't want to deal with Himeji-san when there are baserunners on, so she chose to face off against Yuuji.

“Class F's rep, I'm going!”

With 2 men out and 1 baserunner on, Nakabayashi-san gets ready and pitches the 1st ball at Yuuji. The white ball flies straight at the glove--

“HA!”

KLANG—the sharp sound echoed, and the white ball flew into the air. There's no need to see where it went, this is a real homeroom.

Class E 3-2 F Class

Yuuji and I return back to home plate, and we got 2 points. Now we're just 1 point behind class E.

“Damn it...it seems that I need to deal with Sakamoto through hit by pitch...”

““JUST USE A NORMAL BASE ON BALLS!!!””

Yuuji and I shouted out at Nakabayashi-san. We thought that she was a normal girl. Only after we started playing against each other that we realized that Nakabayashi-san's really weird somewhere.

“It's been tough on you, Sakamoto.”

“...That was a nice hit.”

“Good one, Yuuji.”

Once we returned back to the bench, everyone received Yuuji warmly. Isn't anyone concerned about me being hit by the ball?

“Alright, it's time for Himeji to go up. The way I see it, let's use this chance to hit another homerun and even the score.”

“Uu...that's a bit hard for Mizuki, right? Her grades are good, but she's not really good at sports.”

Minami gave a wry smile. Himeji-san's body is already extremely weak, and she doesn't really get the chance to play sports, so this can't be helped.

“I thought that way as well, so I told Himeji just now that she doesn't need to swing the bat.”

“In other words...you want Himeji-san to get Base on Balls?”

“That's right, besides, Himeji's marks can't be underestimated. It's okay if the bases are loaded, but when nobody's on base, I think the opponent won't want to fight it out.”

That's right. Besides Yuuji and Himeji-san, everyone here is of class F level, so with nobody on base, it's best to let her walk and fight it out against someone else.

“Base on balls, batter walks.”

“Ah, okay, thank you very much.”

While we're talking, Himeji-san got base on balls. Right now, it's 2 men out, a baserunner on 1st base, and the next batter is--

“Uu...it's me...”

The 6th batter is Minami, but it seems that she doesn't look confident...

“Eh? Minami, you don't know how to play baseball?”

Minami's pretty good at sports.

“Ah, it's not that I don't know how to play it. It's just that...”

“?”

Minami sighed and walked towards the batter box in a lonely manner. What's wrong?

Ancient Literature, Class E, Nakabayashi Hiromi, 105 points.

Vs

Ancient Literature, Class F, Shimada Minami, 6 points.

“ALRIGHT, EVERYONE, TIME TO DEFEND! WE HAVE TO DEFEND WELL!!”

“““WOOOHHH!!!”””

“I HAVEN'T EVEN BATTED YET!”

Minami's shout is ever so hollow. In the blink of an eye, she hit a rolling ball to the 3rd baseman and was immediately thrown out.

Sigh, too bad that the subject for this inning is Ancient Literature. Minami's not good with this subject at all, so this can't be helped.

Anyway, this series of offense is over. After the switch in sides, the 2nd inning is carried out through maths. Alright, time for me to--

“Hold it, Akihisa. You're not the pitcher in this inning.”

“Eh? Not me?”

Just when I was about to step up on the mound, Yuuji suddenly called me to stop me. Now what?

“This round will be conducted with maths. Shimada will be the pitcher.”

“Maths...ah, I see.”

Maths is one of the rare few subjects that Minami's good in, and Yuuji's rather good in maths too, so he should be able to catch Minami's pitches. Looking at this inning, they should be at around class B's level.

“That's the case, Aki, leave this inning to me. I'll do my best to hold them off.”

Minami patted me on my shoulder and sais,

“Mn, then I'll leave it to you then, Minami.”

“Okay, leave it to me.”

PA! Minami and I exchange high fives as I walk off the pitcher's mound. Minami's been through the baptism of the summoning battles and the summoning tournament, and she's already outstanding at sports, so I can leave the pitcher mound to her. If that's the case, I'll defend the second base Minami was defending.

Just when I was thinking this as I walked down the pitcher's mound, I find Himeji-san walking towards where I'm defending as well, staring at me for some reason.

“Hm? Himeji-san, is there something?”

“Ah, yes, that...”

Himeji-san came running over with small steps. What's wrong?

While we talking, Himeji-san raises her hand like she's hailing for a taxi. Eh, so I just need to copy her action?

“Like, like this?”

I followed what she did and raised my hand. Himeji-san immediately revealed a radiant smile--

“Yes!”

Pa, she high-fived with me.

“Let's do our best, Akihisa-kun.”

“Ah, mn, let's do our best, Himeji-san.”

“Okay!”

Himeji-san is smiling as she ran off to the outfield. I don't know what's going on, but she wants to encourage me by clapping hands together? So she's feeling the same as us?

Is that so? Then Himeji-san...

“She really wants to see our precious A-books...”

That's bad. These aren't things that girls should read.

“...What's going on? I feel that there's a severe misunderstanding here...”

Alright, time to wake up and defend. With class E as our opponents and Minami maths marks, they most probably won't be able to perform too well. The ball can't possibly fly into the outfield, right? In other words, I'm more important as an infielder now.

Mathematics, Class E, Oumura Shintarou, 65 points

Vs

Mathematics, Class F, Shimada Minami, 193 points.

The huge difference in points can be expected, the opponent's the 8th batter, so there shouldn't be any problems.

After the 1st and 2nd pitches, the chemistry between the pitcher and catcher makes us not worry for them. But Yuuji missed the 3rd ball, and it landed in his chest. The pitch Minami threw with such a high score was extremely fast, so missing it is to be expected.

Mathematics, Class F, Shimada Minami, 193 points.

&

Mathematics, Class F, Sakamoto Yuuji, 175 points.

Minami and Yuuji's marks are shown in front of us. Up till now, Yuuji's marks have been hovering around the 200 mark, so that slip up caused him to lose 25 points. If even Yuuji's summoned beast can suffer such damage even with those kind of marks, I think it will be bad if it's anyone else, right? If I'm the one catching, the pain would even end up on me, so I have to avoid being the pitcher no matter what.

While I'm thinking about this, the match is still ongoing. After that, Yuuji slipped up on another ball, but both of them managed to hold off the 3 batters. Minami's maths is really strong.

“It's been tough on you, Minami. Nice pitching.”

“Thanks, Aki.”

“Your pitching was strong, amazing.”

“Fufu, that was because I didn't managed to do well during batting just now. Of course I have to compensate through defense.”

Minami blinked one eye as she said that to me. Uu, it's cool when she does it--

“ONEE-SAMA! ONEE-SAMA'S THE BEST! SEEING ONEE-SAMA LIKE THIS, MIHARU...MIHARU HAS ALREADY...”

A certain girl from class D was shouting and cheering from the stands.

--Wouldn't girls fall for Minami if she does this?

“It'll be our offense now.”

“It's the 7th batter now, so Sugawa starts.”

“Osu! I'll hit that ball high and far!”

After saying that, Sugawa-san storms towards the batter box with mojo. Unfortunately, he knocked a high fly ball and got tagged out. Though the next batter Fukumura-san managed to get a base hit, Yokomizo-san and Hideyoshi didn't perform, and we ended the 2nd inning without earning a point.

3rd inning, 4th inning. Both us and class E didn't manage to get a point.

It's now the final inning. The subject for this round should be Health Education, so--

“Muttsurini, we'll leave pitching to you then.”

“...Got it.”

Speaking of health education, this will be the guy we first think of. This guy has points that surpasses a health education teacher, and it's now time for him to perform. If this guy's to throw the ball, I don't think anyone can hit it.

“No no, hold on. Muttsulini will be the catcher in this round. I'll be the pitcher.”

But Yuuji dampened my mood.

“Eh? Yuuji's going to be the pitcher? Why?”

Yuuji's health education marks shouldn't be lousy as well, but it's a whole lot less as compared to Muttsurini's. We're only behind by one, so shouldn't Muttsurini be pitching?

“I say...didn't I say it just now. If Muttsurini's to pitch with all he got when Health Education's the subject, the catcher will die if he's hit.”

That's right. It was a similar situation when Minami was on the board.

“That's true...but you just need to catch the ball well. Wouldn't there be no damage if you catch the ball in the glove?”

“In other words, I'll die if I miss one!”

On a side note, the summoned beast that's acting as the catcher in this tournament doesn't have any defensive equipment. In this situation, if Yuuji's hit directly by Muttsurini on the body, even Yuuji's summoned beast will suffer severely.

“Really, Yuuji...you're so spineless. If you're a man, you should bet your life and finish the match.”

“I see, so I'll let you be the catcher and show off your manly side.”

“I'm sorry, I'm really sorry.”

It'll be a joke if my summoned beast is to catch that ball with such low marks. Even if I can catch it well, the damage on me will be tremendous.

“What's wrong, Akihisa? Aren't you good at controlling your summoned beast? Forget about the score difference, I think you should be able to catch Muttsurini's pitches.”

“No, it's not that easy no matter how you say it.”

Having just seen the power of Minami's pitch when it was about 200. The speed was already terrifying. Compared to that, it'll be easier to hit against a pitch that's flying at 130 km/hr. Even if we can't pitch curveballs, it'll be too terrifying to throw pitches with that kind of speed with just summoned beasts. Besides, if the pitch hits me while I'm the catcher, the pain the summoned beast takes will be inflicted on me. This will be way too risky. Even if I'm really used to controlling the summoned beast, I can't take such huge responsibility.

“Besides, the opponent's class E, so I can still hold them off if I pitch. More than defense, right now, we need to worry more about offense. Remember, we're still 1 point behind.”

After Yuuji said that, he turns to walk towards the pitcher's mound. He's right. Even if we can hold off the opponents, we'll lose if we can't score. More important than the defense now is that we have to find a way to score in the bottom half of the inning.

Health Education, Class E, Yumata Hirofumi, 52 points

Vs

Health Education, Class F, Sakamoto Yuuji, 147 points.

The scores of the pitcher and the batter are out. As Yuuji said, there won't be any problems with such a difference in score.

“STRIKE! BATTER OUT! SWITCHOVER!”

In the blink of an eyes, Yuuji already struck all three out, and it's now the bottom half of the inning. Though Muttsurini missed the catches twice, health education's his speciality, so he didn't suffer that much damage, and we managed to end this inning safely.

“Alright, time for us to make a comeback! Who's starting?”

“Me, I guess.”

We've been through exactly 2 rounds of batting, so now it's Hideyoshi up as the 1st batter again. Okay, we're settling this in this round.

“Please, Hideyoshi, you must hit the ball out.”

“There'll be no problems if it's Hideyoshi. Do your best.”

“...I'm looking forward to it.”

“Kinoshita, no matter what, you must hit the ball out!”

“Show them what you're made of Kinoshita! All hope is on you!”

“That's right! Do your best! And try to hit the ball out!”

“U, uu, I'll try to hit—”

“““THIS IS FOR THE SAKE OF OUR A-BOOKS!!!”””

“...”

“STRIKEOUT!”

“What's wrong, Hideyoshi? You didn't swing hard at all!”

“Those encouraging words of yours drained strength from me...”

For some reason, Hideyoshi looked really tired. That's weird, even if Hideyoshi's summoned beast is tired or hurt or what, it shouldn't bounce back onto Hideyoshi himself.

“Alright, everyone, don't be disheartened. Muttsurini's next. There will be something good!”

Yuuji said this, seemingly to encourage everyone. That's right, sending Muttsurini in health education, we're really looking forward to it.

“...I'm going up.”

Muttsurini walks into the batter box. His score is--

Health Education, Class E, Furukawa Ayumi, 102 points

Vs

Health Education, Class F, Tsuchiya Kouta, 589 points.

Such a shocking difference. If he can hit the ball, Muttsurini would definitely hit a homerun.

“Tsuchiya-san amazing. If that's the case, he can hit a homerun.”

“Mn. If he can, it should be a homerun.”

Standing beside me, Himeji-san clenches her fist and makes a little victory pose. It seems that she and I have the same thought. Unfortunately...

“However, I think it can't happened. Tsuchiya's unable to hit it.”

Minami said to break Himeji-san's wonderful imagination.

That's right. Muttsurini can't perform now.

“Eh? Why?”

Minami's words made Himeji-san, who still doesn't understand baseball too well, have all sorts of question marks on her face.

“Because there's too much of a difference between both of them. The way I see it, Muttsurini will be forced to walk.”

“Walk—ah, you mean that the opponent will throw a Base on Balls and let Tsuchiya-san on base?”

“Mn, that's the case.”

If they're to face off now, it'll be extremely likely that Muttsurini will hit a homerun. But if they send him on base, they won't lose points if it's just a baserunner. on. The opponent will win if they can keep this point, so they'll try and avoid facing off against Muttsurini.

“Base on Balls. Batter walks.”

“...(Nods head).”

As what we expected, Muttsurini got sent on base. In that case, we can't get a point now.

“The way I see it, class E's plan is to deal with Akihisa and send Yuuji and Himeji on base first before taking on Shimada.”

Seems like the opponent checked through our scores. Of course, they won't take on Yuuji or Himeji-san, but rather attack Minami. If that's the case, even if I bunt, I can only gift the opponent with an out...

“Oh yea, Akihisa, I don't know what's your score?”

“I remember my health ed score is around 23.”

“That's really pathetic.”

“Tha, that's because, because...my reference books (A-books) got confiscated...”

“WHAT WERE YOU READING ALL THIS TIME, IDIOT!”

With such a score, if there's no miracle, I can't possibly hit the ball into the outfield. But if I can get on base, I can get Yuuji or Himeji-san to get one back.

“Don't think too much, Akihisa. Just relax. It'll come to us.”

Though the situation is disadvantageous to us, Yuuji still looked rather casual.

“What do you mean? Have you thought of a plan?”

“No, I don't mean a plan or anything...stop saying so much. Get on board. If you don't get there, the umpire's going to be mad.”

“Ah, okay, I'm going then.”

“Akihisa-kun, do your best.”

“Thank you, Himeji-san.”

With Himeji-san seeing me off, I turn to walk to the batter box. Seeing Yuuji look so confident, I know he's planning something, but I don't know what it is. What does that Yuuji plan to do?

“Yoshii-kun, please hurry up.”

“Ah, okay. Sorry.”

The umpire's staring at me now, and I can only scamper to the designated batter box. Once my summoned beast got ready, the opponent confirms Muttsurini's position before getting into a pitching position.

“Oh ya, Sakamoto, Aki just asked. Is there a plan you prepared?”

“No—ut just look at the field. You'll understand, we won't lose this match.”

“Won't lose? But the situation's disadvantageous to us.”

“No, you're mistaken. The one in a disadvantage is them. Think, it's now the bottom half of the 5th inning, we're behind by one, and that subject's health education.”

“I know that. But Tsuchiya's already on base...”

“And on base—is that Muttsurini.”

“STEAL!”

A call can be heard from class E.

After confirming that the batter won't throw over to hold him at first base, Muttsurini dashes towards 2nd base. I see! So that's how it is!

The pitcher threw the pitch, and it flew to the catcher's glove. In order to help Muttsurini steal base, I try to swing as wildly as possible. If I can block the catcher's vision, I can increase Muttsurini chances of stealing base greatly.

“Damn it...”

After catching the ball, the catcher immediately throws the ball to second base. Damn it! At this moment, it'll be hard for Muttsurini to steal base--

“...Eh? Hard? That Muttsurini?”

Of course not! This is health education, Muttsurini's unbeatable! If the opponent's class A, it can still be talked off, but when the opponent's only at about 100 points, how can it be tough for Muttsurini?

As I say this--

The moment the catcher throws the ball towards second base, I seem to see a glint in Muttsurini's eyes.

“...Baited.”

Muttsurini's summoned beast sudden accelerated. That guy was deliberately running slow!

“Fa, fast!”

Muttsurini's summoned beast steps onto 2nd base at a speed the human eye can't catch, and he didn't stop as he dashes towards 3rd base. At this point, the catcher just threw the ball to second base. Muttsurini slowed down to confuse them, causing the catcher to throw to second base and not third base! It's true that if Muttsurini did that, the catcher would have ignored second base and went straight for third base right from the beginning. That's a brilliant plan!

“THIRD BASE!”

“GOT IT!”

The catcher immediately gave the instruction, and the second baseman immediately throws the ball to third base. Will Muttsurini be tagged out?

It's also tough for him to get from second base to third base. Now, what will he...

“...Accelerate.”

At this moment, Muttsurini muttered that code word. This is a special activation command that only summoned beasts with more than 400 points can have. Muttsurini has this unique ability, and like what the term means—it can cause the summoned beast to increase speed.

“HOW IS IT POSSIBLE!?”

Class E just let out a cry of disbelief.

Muttsurini steps onto third base at a speed where only the afterimage is left behind, and the ball is still in mid-air.

“STOP MESSING AROUND!”

The third baseman finally catches the ball and throws the ball back to home plate. However--

“...Final acceleration.”

Muttsurini ran faster than the ball as he steps onto home plate, taking a point in an exciting fashion.

“““BRILLIANT!!!”””

Class F's bench erupted into roars. So now we're 3 all. We're tied!

“Alright! Let's get it back at one go!”

Getting ready for the next pitch, I let my summoned beast raise the bat and get into position. It should be alright if I can use the chance when the opponent's wavering due to what Muttsurini did--

DONK!

“HIT BY PITCH. BATTER WALKS!”

“Why...why is it that I always get hit by pitch...”

If you're affected by what Muttsurini did, just send me a base on balls!

Health Education, Class E, Furukawa Ayumi, 102 points

Vs

Health Education, Class F, Yoshii Akihisa, 0 points.

“Yoshii Akihisa, KIA!”

“Eh? Hold on! The match's still not over! What happens if my health ed drops to 0?”

Does this mean...

“Akihisa, go take the replenishment tests. I'll let Kondou be the pinch baserunner.”

“Damn it! Isn't this way of getting off too lousy!?”

Why is it that I have to take the tests in this rare sports meet? I feel that the summoning system's not right!

“Well, you don't have to worry about the match. As things stand, we'll definitely win.”

“Uu...that's too much...”

I drag my heavy steps to the staff room.

In the end, while I was taking my health education replenishment tests, class F was able to send class E home with a base hit. But for me, who's unable to take part in the match, I'm feeling really uninvolved...

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