Chapter 45: The Baseball Game (Part Two)

Thanks to Noda, Otonashi, Shiina, Hinata, and Matsushita, the other less capable members had little chance to participate, and Hinata’s team advanced smoothly. Every team was terrified of the so-called punishment game that Yuriko Nakamura claimed was worse than death. Those who had once suffered through her punishments were said to have gone mad, their personalities fundamentally changed; this rumor was precisely why everyone fought so desperately. Of course, this was merely hearsay—even Yuriko herself had no recollection of doing such things.

At the window of the principal’s office, Yuriko watched the baseball field through her binoculars. Finally, the person she’d been waiting for appeared: Kanade Tachibana arrived, leading a proper baseball team, facing off against Hinata’s group.

“Your team isn’t registered for the tournament.” Today, Kanade wore not her usual academy uniform, but a white cap and a tracksuit that made her look especially adorable. Her cool, gentle voice drifted over as she spoke.

“We joined because it means something to us!” Hinata replied, utterly unconcerned about the lack of registration.

“Come and face us in a final showdown!” Yui, nearly bursting with excitement, almost leapt at the opposing team, shouting and waving her fists. Hinata thumped her on the forehead, exasperated. “Is that how you challenge people? You think this is some kind of duel?”

Kanade, seeing Hinata bully Yui, was about to intervene when suddenly her body felt weightless and she floated gently toward Byakugi and Yoru, who were waiting nearby. Byakugi caught Kanade, squeezed her expressionless face, and greeted her cheerfully, “Hello, little Kanade!”

“Hello, Byakugi! Hello, Yoru!” Kanade replied in her cool, gentle voice, unbothered by the affectionate pinching. She took a few steps closer to Yoru, while Byakugi, clearly amused, treated Kanade like a doll.

“I am Naoi, the student council’s vice president,” Naoi announced, stepping forward after a moment’s pause, having seen Kanade drawn to Byakugi and Yoru by some unscientific force. “We’ve formed a student council team. Any team related to you will be eliminated by us, fair and square.”

“That’s not your decision, is it, Kanade?” Yoru remarked, noticing the look of confusion on Kanade’s face after hearing Naoi’s words. It was clear that this was not her doing but Naoi acting on his own.

“I just wanted to play and have fun with everyone,” Kanade admitted awkwardly, not understanding why Naoi acted as he did. Her simple, naïve nature made it hard for her to express herself, except in front of familiar friends like Yoru and Byakugi.

“It’s all right. No matter the reason, in the end, we’ll all just play a good game together, won’t we? Kanade, come watch with us,” Byakugi said, noticing the faint disappointment in Kanade’s eyes and affectionately nuzzling her face.

Yoru and Byakugi had no objections, but Hinata and the others certainly did. Hinata, frustrated by Yoru’s indifferent attitude, protested, “Of course you don’t care—you’re not the one playing! Their team is full of baseball club elites!”

“Heh, there’s no way we can win this time,” Hinata muttered, recognizing the faces of the skilled players. He’d all but given up inside, already bracing himself for a punishment worse than death. On his side were only amateurs and a few deadweights, while the other team was packed with trained professionals. Victory seemed impossible.

“Hmph! You’d better wash your head and be ready!” Yui taunted, parroting lines she’d no doubt picked up elsewhere, undeterred by all the punishments Hinata had inflicted on her.

“Washing your head is for hygiene and appearance. What you should wash is your neck!” Hinata, exasperated by Yui’s antics, scolded her yet again. Not even getting the threats right—how embarrassing!

After the standoff, Naoi ignored Yui’s nonsense and joined the game. The other teams quickly fell to the student council’s official team, leaving only them and Hinata’s group to face off in the finals. Kanade, Yoru, and Byakugi watched quietly from the sidelines.

In the principal’s office, Yuriko, watching through her binoculars, slammed them down impatiently. “What is Angel doing? Just chatting with Yoru and Byakugi, not doing anything to maintain order! How am I supposed to find God like this? And who is that vice president? He’s practically cheating. Have Takamatsu and Takeshita’s teams already been eliminated?”

“Who’s left?” she asked, clinging to one last hope after two teams were out.

“It’s Hinata’s team,” Yusa replied. Yuriko instantly abandoned her last hope. “I wanted to see Angel lose and be speechless for once. Useless, the lot of them!”

“At last, it’s the final showdown!” With Kanade drawn off to chat with Yoru and Byakugi, the baseball team was now led by Vice President Naoi. Hinata glared at Naoi, full of challenge.

“Hmph!” Naoi pulled down his cap, shooting Hinata a sharp glare and snorting coldly.

In the final match, the weaknesses of Hinata’s team were finally revealed. While Noda and Shiina managed several home runs, the NPC girls were too frightened to catch a single ball, keeping the score between Hinata’s team and the student council team deadlocked.

“This is bad. We can’t suppress the baseball club elites. Let’s switch Matsushita Five-Dan to the outfield. That way, the outfield will be unbreakable!” Hinata called a timeout to rearrange the lineup, sending Matsushita—still in his judo uniform, glove on one hand and noodles in the other—to reinforce the outfield.

When a ball came his way, Matsushita reluctantly set down his noodles and easily caught it after a few steps. However, his series of forward rolls while catching the ball made Otonashi remark, “Are we a baseball team or a circus troupe?”

The shift in momentum excited Yuriko, who spun around gleefully in the principal’s office. “If this keeps up, we’ll win! Not bad at all! So bold and aboveboard! Was there ever a time things didn’t go Angel’s way?”

“In such a good mood! Hahahaha!” Yuriko let out a villainous queen’s laugh, grabbing her binoculars to see what expression Angel wore. Then she witnessed something unbelievable: as Kanade chatted with Yoru and Byakugi, a sweet smile appeared on her face—while Naoi, whom Yuriko had dismissed as just another NPC, looked twisted with rage.

“Angel just smiled! I must’ve seen wrong—yes, I must have!” Yuriko was so stunned she didn’t even notice her binoculars slipping from her hands and shattering on the floor as she stood there, dazed, trying to convince herself it was just her imagination.