DNA: Under The Sun

"Seventh batter, pitcher, Kamishiro."

Rinichi stepped into the batter's box and assumed his batting stance.

"Play ball!"

"Foul ball!"

Komadai Fujimaki's catcher raised his gaze, gritting his teeth as he looked at Rinichi.

He'd connected with the very first pitch—swinging without a hint of hesitation.

Though Rinichi didn't radiate any obvious pressure, there was a subtle, dangerous aura about him—like a beast hiding in the tall grass, waiting for the perfect moment to pounce and deliver a lethal blow.

The second pitch—he made contact, sending the ball between left and right center.

"Safe!"

It was a double, but Rinichi still seemed a bit dissatisfied—he hadn't hit that ball as cleanly as he'd wanted.

The catcher crouched again, giving a new sign to the pitcher.

No helping it if this batter's on base… we'll just have to focus on getting the next ones out.

Rinichi adjusted his cap, bent slightly forward, and edged his right foot off the base—clearly threatening to steal.

Komadai's pitcher had no choice but to keep him in check.

Tch… what a pain.

The moment the pitcher began his motion, Rinichi was already running.

The next batter, Seidou's eighth, dropped a bunt.

One out, runner on third.

"Strike! Batter's out!"

The ninth batter struck out swinging—two outs.

The order turned over.

"First batter, shortstop, Kuramochi."

From the dugout, Coach Kataoka signaled.

Kuramochi touched the brim of his cap toward third, and Rinichi responded with the same gesture—signal received. His right foot left the bag, ready to sprint at any moment.

The first pitch came in—Kuramochi swung, sending the ball toward first base and through the fielder.

"Safe!"

Rinichi scored a run.

Kuramochi, however, was thrown out at first.

An invisible pressure began to weigh on Komadai—they felt like they couldn't even breathe. At this stage, it was just a hint of that feeling, but as the game went on, it would only grow heavier.

...

"Strike! Batter's out!"

"Change!"

Komadai's dugout seemed to collectively pause for breath.

Seidou had closed the inning with ease—three batters down on three-pitch strikeouts.

The cheers were deafening.

Rinichi turned and walked back toward the dugout.

...

The third inning began.

Komadai's pitcher was replaced—now a left-hander.

They'd already pulled their third-year ace this early.

Rinichi thought for a moment.

Well… he was about to get lit up, and his mentality was probably cracking. Plus, they've already given up three runs… if they want to stop the bleeding, switching pitchers is their only option.

Still, he figured Komadai hadn't expected their ace to be battered like that.

He couldn't help but sigh a little at Komadai's deep pitching staff.

Of course, Seidou also had four pitchers in total.

More pitchers meant more competition.

Competition…

For Rinichi, though, he didn't really feel a "sense of competition." Maybe he once had—long ago.

...

"Second batter, second baseman, Kominato."

With Rinichi in the lineup, the game's tempo seemed faster—too fast for Komadai to keep up.

On defense, they began to feel something strange—an odd sensation they couldn't quite explain.

The result: two defensive errors in the same inning.

Runners on second and third—Isashiki Jun and Yuuki Tetsuya.

Spectators who had been rooting for Komadai began to complain:

"What's going on with Komadai?"

"Yeah, two errors in the same inning… what's that about?"

Komadai called for a timeout.

When play resumed, the fielder who had committed both errors was replaced.

No one questioned the decision—only why the player had made such glaring mistakes in the first place.

Nerves? Only he knew the answer.

...

The fifth batter, Masuko, stepped up.

"Strike! Batter's out!"

Strikeout.

Two outs, runners still on second and third.

"Sixth batter, catcher, Miyuki."

The ball was hit, and Isashiki Jun managed to bring in a run, but Yuuki Tetsuya was tagged out.

That wrapped up the top half of the inning.

"Strike! Batter out!"

They could only barely manage to foul the ball off.

As for getting a clean hit—well, even they knew that wasn't likely.

Once again, the inning ended without any suspense.

Some spectators had already grown a bit numb to this sight.

But no one complained.

If it were them at the plate, they wouldn't be able to hit Rinichi's pitches either.

In fact, it didn't even feel like the kind of pitching a high schooler should be capable of—

"Nice pitch, Kamishiro!"

On the way back to the dugout, his upperclassmen gathered around to praise him.

Rinichi switched to a helmet, slipped on his batting gloves, and picked up his bat. Letting out a silent, weary sigh, he walked toward the batter's box.

He managed to get on base, but the following batters didn't perform well. Komadai's defense seemed to have completely changed—gone was the earlier sense of defeat.

It looked like that previous timeout had worked wonders for them.

Rinichi eyed them a few times before returning to the dugout, bat still in hand.

Even so, he continued to completely shut down their batting lineup.

In the fourth inning, neither side managed to score.

Because Rinichi's pitching pace was so fast, Komadai felt like they'd barely had any rest before switching back to defense, and mentally, fatigue began to creep in.

Of course, this fatigue was almost entirely caused by the pressure Rinichi put on them.

In the dugout, Hongou Masamune sat with one fist clenched tight.

The fifth inning began.

Seidou no longer felt as relaxed—in fact, things were starting to feel more difficult.

Up to the fifth batter, nearly all had gotten on base, but Komadai's defense had shut them down.

No runs scored.

"Foul ball!"

Komadai's clean-up hitter connected on the third pitch, breaking the streak of three-pitch strikeouts…

Rinichi's expression didn't change.

The fourth pitch—a blazing forkball—struck him out.

The absolute confidence radiating from Rinichi made Komadai's cleanup hitter's heart tremble.

The next two batters? Both went down on three straight pitches without exception.

The cleanup hitter watched Rinichi turn and walk off the mound. Seidou's catcher jogged up and seemed to say something to him, but Rinichi didn't even lift an eyelid.

It wasn't just the pitcher who was strong—the catcher's pitch calling, their immovable cleanup batter anchoring the lineup…

Seidou was simply absurdly strong.

Can we really beat a team like this?

That thought alone meant they'd already lost a bit of confidence.

As Rinichi stepped into the dugout, something occurred to him. His eyes lit up as he spoke:

"Two innings from now, they'll probably switch to their power pitcher."

"Yeah, yeah… what's his name again—Hongou… Masamune?"

"But maybe not… that lefty's been pitching pretty well too…"

"And they've still got a right-hander…"

He mulled over the possibilities.

Miyuki Kazuya: "…"

This guy clearly hadn't been listening to a word he just said.

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