(Continued)

After that, Senpai Maekawa retired, and I became the new captain of the baseball club. This team is a team that has no desires, but because of this summer's sudden rise, I have a new idea, so I will definitely have a harder time as captain than any previous captain.

Although I had already realized this, in my year as captain, the trials came one after another, and each time they came so unexpectedly that in the end it was completely beyond my reach......

***

In the quarterfinals of the Autumn Hyogo Tournament, we once again encountered Akashi Chaofeng. This time, Nikaido appeared as the starting catcher, and you could feel his vengeful look before the game began. He did make great strides in Akashi Chaofu, and in the fifth inning, our starting pitcher Goto was blasted out by him, and then we were in a full-base crisis. Immediately, the coach sent Dong Guo to stop the bleeding, he quickly defused the crisis, and turned the situation of the game around, Beida Lu returned a spring cannon in the second half of the game. The score of 1-1 was maintained until the playoff, and as a result, in the second half of the 10th inning, Dong Guo personally fired a goodbye two-point shot to end the game.

We didn't expect last year's national victory to lose to us twice in a row. At this time, I even felt a little sorry for Nikaido, because I was the one who persuaded him to go to Akashi Chaofeng in the first place, but they were blocked from the Koshien gate by us twice in a row.

A month later, at the Tournament, we won the championship by defeating Osaka's two powerhouses, Ritsushisha and Osaka Tongyo, and then at the Meiji Jingu Tournament, we avenged Hagar's revenge and won the championship. This year was really fruitful, and the two Koshien made the name of Chengfeng High School resounding all over the country.

However, it is such a team that is on the rise, and I smell a hint of instability in it. When did I become aware of this? Yes, I must have noticed it from the practice match before the Tournament in the fall.

Maekawa-senpai, who had already retired, had been working for the baseball club, and in the interval between the Hyogo Tournament and the Tournament, we had been worried that we couldn't find a suitable opponent for the practice match, so the senior Mao recommended himself to contact the opponent. The senior contacted Santa Salicchia College, which is also a well-known team. But when their players stepped onto our field, the atmosphere of the entire baseball club was changed by one person.

"Captain Maekawa, what the hell is going on?" Nan suddenly questioned the senior.

"You've not been in good form lately and you need to get back into form as soon as possible, so I think this team is just the right opponent for a practice match, so I tried to contact them, and they are also eager to play against this summer's big dark horse, and ...... It's almost time for you to come out of the shadows of the past......"

It turned out that the captain of Santa Salikchia Academy was Li Yuan, who had bullied Minami in junior high school, and when I learned about this situation, I even wondered if Maekawa-senpai's brain was broken. As the new captain, I think we must stifle any possibility of conflict, and although it is the opponent that Maekawa is looking for for Minami, I must also try to avoid Minami from playing.

But just as I was admonishing the coach, the South guy actually recommended himself as the starting pitcher. Because Dongguo happened to be absent that day, the coach also happened to want to test Nan's strength, so he agreed. I had no choice but to fulfill my duties as a catcher and captain and make sure nothing happened.

However, Nan's throws again and again swallowed me like a stormy wave, and he didn't say anything, but I felt an inexplicable sense of fear from it, and I didn't dare to give him too many instructions except for the code. When it came to the offensive game, he was also merciless. By the time we were relieved, we were already leading 15-0, and Mr. Maekawa declared the end of the game after five innings.

After that, my worst fears happened.

"I can't hear any sincerity in your apology just now, and it gives me the feeling that you are bowing down to me? Because I just beat you, I'm better than you? If I hadn't beaten you just now, wouldn't you still feel like what you did to me was wrong? But no matter what, I won't forgive you for what you've done to me, never, far, no, yes! As you can see, I'm just a few of the team's pitchers, but none of you hit a hitter from me, what the hell did your baseball club do? What did you, the captain, do? Could it be that you did what you did to me to someone else again? ”

Sure enough, Nan didn't cross that hurdle, and now he was obviously stunned. The coach was there, but I needed to stop him before she could make a move.

***

That afternoon, Senior Maekawa and I were called to the office by the coach, and we were all ready to be scolded.

"Call you here, I think you should know what's going on, today's events, I want to hear what you two think......" The coach spoke in an unusually calm tone, which made me even more nervous, she was definitely not the kind of woman who would be polite to me because I was the principal's son.

"I'm sorry, coach, I called that team, I knew that something like this might happen, but I did it anyway, I took it for granted...... senior bowed his head.

"I've heard you say before that you want to help Nan get through the bottleneck period, that's why you found such an opponent," the coach said, "Tell me what kind of holiday Nan and that Li Yuan have?" ”

"I, Nan, and Li Yuan were all born in Binmuzhou, and it can be said that they were former teammates, and when that incident happened, I had already graduated and came here, so I also heard about this matter from Dongguo before......" Then the senior told him about the past.

The more I listened, the more shocked I became, I didn't expect Nan to be so overstepped by that Li Yuan, no wonder he would quit the baseball club at that time and join the youth baseball, and no wonder he would be so emotional today.

"I see, now it makes sense," the coach said, "and I've heard some negative rumors about Santa Salikia recently, as if that Li Yuan hasn't changed his ways." ”

"I'm sorry Coach, it's me who didn't think about it too much......"

"But your original intention is good, and it has indeed achieved the original purpose," the coach said after a momentary change, "Nakano, how about the ball that Minami threw today?" ”

"Okay...... From what I've observed today, his pitching is at least at the national level, and he's the same as he used to be," I shuddered as I thought back to how I received the ball, "I've never seen a ...... like that."

"Sure enough, I was not mistaken," the coach said, "Maekawa-san, that's the end of today's matter, don't blame yourself too much, you can go back and rest first......"