The morning of the match against Sensen Academy—
"Wait, Aoba… isn't that milk expired?"
Tsukishima Ichiyo quickly stopped her upon seeing Tsukishima Aoba about to drink from a bottle.
"Oh? It's fine if it's just a couple of days past the date."
Aoba glanced at it, confirmed it was indeed expired—and still drank it in one go without hesitation, casually placing the bottle back on the table.
The bottle tipped over slightly, spilling some leftover milk.
Nearby, the kitten NOMO curiously leaned in to lick it.
"Ah! No, NOMO, don't!"
Tsukishima Momiji hurriedly picked up the kitten, her voice filled with panic.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Aoba frowned, clearly displeased.
…
Outside Meiji Jingu Baseball Stadium—
The Yakushi High School team had already gathered.
However, Coach Todoroki Raizo wore a dark expression, as if barely holding back his anger.
Among the uniformed players, Tsukishima Wakaba stood out immediately.
"Wakaba, we're here!" the three Tsukishima sisters called out.
Ichiyo scanned the crowd, then asked, "Where's Kou?"
Wakaba scratched her cheek awkwardly and repeated what she had just told the coach.
"Actually… when I went to see him this morning, Auntie said Kou had been running to the bathroom since early morning… it looks like he has diarrhea. Since time was tight, she told me to come ahead and inform Coach."
"Huh?" Aoba blinked in surprise.
Then she suddenly remembered—
Kou had eaten the meat sauce noodles she made yesterday.
A flicker of guilt rose in her chest.
Could it be… because of that?
If Yakushi lost this match because of it…
Wouldn't she be the culprit?
"Auntie said it seems to be from drinking expired milk last night," Wakaba added.
"…Didn't he check the date first?" Aoba asked, instantly relieved—but also slightly annoyed.
"She said he did check… and thought being three or four days past wouldn't matter. So he drank the whole bottle."
Ichiyo and Momiji both turned to look at Aoba—
Their teasing smiles said everything.
"W-Well… four days is pushing it… hahaha…"
Aoba laughed awkwardly, trying to brush it off.
"That damn brat!!!"
Coach Todoroki Raizo finally exploded.
"He deliberately exposed his strength last game—I let it slide because he apologized sincerely!"
"But now?! Drinking milk that's four days expired and ending up stuck in the bathroom on game day?!"
"I'm going to kill him!!!"
At this point, if Kou appeared in front of him, he might really not survive the encounter.
"C-Coach… what should we do? The game's about to start…"
One unfortunate, less noticeable player was pushed forward by the others to ask.
Todoroki took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.
"…Forget him for now."
"I wasn't planning to put him on the mound at the start anyway."
"We'll go in first. Someone stay behind and wait for him."
"Even if we're missing a key batter early on, we still have enough strength to fight Sensen Academy."
He turned, eyes sharp again.
"Let's go!"
"YES, COACH!"
The Yakushi players followed him into the stadium.
Meanwhile, in the stands—
"Oi! This is all your fault, Kazuya Miyuki! It's already the fourth inning!"
Sawamura Eijun shouted the moment Miyuki stepped in.
"Eijun-kun, you can't talk to your senior like that!" Kominato Haruichi hurriedly tried to stop him.
Miyuki ignored the noise entirely and glanced at the scoreboard.
"…Still 0–0."
He raised an eyebrow.
"Sensen Academy managed to hold Yakushi scoreless this long… impressive."
Then his gaze sharpened.
"…Hm?"
"Huh?! That guy… Kitamura Kou didn't even play?!"
Sawamura followed his line of sight and shouted in shock.
Although eliminated, several members of Seido High School had come to watch the semifinals.
After all—
Yakushi High School and Inashiro Industrial High School were future rivals for Koshien.
Gathering information now was crucial.
Most importantly, both teams relied heavily on first- and second-year players.
Their strength wouldn't drop much in the fall.
But Seido?
Their core—the captain and ace—were all third-years.
Once they retired, Seido's strength would take a massive hit.
How could they not feel anxious?
They came here to analyze weaknesses—
And also to let their own first-year pitchers learn from high-level competition.
"Well, well… isn't that Seido's 'savior,' Kazuya Miyuki?"
A mocking voice drifted over.
Miyuki and the others turned—
It was the team from Inashiro Industrial High School.
At the center stood Narumiya Mei, covering his mouth as he chuckled.
"What's wrong? Instead of crying under your blankets after losing, you came to watch our game?"
Miyuki, already used to his antics, ignored him.
After greeting Masatoshi Harada and the others, he asked calmly:
"How's the game been so far?"
Harada didn't hold back.
"As you can see—Sensen Gakuen's tall pitcher, Maki, is performing exceptionally well. He shut down Yakushi's first three batters cleanly in the opening inning."
"But Yakushi's ace, Sanada, responded in kind with a three-up, three-down."
"In the second inning, Maki walked Todoroki Raichi—but thanks to solid defense, they got out of the inning without allowing a run."
He folded his arms slightly.
"In short… it's a pitching duel."
"Neither side is giving an inch."
The tension on the field continued to rise.
With Yakushi missing a key piece…
And Sensen holding firm—
The true battle of the semifinals had only just begun.