Chapter 4: The Conclusion of the Game

[Crack.]

I heard the sound coming from my right foot and I collapsed. Even during the intense pain, I didn’t let go of the ball.

I could hear voices in the distance…

“”Hiroto!””

“”Yoshizumi!””

“Hiroto! Can you stand?”

“Hiroto… please tell me this isn’t happening…”

I could hear my mom and stepdad shouting my name from the stands on my side.

Unable to move or stand, I was carried with a stretcher into an ambulance to go to a hospital.

Mom and Toru got into the ambulance. “Please take us to Toko University Hospital!” Toru-san shouted.

My mother couldn’t stand the sight of my injured appearance and just muttered “… Hiroto.”

The siren blared to end the game.

On the side of Saijo High School, the players on the field and stands were in tears with stunned expressions on their faces.

There were cries of “Hiroto…” and “Yoshizumi-kun…” coming from everywhere.

I didn’t know how to view the game, but from that moment in the eighth inning, I couldn’t think about anything else.

I knew that my team had won.

Around them, there were people who were happy that they had won, while others didn’t know whether to be happy or not, and some were holding themselves back with indescribable expressions.

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“Haruka, it’s over, let’s go home… eh?”

Aya had a surprised look on her face.

“‘Haruka, what’s wrong? Are you okay?”

I didn’t understand what Aya was talking about.

“Are you… crying?”

“What?” I thought, and at the same time I noticed that tears were rolling down my cheeks.

When I found out, I knew why.

He was trying so hard… the frustration he must have had to be replaced during the middle of the game like that… the sadness of the opposing team while calling out the name of Yoshizumi-kun. Why should anyone be happy when there is a child who was injured and carried away…? There were so many things on my mind…

“Haruka… it’s because you saw the crying kids at Saijo High School, right? You’re not good with boys, but you always think about them, and you’re also thinking about the boy who was carried away earlier, aren’t you?” 

“…Yes.”

“But… isn’t this the first time you’ve cried over something like this?”

“Yes… there was a child who got injured, but there were also people who were happy that they’d won. I was also thinking about that…

“It’s a win/lose thing, and the school won, so I guess that’s all that mattered. But, I hope the boy who was carried away earlier isn’t seriously injured.”

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When I woke up, I saw a white ceiling.

Why am I sleeping?

Wasn’t there a game today?

As I was in a daze, my consciousness suddenly came back.

“The game!”

Just as I shouted, I heard a voice from the side.

“Hiroto… I’m sorry…”

“I couldn’t do it…”

“…”

Yoichiro, Takuma, Sho, Tsubasa, and my mom were all standing next to the bed.

“Yes… that time… I crossed paths with a runner…”

“Yoichiro, how did the game go?

“We lost 2-1…”

Takuma then squeezed out his voice.

“I threw the last inning…  I couldn’t throw like Kanjin… I’m sorry…”

Takuma fell silent and sobbed.

I told him my honest feelings.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t pitch all the way to the end… Let’s go to Koshien next year. I was thinking during the game, I’m glad I joined Saijo High School with the five of us, we’re as good as the regular Koshien schools.”

The five of us gradually began to smile, and the other four went home.

“Hiroto-kun. Are you awake?”

Toru-san came in wearing a white coat. Toru-san works as an orthopedic surgeon at the Toko University Hospital.

“Toru-san examined me. When will I be better?”

“…”

“Toru-san?”

“Hiroto-kun… suffered an internal fracture along with a ruptured achilles tendon when he took the impact during the game. You’ll be immobilized in a cast for eight weeks and be forced to stay in the hospital during summer vacation.”

“It’s okay, I’ll be fine if I can make it next year.”

Mom and Toru-san gave a small smile.

“You have to make sure you don’t tear it again if you overexert yourself… Hiroto is a pitcher, so I hope there isn’t a problem.”