During the midday break, Watanabe Tetsu decided to leave the music room. He had originally planned to head to the Human Observation Club to nap on the sofa, but found Rin Kiyono there, intently listening to a performance by a prestigious wind ensemble.
Feeling it would be rude to sleep in front of someone who was working so hard, he decided to go to the sports field to find Osamu Kunii instead.
Even as just a trainee member, Kunii was diligently preparing for the July Koshien preliminaries.
"Watanabe? Perfect timing, come on, quick!"
Before Tetsu could respond, Kunii handed him a baseball glove and ball.
"What's this for?"
"I need you to pitch for me during practice," Kunii said, already heading toward the batter's box.
"…."
Tetsu couldn't exactly say he was here to nap. In hindsight, he thought, maybe he should've just gone back to the classroom and slept.
Reluctantly, he made his way to the pitcher's mound and slid on the glove, which fit reasonably well.
"Here it comes! Dai-Na, throw your final ball!" Kunii shouted, adopting a dramatic batting stance.
"Sorry, I'm a card-face batter, not Ultraman," Tetsu muttered.
The distance from mound to plate was 18.44 meters, and his voice never reached Kunii. Not that it mattered—the honor of a card-face batter was his alone to protect.
"The rules of victory have been decided!" This time, Tetsu shouted loud enough to be heard.
"Huh? What are you saying?"
As Kunii paused, confused, Tetsu threw the ball—but it was still easily smacked away.
"Your pitch is too slow!" Kunii shouted.
Rubbing his arm, sore from giving full effort, Tetsu reflected: as expected, relying on the "rules of victory" was useless. Besides, Kunii was notorious for failing spectacularly.
Tetsu grabbed a new ball from the basket.
"Here I come!" he yelled, throwing with full intensity from the start.
BANG!
The metal bat struck the ball with a crisp clang, sending it soaring into the bright blue summer sky.
"You can't win without Dai-Na! Give up and join me as light!" Kunii waved the bat with pride.
"Burn your life away!"
BANG!
"Show time!"
BANG!
"Die for me!"
"That line doesn't even exist! Stop improvising!"
"Shut up!"
"Fake! You're not a proper card-face batter! I'll punish you for the sake of justice!" Kunii roared, swinging with all his might.
A beautiful home run followed.
——————
In the music room, several girls chatted idly by the window.
"Did you hear? Tamako from the baton club is dating Mochizo!"
"Mochizo? Who's that?"
"The blonde guy from Class 3! The one who secretly wears earrings and is always filming videos! Gorgeous, you know? He filmed a short video with you once."
"Oh, him. Looks good, but totally not my type."
"Eh? You're not shallow? You're not a looks-only person?"
"Superficial."
Tamamo Konomi answered disdainfully, prompting meaningless laughter from the others.
"Wow, I want a boyfriend too. Ah, look!"
Following their gaze, under the blazing June sun, the girls saw two boys on the baseball field.
The batter was shouting something at the pitcher, and, clearly taking advantage of a distraction, the pitcher threw the ball.
Through the slightly warped window glass, the sunlight fell on the pitcher.
With a wide wind-up, the neatly ironed white shirt wrinkled, and his handsome face shone, impossible to look away from.
Suddenly, perhaps due to the heat—or for comfort—the pitcher boldly unbuttoned three buttons at his collar.
Collarbones and fair chest were exposed.
The girls, for some reason, felt breathless, and after exchanging glances, shyly looked down.
"Watanabe-senpai is so handsome!"
"Hehe, you don't like him, right? He already has a girlfriend, and she's a high-class lady too."
"Not true! I'm just appreciating his looks!"
"Oh? Then why are you looking away?"
"Well… if Watanabe and Yuki-senpai break up, and he confessed to me, I guess… I could reluctantly date him."
"Wow, bold! Expecting him to confess first!"
The girls laughed again. This time, Tamamo Konomi didn't laugh. She gazed at Watanabe on the field, subconsciously stroking the tuba in her arms.
"But I've discovered a secret: maybe Watanabe is secretly sweet on the high-class lady behind Yuki-senpai's back."
"Impossible."
"Why impossible? These past two days I've seen them walking together several times—even going to the restroom together! Believe it or not, yesterday Watanabe even walked the high-class lady home!"
"That's cheating!"
"Terrible, all handsome guys are bad. Right, Konomi?"
"Not sure about all guys, but Watanabe Tetsu is definitely a jerk."
"Wow! First time I've seen Konomi target someone!"
"Me too. But, if he can reform and promise to be loyal only to me, maybe I could date him."
"Eh~~~?"
"No way! Handsome guys are justice!"
"Yet still looking at others' bodies… so shameless!"
The girls laughed again.
The hour-long lunch break passed quickly. Sweaty and embarrassed to return to the oboe & bassoon section, Watanabe went to the Human Observation Club's activity room.
The air-conditioning revived him instantly.
Rin Kiyono was deeply absorbed in music, but wrinkled her brow at the smell of sweat.
She removed one earphone and appraised him from head to toe.
"Running?"
Tetsu waved weakly, "Baseball."
"If your arms are sore tomorrow, it's completely your own fault. No excuses to skip practice."
"Harsh. Don't worry, I train regularly, so this little exercise is nothing."
"Good." Rin put her earphone back on, lost in the music.
Tetsu rested a while, then took grapes from the fridge to eat.
As he stared blankly at the sky outside the window, he suddenly slapped the table. Rin flinched, shoulders trembling.
"What are you doing?" Her tone held a trace of anger.
Swallowing a grape, Tetsu said, "Now I know why I kept losing… I never shouted 'Transform' at the start!"
Rin stared, puzzled.
"Fine, I'll show you."
Tetsu stood, wrapping one hand around his slim waist, pulling out his phone.
"Remember, the transformation code is 555. Press 5821, and it summons a motorcycle."
"I don't have dreams, but I can protect dreams. Transform!"
Rin's eyes showed no reaction.
Tetsu cleared his throat, sat back down, and popped another grape.