Rebirth of Toujou Hideaki

First Inning - A Shaky Start

The dirt beneath his cleats felt heavier than usual. The weight of expectation pressed down on Toujou Hideaki as he took his position on the mound.

His fingers curled around the seams of the ball, but his grip felt unfamiliar, almost foreign. He took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. The echoes of his nightmare clung to him, whispering in the back of his mind.

"You're not good enough. You will still fail."

His chest tightened. "No. Focus." He clenched his jaw, exhaling sharply.

It wasn't just about proving himself to his teammates.

This game—even if it was just a practice match—was his first real test since his rebirth.

Would all the training he did actually make a difference?

Or was he still the same player doomed to fail?

Coach Ichiro watched him from the dugout, arms crossed.

Across the field, Seishin's coach, Murakami, smirked.

He had done his homework on Matsukata's new pitcher.

"He's just a kid. Let's see how long he lasts."

---

Across the batter's box, Riku Nakamura, Seishin's leadoff hitter, stood with a confident smirk, his stance relaxed yet sharp. He had seen many pitchers break under pressure—was this kid any different?

Toujou wound up and released his first pitch.

The ball sailed high, missing the strike zone by a wide margin.

"Ball 1."

A murmur spread through the Seishin's dugout.

His second pitch—too far outside.

"Ball 2."

Riku's smirk widened as he glanced at his coach. They wouldn't need to swing recklessly if this pitcher couldn't even find the zone.

The third pitch came in—a strike, but Toujou could tell it wasn't a good one.

Riku let the next pitch pass, and the umpire called it outside.

"Ball 4. Walk."

A frustrated sigh escaped from the dugout. Toujou clenched his fist. His fingers felt cold despite the afternoon sun.

---

From behind the plate, Ryoma called for time, jogging toward the mound.

"You're not yourself today," Ryoma muttered, crouching slightly so the two wouldn't be overheard. "What's wrong?"

Toujou didn't answer.

He couldn't.

He knew what was wrong, but saying it out loud made it real. The doubts, the fears, the weight of expectations—not just of this team, but of his past life that had ended in failure.

Ryoma studied his face before sighing despite not knowing his inner turmoil.

"Don't think too much," he said firmly. "Focus on the game. One pitch at a time."

Toujou exhaled slowly.

One pitch at a time.

Ryoma clapped him on the back before returning behind the plate.

Runner on first. No outs.

Toujou clenched his jaw.

This wasn't how it was supposed to go.

Toujou tightened his grip on the ball. And took a deep breath as the next batter, Shota Kurose stepped into the batter's box.

---

From the dugout, Seishin's coach signaled a steal attempt on the first pitch.

"Steal on the first pitch "

Toujou, still slightly distracted, failed to notice the cue.

As he went into his windup, Riku took off for second base.

The moment he released the pitch, he realized his mistake.

By the time Ryoma fired the ball to second, Riku was already sliding in safely.

"Safe!"

"Damn it." Toujou felt frustrated at his mistake.

Shota grinned. "Not paying attention, huh?"

Ryoma punch his gloves to get Toujou's attention, "Focus on the batter."

Toujou threw a strike, but it wasn't long before Shota fouled off several pitches, making him work for it. The batter wasn't aiming for a hit—he was wearing him down.

Finally, Shota connected, hitting a weak fly ball over first base.

The ball dropped in shallow right field. Riku advanced to third.

No outs. Runners on first and third.

---

The third batter, Daichi Morita, stepped up.

Seishin's coach signaled a squeeze bunt play.

The moment Toujou lifted his leg—Shota took off from first base!

Morita squared up and bunted the ball toward third.

Kazuki, Hikari Gakuen shortstop charged in, scooped it up, and fired to third—

But Shota was already safe in the third base with his quick feet. As Riku Nakamura steps on the home plate.

"Safe!"

On the other hand, Morita steps on the first base.

Seishin 1 – 0 Matsukata

There runners on first to third base again.

Still no outs.

Toujou's breathing was uneven.

His vision blurred.

The voices from his nightmare returned.

"You're not good enough."

"You will still fail."

Like a curse...

---

The fourth batter, Keita Aoyama, stepped in.

Toujou tried to focus, but Keita was a power hitter.

His high-spin fastball—which usually had good deception—didn't spin as expected.

Keita crushed it into deep left field.

Morita sprinted to the second base as the fourth batter steps on the first.

Shota scored.

Seishin 2 – 0 Matsukata

The momentum was completely in Seishin's favor. With no outs, runners on first and second base.

---

Coach Ichiro remained still on the sidelines, watching. He wasn't shouting instructions. He wasn't panicking.

He's testing me.

He won't save me.

Toujou had to save himself.

The opposing dugout cheered loudly. Seishin's coach smirked. They had found a weakness—Toujou's hesitation. And they were going to exploit it.

Toujou took another deep breath, trying to drown out the noise.

---

Before the next pitch, Ryoma called for another timeout.

He didn't waste time talking this time. He just stared at Toujou.

"You can hear them, right?" Ryoma finally said, tilting his head toward the opposing dugout.

Seishin's players were grinning, whispering.

"This pitcher's nothing special."

"He's easy to read."

"He's already breaking."

"You hate that, don't you?" Ryoma asked.

Toujou's fist clenched.

"But they don't know you like I do," Ryoma continued, voice steady. "They don't know how much you hate losing."

He met Toujou's eyes.

"Shut them up." Ryoma said simply.

The doubt was still there, but Ryoma's words gave him something else to focus on.

"Shut them up."

Toujou exhaled sharply as he repeated this words in his mind.

---

Toujou focuses his attention on the game. No outs, runners on first and second base.

The next batter, stepped up. Toujou watched his stance carefully. Then, something clicked.

His psychological training—the thing that had once been his profession—kicked in.

The opponent batter was gripping the bat too tightly.

He was expecting a high fastball.

Toujou threw a low-spin fastball instead.

It looked like a normal pitch.

But from the batters perspective it moved slower than expected.

He swung late, jamming the ball into a weak grounder toward shortstop.

Grounder to short!

Kazuki scooped it up and fired to first base.

"Out!"

One down.

Morita advaces at the third base as he move the moment Toujou throw his low spin.

He was still at disadvantageous position, with the opponent on the scoring line.

---

Another batter, stepped in the batter's box and looked at Toujou warily. "He swung late? Is there something else in his pitch?' He adjusted his grip on the bat and planned to swing early as his coach instructed.

This time, Toujou didn't hesitate.

He threw a deceptive low-spin fastball, disguising it as a normal pitch.

The batter didn't time it well as he swung early, grounding it to Kazuki again.

Kazuki flipped it to second for one out.

Yuto fired to first.

Double play!

Inning over.

The score was 2-0, but the momentum had started to shift.

---

From the stands, a man adjusted his cap.

A scout from the Tokyo Baseball Federation had arrived today to watch another player—Seishin's clean up hitter, Riku Nakamura. He planned to invite this star player's team to participate in the Tournament.

One invitation ticket left before finalizing the list of selected team in Tokyo district for the incoming Inter-District Friendly Match.

"There's only one spot left. One more team."

He muses as he glance at Riku Nakamura before turning his gaze on Toujou on the opposite dugout.

"He's struggling, but he's adapting."

He leaned forward slightly.

"Maybe… I'll wait until the end of the game before deciding who to invite."

---

By the third inning, Toujou's grip on the game had changed.

He wasn't just reacting—he was thinking ahead.

His pitches were still not perfect, but he had regained his focus.

Now, when Seishin batters stepped up, he wasn't just throwing fastballs.

He was making them swing at his pitches.

By the end of the third inning, Seishin failed to score again.

And for the first time in the game…

Toujou felt like himself.