Mash-Up: I'm Not A Substitute

"Why does everyone like me?"

Takashi was stunned for a moment by Yukino's question, his expression showing some surprise.

"What kind of face is that?"

Yukino frowned, displeased.

"I thought you'd say something like: 'Sobu lost, but I didn't lose.' Or 'If I had Aoba's lineup, I'd be just as good.'

"Something like that."

She gave him a scornful look. "A loss is a loss. I'm not so weak that I can't accept it."

"No, but what you said at the end is true. If I had Aoba's lineup, I don't think I'd lose to you."

Takashi was undeniably strong—but if she hadn't cracked under pressure during her turn at bat, if her mentality hadn't collapsed, who would've won was still uncertain.

At the very least, the score wouldn't have been so one-sided in the second half.

"I had a stereotype about you before. But now, my opinion has changed slightly."

Just the fact that Yukino could accept defeat earned Takashi's genuine respect.

There were plenty of people who couldn't—himself included.

"But even with Aoba's lineup, you would still lose."

"Oh? And why is that?"

Yukino was a bit indignant, but not angry. She was simply curious about his reasoning.

"Your team fell apart in the second half because of internal conflict, didn't it?"

Their bullpens were too far apart, so Takashi didn't know what exactly caused Sobu High's rift.

But he could clearly sense that in the second half, the team had completely lost its will to fight.

Their attitude was basically "let's just finish this and clock out."

In baseball, victory isn't determined by stats alone. The players' mentality is a crucial factor.

If not for the internal strife, Aoba wouldn't have had such an easy time winning.

Sobu High was not a weak team.

At the very least, they were top-eight material.

"Yeah."

"Then that's why you lost."

"I know."

Yukino agreed with him.

"No, you don't."

Takashi shook his finger.

Clearly, Yukino still hadn't realized where her mistake was.

"Excuse me, the next match is about to start. Please leave the field."

Just as Takashi was about to speak, a staff member interrupted.

"Let's walk and talk."

"Alright."

The two of them nodded apologetically to the staff member and headed toward the tunnel entrance.

"When our team's ace pitcher dislocated his shoulder, I stepped in to replace him. At the time, the whole team was filled with anxiety, fear, and confusion."

"You understand how badly the morale drops when your ace pitcher is injured, right?"

Baseball, at its core, is a game of pitching and hitting.

If batting decides the offense, then the pitcher is the soul of the defense.

Unlike other sports, where offense wins games, baseball is more about winning through defense.

A good pitcher is much harder to develop than a good batter.

If Shohei Ohtani couldn't pitch, he wouldn't have gotten that insane contract from the Americans.

One good pitcher can hold down a whole lineup. Every elite team always feels like they're one great pitcher short.

Put simply, the pitcher is the soul of the team.

When your ace pitcher goes down, it's more than just one person missing—it's a collapse of the entire defense.

Your pitches start getting hit easily, the pressure on the defense mounts.

That's why the upperclassmen felt so hopeless when Momodani got hurt.

"When I stepped up, I only did three things. First, I shouted slogans and hyped everyone up."

To girls, all that shouting and yelling in sports might seem stupid or performative.

But it's not a show—it's a natural, instinctive reaction. It's a way to release pressure.

When facing meaningful objects in a situation, the body immediately produces a series of reactions.

Take a simple example: IG winning the championship.

Takashi led them in chanting slogans, mainly to help relieve the team's pressure.

In fact, even if he hadn't done it, the coach would've had them do it anyway.

"The second thing: pitching."

Shouting slogans can only release pressure—it doesn't mean that yelling alone makes the pressure disappear.

What truly makes the pressure vanish is the first pitch thrown by Takashi.

That full-powered first pitch shattered the tension felt by the defenders.

"The third thing: stir up the audience's emotions and pressure the opposing batters."

As mentioned before, the cheers from the audience can effectively boost the players' performance.

From his confident entrance to his flamboyant pitches and striking out Yuta Shitada with that final wild pitch, Takashi never stopped thinking.

His victory wasn't a coincidence—it was the inevitable result of careful planning.

"I did these three things. And you, Yukino?"

"When your team was crumbling under pressure, what did you do?"

Yukino suddenly froze in her tracks, her cherry lips moving faintly: "I…"

What did she do back then?

It seemed like blame and pressure?

"You think I beat you by luck? Or because Aoba has a strong lineup?"

Takashi also stopped walking and turned to face Yukino head-on.

"Even if I handed Aoba over to you and led Sobu High myself, I could still beat you."

Yukino had nothing to say.

Compared to Aoba's ace pitcher being injured and leaving the field, what was one Sobu High batter feeling a bit pressured?

In fact, if Yukino hadn't blamed the leadoff hitter, just subbed him out or ignored it, it would've only cost them a single batter.

After all, the leadoff wasn't even a power hitter.

It was Yukino's own personality that triggered that batter, causing Sobu High to lose their will to play.

"If I were you, I'd never provoke someone when a teammate is on the verge of a breakdown."

He didn't know the reason behind the internal conflict, but he understood Yukino.

He knew exactly what kind of temper this woman had.

"If I were you, I wouldn't blame that person. I'd rely on my own strength, hit the ball one pitch at a time, and show with my actions: I've got your back—swing freely."

That's why few people truly hate Takashi.

"Why do so many people like me? Because I never act superior. 

I can dine in a fancy Western restaurant with you, and I can also eat skewers for a few dozen yen at a street stall with my club members."

"Yukinoshita, you're beautiful, sure—but you're too arrogant, too self-righteous."

"You think highly of yourself, always assuming you're a genius, and disregard others, without realizing how big the world really is."

To ordinary people, Yukino might seem like a genius.

But only to ordinary people.

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