Mash-Up: I'm Not A Substitute

"I thought he'd make it to the quarterfinals to meet us… Seems I overestimated him."

In the front rows of the stands, Nagumo Miyabi looked disappointed.

This summer's Koshien was dominated by the name Takashi.

Even though he'd only played two matches, his popularity rivaled that of top idol groups.

Plenty hated him, but just as many admired him.

If he could take Takashi down, Nagumo could only imagine how the media and Takashi's haters would sing his praises.

In fact, many others felt the same as Nagumo.

The top baseball schools all hoped to face Aoba.

Because they all saw through it—Aoba was a one-trick pony.

At first, teams unfamiliar with them might get caught off guard, but after just two games, Takashi had been thoroughly analyzed, and it was clear Aoba was all bark and no bite.

They looked fierce, but if your batters could handle Takashi's pitches, Aoba would crumble—not instantly, but slowly, like a dying dog dragging itself along.

Who told Aoba to start the tournament missing two key players?

"He shouldn't have gone to Aoba."

Horikita Manabu spoke simply, but everyone understood.

If Takashi had gone to Advanced Nurturing High School instead of Aoba, he wouldn't have been stopped in the Top 16.

"But if he had chosen Advanced Nurturing, his story wouldn't be nearly as legendary."

Sitting gracefully beside them, Arisu added her thoughts.

Even Nagumo, who was itching to step on Takashi to rise, had to admit that.

Why did Kanano become a Koshien legend?

Because they fought their way from being completely underestimated all the way to the finals.

Their tenacity embodied the traditional Koshien spirit, and their ace pitcher, Yoshida Kosei, gained a huge fan base with his heroics.

Takashi was retracing Yoshida's path—and maybe even surpassing it in legend and discussion.

"Too bad he's not Yoshida Kosei."

Horikita Suzune folded her arms, speaking coldly.

Friend hospitalized, stepping in for a teammate, aces injured, thrust into crisis, attacked online…

If Takashi made it to the end, his story could be a light novel or a manga adaptation.

But looking at things now, forget finishing the story—he hadn't even matched Yoshida Kosei.

After all, Yoshida made it to the Koshien final.

And Takashi? Falling in the Top 16?

It's like a novel that starts strong but ends in a whimper.

…

Seeing Uezu Yuta hit Takashi's pitch, Amatani Kensuke's heart sank.

Only one thought echoed in his head:

It's over!

Everything was over.

Takashi could only be used as a secret weapon—not as a regular one.

The good news: he threw an amazing fastball.

The bad news: he only threw fastballs.

Still, Amatani had never blamed or pressured him.

Because in his eyes, Takashi had already done more than enough.

If anyone else had been thrown in as a starter due to injury, down two players, under online scrutiny, and still led the team to the Top 16—that's practically a perfect score to Amatani.

But a perfect score from Amatani meant nothing now.

To the public, if Takashi didn't win the championship, he was worthless—just a Five.

Who told him to act so arrogant before?

That whole "God first, Earth second, Me third" attitude—

Takashi's response to public opinion had completely enraged net tyrants and disillusioned nobodies alike.

They didn't care how many girls he'd dated or what the truth was.

They just hated seeing him happy.

They needed someone to vent their resentment on.

Whether it was Takashi or not didn't matter.

If not him, it would've been someone else.

He just happened to be the one chosen.

…

When Takashi's pitch was hit, it wasn't just Amatani Kensuke's heart that sank.

All of Aoba did.

The players on the field and the students in the stands went quiet.

A girl in the wind ensemble, playing flute, nervously bit her lip.

Beside her, the percussionist boy stopped drumming.

In the aisles, the sweat-soaked cheerleaders, still lifting their legs and waving pom-poms, suddenly froze.

The coordinated signboards raised by the whole school spelling out "Victory" now wavered loosely.

No one at Aoba was a fool.

Everyone knew they were going to lose.

Though their goal had always been the championship, the fact that Aoba had never lifted a trophy since Koshien began said otherwise.

It was only Takashi's undefeated dominance so far that gave them a sliver of unrealistic hope.

If it's him… maybe Aoba really could win it all…

But now it seemed that hope had been too high.

In the suddenly silent Aoba section, with everyone having lost hope in Takashi and fallen silent, a rich, emotional euphonium melody suddenly burst out—full of defiance.

Everyone turned toward the sound.

And there she was—a black-haired girl with a high ponytail, ignoring all the stares, eyes locked on the boy standing on the pitcher's mound.

Takashi shifted his gaze and met Narii's eyes in midair.

"We'll win, right?"

Her eyes showed unwavering confidence in his strength.

Sometimes, even Takashi himself didn't understand—why was she so confident in him?

But—

He tossed the ball into his glove and gave her an "OK" gesture with his right hand.

—Absolutely!

Narii smiled brightly, her eyes curving like crescent moons, joy blooming across her face.

Takashi loved seeing her like that—as if the whole world suddenly lit up.

"Pitcher, please resume play," the umpire reminded him kindly.

In baseball, a pitcher doesn't have to throw the moment he receives the ball. 

A little delay is acceptable, but not too long—after all, every second of this nationally televised game is worth its weight in gold.

"Got it."

Before the pitch, Takashi raised his left leg high to boost his power.

[Popeye, activate!]

The muscles hidden beneath his sleeves tensed instantly as he exerted force—his arms bulged as if bursting from under the skin.

With a single breath, Takashi hurled the ball with ferocity.

His pitching form twisted, and the ball's trajectory was clearly visible—but Uezu Yuta couldn't react at all.

Because—

Beep!

The electronic screen flashed: "166 km/h!"

The ball landed in the catcher's mitt.

—It was simply too fast.

So fast that he'd never be able to catch up in this lifetime.

His reflexes couldn't even register it.

The stadium was silent—like a snowfall.

Just a moment ago, Uezu Yuta had silenced Aoba.

Now, Takashi had silenced the entire field.

But the next second—

"Takashi!!!"

A thunderous cheer erupted from the stands.

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