Short Summary[]
It’s the final game of the Championship between the Mariners and the Lycaons.
Long Summary[]
It’s the seventh inning of the final game of the Championship and neither the Mariners nor the Lycaons have scored a run. Kojima is at a count of 2-0 against pitcher Kawanaka. He calls a time out to calm down for a moment and reflects on some of the things he’s learnt from Tokuchi throughout the pennant race. Rising above corpses is never beautiful; if you want to win, you must become a demon. He returns to the batter’s box.
Coach Imawano prays for Kawanaka to hold out a little longer. He throws his third pitch and Imawano’s hope rises as he sees it’s his trump card, a forkball. But Kojima sees it coming and his swing connects. Chairman Tanabe stands up from his chair and screams that there shall be no champion but the Mariners; but the hit goes in and Lycaons score the first point of the game.
Coach Imawano approaches Kawanaka at the mound, and Kawanaka asks him to let him pitch the rest of the game. Imawano is surprised, as he’s risking losing the Defence Percentage title. Kawanaka admits that until yesterday that was important to him, and he couldn’t have cared less about the Mariners’ victory. But watching the Lycaons' camaraderie made him realise he was jealous. Today is the first day he has wanted to pitch as a member of the Mariners. Imawano leaves the pitch and the Lycaons enthusiastically shout at Kawanaka to bring it on.
The game continues, with a number of magnificent plays that live up to the name of the Championship finals. Kurai strikes out Takami and the game ends. The winners of the P League are the Lycaons.
As the Lycaons celebrate, Takami watches them in shock and Brooklyn breaks his bat screaming there must be a mistake. Amami tells Brooklyn he’s leaving- the losers don’t belong in the winner’s arena. Brooklyn asks if he’s calling them inferior to the Lycaons, and Amami replies that the Mariners have never been inferior and their individual potential was overwhelming. But the Lycaons were the real ‘demons’ of the game; their entire energy was focussed on winning with no idle thoughts or hesitation. The Mariners couldn’t achieve this blank state of mind. They were always followed by thoughts that had nothing to do with the game; titles, salaries, pride, anxiety. And above it all, their biggest idle thought was about Tokuchi Toua. He’s toyed around with them while they’ve fallen into all his traps. But Amami says having become a loser he’s finally realised Tokuchi’s biggest trap. They couldn’t allow an outsider like him to remain in the baseball world.
The ‘something’ Kojima had been searching for was finally grasped that day. But the great man who brought it about wasn’t there. Kojima looks back at Tokuchi to find his seat empty.
Kojima and Kinosaki are in Okinawa a year on from their recruitment of Tokuchi. Kinosaki wonders why Tokuchi disappeared before the finals and Kojima reckons it’s because to Tokuchi the pennant race was a gamble. When the Lycaons won the Championship, his end of the bargain with Kojima was fulfilled. Kinosaki thinks it was prematurely confidant of Tokuchi to leave so soon and Kojima points out he was right to be so. Kinosaki says he made a team that will make history. Kojima chuckles and looks across the stands, then shouts out in shock, thinking he’s seen Tokuchi. Kinosaki scoffs and tells him he imagined it. Kojima replies, ‘Oh man, I’m getting old.’
Although he’s never seen Tokuchi since, Kojima believes he must be somewhere, watching over the Lycaons.
Characters[]
- Kojima
- Kuria
- Kawanaka
- Coach Imawano
- Kinosaki
- Brooklyn
- Amami